Audio Video News

Film director John Waters will lead off the DVD Entertainment 2001 Conference & Showcase, to be held August 22 & 23, 2001 at the Hilton Universal City & Towers, in Universal City, CA. Conference organizers announced on June 5 that Waters would give a keynote presentation entitled "From the Lens to Plastic: A Typically Unorthodox View of DVD," detailing how the format has brought his work to a new audience.

Conference attendees are certain to be entertained by Waters, who built his career exploring the comedic aspects of the lurid underside of American life. He's an exceptionally witty extemporaneous speaker, who could have been equally successful pursuing a career as a deadpan comic. An art collector, he gave the keynote speech at New York's 1999 Exit Art fundraiser to tremendous applause. His films include underground classics from the late 1960s and early '70s, such as Multiple Maniacs, Mondo Trasho, and Pink Flamingos, and more mainstream but still offbeat offerings from the 1980s and '90s like Polyester, Hairspray, Cry Baby, Serial Mom, and Pecker. His most recent film is Cecil B. Demented, released last year.

Waters will bring a unique perspective to DVD Entertainment 2001. "John Waters is recognized as one of the legendary underground filmmakers from the 1970s whose no-holds-barred approach to independent movie-making has changed the face of the industry forever," commented International Recording Media Association (IRMA) president Charles Van Horn. "His challenging visionary approach has been carried over to today, as DVD technology allows filmmakers a greater freedom of personal expression and the ability to [communicate] on a much more interactive level with the viewing audience. Waters' unique point of view into the ways in which DVD has brought new life to his projects promises, like his films, to be an unforgettable experience at this year's conference and showcase."

The two-day event will include executive-level seminars and will offer a "comprehensive showcase of DVD technologies for studios, labels, producers, and facilities involved in the creation, production, and distribution of DVD video, audio, and ROM entertainment titles," according to pre-event publicity. Among the scheduled presentations are the economics of DVD, developing games for DVD, multichannel music production for DVD, the adult market and DVD, packaging and menu designs for DVD, and an examination of DVD-recordable, now a market reality. Participating companies include Panasonic Disc Services Corporation, Sony Electronics, Sony Disc Manufacturing, Dolby Laboratories, dts Enterprises, New Line Home Entertainment, 5.1 Entertainment, InterActual, Vivid Interactive, Sonic Solutions, Technicolor, Music Video Distributors, Anchor Bay Entertainment, DVD Hitachi America Ltd., JVC Disc America, and Mitsui Advanced Media.

DVD Entertainment 2001 is being co-produced by IRMA and by Medialine magazine, and is being co-sponsored by Sony Disc Manufacturing, Dolby Laboratories, DVD Entertainment Group, and InterActual.