Fox Exec Discusses Star Wars Blu-ray and Title Selection

At a Panasonic Blu-ray lunch held November 25 in Australia, 20th Century Fox Managing Director Chris Dunn was asked when 'Star Wars' can be expected to come out on Blu-ray. Dunn replied that one would need to ask George Lucas, but he remarked that the DVD release of the original 'Star Wars' trilogy happened in 2004, very late in the format's lifecycle, when it was pretty much ubiquitous. Dunn also explained the how movies from the back-catalogue are selected for release on Blu-ray. Firstly, the studios gauge demand for the title. At the moment, the movies that sell best on Blu-ray come from the genres of action, thriller or science fiction, due to the demographic of Blu-ray buyers. This is expected to expand and diversify as more households discover the benefits of Blu-ray. The studios also consider the quality of the film elements (including the need for remastering), and any rights issues with directors and producers.
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fullyalive76  » Nov 26, 2009
Translation: George is going to try to figure out the best way to gouge customers with horrible updated versions instead of releasing what everybody wants, the originals in HD.

dahaunted  » Nov 26, 2009	Show comment Hide comment
STAR WARS, is that a new film?

Blu-Jawa  » Nov 26, 2009
The Sooner the Better! The Star Wars Saga is Needed Badly on Blu-Ray IMHO. I am tired of viewing those Spike tv 1080i HD version's saved on my pvr. I agree with the REmastering for the set.

stang65  » Nov 26, 2009
Why the wait? Both Star Wars Clone Wars The Movie and the TV Series are available on Blu-ray, why not go forward with the originals? This is really annoying.... Same with Indiana Jones, is George trying to piss off the fans?

Jumpman  » Nov 26, 2009
He's trying to make money...which is what all the studios try to do. That's why he's waiting. He's waiting for a better market penetration of Blu Ray before he lets the crown jewels get released. Same model he used with the DVDs. This really shouldn't surprise anyone.

probedb  » Nov 26, 2009
In all honesty I want Indy on BR more than Star Wars Properly remastered from scratch would be awesome. After watching North By Northwest and seeing what can be done it would be excellent.

RiseDarthVader  » Nov 26, 2009
Indiana Jones doesn't need a remastering it recently got remastered by Lowry Digital for the previous DVD release. Lowry Digital are the same guys that remastered the Bond movies and the Star Wars movies.

Born2BeBlu  » Nov 26, 2009
STAR WARS and INDY would put Blu-ray sales over the top!!!

berncol  » Nov 26, 2009

George Lucas may well be waiting and watching (just like he did with DVD). But one thing he should also consider is that the release of the Star Wars films on Blu-Ray would be enough to prompt a large number of people to go out and buy a Blu-Ray player in the first case. Admittedly, that's not something you can measure but maybe the (rumoured) release of The Lord Of The Rings trilogy next year will prove this point.

photograph17  » Nov 26, 2009
You know it's kinda funny when they say 2004 was "very late in the DVD cycle", but I only had my player for 5 years at that point. DVD is still young, all things considered.

Chealo  » Nov 26, 2009
I think George will want to re-do the original trilogy in 3D first before he releases them on blu-ray, he has talked of that before. Bet we get those damn tweaked versions.

Thank You  » Nov 26, 2009

I don't blame George Lucas for waiting. Blu-ray is still a rather new technology with a smaller base of users. I would like to see it released before Christmas 2010. I do not understand the complaints about Lucas trying to make money. His practices of releasing Star Wars DVD's has been much better then how the studios handle their major movies. Take Watchmen for example. Within a year, they have released 3 versions of a movie. Now that is gouging the customers. When Lucas released the Star Wars movies on DVD's, the best version with the most features was released first. Lucas is actually much better then the major studios in that way. The major difference is that he waits much longer to release his movies, but that is his choice.

GoodToGo  » Nov 26, 2009
Think about George Lucas, he has only $4 billion to retire on...

Moviemaniack1993  » Nov 26, 2009
Ok if they gauge titles then I wanna have the Alien Saga and True Lies.

wsciv123  » Nov 26, 2009
I will not get my hopes up for this one. I have all SW movies on DVD And upscale on PS3 is the best I'm gonna get for a while....

JediFonger  » Nov 26, 2009
it took SW 7 years to show up on DVD. so we're looking at roughly 2014 for SW saga.

STARSCREAM  » Nov 26, 2009
Thought there was gonna be some significant info about Star Wars release per the heading but nope, nothing at all. Star Wars saga is my most wanted blu-ray's and it will be the last freakin blu-ray's released.

SpikesBluBlooded  » Nov 26, 2009

The beauty of Blu-ray is he will be able to release a definitive collection when he does release it. Think 'Blade Runner'. Every edition, remastered, but also including the original cuts. My money is on waiting for the 3-D transfer release to be completed. From a marketing standpoint, that will be the best opportunity to maximize market saturation with minimal marketing (read: money). Patience, young padawans, we will have them in time...

davidthenikonuser  » Nov 26, 2009
I'll only buy if the original versions are included in HD. I really don't think the originals are gone. If Lucas would just come off his high horse and give what fans want he would make tons more money to roll around in.

nathanp  » Nov 26, 2009
I'm sure we'll be getting those cruddy prequels long before the original trilogy, but as bad as they are, I'm sure they'll look pretty good in HD.

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