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Topic: Warner Bros Taking Radical Approach To Dunkirk Academy Screeners

Jim Cassedy
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1661
From: San Francisco, CA
Registered: Dec 2006

posted 10-08-2017 10:56 AM

Oscars: Warner Bros Taking Revolutionary Approach For ‘Dunkirk’
Academy DVD Screeners, Offers Members 4K Ultra HD Blu-Ray Format
Deadline has learned that a letter is going out to the 8,427 members
of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences offering them a
specially made screener in 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray of Christopher Nolan’s
war epic. This is the first time a studio has gone this far in terms of
Academy screeners, and it makes sense that it is for a Nolan film.
It was for the director’s 2008 The Dark Knight that a special Blu-ray
disc was offered as an option for the first time to Academy members
who could play the then-relatively new format.

Of course the filmmaker, notoriously supportive of big-screen movie
exhibition and premium viewing formats in that regard, would prefer
everyone see his film in a theater, and so far many have done just
that. Since its July release, Dunkirk has grossed over half a billion
dollars worldwide (currently around $520 million) and still counting.
That’s impressive, especially since the subject matter of the
attempted rescue of nearly 400,000 British soldiers from the Nazis
at Dunkirk is not the typical fanboy fare usually seen in the summer
months. It also was a critical hit, with a 92% fresh score Rotten
Tomatoes, In addition to being the first to offer screeners in the 4K
Ultra HD Blu-ray format (as far as we can tell, at least), the film
already has broken another record at the Academy in terms of its
official screening at their Samuel Goldwyn Theatre in July, which
drew turnaway lines of Oscar voters — so many, in fact, that an
unprecedented second screening was added later that night.

That screening was presented in 70mm film, proving Nolan’s point
that the theatrical experience just can’t be beat when there is that
kind of want-to-see response, particularly from industry insiders.
Warners played just about every format imaginable with the movie,
including 125 engagements in 70mm film with theaters specially
retrofitted to accommodate it, as well as in the large 70mm Imax
format Nolan loves (70% of Dunkirk was shot with Imax cameras).

The studio and the filmmaker have gone out of their way to present
the film in the best light possible theatrically, but the realities of
modern Oscar campaigning require DVD screeners or you take the
risk of losing those potential voters who only view contenders that
way. It's called “covering the waterfront,” & with Academy members
spread out to all corners of the world, distributors more than ever
before must find a way to reach every one of them.

It’s a smart move by Warners. By subliminally reminding members
of the unique quality of Dunkirk simply by offering to supply it in a
home viewing format like 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, the studio has
established a nice beachhead in the competition that will set it
apart from the crowd.

No specific date for shipping of Dunkirk Oscar screeners has been
announced, but Academy rules state that the packaging must comply
to strict requirements without all the bells and whistles of what will
be available at Target and other retailers. In other words, the
eventual commercial 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray can’t be sent to Academy
members. There is no word yet on when Warners plans on sending
out its Dunkirk FYC screeners to the Academy and other voting groups.
<END>

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[ 10-08-2017, 11:22 AM: Message edited by: Adam Martin ]