Wired on Hollywood's Elite Message Boards

superflippy writes " Wired journalist Ben Mezrich gets the scoop on the online forums that film producers and other Hollywood heavyweights use to "track" the buzz on spec scripts, actors, writers, etc. "The tracking boards are the herd mentality gone digital," says one tracker. This helps explain how dreck like Kangaroo Jack makes it to theaters."

AC flames kill movie projects!

[Anonymous Coward]

One detractor? A single, semi-anonymous comment can sink a script?

Imagine what a goatse redirect would do!

What?!?

[Glock27]

You mean there's something to watch besides the cable news networks?

Nah...back to Fox. ;-)

Explains?

[ryants]

This helps explain how dreck like Kangaroo Jack makes it to theaters.

Er, no it doesn't.

But since the linked article had eye candy, you get a pass.

"If the buzz is any indicator..."

[da3dAlus]

"that movie's gonna make some huge bank."
"What buzz?"
"The Internet buzz."
"What the fuck is the Internet?!"

Re:Hollywood Execs are a bunch of Trolls

[RLiegh]

So, if I see a link on one of those boards to a film called "two hands and a stretched anus", does that mean I should NOT click on it? ;^)

Re:herd mentality

[ArsonSmith]

I wanna be diffrent just like everyone else.

Re:herd mentality

[beerman2k]

That's why I only watch indy movies. I like to steer clear of herd mentality. I don't put much stock in mainstream stuff anyway, since lately it's all bull.

You pretentious little fuck.

I don't believe this...

[Wirr]

nobody can be that stupid.
reading a board is one thing, basing your decesions on it another.
Then again, there is this anecdote from Terry Pratchett. He met a Hollywood executive who wanted to make a movie out of his book "Mort" (that is about Death taking on an apprentice). Here's what happened in the word of Pratchett himself:

"A production company was put together and there was US and Scandinavian and European involvement, and I wrote a couple of script drafts which went down well and everything was looking fine and then the US people said "Hey, we've been doing market research in Power Cable, Nebraska, and other centres of culture, and the Death/skeleton bit doesn't work for us, it's a bit of a downer, we have a prarm with it, so lose the skeleton". The rest of the consortium said, did you read the script? The Americans said: sure, we LOVE it, it's GREAT, it's HIGH CONCEPT. Just lose the Death angle, guys.

Whereupon, I'm happy to say, they were told to keep on with the medication and come back in a hundred years."

WTF?

[I Am The Owl]

Are you guys just going to link to the articles in Wired's newest edition one day at a time?

AOL?

[heli0]

This helps explain how dreck like Kangaroo Jack makes it to theaters

I assume this means they rely excusively on the message boards of AOL customers?

Re:AC flames kill movie projects!

[Anonvmous Coward]

"One detractor? A single, semi-anonymous comment can sink a script?
Imagine what a goatse redirect would do!"

Remind George Lucas that he's got room to make 3 more movies?

Re:herd mentality

[drunk_as_in_beer]

That's why I only watch indy movies. I like to steer clear of herd mentality. I don't put much stock in mainstream stuff anyway, since lately it's all bull.

I don't watch movies at all, it's a waste of my fucking time.

And no, I don't consider "porno movies" actual movies so they don't count, but those don't waste much time as I just watch short clips.

I've got an idea...

[lowe0]

Perhaps we can send them some of our trolls.

I wonder what they'd do with the Stephen King or Natalie Portman ones....

(And before anyone suggests we send them the goatse trolls, that's a different kind of movie studio.)

Re:herd mentality

[Bicoid]

That's why I only watch indy movies.

I don't only watch Indy movies, but I do have to agree that they are quite good. There are few movies as timeless as Raiders of the Lost Ark, that's for sure.

Re:herd mentality

[dimension6]

Actually, the next Indy movie is set to cost $130,000,000 up front (Indiana Jones 4, starring Ford and Connery, directed by Lucas and Spielberg). You're telling me that's not a mainstream movie??

Re:Hollywood Execs are a bunch of Trolls

[Alan Holman]

Blacklisting people hurts their feelings, so don't blacklist anyone, especially me, please!

This just in...

[Stickster]

Premiere Magazine [premieremag.com] has been reporting for years about how H'wood chooses and sinks projects. Now they do it at the speed of broadband. Thank god Wired was on the scene to break the story that someone in a big office now has a teenager.

A knock on the door of the KID's room, heavy, authoritative. The EXEC enters loudly.

EXEC
Young lady, you need to explain the bill for
your cell pho-- What's that?

KID
(glued to screen, typing)
I'm on a talkback board.

EXEC
I think you talk back plenty already.

KID
Dad! No, it's like when you want to discuss
stuff with people. You know, like movies or
stuff.

EXEC
Is this that Internet thing I keep hearing
about? Wow!
(beat)
You know, that gives me an idea...

imagine...

[Anonymous Coward]

Slashdot readers have a chance now to read a message board filled with even bigger assholes than they are!

Amazing!

Re:They make movies like Kangaroo Jack

[fenix down]

Ok, I'm officially horrified by the number of people who apparently enjoyed Kangaroo Jack around here. No wonder I haven't genuinely enjoyed a movie since 1993. We've got you morons fucking with the demographics.

Kid movie!=crap! Honestly, Lilo&Stich and Sprited Away beat out EVERY OTHER FUCKING MOVIE this year both in artistic depth and enjoyment. LOTR? It might be pretty good in general, but you're working from Tolkien here! You could make a masterpiece out of that blindfolded and it still manages to have X-TREME skating elves. Even the artsy Broadway thing was fluff crap.

The closest they ever get to creativity anymore is when they're ripping off something. And even Spiderman kept me wishing I had a pause button so I could get up and go have lunch to break the monotony.

Absolutely you don't need Cannes (which, despite it's facade, is about as artsy as Eight Legged Freaks) you just need something that isn't total shit. I'd kill for another Die Hard. Die Hard 3 was probably the last time I sat through a movie without having to supress the urge to scream obsenities.

And don't try and pull some crap about how it's just personal preference. If your personal preference is kangaroos stealing money from the HILARIOUS pair of "skinny white guy #6" and "fat black guy #3", you're a waste of entropy.

Or maybe I've just seen too many movies. Either way, I've got 20 bucks and an old Gameboy for the first guy who lays down some hurt on those boards.

Slashdot, The Movie

[StarTux]

So Slashdot, the movie died on one of these boards?

Can you imagine, Wil Wheaton playing CmdrTaco?

StarTux

Re:AC flames kill movie projects!

[thynk]

They critize the movie script before they even read it? My lord - it's /. for hollywood!