These owners of an independent theater chain are expanding their reach and bad corporate citizenship into the new year. They famously don’t want people to talk during movies or when they’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted at work and are working hard to keep people quiet in advance of the golden globes. When several employees spoke out publicly in the fall of 2016 and declared they knew about and allowed sexual predators to continue on as business partners, they remained silent after their investors threatened to sue. They have a connection to a project and want to skate through with all the buzz being positive.
Even through they said they would change their ways, those changes were symbolic and they continue to harass and silence victims. They definitely don’t want anyone looking into possibly illegal non disclosure agreements some staff members were forced to sign because they don’t want distributors asking questions about years of box office fraud or other possible crimes they want concealed. If they can just keep everyone quiet, they will skate through to victory.
They have been hemorrhaging upper level staff members from various companies they own since September. Corporate HR abruptly lost someone from the top last week.
They are going on vacation while in California and have other people to continue their dirty work of smearing the reputations of their victims, harassing them, and silencing them. They really don’t want ANY truth to come out.
It was fall 2017 that most victimized employees and patrons spoke out. But they had a serious public relations kerfluffle in 2016. They made the editor step down but secretly rehired him almost immediately.
Even through they said they would change their ways, those changes were symbolic and they continue to harass and silence victims. They definitely don’t want anyone looking into possibly illegal non disclosure agreements some staff members were forced to sign because they don’t want distributors asking questions about years of box office fraud or other possible crimes they want concealed. If they can just keep everyone quiet, they will skate through to victory.
They have been hemorrhaging upper level staff members from various companies they own since September. Corporate HR abruptly lost someone from the top last week.
They are going on vacation while in California and have other people to continue their dirty work of smearing the reputations of their victims, harassing them, and silencing them. They really don’t want ANY truth to come out.
It was fall 2017 that most victimized employees and patrons spoke out. But they had a serious public relations kerfluffle in 2016. They made the editor step down but secretly rehired him almost immediately.
AMC Theatres?
ReplyDeleteOr Cinemark
DeleteAlamo Drafthouse
ReplyDeleteCinefamily
ReplyDeleteI know this one! I know this one! This was abig deal in my corner of the film world last year. It's the Alamo Drafthouse chain. Owner Tim League was caught in scandal last fall for secretly rehiring Devin Faraci, former EIC of movie website BirthMoviesDeath (an Alamo owned website) a year after being fired for revelations of sexual assault. Harry Knowles, co-founder of the same company's Fantastic Fest, was also revealed to be an assaulter last year.
ReplyDeleteThe Golden Globes project is I, Tonya, which was distributed by Neon, a company League co-owns. BMD lost its (female) interim EIC, Meredith Brooks, last year, and another longtime writer, Jacob Knight, has been tweeting about needing freelance work in the future.
The bad corporate decision probably stems from their recent announcement that they are going to attempt to bring back the brick and mortar video store.
American Cinematheque (Graumans, the Egyptian...)
ReplyDelete"Golden Globe Foreign-Language Nominees Series 2018
Co-presented by The Hollywood Foreign Press Association and the American Cinematheque"
It is most definitely Alamo Drafthouse. This was a big deal in Austin and was all over Facebook. The owner Tim League said he was going to fire a known harrassed/sexual predator. It came out that he rehired the guy in secret.
ReplyDeleteI've been attending Fantastic Fest at the Alamo every year as press. The Festival attendees are a close knit group. This was a HUUUUUUGGGGEEE scandal amongst us.
ReplyDeleteWell I was wrong.
ReplyDeleteI liked I, Tonya by the way. Allison Janney was amazing as her mom.
Harry Knowles is so gross. He has the worst body odor and is a total creeper.
ReplyDeleteAll this time reading the site, and Enty hits upon an actual blind I lived through. Like, I have met all the (bad) players in it multiple times. Even had long conversations with them (all before this came out.) This is surreal.
ReplyDeleteMelvin: 🍻
DeleteCongrats Melvin, you must feel all tingly!
ReplyDeleteAlso, ha ha ha to Enty haters who claim that everything is made up!
I got all the warm and fuzzies, Easy D.
ReplyDeleteBut yeah -- to all the doubters out there, no, not everything is made up on this site, and this is living proof right here.
Nice one Lunch Lady. Looks like you got it!
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've ever seen anyone claim everything on this site is made up. I think the "haters" are just subjecting some of the recent outrageous claims to a bit of due diligence and common sense. I'm not sure why people find this so threatening. Is there some sort of contract I missed which demands commenters to not subject these blinds to any scrutiny? And, we are to treat Enty as divine, infallible entity?
ReplyDeleteI have enjoyed this site for many, many, many years. I appreciate Enty being an advocate for the many victims of the corrupt entertainment industry. However, this appreciation does not make me turn off my brain when I read this site. I actually think there is a reason for the recent craziness. Time will tell if my theory is correct.
Ughhhhh
ReplyDeleteI've been sitting on a gift card for 2 years now. Nearest location is an hour away, so it was kind of an impractical gift. Maybe I should sell the thing.
That is pretty cool, Melvin. Kind of makes the rest of the blinds seem pretty scary, huh?!? i remember seeing the Alamo Drafthouse stuff in the austin paper! kind of slimy stuff
ReplyDeleteBREAKING NEWS: "Celebrity driver who worked for Steven Spielberg, J.J. Abrams kills wife and two kids in murder-suicide" http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/celebrity-driver-kills-wife-kids-murder-suicide-article-1.3741365
ReplyDeleteCatsup- if you've been here years you should know that a significant number are pure speculation and probably complete fabrications sometimes based on a daily mail photo. That being said this site is a gossip site and gossip and rumors are sometimes total bs, sometimes factual, and usually contain tidbits of truth. Anyone that believes everything here is accurate and a fact is as scary as someone that believes everything is bs. (This is not a comment about you) There is a reason that sites like this don't get sued out of existence and it's the disclaimer.
ReplyDeleteps - I won't even get into the whole 'is enty even here anymore' and 'enty sold site a few years ago' argument. Years ago there would be one or two blinds a day. Now you have 12 or so a lot more inventory is needed.
ReplyDeleteLove the first-hand account, Melvin!
ReplyDelete@Texas - thanks for the reply. Yeah, I know...I just have noticed recently a lot of hostility towards anyone who dares to disagree with a blind. Clearly, there are many commenters who do not believe this about the site.
ReplyDeleteThe long-timers know it's a mix of fact and fiction and as you said, this is key to keeping the libel suits at bay. (Ok, and yeah, it's kind of embarrassing I'm taking this sh!te so seriously...)
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ReplyDeleteAnd, I do believe many of enty's blinds. It looks like the one about Scientology using sexual harassment to go after a former member is coming to fruition. I am not saying these women are bringing forth false claims, but this story does sound a lot like that blind from awhile back.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/3-more-women-accuse-director-paul-haggis-of-sexual-harassment-and-rape_us_5a4fd72fe4b01e1a4b14fa90
So like $cientology to use #metoo as a pretext for dead agenting a critic. I do not believe the charges against Paul Haggis bc it reeks of the work of $cio attack dogs and I hope no one else does either.
DeleteWhen there are elements that are believable based on previous knowledge is one of the factors that makes a blind good and intriguing whether truthful or not.
ReplyDelete@melvin - damn, you got it, perfect!
ReplyDeletedidnt know NEON was co-owned by the alamo guy. it came out of nowhere for a distributor.
They bought Le Video in SF a couple years back. Famous for having everything under the sun.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely Alamo. The "not talking" and "victory" tells are explicit. (Victory is their loyalty program name.)
ReplyDeleteMelvin got it and Phelps caught the Victory clue (Victory is their club membership)
ReplyDeleteAlso, this is my time for a personal story about Alamo. I believe this blind 100%.
A couple years ago, I went to go see a movie marathon at the Alamo Drafthouse with my big sis, (It was put on by the fabulous Exhumed Films and I BEGGED them to do it after I loved the first marathon they did). While the marathon was going on, I had to step out while a movie was in session to use the bathroom (The bottomless sodas were getting to me). On my way to the bathroom, I saw the manager of the theater berating an employee, just straight up giving him this demeaning lecture in the lobby of the theater. We both caught each other in one look (the manager and I) and I kept it moving and went to the bathroom, and then came back to take my seat. After a while, I whispered something to my sister that was barely above a whisper, and whaddaya know, that manager comes up behind me and says "no talking".
Now, I should mention, I'm latina, and the guy who was being berated was a young black man. It's almost too much of a coincidence to me, that this manager felt the need to make an example of the both of us. There were people who were drunk and FAR louder than we were in that theater, and no one seemed bothered by that (It was a long ass marathon and the movies were the type where the audience likes to laugh at all the inappropriate moments). And keep in mind, I've been to really rowdy screenings in that theater, like their Dismember the Alamo screening where they got INCREDIBLY rowdy, despite that "no talking" policy. But I think what was weirder was that he was waiting behind me while I sat and watched the movie, almost like I saw something I wasn't suppose to see and decided that he needed to power trip. And he stayed there a little moment afterwards as well.
I haven't been back since because I've been on a hiatus, and at this point, I rather own the movies then pay 12 bucks to see them. But all the other stuff that happened afterwards (Like them having Devin continue to ghost write for Birth. Movies. Death.) was enough to leave a bad taste in my mouth. And I should mention, I've been a big fan because how many movie theaters screen Female Trouble on 35mm? Before them, there weren't many theaters doing weird cult movie screenings like that for the hell of it. I do find it irritating how Alamo thinks they discovered movies like Miami Connection. Nitehawk Cinema in BK and Anthology Films deserve to have bigger popularity that Alamo is getting for the legendary screenings they've done, but then again, if Alamo is committing box office fraud, I rather that both of these theaters stay small and local.
ALSO, I forgot to add something else I found out after that screening: Quentin Tarantino (Weinstein's buddy) use to be VERY good friends with the guys at Alamo and would hold screenings before they blew up and became big. But then Quentin and Tim League had some kind of falling out (which I don't know the details of). But someone I spoke to on Alamo's Drafthouse Cinephiles page on FB told me that Quentin talks throughout movies to the point where it's very obnoxious, so make of that what you will, haha...
"Also, ha ha ha to Enty haters who claim that everything is made up!" Everything?
ReplyDeleteI have to give credit to Lunch Lady, who was the first one to post Alamo Drafthouse.
ReplyDeleteTarantino is giving expert opinion during movies? 😂
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of Golden Globes, Enty tweeted that he will have his people out there, and he will post everything on monday 😄
LMAO, I guess Alexandria! I remember someone on Drafthouse Cinephiles told me he had a screening after filming Inglorious Basterds for the film crew in this gorgeous theater in New Orleans, Louisiana (I forget which) and that he was BEYOND annoying: felt the need to comment loudly on everything during every scene hahaha. I guess that's a habit that's not reserved for the little people like us!
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ReplyDeleteI freaking hate people who talk/mutter/whathaveyou at the movies, or laugh at every.single.thing.
ReplyDeleteIt's so distracting and really ruins the experience.
Matt Lucas and his Little Britain producer Geoff Posner once sat behind me at a Royal Festival Hall comedy gig and WOULD NOT SHUT UP
ReplyDeleteI want to be part of this too guys
Oh Do Tell, I agree and don't get me wrong, I'm not saying they don't have the right to enforce that policy because it makes for an overall better viewing experience. I'm just saying that it was strange how that manager singled me out after what I saw. I don't think it had anything to do with anyone causing a real disruption (There were other people in that theater who were much MUCH louder than me, and that Halloween Marathon they put on with all those drunk and rowdy people also had zero management enforcement. I actively complained about it and nothing came out of that). I just found that whole thing to be so off-putting.
ReplyDeleteAh, the "I, Tonya" link makes sense now as the blind kept mentioning the word skate!
ReplyDelete@Dena, @beebopcowbody, @DumDumPop -- thanks! it's nice to get a Blind for once! @DoTell, we would be remiss to not also congratulated @LunchLady
ReplyDeleteNow, to add more color and context:
One, if not the first, exec for Alamo to hemorrhage way back in September was Todd Brown, EIC of film website ScreenAnarchy (formerly TwitchFilm), producer for XYZ Films (Brawl In Cell Block 99, The ABCs of Death), and the ex Head International Programmer for Fantastic Fest, who very publicly resigned and called out League in numerous lengthy and public Facebook posts.
The staff who signed possibly illegal NDAs could be the writers for the Alamo's media company, BirthMoviesDeath, who were resoundingly criticized for not commenting on either the League/Faraci scandal OR the post-Weinstein scandals. Yet I followed many of them on Twitter, and they were all very saddened and distressed -- but also very oblique about the causes of such distress. At least one, Film Crit Hulk, quit because of what was going on.
I can even guess as to name at least two of the Alamo's stooges in smearing victims: film journalists Britt Hayes, of ScreenCrush, and Jen Yamamoto, of the Daily Beast. Both are former writers for BMD under Faraci's reign, intimately involved with Fantastic Fest (to the point of occasionally hosting events) and both have been staunch defenders of League and Faraci, even while going after the likes of Weinstein/Spacey/et al and being pro-MeToo. In fact, they repeatedly would go after people critical of League in the comments of Brown's post.
Similarly, a Facebook fan page for the fest called Fantastic Fest Fiends, which I am part of, the admins of it would censure, lock the comments of and even erase posts critical of League during the height of the scandal with the excuse being "they didn't want to clutter the page." League is also part of the group.
@Melvin The Reanimated...now that is a blind reveal if I ever read one! Thanks for all the salacious details and first hand account. Awesome.
ReplyDelete@DumDumPop, that was fascinating, but I'm sorry you were treated poorly by that jackass.
ReplyDelete"Jen Yamamoto, of the Daily Beast"
ReplyDeleteNo such person exists. I'm guessing you mean Jen Yamato.
"They made the editor step down but secretly rehired him almost immediately."
That quote removes any guesswork. The below article is headlined DEVIN FARACI WAS REHIRED AFTER SEXUAL ASSAULT ALLEGATIONS. Faraci was the former 'editor in chief' of a film site.
http://www.indiewire.com/2017/09/alamo-drafthouse-tim-league-devin-faraci-sexual-harassment-1201875883/
Sorry, local Austinite in the entertainment biz. Y'all are hilarious with your theories. Mostly y'all were locked out because you're too old. You can't get into the clubs anymore and post some bullshit trying to compete with the Hollywood blinds.
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ReplyDeleteA little late to the game but I guessed Alamo from the clue "They famously don’t want people to talk during movies" from Alamo's kicking out a lady for texting and the ensuing video from her voicemail they promoted in their theaters.
ReplyDeleteBoy discovering this site's been a hoot! Hi, everyone!
ReplyDeleteThis one's from my neck of the creepshow woods, and Lunch Lady/Melvin hit it right out of park. This barely feels like a blind is how obvious it is. Devin is proof positive that some people only the faintest whiff of power to become absolute fuckin' monsters.
(The deleted thing from a few minutes ago was me.)
ReplyDelete@Melvin, damn girl you brought the receipts! Thank you for sharing all of that. I never paid attention to the Fantastic Fest group but I'm not surprised they deleted comments. Tbh I always noticed a clique-ness with that whole crowd, including Joseph Ziemba of Bleeding Skull. In the beginning Joe seemed ok but I think lately it's all been going to his head a bit. Its incredible to me the lack of awareness they have but any time you have a scene of "bros" it's bound to be that way.
@Heidi Haaland, thank you for the kind words love! <3
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/celebrity-driver-kills-wife-kids-murder-suicide-article-1.3741365
ReplyDeleteran a home daycare?
speilberg
wtf