As we slide into the holiday period, you’ll probably notice things slow down around here, as we catch up on the last few reviews we have in the Animated News & Views bag and get ready for the year ahead. But there’s still a bit of news floating out and about there, so be sure to keep checking back at Animated News for the latest headlines!
On the disc front, Video Business is reporting that Lost could be the first major television series to find all of its complete seasons to debut on Blu-ray: during a roundtable discussion last week, creators Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindeloff let slip that when the show ends in 2009 that a full six-seasn BD set would be on the cards for 2010 – the earliest fans would also see the first two seasons on the HD discs, which may only be available in the complete set. The blurb states that “to date no primetime series has been released in full form on Blu-ray”, though I’m not sure where that leaves Heroes, which has had all its current seasons come to BD as available. The mammoth price tag is already being debated…!
In other news, I’m surprised to read that Universal Pictures, just as they set up shop with Steven Spielberg’s re-energized DreamWorks Pictures, is not going to renew their deal with Spielberg’s producing duo of choice, Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy. The husband and wife team, under their Kennedy/Marshall Company banner, have been responsible for several of Universal’s biggest recent successes, including the Bourne films, the fourth of which is in development (hey, didn’t he work out who he was? Didn’y Matt Damon say no? Didn’t they run out of books?). Kennedy/Marshall began laying off staff last week, though will remain involved in the untitled Bourne 4 and the long-gestating Jurassic Park IV, obviously under Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment. Just goes to show that even the big hitters are feeling the crunch, even if I think they’ll be well taken care of with Spielberg finding himself lock, stock and barrel back in his rightful home at…Universal Studios!
We’ll be back during the week with a few more updates, and don’t forget that the discussions continue all the time in the Animated News & Views Forum – it’s easy to sign up and add your own animated views!
Stay tooned! – Ben.
