Screened

@PassiveKaerenai said:

I find it mega-weird that the new Screened people won't even show their faces, do a small podcast, whatever. It's a really impersonal place now.

As for Tested, considering those Mythbusters guys have written about two articles total...why did they take over the site again?

Basing off of nothing, but I imagine BermanBraun just hired whomever for cheap for the time being. They probably wanted Tested, got Screened in a package deal, and will eventually shut it down. There isn't even a BermanBraun logo on the footer, and Screened isn't featured on the company's website. That's how much the new owners do not care about Screened.

I didn't think the Mythbuster guys would be on Tested much. Tested is just an extension of their names/brand, and Will and Norm are the "web-masters". If you have a TV show and go on tour, there isn't much need to contribute to a website. It sucks that it isn't "officially" Will and Norm's Tested, but that's business.

Shame, met a bunch of cool users over there that I will still talk with. Haven't read much of the news stories from the new people because you know it's not Rorie or Alex approved. Especially with the new people posting stuff with the user "Team Screened" WTF?

@MooseyMcMan said:

@SethPhotopoulos said:

@C_Rakestraw said:

@PassiveKaerenai said:

As for Tested, considering those Mythbusters guys have written about two articles total...why did they take over the site again?

I think Will and Norm said the Mythbusters guys were on tour currently, or were at one time. Not sure what's up with with them now.

I want to see Norm and Will on Mythbusters.

I'm pretty sure they have said that they won't, because they already have enough people on MythBusters, and the two of them don't know enough about building robots and stuff. And it takes a long time for those episodes to be made, so even if they filmed an episode tomorrow, it'd be a long time before we saw them on.

At this point, I think we'll be lucky to see Jamie and Adam doing anything substantial on Tested. Will made it sound like those two are constantly extremely busy on their last podcast.

Maybe we'll see some collaboration once Will and Norm get to their new office?

@C_Rakestraw said:

@MooseyMcMan said:

@SethPhotopoulos said:

@C_Rakestraw said:

@PassiveKaerenai said:

As for Tested, considering those Mythbusters guys have written about two articles total...why did they take over the site again?

I think Will and Norm said the Mythbusters guys were on tour currently, or were at one time. Not sure what's up with with them now.

I want to see Norm and Will on Mythbusters.

I'm pretty sure they have said that they won't, because they already have enough people on MythBusters, and the two of them don't know enough about building robots and stuff. And it takes a long time for those episodes to be made, so even if they filmed an episode tomorrow, it'd be a long time before we saw them on.

At this point, I think we'll be lucky to see Jamie and Adam doing anything substantial on Tested. Will made it sound like those two are constantly extremely busy on their last podcast.

Maybe we'll see some collaboration once Will and Norm get to their new office?

I hope so. I didn't mean to sound negative, because I think the potential is amazing. I love Tested, and I love MythBusters. I just think people should probably lower their expectations. Whatever they do together will be great, but it probably won't be common.

Screened is dying a slow death, but I'm enjoying it in a weird way. It's interesting to watch a website crash and burn.

Tested, though, is better than ever as far as I'm concerned. The website itself is kinda boned design-wise for the moment, but their articles and video content have sky-rocketed in quality. Norm and Will even seem to be enjoying themselves much more!

@Vonocourt said:

That's not a eulogy, that's a tweet.

R.I.P. Dick Clark.

Those were actually Dick Clark's exact last words, so that's ironic.

@MooseyMcMan said:

@SethPhotopoulos said:

@C_Rakestraw said:

@PassiveKaerenai said:

As for Tested, considering those Mythbusters guys have written about two articles total...why did they take over the site again?

I think Will and Norm said the Mythbusters guys were on tour currently, or were at one time. Not sure what's up with with them now.

I want to see Norm and Will on Mythbusters.

I'm pretty sure they have said that they won't, because they already have enough people on MythBusters, and the two of them don't know enough about building robots and stuff. And it takes a long time for those episodes to be made, so even if they filmed an episode tomorrow, it'd be a long time before we saw them on.

At this point, I think we'll be lucky to see Jamie and Adam doing anything substantial on Tested. Will made it sound like those two are constantly extremely busy on their last podcast.

I was just expressing a fantasy. I know the reality of that happening is slim to none.

Screened is dead. R.I.P. Screened.

I find it mega-weird that the new Screened people won't even show their faces, do a small podcast, whatever. It's a really impersonal place now.

I'm fairly sure after buying screened they just let current employees of bermanbraun who have an interest in movies start writing stuff. Hence why the "writers" wont say who they are or provide any examples of previous writing (there aren't any). Screened was third on my WM sites next to GB and Tested, but Rorie could write well and was a huge asset, and it is a shame what has become of that site.

For those that don't know, Rorie is still writing over at his Tumblr: http://matthewrorie.tumblr.com/

@bkbroiler said:

I love Rorie and Alex, but I just don't agree with their taste in movies at all

The only thing they did on Screened that I really agreed with was putting L.A. Confidential in the besties. The video content was high quality, but the truth is that the movie space is pretty well occupied no matter what kind of coverage you're looking for.

Its really too bad.  I would check out Screened for its articles and movie reviews...  Its a shame this happened to the site

can we set up a kickstarter to buy the screened domain for Matt for his own private use now?.....please? Pretty sure the screened community is going to burn the place down on their way out. At least at Tested when there was issues at first Norm and Will provided damage control / info and feedback to the users, this is I don't have words for what this is.

I actually started to casual read through Screened a couple months ago too and was liking it. R.I.P. Screened.

I find it a bit reprehensible that Rorie got shafted out of this whiskey media split while the rest of his buddies, including Alex, were somehow able to make a clean jump through this whole ordeal. Rorie's abilities as a writer are second to none among now dead WM family and has a charming and yet psychopathic personality to boot. Maybe Jeff and company did try to help him land a job, I don't know, but keeping Alex on the payroll while dumping Rorie seems unfair. The guy lives in the same area and would have added a new dynamic to GB if hired as an employee. Alex lives on the east coast so he can't do any podcast or video stuff. But Rorie is in the same city. Why not hire him?

I guess he wasn't as tight with GB crew as Alex is. That's all this comes down to.

@Abyssfull: I was the same way. I rarley used the forums, but I checked it everyday and they never left me disappointed.

@K9: I agreed. Rorie was fantastic at what he did and I think he could of made the transition to GB very easily.

@familyphotoshoot said:

@ShadowConqueror said:

It was never that great to begin with.

You were never that great to begin with.

DAAAAAYUM SON

In all seriousness, Screened is a sad shell of its former glorious self, and it is a sad sight to see. Matt needs to get another site going with kickstarter contributions from his loyal fanbase he has built in the last two years.

I never cared about Screened the website, I cared about the people of Screened. Alex left and I was pretty sad about it but at least he was with Giantbomb. Rorie was left all alone. I was glad he left the website, because I really didn't like the idea of him just doing all of this on his own. I will support him in whatever else he does.

Screened might as well not exist without those guys.

@K9 said:

I guess he wasn't as tight with GB crew as Alex is. That's all this comes down to.

No, I'm pretty sure he's as good a friend to them as Alex is, and vice versa. Jeff even said on his formspring that he would love to work with him again and if you watched any of the Happy Hours, you can tell everybody loved Rorie.

Maybe it will happen, maybe GiantBomb will hire him or maybe he's just interested in doing something else.

Man, fuck that. Literally anyone could've done a better job with that. Shame it went downhill so quickly.

@Manhattan_Project said:

Holy shit. Are a bunch of 17 year olds running the place now?

As a 17 year old, I take offense. I could write better articles with my eyes shut and half my frontal lobe removed.

@ShadowConqueror said:

It was never that great to begin with.

It was my favorite site next to giantbomb. Rorie, and Alex when he was there, busted their asses on that site. They always wrote great articles, literally every video feature is beautifully done, and Rorie constantly interacted with the community in the comments/forums. But way to throw it under the bus, real classy.

I loved screened and I still do. I probably split my time almost equally between here and there. It hasn't been so great lately but I'm still hoping it will get properly taken care of at some point in the future. I don't think the door is closed for Rorie to join GB yet, I think he's had a month off and he deserved it. GB are still transitioning and they said they're open to expanding into new areas they want to expand into, but only once they've got their house in order. That could mean Rorie's talents!!.. but personally I'm guessing not. I don't think Jeff wants to give more focus on the specialist games Rorie likes and I don't know how much Rorie wants to write editorial pieces on games for a living. Time will tell though!

They are keeping it as a placeholder - using a skeleton staff until they decide what to do with it. Not that different from how Anime Vice used to run.

@BaneFireLord said:

@Manhattan_Project said:

Holy shit. Are a bunch of 17 year olds running the place now?

As a 17 year old, I take offense. I could write better articles with my eyes shut and half my frontal lobe removed.

Same here. As a newly crowned 17 year old I take offense to the assertion that 17 year olds do not know "Who, what, where, when, why, how."

@familyphotoshoot said:

@ShadowConqueror said:

It was never that great to begin with.

You were never that great to begin with.

You told him, son! Vader time!

A few days ago I fucking burst out laughing while reading all the comments in the Cabin in the Woods review. I was like "this website is fucking DONE". And yeah, I since erased Screened from my mind. What a horrorshow.

With tested I only really listened to their podcast, and thankfully they've kept all their personality intact. I actually enjoy their podcast a little more than giant bomb's even though I'm less interested in most of their topics.

Can someone direct me towards some cool movie sites? I haven't been able to find any that don't suck.

Deleted it off of my bookmarks after Rorie left, looks like things aren't getting any better.

@PeasantAbuse said:

Can someone direct me towards some cool movie sites? I haven't been able to find any that don't suck.

Before Screened I used to read Slashfilm. Nostalgia Critic and Cinemassacre has some decent video content. I'm with you though. I need a replacement.

@PassiveKaerenai said:

As for Tested, considering those Mythbusters guys have written about two articles total...why did they take over the site again?

I don't actually see them fitting well with Tested. The thing is they now have over 10 articles added PER DAY, and with the two mythbusters being so extremely busy, when they DO have a minute to add one of their own articles, the very next day it's completely buried! From Adam and Jamie's point of view that must suck.

@PeasantAbuse half in the bag (redlettermedia.com)

Hold the fucking phone, Dick Clarke is dead? What? I thought he was immortal. What next, James Lipton?

Whoever is running Screened now didn't get the notes about the transparency of these sites. I know the GB and Tested guys, so when they like or dislike something I know if I agree with them or if I might disagree. I don't usually look at who writes the articles on the site here, but I usually know within the first paragraph because I am familiar with who they are as people. Screened is now run by faceless usernames, and until they bring back any reason to go there, I won't be going there. There are no video features or podcasts. Nothing there makes me care about movies. The most I have heard recently has come from Alex, Rorie, and Ryan Davis' twitter pages.

@VinceNotVance: @Radar: @ludorverr:

Thanks guys, I'll be sure to check these out.

@Radar said:

@PeasantAbuse said:

Can someone direct me towards some cool movie sites? I haven't been able to find any that don't suck.

Before Screened I used to read Slashfilm. Nostalgia Critic and Cinemassacre has some decent video content. I'm with you though. I need a replacement.

Spill.com It is mainly audio reviews of films. They are also super transparent letting an unedited audio review get out where two members got into a heated discussion on Lockdown where someone walked off and then a week later posted past audio reviews where similar events transpired.

I saw Cabin the Woods on Friday. On Saturday morning I read the Screened review and boy was it bad. It's not because I disagree, but because of the way it was written. It also seemed like the reviewer used his(her?, I forget the name) rating system instead of the 5 star one on the site. Why do I think that? Because of the link at the bottom of the review to where you can check out more by that reviewer. The comments savaged it pretty badly, too.

I think that may be my last trip to the site. It's not the only thing that I've seen and didn't like, just the most recent.

Oh, and if you like horror movies you should see Cabin in the Woods, not because it's great as a horror movie, but because you like horror movies. That makes sense. I promise.

What's Screened? That's not a quality CBS Interactive website!

Oh god... poor Screened. :( At least Tested is still putting out great content.

I love AV Club, but there's no denying the strong hipster vibe there... I can't rely on their reviews like I can Alex and Rorie's. Gonna take awhile to find more critics that so closely mirror my own tastes.

@louiedog said:

I saw Cabin the Woods on Friday. On Saturday morning I read the Screened review and boy was it bad. It's not because I disagree, but because of the way it was written. It also seemed like the reviewer used his(her?, I forget the name) rating system instead of the 5 star one on the site. Why do I think that? Because of link at the bottom of the review to where you can check out more by that reviewer. The comments savaged it pretty badly, too.

Oh, and if you like horror movies you should see Cabin in the Woods, not because it's great as a horror movie, but because you like horror movies. That makes sense. I promise.

SPOILER WARNING: Click here to reveal hidden content.

Typical horror movie + Portal + Joss Whedon + a hint of Lovecraft = Just what I wanted, apparently.

That spoiler warning was to be one of the best summations of The Cabin in the Woods. You should all see it.

@Kidavenger said:

Holy shit that site now; whoever made the call to get rid of Rorie/Alex should be fired. That place is a wasteland now.

dont think thats how it went down. i think they decided to leave

Screened was awesome, I don't understand where this vitriol is coming from. It was probably one of my favorite sites in the web.

It sucks that it had to be killed in order for whatever business-merger-so-they-can-get-more-money plan they wanted to go through. To be honest, I don't visit Giant Bomb much anymore, and I can't put my finger on why that is.

Wow, that "Cabin in the wood" review was shockingly bad. I guess I'll just keep following Rorie on twitter.

I just go straight to the forums for the user created content. Litrock writes some great stuff!

http://www.screened.com/news/what-to-watch-wednesday/3702/

"Modern Family has always felt like and Arrested Development rip-off to me and I would rather just wait for new episodes of that. However, like I don't get NCIS, I know I am probably in the minority, so you guys should watch."

"However, like I don't get NCIS, I know I am probably in the minority, so you guys should watch"

This is what we have now. THIS!

So I just read their Cabin in the Woods review....that was much worse than I was expecting. Poor Screened. :(

After that article, I called it quits and dropped it from my favorites. 
It hurt.

@VinceNotVance said:

I'd prefer if they would hand over the reins to the community though, because there are some fantastic writers doing some excellent work for free; they could use the spotlight until BermanBraun figures out what they want to do with the site.

I think that's a pretty excellent suggestion, and if they were to do so, I'd definitely step up and start writing reviews regularly, as I already currently do. I don't want to see the Screened community wither out and die, and if that means contributing to articles, reviews, etc., so be it.

@Brother_PipPop said:

http://www.screened.com/news/what-to-watch-wednesday/3702/

"Modern Family has always felt like and Arrested Development rip-off to me and I would rather just wait for new episodes of that. However, like I don't get NCIS, I know I am probably in the minority, so you guys should watch."

"However, like I don't get NCIS, I know I am probably in the minority, so you guys should watch"

This is what we have now. THIS!

Yeash, that is bad. I guess Screened eclipsed AnineVice as the worst of the former Whiskey sites.

I guess Screened eclipsed AnineVice as the worst of the former Whiskey sites.