The Biz 101: A Look At 20 Industry Related Websites And Blogs

In today’s post, I have decided to highlight 20 websites and blogs that I believe encompass all aspects of the entertainment industry, on both the business and production side. All of the sites chosen are not only quality sources of information, but also follow the Webby and IMSA criteria. For up-to-date news and/or reviews on current or new films, I would recommend Ain’t It Cool News, JoBlo, and Rotten Tomatoes. Ain’t It Cool News fares more on the side of news and not reviews, but the site is incredibly up-to-date, filled with relevant and engaging content, and usually supports its articles with new and interesting pictures or videos. However, some negative aspects of the site are the visual design (very basic, and has no pictures on the front page), and the news is primarily devoted to big studio films and remakes. JoBlo.com has a much larger scope, including reviews, trailers, and even a schedule of release dates. It’s very easy to navigate, and visual design is great, but some of the articles are not always from a prominent source. I think the layout of the site could be improved upon, especially the balance of pictures and text. The last of these websites, Rotten Tomatoes (above), is a better version of the previous two websites combined. Rotten Tomatoes is a great place to go for honest reviews of current films, as well as box office information and news pertinent to the film. With the inclusion of Flash technology, the functionality of the site is great, as is the structure and visual design. However, the reviews are sometimes inconsistent, and there are a little too many advertisements and pop-ups that the reader must ignore in order to enjoy the site.

There are many magazines and newspapers that are either dedicated to or feature a film section, and there are only a few that are not only the best online representation of the publication, but also a great source for news and information on current and upcoming. Variety and The Hollywood Reporter are the go to industry-dedicated publications for both film and television, and are not to mention read habitually on a day-to-day basis by everyone in the film industry. The two sites are pretty similar, with only minor differences. Both sites feature a great visual design, structure, and easy navigability, and have sections that touch on virtually every aspect of the film industry, from reviews to festival information. The only detriments to these two sites are that the articles are not long enough, and that they focus more on day-to-day activities rather than pointing out trends and the direction of the entertainment industry. New York Times: Movies is a very well organized site that has some of the best content, and provides the reader with a very interactive and enjoyable experience. Articles are not limited to current or upcoming films like Ain’t It Cool News, and the scope of the articles is not limited to big budget or studio films. The Wall Street Journal Media and Marketing is a great site for readers who are interested in a much larger scope of information than the entertainment industry. While the content of its film articles are strong, the site’s content is much more focused (as it should be) on the business side of not just the film industry, but also the marketing and advertising industries in general, as well as technology and its influence on the media today. My only suggestion is that it should improve its current structure and organization. I think subsections or categories that organize the news by more specific industries would vastly help the readers’ navigation of the site. Empire is a film magazine that really excels in its content and interactivity. Articles are interesting and creative, and the site also features its own blog. Unlike Empire, Entertainment Weekly, another popular entertainment publication, has much more articles and also includes television and DVD in its scope, but the site is visually overwhelming, and many of the articles are simply pictures of celebrities or trivial lists such as “25 Butt-Kicking Babes”.

If a reader is looking for websites that are information based, IMDb.com and Box Office Mojo have the best database of film statistics and facts. IMDb.com is the most popular of the two, and while it does feature film reviews and minimal industry news, the site is primarily an encyclopedia or resume collection of all past, current, and future films. The visual design and depth of content is much better than that of Box Office Mojo, a site that has an extensive database of box office information for past and current films, but doesn’t feature much more than that. Due to the recent and pending strikes in the entertainment industry, I thought it important to feature websites of several organizations and guilds within the entertainment industry. The Writers Guild Of America(left) and The Directors Guild of America have websites with easy navigability and interesting perspective and content. However, The Directors Guild of America could use much improvement in visual design, and should also improve the organization of the site. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the American Film Institute are two organizations with very informative sites. The Academy’s site could improve greatly if it simplified its home page by reducing the amount of links to other articles. However, the site has a great database for Oscar information, and also provides links to other very interesting organizations in the film industry. The American Film Institute also features an incredible database of information and many valuable lists of important films, but does not have enough news articles on its website.

While there are many other relevant and noteworthy websites, there are also a myriad of blogs about the entertainment industry that prove to be just as informative and stimulating as an online publication or organization. Movie Marketing Madness is an interesting blog that focuses on the marketing of current films, such as poster and trailer evaluation, advertising and marketing strategies, and the occasional review. However, the site does not engage the reader and does not provide enough links to other sources. Other blogs that provide information and updates on entertainment news within the blogosphere are The Hollywood Reporter: Risky Biz Blog and Slash Film: Movie Marketing. Both of these sites have interesting content and provide the reader with a very extensive list of other references, but both blogs also have a very poor visual design that leaves the reader ultimately unimpressed. The last blog I chose to highlight is from one of the blogs on Variety’s website, authored by the editor-in-chief of the magazine, entitled Peter Bart's Blog. This blog does not feature much day-to-day news, but provides the reader with creative and interesting articles they wouldn’t find anywhere else. While these blogs and websites are a mere sample of the plethora of sites on the Internet dedicated to film and the entertainment industry, hopefully this blog provided you with a convenient linkroll of websites that will give you a well-rounded education and update on the industry.