Soderbergh's Grand Experiment

CNN is reporting on "Bubble", a new film by Steven Soderbergh that comes out today. What is new and interesting is NOT the actors - all unknowns cast from locals of the area Soderbergh was shooting in. It is not the script - which was a general outline from which the actors invented their own dialogue. It is not the budget - which is miniscule. No, it is the distribution method!

When "Bubble" comes out Friday, it will appear simultaneously in theaters and on cable television, with a DVD release scheduled for just a few days later. Amid dwindling box-office numbers and rampant piracy, it's an experimental alternative to the traditional movie-release method.
"The biggest thing is people having access to the movie who might not have access to it for a while," Soderbergh told The Associated Press. "They might have read about it and they're interested but they don't live near an art cinema, or they don't have a video store that carries this kind of stuff, and this way they can get it and get a hold of it as soon as they've heard about it."

We should not expect this film to be a runaway success - it is being made for peanuts without any stars and almost no advertising. But if it has even moderate success, it may pave the way for a new world where the home theater is placed on par with the movie theater, for first-run releases. I must admit I would probably see more new movies if I could pick them up in Wal-Mart. And it would remove ANY temptation that most of us might have to download movies that we do not have time to get to the theater and watch.

Update 12:32 PM EST: CNN has their review up of the movie. Apparently, if this film sells it will NOT be for the story, the acting, or... pretty much anything else. Too bad.