Bonus Disc Discussion (**OFFICIAL THREAD**)

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Bonus Disc Discussion (**OFFICIAL THREAD**)

Post by Natasha (candygirl) » Jan 18th 2004, 11:04 pm

This thread is for people to discuss the contents of the bonus disc. This thread is NOT for reporting that you have received it/not received it (see this thread), who owns the copyright, etc. This is just a place for people to discuss what was revealed in the Bedford Falls interview.
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Post by Nostradamus » Jan 18th 2004, 11:10 pm

Um, not to be a whiner or anything, but should this be in the "Show" or "Afterlife of Cast and Crew" forum?

:P

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Post by Natasha (candygirl) » Jan 19th 2004, 12:05 am

The bonus disc is part of the AU DVD set, so for now I'm leaving it in the AU DVD forum.
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Post by fnordboy » Jan 19th 2004, 12:28 am

candygirl wrote:The bonus disc is part of the AU DVD set, so for now I'm leaving it in the AU DVD forum.
Agreed. This thread should stay within this forum.

I will have to rewatch it when I get a chance, I watched it once but I was doing several other things at the same time so I didn't really pay attention. Then I will comment on it :P

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Post by Nostradamus » Jan 19th 2004, 1:26 am

Watching the interview, it's very subtle but you can really hear just how much of Winnie Holzman went into Angela's voice. The only difference is that Winnie is coming from a position of relaxed self-confidence and comfort, whereas Angela generally had more of the teenage anxiety and self-doubt. It's almost like bumping into Angela at her 25th high school reunion and laughing with her about old times.
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Post by Jody Barsch* » Jan 20th 2004, 12:09 am

I might have to watch it again (or refresh my memory of the actual episodes), but I'm pretty sure that they mix up the epiosdes at one point: they are talking about Angela and Jordan's first kiss, and how they were kind of worried about filming it (obviously the "I don't open that wide at the dentist kiss") and then talk about how Angela walks up the front porch dancing (which is actually after the "You know those guys ... Sorry..." kiss). As I remember it, those two kisses are in totally different episodes ("Dancing in the Dark" and "Why Jordan Can't Read"). At the very least, they were talking about two different moments. I guess it's probably been years since they've watched the show though.

I liked when Winnie said her daughter visits the site, I thought that was pretty cute. It's kind of sad Winnie doesn't feel like she can visit it though.
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Post by sirhansirhan » Jan 20th 2004, 10:01 am

The stuff I'm about to discuss has taken place primarily on the other thread (recently, even), but it feels more appropriate to put it here.

Regarding the issue of the bonus materials being lame: They are. I'm sorry. What's more, I have no remorse telling the people who had something to do with the making of the disc that they are lame. I'm sure everyone is just convinced that I am an asshole and assumes that I say these things to upset everyone in the forum, but really. I don't feel bad saying that a movie sucks, and it can generally be assumed that movies are made with good intentions, and I don't feel bad saying that the bonus materials suck, although I am sure that they were made with good intentions as well.

This is not to say that there isn't anything useful in the Herskovitz/Zwick/Holzman interview, because there is. But it's hard to tell that there is because the sound quality is so bad. Additionally, while I am glad that some idiot didn't run it through Adobe Premiere and MTV edit the thing, a stationary camera with a man yelling questions from behind it just doesn't cut it. And a drunk guy could have done a better job with the Bedford Falls tour.

Aside from that rant, there is just so little there to work with. If everything had been the same poor quality but there had been more stuff, at least that would have been something. But the bonus disc that we've waited for months or years for can be watched in its entirety in about 70 minutes. There are better bonus features on the Glitter DVD.

Finally, I have no opinion of the lunchbox. That isn't my kind of thing, but if other people are happy with it, so be it. As far as lunchboxes go, it seems nice enough.

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Post by Hunee » Jan 20th 2004, 1:14 pm

sirhansirhan...

I completely agree with you... they are lame!!! to say the least... all they did was have some guy and the 3 creators of the show sit on a couch for 45 minutes talking... and the first 5 which feels like 5 hours is a tour of there LA office... complete snooze!!! The disc should have actual shooting scripts, outtakes, goofs, what the characters were really like, even though its ten years later im sure they could have had a few of these left but instead we were forced to watch three people with there wide traps yappin away... it was cool to know that winnie was in love with jared and how they almost picked that moron alicia but that is as far as the excitement goes for me... it was a complete snooze compared to some of the bonus stuff ive seen... :x
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Post by Natasha (candygirl) » Jan 20th 2004, 4:00 pm

I guess I'm just seeing the glass half full since I know that we could have ended up with NOTHING instead of what we did get. Given what Dan had to work with (AU), we're lucky the interview ever materialized. I would have like the MTR cast segment, but as the saying goes, if wishes were horses then beggers might ride. The sound quality isn't great on the interview, but the interview itself was interesting. I wasn't there, but I'm pretty sure that Dan didn't specifically ask for a crappy camera to frustrate the viewers. As Dan said, the BF tour was not meant to be a bonus feature per se, but possibly an easter egg or something fun since he did it spontaneously.

Hunee, it's not like the rest of us said we DIDN'T want outtakes or cast interviews. I thought the Buffy S1 "extras" were lame compared to other special features I have seen until I realized that something is better than nothing. I would have loved to hear what the cast thinks now or to just see them together again, but apparently AU didn't have the money to pay for something like that, despite the fact that they led us to believe they could at least afford the MTR session. I understand if the interview was not your cup of tea (not flashy or graphics-intensive enough to hold attention of a generation raised on MTV?), but referring to Winnie, Marshall, and Ed discussing the show as being "forced to watch three people with there wide traps yappin away" is a bit much. Not only did they agree to be interviewed, but they did it for free - for the fans. I found their insights much more interesting than a lot of other interviews/commentaries I have seen or heard (my favorite being "this is the part where ______").

I'm glad that we do have the interview because I found it informative. I commend Dan for doing what he could, and I curse AU for the millionth time for being such lying cheapskates who could have made this an awesome bonus disc.
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Post by sirhansirhan » Jan 20th 2004, 4:50 pm

One thing that might be going unnoticed here is that I (and likely Hunee, judging by her joining date) were not members in this forum while the things that Candygirl is discussing were taking place, so I (we) are considerably less sympathetic to the end result. I think that our removal from the process of the creation of the bonus disc allows us to view it objectively, though, and, objectively speaking, it is a disappointment on a massive scale.

Rereading my first post on this thread, I do think that I was unclear about my feelings towards the Herskovitz/Zwick/Holzman interview. They not only say some interesting stuff, they say a lot of interesting stuff, and I was by no means bored by it. Still, Zwick leaving halfway through was badly planned, and the interviewer (is this interviewer someone in the forum, by the way?) seemed to have a complete lack of experience. Winnie, Ed, and Marshall are interesting enough that anyone could have asked them any questions, and the results would have been entertaining. So the fact that what the three say in the interview is entertaining is borderline irrelevant compared to what could have been.

The admission that the Bedford Falls tour was meant to be an Easter egg is a telling one.

Finally, Candygirl, I would not rather have nothing than what we got. It is, without a doubt, better than nothing. It is really just a matter of that it is only marginally better than nothing (if compared to the standard set by other DVDs), and that we had to wait on the edge of our seat for years to get it. And pay an extra $60 or whatever for it. If this wasn't the case, I wouldn't feel as cheated. Sure, the fact that we had to wait forever for it doesn't have any direct link to the bonus materials themselves, but that really is the problem, when it comes down to it. I'm sure it goes without saying, even.

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Post by Jason R » Jan 20th 2004, 5:07 pm

I've never seen the interview. :P Can't comment on the quality. Do have a lunchbox, though. Got it from good ol' eBay. 20 bucks or so.

Understand that the original bonus disc was supposed to be more grandiose. It sucks that AU didn't pay for the Museum footage -- or to produce the disc properly. That's not to say this was every going to be a huge budget for bonus materials. All told, probably about $25k --MAX.

If it is the quality of the interviews that you dislike, you can blame me --at least partly. When faced with sending an A&R guy who knows nothing about the show and sending a fan, I chose a fan. I think that a fan would know more of the types of questions to ask.

The original plan was to cut out the interviewer and have the questions appear on screen before being answered. In fact, the entire interview should have been edited.

The Museum of tv and radio footage was supposed to be another hour +. I actually do have an audio file of RR claiming that there would be a second bonus disc once he cleared the MoTR footage (which is laughable, but I do enjoy some of the emails that people send me). He also claimed that the Amaray case for the DVD would have a second slot for this disc. I don't believe it is true, though.

In any case, sorry that you think it sucks, but you have seen it and I have not, so I can't say I disagree.

I will agree that the retailer sucks donkey balls.

Jason

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Post by sirhansirhan » Jan 20th 2004, 5:14 pm

Jason R wrote:If it is the quality of the interviews that you dislike, you can blame me --at least partly. When faced with sending an A&R guy who knows nothing about the show and sending a fan, I chose a fan. I think that a fan would know more of the types of questions to ask.
Actually, of those two options, I think that you made the right choice, Jason. I just find it hard to believe that there wasn't a combination of the two that could have more effectively done the job.

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Post by Jason R » Jan 20th 2004, 9:15 pm

Well, bear in mind that AU bypassed the so-called production phase and dumped the DV directly to DVD. No editing -- from what it sounds like here.

If the interviewer was going to be edited out anyway, it wouldn't matter if it was Tom Cruise (who incidentally was in the next room at the time to discuss his latest movie -- i think that's why Zwick walked out, actually).

AU acted like a bunch of freakish, greedy buttholes throughout much of the process, but not all of the blame is theirs. Winnie actually expressed that she was interested in possibly doing some commentary. BMG didn't want to do the work involved, even though it would have been bonus material on the "main" discs and would have helped sales at retail.

It's kind of funny, because when the ball got rolling for this project, I was still at BMG and TV on DVD was not really on the radar yet. You look at the scene today, and everything is out with gobs and gobs of bonus material.

On the latest project I co-consulted on with Gord (Kids in The Hall), they did a kick ass job of reuniting the stars and creating compelling bonus material.

Now, with the rights to MSCL back in the hands of Buena Vista, and with TV on DVD being a huge market, maybe they will be inclined to do something with the title again, with more material.

Does it suck that you bought the "earlier version" if they do this? Not any more than it sucks that I bought a 97 honda and they just released a brand new 2004 model.

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Post by Nostradamus » Jan 20th 2004, 10:57 pm

Come to think of it, even when the dvd project was in its infancy, the fans already had access to a lot of "behind the scenes" information right here at MSCL.com. When I first found the site, it took me days to go through all the transcripts, essays, media articles, pictures, trivia, and even a conjectural blueprint of the Chase house!

:)
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Post by Sascha » Jan 21st 2004, 6:30 am

Nostradamus wrote:Come to think of it, even when the dvd project was in its infancy, the fans already had access to a lot of "behind the scenes" information right here at MSCL.com. When I first found the site, it took me days to go through all the transcripts, essays, media articles, pictures, trivia, and even a conjectural blueprint of the Chase house!
And we will continue this path. It's been very slow with updates on MSCL.com in the past years, but I promise, this will change this year. I've got my university degree and a half-time job, so finally more time to work on the site, which will lead to significant changes on the site hopefully around May, June. The so-called "encyclopedia" is only complete for the first episode - it's really embarassing reading the promise "coming soon" for years now on the site especially with all the information still sitting on my hard drives and CDs... :oops:. It will be a complicated path avoiding copyright issues and other nasty stuff, but my goal is to continue creating a worthy online tribute to "My So-Called Life", it's creators and fans. I agree with what has been said before in this thread - the DVD bonus material is nowhere near the expectations of a fan of the show. Just look at the Special Collectors Editon of "Freaks & Geeks" for a *real* fan edition. As Jason wrote, there were some cast and crew members willing to help us with the DVD and I hope that we'll find a way to "use them" for the site and items like the "DVD pop-up commentary", hopefully creating a free "bonus website" in the end. We will at least continue trying.

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