Exploring what may be happening at IFC Films, 2929 Entertainment, and Picturehouse (and HBO), Anne Thompson (in a Hollywood Reporter/Reuters piece) considers the changes for films release dates in theaters, on DVD, and on cable television. Its an issue that has some traditional distributors up in arms.

This swiftly changing landscape is not for the faint of heart. It takes guts to break the mold. And mistakes are expensive. The studios, terrified of piracy, are chasing more global day-and-date launches and are inexorably shortening the gap between theatrical and home video release. But the pace of change is slow for these unwieldy corporate monoliths.

That's why the more nimble independents are taking the first steps in the revolution. The next step for art house distributors is to take their limited marketing dollars and push movies straight from the Paris Theatre in Manhattan to video-on-demand and DVD.