Richard Gray

1. When did you first get interested in DVD and why?

It would have been around 1998, when I first heard about the technology. Dismissing it as a fad, it wasn't until the monumental disappointment that was 'Star Wars Episode I' came out that I thought to myself "I must have this on DVD". I'm strange that way. If the memory of this old man serves, it was 'The Matrix' (R1), 'Kundun'(R1) and Yellow Submarine that I picked up first.

2. Did you ever expect DVD to become as popular as it has now?

Yes, but not as fast as it did. I remember when they had a shelf or two in most department stores, so it was slim pickings' in those days. You know, when people would stare at you like you had just shown a dog a card trick when you used the letters D, V and D in any combination. Here we are only a few years later and goddamn if I can remember what came before. Now we are into the NEXT generation of DVD! High definition! We thought DVD was the high definition? Wasn't it? Wasn't it? It wasn't? Oh.

3. What are some of your favourite movies and some of your favourite DVDs?

Any list of favourite movies and DVDs would have to have a nod to 'The Godfather', 'Star Wars', 'Chasing Amy', 'Raiders of the Lost Ark', 'The Lion King', 'The Little Mermaid', 'Lilo and Stitch'…erm…ok everything Disney, 'Moulin Rouge', 'The Great Escape', 'Annie Hall', 'Fight Club', 'Planet of the Apes' (1968), 'Singin' in the Rain'…actually we might need a bigger boat.

4. Which 'not so good' DVDs would you never want ruining your collection?

Anything involving the Olsen twins and certain purple dinosaur. Flippers, pan and scan and movies altered at a genetic level are all pet hates.

5. Which DVD(s) not yet available are you looking forward to most being released?

I refuse to answer this question on the grounds it may date me terribly one day.

6. Who would win in a fight - Blu-ray or HD-DVD?

I refuse to answer this question on the grounds it may date me terribly one day. Umm...BETA-MAX!

7. So what are you watching your shiny goodness on?

I have myself a 32" Samsung LCD TV and an LG DVD Recorder Receiver System (LH-R5500SB) with speakers. However, I also have a Sony Playstation 3 60GB attached to the TV via an HDMI, with an optical cable out to the receiver for my Blu-ray madness. A Nintendo Wii and a Playstation 2 still grace the entertainment unit. Believe it or not, I still have a VCR in there!

8. Have you ever gone to extraordinary lengths to satisfy your DVD addiction?

I wouldn't say extraordinary. I once shot a man in a supermarket for the last copy of 'The Little Mermaid'. And then there was the hamster incident…

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