Independent film to be distributed via P2P along with studio DVD release

Paramount Pictures, BitTorrent team up to distribute feature film [Engadget]

Usually if you see a movie studio and BitTorrent in a headline together it’s an article about fighting over online piracy. BitTorrent has found itself in the middle of the anti-piracy battle because of the large amount of illegally copied material that is transmitted around the Internet using the P2P protocol.

Movie studios, understandably, are extremely cautious about involvement with P2P. 

With that said, there’s no denying the large numbers of P2P users, particularly BitTorrent, and some studios believe that by working with the P2P sites and offering approved material, they can actually cut down on the overall amount of pirated content.

That’s precisely what's happening with one idependent film - The Tunnel. The movie will be distributed via BitTorrent for free at the same time of its DVD release by Paramount Pictures.

Don't look for this to become commonplace, however. The film itself is a bit of an anomaly. An Australian company named Distracted Media helped create the film by implementing a scheme to sell individual investors the movie’s individual frames in order to finance the film.