New Year Linkage

- The LA Times lists the best and worst online marketing gimmicks of 2007.

- Fortune mentions Blowtorch as an example of an innovative entertainment company. From the story:

Having nailed down exhibition deals with 600 theaters near college campuses, Blowtorch has an edge over other would-be film companies: hard-to-get space on the silver screen. You'll hear a lot of clicking in the theater on Blowtorch nights. A typical evening might feature a festival of user-generated short films built around a theme - skateboarding, say, or football, or tango. People in the audience will be encouraged to pick up their cellphones or fire up their laptops to vote, text each other, and send messages to the producers - all while the show is rolling. The short film that gets the most votes is screened with the next Blowtorch feature or included in a DVD. The first Blowtorch movie, a twentysomething comedy called You Are Here, debuts in April.

The Blowtorch site is here.

- Mike Curtis deconstructs the latest article about the Blu-ray/HD DVD stalemate, from the NY Times.

- Bill Mead looks at the state of digital cinema in Asia in Film Journal International. (Bill is the editor of DCinemaToday.com.)

- Anne Thompson points us to a story in the LA Times about the marketing of 'Be Kind Rewind,' starring Jack Black and Mos Def.