Sony Blu-Ray Announcements – We Own The Night, 30 Days of Night and more!

We Own The Night

Sony has a slew of new Blu-Ray titles coming in the next few weeks including We Own The Night, 30 Days of Night, and Across the Universe. Here are the press releases for each title.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is proud to present We Own The Night on DVD, Blu-ray™ High-Def and PSP February 12, 2008. This action-driven mob thriller starring Joaquin Phoenix (Walk The Line, Gladiator), Mark Wahlberg (The Departed, Shooter), Robert Duvall (Tender Mercies, The Godfather, Apocalypse Now) and Eva Mendes (Ghost Rider) arrives on disc with exclusive bonus features, including a commentary with writer/director James Gray and three action-packed “making of” featurettes, for the SRP of $28.95 (DVD), $38.96 (BD) and $24.94 (PSP). Bobby Green (Phoenix) is the popular manager of El Caribe, the legendary Russian-owned nightclub in Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach. For Bobby, every night is a party as he greets friends and customers or dances with his beautiful Puerto Rican girlfriend, Amada Juarez (Mendes), in a haze of cigarette smoke and disco music. But it is 1988, and New York City’s drug trade is escalating. He has changed his last name and concealed his connection to a long line of prominent New York police officers. Bobby tries to keep his distance from a Russian gangster operating out of the nightclub – a gangster also targeted by his brother, Joseph Grusinsky (Wahlberg), an up-and-coming NYPD officer, and his father, Burt Grusinsky (Duvall), the legendary deputy chief of police.

Written and directed by James Gray (The Yards, Little Odessa) and produced by Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg, Couper Samuelson and Mike Upton (The Ex, In Bloom), We Own The Night also stars Danny Hoch (Lucky You, War of the Worlds), Tony Musante (The Yards), Antoni Corone (Reservation Road), Oleg Taktarov (Miami Vice, National Treasure, Bad Boys II) and Alex Veadov (Contact, Air Force One).

DVD BONUS FEATURES INCLUDE:

  • Commentary with Writer and Director James Gray
  • Tension: Creating We Own The Night
  • Police Action: Filming Cops, Cars and Chaos
  • A Moment In Crime: Creating Late 80’s Brooklyn

We Own The Night has a run time of 117 minutes and is rated R for strong violence, drug material, language, some sexual content and brief nudity. Artwork is available at www.SPHEPublicity.com. Visit Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on the Web at www.SonyPictures.com.

30 DAYS OF NIGHT

The Fright Begins February 26th

On Blu-ray High-Def, DVD & PSP

Culver City, CA (12/17/07) – From producers Sam Raimi (director, Spider-Man trilogy, producer, The Grudge) and Robert Tapert (producer, The Evil Dead series) and director David Slade (Hard Candy), comes 30 DAYS OF NIGHT, available February 26, 2008 on Blu-ray High-DefTM, DVD and PSP from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment for the SLP of $28.95 (DVD) and $38.96 (Blu-ray Disc™). Starring Josh Hartnett (Black Hawk Down), Ben Foster (X-Men: The Last Stand), Melissa George (“Alias”) and Danny Huston (Children of Men), 30 DAYS OF NIGHT pits a small band of humans against blood-thirsty vampires in a frozen Alaskan town. Director David Slade turns the pages of the harrowing graphic novel into a visceral experience of pure fright that represents the ultimate in survival horror. The DVD and Blu-ray High-DefTM of 30 DAYS OF NIGHT see the light of day with bonus material including a filmmaker and cast commentary, and eight featurettes, including “Blood, Guts and the Nasty #@$&!” that reveals secrets behind the spine-chilling visual effects and “Building Barrow,” a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the hard-scrabble Alaskan town where the story is set, and much more. The Blu-ray High-DefTM includes an enhanced photo gallery, 30 Images of Night, a Graphic Novel-to-Film Comparison available only on the Blu-ray Disc.

Synopsis

In a sleepy, secluded Alaska town called Barrow, the sun sets and doesn’t rise for over thirty consecutive days and nights. From the darkness, across the frozen wasteland, an evil will come that will bring the residents of Barrow to their knees. The only hope for the town is the Sheriff and Deputy, a husband and wife who are torn between their own survival and saving the town they love.

30 DAYS OF NIGHT is directed by David Slade, produced by Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert (The Evil Dead, The Grudge), written by Steve Niles (author, 30 Days of Night), Stuart Beattie (Collateral), Brian Nelson (Hard Candy) and Ben Templesmith (author, 30 Days of Night), and stars Josh Hartnett, Ben Foster, Danny Huston and Melissa George (The Amityville Horror).

DVD and Blu-ray High-DefTM Bonus Material

    • 8 Behind-the-Scenes Featurettes
      • “Pre-Production” – As the script powers its way through development, Director David Slade and Producer Rob Tapert begin to assemble a team. See everything from high-tension story meetings with Writer Brian Nelson, to Slade picking out his equipment and crew. Also Steve Niles discusses the beginnings of his idea for the graphic novel.
      • “Building Barrow” – Production Designer Paul Austerberry takes the viewer through the steps in bringing Barrow to life on a sound stage in New Zealand. See side-by-side comparisons with Barrow as envisioned in the graphic novel, as well as meeting the construction crew and tracking their progress.
      • “The Look” – Director David Slade and his Director of Photography Jo Willems tackle the challenge of bringing the graphic novel to life on the screen. Learn about the important camera decisions, lighting techniques, and post-production tricks involved in creating the look of “30 Days of Night.”
      • “Blood, Guts and the Nasty #@$&!” – From prosthetic moldings to selecting the right consistency of blood, WETA and David Slade walk us through the battlefield of carnage.
      • “Stunts” – Stunt coordinator Allan Poppleton will guide us through the construction of four of the movie’s big stunt sequences, from David Slade’s conception of a scene to stunt rehearsals, safety precautions, and final execution on the shoot day. Vampires will fly off of moving cars, crash through windows and wrestle with a bulldozer.
      • “The Vampire” – From graphic novel to screen, take a tour with WETA as they design and bring to life each of the vampires. Watch as Director David Slade meets with his team of vampire actors and instructs them on how to properly behave like blood-thirsty beasts.
      • “Night Shoots” – As the production moves into five weeks of night shoots, the cast and crew slowly begin to resemble the blood-thirsty creatures from the film. As Director David Slade explains, “At this point, coffee is more important than film stock.”
      • “Casting” – Director David Slade and company discuss casting decisions. Josh Hartnett, Melissa George, and many more discuss what their characters mean to them, the influences they’ve pulled from the graphic novel, and the experience of shooting a high-tension action/horror film.
    • Filmmaker and Cast Commentary with Josh Hartnett, Melissa George and Producer Rob Tapert
    • “Blood +” Episode 1

Also, Only on Blu-ray High-Def™: 30 IMAGES OF NIGHT – Graphic Novel to Film Comparison Gallery

ACROSS THE UNIVERSE

The Musical Epic Starring Evan Rachel Wood and Jim Sturgess

Arrives On Two-Disc DVD and Blu-Ray™ High-Def Loaded with Special Features

Including Eight Deleted and Extended Musical Sequences

 

On Blu-Ray™ High-Def, DVD and PSP February 5th

Culver City, CA (December 3, 2007) – Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release the hit musical, Across the Universe, on DVD, Blu-ray™ High-Def and PSP on February 5, 2008. From the imagination of renowned director Julie Taymor (Broadway musical sensation The Lion King), Across the Universe is a colorful, psychedelic love story starring Evan Rachel Wood and Jim Sturgess, with appearances by Bono, Joe Cocker and Eddie Izzard. Both Blu-ray™ High-Def and the two-disc DVD are loaded with special features, including deleted and extended musical scenes, running commentaries and original featurettes, and will be available for the suggested retail price of $38.96 (Blu-ray™ High-Def), $28.96 SLP (DVD) and $24.94 (PSP).

A love story set in the 1960s, against the turbulent backdrop of anti-war protests, mind exploration and rock ‘n roll, Across the Universe moves from the dockyards of Liverpool to the creative psychedelia of Greenwich Village, from the riot-torn streets of Detroit to the killing fields of Vietnam. The star-crossed lovers, Jude (Jim Sturgess) and Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood) along with a small group of friends and musicians are swept up in the emerging anti-war and counterculture movements, with “Dr. Robert” (Bono) and “Mr. Kite” (Eddie Izzard) as their guides. As forces beyond their control tear the young lovers apart, Jude and Lucy ultimately strive against all odds to find their own way back to each other.

Released in 2007, Across The Universe was directed by Julie Taymor, with a screenplay by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, and stars Evan Rachel Wood, Jim Sturgess, Joe Anderson, Dana Fuchs, Martin Luther McCoy and T.V. Carpio. Across The Universe is rated PG-13 for some drug content, nudity, sexuality, violence and language.

BLU-RAY DISC™/TWO-DISC DVD SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE:

· Eight extended musical performances

· Deleted Scene: “And I Love Her” – with Dana Fuchs and Martin Luther McCoy

· Commentary from director Taymor and composer Elliot Goldenthal

· 5 featurettes:

    • “Creating the Universe” – cast and crew discuss the making of the film
    • “Stars of Tomorrow” – an inside look at the cast of rising stars
    • “All About the Music” – an inside look at the film’s unforgettable music
    • “FX on the Universe” – exploring the film’s visual effects with VFX supervisor Kyle Cooper
    • “Moving Across the Universe” – a featurette on the choreography including an interview with choreographer Daniel Ezralow

DVD ONLY SPECIAL FEATURES:

  • Exclusive photo gallery with over 100 images

BLU-RAY™ ONLY SPECIAL FEATURES:

  • Art gallery of “Jude’s” drawings, drawn by Don Nace