Debuting Feature Films on the Web

What a strange way to start a revolution. Paramount and MTV announced that they plan to release the third Jackass movie on the Internet. They're asking only that viewers sit through a few advertisements, and then they'll be free to watch the brave Jackass crew risk their lives and health in new and outlandish ways.

Moviemakers have been toying around with new distribution models for a few years now. Edward Burns debuted the movie Purple Violets on iTunes last month, and filmmaker Steven Soderbergh tried a simultaneous DVD/theater release in 2005. But even though Jackass 2.5 is a movie about a bunch of idiots hurting themselves for laughs, it's a bolder experiment, since these flicks have been pretty successful at the box office. And if it doesn't work? A week after the Internet debut, the movie will be available on DVD.—Gregory Mone

Via ArsTechnica