If you could watch a new film on demand only three weeks after its release, would you want to? What if you had to pay $ 59.99? Universal and Comcast are trying that exact model out with Brett Ratner’s upcoming film ‘Tower Heist,’ after it hits theaters November 4. The model is part of a video on demand service the studio announced back in April — an announcement that directors like Ratner and James Cameron vehemently opposed, saying it would damage the moviegoing experience. With the recent ‘Tower Heist’ news, Ratner has again released a statement, distancing himself from the VOD option.
“Brett was made aware of Universal’s PVOD experiment with ‘Tower Heist’ yesterday. It is a test limited to Portland and Atlanta. Brett was told that the studio is fully protecting the theater owners against losses at the box office. Brett did not participate in the planning of this test.”
We just hope this experiment doesn’t make Eddie Murphy mad, causing him to back out of his Oscars hosting gig.
[via THR]
[Photo: Getty]
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