Hollywood Insight Roundup: A Look at Useful Websites and Blogs

It is no secret that the internet is abounding with a plethora of websites and blogs to provide any and all information a person could want to know. But the sheer amount of data can make it difficult to find quality resources to use. This week the Vault, using Webby and IMSA criteria, will point readers in the direction of a variety of online sites that are useful in perusing the goings-on in Hollywood. The most basic of these, of course, are those that are a vast repository of film knowledge that provide visitors a quick stop to find basic facts regarding movies. One of the most popular of these is the Internet Movie Database (also known as IMDb.com). Its main strength lies in the ability to connect one to an incredible amount of information in a matter of seconds, with a nicely laid-out front page and easy-to-use search engine. Navigation becomes tricky beyond the front page, however, as the number of links in tiny print becomes overwhelming. Contrasting with this is the more user-friendly Hollywood.com, which focuses on current and upcoming releases in both film and television. It encourages interactivity among its guests by giving them a space on the site to create their own personal fan page. Hollywood.com is hamstrung by a few faulty features, such as a theatre locator which only sporadically works. For those looking for the latest box office tallies, look no further than the helpful Box Office Mojo. The shoddy visual design hides a treasure trove of data that can be delved into through the use of logical links that allow the guest to progressively narrow the scope of the figures provided.

Several websites are useful for a daily perusal of stories, including Cinema Blend (left). Its layout makes navigating a simple task, but is literally overshadowed by film advertising pop-ups that take over the screen until they have completed playing. EW.com, companion site to the magazine Entertainment Weekly, is hampered by a tabloid-like layout that makes it a bit difficult to take seriously, though the "Today's Most Popular" sidebar allows quick access to hot stories. The Video Network found on The Hollywood Reporter offers a change of pace in stories done in video fashion. Text stories, on the other hand, are difficult to search through as they are lumped on the pages in tiny print, making the Reporter middling at best. The New York Times: Movies section employs a diversity of media in a much better way that provides amazing features such as DVD-like commentaries on movie sequences by directors; detracting from this well-done content are film reviews that contain barbed political comments that are irrelevant to the reviews themselves. Another good mainstream source of Hollywood stories is Variety which makes maneuvering easy through a navigation bar that uses dropdown menus to break its news and resources into concise categories to allow readers to find exactly what they need, though the slow loading of its pages on some computers can discourage extensive browsing. For a look at Hollywood from outside the U.S., look at British Times Online: Arts and Entertainment. An outdated Oscar section mars an otherwise decent website that does a good job of providing a variety of content that is sometimes arranged in unique categories, such as "Countdown to the New 007." Combining a look back at the classics with a look at new releases is film critic Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy which easily allows readers to purchase recommended movies through well-placed links to Amazon, but whose visual design causes entries to blur together, making Movie Crazy a bit disappointing. First Showing, a website focusing on upcoming releases, is well-designed, including a marquee that slowly flashes featured articles to examine, though some pages are not kept current, which keeps First Showing from being polished. To truly stay up-to-date with Hollywood, turn to the MTV Movies Blog, which provides the latest news and interviews to its readers in a concise manner. Its functionality and versatility is exemplified in the video footage that is placed directly in stories for effortless use, but a lack of an archive feature means that looking for a past story involves backtracking page by page. Another good blog is The Big Picture by Patrick Goldstein. It contains a timely, critical look at the intersection of entertainment and pop culture, with multiple posts a day; the blog could be improved with more links inside the posts to point its readers in the direction of other or complementary views to his own.

There are also a host of sites dedicated to official organizations within Hollywood. The National Film Preservation Foundation, a solid site that has clips from some of the footage it has restored available to view online, allowing the guest to get a feel for the work of the NFPF. It does not allow much other interactivity, however, which gives it a static feel. The American Film Institute, on the other hand, is full of things to do in its well-designed website, complete with video, podcasts, and movie quizzes that provide a variety of media to enjoy. Its lack of a forum or other discussion area is one of the few things that stops it from being truly interactive. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has a pleasing layout that unfortunately turns austere when one realizes that this is an informational website that allows no interactivity at all. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the official website for the Golden Globes, does a wonderful job of employing video footage by providing a navigable video gallery of acceptance speeches and interviews from the last awards show, though lack of updating when the Globes are not ongoing makes the pages a bit stagnant.

For Academy Award discussion, one should turn to In Contention, a site devoted to every bit of minutia related to the Oscar awards coverage. The ability to comment on every article or post made on In Contention, as well as daily round-ups of links to relevant news stories, makes it a great springboard for discussion among those who have a passion for the Oscars. Unfortunately, the poorly organized posts make it difficult to sift through stories. The Envelope (right), the Los Angeles Times's self-professed "Awards Insider," does a good job of making news stories easily accessible with links arranged into categories, but sometimes provides outdated links that can lead to details for previous award years, instead of current information. Within The Envelope lies a rather good blog entitled Gold Derby, written by film critic Tom O'Neil. O'Neil combines his analysis with comments from other critics, complete with links to the original source, that allows easy access to a host of opinions. There is no permanent section of links to sites outside of the Los Angeles Times, however, which does not provide the reader resources to further his exploration of other Hollywood news. But the Vault does provide a linkroll, and it is my hope that it will provide guests with many venues to delve into the world of Tinsel Town.