Warner Bros Offering Academy Screeners On Blu-Ray

Warner Bros will be making history by becoming the first movie studio to send Academy members an award screener on blu-ray disc. The studio has sent out a mailer to members giving them the option to choose Blu-ray. Apparently director Christopher Nolan was partly responsible for the change, urging the studio to release The Dark Knight in the higher quality format. As previously reported, Warner Bros also plans on rereleasing the film in IMAX theaters in January to help for award consideration.

But not so fast. I call a little bit of bullshit. The Dark Knight has an expected (but yet to be officially announced) dvd/blu-ray release date of December 9th. Releasing the film to Academy members on a format which will already be available publicly doesn't seem like a huge step to me. I'll be more impressed when a movie studio takes the leap and release Academy Screeners for a film which was just released in theaters.

THR says that Universal and Pixar have already poopooed the idea of releasing Academy screeners on Blu-ray, saying its still too early in the format's adoption. Sony is supposedly considering releasing its Will Smith drama Seven Pounds as a Blu-ray screener. That film hits theaters on December 19th 2008.