hulu Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Almost nothing will stay free on the Internet forever. In the beginning, it will be available to all -- tantalizing you with its new ways, sucking you into addiction. And then the inevitable announcement will come: We must add ads! We must require payment! This stuff isn't free, you know! We need to make ends meet!

Broadcasting & Cable reports that News Corp. Deputy Chairman Chase Carey says: "It's time to start getting paid for broadcast content online." All about "value," he continues: "I think a free model is a very difficult way to capture the value of our content. I think what we need to do is deliver that content to consumers in a way where they will appreciate the value. Hulu concurs with that, it needs to evolve to have a meaningful subscription model as part of its business."

NewCorp swears that there's no timeline set yet, but "supposes it's at least in 2010." So, as soon as next year, you might have to pay to delight in all things Hulu. But would you? I can't see most Hulu fans continuing to visit the site if they have to pay to do so. Isn't that the whole point of the service? Now maybe if that pay service came with every single TV show to air, available whenever you want, I'd consider it. Otherwise, no way.

Will you pay for Hulu?

[via EW]

For many filmmakers, film festivals are a way to potentially secure distribution for their indie films. Maybe a very few will hit the jackpot and land a deal with a big studio. However, most deals are likely to incorporate a limited -- if any -- theatrical release, followed by DVD or increasingly, online distribution or video on demand (VOD). At a brunch hosted by Cinetic FilmBuff during Fantastic Fest, a bunch of film journalists gathered to discuss the future of VOD and alternate methods of distributing films.

The big question we discussed is: How do people watch movies these days? Movies that don't get theatrical distribution are often automatically considered second-tier, and the term "direct to DVD" is still derogatory. But many people do most of their movie viewing in their own homes, either on TV or on a computer or other device, like the iPhone. We watch movies on DVD, but also on cable, through VOD channels that are available through cable TV or online, and through online streaming sites, like Netflix Watch Instantly and Hulu. A month ago, I had the choice of watching World's Greatest Dad on Amazon VOD, or waiting a week to see it in the theater -- this model made it possible for people in any city, not just those getting a theatrical release -- to watch the movie.

A few months back I was fortunate enough to attend BNAT, which is where I saw a brief collection of (mostly finished) sequences from Pixar's next film, Up. This was an Alamo Drafthouse crowd full of amazingly hardcore movie nerds, so when I tell you that the whole damn room loved the Up footage, you should take that as a good omen indeed. (In other words, if the whole film is as good as those individual sequences, then Up will be in my top ten of the year.)

ANYway, the flick is about an old man and a little kid who travel (by way of balloon-powered domicile) to a far away land of amusing adventures, strange creatures and nifty gizmos. One such doo-hickey is a dog collar that allows humans to understand what a canine is thinking, as you'll soon see in this very cute clip from Up, which hits the screens (and I can't wait) on May 29. And yes, "squirl?!?!" will probably become an internet catch-phrase once this movie comes out and makes a billion dollars.


(Thanks to Hulu.com -- and their new-fangled trailer section -- for the clip!)

You might recall that I bought a Roku player a few months ago to make it easier for me to watch high-quality versions of Netflix's Watch Instantly offerings. My biggest complaint about Roku and Watch Instantly was that the selection was pretty slim -- mostly we've used it to watch old TV shows, and even then I suspect we watch more TV on Hulu.com. Watch Instantly has a great selection of low-budget independent features and documentaries, and even some short films, but if you want Hollywood blockbusters you're better off with the DVDs.

Fortunately, the Watch Instantly pickings are starting to improve. Netflix has just partnered with Starz Entertainment to offer more than 1,000 movies that Starz has licensed for its own video-on-demand services. Starz already has deals with Disney and Sony, so these movies include a lot of (relatively) newer Hollywood big-budget films, like Ratatouille, Pirates of the Caribbean 3, No Country for Old Men, and Superbad. These still aren't as recent as the films you can get mailed to you on DVD from Netflix (or rent at your local video store), but it's a significant improvement over the previous Watch Instantly offerings for recent mainstream movies. In addition, Netflix also signed deals last month with the Disney Channel and CBS to add some of their TV shows to the Watch Instantly lineup, like Hannah Montana and CSI. Those aren't movie-related deals, but I got excited because I can now watch the Disney TV show in which a cousin of mine plays an amusingly bad-tempered chef.