Universal & Working Title extend deal

[ERinVA]

This is relevant to BETM because Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, and Working Title are producers for the stage production in addition to having produced the film in 2000. And, of course, the distribution of the BETM Live DVD/Blu-Ray was Universal's game.

http://entertainment.iafrica.com/movies/996313.html

[Ed Berger421]

I'm sure this is good news for all concerned. However I placed several calls to Working title in London and in Beverly Hills trying to find out exactly when i can purchase a copy of Billy Elliot The Musical "LIVE" , that will play in America. They finally referred me to Universal distributing . I E mailed them at once, and they sent me back a form stating they were way too busy to answer any E mails .
I can not get any answer from Amazon, Barnes and Noble or any other firm...I have done all i can except to go out and buy a region free blue ray player, and i do not feel that i should have to do that...I supported the show in Chicago, then from the day it opened on tour in Durham until it closed in Hartford(in the U.S.). I have driven thousands of miles from theatre to theatre seeing as many performances in each stop that i could afford.Then i went to all four night of the "Live" theatre release which was very poorly promoted, but was filmed beautifully.This whole idea of the rest of the world being able to enjoy this fine film and we in the U.S can't.. has me very upset and ruining a lot of good memories and feelings i have for the show.Am i the only one upset with this? or does everyone else in the Forum know something that i don't. I should have E mailed this to K-Port, or Porscherules, they seem to know whats going on so much more than I do.
Ed Berger421

[kport]

My guess - and it is only that - is that the bean counters at Universal have determined that producing and marketing a US region dvd of BETM Live! is not merited at this time. In general, sales of dvds in the US is lower than in the UK (I cannot remember when I last entered a US supermarket and saw them on sale; yet they abound in every medium to large ASDA, Tesco and Sainsburys in the UK). Many are predicting the demise of dvds, just as happened to VHS, with streaming taking over.

In any event, BETM Live! will be coming to PBS as part of the 2015 Great Performances series, so the US audience has not been entirely forgotten. Whether that spurs the production of a US regionally-compliant dvd remains to be seen, though often they 'tie in' sales of the DVD with the performance.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/blog/grea ... -season-2/ (check your local station for date(s).

I have found that the UK region dvd works perfectly in my US-sourced laptops, and a simple connection with my tv via an HDMI cable or Chromecast allows me to view it, and gives more control over the replay than a blu-ray alone will. I would recommend trying that first.

[ERinVA]

If you have a blu-ray player already, you will have no problem, as the blu-ray disc is region-free. The problem arises with playing the DVD, which is not region-free. I did not want to shell out for a blu-ray player, as I do not buy or rent many dvd's much less blu-ray discs. In the end, I found an inexpensive region-free dvd player on Amazon, and it works fine. More expensive than if I already had a blu-ray player, but much less expensive than buying a blu-ray player.

There is more discussion about the Billy Live blu-ray/dvd question here: http://www.billyelliottheforum.me.uk/fo ... =71&t=5271

[accessmenj]

If Billy Elliot The Musical is going to be a fund raiser for PBS, then it makes sense that only PBS stations in the states would be giving out discs for contributions. This is usually what they do at our PBS station.

[angelenroute]

I have done all i can except to go out and buy a region free blue ray player, and i do not feel that i should have to do that...I supported the show in Chicago, then from the day it opened on tour in Durham until it closed in Hartford(in the U.S.). I have driven thousands of miles from theatre to theatre seeing as many performances in each stop that i could afford.Then i went to all four night of the "Live" theatre release which was very poorly promoted, but was filmed beautifully.This whole idea of the rest of the world being able to enjoy this fine film and we in the U.S can't.. has me very upset and ruining a lot of good memories and feelings i have for the show.Am i the only one upset with this?

A few thoughts...

1) No one owes us anything, and the sooner we realize that, the happier we'll be. I totally feel your pain, Ed, I really do, but I've long since given up on expecting much from the powers that be. We're consumers to them, customers with money, and as much as the PR team does a wonderful job promoting the show and thanking its biggest fans, we'll always be just numbers more than souls.

2) The people directly involved with Billy Elliot productions, the actors and their families especially, do appreciate us and our support very much. Some aren't good at expressing it, and sadly some demented folks over the years have soured some relationships, but most do. Try to focus on the nice conversations and great live theatrical experiences.

3) My Billy Live Blu-Ray has sat in its holder now for most of the time I've owned it, but I have watched it once all the way through, and watched scenes like Dream Ballet and Electricity a few times. I put it in on Tony Awards Sunday as my guests arrived too. It's well worth upgrading your DVD player or buying a Blu-Ray player (which plays DVDs) for, but all of that said, I do understand if you don't want to yet.

Warm wishes,
Sean

[Borrobil]

I can't see Universal releasing the ordinary DVD when most people will already have picked it up on line or Bluray. Of course if you buy a copy of the Bluray, even if you can't play it at present, you can, as I understand it, then download a copy quite legally from a friend or perhaps the most resilient bittorrent site (.se) as you already own the right to it.

[ERinVA]

Since this is simply rehashing what has already been discussed in the thread I linked a few posts above, to avoid duplication, I am going to lock this thread. If there is more discussion, please go to the Billy Live Blu-Ray/DVD thread here: http://www.billyelliottheforum.me.uk/fo ... =71&t=5271

Thanks.