Contradicting forecasts of the box office gurus, summer ’99 turned out to be, cinematically speaking, the summer of surprises. Against all odds, the well planned battlefield of summer weekends was turned upside down by, more than a small film, a technological revolution: the Internet. This season that could be summed up as the battle between David and Goliath, with The Blair Witch Project as David and The Phantom Menace as Goliath indeed went to the advantage of the littler one, where the weapon is more fearsome than precise: the Web.

The epidemic has contaminated the entire U.S. before spreading to the rest of the planet. Nothing resists it. From executives to bleached skaters, from the media to toy stores to cereal boxes, the machine is in motion, slowly but surely gangrening the last hours of the 20th Century like an infectious virus.
It’s interesting to look into the conquering strategy of George Lucas, to question the artistic ingeniousness of his approach.

Denying the most optimistic forecasts, the 99 Oscars have celebrated the victory of triumphant marketing, relegating films as extras. The prize-list bent under the weight of 3 movies sharing most of the Awards: Shakespeare in Love, Saving Private Ryan and Life is Beautiful, thus edging out the less medatative but majestic Elizabeth as well as the too intellectual masterpiece from the outcast Malick, The Thin Red Line. By analyzing these results and the media campaigns launched for these films, it’s possible to determine 10 steps to win an Oscar.