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Tuesday, Nov 24, 2009
Are movie bloggers part of weblogging's natural evolution, or just a sign that another cool Net thing has been co-opted?
Feb 24, 2003 | Helen Jane Yeager stands on the sidewalk in a gritty section of downtown Los Angeles checking the flash on her digital camera. A few stories above her, the German actress Franka Potente shoots the last of her scenes for an independent film called "I Love Your Work."
If Potente is alone when she emerges from the building, it will be a cinch to get a snapshot with the actress, best known as the red-haired heroine of "Run Lola Run." But if the film's line producer is anywhere in sight, Yeager will be out of luck.
"I'm not supposed to bother the actors," she said. "They're in character ... don't ask them questions ... they're busy."
Yeager could easily be mistaken for a film buff with a weakness for German indie actresses, but the 27-year-old graphic designer is actually the latest incarnation of Hollywood's P.R. machine -- the official movie blogger. Part journalist, part copywriter, Yeager is finding out that being a pioneer movie weblogger presents myriad challenges, not the least of which is how to stay true to the form.
Yeager's gig is a clear sign that blogging is becoming more mainstream than ever. Software such as Blogger (purchased by Google in February), Movable Type and UserLand has given anyone with a dogged interest in anything -- from Iraq to Britney Spears -- a soapbox from which to broadcast his or her thoughts. Communities of webloggers, dashing off ideas and sharing links, can spring up overnight and grow with just a double mouse click on the Respond button.
But is blogging ready for its close-up?
"It can be done well or done horribly," said Meg Hourihan, the co-founder of Blogger, who has been maintaining her own site, Megnut, since 1999. "If everything that is interesting about a weblog is stripped away, or put in P.R. speak, there will be anger on the part of webloggers for the commercialization of something they hold pretty dear."
Blogger Peter Merholz, who has also been online at PeterMe.com since 1999, takes a more purist perspective. "It sounds to me like Hollywood trying to co-opt what those kids are doing," he said. "And we all point and laugh because they don't get it."
So what kind of weblog can come out of an industry notorious for controlling, packaging and airbrushing every ounce of information fed to the public? By definition, weblogs are immediate, honest and unfiltered. The question is: Can Hollywood blog?
