The Cinema Snob

The Cinema Snob is an American comedy webseries created, edited, written, and starring filmmaker Brad Jones (born December 20, 1981). 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 later joined Channel Awesome in January 2010.

The series follows the Cinema Snob, a caricature of pretentious film critics, as he reviews obscure exploitation films and pornography from the late '60s through the early '90s. Since 2013, however, the Snob has started to review more widely released films, such as the Friday the 13th series, Mommie Dearest, the Halloween series, Debbie Does Dallas, The Babe Ruth Story and Xanadu.

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.

History

Brad Jones was inspired to create The Cinema Snob after watching Roger Ebert's review of Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter. "That review was very funny to me," Jones says, "and it made me think of how odd it is in general to see film snobs try to review horror or exploitation films. So that's how I came up with the character. 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."^[3] 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.^[4] 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.^[5]

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 TGWTG, Jones has done many collabortions with fellow members of the site as The Cinema Snob, such as Noah Antwiler (The Spoony One), Lewis Lovhaug (Linkara), Doug Walker (Nostalgia Critic), Lindsay Ellis (The Nostalgia Chick), Phelan Porteous (Phelous), Matthew Buck (Film Brain), Allison Pregler (Obscurus Lupa), Mat Williams (Welshy), Kyle Kallgren (Oancitizen/Brows Held High), Leo Thompson (That Sci-Fi Guy), Jerrica Benton (Diamanda Hagen), Julien Diaz (SadPanda), Bridget Brown (Dodger of Zion) among others. He has also participated in all three anniversary films (Kickassia, Suburban Knights, and To Boldly Flee) as The Cinema Snob.

Cast

• Brad Jones as the Cinema Snob (aka Craig Golightly; aka Vincent Dawn) and various:
  • Kung Tai Ted, host of the webseries of the same name. The character generally reviews Martial Arts films from the 60s and 70s.
  • Vic Dealio, host of The Big Box. The character usually reviews VHS tapes in the style of an infomercial.
  • 80s Dan, a character who adores 1980s media and culture. He would later have his own spin-off series, 80's Dan, where he is accidentally sent through time from the 1980s to the present day and forces his new friends to watch forgotten relics from the 80s.
  • Cinema Bum, a parody of Doug Walker's Chester A. Bum character played realistically.

Recurring

• Lloyd, one of Jones' pet cats, as himself. Due to becoming a beloved member of the site, Jones adopted a stamp of approval entitled "Lloyd Approved." On February 4, 2015, Jones announced on his Patreon that an animated web series based on Lloyd was in development from Toonwerks.^[6] The series premiered on July 27, 2015 and stars Jones as the voice of Lloyd, a private detective and Jillian Zurawski as the voice of Chloe, his secretary. Each episode is inspired by material that Jones has reviewed.
• Jillian Zurawski as Nancy/The Big Box Model/various. For a while, she had the character of Mrs. Snob, as she was married to Jones for two years before separating May 24, 2012.^[7]
• Jerrid Foiles as various. He was fired in February 2012, but brought back a few months later. His final appearance on the series was in December 2013, when after dodging the Cinema Snob's bullets in his reviews of the second and third Silent Night, Deadly Night films, he was finally shot and killed off in the Cinema Snob's review of the first film. He re-appeared as a surprise guest in the Midnight Screenings review of Warcraft (2016).
• Brian Lewis as various. One of his characters, Travis Crabtree, would later become a supporting character in the spin-off series, 80's Dan.

Guest stars

• Noah Antwiler as The Spoony One/Gene (2010, 2013, 2014)
• Xaria Byron as Diamanda Hagan (2014)
• Mathew Buck as Film Brain/Bastard Film Brain (2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016)
• Justin Carmical as JewWario (2010)
• Chloe, another one of Jones' cats, as herself. (2012, 2014, 2015)
• Nick Foster as Bigfoot (2014)
• Ed Glaser as Himself (2011, 2013, 2014)
• David Gobble as Snake/Imposter Brian (2012, 2015)
• Yayo Gutierrez as Steve Guttenstein (2015)
• Josh Hadley as Himself/Snob's Dick (2013, 2015)
• Alex Jowski as Marquis de Suede (2013)
• Sarah Lewis as Sarah/Candy/Bro #2 (2010, 2011, 2013, 2015)
• Lewis Lovhaug as Linkara/Fat Grandma/Actual Lee (2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016)
• Jake Norvell as Neil Hall/R.O.B. the Robot/Bro #2 (2013, 2014, 2015)
• Phelan Porteous as Phelous/Snoblous/voice of Bigfoot/Toby Fair (2010, 2013, 2014, 2016)
• Allison Pregler as Obscurus Lupa/Radu (2010, 2011, 2012)
• Jason Pullara as LordKat (2010)
• Sooki, a cat owned by Zurawski, as herself (2010)
• Andrew Strobel as Irate Emailer (2014, 2015)
• Joe Vargas as Angry Joe (2010)
• Doug Walker as Ask That Guy With the Glasses/Christopher Walken's Arm/Nostalgia Critic/Luigi (2010, 2015)
• Rob Walker as Christopher Walken/Santa Christ (2010, 2015)
• Bennett White as Bennett the Sage (2010)

Episode format

The series focuses on a pretentious highbrow art critic, the Cinema Snob. He wears an all-black suit 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 or At Long Last Love, and frequently imply that the film did not, in his opinion, deserve the amount of panning it received.

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.^[8]

Reception from review subjects

• Gary Cohen, director of Video Violence, appreciated Jones' review of the film.^[9]
• 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."^[10]
• Double Helix Films posted The Cinema Snob's reviews of the Sleepaway Camp films on their site, stating that, "You might find them hit or miss, but the Snob clearly put a lot of work into these reviews."^[11]

Copyright issues

• Brad Jones was suspended from YouTube after his review of Nail Gun Massacre. "From what I understand, it was the DVD company and not the actual makers of the film who complained about the review," Jones writes on his website. "I might be wrong about that, but that's how I understood it. I actually have them to thank."^[12] He eventually returned to the site, this time under Blip/Maker Studios's "League of Super Critics" YouTube channel, where several Channel Awesome members upload their reviews, which are edited to meet YouTube standards for language and copyrighted content.
• 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. "We just saw the so-called Grizzly II footages [sic] at your website," the letter said which was later posted in place of the review on TheCinemaSnob.com. "I am stunned and furious about this unauthorized and vicious approach to a movie which is characterized by you as an 'extremely bad and messy' film which was not worth finishing. I have made a copy of your video and sending it [sic] to my attorney. I'd like to inform you that I am the sole owner and control party in the Grizzly II movie and without my authorization the movie can not be shown in any media or other related sources. I immediately request you to remove this horrible review and please contact me at my email address."^[13] 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.^[14]
• Since Maker Studios announced Blip is closing down in August 20, 2015. Brad Jones started a new YouTube Channel called Stoned Gremlin Productions, where he uploads most of his backlog and new content. However, due to YouTube's "copyright policy," some episodes of The Cinema Snob have been flagged, such as the review of Bingo.
• In April 2016, Jones' YouTube channel was flagged for copyright infringement after The Cinema Snob review of the Five & Two Pictures film Second Glance. Rather than fighting the injunction, Jones chose to remove the review from YouTube, stating in a video that it was not worth the interruption to his filming schedule to deal with filing a counter-complaint. Jones noted that his review fell within YouTube's fair use guidelines and that Five & Two Pictures had also filed complaints against other YouTube content providers who had posted negative or mocking reviews of Second Glance, whereas positive reviews of the same film had not been targeted. After speaking personally with Jones, Five & Two Pictures removed the flag on Jones' account, allowing him to monetize his views once more. As a precaution, however, Jones removed his other reviews of Five & Two Pictures films and reuploaded them to another host. Jones stressed that the rehosting decision was not due to any pressure from either YouTube or Five & Two Pictures, but only due to his own desire to avoid further issues.

The Cinema Snob Movie

In 2011, Jones announced that he was writing a movie adaptation of the series to be directed by Ryan Mitchelle, who Jones had previously worked with on the film, Paranoia.

The film is about Craig Golightly (Jones), a struggling exploitation writer who, along with director Neil Hall (Jake Norvell), are trying to get their movie Black Angus made but they need the correct permits from pretentious film snob Dan Phillips (Mitchelle). In order to get said permits, he takes on the guise of Vincent Dawn (The Cinema Snob) and infiltrates Phillips' film snob group. While there he gets involved in a murder mystery as well as attracts the interest of Phillips' wife Nancy (Zurawski).^[15]

The film was released on DVD on September 27, 2012. It has met with mixed to positive reception from both 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."^[16] 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."^[15] 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.^[17]

See also

• Ninja the Mission Force, another webseries starring Brad Jones
• Nostalgia Critic

References

External links

• Official website
• The Cinema Snob at the Internet Movie Database
• The Cinema Snob Movie at the Internet Movie Database