This article was interesting in the points it raised in relation to current peer to peer trends, but the quote that stood out reminded me of something and made me realise the seemingly disatnt origins of the sphere of influence expressed by the net a mere 13 years ago. "The net is making it much harder for companies to keep secrets" and as usual my brain connects this instance to Hollywood and how the movie making process has become an open gate for sites and various interested parties to gain access to a film as its greenlit, cast and designed well before its big screen debut.
Months before the film is due to come out, the costumes, effects and behind the scenes happenings have already been scrutinised, judged, disputed or rallied for. The most recent case in point (again ill connect it to something with which im familiar) has to do with the rival superhero films for the coming summer of 2011, GREEN LANTERN and THOR.
As mentioned earlier the 13 year ago equivalent and pretty much the first instance id experienced of unfiltered opinion came when Harry Knowles of www.aintitcool.com in 1997 reviewed and eviscerated an advance screening of the WB summer tentpole picture BATMAN & ROBIN. So savage was his review and uncensored in his disgust that i was at the time suprised and exhilarated by the existence of such an honest and outspoken voice. The review, while perhaps not affecting box office numbers, certainly had an effect via word of mouth and within the 'geek' community. The laughable nature of bat nipples and campy Schwarzenegger caused a widepsread disdain for the franchise and created enough badwill to lead Warner Brothers to go back to the drawing board, though the execs would never admit (and there is no proof of course) this reaction had any effect on such a decision. The subsequent Batman films have been much more focused on adhering to the core mechanics of the character accessing comic based storylines and tone in an effort to protect the 'geek' cred of Batman as an icon, while maintaining his cache as a merchandising figurehead.
Why i raise this example is because now the battle takes place as the film is in pre-production, during filming and in post when teasers and previews begin to leak forth. Though instead of an internet reviewer you don't know personally (whether you trust his opinions or not) you begin to hear disdain and reactions from people you do know and to some degree trust with the onset of web2 or peer to peer contact. Professionals are now often regular joes giving opinions via their own podcasts or twitter feeds from within the industry and are candid enough to break down 'spin' and 'press release discourse' with relative ease (see: GiantBomb.com); So it becomes easier to judge for oursleves what the product is and its value to us without needing to have it neatly packaged. "And when it does conventional PR news management techniques are ineffective", and they are increasingly becoming moreso. As when you place PR person up against your brother or best friend who are you going to trust when they both hold in their hands and present to you the same information.
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