Hairspray being released on Blu-ray exclusively in Q4

New Line title will debut Nov. 20 in three standard DVD versions

By Marcy Magiera -- Video Business, 9/11/2007

SEPT. 11 | New Line Home Entertainment will set holiday style Nov. 20, when it releases Hairspray in three standard DVD versions and on Blu-ray Disc, the studio’s first high-definition release.

The dual-format supporting studio also will release the musical on HD DVD, but not until the first half of 2008 due to the format's lack of regional coding, making the title a de facto Blu-ray exclusive in the fourth quarter.

On DVD, the $107 million grossing box-office hit will be available as a single-disc priced at $28.98, in a two-disc “Shake and Shimmy” edition priced at $34.99 and in a gift set priced at $59.76. The Blu-ray and upcoming HD DVD will be $34.99. All prebook Oct. 16.

New Line decided to release the musical into the crowded fourth quarter, rather than waiting until the early January slot where it has success with such titles as last year's Wedding Crashers, as counterprogramming of a sort. 

"Given the broad consumer audience for the film, we wanted to be out there," said New Line executive VP Matt LaSorsa. "It is unique and we think it will stand up against the major blockbusters." The studio will back the title with an "aggressive media budget," he said.

Both the two-disc DVD and the Blu-ray version will be packaged with a unique two-sided, transparent sleeve, that can be turned to show either the show's adult or teenage casts on the front of the package.

The two-disc “Shake and Shimmy” edition and the high-def versions are fully decked-out with extras, among them behind-the-scenes bonus features including a new musical number (“I Can Wait”), a “You Can’t Stop the Beat” documentary, a “Hairspray Extensions” featurette offering dance breakdowns, audio commentaries and deleted scenes.

In addition, the Blu-ray version will have a “Behind the Beat” picture-in-picture-type option allowing viewers to watch behind-the-scenes footage and commentary concurrent with the running feature. The HD DVD, when it realeases next year, also will have picture-in-picture, Internet connectivity and Web-enhanced features.

The remake of the classic John Waters film about star-struck teenagers on a Baltimore TV dance show features a high-profile ensemble cast that includes John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Queen Latifah, Christopher Walken, Amanda Bynes and Zac Efron.