Screen Junkies
 Screen Junkies logo | |
| Industry | YouTube Channel |
|---|---|
| Genre | |
| Founder |
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| Owner | Defy Media |
Screen Junkies is an online movie magazine and YouTube channel, owned and operated by Defy Media, that focuses on movies and television. It produces three main shows: The Screen Junkies Show, hosted by Hal Rudnick, consists mostly of interviews and film discussions; Honest Trailers is a series of trailers, narrated previously by Ptolemy Slocum and Gannon Nickell, and currently by Jon Bailey, that satirizes and parodies various films and television programs; and Movie Fights is a competition series, hosted by Andy Signore, where guests debate various issues related to film.
As of December 2015, Screen Junkies has over 5 million subscribers and over one billion video views.[1]
Videos
Honest Trailers
Honest Trailers is a series of parody trailers of films, and occasionally TV shows, that are made to satirize the film. The videos are narrated by Jon Bailey.[2]
Created by Andy Signore and Brett Weiner and shepherded by Break Media's Head of Programming Mitch Rotter, Honest Trailers debuted in February 2012 and by June 2014 had become the source of over 300 million views on the Screen Junkies YouTube channel.[2] The series started when the creators saw that Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace was being re-released in 3D and decided to make a parody trailer for it, continuing the series as a result of the positive reception the videos received.[3]
The series' videos take approximately one week to assemble, and are typically created by around four people.[2] The creators watch the movie a number of times before writing the script as a group.[4] Subjects are chosen by a combination of current popular movies and suggestions from viewers, with an aim of making the videos go viral.[2] Though Signore has said that they would like to cover more television shows, they haven't done many due to the increased time commitment as the team have to watch every episode of the series.[5]
The series was first narrated by comedian Ptolemy Slocum who narrated only the first video. The next dozen were narrated by Gannon Nickell before Jon Bailey replaced him.[2] Despite starting as a direct copy of typical move trailer voiceovers, Bailey's narration voice has become more of a parody over time, using different styles for the various genres satirized.[2] Co-creator Signore says that he would like a celebrity to perform a narration for their own movie, explaining that he would like to have someone who "understands what we’re doing and enjoys it and is willing to make fun of themselves."[2]
The series' 100th video, for 50 Shades of Grey, was released in May 2015.[6] As of September 2014, the Honest Trailer for Frozen was the highest viewed with over 17 million views.[4]
Not all videos speak negatively about their films; for Captain America: The Winter Soldier, contrary to typical style, the creators found it difficult to raise negative points and conceded that the film was good.[4] Co-director Joe Russo said that he had the series in mind when creating the film, and aimed to make the movie "Honest Trailer-proof".[7]
The head writer of Honest Trailers is Spencer Gilbert, who also appears on Movie Fights.
The Screen Junkies Show
The Screen Junkies Show covers a variety of topics in film and television. Some episodes include interviews with actors, "supercuts" (compilations), and information and updates on movies. The Screen Junkies Show is hosted by Hal Rudnick, and was created by Andy Signore, Brett Weiner, and Mitch Rotter.
Movie Fights
"Movie Fights", typically hosted by Signore, typically features debates between three other people within or outside of Screen Junkies, such as other YouTube reviewers, on various movie-related questions. This segment lasts for about an hour and a half, with the first six rounds being a roundtable debate, and the last round being a "Speed Round". Each round would begin with a question, and each contestant would have to make an argument for why their answer is best. The speed round consists of five questions, and each contestant has fifteen seconds to make a claim for their answer.
Screen Junkies Plus
During the 56th episode of Movie Fights (air date 11/8/15), new premium shows were announced to be available through screenjunkies.com or an app for a monthly fee of $4.99 with a free 3-month trial and other package options:
| Show | Main Host(s) | Day |
|---|---|---|
| Mundy Night Raw | Nick Mundy, Dan Murrell (with Spencer Gilbert on bass) | Monday |
| Movie Games | Jeremy Jahns | Saturday (alternating) |
| F1rst and Worst | Chris Stuckmann | Saturday (alternating) |
| TV Fights | Roxy Striar | Tuesday |
| Does it Hold Up? | Spencer Gilbert | Friday |
| Mega Movie Get-Together | Andre Meadows | Wednesday (alternating) |
| After Credits | How It Should Have Ended (HISHE) crew | First week of every month |
| Screen Junkies Universe (SJU) | Andy Signore and Alicia Malone | Wednesday |
Plus bonus shows - (Movie Fights Live (Thursday), After the Fight (Thursday), Honest Trailers Commentaries (Tuesday), and What's in the Box? (Wednesday) (later revealed to be hosted by Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith) as well as the first scripted series of the network, Interns of F.I.E.L.D. (whose cast was later revealed to include Jonathan Lipnicki). Several cast members, notably Alicia Malone and new producer Ken Napzok had previously worked for the Schmoes Know network, Napzok as a producer and Malone as a presenter, as the Schmoes and the Screen Junkies often work together, with numerous members of the Schmoes Know team appear on Movie Fights.
On the February 3, 2016 episode of Screen Junkies Universe, Hector Navarro was announced as the host of a new show Knocking Dead (start date Monday, February 8, 2016), which would have more of a balance of praise and criticism for the TV show "Walking Dead" than the show has been given thus far.
The following shows are aired live: Knocking Dead, Mundy Night Raw, Honest Trailers Commentaries, TV Fights, Screen Junkies Universe, Mega Movie Get-Together, Movie Fights, and After the Fight.
Reception
As of December 2015, Screen Junkies has over 5 million subscribers and over one billion video views.[1]
In 2014 the Screen Junkies YouTube Channel was listed on New Media Rockstars Top 100 Channels, ranked at #34.[8]
The Russo brothers have declared themselves fans of the Honest Trailer series, and stated that during production of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, they aimed to make that film's script "Honest Trailer-proof" finding the series a litmus test on film logic.[9] Zack Stentz, co-writer of Thor and X-Men: First Class, initially called the channel's Honest Trailers "insufferable." After the crew from the channel got in contact with Stentz, he agreed to watch the Honest Trailer for Thor with the crew. In 2015, the series was nominated at the 5th Streamy Awards, being nominated for writing. The awards cites the writers as Spencer Gilbert, Dan Murrell, Erica Russell and Andy Signore.
References
- 1 2 "Screen Junkies - YouTube". Retrieved 7 June 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Acuna, Kirsten (June 26, 2014). "How YouTube's Funniest Movie Parody Series Found Its Epic Trailer Voice". Business Insider. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
- ↑ Ned Ehrbar (6 May 2015). "Honest Trailers hits 100". Metro. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
- 1 2 3 Nicole Laporte (30 September 2014). "The Truth Behind The Blockbuster Success of Honest Trailers". Co.Create. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
- ↑ Couch, Aaron (25 February 2014). "Honest Trailers Hits 50th Installment With '300' (Video)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
- ↑ Jonathon Dornbush (5 May 2015). "Honest Trailers celebrates 100th episode with 50 Shades of Grey". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
- ↑ Kristy Puchko (2014). "Captain America: The Winter Soldier Made Great By Honest Trailer Nitpicking". Retrieved 8 June 2015.
- ↑ "The NMR Top 100 YouTube Channels: 50-26!". New Media Rockstars. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
- ↑ Weintraub, Steve (September 3, 2014). "Joe Russo and Anthony Russo Talk CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER, the Deleted Scenes, Trying to Make the Film Honest Trailer-Proof, and More". Collider. Retrieved June 30, 2015.