Amazon and Apple movies...smell the popcorn?

Amazon.com and Apple Computer are both poised to make their long-anticipated digital movie business debuts in coming days, according to publications like Variety.com and the Wall Street Journal (subscription only).

Amazon's service, which the Journal is calling "Amazon Unbox," was expected to launch last month. It will deliver full-length feature films and TV shows to customers over the Web in two ways, sources said. One is through a subscription service, where customers pay a flat fee to view movies over a certain time period. The other will be either a pay-per-view or a pay-per-movie service, according to sources.

Meanwhile, Apple also appears to have Hollywood on its mind given the theme of its press event scheduled for Sept. 12, "It's Showtime." The Journal and Variety are among many expecting the event to be the unveiling of Apple's movie store, possibly along with new iPod versions.

Company representatives declined to comment in both the Variety and Journal stories.