Ain't It Cool News

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Image:Aintitcoolnews.JPG Ain't It Cool News is a website run by Harry Knowles dedicated to rumors and reviews of upcoming and currently playing films and television projects, with an emphasis on science fiction, fantasy, horror and action genres. It combines gossip from anonymous, unverified sources, and news and reviews from the regular staff.

The site was among the first of its kind, and quickly built a reputation for breaking news. It attracted a large number of anonymous Hollywood "insiders" who would submit reports on topics the studios tried to keep secret. The success of the site made it powerful enough to begin possibly affecting box office figures via "net buzz."

The site was launched in 1996, and its name is attributed to John Travolta's habitual line in Broken Arrow. Harry began surfing the Internet while recovering from a debilitating accident in 1994. He spent a lot of time in newsgroups exchanging gossip and rumors about upcoming films, eventually creating his own Web site as part of his Internet hobby. A principle offering was Harry's colorful movie reviews, but the secret weapon was the (ostensible) insider news articles. Stagehands, people in the industry, secretaries and other behind-the-scenes folk would submit news such as casting decisions, scripts and release dates, though Knowles himself has admitted that in the beginning, some of the articles from these alleged "spies" were his own work generated from trolling the newsgroups.

Over the next few years the site expanded by adding associate contributors, most of whom would go by pseudonyms. A television section (dubbed 'coaxial') was added. Discussion boards were added. Practically from the start, it was supported by banner advertising. In 1998 the site was updated from the home-made style that Harry had endowed it with to an organized professional look. Discussion boards were added to every page. This talkback feature allows readers to critique every review and article offered.

The Web site garnered national attention in 1997 with the release of Batman and Robin. Harry posted several negative reviews from preview screenings. When the film performed poorly at the box office, studio executives complained that it had been sabotaged by the leaks to the Internet. From there it exploded. National magazines such as People and Newsweek called for interviews.

The site was parodied in the film Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back when the lead characters look at the "movie poop shoot" site. That site was created at MoviePoopShoot.com as part of the film's publicity, but has since become somewhat similar to Ain't It Cool News.

Several other sites offer very similar services, with a code of ethics meaning that they each credit one another's scoops. These sites include Chud, Jo Blo, Film ick and Cinematical

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Controversy

The site has been criticized for practices some have deemed unethical, such as rewriting quoted material to make it seem as though it was addressed to the site. Rumors have also surfaced that some anonymous submissions were faked by the studios themselves, and that Knowles was writing favorable reviews for his friends in the industry, although this has been denied.

The site has also been criticized for its low standards in regards to attempting to independently confirm legitimate rumors from wild speculation or hearsay. In 2004, for example, a prank website successfully started a wild, made-up rumor about actor John Rhys-Davies (about an appearance in Star Wars Episode III) through Ain't it Cool News, which ended up becoming widely repeated in the mainstream media despite being a complete fabrication. [1] Such episodes have led to criticisms that the site has an overall negative influence on entertainment journalism.

Harry Knowles himself has also been the subject of some controversy.

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External links

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