Jeff,

Have you seen Maxi-Vision, which Roger Ebert loves and had hoped would be used instead of digital projection? Unfortunately, all these new formats are seen by executives and theater owners as too expensive to be put in place.

forget the technology. it is about viewer ownership of a movie (and the viewing experience) using these technologies. No longer is a film watcher at the mercy of others. You don't have to feel out of the loop if you're not in Manhattan or LA or near Eastman House. Long as that film is out on DVD,

We are not at the mercy of a film critic to read their blather about an obscure film that will never play at your local theater or on the Midnight Movie. You get a slight interest in the film - you can order it from Netflix and see for yourself. And with a director's commentary track, I don't need to hear some goofball film professor force his lame thesis onto the action. I can get told by the person in charge what they were thinking when they constructed a scene.

and the nicest part of DVD is that instead of just "talking about the film" to a friend - you can loan it to them.

Jude Law not a movie star.
David Denby old fashioned.

I can't wait to read Thompson's next expose': Cancer causes death.

Whenever I hear about the doom of theatrical exhibition, I tend to shuffle it off into the same file as bubble-domed cities, jet-packs, and the movie career of Aki Rose. Everyone remember dear Aki, intended as the first computer-generated movie star? How'd that go?

And speaking of bubbles, wasn't Soderbergh's Bubble, with its simultaneous release in theaters, on video, and on HDNet, supposed to revolutionize distribution, and possibly serve as the harbinger of doom for theatrical display? Again, how'd that go?

I think some Hollywood types are so bogged down in the luster and promise of technology that they sometimes severely underestimate the old-fashioned appeal of getting out of the house on a Friday night.

it's the same thing with lucas digital obssession -- as if any of this fucking technology is going to write a good script.

Corey3rd: Boy, am I tired of hearing that canard. The movie you purchase on DVD or watch on DVD is NOT the same as the movie you see in the theater. It may have the same images in the same order, but it's a representation of a film in the same way a print is a representation of a painting. The ability to "control" a film is nothing next to the opportunity to be overwhelmed by the force of a filmmaker's vision. DVDs a great for film culture, but they are not film. Full stop.

Anyone who will watch a movie (not a short, not a featurette) but a MOVIE on a 2 inch screen of their iPod or cel phone deserves the hell they're going to.
The rest of us are destined for a heaven lit by the cleanest neon marquees advertising new prints of the great films in all the finest theaters that have long since been torn down on the myopic advise of accountants looking for a few extra dollars because they can make more money on a strip mall an $.99 store.