The DVD Entertainment 2000 Conference & Showcase announced that Academy Award®-nominated director Peter Bogdanovich, whose work includes “The Last Picture Show, ” “Paper Moon, ” “Mask” and this year’s “Rated X,” will be the featured keynote speaker at the show, to be held August 23-24, 2000 at the Hilton Universal City & Towers, Universal City, California. Bogdanovich’s presentation will address the creative and business impact of DVD in the filmmaking community today. The conference also announced the roster of other speakers who will be participating this year, a “who’s who” of the expanding DVD entertainment universe.

DVD Entertainment 2000 – an executive-level seminar and comprehensive showcase of DVD technologies for studios, labels, producers and facilities involved in the creation, production and distribution of DVD video, audio and ROM entertainment titles – is co-produced by the International Recording Media Association (IRMA) and Miller Freeman PSN. The show’s senior management-level focus, and its hands-on, “how-to” approach to opening up new creative opportunities, solving digital production dilemmas and expanding the variety of titles available to consumers, make DVD Entertainment 2000 unique in the industry.

“Peter Bogdanovich is recognized as one of the legendary filmmakers from the 1970s – along with Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese and Dennis Hopper – whose maverick approach to movie-making changed the face of the industry forever,” said IRMA President Charles Van Horn. “His visionary approach has been carried over to today, as the dawn of DVD allows filmmakers a greater freedom of expression and ability to interact on a much more personal level with the viewing audience. His insights into the ways in which DVD has and will impact the movie-making community today promises to be one of the highlights of this year’s conference and showcase.”

DVD Entertainment 2000 conference chairperson Paul Culberg, President of DVD Entertainment Group, Executive Vice President and COO of VM Labs and former Executive Vice President – Worldwide, Columbia TriStar Home Video, will deliver a welcome address to kick off the two-day program of seminars, panels and speeches.

Other confirmed speakers include: Mark Waldrep of AIX Media Group, Dennis Maguire, Senior Vice President, Sales & Distribution, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Ken Graffeo, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Universal Home Video, Peter Staddon, Senior Vice President, Marketing, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, Matt Lasorsa, Senior Vice President, Marketing New Line Home Video, John Kellogg of Dolby Laboratories, Carol Flaherty, Vice President, Video Content Protection, Macrovision, Ken Jacobson, Senior Vice President and Director, Worldwide Anti-Piracy Operations, MPAA, Jim Fleming, Director of Technology, RIAA, Robert Warren, Co-CEO, Verance, Dave Rubenstein, President, Cinram U.S. Holdings, Alan Hamersley, Senior Vice President of DVD Development, Deluxe, John Town, Vice President, Research & Development, Technicolor, Michael Fidler, Senior Vice President, Home Video/Digital Media Division, Home Network Products Company, Sony Electronics, Inc, Joe Pagano, Vice President, Merchandising, Best Buy, Jason Kilar, Video Program Manager, amazon.com.

Running parallel with the main program this year will be a separate “Technical Track” that will feature presentations on “High Density Technology” – investigating the challenges of increasing the amount of data on a DVD-compatible format, “Authoring Verification/Quality Assurance,” “Audio/Video Assets And How To Keep Them Healthy” and “Watermarking,” one of the hottest topics in DVD right now.

The Third Annual DiVi Awards – which are organized by DVD Review – recognizing outstanding achievement in DVD Entertainment, will be hosted by renowned critic and writer Leonard Maltin. The ceremony will take place during the DVD Entertainment 2000 on Wednesday, August 23 at the Hilton Universal City & Towers. The Annual DiVi Awards allow DVD publishers the opportunity to submit their best work from the year for review. Prominent industry executives, as well as select members of the press, will judge each title submitted. There are 12 categories from which titles will be evaluated, including:

– Best Overall DVD Release – Best Standard Release – Best Special Edition – Best Music Release – Best Educational/Documentary Title – Video Compression – Audio Compression – Menu Design – Special Features – Authoring – DVD-ROM Support – Presentation/Packaging Design