Harry Knowles
Encyclopedia
Harry Knowles is known for his website called Ain't It Cool News
. Knowles is a member of the Austin Film Critics Association
.
, the son of Jarrell Jay Knowles and Helen Jane (Harrison) Knowles, who married September 19, 1970, in Austin. His early years were spent traveling the Southwest and Mexico
with his parents who did light shows for touring rock band
s. His parents then settled in Austin and began trading comic book
s and movie memorabilia from the upstairs floor of their Victorian era
house, as well as from Austin's first comic and movie memorabilia store, the N.E. Mercantile Company, Inc. (N.E. was short for "New Economics", which they founded in 1970 and ran until 1984. Knowles's parents also produced the Austin Fantasy Film Fest in 1976, one of the first science fiction convention
s in Austin. Knowles spent many hours watching B-grade horror movies
as well as other genres from mostly bootlegged
16 mm prints.
Knowles's parents separated in 1983 and divorced March 12, 1984; his mother received custody of him and his younger sister Dannie. The children subsequently lived with their mother on her family's ranch, the Portwood Ranch in Seymour
, Texas. His mother took possession of the comics, films, and related ephemera, and placed their ownership in the names of Harry and Dannie. With nothing better to do on the ranch, Knowles spent more time immersed in reading comics and watching movies. Knowles's other activities included the Boy Scouts of America
and he attained the rank of Eagle Scout
. In 1989, at age 17, Knowles moved back in with his father. His mother died in a fire on December 5, 1992, on the Portwood Ranch, and Dannie moved back to Austin shortly thereafter.
Following his divorce from Helen, Harry's father founded Jay's 20th Century Esoterica in Austin in 1985, and was later joined by Harry after he graduated from high school and moved back to Austin in 1989, and by Dannie in 1992. In 1994, Harry Knowles fell while pushing a cart up a ramp at a convention, and was subsequently run over by the cart with its 1,200-pound load of memorabilia. The accident injured his back and left him virtually bedridden. With an unexpected bequest of $5,000 from his mother's life insurance
, he purchased a top-of-the-line computer
and a friend arranged for Internet
service so they could play Doom online together. Jay, Harry and Dannie ran Jay's 20th Century Esoterica until Ain't It Cool News "took off" in 1996, and the family went out of the memorabilia business, but retained their extensive collections and continue to add to them.
Knowles married Patricia Cho Jones on July 15, 2007 at Green Pastures in Austin.
On April 4, 2008, Knowles announced that he was diagnosed as a Type-2 diabetic
. On May 20, 2008, Knowles underwent lapband surgery to help alleviate his diabetes and to help lose much of the weight that has contributed to his health issues. In January 2011, Knowles underwent emergency spinal surgery to his T-10 vertebrae. According to Knowles, the surgery restored sensation in his legs for the first time in over 15 years, and he will now be undergoing physical therapy to learn to walk again.
for posting binary image files
to the newsgroups, Knowles launched the website that would become Ain't It Cool News
in February 1996.
Due to the popularity of the website, Knowles was sought out by the mainstream media, including magazines, newspapers, and television news programs. In 2000, he was ranked #95 in the Forbes
Power List. Knowles has made guest appearances on the television shows Siskel & Ebert & the Movies and Politically Incorrect
.
Harry Knowles is featured in the documentary For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism
as an advocate of film criticism on the Internet; he articulates the divide between older and younger critics and advocates for the films of Michael Bay
.
He was also played by Ethan Suplee
in the 2009 movie Fanboys.
(BNAT). The event, also known as Geek Christmas, is a 24-hour celebration of film, featuring un-official premiere
s, and vintage films- from classics reprinted for the big-screen, to the rare, weird and unheard of. Film fans and professionals alike travel from all over the United States and the world to attend the event, which is hosted in the critic's hometown of Austin, Texas at the original Alamo Drafthouse
. BNAT has been called "the world's most exclusive and mysteriously secretive film celebration" and "the hardest film event to get into in the country".
Additionally, Knowles co-programs Austin's Fantastic Fest
, an eight-day film festival focusing on the genres of horror, science fiction and fantasy. This event is also held annually in September at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema's South Lamar location in Austin.
, and gave the movie a wildly positive review, while a vast majority of critics disliked the film. Knowles later reversed himself and panned the film after the ensuing outcry. Knowles and his defenders, however, have noted that he has given mixed reviews to movies for which he has been sent to junkets and premieres, and in any case is often out of step with mainstream critics. Knowles also gave a negative review to the film Monkeybone
, in which he made a cameo appearance
.
In another controversy in 1999, he wrote an article praising a script by Drew McWeeny
and Scott Swan
. He failed to mention, however, that McWeeny was a contributor to the site, writing under the pseudonym
"Moriarty." This and other alleged lapses were reported in a series of articles in Film Threat
magazine.
In early 2000, Knowles posted materials stolen from an ABC staffer's home computer, which Knowles took at face value to be the Oscar nominees for the Academy Awards—a day before the official announcement. When the actual nominees were announced the following day, it was discovered that his finalists in almost every category were incorrect. Knowles acknowledged his error when it became clear he was wrong, but then disclosed the IP address of the person whose computer had been hacked, compounding the error. The Academy considered suing Knowles for trademark and copyright infringement, but ultimately decided against it.
Harry became the subject of more controversy in the TalkBack section of his Drive review, due to the belief that he had pirated the film. Many AICN "talkbacker's" pointed out that the films' composer, Cliff Martinez, had been replaced in the pirated versions of the film with another musician. Harry Managed to name the wrong composer and upon realizing his error quickly changed the review to reflect Cliff Martinez as the original composer.
Ain't It Cool News
Ain't It Cool News is a website founded and run by Harry Knowles, dedicated to news, rumors and reviews of upcoming and currently playing films and television projects, with an emphasis on science fiction, fantasy, horror, comic-book and action genres...
. Knowles is a member of the Austin Film Critics Association
Austin Film Critics Association
The Austin Film Critics Association is an organization of film critics from Austin, Texas.Each year, the AFCA votes on their end of year awards for films released in the same calendar year...
.
Biography
Harry Jay Knowles was born in Austin, TexasAustin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, the son of Jarrell Jay Knowles and Helen Jane (Harrison) Knowles, who married September 19, 1970, in Austin. His early years were spent traveling the Southwest and Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
with his parents who did light shows for touring rock band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
s. His parents then settled in Austin and began trading comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
s and movie memorabilia from the upstairs floor of their Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
house, as well as from Austin's first comic and movie memorabilia store, the N.E. Mercantile Company, Inc. (N.E. was short for "New Economics", which they founded in 1970 and ran until 1984. Knowles's parents also produced the Austin Fantasy Film Fest in 1976, one of the first science fiction convention
Science fiction convention
Science fiction conventions are gatherings of fans of various forms of speculative fiction including science fiction and fantasy. Historically, science fiction conventions had focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of expression as movies and...
s in Austin. Knowles spent many hours watching B-grade horror movies
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
as well as other genres from mostly bootlegged
Bootleg recording
A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
16 mm prints.
Knowles's parents separated in 1983 and divorced March 12, 1984; his mother received custody of him and his younger sister Dannie. The children subsequently lived with their mother on her family's ranch, the Portwood Ranch in Seymour
Seymour
- Places :Antarctica* Seymour Island, an island off the tip of Graham Land on the Antarctic PeninsulaAustralia*Seymour, Victoria*Electoral district of Seymour, an electoral district in VictoriaCanada...
, Texas. His mother took possession of the comics, films, and related ephemera, and placed their ownership in the names of Harry and Dannie. With nothing better to do on the ranch, Knowles spent more time immersed in reading comics and watching movies. Knowles's other activities included the Boy Scouts of America
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
and he attained the rank of Eagle Scout
Eagle Scout (Boy Scouts of America)
Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America . A Scout who attains this rank is called an Eagle Scout or Eagle. Since its introduction in 1911, the Eagle Scout rank has been earned by more than 2 million young men...
. In 1989, at age 17, Knowles moved back in with his father. His mother died in a fire on December 5, 1992, on the Portwood Ranch, and Dannie moved back to Austin shortly thereafter.
Following his divorce from Helen, Harry's father founded Jay's 20th Century Esoterica in Austin in 1985, and was later joined by Harry after he graduated from high school and moved back to Austin in 1989, and by Dannie in 1992. In 1994, Harry Knowles fell while pushing a cart up a ramp at a convention, and was subsequently run over by the cart with its 1,200-pound load of memorabilia. The accident injured his back and left him virtually bedridden. With an unexpected bequest of $5,000 from his mother's life insurance
Life insurance
Life insurance is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death of the insured person. Depending on the contract, other events such as terminal illness or critical illness may also trigger...
, he purchased a top-of-the-line computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
and a friend arranged for Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
service so they could play Doom online together. Jay, Harry and Dannie ran Jay's 20th Century Esoterica until Ain't It Cool News "took off" in 1996, and the family went out of the memorabilia business, but retained their extensive collections and continue to add to them.
Knowles married Patricia Cho Jones on July 15, 2007 at Green Pastures in Austin.
On April 4, 2008, Knowles announced that he was diagnosed as a Type-2 diabetic
Diabetes mellitus type 2
Diabetes mellitus type 2formerly non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus or adult-onset diabetesis a metabolic disorder that is characterized by high blood glucose in the context of insulin resistance and relative insulin deficiency. Diabetes is often initially managed by increasing exercise and...
. On May 20, 2008, Knowles underwent lapband surgery to help alleviate his diabetes and to help lose much of the weight that has contributed to his health issues. In January 2011, Knowles underwent emergency spinal surgery to his T-10 vertebrae. According to Knowles, the surgery restored sensation in his legs for the first time in over 15 years, and he will now be undergoing physical therapy to learn to walk again.
Career
After purchasing a computer in 1994, Knowles taught himself how to navigate the Internet and began frequenting newsgroups to exchange gossip and rumors with other fans about upcoming films. After being chastised by future film critic Mike D'AngeloMike D'Angelo
Mike D'Angelo is the chief film critic for Esquire. He regularly contributes film reviews to Las Vegas Weekly and Nerve, and maintains a personal website, The Man Who Viewed Too Much....
for posting binary image files
Binary image
A binary image is a digital image that has only two possible values for each pixel. Typically the two colors used for a binary image are black and white though any two colors can be used. The color used for the object in the image is the foreground color while the rest of the image is the...
to the newsgroups, Knowles launched the website that would become Ain't It Cool News
Ain't It Cool News
Ain't It Cool News is a website founded and run by Harry Knowles, dedicated to news, rumors and reviews of upcoming and currently playing films and television projects, with an emphasis on science fiction, fantasy, horror, comic-book and action genres...
in February 1996.
Due to the popularity of the website, Knowles was sought out by the mainstream media, including magazines, newspapers, and television news programs. In 2000, he was ranked #95 in the Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
Power List. Knowles has made guest appearances on the television shows Siskel & Ebert & the Movies and Politically Incorrect
Politically Incorrect
Politically Incorrect is a late-night, half-hour political talk show hosted by Bill Maher that ran from 1993 to 2002. It premiered on Comedy Central from 1993 to 1997, and later on ABC in 1997, which cancelled it in 2002....
.
Harry Knowles is featured in the documentary For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism
For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism
For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism is a 2009 documentary film dramatizing a hundred years of American film criticism through film clips, historic photographs, and on-camera interviews with many of today’s important reviewers, mostly print but also Internet...
as an advocate of film criticism on the Internet; he articulates the divide between older and younger critics and advocates for the films of Michael Bay
Michael Bay
Michael Benjamin Bay is an American film director and producer. He is known for directing high-budget action films characterized by their fast edits, stylistic visuals and substantial practical special effects...
.
He was also played by Ethan Suplee
Ethan Suplee
Ethan Suplee is an American film and television actor best known for his roles as Seth Ryan in American History X, Louie Lastik in Remember the Titans, Frankie in Boy Meets World, Randy Hickey in My Name Is Earl, Thumper in The Butterfly Effect, Dewey in Unstoppable, and his roles in Kevin Smith...
in the 2009 movie Fanboys.
Film events
Every year since 1999, on the weekend closest to his birthday (December 11), Knowles hosts an event called Butt-Numb-A-ThonButt-numb-a-thon
Butt-Numb-A-Thon is an annual film marathon held every December since 1999 in Austin, Texas.It is hosted by Harry Knowles of the Ain't it Cool News website in celebration of his birthday. This mini-festival shows 24 hours of vintage films as well as premieres.-Event admission:The marathon is...
(BNAT). The event, also known as Geek Christmas, is a 24-hour celebration of film, featuring un-official premiere
Premiere
A premiere is generally "a first performance". This can refer to plays, films, television programs, operas, symphonies, ballets and so on. Premieres for theatrical, musical and other cultural presentations can become extravagant affairs, attracting large numbers of socialites and much media...
s, and vintage films- from classics reprinted for the big-screen, to the rare, weird and unheard of. Film fans and professionals alike travel from all over the United States and the world to attend the event, which is hosted in the critic's hometown of Austin, Texas at the original Alamo Drafthouse
Alamo Drafthouse
The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is an American cinema chain founded in 1997 in Austin, Texas, United States. It has screens in nine locations across Texas and one in Winchester, Virginia...
. BNAT has been called "the world's most exclusive and mysteriously secretive film celebration" and "the hardest film event to get into in the country".
Additionally, Knowles co-programs Austin's Fantastic Fest
Fantastic Fest
Fantastic Fest is an annual film festival in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 2005 by Tim League of Alamo Drafthouse, Harry Knowles of Ain't It Cool News, Paul Alvarado-Dykstra, and Tim McCanlies, writer of The Iron Giant and Secondhand Lions. The festival focuses on genre films such as horror,...
, an eight-day film festival focusing on the genres of horror, science fiction and fantasy. This event is also held annually in September at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema's South Lamar location in Austin.
Controversies
Knowles attends events offered to the press, paid for by the movie studios, including visits to movie sets and premieres. Questions have sometimes emerged about the resulting impartiality of his articles and reviews. For example, he was flown to the premiere of GodzillaGodzilla (1998 film)
Godzilla is a 1998 science fiction monster disaster film film co-written and directed by Roland Emmerich. It is a loose remake of the 1954 giant monster classic Godzilla. The storyline was conceived from a screenplay written by Emmerich and Dean Devlin. The film relates a tale of a nuclear incident...
, and gave the movie a wildly positive review, while a vast majority of critics disliked the film. Knowles later reversed himself and panned the film after the ensuing outcry. Knowles and his defenders, however, have noted that he has given mixed reviews to movies for which he has been sent to junkets and premieres, and in any case is often out of step with mainstream critics. Knowles also gave a negative review to the film Monkeybone
Monkeybone
Monkeybone is a 2001 American comedy film that combines live-action with stop-motion animation. It was based on Kaja Blackley's graphic novel Dark Town...
, in which he made a cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
.
In another controversy in 1999, he wrote an article praising a script by Drew McWeeny
Drew McWeeny
Drew McWeeny , also known by his pseudonym Moriarty, is a film critic, screenwriter, and the former west coast editor of the Ain't It Cool News website...
and Scott Swan
Scott Swan
Scott Swan is an American filmmaker and screenwriter born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.-Biography:Scott Swan is screenwriter best identified for his work with director John Carpenter on seasons one and two of Masters of Horror...
. He failed to mention, however, that McWeeny was a contributor to the site, writing under the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
"Moriarty." This and other alleged lapses were reported in a series of articles in Film Threat
Film Threat
Film Threat is a former print magazine and, now, webzine which focuses primarily on independent film, although it also reviews DVDs of mainstream films and Hollywood movies in theaters. It first appeared as a photocopied zine in 1985, created by Wayne State University students Chris Gore and André...
magazine.
In early 2000, Knowles posted materials stolen from an ABC staffer's home computer, which Knowles took at face value to be the Oscar nominees for the Academy Awards—a day before the official announcement. When the actual nominees were announced the following day, it was discovered that his finalists in almost every category were incorrect. Knowles acknowledged his error when it became clear he was wrong, but then disclosed the IP address of the person whose computer had been hacked, compounding the error. The Academy considered suing Knowles for trademark and copyright infringement, but ultimately decided against it.
Harry became the subject of more controversy in the TalkBack section of his Drive review, due to the belief that he had pirated the film. Many AICN "talkbacker's" pointed out that the films' composer, Cliff Martinez, had been replaced in the pirated versions of the film with another musician. Harry Managed to name the wrong composer and upon realizing his error quickly changed the review to reflect Cliff Martinez as the original composer.
Film credits
- The Ballad of the Sad CafeThe Ballad of the Sad CafeThe Ballad of the Sad Café is a novel by Carson McCullers.-Plot:The Ballad of the Sad Café opens on the set of a small, isolated Southern town...
(1991) - Colin Fitz Lives!Colin Fitz Lives!Colin Fitz Lives!, also known simply as Colin Fitz is a 1997 Independent film directed by Robert Bella. Though it received many film festival awards, it was never released to theatres. In August 2010, IFC Films released a newly remastered version of the film as part of its Video On Demand...
(1997) - The FacultyThe FacultyThe Faculty is a 1998 science fiction horror film written by Kevin Williamson and directed by Robert Rodriguez...
(1998) - MonkeyboneMonkeyboneMonkeybone is a 2001 American comedy film that combines live-action with stop-motion animation. It was based on Kaja Blackley's graphic novel Dark Town...
(2001) - Ghosts of MarsGhosts of MarsJohn Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars is a 2001 American science fiction action horror film composed, written, and directed by John Carpenter. The film stars Ice Cube, Natasha Henstridge, Jason Statham, Pam Grier, Clea DuVall, and Joanna Cassidy...
(2001) - The Texas Chainsaw MassacreThe Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003 film)The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a 2003 remake of the 1974 horror film of the same name. The 2003 film was directed by Marcus Nispel and produced by Michael Bay...
(2003) - No Pain, No GainNo Pain, No Gain (2005 film)No Pain, No Gain is an American comedy-drama film starring Gus Malliarodakis, Joe Hursley, Julie Strain, Harry Knowles, Lauren Powers, Toni Ferrai, co-written by Samuel Turcotte and Jodi Lane Baum and directed by Samuel Turcotte.-Plot:...
(2005) - PathogenPathogen (film)Pathogen is a 2006 zombie horror independent film written, directed, and produced by Emily Hagins, 12 at the time. Pathogen is one of the first notable feature-length films directed by a teenager in America.-Plot:...
(2006) - Zombie Girl: The MovieZombie Girl: The MovieZombie Girl: The Movie is an American documentary about the making of the 2006 film Pathogen which was directed by Emily Hagins, who was twelve years-old at the time.- Plot :...
(2008) - My Sucky Teen Romance (2011)
Further reading
- Harry Knowles, Paul Cullum, Mark EbnerMark EbnerMark Charles Ebner is an American investigative journalist and the host of TruTV's Rich and Reckless. Ebner writes primarily about issues in the Los Angeles area, including pit bull fighting in South Central, Scientology, and celebrity scandal. He has covered celebrity culture for Spy, Rolling...
. (March 5, 2002). Ain't It Cool? Hollywood's Redheaded Stepchild Speaks Out (1st edition). Warner Books. ISBN 0-446-52597-9.