Phase 4 offers digital copy, Blu-ray, launches kids label
INDIE FILM GUIDE: Former Peace Arch company also looking at theatrical features
By Cindy Spielvogel -- Video Business, 6/3/2009
JUNE 3 | INDIE FILM GUIDE: This year’s management buyout of Peace Arch Home Entertainment didn’t change the company much other than its name, says Berry Meyerowitz, president and CEO of what is now called Phase 4 Films.
Meyerowitz
Even so, by seeing what’s happening in the business and anticipating future needs, Phase 4 is making moves that could soon have it looking much different from the company it was last year.
“We’re doing digital copy to give people a choice, to let them watch what they want, where they want and how they want,” Meyerowitz says. Digital copy is a way of adding value to a disc release as well as a means to help speed the penetration of digital, he says.
The company also is releasing titles on Blu-ray Disc, including the June 23 release Dragon Hunters, an animated film featuring the voice of Forest Whitaker. The film looks great in high-definition, Meyerowitz says, and it makes sense to bring the family market up to speed on Blu-ray, he adds.
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For the back-to-school season, Phase 4 will launch its kids label, Kaboom Entertainment. Meyerowitz has already seen success with Kaboom in Canada, where Phase 4 is based, and the company is preparing to brand Phase 4’s children’s product in the U.S. with the Kaboom name.
Kaboom Kids will consist of preschool and animated titles for kids ages 2 to 6, and the regular Kaboom label will feature family product for kids ages 6 to 12.
Phase 4 has released children’s programs in the U.S., but not branded as Kaboom. The company also has children’s product from its acquisition of Allumination and its UAV library.
Phase 4 will continue to release direct-to-video titles as well as TV shows. It distributes The Tudors in Canada and is adding others for the U.S.
“We are paving the way to compete at a higher level,” Meyerowitz says.
