I haven't watched a special feature in so many years. The last time was for Men in Black and i was like 12.

In the words of David Hayter: Fox has something to do with Satan.

Well, there's Youtube. And torrents for extras.

But seriously, aggressive moves by organizations such as the RIAA and movie studios piss me off. I understand them wanting to protect their business, even if I disagree with the nature of their business philosophically (the RIAA; not that I disagree with music, but their proprietary bs). Shit, a prominent RIAA member published a scorching guest column in my college's daily newspaper. I have my torrents, and my on-campus peer-to-peer system. And amongst friends, I can borrow. Hell, my friend torrents TV shows, sometimes buys them, and rips them and burns them to DVDs for us. I don't see that ending any time soon. Like newspapers across the country are crumbling, and local video stores are folding. As Bob Dylan said-the times, they are a changing.

In my opinion, there should be greater artist control. In the future I see newspapers releasing their monopoly on news as they fold, leading to not anarchy, but equal civilian coverage via blogs and small outlets. Likewise, we'll hopefully see a collapse of the recording industry, giving way to, as NIN and Radiohead and countless DJs and indie bands already do, individual, direct artist-to-listener release via independent distribution or download. Artists can charge less than a premium, or not at all. I see a world with free artist distribution of music-with artist revenues coming from concerts. I may not pay for most of my music, but I'll pay to see a concert if the artist is good. Cut. Out. The. Middle. Man.

Movies? Different maybe. I saw Watchmen in theatres. I don't see a weakening in big time studios, though I'd like to. Independent, artistically motivated films that flourished in the 70s with directors such as Coppolla, Scorcese, and Polanski and the like was watered down with the increasing corporatization of movie studios and the focus on franchises and blockbusters. I use NetFlix for most of my movies, but I'll just go back to downloading for free if I'm going to be forced to pay a premium for the special features I occassionally want to see. Just because I'm a pissed off customer.

I've begun to emphasize this in my life by using a lot of open source software. But that's only the beginning as the technology revolution solidifies its place and truly shatters once and for all the cultural trends and institutions it has already all but repplaced.

I could see some value in selling cheaper versions of the movie with no special features like are available on itunes but in hard copy form, becaue i guess some ppl dont watch special features. I happen to love special features especially commentaries... I have on occasions not purchased a DVD because of its lack of special features and l have also rented to get a feel for the special features to see if i wanted the special edition of the movie.

Furthermore, i have quite a few dvds in my collection that i purchased used from a rental store. So In my opinion, it would have been better if fox had a cheap and non cheap version of the movie available for sale and don't screw the rental places over more.

Also you can find the special features pirated online. Its not as common but they are out there. Some websites have an entire subsection to their movie categories dedicated to this.

Fox is... is just so stupid... ugh

I really don't watch special features, BUT I agree this is a stupid move.

Dumb fucking idea FOX. I sure hope netflix gives them the finger. But not to worry. people will find a way around this, and I promise you this, no more paying for any FOX movies for me.

Blithering idiots. It's one of those moments where you wonder "who thought this was a good idea?"

What I certainly wouldn't mind, as I often am not interested in special features, is paying less for bare bones DVDs, but being treated like a second class rental viewer is infuriating.

Also, despite the pessimism of the article /film links to on videobusiness, one sentence stood out, "Fox’s ability to enforce its terms is limited, however, by the First Sale Doctrine, which gives retailers the right to rent any legally purchased copies." The article doesn't delve too much into this though. What are the implications? If this is the case, I can see kickass businesses like Netflix renting bonus DVDs to customers

OK, reread the article. Most stores will likely follow Fox's guidelines. But that is a creative way to get around the restrictions. Sell the barebones copies at a lower price as used and rent out the ones with bonus features.

Hmm. This makes me hate Fox even more.

Hey, FOX...how about you put out some GOOD movies. Then people will actually want to BUY them.

The funny thing is, I am rarely interested in special features and would jump at the chance to purchase a cheap stripped down movie only disc.

But on principle, I can't agree with this. Even if it does not affect a non-extras watching person such as myself

The only reason to rent a DVD and not download a movie for free (illegally, of course) are the extras. Take that away and a lot of people (including myself) have no desire to do the walking...

I don't want to promote illegal downloads, but that's just the way it is.

Same goes for DVDs on sale. I don't want to buy a DVD without any significant extras. "Just" the movie is most of the time not enough. Especially when you know, there is space on the disc for some extra goodies.

I agree 100% with FOX. All you jackals do is download your fucking torrents and buy your bootleg copies on the street. It's time for some payback. I support anything that FOX does to put you hypocrites in your place.

I own over 700 DVD's, some of them I purchase from video stores, used, once they stop renting them out. Am I supposed to get screwed as well? No special features for me because I didn't purchase new or could only find the movie I want in the used section? Hardly seems fair, nor is it right to lump everyone into the same group.

A majority of downloaded material already has the extras removed in order to retain the true quality of a film.

well, it is not my country. you are boring. whatever.
regarding fox: it is stupid, but i can't remember the last time i rented a fox movie.

oh, sorry. my reply was for serpentor. you are not boring. serpentor is boring.

I was close to giving you a scathing reply, as this one was not in my email. All is good.

You liberals and commies make me sick. Why don't you go back to your college dorms and smoke your pot and run your mouths about how your own country is responsible for 9/11.

Hahah, uhh creepy backwoods militant hype hateful hick dude, table for one!?

They are removing the extra features so people will buy the actual copy. Someone said earlier people watch the extra features in torrents but seriously most people just download the main movie, which is still possible. Your whole comment make absolutely no sense. I think you just like to write random rants. And how come you dont have an actual account, I would take you more seriously if you would actually log in and not hide behind a anonymous name.

You're a jackal :p

That is stupid. Fox is really screwing up lately.

They're just pissed 'cause deep inside they know that, no matter how you look at it, Watchmen fans are probably more pleased with the Watchmen movie than any Wolverine fan will ever be with their PG-13 "Origins" movie.

I'm glad Fox is the only one doing this...(hopefully)

Its lame.
I'm a filmmaker.
I love special features!
This is really lame for me.

Then again there's people who don't care.
Yes! Its the people who buy FULL SCREEN!!!

when HD-TV and widescreen televisions are marketed!

And they specifically get the single-disc version of movies
because they don't like special features!

Its a shame I share oxygen with these people.
They don't care.

I do. I don't want to buy "average" movies just for special features.

I love movies as much as the next guy.

However, we all can't afford big enough televisions where watching a wide screen movie is acceptable. It's the same reason why Blu-Ray hasn't taken off like many people want it to-- it's expensive.

So for now, I'll stick to my CRT television and DVD player.

I'm all for selling the "bare-bones" for dirt cheap and then letting rental stores have the "multi-disc special edition version".

Totally! Why would i spend $30 on a movie where I am going to watch the special features once and then forget them? I usually buy the barebones and then rent(i.e. Netflix) the special features disc on DVD. Please stop running yourself out of the industry Fox.

and how does this allow Fox to stick it to anyone.. the movie that is frequently ripped from rentals is still going to be there.. It just might lower rental costs and make piracy a little easier

Well, I'm not going to run out and buy a film with or without special features, if I only intend to watch it once. Most films, I'd say 97%, get one viewing...and then, just by my nature of craving new stuff - I'm done with it and move on to something fresh. So it's a bit backwards to let me rent the film...watch it, and then buy it again just for the extras when I'm probably not going to watch the film a second time. It takes up space on my shelf, and why? Maybe they should strip the extras, lower the cost to rent/buy that stripped down version, and let people who really give a damn about extras download them for a small fee? That seems fair to me.

Well, I'm not going to run out and buy a film with or without special features, if I only intend to watch it once. Most films, I'd say 97%, get one viewing...and then, just by my nature of craving new stuff - I'm done with it and move on to something fresh.

So it's a bit backwards to let me rent the film...watch it, and then buy it again just for the extras when I'm probably not going to watch the film a second time. It takes up space on my shelf, and why? Maybe they should strip the extras, lower the cost to rent/buy that stripped down version, and let people who really give a damn about extras download them for a small fee? That seems fair to me.

I bet they use all that "new" extra memory space on the dvds for a plethora of unskippable previews.

oh man....i HATE unskippable previews. I haven't watched my Samurai 7 DVDs as much as I want to because of the damn unskippable Shinobi preview!!! Makes me want to punch a puppy.

Yeah those always make me want to drop the disk into my PC rip-it to the HD and then play it over the dvi-hdmi to my TV. Even thou it would take longer to rip it than to watch their previews.

I don't know you guys. I mean I agree it's a douche bag move, but I work at Blockbuster, and I know %90 of my costumers won't miss it. On the other hand, our used DVDs might not sell as well. Personally, while I usually buy a whole lot of used movies during sales, I will most likely stop buying Fox's. Just my opinion.

I wish I could say I can't believe this stupidity, but it's Fox, so.

They are trying to sell their product. Wouldn't it be a novel concept if they tried to make it desirable to buy?
I don't care, because I usually am not that interested in the special features if I'm renting a film, but lessening a value of one product to make another more appealing, is just plain stupid.

Typical douchebaggery from 20th Century Cocks....

I am curious to hear the filmmaker's take on this idea. Will they stick to their guns and force FAUX Studios to make their movies competitive with all the other major studios?
Also, will this be yet another reason for independents and other studios to offer a better product than Fox anyways?
Personally, I like commentaries & extras for, excuse my elitism, "films" and could care less if "Marley & Me" is denied the chance to have the director apologize on his own commentary track. So if that's what Fox is thinking about in saving $500 bucks on, than more power to them.

Wow this makes just about as much sense as an mp3 player with no buttons. Oh, wait...

Now I gotta buy Meet Dave to listen to the director's commentary?! FUCK!

This is a bad idea that will just just annoy people more than anything. Plus, let's say you rent a new movie and really enjoy it and consider adding it to your library, and then remember "that DVD didn't have any real features so i'm not sure its worth buying out right."

Fox can probably save itself a lot of money by not creating extras for movies that really don't need them. I'm not going to research which movies were put out by fox so let's just say "Role Models" as an example. I liked that movie. I laughed. I sniffled. It was a pleasant waste of 1.5 hours. Do i need a commentary telling me how funny those guys were to work with? nope. Do i need behind the scenes featurettes about the child actors having a blast on a movie set? nope. Do i whole other disc to house cutting room scraps? nope. Or let's say "Ghost Rider," a movie i didn't see, but for the sake of argument let's say it was "rad." Do i really need a half hour documentary about how they made the state of the art special FX? probably not. Ghost Rider didn't really break any new ground with effects. I assume everyone just saw the flaming motorcycle racing up the side of a building and thought "oh hey, CGI."

Obviously its hard to pick out important movies at the greenlit stage, and every director is going to want to believe that their movie is an amazing piece of cinematic history deserving of a great archive of behind-the-scenes material, but people might be more willing to shell out of Grand Deluxe Anniversary Prestige Editions if they got a valuable product instead of some costume designer droning on about their valued imput into the Bratz franchise.

i probably should have threaded those together, sorry, i think this was my first comment on this board.

this really isn't a big deal..most rental places only offer the basic editions of DVDs for rental...they don't exactly have all the bells and whistles in those either...

The special features allow the people working on the film (props, makeup, costume, sound) to get some recognition, and also for director's who have to make cuts for the studio a chance to show extended scenes.

Sometimes I buy the DVD to get the special features, but this is after I rent it to see if it's worth it. Now, I will just go online and watch these features for free probably on Hulu or Youtube. Their loss.

if only there was a website that easily compiled behind the scenes content for studios...