Hitch Magazine | Brentwood Interview

HITCH: Whom do we have to thank for the idea of the DVD 10-pack and how did the idea come about?

Glass: The idea was the brainchild of Ed Goetz, BCI Eclipse's Executive Vice President. Ed is the former president of Simitar Entertainment, the company that practically invented "value"-priced DVD back in 1997 and 1998. The discussion we were having was "how to package, price and sell obscure B movies and cheesy TV product when the major studios are so aggressively lowering their catalog film prices"? Sales on B movies at $9.99 to $6.99 were slowing drastically due to legitimate theatrical releases now being available at those prices. The answer was to package A LOT of them all in one pack, and to package them by GENRE, so even if some of the movies are weak, you still attract the fan of the GENRE.

HITCH: Where/how do you acquire all these titles? Are they all in the public domain? It seems like you have a ton of Italian and made-for-TV stuff (not that I’m complaining).

Glass: Many of the films in the pack are unregistered, or in the public domain. Others are licensed from collectors or independent film makers. LEGENDS OF KUNG FU 10-MOVIE SET, for example, is all P.D. films. FISTS OF FIRE/SWORDS OF DEATH 10-MOVIE SET, however, is made up entirely of licensed films from a Los Angeles-based collector. Most of the TV stuff is P.D...most of the modern films and all of the Urban films are licensed exclusively to BCI Eclipse.

HITCH: What has the response been like? Are any particular sets (or genres) more popular than others? Any unpopular sets?

Glass: Response has been great. We've filled a gap in the market in a number of ways. Firstly, it allows major retailers to carry value-priced DVD at a higher price point, giving them a higher register ring. Also, it allows them to carry a large assortment of B films without having to carry each film as a separate SKU on the shelf. Also, with DVD players now at the $50 price point, it allows these value-priced consumers, who are not VideoPhiles, to collect large numbers of films very inexpensively. Furthermore, it allows fans of a particular film genre to explore films they wouldn't normally buy if they were packaged alone. Also, the special boxes we use to package in, along with using double-sided discs, are a space saver on both the store and consumer shelves. HORROR and MARTIAL ARTS have been our top-selling categories by far. Third would be the T&A titles. The drama and family films have not done particularly well. The sets definitely appeal to a "male" audience, so male genres do the best. This will probably change in 2003.

HITCH: What is the strategy behind releasing films from the 10-packs in 4-packs as well?

Glass: There is a huge difference between $19.99 and $9.99 in both retail merchandising and consumer demand. It is two different sections in the store ($19.99 goes in a frontline section, or a "collectors sets" section, while $9.99 goes in the value-priced section) and it is two different consumers. $19.99 is a consumer who is looking to buy a frontline piece of product. $9.99 is an impulse buy. We want to make sure we are in both merchandising areas of the store, and are offering our films to both types of consumers.

HITCH: The older titles used to include some cartoons and other shorts as extras. While having 10 movies in one package is extra enough, I do appreciate the occasional bonus like the William Castle trailers on VAULT OF HORROR, the Invisible Ghost trailer on TEN NIGHTS OF TERROR or the Shaolin vs. Manchu trailer on FISTS OF FIRE, SWORDS OF DEATH. Are there any plans to incorporate more trailers and cartoons on future sets?

Glass: Unfortunately, response to the added features like trailers, documentaries, cartoons and serials wasn't as hot as we'd hoped. The cost of doing it was not being made back in sales. We've found the sales to be just as good in packs not containing these features. Overall, it appears that the movies themselves is the most critical feature. We've chosen, instead, to spend our development money on getting better movies and programs, rather than "dressing up" inferior programming. If consumers change their minds and start demanding features, we'll return to that approach later.

HITCH: How dedicated is Brentwood to releasing more 10-packs? What kind of sets can we expect to see in 2003?

Glass: There will be quite a few more 10 and 4 movie sets in 2003. We've developed a floor pallet display that holds between 400 and 700 DVD sets that we are going to be promoting in retailers like Wal-Mart this year. Now that the line is large enough, we want to promote it as a line. We have more horror and martial arts coming, and some new action categories as well. We are also going to be testing non-theatrical and non-TV programs - in particular - some special interest titles. Our first is called 10 BEST FITNESS, which is 10 different exercise programs in one pack. Initial reaction to this title has been fantastic, so it may be our entrance into 10 program sets that are not just movies...