The Extras - A Very Special Warner Archive 15th Anniversary Celebration

Episode Date: March 27, 2024

George Feltenstein joins the podcast for a celebration of the 15th anniversary of the Warner Archive.  George retraces the early history and honors several Warner Bros executives who initiated the co...ncept and development of WAC.   He recalls the launch event on March 23, 2009 with Debbie Reynolds.  And he shares his gratitude for the devoted fans who have championed Warner Archive's mission, propelling it from a fledgling DVD on-demand service to an industry leader revered for its Blu-ray collections and commitment to restoration excellence.We then end the podcast with some of the many heartfelt phone calls left by Warner Archive devotees sharing what the archive means to them, and their appreciation of George Feltenstein and the staff at the Warner Archive.The Extras Facebook pageThe Extras Twitter Warner Archive & Warner Bros Catalog GroupOtaku Media produces podcasts, behind-the-scenes extras, and media that connect creatives with their fans and businesses with their consumers. Contact us today to see how we can work together to achieve your goals. www.otakumedia.tv

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey, this is Kerr from Maryland wishing a happy 15th anniversary to the Warner Archive. Hello, I am Kevin from Valley Stream, Long Island, and I have to tell you the Warner Archive is the best thing that's ever happened to me. Good morning, George. This is Frank from near Philadelphia, PA. I'm just calling to congratulate you on your 15th anniversary. Hi George and the Warner Archive. My name is Sandy.
Starting point is 00:00:31 I'm calling all the way from Australia. I love you guys and appreciate all that you do. Hello there. I'm Lloyds in California and I just wanted to call in and say thank you to the Warner Archive for the wonderful work they do. Yes. My name is John and I'm from Oklahoma. I'd like to give thanks to Warner Archive for all the work they've done these last 15 years.
Starting point is 00:00:52 Hi, this is Richard New Jersey and I just want to say what would we do without the Warner Archive? Hello and welcome to The Extras where we take you behind the scenes of your favorite TV shows, movies and animation and then release on digital DVD, Blu-ray and 4K or your favorite streaming site. I'm Tim Larder, your host and joining me today for our special Warner Archive 15th anniversary podcast is of course, George Feldstein of the Warner Archive 15th anniversary podcast is of course, George Feltonstein of the Warner Archive. Hi, George. Hello, Tim. And happy anniversary to us at Warner Archive. Yes. Happy anniversary. You know, it's a date on the calendar, but it's a special date today
Starting point is 00:01:39 because 15 years ago you launched what has become a service and a boutique so important to so many people. And it's great to celebrate this milestone with you. But here it is 15 years. What's kind of going through your mind today, this week, this month, as you think back on this journey? The first word that comes to my mind unequivocably is gratitude. Gratitude to all the people, the consumers who have supported our efforts from the early inception years, which were limited in terms of what packaging looked like and what kind of
Starting point is 00:02:25 things we could release. The business kept growing and changing and evolving. Within three years we started Blu-rays. Blu-ray would eventually become our prime focus, which it is now, and I'm just overwhelmed by what the team of people involved and many people have come and gone. And so many people contributed to making this business the success that it is. But no one contributed more to the success than the customer base of film fans and cinema enthusiasts and
Starting point is 00:03:08 television enthusiasts and animation enthusiasts and DC enthusiasts and everything that mixes those things together. There are so many different groups of fans and what we're trying to do is please everyone, which is an impossible task, but we're trying to do as good a job as we can to hit most points and at the same time to deliver profitability to our shareholders. Now, some people may hear that and think, oh, it's all about, yes, this is a public company, is a profit generating revenue source for incremental revenue within Warner Brothers Discovery.
Starting point is 00:03:56 And that's my primary job is to earn my keep by making a business that is profitable. earn my keep by making a business that is profitable. In the process, we have been able to achieve things we haven't thought we would be able to do in the past. I can see a future with broader growth. Particularly at this point now, as we're nearing the end of the first quarter of 2024, I still maintain that the quality and diversity of our releases this year is going to really
Starting point is 00:04:39 hit home what I hoped we would be able to do, which was to hit the broadest possible swathes of fans within the audience. Well, I know we've talked about the early days back in March of 2009 when you launched and I couldn't help but think back to that a little bit. And I think we probably have some listeners though that haven't heard a little bit of that story. What do you recall about that week? I know you had some special guests
Starting point is 00:05:14 that were part of the launch and help you bring that to the press and other outlets. What do you recall about that day and maybe remind us who was involved in the launch? Well, getting to the launch was a multi-year process. And that in and of itself is quite huge in how much went into the planning of creating something like this that didn't exist When is the planning of creating something like this didn't exist and defied a lot of the rules that were basically obstructionist to making more. Film and television programs and animation available once we were planning to launch.
Starting point is 00:06:07 The day started with debbie reynolds making a live appearance in the third hour of the Today Show from New York. Our first releases were March 23rd 2009 and we hit the market with 150 titles that were not previously available on DVD and several of them, at least three or four, were films that Debbie Reynolds was in. She was delighted to be a spokesperson on our behalf. I was delighted. I didn't ask her personally, even though she's a good friend. It was done by another staff
Starting point is 00:06:46 member here who approached her professionally so that it would not be, Oh, Debbie, you're George's friend. Will you do this as a favor for George? No, it wasn't like that at all. It was something where we compensated her for her work in flying to New York and promoting our new business. And then later that night, it was a Monday, I believe, if I'm remembering correctly, we had a live chat on the home theater forum, which was something we used to do every year. With the changing of the internet and the importance of social media, chats like that where it takes,
Starting point is 00:07:36 you get a question and then you wait five minutes to read the whole question, and then you have to type an answer, and it's slow as molasses. It's a product of its time. It was a great way to connect with our consumers and our fans and our loyal group of really supporters. really supporters and that group of people has broadened as our release schedule broadened and we were releasing more and more different things. So that night it was like a bombshell and we were at the very beginning just operating through a now long defunct inner e-commerce site that
Starting point is 00:08:28 ran on our own website and it was the WB Shop. Very quickly, it was discovered that the only thing that was profitable within the WB shop was Warner Archive. It was sliced out of that conjoined operation. Eventually, we made deals with every retail account that had an online presence. The industry and the accounts have changed quite a bit since 2009. I think everyone is aware of that. But our adherence to the support of physical media and the support we are getting internally for physical media and making it available in the way that we choose to do,
Starting point is 00:09:27 which is to try to take the very best approach. Now we've set a standard for ourselves that is very constricting in that we're insisting on perfection. There shall be no specks, no dirt, nothing detracting from the presentation being anything but pristine. That's very, very hard to do. And the thanks to that, and I say this over and over again,
Starting point is 00:10:01 go to Warner Brothers Motion Picture Imaging, the staff there is amazing. The colorists we work with there are incredible. The people that scan the film and Warner Brothers Archival Mastering that works on the audio, all these people need to be applauded. I can't mention them all by name because we would be here all night. But without the support of such wonderful colleagues who are so dedicated, we wouldn't be able to do what we do. So looking back 2009, we were kind of lone gunmen in a sense because we weren't getting the support internally,
Starting point is 00:10:49 because no one was recognizing the need. We weren't remastering originally. We were using things that were shelf masters, but I insisted they had to be the proper aspect ratio they had to be from digitally progressive sources. And then it became very obvious to us that we needed to get to blu ray but how. Because it was so much more expensive and the quality level had to be higher but eventually we did and we're still. I think we're continually reaching new levels of ability to restore and present things in a very fine way that makes me very proud and makes me very grateful to everybody that we work with.
Starting point is 00:11:43 I'm sure there have been many gratifying moments over the last 15 years, but I thought I would ask you if there were any things that kind of stand out as you think back. I know it's all gratifying and the response and everything, but is there anything that kind of comes to mind? Well, there are several things, and I have to say that one of the greatest vindications was being able to release Batman Mask of the Phantasm on Blu-ray. When no one here, I had to ask permission because the DC animation was kind of under
Starting point is 00:12:33 the control of other people and there was no Blu-ray. The fans were dying to have it in high definition. So I asked, we were able to do it, and knowing that that film had an iteration initially of being intended as a direct-to-video and television project, and then halfway through they changed their minds to make it a theatrical release. The animation was designed in certain cases for full aperture, 137 aspect ratio, or 133 for television I should say. So what we did was we made the Blu-ray have both versions so the fans could choose which way they wanted to see the film. The thing was made in 1993, our release was 2017. A lot of people grew up seeing it on VHS and on 4x3 televisions with an
Starting point is 00:13:44 open mat and seeing that animation on the top and on 4x3 televisions with an open mat and seeing that animation on the top and the bottom that would be cropped, so we gave them a choice. What was so incredibly successful on a financial basis as well as a critical basis, that that led to more recently the DC marketing team electing to put it out in 4K, which is wonderful. I had nothing to do with that, but I did manage to remind people that this was not like the current made for video DC animation,
Starting point is 00:14:32 where it's basically digitally oriented. I had to explain this was film. They needed to go back to the original negative and do this 4k the way we do every 4k that is film based and that is by scanning the original negative. That brings up of course the eternal question why isn't Warner Archive releasing in 4K. And the reason is very simple. It is four times the cost to do color correction, most importantly cleaning up the image and manufacture. Everything is so much more expensive and we are still in a very constricted budget, but I feel that most of what we release could not be improved with a 4k presentation because within the photography there may not even be more than 2K's worth of information.
Starting point is 00:15:45 So by scanning in 4K with our new releases, as we often do, not always, but often, we're creating something really terrific. Now, back in 2009, to go to your question, Tim, originally, I never dreamed we'd be able to get to Blu-ray. And it took three years, and it was an innovation created by a former colleague who was really one of the architects of the growth of the Warner Archive.
Starting point is 00:16:23 I don't think there's any problem in mentioning his name. His name is Michael Cardulo. He had an enormous impact in growing the business. I loved working with him. He's been away from us for many years now, but he's very successful where he is now. And I'm very happy for him. But talking about the 15th anniversary, I have to talk about Mike's contribution.
Starting point is 00:16:55 He got us to Blu-ray. I would be remiss if I also didn't mention the true father of the Warner Archive, the man that came up with the idea of manufacturing on demand to make more content available in a cost-effective manner. That's Jim Wetheridge, our former president of content sales, former president of Home Entertainment worldwide, and dear friend and a wonderful guy.
Starting point is 00:17:25 He started brainstorming this in 2002, wrote me in 2006, and got promoted two days before the launch of the Warner Archive. So he was there for preparing for the birth of the baby, but on the actual birthday, he was beginning his first day as president of international home entertainment and digital distribution, but remained a stalwart supporter of Warner Archive through all his years and very, very grateful to him. So thinking back along those milestones, certainly the Batman Mask of the Phantasm release was a big deal.
Starting point is 00:18:11 But also, I will look to more recent events. We were told that we couldn't do anything with Looney Tunes. thing with Looney Tunes. And I got a special dispensation to come up with this wild project for DVD, Porky Pig 101, where we would get all the Porky Pig Looney Tunes. Basically, there are 101 of them. And there was one color, Merry Melodies in there, Old Glory, and then an early appearance he made also in color.
Starting point is 00:18:52 But it was basically black and white. We had no budget, there was no remastering. Some of the cartoons didn't have proper music, the elements had been all screwed up, but 98% of the people that bought it loved it and found it very entertaining. But that kind of cracked open the door a little bit to what we hoped for, which was to be able to continue to do what had been stopped, which was release more Looney
Starting point is 00:19:27 Tunes on Blu-ray. And that finally began with the Collector's Choice Volume 1, which just happened last year. And Volume 3 was just released a week and a half ago as we record this. And we are assuming that volume four is following. We're looking at the sales of volume three to make sure they support it but I'm 99% sure volume three is in the off, volume four excuse me, is in the offing and so many animation projects and television projects that seemed out of our reach, as well as some really impressive feature films as well. The support from the company and my colleagues has been really wonderful, and that's going to make it a better experience for consumers as they start to have more and more of what they want.
Starting point is 00:20:29 We have a goldmine of a library and that in and of itself creates a dilemma. We only have so many resources of people that have to put these things together. of people that have to put these things together. And the slim resource support is something that most people wouldn't believe if they knew. Years ago, when we started Warner Archive, and it was just a DVD manufacturer on demand business, we had people visit us from a competitive studio. They wanted to see the floor where all the Warner Archive people were. We introduced ourselves as a group of maybe 10 people at the time. They thought, oh my gosh,
Starting point is 00:21:22 don't you have 40, 50 people working on this? to have like, don't you have like 40, 50 people working on this? It was like, no, it's just us. And there's much less now than there were. But we're moving along and getting great support internally from the company and from our colleagues. So the future is looking very bright. And none of this would be possible. Not only, of course, with the support of consumers who buy our product and support our product,
Starting point is 00:21:54 but also to you, Tim, because when we lost our Warner Archive podcast, I had no way of being able to communicate to consumers what our product is really about, what our titles are about, what these releases are about, what went into them, how they came to be, why they're important, why they're not important but essential to own because they are whacked. I mean, we have everything you could think of. And by being a guest on the extras, Tim, you have enabled us at Warner Archive to get our message to the consumer and hopefully illuminate, educate,
Starting point is 00:22:36 and enlighten the audience to what all these releases are about and why they should be part of a serious collection, depending on taste, not everything is for everyone. But that's why we try to be diversifying our release schedule so it isn't too heavily leaning in any one direction. Yeah, and I've said this on Facebook and other places, but I think there's no better way to find out about what's being put out by the Warner Archive than to hear it directly from you. The advantage of that is that you can talk about the history, you can talk about the
Starting point is 00:23:21 remaster, you can talk about the extras in a way that doesn't come across just in a press release type of announcement. And those are great for a quick look, but to hear you and all you have to say about it. That was the magic of the old podcast and I just wanted to have that chance to work with you to get that out there to the fans. So it's been fun. We've been doing this now for two, three years.
Starting point is 00:23:49 So I appreciate the opportunity to kind of go along with you on that and enjoy the Warner Archive and all the great titles that have come out over the last three years and the last 15 years, of course. So, but I'm not the only one that's grateful. We actually had fans, members of our Facebook group and others who are so loyal to the Warner Archive call in. And leave a message of appreciation for you and the work you do in the Warner Archive. And I know you had a chance to listen to most of those messages. And at that we would end here with just your thoughts after listening to them
Starting point is 00:24:30 and your thoughts and words to the fans. I was, first of all, Tim, that was a wonderful idea you came up with. And listening to all those messages, so many of them were frankly emotionally moving to me because several people mentioned that they are aware of, you know, my days hawking laser discs and fighting for aspect ratio being correct in those days. I refer to that as my youth and it was. But I've basically been fighting the same battle for many, many years and that's to get the films off the vault shelf and onto people's home shelf.
Starting point is 00:25:25 And to hear some of the things people said moved me practically to tears, tears of gratitude, and grateful for the ability to, because of the work that we do, this introduces a whole new world to people that aren't familiar. If you're a diehard film buff and you've been living amongst the classic film world and were like me, a film collector as a kid before there were videos,
Starting point is 00:26:04 and then when I was an older kid, there were videos and it was only $100 to buy a movie. But like, wow, you know, everything has changed so dramatically. What it all comes down to, and I know I sound like a broken record is nothing beats physical media. You own it. No one can take it out of your digital locker if rights change. If you subscribe to a streaming service, that movie that you like that you've watched there may not be there in a year because of licensing issues. And that's no knock on any other business or service or company or anything else. Those businesses have a business model that works for them.
Starting point is 00:26:56 But having physical media and seeing within the scope of the whole industry, particularly in work with some of our partners, especially the Criterion Collection, the reason why we partner with a very limited group of people is that the people that we choose to work with really bring something remarkable to the table. They don't just willy-nilly release 25 films at a time and have you get lost among the shuffle. They make events out of what they release and we
Starting point is 00:27:39 try to do that in our way as well. So it complements the business tremendously and helps get more product into the hands of people that want it. And that is something I am most grateful and enthusiastic about. Hello, I'm Louis from Miami. I want to give my appreciation to Warner Archive and George Fultonstein for all the great classic movies that you have brought us in Blu-ray. Movies that are from the, in my I appreciate it so much. I try buying everyone that comes out that I can. I have a collection of over 4,000 movies as it is, but I look forward to adding my favorites
Starting point is 00:28:57 to Blu-ray. And thank you for helping me do that. Have a good day. Greetings. My name is David and I'm currently living in West Haven, Utah. I have been a classic film buff for many years and particularly of classic Hollywood animation
Starting point is 00:29:16 like the Looney Tunes and Popeye. And I remember when I first heard of the Warner Archive starting up many years ago, I thought it was an absolutely brilliant idea of how to get so many of the wonderful yet obscure Warner, NGM, and RKO films out to the public who wanted them. And since then, I think they have just gotten better and better with the transition to Blu-rays. I've bought maybe not as many as others, but as many as I can. I am particularly impressed with restorations like Dr. X, Mystery of the Wax Museum, Safe
Starting point is 00:29:57 and Hell, and things from another world. To say nothing of now the Looney Tunes and the Popeye collections. I wish them every success in the future. Long may they continue to produce great work and I can only hope that the rest of Hollywood finally decides to take a page from the Warner Archive and set up programs of their own because there are a lot of other studios with vast archives that I think would really benefit from the flattery of imitating the Warner Archive. Thank you and have a good evening.
Starting point is 00:30:42 Bye. Hi, it's Mike from Chattanooga, Tennessee. And I just want to say how much I appreciate the release of the Warner Brothers Westerns that you've been releasing on Warner Archives. And when I say Westerns, I mean specifically the TV series. I am so excited that I've been able to see
Starting point is 00:30:59 all the episodes of Maverick, Sugarfoot, Bronco, Cheyenne, the Dakotas. And now, Co- 45, which I never thought ever would be released, and it's on Blu-ray. It's on order right now and I expect to get it on Thursday. And I am so grateful for you to allow me to see some of the shows that I heard about and wanted to see as a youngster, but they were up too late for me to view. And now I've been able to see just about all of them including Lawman which
Starting point is 00:31:25 I forgot to say which I think is a terrific Western. So thank you so much for bringing these gems back to my living room. Bye-bye. Hi George and the Warner Archive. My name is Sahi. I'm calling all the way from Australia. I love you guys and appreciate all that you do. The Warner Archive means so much to me because I've been obsessing
Starting point is 00:31:45 over classic films since 1991 when I was 9 years old. Also, I'm a massive Marlowe-Brun fan. As such, you brighten my world by making so many classic films available via Blu-ray and DVD. In particular, your Blu-rays are in a class by themselves. My top favorite purchases include Waterloo Bridge, that's the Vivian Lee version and the most perfect film ever, One Way Passage starring Kay Francis. Having spent most of my working life as a film activist, I understand just how much effort goes into your exquisite product. Keep up the great work George and Co. You guys are the best. Hey, this is Kerr from Maryland wishing a happy 15th anniversary to the Warner
Starting point is 00:32:32 Archive which has provided such a marvelous service for film buffs and film history buffs. It's really, really irreplaceable. And we're all grateful for George Feltonstein's careful and devoted caretaking, curation of this library and making restored versions available. It's absolutely extraordinary and what I note is that not only are many of these releases just bringing favorites back to people that they appreciate and enjoy but in some cases actually triggering reevaluations of films. I know to cite one example that Westward the Women was not really given much attention directed by William Willman. It's another Robert Taylor western for a lot of people.
Starting point is 00:33:36 Well, the fact is it's an extraordinary film, not just a great western, but one of the finest films of any kind made by an American studio and really unavailable and unknown until the efforts of the Warner Archive and I think more and more people are becoming aware of it and I'm sure other people have other great examples how the Warner Archive is really changing what our list of the canon of great film is and we're grateful for all of it. So happy anniversary and looking forward to more great film. Thank you. Hi Jim, this is Wes. I was an employee of Turner Classic Movies for 20 years and George and I have a couple of really good mutual friends from TCM. The thing I particularly like about Warner Archive in addition to
Starting point is 00:34:31 the pristine restorations that they do, especially with the three strip Technicolor films, is that George and his team has also been able to restore some of the films to the original running links, you know, films that had been cut. And particularly, I'm referencing 1941's The Sea Wolf and 1947's They Won't Believe Me. So I don't think anyone appreciates the archive and the work George does any more than I do. And I just look forward to many more exciting releases this year.
Starting point is 00:35:08 Take care, Tim. Bye bye. Hello, Justin from Illinois. Hey, George. Hello, Tim. Hey, through the universe to Mr. Jerry Beck. I want to thank the Warner Archive for releasing blu rays of movies that I've been requesting and wishing for years now and especially for you, George, and probably also Mr. Beck. I want to thank you for releasing good, scrappy, due content on Blu-ray.
Starting point is 00:35:39 I know he's kind of a controversial character, but I thank you for remembering his good releases. Thank you. My name is Thomas from Germany. My message is thank you George for your phenomenal work. I will continue with importing Warner Archive Blu-rays literally forever. Greetings from Germany. Greetings from Germany. Hi everybody, it's Austin from Manhattan, New York. This is just a general appreciation message. Mr. Felton Stan and as well Terry Beck, Mr. Beck have impacted my lives in more ways than they know obviously because I am a huge animation fan and nerd and my shelves are just lined up with all kinds of stuff that the One Archive has put out. I've been such a fan of the lineup and it really felt like it was for us, the nerds,
Starting point is 00:36:39 the collectors that wanted weird stuff like Peter Podemus. And it was great to have that always on DVD and now going to Blu-ray. I mean, one of the best things I own is Johnny Quest on Blu-ray and now going into the Linnitons Collector's Choice, which are just wonderful. I own all three of those and can't say every single one. But George, Jerry, I want to thank you guys so much
Starting point is 00:37:02 for making my childhood so memorable. I am just a high school senior, but it's been basically my whole life that Warner Archive has been around and the impact has been pretty big. I mean, even in fifth grade when I was writing big essays to my family on why they should buy me Porky Pig 101 for Christmas gifts. I just admitted to NYU as a Cinema Studies major and I was talking with one of the heads of the program and he was saying, we have a lot of students go off to work as film, catalog experts at places like Warner Archive. And I was just like, wow, I should
Starting point is 00:37:43 end up at Warner Archive someday, which is sort of a surreal thought. But George, Jerry, Tim, thanks for everything. It's been a great 15 years and I'm looking forward to another 15 and many more. Thanks again. Yes, I would like to say that to me, the Warner Archive... My name is John and I'm from Washington State. My appreciation for the Warner Archive is really based on two different things. First of all, the older DVDRs.
Starting point is 00:38:13 In that context, several really rare films were released such as The Black Zoo which looked good enough really to be a restoration. The archives were definitely releasing films that at that point they were releasing films that maybe a lot of people hadn't heard of but they were giving them first-class treatment and so that was always a joy. But more recently, the Warner Archives has come to become the Blu-ray platform and some of the work they're doing there is amazing. In particular particular one film that was reputed for many decades to be lost, namely Helen of Troy. And perhaps it
Starting point is 00:38:50 wasn't really lost, but the negative was in horrible condition. But I think with just the improvements of technology in the later years, when I saw the Warner Archives Blu-ray of Helen of Troy, I felt that I was almost seeing the film for the first time because I saw it back in the late 50s and I saw colors and shades in the Warner Archives Blu-ray that I hadn't seen in the film probably since 1960 when it was ending its run on local TV stations. So for those things alone, primarily just for George, has been George's long career which dates all the way back. I'm not sure if he was around for VHS, but
Starting point is 00:39:32 he was definitely a proponent of laser discs. He's done a great deal for film fans and I treasure what he's done. Thank you. Hi, this is Richard New Jersey and I just want to say what would we do without the Warner Archive? So many things would just get subpar releases or be left to languish and eventually deteriorate to the point of non-existence. And I want to thank George Feltonstein for everything he've done, especially in the field of preserving animation and for harping so insistently on the Thin Man release that was coming out.
Starting point is 00:40:14 Just verbally haranguing the audience until I forced myself, fine George, I'll buy it. And I love all of the movies I've seen so far. I own them all. I've just finished the fourth. And I thank you for allowing me to open my mind to much older movies than I was used to. And I am now spreading the gospel of the thin man. Thanks again, George. Hi, I'm Jim from Wisconsin.
Starting point is 00:40:44 And this message is for Mr. Feltonstein. Thank you so much for your passion for film and for your dedication and meticulous work in preserving our film heritage. The pristine quality of your Warner Archive releases are second to none. Thanks to you and your team, we can enjoy works of cinematic art whose reproduction is often better than the original theatrical showing. All the best to you for many years to come. Hello. My name is Dan.
Starting point is 00:41:26 I'm calling from central Massachusetts, and I'm a huge fan of both the podcast and just everything the Warner Archive does. George Feltenstein does incredible work with the restorations and working on all the extras, and Tim Millard does a fantastic job, job bringing it all together, contextualizing everything. And it's just such a joy for me every month to see what new titles they come up with. And then when you listen to the podcast, it kind of gets you excited for some releases that you might not have otherwise given a second thought about because you get stuck
Starting point is 00:41:59 in your own biases. But then once you hear how much work and love George has put into it and how it packages it all and presents the information to the adoring audience, it just makes it a lot more fun and it's such good work that they do. I love physical media. Streaming is great. I do watch streaming, but physical media to me is extremely important and anytime an older film...
Starting point is 00:42:23 I love older films, anything shot on film, pre 1970s, I would say I just absolutely love it when there's a restoration and it's great. We get a lot of extra features, but even if we just get a few contextual pieces and old Warner arc cartoons, those are awesome too. So anyway, I'll stop dabbling, but keep up the great work guys and happy 15th anniversary. Well, George, this was fun. It was great to celebrate with you this 15th anniversary.
Starting point is 00:42:56 And on behalf of the fans and myself, I just want to thank you for all you do for the Warner Archive and for the history of film preservation and getting that vast library out to the fans so that they can buy that physical media. Absolutely. Yeah. Absolutely. And Tim, thank you again for everything you're doing on the extras. What you've done with the extras, I am so grateful that I was able to be with you as you started it and to see it grow beyond talking about Warner Archive,
Starting point is 00:43:34 but multiple studios, multiple creative people, all with the same dedication to bring their passion and enthusiasm to the world of physical media. It's a terrific thing. Thanks, George. I hope you enjoyed this episode and our modest little celebration of the 15th anniversary of the Warner Archive. It's a joy and a thrill to have George on the extras and to be able to share with him the special milestone. And thanks again to everyone It's a joy and a thrill to have George on the extras and to be able to share with him the special milestone. And thanks again to everyone who left a message and participated in our little experiment,
Starting point is 00:44:10 as I'm calling it, because we have not used Collins in the podcast before. This is probably only one third of the messages that were left. So what I'm gonna do is have a bonus episode where it's pretty much just dedicated to your calls. So look for that coming soon. I think you'll enjoy it.
Starting point is 00:44:29 It's always great to hear from everybody and their own personal stories. So if you enjoyed this episode, think about following or subscribing to the show at your favorite podcast provider. And if you want to join us on Facebook, uh, there's a link in the podcast show notes, or you can search Facebook for the Warner Archive and Warner Brothers catalog group. Thanks again for listening and thanks for supporting the extras and thanks for supporting the Warner Archive. Until next time, you've been listening to Tim Millard, stay slightly obsessed.

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