2-21-02 Latest News

Intresting UK related LOTR DVD news
Lewman @ 4:38 pm EST

Here's a great rumor from a trade source. Remember we have no confirmation, no proof and indeed no evidence that the following is true !

Apparently New Line are not happy with the way that EiV have been handling their product in terms of sales and presentation. New Line believe that EiV are 'cheapening the product'. There is supposedly concern over "Lord of the Rings", especially as EiV have declined to license the 4 disk version of the film set for release in the States much later in the Year.

Now if we bring Warner Bros in to the equation, who essentially own New Line, things start to become interesting. Are Warner Bros trying to get control of "Lord of the Rings" in the U.K ? Remember, Warner took control of the film in Germany last December when Kinowelt was in danger of Bankruptcy. If Warner could add the "Lord of the Rings" franchise and other New Line films to it's video product line it would have some interesting consequences:

Warner Bros UK would have the best year possible, "Lord of the Rings" and "Harry Potter" will be the two biggest selling disks this year, probably even outselling "Star Wars: Attack of the Clones" if it gets released in October

Having control of "Lord of the Rings" would allow Warner to release a day and date VHS retail copy of the film. Getting Retail and Rental releases into sync is something Warner Bros are known to be keen to do.

Warner Bros would also have the new "Austin Powers" movie added to their slate, something that would do the year end sales no end of good !

Take this all with a pinch of salt, we've no proof that anything of the sort is going to happen, but it would be great if it did !