Anthony Romero: Mill Creek Entertainment, through relationships with Kadokawa and Sony, has released a few Toho and Toho related titles to the home video market. Today I'm talking with Barrett Evans, VP Marketing and Product Development, following the release of Godzilla the Series DVD and Gamera the Legacy Collection DVD.

Now without further ado, I would like to ask my first question - Mill Creek Entertainment has done a number of kaiju (Japanese giant monster) releases to date, starting with the 1990's Gamera films on Blu-ray in 2010. What started the interest in pursuing this genre?

Barrett Evans: It's a genre that keeps resurfacing and the awareness/popularity keeps growing and transferring from one generation to the next. Classic Japanese pop culture is really hot and now those who grew up with these programs can introduce them to their kids to keep the fascination going for these beloved monsters. The re-launch of Godzilla is a clear indication that the mainstream is still interested in classic movie monsters.

Romero: Going back to an earlier release, Mill Creek's Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris release on Blu-ray had a wealth of extras that clocked in at a little under three hours. This was a little abnormal from other Mill Creek releases, many of which are double features. What was the motivation behind this? Is there a chance we might see another release of this style for a Japanese film in the future?

Evans: The accessibility and availability of those special features was the primary reason for inclusion. Plus the sales performance and fan feedback from the initial release of the first two films together [Gamera: Guardian of the Universe / Attack of the Legion] gave us assurance that there was an audience for this additional content.

Romero: Godzilla The Complete Series is a great set, finally bringing fans a home video copy of many of the episodes that were previously unavailable. What type of sources did you get that were used to create the DVD set?

Evans: As far as we know, the materials we were provided were transferred from the original broadcast source materials.

Romero: Following up on that question, were the nine Godzilla The Series episodes that were previously released on DVD given any different source treatment in what Mill Creek Entertainment was given?

Evans: Not that we were aware of.

Romero: I realize this is a hard question to answer, depending largely on the title itself, but what is the driving force behind deciding if a movie or TV series is going to get a DVD only release or also be given a Blu-ray release as well?

Evans: The first question we ask is: Is this something that people actually want to own in HD and will it have something substantial to offer vs. previous DVD releases? Then the next question becomes: Where will people go to buy it and will they (the retailer) support it?

Romero: Are there any plans to release Godzilla The Series on Blu-ray in the future?

Evans: No – the content is Standard Definition

Romero: Mothra was previously released by Mill Creek Entertainment as part of the Sci-Fi Creatures Classics set. Any chance there might be a Blu-ray release of the 1961 film down the road?

Evans: We are exploring the possibility, but no definitive plans yet.

Romero: The Godzilla The Complete Series and the Gamera Legacy Collection 1965 to 1999 are presented with a single holder for all the discs. This requires, for example, removing the top few discs to reach the last one if needed. What was the driving reason behind this over the "flip" or "page" style DVD cases that are also typical for multi-disc releases?

Evans: It's an efficient and economical packaging solution that we choose to keep the price of our DVDs down and in-turn provide consumers with a product of outstanding value.

Romero: Mill Creek Entertainment has released a few DVDs with Toho characters on them, notably Godzilla The Series and the original Mothra (1961). Did Mill Creek work with Toho at all on these releases for approval? Or was it strictly through Sony?

Evans: Our licensing deal is with Sony, so they are our primary point of contact.

Romero: Sony is one of the content partners with Mill Creek Entertainment and together you have released a number of films in their catalog already. One property that has long interested fans, but never been given a full home video release, is the 1990's Rebirth of Mothra series. Rebirth of Mothra (1996) and Rebirth of Mothra II (1997) were both released on VHS and DVD by Tristar. However, arguably the most popular entry, Rebirth of Mothra III (1998), has never seen a home video release. Is there any chance that Sony and Mill Creek Entertainment might be interested in seeing these films released on DVD or Blu-ray?

Evans: Great ideas and are all under consideration.

Romero: The current Toho property releases from Mill Creek Entertainment were done through Sony's library of titles, but is there any chance that a future agreement direct with the Japanese film company might happen in a similar fashion to the one with Kadokawa for the Gamera and Daimajin titles? While many of the company's properties for the kaiju titles have already seen a DVD release in the states, there are still a couple that have been skimmed over, such as the 1973 Zone Fighter TV series that featured Godzilla.

Evans: Great ideas and are all under consideration.

Romero: Finally, are there any already planned Japanese releases that we might see from Mill Creek Entertainment in the future after the upcoming Gamera Legacy Collection 1965 - 1999 and Gamera: Ultimate Collection sets?

Evans: Stay tuned!

BARRETT EVANS

VP Marketing and Product Development at Mill Creek Entertainment since 2009, Mr. Evans has been with the company during their Gamera, Mothra and Godzilla releases on both DVD and Blu-ray. This includes the Heisei series of Gamera films and also the original 1961 Mothra.

Date:	05/05/2014
Interviewer:	Anthony Romero

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