‘HUNKERCISE’ OFFERS MORE THAN JUST HUNKS
Don’t let the title fool you: The heavily publicized “Playgirl Hunkercise” isn’t a frivolous, lustful exercise in male watching. Both the quality of the production and the exercise program elevate this tape (Prism, $39.95) above most of its competitors--many of which are merely celebrity ego trips.
The “Hunkercise” workout, which he helped devise, is guided by fitness expert and private trainer Jim Bolden, who’s headquartered at the Santa Monica Athletic Club.
“This tape is unusual because it’s suitable for three categories of exercisers--beginners, intermediates and advanced,” Bolden pointed out. “Most cassettes are aimed at one category.”
Bolden looked at other cassettes, trying to figure out what not to do. “Our aim on this one was to avoid mistakes other people made with other exercise cassettes,” he said. “I wanted to include good things the others don’t. For instance, I include a sensory awareness section at the beginning and meditation at the end.”
Originally, Bolden said, the producers--with the Playgirl audience in mind--wanted a tape that stressed sexiness and entertainment. But he wasn’t interested in that approach. “It had to be professional or I wouldn’t do it,” he said. “Entertainment has its place in this cassette, too. That’s obvious. It’s just not the dominant factor. I didn’t want to sacrifice the quality of the workout for it.”
Still, “Hunkercise” should be a big hit among women. Because it’s geared to the Playgirl audience, there are hunks galore, including head hunk Steve Rally, Playgirl’s 1985 Man of the Year. At the Video Software Dealers’ convention in Washington last week, Bolden and Rally were there signing autographs. Most of the 1,500 autographs they signed were for women, according to Bolden.
“I know this tape will feed women’s fantasies,” Bolden noted. “Women like to look at men. But, beyond all that, this is a serious workout cassette.”
If this is a tape for male watchers, why are two of the exercisers women?
“This isn’t a tape just for women to watch. I want women to see that they can do these exercises, too,” Bolden said. “If they see other women exercising, they may try the workouts, too.”
Bolden’s visibility and reputation as a celebrity trainer--his list of illustrious pupils includes Joanna Cassidy and Rob Lowe--certainly helped him get this assignment. He also got the job for a more basic reason--he, too, is a hunk.
MUSIC: AC/DC, the Australian heavy-metal band, has been in the news recently because its music has been linked to the Night Stalker case. By coincidence, “AC/DC: Fly on the Wall” (Atlantic, $19.98)--made up of five rock videos, including “Danger” and “Sink the Pink”--was just released. Also, the band’s “AC/DC: Let There Be Rock” (Warner Video, $39.98), filmed in concert in Paris, will be out during the last week of the month. The controversy should boost sales in both cases.
MCA has two cassettes in production that will interest pop music fans. “Stand by Me” is a profile of Julian Lennon, John’s son--including interview, behind-the-scenes and concert footage. The other is “Woman in Rock,” a documentary examining the impact and influence of women in the industry. The release dates haven’t been set.
Though Frank Sinatra’s “L.A. Is My Lady” album is thoroughly forgettable, the behind-the-scenes cassette--”The Best of Everything”--about the making of the album could be fascinating, because of session footage of Sinatra and such musicians as Lionel Hampton, George Benson and Quincy Jones. It will be out next year on MGM/UA for $39.95. “Loverboy” (Vestron, $29.95), featuring the Canadian rock band in 1983 concert at Vancouver, B.C., and “The Grateful Dead Movie” (Monterey, $39.95), offering both offstage and in-concert footage from 1974, will be in the stores next week.
The No. 1 videocassette of the summer--even topping all the movie cassettes--was, as expected, RCA/Columbia’s “We Are the World: The Video Event,” which sells for $14.95.
KIDVID: “It’s the hottest thing in home video this year,” gushed Paul Jacobson, marketing director of Kid Time, a fast-growing, six-month-old company. He was referring to children’s home video--alias kidvid. At last week’s Video Software Dealers convention in Washington, there was considerable buzz about kidvid, which already claims 15% of the videocassette business.
“The big companies are opening up kidvid sections now,” he continued, rhapsodizing about the rosy feature of children’s video.
The kidvid field is a magnet for video companies largely because of its sales potential in a business dominated by rentals. Remember, video companies don’t share in the rental profits and are more interested in sales.
Why are there more sales in kidvid? The vast kiddie audience treats videos like their favorite books, watching them repeatedly. So parents often buy children’s cassettes--generally priced cheaper than movie cassettes--rather than renting.
Surveys estimate that rentals account for about 85% of the overall video business. In kidvid, said Jacobson, rentals are only 60-70% of the business. The rest is sales.
Product exposure has often been a problem. How do you get video stores, which mostly stock movies, to carry more kiddie cassettes? One approach used by some kidvid companies is bypassing video stores and offering their cassettes in such places as toy stores and bookstores.
Original programming, vital to the future of home video, is a feature of kidvid. “There’s a lot of original programming in progress in this field,” Jacobson explained. “The supply of cartoons and kid films will run dry one day. What will be the alternative? Original programming, of course. So kidvid companies are getting heavily into original programming now. They won’t be caught short.”
THE KIDVID TOP 5
Courtesy of Video Insider magazine.
1--”Pinocchio” (Disney).
2--”The Care Bears Movie” (Vestron).
3--”The Transformers, Vol. 1” (Family Home Entertainment).
4--”The Transformers, Vol. 2” (Family Home Entertainment).
5--”Rainbow Brite--Monstromurk Menace” (Children’s Video).
NEW AND COMING: The only major movie making its debut this week is “A Passage to India” (RCA/Columbia, $79.95), which features the performance that won Peggy Ashcroft the best supporting actress Oscar.
Next week, for horror fans, Paramount offers the latest adventures of the mad slasher in “Friday the 13th, Part V-A New Beginning.”
In two weeks, MCA is putting out the popular teen movie “The Breakfast Club,” starring Molly Ringwald and Emilio Estevez. “Amadeus,” last year’s Oscar winner for Best Film of 1984, will be released in three weeks.
Those who snubbed the recent Richard Pryor-John Candy remake of “Brewster’s Millions,” available Nov. 7 from MCA, should see the 1945 version, which stars Dennis O’Keefe. Nostalgia Merchant is releasing it Sept. 17 for $29.95.
CHARTS: As expected, “Desperately Seeking Susan,” featuring Madonna, is a big rental hit, debuting on the Billboard magazine rental chart at No. 7. But it wasn’t expected to be a big seller, too. Yet, it’s selling. The cassette entered the Billboard sales chart at No. 9.
Though “The Killing Fields” only entered the rental chart at No. 33, look for it to take a big jump next week. In the rental market, this will be a hot one, maybe even bigger than “Desperately Seeking Susan” in the long run.
TOP VIDEOCASSETTES, RENTALS
1--”The Karate Kid” (RCA/Columbia).
2--”A Soldier’s Story” (RCA/Columbia).
3--”The Falcon and the Snowman” (Vestron).
4--”The Flamingo Kid” (Vestron).
5--”Starman” (RCA/Columbia).
6--”A Nightmare on Elm Street” (Media).
7--”Desperately Seeking Susan” (Thorn/EMI/HBO).
8--”Runaway” (RCA/Columbia).
9--”The Terminator” (Thorn/EMI/HBO).
10--”Pinocchio” (Disney).
TOP VIDEOCASSETTES, SALES
1--”Jane Fonda’s Workout” (Karl).
2--”Pinocchio” (Disney).
3--”Prince and the Revolution Live” (Warner Bros.).
4--”We Are the World: The Video Event” (MusicVision).
5--”Wrestlemania” (Coliseum).
6--”Prime Time” (Karl).
7--”Singin’ in the Rain” (MGM/UA).
8--”Life With Mickey” (Disney).
9--”Desperately Seeking Susan” (Thorn/EMI/HBO).
10--”Wham! The Video” (CBS-Fox).