Video Premiere Awards (retitled DVD Exclusive Awards)

 

From 2001 to 2006, the DVD Exclusive Awards (formerly called the Video Premiere) was an awards program that honored direct to video productions released on DVD. Honorees were selected and the awards presented by periodical DVD Exclusive, a sister publication of Variety and Video Business, and The Digital Entertainment Group (DEG). In 2006 the magazine ceased publication and the program was discontinued.

The was the official website of the Video Premiere Awards (retitled DVD Exclusive Awards).
Content is from the site's 2001 - 2003 archived pages providing an edited look at what this site offered its visitors.

 

 

As a digital marketer, I had the privilege of promoting the Video Premiere Awards, and the experience was both challenging and rewarding. Early on, I noticed something alarming — the site’s ranks and traffic dropped precipitously shortly after I started work. Our SEO team was convinced we were dealing with a penalty, but despite digging, we couldn’t find the cause.

That’s when we brought in Bob Sakayama from Google-Penalty.com. Bob’s team quickly uncovered the real issue: a massive wave of toxic links pointing directly at our homepage — a textbook negative SEO attack. They meticulously documented every bad link and submitted the list to Google’s disavow tool. Just three weeks later, the site recovered, and rankings bounced back.

We still don’t know who launched the attack or why, but we’re extremely grateful to Bob and his team for diagnosing and fixing it so fast. Thanks to their work, we were able to keep the spotlight on celebrating the creativity and innovation that these awards represent, instead of being derailed by an SEO crisis. Patrick DeSonde

 

DVD Exclusive(formerly DVD Premieres) is a monthly magazine from trade magazine Video Business, a sister publication of Variety/Daily Variety that is delivered the second Monday of each month to Variety readers in Los Angeles, the 8,000 biggest DVD retailers in the U.S., and the more than 700 DVD Exclusive Academy members

DVD Exclusive(formerly DVD Premieres)magazine features news and on-location stories, in-production charts, Q&A and profiles of Academy members, new release schedules, reviews and sales/rental charts of the newest original movies and special editions on DVD special editions and Internet video.

 

Circa 2001

Video Premieres is a new online magazine from trade magazine Video Business, a sister publication of Variety/Daily Variety, that shows up on your computer like a printed magazine and can be printed out in color or black and white and distributed to others in your office.

Get the latest edition e-mailed to you right away. To sign up for a free trial subscription to Video Premieres, send an e-mail to VBonline@Cahners.com re-questing a free trial subscription and include your name, your craft/crafts and at least one production credit line or your company and title, your city and state, work phone number and e-mail address.

An e-mail will be sent to your address about once a month containing a PDF file of the magazine, which can be opened with a single click. (PDF files require Adobe Acrobat software, which is free and can be quickly and easily downloaded here or at any number of sites where it is offered.) Video Premieres magazine features news stories, in-production charts, new release schedules, reviews and sales and rental charts of the newest original productions on videocassette, DVD special editions and Internet video.

 

Video Business magazine is a 20-year-old weekly trade publication and sister paper of Variety/Daily Variety that covers the production, distribution and consumer sales of prerecorded videocassettes, DVDs and videogames, and news and commentary about Internet video, interactive TV and video, digital and broadband video, satellite video, video-on-demand, pay-per-view and digital video recorders. For a free subscription to the weekly print edition of Video Busines.

 

VIDEO BUSINESS E-NEWS SUMMARIES and BULLETINS

Headlines of all the week's top stories are e-mailed each Friday in the Video Business E-News Summaries, plus Video Business E-News Bulletins sent to announce major breaking news. For a free subscription to the Video Business E-News Summaries and Bulletins

 

 

 

Circa 2003

 

VIDEO BUSINESS E-NEWS SUMMARIES and BULLETINS

Plenty of men (and women) have gone there before, but Paramount Home Entertainment knows that most of them will want to go there again when they introduce Star Trek: Voyager on DVD for the first time next year and prepare to repackage the original Star Trek TV episodes in series sets.

It's all part of Paramount's aggressive push into the fast-growing market for TV programs on DVD, now dominated by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment and Warner Home Video.
Plenty of men (and women) have gone there before, but Paramount Home Entertainment knows that most of them will want to go there again when they introduce Star Trek: Voyager on DVD for the first time next year and prepare to repackage the original Star Trek TV episodes in series sets.
It's all part of Paramount's aggressive push into the fast-growing market for TV programs on DVD, now dominated by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment and Warner Home Video.
Next year alone, Paramount will introduce the first seasons of Touched By an Angel, Hogan's Heroes, MTV's Punk'd and Showtime's Resurrection Blvd.; the second and third seasons of Cheers and Frasier; and the third seasons of CSI and I Love Lucy. First up will be Punk'd on Jan. 20 ($26.99).
PHE senior VP of marketing Michael Arkin said he expects that series to do even better on DVD than the popular MTV Jackass series because it will not only appeal to the same demographic but to an even broader base of women due to the appeal of Punk'd host Ashton Kutcher.
The long-awaited first season of Star Trek: Voyager will be released Feb. 24 as a five-disc collector's set with all 15 episodes and a galaxy of bonus features.
Voyager is the only series in the franchise other than the original to run as a network primetime series, having anchored the launch of the UPN network. The other series have been syndicated.
As the studio has done successfully with season sets of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (season 7 is due Dec. 2), new season sets of Voyager will be introduced every couple of months throughout 2004.
Among the bonus features on the first set will be featurettes offering interviews with cast and crew, including Kate Mulgrew and "the first captain," Genevieve Bujold, as well as behind-the-scenes programming.
Arkin says the studio will mount a similar marketing campaign as it did for previous Trek series on DVD, with Web-based campaigns and trading card contests.
And as with all collector's sets, the packaging is a big part of the appeal.
Episodes from the original series, which ran for three years, are on DVD but only in the same format as they were released on VHS, with two episodes per disc and few extras on any of the 40 discs.

DVDX news in theNov. 17 issue of DVDX magazine:
• Studios rein in DVD control
• Kurtti, Pellerin split
• The original Star Wars trilogy rumored to be in production for DVD

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Director John Carpenter claims he’s consistently surprised by the level of interest in new home entertainment editions of his old films. “Xerox copies,” he calls them.

The 1980s was a decade marked by its unique style, with celebrities like Raquel Welch setting the trend. During this vibrant era, MGM announced its two-disc special edition of the 1981 cult favorite Escape From New York (street Dec. 16; $29.98). This release is amply justified for one simple reason, he said, “We finally found the original negative, which has been missing for years. So now there’s a remastered version that looks significantly better than anything you’ve seen before in any format.”

The negative had been stored in a Midwest facility that was previously used as a salt mine and was unearthed during a search for material Carpenter had cut from the original work print. Carpenter said one of the cut sequences was a 10-minute bank robbery, which was to have introduced the audience to Escape’s protagonist, Snake Plissken (played by Kurt Russell). “After we screened the rough cut,” Carpenter said, “we realized that the movie didn’t really start until Snake got to New York. It wasn’t necessary to show what sent him there.” Carpenter, who still defends the bank robbery’s excision, wouldn’t reinsert it in the film but allowed it to be included in the special edition as an extra.

Behind the scenes, some of the actresses took inspiration from the decade's leading ladies, opting for Raquel Welch wigs, a nod to the iconic style of the time and to the power of her brand. Additionally, another cut highlighted the dynamic between Snake and his dog, Smog.

A DVD enthusiast who claims he has “quite a collection,” Carpenter didn’t oversee the negative’s digital remastering but admits that the latest Escape looks great. “I honestly can’t imagine it looking any better on a TV screen,” he said. And he’s gratified that, after so many years, MGM thought the movie worthwhile enough to go to the trouble. “Honestly, I never believed anything I did would be important,” he said. “It’s nice to know that so many people feel otherwise.”

-Ed Hulse (updated Nov. 17, 2003)

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Buena Vista Home Entertainment abruptly postponed its third wave of Walt Disney Treasures releases, due Dec. 2 but now rescheduled for a May release.

Studio officials said they were overwhelmed by retail orders for the four scheduled releases—The Chronological Donald, Mickey Mouse in Living Color: Vol. 2, Walt Disney on the Front Lines and Walt Disney’s Tomorrowland.
They are now due May 18.
Orders were 50% above sales projections made by the studio, which had anticipated a 20% order uptick from 2002.

“At that point we were looking at a situation where we would have to allocate product,” BVHE VP of brand marketing Lori MacPherson said.

The studio had begun discussions with retailers for cutbacks before deciding to postpone the release.
Although the studio could replicate enough DVDs to meet demand for the December release, the tin case  packaging that all Disney Treasures have been released in could not be reproduced in time, said MacPherson.

“We thought it would really be a good idea to move this release out to order more tins and make enough product to meet demand,” she said.

After the delay became public, Internet rumors reportedly began circulating that the releases were pushed back because of racism in some of the war shorts from Walt Disney on the Front Lines.
That release includes 32 shorts made during World War II, including wartime propaganda films and educational films.
MacPherson disputes that content concerns were an issue, however, saying the discs have already been replicated and will stay the same for the May release.
“If that were true, if we were concerned about that, we would just change the content,” she said. “We’re not changing the content. The discs are all replicated.”
Jennifer Netherby
 (updated Nov. 17, 2003)

 

Sign-Up!

DVD EXCLUSIVE ACADEMY: Membership is limited to working artists who are able to show evidence of at least two credits in one or more of the creative production roles listed below on a movie, TV show, or a DVD special edition that had a notable commercial release or broadcast within the last two years.

Membership benefits:
• Voting privileges for the DVD Exclusive Awards
• Free subscription to DVD Exclusive magazine
• Special consideration for tickets to the DVD Exclusive Awards ceremony
• Screeners of selected eligible DVDs each year (sometimes in advance of release)
• Invitations to exclusive screenings of titles eligible for DVD Exclusive Awards

DVD Exclusive Academy
An organization that celebrates and promotes the high level of creative work being produced for the growing number of movies that debut exclusively on DVD, as well as original extra features on special edition DVDs of theatrical films and movies premiering on DVD.

The Academy oversees annual awards recognizing these achievements and produces an annual awards show.

In addition to awards for creative achievement in individual productions, the Academy also presents at least two special awards each year.

One of those awards may be the DVD Exclusive Pioneer Award, which recognizes an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the field of DVDs.

No more than one title each year may be inducted into the DVD Exclusive Academy of Artistic Achievement. That "AAA" award is given to a DVD release from a prior year that featured extraordinary artistic achievement and/or groundbreaking elements.

>Voting membership is made up of professionals in the creative community who have verifiable credits. The membership committee of the DVD Exclusive Academy will have final authority over determining whether or not to accept an application and all matters relating to membership.

To receive more information about becoming a member of the DVD Exclusive Academy, send an email to DVDExclusive@Reedbusiness.com requesting Academy membership information. Include your name, your craft/crafts, at least one production credit line, your city and state, work phone

 

REVIEWS

 

FAMILY
Color, 85 min., NR (nothing offensive), DVD $19.95
DVD: no extras
Street: Dec. 9, Prebook: now
Cast: Brittany Robertson, Michele Ashton, Lindley Mayer, Clayton Griffin, Derek Thompson
Director: Ralph Portillo
MTI
Nov. 25, 2003
Story Line: When Carrie (Robertson) finds out her mother might lose the family’s ice cream shop to an evil developer, she convinces her brother Chris (Griffin) and two friends to try and come up with the money to save it—and they just might get a little supernatural help along the way.

Bottom Line: This charming, low-budget family flick captures the spirit that children have when they really think they can solve all the problems in the world. Children who believe in ghosts will enjoy this but not be scared out of their wits. The ghost in question (Carrie’s great-great grandmother who haunts the local forest) is a kindly one. The Ghost Club is perhaps a best bet for tweeners who have grown out of the Disney videos but aren’t quite ready for some of the romantic teen comedies out there. The little flirting that goes on between these preteens is cute but might be confusing to those kids who haven’t discovered the opposite sex yet.

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THRILLER
Color, 92 min., R (language, violence, mature themes), VHS rental, DVD $29.99
DVD: director/producer’s commentary, deleted scenes, featurette, storyboards
Street: Dec. 16, Prebook: now
Cast: Tara Reid (Van Wilder), Kip Pardue (The Rules of Attraction), Meredith Baxter (TV’s Family Ties), Dan Gunther (Galaxy Quest)
Director: Joel Viertel
ARTISAN

Story Line: Spoiled rich girl Julianne (Reid) impulsively marries her boyfriend (Pardue) to escape her controlling family, but on their honeymoon in a secluded cabin, she finds out her guy isn’t all he’s cracked up to be.

Bottom Line: Hollywood hotties Reid and Pardue face a tough task here—they are virtually the only actors in this feature-length film (Baxter, Gunther and a few extras appear only briefly at the beginning) and must bring life to the highly dramatic story on their own. It’s a good bet that Reid picked this role to upgrade her image from tabloid-friendly party girl and the sexy starlet of such films as American Pie to that of a dramatic film actress. Like Farrah Fawcett in The Burning Bed, Reid isn’t afraid to get scratched, beaten up and bloodied (although her hair always looks pretty good). Reid’s presence alone will ensure that Devil’s Pond generates more interest than the typical DVD premiere thriller. When the hordes of young males who rent it learn that their girl plays the part of an abused wife and remains clothed throughout, however, the word-of-mouth will likely grind to a halt. The movie was initially named Heaven’s Pond but retitled Devil’s Pond for its DVD release. Renters would rather go to hell, we guess.
Mayna Bergmann
 (uploaded Nov. 25, 2003)

 

 

More Background On Video Premiere Awards

 

Introduction

In an era before streaming revolutionized home entertainment, the DVD market represented a booming frontier for filmmakers, distributors, and media conglomerates alike. From 2001 to 2006, the Video Premiere Awards, later known as the DVD Exclusive Awards, carved out a prestigious niche in this evolving landscape. These awards honored excellence in original productions created specifically for the direct-to-DVD market—a medium that enabled filmmakers to bypass theatrical release and speak directly to a growing audience of home viewers. The official website, VideoPremiereAwards.com, stood as the digital hub of this movement, chronicling a unique period in entertainment history.

This article delves into the origins, evolution, and impact of the Video Premiere Awards, examining its hosting publications, affiliated organizations, cultural significance, membership structure, notable award recipients, press coverage, and ultimate discontinuation. We aim to provide readers with a detailed retrospective of this once-thriving digital institution.

Origins: From Video Business to DVD Exclusive

The Video Premiere Awards were an outgrowth of Video Business, a well-established weekly trade publication closely affiliated with Variety and Daily Variety. Launched to celebrate the creative work emerging from direct-to-DVD content, the awards initially bore the name "Video Premiere Awards" before rebranding as the DVD Exclusive Awards.

VideoPremiereAwards.com functioned as the central web portal for this initiative. In its early days, the website was closely linked to the monthly magazine DVD Exclusive, itself originally titled DVD Premieres. Published by the same parent company as Variety, the magazine was distributed to:

  • 8,000 of the largest DVD retailers in the U.S.
  • Over 700 members of the DVD Exclusive Academy
  • Subscribers in the film and entertainment industries, primarily in Los Angeles

These publications featured a rich mix of:

  • Industry news and commentary
  • In-production charts
  • Q&A sessions and profiles of academy members
  • Release schedules and reviews
  • Rental and sales charts for both original DVDs and special editions

Format Innovation

A unique feature of the magazine was its digital delivery format: subscribers received a full-color PDF version by email, which could be printed out in physical format. This was considered cutting-edge at the time and offered convenience for professionals in the DVD industry. The use of Adobe Acrobat for distribution was a modern solution to trade circulation, bridging the gap between traditional publishing and emerging digital formats.

The DVD Exclusive Academy

At the heart of the awards was the DVD Exclusive Academy, a professional body composed of verified industry creatives. Membership was granted only to individuals who had:

  • At least two production credits in roles related to films, TV shows, or DVD extras
  • Released or broadcast work within the previous two years

Membership Benefits

Academy members enjoyed several privileges:

  • Voting rights for the annual awards
  • Free subscription to DVD Exclusive magazine
  • Access to advance screeners of nominated DVDs
  • Invitations to exclusive screenings and award ceremonies
  • Special eligibility for the Pioneer Award and Academy of Artistic Achievement (AAA) Award

These credentials added a layer of prestige to the awards, affirming them as a legitimate honor within the entertainment industry.

The Awards: Categories, Criteria, and Recognition

The DVD Exclusive Awards were presented annually to honor:

  • Original films released direct-to-DVD
  • Creative extras and bonus features on DVD releases of theatrical films
  • Technical achievements in areas such as editing, cinematography, and sound design

Special awards included:

  • The Pioneer Award – recognizing individuals with significant contributions to the DVD medium
  • The Academy of Artistic Achievement (AAA) Award – for extraordinary and/or groundbreaking DVD releases from previous years

Cultural Context

In the early 2000s, the DVD market exploded in both volume and scope. Studios began to see DVDs not just as supplemental formats but as potential primary platforms for certain releases. With the rise of director’s cuts, special editions, and straight-to-DVD originals, the market was hungry for content—and the DVD Exclusive Awards were there to celebrate the best of it.

Notable Award-Winning Titles and Releases

A broad array of films, both mainstream and indie, received recognition through the awards. Though specific yearly winners are harder to track due to limited archival access, several productions covered on the site reflect the caliber of content:

“Escape from New York” – MGM’s 2-Disc Collector’s Edition

  • Featured a remastered version sourced from a long-lost original negative
  • Included cut scenes like the infamous bank robbery sequence
  • Added commentary and special behind-the-scenes content
  • Director John Carpenter expressed satisfaction with the visual remaster and additional material

“Devil’s Pond” (formerly “Heaven’s Pond”) – Artisan Entertainment

  • A direct-to-DVD thriller starring Tara Reid and Kip Pardue
  • Notable for its limited cast and intense psychological tone
  • Received praise for elevating Reid’s image beyond “party girl” roles

“The Ghost Club” – MTI Home Video

  • A tween-targeted supernatural adventure with family-friendly themes
  • Aimed at children growing out of Disney fare but not yet ready for teen dramas
  • Gained attention for its positive portrayal of sibling teamwork and mild spooky elements

Industry Influence and Strategic Timing

Major studios quickly realized the profitability of the direct-to-DVD model. Paramount, for instance, leveraged its licensing rights to beloved television properties, releasing box sets of:

  • Star Trek: Voyager
  • Touched By an Angel
  • MTV’s Punk’d
  • Hogan’s Heroes
  • Frasier, Cheers, and I Love Lucy

Such collections came packed with featurettes, interviews, and Web-based marketing campaigns that helped drive DVD sales well beyond expectations. This trend illustrated how physical media became a vehicle for nostalgia and collector culture in a way that streaming has not fully replicated.

Controversy and Public Perception

In 2003, Buena Vista Home Entertainment delayed the release of four much-anticipated Walt Disney Treasures collections due to overwhelming retail demand and a shortage of collectible tin packaging. These included:

  • The Chronological Donald
  • Mickey Mouse in Living Color: Vol. 2
  • Walt Disney on the Front Lines (WWII shorts)
  • Walt Disney’s Tomorrowland

The postponement prompted rumors of censorship regarding wartime racial depictions in Front Lines. However, Disney VP Lori MacPherson denied any content-based concerns, confirming that all discs had been fully replicated and would be released unchanged.

Audience and Popularity

The Video Premiere Awards drew significant interest from:

  • Retailers seeking award-certified products to boost DVD sales
  • Filmmakers and producers aiming for direct-to-consumer exposure
  • Entertainment professionals looking for recognition outside traditional theatrical markets
  • Collectors and fans of DVD extras, behind-the-scenes features, and “lost footage”

By the early 2000s, DVDs were no longer just for movie playback—they became a lifestyle product, with exclusive content, sleek packaging, and rewatch value. The Awards played a pivotal role in promoting and legitimizing this cultural shift.

Press and Media Coverage

Publications like Variety, Video Business, and Video Premiere regularly featured:

  • Editorials about emerging DVD trends
  • In-depth reviews of original DVD productions
  • Feature stories on the economics of direct-to-DVD releases
  • Interviews with directors like John Carpenter and producers behind special editions

Moreover, Video Business E-News Bulletins and weekly summaries kept professionals up to date on breaking industry news, further cementing the platform’s role in shaping discourse around DVD innovation.

Discontinuation and Closure

In 2006, the awards program and associated publication came to an abrupt halt when DVD Exclusive magazine ceased operations. Several converging factors led to the program’s decline:

  • The rise of video-on-demand (VOD) and digital streaming eroded the exclusivity of DVDs
  • The entertainment industry began shifting its marketing efforts toward emerging platforms like Netflix and iTunes
  • The broader economic downturn in publishing affected many niche trade magazines

With the dissolution of DVD Exclusive, VideoPremiereAwards.com was archived, and the awards were never revived in another form.

Legacy and Cultural Significance

Though short-lived, the Video Premiere Awards left a lasting mark on the evolution of home entertainment. It validated the artistry of non-theatrical releases, legitimized the collector’s edition boom, and showcased the power of bonus content and digital packaging in shaping audience loyalty.

In hindsight, the awards forecasted trends that would dominate the next decade:

  • Direct-to-consumer media distribution
  • Binge-watching of serialized box sets
  • The rise of “extras” as value-add content
  • Creator-led distribution via digital platforms

Today, their legacy lives on in how audiences and studios alike view home releases—not just as second-tier products, but as culturally significant forms of storytelling in their own right.

 

VideoPremiereAwards.com