Studios Paramount and Sony have announced plans to bring a host of catalogue titles to Blu-ray in the US and UK. Paramount will bring Deep Impact, K19: The Widowmaker, The Score, The Firm and Varsity Blues to the high definition format in North America, while Sony has confirmed Westerns The Quick and the Dead and Silverado, as well as Paul Thomas Anderson’s Punch Drunk Love for BD in the UK. The studio has also announced Steven Soderbergh’s debut feature Sex, Lies and Videotape for Blu-ray in the US, where it will become available in late August.

Now this is what BD-Live should be all about: Paramount has announced new content for owners of the Transformers Blu-ray disc that will take them inside the imminent sequel, as well as new content releated to the original film. Launching tomorrow, the reportedly exclusive online material will include Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen clips, on set footage, and skits. The original film is set to be bolstered by new deleted scenes, featurettes on filming at the Pentagon, SFX, stunts, weapons voice-overs and more.

Jon Favreau hasn’t been too worried about releasing details surrounding the follow-up to one of the biggest blockbusters of last year - the director has been tweeting consistently from the set of Iron Man 2, and has now released the first image of Mickey Rourke in costume as baddie Whiplash (above) to go with an earlier, albeit more generic pic of Robert Downey Jr. (below). Iron Man was one of 2008’s biggest selling Blu-rays, helping to push the format last Autumn with it’s crisp action and colourful special effects. Can the sequel do likewise following it’s theatrical run next May?

Following a poll on Amazon.com, Criterion has announced that it’s next Blu-ray release in the US will be the much-loved Howards End. The Academy Award-winning Merchant Ivory classic is an adaptation of E.M. Forster’s 1910 novel, and stars Helena Bonham Carter, Emma Thompson, Anthony Hopkins and Vanessa Redgrave. No word on whether we’ll get to see any of the other titles up for consideration, or even a release date for the winner, but if you want an idea of the sort of extras Criterion might include check out the specs for the DVD edition.

Home entertainment whistle blower The Digital Bits has posted a rumoured Paramount/DreamWorks Blu-ray release slate for later in the year. Citing industry sources, the site stresses that the mooted US discs listed are still unconfirmed - some have been mentioned before however, and we’d be surprised if at least a couple failed to make it to retail be fore the end of the year.

01/09/09: Braveheart
15/09/09: Deep Impact, Escape from L.A., 48 Hours
22/09/09: Star Trek: The Original Series - Season 2, Gladiator: Extended Edition, Galaxy Quest
03/09/09: Forrest Gump, It’s a Wonderful Life

Star Trek: The Next Generation - Original Motion Picture Collection is set to coincide with the as-yet-undated Blu-ray release of J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek.