Taking social networking to a whole new level, Warner Brother and Facebook have formed a partnership to allow Blu-Ray users to organize community screenings of their Warner Brother Blu-Ray releases, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
The feature to watch community screenings of Blu-Ray products currently exists on many Warner Brothers titles via a BD-Live buddies list. The new deal will allow users to synch with Facebook and a user’s contact list on the social networking site. Fans will be able to join together to watch the film, offer commentary and interact during the movie.
The feature will debut when “Watchmen: The Director’s Cut” is released on Blu-Ray later this year.
Another new Blu-ray feature — dubbed Warner Bros. Maximum Movie Mode — will allow split-screen viewing of “Watchmen” to focus on elements in director Zack Snyder’s on-camera commentary.
The partnership is strategic only, with no money changing hands between the parties.
“We want to do this partnership with Facebook because research has shown that consumers want to have social networking capabilities with BD-Live,” Warner Home Video vice-president of worldwide high definition Kris Brown said. “Previously, those possibilities have been limited to your friends within BD-Live and the general BD-Live community.”
“Watchmen” will be released in DVD and Blu-ray simultaneously in late July on DVD and Blu-ray, with the theatrical version going out on standard disc. The standard DVD will sell for $28.98 and the Blu-ray director’s cut for $35.99.
There will be no bonus features on the standard-disc version of “Watchmen,” while a special edition DVD of the directors cut — retailing for $34.99 — will place elaborate bonus features on a second disc. A street date of July 21 or July 28 was being finalized, making for a release either just before or after the annual Comi-Con convention.
“Watchmen” also will bow simultaneously on various digital platforms. Those include On Demand pay-per-view availability through digital cable, satellite TV and Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 game consoles.
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