Michael Moore Releasing Slacker Movie Online

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By Gillian Reagan

September 5, 2008 | 1:30 p.m

Michael Moore is pulling a Radiohead. He's releasing his next new film online at Blip.tv. Slacker Uprising takes us on a 62-city tour during the 2004 election with Mr. Moore, who is rallying young people into the voting booths. It will be available for three weeks as a free download to North American residents, beginning Sept. 23.

This is the first major movie to be released in such a way, according to the Associated Press.

Last December, "Jackass 2.5" was streamed online and for free, but that was only a collection of left over material from "Jackass 2." Companies like ClickStar, which Morgan Freeman co-founded, have made films still in theaters — such as 2006's "10 Items or Less" — digitally available for purchase or rental.

Experimentation in distribution has been more common in the music industry, where the Internet has significantly damaged traditional business models. Moore took notice when Radiohead last year released their seventh album, "In Rainbows," online with optional pricing. In 2006, Neil Young streamed his anti-war album "Living With War" for free before its standard release — now a more common practice.

What about money? Neither Mr. Moore, who paid $1 million out of his pocket, or the studio, Brave New Films, plans to make money from Slacker Uprising. They just want some better online quality than YouTube. (Sicko was leaked online and downloaded illegally in large numbers, AP reports).

Sign up for the download at SlackerUprising.com. You can join the "Night of a Thousand House Parties" and screen the movie on Oct. 4, or wait for the DVD release on Oct. 7.