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To: Yogi - Paul who wrote (8998)	1/18/2001 7:35:04 PM
From: LK2	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9256

Download movies onto your hard drive. For Personal Use Only >>>>>>> dailynews.yahoo.com Thursday January 18 6:13 PM ET Miramax to Release Film on Internet Next Week By Sue Zeidler LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Miramax Films said on Thursday it will make the romance ``Guinevere'' available for downloading next week, marking the first time a major studio is providing a feature film for rental via the Internet. The unit of Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS - news) said the movie, first released to theaters in Sept. 1999, will be distributed beginning Jan. 22 by SightSound Technologies for 24-hour rental at a fee of $3.49 at (http://www.guineverethemovie.com) and Miramax and SightSound's Web sites. Using Microsoft Corp.'s (NasdaqNM:MSFT - news) video compression technology, SightSound said the film, which is safeguarded against piracy, can even be sent to friends. The fear of a ``Napster (news - web sites) for movies'' rearing its head has had major Hollywood studios clamoring to provide feature films via the Internet, according to industry sources who expect Sony Corp (6758.T) to begin offering movies on the Web by the spring. Napster's service, which lets fans swap songs for free by trading MP3 files, has sparked a revolution in the distribution of music. Napster is being sued for copyright infringement by the music industry, which views it as a haven for piracy. Movie studios are quickening their pace to avoid finding themselves in the same boat as the music labels, which have been criticized for lagging in the online arena as free services like Napster have attracted millions of fans. ``We can prevent for movies what Napster did for music,'' Scott Sander, president and chief executive of SightSound, said on Thursday. The video and audio download company has released several independent films and other entertainment like episodes of ``South Park'' on the Web. Users first download the movie to their hard drive. Before it can be viewed, however, they are first sent to an E-commerce site and asked for payment. If they try to watch the film again after 24 hours, they are automatically sent back to the e-commerce site, according to Sander. Additionally, friends who receive copies from other friends are also sent to the e-commerce site in order to watch it. Films To Be Released By Miramax ``Guinevere,'' starring Stephen Rea and Jean Smart, is the first of 12 films that Miramax -- which has made such hits as ''Shakespeare in Love'' -- will be releasing on the Internet under its agreement with SightSound Technologies. The titles and release dates of the remaining 11 movies are still to be determined, the companies said. ``Guinevere'', a film about an affair between an aging photographer and a young, rich girl was far from a box office blockbuster. ``We're hoping Miramax will get a feel for what people are interested in on the Net and that we'll get bigger and better movies with each release,'' he said. While ``Guinevere'' marks the first big studio title to be released on the Internet, SightSound back in April 1999 sold the critically acclaimed independent film ``Pi'' on the Web. ``That (Pi) was truly an experiment and we've been selling movie downloads every day since then. Our system is salable and deployed and Harvey and Bob Weinstein (Miramax co-chairmen) really got ahead of the curve in Hollywood,'' he said. ``Their (Miramax) leadership has been critical to the establishment of the legitimate downloading of movies over the Internet,'' he said. The big studios are all developing online initiatives, with Sony Corp. and Disney said to be advanced in their efforts, sources have said. Sony declined to comment on the efforts, but a spokesman said the Miramax announcement ``reflected the high level of interest in accessing movies on the Web.'' Industry sources have said Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment will this spring unveil a platform that will allow customers to download a movie. These sources said Sony has invited other studios, including Time Warner Inc.'s (NYSE:TWX - news) Warner Bros. unit, to invest and participate in the venture. Industry sources in the past have also said Disney has been talking with News Corp.'s (NCP.AX) Twentieth Century Fox studio about joining as a partner in an Internet site that would also allow movies to be downloaded. A Disney spokesman was not available. The Miramax project appeared to be independent of those initiatives. The studios are gearing up for a time when demand for movies online will surge as more homes get high-speed Internet access that can handle full-length films. Other companies like Viacom Inc.'s (NYSE:VIA - news) Blockbuster Inc. video rental unit are also planning to provide movies via the Internet. Copyright © 2001 Yahoo! Inc., and Reuters Limited. <<<<<<<