He's got carrot-red hair and a savage beard. His 150 kg make him round like a ton. And when he's not in the movies, his favorite place is his packed-with-film-souvenirs room, behind his old Packard Bell computer. Self-made film critic Harry Knowles seems to have run off the set of Revenge of the Nerds. But in Hollywood, the 26-year old cybergeek from Austin, Texas does not play a leading role. Harry Knowles is "more or less by accident" the controller of the most talked about film site of the Internet. Outside Hollywood circles, he publishes on a daily basis the latest rumors about the film world, and personal reviews of films that won't be released for months. Each day, about 400,000 visitors click to his pages, and it makes Hollywood quite nervous. It is used to directing the media attention for films very firmly, but can't seem to get any grip on Knowles' Ain't-it Cool News (www.aint-it-cool-news.com). Flopped films and unexpected cash successes are being attributed to his site. It gave Knowles a bullet: number 101 on the list of most influential people in Hollywood. And unflattering nicknames like "plague of the dream factory" and "Hollywood's biggest nightmare."

   At first glance, Harry Jay Knowles Jr.'s website is not one of an influential glossy or even an underground cult magazine. Ain't it Cool appears to be a dead-normal, even somewhat silly hobbyistic homepage. But it is catchy and has a certain charm. Knowles' reviews are full off exclamation marks, Beavis & Butt-head-like mutterings such as Aww, Mannnnn and Arg, and explanations of what might have influenced his judgement. From the number of messages on his answering machine to the mood of the cashier. They are nice to read, but it seems a bit strange that the big film studios are that bothered by the observations of the fat guy from Texas.

   Knowles secret weapon is his spy network. About 1000 informants, who sign their messages with names like "The man who never was" or "They call me peaches," call or e-mail Knowles with the latest rumors. Knowles introduces them on his website in a conspiratorial way, warning if one of them gives a major plot development of a film: "Major spoiler in the third paragraph!!!" Spy Bosley informs us of the latest casting plans for the Charlie's Angels film, Panic Bird heard that Bruce Willis will make a cameo in Lethal Weapon 4. And Ewan McGregor will become major player in the new Star Wars series.

   Knowles started two years ago with Ain't it Cool News—named after John Travolta's habit-line in the film Broken Arrows—as a means to kill time. At a market for film fans he fell over a tube and about 600 kg of film material fell over him. He was paralyzed up to his neck and had to stay in bed for months. Their he started collecting news about films from newspapers and film magzines and combined them into new articles. He published them on his website. For fun he signed the articles with the names of non-existent spies. This seemed to be convincing, because after a few months he found a real tip in his e-mail p.o. Soon to be followed by more.

   Not only did casting tips, rumors of firing and complete film scripts pour in, more and more reviews of previews appeared on his site. Before a film is released, studios will test it on a small group of viewers. If they think the end is to pitiful or don't understand the flashback, the film goes back to the cutting room. The studios weren't pleased with Knowles publishing the opinions of the test audience. They thought it was foul play to review a film that wasn't finished.

   The nervous reactions of the studios are understandable. A lot is at stake. Films that cost a 100 million dollars aren't exceptions. Godzilla, which premiered last week in the United States, cost the studio 150 million in promotion, more than the film itself. With that money, the studio orchestrates a carefully timed publicity campaign. Appearances on Letterman, photo sessions in the glossies, interviews and ads must create an optimal buzz. If someone were to dislike the film in front of a large audience, all that effort would be in vain. According to Warner Bros., this happened with their Batman & Robin. Reviews on Knowles' site where so negative that the revenues in the opnening weekend fell 20 million dollars behind expectations. Knowles doubts if he has that much influence. It would be nice though, he adds. To prick through the hype around bad movies is what he sees as the most important motivation for his site. Sometimes the studios get a windfall by the buzz on Ain't it Cool. After a mysterious phone call by a warm female voice, Knowles managed to send (he claims) 42 spies to a pre-show of Titanic. 'Till late at night Knowles waited for the first reviews. They were positive. Knowles' site is often named as an example of the democratic workings of the Internet. There, the word of the average guy has the same value as the crowing of the mighty studios. Questions remain as to how big Knowles' influence is. Maybe Speed 2 and Batman & Robin flopped because they were simply bad movies. And also films that Knowles recommended, didn't make it.

   Slowly the studios start to find an answer. After a preview of Alien Resurrection, studio employees faked positive reviews. That plan failed. Harry's counter-intelligence had already informed him. But it is not unthinkable that other studios would intentionally leak rumours, photos or reviews to Ain't It Cool News to start the hype about their movies. Others try to win Knowles for them. Sony threatened to go to trial if Knowles would not immediately withdraw his illegal pictures from the film Starship Troopers on his website. The production company lost so much public goodwill that producers decided not to send a summons, but invitations for the gala-premiere instead. "Was this a trap?", asked Harry to himself. "I do think so" he concluded with understatement. Knowles seems to have grown to be the unofficial mascot of the film industry. Quotes off his website appear in ads for new films. Renowned newspapers and magazines like the LA Times and Times quote him as a film expert. And horror director Robert Rodriguez gave him a small role in his new movie. Knowles himself seems to enjoy all the attention the most. Most of his reviews start with paragraphs of long ramblings about what leading medium interviewed him that day, how cute the 'producer gal' of a televison team was or who invited him for lunch. Piece by piece he starts to learn their ways. At lunch, Knowles chose the cheapest dish off the menu. Afterwards, his host pays. "AWWWW, MAAAN!!" writes Knowles. "At least now I know that if somebody suggests to go to lunch, he will also pay."