Despite being in existence since the late 90s, I have only just discovered the great term two time-waster that is HSX. HSX stands for Hollywood Stock Exchange, which more or less tells you exactly what the deal is. Sign up and you get given 2 million dollars (not real money!) to try your luck as a Hollywood movie mogul. Invest in movies, stars, studios and funds and gauge your performance as you ascend to Weinstein-like power.
A friend gave me some very good advice. He said “Buy low, sell high,” and so far this seems to be going well. I wrote it on a post-it note and stuck it to my monitor in case I forgot. The trick appears to be picking the movie you think is going to do well on its opening weekend and buying up large. Stocks adjust depending on box office performance and Hollywood insider gossip. If a film grosses particularly well on its opening weekend you can make a quick fortune. Trust me, it’s highly addictive.
Not only is HSX fun, it’s actually an insanely useful guide to all the ins-and-outs of Hollywood. Any announcements that get made, such as Bryan Singer signing on to direct a Battlestar Galactica movie, get brought to your attention as soon as they happen. I recently heard that the site is used to gauge Oscar nominations, and with millions of users picking hits and flops, it must be just as useful for studios to figure out where to put their cash.
So become a Hollywood insider and sign up. Furthermore, join with your friends and you can battle it out for studio supremacy.
www.hsx.com