LEXX S4 DVD News

Forums Cult Sci Fi Series Lexx LEXX S4 DVD News

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  • #37198
    SadGeezer
    Keymaster

    At the risk of being labeled a corporate shill, here’s an update on what’s going on with the S4 video release of [i]LEXX[/i].

    First, the bad news. For those of you who’ve not made the leap into the digital age, now would be a good time to get a DVD player, because S4 will not be coming out on VHS. They’re not selling, so we’re not making them anymore. The discs, however, continue to do well, so…

    [i]LEXX[/i] S4V1 has a projected release date of January 28, 2003. No extras have been confirmed, but expect the usual bunch of stuff. I’m talking to Andrew at Salter Digital about getting them together right now, and we’re still ironing things out. Nothing is definite, and even the release date is tentative, but it’s definitely on the schedule. This should, for all intents and purposes, set up a pattern much like the S3 discs: a new disc every other month, on the last Tuesday of the month.

    Just keeping y’all in the know.

    –Aleck

    #54070
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Thanks Aleck!

    About that “Play-All” feature, will that be included too this time around? =) Thanks!

    #54071
    Anonymous
    Guest

    quote:


    Originally posted by LexxLurker:
    About that “Play-All” feature, will that be included too this time around? =) Thanks!


    Aww, man, you’re makin’ me look bad!

    I’ll talk to Andrew about it. He does all the authoring, and I don’t think it should be a problem, but I’ll see what he says. Thanks for reminding me!!!!!

    –Aleck

    #54072
    Anonymous
    Guest

    quote:


    Originally posted by Aleck:
    At the risk of being labeled a corporate shill, here’s an update on what’s going on with the S4 video release of [i]LEXX[/i].

    First, the bad news. For those of you who’ve not made the leap into the digital age, now would be a good time to get a DVD player, because S4 will not be coming out on VHS. They’re not selling, so we’re not making them anymore. The discs, however, continue to do well, so…

    –Aleck


    LOL, Aleck!! It’s precisely because LEXX was coming out on DVD that I finally bought a player.
    [img]images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]

    #54073
    Kailua
    Participant

    Yay!!! Thanks for the great news! I, too, got my DVD player primarily for Lexx, and it looks like a lot of video and music chains are going to stop carrying VHS tapes soon anyway.

    #54074
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Thanks, Aleck! That’s terrific news!!! I can’t wait! [img]images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

    *stokes the fire under her old DVD player*

    #54075
    Anonymous
    Guest

    *counts months on fingers*

    November 2003: tripps starts his long-awaited Lexx DVD marathon. 61 eps in a row. 51.8 hours of goodness. Oh-yeah.

    #54076
    Flamegrape
    Participant

    cool

    #54077
    Anonymous
    Guest

    But I just read in another thread that series 4 wouldnt come to DVD in UK!

    But IF its coming! In how many years will it be?

    #54078
    Anonymous
    Guest

    quote:


    Originally posted by :
    But I just read in another thread that series 4 wouldnt come to DVD in UK!


    It’s not. This is the US release. I should’ve been more clear on that.

    –Aleck

    #54079
    GivingYouTheFinger
    Participant

    Is there any possibility of a complete box-set of all the seasons coming out? That’d be kool, and possibly less expensive than buying each DvD that comes out, especially with only a few episodes per Dvd. ???

    #54080
    Anonymous
    Guest

    quote:


    Originally posted by GivingYouTheFinger:
    Is there any possibility of a complete box-set of all the seasons coming out? That’d be kool, and possibly less expensive than buying each DvD that comes out, especially with only a few episodes per Dvd. ???


    A complete box of *all* the seasons? Oh dear lord, I hope not. That’d be, what, 15 discs? Yikes. From what I can gather (though I’m still not convinced it’s a good idea), we’re going to be releasing box sets of each season *after* the individual DVDs are released. The S2 box is already out, and they’re discussing putting a S3 box on the market. I personally don’t like it for the simple facts that (a) it’s kind of unfair to fans that have already bought each individual disc as they come out, (b) it doesn’t give you anything more than the individual discs give you (we’re not remastering them for the boxes, there are no new supplements, etc), and (c) it keeps making people ask why we don’t put all of the episodes of a season out at one time (it would just take us too danged long to get the entire run together, and keep the gap between releases wider). I can understand the point from a marketing perspective (it makes a good gift item for someone, it’s a big, chunky product that is hard to miss in a box set section of your local video retailer, etc.), but it doesn’t float my own personal boat, so to speak.

    –Aleck

    #54081
    Anonymous
    Guest

    This sucks!
    That will meen that I will NEVER have the chanse to se Series 4! I have bin waiting years for it!

    #54082
    Anonymous
    Guest

    And now the long wait til Janurary 28th. Uhhg. I take it S4 will have 4 episodes per DVD?

    #54083
    Anonymous
    Guest

    quote:


    Originally posted by Evil_Lister:
    And now the long wait til Janurary 28th. Uhhg. I take it S4 will have 4 episodes per DVD?


    4 episodes per, 6 DVDs in total. Yeah, it’s a wait, but it’s a time-intensive process, and I’m just one man. [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

    –Aleck

    #54084
    Anonymous
    Guest

    quote:


    Originally posted by Aleck:

    4 episodes per, 6 DVDs in total. Yeah, it’s a wait, but it’s a time-intensive process, and I’m just one man. [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

    –Aleck


    Hey, take ALL the time you need aleck!

    Remember the saying “Anything worth having is worth waiting for.”

    [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img] [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

    #54085
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    [i]Yeah, it’s a wait, but it’s a time-intensive process, and I’m just one man.[/i]

    You think if we dressed you in sheepskin we could convince an egghead to clone you?

    #54086
    Anonymous
    Guest

    quote:


    Originally posted by Cat:
    You think if we dressed you in sheepskin we could convince an egghead to clone you?


    Only if it’s the vintage Batman villain Egghead, as played by Vincent Price.

    …Bumping this up, because I don’t want to have to keep repeating myself…

    –Aleck

    #54087
    Anonymous
    Guest

    The REAL question is:

    Can the world handle more than one Aleck?? [img]images/smiles/icon_eek.gif[/img]

    [img]images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]

    #54088
    Midori
    Participant

    I like the idea of box sets!! it makes it easy [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img] i still have to get all the dvds.. thats the main reason i just got a dvd player in my computer [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img] LEXX BABY!! YEAH!!!

    Midori

    #54089
    Anonymous
    Guest

    quote:


    Originally posted by Midori:
    I like the idea of box sets!! it makes it easy [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img] i still have to get all the dvds.. thats the main reason i just got a dvd player in my computer [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img] LEXX BABY!! YEAH!!!


    Oh, I love the idea of box sets in theory. I wish we’d started the whole thing out with a box set of S2, though. Instead, the strategy was to release S2 in a fairly continual stream of DVDs, so that there wouldn’t be such a wait between S2 and S3. The kind of wait involved (and this is just an assumption as to how the thinking on the sales/marketing level went) would cause the series to lose momentum in the marketplace. So, we went with a periodic release of individual discs instead of all-at-a-time. Since this pattern has already been established, it would have thrown things off to change the strategy mid-stream, so we’re going with individual releases for S4. The response to the S2 set has been favorable, so there will probably be S3 and S4 sets as well, but they’re coming out individually first.

    –Aleck

    #54090
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Weird i registered and it says it doesnt exist [img]images/smiles/icon_sad.gif[/img]

    I bought a DVD player just last month cause i got tired of watching Lexx and other SCIFI shows off my crappy VCR with my recorded VHS tapes of the shows and the editting of some of the shows on US TV ****ed me off [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

    I spent $184 for the entire Lexx DVD’s released so far, i got them from Ebay after i saw what they wanted for 1 episode at the local stores [img]images/smiles/icon_eek.gif[/img] $30 each [img]images/smiles/icon_eek.gif[/img]

    So if the release date stands it be at the end of 2003 that the season 4 DVD’s will all be out??
    but untill then i can watch season 4 on my VCR [img]images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

    #54091
    Lemmi_is_god
    Participant

    ok all better now, im registered [img]images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

    #54092
    Anonymous
    Guest

    quote:


    Originally posted by Lemmi:
    I spent $184 for the entire Lexx DVD’s released so far, i got them from Ebay after i saw what they wanted for 1 episode at the local stores [img]images/smiles/icon_eek.gif[/img] $30 each [img]images/smiles/icon_eek.gif[/img]


    Go to deepdiscountdvd.com. Their prices are about as low as a place can get, and they have free shipping. Since the S4 discs will have the same MSRP as the S3 discs, they should — “Bob” willing — have them for $14.95 each.

    quote[quote]So if the release date stands it be at the end of 2003 that the season 4 DVD’s will all be out?? [/quote]

    Thereabouts, yeah. Still nothing set in stone, but that’s what we’re aiming for.

    –Aleck

    [ 12-10-2002: Message edited by: Aleck ]

    #54093
    Lemmi_is_god
    Participant

    quote[quote]Go to deepdiscountdvd.com. Their prices are about as low as a place can get, and they have free shipping. Since the S4 discs will have the same MSRP as the S3 discs, they should — “Bob” willing — have them for $14.95 each. [/quote]

    Thanks they have some good deals there, and i love the free shipping [img]images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

    #54094
    Midori
    Participant

    quote:


    Originally posted by Aleck:

    Oh, I love the idea of box sets in theory. I wish we’d started the whole thing out with a box set of S2, though. Instead, the strategy was to release S2 in a fairly continual stream of DVDs, so that there wouldn’t be such a wait between S2 and S3. The kind of wait involved (and this is just an assumption as to how the thinking on the sales/marketing level went) would cause the series to lose momentum in the marketplace. So, we went with a periodic release of individual discs instead of all-at-a-time. Since this pattern has already been established, it would have thrown things off to change the strategy mid-stream, so we’re going with individual releases for S4. The response to the S2 set has been favorable, so there will probably be S3 and S4 sets as well, but they’re coming out individually first.

    –Aleck


    Thats good [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img] as long as there are box sets im happy [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]
    And that is crazy the $30 a dvd thing.. i saw that today at Suncoast!! and i rememberd deepdiscountdvd.com GREAT PLACE!!

    Midori
    [img]images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

    #54095
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Okay, as for extras, I can only report at this moment on the first disc.

    Bad news first.

    There isn’t a “play all” feature — sorry, I asked, but we’re trying to limit the amount of programming that goes into the creation of the discs, and it adds a second layer of work on Salter’s end, which also adds another level of testing on our end. Because we don’t get the full episodes on the initial test DVD-Rs (there isn’t enough room for them on a DVD-R, so we get truncated versions consisting of 10 minutes of each episode), we wouldn’t be able to test the “play all” function until the final check disc stage, when we’re about to go into replication and by that point it would be too late and too costly to correct anything. So no go on that, unfortunately (you can, though, always program your DVD player, as suggested previously on this board).

    We also don’t have any interviews, and there were no “making of” specials made, so the amount of video supplements available to us is kind of limited. We’d been informed that outtakes were archived, but so far nothing. (I have been told, though, that the deleted scenes from “Fluff Daddy” will be on that disc, which should be S4V3, so keep your eyes open for that one.) I’ve been bugging them about getting the outtakes reel that was shown at the wrap party, but there hasn’t been any progress on that end. Perhaps for a future S4 disc.

    So, as for what we *do* have, there’s the usual (cast and character bios, storyboards, production sketches, trivia questions), plus we have a behind-the-scenes photo gallery (I haven’t seen them yet, so I don’t know how in-depth it is) and some raw CGI effects materials (again, I haven’t seen this yet, so I’m curious as to what it looks like). I don’t know if you’d call it a special feature (but I think it’s pretty special), but this will be the first LEXX disc (and the first disc Acorn has done) that features a Dolby Digital 5.1 surround mix. It will also feature the usual DD 2.0 English-language track and 2.0 French-language track (both of which should also expand to surround-sound if you’re using a Dolby Pro-Logic system). So there’s that.

    But that’s all the news I have for now. I’m expecting initial DVD-R materials by the end of next week, so I should have a better grasp on everything by then.

    –Aleck

    #54096
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Well, S4 coming out at all is good news!

    But aleck, I still would like to see closed captioning on (at least) the S4 dvds. You explained earlier the why of it not being on the dvds…but no harm in wishing, eh?

    #54097
    Anonymous
    Guest

    quote:


    Originally posted by :
    Well, S4 coming out at all is good news!

    But aleck, I still would like to see closed captioning on (at least) the S4 dvds. You explained earlier the why of it not being on the dvds…but no harm in wishing, eh?


    I’d like to see it, too, but the masters don’t have closed-captioning already encoded (Sci-Fi, I believe, has them captioned themselves), and we can’t have them sent out for captioning — it’s both time-and-cost-prohibitive. As I’ve said before, members of my family are hard-of-hearing, and while I’d like to show them the one project I’m probably most proud of, I can’t because they’d have no way to enjoy it.

    –Aleck

    #54098
    Anonymous
    Guest

    quote:


    Originally posted by mandara k:
    I bought my first LEXX DVD and I was appalled to see Mr. M got top billing with Ms. Seeburg 2nd and Mr. Downey 3rd when it is the opposite in the show itself.


    Jeez, Mandara, [i]appalled[/i]? It’s not like we left off episodes or called BD nasty names or anything like that…we just got the credits order wrong (something that also slipped past the guys at Salter when we sent the box copy in for approval), and it got picked up on the box copy on the rest of the S2 discs. We did correct the mistake on S3 (and we’ll get it right again on S4), but there are worse things to have happen on a disc.

    –Aleck

    #54099
    Anonymous
    Guest

    I find the annoying menu sequences on the S2V1 disc [i]far[/i] more bothersome. [img]images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]

    #54100
    Anonymous
    Guest

    quote:


    Originally posted by stormsweeper:
    I find the annoying menu sequences on the S2V1 disc [i]far[/i] more bothersome. [img]images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]


    Yeah, they are annoying, ain’t they? Well, it was a good idea on paper, it was just really lacking in execution.

    –Aleck

    #54101
    Lemmi_is_god
    Participant

    quote:


    Originally posted by mandara k:
    I think I’ll try acquiring the movies next since the films are directly responsible for getting me started on this pony ride.


    Be sure to do so, cause thats how i got hooked to.
    I happened to see a clip on showtime once back in 1997 or so, for a movie called Tales from a Parallel Universe.
    I recorded all 4 on tape back then, i wore out that tape playing it all the time, and after reading that they cut out some stuff from those movies shown in the US, i just had to get the DVDs [img]images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

    Now I just need season 4 on DVD, so i can record over all the Scifi Lexx tapes i have [img]images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]

    #54102
    Flamegrape
    Participant

    quote:


    Originally posted by Aleck:

    Yeah, they are annoying, ain’t they? Well, it was a good idea on paper, it was just really lacking in execution.

    –Aleck


    No soup for you! Come back one year!

    #54103
    Anonymous
    Guest

    More news ‘n’ updates on the LEXX S4 US releases.

    The S4V1 disc is completed, I believe (haven’t seen the finished product from the replicators, but the testing is completely finished), and is still due out on Jan 28. 4 eps per disc. I think the picture and sound quality on these (the eps on V1 and V2) are the best out of all of the LEXX discs we’ve done. Excellent authoring job on the part of Salter Digital. Caps are doffed. The menus are nicely done (you witness the total destruction of Orlando right off the bat), and I really like the new approach taken on the storyboards screens (the upcoming images are presented for better continuity).

    S4V2 has also completed the test disc stage, and is ready for final replication. The menus are even better on this one: there’s a little too much “intro” for my tastes on the first disc, and this one goes right into the action — Kai and Vlad facing off on the castle wall while lighting flashes around them. The Special Features menu is specifically designed to clear any unwanted guests from your abode. You want a carrot POV shot with loud screeching undeneath it all? You got it. Not since Lou Reed’s [i]Metal Machine Music[/i] has something struck a nerve like this menu. I took the test disc home last night, and it only took a half second to elicit cries of “turn it down NOW!” And after I turned it down, the response was “I don’t know if that’s any better or not!” Oh, it’s going to be divisive. Just preparing you.

    Best thing about it? Andrew (Salter Digital genius) had the barnstorming idea of changing up the music bed for the menus and subsections. If you haven’t noticed, the “Scene Selection” sections have all had the same music bed. Now, each episode’s menu features a music bed taken from that particular episode. And it’s the whole piece of music. The first 2 eps (“Xevivor” and “Stan Down”) have music tracks that last about a minute and a half, “Walpurgis Night” lasts about 2 minutes, and “Vlad” lasts nearly [b]seven minutes[/b]. The same approach was done on all the special features subsections (production sketches, CGI gallery, etc.). I haven’t done a side-by-side comparison with the soundtrack CD yet, but I think most of these aren’t featured, or are featured in different arrangements here (I can’t remember — is “Lyekka” about 5 minutes long and features a banjo section at the end?). It’s a nice treat if you want to listen to some Marty Simon compositions. I’m encouraging Andrew to keep it up — I want to hear some of the “Apocalexx Now” tracks without dialogue and sound effects.

    Also, there’s a new special features piece called “Divine Order Relics.” This is a series of close-up shots of some of the evidence Kai sees of Vlad’s presence on Earth, some of which you never get a really good look at in their respective episodes. It’s pretty swell (a couple are a bit blurry, but that’s just how they look). Anyway, it’s due out on the last Tuesday in March.

    S4V3 is in the preliminary stages, and things are looking good so far. Bonus feature which I’m excited to see — PORN! Okay, not porn, but reproductions of the posters hanging in Huffertainment Enterprises (which are only glimpsed in the episodes). Which oughta be close enough without getting the test discs seized at the Canadian border.

    Overall, I’m excited. Even though we’re lacking in interviews or making-of segments, I’m pretty psyched about what I’ve been seeing.

    –Aleck

    #54104
    FX
    Participant

    quote:


    Originally posted by Aleck:
    Overall, I’m excited. Even though we’re lacking in interviews or making-of segments, I’m pretty psyched about what I’ve been seeing.

    –Aleck


    this does sound really good, particularly the carrot pov and the vlad artifacts [img]images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]…i am really excited about the s4 even if there are no outtakes or behind the scenes…maybe some day! [img]images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] good work aleck, and thanx for updating us…merry xmas, you deserve a little break!

    #54105
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Yeah honestly, what FX said. In the US on Amazon.com it costs 19 bucks for S4.1, extras are like finding a 6-pack behind the expired milk carton. 3.5 hours of lexx for under 20 bucks you just cant go wrong, everything else is gravy.

    Have a happy christmas over there at AM =)

    #54106
    Anonymous
    Guest

    quote:


    Originally posted by Cat on LEXX.com:
    [QB]UK DVD news

    Current news on the grapevine is that Series 4 DVDs are back on, this time from Momentum Pictures (part of the Alliance Atlantis group) rather than Contender who released series 1 and 2 on video and DVD. If anyone has any feedback or concerns about the DVD email me at cat@lexxfanclub.org and I’ll pass it on to those concerned.

    Thanks,
    Cat
    [QB]


    So, to answer Crusaders question, I’m pretty sure we are getting the Series 4 DVDs, but probably not by AcornMedia, but by some other manufacturer.

    Still no Series 3 though. [img]images/smiles/icon_sad.gif[/img]

    #54107
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Slightly off topic but still curious. Acorn’s become one of my favorite distributors for DVD. Between Lexx, the two Discworld mini-series, and salivating over the Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy box set, you guys have picked up some great stuff. Is there any chance like in the case of other Terry Pratchett Acorn offering that you might pickup the animated version of his book Truckers which was done by Cosgrove films. I’m guessing that since this is really bloody obscure, it’s doubtful, but maybe just as a catalog item…

    On the LEXX DVD’s, I totally agree that it is a bit of a slap in the face to shell out 20 – 30 bones a pop for 4 or 3 eps only to see it really discounted when the box comes out. I was fuming when the Bowie Borders first put that S2 box on the shelves after I had picked up two of the tapes and the rest of the S2 DVD’s a la carte over the past year or so.

    #54108
    Anonymous
    Guest

    quote:


    Originally posted by Fifinonhairy:
    Slightly off topic but still curious. Acorn’s become one of my favorite distributors for DVD. Between Lexx, the two Discworld mini-series, and salivating over the Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy box set, you guys have picked up some great stuff. Is there any chance like in the case of other Terry Pratchett Acorn offering that you might pickup the animated version of his book Truckers which was done by Cosgrove films. I’m guessing that since this is really bloody obscure, it’s doubtful, but maybe just as a catalog item…


    We’d actually looked into that a while ago, and I’ve been pushing for more Pratchett when and wherever possible, but so far no dice. The problem is that [i]Truckers[/i] is outside the Discworld realm, and isn’t nearly as known in the states. This could all change, though, what with Pratchett’s deal with Dreamworks, and I’m fairly certain that we still have a good relationship with Cosgrove/Hall Productions. So it’s still a possibility, but I’d not hold my breath.

    quote[quote]On the LEXX DVD’s, I totally agree that it is a bit of a slap in the face to shell out 20 – 30 bones a pop for 4 or 3 eps only to see it really discounted when the box comes out. I was fuming when the Bowie Borders first put that S2 box on the shelves after I had picked up two of the tapes and the rest of the S2 DVD’s a la carte over the past year or so.[/quote]

    See, this is exactly what my argument was when the idea was first proposed. People are going to end up being upset when they see that a box set comes out after the fact for a cheaper price. It’s like when Anchor Bay put out their Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci 2-packs after already releasing the individual DVDs, and made it cheaper to just have gotten the set. Sure, there were people who were more willing to plunk down money for a “gift pack” since it seemed like more of a bargain, but fans who’d eagerly snatched up the individual discs felt cheated. And also, it causes people to say “why should I pay for (insert disc here) now, when I know that a box set will be out eventually for cheaper sometime later?” We should have either gone with a box set to begin with (more time-consuming, but feasible) or just stuck with the individual releases. But what’re you gonna do? The sales folks have spoken, and the chains have cried out for the box set. So now we’re stuck with an individual release schedule which is followed by the sets. *shrug*

    Bowie, MD? You’re right down the street, practically.

    And, off-topic, [i]Smiley’s People[/i] in January.

    –Aleck

    #54109
    mandara k
    Participant

    Aleck?

    Aleck?

    Oh, there you are. IS everything set in stone now or may I ask about the covers for these new DVD’s?

    now don’t misconstrue what i have to say please but we have seen a lot of the main characters and with the intro of Prince on the new covers; would it be reasonable to put Prez Priest, and Bunny on a cover as well as the Pope and Lyekka of course. I think it would be a lovely gesture as this is the last of Lexx. And what about a pic of Little Lexx; not huge but a little something.

    Is it hard to make this request; or it the “Ramses II of the ‘Ten Commandments’ way” of conducting business …. kind of the “SO it shall be written, so it shall be done” option or is it more flexible? (ya gotta love Yul Brinner….. ok…… ya don’t) [img]images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]

    Thank you Aleck; have a good 2003!!!!

    (You see I can be quite pleasant when I wish to be [img]images/smiles/icon_razz.gif[/img] )

    #54110
    Anonymous
    Guest

    quote:


    Originally posted by mandara k:
    Aleck?


    Yeah?

    quote[quote]Aleck?[/quote]

    I’m over here.

    quote[quote]Oh, there you are. IS everything set in stone now or may I ask about the covers for these new DVD’s?[/quote]

    Ask away, mein freund.

    quote:


    now don’t misconstrue what i have to say please but we have seen a lot of the main characters and with the intro of Prince on the new covers; would it be reasonable to put Prez Priest, and Bunny on a cover as well as the Pope and Lyekka of course. I think it would be a lovely gesture as this is the last of Lexx. And what about a pic of Little Lexx; not huge but a little something.

    Is it hard to make this request; or it the “Ramses II of the ‘Ten Commandments’ way” of conducting business …. kind of the “SO it shall be written, so it shall be done” option or is it more flexible? (ya gotta love Yul Brinner….. ok…… ya don’t) [img]images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]

    Thank you Aleck; have a good 2003!!!!

    (You see I can be quite pleasant when I wish to be [img]images/smiles/icon_razz.gif[/img] )


    Good question, glad ya asked. Allows me to vent a bit. [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img] The covers are, indeed, pretty much written in stone. Unfortunately, Salter (actually Alliance Atlantis) gave us something like 12 photos to work with (it’s possibly a little more than that, but not by much). Most of those simply couldn’t be used for cover shots (awkwardly positioned characters, badly laid-out shots, bad lighting, poor print quality, etc.). In fact, we had to fight to get that picture of Prince on the cover. The photo was done by Salter for the Sci Fi Channel, and hadn’t been cleared for merchandising purposes. Publicity-wise, we could have used it all day long. But they wouldn’t let us use it as a cover. We had to go through hoops to get the rights to use it. In fact, in communicating with the folks at Alliance Atlantis, in asking for some photo of Prince, they said we had one already — it took some looking, but you could see his face in the background of a production shot — small and blurry, but it was him. *That* was our high-res photo of Prince. We couldn’t get our hands on decent photos of Pres. Priest, Vlad, Lyekka, or Pope Giggy — every request we’d made was met with “those are all the photos we have cleared for merchandise.” Decent photos of “The Game?” Not there. The only pics we had were completely unsuited for packaging, even though it’s probably the most striking-looking episode in the entire series. Makes sense to not have any decent pics cleared for merchandise. So what we have lined up is this:

    Similar layout on packages to S4V1 (Earth background, with a more disc-specific setting over that, then a montage of images).

    S4V2: Castle background, Count Dracul, Stan brandishing garlic in the foreground.

    S4V3: Battersea Power Station background, Stan on operating table with psychotic doctor from “Magic Baby” hovering over with scalpel in foreground.

    S4V4: Cityscape background with Kai and Xev emerging from moth in foreground (another Sci Fi Channel promo shot).

    S4V5: Jungle background, Kai closeup in top half of picture, Bunny attending wounded soldier in bottom half.

    S4V6: Vegas background with Cleopatra Xev in foreground, ghostly image of Drago over right 1/3rd of cover.

    –Aleck

    #54111
    theFrey
    Participant

    Geeze louise. Are these people total zipper heads or what?

    Hello….. do their contracts not have the verbage that images from the show can be used for promotion in all forms? If they do, what is the problem? If they don’t, is the person who drew up the faulty things been killed yet?

    Of course these are also the people who filmed a musical with out putting a musical release clause in the contracts. Which is why there are no Brigadoom CD’s at Borders.

    #54112
    Anonymous
    Guest

    quote:


    Originally posted by thefrey:
    Hello….. do their contracts not have the verbage that images from the show can be used for promotion in all forms? If they do, what is the problem? If they don’t, is the person who drew up the faulty things been killed yet?


    I think the problem is that they’re drawing a distinction between promotion (which generates interest and, indirectly, revenue) and merchandise (which generates revenue directly). I guess. Nobody can figure it out.

    quote[quote]Of course these are also the people who filmed a musical with out putting a musical release clause in the contracts. Which is why there are no Brigadoom CD’s at Borders.[/quote]

    ‘Nuff said.

    –Aleck

    #54113
    Anonymous
    Guest

    They’re also the people resposnsible for the laughable captions on the trading cards.

    #54114
    theFrey
    Participant

    Oh, good point also. And they also refused to permit any changes to them when Micro Mary fixed them and the card company submitted the corrections for approval.

    #54115
    Anonymous
    Guest

    quote:


    Originally posted by thefrey:
    Oh, good point also. And they also refused to permit any changes to them when Micro Mary fixed them and the card company submitted the corrections for approval.


    You can say THAT again!!!!
    [img]images/smiles/icon_sad.gif[/img]

    #54116
    Anonymous
    Guest

    quote:


    Originally posted by thefrey:
    Oh, good point also. And they also refused to permit any changes to them when Micro Mary fixed them and the card company submitted the corrections for approval.


    Changes cost money. Stuff needs to be done the right way first time out the gate. All the botched marketing makes me sad. [img]images/smiles/icon_sad.gif[/img]
    slightly o/t: Can anyone guesstimate the net worth of Lexx (copyright, property, concepts,etc.) if A.A. decided to wash it’s hands of it? Could it be divorced from S.S.?
    Just curious (or perhaps wishful thinking) [img]images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]

    [ 08-01-2003: Message edited by: Trini_T ]

    #54117
    Anonymous
    Guest

    quote:


    Originally posted by Trini_T:

    Can anyone guesstimate the net worth of Lexx (copyright, property, concepts,etc.) if A.A. decided to wash it’s hands of it? Could it be divorced from S.S.?


    No reason it couldn’t be separated from SS if AA owns it lock, stock and barrel. I wonder if Donovan kept some approval/creative rights over [i]future[/i] tv/movie releases, I would have tried to.

    If AA thinks the show is valuable in syndication you’ll have a hard time getting your hands on it. If they figure there’s nothing there, who knows? They may not have given it much thought yet since the original network contracts are still in effect.

    I had heard from a Canadian friend at the time of the sale that AA was more interested in Salter’s digital licences than their programming, but I don’t know how true that is.

    I should think they’d license merchandising if there’s a good offer on the table. They’re just not making any effort at doing merchandising themselves–I’m sure there’s noone there that’s specifically assigned to Lexx and that makes a big difference.

    It would take a lot of know-how and a lot of work to make that kind of a purchase pay off. I suppose it would be possible to do some research on how much comparable franchises have gone for in the past.

    elmey

    #54118
    Anonymous
    Guest

    quote:


    Originally posted by Trini_T:

    Changes cost money. Stuff needs to be done the right way first time out the gate. All the botched marketing makes me sad. [img]images/smiles/icon_sad.gif[/img]
    slightly o/t: Can anyone guesstimate the net worth of Lexx (copyright, property, concepts,etc.) if A.A. decided to wash it’s hands of it? Could it be divorced from S.S.?
    Just curious (or perhaps wishful thinking) [img]images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]

    [ 08-01-2003: Message edited by: Trini_T ]


    In the case of the trading cards, DELAYS cost money. When I got to preview the cards they were still in the computer, where changing text is easier than changing your underwear. Delays in getting SS to approve the copy that I tried to edit, delays in getting the autograph cards signed, delays in getting the sketch cards from the artists, and of course all the delays caused by 9/11/01.

    Carl assured me that my edits wouldn’t cause a delay, as they had a window for when the cards had to go to the print shop and if SS dragged it’s feet as long as it did approving the first copy, DF could still go forward with what had already been approved; which is exactly what happened. What you see is what was originally approved by SS and they were unwilling to have edited.

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