July 9 - Day Two

2000 marks the implementation of what will hopefully become a VSDA tradition: a two-hour DVD extravaganza, held in the dark and sexy C2K nightclub. Now this was worth getting up for: content producer Van Ling's demonstration of the upcoming T2: Special Edition DVD. What a package! I was sold the second I saw the "Terminator"-themed THX logo, and the added values just kept on coming. Ling says he designs these packages for three types of viewers, ranging from the casual to the obsessive; indeed, no stone appears unturned for this 2-disc set, scheduled for release in August. For around $40, it promises to outclass the $200+ Laserdisc box set, which was itself a bar-raiser for bonus material.

Day of the Dead

Immediately thereafter, Leonard Maltin moderated a discussion panel between the following directors: Rob Minkoff (Stuart Little), John Waters, David Zucker (The Naked Gun), John Landis (Coming to America), and, drumroll, George Romero (Dawn of the Dead). DVD has been very kind to these heavyweights in recent times, all five of whom have one or more Special Editions to their name; much of their R-rated conversation revolved around the format, with Landis revealing an aversion to recording commentaries (although he finally caved in for Kentucky Fried Movie) and Minkoff stating why he doesn't mind revealing what hit the cutting room floor: "If you didn't put [the deleted scenes] on DVD, they would probably be gone forever." Tell that to Sam Mendes!

Waters talked of re-recording certain audio commentaries more than once due to the fact that the rights to these tracks get tied up whenever a new company acquires his catalogue. "Any way you can trick people into buying your film more than once, then I'm all for it!" he said to applause from his peers. A plot summary of his latest picture, the Hollywood-terrorist satire Cecil B. Demented, was also met with hoots and hollers of approval. (For a full transcript, visit The Digital Bits.)

Against the urging of the Festival hosts, we didn't stick around after the panel was over. It appeared that DVD-ROM/PC Friendly demonstrations would follow, about which I could frankly care less--even though I recently bit the bullet and installed a DVD drive on my computer. A wrong turn led us into a corridor filled with everybody from the panel except George Romero; I took this opportunity to give Leonard Maltin a Film Freak Central card, but everything got so chaotic from there that we (that is, myself and Pete) somehow wound up back inside the C2K, where Maltin's new disc-based movie magazine "DVD Preview" was being demonstrated via video projector. From the looks of things, it's going to be one hell of a stacked periodical.

Pete and I broke for lunch at the overpriced, underwhelming Steven Spielberg-owned restaurant "DIVE!", then it was back to the expo for a deeper exploration than yesterday's. New Line and USA Home Entertainment proved to have the most popular booths, with the former (unmissable due to its crashed airplane exterior, another plug for Final Destination) unloading nearly a decade's worth of dusty memorabilia ("Austin Powers" glasses, Lost in Space pencil-cases) at regular intervals and the latter giving away cassette copies of their upcoming titles (A Map of the World, Agnes Browne). Under Warner's mock water tower was also a place of heavy traffic. Appearances by Jet Li, "Moose the Dog" from "Frasier" and My Dog Skip, and David Arquette each sparked long lines there.

Better Than Chocolate

Hyphenate Keith Gordon was signing production stills at USA to promote the upcoming video release of his overlooked gem Waking the Dead. It was a thrill to meet him, as his directorial debut, The Chocolate War, is one of my faves. I was finally able to get the official word on a soundtrack to that film, about which Film Freak Central readers incessantly inquire: Gordon's backers could not afford album rights to the new wave songs that underscored Jerry's and Archie's inner turmoil, "but the good news is, all those songs are easy to find!" an enthusiastic Gordon said, adding that he makes mix tapes for his friends of the movie's tunes.

Disappointingly, Romero, who was tentatively skedded to sign autographs, dropped out of view after the panel was over. Another celeb I had hoped to encounter, Dennis Hopper, missed his appointed autograph session. Last but not least was the unfortunate Monday no-show of Next Friday/Kids star Justin Pierce; the 24-year-old skateboarder-turned-actor was found dead in his hotel room that same day, the victim of an apparent suicide.

That night, Pete, Michael Dequina and I went to Planet Hollywood for a private "DVD party" thrown by Las Vegas cable's "The Movie Guys". The spread wasn't quite as bountiful as New Line's (we had to pay for beverages), and only one famous face showed up, Pauly Shore, who's pushing his new straight-to-video "documentary," Spooge! But the seats were comfy, and I enjoyed meeting "Movie Guy" Jeffrey K. Howard, a fellow member of the On-Line Film Critics Society.

July 10 - Day Three

The PH party last night was intended in part as a preface to the DVD Awards, which are hosted this morning by Pauly Shore. Crass and desperately unfunny, Shore manages to butcher the names of presenters and, most grievously, announces Bo Andersen as "Ms. Bo Andersen". Although he profusely apologizes when MR. Andersen steps up to the podium, the misnomer seemed an intentional dig that merely backfired.
Trophy Highlights:

• Best Transfer - Saving Private Ryan (damn straight!)
• Best Audio - ditto (ditto!)
• Best Audio Commentary - Army of Darkness
• Best Children's DVD - The Prince of Egypt
• Best Non-Theatrical Release DVD - "The Judy Garland Show Collection"
• Best Theatrical Release DVD - The Matrix

Dream Lover, Indeed

After that, it's one last browse about the exhibition, and a quick detour into the DTS cinema downstairs. A long-time Dolby Digital devotee, I begrudgingly admit that our particular demonstration (the motorcycle chase in T2 coupled with a snippet from "The Eagles: Hell Freezes Over") was spectacular, and made me wish my receiver were capable of both listening options. The professionally calibrated DTS arrangement did not draw attention to the location of specific speakers, as opposed to my DD set-up, which tends to localize effects in a gimmicky fashion. The 16:9 TV display didn't hurt, either.

DTS had the best parting gifts, say I: a duffel bag containing mouth-watering promo material plus the Steely Dan compilation DVD, "two against nature". A little fairy whispered in my ear as I looked over these contents that Fox will be the fourth studio to get into bed with DTS; their as-yet-unsolidified plan is to debut a dual DD/DTS mix on a highly anticipated "Five Star Collection" DVD title around Christmastime.

Parting glances: July 11 - Now

I can't speak for Pete, but I'll hazard to guess that he wasn't entirely anxious to jump back in to the daily grind of his job. (At least we got to fly home First Class at coach price, but that's another story for a rainier day.) I know I miss Las Vegas. The one thing movies set there never get right is the sound, a symphony of chaos: bells and whistles, cheering and sobbing, clinging, clanging, sipping, smooching... Too detailed to be dismissed as white noise, the ambience is the same at two in the afternoon as it is at two in the morning.

I miss the constant movement. I look outside my window and see a dead suburban street. People who only leave the house to mow the lawn. There is bustle and hustle in Vegas unlike that of any other big city, lights so splendiferous the strip can apparently be seen from outer space.

I miss the pleasure of gambling on a whim, and of seeing multi-level stores devoted to M&Ms and Coca-Cola that nobody asked for. I miss crossing the street at night to watch the Bellagio Hotel's famed waterworks, fountains that spray hundreds of feet straight up in synch with Aaron Copeland orchestrations. I adore any city that clumps replicas of world-famous architectural icons together (eg. the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel tower), for I find beauty in decadence, in places that are out of control. All I needed was a few more days there and I'd be happier now--long enough, at least, for the chance to see Smokey Robinson perform at Caesar's Palace.

I also miss the convention--as good an excuse as there ever was to travel Stateside. Next year, the VSDA is being experimentally combined with the Consumer Electronics Show, in the grey month of January. I was advised that finding a room for such a boffo combo will be next to impossible, so for all intents and purposes, this was my one and only chance to experience such a weird communion of art and commerce. And was it lame? I think not.

Viva...you know,
Bill Chambers