House Of Cards: Season One
Netflix
Directed by David Fincher, James Foley, Joel Schumacher, Charles McDougall, Carl Franklin, Carl Franklin
Starring Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright, Kate Mara, Corey Stoll, Michael Kelly, Sakina Jaffrey, Kristen Connolly, Michael Gill, Soledad O’Brien
Netflix
Originally Released: February 1, 2013

Although Netflix had already taken a step into original series with Lilyhammer, it is with House of Cards that they have positioned a deep (though safe, in my mind) gamble in the belief that streaming is not just the way of the future, that it is already here. And that their customer base is already aware of this. And who among our audience doesn’t agree with this?

I dare you to defy my call on this, because seriously – I’ve lost count of the amount of conversations with fellow geeks that have spoken of the hours of sleepless nights they’ve self-induced to finish a season of Doctor Who or Star Trek or The Office or The IT Crowd, or a franchise of movies. Netflix knows that their fans and followers soak up an entire season in a day or maybe two. Who the hell needs sleep anyway?

House of Cards
Created by David Fincher
Starring Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright
Available exclusively on Netflix

Netflix shook the world of traditional TV up with their original programming announcements in a similar way to the way iTunes first shook up the music industry with its new paradigm for enjoying our favorite tunes. Of several projects announced by the streaming movie/TV rental company, the most high profile was House of Cards, a series headlined by Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright and produced/directed by David Fincher.

The series is based on a novel and a British miniseries of the same name. Season one of the show launched on Netflix last week, giving us our first real look (other than Lillyhammer, which was a much smaller project) at the new way we can expect to consume long form scripted media.

The digital movie rental of the day over at Amazon today is David Fincher‘s The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo for only $.99.

This deal is valid through today, Thursday, May 17, 2012, until 11:59pm PST. Once you activate the rental through Amazon’s Instant Video on demand service, you’ll have access to the movie for 24 hours. If you’re interested in purchasing the digital version, the cost is $12.99.

Also, if you’d like to own a physical copy of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, the Blu-ray/DVD Combo Edition is available for $22.44 while the DVD is $19.96. Both editions are part of Amazon’s “Buy This DVD and Watch it Instantly” program “” you get the film as a FREE digital rental you can watch immediately when your purchase the physical copy.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Directed by David Fincher
Written by Steven Zallian
Starring Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgard, Steven Berkoff, Robin Wright, Goran Visnjic, Joely Richardson
Release Date: December 20, 2011

Crusading journalist and magazine publisher Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) has just taken a major hit to his finances and reputation in a libel suit brought against him by billionaire businessman Hans-Erik Wennerström (Ulf Friberg). As he’s trying to figure out his next move while keeping his personal life afloat, Mikael is summoned by retired industrialist Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer) to his palatial estate on an island in the Swedish countryside. The older gentleman offers the disgraced Blomkvist a golden opportunity that will replenish his bank account and restore his reputation as an honest reporter if he will use his investigative skills to solve the mystery of the disappearance of Vanger’s great-niece Harriet, whom he believes was murdered four decades ago. Blomkvist is reluctant to take on such a task, but when Vanger also offers to give him the crucial evidence he needs to bring Wennerström to justice, the embattled writer accepts the job.

Just recently Entertainment Weekly gathered up the casts of some popular movies for their 2011 Cast Reunions issue, which included the cast of director Rob Reiner‘s 1987 timeless fantasy classic, The Princess Bride.

And being that it happens to be my own personal favorite movie of all time, I eat this stuff up. So when I saw that Good Morning America also jumped on the cast reunion for their Totally Awesome ’80s Week, giddiness levels elevated. Stars Cary Elwes (Westley/The Man in Black), Robin Wright (Princess Buttercup), Chris Sarandon (Prince Humperdinck), Wallace Shawn (Vizzini), Billy Crystal (Miracle Max), and Carol Kane (Valerie) were present to discuss the movie and tell stories from behind the scenes, including a very funny one involving the late Andre the Giant, who played Fezzik.

You can see a video of the cast of The Princess Bride reunited on the set of Good Morning America by heading below now.