Months ago, I wrote a piece for the Stage 32 blog called “5 Ways to Use IMDb to Research Your Way to the Top”. That is still the foundation of getting the most out of IMDb. However, since then, IMDb has added more resources to its Pro element or things we didn’t cover before.

1. TRAILERS

If you are one of those people that get to the movie theater early to catch the latest trailers, and it's one of your favorite things about the movie going experience- I’m right along with you. However, what if you don’t have time to go to the theaters as often anymore? What if you’ve been catching a lot of titles on streaming?

Well on IMDb’s homepage on the upper right hand side- see the “Up Next” feature. There you’ll find the 3 latest trailers of features and series coming up. Click on "browse trailers", and you’ll find everything categorized from Trending to Most Popular to Most Anticipated, and Recently Added.

2. IMDB INDUSTRY LISTS

Really narrow down your interests by utilizing this feature. Available on IMDb pro only.

Part I is on the upper right hand side, where IMDb compiles lists by various articles that appear in the trades: Ex: "Variety Top 50 Directors Under 30". Here is a list already taylor-made to people you might be interested in. On the flip, on the middle left side (“Do More With Pro”), you can curate your own lists by typing in and filtering. Ex: "Actors represented by CAA" or "Female actors 25-50 located in Vancouver".

These tools can be crucial in casting your own indie, doing target research for talent representation and casting, or finding producers or financiers.

3. AMAZON CHIME

A lot of people still don’t realize that IMDb was acquired and now owned by Amazon. So, it would make sense that they would connect their Zoom/Google Hangout type service to their users. The communication service is free for all IMDb pro members.

In a moment of transparency, I have not used the service for myself, and the features do seem similar to the other platforms, but their premium features include unlimited meetings that can last up to 24 hours, and up to 16 participants on video and up to 250 attendees. So this is not for MASS groups, but teams and collaborators.

4. RELEASE CALENDAR

Remember that project you worked on months ago or even a year ago? You probably forgot about it by now, but in conjunction with Box Office Mojo (an IMDb owned subsidiary), you can get updates on when the film will be released in theaters and/or on streaming.

You can see titles up to FIVE years in advance, however most titles have known dates 12-24 months in advance. Utilize this information for publicity campaigns; either through your own social media or hiring a PR team (if it’s a large role), or for leverage in increasing quotes or targeting new representation.

5. CONTRIBUTOR ZONE

Learn how IMDb works by adding titles to your own profile.

If you’re working on as crew and have done at least one day on the job- feel free to add yourself; whether it's a stand-in or production assistant or props, etc. If you have a principal role, especially one that has a character name or has stipulations and NDA’s, wait until the project is officially released.