A sort of civil service
By Carl DiOrio -- Video Business, 12/2/2005
DEC. 2 | We’ll be partying famously tonight....On Dec. 5, Video Business stages our 25th Video Hall of Fame gala. And appropriately enough, in our silver anniversary year, the latest lineup of inductees would seem to underscore the affair’s established eminence.
There’s Wal-Mart, which if you look it up in a business dictionary has a notation of “See mar-’ket-share.”
Marvel might as well be listed in that same book as a synonym for business productivity, as one after another of its superhero progeny continue to make the leap from comic book to silver screen to shiny disc.
And honoring Sony titan Ben Feingold seems particularly well-timed, as the industry vet was charged in 2005 with two huge missions: overseeing a vastly expanded DVD empire with the addition of MGM product and the high-profile rollout of high-def format Blu-ray Disc.
VHOF annually allows merely mortal journos to hang out with an Olympic assemblage of industry power-wielders in an atmosphere long on interesting cocktail chatter but purposefully short on aggressive news-mongering.
Of course, that’s not to say there isn’t the provocative element or two.
Just last week, I received an e-mail from a self-described “mom and pop” proprietor, who suggested our inducting Wal-Mart into the VHOF was an unfunny joke.
Of course, he was referring to the aggressive pricing by mass merchants such as Wal-Mart and its effect on smaller competitors’ profit margins. But even this gentleman went on to acknowledge regularly driving 90 miles to stock up on inventory purchased at Wal-Mart, whose prices are “lower than my distributor’s.”
It’s that kind of too-good-to-pass-up pricing which—while dealing a tough hand to many other retailers—has done much to make DVD the cultural phenomenon it has become. So not only can’t we ignore this 800-pound gorilla in our industry living room, but on this night, we are more than happy to offer a snappy salute to this King Kong of the retail world.
Meanwhile, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone in this business who would begrudge a home entertainment elder statesman like Feingold from taking a bow from the podium for his years of success in the field.
But the high-profile showdown between Blu-ray and the rival high-def format HD DVD has been a flashpoint for unending heated discussion—which is all for the good. For if, ultimately, one or more high-def formats go forth and prosper, at least the technology will have been fused to a tougher standard in the crucible of debate.
As for Marvel, there is perhaps no better proof of the company’s arrival as a Hollywood player than its recent lawsuit over back-end participation in film projects—successfully settled litigation, no less. For though you won’t see many neckties in this town, there certainly is no shortage of suits.
But for those on hand at the Beverly Hilton for the VHOF, any of these issues will serve only as provocative backdrop for more magnanimous gestures on this most civil of evenings.
And for those who can’t be on hand for the festivities, check out the next issue of VB. We’ll have full photo coverage of the event, and you’ll be able to see for yourself just how nicely everyone behaved. (Fingers crossed!)
