Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has announced 9 movies that it plans to release on Blu-ray high definition disc in the first quarter of 2007. Top on the list for me is "Casino Royale," which is probably the best Bond movie since Sean Connery left. This is the kind of A-list title that Blu-ray needs to build credibility and awareness with the public.

"Vertical Limit" is a good choice for its mountain-top vistas and action. The helicopter rescue scene should be very impressive!

The other titles aren't bad, and I'm happy to see their recent movies being included in this list, but I'm sure that many fans would like to see the Spider-Man movies. Perhaps with the third installment coming out in May, they'll treat their fans to a Q2 rollout just in time for an HD double-feature before going to see the new one...

Press Release

Full-Length Animated Feature Open Season First Mpeg-4 AVC Encoded Title
From SPHE

February Packed With 50GB Recent Release Titles Including Stranger Than Fiction & Running With Scissors

LAS VEGAS, CES, Jan. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (SPHE) President David Bishop today announced, as part of the company's first quarter Blu-ray line-up, that Bond will be making his way to Blu-ray with the much anticipated release of Casino Royale on March 13. Casino Royale, starring Bond newcomer Daniel Craig, grossed more than $400 million at the box office worldwide and will debut on a 50GB dual-layer disc encoded in MPEG-4 AVC. Consumers can see even more of Craig who also stars in Layer Cake, a riveting thriller set in the U.K. underworld, when it hits Blu-ray (50GB) that same day.

"With software sales up 700 percent since the mid-November launch of Playstation 3 and other Blu-ray hardware from manufacturers, the market is poised for maximum impact blockbusters like Casino Royale," said David Bishop, President, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. "We're proud to be the first to deliver Bond on Blu-ray with the best picture and sound quality available today. This is just the tip of the iceberg for Blu-ray in 2007."

Sony Pictures Animation's first full-length animated feature, Open Season, starring Ashton Kutcher and Martin Lawrence, will mark the debut of the first MPEG-4 AVC encoded BD title from SPHE on January 30. In addition to Casino Royale, three more dual-layer 50GB box office hits were announced for Q1. Gridiron Gang, starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, will be available January 16 followed by Running with Scissors, with Annette Bening in a Golden Globe(R)-nominated performance, on February 6 and Stranger Than Fiction, featuring writer and producer Will Ferrell, February 27.

Catalog titles announced include Resident Evil: The Apocalypse, featuring Blu-Wizard(TM), January 16 and Vertical Limit, February 20 (50GB). Also upcoming from the SPHE catalog are Hostel, Jerry Maguire and A Few Good Men. SPHE has released a broad selection of Blu-ray Disc titles since the format's initial launch June 20, 2006. The studio was the first to deliver a 50GB Blu-ray Disc title with the release of Click October 10, followed by Black Hawk Down November 14 and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby on December 12.

 

GRIDIRON GANG - January 16

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson (The Rundown, Walking Tall) stars in this gritty and inspirational movie, based on a true story, about a group of teenage delinquents given a second chance to redeem themselves by playing football. The 50GB Blu-ray Disc features:

• Commentary with the writer and director
• Deleted Scenes
• Deleted Scenes Commentary with the writer and director
• Gridiron Gang: Football Training
• Phil Joanou Profile
• The Rock Takes the Field
• Multi-Angle Football Scenes
• Theatrical Teaser Trailer
• Uncompressed audio
  

RESIDENT EVIL: APOCALYPSE - January 16

After narrowly escaping the horrors of the underground Hive facility, Blu-ray beauty Milla Jovovich is thrust into a war raging above ground between the living and the undead in the nightmare sequel to the 2002 sci-fi action hit Resident Evil. Resident Evil: Apocalypse is the second Blu-ray Disc title to feature SPHE's Blu-Wizard(TM), a unique playlist technology that allows users to customize special features to create a
personalized "Playlist" that can be viewed as a supplement to the feature film. Special features consumers may customize on the Resident Evil: Apocalypse Blu-ray Disc include:

• Filmmaker Commentary with director Alexander Witt, producer Jeremy Bolt and executive producer Robert Kulzer
• Cast Commentary with Milla Jovovich, Oded Fehr and Sienna Guillory
• Writer and producer Commentary with writer/producer Paul W.S. Anderson and producer Jeremy Bolt
• Game Over: RESIDENT EVIL Reanimated (a six-part making-of documentary)
• Game Plan - Building Raccoon City
• Running, Jumping, Fighting - Big Guns
• Zombie Choreography - Smoke and Mirrors
• Featurettes
• Game Babes
• Symphony of Evil
• Corporate Malfeasa
• Deleted Scenes
• Weather Report
  
• Graveyard Melee
• Extended Stairway Chase
• Umbrella Laboratory
• Extended Gate Scene
• "What are you staring at?"
• Terry's Big Break
• Just Say No ...
• The Lord's Judgment
• "You be on the weather!"
• Pray for Help
• I Was A Ghetto Superstar
• "What the hell was that?"
• Point, Pull, Repeat Pt. 1
• Alpha-Team Base
• Point, Pull, Repeat Pt. 2
• Stay Alive
• Dogs in the Kitchen
• "Save your ammo!"
• Closure
• Poster Gallery
• Cast Outtakes
• Uncompressed Audio
  

OPEN SEASON - January 30

Sony Pictures Animation's first full-length animated feature, Open Season, chronicles the journey of a domesticated grizzly bear (Martin Lawrence) and a fast-talking mule deer (Ashton Kutcher) who unite the woodland creatures and take the forest back before open hunting season. Encoded in MPEG-4 AVC, Open Season on Blu-ray Disc features hours of activities. The disc contains loads of added-value features in high-definition including:

• Boog and Elliot's Midnight Bun Run Short
• Behind the Trees Featurette
• The Voices Behind the Stars Featurette
• Deleted Scenes
• Forest 102
• Facial Tick
• Music Video: Deathray - "I Wanna Lose Control (Uh Oh)" by Deathray
• Inside the Animals Studio Commentary
• Commentary with the Filmmakers Behind Open Season
• Activities
• Voice-A-Rama
• Wheel of Fortune: Forest Edition
• "Swept Away" Scene Deconstruction
• Ringtales
• Rabbitball
• Security Camera
• Camouflage
• Galleries
• Environments
• Characters
• Beat Boards
• Uncompressed Audio
  

RUNNING WITH SCISSORS - February 6

A poignant film based on the personal memoirs of Augusten Burroughs, Running with Scissors is the critically acclaimed story of an outlaw childhood where rules were unheard of, valium was consumed like candy, and if things got dull an electroshock-therapy machine could provide entertainment. The 50GB Blu-ray Disc features:

• Inside Outsiders Featurette
• A Personal Memoir by Augusten Burroughs
• Creating the Cuckoo's Nest Featurette
• Uncompressed Audio
  

THE TAILOR OF PANAMA - February 6

Based on the 1996 novel, The Tailor of Panama stars Pierce Brosnan and Geoffrey Rush in an espionage thriller set amidst the controversy of the handover of the Panama Canal from Panama to America in late 1999. The 50GB Blu-ray Disc contains:

• Commentary by John Boorman
• The Perfect Fit: A Conversation with Pierce Brosnan and Geoffrey Rush
• Alternate Ending
• Uncompressed Audio
  

VERTICAL LIMIT - February 20

K2, a 28,250-foot mountain in Pakistan's Karakoram Range, is the perfect showpiece for Blu-ray's high definition picture quality and theater quality audio in this adrenaline-pumping action-adventure film. The capability of the 50GB Blu-ray Disc allows viewers to see every detail of the breathtaking scenery in true high definition and comes loaded with special features including:

• Commentary with director Martin Campbell and producer Lloyd Phillips
• Surviving the Limit
• Search and Rescue Tables
• Vertigo Magic
• As Easy as Falling off a Cliff
• Avalanche!
• The Death Zone
• Peak Performers
• The Elixir of Life
• Credits and Acknowledgements
• Uncompressed Audio
  

STRANGER THAN FICTION - February 27

Will Ferrell shines in the original comedy Stranger Than Fiction, a tale about the journey of self-discovery to find the meaning of life. The 50GB Blu-ray Disc is filled with bonus features including:

• Actors in Search of a Story -- A discussion with director Marc Forster and cast members
• "Building the Team" -- The importance and contributions of Forster's production, costume, photography, writing, special effects and editorial teams
• "On Location in Chicago" -- An in-depth look into the Windy City
• Words on the Page -- Dual interview with producer Lindsay Doran and writer Zach Helm discussing the film's relevance
• Script to Screen -- Shooting script available as a gallery
• Outtakes and Deleted Scenes
• Audio Commentaries from the filmmaker and cast members
• Deleted and Extended Scenes
• On the Set -- A montage of funny on the set moments
• Picture a Number: The Evolution of a G.U.I. -- A look at the special features
• Uncompressed Audio
  

CASINO ROYALE - March 13

Casino Royale introduces James Bond to the world as he is earning his "00" status and is sent on a dangerous mission to trump a high stakes poker game that could take down one of the world's largest terrorists organizations. Added-value features in high-definition on the Casino Royale 50GB MPEG-4 AVC encoded Blu-ray Disc include:

• Becoming Bond -- An intimate look at how Daniel Craig stepped into the role of the 6th James Bond
• Bond Girls Are Forever -- A closer look at Bond's Leading Ladies (standard-def)
• Chris Cornell Music Video, "You Know My Name"
• Uncompressed Audio
  

LAYER CAKE - March 13

Layer Cake is a riveting thriller set in the drug underworld of the U.K. and explores the dangerous world of sex, drugs, deception and money. The film stars Daniel Craig in a role that undoubtedly helped him prepare for his stint as James Bond in Casino Royale. The 50GB Blu-ray Disc is equipped with loads of added-value including:

• Director and Writer Commentary
• Deleted and Extended Scenes
• Duke at the Cafe
• On the Rooftop
• Lunch at Jimmy's
  
• Sidney and Sam
• Charlotte
• Setting Up the Meeting
• How to Find Charlotte
• Where is My Prisoner?
• Fishing
  
• Meeting at Gene's
• Tiptoes Has Been Calling
• Driving Away Alternate
• Guarding the Goods Ending
• XXXX in Bed with the Gun
• Alternate Ending
• On the Staircase
• Q&A Screening with Matthew Vaughn and Daniel Craig
• Behind the Scenes Featurette
• Uncompressed Audio
  

About Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is a division of Sony Corporation of America, a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. Sony Pictures Entertainment's global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution; television production and distribution; digital content creation and distribution; worldwide channel investments; home entertainment acquisition and distribution; operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of filmed entertainment in 67 countries. Information on Sony Pictures Entertainment and Blu-ray can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.sonypictures.com/bluray.

Source: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Press Release