Quick Takes: 12/8/06

• Monika is talking about an officially-produced “fan site” for Balls of Fury that looks and feels like an official website. I join her in wondering what the motivation is for making this seem like an organically appearing fan effort.
• Jette mentions that Mike Judge’s under-marketed and under-released comedy Idiocracy will be hitting DVD in January with a cover image that’s drastically different from the theatrical poster, one that makes it look much more like a goofy comedy.
• A new company called inDplay is helping small films get seen by allowing distributors to bid for movies that are listed in the service. That could help a lot of films gain an audience because distributors aren’t taking as much of a financial risk.
• It shouldn’t surprise anyone that it’s the studios that are standing in the way of truly user-friendly digital downloads.
• The British cop comedy Hot Fuzz gets two more absolutely fantastic posters.
• The Weinstein Co. has become the latest studio to create their own faith-based distribution unit.
• The AP wonders why we all care about a movie’s financial fortunes so much.
• Read this story and you’ll start to get a sense of how media will be consumed in the not too distant future.
• If you care at all about the animated flick Happily N’ever After the movie has three new character posters out.
• Long Tail champion Chris Anderson says that he’s not responsible for the cinematic career of Kevin Smith.
• Starz will be showing a Will Smith movie marathon in anticipation of his new movie The Pursuit of Happiness.
• Finally, this deserves a longer post by me but you need to go read Scott Kirsner’s thoughts on why what’s needed in Hollywood is an indie attitude. Seriously, it’s the smartest thing I’ve read in a long time.