The movie business didn't think much of the Internet at first (witness 1995's Sandra Bullock vehicle The Net) . Here's how it woke up to the Web.
April 1996
Lucasfilm claims trademark infringement and attempts to crack down on a
Star Wars fansite. When fans flood the company's e-mail with complaints,
the Force backs down and even apologizes.
July 1996
Austin-based film geek Harry Knowles launches Ain't It Cool News, a
Drudge-like movie website dedicated to industry leaks, spoilers, and
gossip.
July 1996
Director Kevin Smith invites his rabid fans to viewaskew.com, an online
mall for the Clerks crowd.
1997
Portions of Kevin Williamson's Scream 2 script are illegally posted on
the Internet, forcing rewrites. Heightened secrecy prevents even some of
the cast from knowing how the film ends. It grosses $101 million.
June 1998
Before The Blair Witch Project is finished, its filmmakers launch a site
that blurs fact and fiction. It attracts more than 22 million hits,
transforming a $35,000 project into a $141 million success story.
April 2000
A record 1.7 million people download the LOTR: The Fellowship of the
Ring trailer in its first 24 hours. (Director Peter Jackson cultivates
fans at lordoftherings.net, a strategy he repeats for King Kong.)
February 2001
Ben Affleck introduces Pete Jones on The Tonight Show as the winner of
the first projectgreenlight.com screenplay contest. Jones' film, Stolen
Summer, opens — and quickly closes — in theaters in 2002.
June 2003
Fox Searchlight reportedly sinks more than $1 million into Internet ads
and previews six minutes of its zombie flick 28 Days Later online. The
$9 million picture opens to a surprisingly strong $10 million weekend.
September 2005
After online pleas successfully resurrect Firefly (Joss Whedon's failed
2002 sci-fi TV Western) as the movie Serenity, the film grosses just $26
million.
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