‘300’ Conquers 2007 High-Def Awards

‘300’ Conquers High-Def Awards DEC. 5, 2007 — Warner Home Video’s hit film 300 dominated the first-ever High-Def Disc Awards, taking High-Def Title of the Year and Best Bonus Feature honors. The High-Def Disc Awards dinner was part of High-Def 2.0, a one-day conference held Dec. 4 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Century City, Calif. High-Def 2.0 was presented by Home Media Magazine in cooperation with The Hollywood Reporter and the Entertainment Merchants Association. A panel of critics determined the best titles in 11 categories, with eligibility dating back to the inception of each high-def format — HD DVD in April 2006 and Blu-ray Disc in June 2006. Not only was 300 the only multiple winner, but it was also the only winner released on both high-def formats. Specifically, the 300 Blu-ray earned title of the year, while the HD DVD version won the bonus feature award for a function that allows a bluescreen version of the film to run simultaneously with the feature, allowing fans to compare the two and see the extent of the special-effects work done on the film to depict an ancient battle between Spartans and Persians. A live-action title of the year for each format also was awarded: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment’s James Bond epic Casino Royale won for Blu-ray and Universal Studios Home Entertainment’s cop comedy Hot Fuzz won for HD DVD. Sony Picture’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind was named best multidisc set. The definitive collection uses seamless branching to store three different versions of Steven Spielberg’s classic sci-fi film on a single disc, allowing viewers to compare them. High-Def Award Winners: High Def Title of the Year: 300 (Blu-ray), Warner Home Video Best Live-Action Blu-ray: Casino Royale, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Best Live-Action HD DVD: Hot Fuzz, Universal Studios Home Entertainment Best Animated: Ratatouille (Blu-ray), Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Best Picture Quality: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (Blu-ray), Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Best Audio Quality: Transformers (HD DVD), Paramount Home Entertainment Best Bonus Feature: 300 (HD DVD), Bluescreen Picture-in-Picture, Warner Home Video Most Innovative Use of New Technology: HD DVD U-Shop feature (Internet purchase ability), Universal Studios Home Entertainment Best Long-Form Music Video: Dave Mathews & Tim Reynolds: Live at Radio City Music Hall (Blu-ray), Sony BMG Best Catalog: Kingdom of Heaven: Director’s Cut, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Best Collection/Multidisc Set: Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Home Media Magazine is the leading home entertainment business-to-business trade. It is published weekly by Questex Media Group Inc.

National Board of Review

Winners of the National Board of Review Awards were announced today. Awards will be presented in New York City on January 15, 2008. Actor George Clooney got the Best Actor award for Michael Clayton, Julie Christie was named Best Actress for Away From Her. Tim Burton was named Best Director for the film adaptation of Sweeney Todd, starring Johnny Depp, and No Country for Old Men was named Best Film. See the complete list at http://imdb.com/Sections/Awards/National_Board_of_Review_USA/2007.