US movie director, George Lucas, sees the future of film in downloads.
Speaking to Variety, the Star Wars director revealed that, while he"s not rushing to be among the first to release movies through iTunes, he is interested in observing how the market develops - and has chatted to Apple CEO Steve Jobs about movie downloads.
Lucas and Jobs have a historical relationship. Lucas sold Pixar to Jobs for just ten million dollars in 1986. Walt Disney acquired Pixar from Jobs in a $7.4 billion stock deal this year. It"s all money - but Lucas sees diversity, not big budget blockbusters, as the future for the film industry. As audiences gain more control over hwat they want to see, audience tastes will diversify.
Lucas thinks that movie download services like iTunes are the future for moving picture entertainment distribution. He sees "quantity" as the secret for future success. For the same budget as a single major movie, "I can make 50-60 two-hour movies," he stressed.
"In the future market, that"s where it"s going to land, because it"s going to be all pay-per-view and downloadable," he said.