Hollywood Webmasters Dish On Celebrity Web Sites

An IT job that involves keeping tabs on Hollywood gossip as much as Web site uptime, search engine optimization keywords, and traffic metrics? That's what Keith Stern has.

As Webmaster to more than 15 official celebrity Web sites, including those of Sir Ian McKellen, Lynn Redgrave, Sean Astin, and Andy Serkis, Stern doesn't keep 9-5 hours, either. Stern's responsibilities include all the ones traditional corporate Webmasters would find in their job descriptions, including designing (and constant redesigning) of the look and feel of the sites; keeping the content fresh and compelling; ensuring that the site is always available; overseeing e-commerce transactions; and monitoring message boards. But he also has to make sure to pick up the latest issue of the Star, the National Enquirer, and other tabloids -- and to keep his cell phone on.

"I have to keep on my toes," said Stern, who is based out of Los Angeles. "Anything that impacts any of my clients, I need to respond to quickly and effectively." He points back to 1999, when McKellen signed up to play both Gandalf in Lord of the Rings and Magneto in X-Men -- moves that both McKellen and Stern realized were potentially controversial. "Fans of the Tolkien books and the Marvel comics had very clear ideas of who those characters were like," said Stern.

Among other things, he said, the Magneto character in the comics was a muscle-bound behemoth. "Which of course isn't Ian at all. And Ian is openly gay and well known for his activism in gay rights. We anticipated a certain amount of homophobic reaction." So Stern was prepared. He had McKellen write an essay for the Web site about what it meant for a gay actor to play Gandalf -- and through the Web site engaged in a dialogue with Rings fans in such a way that "he was able to win people over before they saw the first frame of the movie," said Stern. "Now, of course, no one doubts that it was brilliant casting."

Darya Papazian, the Webmaster for the official sites of actors Eric Roberts and C. Thomas Howell, is constantly monitoring what is being said about her clients in blogs, forums, and articles. If she notices an offensive or untrue statement, she attempts to set the record straight by contributing to the forum, e-mailing the author of the blog or article, or posting a response on the Web sites she manages.

"For example, there was a rumor going around in 2003 that Tommy was a junkie and had contracted AIDS. This was due to him temporarily having a very gaunt appearance due to a nearly fatal bout of appendicitis," said Papazian. "I made sure the explanation was posted not only on our Web site but also on his bio page on the Internet Movie Database." Stern and Papazian are two of the IT specialists who create and manage official celebrity Web sites. The people stars hire to take responsibility for their official Web presences tend to be quirky and independent and come from a variety of non-traditional backgrounds. Few have formal IT training. And although they might get some unusual requests, they also get perks -- entrée to Hollywood movie premieres and parties and visits to exotic locales -- as well as what one Webmaster described as "almost exorbitant" pay.

"I consider myself a jack of all trades," said Stern. "I get together with my clients and talk about what they want. I help them dig up the content, write it and edit it, lay out the design, code the pages, host the servers, and make sure everything is working well." In fact, Stern credits his success to his ability to be a "one-stop shop" to celebrities, who need a high degree of professionalism, but who also want the highly personal touch of dealing with an individual with whom they can have a relationship. "Most don't want to deal with large corporate design shops," he said.

Take actor, comedian, and radio personality Harry Shearer's Webmaster, Jordan Dobson, designer/owner of Made by Squad, a small boutique Web design and marketing firm based in Seattle. "It's a very personal relationship -- and, I guess because it's so personal, I talk to him much more than I do other clients, said Dobson."He's very hands-on, and I usually deal with him directly, whereas with a corporate client I would work with a project manager or marketing director. It's quite a different kind of relationship."

The Often-Surprising Person Behind The Curtain

Sam Long is the Webmaster of BenStein.com, the official Web site of Renaissance man Ben Stein -- actor, writer, speaker, financial advisor, and TV personality. Based in a Washington, D.C. suburb, Long does everything from scouring the Web for all mentions of Stein in major media outlets, to posting Stein's New York Times and American Spectator columns, updating Stein's schedule of speeches and public appearances, moderating the fan forums, and reviewing and forwarding all mail.

Long doesn't have much of a formal technical education. In fact, he doesn't (yet) have much of an education at all: Only 15 years old, he's just finished his freshman year in high school and refers to his client respectfully as "Mr. Stein." "My dad wrote Mr. Stein a fan mail letter some years ago, and they got to know each other," said Long. "Since my dad knows a lot about computers, Mr. Stein asked him for a reference when his [former] Webmaster quit. My dad recommended me."

The most challenging aspect of the job is sorting through the volumes of material and deciding what needs to be posted, said Long, who spends approximately five hours a week maintaining the site. "It can be especially difficult to know what fan comments to post and which to delete," he said. All fan mail goes to Stein as a matter of course, "and he answers every one."

The forum is a different matter. "You get your fair share of rude and stupid comments," he said. "Mr. Stein is pretty involved in that as well -- he checks in every week to find out what people are saying."

Overall, the technical aspect of the job hasn't been difficult -- and, as Long added, he always has dad to help him out. Log onto JeffBridges.com and one of the first things you'll see is a handwritten note from the actor informing readers that the messages on the fan forum purportedly by him are fake. "Please use good netiquette, guys," it concludes. Indeed, the whole site is handwritten by Bridges, who is intimately involved in all its aspects, according to his Webmaster, Nicky Gosen, who is based in Southern California.

"Back in 1999, Jeff did a movie with Nick Nolte, who persuaded him it was time to have his own Web site," said Gosen, who had been Bridges' personal assistant for nine years until she took over Webmaster duties. "Jeff said to me, 'Do you think you can handle this?' So that afternoon I went out and bought a book on Dreamweaver and got started."

Bridges designed the site himself, despite having virtually no experience with the Internet. "He basically only used a computer for writing, so it's a very naïve type of design, very much out of his head, which is what I think makes it so cool," she said.

Gosen's Webmaster duties involve updating the site whenever Bridges sends her his latest handwritten content; keeping the news, filmography, and appearances pages current; and moderating the fan message boards. This last activity, she admitted, requires a "lot of patience." But Bridges believes it's important. "He reads the guest book and message forums every day," she said. "He loves hearing what people are saying. He calls it his 'window into the real world.'"

Bridges' motivation for maintaining an official Web site is less for publicity than to have a creative outlet, said Gosen. "He enjoys sharing his art -- he does ceramics and painting and drawing and music -- and has a Zen-like philosophy of putting poems in rivers and letting them float away," she said. "I consider it his way of talking to the world in a more personal way than he otherwise could."

Non-Traditional Career Paths -- And Serendipitous Connections

Celebrity Webmasters often take circuitous routes to their positions. Papazian, who lives in Milan, Italy, didn't know much about technology until nine years ago, when a friend introduced her to Web design using Microsoft FrontPage. She began building Web pages for fun. She began running C. Thomas Howell's official site after founding a fan site devoted to the star of The Outsiders, Soul Man, The Hitcher, and Red Dawn that Howell liked enough to make his own face on the Web.

"I became passionate about the life and works of Tommy in 2004. There weren't many Web sites about him, and I thought it'd be fun to build one, complete with a section dedicated to comments about him from fellow actors and directors," said Papazian, who started contacting Hollywood personalities by mail for those comments -- many of whom "surprisingly" wrote back, she said. The director John Pitch (The Poseidon Adventure) brought the Web site to Howell's attention, who asked if he could become a collaborator and give the site his official blessing. "Since then, we've become very good friends," Papazian said.

Papazian is also Webmaster for an Italian actor/director friend, Luca Bercovici. Bercovici, in turn, was a good friend of the actor Eric Roberts' wife. "The Roberts were in Milan back in 2004 to host a popular TV show, and we got along so well that they asked me if I could manage their Web site," Papazian recalled. The heart of the Web site is the message board, of which Papazian is the administrator and moderator, making sure nothing inappropriate gets posted. Dealing with the fans is a critical part of a celebrity Webmaster's job. "The Web site is a way to give back to the fans, and to get instant feedback to anything my client does or says," said Stern. McKellen's Web site gets hundreds of e-mails a day, and once or twice a month Stern sits down and goes through them. He passes the best ones off to McKellen, who frequently answers them personally.

Celebrity Webmasters are also responsible for helping their clients adjust the face they present to the world. "Ian's priorities have changed over time," said Stern. "In 1997, he was a well-established stage actor, but not very well known for his film work. Over time, he has chosen to modify the Web site to emphasize his work in movies. Now that everyone understands his work in that area, he is electing to highlight other aspects of his career, such as his audio books, his writing, and his activism."

The biggest difference between managing a celebrity Web site and holding a corporate Webmaster job is one of complexity, said Stern. "A celebrity is a human being, with a personality, and the site has to portray that personality -- it's a lot more complicated than simply getting the messaging right on a product."

But although the compensation is good -- "stars make a lot of money, and they tend to be generous," said Stern -- there are other perks to being a celebrity Webmaster. Stern was able to travel to New Zealand and be on location during the filming of The Lord of the Rings; Long and Papazian feel they have much more impressive resumes as well as a certain social status as a result of their celebrity connections. "I think having this on my applications will help me get into a good college," said Long.

"It's something that makes a great impression on potential employers," agreed Papazian. "And -- not in the least -- it's very gratifying because it means you've been able to earn the trust of people who are usually unreachable by anyone not prominent in the entertainment business."