Theron, Basinger movie premiering on DirecTV

By Gregg Kilday

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - In a move that adds a wrinkle to the traditional film-distribution model, DirecTV will debut "The Burning Plain," starring Oscar winners Charlize Theron and Kim Basinger, as a video-on-demand (VOD) offering nearly a month before the film's theatrical release.

The satellite network said Wednesday it will launch the Guillermo Arriaga-directed drama August 21 as a DirecTV Cinema offering in HD and standard definition.

The film, unveiled almost a year ago at the Venice International Film Festival, won't hit theaters until September 18 through Magnolia Pictures, 2929's distribution arm. It then will play simultaneously on DirecTV at reduced prices.

The film depicts two parallel stories running side by side: Theron plays a bed-hopping woman on the run from something in her past; Basinger plays an ill-fated married mother of four.

In reviewing the film at Venice, The Hollywood Reporter described it as "an ambitious, visually handsome production which fails to ignite."

(Editing by DGoodman at Reuters)

(please visit our entertainment blog via www.reuters.com or on blogs.reuters.com/fanfare/)