American Green Inc (ERBB)

[triton]

This DVD will self-destruct in 48 hours

Shades of 'Mission Impossible'; the new disk is part of a unique market strategy for an independent movie called 'Noel.'

By Jerry Cobb

"Noel," billed as a heartwarming holiday film about hope and miracles, is hoping for a miracle. The independent movie is using a novel distribution strategy in an effort to broaden its exposure.

After opening in a limited number of theaters this past weekend, "Noel" will be available on Amazon.com (AMZN, news, msgs) on Wednesday for $4.99 on a disposable DVD that self-destructs 48 hours after it's removed from a sealed package like something out of the old "Mission Impossible" TV show. The DVD uses a technology that makes it unusable after the two-day exposure to air.

"Noel" also will air on cable channel TNT for one night only, the Sunday after Thanksgiving. It's called a "trimultaneous" release strategy, and it's the brainchild of WebMD founder Jeff Arnold and his current tech venture, The Convex Group.Banks and insurers
check your credit.
So should you.

"We said, 'how are we ever going to compete with a 'Polar Express' or these other big holiday movies,' so we said, 'doing it in a unique way like this might help us cut through the clutter,'" Arnold says.

The three-pronged release of "Noel" also is designed to cut marketing costs at a time when Hollywood studios are spending an average of more than $35 million to promote a movie.

"What's interesting about the technology is that it allows people, like potentially a Starbucks (SBUX, news, msgs) or others, to get in the movie distribution business," says Arnold.