Hollywood investigates ‘instant’ difital films

Sick of missing film screenings due to a sold-out show? Or cinemas not showing more underground or indie films? Hopefully this will change if Hollywood has it’s way…

Universal Pictures, Warner Bros. Entertainment and a company called Digital Cinema Implementation Partners are working on a new digital film delivery system that, if successful, could give theater operators the flexibility to put a popular movie on an extra screen as quickly as the demand for it arises. At the same time, theater operators could boot out a surprise stinker and even book in for a day or two an art-house film with a small but devoted audience.

The process, still in the early stages of development, would use satellite and broadband delivery systems to beam digital films directly to theaters, rather than have them copied onto hard drives and delivered by hand, as for the most part they are now, said Darcy Antonellis, Warner Bros.’ executive vice president for distribution and technology.

“We believe that if we can make that a very efficient process, very fast, they’ll be able to respond to audience demands more,” he said.

Beaming an encrypted version of a digital film directly to the theater should also cut down on film piracy and bootlegging, Antonellis said, by eliminating the number of opportunities for people to get their hands on the movie as it is transit.

Source: MSNBC.com

Related Links: Universal Pictures, Warner Bros.