Paramount Shuts Down IESB for Leaking Iron Man Content!

Posted by Neil Miller (neil@filmschoolrejects.com) on May 7, 2007

Here at FSR, we generally pull news from numerous sources around the internet. We also often receive releases from studios about upcoming projects and things once they have already been leaked onto the internet. Very rarely have we been able to lay claim to “breaking” a big story or “leaking” some contraband… All of that will come with time. But it appears that one of our favorite sources for that particular type of material, IESB, has come under attack once again from Paramount Studios.

Yesterday we linked to a few awesome scoops that IESB had up from the set of Iron Man; there were a few great shots of Iron Man in the Mark III Suit walking down the street, a video of an action scene being filmed from a distance and even a neat set report describing one of the final battle scenes. Needless to say, they were all cool news stories but they were by no means unlawful or harmful. Unfortunately the lawyers at Paramount had a different perspective on the matter. Earlier tonight, I was tossed a link to a story over at Latino Review stating that IESB had been taken down and Paramount was to blame.

Of course, this is not the first time this has happened. In fact, it is an all too familiar occurrence when it comes to the relationship between the online media (the “bloggers”) and the Hollywood Studios. While we have never directly come under attack, many of our friends in the online community have. What is the problem? Both mainstream media and the studios in Hollywood have a very conveniently snobbish relationship with online press. As Peter Bart of Variety said of bloggers in a very recent article:

Publicists increasingly court them, but are infuriated by the bloggers’ disdain for the rules of engagement (ignoring fact-checking and review dates, for example). Movie stars smile at them at premieres, yet are angered by their incivility.

Sure, when a studio knows that a movie’s fanbase is online and they can spread the word they will bring bloggers in and give them access; hell, they will even advertise on MySpace. But when it comes to posting spied pictures from the set of a movie that we’d all like to begin talking about, it is time to bring in the legal team and push around their weight. As Kellvin from Latino Review rants:

Hey Paramount! When will you guys realize that we in the online community are YOUR ALLIES!!! We want to get people talking about movies… YOUR stupid movies. Sometimes that will be good… sometimes it will be bad… but we will get them talking. We’re on your side! Just because you can’t manipulate and control us like you do with Print and TV media, doesn’t mean you should try to bully us into submission. It won’t work. Learn to work with us… and working WITH us doesn’t mean you’re in charge. DEAL WITH IT.

His point, while delivered in a very passionate manner, rings true to anyone who is a part of this constantly expanding online community. Our goal is to work closely with Hollywood to get people talking. We can do that simply because our medium is more conducive to live interaction with our audience. Mere seconds after this article hits the web, I can begin to receive feedback from readers; that is something that conventional media cannot do. You don’t see a comment section in the New York Times. The purpose of Online Media is to deliver unto the American public that which they desire; faster, more relevant and more convenient news.

If Hollywood as a whole would like to really reach its audience in the future, they must realize that we are all here to help, not to hurt. That said, they must change their mental models around “blogs” and “online press” and realize that we are as important as any other outlet. We want to help, we really do, but it is increasingly difficult to do so when you keep pushing us away…

Tags: Blog, Weblog, Media, IESB, Paramount, Online Press

Read more articles by Neil Miller