Them new LOTR packages
Sunday, July 30th, 2006 09:52 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
seraiI've been seeing discussions both here and elsewhere about the new LOTR package that contains the Bota documentaries, and I'd like to weigh in with my two pesetas. (The following is based on some comments I made at Elanor's LJ.)
First of all, I don't consider it profiteering on New Line's part. After all, they gave us a ton of stuff in the extended DVD's, about 300% more than the average disc. There's only so much you can squeeze onto one disc, after all. And how many films can you think of that have generated the outrageous amount of extras these films have? We're the most blessed among fans of any film in history in this respect. Do people even realize that?
Also, when you look at the price, the two editions of LOTR included in this package are practically a freebie, as it's retailing for only about $30. That alone shows me that New Line isn't trying to ripoff anybody - plenty of stand-alone titles retail for that price. So we're really just paying an average price for a new, specialized documentary, with the films thrown in as a bonus, and the folks who have no copy of the films yet are getting a really great deal on both editions, along with a brand-spanking new extra that contains hours and hours of unseen footage. Everybody wins in this deal, because if New Line really were trying to rip everyone off, they could easily have priced this at $50 or more.
I think everyone should keep in mind when they wonder and/or complain about these packages that this is the only film that New Line has ever released that has come close to the take it has. It saved the studio from dissolution, and since 2003 the studio's fortunes haven't risen to the levels to which they'd hoped the film's cachet would bring them. New Line is struggling again, and LOTR is the one thing they can count on to keep them going. It isn't greed, it's financial necessity. Were we talking about Warner Brothers or Paramount, then yeah, I'd say it's greed. But New Line has never been one of the monster entities; it's always been more marginal and thus more uncertain of its future. Hell, before LOTR it was best known for slasher films like Nightmare on Elm Street, a series that ended a long time ago, so it's hardly surprising that they're gonna ride this pony as far as they possibly can.
The next aspect I've been seeing complaints about is the fact that the documentary is not being released on its own. This is simply basic marketing strategy. It's because the documentary on its own would have a more limited appeal than the package they're selling.
Think about it. The doc on its own would sell to people who already have the film but actually want more than the massive amount of extras they already have, which would be rabid fans like us, and people who have an interest in filmmaking minutiae. But put the original films in, and they'll also sell to people who saw the film but never got around to buying the DVDs, people who didn't see the film but whose curiosity is piqued when they see the package, and people who weren't buying DVDs when the film came out. That last is demographically important, as it puts LOTR into a "backlog" category of movies to get. Sales statistics show that people are much more likely to buy a newly released film than an older one. (Don't we all look in the New Realeases section before we go to the racks of older stuff?)
Next, the fact that New Line is taking its sweet time about releasing more LOTR product. Again, it's basic marketing on New Line's part - refresh the franchise for as long as possible. But more importantly here, I think folks would have a better time with this if they shifted their point of view.
Look at it this way. What if they'd released everything they had within a year of the last film coming out? Then there would be no more anything related to LOTR ever. Part of how great all of it has been is how long it's lasted. Year after year of getting more stuff. I myself am glad they waited, because I'm really gonna miss it once it all dries up and is gone. Maybe some people think that in a perfect world there would be infinite amounts of LOTR treasure on tap 24 hours a day right from the beginning. But if there were, there would be no an-ti-ci-PAtion, would there? Waiting for more stuff is just part of the whole experience for me.
You know what it's like? Just like the docs on the extended are like an analogue to the Appendices, these extras coming out years later are like the books after LOTR. You think that's it, there's nothing more. And then hey! Yes, there IS more! Joy!
If they dig up another package of stuff three years from now, I'll be really happy to have it and I'll not only pay for it, I'll enjoy the experience, because the whole film thing has turned out to be a parallel to my experience of reading the Tolkien canon. Not just the story, but the way the story has come to us. To me, it all feels of a piece with the experience of the books.
And lastly, keep in mind that every time New Line released a new package of stuff, they not only give us fans something we haven't seen before, but they also create new fans of this film, and by extension of the books, because so many people who see these films go on to enjoy the original volumes, and many of them go on to the other Tolkien books. Movies cycle into the public consciousness and out again very quickly these days, and despite the fact that LOTR was really quite massive, there are many many people who either didn't see them in theaters, weren't buying DVDs when the first ones came out, or - get this - weren't old enough to enjoy these films yet. New potential fans come along every year, and each time LOTR is placed in front of them as a product, we garner more people into the land of Tolkien enjoyment. Can there really be anything bad about that?
I for one welcome these new discs, and do not resent either the time they've taken or the shape they come in. Rarely have the necessities of business strategy coincided so well and so richly with the passion of fans. The entire team responsible for the LOTR phenomenon (from the filmmakers to the studio) has, on the whole, treated us with respect and gifted us bountifully with all this stuff. Just remember: no other group of movie fans has ever had it this good.
First of all, I don't consider it profiteering on New Line's part. After all, they gave us a ton of stuff in the extended DVD's, about 300% more than the average disc. There's only so much you can squeeze onto one disc, after all. And how many films can you think of that have generated the outrageous amount of extras these films have? We're the most blessed among fans of any film in history in this respect. Do people even realize that?
Also, when you look at the price, the two editions of LOTR included in this package are practically a freebie, as it's retailing for only about $30. That alone shows me that New Line isn't trying to ripoff anybody - plenty of stand-alone titles retail for that price. So we're really just paying an average price for a new, specialized documentary, with the films thrown in as a bonus, and the folks who have no copy of the films yet are getting a really great deal on both editions, along with a brand-spanking new extra that contains hours and hours of unseen footage. Everybody wins in this deal, because if New Line really were trying to rip everyone off, they could easily have priced this at $50 or more.
I think everyone should keep in mind when they wonder and/or complain about these packages that this is the only film that New Line has ever released that has come close to the take it has. It saved the studio from dissolution, and since 2003 the studio's fortunes haven't risen to the levels to which they'd hoped the film's cachet would bring them. New Line is struggling again, and LOTR is the one thing they can count on to keep them going. It isn't greed, it's financial necessity. Were we talking about Warner Brothers or Paramount, then yeah, I'd say it's greed. But New Line has never been one of the monster entities; it's always been more marginal and thus more uncertain of its future. Hell, before LOTR it was best known for slasher films like Nightmare on Elm Street, a series that ended a long time ago, so it's hardly surprising that they're gonna ride this pony as far as they possibly can.
The next aspect I've been seeing complaints about is the fact that the documentary is not being released on its own. This is simply basic marketing strategy. It's because the documentary on its own would have a more limited appeal than the package they're selling.
Think about it. The doc on its own would sell to people who already have the film but actually want more than the massive amount of extras they already have, which would be rabid fans like us, and people who have an interest in filmmaking minutiae. But put the original films in, and they'll also sell to people who saw the film but never got around to buying the DVDs, people who didn't see the film but whose curiosity is piqued when they see the package, and people who weren't buying DVDs when the film came out. That last is demographically important, as it puts LOTR into a "backlog" category of movies to get. Sales statistics show that people are much more likely to buy a newly released film than an older one. (Don't we all look in the New Realeases section before we go to the racks of older stuff?)
Next, the fact that New Line is taking its sweet time about releasing more LOTR product. Again, it's basic marketing on New Line's part - refresh the franchise for as long as possible. But more importantly here, I think folks would have a better time with this if they shifted their point of view.
Look at it this way. What if they'd released everything they had within a year of the last film coming out? Then there would be no more anything related to LOTR ever. Part of how great all of it has been is how long it's lasted. Year after year of getting more stuff. I myself am glad they waited, because I'm really gonna miss it once it all dries up and is gone. Maybe some people think that in a perfect world there would be infinite amounts of LOTR treasure on tap 24 hours a day right from the beginning. But if there were, there would be no an-ti-ci-PAtion, would there? Waiting for more stuff is just part of the whole experience for me.
You know what it's like? Just like the docs on the extended are like an analogue to the Appendices, these extras coming out years later are like the books after LOTR. You think that's it, there's nothing more. And then hey! Yes, there IS more! Joy!
If they dig up another package of stuff three years from now, I'll be really happy to have it and I'll not only pay for it, I'll enjoy the experience, because the whole film thing has turned out to be a parallel to my experience of reading the Tolkien canon. Not just the story, but the way the story has come to us. To me, it all feels of a piece with the experience of the books.
And lastly, keep in mind that every time New Line released a new package of stuff, they not only give us fans something we haven't seen before, but they also create new fans of this film, and by extension of the books, because so many people who see these films go on to enjoy the original volumes, and many of them go on to the other Tolkien books. Movies cycle into the public consciousness and out again very quickly these days, and despite the fact that LOTR was really quite massive, there are many many people who either didn't see them in theaters, weren't buying DVDs when the first ones came out, or - get this - weren't old enough to enjoy these films yet. New potential fans come along every year, and each time LOTR is placed in front of them as a product, we garner more people into the land of Tolkien enjoyment. Can there really be anything bad about that?
I for one welcome these new discs, and do not resent either the time they've taken or the shape they come in. Rarely have the necessities of business strategy coincided so well and so richly with the passion of fans. The entire team responsible for the LOTR phenomenon (from the filmmakers to the studio) has, on the whole, treated us with respect and gifted us bountifully with all this stuff. Just remember: no other group of movie fans has ever had it this good.
