Whoa, here's a surprise. The Hollywood Reporter has announced that the highly successful Jackass franchise is sending its next film, Jackass 2.5, directly to the internet. It will skip the theaters entirely (though it was originally rumored to be going straight to DVD). The film will be online, free of charge courtesy of Blockbuster Video, for two weeks starting December 19th of this year. You can view the film at blockbuster.jackassworld.com. Then the movie moves to DVD and iTunes, as "part of a light-speed reinvention of the customary distribution-window chain. The domestic release strategy also will be replicated internationally in early 2008, but with different distribution partners." Jackassworld.com will now be the permanent online spot for all things Jackass, with new content due to start February 9th, 2008.

I've got to say, I find this news incredibly disappointing. Now, why would I say that a free movie is a disappointment? Because I effing love the Jackass films! And the reason I love them so much is because they are an absolute blast to watch in the theater! You get a big, rowdy, preferably tipsy crowd together, you go on a Friday night, and you laugh your asses off. It's like Borat (which I would argue Jackass paved the way for). It's just not the same on the small screen, and it's best as a shared experience. Jackass 2.5 is only 64 minutes, which I guess could be part of the reason it's not hitting theaters. But...couldn't they just add fifteen more minutes of Jackassery on tape? I don't know, I'll watch the thing of course, but it's going to be mighty depressing sitting in front of my computer watching something that used to be an exhilarating, hilarious, disgusting highlight of my theatergoing year. Then again, there's always Jackass 3 (which will begin shooting early next year) to look forward to. What do you think?

American Eagle Outfitters is dipping its leather sandal-clad toes into the film business. Variety reports that the clothing manufacturer has launched an entertainment production arm called 77E. 77E will produce "original web series and content around events it sponsors, but also will use the entity to segue into TV, movies and music." The first self-produced AE project is a "webisodic comedy" about mall employees called It's a Mall World. The project was directed by Heroes star and Rocky's son, Milo Ventimiglia, who once asked out a friend of mine. The series stars Sam Huntington (Not Another Teen Movie, Superman Returns), and was written by Adam Green (Hatchet).

Where can you see these videos? Content will be available on AE.com, on video screens in American Eagle stores (can't a man shop in peace?), and through outside partners like MTV, which is showing Mall World. Clips will also be available on myspace, facebook, and youtube, which I am told are popular internet webbysites. Kathy Savitt, executive Vice President of American Eagle Outfitters, says of the kids today: "Content is so important to who they are and how they're living their life. They're so smart and discriminating. We need to make deposits into the cool jar." I would think step one on the path to being cool would be eliminating phrases like "cool jar" from one's vocabulary, but what do I know? AE's first film tie-in is expected to debut shortly. Can a deal between Abercrombie & Fitch and Larry Clark be far behind?

Start building that MySpace fanbase people, because Madison Road Entertainment and Madonna's Maverick label are preparing to a launch a new internet-based talent competition called Big Shot (think along the lines of a new version of Star Search, except it appears the goal here is to use your online popularity to promote other properties). The show, which will run for 13 weeks and host 91 webisodes, will be dedicated to an assortment of talents which include singing, modeling, stand-up comedy, filmmaking and acting. Each person will be able to upload their profile, as well as a 30-second video showcasing their particular talent, which will then be voted on by a number of people with names like ILoveRyanSeacrest4Eva.

Since most internet surfers have the attention span of a mouse (myself included), there will be a new winner every day. That person will then be flown out to Hollywood and given a chance to audition for a "talent rainmaker" -- basically, that's just a snazzy way of saying you'll be meeting with some agent's assistant. At that time, you'll be given the chance to impress someone live and in person (which, right away, could prove difficult for those who feel more comfortable acting like an ass in the comfort of their own home) and, if your series of cartwheels are enough to get someone to say, "Sure, we can use him/her as an extra on our new FX TV show," then you could be on your way to red carpet stardom. Subsequently, the folks in charge get to promote their other products (like, for example, the Maverick-produced FX drama The Riches) and you get to say that, well, you had more MySpace friends than the dude who sang The National Anthem upside down. Fear not all you aspiring internet celebrities (yes, I'm talking to you lonelygirl90210), you still have time to prepare; Big Shot won't premiere until September 10.

If you're like me, you loved the "Choose Your Own Adventure" books as a kid. It can be exciting to help shape something you'd otherwise be passively enjoying. That practice is slowly working its way into the film world. The future of filmmaking may give you, the audience, much more say in what kinds of movies get made. "Open Source" cinema occurs when the underlying "source code" for computer software is made freely available, enabling anyone to copy a film, rewrite it, edit it, improve it. It's sort of like the film version of Wikipedia. Several full-length Open Source films have already popped up online, such as Cactuses, "a drama about youth culture in southern California," and Boy Who Never Slept, an online dating comedy. This article cites the experience with last year's Snakes on a Plane as an example that the studios are becoming more open to letting the public shape the films they make.

Open Source filmmaking aims to eventually allow the viewer the opportunity to create alternate endings and cut scenes from Hollywood movies. (So long, Jar-Jar Binks!) A film called A Swarm of Angels is one of the most ambitious Open Source projects, as it includes every aspect of traditional filmmaking, including the financing. The founder, Matt Hanson, wants 50,000 "micro-investors" to chip in $60 to make a movie. 60 bucks buys these investors the opportunity to vote on such matters as screenplay decisions and shooting locations. They can work on filming when it begins, and when the film is finished it will be made available online for anyone to download and edit. If you've got cash burning a hole in your pocket, head here to join the moviemaking process.

Like it or not, the option to download films and TV shows from the internet is here to stay. In fact, if things continue as they are it might not be too long before more "traditional" outlets for films and TV shows -- such as brick and mortar stores or even movie theaters -- are a thing of the past. It's already happened with the music business. Look around and tell me if you can find a Sam Goody or Tower Records in your neighborhood. You can't, and one of the biggest reasons why is due to people downloading music from online stores like iTunes.

However, all is not doom and gloom -- especially for producers of film and television shows like the major studios. If you happen to be a major studio, things look pretty good for you -- unless for some reason you haven't gotten into the online distribution business yet. If you have, this recent Variety article should make you pretty happy. If you haven't, well, it might be time to start -- that is, if you like to make money. According to the article, the next few years will find the online content delivery business exploding with record profits. Revenue in the U.S. alone from legitimate downloads of films and television programs will go from $538 million last year to $6.3 billion by 2012 -- a tenfold increase.

Some of the factors contributing to this dramatic increase are broadband penetration and changing consumer habits. Or, as Adam Thomas, a researcher at Informa, the group which released the revenue projections, puts it: "These trends are now so pronounced that the term 'social revolution' no longer seems too much of an exaggeration. With social change occurring on such a large scale, traditional media companies are being forced to change their behavior and business models to adapt their offering to consumer demand." You hear that traditional media companies? Time to change or get left behind.

They met on-line, flickering text made of tiny dots shining on the display. And after a while they figure they might as well meet. Jeff (Patrick Wilson) is an older man, a photographer, and he seems nice enough; Hayley (Ellen Page) is 14, a little naive, but quick and cool and grateful to find someone who'll take her seriously. They meet at a café -- somewhere public, somewhere with other people. He's brought her a gift, and she's touched and a little flirty in her gratitude. After they talk about his photography for a while, they go to his home studio; they'll look at some photos, keep talking. It seems safe to Hayley. It seems like an good idea to Jeff. It isn't.

Directed by video veteran David Slade, Hard Candy may be a high-stakes suspense film with a high-tech story kernel, but it's not actually anything new; what Brian Nelson's script does is create a simple circumstance (young woman goes to the home of a much older man who may not have the best of intentions) and then supplements it with a few twists that slowly, deliberately raise the tension of the piece bit … by bit … by bit, as two characters clash in a conflict that's defined in part by limitations created by the geography of a single setting -- and in part by the limitless possibilities as two people become more and more desperate, with more and more on the line as the clock ticks down.