MOVIECLIPS.com is a premium online video destination offering audiences the largest and most diverse collection of movie scenes. MOVIECLIPS allows fans to find, watch and share more than 12,000 movie clips from the libraries of major Hollywood studios.
So, it’s true, we at Movieclips have moved two blocks south on Main Street into the friendly confines of Venice, CA. We love Venice, it is the neighborhood in LA that has always fostered artists, from beat poets to writers to painters to filmmakers. Venice is a cultural hub in the sprawling Los Angeles urbanscape and is now a fitting home for Movieclips.com. We want to thank Gregg Spiridellis who first introduced us to our new building. Gregg is the CEO of Jib Jab (jibjab.com), the digital entertainment company that is responsible for the viral sensation “This Land Is Your Land”. Today Jib Jab is quite frankly the coolest ecard company on the web. To welcome us to the building the Jib Jabbers threw us a party last Friday, which was killer. The Movieclips Engineers are still talking about the beer fridge – even though some of us are soda drinkers . So now that we are here in Venice, we are going to shave our chest hair like Nic Cage…. and yes… you guessed it – we won’t be going to the Valley!!!
Today, we are pleased to announce our newest feature: Movieclips Mashup. This tool gives movie fans around the world the power to create and share their own custom mashups using the amazing and ever-growing library of movie scenes on our site. It’s fun and it’s easy. Give it a try!
What is a mashup? A mashup is a collection of movie moments – you select the moments and the order in which they play. Each selected moment can be as short as a single line of dialogue:
or it can be a longer scene:
Just choose your favorite moments. Order them as you see fit. And, presto, you have a Movieclips Mashup!
The possibilities are endless. You can make a mashup using your favorite actor’s scenes, famous movie lines, or fantastic special effects. Or pick a mashup theme and create a party mashup, kiss mashup, or fight mashup. Then, share your mashups for inspired event invitations, to comment on current events, or just to show off your creativity.
Please give us your feedback. We will continue to improve and expand the functionality of the Movieclips Mashup tool, and we count on your guidance to make it the best that it can be.
Film critic Roger Ebert thought he hammered a nail in 3D’s coffin seven days ago when he twitted his 119,000 followers: “3-D is a distracting, annoying, anti-realistic, juvenile abomination to use as an excuse for higher prices.” Triggering a wave of anti-3D backlash. MovieClips co-founder Richard Raddon begs to differ.
“MovieClips is officially declaring war on Roger Ebert’s tweet.” Raddon said on his twitter page. “If Avatar couldn’t resurrect 3D cinema from Ebert’s samurai death grip, could we?”
The engineering team faced an immense technical hurdle: how do you convert an entire library of 12,000 clips to 3D? In one week? On a start-up’s budget?
“Did we give up when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?” asked co-founder Zach James quoting an obscure, art-house film. “Hell no! We threw down and got to work.”
What a difference a week makes. Now for the first time ever, movie lovers can finally access the complete TRUE-Vee 3D experience online. Even with movies never originally shot with 3D technology.
Raddon who in a former life ran the Los Angeles Film Festival, doubled-down on Ebert’s tweet. “I haven’t read Ebert since he dissed Teen Wolf Too in 1987. He called it ‘lousy!’ You can’t just wish away that kind of lapse in judgement. People remember.”
Goodbye 2D, Hello 3!
“Unlike theater-specific technologies like RealD 3D,” explained James, “we developed TRUE-Vee 3D to provide a stunning real-world experience customized for the RGB spectrum at 72ppi. It can be embedded in any website, anywhere. And it works with any 3D glasses you forgot to drop in the bin after Avatar.”
MovieClip’s Brandon Folkman says that there’s no end to the possibilities with 3D. “The internets just come to life in 3D. We’ve been working on this for six days straight and I’m not ashamed to say I can’t sleep anymore. Everything is coming to get me.”
“I sleep just fine.” responded Philip Southam, MovieClip’s CTO. “Like a baby. In the end, we just loaded two streams on top of each other, offset them, added a tinted glow filter… and there you go: 3D.”
“Go get your 3D glasses kids, because squinting won’t work.” adds James.
“I’d just like to get back to defending Teen Wolf Too,” says Raddon, not realizing that’s a bit off topic. “It’s no Back To The Future, and it certainly pales compared to Juno. But maybe we need a different barometer here?”
“Sometimes it’s important to put modern life on hold and reflect on what it means to be half-human, half-wolf.”
About MOVIECLIPS.com
Launched in December 2009, MOVIECLIPS.com enables fans to find, watch and share more than 12,000 movie clips from the libraries of major Hollywood studios. Visit www.movieclips.com for more information.
While you were sleeping, we were working. Working haaard. Working hard at making movieclips.com a more powerful and (if you can believe it) more fun site for you to use.
More powerful because we are opening up our API to developers, so that you can find new ways of incorporating your favorite movie clips into your internet life. And more fun because movieclips.com is now available to movie fans worldwide. We think both are important steps toward making movie clips even more accessible and even easier to share. The full press release is included below.
So developers, please wander over to http://movieclips.com/developers/ and sign up now for your access to our API. And then keep in touch. Let us know what you’re up to. We’ll be using this space to share some of the best ways people around the web are using our API, and we’d love to include your ideas.
And for all of you in the rest of the world, welcome. We’ve been waiting for you.
MOVIECLIPS.com Goes Global, Opens API
Movieclips.com delivers more than 12,000 Hollywood movie clips to a global audience
SANTA MONICA, California (February 25, 2010) – MOVIECLIPS.com, host of the largest collection of officially-licensed, high quality movie scenes on the web, today opened up its service to users worldwide. MOVIECLIPS.com also released an API, opening up access for approved developers to thousands of clips with rich metadata that includes full-dialogue search, actor details, movie trivia and more.
“Movie clips are a part of our social currency,” says Zach James, MOVIECLIPS.com co-founder. “We reference our favorite scenes all the time – they’re a part of our DNA. But so far, the web’s been entirely without a free, licensed place to go to find clips like the ‘I drink your milkshake’ scene from There Will Be Blood, or the ‘plastics’ scene from The Graduate. That blows. So we changed it.”
Movieclips.com is the richest, most robust library of movie clips on the web, featuring more than 12,000 clips from 6 Hollywood studios. The company also developed proprietary technology that assigns up to 1,000 points of data to every scene, making it super easy to find scenes by actor, film title, dialogue snippet, director, genre, etc.
“We were inspired to open the API after our team created a custom plug-in for bloggers using the WordPress platform,” says co-founder Richard Raddon, former director of the Los Angeles Film Festival. “The response from our blogger friends was so overwhelmingly positive that opening up the API more broadly seemed a natural direction. It gives our developer community the chance to build some killer tools to further enhance the user experience and bring these clips to life online.”
“Movie clips should be available to everyone, everywhere,” says James. “It was our dream to open this content up to viewers worldwide. Browsing through thousands of scenes is a great way to rediscover classic Hollywood moments. It reminds us about films we may have forgotten were so funny, or so good. It’s easy to get lost in the site, and it’s hard not to share.”
Launched in December 2009, MOVIECLIPS.com is a premium online video destination offering audiences the largest and most diverse collection of movie scenes. MOVIECLIPS.com allows fans to find, watch and share more than 12,000 movie clips from the libraries of major Hollywood studios. Visit www.movieclips.com for more information.
Are you engaged in a dogfight of an Oscars pool this year and frantic for some guidance? Well, look no further, weary traveler. We here at movieclips have assembled a helluva clip guide to the 2010 Oscars. Below you will find links to almost all of the films and performances that you will need to make the bestest, most informed choices possible.
Now a few caveats.
First, you will notice that we don’t have clips for ALL of the films just yet. And in some categories we are just no help at all. But at least we are no help to everyone equally, right? Our clip library here at movieclips is growing daily, so check back often to see the latest films and clips we’ve added.
Second, there is no guarantee that watching these clips will actually help you win. But the sciencey types over at wired do have a few tips that, when combined with your own eyeballs’ judgment, may just give you the edge you need.
And for those of you whose pools use “longest acceptance speech” as a tie-breaker, here is some inspiration. Now go play! You’re all winners in our book.
Ajami, Israel
El Secreto de sus Ojos, Argentina
The Milk of Sorrow, Peru
Un Prophete, France
The White Ribbon, Germany
Best Original Screenplay
Mark Boal for The Hurt Locker
Quentin Tarantino for Inglourious Basterds
Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman for The Messenger
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen for A Serious Man
Peter Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy for Up
Best Adapted Screenplay
Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell for District 9
Nick Hornby for An Education
Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche for In the Loop
Geoffrey Fletcher for Precious
Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner for Up in the Air
Best Documentary Feature
Burma VJ
The Cove
Food, Inc.
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
Which Way Home
Almost There from The Princess and the Frog, Music and Lyric by Randy Newman Down in New Orleans from The Princess and the Frog, Music and Lyric by Randy Newman Loin de Paname from Paris 36, Music by Reinhardt Wagner Lyric by Frank Thomas Take It All from Nine, Music and Lyric by Maury Yeston The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart) from Crazy Heart, Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett
Chinas Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province
The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner
The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant
Music by Prudence
Rabbit à la Berlin
Best Short Film (Animated)
French Roast
Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty
The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)
Logorama
A Matter of Loaf and Death
Best Short Film (Live Action)
The Door
Instead of Abracadabra
Kavi
Miracle Fish
The New Tenants
Well, we just got done watching the Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games with more than 3 billion (wow!) of our closest friends. Of course, any discussion of the Olympics’ first day starts and ends with the tragic death of Georgian luge athlete Nodar Kumaritashvili. His passing set a somber tone for these Games now dedicated to his memory. Our hearts go out to his family and friends.
The rest of the broadcast and ceremonies unfolded in typical Olympic fashion. So cue up Leo Arnaud’s “Bugler’s Dream” as we revisit some of the things you might have missed.
We Are the World (Haiti Remix) – Quincy Jones and Lionel Richie dusted off the official anthem of giving and rounded up a whole new crew of artists as part of the relief effort for Haiti. Now for our money, you can’t beat the original. Remember wondering why Dan Aykroyd was included last time? Well, this time around you can wonder why Vince Vaughn is there. Can you find him? Whichever version you prefer, the important thing is to remember the causes they benefit, in this case Haiti. So watch and donate. Seriously, do.
NBC’s Broadcast Crew – Now this is an Olympic Dream team. The ceremonies themselves were co-hosted by preternaturally youthful Bob Costas (does he age?) and the greying Matt Lauer (apparently he does, but barely). Meanwhile back at the studio you have Al Michaels (“Do you believe in miracles? YES!”)holding things down. Bring in our favorite NFL color commentator Chris Collinsworth and ESPN legend Dan Patrick to handle athlete interviews. And when you need to get serious, up step America’s funniest newsman Brian Williams and Canada’s finest in Tom Brokaw. It’s almost enough to make us forgive them for once again tape delaying every important result. Almost.
March of Nations – A tad underwhelming, honestly. Maybe it was because the ceremony was held indoors instead of outdoors, but where were the great costumes? Where were the outlandish winter coats? A few too many polar fleece and warmup pants combos for our tastes. But one important fact did emerge from the march. Criminal mastermind Lex Luthor has apparently managed to infiltrate the Monaco team. Citizens of Earth, beware!
So kudos to NBC for bringing us panoramic views of gorgeous Canadian scenery. And kudos to Canada for being gracious hosts. Just don’t get too high and mighty yet, Canada. We know what you’re up to.
At long last Oscar season is upon us. And boy are we here at movieclips excited!
With March 7th just around the corner, we have just under a month to get reacquainted with all of our favorite movies and performances of the past year. Over the next few weeks we will be sharing with you all of the nominees from all the major categories (and maybe even a few of the minor ones). So subscribe and check back often to stay on top of it all as you gear up for the big night.
Now without further ado we present to you the first group of nominees for Best Picture. Remember the Academy has expanded the Best Picture category to 10 films this year, so we will be presenting this category in two groups.
Avatar - Well James Cameron has put it out there, and it can’t be taken back now. The future of film-making is giant blue cat-creatures in 3D. Get used to it. The only question remaining is whether Avatar will deliver the Best Picture trophy. Now lay back on your gel bed, cover yourself with some Christmas lights, and come to Pandora with us again.
The Blind Side - About football? Check. Starring Sandra Bullock? Check. Heartwarming true story of a ginormous, NFL-bound underdog? Check. The Blind Side has it all. But what would now Baltimore Raven Big Mike (he hates when people call him that) really want more? A Best Picture Oscar or a Superbowl ring? Tough call, right?
District 9 – Wikus Van Der Merwe is everything you could dream of in a bureaucrat. Spineless. Ineffectual. Unlikeable. No, truly. He really isn’t likeable almost up to the very end of the movie. But what happens to him after he sprays himself in the face with that alien goo? Well, we here at movieclips wouldn’t wish that on our worst enemy. Ok, maybe our worst. But not our second worst.
An Education – And you thought May-December romances were just for cougars these days. Ok, maybe they are. But in the ’60s things were different. Back then it was completely appropriate for a 30-something man to befriend/romance a 16-year-old girl. I mean, nothing bad is going to happen. We are all just having fun here. Right? Right?
The Hurt Locker – War is not good. It’s just not. And if you know that going in, how do you make a movie about truly heroic soldiers risking their lives daily without making war seem glorious. I don’t know, but fortunately Kathryn Bigelow does. The Hurt Locker is action packed in the truest, most horrifying sense of the word yet leaves you feeling that you’ve watched something important. And makes you grateful that you don’t disarm bombs for a living.
Do you like ragtime music? Or hockey? Or salad dressing? If so, chances are that you like Paul Newman as much we do. So in honor of the day cinema’s “Old Blue Eyes” would have turned 85, come celebrate with us and watch the man who showed us how cool poker was before poker got cool. Rest in peace, Cool Hand. Rest in peace.
Yes, it’s that time of year again, kids. Hollywood has packed its bags and headed north for its annual winter vacation in Park City, UT. Hurrah for the Sundance Film Festival! Of course you know that we here at movieclips.com are film fanatics. So, in honor of this joyous ocassion, we will be sharing with you some of our favorite clips from the officially unofficial “Sundance Collection” portion of the movieclips library.
To get us started we turn to the folks over at the Sundance Channel where their fine critic and blogger Dennis Lim has compiled a few Top 10 lists looking back at the best of Sundance’s last decade. From his “Best Sundance Performances” list check out Lili Taylor sitting in the 5 spot (links added).
5. Lili Taylor in I SHOT ANDY WARHOL (1995) As would-be assassin Valerie Solanas, the always surprising Taylor is note-perfect, both weirdly adorable and a little scary, playing up the comedy of the sore-thumb outsider but also tapping into her desperate need to belong.
And then here’s what Lim has to say about the number 10 entry on his “Most Influential Sundance Films” list
10. THE USUAL SUSPECTS (1996) Bryan Singer’s convoluted neo-noir certainly didn’t invent narrative gamesmanship, but with its big gotcha ending, it made twisty puzzle movies (PI, THE SIXTH SENSE, MEMENTO) fashionable for the next few years.
Since pretty much all of the clips from The Usual Suspects feature some salty language, you’ll have to login to watch them. But it’s well worth it. So login and then have fun with your best Fenster impression here.
We’ll be posting more Sundance favorites from our collection all week, so subscribe to our feed and check back often for the latest.
. So now that we are here in Venice, we are going to shave our chest hair like Nic Cage…. and yes… you guessed it – we won’t be going to the Valley!!!
