Ain't It Cool News

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Screenshot of Ain't It Cool News.
Screenshot of Ain't It Cool News.

Ain't It Cool News is a website founded and 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 principal offering was Harry's colorful movie reviews, but the primary distinction from other sites was the (ostensible) insider news articles. P.A.s, 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 scouring 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 first envisioned 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, and existed as a similar site for some time. However, after the release of Clerks II, the site has been shut down. A site has since been put back up at that URL, run by QuickStop Entertainment, a company probably best known for running the semi-official site for the TV series Scrubs.

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, JoBlo.com, Film ick and Cinematical

[edit] Controversy

The site has been criticized for its low standards in regards to attempting to independently distinguish legitimate rumors from wild speculation or hearsay.

In 2002, Knowles was shown an early cut of Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones by Lucasfilm’s licensing head, Howard Roffman with the hope of regaining online fans lost to The Lord of the Rings and Matrix movies. Lucasfilm reacted by shaking down employees and treating the incident as a leak, however no one was ever charged with the crime.

In 2003, site contributor "Hercules" implied that a spec script by NBC writer Richard O'Sullivan was the season opener of the now-cancelled Joss Whedon series, Angel.

In 2004, 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.

[edit] External links

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