Fergie's Tech Blog

'Bubble' Bursts Over Hollywood

This should actually prove to be an interesting experiment.

Also, I heard an excellent interview with the Director of this film, Steven Sonderbergh, by Terry Gross on NPR's Fresh Air a couple of days ago -- worth a listen. You can find a pointer to that show here.

This article snippet below comes to us via Red Herring.

In a challenge to the way films are distributed, entrepreneurs Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner on Friday will release their film Bubble in theaters, on cable, and, within days, on DVD.

It’s the first high-profile film to do that, and it will pave the path of what the industry refers to as “simultaneous distribution.” And Hollywood is on the edge of its seat, riddled with a combination of fear and excitement.

If the experiment works, films of equal prominence could follow, breaking the distribution chain that has bound the industry for decades.

Some say the move could kill movie theaters, which are already suffering from competition from “home theaters” that have consumers munching popcorn on their own couches instead of in large auditoriums. The trend is likely to accelerate as the long-awaited convergence of computers and entertainment media finally takes place.