COMING TO A SITE NEAR YOU; HOLLYWOOD'S HYPE FACTORIES MEET CYBERSPACE.Byline: Dave McNary Daily News Staff Writer Hollywood studios' relentless pursuit of moviegoers has moved from the big screen to the computer screen. Consider: Web sites are now launched a full year ahead of the release date for major movies, such as Sony's ``Men In Black'' and ``Godzilla,'' and Universal's ``The Lost World: Jurassic Park.'' For example, www.godzilla.com offers a new photo every single day even though the film won't be out until May 20, and its message boards contain more than 5,000 postings. In the month before ``Lost World'' opened, there were 6 million page views on the site. More than 50,000 people signed up to join the Mobile Infantry through the site for ``Starship Troopers Troopers in the United States civilian police forces usually refer to members of state highway patrols, state patrols, or state police agenciess. ,'' with 50-member platoons competing against each other and building their own pages. MGM's ``Tomorrow Never Dies'' managed to attract more than 150,000 people to enter three different contests through its site during the three days before the movie opened. Universal's www.blues-brothers-2000.com has offered live concert broadcasts featuring musicians such as Eric Clapton and B.B. King. And in the ultimate tribute to Internet surfers, producer Dean Devlin Dean Devlin (born August 27, 1962) is an American former actor and current screenwriter and producer. Devlin was born in New York City to Don Devlin and Pilar Seurat, both actors. He is Jewish on his father's side and Filipino on his mother's. has acknowledged that the script to Sony's ``Godzilla'' has been altered slightly because of the massive traffic at the site. Which exemplifies a problem the studios have fought since the second movie theater was built: How to stand out among the hundreds of thousands of appeals for potential customers' time and money. ``You really have to break through the clutter with everything in your arsenal,'' said Alan Sutton, vice president of national publicity for Universal Studios. ``And it's not enough to (say), `Build a site and they will come.' It involves a lot more than just cramming The unauthorized addition of services to your telephone bill such as an 800 number that you never ordered. The charges are usually noted on the bill, but are identified in a cryptic manner and/or are printed in a place that is easy to overlook. See slamming. a press kit and trailer through a modem.'' `Stargate' launches trend All this has happened in the relative blink blink the involuntary movement of one or both eyelids of both eyes simultaneously. The frequency varies between species. Cats blink the least, with the possible exception of owls. In birds it is the lower eyelid which is moved up to meet the upper lid. of an eye since the first such Web site appeared in 1994 with MGM's ``Stargate,'' which Devlin co-produced. The movie was a surprise hit, but studio executives were split on whether the site had played a part in its success. In those days, studios often did little after placing the contents of the press kit online. But as time went on, features such as postings, chat sessions, contests, stores and links became popular. ``The Internet is now part of the marketing plan for every film,'' said Ira Rubenstein, director of interactive marketing for Sony's movie operations. ``It's a completely justified way to reach the filmgoer film·go·er n. One who goes to see movies; a moviegoer. film  go , particularly since people online are more likely to attend movies.'' As might be expected from an industry that lives on hype, few sites are guilty of understatement. `` `Hard Rain' is one of the most extraordinary technical achievements in film history,'' states Paramount's www.hardrain.com. More surprising perhaps is that some of the lesser recent releases at the box office - ``The Winter Guest,'' ``Mr. Magoo'' and ``The Boxer,'' for example - also have their own sites. Designers constantly pitch studios with ideas, believing that the constantly changing nature of the cyberworld creates the expectation for something new. A few years ago, Sutton paid $20,000 for Universal's first three sites, then saw proposals seeking more than $100,000 emerge but now sees prices dropping again due to massive competition and the desire for exposure. ``Since there is so much out there on the Internet, our goal is always to feel like you're raising the bar,'' said Jesse Albert, president of Media Revolution, which designed sites for ``Amistad,'' ``Independence Day,'' ``Air Force One'' and ``Alien Resurrection.'' Still, all is not smooth sailing in Hollywood cyberspace Coined by William Gibson in his 1984 novel "Neuromancer," it is a futuristic computer network that people use by plugging their minds into it! The term now refers to the Internet or to the online or digital world in general. See Internet and virtual reality. Contrast with meatspace. . Studios face a major problem in that Internet surfers are growing more sophisticated and often have a been-there-done-that attitude. ``Our goal at the `Godzilla' site was not to be making a self-indulgent commercial without being entertaining, which is what a lot of these sites are,'' Devlin said. Devlin said he was ``stunned'' by how fast the site caught on after it was launched last July 3, the day after ``Men In Black'' opened. ``I honestly thought it would take at least six months to get noticed, because there are literally hundreds of Godzilla sites out there,'' he said. ``We had not anticipated the strength and passion of the fans.'' Devlin won't say how those fans changed the `Godzilla' script, except to say, ``It's not they're dictating the script, but there were some things about Godzilla's behavior and history that are now reflected in the production,'' said Devlin, whose last project was the mega-hit ``Independence Day.'' Targeting teen audience Paulla Hershey, author of the comedy book ``Things on the Net Newt Wouldn't Want You to See,'' said movie sites tend to be uneven with much of their content oriented o·ri·ent n. 1. Orient The countries of Asia, especially of eastern Asia. 2. a. The luster characteristic of a pearl of high quality. b. A pearl having exceptional luster. 3. only to younger fans. ``A lot of them sort of have the pinball-game feel with that winking winking /wink·ing/ (wingk´ing) quick opening and closing of the eyelids. jaw winking Gunn's syndrome. winking quick opening and closing of the eyelids. , blinking See dry eyes. allure,'' she said. ``There are lots of buzzwords Below is a list of common buzzwords which form part of the business jargon of Corporate work environments. General Conversation
"Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. the plot of the film.'' Hershey said she was drawn to the ``Alien Resurrection'' site recently because of the appeal of Sigourney Weaver's work in the film and came away disappointed. ``Being on the site was like being inundated in·un·date tr.v. in·un·dat·ed, in·un·dat·ing, in·un·dates 1. To cover with water, especially floodwaters. 2. to buy things,'' she said. ``It's also very geared toward someone in their teen-age years, sort of cartoony and scaling the fear element back.'' A few sites have a scholarly edge. Paramount and 20th Century Fox have set up a massive ``Titanic'' Web site (www.titanicmovie.com) replete re·plete adj. 1. Abundantly supplied; abounding: a stream replete with trout; an apartment replete with Empire furniture. 2. Filled to satiation; gorged. 3. with information on the 1912 disaster and the making of the $200 million epic. Surfers can spend hours touring the submerged ocean liner and the re-creation that was filmed in Baja California Baja California, state, Mexico Baja California (Span.: bä`hä kälēfōr`nyä), state (1990 pop. 1,660,855), 27,628 sq mi (71,576 sq km), NW Mexico, on the Baja California peninsula. Mexicali is the capital. . The ``Lost in Space'' site, now in a ``teaser'' form with plenty of information for fans, will start offering major attractions next month such as a Teen Angst angst 1 n. A feeling of anxiety or apprehension often accompanied by depression. angst 2 abbr. angstrom Planet for the Penny Robinson character and a feature allowing users to design their own planet with its own atmosphere and terrain for the Robinson family to inhabit in·hab·it v. in·hab·it·ed, in·hab·it·ing, in·hab·its v.tr. 1. To live or reside in. 2. To be present in; fill: Old childhood memories inhabit the attic. . The site - www.dangerwillrobinson.com - can then e-mail the user if that planet starts to degrade TO DEGRADE, DEGRADING. To, sink or lower a person in the estimation of the public. 2. As a man's character is of great importance to him, and it is his interest to retain the good opinion of all mankind, when he is a witness, he cannot be compelled to disclose . ``This is a place where the fans can go,'' said Gordon Paddison, New Line's manager of integrated marketing. ``The TV series was a heck of a lot of fun, but the movie presents the cast as full characters and that's what we've tried to do here.'' Educational entertainment Studios will often include promotional material about a film within a studio site such as Walt Disney Noun 1. Walt Disney - United States film maker who pioneered animated cartoons and created such characters as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck; founded Disneyland (1901-1966) Disney, Walter Elias Disney Co.'s www.movie.com or even link it with a nonmovie site. For example, www.pepsi.com serves as the promotional headquarters for DreamWorks' action film ``The Peacemaker'' and kid-play specialist www.freezone.com hosts ``Mouse Hunt,'' also by DreamWorks. Albert's company created the ``Amistad'' site in less than four months, using only the script, a promotional poster and history books. The result was a decidedly low-key site, exploring the film's serious themes. The site starts with the words ``Amistad'' appearing in white letters on a black page with African tribal music playing. The background resembles ship sails with other sections also using ocean imagery. ``We wanted to give the feeling of the ship traveling,'' said Jason Yim, creative director at Media Revolution. The designers also made a clear decision to focus on what led to the events in the film, which starts with the on-board On board usually means to be traveling on some vehicle. For example, Baby On Board. Compare with overboard. Metaphorically, the term on-board is often used to refer to some piece of technology that is integrated in a moving vehicle, for example: ``The words are the most powerful part of the movie and the court victory was based on intelligence and understanding,'' Yim said. ``Everyone knows about the brutality and mistreatment mis·treat tr.v. mis·treat·ed, mis·treat·ing, mis·treats To treat roughly or wrongly. See Synonyms at abuse. mis·treat , but it would have worked against the message of the film, so we didn't want to go that route.'' The bottom line, though, for any site is to entertain, whether it's via the lessons taught on ``Amistad'' or the alien battles on ``Independence Day.'' ``The challenge for me as I create one of these is that I can wind up being just another movie site,'' Rubenstein said. ``If they had a bad experience at another site, it hurts me.'' CAPTION(S): 5 Photos PHOTO (1 -- color) Alien resurrection www.alien-resurrection.com (2 -- color) As good as it gets www.spe.cony.com/movies/asgoodasitgets/ (3 -- color) Men in Black www.meninblack.com (4 -- color) Mouse Hunt www.freezone.com (5 -- color) Amistad www.amistad-thefilm.com |
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