Shout plans extras-laden My So-Called Life
Canceled TV show has had cult following on DVD
By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 5/25/2007
MAY 25 | My So-Called Life will be resurrected on DVD on Oct. 30 (prebook Oct. 2) by Shout! Factory and its distributor Vivendi Visual Entertainment after several years out of print.
The set spans six discs, is priced at $69.99 and will be packaged into a keepsake box.
Shout! plans to give the one-season high school drama its signature DVD treatment, with a load of bonus features, including commentaries and interviews with creator Winnie Holzman and executive producers Ed Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz.
This is in stark contrast to the zero extras attached to the first 2002 MSCL release from BMG (which has since merged with Sony). At that time, TV DVD was still in its infancy as a category, and many suppliers put out sets with few bells and whistles.
Additionally, Shout! is including a 32-page booklet compiling MSCL fan testimonials from such high-profile personalities as Buffy, the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon and comedian Janeane Garafalo. Four featurettes, covering character profiles and behind-the-scenes activities, also are in production.
MSCL stars Claire Danes and Jared Leto are being approached to participate as well, with Leto appearing the most likely to come on board.
“To me, this is just the holy grail of TV shows that is not really out on DVD,” said Garson Foos, Shout! co-founder. “The benefit to us is that it has been off the market for a few years, and we will be presenting it in a deluxe manner.”
This re-release could be disheartening for those people selling limited amounts of used copies of BMG’s MSCL on eBay and Amazon.com, among other retailers. Five years later, the original DVD continues to go for upward of $200 to $300. Newbury Comics still sells used copies on its Web site for $185. It originally listed for about $100.
In 2005, MSCL licensor Buena Vista TV began searching for a new distributor for the series after its deal with BMG expired. Shout! ultimately lost in the bidding war to an unspecified company. However, Buena Vista wound up coming back to Shout! to handle the re-release.
“It is a large advance, and for us, it’s on the level [of what Shout!] would be able to pay for a current primetime show,” said Foos. “This will be one of our biggest releases of the year.”
To ensure the set’s success, Lorrie Shapiro, Shout! VP of DVD and video production, has been reaching out to fan Web site www.mscl.com for input on the content. Of the planned extras, Shapiro is especially excited about including a note detailing Holzman’s plot ideas for a never-realized second season of the show. That and other script elements, including first drafts of the pilot, might be featured as downloads that people can access through a DVD-ROM Web link.
“Fans hated the [first DVD] because it was so down and dirty with no bonus features,” said Shapiro. “They are heartbroken still and are dreaming of this [new release]. And we have at least two full hours of extras coming.”
With its prospects bright, the second incarnation of MSCL should perform along the lines of Freaks and Geeks, one of Shout!’s best TV DVD sellers to date, added Foos. Freaks and Geeks has moved 150,000 units since its 2004 release.
Shout! is expecting to ship an initial 60,000 to 70,000 units of MSCL to retail.
Retailers anticipate that Shout!’s MSCL will be popular with customers.
“It is a second release of it, but because of the built-up demand, we want to have plenty of copies,” said Ian Leshin, Newbury buyer. “We will order a few hundred [spread among the chain’s 27 stores]. That is on the high side for a TV show and high for something that has been out before. But it has all the elements of a successful show on DVD.”
