Last week, we told you about Screening Room, the streaming video startup from Napster co-founder and guy-who-was-played-by-Justin-Timberlake-in-that-Facebook-movie Sean Parker that hopes to sell home video access to new movies the same they hit theaters. Even though the Screening Room model reportedly includes plans to share the wealth with theater owners, an industry lobbying group is shrugging off the idea.
In a statement [PDF] released this morning, the National Association of Theatre Owners (aka “The other NATO”) acknowledge that some high-profile Hollywood directors — Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, JJ Abrams, among them — have publicly spoken in favor of the Screening Room and stated how it could actually be a boon to theater owners.
