MovieBob leaving The Escapist

[Eacaraxe_v1legacy]

Well I don't think there's really anything wrong with patreon (or moviebob started one), it's just a source of frustration for many as you can see talented people making a lot less than the untalented.

Honestly, I do -- but as the next step in "echo chamber culture" evolution. Media outlets tailored exactly to your whacko sensibilities not enough? well screw them, just directly fund the people who tell you exactly what you want to hear, exactly the ways you want to hear it, why, when, and how.

 

[Lono Shrugged]

Well I don't think there's really anything wrong with patreon (or moviebob started one), it's just a source of frustration for many as you can see talented people making a lot less than the untalented.

Honestly, I do -- but as the next step in "echo chamber culture" evolution. Media outlets tailored exactly to your whacko sensibilities not enough? well screw them, just directly fund the people who tell you exactly what you want to hear, exactly the ways you want to hear it, why, when, and how.

Especially considering Bob's twitter ramblings. He doesn't have to meet any corporate standards and practices for decency. He can say whatever the hell he wants. Sometimes that's great. But for extremists like Bob. That's toxic,

 

[wizzy555]

Well I don't think there's really anything wrong with patreon (or moviebob started one), it's just a source of frustration for many as you can see talented people making a lot less than the untalented.

Honestly, I do -- but as the next step in "echo chamber culture" evolution. Media outlets tailored exactly to your whacko sensibilities not enough? well screw them, just directly fund the people who tell you exactly what you want to hear, exactly the ways you want to hear it, why, when, and how.

Especially considering Bob's twitter ramblings. He doesn't have to meet any corporate standards and practices for decency. He can say whatever the hell he wants. Sometimes that's great. But for extremists like Bob. That's toxic,

True but:

a) he isn't being funded for his twitter account (at least not officially), his movie reviews show some merit and big picture is sometimes interesting as long as he excludes his snide jibes at his enemies.
b) it's not all that different from just paypal donations. I once donated to Bob's paypal before he went off the rails.

 

[F-I-D-O]

I wonder if Moviebob's loss was part of the new Editor-in-chief wanting to focus just on games. Game Theory fulfills a similar niche to Bob's The Big Picture (albeit, I think Bob does it better), while focusing purely on games. It could have been the idea that Bob didn't want to lose Big Picture and stay, while the Escapist only wanted Escape to the Movies, if anything.
However, it still surprises me, as Big Picture and Escape were doing very well view wise, so it doesn't make much sense to me to cut it off, unless there's a major restructuring coming soon.

Time to binge watch all of Bob's Picture episodes I've been missing, I guess. I'll also miss his movie reviews on here - they didn't always line up with my opinion, but they were usually entertaining.

I'm curious as to what decision led to his firing, but we'll never find out.
After Jim and MovieBob, the only weekly things I keep up with are ZP, Critical Miss and Experience Points. I've been meaning to watch Feed Dump/LRR/No Right Answer, but just don't. I'll keep coming here for news, but there's a lot of other places I go to. The Escapist needs quality side content badly, and I'm not sure if narrowing the focus helps that. I already miss the Comics, tabletop, and Movie podcasts. I never understood why Science got it's own corner, but I thought the Escapist was "the mouthpiece of the geek generation" (or something like that), and there's more to the subculture than just video games.

 

[Thunderous Cacophony]

Hopefully. Besides Unskippable and Feed Dump does the LRR crew still release new skit videos on here? It feels like they stopped. I miss all the cool adventure type things The Escapist used to do. There was that haunted house thing they did for Halloween a few years ago and the Puzzle Adventure they did back in 2010 I believe. I miss those. I would love to see those come back. Are they even doing March Mayhem this year? I feel like we would be told if they were.

LoadingReadyRun the company stopped making Commodore Hustle and LoadingReadyRun the show at the end of last year. They had a big Kickstarter to fund their last season, but said that they couldn't keep up that show due to other projects. However, they do still put out a bunch of other shows, including Crapshots (basically really short skits) several times a week on their website.

 

[Eacaraxe_v1legacy]

I wonder if Moviebob's loss was part of the new Editor-in-chief wanting to focus just on games. Game Theory fulfills a similar niche to Bob's The Big Picture (albeit, I think Bob does it better), while focusing purely on games. It could have been the idea that Bob didn't want to lose Big Picture and stay, while the Escapist only wanted Escape to the Movies, if anything.

If this were the case, he could have moved that content to Screen Junkies which is another Defy Media property.

 

[SomeGuyOnHisComputer]

Honestly, I do -- but as the next step in "echo chamber culture" evolution. Media outlets tailored exactly to your whacko sensibilities not enough? well screw them, just directly fund the people who tell you exactly what you want to hear, exactly the ways you want to hear it, why, when, and how.

Jesus Christ, that's a bit extreme don't you think? It's really no different than the donation based systems the internet has been using for ... a long-ass time.

 

[Lightknight]

I'm excited to see if we have anyone to take his place. To be honest, the internet has no shortage of the sort of people that review movies this way. I hope the escapist finds a good reviewer.

Bob was always a mixed bag for me. He did a lot of good work but was often somewhat rude elsewhere and incidentally dabbled in an inflammatory manner that was levied against a non-trivial number of Escapist's userbase (including making entire politically fueled videos to defend people that had nothing to do with his line of work, like the time he decided to decry the comparison of the claim that video games make you X with Jack Thompson's claims that video games made people violent). He had a few agendas that I was getting really tired of hearing nearly every time.

That being said, I'm not happy to see him go. I just hope his work gets a legitimate replacement because Bob was still entertaining, agendas and all.

I wonder if Moviebob's loss was part of the new Editor-in-chief wanting to focus just on games. Game Theory fulfills a similar niche to Bob's The Big Picture (albeit, I think Bob does it better), while focusing purely on games. It could have been the idea that Bob didn't want to lose Big Picture and stay, while the Escapist only wanted Escape to the Movies, if anything.

I think that focus was intended to side step the politicization of gaming news rather than not dealing on other things like tech, comedy, and movies.

Bob getting let go would be due to a few reasons but not some sort of gaming focus. I suspect it was his overt political stances that really muddied relationships with gamers. But it could have also been regarding pay.

 

[Eacaraxe_v1legacy]

Jesus Christ, that's a bit extreme don't you think? It's really no different than the donation based systems the internet has been using for ... a long-ass time.

Indeed, it isn't -- of course, echo chamber culture is nothing new either.

 

[Lono Shrugged]

a) he isn't being funded for his twitter account (at least not officially), his movie reviews show some merit and big picture is sometimes interesting as long as he excludes his snide jibes at his enemies.
b) it's not all that different from just paypal donations. I once donated to Bob's paypal before he went off the rails.

That's exactly my point, his twitter account is private and not subject to any oversight. His videos always had to meet escapist guidelines. Now that he is unfettered by any of those restrictions he can do and say whatever he wants in his videos. For even minded people thats fine. But I am expecting even more snark and jibes without the editorial team or quality control.

For example, I work at an online video production house as a content director and if Bob worked for me he would never in a million years be allowed put up such a low production quality video as his patreon. It would actively damage the company. It's ugly, sounds like garbage, overlong, meandering and I seriously wanted to turn it off. He rushed a barely watchable painfully awkward video online asking for donations. Donations for WHAT? A new camera? training? A journalist's ID? I sometimes have to upload rushed videos in the space of hours, but they never look and sound as atrocious as his. He seems to have no understanding of the technical requirements of producing online video and this video is just a shallow grab for quick cash while he is still todays news. I know he made excuses, but in video excuses are like assholes, everybody's got one.

 

[Wuvlycuddles]

Well I don't think there's really anything wrong with patreon (or moviebob started one), it's just a source of frustration for many as you can see talented people making a lot less than the untalented.

Honestly, I do -- but as the next step in "echo chamber culture" evolution. Media outlets tailored exactly to your whacko sensibilities not enough? well screw them, just directly fund the people who tell you exactly what you want to hear, exactly the ways you want to hear it, why, when, and how.

Nice tinfoil hat you got there pal. If the opinion is presented in an entertaining fashion then the opinion itself can almost become irrelevant (there are of course exceptions to this). And people will always want their own opinions validated, but I doubt most will bother to pay for it.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Isn't it a little bit pathetic that, for all his entitlement and self-proclaimed righteousness, all that Bob had going for him was a freelance gig that could end suddenly and unceremoniously just like that? Patreon is without a doubt a sound vehicle to help kickstart independent projects and all that. But to have "The Movie Bob" flee like that and make such a desperate, half-hearted attempt to grab some cash... I dunno. I think the guy loses credibility like that, making vague promises while dissing his former employers in such an immature way.

Also, correct me if I'm wrong but I get the impression Bob doesn't like Yahtzee very much? Every time he brings up "the amazing content producers of The Escapist" he mentions everybody but Yahtzee.

 

[munx13]

Good.
He can go sit in the same toxic trash dump that Extra Credits is in. Seriously there's only two guys who I consider absolute scumbags and it's Moviebob and James Portnow. Hopefully the escapist will get some good content to fill the gap.

Wait, I'm actually a little taken aback by this. How is James a scumbag? Genuinely curious.

Check the ec twitter feed(on a phone now, cant link). The guy (along witch a bunch of other antiGG) started to accuse and outright slander totalbiscuit when they knew he was in chemo and wouldnt be able to respond.

 

[Lightknight]

Isn't it a little bit pathetic that, for all his entitlement and self-proclaimed righteousness, all that Bob had going for him was a freelance gig that could end suddenly and unceremoniously just like that? Patreon is without a doubt a sound vehicle to help kickstart independent projects and all that. But to have "The Movie Bob" flee like that and make such a desperate, half-hearted attempt to grab some cash... I dunno. I think the guy loses credibility like that, making vague promises while dissing his former employers in such an immature way.

Most of us only have a single job that could technically end at any moment.

It's a particularly hard job for movie reviewers. The market is proliferated by all manner of youtube journalists. Bob was really good at it, but it's hard to make it in that kind of market.

Not that I'm defending him. I have been quite aggravated by him. But I don't wish him any personal harm and hope he lands on his feet in front of an audience that will appreciate him more. He's wonderful in some areas that I'm going to really miss.

 

[Verlander]

I feel like as if you ignored the majority of my post and just threw in your own conclusion.

The Escapist would not gain a cent from the extra money. The CM wanted that extra money to be used into Extra Credit's own show... I do not see how that is greed. The only reason why I didn't mention the debt part was because at the time, The Escapist owed multiple people (Lisa, Jim, Yahtzee, ect.) including Extra Credits.

However, before the fundraiser or the incident happened- Portnow actually excused The Escapist with the delayed paycheck, saying how it's all good and everything's forgiven. That they can wait, for the paycheck. But after the fundraiser was when things heated up and suddenly Portnow demanded to keep all the money to themselves for their private indie studio instead of improving their own show. Please tell me how that's personal greed on the Escapist's part?

Well, because delaying the payment of a debt, and writing it off completely, are two different things.

Perhaps it was in bad taste to not offer to repay the Escapist for the things it donated (although if EC had done so, they'd have every right to advertise that The Escapist had withdrawn it's support for the cause), but The Escapist had no rights to the money earned by the fundraiser. If I donate something to an auction, and it suddenly sells for more than I bargained for, I have no rights to the proceeds.

 

[Ishal]

Isn't it a little bit pathetic that, for all his entitlement and self-proclaimed righteousness, all that Bob had going for him was a freelance gig that could end suddenly and unceremoniously just like that? Patreon is without a doubt a sound vehicle to help kickstart independent projects and all that. But to have "The Movie Bob" flee like that and make such a desperate, half-hearted attempt to grab some cash... I dunno. I think the guy loses credibility like that, making vague promises while dissing his former employers in such an immature way.

Also, correct me if I'm wrong but I get the impression Bob doesn't like Yahtzee very much? Every time he brings up "the amazing content producers of The Escapist" he mentions everybody but Yahtzee.

Patreon provides a safe place for these people to make their content strictly in line with their politics and asinine ideologies, free from the influence of an employer. Dissing the employer is only one of the immature and telling things these people constantly do. Their politics and image matters more than their careers, it seems.

Spoiler

None of them seem to care for Yahtzee, as they seem to think he represents a part of the escapist that is undesirable, and must be changed.

There's another cap around where Leigh Alexander says mentions that it would be better to leave places the the escapist and get on Patreon like Lees so "nobody could ever tell them what to do again."

It's laughable. Them not being told what to do is so important. I just don't see how writing for games or movies for that matter conflicts so much that they can't write for a site, and must rely on their echo chamber supporters on patreon.

 

[CerveraFilms]

I was a fan of Movie Bob reviews and the Big Picture, but then he starting to push his agenda so much to the point that was uncanfortable, plus his twitter rants from time to time were pathetic, but then #Gamergate came and everyone lose their minds, look, one thing is to disagree with your audience and their political points of view, other is to use every oportunity to slander that audience, yes Bob, we get it, you like Sarkeesian, Brianna Wu and Zoe Quinn, fine, good for you, can you please stop being so arrogant about it, at the end he paid with his audiance and then with his job, I hope that Anita and Jonathan use some of those 400,000 to sustain Bob, he will needed.

 

[Karadalis]

Their politics and image matters more than their careers, it seems.

Its almost as if these people have ethical standards for how they're willing to behave.

They have standards allright... but calling them ethical is going a bit far.

Nothing about demanding people to suffer and calling them bastards or using faschist rhetoric is ethical.

Also you might want to remember that leigh alexander outright denied being ethical when she openly stated that nothing she does is unbiased and that she doesnt even attempt to be unbiased.

 

[deth2munkies]

Welp, I never have to visit this site again. Cya nerds.

 

[Ishal]

Their politics and image matters more than their careers, it seems.

Its almost as if these people have ethical standards for how they're willing to behave.

Ethical enough to call people subhuman. As well as a myriad of other vile things.

Yep.