Grindhouse DVD

From Anne Thompson's interview with Harvey Weinstein, it would seem to be a foregone conclusion that 'Grindhouse' will be split into its constituent parts when released on DVD. Anne remarks, "DVD expectations on "Death Proof" and "Planet Terror" are high." That may not be etched in stone yet, but...

Note to HW: That sounds like a great idea, boss.

There's still plenty of room for the 'Grindhouse'-thing to make money. But, I can't help commenting on the poor release strategy of this movie -- a 3-hour endurance test released on Easter, a bad weekend for a schlock action/horror double-feature (one of which is entitled 'Death Proof').

My problem is the logic involved. At a recent conference at the Cannes festival Tarantino said about cutting 'Death Proof' (and Rodriguez's cut of 'Planet Terror') so that they would work as a double-feature, "We didn't cut our movies to the bone, we cut them past the bone." Harvey Weinstein said that the cuts had 'removed some of the essence of the films'.

Tarantino's cut of 'Death Proof' showed at Cannes and was called 'amazing' by critics there. Hmm. Go figure.

Okay, so what was the logic behind the double-feature strategy? 'Let's cut two movies until neither one of them is what they were intended to be and lack a lot of their power, then jam them together in a 3-hour horror/action double-feature and release it over the Easter holiday when no one could possibly want to see it'.

Okay, okay. End of rant.

Another note to HW: I'll be first in line to get the full-length version of 'Death Proof'. (Come on. Just look at that poster. Who wouldn't want to see that)? Will wait a while to get 'Planet Terror' (don't ask why). Would advise you go all out with the first DVD release -- drop all your 'making of' material and special features in, you won't get another chance 5 years down the road with a special 'Collector's Edition DVD' (WHISPER: Nobody will care by that time). Also, wait a few weeks longer than usual for DVD release -- give the interest more time to percolate. Let's make some money back on this thing.