Online casting services - such as Los Angeles-based Entertainment Internet`s Castnet.com and the newly launched Iam.com ........ give actors, models and other entertainers a place where their headshots - or even their video auditions - can be seen on the Web by casting directors.

Technology promises to bring efficiency - and democracy - to the entertainment industry. Good luck.

Hollywood has long seemed like a gated community to outsiders wishing for work in the entertainment business. Wannabes have journeyed West seeking fame and fortune, only to find that talent alone won`t get their foot in the door. Instead, they`re confronted with a bewildering maze of local rituals and personal relationships for which there is no map.

But as the Internet age moves into high gear, a new wave of Web companies are aiming to pick Hollywood`s lock and throw the place open. Their tool: so-called "business-to-business" Web applications that they say will bring efficiency - and maybe more equal opportunity - to the industry.

Creative Burst

Web entrepreneurs have been busy creating everything from online casting agencies to Internet-based markets for selling scripts and even financing films. Other efforts are aimed at finding an easier way to bring together the team of behind-the-camera talent needed for each production. There are even hopes that the Web can smooth the process of producing movies and TV shows by improving communication among the dozens of people who work on each show.

Many of these efforts are just getting started, and there`s no guarantee that any of them will work. Indeed, it will be difficult for many of them to deliver on their grand ambitions. After all, what can really replace more traditional ways of getting ahead in Hollywood - such as having a relative in the business, or schmoozing with a producer at a party?

Already, some early efforts in this arena have crashed and burned - and demonstrated that Hollywood institutions can block changes that they find threatening. Last October, for example, a new Web site called GoCoverage.com was launched, aiming to provide studios and production companies with summaries, or "coverage," of new scripts being offered for sale around town.

But Hollywood talent agencies went beserk because they thought negative mentions on the Web would harm a script`s chance of a sale. The agencies raised a big enough ruckus that some of the people behind the site - film producers loath to earn the agencies` wrath - backed down. GoCoverage.com was shut down within a week.

Studio executives are watching the developments closely, and many doubt that the new Web outfits will bring radical change. As Kevin Mishner, president of production at Seagram Co`s Universal Pictures says: "Just because you democratize something doesn`t mean it`s better." But at the same time, Mr. Mishner says he welcomes the ventures because they may help some newcomers with good ideas get past Hollywood`s gatekeepers. "Good ideas or good scripts," he says, "can come from anywhere."

Outsider Information

Indeed, it`s clear, even in the early going, that the Web is giving outsiders more information and at least a little more access to people who can assist their budding careers.

"When I was in college at Michigan State and wanted to get into the film business, I didn`t know what to do," says Warren Zide, a Hollywood manager whose Los Angeles-based Web site, Inzide.com, offers advice to would-be screenwriters. "Now, in one hour someone could get on the Internet and figure out how Hollywood works." Mr. Zide so far uses his site mostly to search for talent that his management company can sign, but may expand in the future.

One early entrant aimed at screenwriters is Goodstory.com, a site that aims to give both new and veteran writers a fresh platform. It`s funded by an independent New York company, kpe, that is seeking to establish a number of entertainment-industry Web sites.

Historically, new writers have faced an uphill battle in getting their work read by studios and film producers, which usually won`t look at scripts that aren`t touted by an agent. Mark Patricof, kpe`s chief executive, says he hopes Goodstory.com will help "democratize the process of selling written material."

It tires to do that by allowing writers - whether they have agents or not - to advertise their scripts on the site, where, in theory, they can be seen by studio executives or producers looking for talent. Goodstory.com hopes to create a marketplace where writers can make sales, and studios can find scribes they need for, say, a rewrite job.

Of course, democracy has its price - in this case, a $35 fee that writers must pay to tout their scripts online. And because, as Mr. Patricof says, "you don`t want to populate the database with dreck." Goodstory.com plans to perform some gatekeeping functions that it hopes will ensure the scripts are high-caliber.

If there`s anything more thankless than seeking work as a Hollywood writer, it may be seeking work as a Hollywood actor. Would-be stars face one of the most highly fragmented employment markets imaginable, making it difficult to keep track of job openings and auditions. Actors aren`t the only ones who are frustrated - that people doing the acting often lament that they don`t have a better mechanism for finding the person who`s just right for a part. Those are problems that exist whether directors are trying to cast a Hollywood film or find models for a print advertisement in Toledo, Ohio.

Online casting services - such as Los Angeles-based Entertainment Internet`s Castnet.com and the newly launched Iam.com - aren`t going to find jobs for big stars like Leonardo DiCaprio or Sandra Bullock. But for thousands of lesser-known working actors, the sites aim to bring some order to the chaos. The idea is to give actors, models and other entertainers a place where their headshots - or even their video auditions - can be seen on the Web by casting directors. Says Tom Epley, Iam.com`s chairman and chief executive: "We are maniacally focused on the process of connecting talent to talent buyers."

Mr. Epley thinks services such as his will not only help people find work, but will also save time and little expenses that add up, such as overnight-delivery fees and hotel bills. Down the road, Mr. Epley and others hope that videoconferencing over the Web can make auditions and other "face-to-face" meetings possible between talent buyers and sellers.

Again, the burden is on the talent to pay for exposure. Iam.com, which just went online, says it is charging people a $75 upfront fee, plus $9.95 a month, to have their materials displayed on the Web.

And to make sure it has connections in the business, Iam.com is also giving stock options to casting directors who have agreed to audition a certain number of actors using the service. One of these is Lisa Beach, A Los Angeles woman who has cast such films as the three "Scream" movies, and "Girl, Interrupted."

"My theory is that, in casting, you should leave no stone unturned," says Ms. Beach. But that can be hard, she says, when "I need a guy in his 30s with one blue eye and one brown eye, or I`m going to need triplets." New Web-based services, she thinks, will give her access to hundreds of new hopefuls and, maybe, a better shot at finding the person who`s just right.

Not all of the new Web offerings are aimed at outsiders - some are trying to facilitate smoother business transactions, or information exchanges, among existing players in the industry. One of them is Creative Planet Inc. in North Hollywood, California. The company wants to deploy Web technology to help improve project management in Hollywood.

One-Time Assemblage

An opportunity exists for companies like Creative Planet because of the Byzantine way in which films and TV shows work. Each production brings together, on a one-time basis, dozens of free-lance camera operators, set builders and others. After the film is complete, everyone disperses to find work on another show.

By aggregating information and services for a wide range of behind-the-camera pursuits - such as special effects and cinematography - Creative Planet Chief Executive Allen DeBevoise says, web technology can help coordinate the industry. "Every single production is a unique combination of vendors," he says. "The process of finding qualified vendors, and how you procure purchase orders, has got some inefficiencies that we think can be addressed."

It`s not just about employment. Mr. DeBevoise is also interested in using Intranets - Internets with restricted access - to help productions run more smoothly once everyone is hired. Currently, scheduling and production information on each show is available to just a few supervisors, and changes in the plan require faxing and phoning dozens of people on the fly. But with an intranet, he says, such information could be quickly shared with everyone if, for example, a shooting schedule has to be changed because an outdoor shot was ruined by an unexpected rainstorm.

So far, he says, he`s not ware of any show that has attempted to work in such a manner. But with the cost of even average Hollywood films over $50 million, efficiency opportunities can`t be ignored. As Mr. DeBevoise says: "If you save someone 10% on a $75 million budget, those are real dollars."

Then there`s iFilmpro.com, which traffics in one of Hollywood`s most valuable industry commodities - industry buzz. In addition to news and links to other entertainment sites, iFilmpro features chat rooms and message boards in which industry insiders anonymously swap information about hot scripts, executive moves and the machinations of agents and managers. The service is free now, but only to people who already work in the industry. Kevin Wendle, a co-founder of the venture, says it eventually hopes to charge a subscription fee for some of its services.

Gossip Forum

But as in some other corners of the Web, where information is exchanged freely, some aspects of iFilmpro.com clearly have some growing to do. Some of its message boards deal in such topics as "Who`s The Best Looking Executive in Town" - discussions that frequently devolve into unsubstantial gossip about the sexual habits of everyone from top executives to Hollywood secretaries.

As for changing the way the industry goes about drumming up money, consider Movieshares.com, which launched last fall and hopes to someday raise financing for film projects by offering stock in individual films via the Internet. For the time being, Movieshares.com is trying to raise funds for some film projects that it hopes to produce by attracting investors to scripts that it has posted on its Web site. Eventually, though, it hopes to organize each film into an individual corporation registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C. Individuals could then invest in the movies, with their money held in an escrow account until the project`s minimum production budget was raised. If that never happened, the money would be returned.

Kamran Pasha, Movieshares.com`s 27-year-old co-chief executive, says the service is a chance for the public to decide, through investing, which films get made. "If the project is terrible, something the public`s never going to watch, you get to find that out immediately," he says. "If you can get the public to vote with their wallets, you have the idea that the public`s actually interested in your movie."