HD-NET; A great idea in the making

"Bubble", a working-class slice-of-life drama from famed director Steven Soderbergh and producers including dot.com/pro basketball impresario Mark Cuban, will be released in select movie theaters, on HD-Net, and on DVD simultaneously.

It's the first in a planned series of simultaneous releases from 2929 Entertainment (owned by Cuban and his partner, Todd Wagner) that is aimed at making first-run films almost as instantly accessible as fast food or designer coffee. Major studios release their movies first in theaters to maximize their glamour and pull, holding them back for months from cable or DVD. But another independent company has already duplicated Cuban's strategy: IFC Entertainment this week announced that it will open two dozen films concurrently in theaters and via cable video-on-demand beginning in March.