While the idea of direct-to-DVD downloads has been tossed around for years — and a few other products are in the works — your only (legal) option, for now, is the Dell Qflix DVD Burner (pictured). This $120 drive allows you to burn copies of DRM-protected downloads so that you can watch them away from your PC.

John H. Richardson in Esquire: By refusing to comment on his past, Paul Thomas Anderson, America's most distinctive director, has become a cypher, a man you know through the movies he creates. This is the inside story of how he got that way.

Deep in the heart of the San Fernando Valley, in a little cinder-block office that used to be a motel room, Carole Stevens is surrounded by memorabilia from her former students. There's a publicity shot from Robin Thicke's last record, a clipping of Toi Cook playing in the Super Bowl. She's proud that so many of them showed up for a recent ceremony commemorating the school's much-beloved founder. And she smiles with real happiness when she remembers the teenage boy who always wore the Cushman Academy sweatshirt even though it was against the rules. When the principal walked by, she would make him go into her bathroom and hide. Then he'd turn it inside out and make his escape. He was always like that, skating right on the edge of trouble, a charmer and a scamp, always turning other people into his accomplices. His best friend was a kid named Shane Conrad, and they were always thick as thieves, plotting one mysterious adventure after another. He was popular with girls and brilliant in the classroom, but he always had another agenda. And he always used to say, "Miss Stevens, I'm going to be a famous director. I'm going to win the Academy Award." And then he grew up to become Paul Thomas Anderson, the acclaimed director of Hard Eight, Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Punch-Drunk Love, and There Will Be Blood. It's wonderful to think about, almost a fairy tale.

PHOTO: "Paul Thomas Anderson" by Candice Breitz, collage, 16" X 11". Commissioned for Esquire, June 2008.

We asked Danny Cohen, a venture capitalist at Gemini Israel — which has multiple online video investments including adap.tv, Intercast, and Novafora — what advice he will be giving his startups about coping with the economic downturn.

Cohen first told us that video startups will need to take into account more general industry trends, such as softening demand, fewer new investments by VCs and lowered valuations. He said all startups should make sure they can run for 24 months on their existing cash, and if they can’t, start fund raising ASAP. Cohen also noted that run rates will be important to attracting top talent, who will be holding onto their existing jobs unless you can offer them something really stable.

What about video startups specifically?

David Bordwell: Our final post from this year’s Vancouver International Film Festival. Plenty to talk about, so today you get your money’s worth. Oh, wait….it’s free. So you definitely get your money’s worth.

If Abbas Kiarostami and Mohsen Makhmalbaf have been the most prestigious Iranian directors, with their features prominent at film festivals, Majid Majidi has been among the most popular. His Children of Heaven (1997) and The Color of Paradise (1999) both had international success, perhaps largely due to their focus on children and their sentimental, heartwarming stories. The Song of Sparrows (2008) represents a pleasant development and is the best Majidi film I’ve seen. It’s still sentimental and heartwarming, but there’s also a great deal of humor and some highly imaginative situations that give the film more originality than the director’s earlier work.

Gabe's Declaration of Principles Blog: Much as I love Chris Gore's Ultimate Film Festival Survival Guide, the time has come for some new perspective.  First, Chris Holland's Film Festival Secrets is the starting point for your movie’s successful run on the festival circuit.  Second, Slamdance Grand Jury Prize-winner (Chi Girl) Heidi Van Lier's Indie Film Rule Book. What I believe will distinguish both books is Heidi and Chris' desire to get it right. Both surveyed a broad variety of filmmakers, and festival insiders for perspective, insight and anecdotes.