Purple Violets

Okay. Now this is news.

Ed Burns, director of The Brothers McMullen and She's the One, and actor in such small-time movies as Saving Private Ryan (and, apparently, the guy on the 10-dollar bill), has broken the digital distribution wall. He's decided to debut his new film, Purple Violets, via iTunes before it's available in theaters.

How to feel about this? I'm torn. I love, love, LOVE seeing movies in the theater, but not only do I live in a town that's seen a real decrease in the number of art-house movie theaters, I often find myself choosing my movie-theater movies based on whether they should be seen on a big screen.

Ed Burns' movies -- in case you haven't seen any -- are the sort I most often find myself waiting to see on video: most of the action involves people sitting around in restaurants, strolling through Central Park... y'know, the sorts of things we've all done ourselves, in places we've all been to. What I haven't done -- and hopefully never will -- is run through the jungle in an attempt to escape the gnashing teeth of a Tyrannosaurus Rex! In other words, Burns' films aren't cinematic.

So. Is this a good thing? I'm undecided, but this does seem to be a bit of the beginning of a trend. It's not exactly the same thing, but the DVD of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix will ship with versions of the movie that will easily download to your computer, iPod, iPhone, etc. Which demonstrates an awareness, at least, that as far as pirating is concerned the zeitgeist seems to be realizing that if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.