RSSOnline movie releases: the new 'straight to video?'
By Tim Conneally | Published December 14, 2007, 12:32 PM
Jackass 2.5 from Paramount is believed to be the first studio-backed feature film to premiere online, and will be streamable for two weeks completely free of charge.
The Jackass movies essentially add a slightly larger budget to the MTV gross-out comedy clip show, stringing together a series of sketches into something of an anthology film. The 2.5 edition, which mixes new material with outtakes from the 2006 movie, reportedly cost a meager $2 million to produce.
From December 19 to January 2, Paramount will make the movie available for free in its entirety as an online stream with commercial pre- and post-rolls. After that, the film will be available for download on iTunes, Blockbuster's MovieLink, and Amazon for between $12 and $20 USD. There will be a subsequent DVD and pay-per-view TV release as well.
In a strange way, this "upgraded" edition may be just the right film for an online-first release. It was cheap to produce, its presentation is akin to that of viral videos, and the franchise, while not exactly a box office smash, has enough of an audience to drive traffic.
This release model could prove to be a successful alternative for lower-budget filmmakers, and actually be the next step for the direct-to-video niche market.
that show jackass is horribly retarded
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|Learn to have fun once in a while. Yes it's retarded, and hilarious.
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|I actually had the opportunity to go to a movie today, looked it up, thought bout walking a block to the mall, but then realized I was lazy, and movies require me to sit passively. I think I'm mostly done with going to movies, for good. Seems strange to say it, though.
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|For $20 i'd rather pirate the download & invite a date to watch it for pay at a regular theater... more(triple) 'bang' for the same money.
BTW in the movie theater of tomorrow, one will have the entitlement to download it to one's favorite portable while watching it live.
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|Can this track the people who actually think Jackass is funny and have them put away?
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|Wow we can all the that Banquo is probably one of those people that thinks Desperate Housewives is entertainment.
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|Jackass is hilarious. Hey I like high quality movies and I mostly deplore hollywood blockbusters, but Jackass is a delight to see because everyone is laughing! the audiences, the characters, everyone!
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|Obviously streaming should be free, as the compression for a full length movie would be quite horrid for it to run at any comfortable rate. But paying up to $20 for a video download is stretching it a little. Even for a movie that is labeled "straight to video".
This only works for people that,
A) Are desperate and have been anticipating the release of a particular movie.
B) The finincially well off whom are bored and thought theyd watch 5 minutes of a movie they have easy access to.
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