Feb. 28 (Bloomberg) -- ``Last Stop for Paul,'' an offbeat comedy about two guys who travel around the world to scatter a friend's ashes in exotic locales, is finally moving from the Internet to theaters.

Neil Mandt, the writer, director and co-star, has been promoting the film on the Web for more than a year by offering free previews and selling DVDs before its limited theatrical release on March 7 in Los Angeles.

``Anyone who hasn't been sleeping under a rock knows there are more eyeballs looking at the Internet than anything else,'' Mandt said in a telephone interview. ``It was really about creating a word-of-mouth campaign and awareness.''

Mandt, who produces ESPN's ``Jim Rome Is Burning'' sports show, is trying to follow in the footsteps of ``Quarterlife,'' the TV series that started on MySpace.com before being picked up by NBC. If ``Last Stop'' has a successful theatrical opening, it might lead to wider distribution in theaters, increased DVD sales and possibly a TV deal.

So far, about 3,000 DVDs have been sold online after people watched scenes on http://www.laststopforpaul.com and other Web sites. The film, which cost about $300,000, follows two friends who travel to South America and Europe before winding up at the famous Full Moon Party in Thailand.

`Semi-Pro'

Will Ferrell's ``Semi-Pro,'' a comedy about a small-time basketball team that tries to move up to the NBA, is one of several potential box-office hits opening in the coming weeks.

``Semi-Pro'' opens tomorrow, followed by the special- effects epic ``10,000 B.C.'' on March 7 and the animated comedy ``Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who'' on March 14.

``These seemingly slow times of year create an opportunity for certain films to break out when there's less competition,'' Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media by Numbers, said in an interview.

All three films are bolstered by top talent: Ferrell stars in ``Semi-Pro,'' ``10,000 B.C.'' is directed by Roland Emmerich (``The Day After Tomorrow''), and ``Horton'' features the voices of Jim Carrey and Steve Carell.

Last March a similar trio of films, including Ferrell's ``Blades of Glory,'' generated $427 million in box-office sales. Studios may have difficulty duplicating that success. The new lineup is expected to generate $330 million, according to estimates by Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst William Kidd.

Strike Aftermath

TV writers Tze Chun and Mike Weiss are still waiting to find out if ABC is going to put ``Cashmere Mafia,'' their show about high-powered female executives, back on the air.

Their plight highlights the lingering effects of the three- month writers strike, which ended on Feb. 12. Networks have restarted production on some shows, though the fate of other programs remains unclear.

``The strike is over, but I think the residual damage is probably going to last for a few months, at least,'' Chun said in a phone interview from his New York apartment. ``There's not a lot (of jobs) out there right now.''

Chun and Weiss, both 27, were hired to write for the show five months before the strike started. It was their first job in Hollywood. With so much uncertainty now, Chun is painting portraits to help make ends meet.

``We're just trying to figure out what the next step is,'' Chun said. ``It seems like not a lot of people have the answers to that.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Michael White in Los Angeles at Mwhite8@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: February 28, 2008 00:10 EST