The New Media Sphere

Digital.Hollywood

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Oscars Buzz Watchers Focus On Hilary and Cate, Not Ads

Link: MediaPost Publications Home of MediaDailyNews, MEDIA and OMMA Magazines.

NOW THAT HILARY Swank has won her second Oscar, will she be marketers' next million dollar baby? The same firms that kept an eye on boggers during the Super Bowl should have an answer soon. Last night, buzz monitoring firms like New Media Strategies and Intelliseek turned their attention last night toward February's other big show, the Academy Awards ceremony. The firms intend to spend today analyzing the results.

Rock is meant to bring edge, ratings to awards

Link: baltimoresun.com - Rock is meant to bring edge, ratings to awards.

When comedian Chris Rock strides onstage at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles Sunday night to present the 77th annual Academy Awards, he'll also be walking a tightrope.

Blogosphere is All A-buzz About Oscar(TM)

Link: Blogosphere is All A-buzz About Oscar(TM).

New Media Strategies to Conduct Break-Through Online Study of Before - and After - Broadcast Buzz on Oscar Predictions, New Host and Format, and Hottest After-Party Stories

Geek chic - Netsters wary of showbiz wooing

The term "geek" used to be an insult. "Now 'geek' is a badge of honor," says Kerry Conran, director of Paramount's upcoming "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow." Conran is a self-confessed geek who has crossed the bridge to become a Hollywood director. Putting a fanboy in charge of a $70 million movie with 2,100 CGI shots is just one sign of how Hollywood's going geek and geek is going Hollywood. As fandom has become fashionable, Hollywood has targeted and wooed geeks. But the mating dance online and in person isn't an easy one. When the Internet boomed in the late '90s, it was touted as a vehicle for democracy: Everyone would get an equal voice. Instead, it's morphing into a marketing tool. While many are flattered by Hollywood's attention, they can revolt at efforts that are too heavy-handed or disrespectful of what geeks see as their privileged status as insiders. The challenge is for studios to try to control geek buzz without so blatantly co-opting it that fans no longer feel independent. Variety.com - Geek chic

WHITE HOUSE ANGER AT HOLLYWOOD ELECTION SURPRISE: PARAMOUNT PUPPET MOVIE TO MOCK TERROR WAR

A new film set for release from PARAMOUNT has raised the pop culture threat levels at the White House -- a film which lampoons the war on terror [and media urgency] using puppets, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned. "I really do not think terrorism is funny, and I would suggest PARAMOUNT give respect to those fighting and sacrificing to keep America safe," a senior Bush adviser told the DRUDGE REPORT this weekend. The new fuss film TEAM AMERICA, set for release two weeks before the November presidential election, is entering post-production with SOUTH PARK creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. DRUDGE REPORT 2004?

The New York Times > Arts > Frank Rich: 3 Hours Over 4 Nights With 1 Fear

I cannot recall when Hollywood last released a big-budget mainstream feature film as partisan as this one at the height of a presidential campaign. That it has slipped into action largely under the media's radar, as discreetly as the sleeper agents in its plot, is an achievement in itself. Freed from any obligations to fact, "The Manchurian Candidate" can play far dirtier than "Fahrenheit 9/11." "The Manchurian Candidate" is a product of Paramount Pictures, whose chairwoman, Sherry Lansing, is a loyal Democratic contributor, according to public records. Perhaps to fake out the right, the villain played by Ms. Streep has been given the look, manner and senatorial rank of Hillary Clinton. (The character's invective, typified by her accusation that civil libertarians enable suicide bombers, is vintage Fox News Channel, blond auxiliary division.) The New York Times > Arts > Frank Rich: 3 Hours Over 4 Nights With 1 Fear

National Treasure Film Synopsis

A secret from our nation’s past will lead to the greatest adventure in history.
National Treasure Film Synopsis

Hollywood scores point in Brussels dispute

Hollywood's leading film studios have scored a success in their antitrust fight with the European Commission by preventing the Brussels body from serving them with formal charges - a delay that could continue for months. FT.com / Industries / Media & internet

A Supersized Distortion: a Response to Supersize Me, the Movie

Morgan Spurlock wanted to be in a movie. And he was in a movie -- one he made himself -- which he then presented to the world at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. The subject of the movie was the fattening of Morgan himself -- he managed to gain 25 pounds in a month by overeating at McDonald's restaurants. The name of his documentary, "Supersize Me," should serve as a warning to the rest of us that eating too much will make us fat (which we might have heard before) Source article: A Supersized Distortion: a Response to Supersize Me, the movie