Quote:
Originally Posted by Nosferatu@Cult Labs  I don't think it's healthy for the home video market when one company dominates completely, but Arrow has far more resources – both in terms of people and money – than 88, so it isn't (sadly) a level playing field and if both companies want a title, 88 will probably lose out. Also, Calum Waddell has been instrumental in the Slasher Classics range (he also landed, or tried to land, loads of titles for Arrow) and he is emigrating, so won't be available to offer his (freelance) services to 88.
Arrow do seem to be trying to be 'all things to all men' with the slashers and Academy releases, and everything in between (from Fangoria to Sight & Sound, if you will), so I wonder whether they will spread themselves too thin. When I looked at the extra features on Massacre Gun, it was really weird to see Tony Rayns present one of his visual essays on a non-Eureka/Masters of Cinema release! |
The home video market is a veritable smorgasboard of unknown at the moment, so being as diverse as possible where cult releases are concerned is key, as not only are you then appealing to a much broader audience, but you are not setting yourself up for potential repercussions by ploughing all your money and resources into one area - this is especially true where niche cult film is concerned. You may recall such failed companies like BCI and NoShame who went down the uber-cult route and ended up out of business due to the high costs associated with mastering/releasing the product vs. the low returns thanks to a small group of end consumers.
This is why many companies are resorting to deluxe packages and limited editions which attract potential customers in and entice them to buy in to a title they'd either maybe not bother with or not priotise as highly and wait for a price drop.
I didn't know about Calum, but hopefully 88 will continue going strong without his input.