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In the last few minutes, Paramount Pictures has announced that it will drop support for the Blu-ray Disc format and exclusively support HD DVD. The deal will see all Paramount Pictures and Dreamworks Animation titles appear in High Definition exclusively on the format, and affects all territories worldwide.
Snippets from the Press Release follow.
The first Paramount and DreamWorks title to appear exclusively on HD DVD will be the blockbuster comedy “Blades of Glory” on August 28th, followed by two of the highest grossing movies of the year - “Transformers” and “Shrek the Third”. These three films alone represent more than $1.5 billion in combined worldwide box office sales.
“The combination of Paramount and DreamWorks Animation brings a critical mass of current box office hits to consumers with a line-up of live action and animated films that are perfect for HD DVD,” stated Brad Grey, Chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures, which is currently the leading studio in domestic box office. “Part of our vision is to aggressively extend our movies beyond the theater, and deliver the quality and features that appeal to our audience. I believe HD DVD is not only the affordable high quality choice for consumers, but also the smart choice for Paramount.”
“We decided to release “Shrek the Third” and other DreamWorks Animation titles exclusively on HD DVD because we believe it is the best format to bring high quality home entertainment to a key segment of our audience – families,” stated DreamWorks Animation CEO, Jeffrey Katzenberg. “We believe the combination of this year’s low- priced HD DVD players and the commitment to release a significant number of hit titles in the fall makes HD DVD the best way to view movies at home.”
Paramount made sure to mention that new releases on HD DVD will be day-and-date with their Standard Definition counterparts, but also reminded us that the announcement did not include the films directed by Steven Spielberg, which the HD DVD Promotion Group mistakenly announced and then retracted last year. Titles with Spielberg's involvement - such as Transformers - will still be exclusive to HD DVD.
The HD DVD Promotion Group, the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), nor Paramount were available to comment at the time of going to press.
Hail the PS3.. NOT.
