This week, I'm calling it Hoolu. Steve James' amazing and beautiful and epic documentary, Hoop Dreams, is available on Hulu starting today. The gang at Cinetic Rights Management set up the deal, and we're thrilled. Hoop Dreams has been largely unavailable to mass audiences for a while (not many basketball fans are gonna buy a Criterion Collection set), so to bring it to anyone with an Internet connection (for free!) is a great pleasure. And thanks to Hulu CEO Jason Kilar for such an enthusiastic and sweet introduction. Check out the whole film here:

Matt,

Long time reader, first time commenter of your blog. I am producing a ultra-low budget feature, the details of which I wanted to share with you. You can find out all about the film at www.pocketchangefilm.com or check out the Facebook Group I'M MAKING A FEATURE FILM WITH POCKET CHANGE.

Bryce

Yes, fantastic film, Matt, and the image looks surpisingly good. And, yup, it's free. But the frame measures 3x4 inches on my computer screen. Not how I want to watch an epic.

Are we now heading to an era of watching indie films or docs on an iPhone with headphones while sitting on a plane? A totally solitary experience bound to be interupted constantly. Issues of how filmmakers see revenue returns aside, is this a happy development for the future of cinema?

For an ever-growing population this is the future of cinema. Bear in mind that not everyone watches Internet streaming or downloaded films on their computer screens. You can hook your PC into an HD television and watch it from the comfort of your sofa as if it was a cable channel. Even the term "cable channel" is a bit outdated.

And, I'd say we're already in that era of watching films on a portable device on a plane, or subway, or roadtrip. More and more people (myself included) love to catch up on TV shows and films when we have a period of time to ourselves.

These technological advances are not unlike what the film business went through with the advent of home video. Rather than a downturn, we see it as a way to build more audience.

I know, I know, I'm just kvetching (mostly). Hard for filmmakers like me who grew up watching films in cinemas to adjust to the idea that watching anything but blockbuster Hollywood movies may become as solitary an act as reading a book.

But I do want to have that discussion about revenue returns for filmmakers sometime soon. In the meantime, can you lobby the broadcasters to stop including EXCLUSIVE digital rights in their contracts?