Homevideo huzzahs
Video Business creates artistic awards program
| See the full list of winners. |
The Video Business Video Premiere Awards are designed to recognize the rapidly increasing amount of creative work being produced that premieres not in theaters or on TV but on videocassette, DVD and the Internet.
DreamWorks' animated musical "Joseph: King of Dreams" put a robe around four major awards. The made-for-video toon tuner from the producers of "The Prince of Egypt" was picked as the best animated video premiere of 2000 and also won for directing, screenplay and song, "Better Than I."
"I am thrilled to see that the direct to video market is being recognized for its creative contribution to entertainment," said Jeffery Katzenberg, co-founder of DreamWorks, SKG. "The creative work that goes into these productions continues to reach new heights and adds to the overall success of the category."
Nominees and winners are being announced simultaneously today for Video Premieres released last year.
Productions released in 2001 will be honored at the first formal Video Business Video Premieres Awards event this fall in Hollywood.
Burgeoning biz
The kudos recognize the significantly increased level of achievement in what has become an estimated $1 billion annual business.
The names listed in the 21 categories for 2000 illustrate that the depth, breadth and quality of programming produced for video extends far beyond the direct-to-video image of low-budget erotic thrillers, action movies and titles intended for theatrical release that could never get a bigscreen distributor (although those titles remain a part of the mix).
For instance, Andrew Lloyd Webber's live-action adaptation of the stage play "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" picked up three nominations for the 2000 awards, including best live-action movie and directing. Lloyd Webber has a new Video Premiere adaptation of "Jesus Christ Superstar" coming to video stores next month.
The late Jason Robards picked up a posthumous award for one of his final performances in "The Real Macaw."
Disney, which enjoyed multiple nominations including best animated video premiere for its "Buzz Lightyear of Space Command: The Adventure Begins" and "The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea," is debuting "Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure" on Tuesday.
In addition to traditional awards for acting, directing, writing, song, etc., the VBVPs include categories honoring Internet videos, audio commentaries and original documentaries produced for special edition DVDs, as well as the unique category of animated character performance, recognizing the combined efforts of the voice and animator talent.
Joker wins
Voice actor Mark Hamill and character designer Bruce Timm were selected the first winners in the latter category with their combined creation of the Joker in Warner Home Video's "Batman Beyond: The Return of the Joker."
Always in character as their dimwitted British rock musician personas, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer delivered the best audio commentary on MGM Home Entertainment's special DVD edition of "This Is Spinal Tap."
Disney's extensive supplemental material in the three-disc DVD collector's set combining "Fantasia" and "Fantasia 2000" won the award for overall original supplemental material.
Along with the awards, Video Business has created a Video Premieres Academy. Both are supported by every studio, the Video Software Dealers Assn. and the DVD Entertainment Group.
The head of each studio's video division and the two associations -- DreamWorks' Kelley Avery, MGM's David Bishop, Disney's Robert Chapek, Paramount's Eric Doctorow, Columbia TriStar's Ben Feingold, Universal's Craig Kornblau, Warner's Warren Lieberfarb, Fox's Pat Wyatt, VSDA's Bo Andersen and the DVD Entertainment Group's Emiel Petrone -- have each accepted seats on the advisory board of the Video Premieres Academy. Louis Feola, president of Universal Family and Home Entertainment Prods., will also be a board member with the Academy.
Web site launched
A new Video Premieres Web site accessible through VideoBusiness.com and a new monthly electronic Video Premieres magazine are also launching today.
The publications track the development, production, release schedules, sales and rental activity of animated and live-action movies made for video as well as original Internet videos and original supplemental material for special DVD editions of theatrical releases.
Members of the Video Premieres Academy and peers from each creative discipline from many of the guilds will vote in their respective categories for the 2001 awards.
Critics from Playboy, Video Business, Variety/Daily Variety and the Los Angeles Times Syndicate reviewed the qualifying titles from 2000 and whittled them down to a list of five nominees in the Internet-video and each of the 16 movie-related categories, and seven nominees in each of the four DVD categories.
A blue ribbon panel of judges composed of actors, cinematographers, composers, directors, editors, producers, writers and reviewers representing the Los Angeles Times Syndicate, Variety/Daily Variety, Video Business and the DVD/Laserdisc Newsletter, independently viewed each of the nominated titles during the past month. Their rankings in each category were submitted privately and tallied by Video Business.
Following is a list of Video Business Video Premiere Award winners for 2000 followed by nominees listed in alphabetical order:
PRODUCTIONS
Animated Video Premiere
Winner: "Joseph: King of Dreams," Penney Finkelman Cox, Steve Hickner, Jeffrey Katzenberg, executive producers; Ken Tsumura, producer (DreamWorks)
Nominees: "Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker," Alan Burnett, Paul Dini, Glen Murakami and Bruce Timm, producers (Warner); "Buzz Lightyear of Space Command: The Adventure Begins," Mike Karafilis, Mark McCorkle, Robert Schooley and Tad Stones, producers (Buena Vista); "The Land Before Time VII: The Stone of Cold Fire," Charles Grosvenor, producer (Universal); "The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea," Leslie Hough and David K. Lovegren, producers (Buena Vista)
Live-Action Video Premiere
Winner: "The Delivery," Thijs Bayens and Roel Reine, producers (Trimark)
Nominees: "Beethoven's Third," David Bixler and Kelly Konop, producers (Universal); "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," Andrew Lloyd Webber, producer (Universal); "Left Behind: The Movie," Ron Booth, Joe Goodman, C. Robert Neutz and Ralph Winter, producers (Cloud Ten); "Nothin' 2 Lose," Martin C. Jones, producer (York/Maverick)
Overall Original
Supplemental Material as a Video Premiere, DVD
Winner: "The Fantasia Anthology," Jeff Kurtti and Mike Pellerin of Kurtti/Pellerin Prods. (Buena Vista)
Nominees: "The Birds Collector's Edition," Laurent Bouzereau, writer-director-producer; Colleen A. Benn, exec in charge of production (Universal); "Fight Club," David Prior, producer (Fox); "Gladiator Signature Selection," Mark Atkinson, Charles De Lauzirika and Mark Rowen, producers (DreamWorks); "Men in Black" Organa Prods. (Columbia TriStar); "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," David Prior, producer (Fox); "This Is Spinal Tap Special Edition," Jeffrey Schwartz, producer (MGM)
Internet Video Premiere
Winner: "405: The Movie," Bruce Branit and Jeremy Hunt, producers-directors-writers (iFilm and 405themovie.com)
Nominees: "Jar Jar Binks: The E! True Hollywood Story," Leif Einarsson, director; David Estes and Leif Einarsson, writers; Alok Mishra, producer; Christopher Ryan, co-producer (iFilm); "The Killer Bean 2: The Party," Jeff Lew, creator (iFilm); "The Quantum Project," Eugenio Zanetti, director; David Aaron Cohen, writer; Matafilmics, producer (SightSound.com and quantumproject.com); "Sunday's Game," Gene Laufenberg, director; Jason Ward and David Garrett, writers-producers (iFilm)
Original Retrospective Documentary/Featurette for a Video Premiere, DVD
Winner: "All About The Birds," Laurent Bouzereau ("The Birds Collector's Edition," Universal)
Nominees: "Conan the Barbarian: Unchained," Laurent Bouzereau ("Conan the Barbarian," Universal); "Destination Hitchcock: The Making of North by Northwest," Peter Fitzgerald ("North by Northwest Collector's Editon," Warner); "The Fantasia Legacy: The Concert Feature," Jeff Kurtti, ("Fantasia Special 60th Anniversary Edition," Buena Vista); "Ian Fleming: 007's Creator," John Cork ("The Living Daylights Special Edition," MGM); "The Making of The Bridge on the River Kwai,'' Laurent Bouzereau ("The Bridge on the River Kwai," Columbia TriStar); "666: The Omen Revealed," J.M. Kenney ("The Omen Special Edition," Fox)
PERFORMANCES
Animated Character Performance in a Video Premiere
(combining voice recording and animation)
Winner: Mark Hamill, voice; Bruce Timm, character designer (the Joker, "Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker," Warner)
Nominees: Ben Affleck, voice; Luc Chamberland, animation director (Joseph, "Joseph: King of Dreams," DreamWorks); Tim Allen, voice; Greg Guler, key character designer (Buzz Lightyear, "Buzz Lightyear of Space Command: The Adventure Begins," Buena Vista); Thomas Dekker, voice; Zeon Davush, supervising animator (Littlefoot, "The Land Before Time VII: The Stone of Cold Fire," Universal); Michael York, voice; Zeon Davush, supervising animator (Pterano, "The Land Before Time VII: The Stone of Cold Fire")
Audio Commentary for a Video Premiere, DVD
Winner: Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer ("This Is Spinal Tap: Special Edition," MGM)
Nominees: Francis Ford Coppola ("The Conversation Widescreen Collection," Paramount); Mike Figgis ("TimeCode 2000 Special Edition," Columbia TriStar); David Fincher ("Se7en," New Line); Sydney Pollack ("Out of Africa Collector's Edition," Universal); Arnold Schwarzenegger, John Milius ("Conan the Barbarian Collector's Edition," Universal); Ridley Scott ("Gladiator Signature Selection," DreamWorks)
Original Song in a Video Premiere
Winner: "Better Than I" ("Joseph: King of Dreams," DreamWorks) -- performed by David Campbell; song by John Bucchino; produced and arranged by Danny Pelfrey
Nominees: "For a Moment" ("The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea," Buena Vista), performed by Jodi Benson and Tara Charendoff; music and lyrics by Michael and Patty Silversher; "How Groovy" ("Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders"), performed by Scott Innes; music by Bodie Chandler; lyrics by Jim Stenstrom; produced by: Gary Lionelli and Bodie Chandler; "I Can Be a Friend" ("Casper's Haunted Christmas," Universal), performed by Tanya Hancheroff; music by Robert Buckley; lyrics by Tom Northcott; "To Infinity and Beyond" ("Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins," Buena Vista), performed by William Shatner and the Star Command Orchestra; music and lyrcis by Randy Peterson and Tim Heintz
Actor in a Video Premiere
Winner: Courtney B. Vance ("Love and Action in Chicago," MTI)
Nominees: Warwick Davis ("Leprechaun in the Hood," Trimark); Brian Hooks ("Nothin' 2 Lose," York); Timothy Hutton ("Just One Night," First Look); Campbell Scott ("Invasion!,"Avalanche)
Actress in a Video Premiere
Winner: Kyra Sedgwick ("Labor Pains," USA)
Nominees: Regina King ("Love and Action in Chicago," MTI); Mary Stuart Masterson ("The Book of Stars," Winstar); Brittany Murphy ("Zack and Reba," Victory); Chandra West ("Something More," First Look)
Supporting Actress in a Video Premiere
Winner: Jena Malone ("The Book of Stars," Winstar)
Nominees: Jennifer Beals ("Something More," First Look); Mary Tyler Moore ("Labor Pains," USA); Debbie Reynolds ("Zack and Reba," Victory); Kathleen Turner ("Love and Action in Chicago," MTI)
Supporting Actor in a Video Premiere
Winner: Jason Robards ("The Real Macaw," Paramount)
Nominees: Jason Alexander ("Love & Action in Chicago," MTI); Harry van Gorkum ("Dragonheart: A New Beginning," Universal); Martin Mull ("Zack and Reba," Victory); Luke Perry ("Attention Shoppers," MGM)
BEHIND-CAMERA AND TECH AWARDS
Direction of a Video Premiere
Winner: Rob LaDuca and Robert C. Ramirez ("Joseph: King of Dreams," DreamWorks)
Nominees: Barry Bowles ("Nothin' 2 Lose," York/Maverick); Dwayne Johnson-Cochran ("Love and Action in Chicago," MTI); David Mallet, Steven Pimlott ("Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," Universal); Vic Sarrin ("Left Behind," Cloud Ten)
Screenplay for a Video Premiere
Winner: Eugenia Bostwick-Singer, Marshall Goldberg, Raymond Singer, Joe Stillman ("Joseph: King of Dreams," DreamWorks)
Nominees: Phil Bedard, Larry Lelonde ("Invasion!," Avalanche); David Hilton ("The Delivery," Trimark); Tony Markes, Adam Rifkin ("Welcome to Hollywood," Sunland); Roy Szeto, Raymond Wong ("The Phantom Lover," Tai Seng)
Original Score in a Video Premiere
Winner: Richard Gibbs ("Book of Stars," Winstar)
Nominees: Bill Conti ("The Real Macaw," Paramount); George Fenton ("Grey Owl," Columbia TriStar); Mark McKenzie ("Dragonheart: A New Beginning," Universal); Daniel Pelfrey ("Joseph: King of Dreams," DreamWorks)
Art Direction in a Video Premiere
Winner: Eddie Ma ("The Phantom Lover," Tai Seng)
Nominees: Benjamin Blaz, Theresa Bruckbauer, Carol Howell ("Dish Dogs," Trimark); Makato Shirarshi ("Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker"); Bruno Vilela ("Dragonheart: A New Beginning," Universal); Ben Zeller ("Beowulf," Miramax/Buena Vista)
Cinematography in a Video Premiere
Winner: Peter Pau ("The Phantom Lover," Tai Seng)
Nominees: Christopher Faloona ("Beowulf," Miramax/Buena Vista); Jan van den Niewenhuyzen ("The Delivery," Trimark); Roger Pratt ("Grey Owl," Columbia TriStar); Mark Vicente ("Slow Burn," Artisan)
Visual Effects in a Video Premiere
Winner: Jamison Scott Goei, visual effects supervisor; Sookie Park, digital animator ("Hellraiser: Inferno," Miramax/Buena Vista)
Nominees: Alison Savitch, visual effects supervisor; Jerald Doerr, 3D CGI special effects ("Beowulf," Miramax/Buena Vista); Melissa Taylor, visual effects producer; Ron Simonson, visual effects supervisor; Dobbie Schiff, visual effects executive producer; Jason Armstrong, CG supervisor; Fish Essenfeld, composing supervisor; Bruno Vilela, animation art director; Tim Lannon, senior character animator ("Dragonheart: A New Beginning," Universal); Thomas Schelesny, visual effects supervisor; Colin Epstein, digital compositor, Jim McVay, lead digital compositor, Alfred Murrle, digital compositor, Frank Petzold, computer graphics supervisor, David Rosenthal, digital film I/O compositor, Guerdon Trueblood, digital compositor, Vicki Wong, digital film I/O compositor, all of Tippet Studio ("Komodo," Sterling); John Laforet, Performance Solutions, physical effects; Pete Denomme, Calibre Digital Picture, Darren Cranford, Keyframe Digital Productions, computer effects ("Left Behind," Cloud Ten)
Editing in a Video Premiere
Winner: Jeff Hertogs, Roel Reine ("The Delivery," Trimark)
Nominees: Dave Gardener, David Mallet, Nick Morris, Rose Glandfield ("Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," Universal); Kirk Morri ("Hellraiser: Inferno," Buena Vista); Lesley Walker ("Grey Owl," Columbia TriStar); David Wu ("The Phantom Lover," Tai Seng)
Sound in a Video Premiere
Winner: Thomas J. Maydeck, Robert Hargreaves of Monterey Post Sound ("Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker," Warner)
Nominees: Michael Axinn ("Komodo," Sterling); Jonathan Bates, Gerry Humphries ("Grey Owl," Columbia TriStar); Stefan Henrix ("Dragonheart: A New Beginning," Universal); Peter Brown ("Hellraiser: Inferno," Buena Vista)
Menu Design for a Video Premiere, DVD
Winner: Van Ling, "The Abyss Special Edition" (Fox)
Nominees: Bronson Hill, "The Bridge on the River Kwai" (Columbia TriStar); B1 Media, "The Killer/Hard Boiled" (Winstar); One-K, "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" (Fox); Belief, "Se7en Platinum Series" (New Line); Van Ling, "T2: The Ultimate Edition" (Artisan); Bronson Hill (Carol Roy), "This Is Spinal Tap Special Edition" (MGM)
Variety home entertainment editor Scott Hettrick is also editor-in-chief of Video Business.