That Guy with the Glasses: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 22:23, 13 December 2014
Type of site | Web series (entertainment reviews and comedy) |
|---|---|
| Owner | Channel Awesome |
| URL | thatguywiththeglasses.com |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | Optional |
That Guy with the Glasses is a website that primarily showcases satirical reviews of movies, television shows, music, comic books and video games. It primarily features the work of Doug Walker, a Chicago-based comedian, writer, and film critic also known as "That Guy with the Glasses". In addition to Walker, the website also features videos from other producers. The founder and administrator of the site is Michael Michaud, CEO of the parent company Channel Awesome. The site was launched in April 2009 after the original videos were removed from YouTube following complaints of copyright infringement.
The website is home to several series, starring Doug Walker and others. The main Walker series are 5 Second Movies (hyper-edited feature films), Nostalgia Critic (scene-by-scene reviews of films and television, later including more recent movies as well), Ask That Guy with the Glasses (a comedy question and answer show) and Bum Reviews (humorous plot summaries of recently released feature films). Other videos and written articles are hosted on the site, including some minor series and sketches starring Walker. Videos are now hosted by blip.tv after problems with earlier provider Revver.[1]
On December 3rd, it was announced that the website would shut down for good within two weeks, transferring all of its content to a new and official Channel Awesome website.[2]
History
Doug Walker's first appearance on the web was on the video website YouTube, in which he created satirical video reviews of films and other media entertainment of the past and present. Initially, Walker viewed making the videos as a side hobby, rarely interacting with his fans and did not even reveal his real name until a video responding to the Northern Illinois University shooting. The series drew complaints from major studios like 20th Century Fox and Lionsgate over alleged copyright infringement.[3] This led to his video content being taken off the website. Walker attempted to re-upload his content by assigning each video a new, separate channel so that if one were deleted, the others would be left intact. However, due to continuing issues with YouTube, Walker decided to leave the website altogether and create the website That Guy with the Glasses with webmaster Mike Michaud. Michaud had created the sites' parent company, Channel Awesome, after he and two others were laid off from Circuit City in 2007. Michaud has stated, "If we didn't lose our jobs, [the business] wouldn't have happened anytime soon."[4][5][6]
The site was re-launched in April 2008, and all of Walker's future videos would only be posted there. In the following months, the site rapidly added new contributors and series. In December 2008, Walker appeared in a commercial for the PBS documentary Make 'Em Laugh: The Funny Business of America, performing a series of brief imitations of famous comedians, from Charlie Chaplin to Stephen Colbert.[7] In 2009, Doug and Rob Walker and Brian Heinz produced an iRiff of The Lion King for RiffTrax. In March 2009, the iRiff was chosen as the winner of the website's RiffTrax Presents contest. The performers received $1,000 and, with instruction from Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett, recorded a commentary for the film Batman Forever.[8]
The Nostalgia Critic shows average 100,000 to 300,000 viewers per week, and the site as a whole receives 1 million page views per month.[4][5][9] This is expected to increase following content-provider Blip.tv's deal with YouTube in July 2009.[10] As of July 2009, the site earns more than $10,000 per month in advertising revenue and has received more than $11,000 in online donations, with the company expecting to earn $150,000 by the end of the year. In the third quarter of the 2009 Fiscal year, Walker's shows earned $53,000, including $32,000 from the Nostalgia Critic alone. This revenue was generated by run of network from Puma and Starburst.[4][5][6][10] The success of his shows has allowed Walker to make a living performing and to quit his previous job as an illustrator, as well as pay the salary of co-founder/COO Mike Ellis.[4]
Channel Awesome has plans to build on the success of That Guy with the Glasses with a network of new websites including Bar Fiesta (covering Chicago entertainment and nightlife), Blistered Thumbs (a spin off incorporating the current site's video game content) and InkedReality (anime, manga, and comic books). Michaud told the Chicago Sun-Times that he has 300 new show ideas in the works, intends to discover more performers like Walker, and has plans to increase revenue through sponsorships and merchandising.[4][6][11]
On June 28, 2012, Channel Awesome content producers Doug Walker (The Nostalgia Critic), Lindsay Ellis (The Nostalgia Chick), Brad Jones (The Cinema Snob), and Todd Nathanson (Todd in the Shadows) signed exclusivity deals with Blip.tv,[12] the video website which has directly hosted most TGWTG and Channel Awesome programming since they left Revver in 2008.[13] The deal will not affect the appearance of the producers' videos on Channel Awesome's That Guy with the Glasses website, and would assist the increase of budget of the four series, as well as provide technical improvements.[12] An extension of this deal is a Blip-run YouTube channel called "League of Super Critics" which also uploads the unedited videos of all four producers, with the exception of the Cinema Snob, whose videos are edited down from the original version so that the only way one can see the full video is to go to Blip.[14]
On December 3, 2014, it was announced that the website will be shut down in favor of a new website, rebranding itself as ChannelAwesome.com. [15]
Overview
The website features content from about 50 other producers aside from Doug Walker. The majority of the content is humorous reviews of various media and popular culture items, though some content does not consist of reviews or is not primarily humorous.
Current long-running series
The Cinema Snob
The Cinema Snob stars Brad Jones as a pretentious art critic who watches and comments on late 60's-early 90's obscure exploitation films and pornography. Like many other shows on "That Guy with the Glasses", Jones started his show on YouTube until he was confronted with a copyright claim from the filmmakers of Nail Gun Massacre.[16] The first episode on the site was "E.T. The Porno" (January 7, 2010).
A film adaptation, The Cinema Snob Movie, directed by Ryan Mitchelle, was released on September 27, 2012.[17][18]
Nostalgia Chick
The idea of a "Nostalgia Chick" to complement the existing "Nostalgia Critic" (Doug Walker) was announced on the That Guy with the Glasses website in "The Search for the Nostalgia Chick" (August 10, 2008). The idea was for a female host to review female-targeted nostalgic films and television.[19] A contest generated the winner, Lindsay Ellis.[20]
Nostalgia Critic
The Nostalgia Critic is the most popular video series created by Walker, in which he plays the titular reviewer. The show is written by him and his brother Rob Walker. The series was initially launched on YouTube before moving to Blip TV. It is the flagship show for Channel Awesome, which has since built on it with additional content, additional websites and the spin-off show Nostalgia Chick.[21]
Notable former series
The Spoony Experiment
The Spoony Experiment (TSE) is a series starring by Noah Antwiler (born December 27, 1980)[22] as "The Spoony One" or "Spoony". The series was hosted on both its own site of the same name, and That Guy with the Glasses. The primary format of the series is humorous reviews of video games and movies. From 2010, it has also incorporated some games journalism at trade shows such as the Electronic Entertainment Expo. The mascot of the series is "Burton the Robot", a robot puppet made by Antwiler. On June 21, 2012, following controversial comments made by Antwiler on Twitter, TGWTG.com announced Antwiler's intention to leave the site to pursue his own goals.[23]
Awards
On January 6, 2011, Doug Walker was awarded Entrepreneur of the Year in Las Vegas at the 4th Annual Mashable Awards, Mashable Awards 2010.[24]
Closing
On December 3rd, an announcement came out stating the site would be officially closing, with most of its content moved over to a new official website. Reasons for the site's closing have not been disclosed.[25]
References
- ^ Dreier, Troy. "Revver Non-Payments Have Video Makers Crying Foul". StreamingMedia. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/site-news/general-updates/45946-channelawesomecom
- ^ Pickard, Anna (November 19, 2007). "The five-second movies and why you should watch them". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-12-09.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b c d e Spirrison, Brad (July 6, 2009). "Entertainers don't need TV break to hit it big". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2009-07-09.
- ^ a b c Meyer, Ann (July 6, 2009). "Growing breed of accidental entrepreneur has recession to thank for business creation". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2009-07-10.
- ^ a b c Daley, Jason (December 2009). "The Entrepreneur Economy". Entrepreneur. Please note that Mike Ellis and Mike Michaud have been mislabeled in the article.
- ^ "Lost in DC: PBS Commercial Documentary". That Guy with the Glasses. February 18, 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-27.
- ^ "We have a Winner!". RiffTrax. Retrieved 2009-03-19.
- ^ Graham, Jefferson (February 13, 2009). "Blip.tv gives videomakers a chance to be a star". USA Today. Gannett Company. Retrieved 2009-05-12.
- ^ a b Learmonth, Mke (July 28, 2009). "Blip.tv Brings Programs to YouTube, Ads to 'Channel Awesome'". Advertising Age. Retrieved 2009-07-30.
- ^ "Status of the Site 6/5/09". That Guy With The Glasses. June 5, 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-09.
- ^ a b "Blip launches production studio, seeks to expand". The Chicago Tribune. June 28, 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-29.
- ^ "Revver be Dead". That Guy With The Glasses. 2008-11-14. Retrieved 2008-11-14.
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/user/LeagueOfSuperCritics
- ^ http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/site-news/general-updates/45946-channelawesomecom
- ^ "BtZ24: An interview with Brad Jones". Bthroughz.com. Retrieved 2012-04-12.
- ^ "The Cinema Snob: Bad movies are beautiful to Brad Jones". Illinois Times. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
- ^ "FROM OUR BLOGS: The Cinema Snob movie reviewed". News Herald. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
- ^ Jenkins, Mike; Bacio, Jose (June 19, 2009). "The Man Hour". Man Hour Goes Nostalgic.
{{cite web}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Missing or empty|url=(help) - ^ (itunes)
- ^ http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/channel-awesome-s-new-shows-and-more
- ^ Noah Antwiler on IMDb.com
- ^ "A Farewell to Noah Antwiler aka SpoonyOne with CA". 22 June 2012. Retrieved 2012-06-22.
- ^ "Mashable". Mashable. January 6, 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
- ^ http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/site-news/general-updates/45946-channelawesomecom