Kickstarter has only been around for a few years (it was founded in 2008), but since then it’s become an essential tool for people looking to raise money for…just about anything. We’ve certainly mentioned it a time or two here on the Mr. Skin blog. So it was only natural that when DistribPix needed to stir up interest (and yeah, some money) for a Blu-ray release of their deluxe restoration of Radley Metger’s classic The Opening of Misty Beethoven , they would turn to the popular crowd-funding site. The campaign was a great success- over a hundred people backed the project, which raised over 80% of its $10,000 goal with more than two weeks left to go. But Kickstarter wasn’t feeling the love, and citing “community standards” has pulled the campaign with no plans to re-instate it . As DistribPix’s Steven Morowitz (who we interviewed recently on the Mr. Skin blog ) said yesterday in an email to donors: ” Despite the film’s historical importance, its artistic merit, and all of our hard work on the film, extras and campaign, Kickstarter has decided that Misty is too sexy for the site and is in the process of terminating the campaign. Your credit cards will not be charged . ..Obviously, we’re unhappy about this turn of events. We can name 4 or 5 projects with with similar content which have been allowed to progress to completion.” “Just wanted to let everyone know that Kickstarter has upheld their ruling that the Misty project was offering a reward with ‘objectionable content’ in violation of their community standards,” he updated this morning. “The project page will be pulled from Kickstarter sometime today.” So if you backed DistribPix’s Misty campaign, Morowitz is asking that you email them at Steven at VideoXPix.com with your name and your pledge level so they can remain in contact after the Kickstarter page is gone. And this isn’t the end of the line for Misty by any means. Morowitz and his team are currently investigating other crowd-sourcing sites and, if they need to, will continue to run the campaign (with additional rewards) directly from their website. As Steven writes on his blog: “So the best way to look at it, is that the KS thing was a dry run, now we know we have the interest…My team has put too much into this project, to have anything get in our way, we are determined!” For updates on the ongoing saga of Misty Beethoven on Blu-ray, you can connect with DistribPix on their blog and on Facebook and Twitter . And to find out more about DistribPix’s incredible history and its owner Steven Morowitz, you can read our SKINterview with Steven right here on the Mr. Skin blog!
We’ve got a few SKINteresting re-releases for you this week on Blu-ray, but first we’ve got a question for you: What’s your opinion on fully nude French girls engaged in unsimulated acts of love? If your answer is “you had me at fully nude French girls,” then do we have a nude release for you: Desire (aka Q ) (2011), Skin Central’s top SKINternational film of 2011 and an excellent example of having your cake (or in this cake, your split-beaver shots) and eating it too. Is it art disguised as porn, or porn disguised as art? Either way, it’s recommended on DVD. And in Blu-ray nudes, we’ve got a trio of re-releases that’ll take you back to the glory days of the ’80s: Cocktail (1988), The Color of Money (1986), and Sea of Love (1989). More after the jump!
When we talked to Process Blue archivist Joe Rubin recently on the Mr. Skin blog, he mentioned that his company was partnering with classic adult distributor DistribPix on some exciting projects. Well, we’ve got an update for you, and it’s certainly an exciting one: DistribPix and Process Blue are wrapping up their restoration of Radley Metzger ‘s The Opening of Misty Beethoven (1976), the classic “Pygmalion porn” starring Constance Money (above) as a streetwalker who’s transformed into a sex goddess by the very hands-on Dr. Seymour Love ( Jamie Gillis ). Misty is one of the best (and biggest budget) adult features ever, and DistribPix is giving it an appropriately deluxe 2-disc special edition that includes not only the beautiful HD restoration, but tons of special features, too. Now DIstribPix is polling (no pun intended) fans to gauge interest in a potential Blu-ray release , so if you want to see Misty in full HD, let them know on their blog ! Find out more about DistribPix’s Misty Beethoven re-release, including the exclusive artwork , after the jump!
When it rains, it pours, and we are positively dripping with skin-filled options this week on DVD and Blu-ray: First, True Blood Season 4 hits DVD with things that go hump in the night like Anna Paquin , Alexandra Breckenridge and Janina Gavankar . Then hot hockey groupies Brandy Jaques and Veronica Malinowski flash their pucks in Goon (2011), Tilda Swinton gives us something to talk about in We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011), and Harriet Andersson gives us a tit-story lesson in Summer with Monika (1953), the film that solidified Sweden’s reputation as a SKINema pioneer. Plus, if you prefer your vampires foxy, French, and full-frontal, check out the re-releases of Jean Rollin ‘s Demoniacs (1974), Requiem for a Vampire (1971) and The Rape of the Vampire (1967), all nude on Blu-ray. More after the jump!
When it rains, it pours, and we are positively dripping with skin-filled options this week on DVD and Blu-ray: First, True Blood Season 4 hits DVD with things that go hump in the night like Anna Paquin , Alexandra Breckenridge and Janina Gavankar . Then hot hockey groupies Brandy Jaques and Veronica Malinowski flash their pucks in Goon (2011), Tilda Swinton gives us something to talk about in We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011), and Harriet Andersson gives us a tit-story lesson in Summer with Monika (1953), the film that solidified Sweden’s reputation as a SKINema pioneer. Plus, if you prefer your vampires foxy, French, and full-frontal, check out the re-releases of Jean Rollin ‘s Demoniacs (1974), Requiem for a Vampire (1971) and The Rape of the Vampire (1967), all nude on Blu-ray. More after the jump!
The Dark Knight Rises blitz charges on as WB unveils a set of new character posters to whet your appetite for destruction. Get a peek at Bane, Catwoman and Batman posing dramatically in the dark and dreary elements as these new posters encourage you, dear Bat-fan, to RISE . (To the challenge? No, to the megaplex!) Bonus: Here’s another set of slightly less rise -able Batman-Bane-Catwoman character posters. I like the way Anne Hathaway’s masked Catwoman sits atop her cycle, head tilted in repose. Is she sad? Is she even awake? WE DON’T KNOW! The Dark Knight Rises ends the legend or whatever on July 20. [via Yahoo ]
Now that there’s no need to dance around spoilers (because everyone in the world saw it in theaters) we finally have an official Hunger Games trailer reel that includes the best scenes and plot turns of Katniss Everdeen’s journey from District 12 huntress to The Girl on Fire. Revisit highlights from Lionsgate’s mega-franchise adaptation with the Hunger Games Blu-ray trailer and see what’s in store in the jam-packed bonus features on for the August 2-disc Blu-ray and DVD release. Included in the three hours of bonus materials are an eight-part documentary on the making of the film, a sit-down chat with director Gary Ross, and the full Capitol propaganda film that appears within the movie. It would’ve been cool to see parts of the presentation and film Ross made to get the directing gig in the first place, but there are always future home video re-issues and special editions that more obscure materials could potentially find a home with. Meanwhile, start your Hunger Games Blu-ray/DVD shopping plans now, as there will undoubtedly be Twilight -level activities surrounding the release at midnight on August 18. Full press release follows: SANTA MONICA, CA, May 23, 2012 –Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games juggernaut will arrive on home entertainment at 12:01 A.M. on Saturday, August 18, as the first film in Lionsgate’s (NYSE: LGF) The Hunger Games franchise, which has already grossed nearly $400 million at the North American box office and is approaching $650 million at the worldwide box office, debuts on 2-disc DVD (plus digital copy), 2-disc Blu-Ray (plus digital copy), VOD and digital download with three hours of previously unavailable bonus materials in the biggest home entertainment launch in Lionsgate’s history, the Company announced today. The film, based on the New York Times best-selling novel from writer Suzanne Collins, achieved a remarkable four-week run as the #1 film at the North American theatrical box office where it has already grossed $392 million, ranking as the 14th highest-grossing film of all time, and it is approaching $650 million at the worldwide box office with an early June opening slated in China. The 2-disc Blu-ray and 2-disc DVD arrive loaded with over three hours of extensive bonus materials including the comprehensive eight-part documentary, “The World is Watching: Making of The Hunger Games.” Other special features include a sit-down conversation with director Gary Ross as well as numerous featurettes that examine the global success of the books, the creation of the control room in the film and the filmmakers’ motivation behind creating new scenes that were not in the book plus much more. The Blu-ray Disc set contains an additional exclusive feature, “Preparing for the Games: A Director’s Process,” which looks at the progression of taking three key scenes from the book to the screen. The Hunger Games Blu-ray Disc and DVD is a must-have film that is hailed as “exciting and thought-provoking in a way few adventure dramas ever are” (New York Daily News). Fans will be able to pre-order the Blu-ray Disc and DVD, starting on Friday, May 25th, for $39.99 and $30.98, respectively. “The motion picture event of the year is poised to become the home entertainment event of the year and, with a midnight launch and midnight retail events scheduled at stores around the country, we expect to replicate the same level of consumer excitement generated by the film’s theatrical debut,” said Ron Schwartz, Lionsgate Executive Vice President & General Manager, Home Entertainment. “This is far and away the biggest home entertainment launch in Lionsgate’s history and, true to a theatrical marketing campaign that incorporated an unprecedented reliance on digital and traditional media alike, our home entertainment launch will involve a similarly innovative and integrated digital and packaged media rollout that we will unveil in the weeks ahead.” Directed by Academy Award® nominee Gary Ross (Seabiscuit), The Hunger Games, starring Academy Award® nominee Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone), features an ensemble cast that includes Golden Globe® winner Donald Sutherland (Citizen X), Academy Award® nominee Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones), Academy Award® nominee Woody Harrelson (The People vs. Larry Flynt), Lenny Kravitz (Precious) and Emmy® nominee Elizabeth Banks (TV’s “30 Rock”). The film also stars some of the industry’s brightest up and coming actors such as Josh Hutcherson (The Kids Are All Right) and Liam Hemsworth (The Expendables 2). The Hunger Games is the first in a trilogy of books published by Scholastic that has already become a literary phenomenon with over 36.5 million copies in circulation. Set in the future, one male and one female from each of the twelve districts of the nation is forced to participate in the annual competition called The Hunger Games, which is broadcast live throughout the country for the entertainment of the Capitol’s wealthy residents. Sixteen year old Katniss Everdeen (Lawrence) volunteers in her younger sister’s place to enter the games, and is forced to rely upon her sharp instincts as well as the mentorship of drunken former victor Haymitch Abernathy when she’s pitted against highly-trained Tributes who have prepared for these Games their entire lives. If she’s ever to return home to District 12, Katniss must make impossible choices in the arena that weigh survival against humanity and life against love. BLU-RAY & DVD SPECIAL FEATURES* “The World is Watching: Making of The Hunger Games” – an eight-part documentary covering the “making of” the film in all aspects from the pre-production process all the way through the theatrical release and fan reactions “Game Maker: Suzanne Collins and The Hunger Games Phenomenon” featurette “Letters from the Rose Garden” featurette – insights from Donald Sutherland on the development of his role as President Snow “Controlling the Games” featurette – stories and concepts behind creating the control center “A Conversation with Gary Ross and Elvis Mitchell” Propaganda Film (in its entirety) Marketing Archive “Preparing for The Games: A Director’s Process” (Blu-ray Exclusive) * Subject to change [via Lionsgate]
It’s another slow week for DVD and Blu-ray, but we’ve still got a smattering of perfectly sensual (and perfectly horrifying) releases for you. First off, she isn’t at her nudest in Perfect Sense (2011), but some mid-range T&A from Eva Green still beats most stars’ entire naked output, and it’s nude on DVD and Blu-ray. Plus, we’ve got a trio of forbidden fantasies made flesh as Bettie Page: Dark Angel (2004) and Isla, The Wicked Warden (1980) are re-released on DVD and A Serbian Film (2009) arrives in an even more gruesome uncut form. More after the jump!
New in theaters, Anna Faris stars in The Dictator but keeps herself covered. So we’re giving a one-handed salute to Faris’ bare ass in The House Bunny (2008). Plus, the Walking Tall trilogy is nude on Blu-ray, and Lynn Borden and Angel Tompkins will give you a big stick of your own. Also nude on Blu-ray, Stefania Casini stars in the NC-17 shocker 1900 (1976). Stefania demonstrates proper “ski pole” technique in a gleesome threesome with Gerard Depardieu and Robert DeNiro. You tugging’ on meat?
Good news for anyone who couldn’t get enough of Kenneth Lonergan’s flawed , fearless , possibly cursed epic Margaret : The forthcoming DVD will feature a 186-minute cut — 36 minutes longer than the version all but buried last year by Fox Searchlight before a cadre of critical supporters rallied on its behalf. The not-so-good news, if high-definition transfers of talky moral dramas are of particular importance to you: The 150-minute version will reportedly be the only one available on Blu-ray when it goes on sale July 10 . But hey. We take what we can get in this world. [ Amazon ]
