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laugh4me
10-29-2001, 11:03 AM
This article from the LA Times (http://www.latimes.com/business/la-000086008oct29.story?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Dbusiness) is mainly focused on Harry Potter stuff, but it talks about Warner Bros' plans to promote their various properties - including Looney Tunes. For example, they view their failure to follow up with sequels to "Space Jam" to be a missed opportunity.
Of course they didn't include Looney tunes DVDs in the list of things they will try to do... :rolleyes:

Here are a couple of relevent sections:
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The studio also is making a major financial commitment to revive its "Batman," "Superman" and "Looney Tunes" brands and spawn new ones with such properties as "Wonderwoman," "Catwoman" and its recent box office hit "Cats and Dogs." Building perennial franchises with appreciating library value through movie sequels, prequels, made-for-videos, TV spinoffs and fat licensing and merchandising deals is a key mandate of Warner's 2-year-old management team led by Chairman Barry Meyer and President Alan Horn.

........

On parallel tracks, ideas are being hatched for "Batman Year One," a prequel, "Batman vs. Superman" and "Batman and Superman." Five different "Looney Tunes" concepts are on the boards, as are ideas or "Catwoman," "Wonderwoman" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." Two sequels to the studio's hit "The Matrix" are due out in 2003.

"The difference in our philosophy is we now look at building these franchises as a long-term business rather than a one-off business," Meyer said. He says he doesn't want the studio to repeat such past missteps as failing to follow up its 1996 comedy "Space Jam," starring basketball great Michael Jordan and the classic Looney Tunes characters, which grossed $230 million worldwide, with other product.

"In retrospect, I think we probably missed an opportunity," Meyer said.
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Jack
10-29-2001, 01:51 PM
Five different "Looney Tunes" concepts are on the boards
I'm scared now. I hope these are movies, and not TV shows.



Jack:eek:

Gossamer
10-29-2001, 03:38 PM
Actually "appreciating library value" and "merchandising" could (and should) include eventually putting VHS and DVD releases (the Columbia House line is an example of such a deal).

BourgeoisBuffoon
10-29-2001, 09:40 PM
I consider a "CATS AND DOGS" running business a definate opportunity they SHOULD miss! :eek: So is "CHARILE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY". Dhal must be rolling in his grave! Leave stuff like these alone, will ya WB?

I'm also afraid of the Batman stuff. These things might destroy the Dark Knight's reputation...

happyheathen
10-29-2001, 10:07 PM
Originally posted by Gossamer
Actually "appreciating library value" and "merchandising" could (and should) include eventually putting VHS and DVD releases (the Columbia House line is an example of such a deal).

this is the group that thinks 'merchandising' means putting Bugs on bottled water...

David Gerstein
10-30-2001, 05:00 AM
Anyone ever eat a SPACE JAM banana?
No, seriously, when SPACE JAM was first released on VHS, one of my local grocery stores (I then lived in California, if that proves anything) had bananas with a SPACE JAM logo sticker on each of them. If you bought enough of them and peeled off the stickers, you got a discount coupon for the tape.
Apparently in 1950s there were Howdy Doody licensed eggs from some egg company. SPACE JAM bananas would seem to be the modern-day equivalent.
And (burp!) they tasted OK.