Fans Create Rules in the Movie World

A fanboy is defined as an overzealous fan of geek culture, like anime, video games, science fiction or fantasy. Years of ridicule have led the fanboy into exile, hiding behind the computer keyboard or in the basement hosting another round of Dungeons & Dragons.

Ever since Hollywood began using comic books and graphic novels as a breeding ground for cash cow franchises, for example "X-Men," "Batman," and "Sin City," fanboys serve as built-in focus groups and double as watchdogs over their beloved paper heroes.

The key ingredient to making a good film great has been the presence of the much maligned and utterly crucial fanboy. The movie industry may see this as demographic upkeep. Movie fans should consider them a shield of vision and integrity to the superheroes many have grown up with.

Having a directly indirect influence on some of the most anticipated films, fanboys have the ability influence the portrayal of characters or the aesthetics during movie production via the all-powerful message board.

The "Transformers" movie is most recent example of this newfound power. Producer Don Murphy displayed early prototypes of transformers Optimus Prime and Megatron seeking fan input. Murphy has even posted message boards on the official movie website for constant fan participation.

Through the message boards, fanboys are responsible for changing the design of Megatron by condemning the original prototype, creating the movie tagline, and most importantly, aiding in the return of Peter Cullen, the original voice of Prime.

The message board is an equally powerful tool in generating movie buzz. "Transformers" is still in production, but leaked photos have made their way to many fansites and every photo has a film copyright. Articles in magazines like "Empire" and "Sight and Sound" are great, but the hardcore fans are going to find the photos on fansites days before the magazine's release.

This technique is also used to leak names for high profile roles in upcoming films such as "The Dark Knight," the sequel to "Batman Begins." Within minutes that information is posted all over fansites, eliciting reactions from fanboys.

Although "The Dark Knight" doesn't come out until next year, devoted fansites were eager to announce Heath Ledger was cast as the Joker before the official press release. The script is still being written for "The Dark Knight," but fans already speculate about wjhich villains will be written into the story and who will play them.

This new era of constant information, speculation, and fan participation might seem invasive, but in an increasingly cutthroat business, producers want to make a hit. Does a movie made for the people by the people necessarily equal box office success?

Fanboys have the power to determine whether a movie will be a success with their support. Conversely, constant negative skepticism could cause a movie to fail before it hits the theatres.

While some directors only care about the newest technology, someone needs to defend artistic vision. It's not the mob that rules, it's the fanboys.