Some time ago, Live Entertainment changed its name into Artisan Entertainment. Did people easily accept the new name or do they see Artisan as a new studio?
It went very smoothly and no one refers to us as “Live” any more. Industry people relay Artisan to Live, but to average consumers it’s a new studio. The reason behind the move was to take a new direction, become more theatrically oriented. After a change in management, our new executives wanted to get rid of “Live” for its strong association as a video distributor. Artisan now attracts much more talent to produce, direct and star.

What do you believe, is DVD's strongest selling point?
The superior audio and video quality at this point in time. As the medium grows and consumers become more familiar, special features will become more prominent. They will help DVD because you can’t get those features on any other delivery system. VHS, Cable or Direct TV can’t offer the ability to interact with the features like DVD does. It is a more dynamic piece of software and an “Enhancer” of the home video experience.

Will we see more of the Hallmark mini-series on DVD from Artisan?
We are currently preparing the mini series  “The Temptations” for a release in March, and have already plans for “Cleopatra”, “Noah’s Ark” and “Alice In Wonderland”.

“Terminator 2” has been the first RSDL disc to be released in the market a year ago and rumor has it, that you are now eagerly awaiting the availability of DVD-18, the dual layered, double sided disc. Is that correct?
Yes, DVD-18 is definitely on our minds. Artisan is waiting for DVD-18 to become available mostly, so that we can release the 6-hour Stephen King mini-series “The Stand” on a single disc.

For what percentage of your video sales does DVD currently account for?
DVD is becoming more and more a considerable part of our business. We expect a dramatic increase in DVD popularity in the next year. After the flat revenues on VHS, the interest in DVD was a pleasant surprise and is a great addition to the company’s revenue channel.

How does Artisan select titles for release on DVD?
Our primary focus is on the release of A-catalog titles and day & date releases, but as we expand, variety is obviously becoming more important. At this point the Action and Science Fiction genres are our main focus. As DVD grows, the interest in a wider breadth of releases will become evident and we will adjust to that.

Can you give us a brief outlook into what DVD owners can expect from Artisan in 1999?
We will release a minimum of 36 - 40 titles over the year. We will have day & date releases, like “Strangeland”, “Ringmaster”, “The Deli” and “Permanent Midnight”. We’ll also be mining the Hallmark series. The Republic catalog lends itself for a number of releases, including Stephen King films and John Wayne classics like “The Quiet Man”, “Sands Of Iwo Jima” and “Rio Grande”. And then of course, there is the Artisan catalog. Director’s Cut Special Editions of “Killing Zoe” and “Drugstore Cowboy” are 1999 releases that come to mind.

Which one has been Artisan’s most successful DVD release so far?
Terminator 2 - Judgement Day. The disc has sold approximately 200.000 units.

 By Guido Henkel

January 10, 1999