For the various Ghostbusters Cartoon series. Real Ghostbusters, Extreme Ghostbusters and more!
#328598
I wasn't sure if I should post this in the EGB or GB2 sections since it applies to both. I opted for the EGB section, since I can't cross-post it to both (without making two separate posts). Also, this is going to be a LONG post as I want to provide as much information as possible so I can get some good informed opinions back from all of you.

For those who don't know, Mill Creek Entertainment is a company known for releasing budget-priced DVDs. A long time ago they were known as Treeline Films, and are responsible for all of those 50-Pack and 100-Pack public domain movie collections you see cluttering up the $5 bins at Walmart and Target. In recent years they've been shying away from public domain material and putting out DVDs, and now Blu-rays, of licensed movies and TV shows. Among their recent offerings are DVDs and Blu-rays of lesser-known Touchstone Pictures films, such as some of the Ernest films, Big Business (Bette Midler & Lily Tomlin), V.I. Warshawski (Kathleen Turner & The L.A. Firehouse), and Straight Talk (Dolly Parton) - just to name a few. They also have a licensing deal with Stephen J. Cannell productions, so they've put out season and complete series sets for shows such as 21 Jump Street, Hunter, Renegade, The Greatest American Hero, and more. Not to mention that they acquired the assets of BCI/Eclipse, so they've released a lot of the Filmation animated shows in season and complete series sets.

Since they are keen on licensing properties from other companies, and have a tendency to release shows in season and/or complete series sets, and they offer their items for really cheap prices, I was thinking that maybe we should petition Mill Creek to license Extreme Ghostbusters from Sony and put out a complete series set.

The only Mill Creek Blu-ray I own is "Big Business", but the quality is really good. Much better than you'd expect for a Blu-ray disc that only cost $5 brand new in Target! The downside is that it only contains the movie. No bonus features at all. Not even a trailer. However, since it's pretty obvious to me that Sony has no intentions of releasing Ghostbusters II on Blu-ray themselves, I was thinking that maybe we should petition Mill Creek to license Ghostbusters II from Sony and put it out on Blu-ray. Granted, it would just be the movie, but as long as they keep it in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio, a movie-only Blu-ray is better than no Blu-ray at all. Maybe with any luck, Mill Creek will make Ghostbusters II their first "deluxe" offering and get some bonus materials on there, thus letting them charge more for it then their usual stuff. I'd bet they'd be more willing to pay for bonus materials from the cast and crew - like William Forsche's behind the scenes videos - than Sony would. Heck, I'd be happy to give Mill Creek a copy of the GB2 EPK on DVD for free if they want to use it for bonus materials. All I'd want in return is a comp copy of the Blu-ray.

The reason I've given up on Sony ever putting Ghostbusters II out on Blu is that the perfect time for them to do it was back in 2009 when they put GB1 out on Blu. Every home video re-release of GB2 has been done in conjunction with GB1. It's never been released by itself, except for the original home video release back in 1990. Besides that, GB2 is the lesser-loved of the two films, so it only makes sense from a sales perspective to release it at the same time as the better-loved film, that being GB1. That's why I feel that if Sony had any intention of putting GB2 out on Blu, they would have done it already.

I can only think of one way that Sony would still release GB2 on Blu, and that's if they're holding it back as an incentive for fans to re-buy GB1 again in a "GB 1&2 Blu-Ray Double Pack" to be released whenever.

Now with all that said, and with all my cheerleading, I have mixed feelings about Mill Creek. One one hand, they put out complete series sets for a really cheap price and the quality is good. On the other hand, they do things as cheaply as possible, which results in:

1. Very thick standardized DVD packaging - Whether the set contains 1 disc or 20 discs, it will come packaged in a plastic case that's easily 1-inch thick with the discs stored in paper sleeves inside. Their Blu-rays are stored in normal Blu-ray packaging, thankfully.

2. Too much video put onto each disc - While the quality is definitely good, and there aren't any compression artifacts of note, like EastWest's "Double Feature" dollar DVDs (two full-length movies on a single-layer disc!), there's still way too much content being put onto the dual-layer discs. Looking over the TV-on-DVD sets I have of half-hour shows, 8 eps per disc is the standard limit the major studios adhere to. Mill Creek usually does 10 eps per disc. Sometimes 11 eps (see Sabrina The Animated Series), with their Sherlock Holmes (a 1950s B&W series) and One Step Beyond sets getting 13 eps per disc!!!

With EGB, I expect for them to put 10 eps per disc, 4 discs total, with no bonus features. It's very rare that they put bonus features on any of their releases.

3. A higher rate of faulty discs - I have a few discs where the beginnings of several episodes will play badly, and then after that it plays fine. I had one Beverly Hillbillies disc where an ep would not play at all. Mill Creek has great customer service and always sent me out replacements - and MANY free DVDs of other titles - but every single replacement has always had the same problems as the originals.

Also, they will occasionally split a series into Volumes, with no clear release date for the remaining volume(s). This has happened with the animated BKN series "Roswell Conspiracies", which only has half the series in the Vol. 1 release I have. I can only hope that one day Mill Creek puts out Vol. 2 with the remaining episodes. I hope it doesn't happen to "Sabrina The Animated Series" which got its "first half of the series" Vol. 1 release back in February. There's a chance they could put out only the first 20 episodes of EGB and not put out the rest.

Now, with all that said, do you guys think we should e-mail Mill Creek to suggest they get the Extreme Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II licenses from Sony and put the former out in a 40-episode complete series set, and the latter out on Blu-ray? Sure, both releases probably won't have any bonus materials - in regards to EGB, with 10 eps per disc the quality won't be as great as it could be - but I'd settle for a Mill Creek release if it means we'd get the entire EGB series released on DVD and the movie on Blu-ray here in the States. It's not like any other company is interested, including Sony.

Here are the e-mail addresses listed on the Mill Creek site.

* Acquisitions/Domestic Licensing/Foreign Licensing: content@millcreekent.com
* Sales Support: sales@millcreekent.com
* Customer Service/General Inquires/Publicity (for media inquiries only): support@millcreekent.com

I think the first address would be the most appropriate to use.
#328617
Heck yes! I just purchased the (Region 4) Season One, Volume One release with the first 13 episodes and from time to time, I really want the whole season (even if it took as long as it did for RGB).

The first email looks like the most viable candidate.

Warner Archive does a similar thing and has some success with older series like all those Hanna Barbera ones. I think this will be the only way shows like Static Shock, The Zeta Project season two, and Legion of Superheroes will be released on DVD.

Mill Creek's other sites may prove useful to reach out to them in addition to the email:

http://www.facebook.com/MillCreekEnt

http://twitter.com/millcreekent
#329052
I'm happy to see some support for my idea. I just e-mailed Mill Creek (at content@millcreekent.com) the message below, which includes a link to this thread so they can see what the fan reaction is. So if there's anyone who hasn't given their opinion on whether Mill Creek should try to license Extreme Ghostbusters (EGB) and/or Ghostbusters II (GB2), please voice your opinion now. I know there are some who don't like EGB, and there are fair reasons why. But look at it this way, if ALL 33 of the Slimer shorts could get onto DVD, I think EGB deserves to be on DVD, too. I think everyone would agree that the worst EGB episode is better than the best Slimer episode :-)

By the way, if any of you would like to use the Twitter and Facebook pages fopr Mill Creek that Mrmichaelt posted, to petition them to try to aquire the licenses to the programs from Sony, go right ahead. The more fans they hear from, through different forms of communications, the better.

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Hi

I'm a long-time supporter of Mill Creek Entertainment, all the way back to when your company was known as Treeline Films. I own many of your DVD releases, and so far one of your Blu-ray releases. Although I may have issues with the standardized packaging you use, and the amount of video you cram onto each dual-layer disc, I enjoy your products enough to continue buying them.

One of the reasons that I am writing to you is because I have two questions about your products that I've purchased.

Q1. I recently purchased your "Sabrina: The Animated Series, Vol. 1" release, even though I already owned all five of the DVDs that were previously released by other companies going back to about 10 years ago. Those releases contained a few random episodes, while your release contains the first 32 episodes. Do you know when Mill Creek will release "Sabrina: The Animated Series, Vol. 2", which I assume will contain the remaining 33 episodes of the series? I'd like to complete my collection.

Q2. Around the end of 2009, I purchased your "Roswell Conspiracies, Vol. 1" release, which contains the first 20 episodes of the series. Do you know when Mill Creek will release "Roswell Conspiracies, Vol. 2", which I assume will contain the remaining 20 episodes of the series? As with Sabrina, I'd like to complete my collection.

The other reason I'm writing to you is to give you some suggestions for some popular content that lots of Ghostbusters fans would love for Mill Creek to try to license from Sony.

S1. I humbly suggest that Mill Creek try to license the Extreme Ghostbusters (1997) animated series from Sony. TimeLife put out The Real Ghostbusters in a complete series set a few years ago because Sony had no interest in doing it themselves. They obviously don't care about the Extreme Ghostbusters series either, but the fans do. We'd love to get all 40 half-hour episodes in a Complete Series set. Since Mill Creek tends to put out complete series sets, I think you'd be a perfect fit for the series. You could have all 40 episodes spread across 4 dual-layer discs (10 episodes per disc), as is the norm for Mill Creek, though I would hope for it to be a five disc set with 8 episodes per disc, so less compression would be used. I'd pay a little more for less compression, and better quality. I know that the other fans would, too. Although the fans would love bonus features, I know that that isn't something Mill Creek usually puts on their releases, which is fine. As long as we can get all 40 unedited episodes on DVD, all of us Ghostbusters fans would be happy.

S2. I'd also like to suggest that Mill Creek try to license the 1989 movie Ghostbusters II (commonly abbreviated as GB2) from Sony for release on Blu-ray. I see the fantastic job Mill Creek is doing with the Blu-ray releases of movies from Touchstone Pictures, and would love for Mill Creek to get Ghostbusters II out on Blu-ray since Sony apparently has no interest in doing it themselves. They had the perfect opportunity back in 2009 for the Ghostbusters 25th Anniversary, and there were originally plans for it to come out on Blu-ray in a two-pack with the first movie, but sadly that never happened. Only the first Ghostbusters movie is out on Blu-ray.

Ideally, us Ghostbusters fans would love to have Ghostbusters II on Blu-ray with lots of bonus features; at the very least all of the featurettes and interviews from the electronic press kit (EPK), and some of the infamous deleted scenes that are believed to exist in Sony's vaults. I know that Mill Creek doesn't usually put bonus features on their discs, but perhaps Mill Creek will make Ghostbusters II their first "deluxe" offering and get some bonus materials on there, even if it means the Blu-ray will have a higher price than Mill Creek's other Blu-ray releases. Some members of the movie's crew have home videos that they took during production of the film that they'd be willing to contribute to a proper Blu-ray release. Of course, they might want to be paid for it, but that's something to be discussed between Mill Creek and them. Heck, I'd be happy to give Mill Creek a copy of the GB2 EPK on DVD for free if they want to use it for bonus materials. All I'd want in return is a complimentary copy of the Blu-ray.

Perhaps Mill Creek would be more willing than a big corporation like Sony to work with the fans to make this the best release possible. Sony has put Ghostbusters II out on DVD twice, and neither release has had movie-related extras (unless you count a trailer on the first DVD release). This is the chance for Mill Creek to one-up Sony. As long as the movie is keep in the proper 2.35:1 aspect ratio, there's no way Mill Creek could do any wrong with putting it out on Blu-ray. With all that said, us Ghostbusters fans would still be willing to settle for a barebones movie-only release if it means that we'd finally get Ghostbusters II on Blu-ray.

With the Ghostbusters name recognition and value, either or both of these programs would be big sellers for Mill Creek. I dare say, they might be your best-selling titles ever. That's something that the folks in charge of licensing decisions at Mill Creek should consider :-)

I'm sure these aren't the only programs that Sony owns that it has no plans on doing anything with. Maybe Mill Creek can pursue a licensing agreement with Sony to put some of their other content on DVD and Blu-ray that they have no interest in releasing themselves.

I know this isn't something that's going to happen overnight. The Mill Creek execs will have to discuss if it's something they want to pursue. Then calls and meetings will have to be made with Sony to see if it's something they're interested in. If everyone's keen on the idea, deals will have to be made, and so forth and so on. Your deal with Disney/Touchstone might help show Sony that Mill Creek is a company that's worthy of handling the content they own that they themselves have no interest in doing anything with.

I've started to drum up support for the idea of Mill Creek putting out Extreme Ghostbusters on DVD and Ghostbusters II on Blu-ray at the popular Ghostbusters fan site, Ghostbusters Fans (http://www.gbfans.com/community/viewtop ... 41&t=26119). And once the ball starts rolling and there's something to be reported on, you can surely bet that I'll cover it on my 15-year-old Ghostbusters fan site, Spook Central: The Ghostbusters Companion (http://www.spookcentral.tk).

I sincerely hope that the powers-that-be at Mill Creek get the opportunity to read this e-mail and take to heart all of the Ghostbusters fans that they will make very happy by getting these programs out on DVD and Blu-ray. If Mill Creek doesn't do it, who will?
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Yours Truly,
Paul Rudoff
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#329057
That sounds great, I really hope this works! I know it may take a while but its worth the wait! I would love so much to have GB2 on Blu Ray! I check amazon everyday, hoping they are gonna release it! But I hope this works I am behind you 100% The EGB dvds would be awesome as well! I have had my heart set on GB2 Blu Ray release for along time now! I hope this works. Good job Paul Rudoff! :cool:
#329415
I just received a reply from Mill Creek (reprinted below), which acknowledges my suggestions, but isn't a complete blow-off letter, so that's nice. Here's hoping they, at least, consider pursuing the Extreme Ghostbusters license, and that Sony gives it to them. When it comes down to it, we at least have Ghostbusters II on DVD, which is more than can be said for Extreme Ghostbusters. So, if they could only go for one license, I'd say make it Extreme Ghostbusters.

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Date: Mon, 20 Jun 2011 14:02:58 +0000
Subject: RE: Questions & Suggestions For Popular Content To Try To Aquire
From: Lyle Goff
To: Paul

Good Morning,

Thank you for your interest in Mill Creek Entertainment and its line of products. We appreciate it when customers take the time to contact us with their questions and comments. Your suggestions have been forwarded on to the appropriate parties for further review and consideration. With regards to the release of the Sabrina and Roswell Conspiracies properties, those titles are currently being evaluated for possible release strategies. Any announcements about those properties would be posted upon our website at such time when it is appropriate to do so. If you have any other inquiries or comments, please do not hesitate to contact us with them.

Sincerely,

Lyle Goff
Project Manager
Mill Creek Entertainment
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#329479
Not as bad as I thought it was gonna be! I hope they can do something with EGB or GB2! I am pulling for the gb2 blu ray, but I will take anything! If Mill Creek falls through maybe we can try Echo Bridge Home Entertainment they are putting out good movies on dvd for a low price!
#420268
I too would love an EGB series set....I own a fan made box set, but the quality isn't too great, and everything, maybe we can get Time Life to release one like they did originally with RGB, and they are also now doing with Power Rangers, heres hoping something can get released of this great show.....

Also a Blu-Ray of GB2 would be fantastic, but I believe Sony will release one in the near future, it doesn't make sense not to, especially if they know their fan base for the franchise....but who knows for sure.

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