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XXXXX DRUDGE RETORT XXXXX 11:34:10 UTC FRI DEC 11 1998 XXXXX AOL Drops Backing From Hanks/Ryan Film; Not Enough Product Placement!
DRUDGE RETORT By Jason Kottke of the Minneapolis Kottkes In a surprise change of direction, AMERICA ONLINE has refused to allow TIME WARNER to use their software and any related materials in the upcoming Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan flick You've Got Mail. The Internet giant, which paid an undisclosed sum to plaster their product all over this sure box office smash, backed out of their agreement late Thursday, surprising both the Internet and movie industries. Donald Royal, a spokesman from TIME WARNER, credits the split to AOL's insistence that the title be altered: "They want to change the name of the movie to Call AOL @ 1-800-540-9449 for Your Free Starter Disk. We told them that title was too long and a change was impossible, so they decided to abandon the project." With the Dec. 18 release of the film days away and over half of the movie to be reshot, the timing couldn't seem worse for TIME WARNER. Not so, says Royal: "We've been very busy since AOL backed out. We're trying to find a new sponsor and title for the film, and have acquired the rights from UNITED ARTISTS to use some of the computer screenshots from the movie Hackers." The studio plans to use advanced special-effects techniques to seamlessly integrate the footage from Hackers into the film, thereby eliminating the need for costly and time-consuming reshooting.  Meg Ryan in one of the deleted scenes The company was tightlipped about possible new sponsors. As for the new title of the film, sources close to the re-production tell the RETORT that the studio is down to three choices: You Received E-mail. Yahoo!, You Received E-mail. eXcited?, and Your E-mail Sucked. "If we cannot come to terms with a new sponsor in the next few days," Royal said, "we will go forward with the original title: Sleepless in Cyberspace." AOL did not respond to several e-mails seeking comment. © DRUDGE RETORT 1998 |