Before too long, the indie holiday film "Noel" should be available on DVD. What's the catch? Well, this disc is coated with a suicide chemical. Within 48 hours of being taken out of the package, the disc will be no good.
The movie's producers hope to whip up some publicity for the film with this practice while preserving the sales of a regular DVD version later.
I have doubts about putting such a DVD in my player especially if it has a chemical designed to ruin the disc. What else could happen?
Instead of espousing that method, I think movie studios should do a limited early Pay Per View run of their films one week after the theatrical release- even if it's at a relatively high price for PPV such as $20-25 which would be less than the price of 4 movie tickets. This would be a good way to offer those who cannot get out to the theaters (60-80 hour work weeks, small children, and other reasons) a way to see some of the first run titles.
