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.

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.

Another Contender Joins the Fight: Osiris’ “WebMovieNow” On-Demand

As if there already weren’t too many to choose from, here’s Osiris with WebMovieNow (be warned, the site launches a video that might be interpreted in the wrong way if only heard). To their benefit, they seem to want to focus on independent films. Dig it:

Woodland Hills, Calif.-based Osiris distributes independent films on DVD, television and now the Internet. In April, Osiris acquired the rights to Westlake Entertainment’s library of 400-plus films, which it has since added to the WebMovieNow site, supplementing a library of horror, thrillers, action, documentary and other genre films. The company also has distribution deals with IFM, Shoreline and other suppliers and independent filmmakers.

Films available on the site include drama Against Time starring Craig T. Nelson from Second Image Studios, documentary Behind the Monsters and Tex Mex Film Co. action flick Blind Heat starring Maria Conchita Alonso. The site also offers a handful of blockbusters such as Charlie’s Angels available to buy on DVD through the mail.

Because WebMovieNow works mostly with smaller suppliers and independent filmmakers, the site is able to offer downloads in more ways than most other sites. Films can be rented for varying periods of time, downloaded to a computer, streamed to the TV or burned to DVD.

We’ll be working on updating the VOD guide soon enough, and this one will certainly be on it. Stay tuned! Thanks again to VidBiz.

Hello Movies Helps You Find Out How To Watch

Hello Movies is a website that helps you track down a film by displaying how you can see it on VOD. Their film listings also include reviews, comments, and related genres and “tastes.” Here’s a blurb:

HelloMovies is a website that enables users to discover and interact with films. Our site is used by movie fans ranging from the casual movie watcher looking for a comedy to watch with friends to the movie fanatic searching for the most obscure Italian giallo horror. HelloMovies is based in Palo Alto, CA and was founded in 2007 by a group of students who watched too many movies in college.

An interesting note from Vidbiz:

Unlike recommendation engine Jinni and others that seek to help users find movies they might like, Hello Movies is focused on indexing all movies available online from iTunes to Crackle to Comcast On Demand—and everything in between.

Original tip thanks to Vidbiz.

Rumor: Subscription Model Coming to Hulu

There’s rumblings of a new pricing structure coming to Hulu, which is sure to disappoint many of the fans who appreciate the free service. Here’s the beef:

Speaking last night at an Internet Week event sponsored by The Hollywood Reporter, Jonathan Miller, News Corp.’s newly-installed chief digital officer, said he envisions a future where at least some of the TV shows and movies on Hulu, the premium video site co-owned by News Corp., NBC Universal and Disney, are available only to subscribers.

Miller, whose last job was running AOL (parent of Daily Finance), prefaced his remark by noting that he won’t attend his first Hulu board meeting until Monday, so the scenario he foresees is merely his own speculation. But, he continued, “in my opinion the answer could be yes. I don’t see why over time that shouldn’t happen. I don’t think it’s on the agenda for Monday [but] it seems to me that over time that could be a logical thing.”

Sounds reasonable, given the stake that the parent companies have in Hulu. In the mean time, just keep watching. Thanks DailyFinance.

Comcast Loosens Rental Periods for VOD Content

This summer, VOD rentals on Comcast On-Demand will now be good for two days rather than 24 hours. Dig it:

Warner Bros., Walt Disney Studios, Lionsgate and Summit Entertainment will begin offering films on demand through Comcast foran extended two-day viewing period at no extra charge this summer, the cable company announced Tuesday. Until now, consumers who purchased films on VOD through cable have had to watch them within 24 hours before they time out.

What studios will offer for an extended period will vary greatly. Warner is calling the move a test, while Disney plans to permanently extend the viewing period for its releases to 48 hours.

Warner will offer the extended 48-hour viewing period for all of its high definition June VOD releases on Comcast, including Tuesday release He’s Just Not That Into You and upcoming releases Gran Torino, The Cell 2, Friday the 13^th and Inkheart. Those releases all debut on VOD simultaneous with their DVD release.

Warner will also offer those releases with the extended viewing period through Verizon, a spokesman said. However, standard definition VOD rentals of Warner films and download rentals through iTunes, Amazon Video on Demand and other cable and Internet services will continue to be viewable for 24 hours.

Full story over at VidBiz.

Amazon Debuts “The Girlfriend Experience” Pre-Theatrical Release

If you missed the post about the film debuting on HDNet On Demand, Amazon is currently offering a $9.99 rental for “The Girlfriend Experience” before the film hits theaters on May 22nd. The Rated-R film about a high class escort is from director Steven Soderbergh (Ocean’s 11, Traffic) and is continuing Magnolia’s strategy of simultaneous (in this case, pre-emptive) VOD and theatrical releases. The blurb:

Sasha Grey stars as a high-priced… companion in Steven Soderbergh’s new film The Girlfriend Experience (Theatrical Rental). It won’t be in theaters until May 22, but you can rent it right now, only at Amazon Video On Demand.

Check it out for yourself The Girlfriend Experience (Theatrical Rental).

NetFlix Delivers the Docs

There’s an interesting article over at Patrol highlighting one of the benefits of NetFlix and other on-demand options: the variety of content offered. In this particular article, a documentary called “The Education of Shelby Knox” is examined. If you read through the informal doc review, it hits the heart of the subject on hand. Here’s a snip:

For a documentary, Shelby Knox received a surprising amount of attention at its 2005 release—reviews in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, a broadcast on PBS’s “POV” series, even a mention in a Dixie Chicks song. Since then, though, it’s faded into pop-cultural oblivion. Good luck finding it at Best Buy or Blockbuster.

This is a path followed by most documentaries, and even most movies. But Shelby Knox is still worth watching, even when it falters as a documentary, because of its subjects. Whatever else they do or don’t, Lipschutz and Rosenblatt tackle a thorny issue and a small-town locale, bringing needed attention to both. And Netflix‘s “Instantly Watchable” service continues to provide a home to fascinating but flawed stuff like Shelby Knox and its less-hyped brethren.

If you haven’t given VOD a thought yet, consider this: by viewing content online you eliminate the need to leave your house and track down a film that you may never be able to get in your town. For some people this might be part of the adventure, and I can sort of see that argument. However, if given that choice and the fact that you may never be able to find the film, I think most people would click “download” instead.

New French Website Tracks VOD TV Shows

A website by the name of http://www.tvarevoir.fr/ has launched in France, aiming to list all TV broadcasts that are also available online (VOD) and free. The site’s name means “TV to watch again” and features over 12,000 programs so far. If you’re French, you should check it out. Here’s some more info:

On this occasion, NPA Conseil and www.tvarevoir.fr developed a catch-up TV indicator. The fist study measures the proportion of programs broadcast between March 15 and 21, 2009 that were made available online and on demand by national TV channels . It shows that national channels (TF1, France 2, France 3, Canal+, France 5, M6 & Arte) offer more than half of their hour volume broadcast during major audience hours (17:00 to 24:00) on catch-up TV services. Entertainment, information and magazines (especially those on access prime-time) are the main programs available. Prime-time programs (films and TV series) are seldom available, as they are often proposed for rentals. 

Big thanks to VOD France for the tip. Full article here.

Can Zillions Take On Hulu?

ZillionTV, an Internet VOD startup backed by a bunch of studios including Disney-ABC Domestic Television, 20th Century Fox Television, (curiously) NBC Universal, Sony Pictures Television and Warner Bros, wants a piece of the Internet video pie that Hulu has a vice grip over right now. They’re not quite ready to launch yet, but they’re getting closer:

ZillionTV, which expects to launch its service in the fourth quarter, plans to offer more than 15,000 movies and TV shows free to consumers.

The startup’s investors include Disney-ABC Domestic Television, 20th Century Fox Television, NBC Universal, Sony Pictures Television and Warner Bros., which are licensing content to the venture.

ZillionTV users will have the option of watching targeted and addressable ad-supported content for free, or rent or purchase the videos, depending on the options offered by each content owner tied to each specific program.

Expect ZillionTV to face some fierce competition for the eye of the viewer. It has the potential to be larger than Hulu due to all of the studios behind it, but Hulu is pretty well established right now. Story courtesy of Multichannel.