LEBOWSKI and OFFICE head for Blu-ray release

 

EXPERIENCE THE COEN BROTHERS’ CULTURAL PHENOMENON STARRING JEFF BRIDGES

NOW ON BLU-RAYâ„¢ FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER!

THE BIG LEBOWSKI

LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY^â„¢

 

August 16, 2011

 

“The Most Worshipped Comedy of Its Generation” – Rolling Stone

 

Own the Limited Edition Blu-rayâ„¢ Featuring All-New Bonus Features,
a Digital Copy of the Film and Collectible Hardcover Book Packaging

 

Universal City,2011 – Bowling, nihilists, a stolen rug and the occasional acid flashback have never been funnier when one of the most popular cult classics in history, The Big Lebowski Limited Edition, debuts on Blu-ray™ August 16, 2011 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment.  From the Oscar^®-winning Coen Brothers
(True Grit, Fargo) and starring Academy Award^® winner Jeff Bridges (True Grit, Crazy Heart), this acclaimed comedy has been newly remastered in high definition to provide longtime fans and first-time viewers alike with the ultimate Lebowski experience.  

 

Available for a limited time with an all-new 28-page companion book featuring an exclusive interview with
Jeff Dowd – the real-life inspiration for The Dude – Jeff Bridges’ personal, on-set photography, a film timeline, trivia and much more, The Big Lebowski Limited Edition Blu-ray™  is a must-own addition to any collection.  In addition to all-new features exclusive to the Blu-ray™ release, The Big Lebowski Limited Edition Blu-ray™ also offers a digital copy of the film that can be viewed anywhere at any time on the consumers’ choice of devices including laptops, tablets, smartphones as well as Internet-connected TVs and set-top boxes.

 

“Since its creation by Ethan and Joel Coen in 1998, The Big Lebowski has transformed from a fan favorite into one of Hollywood’s most celebrated cultural phenomenons,” said Craig Kornblau, President of Universal Studios Home Entertainment. “This spectacular new Limited Edition Blu-ray™ combines the most extensive behind-the-scenes materials to date with the latest Blu-ray™ technology, giving devoted fans and newcomers alike a chance to experience the brilliant all-star cast, outrageous storyline and unforgettable quotes like never before.”

 

Its now iconic characters and instantly recognizable dialogue have made The Big Lebowski “the number-one cult film of all time,” according to The Boston Globe.  Since its release, the Coen Brothers’ affectionately addled riff on film noir has snowballed in popularity, becoming “an undeniable pop-cult force” and even, for many, “a way of life,” in the words of the Los Angeles Times.  “A masterpiece of anti-storytelling” according to Entertainment Weekly, The Big Lebowski has become a cultural touchstone for fans around the world.

Starring Bridges as the film’s delightfully unlikely hero, “The Dude,” the hilariously twisted comedy thriller also features unforgettable performances by an all-star cast including Golden Globe^® winner John Goodman (“Roseanne”), four-time Oscar^® nominee Julianne Moore (The Kids are Alright), Golden Globe^® winner
Steve Buscemi (“Boardwalk Empire”), Oscar^® winner Phillip Seymour Hoffman (Doubt) and Golden Globe^® nominee John Turturro (O Brother, Where Art Thou?).

BLU-RAY^TM EXCLUSIVE BONUS FEATURES:

• U-CONTROL: Universal’s exclusive feature that lets the viewer access bonus materials without leaving the movie!

o       Scene Companion:  Watch cast and crew interviews, behind the scenes footage and more during key scenes with this picture-in-picture companion.

o       Mark it Dude: This onscreen counter really ties the film together. Keep track of all the “F-Bombs,” “Dudes,” and “Dude-isms” in the film with this ultimate fan guide.

o       The Music of The Big Lebowski:  Instantly identify the songs heard while watching the film, create a custom playlist of your favorites and even purchase them from iTunes^®!   

• WORTHY ADVERSARIES: WHAT’S MY LINE TRIVIA:  Test your Lebowski knowledge by finishing lines of dialogue during the film. Play as Walter or The Dude or in two-player mode against friends.
• BD-LIVE^TM:  Access the BD-Liveâ„¢ Center through your Internet-connected player to watch the latest trailers and more.
• pocket BLU^â„¢:  The groundbreaking pocket BLUâ„¢ app uses iPhone^®, iPod^® touch, Androidâ„¢, PC and Macintosh to work seamlessly with a network-connected Blu-rayâ„¢ player.  Also available on the iPadâ„¢, owners can enjoy a new, enhanced edition of pocket BLU^â„¢made especially to take advantage of the tablet’s larger screen and high resolution display. Consumers will be able to browse through a library of Blu-rayâ„¢ content and watch entertaining extras on-the-go in a way that’s bigger and better than ever before.  pocket BLUâ„¢ offers advanced features such as:

o       Advanced Remote Control:  A sleek, elegant new way to operate your Blu-ray™ player. Users can navigate through menus, playback and BD-Live™ functions with ease.

o       Video Timeline:  Users can easily bring up the video timeline, allowing them to instantly access any point in the film.

o       Mobile-To-Go:  Users can unlock a selection of bonus content with their Blu-ray™ discs to save to their device or to stream from anywhere there is a Wi-Fi network, enabling them to enjoy content on the go, anytime, anywhere.

o       Browse Titles:  Users will have access to a complete list of pocket BLU™-enabled titles available and coming to Blu-ray™ Hi-Def.  They can view free previews and see what additional content is available to unlock on their device.

o       Keyboard:  Entering data is fast and easy with your device’s intuitive keyboard.

• uHEARâ„¢:  Never miss another line of dialogue with this innovative feature that instantly skips back a few seconds on your Blu-rayâ„¢ disc and turns on the subtitles to highlight what you missed.

 

 

ADDITIONAL BONUS FEATURES:

• JEFF BRIDGES PHOTO BOOK: For more than 30 years, Jeff Bridges has been snapping pictures on movie sets.  The accomplished photographer presents exclusive shots taken on the set of The Big Lebowski providing personal commentary on each photo.
• THE DUDE’S LIFE:  Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi and John Turturro take a look back at their performances and their delivery of the Coen Brothers’ dialogue that became classic movie lines.
• THE DUDE ABIDES: THE BIG LEBOWSKI TEN YEARS LATER:  A freewheeling conversation with the cast about the film’s decade-long reign as a cult classic, including a discussion about what ever happened to the “little Lebowski” that the Dude and Maude made that fateful night!
• THE LEBOWSKI FEST: AN ACHIEVER’S STORY:  An in-depth look at the popular Lebowski Festival, formed by the legion of fans in honor of the film. 
• FLYING CARPETS & BOWLING PIN DREAMS: THE DREAM SEQUENCES OF
  THE DUDE:  From aerial flights over Los Angeles with his bowling ball chasing Maude on a flying carpet, to the large scale “Busby Berkley” dance sequences as The Dude goes flying through the legs of all the bowling pin headed dancers, this piece examines how these “ahead of their time” scenes were constructed.
• THE MAKING OF THE BIG LEBOWSKI:  A behind the scenes look featuring interviews with the Coen Brothers.
• PHOTO GALLERY:  Slideshow of Jeff Bridges’ on-set photography.
• INTERACTIVE MAP:  Take a tour of the locations of The Big Lebowski, then and now.
• AN INTRODUCTION:  Featuring Mortimer Young, a practitioner of “non-uptight” film preservation.  His restoration of the famous “toe scene” will blow your mind.

 

SYNOPSIS:

From the Academy Award®-winning Coen brothers, The Big Lebowski is a hilariously quirky comedy about bowling, a severed toe, White Russians and a guy named…The Dude.  Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski doesn’t want any drama in his life…heck, he can’t even be bothered with a job.  But, he must embark on a quest with his bowling buddies after his rug is destroyed in a twisted case of mistaken identity.  Starring Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi, Philip Seymour Hoffman and John Turturro, experience the cultural phenomenon of The Dude in the “#1 cult film of all time!” (The Boston Globe)

 

“THE OFFICE” SEASON SEVEN

 

September 6, 2011

 

Stream Each All-New Episode of the Highly Anticipated Eighth Season Straight to Your TV
the Day After it Airs on NBC, Available Exclusively on Blu-rayâ„¢

 

Universal City, California, 2011 – Hailed as “TV’s Funniest half-hour,” by Variety Magazine, “The Office” Season Seven marks the momentous departure of Steve Carell as Michael Scott – the slightly clueless, often politically-incorrect, but always loveable office manager – an iconic role that earned him a Golden Globe^® and five Emmy^® nominations.  With Michael on his way out, the coveted position as “the boss” opens up in this hilarious game-changing season that features guest stars like Jim Carrey (Mr. Popper’s Penguins, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), James Spader (“Boston Legal,” Secretary), Will Arnett (Despicable Me, “Saturday Night Live”), Ray Romano (“Men of a Certain Age,” “Everybody Loves Raymond,”), Warren Buffet (Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps) and Catherine Tate (Monte Carlo, “The Catherine Tate Show”), among others.

 

Sparks fly when Holly Flax (Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone, “In Treatment”) returns to the office, causing
Michael Scott to question if she was the one that got away.  Plus, executive producer Ricky Gervais
(The Invention of Lying, “The Ricky Gervais Show”) makes surprise cameo appearances as Michael Scott’s British counterpart David Brent.  Timothy Olyphant (“Justified”) also guest stars as Danny Cordray, Pam’s (Jenna Fischer, Solitary Man) ex-flame and Dunder Mifflin’s newest traveling salesman. 

 

Fans can catch up on all the inter-office power plays from Steve Carell’s final season when “The Office”
Season Seven debuts on Blu-ray™ and DVD September 6, 2011 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment.  Both the Blu-ray™ and DVD feature hours of bonus material including Steve Carell’s extended farewell episode “Goodbye Michael Scott,” over an hour of never-before-seen deleted scenes, the unaired extended version of Michael Scott’s film “Threat Level Midnight,” bloopers, webisodes and more.

 

The stellar ensemble cast includes Rainn Wilson (The Rocker, Juno), John Krasinski (It’s Complicated, Away We Go),
Jenna Fischer (Solitary Man, Walk Hard), B.J. Novak (Inglourious Basterds), Ed Helms (The HangoverPartII, Cedar Rapids),

Leslie David Baker (“Malcolm in the Middle”), Brian Baumgartner (“Arrested Development”), Creed Bratton (former member of The Grass Roots), Kate Flannery (The Heir Apparent), Mindy Kaling (No Strings Attached), Ellie Kemper (Bridesmaids, Get Him to the Greek), Angela Kinsey (Tripping Forward), Paul Lieberstein (writer, “King of the Hill”),
Oscar Nuñez (The Proposal), Craig Robinson (Hot Tub Time Machine) Phyllis Smith (Bad Teacher), and Zach Woods
(The Other Guys).

 

 

“The Office” Season Seven is based on the award-winning BBC hit of the same name and developed for American television by Primetime Emmy^® Award-winner Greg Daniels (“King of the Hill,” “The Simpsons”).  Ben Silverman
(“Ugly Betty’), Ricky Gervais (The Invention of Lying, “The Office”), Stephen Merchant (“Extras”), Paul Lieberstein
(“King of the Hill”), Howard Klein (“Parks and Recreation”), and series star B.J. Novak join Daniels as Season Seven executive producers.

 

Also exclusively available on “The Office” Season Seven Blu-ray™ is a groundbreaking feature allowing viewers to access content like never before.  Through BD-Live™, fans eager to keep up with “the most influential show since Seinfeld”
(Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone) can catch the latest episodes of “The Office” without ever setting their DVR.  Through an Internet-connected Blu-ray™ player, viewers have the option to watch the latest episodes of “The Office” Season Eight right from their TV screen the day after they air on NBC beginning this fall.  Season Eight episodes will be available in HD, pending individual Internet connection speeds and will be offered with limited commercial interruptions.

 

Each season since its 2005 premiere, “The Office” has garnered prestigious television honors, including the 2006 Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series, Peabody Award, AFI Honors, Producers Guild Award, Writers Guild Award, SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy, Ace Eddie Award for editing and a Television Critic’s Association Award for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy. “The Office” is a production of Universal Media Studios, Reveille LLC and Deedle Dee Productions.

 

BONUS FEATURES AvaILABLE ON BLU-RAY™ and DVD: 

“The Office” Season Seven on Blu-ray^™ and DVD comes with hours of bonus features, including:

•  “Threat Level Midnight:  The Movie (A Michael Scott Joint)” Featurette:  See the never-before-aired, extended version of the film that Michael Scott wrote, directed and starred in.  “Threat Level Midnight,” Michael stars as Michael Scarn as he and a cast made up of Dunder Mifflin employees try to prevent Goldenface from blowing up the NHL All-Star Game.
• “The 3rd Floor” Webisodes:

o        Moving On: Kelly (Mindy Kalling) and Erin (Ellie Kemper) find a new way to get famous.

o        Lights, Camera, Action!:  Filming for Ryan’s (B.J. Novak) horror film begins.

o        The Final Product: With most of the office pitching in, filming wraps on Ryan’s slasher horror film
“The 3^rd Floor.”

• Episode Commentary: 

o        Nepotism: Featuring commentary with executive producer and series star B.J. Novak, writer and producer Charlie Grandy, series editor and producer David Rogers, as well as series stars Craig Robinson and
Creed Bratton.

o        PDA: Featuring commentary withexecutive producer Greg Daniels, series stars
Ellie Kemper, Angela Kinsey and Brian Baumgartner, editor Claire Scanlon, assistant director Kelly Cantley and episode writer Robert Padnick.

 

 

 

BONUS FEATURES AVAILABLE ON THE BLU-RAY™ AND DVD CONTINUED: 

o        Threat Level Midnight: Featuring commentary with executive producers and cast members
Paul Lieberstein and B.J. Novak, writer and producer Daniel Chun, as well as series stars Creed Bratton and Craig Robinson.

o        Goodbye Michael: Featuring commentary with writer and executive producer Greg Daniels, series stars Ellie Kemper, Angela Kinsey, Brian Baumgartner, as well as series editor and producer David Rogers.

o        Dwight K. Schrute, (Acting) Manager: Featuring commentary with co-executive producer and series star Mindy Kaling, as well as Ellie Kemper, Angela Kinsey, producers Steve Hely and
Justin Spitzer.

• Over 100 Minutes of Deleted Scenes Including 60 Minutes of Never-Before-Seen Footage
• Extended Episodes
• Blooper Reel

 

BONUS FEATURES EXCLUSIVE TO Blu-ray^TM:  Unleash the power of your HDTV with perfect picture and the purest digital sound available.

• BD-LIVE^â„¢: Access the BD-Live^â„¢ Center through your Internet-connected player to view the latest episodes of “The Office” Season Eight the day after they air beginning this fall, plus watch exclusive content, the latest trailers all right from your own television!
• pocket BLU^â„¢:   The groundbreaking pocket BLU^â„¢ app uses iPad®^, iPhone^®, iPod^®  touch,  Android^â„¢, PC and Mac^®  to work seamlessly with a network-connected Blu-ray^â„¢ player.  Plus iPad^® owners can enjoy a new, enhanced edition of pocket BLUâ„¢ made especially to take advantage of the tablet’s larger screen and high resolution display.  Consumers will be able to browse through a library of Blu-ray^â„¢ content and watch entertaining extras on-the-go in a way that’s bigger and better than ever before.  pocket BLU^â„¢ offers advanced features such as:
• “THE OFFICE” SEASON SEVEN BONUS FEATURES: Access the hilarious blooper reel and all three “The 3^rd Floor” webisodes from “The Office” Season Seven, anytime, anywhere with pocket BLUâ„¢
• ADVANCED REMOTE CONTROL: A sleek, elegant new way to operate your Blu-ray^â„¢ player. Users can navigate through menus, playback and BD-Live^â„¢ functions with ease.
• VIDEO TIMELINE:  Users can easily bring up the video timeline, allowing them to instantly access any point in the film.
• MOBILE-TO-GO:  Users can unlock a selection of bonus content with their Blu-ray^â„¢ discs to save to their device or to stream from anywhere there is a Wi-Fi network, enabling them to enjoy content on the go, anytime, anywhere.
• BROWSE TITLES:  Users will have access to a complete list of pocket BLU^â„¢-enabled titles available and coming to Blu-ray^â„¢ Hi-Def.  They can view free previews and see what additional content is available to unlock on their device.
• KEYBOARD:  Entering data is fast and easy with your device’s intuitive keyboard.

 

 

 

SEASON SEVEN SYNOPSIS

In the seventh season of this Primetime Emmy® Award-winning series, inappropriate behavior is business as usual, but big surprises are in store! Dwight (Rainn Wilson) is now the owner of the building and he may be letting this power go to his head; Andy (Ed Helms) is courting Erin (Ellie Kemper), who is dating Gabe (Zach Woods); Jim (John Krasinski) and Pam (Jenna Fischer) are struggling with being new parents; and a parade of ghosts of girlfriends past haunt Michael (Steve Carell), leading to his final days at Dunder Mifflin.

 

Catch the antics of all 24 laugh-out-loud Season Seven episodes of “…TV’s funniest half-hour” (Rick Kissell, Variety), developed for American television by Primetime Emmy® Award winner Greg Daniels. This memorable season features guest appearances from Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone), cameos from Ricky Gervais (The Invention of Lying) and an unforgettable hour-long season finale with Jim Carrey (Bruce Almighty), Will Arnett (“Arrested Development”), Ray Romano (“Everybody Loves Raymond”), James Spader (“Boston Legal”), Warren Buffett and Catherine Tate (“Doctor Who”), all vying for Michael Scott’s old post. Plus, see hours of bonus features, including extended episodes, deleted scenes, bloopers, webisodes and more, in this must-own five-disc collection.