The Extras - Warner Archive Mailbag August 2022

Episode Date: July 26, 2022

George Feltenstein of the Warner Archive answers fan questions in this special mailbag episode.  George addresses the questions surrounding the August release schedule, answers questions about upcoming animation and Golden Harvest releases, box sets, pre-code Hollywood titles, and many more.Otaku Media produces podcasts, behind-the-scenes extras, and media that connect creatives with their fans and businesses with their consumers.  Contact us today to see how we can work together to achieve your goals.  www.otakumedia.tvThe Sitcom StudyWelcome to the Sitcom Study, where we contemplate the TV shows we grew up with and...Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify Warner Archive Store on Amazon Support the podcast by shopping with our Amazon Affiliate linkDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.The Extras Facebook pageThe Extras Twitter Warner Archive & Warner Bros Catalog GroupOtaku Media produces podcasts, behind-the-scenes extras, and media that connect creatives with their fans and businesses with their consumers. Contact us today to see how we can work together to achieve your goals. www.otakumedia.tv

Hi, I'm film historian and author John Fricke. I've written books about Judy Garland and the Wizard of Oz movie, and you're listening to The Extras. Hello and welcome to The Extras, where we take you behind the scenes of your favorite TV shows, movies, and animation, and they're released on digital DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K, or your favorite streaming site. I'm Tim Millard, your host. Today, George Feltenstein from Warner Brothers joins the show to answer some Warner Archive fan questions.

George, it's good to talk with you today. Tim, it's always a pleasure to be with you and for something a little different today, and I'm looking forward to it. Well, it's been a while since you've had the opportunity to do a Warner Archive mailbag. So I know a lot of people are looking forward to hearing from you directly. And just before we dive in, thanks to everyone who submitted a question for George. There were close to 200 questions and we'll only be able to address a small number of those. So I know some of you will be disappointed, but I'm just glad George is able to answer some of them today. And for those listening who might not have known, they could submit a question. Be sure and follow our Facebook page and that's at The Extras TV so that you don't miss our updates on our Warner Archive related

podcasts and topics. Now, George, we're obviously doing a mailbag episode and not a release episode. So that leads us right into our first question, which was submitted by a number of people. And that's what's happening with the August release schedule. I was going to address it if you didn't ask it. I haven't found a way to properly convey this to consumers. And that is frustrating to me. But this is an opportunity to do so due to various internal delays and problems. There will be no Warner Archive August releases this year. This isn't the first time we've had to miss a month. I recall several years ago, for similar reasons, that things weren't

ready and we just, like, and it was summertime, which is typically a slower time. I could have released one title. Only one was ready. And I thought that that was just kind of lame. So that title will be available in a subsequent month along with other things. All right. Our next question is from Wu S. I would like to know if there's any plans in the works to release the classic Hong Kong Kung Fu and Golden Harvest titles in the

near future. Can't give you any time frame. We have an edict that any Golden Harvest title that we work on starts with a brand new 4K scan of the camera negative. And there are some titles being scanned as we speak right now. It's a rather large library and our rights are limited in certain territories. But we know what the films the fans want the most are, and we hope to be getting them out there and to do it in a way that everybody will be happy with. All right, our next question is from Tim S. How much involvement does George have with the more mainstream titles

that Warner Home Video releases, meaning superhero films, etc.? What I can say is in terms of new theatrical releases, and we haven't had that many of those, I have virtually no involvement at all. catalog title like Singing in the Rain or the Kubrick films, 2001, Unforgiven, those kinds of things. I'm always involved at some level and Singing in the Rain and Giant were both in process of being completed when I came back and I was able to get the mono track added to Singing in the Rain. And I was able to also see that the 5.1 track was missing. They had added some things to it that were contemporary, which is totally anachronistic and not acceptable. So I had that corrected. So all these things that are happening on the 4K titles, I do have involvement.

I am a voice at the table. I don't make any final decisions. But thankfully, we're a very collegial, collaborative team and people listen. And there's going to be some exciting things happening in 4K as we look to next year. And it's already been announced, I believe, that a very famous, famous Warner Brothers film, one of the most famous. It wasn't announced officially in the U.S., so I won't name the title. But those of you who've been sniffing around the forums know that internationally there were some leaks and there's something really great coming toward the

end of the year. So I'll leave it at that. And that I'm very involved with in terms of signing off on it and making sure that everything is proper. Well, let's go to the next question, and that's from Jeff B. I don't feel this is a specific release date question, but I would like to know if the archive is moving forward with Popeye the Sailor, the 1950s. We intend to be moving forward with a lot of different classic theatrical animation projects. There's one I'm waiting to get the blessing from finance that I hope we can get out this year. I was supposed to get a call yesterday about it, and I never did. So I'll be following up today.

But Popeye the 50s will happen, but I can't tell you when. But it is our intention to complete all of the Popeyes that we have. Dave S. asks, any news on upcoming vintage animation titles. As for TV animation in the HB department, Hanna-Barbera department, the Catanuga Cats and all related cartoons and music, same with Banana Splits, the CB Bears and the Harlem Globetrotters. I'm going through some huge ink and paint withdrawal. Okay. Well, first I will tell you, we do not own the Harlem Globetrotters animated series. That's owned by what is now called Paramount Global.

It was a CBS asset. And I think there's a lot of confusion around that because we own Super Globetrotters, which we did put out on DVD. But we do intend to be tackling more television animation. Things are changing constantly from day to day right now because I don't think it's any secret that we've had three different owners in the last five years. The most recent regime change was in April. And a lot of things were put into place. And there certainly was a drive to do a lot more with Hanna-Barbera. And I believe that that is still going to happen. But I haven't heard anything

new about it. And I also haven't heard that it was scratched. And I personally, I feel very strongly about Bill and Joe's work. Banana splits is a whole other animal in that. And this is no surprise to people who are familiar with the show, that it was a combination of 16 millimeter and 35 millimeter. And it was cut down for syndication and cut and pasted and chopped so many times. And we weren't going to release it unless we could release it correctly. But the fan base is rabidly wanting this to happen. And this is going on, I would say, for years and years. And people who remember this show from their childhood aren't getting any younger.

So I think it's really important that we do this for many, many reasons. And my thoughts are shared by many colleagues. So I think it will happen. I just can't say when. Yeah, I remember talking about Banana Splits while I was there. So it's been on the discussion for quite some time. Next question is from Ed W. And it's another kind of animation related question. What unique aspects of restoring animated features exist versus the restoration of live action

titles? It's an excellent question because an animated feature is in the middle of being remastered in a 4K scan off the camera negative as we speak. And we're kicking things back for fixes and trying to adjust things because we, as was proven by things we did with Popeye and Tex Avery and Batman Mask of the Phantasm and various other animated programming. We want to leave the cell dust and the animation as it was. We want to repair any film damage. We don't want them to look squeaky, shiny, new, like soap operas. And I know that some companies do that because they want the little kids to love it. We don't

want to destroy the integrity of the original animation. So we're kind of fighting that battle right now because we have to teach the people that are working on getting rid of the film damage, the difference between film damage and what was in the photography. So it is a good question. It's very different with live action feature film. It's pretty clear what's film damage and what isn't. Next question is from Derek M. feature film, it's pretty clear what's film damage and what isn't. Next question is from Derek M. Has any work been done or planned on the 30 frames per second version of Around the World in 80 Days?

The magnetic tracks must be about 12 part and the 65 millimeter picture negative can't last much longer. That is a question everybody's been asking for this movie forever. It's obvious why. It is in the queue of things to be worked on. Our preservation department is in the midst of gathering elements. I don't know when this would be completed, but it is being looked at. And more importantly, in terms of the audio, you're right.

Magnetic tracks, if they were talking about the original 1950s magnetic tracks, they would be subject to potential vinegar syndrome or flaking, oxide flaking off the film, all of the audio was transferred for preservation quite a long time ago on safe 2-inch 24-track analog sources. So our audio is protected. And what will happen as we dive into the project, we'll see what can be found. But it is absolutely on the radar of the restoration and preservation team with whom I work very closely. Next question is from Jeff D. Question is from Jeff D. I'd like to know if George is aware of the desire by fans to see a fully restored, longer version of the final Krista Ree when we released the 188 minute extended cut

of Superman, the original 1978 film. And that was not that, it was problematic, but what made it happen was that they had made an interpositive that was in the system and it wasn't identified as scope or flat. Nobody ever had done anything about it. I asked them to pull the element and sure enough, it was scope. And that meant that we could release it and give it a brand new master. And it's turned out to be one of our more successful releases. And I know there have been a lot of people asking about the alternate TV cuts of the other films. This isn't about an alternate TV cut. The Superman 4 that ended up going to movie theaters was only 90 minutes long.

going to movie theaters was only 90 minutes long. And the reasons for that are well known by the Superman movie fan community and the fact that that was involved with the infamous canon pictures and so forth and so on. It was all rights now resting with us. What I was able to locate was a work print of the 136 minute cut that has no sound and none of the visual effects were completed. I have not seen this print, but a former employee who left notes in our system, I called him up and asked him about it. And he said an enormous amount of work would be necessary to make that happen. And we have to deal with the fact that the film is not of the caliber of the first two. And yet I feel very strongly that people would be wanting to have that because any more Christopher Reeve as Superman is highly desirable.

So it is my hope that we'll be able to actually bring this stuff in if it's in really dogged shape. Do we have the negative trims that went into making this work print? Do we have the money to invest in that? These are all questions I can't answer, but it is very much something that I've been looking at for several years. Stay with us. We'll be right back. Hi, this is Tim Millard, host of The Extras Podcast.

And I wanted to let you know that we have a new private Facebook group for fans of the Warner Archive and Warner Brothers Catalog physical media releases. So if that interests you, you can find the link on our Facebook page or look for the link in the podcast show notes. Next question is from Tom W. Without being title specific, I would love to see Blu-ray releases of previously released DVD box sets of pre-code Hollywood films. Thanks for all you do, Mr. Feldenstein. Well, thank you for the kind words. I would like to see that happen too. We have to create brand new masters and we did make new masters for those DVD box sets of the Forbidden Hollywood series, of which there were 10 volumes. And those masters were in high definition, but not intended to be viewed on Blu-ray.

They were cleaned up and fixed up for modest DVD releases. And when they're seen on television in HD, because TCM has run them that way, you can see all the speckles and scratches and problems. So there's a big cost involved in doing that. But my relationship to these films and working with them goes back to even before the Laserdisc days. So people appreciate them more than ever. And I think based on our prior efforts, we've broadened the fan base. So I don't think it's unlikely that something like that could happen. But our first and foremost responsibility is to drive profit for the corporation.

And unless we can do that, we can't do these kinds of box sets unless we know they're going to sell well and fans will support them and not just say, oh, I have the DVD. That's good enough. That kind of thinking makes releases impossible. So cross fingers that we'll be able to do it. Next question is from Richard O. Even if it may be disappointing to some, if film elements cannot be found for an older TV series from say the seventies, would a DVD release using uncut or near to uncut if there are music issues, etc. Tapemasters be an option. Similar to the above question, if there are music clearance issues, etc. causing problems with getting an older TV series, a DVD, Blu-ray release,

would using an edited version for an episode be a realistic option? be a realistic option? Replacing music on classic content is unacceptable and we won't do it. That being said, there is now a more concerted drive to address music issues for clearance. I think that will help. Also, I am not aware of any film-based show where we don't have film elements. I know of one series where we had substandard film elements, and there had to be a DVD release of that series with one episode not looking very good. But truly, there was no other film to be had. So if we have to, we have to. But if we were doing something like that, I want to archive, we would put some kind of card at the head explaining that we searched the globe and couldn't find anything and this is the best we could do. But we're very conscious of wanting to bring the consumer a proper release. I think that just goes to show that the work that you do

and the Warner Brothers and the Warner Archive, the standards are just going to be at a level that might not be with some other retailers or companies. And that's just, that's just the way the Warner Archive works. And that creates a superior product. You know, there have been some people who have suggested, oh, you know, why do they have to have this? I couldn't believe it when I actually started reading it. Why do they have to have such a standard of perfection? You know, when we, we want to see these movies and we want them all now and we want them all free, you know, or cheap and, um, we have to be realistic. And when we started, you know, primarily with DVDs, we didn't have the budgets to do the kind of remastering that we do now. So we've raised our standards and the proof is in the pudding in how wonderfully our releases have been received for the quality they deliver. And we're not going to backtrack.

Next question here. Andy B., this year is the 65th anniversary of Raintree County. Has there been any movement in bringing this film to Blu-ray? This has been going on for over two decades. This has been going on for over two decades. I think it's really important for me to spell out what the problem this film faces. And that is, it was shot with a 65mm negative with the intention of a 70 millimeter release, it was going to have a 2.76 aspect ratio, just like Ben-Hur was the first film to be shot in camera 65. The film had a troubled production, and when it finally did open, it never had 70 millimeter prints. They decided to go 35 scope. So the prints that were made in

35 millimeter were 2.35 and cutting off the sides. So the original negative was cut by MGM by almost, was cut by MGM by almost, I'd say, 20 plus minutes. And so were the safety separations. So we don't have any film of the full version in its original aspect ratio. What we do have are two faded to deep purple prints that we bought from a collector that Turner, before we bought Turner, had borrowed from a collector. And that's what made up the double video cassette release of the 90s. And that print still had a little color left in it and was edited with the other 35 millimeter interpositive material and created a standard definition letterbox master. Therefore, what was close to the original roadshow version was available in a very compromised form. The best we could ever hope for would be to find a way to use what materials we have of the general release version, which would be 276.

the general release version, which would be 276. And if we could find a way to get color back into the cut sections, which might be possible, they'd have to be 2.35 aspect ratio with sidebars. So it would look awfully strange. I do think with an explanation, this film has a very small but rabid fan base. And there are some people who think it's a good film. There are some people who think it's not a good film. in the sense that we want to protect this film. And right now, it isn't really properly protected to the degree that it should be. So this has been on people's radar in a major way. I remember looking at tests in 2006, so we're now talking 16 years ago, in 2006, so we're now talking 16 years ago, of the collector print, which again was full length, but was missing information that was originally photographed on the sides. And between what Turner did with those prints in the 90s, and by the time we bought them a decade later, there was absolutely no color left at all.

And I can only imagine how much worse they look now. That being said, I would never say never. It's not like we're going to find an uncut 70 millimeter slash 65 millimeter negative material. I don't even think there was ever a 70 millimeter print made of the full version. I think they also recognized the film had problems structurally and MGM didn't have confidence in it, as well as the fact that they were going to have trouble finding theaters that could play it because there weren't that many 70 millimeter theaters at the time. And they were still playing extended runs

of ironically around the world in 80 days. So MGM made the painful decision to go 35 millimeter and then to cut everything. It's really surprising to me that a company that was so diligent about taking care of their library way before other people did would cut original negative and throw away what they cut out. And this is not the only case where they did that. They did it a few times and it surprises me. But that's the story and it's very important that this be addressed. So we're going to find a way to do it. I'm not the only person around here that is aware of this. The preservation and restoration team are very aware of it. It's going to be a monstrous project to take on. That doesn't mean it's impossible.

But what would be impossible would be to see the entire film in a 2.76 aspect ratio from 65 millimeter elements because they just don't exist for the cut sections. We have all the audio, by the way. So that I think may let people know why this has been so difficult. And it's not helped by the fact that for years and years, TCM would show this really not very good standard definition letterbox master and blow it up and up-res it, and it looked horrible. But they would show that for a very long time. Now what they show is the general release version using a one light 1080i master that was done in 1999, basically almost like a one light.

So the film is not getting treated properly and the company is aware of it and wants to do right by it. So eventually it can happen. Well, I know we asked in the questions, not for title specific, but that one had such a interesting backstory and needed some real explanation for the fans. So thank you for addressing that for Raintree County. Our next question is from Brian W. With the near miraculous recovery of the water damaged Brothers Grimm, does that mean the same techniques might be used to rescue other films previously thought is non-restorable? Well, to some degree, that relates to the prior question. The water damage on Brothers Grimm was severe enough that when we were dealing in a photochemical world, we couldn't have made that happen. Because of the improvement in digital technology and digital tools and the quality of our scanners. We have the best scanners available in the industry and

the best people who do the scanning. And we did a lot of tests. It's pretty much all explained in the documentary on the disc, but because this was a co-production with Cinerama and the magnificent Dave Strohmeyer and Tom March were working on Cinerama's behalf as our partner, we scanned everything we had in house. The water damage sequences made it through the scanner much more favorably than we thought was possible. And from there, Dave and Tom took on the task of doing the color and the cleanup and the crafting, which we did a whole separate podcast about if people want to go back and listen to that on the extras. And I think that was unique to that film. Every film has its own, there's no one size fits all approach, but there were some key learnings that

may help us in other ways with other titles in the future. As a follow-up, the next question from Garen G is also about the Brothers Grimm title. Again, thanks so much for Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm. I lobbied for it for years and bought it twice. Any update on when we might get a theater screening? Well, yes. There was news in the last week or two that the Decurion Corporation, in the last week or two that the Decurion Corporation, which owns the Cinerama Dome Theater, plans to reopen it, I think in the fall, perhaps, maybe later in the year.

And it will be called, I think, Cinerama Hollywood. And we don't really know very much more than that, but I can bet dollars to donuts that Mr. Strohmeyer will use his incredibly respected position within the organization at Decurion to see to it that there is a theatrical exhibition of Grimm. It will probably be a DCP of the new restoration. It won't be actual physical Cinerama 35 millimeter printing, you know, but Dave also has told me that he's projected the DCP of How the West Was Won on the Dome screen, and it just looks amazing. So this is unofficial, and I'm speaking just personally based on discussions. It seems very likely that there will be a theatrical engagement. It may not be until next year's TCM Film Festival, but eventually it's going to happen.

So fingers and toes crossed. I know I'll be there to see it. Yep, I will be there as well. Yeah. The next question is from Mick G. Please ask if Warner Archive or Warner Brothers in general will consider the expanded edition of Wyatt Earp starring Kevin Costner that did make it to VHS and Laserdisc back in the day. And there's a reason why it never showed up on DVD and Blu-ray or anything else. And I don't

think I'm telling tales out of school or betraying any confidences by explaining this. Mr. Kasdan, the director, approved of that extended cut going out on VHS and Laserdisc. He specifically requested that that version not be used again for DVD or any other format. be used again for DVD or any other format. So as at the director's request, you know, he may have had second thoughts. I don't want to put words in his mouth, but we respect what filmmakers requests are. And he asked us to please not distribute that version any further. That's the reason why. The next question is from Adam K. Does getting remastered guarantee a physical release? A certain WB-owned animated film was released on HBO Max in 2020 with a great new transfer, and I've been hoping for a blu-ray of it since.

Well, the answer to the general question, whether it's animated or non-animated, is not necessarily. We have to make sure that there's actually a market and a desire for a title that it will perform well in the marketplace. And just because something's remastered doesn't mean that it's going to do business. The likelihood is nine times out of 10 that it will. As far as an animated feature being remastered and being on HBO Max and that we haven't released it yet, I'm not aware of that. of that. Now, what happens a great deal of the time is people will see an HD master that is not new and they think it is because at streaming, you've got low bit rates and a myriad of sins get hidden by the lack of high bit rates and the kind of compression that is necessary for streaming. And I've seen many, many people say, I saw it on TCM or I saw it on HBO Max and was definitely a new master. And I just like hit my hand to my head and go, oh, these people are wrong.

You know, what are you going to do? So the net answer to the question is it's two part. A, just because something has been remastered doesn't mean that it's going to come out with a physical release. If I think there's any chance that we can make a profit putting it out that way, then hopefully it will happen. And I'm not aware of any animated feature getting a new master that is relating to what the gentleman has requested. The next question is from Troy W. Hi, George. Thanks for all you do in giving us classic film fans unprecedented presentations of our favorite films. Warner Archive is without a doubt the best boutique label there is as far as I'm concerned. I believe you've mentioned wanting to restore more

actual Warner Brothers films as opposed to MGM titles. From what I understand, MGM took much better care of their films than either WB or RKO. WB and RKO, of course, made many great film noirs. As a fan of both studios, how many of these great films still have prints that would be acceptable for a Blu-ray? Just how bad a shape are their libraries in, specifically RKO? Is there any chance of a release of Run the Arrow, The Lusty Man, Rancho Notorious, The Big Sky, The Strawberry Blonde, just to name a few of my favorites? Thank you. It's a long question, but there's a lot of stuff here.

It's a great question. Yeah. We have not favored MGM titles over Warner Brothers titles or RKO titles. So if that's the perception, that's not the reality. What I can tell you is that MGM and Disney were the only companies to start a preservation program in the 1960s, and other studios caught up later. Warner Brothers did not own its pre-49 library until we purchased Turner Broadcasting, who had the library because they bought the MGM library and United Artists had moved the classic pre-49 Warner Brothers films and some rights to the RKO films into the MGM library when Ted Turner bought it. So there was a 40-year period where the Warner Brothers films were not owned by Warner Brothers. Since that time, there's been a lot of preservation and restoration work on those films.

And the Warner Brothers Library, in actuality, in many cases, is in better shape than the MGM Library because MGM made protection elements before they sent their nitrate to George Eastman House. And I've spoken often about the tragic fire at George Eastman House where many original negatives went up in flames. So when it comes to older black and white films, most often we can count on the original negative still being in existence. On a Warner Brothers title, they're on deposit at the Library of Congress, and we bring them in. And sometimes we have to work with two or three elements, but we circle the globe when those cases. And there is really nothing standing in the way on the Warner Brothers side.

And we're able to achieve great results on the MGM side, even if we don't have the original negative. If we have something second generation, all our Thin Man discs are beautiful and every one of them had their original negative go up in flames. So that's proof of that. There's a lot more Warner Brothers content from the classic era in discussion or in the works as we speak, because we want to be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the studio next year. We have a birthday. So that's going to end up helping to expedite the release of certain titles. But there are so many titles that need a fresh coat of paint and a restoration job. It's a massive amount of titles. Getting back to RKO, the RKO library was not cared for properly for a very, very long time.

And they were a company in financial turmoil until they eventually went out of business in the late 50s. And their films that were the most popular, like the Astaire Rogers films, were frequently being reissued all over the world. And the original negative only exists on one of the nine RKO movies Fred and Ginger made. The elements that do exist, we're looking for the best second or third generation element in order to come out with a good product. And it's extraordinarily frustrating, but we're doing our best. And we have frankly been delighted and surprised by the amount of titles where we have looked for an original negative and found it was safe and also on deposit at the Library of Congress in many cases, or at the Museum of Modern Art, or someplace overseas. And we've been able to achieve great results with that.

So we also own a lot of films that weren't produced by those three major studios and we pay great attention to all of it. And people can look forward to a lot of exciting things in the future. Next question is from Glenn C. According to Park Circus, a group of pre-code films, including Babyface and Blonde Crazy, were recently restored in 4K. Are there any plans to bring these to Blu-ray from Warner Archive? Well, if they recently really were restored in 4K, that might be a possibility. But the truth of that is there's mistaken information in there. What happened was in, I believe, 2020, our France office made DCPs from the masters that we made

with the intention of a DVD release, even though they were high definition masters. with the intention of a DVD release, even though they were high-definition masters. And they took those masters, which have all sorts of problems. They're not good enough for Blu-ray, but they made that decision that they wanted to show them. There were no prints to show, and now they're being promoted as 4K DCPs. That's not right. And that's not the way they should be presenting it. It's really important to get out the truth. And when I knew that we were going to do this podcast, I thought that would be a good opportunity to clear the air that, you know, one of the films involved is one of my favorite pre-code films, Jewel Robbery. And that was recently at the TCM Film Festival. And they showed a 35 millimeter print and not a DCP. Why? Because there is no restored DCP on that film.

And the 35 millimeter print was the best presentation that they could provide. So let's correct things here. And I'll even go so far as to try to talk to our colleagues in theatrical distribution to make sure that we clarify that these things are not being promoted properly. They should be clarified that they are DCPs, but they're not 4K. Next question is from Rodolfo M. Are there plans for more late 30s, early 40s Technicolor restorations for Blu-ray? The ones released so far are simply spectacular. Oh yes, very much so. I've spoken about this before. We're only able to keep a small amount of nitrate on the lot. And right now we've got it scattered all over town.

There's an enormous amount of work that goes into recombining the three Technicolor records and scanning them and then starting to master them. So there's actually a traffic jam right now them. So there's actually a traffic jam right now because we only have a certain amount of scanners and those scanners are also used for episodic television that was shot on film and so forth and so on. So there will be a lot more of them. We're extraordinarily proud of the Technicolor restorations. And we set an extraordinarily high standard for them. And I am very excited at the fact that there will be more of them coming at some point. I can't say when, but work is ongoing. So folks, you have a lot to look forward to. Just be patient. Next question is from Mark H. I posted a thorough investigation breakdown of the music cues in Bill Gunn's Stop to the group a few months ago. And so my question for George is,

I would merely like to know if he got to see it and if any of the information I provided was helpful in clearing up the ambiguities that have impeded a home video release. I did see all of that and that was also all information we already had. There are other complications that were not addressed there that still need to be addressed. And it's not just music that's holding it up. It's a lot more than that. However, I ordered in boxes of files to go through that are actually here in the building I'm working from in someone else's office a few feet away from me. And we are planning to tackle that. So these files were files that either we were not made aware of

when we started looking into this, or they may not have been properly inventoried. We have them now. Hopefully, they'll have the information we need to be able to clear the film or see what we need to clear, and if there's a price tag appended to it, what that is and if it's justifiable. But we appreciate the enthusiasm for this. I get more requests about this film coming from all sorts of different people in all sorts of walks of life, which is really remarkable for a motion picture that never got released. Right. And most people haven't heard of. But it's terribly important. It was the second film with an African-American director financed by a major motion picture studio.

The first being The Learning Tree that Gordon Parks did. it. And I also am friendly with the male lead of the film, who years later became Esther Williams' third husband. And so I've known him for a long time. And he was the one that told me about the film before I worked here. So I naturally was pursuing that. And then when I found out about its pedigree, I thought this is one of those films that in the earliest days of the Warner Archive, we were trying to uncork. And hopefully we're getting closer. Next question is from Warren L. Any best picture winners or nominees in the pipeline? No specific titles titles any will do on blu-ray thanks the answer is yes and i'll leave it at that next question from erwin m will there ever be a complete and uncut print of the george kuker a star is Born from 1954. The Ron Haver restoration found two missing musical numbers

in the entire soundtrack. However, key scenes were reconstructed with still photos in the dialogue. Has any progress been made to discover a complete version since the 83 version? There have been Herculean searches in the ensuing, we're now talking about 39 years since Ron Haver's reconstruction first appeared on the screen of Radio City Music Hall and nothing has turned up. It is one of the most heartbreaking situations because if a complete print did exist,

it would be completely faded because they only made Eastman color prints of the long version. And after Jack Warner had the film cut, they made Technicolor printing matrices and so forth and so on. So, again, that's not to say that, you know, we couldn't, let's say, you know, find a way to bring the color back if technology allows. But right now, there have been rumors for years that a certain film collector does have a print. And we tried to pursue that. We were able to get nowhere. And I personally don't believe a print exists. But if somebody out there knows of one and wants to uh i'll just put it out there we don't want if a

collector had a print we're very collector friendly we would love to borrow the print and we would return the print and uh bless this person's ability to have it but we would love the for the world to see the film in its complete form. And I'll add a crazy side story. You know, this reconstruction was huge news. And even though the 20 minute section in the earlier part of the film had to be reconstructed from stills and little grabs from the stock footage library and so forth. It was a tremendous step forward, especially because of the restored musical numbers at the second part of the movie, which are integral to the story of the plot. They're very, very important.

And when the Lady Gaga version of the film opened, it spurred interest in people looking for the earlier versions. And I started reading all these reviews where people were renting the movie on Amazon Prime and complaining. Why am I suddenly seeing stills? And I realized, you know, holy Toledo, all these years have gone by. These people don't know what happened. And there's no card at the beginning to explain what happened.

There's just an acknowledgement of the Motion Picture Academy and the American Film Institute all contributing to the cause of film preservation, but not addressing and telling the audience why you're seeing this and not seeing that and so forth and so on. So I've made this clear to other people here that we may have to find another way to address this because for general distribution, especially as time goes by, this is going to be confusing and it should be addressed at least with an explanatory card so people understand why. an explanatory card so people understand why. Next question is from Richard O.

We'd like to see, hopefully in the not too distant future from the Warner Archive, a return to physical media releases of older TV drama series alongside the regular film releases that they do. That very topic has come up in discussion recently. has come up in discussion recently. And if all goes well, hopefully you will be seeing more releases of that ilk. Next question is from Art S. When are we getting more Esther Williams on Blu-ray? Well, I can't answer when, but I can say that a few of her films are among the many Technicolor restorations that are waiting to begin. So if all goes well, this gentleman will be very happy with the results of that. And when you say ready to begin, how long from the time something begins does that whole process take?

That might be interesting to the listeners. It's usually about nine months. It can be sometimes quite longer. Okay. I would say many things have from impetus to actually having the disc on the street. Sometimes it's taken up to two years. All right, Art, hang tight. Yeah. Next question is from Hector H. Can we ever expect to see a box set again? That's under discussion right now. The way that we're set up for the

Warner Archive really didn't allow for special packaging and a lot of other things that were more common on retail releases. Now, we did try to do some box sets early on and notably a Jean Harlow set for her Centenary in 2011 when so many of her films were not available at all. And we put some, you know, photo cards in there. We really tried to do something similar to the work that we had been doing years earlier. That proved to be a logistical difficulty. And so we're having discussions as to how we can get around that and make things happen. So it is a possibility. Next question is from Oxnard B. With his wealth of classic cinema knowledge, has George Feldstein ever considered doing audio commentary for Warner Archive releases or perhaps hosting a Night of the movies? Thanks.

That's an interesting question. I've thought about doing that many times because it would be a great deal of fun. And there is so much information that I would love to share. I wouldn't rule it out for the future. We'll just leave it at that. I wouldn't rule it out for the future. We'll just leave it at that. And then for our last question from Don R, what is the state of physical media, specifically DVD and Blu-ray? Well, I think other people may have different opinions about this. is physical media is challenged in the retail space

because big box retailers are dedicating less and less store shelf space to it. Our business was created before that happened, but as a way to, via e-commerce, get product out to the consumers who want it. So what you've also seen happen in the ensuing years is most of the studios have kind of thrown in the towel, with rare exception, on at least Blu-ray and DVD. Some are still being mindful of the opportunities in 4K. And this led to a great deal of small boutique licensing companies, many of which do wonderful work and some of which do not. We are lucky to be in partnership with a few companies that do wonderful work. And I think the universe of people who want to own physical media is not to be discounted. I think it is certainly diminished a little bit, or maybe even a lot if you go back to the height of DVD back in 2006.

2006 but there is most definitely an audience that wants that physical copy because it's the best possible quality and also it's yours and I'll just share personally with you an experience I had this week that really made me angry and this is where things get delicate digitally. I bought a television program from a digital retailer several years ago, and it's not there anymore. It's just gone. I didn't get a letter. I didn't get anybody telling me you know we're sorry but we can no longer provide you with this program that you paid money for and

bought uh there have been many many stories and people complaining about things they bought, particularly from one large studio that shall remain nameless, where things were in their digital locker and suddenly they were gone. I'm thinking that the program that I bought may have had a music issue and legally they were forced to take it down. But there was no excuse. When you buy a physical product, it's yours forever. No one can come in your house and take it away from you. And that's the beauty of it. And if you care for that disc carefully and you don't leave it out in the sun and you don't let dirt and dust accumulate on it and you take care of your players, it should bring you decades of pleasure. And so my outlook is that the business has

changed, but worldwide there's still a hunger and a passion for physical media. And we intend to be able to meet that hunger and passion with releases that will bring pleasure to many. Well, George, this was fun today, something a little bit different. And as always, I want to thank you for coming on the show. Oh, it's my pleasure, Tim. And I look forward to the next opportunity. Also follow the show on Facebook or Twitter at The Extras TV or Instagram at TheExtras.TV to stay up to date on the latest episodes and for exclusive images and behind the scenes information about the episodes and upcoming guests. And if you're enjoying the show, please subscribe and leave us a review at iTunes, Spotify, or your favorite podcast provider.

That will ensure you don't miss any of your favorite guests. Until next time, you've been listening to The Extras with Tim Millard. Stay slightly obsessed. The Extras is a production of Otaku Media, producers of podcasts, behind-the-scenes extras, and media that connects creatives with their fans and businesses with their consumers. Contact us today to see how we can work together to achieve your goals at www.otakumedia.tv or look for the link in the show notes.