Written by Seth Abramovitch, Gary Baum, Kirsten Chuba, Mia Galuppo, Chris Gardner, James Hibberd, Caitlin Huston, Rebecca Keegan, Mikey O’Connell, Sydney Odman, Lacey Rose, Julian Sancton, Alex Weprin and Abbey White. Additional reporting by J. Clara Chan.
It is the best of times and the worst of times for podcasting. In 2023, the industry put the brakes on a period of lavish spending and nine-digit megadeals and — much as its streaming counterparts did last year — followed largesse with austerity. Facing challenges surrounding the advertising model, macroeconomic concerns and a post-pandemic slowdown, some of the biggest players, including Spotify, Vox Media and NPR, announced mass layoffs. Many others — like SiriusXM and Amazon — cut their podcast budgets significantly. And yet, unlike in other struggling segments of the entertainment business, audiences are continuing to grow with no ceiling in sight. According to an analysis by Edison Research, “Podcasting is ‘back,’ reaching the highest numbers ever,...
It is the best of times and the worst of times for podcasting. In 2023, the industry put the brakes on a period of lavish spending and nine-digit megadeals and — much as its streaming counterparts did last year — followed largesse with austerity. Facing challenges surrounding the advertising model, macroeconomic concerns and a post-pandemic slowdown, some of the biggest players, including Spotify, Vox Media and NPR, announced mass layoffs. Many others — like SiriusXM and Amazon — cut their podcast budgets significantly. And yet, unlike in other struggling segments of the entertainment business, audiences are continuing to grow with no ceiling in sight. According to an analysis by Edison Research, “Podcasting is ‘back,’ reaching the highest numbers ever,...
- 8/21/2023
- by Julian Sancton, Editor
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The opening image of "The Pale Blue Eye" reveals "a young cadet who has met his maker hanging from a noose on a tree next to the Hudson River." That's how filmmaker Scott Cooper describes the shot from what he calls his most accessible film, a gothic murder mystery set in the 19th century. The director behind "Crazy Heart," "Hostiles," and "Out of the Furnace" is no stranger to bleakness, but in the case of his latest film, he gets to play with Edgar Allan Poe's macabre sense of humor to make a movie that is, in fact, his most conventionally entertaining movie.
Based on Louis Bayard's novel, the story follows a young Poe (Harry Melling) and a weary detective, Augustus Landor (Christian Bale), joining forces to solve a series of murders in West Point, New York. Often, "The Pale Blue Eye" plays as a buddy comedy between the two men,...
Based on Louis Bayard's novel, the story follows a young Poe (Harry Melling) and a weary detective, Augustus Landor (Christian Bale), joining forces to solve a series of murders in West Point, New York. Often, "The Pale Blue Eye" plays as a buddy comedy between the two men,...
- 1/5/2023
- by Jack Giroux
- Slash Film
MrBallen, internet storyteller of “strange, dark, and mysterious” tales, has signed an exclusive content deal with Amazon.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the three-year deal is “wide-reaching” and will principally see MrBallen’s podcast become exclusive to Amazon Music starting Nov. 1.
For those unfamiliar, MrBallen (aka former Navy Seal John Allen) has gained nearly 7 million subscribers on YouTube and more than 8 million followers on TikTok by sharing unnerving—and often true—stories of crime and creepy encounters.
Allen began uploading to YouTube in 2020, launched his podcast in February of this year, and in July founded a nonprofit that, among other efforts, gives quarterly grants of up to 25,000 to organizations supporting victims of violent crimes and their families.
@mrballen Huge announcment + giveaway! Use #MrBallenGiveaway ♬ original sound – MrBallen
Since launch, MrBallen Podcast has regularly topped Spotify’s true crime charts, and per The Verge generates around 7 million downloads per month.
Allen and...
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the three-year deal is “wide-reaching” and will principally see MrBallen’s podcast become exclusive to Amazon Music starting Nov. 1.
For those unfamiliar, MrBallen (aka former Navy Seal John Allen) has gained nearly 7 million subscribers on YouTube and more than 8 million followers on TikTok by sharing unnerving—and often true—stories of crime and creepy encounters.
Allen began uploading to YouTube in 2020, launched his podcast in February of this year, and in July founded a nonprofit that, among other efforts, gives quarterly grants of up to 25,000 to organizations supporting victims of violent crimes and their families.
@mrballen Huge announcment + giveaway! Use #MrBallenGiveaway ♬ original sound – MrBallen
Since launch, MrBallen Podcast has regularly topped Spotify’s true crime charts, and per The Verge generates around 7 million downloads per month.
Allen and...
- 9/29/2022
- by James Hale
- Tubefilter.com
Click here to read the full article.
John Allen, the former Navy Seal and rising podcast star known as MrBallen, has struck a wide-reaching content deal with Amazon that will see his hit podcast become available exclusively on Amazon Music beginning on November 1.
With Allen, Amazon will have another true-crime star in its growing stable of podcasts, which includes Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes’ pandemic breakout SmartLess; Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark’s true-crime behemoth My Favorite Murder; and Guy Raz’s business savvy How I Built This. But unlike those shows, which have a one-week early distribution window on Amazon Music and Wondery+ before going wide on all platforms, Allen’s MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark and Mysterious Stories will be available to stream only on Amazon Music — and not even on Amazon’s podcast subsidiary Wondery.
In competing with Spotify, which set the standard for exclusive podcasts...
John Allen, the former Navy Seal and rising podcast star known as MrBallen, has struck a wide-reaching content deal with Amazon that will see his hit podcast become available exclusively on Amazon Music beginning on November 1.
With Allen, Amazon will have another true-crime star in its growing stable of podcasts, which includes Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes’ pandemic breakout SmartLess; Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark’s true-crime behemoth My Favorite Murder; and Guy Raz’s business savvy How I Built This. But unlike those shows, which have a one-week early distribution window on Amazon Music and Wondery+ before going wide on all platforms, Allen’s MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark and Mysterious Stories will be available to stream only on Amazon Music — and not even on Amazon’s podcast subsidiary Wondery.
In competing with Spotify, which set the standard for exclusive podcasts...
- 9/27/2022
- by J. Clara Chan
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Opposition to the Academy’s plan to award eight Oscars prior to the live telecast continues to grow, with more than 350 new names — including more than a dozen Oscar-winning editors, cinematographers and production designers — added to the petition sent last week to Academy president David Rubin urging a reversal of the plan.
Among the industry professionals signing are Oscar-winning cinematographers John Seale (“The English Patient”), John Toll (“Braveheart”) and Dean Semler (“Dances With Wolves”), and Oscar-winning editors Richard Chew and Paul Hirsch (“Star Wars”), Mikkel Neilsen (“The Sound of Metal”), Pietro Scalia (“JFK”) and Zach Staenberg (“The Matrix”).
Oscar-winning production designers Hannah Beachler (“Black Panther”), Barbara Ling (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”), Adam Stockhausen (“Grand Budapest Hotel”) and David and Sandy Wasco (“La La Land”) also signed on.
Cinematography will be presented during the live show, but editing and production design are among the eight awards to be presented during the 4 p.
Among the industry professionals signing are Oscar-winning cinematographers John Seale (“The English Patient”), John Toll (“Braveheart”) and Dean Semler (“Dances With Wolves”), and Oscar-winning editors Richard Chew and Paul Hirsch (“Star Wars”), Mikkel Neilsen (“The Sound of Metal”), Pietro Scalia (“JFK”) and Zach Staenberg (“The Matrix”).
Oscar-winning production designers Hannah Beachler (“Black Panther”), Barbara Ling (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”), Adam Stockhausen (“Grand Budapest Hotel”) and David and Sandy Wasco (“La La Land”) also signed on.
Cinematography will be presented during the live show, but editing and production design are among the eight awards to be presented during the 4 p.
- 3/17/2022
- by Jon Burlingame
- Variety Film + TV
On Friday, President Donald Trump signed a controversial executive order that suspended entry of all refugees to the United States for 120 days, barred Syrian refugees indefinitely, and blocked entry into the U.S. for 90 days for citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
The ban has sparked outrage, fear and protests across America and the globe. Some have also called into question its legality, pointing to the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which banned all discrimination against immigrants on the basis of national origin. On Saturday, federal judges in New York and Boston...
The ban has sparked outrage, fear and protests across America and the globe. Some have also called into question its legality, pointing to the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which banned all discrimination against immigrants on the basis of national origin. On Saturday, federal judges in New York and Boston...
- 1/29/2017
- by Aurelie Corinthios
- PEOPLE.com
Thanks to Twitter, I was reminded that it was this month (specifically, beginning on October 2 and lasting through October 24) in the year 2002, when the so-called Beltway sniper attacks happened, lasting over a 3 week period, in D.C., Maryland and Virginia. It was later learned that the rampage was perpetrated by John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo, driving a blue 1990 Chevrolet Caprice sedan; they apparently begun their killing spree a month prior, with murders and robberies in Louisiana and Alabama. Authorities arrested both men after the series of shootings that killed 10 people and wounded 3. Muhammad was sentenced to death in...
- 10/12/2015
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
After making blood-splattered summer memories at Camp Arawak, the Sleepaway Camp franchise pointed its cameras at two new seasonal spots: Camp Rolling Hills and Camp New Horizons. Crackling bonfires, burned flesh, and slice-and-dice slayings wound their way into the busy camp curriculums in both Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers and Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland, and to help kick off their Summer of Fear: Part 2, Scream Factory will release both Pamela Springsteen-starring sequels in bonus features-packed Blu-ray / DVD Collector's Editions on June 9th:
Press Release - "This summer, Scream Factory™ invites horror enthusiasts and movie collectors to further venture into the great outdoors and experience what Camp Rolling Hills and Camp New Horizons have to offer – nature walks, randy campers, puritanical camp counselor, murder and a feast of gory goodness! Fans of the popular Sleepaway Camp movies rejoice as the collector’s editions of Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers...
Press Release - "This summer, Scream Factory™ invites horror enthusiasts and movie collectors to further venture into the great outdoors and experience what Camp Rolling Hills and Camp New Horizons have to offer – nature walks, randy campers, puritanical camp counselor, murder and a feast of gory goodness! Fans of the popular Sleepaway Camp movies rejoice as the collector’s editions of Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers...
- 4/10/2015
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
There was the acclaimed Isaiah Washington drama, "Blue Caprice," a film based on the sniper that terrorized the Washington DC area and Virginia back in 2002 - John Allen Williams, who joined the Nation of Islam and changed his surname to Muhammad years before going on a shooting spree with a young accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, that took the lives of at least ten people." Was he a serial killer? A feature film inspired by the real-life story in the title of this post was produced by, and aired on the Lifetime network, earlier this year. Titled "The Grim Sleeper," it starred Dreama Walker, Macy Gray, Ernie Hudson and Michael O'Neill. And...
- 9/4/2014
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
There was the acclaimed Isaiah Washington drama, "Blue Caprice," a film based on the sniper that terrorized the Washington DC area and Virginia back in 2002 - John Allen Williams, who joined the Nation of Islam and changed his surname to Muhammad years before going on a shooting spree with a young accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, that took the lives of at least ten people." Was he a serial killer? A feature film inspired by the real-life story in the title of this post was produced by, and aired on the Lifetime network, earlier this year. Titled "The Grim Sleeper," it starred Dreama Walker, Macy Gray, Ernie Hudson and Michael O'Neill. And...
- 8/22/2014
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Today in history, October 24, 2002... in Maryland, authorities arrest 2 people in connection to weeks of deadly sniper attacks in the DC area - John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo - after the series of shootings kills 10 people and wounds 3. Muhammad is sentenced to death in Virginia and life in Maryland. Malvo gets a life sentence in both states. The so-called Beltway sniper attacks begun on October 2, 2002, lasting over a 3 week period, in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. It was later learned that the rampage was perpetrated by Muhammad and Malvo, driving a blue 1990 Chevrolet Caprice sedan, who had apparently begun their killing...
- 10/24/2013
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
For three weeks in the October of 2002, John Allen Muhammad and his 17-year-old companion Lee Boyd Malvo terrorized the country with a series of sniper attacks, carried out with lethal accuracy from a blue 1990 Chevrolet Caprice Sedan. Together, they murdered ten people and severely injured three others throughout Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, DC, leaving the rest of the country to ask the question that always arises in the wake of senseless shootings: Why? In Blue Caprice, director Alexandre Moors attempts to answer the question with a cinematic retelling loosely inspired by the real-life events. Starring Isaiah Washington as John and Tequan Richmond as Lee, the film...
- 9/13/2013
- by Zeba Blay
- ShadowAndAct
Editor’s Note: Kevin’s review of Blue Caprice originally ran during this year’s Sundance Film Festival, but we’re re-posting it now as the film opens in limited release. The Beltway Snipers captivated the country’s attention and established a shroud of fear for people living in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia back in October of 2002. Blue Caprice is loosely inspired by that story, keeping some of the key players and events while changing backgrounds and actions significantly. Director Alexandre Moors (Cruel Summer) wanted to focus on the relationship between the elder John Allen Muhammad and the younger Lee Boyd Malvo rather than making the film about the actual murders themselves. Fiction diverges from reality right from the beginning of the film, with Lee (Tequan Richmond) first encountering John (Isaiah Washington) in Antigua after his mother leaves him to fend for himself. In reality, John met and knew Lee’s mother. For...
- 9/13/2013
- by Kevin Kelly
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
I am always just a little wary when films go to real life for their chills and thrills. The idea of telling the story of shooters, snipers, murderers and terrorists feels just a little exploitative, and a little like aggrandizing horrific acts of violence. But very often, it’s the way the story is told, and not the story itself, that makes or breaks a film like that. With the trailer for Blue Caprice, set to come to cinemas and VOD in September, I see a film worth giving a chance.
Blue Caprice tells the story of the relationship between the Beltway snipers John Allen Muhammad (Isaiah Washington) and Lee Boyd Malvo (Tequan Richmond), his young protege. The actual events took place back in 2002, when Muhammad and Malvo spent three weeks shooting people in areas spanning Maryland, Washington D.C. and Virginia. They used a blue Chevy Caprice as their base,...
Blue Caprice tells the story of the relationship between the Beltway snipers John Allen Muhammad (Isaiah Washington) and Lee Boyd Malvo (Tequan Richmond), his young protege. The actual events took place back in 2002, when Muhammad and Malvo spent three weeks shooting people in areas spanning Maryland, Washington D.C. and Virginia. They used a blue Chevy Caprice as their base,...
- 8/16/2013
- by Lauren Humphries-Brooks
- We Got This Covered
It generated some uncomfortable buzz at Sundance earlier this year, but this trailer for Blue Caprice gives the rest of us our first glimpse of what looks to be a haunting psychological thriller. Based on the true events dubbed the Beltway Sniper Attacks, the film is directed by Alexandre Moors, and stars Isaiah Washington and Tequan Richmond, with appearances from Tim Blake Nelson and Leo Fitzpatrick.The central violent events of the strange story took place over three weeks in 2002, in Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia. Ten people were killed and three more critically injured in apparently random sniper shootings from a vehicle travelling on the Interstate 95. The perpetrators were eventually revealed to be John Allen Muhammed and his adopted Antiguan son Lee Boyd Malvo, operating from the blue Chevrolet of the film's title (a converted police car). Muhammed was executed for the shooting spree in 2009, while Malvo was given six life sentences.
- 8/16/2013
- EmpireOnline
A haunting new trailer has been released for "Blue Sniper," a thriller from first-time feature director Alexandre Moors and first-time feature screenwriter R.F.I. Porto. Inspired by the Beltway Snipers rampage of 2002, "Blue Caprice" takes viewers back into the tension and horrors that plagued the Washington D.C., Virginia and Maryland areas over a decade ago. Isaiah Washington plays John Allen Muhammed, the elder perpetrator of the massacre, with Tequan Richmond as Lee Boyd Malvo, the young man that Muhammed lured into an elaborate plot. Altering a former police car, a blue Chevrolet Caprice, the duo set out along and around Interstate 95 picking off victims one by one with Malvo shooting out a hole carved in the trunk. The trailer suggests the film embraces an ambiance of tension and dread while exploring the bizarre father-son relationship that the two men shared before committing the heinous murders. "Blue Caprice" premiered at Sundance...
- 8/15/2013
- by Casey Cipriani
- Indiewire
You may not have heard news on the film its based on, but I'm sure that many of you know about the DC sniper attacks back in the early 2000s. John Allen Muhammed and Lee Boyd Malvo shot people at random in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. The official 2013 Sundance Selection gives a disturbing portrait of the events with a focus on Muhammed's relationship with the young Malvo. Isaiah Washington leads the film with this portrayal as Muhammed which is sure to bring him acclaim....
- 8/15/2013
- by Niki Stephens
- JoBlo.com
For three weeks in the October of 2002, John Allen Muhammad and his 17-year-old companion Lee Boyd Malvo terrorized the country with a series of sniper attacks, carried out with lethal accuracy from a blue 1990 Chevrolet Caprice Sedan. Together, they murdered ten people and severely injured three others throughout Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, DC, leaving the rest of the country to ask the question that always arises in the wake of senseless shootings: Why? In Blue Caprice, director Alexandre Moors attempts to answer the question with a cinematic retelling loosely inspired by the real-life events. Starring Isaiah Washington as John and Tequan Richmond as Lee, the film...
- 1/27/2013
- by Zeba Blay
- ShadowAndAct
The following is part one of our four-part Sundance Film Festival interview series: The Breakout Star, The Debut (you are here), The Returning Champion and The Comeback. The Debut Sundance has always had a knack for debuting the work of talented directors that are on the verge of hitting it big. This year, one of those breakout directors is Blue Caprice’s Alexandre Moors. This disturbing thriller is a fictional account of the events that led to John Allen Muhammad (Isaiah Washington) and Lee Boyd Malvo (Tequan Richmond) to travel around Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia in 2002 randomly killing people with a rifle from inside their Chevrolet Caprice. Moors’ vision of the film as a more internal exploration of the two men leads to Washington giving a...
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- 1/23/2013
- by Jason Guerrasio
- Movies.com
The Washington Post remembers the so-called Beltway (Washington D.C. area) sniper attacks, which begun exactly 10 years ago today, October 2, 2002. 10 people were killed over a 3 week period, in October 2002 in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. It was later learned that the rampage was perpetrated by one man, John Allen Muhammad, and one minor, Lee Boyd Malvo, driving a blue 1990 Chevrolet Caprice sedan, and had apparently begun their killing spree a month prior, with murders and robberies in Louisiana and Alabama. On the Washington Post's website is a chillingly candid, though remorseful interview with Malvo, now 27, who's currently serving...
- 10/2/2012
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Aug. 27
8:00 p.m.
Chicago Filmmakers
5243 N. Clark
Chicago, Il
Hosted by: Chicago Filmmakers
As summer starts to wind down, take a riotous trip back to the fun-filled ’80s with a collection of goofy short films, spoofs, music videos and documentaries from the Reagan era. The good times will roll with music from the Residents, Ron and Nancy promoting drug use, an Academy Award-nominated short film and work from SNL alumni.
The full lineup of films that will be screened — in glorious 16mm! — is below, but some of the highlights are: Solly’s Diner, 4 a.m., an Academy Award-nominated short film starring and directed by cult character actor Larry Hankin, most well known as the “other” Kramer on Seinfeld. Java Junkie is a short film directed by former SNL writer/actor/director Tom Schiller and stars ’80s comedy movie icon Terri Garr.
There’s also four One-Minute Movies featuring oddball indie rock band The Residents.
8:00 p.m.
Chicago Filmmakers
5243 N. Clark
Chicago, Il
Hosted by: Chicago Filmmakers
As summer starts to wind down, take a riotous trip back to the fun-filled ’80s with a collection of goofy short films, spoofs, music videos and documentaries from the Reagan era. The good times will roll with music from the Residents, Ron and Nancy promoting drug use, an Academy Award-nominated short film and work from SNL alumni.
The full lineup of films that will be screened — in glorious 16mm! — is below, but some of the highlights are: Solly’s Diner, 4 a.m., an Academy Award-nominated short film starring and directed by cult character actor Larry Hankin, most well known as the “other” Kramer on Seinfeld. Java Junkie is a short film directed by former SNL writer/actor/director Tom Schiller and stars ’80s comedy movie icon Terri Garr.
There’s also four One-Minute Movies featuring oddball indie rock band The Residents.
- 8/23/2010
- by screenings
- Underground Film Journal
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