Morgan Freeman Releases New Movie on Web

Academy Award winning actors Jack Nicholson, left, and Morgan Freeman are seated courtside during the Los Angeles Lakers basketball game against Milwaukee Bucks at the Staples Center in Los Angeles Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2006. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian) (Kevork Djansezian - AP)

NEW YORK -- Just two weeks after "10 Items or Less" opens in theaters Friday, it'll be available for digital download from Clickstar, a company that Morgan Freeman's production company and Intel have founded to bring small movies to those who live far from boutique cinemas.

What's Freeman doing rethinking Hollywood's business models?

"I'm just a firm believer that things continue to grow, get better," the 69-year-old actor says in his deep, distinctive voice.

Freeman seems more full of life _ both on-screen and off _ than ever.

At his home in Clarksdale, Miss., where he lives with his wife of 12 years, he's an avid pilot, sailor and owns a blues club and a restaurant.

He has more than a half-dozen films either finished or in preproduction. Freeman's esteemed career _ which has spanned "Driving Miss Daisy, "Glory," "The Shawshank Redemption," "Se7en" and last year's "March of the Penguins" _ shows no signs of slowing down.

Moviegoers are accustomed to seeing Freeman's weary eyes exude gravitas and dignity in films _ a kind of pigeonholing Freeman has long yearned to break free of. In "10 Items or Less," he's a clearly lighter presence.

The film, directed by Brad Silberling, is a short, independent movie about independent movies. Freeman's character is an actor who has been out of the movie biz for four years who's considering signing onto "a little independent thing."

He researches the prospective part by observing a grocery store checkout girl (Paz Vega). The two quickly forge a friendship and spend a pivotal day together.

While "10 Items or Less" _ a modest film of 82 minutes, shot in 15 days _ is best viewed on the big screen (like all movies), its smallness makes a computer screen a reasonable viewing station. Perhaps more importantly, it's not a film that will play at most multiplexes or in rural areas.

It's a familiar problem to Freeman.

"Where I live, in my town, there's no movie house," he says. "There are many, many, many, many people who don't have access."