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The Cinema Snob

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The Cinema Snob
GenreReview, comedy
Created byBrad Jones
Written byBrad Jones
Directed byBrad Jones
Ryan Mitchelle
StarringBrad Jones
Lloyd (2010–present)
Jillian Zurawski (2010–2013)
Jerrid Foiles
(2009–2013)
Opening theme"Believe It or Not" by Joey Scarbury (2008–2013)
"0000000018" by Alone in the Chaos (2013–2015)
"The Cinema Snob" by Julien "Sad Panda" Diaz (2017–present)
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons14
No. of episodes553
Production
Executive producerMichael Michaud
ProducerBrad Jones
Production locationsSpringfield, Illinois, U.S.[1]
EditorBrad Jones
Camera setupSingle-camera
Running timeVaries
Production companiesStoned Gremlin Productions
Channel Awesome
(2010–present)
Original release
NetworkYouTube (2007–2009, 2012–present)
Blip (2009–2015)
ReleaseJune 16, 2007–present
Related
See below

The Cinema Snob is an American comedy webseries created, edited, written, and starring American actor/filmmaker Brad Jones. It started in 2007 on YouTube before copyright claims caused Jones to move the series to its own personal site, TheCinemaSnob.com, in August 2009. The series became part of Channel Awesome in January 2010. Jones is one of three creators, the other two being Doug Walker and Larry Bundy Jr., to remain on the site as of April 2018.

The series follows the Cinema Snob, a caricature of pretentious film critics, as he reviews obscure exploitation films, religious films, and pornography from the late '60s through the early '90s. Since 2013, however, the Snob has started to review more recent and widely released films, such as the Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street series, Mommie Dearest, Debbie Does Dallas, The Babe Ruth Story, Xanadu, God's Not Dead, and Sex and the City.

The series has obtained a large cult following, and has met with a positive reception. A movie adaptation, The Cinema Snob Movie, was made in 2012, directed by frequent Jones collaborator Ryan Mitchelle. A sequel, Another Cinema Snob Movie, was released on July 26, 2019.[3]

History

Brad Jones was inspired to create The Cinema Snob after watching Roger Ebert's review of Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter. He said that the review "made me think of how odd it is in general to see film snobs try to review horror or exploitation films...I'm reviewing these movies the same way a pretentious cinema snob would and I'm trying to give some laughs at the expense of the movies to people like me who really do love exploitation films."[4] Jones based the Snob's appearance and voice on an audience member he saw at a Q&A panel for George A. Romero, who told Romero how he had interpreted Monkey Shines as a metaphor for evolution and the bond between animal and man.[5] The first episode, a review of Burial Ground: The Nights of Terror, aired on YouTube on June 16, 2007. He ran the show on his channel until he was confronted by a copyright claim from the distributors of Nail Gun Massacre. Then, Jones moved his videos to its own website, TheCinemaSnob.com, in 2009. For this new site, Jones also created several more series, such as Kung Tai Ted, The Big Box, The Bruno Mattei Show, and Brad & Jerrid, and uploaded two of his feature films (Freak Out and Cheap) to the site that same year. "So I built up a back log," Jones says, "so there would be a lot of content, to where I could apply to That Guy With the Glasses when my site had been up for a few months." Jones managed to rise in popularity when Noah Antwiler promoted his website.[6]

Rob Walker accepted Brad's request to join That Guy with the Glasses in January 2010, and premiered Season 2 on Channel Awesome with his review of E.T.: The Porno. Since joining the site, Jones has done many collaborations with fellow members of the site as The Cinema Snob.

Episode format

The series focuses on a pretentious highbrow art critic, the Cinema Snob. He wears an all-black suit, large vintage glasses and no shoes, and sits in a "comfortable" chair, positioned in the middle of the screen so Snob can talk directly to the audience. In the early days, the setting was in Jones' basement, a couch surrounded by movie posters. Starting with Season 2, Snob moved to a living room with a standard blue chair. When Jones moved to a new home in 2013, the location changed again to the same chair in front of a tan wall, complete with a poster for Caligula (Jones' favorite film) and a poster that changes depending on the reviewed film's subject matter or characters.

The Cinema Snob often reviews a film by stating how inferior or offensive the film is, and proceeds to complain about the film's production quality, content, and/or plot. He frequently makes pop culture references throughout the review, usually to horror films, TV series, his own films, and films Snob has already reviewed. Sometimes he'll review a film considered as being among the worst ever made while satirizing the critical response the film had upon release, such as the case with Maniac, Mommie Dearest, At Long Last Love or Heaven's Gate and frequently imply that the film did not, in his opinion, deserve the amount of criticism it received. On occasion, he will point out there was something good in a terrible film, such as Michael Chiklis's performance as John Belushi in Wired.

Sometimes, the Cinema Snob will say a variation of his catchphrase, "I'll stick with real ______ films, like _______, thank you very much."

Reception

Over time, the series has received a cult following. Many people have praised the series for its humor and characters. Melissa Garza of Scared Stiff Reviews said, "Jones delivers with quick wit, charm, and humorous, cutting observations.[7]

Reception from review subjects

Several subjects of the films reviewed by the Cinema Snob have responded to their reviews. Gary Cohen, director of Video Violence, appreciated Jones' review of the film.[8] After the Snob's review of Savage Vengeance, the film's director, Don Farmer, commented on the video. Jones says it was "basically a plea saying that I was wrong in stating that Porno Holocaust was the worst film ever made, because he made the worst film ever made: Savage Vengeance".[9] Double Helix Films posted the Cinema Snob's reviews of the Sleepaway Camp films on their site, stating that "[Y]ou might find them hit or miss, but the Snob clearly put a lot of work into these reviews".[10]

Brad Jones was suspended from YouTube after his review of Nail Gun Massacre.[11] He eventually returned to the site, this time under Blip/Maker Studios's "League of Super Critics" YouTube channel, where several Channel Awesome members uploaded their reviews, which were edited to meet YouTube standards for language and copyrighted content.[citation needed]

A few months after Cinema Snob's review of Grizzly II: The Predator, Jones received an angry letter from Suzanne E. Nagy, one of the film's producers.[12] Jones, reasoning that the film was unfinished and therefore illegal to distribute without permission, took down his review. However, the "lost episode" has since been leaked onto YouTube.

After Maker Studios closed Blip on August 20, 2015, Brad Jones started a new YouTube channel, Stoned Gremlin Productions, containing most of his backlog as well as new content. However, due to YouTube's copyright policy, some episodes of The Cinema Snob have been flagged, such as the review of Bingo.[citation needed]

  • Brad & Jerrid (2009–2011): a sketch series featuring Brad Jones and his friend Jerrid Foiles.
  • The Big Box (2009–2011): starring Jones as the voice of Vic Dealio, and his then-wife Jillian Zurawski as the silent Big Box Model. In this show, Vic reviews old "big box" VHS horror films.
  • Kung Tai Ted (2009–2011): Jones stars as a failed, poorly-dubbed martial artist who reviews classic martial arts films while training outdoors.
  • Softly From Cable (2010–2011): a review show hosted by the seductive Shannon Shears (played by Zurawski) which focuses on Cinemax-style softcore adult films from the 1990s.
  • The Bruno Mattei Show (2010–2012): Jones and his friends discuss the movies of Italian exploitation filmmaker, Bruno Mattei.
  • Brad Tries... (2010–present): Jones samples strange, rare or discontinued foods and drinks from around the world.
  • Friday Night Movies (formerly known as Brad's Current Movie Reviews, Midnight Screenings, and Movie Reviews, 2010–present): Jones and his friends review a movie immediately after attending their screening.
  • 80's Dan (2011–2013): a parody to fish out of water sitcoms from the 1980s, starring Jones as Dan, an eccentric man who accidentally gets zapped from December 31, 1989 to the present. 80's Dan was first introduced (originally as a one-off throw-away character) in "Caligula (Part II)," the Cinema Snob's 100th review.
  • DVD-R Hell (or DVD-R Heaven, 2011–present): Jones reviews some DVDs from his bootleg collection, which includes weird PSAs, Christian propaganda, failed TV pilots, and obscure shows such as Tequila and Bonetti.
  • Ninja the Mission Force (2012–2013): An homage to the Godfrey Ho ninja movies, co-produced by Dark Maze Studios.
  • Game Boys (2013): a View Askewniverse-esque adult animated series based off Jones' 2008 film of the same name.
  • The Reviewers (2013–2014): a sitcom about two roommates (played by Brian Lewis and Jake Norvell) who decide to become internet reviewers despite their lack of skills. The Rickhead, a character played by Dave Gobble, would later star in Jesus, Bro! (2017), a spoof of faith-based movies, written by Jones.
  • Snobcast (formerly known as The Random Button, 2013–2015): a podcast hosted by Jones and Brian Lewis.
  • Lloyd (2015–2017; currently on hiatus): a Duckman-esque adult animated series which features Jones' pet cat Lloyd as a hard-boiled, yet clueless, private detective who solves cases based on movies reviewed by the Cinema Snob.
  • Binge Watch (2016–present): Jones reviews the full season of a TV show, episode by episode.
  • Midnight Gaming (2016–present): a gaming spin-off of Midnight Screenings in which Jones reviews old video games and current nostalgia-based video games.

The Cinema Snob Movie and Another Cinema Snob Movie

In 2011, Jones announced that he was writing a movie adaptation of the series to be directed by Ryan Mitchelle.

The Cinema Snob Movie is about Craig Golightly, a struggling exploitation writer who, along with director Neil Hall, are trying to get their movie Black Angus made, but they need the correct permits from pretentious film snob Dan Phillips. In order to get the permits, he takes on the guise of Vincent Dawn and infiltrates Phillips' film snob group. While there, he gets involved in a murder mystery and attracts the interest of Phillips' wife Nancy.[13]

Reception

The Cinema Snob Movie was released on DVD on September 27, 2012. It has met with mixed to positive reception from critics, audiences, and the fandom. Stefan Ellison of The Scene Magazine gave the film a B, saying, "Joining the ranks of recent fare like Grindhouse and Corman's World, this film is a fun toast to B-movies with the thesis being that while they won't lift the human spirit, you have to admire the filmmakers' chutzpah in putting all they have into them."[14] Luke Owen of Flickering Myth gave it two stars as a film and three stars as a movie. "While not a perfect film," Owen wrote, "The Cinema Snob Movie is an enjoyable no-budget affair made with a lot of heart and dedication. You can see the progression Jones has made as a writer and Mitchelle as a director. With some more time and a bigger budget, these two could really make a fantastic exploitation film that would rival a lot of the direct-to-DVD trash I'm used to picking up in the cheap section at ASDA."[13] Geno McGahee of Scared Stiff Reviews gave the film a 6.5 out of 10, praising the acting, message, and humor, but criticizing the two-hour length.[15]

Another Cinema Snob Movie

In June 2018, Jones announced on his YouTube channel that a sequel, titled Another Cinema Snob Movie, is in development with Jones and Mitchelle returning as writer and director, respectively.[16] A crowdfunding page on Indiegogo was launched to help raise money for its budget, much like Jones' other film, Jesus, Bro!. It exceeded the target of $50,000.[17]

The sequel is about Craig, whose latest film bombs miserably, going on a road trip with Neil and two other people to see Craig's father, Stanley, played by Lloyd Kaufman.[18] Along the way, they encounter clowns in a museum and cannibals.

Another Cinema Snob Movie was released on July 26, 2019.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ ""The Cinema Snob" (2007-) Filming Locations". Retrieved July 30, 2014.
  2. ^ Variety (2015-07-21). "Maker Studios Is Shutting Down Blip Next Month". Retrieved 2015-07-21.
  3. ^ a b Stoned Gremlin Productions (2019-06-27), Another Cinema Snob Movie - Full Trailer, retrieved 2019-06-29
  4. ^ Torres, Pamela (September 2009). "Brad Jones".
  5. ^ "Horror Hound: Interview with The Cinema Snob". February 8, 2013.
  6. ^ "Brad Jones [interviewed by the Drudgeon]". November 4, 2011. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016.
  7. ^ "The Best of the Cinema Snob Volume 1 (2013) – Horror Critic Reviews The Driller Killer and other Obscure Titles". July 5, 2013.
  8. ^ "Video Violence". August 7, 2009.
  9. ^ "Savage Vengeance". August 7, 2009.
  10. ^ "Cinema Snob vs Sleepaway Camp". February 2, 2013.
  11. ^ Rushton, Bruce (November 29, 2012). "The Cinema Snob: Bad movies are beautiful to Brad Jones". Illinois Times.
  12. ^ "Grizzly II: The Predator". March 24, 2011.
  13. ^ a b Owen, Luke (November 28, 2012). "Movie Review - The Cinema Snob Movie (2012)".
  14. ^ Ellison, Stefan (June 3, 2013). "The Cinema Snob Movie - Movie Review".
  15. ^ "The Cinema Snob Movie (2012)". July 3, 2013.
  16. ^ "ANOTHER CINEMA SNOB MOVIE! IndieGoGo Campaign". June 22, 2018.
  17. ^ "Another Cinema Snob Movie". Indiegogo. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  18. ^ "Brad Jones, We are absolutely thrilled to announce that in the..." Tumblr. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
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