Netflix Adds ‘Arrested Development’ in Original Content Deal

Twentieth Century Fox Television and Imagine Television will produce new episodes of acclaimed comedy series “Arrested Development” in an exclusive deal with Netflix, the companies announced late Friday. The new episodes are slated for exclusive availability to Netflix’s U.S. streaming service customers in 2013.

Other streaming services, such as Hulu (via Vulture), had been competing with Netflix to land new episodes of the series. The deal marks the second high-profile original production that Netflix has nabbed in recent months; it also has secured exclusive rights to Media Rights Capital political drama “House of Cards” for a late 2012 rollout.

Although Fox cancelled “Arrested Development” in 2006 after three seasons, the show subsequently gained a broader audience on DVD. The parties envision the deal spanning roughly 10 new episodes of the show (via The Wall Street Journal), and the entire original cast is expected to return (via the Los Angeles Times).

Pocket Blu Brings Blu-ray Movies to Android Phones

Purchasers of Twentieth Century Fox’s “Unstoppable” Blu-ray can watch a digital copy of the action-thriller on an Android mobile device, thanks to Deluxe Digital Studios’ Pocket Blu app.

The Fox disc is the first whose digital copy feature supports Android, according to the studio. Disc users access the feature through an Internet-connected Blu-ray player and the free app, which is available at the Android market. In addition to the film, Android users can access bonuses such as director commentary.

More on how the technology works at USA Today and CNET.

Lucasfilm Plans 3D Conversions of ‘Star Wars’

Lucasfilm Ltd. announced yesterday afternoon that it would be converting its six-film Star Wars series to 3D, with a theatrical release planned for the first installment in 2012.

The production company said it had not yet determined a specific release date for “Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace.” According to The Hollywood Reporter, Lucasfilm plans to release subsequent ‘Star Wars’ installments at the same time in consecutive years. That means that a stereoscopic version of “Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi” would not debut on 3D screens until 2017.

The series will be presented in theaters with studio Twentieth Century Fox. Lucasfilm’s Industrial Light & Magic will supervise the conversions.

“Getting good results on a stereo conversion is a matter of taking the time and getting it right,” says John Knoll, Industrial Light & Magic’s Visual Effects Supervisor. “It is not something that you can rush if you want to expect good results. For ‘Star Wars’ we will take our time, applying everything we know both aesthetically and technically to bring audiences a fantastic new Star Wars experience.”

For proponents of the 3D film market, 2012 is a ways off: the technology will need to continue to prove itself in theaters over the next 15 months for “Star Wars” to have any positive effect. But William Blair analyst Ralph Schackart says that with Lucasfilm’s 3D endorsement, investors in companies such as RealD should be confident in the market’s prospects.

“The key conclusion is that marquee directors continue to show strong support for 3D, through both the creation of new content and the up-conversion of mega-hit titles,” Schackart says in a note (via Barron’s). “Avatar” director James Cameron is also planning a 3D conversion of his 1997 hit “Titanic.”

Fox Slates ‘Avatar’ For 3D Theatrical Reprise

Twentieth Century Fox says it will bring back James Cameron’s top-grossing film to 3D screens on Aug. 27. The “special edition” of the film will incorporate eight minutes of new footage, according to the LA Times. August will see the debut of two other 3D films: Buena Vista’s musical “Step Up 3D” (Aug. 6) and Miramax’s horror flick “Piranha” (Aug. 20).

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