I guess the way out is something along the lines of :OK you pay us back 100 Million + fees and we will let you go ... oh you dont want to pay ... ok we will produce your HD DVDs until 2010

I hope they losemillions of dollars because of this. It serves them right for being idiots.

"It really is in their court at this point to really declare what the next step will be. We're poised either way to jump..."

Uhh Dreamworks, did you miss Toshiba's press releasing saying they are no longer producing HD-DVDs anymore? Cause they already pulled out and you're under about 8 feet of water and sinking fast, you might want to swim up.

Didn't Toshiba announce they were going to quit producing the discs as well as the players? If that's the case, Dreamworks may be stuck for a few months, but I bet they can make up the loss with super deluxe special-edition overpriced Blu-Ray releases in November.

Oh man... Talk about a good way to screw yourself out of revenue...

@Spoony: True, but Toshiba hasn't let them go yet! That's the thing. They want to jump to Blu-ray but have to wait for Toshiba's go signal.

@Spoony: Dreamworks is under water?! Sweeney Todd made money. Did The Transformers lose money? 2006 was good with Letters From Iwo Jima, Flags of our Fathers, Dreamgirls. And that's not even including the animation group. And this just in from the AP...

NEW YORK - DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. shares rose Wednesday after the movie studio reported a stronger fourth quarter than analysts expected.

DreamWorks said it swung to a profit of 98 cents per share, surpassing analyst estimates. Its 42 percent revenue growth, powered by the strong box office and DVD sales of "Shrek the Third," also exceeded expectations.

The stock advanced $1.25, or 5.1 percent, to $25.69, and analysts said the improving quality of DreamWorks Animation's movies should lift the stock, and the company's profits, in 2008.

Underwater? I don't think so. HD format sales currently make up a ridiculously low % of EVERY studios sales at this point. DVD is still king.

screw sony. screw blu-ray.

Wouldn't you imagine that whatever deal the struck included language like: "Once you stop making HD-DVD players we don't have to keep making HD-DVDs"?

Paramount has better lawyers than Dreamworks that's why. As I always say it's a tax on the dumb -this time Dreamworks is the dumb.

So the kid impaling the Zombie is Dreamworks? Or the Zombie is HD-DVD. Who's dead on the floor, Michael Bay? Sorry, all this symbolism is going over my head.

ROFL so Transformers not too soon on Blu...O well I figure a group of lawyers somewhere will screw this up soon enough and we will see one format.

Considering the low percentage that HD/Blu discs make up, I don't really think Dreamworks cares that much. Even if Toshiba forces Dreamworks to stick with HD-DVD for another 6 months, I would bet that 100 million bucks is more than Dreamworks would have made on BluRay discs in that same period. Seems like a net win to me.

I had read that both Paramount and DreamWorks had it stipulated in their contracts that they had an escape clause that allowed them to null the contract when the format was no longer "viable".

If so, I'd say that DreamWorks needs to mash the big red button (no matter the cost) and sign up with Blu-ray already.

Lost revenue is lost revenue no matter how you slice it.

@ninjamurf:

Dude, what planet are you from? Every movie ever made has lost money. Event the Lord of the Rings lost money?
I bet even Shrek "lost money"...
This, of course, is using Hollywood accounting...

@ninjamurf:

All those movies "lost money". Even the lord of the rings lost money. Titanic lost money.

This, of course, is according to Hollywood accounting...

hey double post! Shweeeet!

that fuckin sucks.....o well

Someone had a better opt-out clause

Wait so they have to wait for HD DVD to be officially discontinued before they can leave? That sucks...and slightly retarded.

sorry, but this is very funny hahahahahaha

@Seiven: HUH?
transformers is paramount. not dreamworks.
BTW paramount went "RED" only a few days before the release of transformers. surely they had the movie in BD format. am i to believe they destroyed those discs or what? what's the hold-up?..

Oh no! You mean I won't be able to watch all those crappy Shrek sequels in beautiful HD just yet? No! Tell me it ain't so! Damn... guess I'll just have to enjoy my quality Pixar films on the HDTV instead...

I wonder if they're just beeing extra cautious. Toshiba's official announcement said they be out of the business at the end of March. Notice how Paramount said they were going Blu, but didn't announce any timetable? Things that make you go hmmmm....

HAHAHA

Come on guys, let's put on our imagination cap here:

A captive audience of HD DVD users, and you are the only source of movies? Dreamworks is going to be rich -- RICH, I tell you.

Sorry Roger, You Tiger Now!

Kids, this is how it works. Dreamworks and Paramount has a clause in their contract that says they can opp out if Warner switches to Blu-Ray exclusively. So they can opt out now if they want.

The thing is...they want to switch to BluRay but also keep the 150 million that Toshiba gave them. So how do they do that? Easy....Wait a few months till Toshiba decides that they will make blu-ray players exclusively...then Dreamworks and Paramount will keep their bonus money...since they are sticking to their contract...and still have their titles published on blu-ray.

You kids are very dump to think that hollywood executives are not as smart as a bunch of japanese gadget makers.

oh by the way...hi-def disks are a very small fraction of overall dvd sales for these studios...so they are making more money from the bonus money than if they sell their content via blu-ray or hd or download or whatever. the bonus money trumps all.

BUT - with all that said - They actually have an out on a "Per Movie" basis_

Anything Steven Speilberg ties his name to is exempt from those obligations_ So for example - Transformers was a Dreamworks project - which should obligate them to release an HD DVD version only [or whatever the contract stipulates] but since Spielberg was an Executive Producer on the Film - he would be able to speak up for putting it on Blu-Ray as well [maybe not switched exclusively tho]_

Paramount Home Entertainment will issue new releases day and date as well as catalog titles exclusively on HD DVD. Today's announcement does not include films directed by Steven Spielberg as his films are not exclusive to either format.

LINK:
[gizmodo.com]

Executive produce =/= direct

@firemillen2: You are dead wrong for reasons I'm too lazy and web-related indifferent to explain!

@uberfu: he needs to put out "Schindler's List" in hi-def. doesnt matter which one. put it out in HDDVD and watch toshiba sell out all their remaining players in a heart-beat.... ditto for "E.T"....

I have said this before, and they are screwed for not taking my advice. Sony was not going to lose the HD war because they lost the betamax nightmare and firsthand saw what they lost to VHS, and it was NOT going to happen a second time. Sony simply would do whatever it took, because they lost it one time, and they would not let it happen again. How fans of HDDVD didn't see this coming, that they would bribe or pay whatever it took, is amazing.
Sony has execs who remember this, they lived through it, how someone can think that they are going to go through this a second time was sadly mistaken.

Actually, isn't Dreamworks owned by Paramount? It's usually referred to as a Paramount/Dreamworks thing. (And Transformers is Dreamworks - it had the Dreamworks logo followed by the Paramount one).

Somewhat strange.

@Hello_Newman:

I have said this before, and they are screwed for not taking my advice.

If only I had listened. What a fool I was.
But never again. What next, o wise one?
Fill me with your wisdom that I may never stray again.
What's our next move?
Obama? Clinton? Paul? PAUL?