THE FILMS: The Susan Hart Hofheinz AIP titles
THE PERSON: Head of product development at Shout! Factory

THE PITCH: Shout has had success in the dwindling catalog DVD market in the U.S. with their arrangment with Roger Corman, releasing a number of double/triple/quadruple-features of his holdings on DVD and Blu. The films in which he initially made a name for himself in the industry were for AIP, and the top titles which put the company itself on the map --IT CONQUERED THE WORLD, I WAS A TEENAGE FRANKENSTEIN, I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF, THE AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN, INVASION OF THE SAUCER MEN, etc-- are contolled by Susan Hart Hofheinz, widow of AIP co-head James Nicholson. These are arguably the last iconic drive-in movies of the 1950s that have yet to see a legit release in the U.S., that still have some public familiarity and marquee value.

Unlike other home video companies that might bid on these, Shout can derive more potential profit from this small set of films, in that most of them were also used for episodes of MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000, which is also a consistently profitable product line for Shout. So, like the 'Gamera' films that the company has licensed, these can be sold twice; once as a brief series of straight-ahead, multi-title "Drive-In Classics" releases, ala the Roger Corman catalog, and again as a special MST3K set. While Ms. Hofheinz has been notoriously tight-fisted over the years with her film holdings, her options today, in this business, are increasingly few, and Shout is in the best position, as just mentioned, to come to a mutually-profitable arrangment with her, at this point in time. Shout also has an advantage in that they already have professional relationships with Roger Corman, the MST3K crew, and noted film historians/high-profile fans (Tom Weaver, Larry Blamire, Bob Burns, etc), who could likely again be tapped for value-added content.

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Last Edited By: PeteFitzgerald Jul 19 11 7:24 PM. Edited 1 times.