Anthem Pictures to release movies on VMD
Studio behind Red Shoe Diaries signs deal for distribution on high-def format
By Jennifer Netherby -- Video Business, 5/8/2007
MAY 8 | Anthem Pictures has signed on as the first movie producer to release movies in the U.S. on the HD Versatile Multilayer Disc (VMD) high-definition DVD format being launched by New Medium Enterprises.
Anthem’s catalog includes Mother Ghost, starring Spider-Man’s James Franco; Soldier of God and Zalman King’s The Red Shoe Diaries.
HD VMD, one of several high-def disc formats in development in Europe and China, is competing against the better-known HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc in the U.S.
Anthem cited the low cost of producing on the format as a reason for backing HD VMD over HD DVD and Blu-ray.
“HD VMD is the medium for the independent film labels, allowing us to have the same worldwide presence as the major studios in the [high-def] marketplace,” Anthem Pictures CEO Charles Adelman said.
As part of its deal with NME, Anthem will serve as an authoring partner for the HD VMD format on the West Coast.
“Independents cannot afford to use the competing formats, and this is why we have such following in Europe and in the rest of the world,” NME U.S. president Alexandros Potter said.
NME will sell its players bundled with five Anthem movies for a suggested retail price of $299, lower than the cost of an HD DVD or Blu-ray player.
In February, NME said online retailer PC Rush had agreed to sell its players in the U.S. as part of a three-year deal.
