I am sure that many a motorist driving down Fairfax Avenue near Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles did a double take when seeing this ironic sight the morning of September 8--in big block letters on the marquee of the venerable Silent Movie Theatre read the feature of the day: "STAR WARS TRILOGY." Of course, the cozy (each seat comes with a pillow!), recently renovated, but far-from-THX-approved facility was not playing host to a marathon screening of George Lucas's original sci-fi saga, but rather Fox and Lucasfilm's STAR WARS TRILOGY DVD press preview presentation for the eagerly anticipated four-disc set.

The main auditorium was empty for the first portion of the early morning event, which took place in an even more home-y setting. An upstairs room was converted into a "circa 1977 bachelor pad" living room, from the wood paneling walls and garishly colored carpeting and furniture right down to vinyl John Denver LP's atop the coffee tables. There was one detail that was most definitely off about this otherwise meticulous recreation: a large, high definition plasma screen television and state-of-the-art home theatre system--all the better to show off the audio and visual digital remastering work done for this DVD release. Lucasfilm Vice President of Marketing and Distribution Jim Ward showed one sequence from each of the three films: the opening scene of STAR WARS; the Hoth battle in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and the Sarlacc Pit sequence in RETURN OF THE JEDI. The films indeed sound better than ever for the home theatre, and the painstaking film restoration done by John Lowry at Lowry Digital is absolutely stunning, but I was more impressed by the fact that--given the other alterations he's made for this DVD release--Lucas somehow controlled the urge to digitally "polish" Darth Vader's dull-looking helmet in STAR WARS to make it consistent with the shiny gleam it displays in EMPIRE and JEDI.

Since the faux living room space could only hold so many people, guests were shown that part of the presentation in shifts of smaller, color-coded groups. To fill the dead time, the back patio area of the theatre offered a variety of distractions aside from the standard continental breakfast. One television screen looped a tape of various STAR WARS-related references from the tube over the years, from SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE parodies to campy commercials for Underoos. In another corner of the area, representatives from LucasArts were on hand to let guests test out STAR WARS: BATTLEFRONT, an ambitious new video game for PlayStation 2 and Xbox released day and date with the DVD set. BATTLEFRONT, as its name implies, is a first-person combat game that places players right into any of the famous battle scenes from both the original and prequel trilogies, including worlds and scenes that will presumably not be visited "officially" until the forthcoming EPISODE III--REVENGE OF THE SITH. Like both Luke and Anakin Skywalker, players are given a choice as to whether to use their powers for good and evil--which then gives players the opportunity, as Ward giddily declared during part two of the official DVD presentation, to kill Ewoks. (Personally, I'd exterminate the Gungans first.)

While Ward did give a full plug for BATTLEFRONT, including showing a promo spot for the game, this second, centerpiece portion of the presentation was all about the DVD release. Ward started things off with a tour of the EMPIRE menus designed by DVD producer extraordinaire Van Ling. On the EMPIRE disc and on those for the other two films, there are three separate menu sets, each one themed around a different location and/or scene in the film; whatever menu set comes up is generated randomly with each boot though there are secret codes one can use to access a specific set.

As with the typical home viewer, the perusal of the menus led into a taste of the extras. A few choice excerpts from the documentaries on the bonus disc were screened: snippets from featurettes on the origin of the lightsaber and the series' impact on other filmmakers, such as Peter Jackson and Ridley Scott; and a number of clips (including old audition tapes featuring Kurt Russell, William Katt, Cindy Williams and an unintentionally hilarious Terri Nunn, who would later become lead singer of Berlin) from the 150-minute epic on the making of the entire trilogy, EMPIRE OF DREAMS. The title of documentary prompted one of the more inane press questions of the day, to director Kevin Burns: one person asked about any hidden meaning behind the use of the word "empire" in title, for the Empire is evil in the trilogy and hence could suggest something negative about Lucas. Burns and everyone else in the room was understandably flummoxed, all the more so considering the person's query was completely serious.

The Q&A chat with Burns was the second of four following the video portion of the presentation. First on deck were Lowry, Ling and THX Technical Director Rick Dean, who fielded nuts-and-bolts questions about the disc design and image remastering for this release. Then came Burns, who revealed that the unusually liberal mandate for the documentary was to cover all the drama behind the production of the trilogy and occurring in the years between each installment, warts and all. One notable blight (or highlight, depending on one's taste for kitschy schadenfreude) on the phenomenon did end up going uncovered, however: the notorious 1978 STAR WARS HOLIDAY SPECIAL, a reference to which ended up on the cutting room floor.

Last but most certainly not least were discussions with two of the key creative figures in the original trilogy, THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK director Irvin Kershner and Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill. At 81 years of age, Kershner is remarkably spry, not to mention sharp and refreshingly outspoken. He admitted to not being much of a science fiction fan before or even after this job, but even more notably, he even dared to potentially raise the ire of an entire generation of film fans by slighting Yoda's oft-quoted nuggets of wisdom as merely "sounding" profound and not actually being so. Perhaps tellingly, it was at that comment that Ward ended the session with Kershner. For the grand finale, Hamill, per his excitable and entertaining norm, largely told amusing anecdotes than answered questions .

Special thanks to Bender Helper Impact, 20^th Century Fox Home Entertainment and Lucasfilm.

A far less regimented (to put it mildly) home entertainment event took place the day before on Tuesday, September 7, as Kevin Smith marked the grand opening of Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash in Westwood with the CLERKS X and JERSEY GIRL DVD signing. Joining Kevin at the freshly-christened back signing area were stars Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Marilyn Ghigliotti and Jason Mewes (who can be found serving as a clerk in the store on certain days); also on hand for the event were Scott Mosier and the ever-lovely ladies in the Big Boss's life, wife Jennifer and daughter Harley. Antony Teofilo will have a more extensive piece on the event over at Renaissance Man, and so I will let my photos tell my side of the story.

Special thanks to Kevin Smith, Emmy Chang at the Angellotti Company and Mac McLean at Buena Vista Home Entertainment.

For all the talk of executive strife at Disney, one wouldn't get the impression that affairs at the Mouse House were anything but in tip-top shape based on the Buena Vista Home Entertainment press preview event for the company's major fall 2004 DVD releases. In fact, the event at the Highlands club in Hollywood on August 18 was the type of glitzy extravaganza one classically associates with all things Disney.

The showmanship began right at the check-in table, where guests picked up sticker badges with their names printed in that distinctive Disney logo font. Lined up along the wall outside the entrance to the club were posters promoting the focal titles of the night--JERSEY GIRL, ALIAS Season 3, ALADDIN, and new special editions of CLERKS and MULAN--which proved to be a mild warm-up for the spectacle that awaited inside.

Give Disney a theme--or, in this case, themes--and they will run with it. Most companies would be content with putting up separate little displays for each title, which Disney did have tucked away in various spots around the bar/dining area; each display was centered around a monitor showing promos for its specific title on loop. But the multi-theming extended to the dinner menu, with a sampling of Chinese for MULAN, a few tastes of Middle Eastern food for ALADDIN, and all-American meat-and-potatoes fare representing the View Askew titles and ALIAS. I suppose Disney did exercise some restraint after all, for if they truly wanted to paint a more accurate culinary picture of the globetrotting spy series, the spread would've encompassed an even more eclectic international selection.

A pair of titles got even more elaborate treatment. Not surprisingly, most of the attention was focused on the 1992 blockbuster ALADDIN, making its DVD debut with a two-disc Platinum Edition on October 5. Belly dancers greeted guests at the door, and sitting right next to the bar was the "ALADDIN Listening Oasis," in which a mini home theatre set-up demonstrated the 5.1 Disney Enhanced Home Theater Mix. Only excerpts of the film were shown in the tent, but it speaks of the film's timelessness that sequences such "A Whole New World" could still draw crowds and hold their attention until the song is over. On display on one of the outside walls of the tent were the storyboards for the deleted song "Proud of Your Boy," which will be included on the DVD--but not, as in the case of THE LION KING's absolutely horrid and completely unnecessary "Morning Report," inserted into the context of the finish film. The storyboard sequence, set to the demo recording of the song, will be presented as an extra.

Along another wall of the tent, Genie supervising animator Eric Goldberg was on hand drawing personalized sketches for guests. In a nifty move, Disney set up a camera focused on his hands and paper so guests could view him at work close-up on a screen. Goldberg graduated to full-blown director with 1995's POCAHONTAS, a fact went completely and strangely unmentioned by Disney officials the entire evening. Granted, the film, though a major success on the box office and the music charts, isn't held in the highest esteem by most moviegoers (though it does have its admirers, myself included), but considering a tenth anniversary edition DVD of the film is on the schedule for 2005, one would think the Mouse wouldn't let such an opportunity for long-lead promotion pass them by. When I asked Goldberg about POCAHONTAS, his demeanor visibly lit up--apparently no other guest seemed to brought up the subject--and he was happy to report that with the special edition release next year, the film will at long last be whole. Pocahontas and John Smith's pivotal "If I Never Knew You" love duet, which was halfway toward completion when execs made the infamous decision to remove it from the final theatrical cut, is now finished and restored to its rightful place in the film. Perhaps Buena Vista is simply keeping all of the hype bottled up until a big POCAHONTAS-themed presentation to be held next year?

Though not nearly as extravagant as the big production for ALADDIN, the most inspired--or, depending on your perspective, demented--display was for CLERKS X. There was the standard video monitor playing promos for the three-disc set on loop, but on either side were screens behind which stand-ins for Jay and Silent Bob danced and did other comic shenanigans in silhouette for the entire duration of the dinner. It was truly one of those sights that had to be seen to be believed--but, then again, I don't know if even seeing it person would make it any more believable.

Even with all that accompanying entertainment, the dinner marked just the beginning of the festivities. Action then shifted to the main stage area of the Highlands, where the formal presentation portion took place. An opening montage of scenes from the various releases suggested a pro-forma video presentation, but leave it to Disney to not let a perfectly good stage go to waste, as the an elaborate, parade-worthy Chinese lion dance in the aisles announced the beginning of the MULAN-themed portion of the show.

Highlighting the MULAN presentation was the incandescent presence of the title character's voice herself, Ming-Na, who ran down highlights of the October 26 release with BVHE's Senior Vice President of Worldwide Creative Services, Andy Suditsky. The two-disc set includes a brand new transfer of the feature film, new documentaries on the making of the film and the original legend, a new video for "I'll Make a Man Out of You" featuring Jackie Chan (no word on whether or not Chan sings the song himself--which, speaking as a fan of his Hong Kong end credits tunes, would be an insanely inspired idea) and deleted scenes in storyboard form. One of these excised scenes was shown at the presentation, and while the rough audio didn't exactly agree with the Highlands's sound system, such peeks into the creative process of feature animation are always welcome. Ming-Na and Suditsky ended with a plug and sneak peek for the inevitable direct-to-video sequel MULAN II, due out in February. If the preview is any indication, visually the film will be a disappointment, as the somewhat-near-theatrical-quality heights of THE LION KING II: SIMBA'S PRIDE has regressed back to the above-average Saturday morning look of POCAHONTAS II: JOURNEY TO A NEW WORLD; at the very least I can say the art doesn't look to as terrible as in the ALADDIN sequels or, even worse, the downright embarrassing THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME II. As far as the story goes, it looks like more threadbare cash-in fare, with Mulan getting ready to tie the knot as war brews anew.

The belly dancers who greeted guests at the door further earned their paycheck by doing a introductory routine--complete with rubbing of the lamp--to the ALADDIN presentation. Another musical treat was waiting in the wings, as none other than much-decorated composer Alan Menken took to the piano and sang a medley of ALADDIN's classic songs. While he gave a spirited performance, the purist in me was a little disappointed that he sang the revised lyrics to "Arabian Nights"--"Where it's flat and immense/And the heat is intense" in lieu of the "controversial" original "Where they cut off your ear/If they don't like your face." Unlike the other marquee guests at the event, Menken didn't stay the duration, only sticking around long enough to introduce one of the two-disc Platinum Edition's extras, a music video for a fully-orchestrated version of the aforementioned deleted song, "Proud of Your Boy," performed by Clay Aiken. The erstwhile AMERICAN IDOL runner-up's famously theatrical vocal style unsurprisingly fits Menken's showtune pop like a glove; that said, I can't help but be a little upset that they didn't give the job to Brad Kane, the original singing voice for Aladdin, if not simply as a thank you for his fine (and generally unheralded) work then for simple consistency's sake. (Of course, I completely understand the reasoning behind tapping Aiken: the never-to-be-underestimated buying power of the so-called "Claymates," which overwhelm by number and sheer fanaticism any "Kanemates" that might exist out there.) Suditsky returned to introduce a few excerpts from the disc's extensive documentary footage on the film's development process, which includes a new group discussion with key crew members moderated by Leonard Maltin; and a taste of the interactive 3-D "Inside the Genie's Lamp" tour, which features the voice of LIFESTYLES OF THE RICH AND FAMOUS host Robin Leach. The Genie was then let back into his lamp after a token shout-out to Goldberg, who was sitting in the audience for the whole show and oddly not invited up to the stage (and, again, not one vaguely POCAHONTAS-related utterance); and a snippet of a truly horrifying new extra on the DVD: a music video for a new rendition of the classic "A Whole New World," massacred by MTV It Couple Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey. I just hope that the video for the far superior 1992 end credits version of the song, performed by Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle, is included on the DVD as well.

Strobe lights, throbbing music, and a pair of babes kicking each others' asses live onstage announced that the kid-friendly portion of the evening was over, and it was time for grown-up fare: first, J.J. Abrams's spy series ALIAS, whose recently-completed third season arrived on DVD on September 7. The affable, excitable Abrams was engaging and amusingly self-deprecating as he covered a variety of ALIAS-related topics, from the various show secrets that will be revealed on the DVD (such as how they simulate all of the show's globetrotting locations in Burbank) to an entertaining anecdote about recurring guest star Isabella Rossellini (which will be included on the disc) to the DVD set's all-new ALIAS: TRIBUNAL animated short, an excerpt from which was screened. Of course, it being Abrams's first public appearance since the big announcement from Paramount Pictures, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III did not go unmentioned.

If the ALIAS section moved the presentation into PG-13 territory, leave it to Kevin Smith to push it into the R/NC-17 realm. Entertaining clips from the CLERKS X retrospective documentary "The Snowball Effect: The Story of CLERKS" notwithstanding, this section of the show played not unlike the freewheeling Q&A's with which the View Askew faithful (and viewers of the AN EVENING WITH KEVIN SMITH DVD) have become so accustomed, with Smith taking hilarious jabs at CLERKS and JERSEY GIRL, his actors and, above all else, himself. But since this was a crowd of home entertainment reporters, the raunchy raucousness of Smith's impromptu one-man show caught a number of audiences members off-guard, and in one amusing case, a little uncomfortable. During the Q&A section of the evening, one person made a point of asking Ming-Na a question since he admitted to being unsettled by Smith's (and, to a lesser extent, Abrams's) liberal use of profanity.

That was just about the only query directed to Ming-Na in that closing question and answer session, as most guests wanted to speak to Smith and Abrams, penchants for profanity be damned. Ever a good sport, she jokingly commented about being up on stage to serve as a showgirl, and then proceeded to "present" Smith and Abrams with her best THE PRICE IS RIGHT arm gestures. Not surprisingly, most of the questions were unrelated to the business at hand, as Smith discussed his bowing out of directorial duties on THE GREEN HORNET and Abrams addressed various M:I-3 concerns. Although a lot of non-BVHE DVD ground was covered, the press questions continued for long after the official close of the ceremony, as reporters then jumped onstage and crowded around Smith and Abrams--and Ming-Na slipped away into the night, largely unnoticed.

Special thanks to Mac McLean at Buena Vista Home Entertainment.

During his presentation/stand-up act at the Buena Vista Home Entertainment preview event, Kevin Smith wondered aloud where Ben Affleck was and why he wasn't on hand to help push the JERSEY GIRL DVD with him. No one had any answers as far as that night, but just a month prior Affleck, along with LivePlanet partners Matt Damon and Chris Moore were on that very same stage at the Highlands on July 13 to announce the winners of the third PROJECT GREENLIGHT contest.

Although not as splashy a bash as the second season's winners' celebration at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival, the event still attracted hordes of media, who crowded the cramped, green-carpeted space outside the club on the top floor of the Hollywood & Highland complex. The hype extended to other corners of the mall as well. On the ground floor courtyard level of the mall, Honda announced its sponsorship participation by putting a PROJECT GREENLIGHT-decorated Civic Hybrid on display.

Inside the club, however, the atmosphere was not of your typical Hollywood glitz event. For such an event of such high profile and significance for the show--not only was this the winners' announcement ceremony, it was also the official launch of the series' affiliation with a new network, Bravo--it was fairly sedate. That the celebrity turnout was nowhere in the league of the previous year's Sundance hysteria-fueled extravaganza was to be expected, but it also felt more appropriate; after all, this was an event meant to celebrate the winners and other contestants and not so much offer face time to established figures on the PR rounds.

As such, the big names behind PROJECT GREENLIGHT--Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Chris Moore and, in a nod to the genre focus of this season, Wes Craven--graciously took a back seat at the event. Moore led off the official festivities with a brief but entertaining speech in which he thanked the various sponsors (such as new presenting sponsor Hewlett Packard, taking over from Blockbuster) and outlining some of the changes in the series for this season. Most notably, there will be hour-long episodes (or, rather, 48-minute ones, given that it's now on a commercial network) at the mercy of the basic cable censors; Moore joked that he would now have to watch his language. Affleck and Damon took over for the rest of the formal presentation, handling the main duties of announcing the winners in the different contests. Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunston's horror thriller FEAST was selected the winning screenplay, and it is set to become a feature under the direction of John Gulager, whose mood-drenched winning short shows that, unlike last season, the writers' and director's sensibilities may actually be compatible. Steve Remedios won this year's newly-added third contest, the "YOU Take Five!" digital photography contest; as winner, Remedios will serve as an on-set photographer during FEAST's production and have a walk-on in the film.

Special thanks to Chay Carter, Chris Moore, Sean Bailey and Ben Affleck at LivePlanet.

A trio of SOUL FOOD stars serve up a diverse menu of stories and talents in their short film directing debuts; plus Searchlight's SIDEWAYS screening 'n 'scursion in Santa Barbara.

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