TheSandys MovieMistakesinitially websitebecame startedinterested in 1996movie errors after noting mistakes in [[Jurassic Park (film)|Jurassic Park]] and [[True Lies]] while attending the [[Royal Grammar School, thenGuildford|Royal onlyGrammar School]]. He began the MovieMistakes website in 1996 as a single page with a few mistakeslistings and an email address. SandysFollowing movedhis onmove to [[Southampton University]], operatinghe operated the site onfrom the university's server.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-53872765.html | title=UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON: Student's Wb page dedicated to movie mistakes.}}</ref> In 1998, thea ''[[The Times|Times]] newspaper ran an'' article on movie mistakes,including the web address ofmentioned the site, bringingleading ato considerablean increase in traffic. In 1999 the site outgrew the university servers and moved to a dedicated server, -along Sandys also invested in somewith promotion and solicited advertising to finance the siteoperations.▼
Sandys initially became interested in the topic of movie errors while attending the [[Royal Grammar School, Guildford]], England after noting mistakes in [[Jurassic Park (film)|Jurassic Park]] and [[True Lies]].
▲The MovieMistakes website started in 1996, then only a single page with a few mistakes and an email address. Sandys moved on to [[Southampton University]], operating the site on the university server.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-53872765.html | title=UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON: Student's Wb page dedicated to movie mistakes.}}</ref> In 1998 the [[The Times|Times]] newspaper ran an article on movie mistakes, including the web address of the site, bringing a considerable increase in traffic. In 1999 the site outgrew the university servers and moved to a dedicated server - Sandys also invested in some promotion and solicited advertising to finance the site.
On April 9, 2001 the site gotagain agrew majorin boostpopularity whenfollowing thea ''[[Daily Mirror]] ran an'' article on mistakes in the film [[Gladiator (film)|Gladiator]].<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-72944708.html | title=THE GAFFE-IATOR; 124 errors found in Oscar-winning film}}</ref> On the same day, Sandys was contactedinvited byto theappear popularon the UK morning show ''[[The Big Breakfast]]''<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1120504/ | title=IMDb.com, Jon Sandys Filmography}}</ref> and was invited to appear on the show to discuss movie mistakes, which became a weekly feature on the show until its cancellation. This exposure broughtled on invitations for more interviews andto further interest in the website, the increased traffic leading to a temporary shutdown while the systems were upgraded.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-73854541.html | title=movie-mistakes.com forced into short term shutdown.}}</ref> With these developments, Sandys began to work on the site on a full-time basis.
By 2003 the site was averaging 25,000 hits a day and a record 100,000 hits in December 2003 when an article on mistakes in [[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]] was posted on [[Slashdot]], crashing the site server. A server upgrade was prompted in January 2005 when a list of the "Top Mistakes of 2004" was copied by several publications and the site received a record 150,000 hits, again crashing the site.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-104438533.html | title=Boo-boos filmmakers would rather we forget}}</ref>
The site has been referenced in interviews with filmmakers informing them of their mistakesfilm-makers, most notablyincluding [[Peter Jackson]]<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/60767 | title=Newsweek, Gaffes: Fellowship Of The Nitpickers}}</ref> and [[Gore Verbinski]].<ref>{{cite news | url=http://outnow.ch/specials/2003/PiratesOfTheCaribbean/Interview-GoreVerbinski.E/ | title=Outnow.ch interview with Gore Verbinski}}</ref>
