When New Line Cinema decided to change the name of its latest blockbuster movie from the gleefully silly Snakes on a Plane to Pacific Air Flight 121, the reaction from fans was immediate and voluble, with the decision slated on countless websites and blogs. Remarkably, New Line changed its mind: if audiences wanted Snakes on a Plane, that's what they'd get.When New Line Cinema decided to change the name of its latest blockbuster movie from the gleefully silly Snakes on a Plane to Pacific Air Flight 121, the reaction from fans was immediate and voluble, with the decision slated on countless websites and blogs. Remarkably, New Line changed its mind: if audiences wanted Snakes on a Plane, that's what they'd get.According to proponents of "open source" cinema, New Line's U-turn foreshadows the future of filmmaking, one where audiences control what kind of movies get made. Take Stray Cinema. Founded by New Zealander Michelle Hughes last year, it allows people to download and edit footage from a short film she shot in London. Anyone is free to make a new version of her film and give it alternative scenes and endings.

The Telegraph explores this burgeoning new genre of independent film.

17/4/07

Image: Stray Cinema challenge you to make a better cut of the film than they do.