Our film correspondent Justin Camilleri explains how this summer's

surprise hit blockbuster made use of the web, changing the way films are made forever

Fasten your seat belts and hold on tight for the wildest thrill ride of the year! As the summer movie season is unfolding we have had the opportunity to see on the big screen, blockbuster movies full of swashbuckling pirates, caped superheroes and cartoon characters, but there’s one thing no one ever expected to crawl onto the screen… that’s hundreds of venomous snakes on a plane!

Back in the 70s, Jaws scared the socks off holiday makers going to sunny resorts; this year’s cult extravaganza in the making is expected to escalate the adrenalin rush by 100%. Henceforth, holiday-goers will never look at the comfort that a seat aboard a plane conveys, in the same way again.

The snakes have a worthy opponent as the movie stars the big loud mouth, Mr Shaft himself, namely, Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction). Jackson plays an FBI agent who, while protecting a witness, finds himself at the wrong place, at the wrong time as a planeload of deadly snakes suddenly appears out of nowhere wreaking havoc among the passengers. Unleashed by a ruthless mafia assassin hell-bent on killing the witness, Jackson must do battle against the snakes at 30,000 feet in the air while protecting the safety of the witness, the passengers and ensuring the plane lands safely on the ground.

For specialists who study snakes, Snakes on a plane is a dream come true as there was never a movie made with such a variety of snakes on display: cobras, rattlesnakes, coral snakes, mambas and vipers. A word of advice for those who suffer from snake phobia, as you enter the cinema, be prepared as this movie is not for the squeamish.

From the moment Jackson stumbled upon the Snakes script, he was up to the task, in an interview with Total Film, Jackson said: “It was the title that got me excited in the first place”. At one point, the producers were so worried with their snake’s title that they changed it to the boring-sounding Pacific Air Flight 121 claiming it would not reveal the movie’s plot. Jackson added: “When I learned about the movie title being changed I said, what you are doing? It’s not Gone with the Wind; it’s not On the Waterfront it’s Snakes on a plane!”

The latter title choice was inevitable, pleasing hordes of fans all over the world. Prior to the film’s release, the internet sensation, (a marketing tool in itself) http://www.snakesonablog.com surrounding the movie was astounding. Since the birth of the internet, 1999’s The Blair Witch project is the only B-movie known to have spawned such an intense web blog fan reaction before a film’s release. From then on it was only strong blockbusters with an established cult following such as Star Wars or fantasy novel or comic book adaptations such as The Lord of the Rings, X-Men and Superman which managed to secure a stronghold on the web.

Snake blog mania slithered to our PCs in 2005 after screenwriter Josh Friedman spilled the beans in a tongue-in-cheek manner on his blog http://hucksblog.blogspot.com/ on a new film project involving snakes.

When it was reported that the film would be starring Samuel L. Jackson, all of a sudden the web was gripped by snake-fan frenzy as bloggers young and old suddenly appeared from all over the world with their contributions, suggesting what the film should look like. In order to make themselves heard, fans went to the extent of even designing fake posters and t-shirts, composing songs for the movie’s soundtrack and editing mock trailers that might be included in the movie’s marketing campaign.

Web entertainment became the order of the day as even full-time office workers wanted to leave their mark, by coming up with a board game doing away with the traditional Snakes and Ladders.

Director David R.Ellis (Final Destination 2) was amazed at the tremendous effect snake web blogs were having on Samuel L. Jackson’s lines in the script. All of a sudden Jackson was swearing in true Pulp fiction mode, he said: “Ellis would cut and say ‘no Sam, no’. I mean, I’m on a plane full of venomous snakes and I am gonna say “golly, gosh”? That makes no sense”.

Ellis took quick note of Jackson’s suggestion and was soon gripped by the snake web bug, instantly browsing on blogs to read what legions of fans had to say. As a result, Ellis and the producers added new scenes to the film in order to bring Snakes in line with fan’s growing expectations. Ellis said: “I had the unique opportunity to mould the film in the way the fans wanted”.

Snakes on a plane is re-writing history as there was never a movie script that changed so much, taking into account fans’ suggestions as to how the movie should be produced. Jackson said: “The day was always gonna come, critics have influenced how people make art, it was only a matter of time before studios started listening to fans.” He added: “It’s like a big focus group, only made up of creative people who really care.”

The film is not without a huge marketing campaign with merchandisers spawning loads of t-shirts and posters bearing the tagline: Sit Back. Relax. Enjoy the fright. Even the trailer does not give away too much of the plot, holding cinemagoers in anticipation.

Samuel L.Jackson was key to the marketing drive behind the movie, appearing even at film premieres with his Snakes T-shirt. Jackson further injected more promotion on the movie while presenting the best film award in last June’s MTV movie awards, in true comic manner he said: “I’m here tonight to present the award everyone’s been waiting for” best movie. This award holds a special place in my heart because next year I’ll be winning it for Snakes on a Plane. Now I know that sounds cocky, but I’m guaranteeing that Snakes on a Plane will win best movie next year. Does not matter what else is coming out. New James Bond... no snakes in that! Ocean’s 13... Where my snakes at? Shrek the Third... green, but not a snake. No movie shall triumph over Snakes on a Plane. Unless I happen to feel like making a movie called More M*******Snakes on More M****** Planes.”

Jackson’s screen presence and the movie’s ghastly creatures are set to break all box office records this summer, spurring producers to take note of fans’ web request to work on a sequel. Funnily enough, life imitated art last June when it was reported that an American pilot had a run in with a real snake aboard his plane, further inducing even the critics who are sceptical on Snakes, to jump on the band wagon and see the movie.

With all the hype surrounding the movie one thing is certain: if the creepy sight of Indiana Jones trapped in a temple surrounded by crawling snakes was enough to send chills down our spine, this summer we will be yelling “run, run!” at the big screen as snakes will take over in a way that has never been seen!