Finally a sign that the movie industry is ready to stop trying to crush the internet with commercials featuring orange-goateed set designers. From our friends over at M&C and the New York Times (whom we are not friends with but bear no particular ill will) comes word that Hollywood is ready to take a cue from Itunes and create ways for users to download movies legally.

Apparently, several big studios have been hard at work developing a suitable digital format for downloading. Reportedly, Sony has 500 titles they’ll be making available online, Universal 200, and Warner Bros. may make almost all of its 5,000 titles available to internet users. Don’t get too giddy, it’s not like it’ll be free. But if I were Netflix and Blockbuster, I’d be afraid. A service like this could allow studios to cut out the movie rental middle-man and send their films directly to their viewers. Let’s put Blockbuster out of business. Warm up your modem.