Titles in New Line’s Platinum Series have a reputation as some of the most elaborate produced for DVD. How does New Line approach Platinum DVDs?
Our philosophy is to maximize the DVD format for all of the opportunities it provides. We don’t want to look like we’re putting out VHS content that merely uses the format. As we move into the future, we’re going to be competing with advanced WebTV, so we want to produce a compelling package that will compete in that environment. We have a really loyal following for the titles we put out. The whole purpose is not just to capitalize on the intellectual aspect, but push the limits of the format.

Are supplemental materials of interest to anyone but cinephiles?
I think they interest average viewers. You see “Making Of” shows on TV all the time, and there’s a whole network, E!., dedicated to behind-the-scenes material. This sort of thing is entertainment, and it’s not just DVD. There is a definite interest in peeling back the entertainment industry. It may be more intellectually based, instead of for the sheer enjoyment of watching the movie itself,  but it still appeals. It’s starting to become broad-based, where people are starting to ask for special DVD material where they may not have before.

Is there enough of a DVD-ROM market to justify the expense of ROM-specific extras such as games and web access?
According to sales statistics 20% of all DVDs are being sold to DVD-ROM users without a set-top system. What’s the home theater of the future going to look like?  We’re looking at convergence: an environment where the set-top DVD player has a modem. New Line wants to be there with content that is responsive to that environment.

Do you attribute its success to the movie or the extras?
We attribute the sales to the added value: the featurettes, the ROM content, the TV show material.

What are your top requested titles?
The Nightmare on Elm Street series, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, and In the Mouth of Madness. 

How does New Line gather requests, and where can people go to make requests?
Most of it is from mail coming through the corporate web site.  There’s a little area for the DVD team.  We definitely do pay attention to what people request.

When can we expect to see these highly request titles?
There are no release dates yet for them, but we’re working on them. We want to do them right. Right now our scheduled titles are Blade, Rush Hour, Pecker, First Strike, Living Out Loud, American History X, and Pleasantville. Of those, Blade, Rush Hour, and Pleasantville will be Platinum Series titles. Currently, we’re concentrating on day and date releases with all our new A-title releases.

What about your back list and Fine Line features?
We haven’t got our arms around how we’re going to handle that. At one point, you will see everything from us on DVD, like Mouth of Madness and Polyester.

How do you go about creating content for your Platinum Series, and what features will Rush Hour and Pleasantville have?
We want to sink a lot of effort into our added value. In addition to standard added value like deleted scenes, features, and commentaries, that means expanding into the ROM side of things. For example, in Rush Hour there will be a game called “Say What?” that allows you to match a line from the script with pictures of the characters, and that will launch that potion of the film. You have a timeline in which you have to do this to defuse a bomb. We’re trying to get it to work for both PC and set top systems. There will be an complete interactive screenplay for Pleasantville, which you can print or use to access corresponding chapters in the film. What’s unique about Pleasantville is that we’re looking to incorporate storyboards and storyboard access in-film.

Which title is your bestseller?
Lost in Space.

 By T. Liam McDonald

December 14, 1998