The JoBlo Movie Network includes a
website
A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google Search, Google, Facebook, Amaz ...
, JoBlo.com, which focuses on news,
film reviews, and
movie trailers
A trailer (also known as a preview, coming attraction or attraction video) is a commercial advertisement, originally for a feature film that is going to be exhibited in the future at a movie theater/cinema. It is a product of creative and tech ...
; and
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
channels that focus on trailers, movie clips, celebrity interviews, original content, and as film distribution.
Early days
Berge Garabedian (
aka JoBlo) founded JoBlo.com in 1998 as a hobby to keep his writing skills sharp. His film reviews generally critiqued movies from the perspective of an average movie-goer. The site eventually hired other critics to write reviews. Garabedian himself wrote more than 1,400 reviews until health problems forced him to step back as the site's main critic in 2007. The website’s name is a play on "
Joe Blow," and registered users of the website were known as
"schmoes". The site also features news about movies,
movie trailers
A trailer (also known as a preview, coming attraction or attraction video) is a commercial advertisement, originally for a feature film that is going to be exhibited in the future at a movie theater/cinema. It is a product of creative and tech ...
, movie previews, and celebrity interviews.
In 2000, Berge asked his best friend John Fallon (aka The Arrow) to write about horror movies, leading to the site's "Arrow in the Head" section.
Also in 2000, JoBlo.com became one of the first websites to cover the
San Diego Comic-Con
San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...
. In 2005, it became one of the first movie fansites to cover the
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
.
In 2001, the site started holding an annual awards presentation for films that were most enjoyed by its visitors. The nominees are chosen by the sites’ visitors, as well as its final winners. These became known as "The Golden Schmoes". Often the winners of these awards were films that had large fan-bases, but limited critical praise. However, the 2021 awards which would have honored films released in 2020 were cancelled due to the impact of the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
on the film industry.
In 2002, JoBlo.com signed up for an ad representation deal on the Web with Gorilla Nation which lasted until 2010, when they switched over to Complex Networks (now part of Buzzfeed).
In 2007, Garabedian was invited to take part in the “Masters of the Web” panel at the SDCC alongside other popular movie fansites like ComingSoon.net, Dark Horizons, CHUD, Ain’t It Cool News, Collider and others.
In the 2000s, the site was praised in many publications. In 2006, ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' called it one of their “25 favorite online entertainment sites". In 2007,
''Time'' magazine called Garabedian one of the “new tastemakers” in Hollywood. In 2001, ''USA TODAY'' called JoBlo.com one of the "Web's hottest fansites". In 2004, ''Variety'' said that "Websites like JoBlo.com and Ain’t-It-Cool-News, which were once 'renegades', are now courted heavily by publicists" and that JoBlo was considered an "E-frathouse; strident in its opinions but less reliant on the rumor mill". ''Maclean’s'' September 29, 2014, issue called JoBlo one of the “YouTube stars” who was “making the most of it”.
Many top filmmakers also became fans of the website over the years. Oscar-winner Guillermo del Toro said, “JoBlo is one of the holy sites that shape my day. It’s cool, informative and damn fun!” Writer/director
Kevin Smith
Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American filmmaker, actor, comedian, comic book writer, author, YouTuber, and podcaster. He came to prominence with the low-budget comedy buddy film ''Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, co ...
wrote the foreword to Garabedian’s 2002 book, ''JoBlo.com presents the 50 Coolest Movies of All-Time'' in which Smith compared the film critic to a "good blowjob". That same year, Steven Spielberg said, "I love JoBlo.com", during a press event for the Tom Cruise-starring sci-fi film "Minority Report".
Since 2009
In February 2009, JoBlo.com started a weekly podcast called ''The Good, The Bad, and The JoBlo Movie Podcast''. Guests have included
Bobcat Goldthwait
Robert Francis "Bobcat" Goldthwait (born May 26, 1962) is an American actor, comedian, director and screenwriter, known for his black comedy stand-up act, delivered through an energetic stage persona with an unusual raspy and high-pitched voice. ...
,
Duncan Jones
Duncan Zowie Haywood Jones (born 30 May 1971) is a British film director, film producer and screenwriter. He is best known for directing the films ''Moon'' (2009), ''Source Code'' (2011), ''Warcraft'' (2016), and ''Mute'' (2018). For ''Moon'', ...
, and
Clifton Collins, Jr.
Clifton Craig Collins Jr. is an American actor. After starting in 1990, with small roles in film and on television, Collins gained attention for his performance as Cpl. Ramon Aguilar, a prisoner "serving" under an imprisoned general played by R ...
In 2009, JoBlo.com launched the movie community section called MovieFanCentral, which at its peak, had over 100,000 subscribers. The community was shut down in early 2018.
In 2010, Garabedian was interviewed for the documentary film ''The People vs George Lucas''. That year, he created JoBlo Movie Productions to executive-produce several of his own films, including 2015's ''The Shelter'' and two documentaries ''Arcade Dreams'' and ''1982: Greatest Geek Year Ever''.
In 2011, the JoBlo Movie Network launching a YouTube channel called ''Movie Trailers''. It was followed a few years later by ''Movie Clips'', and over the next decade, the JoBlo YouTube Network grew to 14 channels, with over 11 million subscribers and 8 billion combined video views.
In 2011, in its 10th year covering the San Diego Comic Con, JoBlo and Latino Review threw a party at the Sway Lounge in downtown San Diego. Director Jon Favreau showed up to DJ and other noted guests included Olivia Munn, Aisha Tyler and Faizon Love.
In April 2013, JoBlo launched an app called "RELEASE Dates" which can be found on the iTunes store, as well as the Google store. It lists theatrical and Blu-Ray/DVD release dates.
Starting in 2019, JoBlo.com’s Editor-in-Chief Chris Bumbray has done weekly spots on the CTV NEWS channel regarding breaking movie news and movie reviews.
In the year 2021, JoBlo.com re-launched its website with a new look based on the Wordpress platform, with a new logo created by Disney artist Chris Uminga.
In January 2022, JoBlo announced that it would began to license full-length feature films to distribute on YouTube. John Fallon was promoted to Director, Original Content & Acquisitions.
Youtube channels
The JoBlo Movie Network has numerous YouTube channels including:
Golden Schmoes Awards
The Golden Schmoes Awards have been held annually since 2001.
Categories
Film
* Best Animated Movie of the Year (2001–present)
* Best Comedy of the Year (2001–present)
* Best Horror Movie of the Year (2001–present)
* Best Sci-Fi Movie of the Year (2001–present)
* Favorite Movie of the Year (2001–present)
Acting
* Best Actor of the Year (2001–present)
* Best Actress of the Year (2001–present)
* Best Supporting Actor of the Year (2001–present)
* Best Supporting Actress of the Year (2001–present)
* Breakthrough Performance of the Year (2001–present)
Technical
* Best Music in a Movie (2001–present)
* Best Screenplay of the Year (2001–present)
* Best Director of the Year (2002–present)
* Best Special Effects of the Year (2001–present)
Other
* Best Action Sequence of the Year (2001–present)
* Best DVD of the Year
enamed Best DVD/Blu-Ray in 2003(2001–2019)
* Best Line of the Year (2001–present)
* Best T&A of the Year (2001–2019)
* Best Trailer of the Year (2001–present)
* Biggest Disappointment of the Year (2001–present)
* Biggest Surprise of the Year (2002–present)
* Coolest Character of the Year (2001–present)
* Favorite Celebrity of the Year (2001–present)
* Favorite Movie Poster of the Year (2001–present)
* Most Memorable Scene in a Movie (2001–present)
* Most Overrated Movie of the Year (2001–present)
* Most Underrated Movie of the Year (2001–present)
* Trippiest Movie of the Year (2001–present)
* Worst Movie of the Year (2001–present)
Ceremonies
2001 Awards
2002 Awards
2003 Awards
2004 Awards
2005 Awards
2006 Awards
2007 Awards
2008 Awards
2009 Awards
2010 Awards
2011 Awards
2012 Awards
2013 Awards
2014 Awards
2015 Awards
2016 Awards
2017 Awards
2018 Awards
2019 Awards
2021 Awards
See also
*
AICN
Ain't It Cool News (AICN) is an entertainment news website founded by Harry Knowles and run by his sister Dannie Knowles since September 2017, dedicated to news, rumors, and reviews of upcoming and current films, television, and comic book proj ...
*
Dark Horizons
''Dark Horizons'' is an Australian website focused on film, television and videogames.
The site was launched on 10 January 1997 and was nominated for a Webby Award for film in 1999. ''Dark Horizons'' is owned and written by Garth Franklin of ...
*
/Film (Slashfilm)
*
The Movie Insider
Movie Insider is a website offering behind-the-scenes film information about upcoming Hollywood releases. Visitors can access daily movie news updates and informational profiles of films in early stages of development and pre-production. Originall ...
*
Box Office Mojo
Box Office Mojo is an American website that tracks box-office revenue in a systematic, algorithmic way. The site was founded in 1998 by Brandon Gray, and was bought in 2008 by IMDb, which itself is owned by Amazon.
History
Brandon Gray began ...
References
External links
* {{official website, http://www.JoBlo.com/
goldenschmoes.com award site
Canadian film websites
Internet properties established in 1998