YouTube Brings Sundance Films Out for Rental Until Jan 31st

YouTube Rentals is now live, and one of the offerings is a selection of films that screened at Sundance this year (and last). Dig it:

As you may have heard, we recently introduced YouTube Rentals. We’re very excited about this new offering as it will add to the great selection of movies already available on YouTube, including a group of independent films we’d like to tell you about now.

Until January 31st, you can rent five feature films from the 2009 and 2010 Sundance Film Festivals on YouTube. From last year’s documentary hit “The Cove” to selections from the brand new NEXT Category, there should be enough to keep you busy through the end of the Festival. The films available are:

“Children of Invention” explores the American Dream as seen through the eyes of a Chinese American family living in suburban Boston.

In “Homewrecker,” a prisoner on work release and a live-wire kook take a day-long ride in a seemingly stolen vehicle that neither of them will soon forget.

In “The Cove” an elite team of activists, filmmakers and freedivers embark on a covert mission to penetrate a remote and hidden cove in Japan, and shine a light on a dark and deadly secret.

When humble Linas, kicked off of his friends couch and spurned by his lover, finds a forgotten van on a llama farm outside Seattle, he begins lurching east with nothing to lose in “Bass Ackwards”

In “One Too Many Mornings,” Fisher and Pete are two dudes with dude problems — one drinks too much and one just got cheated on by his girlfriend — and few prospects of helping each other out.

Head on over and check out the rentals. They’re 3.99 a piece looks like.

“Bass Ackwards” Film to Premiere on VOD February 1st

UPDATE: the film is currently available for rental on Youtube – Rent “Bass Ackwards” on YouTube for $3.99

“Bass Acwkards”, a new film recently screening at Sundance, is set to premiere in the US on VOD one day after the film fest comes to a close: Feb 1st, 2010. Check it out:

In an unprecedented distribution maneuver that will bypass theatrical and other traditional windows, the highly anticipated film, Bass Ackwards, which will have its World Premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, will be available nationwide one day after the festival closes. Through this unusual distribution deal with New York based New Video and Zipline Entertainment, Bass Ackwards will be available for purchase and download in tens of millions of homes via major digital retailers, cable VOD and DVD on demand beginning Monday, February 1, 2010. A full retail DVD release in the spring will include in-depth bonus material documenting the unique distribution strategy. This ground-breaking deal is a first of its kind for a feature-length film out of a premier festival like Sundance.

The film, executive produced by Sundance veteran Mark Duplass and marketing executive Marian Koltai-Levine, produced by Thomas Woodrow and directed by actor Linas Phillips, also stars Phillips as a man who embarks on a lyrical, strange and comedic cross-country journey in a modified VW bus after ending a disastrous affair with a married woman.

There’s also a short video from the film’s producer discussing why they’re going this route for distribution.

For more info, check out the Bass Ackwards website. Apparently they were trying to raise money for the premiere, though they have only met 10% of their goal. It is not clear whether or not that has impacted the release. Still, a step in the right direction if it happens.

Thanks Rotten Tomatoes.

Comcast to Expand Streaming VOD

Comcast looks to expand the streaming service out to PCs, as long as you’re getting your internet through them too. Dig it:

Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA) On Demand Online will move from trial to reality later this year but not as the TV Everywhere wonderland all the hype might lead subscribers to expect: the streaming on demand will be limited to some cable shows and movies, access will be limited to in-home computers—and, at first, access will be possible only through Comcast’s own ISP, barring anyone who does not pay Comcast for video and broadband. But, as promised, the actual service will be free to cable subscribers; access will bethrough Comcast.net or the company;s video portal Fancast.

Sounds pretty weak. If you’re a Comcast subscriber, read the full story at PaidContent – Comcast Will Expand Streaming On Demand This Year; Not Quite TV Everywhere.

Day-and-Date for Disc Based Media and VOD Strategy is Working

Sure, maybe it is a bad example because it’s “Twilight”. It’s something you wouldn’t understand unless you’re a teenage girl. However, Summit Entertainment is reporting that their fears of digital copies taking precedence over the obsolete disc formats are still not yet a reality. Observe:

When Summit Entertainment released the vampire hit simultaneously on DVD and video-on-demand, it broke the oldest taboo in home entertainment: No other studio had released a pic grossing more than $100 million at the domestic B.O. that way, fearing VOD transactions would cannibalize disc sales.

As the entertainment biz inevitably moves toward a day when discs will give way to product delivered directly to TVs and computers, the business is poised somewhat uneasily on a tightrope. Summit and some majors like the day and date VOD and DVD release strategy; others are worried it will cut into DVD sales.

But that didn’t happen with “Twilight”: The March release became — and still is — the year’s top home entertainment title. Almost 8.5 million copies have been sold on disc or via download on sites such as iTunes, while rentals have exceeded 14 million transactions on all formats, with VOD accounting for a healthy portion of that.

Summit Home Entertainment prexy Steve Nickerson is convinced the release strategy paid off in greater overall coin.

The article goes on to explain more on the decline of DVD sales and where the market is at. It’s a good read, so check out the full article on Variety – The upside of a DVD and VOD day-and-date release.

“Stingray Sam” Premieres Tonight Online @ 7pm PST!

A new independent feature film entitled “Stingray Sam” is premiering tonight at 7:00 pm PST for FREE, following a live Q&A with the film’s creators. Imdb describes Stingray Sam as a “Musical/Sci-Fi/Western/Comedy” – sounds interesting enough to us! The film can also be purchased in a few different formats, including an iPod version and a HD quality file. Trailer after the jump.

… Continue Reading

Amazon Offering 7 Day Rentals for Indie VOD

Some Indie studio favorites such as Criterion Collection, Docurama, Magnolia Pictures, Strand Releasing, and Virgil Films are among the studios offering films with 7 day rental periods instead of Amazon’s typical rental. The details:

While Walt Disney Studios, Warner Home Video and Lionsgate have begun extending the viewing window for video-on-demand rentals through Comcast this summer, a number of indie suppliers have gone even further with Amazon Video On Demand.Criterion Collection, Docurama, Magnolia Pictures, Strand Releasing, Virgil Films and Entertainment and Zeitgeist Films are among those offering VOD rentals on Amazon with a seven-day viewing period. Films available include new releases such as Criterion’s Grey Gardens, Virgil’s Super Size Me and Magnolia’s Man on Wire.

First Look, meanwhile, is offering rentals with a three-day viewing period on Amazon.

Major studios and even indie suppliers have traditionally stuck to a 24-hour viewing period on VOD rentals. For downloads and streams, that means consumers have 24 hours to watch the film once they click play before the content is no longer viewable.

That’s longer than a lot of DVD rental places, so consider that next time you’re in the mood to rent a flick. No driving required, unelss you’re out of popcorn of course. Thanks VidBiz.

EpixHD Beta Launches, Touted As the “Hulu” of Movies

Add another feature length film site to the mix: EpixHD is a joint venture between Paramount Pictures, Lionsgate and MGM. Now in a private beta, the site apparently offers full feature length content at 720p. Check it out:

The beta site, EpixHD, streams a selection of 100-plus movies without advertisements to an invited group of users. A spokesman for Studio 3 Networks, the name of the joint venture company behind the service, confirmed the launch, but didn’t provide other details on the service.

[...]

Paramount Pictures, Lionsgate and MGM joined a year ago to launch Epix, envisioned as a premium cable movie channel and subscription online movie service competing against HBO, Showtime and Starz. Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman said at a conference in March that the channel would be available on TV in October, despite reports that backers have had trouble getting cable and satellite companies to distribute it. Once the TV channel launches, users would have to subscribe to watch programs online.

Epix president Mark Greenberg told USA Today in March that the site would include movies from its studio partners nine months after they debut in theaters. That would put them online and on cable TV months after their debut on DVD and VOD but before their traditional release on premium cable channels.

Early reports confirm that films such as “Iron Man” and “Cloverfield” are on offer. Thanks VidBiz.

Home Set to Debut on YouTube in T-Minus 1.25 Hours

Home, an environmentally driven feature film produced by Luc Besson and directed by Yann-Arthus Betrand, is set to debut on YouTube at midnight. If you recall, I first mentioned the exclusive over a month ago. Here’s a snip from YouTube:

We are living in exceptional times. Scientists tell us that we have 10 years to change the way we live, avert the depletion of natural resources and the catastrophic evolution of the Earth’s climate.

The stakes are high for us and our children. Everyone should take part in the effort, and HOME has been conceived to take a message of mobilization out to every human being.

You will be able to watch the entire film for free on YouTube after midnight. Get the popcorn ready and check out the Home page on YouTube.

Terminator Online Series Launches Today

In tandem with the new “Terminator Salvation” film hitting theaters and the video game hitting retail shelves, Warner has dialed into SkyNet for a six part series called “Terminator Salvation: The Machinima Series” (trailer). Each episode will set you back $2.99 for High-Def and $1.99 for standard. You can get a pass for all six episodes for $14.99 HD and $9.99 SD as well. They’re available on iTunes, Amazon VOD, Xbox Live, and the Playstation Network. Here’s the Cyberdyne Systems brief:

Warner is touting the online Terminator series as the first full-length, studio-produced project created in the ‘Machinima’ style, in which the story unfolds in real-time computer animation generated from videogames. In the case of Terminator: Machinima, the plot utilizes the technology engine of theTerminator Salvation: The Video Game, which streets today.

The online series acts as a prequel to the new theatrical film, following Blair Williams’ involvement withJohn Connor’s resistance unit two and a half years before the movie starts. Terminator: Machinima is produced in association with Terminator Salvation director McG and also involves Halcyon Games.

No word on if it is any good or not, but it is interesting to see Warner giving it a go. Thanks to VidBiz.

Hulu Goes International for Content

Hulu has added some international content, including films and TV shows from India, Japan, and the UK…but only for US viewers. Here’s the skinny:

Some of the international content Hulu has added includes: Digital Rights Group’s GreenWing, Peep Show,Doc Martin and Kingdom; Endemol’s Fear Factor UK, I Want to be a Hilton and Chains of Love; Bollywood films from Saavn, including Sarkar, Deewana and Hera Pheri; and U.S.-based anime producer FUNimation’s Mushi-shi, Shikabane Hime and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.

Thanks to Multichannel.