Soderbergh plans simultaneous releases

LOS ANGELES, April 29 (UPI) -- Director Steven Soderbergh plans to release each of six upcoming projects simultaneously in theaters, DVD and pay-per-view, The Los Angeles Times said Friday.

The paper said the Oscar-winning director of "Traffic" signed a deal with Marc Cuban and Todd Wagner's 2929 Entertainment to make the pictures in high-definition digital format, and is already at work on a murder mystery called "Bubble" that could be released on all three competing platforms on the same date this fall.

"In the next five years," Soderbergh told the paper, "you are going to see some significant paradigm shifts in the entertainment business."

The interval between theatrical and DVD release dates is already getting smaller all the time, and simultaneous "day-and-date" releases would challenge the traditional reluctance of major theater chains to exhibit features at the same moment that the features are available on DVD.

Soderbergh said Cuban and Wagner are convinced that the trend is toward "day-and-date" release, with consumers choosing which platform they want to use to see movies. Cuban and Wagner also own the Landmark Theatres chain, the movie distributor Magnolia Pictures and the pay television channel HDNet Movies.