Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iTS, Multimedia, Video, iTunes
Ed Burns premieres movie on iTunes, defends digital distribution for smaller features
411Mania's got an interview up with actor and filmmaker Ed Burns, whose latest movie, Purple Violets, is going to be distributed exclusively through iTunes for four weeks. Apparently he says he had a couple of "half-assed theatrical offers" for it, but none of them panned out, so when iTunes promised to promote his movie (maybe we'll start seeing it at keynotes rather than The Office?), he decided to go for it.And lest you think the movie's stuck on the super small screen because it isn't any good, our friends at Cinematical rather liked it, calling it his best film since The Brothers McMullen. Still, even Burns admits that it's definitely a change. Movies are made for the big screen, and always will be-- just like the interviewer at 411, I have a real problem with someone seeing The Godfather, Jurassic Park, or even Star Wars on an iPod screen for the very first time.
But this is the future, I suppose-- movie theaters aren't going anywhere, I'm sure, but the way we watch our movies is definitely diversifying. Burns likens it to digital media-- when it first came out, LP lovers said they would never listen to anything so cold and stiff, and yet iTunes now sells more songs digitally than anyone else who is selling analog recordings. Movies aren't necessary shrinking-- they're just, like everything else, changing.
[via DF]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
ChrisM70 said 8:45PM on 9-19-2007
You do understand that when you download a movie from iTunes,
YOU DON"T HAVE TO WATCH IT ON YOUR IPOD!
You can watch it on your big computer screen or use appleTV to watch it on your big television.
Let's stop pretending that Apple is so stupid as to think people would watch first-run movies on a 4" screen while riding the subway.
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PS said 9:13PM on 9-19-2007
It would be nice if we could by movie's in Australia via i-tunes at all.
i-tunes could be fantastic for the cult underground movies.
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PK said 10:09PM on 9-19-2007
@ChrisM70 - my wife pointed out the same thing. I was really jazzed that the new iPhone update points to video out finally being supported, and she asked "Why is it such a big deal? We can watch the shows and movies on our new 24" iMac..."
She makes a good point, though I'm also happy that I can take the video with me to someone else's TV and throw it up on there.
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alxndr said 11:19PM on 9-19-2007
I love having the Godfather on my iPod. I always have a great way to kill up to three hours at my fingertips.
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David said 1:36AM on 9-20-2007
I am a big Ed Burns fan, and would buy this from iTunes. I understand this can be played on a TV via an iPod or macTV.
Question, since I don't own either, can I burn to a DVD via iDVD and play on my tv?
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Elden said 2:10AM on 9-20-2007
Who the heck sells analog recordings? Digital doesn't necessarily mean electronic you know. CDs are digital. As are DVDs. Where's the analog?
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Bob6stringer said 5:14PM on 9-22-2007
I'm for first-run digi-flix, why not? Same as direct-to-video. Now I have to fan the rumor mill by agreeing with those who expect iTunes rentals soon (rentals are in the latest help menus), and how 'bout partnering with Netflix?
One more thing... don't forget the cheapest, easiest way to view iTs movies on a TV screen: a simple a simple red-white-yellow cable out of the iPod headphone jack. People always overlook that.
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Juliana said 4:21PM on 9-26-2007
I first heard about the distribution of a short film from Contentinople.com, which briefly reported by Frank Smith that Wes Anderson is also releasing a short 13-min. film on iTunes, although no information about whether it is exclusive and for how long although as of starting today, it's supposed to be a free download.
The Wes Anderson short film is in promotion for a larger, longer film called Darjeeling Limited. I think it might be best to revise this question of: is this (digital distribution through iTunes) the future of short films to, is this the future of short films with familiar actors and directors on familiar aggregators like iTunes?
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