‘Straight Outta Compton’ Stars Join Mira Sorvino, Dana Delaney to Celebrate IMDb’s 25th Birthday (Photos)

“What was going on in the Internet in 1990?” founder and CEO Col Needham asks the crowd at West Hollywood bash

Mira Sorvino, Peter and Parky Fonda, Dana Delaney, and the Hollywood professional community toasted IMDb founder Col Needham (bottom right) on the 25th birthday of his entertainment website progenitor, IMDb. (Getty Images)

“Straight Outta Compton” star O’Shea Jackson Jr. wasn’t even born when IMDb debuted in 1990, but he helped light up the room at the website’s 25th anniversary party at the Sunset Tower in West Hollywood on Thursday night.

The milestone of 25 years “is something that I think no other Internet company can say,” IMDb founder and CEO Col Needham told a room full of friends and supporters. “What was going on in the Internet in 1990 but IMDb?”

Ebay, Yahoo and even AOL — spamming every mailbox in America with discs offering free hours — were launched five, four and three years into the 1990s, respectively.

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA - OCTOBER 15: (L-R) Actor Neil Brown Jr., actor Ernie Hudson, actress Amy Aquino, actor Peter Fonda, actress Mira Sorvino, IMDb founder and CEO Col Needham, comedian Tommy Davidson and actor O'Shea Jackson Jr. pose with a birthday cake during IMDb's 25th Anniversary Party co-hosted by Amazon Studios presented by VISINE at Sunset Tower Hotel on October 15, 2015 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Angela Weiss/Getty Images for IMDb)
“Straight Outta Compton’s” Neil Brown Jr.,  Ernie Hudson, Amy Aquino,  Peter Fonda, Mira Sorvino, IMDb founder and CEO Col Needham, Tommy Davidson, O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Angela Weiss/Getty Images for IMDb)

Needham hosted the birthday bash with “friends” from Amazon Studios, the original content wing of the company that bought IMDb back in 1998.

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA - OCTOBER 15: (L-R) Vice President of Amazon Studios Roy Price, Amazon Studios Senior Vice President of Business Development Jeff Blackburn, and talent agent Michael Yanover attends IMDb's 25th Anniversary Party co-hosted by Amazon Studios presented by VISINE at Sunset Tower Hotel on October 15, 2015 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Rachel Murray/Getty Images for IMDb)
Amazon Studios VP Roy Price, SVP of Business Development Jeff Blackburn, and agent Michael Yanover (Rachel Murray/Getty Images for IMDb)

On Thursday night, guests surrounded Amazon Studios head Roy Price (he of 12 Emmy nominations) but ceded the floor to Needham, who was online so early that his email address was numbers.

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA - OCTOBER 15: Anne Thompson (L) and actress Dana Delany attend IMDb's 25th Anniversary Party co-hosted by Amazon Studios presented by VISINE at Sunset Tower Hotel on October 15, 2015 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Rachel Murray/Getty Images for IMDb)
Anne Thompson and Dana Delany. (Rachel Murray/Getty Images for IMDb)

The supporters who have stuck with IMDb over decades of digital developments include on-camera talent (Dana Delaney, Mira Sorvino, Peter Fonda, Ethan Embry, and Tommy Davidson), producers (Dana Brunetti, Ron Yerxa, and reality franchise master Conrad Riggs), filmmakers (James Schamus and Michael Sucsy), industry media captains (TheWrap Founder and CEO Sharon Waxman and Anne Thompson), festival programmers, and a slew of Amazon Studios executives.

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA - OCTOBER 15: (L-R) Actor O'Shea Jackson Jr., comedian Tommy Davidson and actor Neil Brown Jr. attend IMDb's 25th Anniversary Party co-hosted by Amazon Studios presented by VISINE at Sunset Tower Hotel on October 15, 2015 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Rachel Murray/Getty Images for IMDb)
Jackson Jr., Davidson, and Neil Brown Jr. (Rachel Murray/Getty Images for IMDb)
Dana Brunetti Michael Sucsy Peter Fonda IMDB 25
Dana Brunetti with Peter Fonda; Demetri Sgourakis and Michael Sucsy (Getty Images)

Col Needham John Cooper Sundance Marianna Palk
Needham, left, and right, writer Marianna Palka with Sundance Festival director John Cooper (Getty Images)

Amazon acquired IMDb in April 1998. At the time, Amazon also acquired one of the largest U.K. online booksellers (Bookpages.co.uk) and the German equivalent, Telebook, for a total cost of approximately $55 million, per a 1998 press release. Amazon was starting to expand beyond book sales, and beyond the U.S.

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA - OCTOBER 15: (L-R) Head of IMDb Pro Brian Carver, IMDb founder and CEO Col Needham, IMDb COO Rob Grady, IMDb Head of PR & Talent Relations Emily Glassman, IMDb Senior Film Editor Keith Simanton, and Matt Ellsworth attend IMDb's 25th Anniversary Party co-hosted by Amazon Studios presented by VISINE at Sunset Tower Hotel on October 15, 2015 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Rachel Murray/Getty Images for IMDb)
IMDb Pro Chief Brian Carver, Needham, Karen Needham, COO Rob Grady, PR & Talent Relations head Emily Glassman, Senior Film Editor Keith Simanton, and Matt Ellsworth (Rachel Murray/Getty Images for IMDb)

Now, IMDb gets over 250 million unique visitors a month and claims the title as the “#1 Movie Website in the World.” It could also claim the title of the industry’s true “LinkedIn,” the go-to source for those making decisions about other peoples’ careers and journalists wanting to know what year O’Shea Jackson Jr. was born.

“I hope you have all cleared your diaries for October 2040,” Needham joked, before guests went home with a three month free trial to IMDbPro.


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