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Latest audio described DVDs
Transcript
17 November 2013
Roberta: As one of our regular segments here on the show, we’re going to hear from Ally Woodford, DVD and Cinema Project Manager at Media Access Australia, and it’s about the latest DVD releases that have audio description and captioning. Audio description allows people with vision impairment to watch DVDs through descriptive narration of the visual elements, and captions reproduce the soundtrack in text format for the hearing impaired. Well, welcome Ally.
Ally: Thanks Roberta. Hi everyone.
Roberta: Now let’s get straight to the titles. What are the Hollywood blockbuster latest release movies with captions and audio description?
Ally: Well, first up we just can’t go past Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby. Not only has it got Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan in it, this one holds a lot of interest for us locally being a Luhrmann production and also a lot of familiar Australian faces in it, and it was filmed locally as well. So that’s one of the Hollywood blockbusters. The other two I’ve got here, I would put Iron Man 3 on the list, which stars Robert Downey Jr. And then the last one is World War Z. It’s an action thriller starring Brad Pitt that apparently has done a lot for bringing zombie movies into a credible and respected genre, you might say.
Roberta: Oh, well I’m glad you said “credible”.
Ally: Yeah. [Laughs]
Roberta: Now, Ally, moving on to dramas, do we have any new-release titles in this category?
Ally: Just four in the drama category, and they are Emperor”, it’s a post-World War II military movie which stars Matthew Fox and Tommy Lee Jones, and it’s set in Japan. There’s also Mud which stars Matthew McConaughey. I haven’t seen it but it does look thrilling. It’s set in America’s Deep South and the critics have been saying it’s one of McConaughey’s finest performances.
Roberta: But he’s really good anyway, isn’t he?
Ally: Yeah, yeah, acting or just looking at… [Laughs]
Roberta: Mm, yummy.
Ally: …he’s quite dishy. [Laughs] The other two dramas are Song For Marion which stars Vanessa Redgrave and Terence Stamp…
Roberta: Oh, that was lovely, mm.
Ally: …and The Place Beyond the Pines which stars Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes.
Roberta: Now, the serious to the comedic: What comedies have we got available to us all?
Ally: We’ve got a… it’s a romantic comedy called The Big Wedding, a black comedy, it’s called The Bling Ring, and there’s a, I guess a few straight-out comedies we’ve got, The Details, The Internship and Identity Thief. I might also add in the kids’ animation to this category, as they’re all comedies too, so we’ve got Adventures in Zambezia, Despicable Me 2, Epic and Escape from Planet Earth.
Roberta: Despicable Me 2, what in heaven’s name does that mean?
Ally: I don’t know.
Roberta: You don’t know…?
Ally: I know there was a Despicable Me…
Roberta: Yes…
Ally: …and I know it’s animation, but it’s one that I haven’t actually sort of, yeah, got any details on unfortunately.
Roberta: Okay, I’ll have to sus that one out because, you know…
Ally: It is for kids though.
Roberta: Yes, yes that’s what I mean, but I’ve got grandchildren who are always looking for new movies and new DVDs actually.
Ally: Yeah.
Roberta: So, Ally, what rounds out the list this time around?
Ally: We’ve got a number of thrillers. They are The Call which stars Halle Berry, Penthouse North. These next two I’d call crime thrillers, and that’s The Iceman, and also Dead Man Down. Now Star Trek fans will no doubt want to get their hands on Star Trek Into Darkness, and on the science fiction front we’ve also got G.I. Joe: Retaliation as well as The Purge which is a futuristic look at crime management, we might say, in the USA, and it stars Ethan Hawke. Now we’ve got four action movies. They are Dead in Tombstone, Fast & Furious 6, Killing Season and Olympus Has Fallen. And rolling out the entire list, it’s an English version remake of the 1950’s documentary from Norway, Kon-Tiki, so that’s it.
Roberta: What was that one, sorry Ally?
Ally: Kon-Tiki.
Roberta: Ah, that would be interesting.
Ally: Yeah, yeah.
Roberta: Well this documentary and many more titles can be found in the audio described DVD database on Media Access Australia’s website, which is mediaaccess.org.au, or you can call Ally on (02) 9212 6242, that’s (02) 9212 6242. And you can send an email to info@mediaaccess.org.au with any questions that you might have. Thank you for all of that today Ally. There’s plenty there adding to the list all the time.
Ally: That’s right. Thanks, Roberta.
Roberta: I’ve been speaking with Ally Woodford, DVD and Cinema Project Manager at Media Access Australia, and Media Access Australia are supporters of this program.