The Evil That ACCESS HOLLYWOOD Caused

My pal over at ROUGH CUT, David Poland sent me a note about something that ACCESS HOLLYWOOD did. You see, what happened was this. UNIVERSAL STUDIOS did the amazingly cool deal and released their PSYCHO trailer on the net first. They World Premeired it right on this electrical marvel we surf around. Nothing wrong with that. In fact, it's pretty darn cool. Well, apparently ACCESS HOLLYWOOD did a story that basically just showed the PSYCHO trailer straight off the net, and beat E.T. to the punch, thus starting a spat. What's the problem?

I mean, gosh, how many trailers have fans captured off their shows and brought to the net, shouldn't it be a two way street? Well, that's where we get into the problem. UNIVERSAL started hearing it from E.T. allegedly and now we are in danger of never having UNIVERSAL world premiere a trailer on the net again.

Well, to me, I can see two sides to this. First off, Entertainment Tonight shouldn't be hanging around acting solely upon press releases and get a little hungry and start paying attention to what's happening online. Admit they lost this round, but don't let the donkey kick them again.

And the other side for me is this, the internet is extremely important to the future of studio marketing. Holding world premiere events online tends to create a bit of an exciting buzz, which then seeps out through fans, the media and beyond. This is what Dave wanted me to put up and suggest to you folks:

I am asking my readers to send email to the webmaster at NBC (webmaster@nbc.com). They own Access Hollywood. I'm asking that they use the simple subject line of "Access Hollywood’s Psycho Story Sucks." A little inelegant, but the easier it is for people to send, the more likely that they will.

Well that's kinda of self defeating for me. The way I think it ought to be handled is letters to UNIVERSAL blessing them for the world premiere of the PSYCHO trailer and a clap on the back for acknowledging this burgeoning medium. You should title the email "KEEP BRINGING US TRAILERS LIKE PSYCHO FIRST!"

Universal Pictures
100 Universal City Plaza
Universal City, Ca 91608-1085

Or Email Them Here!!!

And then you could write ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT, and chastise them for LAZY reporting. You should nicely put it that reporting is not just about press releases, but keeping your fingers on the pulse of the business. Their business now includes and should include the internet. Griping about being beat to a story. Sheesh. Patrick (at Coming Attractions) and Garth (at Dark Horizons) and myself all beat each other to stories and we don't get all in a hissy about it. Usually we just try to be better and faster the next time. And that's what ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT should have learned from this ordeal. Stop waiting around for a fax, a courier, the FED EX van, pound the beat and pay attention to what is happening out here on the net. Or be prepared to be left behind. You should title your email "E.T. PAY ATTENTION TO THE NET"

Email Entertainment Tonight here!!!

And as for ACCESS HOLLYWOOD, I applaud them for paying attention. Just be sure to reference your sources and it's good to have them watching this big darn place called the net.

As for David Poland. Thanks for the heads up, this is something that every internet user that loves film should jump on. This is an important medium for news and information delivery, and access to exclusives should always be considered. So now it's in you good folks' hands. Get to typing. Go along with Poland's idea or mine, but react. Make your voice heard. Don't let E.T. dictate to us, UNIVERSAL and other news sources.