David Crawford - DVD Dave

I looked on line for the release date for Euphoria but couldn’t find it anywhere so what is the street date we are looking at and what can we expect to see.

David - We are going for a release date around VSDA (Video Software Dealers Association) so sometime in July or August. It is going to be a 2-disc set with packed DVD 9’s. Multi angle orgasms, DTS 5.1 and anamorphic widescreen. We had the cameras rolling from the start of pre-production. We even have a section dedicated to the extreme bad luck this project had from the beginning. At one point someone broke into Wicked and stole 8 of the master tapes with some of our extra footage. Luckily we already had it in the computer at a lower resolution so we went ahead and are showing you what we have. Even the menu’s crashed at one point while working on the DVD so the information had to be transferred to another computer in order to get the menu’s back out of the system. Though I would like to say that we are VERY happy with how everything paid off as far as Euphoria VHS and DVD.

What about Hercules ?

David - We are doing a day to date release on this one and it is set for a September cutoff. Steve Orenstein is letting me go nuts on this one. As with Euphoria it will be a 2 DVD 9 disc set with 5.1 DTS and anamorphic widescreen. We took cameras on pre-production and even filmed the cast auditions. At one point we had Wicked employee’s audition for some of the parts and that is all in there. We have alternate storylines and alternate endings as well as a Director’s version that will be on the DVD. The movie itself had to be edited down to fit on a VHS tape so the DVD will have Jonathan Morgan’s original cut to the movie. We are also including some new stuff in the extras section like a Director’s diary. We gave Jonathan a camera and had him film himself as filming was underway and the results were fantastic. At first he is all happy and charged up ready to go but that changes as filming progresses and is really hilarious. We are even including footage of the editing bay showing how the final product is put together. Something to look for also is Evan Stone’s commentary on this one. The man is like the energizer bunny you just let him go.

What are the benefits/drawbacks to a day to date release?

David - I think we have done three so far. Dream Quest /Vengeance/The Gate. I am not sure on the Gate but I think it was. For us doing day to date is extremely difficult. Nothing is the same for us from one disc to the next. The menus and everything are totally redone, as are the extras. The Behind the Scenes have to be edited and once the movie is in its final form the commentary sound track has to be done which involves getting people back in the studio to lay down the audio track. The only way to do that realistically is to delay the VHS release date. For some companies this isn’t really a problem because they are either doing Gonzo in which case the “Behind the Scenes” and the “Commentary” aren’t really an issue since that is pretty much the movie and most gonzo DVD’s utilize the same basic menu format. Other companies are making this commitment by not putting as many extra’s on the disc and I really don’t want to do that. I have made a commitment to putting out the best product I can every time and Steve Orenstein has been generous enough to allow me to take the time I need to do it right. We are however working on shortening the time it takes us to get a disc done. We were originally at about 6 months but that is slowly coming down and hopefully in the future we can have the disc done in about 2 months.

A long time ago I asked you if Wicked would ever do a “virtual sex” line with their women and you said you had a little something you were working on. Care to elaborate now?

David - I have been here for a while now and everything is finally getting up to speed. I feel the virtual sex angle is pretty much covered in the sense that I don’t think I can do anything any different or better than the companies already in that area so I am not going to do anything along those lines. What I am looking at is something along the multiple story line game formats. Basically like those old books that let you choose your own adventure or the old Seymore Butts CD Rom game where you got to choose what action you took and then the story changes based on your decision.

Were you looking at a specific girl for every title or all of them in one?

David - No I would want only one girl per movie but as usual there would be guest stars popping up here and there.

This would be extremely difficult to shoot and edit. People would be constantly looking for something that changed in the girl’s outfit, make-up whatever.

David - Oh I know. I would have to take her outfit and lock it up during shooting so nothing changes or gets lost. This would be very hard to do properly and require a lot of attention.

So taking into planning and everything you have going on at the moment we are looking at what? A late 2003 release?

David - That is probably about right if I can get everything going.

Wicked’s DVD’s are usually on the higher end of the price scale and in my opinion this is due to the care you are putting into your product. But how much pressure are you getting to lower your prices and are you going to be doing anything about that?

David - Well the distributors are always looking for lower prices. What we are looking at now has to do with our older titles such as NYDP, which we just released on DVD. It really isn’t appropriate for us to charge the same for this title as we would for say Hercules or Euphoria so we are addressing that issue. We should have an announcement about that sometime around VSDA.

Wicked is the only company I have ever seen doing a customer survey at the conventions. What happens with those results?

David - Steve Orenstein is all about the end user. We take those surveys and have a LOT of one on one meetings with him about what the results are telling us. One of the things that came out of those surveys was the commentary extra on the DVD’s. The fans told us they were interested in this so we started doing them and they are now one of our most popular extras.

What are your most popular extras?

David - The commentary and the Behind the Scenes.

Wicked has some older titles they are now releasing on DVD. Is it hard to come up with extras for them? Do you have to re-master them?

David - Actually you would be surprised. Western Nights was one of Wicked’s first big movies and believe it or not I actually found some Behind the Scenes footage for this in the vault and we are getting people to do a commentary track on them as well.

What about the Jenna titles?

David - I have three Jenna titles left to do and I have a little something special in mind to make them even better but you will have to wait and see for that one.

I suppose it would be impossible to get Jenna to do the commentary now wouldn’t it?

David - Actually you know I haven’t asked her. Maybe I will. She may actually say yes you can never tell.

You are known for your Easter Eggs do all your discs have them?

David - I was the first guy to do Easter eggs in a movie called “Pussyman in Hollywood ”. Though it is getting harder to come up with things to put in there. Euphoria is so packed with extras already I only managed to get a few in but Turning Point has 17 and One Sleepless Night has 11. I currently have 35 titles with Easter Eggs. Usually what I do is wait a while and then send the list to someone and tell him or her to release it that way everyone will eventually be able to find them but it doesn’t spoil the hunt for those who like to look for them.

Okay what else do you want to talk about?

David - Well I want to say I am always open to feedback and that you can reach me at David@WickedPictures.com and that Planet Sex is a maniac and needs to be stopped.

Anything else?

David - We are currently doing 1 DVD release a week. Wicked is a theory and it is hard to find an editor who gets this and can stick to the theory. We are trying to come down on the time between VHS and DVD release but I really hate the DVD’s that come out right away and then later another version with more stuff comes out. You don’t see that in adult but you see it a lot in mainstream and that is whom I compare my discs to. It really pisses me off when I have to go buy a disc I already own because now they decide to do it right. Steve Orenstein has also been very supportive of me and let me take my time to do things right instead of pushing for speed.

Will you ever show us the making of the DVD?

David - I don’t know. Maybe as an egg.