Indiantelevision.com Team

(19 February 2007 6:00 pm)

MUMBAI: Two net crawling Spider-Man enthusiasts will have the chance to report breaking Spider-Man 3 movie news as the winners of Columbia Pictures' Face of the Fan contest in the US.

Building on the success of Columbia's partnership with online user generated video portal Grouper, the Face of the Fan contest will provide at least 250,000 Spider-Man Movie Network members with the chance to become the official online correspondents for the network..

The two winners (one male and one female) will be tasked with creating videos that will offer breaking Spider-Man news, information, and special promotions across the Web at least once a week leading up to the release of Spider-Man 3 on 4 May , 2007.

Aspiring Spider-Man 3 webcasters can find everything they need to enter the contest at spiderman . sonypictures .com /faceofthefan. At the site, contest entrants can join the movie network, as well as find tools to help them tape, edit and submit their entry. Fans are encouraged to show their true colours in their screen tests. Entrants will be judged on the presentation of a pre-provided script as well as their enthusiasm and credibility, articulation, and ultimately, they will be selected on the quality of their overall submission.

Entries must be submitted by 23 February, 2007.

Columbia TriStar Motion Pictures Group executive VP worldwide digital marketing strategy Dwight Caines said, "Since we launched the first Spider-Man film in 2002, we have used the internet in exciting and innovative ways to reach our core fans with news and information about the upcoming movies. With Spider-Man 3, we are taking our commitment to the online community to a whole new level. This is the largest digital campaign we've ever attempted and the Spider-Man Movie Network is its backbone. The Face of the Fan contest is just one part of a very aggressive interactive campaign that we will be rolling out in the coming weeks to support this franchise."

The studio has tapped Grouper to power the User-Generated Video submissions for Spider-Man fans vying to become the Face of the Fan. Grouper will enable fans to upload any video of themselves or even record one instantly with Grouper's Webcam feature.

The winning fans will then take a leadership role for the Spider-Man fan community on the official Spider-Man website. The two winning correspondents will record and post additional videos on a regular basis, which will also be hosted and served by Grouper.

Grouper president and co-founder Josh Felser said, "Grouper is making it possible for fans to display their creative acumen as passionate followers of Peter Parker and the continuing adventures of Spider-Man. With this contest we are demonstrating the power of engagement that user-generated video offers, while enhancing our mission to reward the best user-generated video on the Web."

Spider-Man 3 reunites the cast and filmmakers from the first two blockbuster adventures for a web of secrets, vengeance, love, and forgiveness. Peter Parker has finally managed to strike a balance between his devotion to M.J. and his duties as a superhero. But there is a storm brewing on the horizon.

When his suit suddenly changes, turning jet-black and enhancing his powers, it transforms Peter as well, bringing out the vengeful side of his personality that he is struggling to control. Under the influence of the suit, Peter becomes overconfident and starts to neglect the people who care about him most. Forced to choose between the seductive power of the new suit and the compassionate hero he used to be, Peter must overcome his personal demons as two of the most-feared villains yet, Sandman and Venom, gather unparalleled power and a thirst for retribution to threaten Peter and everyone he loves.