---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 27 Jan 1997 21:57:30 -0500
From: Brad Lascelle <panda@huron.net>
Newsgroups: alt.fan.sailor-moon, rec.arts.anime.misc, rec.arts.animation
Subject: [UPDATE] SM Returns In June; DiC Negotiating For SMR Movie
New developments with regards to Sailor Moon's everchanging
status on North American airwaves emerged today, as Program
Exchange... the syndicator that DiC has recruited to distribute Sailor
Moon later this year... has bumped up the availability date of SM's
syndicated relaunch from September to June in the United States.
In a conversation with Mary Jo Winchester, Vice-President of
Cloverway (Toei's North American entity), earlier this afternoon, she
confirmed the new developments and also passed along some additional
details which will be disclosed here for the first time.
While 'firm' details have not been revealed publically as yet,
it is expected at this time that new episodes will be arriving in the
highly prosperous Canadian market on YTV this fall. 26 episodes is
the rough figure at this time, although more might be added further
down the line... dub production would continue where it originally
left off, with Episode 73 of Sailor Moon R.
Specific details as to whether or not DiC will continue with
the show's present Canadian distributor, Kaleidoscope Entertainment,
or the production studio hired for the original 65 episodes, Optimum
Productions, aren't known at this time, although I will be addressing
these issues with DiC Entertainment later on this week.
While it should be noted that this does not... and I repeat,
DOES NOT... indicate that new episodes are confirmed as yet, the fact
that an upper-level executive at Toei publically expects that at least
26 additional new episodes are on the way should not be taken lightly.
Only DiC can make those kind of confirmations, and they are not
obligated to elaborate on their current plans until they're good and
ready... however, a number of individuals from Toei to Randy Zalken at
Kaleidoscope to George Irwin at Irwin Toys to the original cast, crew,
and production team to Bandai to local and national affiliates from
Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and isolated markets of the United
States are ALL anxious to see new episodes hit the streets. This
isn't just a matter of scattered fans crying out to corporate
America... DiC wants further growth out of their Sailor Moon franchise
just as much as anyone.
Winchester also disclosed that negotiations for the rights to
the Sailor Moon R Movie are in progress with DiC... and that it's
quite likely that they will come to terms on an agreement. While DiC
may pursue other distribution outlets, the likely venue for the dubbed
version of the SMR Movie will be via a direct-to-video release of the
title via Buena Vista.
(It should be noted that Buena Vista is the present distributor
of the existing Sailor Moon episode compilation tapes. Disney's
upcoming dubbed Ghibli works... of which Kiki's Delivery Service and
Laputa: Castle In The Sky are presently in production... will also be
released under that label.)
For further reference, the information pertaining to two
separate parties negotiating for the SMR Movie rights that was made
public on the 'Voice Stars' website on December 14th was indeed
accurate. Buena Vista was one of those companies... the other party
was Dazartan International, a group of Canadian virtual investors
headed by Steve Mittler who were looking into a faithful translation
of the SMR Movie which would be released via video across North
America... with possible theatrical releases in isolated markets and
a televised airing which may have followed afterwards.
While the proposal was supposedly sound, it is certainly
understandable that Buena Vista maintains a more comprehensive and
ingrained distribution net for their products, and is certainly more
stable in terms of reliability, support, and tradition. DiC's
established familiarity with the Sailor Moon franchise is certainly
another notable asset which came into play.
With regards to the release of new episodes in the U.S.
market... as well as the thriving markets of New Zealand and
Australia, where the dub has already garnered a great deal of
success... firm details are not being disclosed at this time, although
one must certainly speculate that DiC would wish to release new shows
in both Canada and the U.S. at as minimal an interval as possible.
It should also be noted that Andy Heyward, president of DiC,
has already stated on August 6th that "the kid's syndication business
in the U.S. is extremely competitive with very few choice time
periods, and this ultimately limited the potential to build a large
audience" in a public press release.
Thus, it is certainly expected that DiC would still be intent
on securing a more viable outlet for the series... be it via a network
or weekend syndication... where available timeslots are a little more
prosperous.
As stated earlier, the Program Exchange daily syndication
agreement may essentially be a means of re-establishing Sailor Moon's
presence on U.S. airwaves in order to make further production efforts
(such as new episodes or movies) be viable and accepted in the rigid
American marketplace. In light of the series' breakthrough success in
Canada... and Heyward's earlier comments... one must expect that DiC
will not be content to simply settle for an obscure amount of
timeslots in syndication.
As to whether or not Bandai will re-establish its relationship
with DiC as further exploration of the SM franchise in English-based
markets is pursued, is somewhat of an unknown at this time. Not many
individuals are sure of what to make of Bandai right now, as their
merger with Sega caught a lot of industry analysts by surprise.
The 7 episode compilation tapes of existing dubs which were
planned to hit the market from December through February via Buena
Vista (in addition to the current three already on the market) have
been delayed at this time. The box art is still being worked on and
the discussions pertaining to the SMR Movie are holding up the process
to some degree. It is still expected that these tapes will hit the
market, and I've made a point of contacting Matt Lasorsa at Buena
Vista who will hopefully elaborate on the current status of the videos
later on this week.
The original three tapes featuring "A Moon Star Is Born", "Talk
Radio", "Computer School Blues", "An Uncharmed Life", "Cruise Blues",
and "Match Point For Sailor Moon" will be released in Australia and
New Zealand for the first time later on this month.
For further information on the current situation, I urge you to
check out the extensive information packet that DiC has provided with
the 'Save Our Sailors' fan movement. It can be accessed via their
website at:
http://dau.physics.sunysb.edu/~ming/sos/smreturns.html
Regardless of any criticisms you may have towards the movement
itself, I think SOS deserves a great deal of credit for keeping the
North American fanbase as readily informed about the situation as
possible at any given time. The folks at DiC also deserve some thanks
for passing this information along to the fanbase... it serves as a
great deal of commitment on their part and it's certainly appreciated.
For those of you interested in discussing the ongoing
developments in an open forum, I encourage you to head over to either
#supportsailors on EFNet or #sailormoon on Undernet, where I will be
making myself available for comment on these current developments from
10:00pm to midnight on both Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.
Feel free to raise any questions you might have regarding this
bulletin, the Program Exchange information relayed on the SOS website,
or any other relevant details you might be curious about.
== Brad Lascelle <panda@huron.net>
* Sailor Moon Returning To U.S. Markets In June