Sony Ousts the Dvd; new line cinema regroups
Taylor Gage
Issue date: 3/6/08 Section: Arts
Two things went the way of the dinosaur this week: the HD-DVD and New Line Cinema.
Studios pronounced the HD-DVD experiment dead when manufacturer Toshiba announced that it would stop manufacturing HD-DVD play, following announcements by Wal-Mart and Best Buy that the companies would only support the Blu-ray format.
Over the past two years, studios have staged another format battle reminiscent of the Betamax versus VHS showdown in the late '80s. Unlike this previous battle, it appears that Sony has managed to defeat Toshiba's High-Definition DVD format with it's Blu-ray disc, another high-definition format.
As the next-generation DVD, the Blu-ray disc gained dominance mainly through the support of manufacturing corporations and the sly marketing of Sony.
While few people are buying Bu-ray discs these days, Sony managed to win the war by making their new Playstation 3 console compatible with the Blu-ray format, allowing gamers to experiment with Blu-ray. The wild popularity of the Playstation 3 allowed the Blu-ray format to gain some traction. While the Xbox 360 allowed gamers to play HD-DVDs, buyers had to purchase an add-on which made the format compatible with their player.
Overall, Sony's decision to integrate Blu-ray compatibility led them to victory.
While Warner Brothers may have lost its bid for the HD-DVD in the format war, the film production company finally axed Bob Shaye, the abominable chairman of New Line Cinema, and announced its plans to consolidate the floundering production company into the larger studio.
It's been almost three years since New Line has produced a box office hit. Their last bona fide success, "Wedding Crashers," hit theatres all the way back in 2005. Ever since, box office success has eluded their misguided efforts. Their 2007 slate of films, which included "The Golden Compass," "Rendition," and "The Number 23," were all certified box office failures.
Shaye is personally responsible for some of the recent lemons, including his own directorial project, "The Last Mimzy," which opened to dismal sales even after an extremely expensive last-minute advertising campaign which attempted to salvage the film.
Studios pronounced the HD-DVD experiment dead when manufacturer Toshiba announced that it would stop manufacturing HD-DVD play, following announcements by Wal-Mart and Best Buy that the companies would only support the Blu-ray format.
Over the past two years, studios have staged another format battle reminiscent of the Betamax versus VHS showdown in the late '80s. Unlike this previous battle, it appears that Sony has managed to defeat Toshiba's High-Definition DVD format with it's Blu-ray disc, another high-definition format.
As the next-generation DVD, the Blu-ray disc gained dominance mainly through the support of manufacturing corporations and the sly marketing of Sony.
While few people are buying Bu-ray discs these days, Sony managed to win the war by making their new Playstation 3 console compatible with the Blu-ray format, allowing gamers to experiment with Blu-ray. The wild popularity of the Playstation 3 allowed the Blu-ray format to gain some traction. While the Xbox 360 allowed gamers to play HD-DVDs, buyers had to purchase an add-on which made the format compatible with their player.
Overall, Sony's decision to integrate Blu-ray compatibility led them to victory.
While Warner Brothers may have lost its bid for the HD-DVD in the format war, the film production company finally axed Bob Shaye, the abominable chairman of New Line Cinema, and announced its plans to consolidate the floundering production company into the larger studio.
It's been almost three years since New Line has produced a box office hit. Their last bona fide success, "Wedding Crashers," hit theatres all the way back in 2005. Ever since, box office success has eluded their misguided efforts. Their 2007 slate of films, which included "The Golden Compass," "Rendition," and "The Number 23," were all certified box office failures.
Shaye is personally responsible for some of the recent lemons, including his own directorial project, "The Last Mimzy," which opened to dismal sales even after an extremely expensive last-minute advertising campaign which attempted to salvage the film.
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