Sunday Morning Shootout: Executive Shuffle and The Oscar Goes To...

Peter Bart (Editor-in-Chief of Variety Publications) and Peter Guber (Chairman and CEO of the Mandalay Entertainment Group) present your favorite stars, directors and film industry heavyweights in SUNDAY MORNING SHOOTOUT, the definitive guide to mastering the secrets of success in Hollywood. Over the course of the show, superstar guests including Clint Eastwood, Jude Law, Charlize Theron, Denzel Washington, Mel Gibson and many more share personal stories and experiences illustrating the skills and confidence that are absolutely necessary to understanding the business of entertainment and achieving superstardom. From indie filmmaking to big budget blockbusters, from opening weekend box office grosses to what it’s like to win an Academy Award, the Shootout Experience is a must-have resource for aspiring filmmakers and everyone who loves movies.

Disc One & Two:
THE DIRECTORS
THE TRIPLE THREAT
ACTOR/DIRECTOR/PRODUCER

Disc Three & Four:
WOMEN IN FILM
THE NEW BREED OF LEADING MEN

ADDITIONAL BONUS FEATURES include a glimpse into Season 2 with such high-wattage talent as George Clooney & Bruce Willis and a Behind-The-Scenes look at what really happens when the cameras stop rolling on the Shootout set. The documentary, A Day In the Life features insightful and candid interviews with Bart and Guber as they manage their respective empires before heading to the studio to shoot another installment of the show.

Disc Five & Six:
AND THE OSCAR GOES TO …
EXECUTIVE SHUFFLE
REVENGE OF THE HOLLYWOOD SUITS Sunday Morning Shootout is the ultimate film-industry talk show. These first-season episodes originally aired on American Movie Classics in 2003-04, and cohosts Peter Guber and Peter Bart bring decades of show-biz experience to their amiably heated discussions. Boston-born Guber was a former head of Columbia Pictures, coproducer of the Batman franchise, and current president of Mandalay Entertainment Group, while Manhattan-born Bart had been a successful producer and top-level executive before becoming an acclaimed book author and editor-in-chief of Hollywood's venerable trade-paper, Variety. Guber is an outspoken, opinionated champion of film as a corporate enterprise, and Bart is a mild-mannered yet passionate defender of film as an art form. They complement each other perfectly as opposite sides of the Hollywood coin, attracting A-list guests who discuss their careers with remarkable candor. Enhanced by pop-up boxes containing facts, figures, and industry terms relevant to the movies and issues being discussed, each episode begins with topical questions exploring a timely facet of show-biz strategy (for example, "Who should get final cut--studios or directors?"), followed by the weekly guest interview, occasional news briefs from show-biz reporter Linda Grasso, and answers to viewer e-mail.

This two-disc set (one of three in the Best of Season One boxed set, available separately) begins with "Executive Shuffle," arguably the most interesting of all the Shootout compilations, given the status of cohosts Guber and Bart as current and former studio executives. Veteran agent/manager Bernie Brillstein humorously recalls his heyday as manager of Gilda Radner, John Belushi, and other comedy greats. Revolution Studios chief Joe Roth discusses the learning value of failed films like Gigli and producing the 2004 Academy Awards telecast, and Cuba Gooding Jr. discusses the importance of seeking color-blind roles. Veteran producer and three-time studio chief John Calley reveals his preference for producing over running a studio, imposing a "personal cap" on budgets, and not being "personally invested" in the movie business. Director Anthony Minghella discusses the challenge of adapting Cold Mountain, while director Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema co-chief Bob Shaye recall the smooth five-year production of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Independent producers Art Linson, Mark Gill and Cassian Elwes address big-studio involvement in smaller independent films; and former Miramax co-chief Harvey Weinstein defines his backing of Michael Moore's controversial documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 as "a patriotic act," recalls the film's phenomenal reception at Cannes, defines his legendary Oscar® promotion campaigns as "super-effective," and predicts (incorrectly, it turned out) that the Disney/Miramax partnership (then mired in conflict) would continue.

"And the Oscar Goes To…" combines five guest appearances with an hour-long primetime special leading up to the 2004 Academy Awards. Dustin Hoffman, Anthony Hopkins, Sir Ben Kingsley, Adrien Brody, and Denzel Washington each discuss the course of their careers and the factors involved in choosing roles and working with directors (along with many anecdotes and observations from their personal experiences), and the Oscar special includes a candid interview with musician/composers Danny Elfman and T. Bone Burnett on the variation of knowledge, preparation, and musical expectations among the directors they've worked with. Inevitably, some of these shows will grow dated over time, but they also provide lively and historically valuable perspective on the workings of Hollywood in the early 21st century. --Jeff Shannon