Warner Bros Archives

New WB Project Could Be Dukes of Hazzard Movie

From the rumor mill at the Hollywood Reporter, we’re told that there’s a secretive Warner Bros action-film project taking place somewhere in the South.

The story takes place in the 1970’s, and features two young men on the wrong side of the law.

This sounds kinda familiar, we gotta admit.

The last time we got excited about a Dukes movie, however, we were handed something that was an over-long parody. Good as the chase scenes were in The Dukes of Hazzard 2005 movie, it was a far cry from what many long-time fans had hoped for. This was followed up by a watered-down version of more of the same, in the TV movie, “The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning.” After a single TV airing, “The Beginning” was in the DVD bargain bin at Walmart.

Which brings us to wonder, “what next?”

There is optimism in the fact that writer-director Jody Hill was born in North Carolina in 1976. He’s from the South. He’s just old enough to have watched the original series during the CBS run of 1979-1985, during that critical impressionable age. Maybe, just maybe, Warner Bros is putting together a new Dukes of Hazzard movie project that is more true to the original series, and they’ve got the right guy at the helm.

Maybe.

We don’t even know if this is really a Dukes movie at all – or just something that borrows heavily from it. As soon as we know more, we’ll pass it on! Meantime, visit our Forums to see fan reaction and share your thoughts!

Warner Bros. Includes Dukes of Hazzard in Unique TV Exhibit!

A new exhibit at the Paley Center in Los Angeles called “Television: Out of the Box” features 60 years of iconic TV history! This interactive, multimedia Warner Bros exhibit includes props, collectibles, photos, set pieces, video clips, and more from decades of memorable television.

The Dukes of Hazzard is recognized in this exhibit, with a pair of “Daisy Dukes” among the TV treasures. We’re excited to see The Dukes of Hazzard included in this ode to television, and we encourage you to pay it a visit! You can learn more about the exhibit at the Paley Center website. Our sincere thanks go to Warner Bros for including the The Dukes of Hazzard in this popular exhibit! We also extend our gratitude to Warner Bros. Television Marketing for providing HazzardNet with this information.

Special Dukes of Hazzard DVD Deals!

There’s good news, good news! Warner Bros has DVD collections of “The Dukes of Hazzard” on sale! And we’re not just talkin’ a little-bitty sale. We’re takin’ DVD sets brand new for up to 58% off! You can get Season One for the crazy cheap price of $14.00! It’s a price even Boss Hogg could stand. They also have downloadable episodes for a pocket-friendly $1.95.

Here’s the bad news…the sale is only on through Friday, 11/25/11! So you’ll wannna get a move on.

Now, since we’re honest folks, we’ll also tell ya that Amazon.com has Dukes of Hazzard DVD’s for cheap too! Who’s the cheapest depends on exactly what you’re buying. Prices vary on Amazon according to the Dukes season that you’re looking for. Prices also vary depending on the third-party sellers involved.

WB throws in free shipping for orders $50 and above, otherwise it’s $2.50 per order during the sale. Amazon has free shipping for orders over $25. If you’re spending less, that’s where the rubber meets the road on shipping costs.

In a quick comparison, buying the 1st season Dukes of Hazzard DVD set by itself would be cheaper, including shipping, through WB. While the sale is on, anyhow.

There’s nothing like knowing the Dukes of Hazzard will be yours forever. Now’s the time to start, or complete, your DVD collection! If you already bought ’em years ago, now’s a good time to replace any scratched-up DVD’s that have seen a lot of action. These prices are the cheapest we’ve seen this year!

25 Million Dollar Sheriff

Dukes of Hazzard fans may remember an episode called “10 Million Dollar Sheriff” where Rosco inherits money by mistake. Here in the real world, James Best, who played Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane, is saying there’s been a mistake, alright, and Warner Bros. made it.

A lawsuit filed by Best against TimeWarner states that he has been shorted his share of royalties from Dukes of Hazzard merchandise. Specifically, merchandise that bears his likeness. Best was entitled to 5% of these proceeds. (is that 50% of 50% of 50%?) The dispute arises from the lack of accounting by Warner Bros; Best has received $175,000 in the past 30 years from merchandise sales – but he reckons he should have received 5 to 25 million.

Doing the math roughly, Warner is saying it made 3.5 million from Dukes merchandise with Best’s likeness – while Best is saying they probably made more like…a billion.

Best’s claim also includes a share of merchandise revenue from any Dukes product with Flash on it. Adding the dog to the show was his idea and he held 50% ownership of the pooch.

We took a quick look at what we could find with Sheriff Rosco’s likeness, and came up with the following: packaging for Mego action figures, back cover cases for Columbia House VHS tapes, the front artwork for The Dukes of Hazzard music CD, and DVD box back covers for Seasons 1, 2, 3, and 7. There were also a number of metal TV trays, wastebaskets, and…heck, we can’t count all the stuff Warner Bros authorized back in the day with Rosco on it.

But Warner Bros is going to have to count it, and disclose it, to settle this lawsuit. Best claims he made numerous efforts over the years to obtain fair accounting, without success.

Tom Wopat and John Schneider sued Warner Bros over merchandising revenue during the 5th season of the show. The dispute resulted in a temporary walkout by the two actors and the introduction of temporary replacement stars, Byron Cherry and Christopher Mayer. It was eventually resolved to Wopat and Schneider’s satisfaction, and the replacements were given the heave-ho without fanfare.

We will keep you posted as this story continues. Who knows…maybe ol’ Rosco will get his “pension” here, after all! And what a pension it could be.

New Orders For The Dukes Cartoon Now Accepted!

Late last week, The Dukes cartoon dvd became unavailable on the Warner Bros Shop website. We asked one of our contacts about it and it was confirmed to be sold out. However, we found out later it was only the limited edition autographed copies that were sold out. Today, the website was updated to offer The Dukes Animated Series dvd (without autograph) and they are now accepting orders again. Yeeehaaa! The price has been reduced to $24.95. We have received and watched ours already and we’ve gotta say, it’s worth every penny!

Order your copy of The Dukes Animated Series dvd in time for Christmas. Orders over $50 qualify for free ground shipping.