Thinking Outside the Box Office - Director Steven Soderbergh talks about the copyright cops, the remixing underground, and why he'll debut his new movie on DVD, cable, and in theaters all at once. By Xeni Jardin. [Movies & Music]

In a recent interview with film director Steven Soderbergh, Wired collected his thoughts on piracy, copyrights and the release plan for his new film. Sodebergh shared a common frustration with restrictive copyright laws when asked whether manufacturers should be forced to build copy protection mechanisms into their devices (DRM). Soderbergh replied, "It's a tricky question. I don't think somebody who creates something should have their rights violated. Yet we have a culture in which creating something like [Danger Mouse's] The Grey Album can get you thrown in jail. That's sad. It's an astonishing, amazing piece of work that should be heard."

This is a view fundamentally similar to that expressed in the works of Robert Boynton, who advocates freer copyright laws. The idea is that all work is based on something, and maximum creativity flourishes when others are allowed to use source material more or less directly in new creative works.

The real point of interest in this interview though, was Soderbergh's thoughts on his new movie Bubble. On January 27, 'Bubble' will be released simultaneously in theaters, on television, and on DVD. The prevailing thought on this concept of 'simultaneous release' is that it would eliminate Hollywood filmmaking as we know it. Statistics show that currently, less than 1% (functionally zero) of movies make a profit in their theatrical runs. It is only with the staggered releases in theatres, pay-per-view, and ultimately DVD, that large budget Hollywood blockbusters become economically viable. One might question whether we want them to be, but I myself am a fan. Soderbergh's chief defense of this move seems to be that people will still purchase the film on multiple formats anyway; citing that going to the theater is a number one date destination. Time will tell whether this model is viable, but I fear that in a simultaneous release environment most consumers will simple opt for the format offering the greatest value: approx. $15 for a DVD, unlimited viewing.

-L. Worthington