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Summer movie Web site wrap-up
All the big screen thrills and chills of this summer's hottest movies on you monitor
By Brooks Peck
 s the longest day of the year approaches, that burst of explosive advertisements on the television
and smell of canolaed popcorn in the air can only mean one thing:
summer blockbuster season has arrived. This summer Hollywood
will launch a salvo of science fiction films, enough to satisfy
all but the most hardcore sense-of-wonder junkie. And each one
has its attendant Web presence to provide that free digital hit
designed to hook viewers so they will come into the theaters
begging for more. The art of good Web design, though, is as
difficult and complex as film-making itself. Read on to find out
which of these promotional sites deserve Oscars and which make
Waterworld look good in comparison.
- Batman & Robin
http://www.batman-robin.com
- This site is actually five sites, each one dedicated to one of the
movie's main characters: Batman, Robin, Batgirl, Mr. Freeze,
and Poison Ivy. Everyone gets their own vanity URL, except the
Boy Wonder who is relegated to www.androbin.com. Poor guy.
All of the sites use an innovative interface -- the dashboard of
each character's particular vehicle is presented as a colorful
Shockwave applet that clicks, rumbles and flashes as users press
various switches and buttons that lead to the offerings. Don't
miss revving the motorcycles for a 3-D stereo roar.
- As for content, there are sound clips, pictures and
posters, desktop art, and actor profiles. Batman & Co. stands
out for its lavish display of production drawings, most in color,
of the various costumes, gadgets, vehicles, and sets from the
movie. Additionally, the site's text has a refreshingly light,
humorous attitude. ("Bats are known for their hypersensitive
hearing. They're also known for going to the bathroom in caves,
but that's beside the point.")
- Men In Black
http://www.meninblack.com
- Now here's true innovation: aside from a few trailers of the
movie (one of which uses streaming video and therefore starts
playing almost immediately) this site has
nothing to say about the film it promotes.
Instead it presents Men In Black Magazine, a six-volume temple to tabloid paranoia. Each jazzy little issue hosts
a number of articles that span the paranormal spectrum. We're
talking Bigfoot, spontaneous human combustion, LSD and the CIA,
alien technology, hauntings, sunken nations, satanism, and
government coverups of all of the above. The stories are well-written, some tongue-in-cheek, others almost serious.
- Additionally, the site has terrific graphic design featuring spinning
eyeballs and exploding earths, plus a web chat board where
readers can comment about the stories -- a trove of primary
source weirdness. Heck, this site doesn't even need a movie to
wrap around it. It stands quite well on its own and is
definitely worth visiting.
- The Lost World
http://www.lost-world.com
- Big, big, big! The dinosaurs in The Lost World are really big
(except for the ones that are small) so it's only fitting that
the Lost World site should be equally massive and imposing. One
major section is a map of "Site B" -- the island off Costa Rica
that serves as a breeding ground for the dinosaurs. Clicking on different
locations calls up a picture of that spot and a menu of movie
tie-in goodies: cast and crew biographies, more still pictures and
decorative graphics, some behind the scenes info, Quicktime
previews as well as short clips of the cast and Steven Speilberg.
There are even six short articles about the dinosaurs. This part of
the site is well organized and simple to navigate, with
clever JavaScripts that tell a person where they've been.
- On top of all that there's another huge section, a
digital scavenger hunt which takes place in John Hammond's
office. This game imitates that misty genre of puzzle games
where the player must explore beautifully rendered pictures
of things like a desk, a bookcase and a computer, searching for clues.
Find all the clues and maybe win a trip to Hawaii. Although this
site will leave dinosaur-sized tracks through Web caches,
it's pretty entertaining.
- Alien Resurrection
http://www.alien4.com
- Half of this site is not up yet: the still-to-come Alien
Experience promises to be a retrospective of all the
Aliens movies as well as an exploration of the upcoming
installment, "...the most comprehensive online theatrical
experience ever."
- Hopefully the experience will be better than the Alien
Digizine, the section of the site that has been up
since April (although many promised elements, such as Making Of, still aren't finished). The Digizine uses a
lot of Shockwave to bad effect -- the various applets slow download
times to a crawl and fight each other for control of the pages.
To avoid headaches, flip to the non-shocked version. Inside there
are stills (updated daily), a calendar of Web events (why not
movie events?), and a plethora of interviews with cast and crew.
These interviews are available as text, audio or video.
Streaming video is available, so there's no wait, but of course
all there is to see is a talking head. On the positive side, this site
reflects the look and feel of the Aliens universe well, but looks will carry
it only so far.
- The Fifth Element
http://www.fifthelement.com
- Absolutely shocking is the best way to describe this offering.
The site makes heavy use of Shockwave Flash 2 technology (plug-in
required) to create a very sophisticated, very busy interface
completely unlike the standard Web fare. It beeps, it flashes,
and taxicabs fly out of the screen. Explore the site
just for its animated "cut scenes" that play as transitions
between the major sections. They are quite cinematic.
- As for content, well, it's not bad, but it's not great.
There's the usual assortment of pictures, desktop wallpaper, and
some light background information on the movie's characters.
Highlights include interviews with the film's writer/director Luc
Besson, and its designer, Jean Paul Gaultier. Avoid the
Shockwave games, which are slow loading, simplistic, dexterity
tests. All in all this site mirrors the movie: it's a fun ride
with some amazing sights, but it could use some more meat on its
bones.
Short Takes
- Starship Troopers
http://www.starshiptroopers.com
- The full blown web site for this much-anticipated film won't
be up until July 1, but be sure to visit the URL now so as
not to miss what's there -- a multi-screen animated recruitment ad
for the Federal Services that is downright hilarious. "Joining
up" requires an e-mail address, and all new recruits receive a
confirmation e-mail that is a work of genius. This is a
tantalizing preview of what's bound to be a terrific site.
Remember, Federal Service guarantees citizenship!
- Event Horizon
- There's no official website for this upcoming science fiction
thriller from Paramount (yet), but for a taste check out Hollyweb's
coverage.
The Hollywood hype machine has uttered barely a murmur about this
spooky space story so far, but it looks like a blast.
- Contact
http://www.CONTACT-themovie.com
- Hey Warner Brothers! The purpose of a movie web site is to, you know, generate interest. Anticipation. Which means it has to be up and running before the movie opens. A grainy picture one month before the film opens doesn't cut it.
- P.S. The graphic for the link to "WB movies" is broken.
- Spawn: The Movie
http://www.spawn.com/film.html
- The film version of this cult comic will be released this
August, and a nice batch of facts, trailers and stills are
available at the official Spawn Web site. With a $45 million budget for special effects by ILM, this could be fun.
- Godzilla
http://www.godzilla.com
- This site is not up yet. Maybe the zipper on the monster suit got stuck.
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