Soderbergh, Cuban pact

Helmer will direct six hi-def pix, starting with 'Bubble'

By DANA HARRIS

Soderbergh

Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban's HDNet Films has hired Steven Soderbergh to direct six high-definition films that would be released simultaneously in theaters, on television and on homevideo.

In production is the first project, "Bubble," a murder mystery set in a small Ohio town. Soderbergh retains creative control on this and subsequent HDNet projects.

All pics will receive theatrical distribution through Magnolia Pictures at Landmark Theaters venues; the loop, like HDNet Films, is a division of 2929 Entertainment. Television distribution will go through 2929's high-definition cable channel HDNet Movies.

DVD and international distribution have not yet been determined.

According to Wagner and Cuban, potential benefits of the multiplatform day-and-date release include streamlining production and post-production, creating a more consolidated marketing spend and eliminating costs for prints and shipping.

2929 first used the simultaneous release format April 22 on "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room," a documentary that's the first pic to go through HDNet Films.

HDNet Films, which produces smaller-budget movies shot exclusively in high definition, is in production on "Over the Mountains," "Quid Pro Quo," "All Fall Down" and "One Last Thing...," starring Cynthia Nixon.