Two months ago, Ed Burns told MTV News that releasing his latest feature, "Purple Violets," on iTunes was just another piece of evidence that, "this is the year that art house cinema died." Now somewhat removed from his distribution experiment, Burns can't help but, well, sing a different tune.
"It was absolutely the right decision for us to make. We did more downloads in the first five weeks than we ever could have had asses in the seats theatrically," the writer/director enthused. "For small indie movies that are having a tougher and tougher time finding a theatrical audience? It is absolutely the way to go."
But that doesn't mean he thinks the unorthodox distribution method is right for everyone – or even that it will necessarily catch on in the wake of "Purple Violets" success.
"I certainly would never have done it with my first couple of movies," Burns admitted. "You fall in love with the idea of seeing your film projected in a theater."
And therein lies the rub. Because, to quote the great philosopher David Lynch, "If you're playing the movie on a telephone...you'll be cheated." (Actually, his full statement is a lot funnier – and unquotable on a family website. Look it up.)
Not to mention, of course, all the people like me who don't even have an iTunes account. In order to see "Purple Violets," I was forced to watch portions of the movie on a big-screen at the Apple Store in Santa Monica. Which is obviously terrible.
But I want to hear from people who have seen the film on their phones, or iPods, or whatever it is the kids are carrying around these days. Would you watch other movies this way? Was the price too high? Sound off on how you view the success of Mr. Burns' experiment below.
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