Self distribution has become the tattoo parlor of the film world: Where it once housed only the dregs, today you'll see the nicest people. John Horn points out the "nice" movies going the DIY route, including "Bottle Shock" and "Nobel Son" from director Randall Miller, "Adam Resurrected" starring Jeff Goldblum and Willem Dafoe, Lance Hammer's "Ballast" and Justin Dillion's documentary "Call + Response." Says Miller, "It's not at all what I thought I'd be doing. But the system is broken. So what else are you going to do?" However, Hammer doesn't seem worry about it getting fixed; the Sundance Grand Jury prize-winner says he now plans to distribute his next film and he hasn't even made it yet. [LAT]

Tatiana Siegel reports: DreamWorks has inked a seven-year distribution pact with Universal Pictures. Move had been anticipated given the longstanding ties between DreamWorks principals Steven Spielberg and Stacey Snider and Universal. According to DreamWorks insiders, Universal will receive an 8% distribution fee for releasing DreamWorks' slate. [Variety]

Production began four years ago and it's been pulled off at least five release dates. Now the Elmore Leonard adaptation starring Diane Lane and Mickey Rourke has been pushed from Nov. 7 until at least early 2009, John Horn reports. That's yet more bad news for its distributor, Weinstein Co., which tried to sell off the film's domestic distribution rights last spring and found no takers. Weinstein distribution exec Steve Bunnell says he hopes "Killshot" could be boosted by critical praise for Rourke's performance in "The Wrestler," which Fox Searchlight releases Dec. 19. [Los Angeles Times]

"We're fucked," says Sony Pictures Classics' co-president Tom Bernard. Specifically, he tells Claude Brodesser-Akner, he's depressed about the audience decline where big critics like Michael Wilmington (Chicago Tribune), John Anderson (Newsday), David Ansen (Newsweek), and Jami Bernard and Jack Mathews (New York Daily News) are no more. Says Bernard: "Our numbers in Chicago are down 20%, and it's only been three months since Michael Wilmington left." The death of specialized distributors (Picturehouse, Paramount Vantage, et. al.) also casts a pall. Among the titles that could use a friend: Columbia Pictures' "Seven Pounds," (Will Smith, suicidal IRS agent), Miramax' s "Doubt" (Meryl Streep, nun confronting sexually abusive priest), Warner Bros.' "Gran Torino" (Clint Eastwood, Korean War vet reforming teen carjacker), Paramount's "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Brad Pitt aging in reverse) and Focus' Features "Milk" (Sean Penn, America's first openly gay city official, assassinated). Says Los Angeles Times critic Kenneth Turan: "The studios all say, 'A film is a film. We can handle those releases.' But the question is, 'Can they?' " [Ad Age]

Distribution consultant Peter Broderick takes on the brave new world of distribution post Mark Gill, going into internet fundraising, podcasts, YouTube and direct website sales, along with 10 "guiding principles of New World Distribution." Best of all, however, is this handy-dandy chart. Clip and save! [PeterBroderick.com]

Under the beta feature that launched Sept. 15, more than 6,000 TV episodes are available for viewing in full, for free, with "limited commerical interruption." Says founder Col Needham, "Our goal is to show our users every movie and TV show on the Internet for free on IMDb.com." Creators can also download their content to IMDb. Among the shows included in the launch are "24," "Family Guy," "Heroes,"  "The Office" and "The Simpsons." Launch partners are CBS, Hulu, Sony Pictures Television and assorted indie filmmakers. [Press release]

Scott Kirsner has a modest proposal for film festivals and indie filmmakers who love them: "During the festival, or on the day it ends, (filmmakers) should make their movie available through their own Web site, perhaps using DVD-on-demand services like NeoFlix, Film Baby, or CreateSpace/Amazon. Same thing for making downloads available: get that movie onto Amazon Unbox, B-Side, or iArthouse." Festivals can help out by making deals with iTunes, cable channels or pay-per-view. Writes Kirsner: "If I read a glowing review of something playing at Toronto this weekend, I’m going to want to download it or buy the DVD right then –- and I may not feel the same way a week later, after the festival ends (I may not remember the movie at all by that point.)" Toronto’s rules say that films can’t be available on the Internet prior to the last day of the festival. [CinemaTech]

"Slacker Uprising" follows Moore's 62-city tour during the 2004 election to rally young voters. It will be available for three weeks beginning Sept. 23 at SlackerUprising.com as a free download to North American residents. Moore says it's a symbol of gratitude to fans as he approaches the 20th anniversary of "Roger & Me." His last two films, "Sicko" ($24 million) and "Fahrenheit 9/11" ($119 million) are two of the three highest-grossing documentaries ever. The DVD release is Oct. 7. [Associated Press]

Hollywood has shown untold patience in waiting for the digital cinema revolution. In an excerpt from his book "Inventing the Movies," Scott Kirsner writes that digital cinema was anticipated more than half-century ago by no less than Samuel Goldwyn, who anticipated video-on-demand systems; in 1954, CBS engineer Albert Abramson published the article “A Motion-Picture Studio of 1968” that outlined digital cinematography, film-free distribution system and 3-D imagery. [Digital Cinema Report]

"The Princess of Nebraska" will be available for free online shortly after the theatrical release of Wang's penultimate film, "A Thousand Years of Good Prayers," through Magnolia Pictures in September. Online distribution of "Princess" will be handled by Cinetic Rights Management. Both films are both about women who come to the U.S. from China, are based on short stories by Yiyun Li and premiered at the 2007 Toronto and Telluride film festivals. [indieWire]