Sony Starts Digital Studio (2)

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Unpleasant Dreams for Paramount and DreamWorks

Looks like no one's getting any REM sleep at Par and DreamWorks, reports the Los Angeles Times. Spielberg and Geffen have been suffering seller's remorse for months - the deal is less than two years old - but things have come to a boil over matters such as credit, bruised egos, and money.

Geffen apparently has the right to walk starting sometime next year, and if he does, then Spielberg can too - and if he does, then so can his ally Stacey Snider, who runs the studio.

They'd walk out the door with little more than the studio name, reports the LAT. Par would get to keep the projects in development. The DW library's already gone, sold by Par to defray the cost of acquiring the studio.

Ironically, Spielberg would still be directing and producing several movies for Par even if the DW arrangement imploded. And Spielberg and Geffen's third partner, Jeffrey Katzenberg, would also remain tied to Par: Katzenberg's the chief of DreamWorks Animation, a separate, public co. spun off from DW, and DreamWorks Animation has a long-term distribution deal with Par.

Blu-ray v. HD DVD

Recently, it looked like Blu-ray was winning the format war in high-def DVDs. Sales were 2-to-1 in Blu-ray's favor, several studios were Blu-ray only (HD DVD had only one exclusive studio partner), and retailers were beginning to line up in that direction as well.

Last week, though, Blu-ray suffered a major reverse: Paramount, and sister studio Dreamworks, announced that they were dropping Blu-ray and going HD DVD only. Suddenly, the high def war is back in high gear. And today, reports Video Business, Canada’s Venturer Electronics announced a $199 Chinese-manufactured HD DVD player for Q4.

But while the industry fiddles, consumers do a slow burn. A very slow burn: most consumers aren't interested in any of this, and smart ones will stay away until the battle ends and one format prevails.

Don't hold your breath though: there's so much money in licensing fees at stake that we may not see a resolution for another year or two, at best. At that rate, standard def DVD will live on for a long time to come, at least until download to TV becomes a reality. Maybe the upcoming Vudu box will make that happen (I've seen it and it's pretty sweet).