Looks like Blockbuster just landed an exclusive deal with Weinstein. This does not bode well for, well, people like me who use Netflix and refuse to use Blockbuster:
By DAVID KOENIG
AP Business Writer
Blockbuster in deal for Weinstein movies
NOV. 15 4:17 P.M. ET Blockbuster Inc. said Wednesday it has reached a deal for exclusive U.S. rental rights to movies from The Weinstein Co., whose founders created the Miramax studio and sold it to Disney. The deal will keep all movies from Bob and Harvey Weinstein's new production company out of the hands of Netflix Inc., the online service that competes with Blockbuster, the nation's largest movie-rental chain. [more...]
If you are not familiar with Blockbuster's nefarious practices, here is a snippet
from Wikipedia:
On September 27, 1990, the MPAA introduced the NC-17 rating in order to distinguish nonpornographic adult material from pornographic 'X-rated' materials. Subsequently, under pressure from the Christian organization the American Family Association, headed by Rev. Donald Wildmon, Blockbuster decided not to stock NC-17 titles and also to ban certain "unrated" titles from its store shelves, regardless of whether or not these titles constituted "pornography". Originally, the AFA also convinced Blockbuster to ban certain contentious films such as The Last Temptation of Christ, although Blockbuster's online service and some of its stores currently carry that and other controversial films,[citation needed] as well as older NC-17-rated films such as Henry and June and Showgirls.
Critics of the chain, including Naomi Klein in her anti-globalization book No Logo (1999), allege that Blockbuster is involved in "censorship," because it not only bans certain titles, but often edits videos for release beyond the standard retail cut, or uses its significant market share to influence studios to do so. Blockbuster's critics claim this editing to secure more "family-friendly" ratings is a necessity for studios if they want their products to reach a wider video market. [read more]
I remember having watched "
Man Bites Dog" when I was working at Tower Records "back in the day", as they say, but then rented it later from Blockbuster. They had edited out a climatic scene at the end. The scene was horrible and viscious, but it was supposed to be.
Tags: news stories
![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
