Sartorial 'Seinfeld' latest in DVD marketing
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - As the market for TV series repackaged on DVD becomes a bigger and bigger chunk of the overall home video business -- it's now at 25%, or about $4 billion a year in consumer spending -- studios are upping the ante in packaging and marketing as well.
Complete-season sets of the original "Star Wars" trilogy come in specially crafted plastic containers built to look like the TriQuarters used in the films. For Season 6 of "The Simpsons," 20th Century Fox ditched the customary cardboard box in favor a plastic case shaped like Homer's head. Warner Home Video has begun staging gala launch parties for DVDs of such classic TV shows as "Gilligan's Island" and "Dallas." And in September, a "Desperate Housewives" DVD release party was canceled only at the last minute because of media coverage of Hurricane Katrina.
The latest: Sony Pictures is offering consumers Seasons 5 and 6 of "Seinfeld" in an elegant $120 gift set that includes a copy of a handwritten script and a miniature replica of the famed "puffy shirt" that triggered Jerry Seinfeld's notorious whine, "But I don't want to be a pirate."
The gift set, which arrives in stores Tuesday, is the latest in a series of extravagant trappings for the celebrated series' DVD rollout that began last fall with an elegant launch party at New York's Rainbow Room and continued the next day with the real puffy shirt's enshrinement in the Smithsonian.
"We're essentially treating 'Seinfeld' the same as we do big theatricals because it's become an integral part of American culture," Sony Pictures Home Entertainment president Benjamin Feingold said. "Everyone knows 'Seinfeld."'
What's next for Seasons 7 and 8, which will be released in tandem in November 2006?
"We're on the boards now," said "Seinfeld" executive producer Howard West, who with partner George Shapiro oversees the DVD production and marketing. "We have to go back and examine all the episodes, but rest assured it will be big."
'This Is Your Life' Host Edwards Dies
LOS ANGELES - Broadcasting pioneer Ralph Edwards, who spotlighted stars and ordinary people as host of the popular 1950s show "This Is Your Life," died Wednesday of heart failure. He was 92.
Edwards, whose career as producer and host included "Truth or Consequences" and "People's Court," died in his sleep in his West Hollywood home, publicist Justin Seremet said.
Edwards first hit it big in radio in 1940 with "Truth or Consequences," a novelty show in which contestants who failed to answer trick questions — the "truth" — had to suffer "the consequences" by performing some elaborate stunt.
Then came television. The Federal Communications Commission approved commercial broadcasts beginning on July 1, 1941, after a few years of experimental broadcasts, and NBC's New York station was the first to make the changeover.
"Amazingly enough, I did 'Truth or Consequences' on television in July 1941. It was the first commercial show for NBC," Edwards recalled.
"A 10-second commercial was $9," he said.
The United States' entry into World War II five months later disrupted TV's progress. "Truth or Consequences," which prospered on radio in the interim, returned to television in 1950.
Earlier that same year, the citizens of little Hot Springs, N.M., voted 1,294-295 to change the town's name to Truth or Consequences. Edwards had promised to broadcast the radio show from the town that agreed to the change.
"In those days, nothing seemed impossible," he once said.
"Truth or Consequences" later launched the career of Bob Barker, tabbed by Edwards as master of ceremonies in 1956. Barker, who went on to host "The Price Is Right," on Wednesday hailed Edwards as "one of the finest men I have ever met and a gentleman about whom I have never heard a word of criticism."
"This Is Your Life" also was born on radio and then migrated to television, running on NBC-TV from 1952 to 1961. It featured guests, many of them celebrities, who were lured in on a ruse, then surprised by Edwards announcing, "This is your life!" Relatives and old friends then would be brought on to reminisce about the guest.
Among the people he caught unaware were Marilyn Monroe, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, Bob Hope, Andy Griffith, Buster Keaton, Barbara Eden, Bette Davis, Shirley Jones, Jayne Mansfield and Carol Channing.
But not all guests were entertainers. A 1953 episode profiled Hanna Bloch Kohner, a survivor of the Holocaust.
"At least half of our guests were ordinary people," Edwards said. "In the beginning we didn't use celebrities at all. But when we did, I think it humanized the stars and gave them more appeal."
Edwards said he and his staff used all kinds of subterfuge to surprise guests. Some would run away and be pulled back, all in fun, but broadcaster Lowell Thomas made headlines when he refused to play along on a 1959 show.
"He saw instantly what was going on, and nobody puts anything over on Lowell Thomas," Edwards recalled years later. "He tore the show apart. I said, 'You're going to enjoy this,' and he said, 'I doubt that very much.'"
"His third-grade teacher said he knew every rock and rill in the Rockies. And he said, 'Yeah, and I knew every saloon, too,'" Edwards recalled. "The rating kept going up during the show as people called their friends to tune in."
According to the reference book "The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows," one person was off limits for the surprise treatment: Edwards himself. He told staff members he would fire every one of them if they put him on.
Both "Truth" and "This Is Your Life" have periodically returned to television in syndicated form.
Just last week, it was announced that a new version of "This is Your Life," with Regis Philbin ("Live with Regis and Kelly") as host, is planned by ABC. Philbin previously was host of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" for the network.
Over the years, Edwards kept himself busy as a producer.
Edwards had a hand in other shows, producing or creating "Name That Tune," "Cross Wits," "Superior Court," "It Could Be You," "Place the Face," "About Faces," "Funny Boners," "End of the Rainbow," "Who in the World," "The Woody Woodbury Show" and "Wide Country." In the '80s, Ralph Edwards Productions' show "The People's Court" made a star of retired Judge Joseph A. Wapner.
"We've seen many changes and enjoyed them all," Edwards said in a 1999 interview. "I still find 'live' the most exciting, particularly for my type of shows."
Edwards broke into radio in 1929 in Oakland as a 16-year-old high school student.
He worked at KROW and KFRC in San Francisco while attending college at the University of California at Berkeley.
"The changes in both radio and television are mind-boggling," Edwards said. He recalled that until 1948 his radio version of "Truth or Consequences" was done twice each Saturday, once for the east coast and again three hours later for the West Coast.
"We would use the same script, but all new contestants," he said.
Edwards said he went back to Truth or Consequences, N.M., dozens of times over the years.
Besides changing the name, townspeople made Edwards an honorary member of the Sheriff's Posse. The name continues a half-century later. Periodic efforts to reverse the change failed.
"I am truly proud of my namesake city and have enjoyed a wonderful association throughout the years," he said.
He also appeared in several motion pictures: "Seven Days Leave," "Radio Stars on Parade," "Bamboo Blonde," "Beat the Band," "I'll Cry Tomorrow," "Manhattan Merry-Go-Round" and "Radio Stars of 1937."
Edwards' wife, Barbara, died in 1993 after 53 years of marriage. Their children are a son, Gary, who worked with Edwards; and two daughters, Christine and Laurie.
A memorial service was set for Dec. 1.
AFI celebrates top 100 films that inspire
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - In response to the nation's uneasy climate, the American Film Institute is looking to inject some cheer into its ninth annual celebration of American movies.
The organization said Wednesday that the theme for this year's top 100 list will be "AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Cheers: America's Most Inspiring Movies."
"We're doing this at this point in time for a very specific reason," AFI director and CEO Jean Picker Firstenberg said. "We seem to be in troubled times -- terrorism, natural disasters, war, we're very divided politically. It seemed to us appropriate to look to the movies for inspiration. These movies are really about touching us and inspiring us."
The 100 films, as chosen by experts from the motion picture community, will be unveiled during a three-hour primetime broadcast in June on CBS.
Previous AFI top 100 themes have included "100 Years ... 100 Movies" (1998), " ... 100 Stars" (1999), " ... 100 Laughs" (2000), " ... 100 Thrills" (2001), " ... 100 Passions" (2002), " ... 100 Heroes & Villains" (2003), " ... 100 Songs" (2004) and " ... 100 Movie Quotes" (2005).
People Names McConaughey 'Sexiest Man'
NEW YORK - Matthew McConaughey has been named the "sexiest man alive" by People magazine. The actor is pictured on the cover of People's annual issue, on newsstands Friday.
For the 36-year-old McConaughey, it's a clear sign that his career is in the midst of an upturn — and that his girlfriend, Penelope Cruz, may be rubbing off on him.
"Now I've made it," he told the magazine. "Wait until you see the roles I could take after this. You're going to see my gut hanging over, plus 22 (pounds). It'll be a whole new kind of sexy!"
McConaughey is the 20th "sexiest man" for People, who first bequeathed the honor to Mel Gibson in 1985. The magazine credited McConaughey's "heaping helping of Texas's finest Southern charm" for the choice.
But he says the part of the title that he's proud of isn't "sexiest": "I like the `alive' part."
The actor, whose career began with "Dazed and Confused" and "A Time to Kill," starred this year in the action flick "Sahara" and alongside Al Pacino in "Two for the Money."
Plot tangles on 'Lost'
Wednesday's extended episode of Lost focuses on the "tailies" (the passengers in the back of the plane). After the show ends, send us any clues about them or the original group of crash survivors.
Among potential hints (or red herrings) spotted so far:
Nov. 16
Last week, a wet Walt appeared again on Lost. Before Shannon was shot, he spoke unintelligibly to her. But when Walt's words are played backwards, is he saying: "They're coming, and they're close"?
Also last week, in the hospital where Shannon's dad died, you see Jack hurrying by in his scrubs. Was Jack's future wife - who was in the hospital after an auto accident - the driver of the SUV that killed him?
We probably won't get answers Wednesday in the extended episode (9-10:05 ET/PT) that focuses on the tail-section survivors.
Incidentally, more than 15,000 readers voted online last week: 21% felt the producers had picked the right character to kill; 34% said they would have preferred Ana-Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez) to die.
Nov. 9
• It's the number of stitches on a major-league baseball. (This ties into the Yankees' retired-number theories covered earlier.)
• It's a sacred number in Buddhism; a prayer strand traditionally has 108 beads. (This ties into the name of the mysterious island project, the Dharma Initiative.)
• It's approximately the number of minutes some satellites take to circle Earth.
Then there is the overriding theme of fatherhood, with close examinations of the complex and troubled relationships of Jack, Sawyer, Jin and Sun, and Locke with their respective fathers - and, of course, Michael's rebuilding of his relationship with Walt.
October 27
•The teddy bear. What's the significance of one of the Others carrying a tattered stuffed toy as he or she walked by Eko and Jin, hidden in the brush? It could be a literary reference to the Lost Boys of Peter Pan. That person could be Alex, Danielle's child, who was taken as a baby 16 years ago. Or it could be the same teddy bear that was on Desmond's bunk in the hatch. (Lost and Found)
•Those digits. The magic numbers - 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42 - have all been retired by the New York Yankees, worn by Lou Gehrig, Yogi Berra/Bill Dickey, Thurman Munson, Whitey Ford, Don Mattingly and Jackie Robinson, respectively. (Of course, that doesn't account for 3, 5, 37 and 44 - Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Casey Stengel and Reggie Jackson - among others.)
•That swan. One of last week's clues was in error: The shark and the wall in the other survivors' bunker did have Dharma Initiative logos, but they weren't the "swan" logos found in the hatch. They were similarly shaped, but - as viewed quickly and in dim light - had different symbols. (Everybody Hates Hugo)
October 19
• The shark that chased Sawyer and Michael on the raft had a Dharma Initiative mark on its fin. Another apparent Dharma logo was at the compound where the new group of survivors was found. (Adrift)
• The actor who played Hurley's boss, Randy (Billy Ray Gallion), played Locke's boss, too - also named Randy. (Everybody Hates Hugo)
• The numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42 total 108, which is the number of minutes the computer operator has to reset the counter. (Man of Science, Man of Faith)