We’ve been following this one closely here at The Flickcast because we’re big fans of Hulu and think it’s a great way to watch TV shows and movies you missed when they originally aired or to discover new shows. The service has many things going for it but one of its main attractions is that, at the moment, its free. You only have to watch a few commercials during a normal episode of a TV program, for example, and other than that, the service costs you nothing.

As we’ve discussed before, that may change in the near future. And now, Hulu is talking about yet another pricing model: charging users to watch episodes of 30 Rock, Modern Family and House. The move would mark a significant change for the site, which was launched nearly two years ago by a group of studios to distribute TV shows and movies via the Internet without charge.

According to reports, Hulu has spent the last several months trying to figure out how to balance what users expect to see for free with what they would be willing to pay for. Another plan being considered would allow users to view the five most recent episodes of TV shows for free but would require a subscription of $4.99 a month to watch older episodes.

Hulu believes it will need at least 20 TV series — both current ones and those no longer on the air — to make such a pay service attractive to users. A firm pricing model could emerge within six months. Well, at least they seem to be taking their time to figure out the right way to screw serve us.

I think at this point Hulu has almost become as incorporated into modern life as Netflix, at least for many people. Recently, charts and statistics were released comparing it to 2009’s biggest blockbusters, and the breakdown of revenues and investors for the site. The charts enlighten us on audience numbers, grosses on opening weekends, and the amount of growth Hulu has seen since it was founded in March of 2007.

While the comparison doesn’t really seem to hold up, (perhaps, it would be better to see it compared to other online content portals, television networks, or possibly even cable providers) it is very interesting to see how Hulu is configured as well as some of the numbers they’ve pulled. With conversations and rumors percolating as to if (or when) the site will move to a subscription service, these numbers should show that the site is doing well enough as-is.

Until then, check out these very nice looking graphics after the break, which were created by the marketing firm Buzzpoint. and let us know what you think of Hulu possibly charging for their content.

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Captain America is finally available to watch for free! This 1990 low-budget adaptation of the “All American” superhero is now available for online viewing via Hulu. If for nothing else, watch it for the amazing performances by slumming actors Ned Beatty and Ronnie Cox.

The film stars Matt Salinger (son of famed writer J.D. Sallinger), who has been on shows ranging from Damages to Law & Order, in the titular role. Sallinger’s Steve Rogers actually followed pretty closely the original comic story of a young man who is given a super soldier serum and turned into, well…a super soldier for the Allied powers during WWII.

On a mission that leads to him being stuck on a fired missile, he’s seen by two young kids who just so happen to one day grow up to become President and an adviser. He then gets stuck in ice for the 40 years, until one day he’s freed and given the chance to defeat the Red Skull, who in this movie is an Italian experimental reject – sort of like The Abomination to Bruce Banner’s Hulk.

It’s laughably bad, with bright blue spandex, fake rubber wings, and some really awful action choreography. With that said, if you’re up for the torture or just in anticipation of Joe Johnston’s upcoming (and hopefully better) adaptation, The First Avenger: Captain America, this will do the trick. If you don’t believe us, take a look at a clip from the film after the jump.

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Previously, we had taken you behind the scenes to see how these motion comics are made with some of the production team. This time around we’ve got another look behind the scenes with a different facet of the production. This one, hosted by David Goldberg of Edge Studio, give some insight into how the dialog and sound effects are designed and recorded. It also shows you a few of the voice actors hard at work giving life to their characters.

Also, as we agree to do, here’s the official Marvel description of the video and the motion comic:

Get a behind the scenes look at the chart-topping Astonishing X-Men Motion Comic with this all new video. Based on the acclaimed story by superstars Joss Whedon (Buffy The Vampire Slayer) and John Cassaday (Captain America), the X-Men are faced with a mysterious new villain and a possible cure for the mutant gene. Now Cyclops, Wolverine and all your favorite mutants must face the greatest threats of their lives and, before it’s all done, experience one of the most jaw-dropping moments in Marvel history.

Be sure and check out the video after the jump, especially if you’re a fan of these kinds of behind the scenes things like we are. The Astonishing X-Men MOCO is available now at iTunes and on Hulu.

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Excelsior! Sorry, couldn’t resist. Actually, that word completely applies in this case seeing as how the X-Men were created by the great Stan “The Man” Lee and Jack “King” Kirby. Still, its a pretty good day today and a pretty cool thing we have to share with you right now.

Our pals at Marvel have provided us with a new video showing a bit of behind the scenes with the folks who make the Astonishing X-Men motion comic. Hosted by producer Kristine Stone, you get a tour of the production facility and get to meet many of the people responsible for putting this cool project together. All in all, not a bad way to spend a few minutes.

You get to learn some things and have a little fun too. What could be better than that? Not much, so be sure to check out the video after the jump. The Astonishing X-Men MOCO is available now at iTunes and on Hulu.

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This week on The Flickcast, Chris and Matt are joined on this milestone episode by comic and video game expert John Carle and, as usual, dive into a whole bunch of new topics. This time around the guys discuss Joss Whedon’s bid to buy the Terminator franchise, XBox’s new Live Rewards program, the epic Guitar Hero vs. Rock Band war, Best Buy’s foray into video on demand and the merits of various Michael Caine movies.

Of course, the guys also made some more great pics this week including John’s pick of the great new demo for Left for Dead 2, Matt’s pick of a very special episode of Batman: Brave and the Bold and Chris’ pick of the 1992 Oliver Stone movie Natural Born Killers.

As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques or offers of sponsorship, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter and at Facebook, MySpace or via email.

Thanks for listening.

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Because I’m a big fan of Hulu, if true, the news that the service will begin charging viewers is very disappointing. Of course I realize that things cannot always be free, nor should they always be free. However, Hulu already has ads during its programming so it isn’t really “free” for the viewer. In many ways its just like broadcast television, only on the Internet.

My favorite part of the article, though, is the quote from News Corp.’s Deputy Chairman Chase Carey who said of the service: “I think a free model is a very difficult way to capture the value of our content. I think what we need to do is deliver that content to consumers in a way where they will appreciate the value,” he said.

I guess he’s never actually visited the Hulu website and seen the ads? And really, who doesn’t love corporate speak? What he’s saying is that we won’t appreciate the value of something free until we pay for it? Sure, that makes sense.

Although, I guess in one way it is true. Once Hulu starts charging for content I, and I’m sure many others, probably won’t be watching its content anymore. So, it that respect I guess I will appreciate the value of it. . . once its gone.

This week on The Flickcast, Chris and Matt have to go it alone again. They take on a bunch of new, and returning, topics including Fantastic Fest in Austin, new television shows including Cougar Town, Community, FlashForward and returning shows like The Big Bang Theory, Lost, Fringe and Dollhouse.

In addition, they discuss Ryan Reynolds confirmation of his appearance in Green Lantern and Deadpool, the career of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Billy Crystal’s recent projects, Megan Fox on Saturday Night Live, Transformers 3, the A-Team reboot, and much more.

Plus, Chris and Matt make some great picks this week including Matt’s pick of the indie comic The Stuff of Legend and Chris’ pick of Scott Sigler’s sci-fi/horror novel Infected.

As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques or offers of sponsorship, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter and at Facebook, MySpace or via email.

Thanks for listening.

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Even though the Apple TV was basically ignored at last week’s music event where we did get new iPod Nanos and other cool goodies, it seems that the device’s time has now come. Today over at the Apple Store, the company has made a few changes to its Apple TV lineup to get in step with some as-yet-unknown strategy.

The original 40GB model has been dropped and the 160GB model is now available for $229, down from $329. Now that these changes have been rolled out, what does this mean for a device that some consider a bit expensive and redundant in the age of Netflix streaming, Hulu or torrents? Over at AppleInsider, they’ve speculated that the iTunes LP format and iTunes Extras released last Wednesday are specifically designed to deliver content to Apple TV.

They’ve also noted that the content is scaled for 1280 x 720 resolution, which is the native resolution of the Apple TV. They’re are also html meta tags in the new content — “hdtv-fullscreen” and “hdtv-cursoroff” — which may indicate that these new formats were designed for the device. Whatever happens, its pretty clear that the Apple TV needs a refresh, and not just in capacity.

So, what can we expect from the device in the near future? In my perfect world we would see and Apple TV with Netflix streaming, access to the web for Hulu, a larger HD and a Blu-ray player built in. Will we actually get such a device? I wouldn’t hold your breath.