Top Box Office Movies - Building Hollywood.com

INTERVIEW
Building Hollywood

We at TheWorldJournal.com have no fear in showing our respect and appreciation for solid and reputable web sites that have had a significant influence on our conceptual design. One such web site is the overwhelmingly satisfying site Hollywood.com. I had the distinct pleasure of conversing with the two of the web sites’ most important figures, Leigh Johnson who is the Editor-in-Chief and Mary Hall, the Vice President of Operations.

These two very friendly and outgoing professionals shared with me some great behind-the-scenes information ranging from the business plan of the web site and its’ owner Hollywood Media Corp. to some great tidbits about the perks of working so close to the studios and the stars. Did you ever wonder how great sites such as MovieTickets.com and CinemaSource.com came to be?

Upon reading this article you will know. Hollywood.com is but one of the many sites Hollywood Media Corp. possesses. Yet, it is also one of the most user-friendly and entertaining sites out there. Hollywood Media Corp. is the leading provider of news, information and ticketing covering the entertainment and media industries. Here is what two of the most influential figures in the Hollywood.com site had to say:

How did such a fantastic web site come to be? What were the initial conceptions of the site?

Mary Hall   The first step was brought about by the company Hollywood Media Corp., which was created by Laurie Silvers and Mitchell Rubenstein, who were the creators of the Sci-Fi Channel. The actual website itself was formed in 1993 as Hollywood Online, but we didn’t come to own Hollywood.com until 1999.

We initially launched the site as a retailer e-commerce site which was sort of our ‘entrée’ into to the web. It was an entertainment merchandise web site which basically sold movie merchandise and other entertainment related licensed products. From there, we purchased Hollywood Online and over the last couple of years the site has evolved into what it is today. But in its’ infancy, it was basically not a robust offering of what we have today. It offered movie showtimes and some other general information, but it was not nearly as broad as what we see today.

The site has evolved just as the company has evolved as we have bought other entities which support what Hollywood.com is today. Those other purchases such as Cinema Source and Baseline all add to the richness of the site.

Next question directed to Mary Hall:
As Director of Merchandising for a Cruise Line, how did those experiences infuse new ideas within Hollywood.com?

Well, actually, what I was able to bring to the table was my retail and merchandising background which allowed us to ‘entrée’ into the Internet via e-commerce. This allowed us to develop a following immediately and from there I was able to take my general operating experience and allow that to evolve into what the operating procedures are today. From retail to media, there are still some principles that have to be followed. But that is basically the segue of how my experience came into being. I actually joined this company in a merchandising capacity and then we evolved into what we are.

The website houses several sub-sites such as Broadway.com & MovieTickets.com. Was this a part of its’ original conception and do these sites attribute a large portion of success to Hollywood.com?

Mary Hall   Well, let me explain a little bit about what that is. Broadway.com and MovieTickets.com are actually separate entities. Hollywood.com is a separate web site in which Hollywood Media Corp. owns the three sites. Although MovieTickets.com is definitely a joint venture between ourselves and the AMC Theatres, National Amusement, Marcus Theatres and Viacom. In Canada, we are associated with Famous Players.

Therefore we can see this relationship as an analogous relationship compared to that of Time Warner and of its’ entities?

Mary Hall   Yes, but on a smaller scale. Those three properties make up the core of our consumer business. Therefore, they are very important to the overall bottom line and functioning of the company. But they do operate separately. They are big portions of the overall company business (Hollywood Media Corp.). MovieTickets.com serves a completely different purpose to what Hollywood.com does.

The site is quite easy to navigate and entertaining at the same time. When staffing, is the emphasis on technological know-how or on business practice?

Mary Hall   Our staffing is both really. Technologically, it is very important to us that we have a site that functions, and function fast, so that we can operate at the optimum level in order to ensure the best user experience. Out technological staff is quite robust and they do not only support Hollywood.com but the all the properties. The production and editorial is the driving force behind how the site functions and leads to what the user experience ultimately is. So therefore, business practice dictates what technology provides us.

One of the key roles is to ensure a great user experience. When we design the infrastructure for Hollywood.com, we design the site intuitively in terms of ‘clicking and clicking’ deeper into the site which I am sure as a user you do. So, the business practice definitely dictates technology.

Your B2B (business-to-business) units are vast and cover a wide array of cinematic fields. Were they also a part of the site’s conception? How valuable of a commodity are they to the sight?

Mary Hall   In the beginning, we were looking at how we could become the most robust entertainment-media offering. And so, quite frankly, Cinema Source was providing us with showtimes and when (Hollywood Media Corp.) bought Hollywood.com, we figured from a strategic standpoint we might as well be the owner of the largest owner of movie showtimes. As we acquired these Business-2-Business units, it was with a view to create a multi-media entertainment platform (which is now Hollywood Media Corp.), which supports Hollywood.com and allows us to get some great economies and scale from a business perspective. Baseline provides tons of studio and entertainment data which is used on the site. And again, the movie showtimes are also used on Hollywood.com. So we seek the purposes out of all of our business units in order to ensure a pleasurable experience and to maximize our potential.

As we are speaking, I can see many correlations between yourselves and events in Hollywood. Interestingly enough, your central offices are situated in Boca Raton, Florida. How are your contacts established and maintained?

Mary Hall   We have satellite offices. Obviously, Broadway.com functions in New York. As far as Hollywood.com, the bulk of our staff is here in Boca Raton, but we have a satellite office based in Santa Monica, California, which we obviously need. We have an editorial staff out there and writers out there, and we have photographers and videographers who cover events in Los Angeles, but it is all managed from here.

In terms of relations with movie studios, how close is your relationship?

Mary Hall   Well, what I am going to do is let both of us answer the question because there is a two-part answer. Leigh will speak concerning the relationships we have with studios in relation to the editorial basis and I will speak in terms of the current overall business relationship.

We have very close relationships with studios in L.A. We are communicating with the studios on a continuous basis, they provide us tickets to the premieres, and they purchase advertising space in our site, so we have a very strong relationship with the studios from a business perspective.

Leigh Johnson   We actually speak with the studios on an almost daily basis. The studios in L.A. aid us in getting coverage for the premieres and the junkets, many behind the scenes videos as well. This is an ongoing relationship that we try very hard to maintain. We also have relationships with studios in New York; there are many events that happen in NYC as well.

How reciprocal of a relationship is it between yourself and the studios?

Mary Hall   It is very reciprocal. With any press or PR relationship, the publicity department (of a studio) needs to get the word out about their film. And we, as a press outlet, need access to the stars and to the reporting of the films and behind the scenes. So, it definitely is a reciprocal relationship and mutually beneficial.

Working so closely with the studios, it is evident that you are entitled to some perks in relation to the medium? What are some of those perks?

Mary Hall   Well, certainly it is a perk to be within six feet of Mel Gibson. Anytime that happens - it is cool.

Leigh Johnson   Also, any time you get to shake Russell Crowe’s hand, that is also cool.

Did Mr. Crowe brush you off?
(Immense outpouring of laughter)

Leigh Johnson   No comment on that. (laughing).

Mary Hall   But if you are a fan of the movies, and let me assure that everyone who is employed by the company is, just being able to be this close to the action and to the whole industry, in terms of celebrities and directors, and the rest of that, is a fantastic perk. Now some staff members have better perks than others. Our staff writer, Scott Huver covers the L.A. party scene. He gets to mingle with all the celebrities as he goes to all the parties. Hanging with actor Tom Wilkinson (In the Bedroom) at the bar having a drink and a little chat is quite the perk. He is the guy who is getting a lot of perks.

How about the movie premieres?

Mary Hall   We also get a lot of tickets to the premieres, advance press screenings. We get to do things and see things often times way before the general public even gets to know about them.

You have a very respectable section on Box Office Tracking on the site. From your professional opinions, could anyone have predicted the enormous opening weekend take for Spider-Man?

Mary Hall   It was unexpected. I don’t think anyone really predicted that. I know that many were anticipating the release of Spider-Man and many were looking forward to it, but I truly do not think anyone could have thought it would break records the way it did. What is interesting is the opening of Star Wars: Episode II to see how that compares to the Spider-Man weekend.

Do you think Episode II will top Spider-Man?
(Another outpouring of laughter)

Mary Hall   I think a lot of people are willing to wait for Star Wars: Episode II. So, I will leave it at that.

How is MovieTickets.com growing?

Mary Hall   It is growing very well and it is a part that we are trying to improve upon on a regular basis. It is an independent and separate web site from Hollywood.com and obviously through the relationships that we have, it is a very important part of our business. The site is growing month on month and the traffic is growing. We are doing all the right things in terms of getting it in front of the moviegoer.

What does the future hold for Hollywood.com?

Mary Hall   We do see the site continuing to grow in terms of traffic. We had a record year and our numbers continue to climb exponentially. Every month we are more and more pleased with what we are doing, we will continue to expand on the content we are offering, and one of the things we are so proud of at Hollywood.com is as an entertainment medium, it covers everything. Where you would have an E-online that covers only celebrities or an IMDB that is oriented only to films, we do it all.

We want to continue to expand and offer celebrity information, film coverage, premieres, any kind of coverage we can come up with. Along with archaic databases, we have 50,000 movie records along with 20,000 celebrity records in our online database and that continues to grow. In terms of expanding, that is what we are doing. We are looking very much into the future of broadband and how we are going to be part of that. We are looking at expanding who we are into other entertainment mediums. We really cannot go into any more detail than that. There definitely is a lot in the future for Hollywood.com.

And a lot as well for TheWorldJournal.com.

Click here to comment on this article or post your thoughts about Hollywood.com.

Giancarlo De Lisi
May 17, 2002 © TheWorldJournal.com

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