FAQ

CINEMASSACRING refers to the efficient way in which my films are made, without a ton of equipment or pre-production meetings, ignoring all the extraneous things that happen behind the camera, when all that matters is what comes up on the screen in the end.THE CINEMASSACRE is the lifeforce and driving power behind my work. When the obstacles are stacking up and it looks like there is no way to finish a project, I just go on a rampage and “cinemassacre” my way to the end.TO CINEMASSACRE is to let loose with what you’re doing. In doubt? Just “cinemassacre” it, the same way a crazy artist would splatter paint all over his work and let the art gods take control.THE CINEMASSACRE is myself. I’ve been making movies in my backyard since I was a little kid. To begin with, I always had a “do-it-yourself” attitude, without any outside support. Things have improved since the old days, but I still have that raw & simple approach to filmmaking, seemingly “massacring” any rules or trends.

Do you only do horror films?

My name can be misleading. You come to my site and see a chainsaw dripping in blood with the name Cine-”MASSACRE”, but see the above question for what that means. I’m a big horror movie fan, but I don’t work exclusively in horror. “Cinemassacre” is just my overall signature and it employs everything I do.

What camera/equipment do you use?

I can’t answer definitively because it’s always changing. For camera, I most recently bought a Panasonic AF100. With editing, that’s a little easier to answer. I’ve been using Final Cut Pro since 2004. Before that, I’ve used Adobe Premiere and Avid. I’ve edited analog on VHS, using two VCR’s. I’ve spliced 16mm film by hand. I’ve done it all. The most important thing is the STORY. All that matters is if it engages the audience. The rest comes second.

What’s your goal?

Just to keep making movies and to be able to do some of the dream projects I’ve been planning on. It’s not something that I started because I thought it would make me rich. It’s just an emotionally rewarding and stimulating experience to express myself through the combination of moving pictures and sound. In high school, people would always say to me “You make movies? ….. Are they for school or something?”. My answer was simply “No, it’s just what I do.”

When are you going to make The Jersey Odysseys 2?

I had about 10 ideas for movies based on urban legends in New Jersey, so I made the Blue Hole first as my Senior film in college. I plan to make the rest of them sometime in the future. But for now, it’s on halt.

What are your favorite movies?

It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, King Kong (1933 version), American Movie, Back to the Future trilogy, Ghostbusters, Gremlins, Rocky, Terminator 1&2, The Wizard of Oz, Star Wars trilogy (4,5 & 6), Ed Wood, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Sword in the Stone, Vertigo, Evil Dead 2, Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, Jaws, Be Kind Rewind, The Great Escape… and too many more to count.

What kind of music do you like?

It depends on my mood, but I usually gravitate towards the rock genre. The Rolling Stones, The Who, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Deep Purple, Survivor, Aerosmith, Van Halen, Queen, Heart, ZZ Top, Def Leppard, Guns N’ Roses, Metallica, White/Rob Zombie, Tool, The Offspring, System of a Down.

Angry Video Game Nerd questions

How did you start doing this? (AVGN)

This is the #1 most often asked question I get. I made videos where I commentated on Nintendo games back in the late 80’s/early 90’s when the games were actually current. But back then, I was just pointing the camera at the TV screen and talking while I was playing them. (You can see that footage on the AVGN volume 2 DVD bonus content.)But the whole thing started as a little joke in May 2004 where I recorded an angry video game review for Castlevania 2: Simon’s Quest. The whole joke was how in-depth I picked apart flaws and how mortally obsessed and angry I was over a game that was nearly 20 years old. Then I made a second video for the game Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde where I took the joke a step further by actually appearing on screen in my “nerd” persona. At the time, I didn’t even have a high speed internet to upload the videos online, so they only existed on VHS tapes, circulated around to my friends who all thought it was hilarious. Later, after YouTube was invented, I began uploading the nerd videos and they rapidly gained a fan following which prompted me to make more. It got so popular, that I decided to make it a steady series. As much as people enjoy watching, I enjoy making them and that’s why it still continues.

What is your relationship to ScrewAttack.com and GameTrailers.com?

I can understand why it’s confusing. Here’s the story: At first, I was only hosting the videos on my own personal website (Cinemassacre.com) and on YouTube. Afterwards, ScrewAttack.com joined forces with me and began hosting the videos on their site, but I was still posting them on YouTube also. So in a nutshell: The first 17 episodes were all on YouTube. (from Castlevania 2 to Bible Games). After that, things changed. In February 2007, MTV’s GameTrailers.com bought an exclusive deal with the ScrewAttack shows, The Angry Video Game Nerd as well as the Top 10’s and Video Game Vaults. The timing was good, because I was going through a big move and I needed to support myself, let alone make video game reviews. So this was the first time I got paid for what I do. It was my big break, you could say. But this also means the videos are an exclusive feature to GameTrailers. This means that I don’t post the new Nerd videos on YouTube any longer, until they’re over a year old. For example, the Ghostbusters video was released on GameTrailers.com in February 2007. I posted it on YouTube, August 2008. Still, people are confused and don’t understand why some videos are on YouTube and others are just trailers. To amplify the confusion, I’m telling them to go to a site called GameTRAILERS. But the trailers are on YouTube, and the full videos are on GameTrailers. Confused?

When is your next video?

Up until 2010, a new video came out every 2-3 weeks. After repeating the same formula for so long and burning out, I decided to make them less frequently, mainly to focus on the AVGN: Movie. As of 2011, there’s 1 episode a month, but I will go on another break Sometime soon to work on the movie.

When are you going to review ET?

This is my #1 most requested game. It is going to be the subject in the AVGN Movie. My co-writer Kevin Finn and I spent three years (2006, 2007 and 2008) writing the script and we are very happy with the story. Once you see the movie, you’ll know what the wait was for.

In the intro to DoubleVision Part 1, why do you show Mischeif Makers and make an angry face at it? That’s a good game and doesn’t deserve that treatment!

It’s funny for me, because I just put random stuff in my intros and see what the fans talk about. But I can never predict what causes a fuss. How about Fatal Fury Special on the Neo Geo? That’s in there, and its a great game! I never said Mischeif Makers was a bad game. Yes, I put it in the intro, but it might as well have been any game. Now you want to know the real funny thing? I’ve gotten many requests for Mischeif Makers. I even recieved the game as a donation with the usual note saying “tear this game a new one!” And everybody seems to want an N64 review, so I decided to put it in there. But now, NO? Are you all playing a joke on me? Well… good one. You got me.

I saw in a couple of your videos, you mentioned that you didn’t have a Sega Saturn or working Atari Jaguar. Can I send / donate one?

I appreciate your offer, but those videos are a few years old. Since then, I recieved 4 Sega Saturns in the mail and 2 working Jaguar CD’s. Watch the intro to the Fester’s Quest video and you’ll see what I mean about the Sega Saturns. Thanks anyway.

I have an idea for a review. Can I request a game?

I welcome requests, via email, but I get them all the time. Chances are, your request might be already on the list.

Are you ever going to review any newer games?

I understand there’s a lot of interest in more recent games, but my show is all about nostalgia. After all, I’m mostly a retro gamer. What’s the first lyric of my theme song? “He’s gonna take you back to the past…” Ask me the same question in 10 years and maybe then, the now current games will get an AVGN treatment.

Why haven’t you responded to me?

Best place to try and contact me is send an email to James@Cinemassacre.com and then wait. Don’t email again, it’s normal for me to take a month to respond. It’s unrealistic for me to answer or even read all of my emails. In my heart’s wish, I would stay on top of my email every day and try to answer everything, but then I wouldn’t have time to make any videos.

Can I talk to you on MSN, or AIM?

Sorry, I very rarely use instant messaging. I can’t even keep up with my regular messages and emails, let alone have time to chat one on one. I appreciate the fan base and I try to respond to as many of you as I can, but having time to talk is unrealistic.

How do you record your game footage?

I just use a DVD recorder. That’s it. The game is plugged into the DVD recorder, and I push record. It’s that simple. But then, how you get the DVD footage into your computer is up to you. There’s several ways, but I run the DVD recorder into a digital camera which converts the analog signal to digital and captures into Final Cut Pro using a firewire connection. This means having to record it again, in real time, usually when I’m away from the computer doing something else. Doing it this way, rather than some kind of DVD burning software, allows me to capture it in Final Cut’s native codec, without the hassle of rendering constantly and having various tech issues.

Do you really destroy games?

Everyone wants to know if the game destruction scenes are real. Sometimes, Yes. I sacrifice a game if I think the video would benefit from it. Other times, No. If the game is rare or for whatever reason, I may use a dummy cartridge or some kind of special effect.

In your intro, I saw clips from games like E.T. which I can’t find your reviews of. Did you take those ones down?

I didn’t review them yet. Just because there’s a clip of a game during my theme song, doesn’t mean I reviewed it already.

What was the reason for the name change from “Nintendo” nerd to “Video Game” Nerd?

To branch out to OTHER game consoles, besides Nintendo. Also to avoid any possible trademark issue. If you still prefer to call me the Angry Nintendo Nerd, then go ahead. Think of it as an alternate name. I’m also the Angry Atari Nerd, Sega Nerd, whatever, but in general, I’m the Angry Video Game Nerd. That’s the umbrella name that encompasses the whole thing.

That game’s not that bad, you’re whining about it, just because you suck at it!

Remember this is for comedy. Sure my gripes with the games stem from truth, but they are exaggerated. The whole point is to play bad. If you want to see somebody play good, go watch a speed run. If you take my reviews seriously, you are missing the whole point. Think for yourself. I may actually like some of the games I’m complaining about. I only focus on the negative. When I think back to the Castlevania 2 video, it was just a quick little video I made one night when I was bored, just for a little joke, and there’s real “Angry Nerd’s” getting mad about it. It’s funny how people usually see videos on YouTube and take them at face value. The same people probably believe that I go around in real life, wearing a white pressed shirt, stuffed with pens in the pocket, and saying “fuck” all the time and talking about buffallos taking diarrhea dumps.

Why do you drink beer in the videos? What’s your choice of beer? Does Rolling Rock sponsor you?

It’s sort of a character trait. The nerd drinks to soothe the pain of playing bad games. It’s also done to show the contrast of being a little kid playing these games to being an adult and drinking. It’s definitley done for comedic effect. Some people have misinterpreted it as trying to be “badass” and others have argued over the choice of beer. Some people have also wondered if Rolling Rock sponsors me. No, it just happened to be the beer I had when I did my first on-screen video, Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde and since then, chose to keep it a character trait. No, beer companies DO NOT sponsor me. Beer companies want nothing to do with video games, because it’s viewed as a “kid’s” thing, even though the average gamer is around 30.

What are you favorite games?

It’s really a hard question.On NES: Zelda, Super Mario 3, Contra, Super Contra, Mega Man 2, Double Dragon 2, Punch Out, Metroid. On SNES: Mario Paint, Zelda: Link to the Past, Super Metroid, F-Zero, Super Castlevania 4, Final Fantasy 3 (6 in Japan), Chrono Trigger, Donkey Kong Country 1 & 2, Super Street Fighter 2, Mortal Kombat 2, Killer Instinct, TMNT 4, Super Mario World, Star Fox, and a bunch of others. On other consoles, there’s too many to name.

Cinemassacre In General

AVGN (Angry Video Game Nerd)

CINEMASSACRE IN GENERAL

What does Cinemassacre mean?