Warner Bros. Celebrates Success

Warner Home Video Canada held its quarterly press event in Toronto on Thursday, January 14. The Oscar-themed event, staged at the Capitol Theatre, was appropriate given that award season is upon us. And because release dates for Warner Home Video titles are the same in Canada as in the U.S., we were more than happy to make the trip.
In the spirit of the event, president John Grant was escorted to the stage by shade-wearing security. He started by saying that "2009 was an amazing year", referencing the record theatrical box office enjoyed by the industry worldwide.
Warner, he continued, pulled in $4 billion in box office, thanks to having nine films hit number 1, and eight earning more than $100 million. "The state of the industry is very healthy."
Manager of publicity Dyan Eaton took over at that point, introducing a series of clips of memorable Oscar moments, including David Niven and the streaker, Marlon Brando's rejection, Jack Palance's one-armed push-ups, and Halle Berry's cry-fest.
Eaton was then joined on stage by Chris Lewchuk, senior publicist, who was wearing a bald cap and was completely covered in gold paint. Lewchuk was much more animated than the traditional Oscar as he walked media through Warner Bros. upcoming releases.
One significant new packaging option from Warner Bros. is the new Blu-ray Combo Pack, which includes DVD, Blu-ray and digital copy editions of a film in one package. Lewchuk said the new SKU was so audiences could "decide how and where they want to watch."
Chuck: The Complete Second Season was released on January 5 and should already be on rotation in your home.
New Warner Bros. films coming soon to DVD and Blu-ray include Whiteout (January 19), starring Kate Beckinsale as a U.S. Marshall stationed in Antarctica, The Invention of Lying (January 19), starring Ricky Gervais — who will be hosting the Golden Globes this weekend — and Jennifer Garner, and The Final Destination in 3D (January 5) includes both 2D and 3D versions.
Films being released on Blu-ray for the first time include: Fame (January 26), The Green Berets (January 5) and Mystic River (February 2).
Some of the best series from Britain continue to find their way to North America courtesy of Warner Bros.
Doctor Who: The Complete Specials, releasing on February 2 on DVD and Blu-ray, includes the four specials that round out David Tennant's tenure as the Doctor: "The Next Doctor", "Planet of the Dead", "The Waters of Mars", and the two-part "The End of Time".
The seventh season of MI-5 — known as Spooks in Jolly Old England — comes out on January 26.
Series 11 and Series 12 of Top Gear, which is more fun with motor vehicles than you can possible imagine, landed on DVD on January 12.
Also coming from Warner Bros. in 2010, but not yet dated, are films such as The Informant! and Where the Wild Things Are, and Halo Legends, an anthology of eight short animated films, each created by a different studio, set in the Halo universe, popularized by the video games.