Movie Websites Launches for Aril 2 - April 8

April 8, 2004

During the past week promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. This week saw a deceptively poor crop of site as there were a lot of movie site launched / updated / released, more than 30 in fact. However, very few of them even came close to the being considered for this week's award. It's so bad I've spent the last 3 hours looking for a gem of movie site that I may have missed in previous weeks. In the end it was Kill Bill: Volume 2 - Official Site that won the award with only one or two other that were even briefly considered. If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to e-mail me with the details.


13 going on 30
Current Content: A page full of promotions was added to the site. Just what every site needs, more ads. I guess it's one way bringing in new revenue sources.


29 Palms
Current Content: No changes to the new site since it launched, and I still prefer the old site .


The Alamo
Current Content: Not a bad site with a good mixture of animation and sounds. The content is a little light and I especially was interested in more historical information.


Alexander
Current Content: A few photos were added to the placeholder site.


Alien vs. Predator
Current Content: A new featurette dealing with the creation of the creatures. It's a quite long for the internet, but a little short to get into any real detail. I have a funny feeling a longer version will be included on the DVD.


Asylum
Current Content: It's just a placeholder site without any content.


Around the World in 80 Days
Current Content: It's April 8th and so far no Paris. It still says coming April 7th.

Update: Paris was added later in the day. It consists on a bit of information on hot air balloon, the Eiffel Tower and another game.


A Cinderella Story
Current Content: A bunch of images were added to the site, almost 2 dozen of them.


The Clearing
Current Content: A typical Fox Searchlight movie site with the trailer, synopsis and cast and crew, (no bios.)


Connie and Carla
Current Content: Three shows tunes were added to the site, these weren't marked coming soon they just appeared. So more content could be added later on.


De-Lovely
Current Content: The movie is about composer Cole Porter, so it comes as little surprise that the background music stands out. With five clips, each a reasonable length so it doesn't become repetitive too quickly. You can even choose which clip to listen to next under the Music section, which also has links to the official sites of the artists. The rest of the content is a little sparse with just the synopsis, trailer and some information about Cole Porter. Cast and crew bios, more information on the soundtrack and two clips from the movie are marked coming soon.


Ella Enchanted
Current Content: Not your typical Miramax site. Not a whole lot better, mind you. Trailer, synopsis, a few images, etc. not much else.


Garden State
Current Content: A typical Fox Searchlight movie site with the trailer, synopsis and cast and crew, (no bios.)


The Girl Next Door
Current Content: Nothing has changed since its last update. A little light in content with the main feature being the 8 clips from the movie. Besides that, there's nothing that could be considered unusual.


The Green Hornet
Current Content: This site isn't really an official movie site as it is an online production journal. Right now the only content are news stories from News Askew but as pre-production begins there should be an influx of information. But if I recall correctly, the same was planned for Jersey Girl but that never got off the ground.


I ♥ Huckabees
Current Content: Typical Fox Searchlight placeholder site with the trailer marked coming soon.


I'm Not Scared
Current Content: It's a Miramax site.


J.M. Barrie's Neverland
Current Content: Typical Miramax sight with the trailer marked coming soon.


Johnson Family Vacation
Current Content: This site has more extras than regular features. Synopsis, trailer, cast and crew bios, etc. are joined by a couple of online games, (Lemonade Toss and Vanity Plate Translator) three more games you print out, road trip tips, favorite music of selected cast members and more. However, because all of the content is presented in a small section of the screen with very little animation, it makes the site seem smaller than it is.


Kill Bill: Volume 2
Current Content: The flash site launched this week and while a couple of regular features (cast and crew bios and press notes) are still marked coming soon the rest of the site is very well done. Each character has an animated section that works hard at setting the mood and drawing in the surfer without giving away many details. The background music is also a very good; the clip is quite long and the looping is smooth. Definitely a strong asset. With only a week till its release, hopefully the rest of the missing information will be filled in. Normally I'd wait till then to hand out the award, but it was a particularly slow week so it wins the deadly Weekly Website Award.


Love Me If You Dare
Current Content: None, it's just the placeholder site without the trailer, synopsis, etc.


Mean Girls
Current Content: One of the games was added to the site as were two features in the Deal With It section, (horoscope and poll.)


New York Minute
Current Content: The flash site launched this week, but it does have any sound. Given the amount of animation on the site, it really should have sound. Maybe it will be added later. There is also a lot of features on the site both regular and extras, however, at the moment most of them are marked coming soon. Synopsis, trailer, cast and crew bios, image gallery and track listing for the soundtrack are there. As are a few extras like character quiz, (I'm apparently Roxy Ryan), TV spot and downloads. Most of the multimedia features are marked coming soon as are the diary, e-cards and the How Well do You Know Me quiz. If this site has some audio clips, sound effects and background music, it could have won the weekly website award. Hopefully those will be added in at a later date, but I'm not hopeful.


Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
Current Content: Just a re-direct to the Disney movie site.


Run
Current Content: Just the synopsis and the poster.


Saved!
Current Content: The trailer and synopsis were added to the placeholder site.


Shark Tale
Current Content: The flash site kind of launched. The only real difference between this site and the old placeholder site is the audio clips that go along with the character / cast introductions.


Shaun of the Dead
Current Contact: The game was added to the site this week just in time for its U.K. release. A new trailer was added to the site and it's just as good as the first.


Soul Plane
Current Content: Just the trailer so far.


A Sound of Thunder
Current Content: None, just a re-direct to the Warner Bros. movie site.


Thunderbirds
Current Content: The trailer and some images were added to the USA site. It's a different trailer than on the international site.


The Whole Ten Yards
Current Content: Nothing new since last week.


Submitted by:

Filed under: Shark Tale, The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, Mean Girls, AVP: Alien Vs. Predator, Kill Bill: Volume 2, Finding Neverland, A Cinderella Story, Alexander, Johnson Family Vacation, Garden State, Jersey Girl, Around the World in 80 Days, Ella Enchanted, The Alamo, The Whole Ten Yards, The Girl Next Door, New York Minute, Soul Plane, De-Lovely, I Heart Huckabees, Saved!, Connie and Carla, Thunderbirds, The Clearing, A Sound of Thunder, Asylum, Twentynine Palms, 13 Going On 30