Troma’s Blu-rays Questioned by High-Def Digest
posted in News |A recent entry posted on April, 2, 2012 on the blog High-Def Digest, written by Nate Boss, discussed the recent complaints that some fans may have concerning Blu-ray discs. such as exclusive distribution failures, inept packing, announcement teases/delays etc.
Part of the article even criticized Troma for not releasing all of our titles on Blu-ray. It was understood that the cost of releasing Blu-rays is expensive but for some reason the misapprehension was that we were unwilling to reach a deal with a company who could release more of our titles! We made sure to reply back that we would love to release more but are just unable to and asked if they had some suggestions for us. If the cost of releasing more Blu-ray discs interferes with being able to produce new movies, we’re sure our fans would agree that they’d rather us spend the money on making new films!
The following is an excerpt from High Def Digest:
“Troma, and how it’s apparently worth less than even Miramax – I absolutely love Lloyd Kaufman. The man is a hilarious writer and shrewd businessman responsible for some of the most tasteless cinema out there. However, when it comes to Blu-ray, I hate Kaufman and Troma. Due to the costs of Blu-ray production versus the low sales for the product that was released, when I asked the owner of the company on Twitter if we’d ever see more titles from them, like the much anticipated ‘Toxic Avenger’ films, I was told it was not likely to happen. Lots of other companies have seen their unviable product released on Blu-ray. Sony has Image release their lesser titles. 20th Century Fox has tapped Anchor Bay for their less-than-gems. Why can’t/won’t Kaufman reach some kind of deal with another company willing to release this product if they are unwilling? The trash/cult film market isn’t being ignored on Blu-ray, even if one of the greatest distributors of the genre is holding out.â€
This was our response:
Dear Mr. Boss,
Thanks for your kind words about Troma, and your constructive criticism, in your article on High-Def Digest this past Monday. The reason we don’t release more films on blu-ray, as you mentioned, is because it’s expensive and the sales don’t always warrant the transfer.
Historically we have found it impossible to get our blu-ray titles into mainstream chain retailers. In fact we are economically blacklisted generally-not just home video. Even major Troma films like Trey Parker’s Cannibal! the Musical and Citizen Toxie have never played on any form of US television. This means that for Troma the choice comes down to losing money on blu-ray releases or producing new films – we aren’t in a position to do both. Based on the feedback we receive from audiences, new Troma movies have more appeal to our fans than more blu-ray releases.
We are licensing some of our titles to external companies, like the upcoming Mother’s Day, but if you have any suggestions or connections at other companies that do this, we’d be very grateful to hear them.
If you’d like to read the entire blog: http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Industry_Trends/High-Def_Retailing/Nate_Boss/Youre_Still_Doing_It_Wrong_More_Blu-ray_Blunders/9155