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Studios | Cable Resources | Festivals | Organizations | Reviews | Events and Chat Areas | Criticism | Other Resources | Try it out!


Although alternative films may be hard to find, most other movies are readily available today -- at the mall, on broadcast and cable television, in campus auditoriums, on videocassettes, on pay-per-view, and in neighborhood theaters. However flawed, most of these are Hollywood films: the common currency in a global market. For all their limitations, classic Hollywood movies are consensus narratives. They provide shared cultural experiences, operating across different times and cultures

At the international level, countries continue to struggle with questions about the influence of American films on local customs and culture. With the rise of international media conglomerates, it has become more difficult to awaken debate over issues of movie diversity and America's domination of the film business. In addition, technological innovations -- whether they affect radio, television, film, cable, or the Internet -- tend to outpace questions of legislation and regulation. Consequently, issues concerning greater competition and a better variety of movies sometimes fall by the wayside.

The bottom line is that films are about making money, and as the costs of making a film continue to rise, film makers would rather stick with a tried and true "formula" than take risks on something new. Special effects, star power and merchandising is how film studios make money. The Web has, for some, become another vehicle for advertising the product; for some few others, it has become an alternative forum for expression, culture and art.

Studios

Disney | MGM/UA | Miramax | Sony Pictures | Lucasfilm | Paramount

Cable Resources

Home Box Office (HBO) | TNT Original Productions | American Movie Classics (AMC) | Independent Film Channel

Festivals

These sites (and other festival sites) are most interesting at the time of the festival itself. They also offer reviews and discussions on or with those involved in film making.

Organizations

Organizations associated with the film industry are interesting sources of information, from the history of the various organizations, to information on awards, archives of film history and filmmakers, news and press releases and interesting links.

Reviews

Online providers, most search engines, and browsers provide a number of areas that offer reviews and recommendations of new films, films on video, actors, actresses, directors and so on. Some offer audio and/or video clips. These include but are not limited to:

Film | The Movie Critic | Hollywood Online | Movieweb

Events and Chat areas

Several browsers and online services offer special events or opportunities to enter into a "live" conversation with actors, directors, producers, screenwriters, etc.

Most services and browsers also offer bulletin boards where you can post comments or pose questions on a specific topic or show, and chat areas where you can enter into live conversations with other people from around the world. You may want to enter a chat area to discuss new and upcoming releases, deals in progress, the work of actors actresses, directors, etc.

  • Online Services: America Online, Compuserve, Prodigy, the Microsoft Network, and CNET's new Snap Online often offer authors, musicians and newsmakers for an evening live chat.

  • Browsers and search engines: Netscape, Yahoo, Excite, Infoseek, Lycos offer a number of events and chat areas that may discuss entertainment and new movies, as do the studios themselves.

  • There are two excellent Web resources for locating newsgroups and mailing lists. But don't forget your netiquette if you decide to join in!
    • DejaNews is a search engine for newsgroups. As with a Web search engine, entering keywords will return links to newsgroup articles that contain your keyword.
    • Liszt, the mailing list directory, is a guide to a wide variety of mailing lists (complete with instructions on how to join them).

    Criticism

    Criticism of the media is nothing new, and those groups who have long been critical of the movie industry have Web sites as well. For additional resources see media ethics -- the links page.

    Also look to magazines which feature articles critical of the media in general and movies in particular.

    Wired Magazine | Slate | Premier Magazine | The New York Times | The Washington Post | Chicago Tribune

    Other Resources

    Try it out!

    Since this list is nowhere near exhaustive, do some searching and create your own bookmarks of sites including:

    • Film studios and production companies

    • Specific films you have seen in the past 6 months

    • Interest Groups or genres: for example, there are many sites which follow the work of various stars or directors and/or film genres like Science Fiction, Film Noir, Oliver Stone.

    • Other related sites (e.g. American Film Institute, Motion Picture Television Academy)