Downlowd: The Rise and Fall of Harry Knowles and Ain't It Cool News

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Film critic and journalist David Poland has a lot of WAR STORIES. But that’s what happens when you’ve worked in his industry for as many years and in as many outlets as he has. We talk about ‘throwing Jeffrey Wells out of a moving car,’ old arguments with Drew McWeeny and Ain’t It Cool News, and the importance of recording the erasable history of online journalism.

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On the last Bonus Comments Section edition of Downlow.d until May, Joe Scott interviews writer Abraham Riesman (https://abrahamriesman.com/) to talk about his book "True Believer: The Rise and Fall of Stan Lee." Together, they discuss the movie Stan Lee produced with Harry Knowles, professional wrestling, the Geek Industrial Complex, and the importance of being king of the Scholastic Book Fair. Plus Joe and Kristina Bell also present another mailbag featuring questions, comments, and feedback from both listeners as well as the media.

P.S. Downlow.d: The Rise And Fall of Harry Knowles and Ain't It Cool News  will return with a BRAND NEW narrative episode on April 28th.

THE MID SEASON FINALE. In this special two-part episode, SXSW celebrates the 15th Anniversary of Ain't It Cool News in 2011 -- a time when its legacy was shadowed by many unpleasant truths. Also, Drew McWeeny sacrifices his filmmaking dreams for AICN while Harry Knowles does the opposite.

Written, Edited, and Narrated by Joe Scott

Executive Produced by Kristina Bell

Sound Engineered by Eddie Garcia

With Production Assistance by Ries Allyn

And Online Production by Janessa Smith

With Ben Jones as the voice of Harry Knowles, Sarah Griffith as Catherine Shoard, Yemonja Stanley as Bonnie Cressler, A.J. Schrader as Eli Roth, and Jake Steward as the voice of Drew's Anger,

The Rise of Harry Knowles and Ain't It Cool News will return with a brand new episode on Thursday, April 28th.

On this special episode of Downlow.d, Joe Scott dives into the online discourse surrounding the Pixar film Turning Red. First up, film critic Ruth Maramis (https://flixchatter.net/) discusses her review of the film as well as her all time favorite Pixar films. Then Joe Scott interviews Erica Milsom, the director of the brand new documentary "Embrace The Panda: The Making of Turning Red."

Downlow.d host and creator Joe Scott talks with special guest Adam Graham, film critic for The Detroit News about the current state of the industry after the great purge that started in the late '00s. They also become part of THE PROBLEM by discussing Matt Reeves' "The Batman." Plus executive producer Kristina Bell shares a fresh batch of listener questions, comments, and feedback!

And as an added bonus, we present Ben Jones' full reading of THAT REVIEW.

A new cinema culture emerges when professional newspaper and print film critics lose their jobs en masse, only to be replaced by the online 'children' of Harry Knowles. We also delve into the peculiar backstory and legacy of 'Neill Cumpston,' a spectral figure that looms large over modern film discourse.

Written, Edited, and Narrated by Joe Scott

Executive Produced by Kristina Bell

Sound Engineered by Eddie Garcia

With Production Assistance by Ries Allyn

And Online Production by Janessa Smith

With Ben Jones as the voice of Harry Knowles and Jake Steward as the voice of Patton Oswalt.

Downlow.d series creator Joe Scott and executive producer Kristina Bell take a break from the narrative story to discuss episode four of "The Rise of Harry Knowles and Ain't It Cool News." They share an extensive interview with early internet pioneer Patrick Sauriol, the creator of Corona Coming Attractions, the very first internet movie news site. There's also a cameo appearance by Vin Diesel, additional Ebert chatter, and another round of listener questions, comments, and feedback. Plus Joe briefly tackles the mystery of who is Alexandra Dupont.

Click here to find ALL of Alexandra DuPont's reviews.

At the height of their power and influence, Harry Knowles and the AICN crew pal around with Roger Ebert, duck a trio of Comicon controversies, and save one of Hollywood's biggest stars from the straight-to-DVD dustbin of history.

Executive Produced by Kristina Bell

Sound Engineered by Eddie Garcia

With Production Assistance by Ries Allyn

And Online Production by Janessa Smith

With Ben Jones as the voice of Harry Knowles and Greg Sestero as the voice of David Twohy.

Downlow.d series creator Joe Scott and executive producer Kristina Bell take a break from the narrative story to discuss episode three of "The Rise of Harry Knowles and Ain't It Cool News." They also share a deleted scene and answer a few listener questions, comments, and even complaints. And after spending parts of episodes two and three exploring AICN's rivalry with the National Research Group, someone from the other side of the battle talks with Joe Scott in order to share their perspective.  PLUS there is a preview of Episode Three.

REFERENCES:

Harry Knowles' original review of Godzilla 1998

Just as Ain't It Cool News is beginning to surge in popularity, Hollywood learns that the best way to beat Harry Knowles is to seduce him. We also meet the real life version of William Miller who started writing for the site when he was a teenager, while Drew McWeeny continues his war against test screenings.

Executive Produced by Kristina Bell

Sound Engineered by Eddie Garcia

With Production Assistance by Ries Allyn

And Online Production by Janessa Smith