Reuters: CinemaNow, Technicolor unveil new delivery platform

Digital entertainment company CinemaNow and Technicolor said on Tuesday they had developed a new digital movie delivery platform to sell to online retailers and hardware companies. Reuters reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under New Media & Technology ]

NYT | A Comprehensive PBS Documentary on the Iraq War Becomes a Big Hit Online

The New York Times reports "more than 1.5 million views of all or part of" the recent Frontline documentary, "Bush's War, streamed for free in 26 parts on the PBS website. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Documentary, New Media & Technology ]

iW NEWS | "Red Without Blue" Launches Cinema Dailymotion

IndiePix and Dailymotion have joined forces to launch Cinema Dailymotion, a new online film channel streaming feature-length films for free. The section, on the Dailymotion.com site, is debuting with Brooke Sebold and Benita Sills's "Red Without Blue," winner of the audinece award at last year's Slamdance Film Festival, among many others. Cinema Dailymotion will also include film clips and trailers from IFC Films and Magnolia Pictures. [Eugene Hernandez] 
[permalink]   [ filed under New Media & Technology ]

USAT | Is the tug of war over high-def DVD format over?

Sony has apparently won the battle between their Blu-ray and Toshiba's HD DVD formats. Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Netflix are all abandoning HD DVD, in favor of Blu-ray. The move came after Warner Bros. dropped Blu-Ray, after the same move was made by Disney, Fox, Lionsgate and Sony. USA Today reports the news. 
[permalink]   [ filed under New Media & Technology ]

iW NEWS | Filmcatcher Announces Digital Deal

Filmcatcher.com has announced a deal with The Global Film Initiative and its distribution partner, First Run Features, to make GFI's films available on Filmcatcher. "At FilmCatcher, we want our visitors to discover worthy new talent and films," said Alan Klingenstein, co-founder of FilmCatcher, in a statement. "Working with Global Film Initiative, we'll be able to see the best filmmakers from emerging markets around the world, and bring them to our audience, so it's a perfect match." GFI provides funding to filmmakers in various developing countries. Four films, both given grants and distributed by Global Film have represented their countries at the Academy Awards in the Foreign Film Competition category. [Peter Knegt]  
[permalink]   [ filed under New Media & Technology, World Cinema ]

iW NEWS | New Site Seeks to Connect Filmmakers With Fans, Funding

Park City coverage sponsored by BE KIND REWIND.

Described as a new "online social marketplace connecting filmmakers and fans," Indiegogo.com is launching today, offering a new web-based venue that will "address the fundraising challenges and market inefficiencies affecting independent filmmaking today." The new site intends to enable filmmakers to connect with the potential audiences for their films and raise money to move their projects forward. Among the first films joining the site is 2008 Sundance Film Festival entry "Flow: For The Love of Water" by Irena Salina. The filmmakers are looking to raise $10,000 for post production and music clearances, offering a range of benefits to contributors, including invitations to the film's NYC premiere, a coffee chat with the director and an autographed DVD. [Eugene Hernandez] 
[permalink]   [ filed under New Media & Technology, Park City ]

VAR | IFC, B-Side pact to cull ignored pics

IFC and B-Side have announced a partnership to give unseen festival films wider distributon via the cable TV network, DVD and B-Side's online download service. In the words of a Variety story, "B-Side gathers and analyzes feedback on films from a pre-screened sample of festgoers. The two companies will collectively monitor the films posting strong audience ratings, and the most promising ones that don’t land traditional distribution deals will be aired on IFC and exploited online and in homevid." The first film on tap for the program is music doc, "Before the Music Dies," according to the Hollywood trade paper. 
[permalink]   [ filed under New Media & Technology ]

Indie911 to Offer First Feature for DRM-free Download

Online social network and music store Indie911 announced that it will make a DRM-free version of Andrew Shapter and Joel Rasmussen's "Before the Music Dies" available for download, the service's first feature length film. Through a partnership with the film's distributor B-Side Entertainment, online audiences will have two options for purchasing the music documentary, free of copy-protection technology, from the film's hoooka player--a free, portable digital locker powered by indie911 that allows users to share, promote, sell and play their personal media favorites, via the Web. Narrated by Forest Whitaker with interviews and performances by Erykah Badu, Eric Clapton, Dave Matthews and more, the film is a troubling look at what drives today's music industry. [Brian Brooks] 
[permalink]   [ filed under New Media & Technology ]

IMDB Censors "Shortbus" Listing

The Internet Movie Database (IMDB) has apparently blocked a listing for John Cameron Mitchell's "Shortbus" from searches on its popular website. As journalist and blogger Mark Rabinowitz noted in The Rabbi Report, the site is, "preventing certain films from coming up in the regular results of a search of the database," including access to the listings of actors. In a follow-up post, Rabinowitz noted that John Cameron Mitchell responded saying that IMDB plans to remove an adult label from the film.  
[permalink]   [ filed under New Media & Technology ]

A Second Life for "Four Eyed Monsters" and Sundance Channel

Tonight (Tuesday, January 9th) at 8 p.m. ET, moviewatchers can catch a free online screening of "Four Eyed Monsters" on Sundance Channel's new Second Life screening room. The virtual theater is part of the popular online community and marks the virtual premiere for the acclaimed film from Arin Crumley and Susan Buice (the film recently won the Sundance Channel Audience Award for the indieWIRE: Undiscovered Gems Film Series). The new online screening room allows SL members to log into a screening environment that enables user interaction via individual avatars controlled by the user. Members can chat online and download audio and video content inside the closed community and Sundance plans to host a series of screenings and events inside the new online social space. For more information on attending the screening and entering Second Life, check out the recent "Four Eyed Monsters" podcast and Second Life info page or visit the Sundance Channel's Second Life blog. [Eugene Hernandez] 
[permalink]   [ filed under New Media & Technology ]

Digimart Set For October

For the second consecutive year, Digimart's Global Digital Distribution Summit is offering a three-day program featuring a line-up of filmmakers, pioneers and leaders from around the world who are progressing digital distribution. The focus of the Summit will be on the opportunities and challenges related to the major technological changes that are "reducing costs, dramatically increasing access to global markets and splitting demand across a range of platforms." Film industry participants attending Digimart will also get updates on new cinema networks that have been launched around the world and direct reports from filmmakers who have develoiped successful financing and self-distribution models. The Summit takes place October 16-18 in Montreal, Quebec. [Peter Knegt] 
[permalink]   [ filed under New Media & Technology ]

iklipz.com Unveiled

Former Paramount Classics co-president David Dinerstein is among the industry folks who will officially unveil a new venture today. Dubbed iklipz, the company is a social networking site aimed at presenting films online, with Dinerstein serving as programming consultant for the new outlet. The new site boasts an advisory board that includes Magnolia Pictures' Eamonn Bowles, ThinkFILM's Mark Urman, IFP's Michelle Byrd, First Look's Ruth Vitale, publicist Fredell Pogodin, the Gersh Agency's Arianna Bocco, producer Jon Landau, and filmmakers Julian Schnabel and Ed Burns. Other backers include former Paramount Pictures marketing president Arthur Cohen and internet entrepreneur Richard Witkowski. Dinerstein is overseeing site content and film programming with former Paramount Classics exec Susan Wrubel. In a statement previewing the new site, the two said, "Film is important, exciting, and thought-provoking, it deserves to be seen by a vast audience. We think iklipz can and will be the industry insider site for filmmakers looking for a new forum for their work." [Eugene Hernandez] 
[permalink]   [ filed under New Media & Technology ]

Magnolia Pictures Strikes Deal With stimTV Network

Independent distribution company Magnolia Pictures and stimTV Network have announced a promotional content deal that will result in many of Magnolia Pictures' theatrical trailers being made available on the stimTV Network. Magnolia Pictures recently mounted the multi-platform release of Steven Soderbergh's "Bubble" and Alex Gibney's Academy Award-nominated documentary "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room." The stimTV Network will use its blend of a search engine and channel surfing to give viewers a personalized stream of excerpts from short promotional videos trailers and clips with options to view more in depth clips and additional content. The new channel, stimTVcinema, will launch later this year. [Helen Silfven] 
[permalink]   [ filed under New Media & Technology ]

And the blog of the year is...

Winner of the Weblog of the Year prize at The Bloggies -- just announced here at the SXSW Interactive conference -- is PostSecret, a blog where readers and fans mail in secrets on 4x6 postcards, the cards are posted on the site... 
[permalink]   [ filed under New Media & Technology, SXSW ]