Newmarket Press Teams With Universal Studios to Produce Schindler's List Commemorative Book

Marking the 10th anniversary of the Academy Award-winning film Schindler's List, Newmarket Press is publishing a collection of photographs entitled Schindler's List: Images of the Steven Spielberg Film. The book features the work of photographer David James, includes a foreword by Spielberg, and is being published in conjunction with Universal Studios Home Video's release of the Schindler's List DVD. Schindler's List: Images of the Steven Spielberg Film is being packaged with the DVD in a Collector's Gift Set and will also be sold separately.

Esther Margolis, founder and president of Newmarket Press, told BTW that she'd long been interested in publishing a Schindler's List-related book, but Spielberg declined to merchandise any movie-related materials against the film. Spielberg decided to greenlight this project because the 10th anniversary of the film also marks the 10th anniversary of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to collecting the testimonies of Holocaust survivors, founded by Spielberg. In many areas, the DVD release will be celebrated with regional charitable initiatives in conjunction with the Shoah Foundation.

Universal Studios Home Video, which had worked with Newmarket on other projects, contacted Margolis and asked if the publisher could produce the book in less than three months. "We were thrilled," said Margolis, "but the timing was a challenge." Still, she was ready. "I had the screenplay, the production notes, I kept the file alive all these years." She had worked with David James previously when she published his photographs of Saving Private Ryan in the Newmarket title Saving Private Ryan: The Men, The Mission, The Movie.

About the look of Schindler's List: Images of the Steven Spielberg Film, Margolis wanted the small book, with an approximate trim size of five by seven inches, to be "very elegant. We wanted a photography book on good paper. We used 100-pound stock." All the images were shot in black and white.

The DVD, which is being released in 50 countries around the world, includes Voices From the List, a 77-minute documentary with commentary from Schindler survivors, and The Shoah Foundation Story With Steven Spielberg, a behind-the-scenes look at the work and accomplishments of the Shoah Foundation. The Collector's Gift Set includes the DVD; Schindler's List: Images of the Steven Speilberg Film, with a foreword from Spielberg in which he explains how making the film impacted his life; and a music CD of composer John Williams' soundtrack. The book, DVD, and the Collector's Gift Set will be available to booksellers by mid-March, in time to position for Holocaust Remembrance Day, which falls on April 18 in 2004. The book is available through Newmarket's distributor, W.W. Norton. The DVD and Gift Set can be ordered through Baker & Taylor or Ingram A-1 Source.

Margolis mentioned that booksellers should note not only the powerful media marketing campaign behind the release of the Schindler's List DVD, which has a full-page ad in the current issue of Vanity Fair for starters, but also DVD releases of other films with book tie-ins. She explained that the market has changed tremendously since the days of a VHS-only release, which largely went unpromoted by the industry. "There's more than one cycle for a film now," she said. "There are hefty marketing campaigns being placed against the DVD release, not just for the feature.

"Like Cold Mountain, for example: With the Oscar campaign there will be another major marketing push. It would be worthwhile for booksellers [to take advantage of the additional media coverage.] Also Big Fish, it's another example. We know the media helps bring attention to the books. Booksellers can take advantage of this without it costing them anything."

Among Newmarket's tie-ins with upcoming theater releases are Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: The Shooting Script (film release, March 19); The Alamo: The Illustrated Story of the Epic Film (film release, April 9); Van Helsing: The Making of The Thrilling Monster Movie (film release, May 7); The Odyssey of "Two Brothers" (film release, July 9); and Vanity Fair (film release, September).

Titles with tie-ins to upcoming DVD releases include The Art of the Matrix and The Matrix: The Shooting Script (DVD release, April 6) and Pieces of April: The Shooting Script (DVD release, February 24). --Karen Schechner