Online Movies: New Orleans, Mon Amour And Cinemash Shorts

Over the years, independent filmmaker Michael Almereyda has acquired a cult following. He directed Twister, an adaptation of Mary Robison's novel Oh!, featuring Crispin Glover as Howdy, the dysfunctional brother in a dysfunctional family. Almedreyda also helmed a modern-day interpretation of Hamlet with a cast that included Ethan Hawke, Bill Murray, and Julia Stiles.

But in today's marketplace, his newest film New Orleans, Mon Amour never saw the light of theatrical release. Instead, Almereyda's post-Katrina recovery story will go the route of video on demand (VOD). New Orleans, Mon Amour will make its debut on July 15 on Cable VOD via Cinetic, followed by portals iTunes and Amazon VOD. Variety's Anne Thompson has an exclusive clip from the film.

Meanwhile, Mean Magazine is beginning a new series called Cinemash which re-creates scenes from well-known movies in short online films. Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who will next be seen together in (500) Days of Summer, kick off the series this Tuesday, with Marc Weber's Summer. The two actors will interpret a scene from the cult classic Sid and Nancy. Microsoft's Zune will make the Cinemash films available for download; the shorts will also stream on MSN this summer.