You (Listener, Viewer, Honored Member)

Ultimately, this site is all about you. One Of Us is a community, and we want everyone to feel included. What are you passionate about? What do you like to hear, see, and experience in your favorite websites? We hope you’ll share your feedback with us and tell your friends about what we’re doing here. Additionally, any and all support you send our way will ensure continued content catered to you. Buy shirts, commentaries, buttons, make donations, or just help us spread the word via social media so that more people are able to become a part of…the us.

THE FOUNDERS

Christopher Lawrence Cox (Founder, Da Boss)

Born in the wilds of northern Virginia, Chris managed to put all of his survival skills to use and barely escaped with his life to Austin Texas in 1992 where ever since he’s dabbled in everything from plumber’s assistant to sandwich maker, from band to bar management. An opportunity to see theatrical release films for free by becoming a critic on a local public access show called “The Reel Deal” turned into a full-time job when Chris and his friends decided to take it to the internet. They built the site Spill.com, adding multiple podcasts and animated features, to no small amount of success. During this time, a fortuitous friendship sprung up between Chris and young Brian Salisbury, who was also a local film critic, and they merged their forces of will, and their laundry list of ideas for shows, to eventually build this community of critics. While Brian eventually followed his heart to a new family, Chris continues on with a cast of colorful folks from all over the country (and a few others). You can also check out Chris in his videocast, along with Martin Thomas and Danni Danger, that One Of Us does with our friends at Bell of Lost Souls: Crossover Event. He also regularly guests on the video game website Rage Select. Follow Chris on Twitter and Facebook and check out his Amazon Wish List.

THE PODCASTERS

Harmoni Anderson (Screener Squad, Highly Suspect Reviews, Unstabletop Gaming)

Harmoni is a mermaid-haired, millennial, rum drinking, Section 31, Slytherin (who’s divorced J.K. Rowling) preschool/nursery teacher and multi genre geek who also loves all things film, tv, fashion, makeup, and an embarrassingly huge BTS stan. Like really embarrassing. As in, mention them and then sit back and watch the insanity. Harmoni likes being able to game and talk movies/TV with people that aren’t 3 feet tall or all that demanding of her. Plus she can curse at us and not get fired….so bonus!

Lyrae Anderson (Screener Squad)

You can call me Rae. You can also call me a film lover. I’ll watch it all — small screen; big screen, and everything in between. I have attended and worked for Fantastic Fest and South by Southwest for many years. I married a film geek as well. While we don’t agree on everything, we agree on our love of movies.

 

Neil Anderson (Screener Squad)

I first got hooked on movies when I saw Star Wars at a drive-in theater as a kid. Growing up in a small, rural town meant not having access to a lot of movies. In college, that all changed. I couldn’t get enough. I love it all — flicks, films, movies, and cinema. I still have that wide-eyed wonder of that kid watching movies from the back of a pick-up truck at the drive-in.

Kimberly Brown (Highly Suspect Reviews)

Kimberly wants to live in a world filled with blue telephone boxes, speedsters, and ice dragons but through an ironic twist of fate, she’s stuck in this reality where these wondrous things only exist on page or film. Kim’s perpetual desire to consume sci-fi and fantasy media as a teen led her to the study of illustration/design at university to better understand its creation. Currently an Austin transplant, when she’s not wearing her critic hat you can find her pretending to like hiking, fielding questions about her hair or maybe even enjoying a local brew at the nearest dive bar.

 

Frank Calvillo (Highly Suspect Reviews, Screener Squad)

Born and raised in South Texas, Frank currently lives in Austin and has been in love with movies ever since his father showed him some Three Stooges shorts when he was five years old. Today he loves all kinds of film, regardless of era, country, budget or genre. He believes every film has an audience and is at least one person’s favorite movie. After writing for Sight & Sound and Slackerwood, he now writes for Cinapse where his increasingly random taste in all flavors of cinema (from Rashomon to Mars Attacks!) continues to thrive. His ultimate goal is to write a script for his boyhood crush, Michelle Pfeiffer.

Kate Chambers (Highly Suspect Reviews, Screener Squad)

Kate is a certified horror fiend and Horse Girl™. Her name isn’t short for anything. A native Austinite, she graduated with a BFA in Film Production from the University of Colorado Boulder then returned to the Lone Star State to make her home amid the cinephiles of the Alamo Drafthouse and the Austin Film Society. In her spare time, you can find her either down at the barn with her noble steed Jazz, watching as many movies as possible (often at work), cuddling with her pair of black cats and writing horror scripts, or nursing a beer in any available body of water… or doing Duolingo, where she’s currently on a 1000+ day streak.

Jordan Cobb (Screener Squad)

Born with a comic book in one hand, a camera in the other, and in front of the television as WrestleMania played out, Jordan Worth Cobb was thus birthed into this crazy world. A Digital Filmmaking major from the University of Central Arkansas, Jordan has done it all in film from directing, writing, editing, and producing in addition to skills involved in film and TV criticism, journalism, and years of podcasting experience. On any given day, her ADHD riddled brain bounces focus from film to pro wrestling to TV to superheroes to noir to video games to espionage and yes, even to sports. She played little league you know. For more of this eccentric nerd, you can follow her on Twitter here and read her original writings on Deepest Corners of My Notebook.

T.C. De Witt (Screener Squad)

T.C. De Witt is a multi-awarded writer/director originally from Wisconsin and now based in Los Angeles. His life has been devoted to the arts since he was a child. He’s been a stage performer, playwright, stand-up comic, film and television actor, radio DJ, podcaster published author, recorded musician, and comic writer/illustrator. He is now a professional screenwriter and has been thriving for the past decade, regularly offering his talents to production studios in LA, Chicago, Milwaukee, and internationally in Sydney and Poland. He’s provided content for Amazon Prime, Netflix, and several YouTube partners. His films have screened internationally, and his stageplays have been performed across the country. In the last ten years, he has directed 57 films, 23 episodes of his series The One Minute Rewatch, 300+ episodes of podcasts, and his multi-award-winning short film Screen: Righter screened at the Festival de Cannes in 2016. He has released two feature films, The Princess Knight and A Christmas Sunset. He thrives on collaboration and the thrill of sharing stories in all forms.

Danny Dogget (Screener Squad)

Hey persons, it’s your favorite canine Dogget! As many of you know, I don’t identify as a critic as much as a classy shock jock. That being said, I do my best to give all of you a well-balanced review filled with my true opinions and hopefully a few laughs. You can occasionally find me on other persons podcast like Mission Impodible (that’ll be 10 dollars Nathan). For the most part, you can find me doing reviews on Oneofus.net.

 

Melina Eames (Screener Squad)

Melina first discovered that she carried the nerd gene at the tender age of four following her exposure to a little film called A New Hope. In the twenty-some years that followed, Melina continued to grow into her geek identity through the discovery of Batman, Mst3k, Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings and The Mandalorian. But perhaps her most significant discovery came at the age of fourteen when a night of YouTube mining led her to the review site of Spill.com. Melina became a devoted follower whose fandom did not end with the site’s demise. By then, it had worked its dark magic and left her with a love and appreciation for film criticism that she has yet to shrug.

 

Jason Fisher (Screener Squad)

Born in New Orleans, brought up in Austin, and raised by cinema, Jason is an animator and filmmaker with decades of experience working in the arts. Before even graduating high school, Jason was animating and podcasting with the Austin-based movie review site Spill.com. From this formative experience, he gained an eclectic taste and knowledge that he carried into a rich career working in the animation industry. Notable projects include Marvel’s Hit Monkey, FXX’s Legion, Netflix’s America: The Motion Picture, and working for companies including Nickelodeon, Rooster Teeth, PBS Kids, and many more. As a cineast, it’s his belief that his favorite movie is one that he hasn’t seen yet. His thirst for great art is unquenchable, whether that means consuming it or contributing to it himself.

Nathan Flynn (Screener Squad, Highly Suspect Reviews)

A recent transplant to Austin originally hailing from the wretched hive of scum and villainy that is the Midwest, Nathan Flynn has been a movie super freak since he saw “An American Werewolf in London” way too young and grew up worshipping the James Bond franchise and all things related to Cold War-era spycraft. When he’s not watching movies and being a constant defender of the Tron franchise, he can be found practicing his second biggest love: cooking (having been a chef for 10+ years) and hitting his head up against a desk to write screenplays that nobody reads. He also spearheads his own podcast on the Mission Impossible franchise titled “Mission: Impodible”. He can be found rarely posting on his personal twitter.

Matt Foster (Screener Squad)

Matt Foster is a stand up comic, podcaster, and movie critic currently living in the greater Salt Lake City area. His lifelong love of genre film began early, when he realized they freaked out his mom. He performs (epidemics permitting) regularly on Dungeons and Comedy, a DND live play with standup comedians, and is the slightly less mustache-y half of the Nighthawks Podcast, a cinema-centric discussion cohosted by Trevor T. Trujillo.

 

Matt Frank (Giganticast, Highly Suspect Reviews, Screener Squad)

Matt Frank is known in both Japan and America as the “Kaiju King,” having been an artist for IDW’s Godzilla comics since 2011. His work can be found in Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters, Godzilla: History’s Greatest Monster, Godzilla: Legends, Godzilla: Rulers of Earth, and the critically praised Godzilla: Rage Across Time. Matt is also an accomplished Transformers artist, working extensively for both IDW and Fub Publications, as an interior artist and a character designer. Mars Attacks The Transformers and Spotlight: Trailcutter are among his most popular works, and he created four new Transformers characters, the Raptoricons, for the Official Collector’s Club in 2016. In the summer of 2017, Matt made an exclusive poster celebrating the American home video release of Shin Godzilla by Funimation, and is also a featured commentator on the blu-ray special features. He has also contributed covers for Go Go Power Rangers, My Little Pony, and Mars Attacks. Matt is a frequent contributor to both OneofUs.net, where he has his own podcast, The Giganticast, and he a frequent co-host on RageSelect.com’s Let’s Play videos.

Alan Galinsky (Highly Suspect Reviews, Screener Squad, Deliberations of Doom)

Born and raised in Texas, Alan Galinsky is a lifetime movie fan. As a youth, he would rent multiple movies every weekend and go to the theater for the latest releases, and that pace has remained steady. When Alan isn’t watching movies, you can find him talking about movies. When he’s not talking about movies, you can find him playing music in the band Delicate Boys.

John Gholson (Digital Noise)

John Gholson is a writer and cartoonist with bylines at Movies.com, Moviefone, and Vice and illustration work for GQ and Fandango. As an actor, John can be seen in Zero Charisma, Hidden America With Jonah Ray, and The Suplex Duplex Complex. He writes and performs sketch comedy regularly at The New Movement Theater. John currently lives in Austin with his beloved comic book collection and a cat named after Peter Cushing.

Ben Glasthal (Highly Suspect Review, Screener Squad, Breakfast Pub, Unstabletop Gamers, Video and Audio Editor)

Born in Boston, then ending up in Dallas, Texas in the early 2000s, Ben has always had a passion for film. He started in film school not long after where he launched MovieReelizations.com where he still writes reviews to this day. He’s since moved to Austin where he has been also hopping on podcasts and both editing and shooting videos for One of Us. A fan of films from almost all genres, and many that predate him more than makes sense, he is anything if not eclectic in what he’s watching at any point. For the rest of his free time, he can be found biking, drinking craft beer, being an amateur photographer, and playing video games by himself or on Twitch. He’s best found on Instagram or Twitter as @MovieReelBen.

 

Ryan Aleck Hill (Screener Squad, Video and Audio editor)

Ryan is a Washington D.C. based filmmaker & video editor who loves watching and talking about movies more than just about anything. He currently works at a creative agency as a director of photography/video editor, and does freelance video editing for Anthony Fantano/TheNeedleDrop. He also has a YouTube channel (Downhill Media) where he works on a weirdo art explainer series called “Artsplained” with his partner Michelle. He was a part of the Spill.com community way back in the day, where he was cursed with an obsession for movies. In an effort to break the curse, he shows up on the Screener Squad podcast every once in a while and edits for One Of Us. Chris Cox claims that this is the only way it can be broken. You can follow him on Twitter but you’ll probably regret it.

Sarah Jane (Highly Suspect Reviews, Screener Squad)

Sarah Jane was born and raised in Southern California but currently calls Austin, TX her home. She’s seen over 5,700 movies so far with zero plans on stopping. She has a penchant for all things exploitation, and she loves Godzilla with all her heart. Her favorite films are Deep Red, Le Samourai, and Miller’s Crossing. When she isn’t watching movies, she’s busy herding her four cats, her husband, and her 11-year-old kiddo. She’s been a contributor to TalkFilmSociety, Daily Grindhouse, FThisMovie!, Looper, and the Austin Chronicle. You can find her on Twitter and Letterboxd at @fookthis.

Maciej Kur (Infestation)

Maciej Kur is a Polish comic and film script writer, director and reviewer, and decidedly the biggest fan and most loyal supporter of Oneofus.net. A graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw with a master’s degree and the Academy of Film and Television. Co-creator of the comic book series Dollicious and Emilka Sza (with Magdalena Kania ) and Lil i Put, (with Piotr Bednarczyk ) and many others. Awarded in 2014 for a comic book in the spirit of Janusz Christa and awarded for “Złoty Puchar” in 2023. He wrote scripts for new comic books in the Polish cult series “Kayko and Kokosh”, as well as episodes of an animated series based on it (available on Netflix). He wrote for many other shows including “Kicia Kocia” (Kitty Kotty), “Pompik the Bison”, “Pucio”, “Hip-Hip and Hurra” and the upcoming animated movies “The Shrew of Destiny” and “Tytus, Romek and A’tomek”. He also directed a documentary about Polish animation legend “Witold Giersz”. Big lover of the art of animation and comic books.

 

Bradly Martin (Screener Squad, Eye on the Prize, Breakfast Pub)

Bradly Martin was born in the united states and grew up on a healthy diet of sports, films, and books. A rather shy lad who kept to himself, Bradly soon discovered the best way to know a person was to know what people liked. Throughout the years Bradly became a fan of many things and a fanatic of none. From Doctor Dre, to Doctor Strange and the who’s who of Whos. From Playstation to the Dreamcast and Marvel to DC. From LeBron James to James Bond and Lord of the Rings to Lord Palmerston (or Pitt the Elder if you agree with Wade Boggs) and is a huge fan of dad jokes and randomly obscure Simpsons references. Armed with a vast knowledge of comics, films, and pop culture. Bradly traveled the world making friends and sharing takes. As a young man Bradly married the love of his life young and grew older every year with each new child brought into the brood. If trends continue, Scientists predict that .2% of Canada (where Bradly and family reside) will be populated by Bradly’s children by the year 2029. You can hear him leading and listening to his favorite critics on the Screener Squad and Eye on the prize and maybe even provide some comments of his own.

Rose Mattox (Screener Squad)

Originally hailing from Austin then Houston, Rose has been an avid movie and TV fanatic pretty much since birth. She spends spending her days watching Star Trek reruns, 60’s spy fiction, and Audrey Hepburn movies with her beloved minion (see: dog Riley). She also occasionally dabbles in comedy, screenwriting, as well as graphic and interior design. Rose has been contributing to One of Us since 2019 as a member of the Screener Squad, as well as making regular appearances on Eye on the Prize during awards season. She can be found on Twitter at @nightattheopera.

Mike J. McAllister (Screener Squad, Staff Writer, Head Video Editor)

Mike J. McAllister is a filmmaker, editor, writer and animator. He is also a film junkie, dog lover and Surge-aholic (Hi, Mike). He grew up in a small town in Western Pennsylvania, where he earned the reputation as the “human IMDb” and was on a first-name basis with every video store clerk in town. He later studied film in Pittsburgh. He has since written several unproduced screenplays and TV pilots. He has also produced a number of short films, some of which have appeared in festivals across the country. He is a ninja with Final Cut Pro and is armed with a mind full of mostly useless pop-culture trivia. He also enjoys animation, MST3K, classic video games and being the “music geek” among his friends (which really just means he buys vinyl and listens to music that doesn’t come from an anime soundtrack). He resides in Austin, Texas, and can be followed on the Instamagrams at @ohheyitsmikejm.

Tessa Morrison (Highly Suspect Reviews, Screener Squad, Unstabletop Gamers)

Well-rounded nerd and artist, Tessa Morrison grew up in the misty mountains of West Virginia and was constantly ridiculed for being a “weirdo.” Then moved to Austin in 2009 where people said the same thing, but in an endearing tone. Tessa works an office day job, creates puppets and fiber art, cosplays, models for gaming and animation studios, and volunteers for various organizations. One of which is the Other Worlds Film Festival, Austin’s first SciFi film fest, working in the capacity of Outreach Director and programmer. Another is local DIY-comedy-wrestling league, Party World Rasslin’, where Tessa scrambles around stage-handing and doing art department nonsense. Wrote and contributed to website and magazine Strange Kids Club for five years reviewing films, video games, and Halloween candy. Co-hosted a Public Access show called Ladies of Fandom. Previously guested on podcasts Blood Over Texas, Threequel Club, Trash in the Can, Retro Movie Roundtable, and Nerds with Mics.

Marco Noyola (Digital Noise, Highly Suspect Reviews, Screener Squad, Audio Editor)

By day, Marco is a mild-mannered office worker, but by night he is a mild-mannered movie watcher. He does other mild-mannered stuff too.

“You don’t need to follow me. You don’t need to follow anybody!”

Beau Paul (Highly Suspect Reviews, The Original Gentlemen, Screener Squad)

Beau Paul is an Austin native, an actor, and a writer. Sometimes all at once! Previously he has attempted to be an internet entertainer (the funny ha-ha kind, not the naked moneymaking kind) at Spill.com, and now here on OneOfUs.net. You can read his pithy witticisms and the retweeted material of funnier, cleverer people on Twitter or Facebook, and can buy him stuff on Amazon.

 

Jena Perry (Screener Squad)

Jena Perry. Aka Luna. Aka Dion. Aka Memori. Aka Dog whisperer. Aka whiskey connoisseur. As you can see, depending on when you met this Oakland, California native, you have experienced a completely different person, each time. After finally deciding on a 13+year career choice as a Videographer and Radio Personality, Jena balances her time between pursuing her Doctorate in Philosophy, providing insightful and funny critiques on films and Television, raising her daughter and dog in Ohio, and constantly fighting off the existential dread that is being a dope black woman in America in the 20th century.

Mindy Rast-Keenan (Screener Squad, Highly Suspect Reviews)

Having grown up in Nairobi, Kenya, and being very disappointed at the lack of riding elephants her cartoons had promised her, Mindy spends the majority of her time as a film, theater, and voice over actress in the Austin, Texas area. They still give her money for being on HBO that one time, with her name in the credits spelled wrong. A nerdy geek, this award-winning actress joined One of Us figuring she’d put her summa cum laude BFA acting degree to good use…by judging other people’s acting. In the few seconds she gets to herself, Mindy bakes for charity, knits eccentric plushies, plays original RPG’s with her gamemaster husband, and spends time with her soulmate, Batman.

Michael Riojas (Screener Squad, Highly Suspect Reviews)

The man with the ever-changing nicknames. Born in Austin, Riojas was rocketed to Del Rio, Texas, a literal Smallville. In his youth, he was bitten by a radioactive… okay, look. Mike is not very good at this whole “talking about himself” thing. But he has been so obsessed with comics, video games, and anime since childhood- that if one has to choose between listening to Joe Quesada or Mike over any obscure Spider-Man trivia, they go to him (or, at least Martin Thomas once said so). He is also a big fan of “Ghostbusters” (he even owns his own jumpsuit and two, that’s right, TWO proton packs!), collects toys and video games, and will defend “Superman IV: The Quest for Peace” if provoked. He lives in Austin with his beloved Dachshund-Maltese and trusted sidekick, Dean. He can also be heard on RageSelect. He can be found on Twitter and Instagram.

Eric Samaniego (Trash in the Can, Highly Suspect Reviews)

Eric is a multi-award show watching, sometimes comedian, sometimes writer that began life as a Muppet and 1930’s screwball comedy obsessed goon and continues to carry a torch for all things felt and funny. With a passion for genre films, poor taste, and whiskey, he and co-conspirator, Wright Sulek, indulge in the best/worst films the world has to offer with One of Us’s podcast, ‘Trash in the Can’. When not podding, Eric works as an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797.

Michael Van Slyke (Screener Squad)

Michael is a second-generation Air Force brat born in Tucson, raised in San Antonio, and living in Austin since the mid ’80s. Since being introduced to Star Trek as a child by his mother Michael has had an obsessive love of all things sci-fi. He is a cartoonist, illustrator, costumer, leatherworker, amateur luthier, singer, aspiring voice actor, and a motion graphics artist. With all these interests and skills, he thinks the term “Renaissance Man” sounds better than “artsy guy with ADHD”. He lives with his lovely and nerdy wife Harmoni Anderson and their two cats. When not watching and discussing sci-fi and fantasy movies and TV he looks for new hobbies and skills to try. He also listens to Harmoni try and teach him things about K-pop band BTS. Like… all the things about BTS.

Wright Sulek (Da Other Boss, Trash in the Can, Digital Noise, Highly Suspect Reviews, Screener Squad)

Wright hails from the northern suburbs of Dallas, Texas. His passion for filmmaking brought him to Austin to study and make movies. Since then he’s had his hand in acting, writing, and directing his own short films with numerous like-minded film geeks he’s met along his journey. His newest interest has brought him into the podcasting world. He co-hosted a few different movie related podcasts such as ‘And Now This’ and ‘The Match Cut’. He currently co-hosts with longtime friend, Eric Samaniego, where they talk shop about the grimiest, trashiest, lost gems of movies on their show, ‘Trash in the Can’. Wright also guests and hosts reviews on Screener Squad and Highly Suspect Reviews as well as co-hosts Digital Noise with Chris Cox. As of 2024, Wright has now been inducted into the Austin Film Critics Association as well as co-owns the One of Us network with Chris Cox.

Drew Tinnin (Screener Squad, Highly Suspect Reviews, Deliberations of Doom)

Drew Tinnin is a Rondo Award nominated interviewer and critic who has worked at SiriusXM’s Fangoria Radio and Fangoria magazine in NYC, as well as the London-based Dazed Digital. Currently a regular contributor to the Dread Central Network, he’s excited to join up with some old friends and other film fans on One of Us as a new contributor to Screener Squad.

Trevor Trujillo (Screener Squad)

Trevor T. Trujillo is a One Of Us contributor in addition to being the co-host, co-founder, and co-producer of the Nighthawks Podcast. Trevor’s 17-year media career spans multiple arenas including television, radio, podcasting, and online journalism; and he is currently the editor-in-chief for a regional online news provider in the Rocky Mountain West. Often a nomad, Trevor has found himself “at home” in places like Austin, Texas; West Hollywood, California; and throughout central and southeastern Wyoming. Get the pause button ready, Trevor also manages to pop up in blink-and-you’ll-miss-them featured extra roles in Nickelodeon’s FRED, TruTV’s OPERATION REPO and the Todd Rohal/Zack Carlson short THE SUPLEX DUPLEX COMPLEX.

Lewayne White (Screener Squad)

Lewayne’s earliest memories are of watching movies and reading comics, which instilled in him a sense of wonder, a vivid imagination, and unrealistic expectations. It also means he spends a lot of time watching movies, writing scripts for them, and trying to get them made. He lives in the middle of middle America after landing there as a child, and has remained there mainly because he hates packing.

CONTRIBUTORS AND FORMER MEMBERS

 

Regan Arevalos (Public Axis)

Regan Arevalos has been writing, directing and performing comedy with Comedia A Go-Go for over fifteen years. As a founding member of Comedia A Go-Go, he is proud to share in the many awards they have won for live performances, TV shows, short and feature films. He has performed stand-up comedy for over ten years both as a solo act and in his comedy duo, Larry & Regan. Whether on stage or on the screen, he believes that the most important factor in telling a story is originality and genuineness…and good audio.

Paloma Bennett (Screener Squad)

I am Paloma Bennett, an emerging television and film reviewer. I’ve created a television review blog called “Decoding the Daemonverse” about the new HBO & BBC television series HIS DARK MATERIALS. I also founded and co-hosted the monthly film podcast “Jump Start Cinema,” sponsored by New Filmmakers Los Angeles. We interviewed filmmakers selected for NFMLA’s monthly film festival and recommended classic films for our listeners. One of the things I am proudest of is running a feminist pop culture blog called MAE inspired by Mae West, where I covered feminist characters in film and television. I write reviews for Star Trek: Picard and Watchmen Season 1 on the website Whedonopolis. I have a B.A. in Film and Digital Media from UC Santa Cruz and an M.A. in Cinema Studies from San Francisco State University. My Master’s thesis reveals how Marilyn Monroe and Kim Kardashian, as sexual icons, both support and subvert heteronormative ideals.

TJ Bozarth (Staff Writer & Video Editor)

Like any teenager too young to gamble or indulge in any other vices the Las Vegas strip has to offer, TJ spent his summers at the movies developing a fondness for all the unique storytelling devices the cinema had to offer. After graduating from UNLV with a Film Production degree and working freelancing for a few years he followed his instinct to Austin, Texas. Aside from over-analyzing films TJ spends his nights, playing tabletop board games, DIY crafts, and occasionally country line dancing despite being the only guy tearing up the dance floor wearing Vans and not boots.

Quinn Bratteng (Giganticast)

Born and raised in Austin, Texas, Quinn feels very fortunate to have grown up surrounded by awesome institutions such as Vulcan Video. Taking an interest in geeky subjects from a young age was easier with a relatively welcoming environment and wealth of cult or obscure filmography at his fingertips, as well as discussions with Quinn’s much more eloquent and knowledgeable friends, including Matt and Morgan Frank. A chance encounter at SXSW ‘14 with Matt has led to a wonderful friendship and opportunities to voice his thoughts on several episodes of Giganticast…when Quinn isn’t busy crying into various textbooks in pursuit of a doctorate of physical therapy.

Lara Britton (Highly Suspect Reviews, Screener Squad)

Lara Britton is a jack of all nerd trades. From D&D to Magic the Gathering, she has dabbled in various and sundry games of the nerd persuasion. A musician from the start, she is a classically trained pianist who (naturally) turned to opera to fulfill her performing needs. That led to a little Gilbert & Sullivan, then a little musical theatre which (of course) led to acting on stage without music (oh the horror!). In Austin that means acting on film, so she started doing that, too, with hopes of becoming the next Cynthia Rothrock. Life got in the way so that never happened, but she has written and directed a few short films. A glutton for punishment, she keeps writing and directing with hopes of making a feature. In the meantime, to deal with the angst that all this art gives her she does Kung Fu.

Joe Brower (Digital Noise)

Born from a stone egg that lay between Heaven and Earth Joe Brower has been imposing somewhat lacking sense of humor on friend and foe alike. Brower grew up in the harsh west Texas desert and forged by the bitter cold of the winter Great Plains into callous pun slinging monster. Not known for being hyperbolic his pastimes include fine art, sewing, brewing, and profile writing. Though Joe’s graphic design work has often been mistaken for the visual spasms of a narcissistic madman it has led to the primrose path of being the world’s best children’s ebook designer. When not being at the mercy of the capitalist perdition know as the US economy Joe likes to lend his shrill child-like voice to multiple podcasts and offering baseless opinions anyone conned into listening.

Ian Butcher (Highly Suspect Reviews, Eye on the Prize, Breakfast Pub)

Moving all around the country growing up meant that there was only one constant in Ian’s life, the video store. Thus began a lifelong obsession with all things celluloid. While spending most of his origin story becoming a human IMDB, Ian came across a certain site called Spill.com, This discovery, combined with a need to move away from the pacific northwest and never look back, led Ian to drop out of film school and move to Austin. A general man about town, you can usually find Ian in a hole in the wall bar in east Austin, running around town with a camera pretending to be something of a filmmaker, or talking about all things movies here on OneOfUs.net and DoubleToasted.com.

Danni Button (Highly Suspect Reviews, Screener Squad)

Danni’s expertise lies in comic books, superhero movies, science fiction/fantasy, horror, and cheesy dad jokes. They spent 5 years creating YouTube content about comic books for The Weirdlings, and now they’ve awoken from the Geeksleep ready to speculate about various multiverses, fandom life, and weird but adorable ‘ships.

Jess Castro (Public Axis)

For over 15 years, Jess has been writing, directing and acting with the award-winning sketch comedy group, Comedia A Go-Go. As a professional video editor, he’s been able to bring their visions to the big stage and the big screen with countless live performances, TV shows, sketches, and film. When Jess isn’t editing and crafting comedy, he’s rocking some video games and raiding your fridge. That’s right…YOUR fridge.

Zach Chapman (Books and Beer, Highly Suspect Reviews, Screener Squad)

Zach is an editor, author, and gamer. His fiction has appeared in numerous anthologies and podcasts such as Star Ship Sofa, and Tales to Terrify. In 2016 he edited the anthology Time Travel Tales, which includes stories by Catherine Wells, Sean Williams, and Robert Silverberg. Like Robert E Howard and Joe R Lansdale, Zach grew up in rural Texas and loves writing pulp. He lives in Austin with his librarian wife, a cat, a flock of chickens, and a lazy-eyed rescue dog named Dingo. You can find him on twitter @chappyzach or on the book on Facebook.

Ali (Allen) Cheikhezzein (Screener Squad, The Final Days of Gotham, Breakfast Pub, Their Final Watch Begins)

No one is quite sure where Allen originated from. Some say the deserts of Arabia. Some say the suburbs of Canada. Wherever he came from, he has quickly and incoherently babbled his way into many reviews and podcasts. With his loud opinions about movies, television shows, and all sorts of media, he is not afraid to voice an opposite opinion. And he will often argue and fight to the bloody end to defend those opinions. So if you ever plan to face him on the battlefield, prepare for a lengthy duel!

J.C. De Leon (Highly Suspect Reviews, Inside the Locker, The Tattoo Shop, Eye on the Prize)

Hailing from Austin, TX, J.C. is maybe the biggest fan of sports movies you’ll ever see, which is why he’s one of the original hosts of our very own Inside the Locker. He’s got an affinity for great writing, and two of his favorite writers are Aaron Sorkin and Shane Black. When he’s not watching movies at home, he can be found watching movies at the Alamo Drafthouse. He also founded his own podcast, The Podcast of Basketball, an NBA specific podcast that you can follow on Twitter at @bballpodcast. Follow J.C.’s personal Twitter account for witty tweets and pictures of his cats.

Sarah DeVour (Highly Suspect Reviews)

Birthed from the loins of a knock-off Godzilla monster in the parking lot behind that shop that sells used stripper clothes, Sarah is the nagging voice you hear before going into every single movie that says, “This is gonna suck!” Sarah started her stint in telling people how to feel about entertainment in 2006 as a music reviewer in Tokyo for Purple SKY Magazine. She joined OneOfUs.net in 2014 as co-host of the Wayward Podcast. Unfortunately, the Japanese government eventually got word that she was running an illegal ring of thugs that forced sempais to notice people, so she was deported back to the US in 2015. Instead of returning to the used G-string shop, she sought a city that was the exact opposite of Tokyo. That’s what brought her to the one-horse town that is Austin (that one horse, of course, has a lotus tattoo and his own micro-brewery). She now podcasts with OneOfUs.net HQ and also contributes to RageSelect. Follow her on Twitter because she wants attention, and she’s definitely not writing this bio herself.

Ryan Dunsmore (Former Graphics Wizard)

Embodying the term “Gone To Texas”, Ryan was transplanted to the Lone Star State at the ripe age of one. He has an obvious addiction to all things related to sports, which his family and friends have reluctantly come to grips with. Ryan went to college in Austin; the city that brought out in him new passions for movies, music, and comic books. In between his time wandering amongst basketball arenas across the country and the 40-acres of The University of Texas, Ryan picked up various visual media skills. He is currently a writer for SB Nation’s Astros blog The Crawfish Boxes, and Texans blog Battle Red Blog. Follow Ryan on Twitter and Ryan-Dunsmore.com.

John Eckes (Staff Writer)

Nine months before John was born his parents had sex. Born and raised in the cultural bubble that is the far Upper-Midwest, geek culture was John’s outlet to the outside world. John’s love of imagination and storytelling led him to passionately embrace the worlds of comics, TV, and film. It is a source of constant joy in John’s life that he wakes up every day with new avenues of geekdom to explore. In his brief stint on the planet, John has been everything from a dishwasher to a soldier serving a single tour in Iraq. John graduated from the University of North Dakota with a BA in English and currently resides in Grand Forks, ND, where he does stuff (and also things). Follow John on Twitter.

 

Adrian El Critico (Screener Squad)

Though born and raised in Chicago, this film critic is Mexican to the bone. Adrian has been watching movies since he was a child, many of which might not have been age appropriate. Still, he couldn’t get enough. All throughout his life, friends and family would look to him for his recommendations and reviews on whatever films had come their way. Inspired earlier in life by the likes of Ebert and Roper at The Movies and then later Spill.com, Adrian decided film criticism and analysis provided a great outlet to further his love of film. He began to craft his reviews and thoughts on film in ways he thought would be accessible to devout film hounds as well as the casual viewer. Mixing in jokes, entertaining observations and robust critical analysis, Adrian El Critico may be new to OneOfUs, but he is already making a name for himself on our site. If Horror movies are your thing, get ready to hear his voice.

Lorenzo Emanuel (Site Composer)

Lorenzo Emanuel was born in a lab in Rome, Italy, in 1990. A few notable things that happened around the time of Lorenzo’s birth were: 1- Nelson Mandela released from his 27 years imprisonment, 2- The Hubble space telescope was placed into orbit by shuttle Discovery, 3- Wrecking cranes had begun tearing down the Berlin Wall at the Brandenburg Gatem 4- Hubble Space Telescope sent its 1st photographs from space 5- Both East and West Germany ratified reunification. We could go on and on here, but the point is…coincidences? We don’t think so. He is one of the very first DNA engineered geniuses in the modern world. His heavily manufactured and edited genome allows him to cook the best tomato sauce pasta the human race has ever tasted. The only reason why he is not a 3-Star Michelin chef is because, in his words, “I didn’t-a wann-a.” Such a powerful quote! Oh yeah, he makes music too.

Elliott Fontenette (Highly Suspect Reviews, Inside the Locker)

Elliott is a long time movie fan and a new critic. In fact, he worked at a movie theater for 7 years just to feast on all the free movies he could handle. He loves to watch anime, perhaps the only one of the “Us” to openly admit it. If there is an animated movie in theaters, he will be there with bells on to see it. He also loves a good argument, as it is his day job.

Favorite Movies In Order: 1. Armageddon 2. Princess Mononoke 3. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World 4. Pacific Rim 5. What Dreams May Come

Madelynne Fontenot (Deliberations of Doom, Highly Suspect Reviews)

Madelynne is a bayou-sourced, Seattle-born Austinite babe. Raised a nerd since birth, she gets very excited about science, does her best to know a little bit about everything, and is fluent in both English and French. When not at her day job, Madelynne spends most of her time trying to catch up on TV series that she has yet to finish because she keeps starting them from the beginning, snuggling her two miniature dachshunds, glaring at watercolor paintings she will eventually finish, and deciding whether to play Animal Crossing or World of Warcraft, all of this usually with a sour beer or glass of wine in-hand. She has an obsession with all things iridescent and holographic, and you’d never know it by the way she dresses, but her favorite color is in fact pink, and not black. She has had a very book-oriented life up to this point and is on a journey to expand her movie horizons.

Morgan Frank (Giganticast)

Whispered of but rarely seen, Morgan was begrudgingly dragged into the world of internet content production by Matt Frank. Respected and feared for both her black sash in Hung Gar kung fu and the sheer number of times she’s replayed Dragon Age and Mass Effect, her special skills include crying about Star Trek, crying about Jane Austen media, and crying about Garrus Vakarian. If you remain quiet and still, you can sometimes spot Morgan on RageSelect and Giganticast, as well as the odd movie review, where she will dispense snark, dry humor, and, at the first available opportunity, cry about Ultraman. She currently resides just outside of Austin with an indeterminate number of animals and an extrovert.

Mars Garrett (Highly Suspect Reviews, Screener Squad)

Mars enjoys bad movies, motorsportsball, and the internet. She’s been the resident pop-culture and toy/collectibles editor at BoLS for the better part of a decade. An ardent action and horror fan, she takes pride in the number of movies she’s seen with a 10% or lower RT rating. Just don’t ask her to watch a rom-com.

 

Larry Garza (Public Axis)

Larry Garza is a comedian based out of Texas and a founding member of the award-winning sketch group, Comedia A Go-Go. He’s the 2016 Funniest in South Texas winner and World Series of Comedy finalist. He performs relentlessly between being a loving husband and a full-time Dad to his kids. Whether drawing from his Latino roots growing up on the South Side of San Antonio or expounding upon his love of metal, pop culture, and horror movies, Larry Garza is a fearless and versatile performer living every day by these words: “Know your audience, adapt, and never give up. A writer writes, and actor acts, and a comedian never stops being funny.”

Robert Garza (Screener Squad)

If it weren’t for sad music and scary stories I wouldn’t be as well-adjusted and cheerful as I am today. Moonlighting as a musician off and on since adolescence, I am as big a fan of scores and needle drops as I am of slow zooms, production design, and third act exposition. Just about all of my screen time is spent on international horror, drama, and hour long episodic. Big fan of genre, and the biggest fan of supernatural horror and dark sci-fi with meaningful representation and narratives that use trauma, grief, and grace as more than surface-level content. Also, I read a ton of modern horror novels/comics and stan Matt Berry. In the before times I worked music and film festivals across the US and will hopefully return to that sometime in the future.

Max Georges (Screener Squad)

Hello, this is Max, AKA your friendly neighborhood TobeyMaguireWasBetter-Man.
I was born in Houston, moved to various places in the US, graduated from DePaul University in Chicago, and now residing in Denver. I really live at the cinema though. I probably am the one who singlehandedly killed MoviePass with the number of times I used it. I tend to have different opinions than the general masses on most entertainment properties and it always makes for interesting discussions. Why do companies keep making movies based on fanfics based on other fanfics based on Vampires? I don’t know, but I’ll watch all of them. Do I like DCEU movies way more than MCU? Definitely. Is ‘The Last Jedi’ my absolute favorite Star Wars film? Yep.
In my spare time, when not watching movies, I’m deep into the video game world trying to 100% complete as many games as possible, and sometimes broadcasting it live on Twitch.

Phillip Guzman (Deliberations of Doom)

Phillip Guzman is a film writer, director, and producer. He began his career with The Lawless, a crime/thriller completed with a budget of only $7,500, collecting multiple awards on the way to international distribution and industry disbelief for what he was able to accomplish on such a small budget. Desdemona: A Love Story was Guzman’s sophomore film, which won numerous awards including Best Feature at the Naples International Film Festival, and Best Feature, Best Cinematography & Best Actor at the Boston Film Festival. Guzman immediately followed Desdemona with 2:22, an action-packed heist film featuring such veteran actors as Val Kilmer & Gabriel Byrne (a sequel is currently in development). His third feature, A Kiss and a Promise, premiered to rave reviews at the Cinequest Film Festival, followed by a special presentation at the Dallas International Film Festival and a limited theatrical run. After seeing Promise, Jeffrey Reddick (creator of the Final Destination franchise) personally endorsed Phillip as his choice to helm the author’s newest horror franchise, Dead Awake, which hits the theater screens on May 12, 2017. Phillip is also in post on a brand new film, 200 Hours, which will be finished later this year.

Chad Halvorsen (Screener Squad)

Chad Halvorsen currently resides in Milwaukee, WI, where he produces and edits commercials, films, and everything in between. He was always a fan of film/television growing up, spending days in the Summer, making (terrible) home movies with his brothers. Little did he know that passion would carry on into adulthood. Since 2006, Chad has worked for several agencies in various departments. Shooting, producing, editing, production management, directing, and when forced to, writing copy. In 2015, Chad decided to take the big leap and become a freelancer. Since then, he’s produced content for Lyft, AT&T, Target, and Discovery Network. His passion lies in entertaining people, making them feel better, even for a moment. All the pain and suffering of this business is worth it, if even just one person views his work. Chad is a frequent podcaster, most notably posing as a co-host for the podcast “The Film Illogical Society.”

Aidan Harr (Staff Writer)

Aidan Harr is a freelance filmmaker living in Chicago, IL. Having recently graduated from film school, he is confident that his impressive beard and ability to wax poetic about foreign filmmakers will be more than enough to push him into the industry. Until then, he toils away at short films with his fellow movie nerds in the Windy City. For business inquiries, you may locate him on the corner of Belmont and Racine, screaming at the local RedBox for not carrying enough copies of “Deep Blue Sea”.

Julien Hemmendinger (Screener Squad)

Born in Washington D.C. currently living in LA shootin’ for the stars trying to make it as an actor and recently started pursuing stand up comedy in 2019. I live for the worst movies. The Room is great but Roar is king. I also host the NO FRIENDS PODCAST on alittlefireburning.com .

 

Christopher J. Herman (Editor, We Are Error, Highly Suspect Reviews, Breakfast Pub)

While braving the snow-swept wasteland of Buffalo, New York for 18 long years, Christopher Herman developed a love for geek culture. A child of the 90s, he was raised on the valuable lessons taught by Batman: The Animated Series, Hey Arnold, and Animaniacs. Eventually discovering a passion for movies, books, comics, and video games, Chris began hoarding his knowledge of geekdom. Whether it’s Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, Mass Effect, Firefly or Avatar: The Last Airbender, he’s always willing to discuss the intricate worlds and stories of geek properties. He also has a deep, burning hatred for the Star Wars prequels. Chris, along with Jon Romo, is the host of OneOfUs.net’s video game podcast, We Are Error. He currently resides in San Marcos, TX. You can follow Chris on Twitter or Facebook.

George Hickman (Highly Suspect Reviews)

A fixture of the Austin film scene since 1999, George became known as that guy who went to everything. Not content to simply watch it all, he eventually turned to sharing his opinion online. Outside of his day job ensuring the Internet doesn’t die and ensuring his marriage and his children don’t either, he engages in creative pursuits. Through the magic of credit cards, George helped produce the documentaries Rewind This!, Out of Print, Dear Mr. Watterson, and the narrative feature Grow Up, Tony Phillips. He has written and directed a handful of short films and music videos, and has completed screenplays he will never show anyone.

Aaron Jeffers (Resident Composer)

From the far-flung land of Southern California, in the town of Pomona, a child was born. Aaron Jeffers started playing piano when he was 8 years old and hasn’t stopped participating in music since. A one-man band of sorts these days, Aaron can play the guitar, drums, saxophone, and piano, as well as being able to sing. His range of influences stretches far and wide- including anything from 80’s horror scores to post-punk to hip-hop and beyond. Aaron is always looking for new ways to express himself artistically, so feel free to contact him at aaronjeffersmusic@gmail.com for composing opportunities or any sort of musical endeavor.

Scott Johnson (Staff Writer)

Scott Johnson, aka ScoJo aka Silkie aka The Virginia Chitlin Pimp, is a full-on geek with an unbridled passion for film, television, music, animation, cooking, mixology, and craft beer. With a degree literally in Writing, Rhetoric, and Technical Communication, he has set out to make a career by writing about anything, in a constant search to find the best things in life while entertaining the public along the way. Scott provides for OneOfUs through the “Animated Anarchy” column by covering animation trends, old retrospectives, and reviewing movies Unusual Suspects won’t touch. Follow Scott on Twitter for his various opinions, or his work on PorchDrinking.com for his more libation/culinary side.

Shakyl Lambert (Screener Squad, Eye on the Prize, Breakfast Pub, Highly Suspect Reviews)

Hailing from the rough and gritty streets of…a suburb just outside Toronto, Shak has thrived on becoming a walking encyclopedia of millennial pop culture. From a very early age, he gained an adoration for film, television and video games that hasn’t subsided in the years since. Now a media studies student, he has dedicated his life to gaining as much knowledge of useless trivia as his brain will allow, all while perpetually wearing earbuds like a hip-hop Baby Driver. If he isn’t gaming or trying to watch a dozen things at once, you can catch him getting overly hyped about everything from new music to wrestling on Twitter.

Randy Lander (Randy Plays Games)

The proprietor of Rogues Gallery Comics & Games (in Round Rock, Texas!) ran “Randy Plays Games” for OneofUs.net in his continuing quest to challenge Wil Wheaton and Spencer Crittenden to a Dungeon Master off… to the death! You can also hear him talk weekly about TV on The TV Dudes and about comics, games and other geek pop culture on Roguecast. Randy also hates Deadpool and loves the short-lived FX series Terriers… and all of you.

Jennifer Lynn Larsen (Giganticast, Highly Suspect Reviews, Screener Squad)

Born near Seattle, WA, Jennifer has transplanted to Austin TX and is equal parts Roller Derby Girl, Cosplayer, Dungeon Master, Mothra Priestess, and game nerd. She writes the weekly Cosplay beat for Bell of Lost Souls under the name Mayhem’s Muse and travels the world competing in traditional Ground and Horseback archery tournaments with The Eastern Contingent. She comes to OneOfUs by way of Rage Select, where she is part of the dynamic duo “Team JRPG” with magical girl and fellow contributor Matt Frank. (So, SO much fangirling). Jennifer is known for her love of Dragonlance, classic JRPGS, and all things 1980s. She is a regular contributor to Giganticast and is currently diving through every Mothra project ever created. She just returned from her first appearance at G-Fest where she cosplayed as Miana of the Houtua.

Stuart Linver (Staff Writer)

Stuart Linver is some guy living in Chicago. When not scrounging up change to make a movie or getting coffee for his superiors, he likes reading long Gothic novels and falling asleep to Forensic Files.

 

Marcos Lira (Highly Suspect Reviews, Screener Squad)

Me? I come from the South, Out there, beyond the horizon by the big river. Out there where the bandits formed cities, and the gambling is legal. I got into movies like most nerds by watching Tarantino but fell in love with movies through Chinese Cinema for some reason. A few of my favorite things would probably be live music, new experiences, and belt-fed ammunition. You can catch this occasional podcaster, occasional other Marco and full-time human on any form of social media by typing jlmarcos62. Hit me up for music suggestions and bad jokes.

 

Ashley Moreno (Highly Suspect Reviews)

Ashley Moreno has a BA in English from UT Austin and an MLA from St. Edward’s University. Her favorite superheroes are Swamp Thing and Rat Queens. She loves Leslie and the Lys. And if you ask her, “QUICK: List 5 of your favorite movies,” she’ll say: The Thing, The House of Yes, Clueless, Raising Arizona, and Cool Hand Luke. Long term, Ashley aspires to grow old, and then transverse the city sans pants obeying only those laws she deems important. In preparation for old age, she goes to bed early, stays out rarely, and parties nervously. When she’s not sewing, crafting, cooking, or taking care of her chickens, she passes the time watching cat videos with her cat, Tigertron. Alongside her babbles on One Of Us, you can find her ramblings in Austin’s alt-weekly, The Austin Chronicle. In the event you visit her home in East Austin, she kindly requests you STAY OFF HER LAWN!

Johnny Neill (Highly Suspect Reviews)

Johnny Neill is a fifth-generation Texan, a long time Austinite, and a Husband and father, who enjoys swimming and travel. His first favorite movie was “Bonnie and Clyde,” which he saw when he was five or six because there was no room for movie-coddling in his childhood. His favorite food is Sushi, favorite song in Jackie Wilson’s “Higher and Higher,” favorite album is John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme,” favorite movie is “Chinatown,” favorite TV show is “The Twilight Zone,” favorite artist is Robert Longo, and his favorite book is “When We Were Orphans,” by Kazuo Ishiguro. He draws his spiritual guidance from the Holy Trinity of Mister Rogers, the Dalai Lama, and David Lynch. He loves staying in motels, taking snapshots of interrupted landscapes, and reading. He is currently working on a novel based on the time he spent in a nuclear missile unit in Germany in 1982, titled PERMANENT PARTY: A True Story.

Eliot Nelson (Screener Squad, Staff Writer)

Soaked in the soggy rains of Seattle, Eliot developed a love of sci-fi, movies, cartoons, heavy metal, and all of geekdom. Pursuing his passion for the written word, he got his BA from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. He has since worked exclusively in the foodservice industry, like any liberal arts major worth their salt. Eliot wiles away the hours listening to movie reviews, writing his epic sci-fi novel, and consuming as much media as possible. His favorite movies include The Lord of the Rings, City of God, Dawn of the Dead, and Groundhog Day. When not rambling to himself about the ineptness of entertainment executives, Eliot posts infrequently on Twitter and squawks regularly on his podcast The Debasement Tapes.

Kevin Newsum (Somebody Likes It)

Kevin Newsum has been some things: professionally he’s been ‘the Yelp Guy,’ ‘The Internet Guy’ and “that guy that looks like someone famous that I can’t place right now.”

He knows what it’s like to stand in the dark next to a spotlight hitting Vanilla Ice (weird but oddly exhilarating), knows what it’s like to dress up for Halloween as ‘Kevin and Miniature Commando Sock Puppet Kevin” (also weird, less exhilarating), and he’s been known to pontificate on the difference between a joke intended to be funny and one told solely for the groan (hint: they’re both fun). He’s a sucker for all sorts of bands and loves discovering new ones.

Ryan Newsum (Somebody Likes It)

Ryan Newsum is a self-professed, life-long “music nerd,” having spent time mastering the undeniably sexy french horn during his adolescence (that’s right, ladies–marching band, too). Subsequent years have seen him dabbling in the music business in several capacities: radio intern, artist manager, club booker, and promoter. These days, Mr. Newsum has come to realize that the best way he can contribute to the rich tapestry of the music world is to have drinks in a garage with great friends, chatting about iconic records.

Toshihisa (Toshi) Nakamura (Wayward Podcast)

“Genetically Japanese and culturally America.” That’s the short description. Having spent half his life in the US and half in Japan, Toshi is pretty much 50% geek and 50% otaku. Toshi wrote for the gaming website, Kotaku.com, covering gaming and the Japanese subculture for five years. He loves movies, games, comics, anime, and toys. Do not feed the geek, for it is a timid, fragile thing with loose purse strings, and it does not need encouragement to loosen them further.

Jenny Nulf (Highly Suspect Reviews)

When Jenny’s not watching movies, she’s either binging television, reading, or learning Chinese. Her favorite movie ever is E.T. and she doesn’t think Tim Burton is overrated at all, thank you very much. Jenny is also a programmer for the Austin Asian American Film Festival.

 

Cat O’Malley (Highly Suspect Reviews)

Cat O’Malley is a writer, pop culture consumer, and former historian. She enjoys cooking, reading atmospheric books about England, watching atmospheric TV shows and movies about England, and drinking tea. And wine. She lives in Austin, TX, with her husband Harris and two cats.

 

Harris O’Malley (Breakfast Pub, Highly Suspect Reviews)

Harris O’Malley is the secret identity of Dr. NerdLove, an Austin-based, internationally recognized relationship expert and dating coach who provides geek dating advice at Paging Dr. NerdLove and his bi-weekly advice column on Kotaku. Visit him online at www.doctornerdlove.com, on Facebook and follow him on Twitter for advice on dating, sex & relationships.

 

Davey Peppers (Staff Writer, Audio and Video Editor, Screener Squad, Eye on the Prize)

Many words have been used to describe Davey Peppers. Words like “Eh” and “Please go outside, just once”. He studied film and advertising at Southern Illinois University – Carbondale, because two degrees in fields with terrible job placement is better than one, and currently runs the YouTube channel Game Mechanics. He is easily distracted by shiny things and even the most basic passing mention of a movie being sad. He can be found on Twitter as well as staring at a blank wall wondering what the point is, and if his spending so much time staring at walls is the reason he’s not funny.

Mark Prince (Screener Squad)

Mark Prince is a lifelong nerd so old he remembers the first edition of Dungeons and Dragons, the original Star Wars in the theater, and comics that cost a quarter and could be found on racks in the local apothecary. By day, a mere human services worker, by night he emerges to combat boredom, master the vagaries of the B grade television serial, the C grade cinematic release, and to ever assist his fellow man, as well as to master, once and for all, the Shoryuken Dragon Punch with ever stiffening thumbs.

Santiago Ramos (Screener Squad)

Santiago is a young film watcher from South Texas, currently living in Austin. When he’s not getting raw inspiration piped into his brain with all form of art, movies, and books you can find him attempting to understand the wide world of synthesizers. The rest of his mind is crammed with craft hops and resin but he assures you that it makes for good conversation.

 

Kyle Scott (Highly Suspect Reviews)

New to Austin, Kyle is an award-winning Art Director and Film Maker who hails first from Wisconsin and later Memphis, TN. As a child, Kyle was injured in an amusement ride accident. For years his mobility was limited so he spent the majority of his time in front of a television. Even though he made a full recovery, his enthusiasm for film and television never changed. Kyle started contributing to ONE OF US in Spring 2016 where he reviews movies and tv in addition to lending support to the video production team. Kyle can also be found at The TV Dudes and Rage Select where he reviews television and video games. You can follow Kyle on Youtube, Instagram, Twitter, and Vimeo.

Gene Selassie (Thumbtacks and Screwjobs)

Gene has been a writer as well as a film aficionado for many years. However, he’s been a wrestling fan for decades. Growing up in New York, he primarily had access to the World Wrestling Federation, Eastern Championship Wrestling and the like. Having moved to Florida as a teen, he was then exposed to World Championship Wrestling, Florida Championship Wrestling, Smoky Mountain, etc. Now in Austin and having access to so much pro wrestling content, Gene decided he wanted to share his views on a sport that he’s watched for over thirty years.

Jamarco Shaw (Screener Squad)

Musician. Screenwriter. IMDB trivia page miraculously brought to life. These are a few ways to adequately describe Jamarco Shaw. Born on the southside of Houston, TX, Jamarco (or Marco, as he’s affectionately named, and NEVER Marco Polo) developed a lifelong love for everything pop culture ever since he was running around in his Blue Ranger Underoos. It wasn’t until a five-year detour in Burbank that he discovered that this love would inspire a passion for years to come. When he’s not raving about cinematography and Spider-Verse, he’s been known to make hip hop instrumentals to pass the time. He aspires to join the ranks of such great Renaissance Men as Donald Glover, John Cassavetes, and Jamie Foxx, but until then, you can catch him trying to make sense of whatever Christopher Nolan just released.

Alex Sullivan (Screener Squad)

This Alex. He Shy.

Fascinated by the countless worlds that can be visited by simply pressing “Play”, Alex finds himself awash in an endless stream of titles. Whenever a particularly strange title strikes his fancy, he becomes an enamored prophet of this new idea, spreading its good word to whomever will listen. Alex constantly works to improve his fluency in the universal language of cinema. Underneath his mellow facade, he’s a chihuahua, shaking with excitement to be a part of such a wonderfully diverse and welcoming community of voices that share his enthusiasm.

Robert Summers (Deliberations of Doom)

Rob Summers and his twin Russ are the filmmaking team The Summers Brothers. Please don’t ask him which one is the evil twin. There’s no good twin. Rob’s main drug of choice is movies but he also remains addicted to books, TV, pop culture, social media and comics. He is totally the worst. All of his opinions are terrible and no one should ever listen to him. Check out The Summers Brothers’ award-winning films and commercial work at www.grandschemeproductions.net and follow his adventures on Instagram and Twitter @somevagueidea.

Russell Summers (Deliberations of Doom)

Russell Summers is the clone of Robert Summers with all of his strengths and none of his weaknesses. Russell was trained in the ancient art of ninjutsu by a shadowy organization in a distant land before discovering their true evil purpose and using his skills to defeat his former masters. Then he got his degree in English with a minor in philosophy. Upon discovering the bottom had dropped out of the lucrative philosophy industry, he promptly began making short films and commercials with his doppelgänger Rob. He enjoys 70’s conspiracy thrillers, Seinfeld, graphic novels (he means comic books), novels by Chabon and Vonnegut, the films of Wong Kar Wei and Terry Malick, and the Jean Claude Van Damme movie Double Team. He probably doesn’t like whatever your favorite movie is. Unless it’s Double Team. Currently, he occupies a spot on the Deliberations of Doom podcast on the One of Us network.
Twitter: @EvilArchEnemy, Insta: @EvilTwinRuss, Website: www.grandschemeproductions.net

Martin Thomas (Highly Suspect Reviews, The Original Gentlemen)

In addition to having been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate, a poet, a pawn and a king…Martin Thomas has also been a professional comic book artist (Marvel, DC, First Comics, etc.), a TV personality (The Reel Deal), and a cartoon character (“Leon” from Spill.com). Currently, he can be found podcasting up a storm at DoubleToasted.com when he’s not one of “The Original Gentlemen.”

London Vayavong (Staff Writer, Screener Squad, Breakfast Pub, Eye on the Prize)

London Vayavong loves stories. As a child, he read the Goosebumps series and Marvel comics. Yes, he is a Marvel fanboy and totally into Captain America before it was cool (owns three shirts by the way). Unfortunately, comics and Goosebumps were not enough to fulfill his need for stories so he invested the rest of his time watching movies and cartoons starring DC superheroes. Yes, he is also a DC fanboy because he likes to break the rules. It would not be until he reached college that he discovered that there were actually great books that were for adults. Apparently, Kurt Vonnegut, Ray Bradbury, Gore Vidal, Stephen King, and Neil Gaiman had completely missed his radar. Writing is his full-time career but he also enjoys playing the guitar, acting, doing stand-up comedy, and coding. He currently writes for The Script Lab along with working on screenplays and a novel.

 

Richard Whittaker (Highly Suspect Reviews, Digital Noise, Thumbtacks, and Screwjobs, Breakfast Pub)

Token Englishman. Texas Transplant. Film Critic. Politics journalist. Snark cannon. Once interviewed The New Yorker editor-in-chief and a boxing tattoo artist on the same day. Four-time Austin Chronicle “Best of Austin Best Journalist” winner. Perennial Star Wars prequel defender. Wrestling fan. Black pudding consumer. Whiskey snob. Heavily bearded. Master of the atom. Scourge of the despot! Oh, tyrant! Hear his mighty name and quake!

Trademark noise: Heavy, despairing sigh.

 

Aaron Woodul (Digital Noise, Screener Squad)

It all began when Aaron was a wee little lass going to his father’s work late in the evening because an all-nighter had to be pulled. Unable to help his father, he and his mother were relegated to a conference room where there was a tv on a dolly and a VCR. He watched Cannon Film’s “Masters of the Universe” and his mind was forever altered by what we will call its greatness. From there he got insanely into the never-ending catalog of Godzilla movies, and affiliated giant monster movies, and old samurai films like “Seven Samurai.” Like any good addiction, it spiraled, and he got heavy into science fiction books, all kinds of comics, and video games. After a brief stint acquiring a degree in media production, which he did nothing with, he found his way into an office job, a happy marriage, and even fatherhood. Now he watches film and plays games when he can, reads the fuck out of comics on his phone, and has surprisingly lengthy discussions with his wife about when to introduce his son to his favorite movies and shows.

Justin Zarian (Screener Squad, Eye on the Prize, Breakfast Pub)

Justin’s fate as a movie fanatic was written in the stars when his birth forced his parents to cancel their planned Oscar viewing party. While growing up in California, he was often seen in front of the television watching and re-watching Star Wars, Jurassic Park, classic Disney movies and a steady stream of animated shows. This eventually led to a B.A. in Film at Brigham Young University and an Outstanding Student Teacher Award for displaying a level of film knowledge so insane that even his fellow film students couldn’t compete. He received his M.A. from Syracuse University and is currently pursuing a teaching certificate, but still volunteers at One of Us every so often for the fun of it. His hobbies include non-stop film conversations, wondering how Mass Effect 3’s ending went so wrong, espousing the joys of shooting guns (but not hunting, as he’s quick to note), writing the next great American television show in his head, and anything else entertainment related. You can find him on Facebook once in a blue moon.

 

THE OTHER FOUNDERS (RETIRED)

 

Brian Salisbury (Founder, Podcaster)

Brian is a four-year veteran of the interwebs, a member of The Austin Film Critics Association, and currently writes for Film School Rejects, Movie Pilot, Movies.com, and Fandango. You can also hear Brian and former Spill critic Cargill (aka Carlyle) on their weekly Junkfood Cinema podcast for FSR. An obsessive consumer of film, Brian loves everything from Buster Keaton to 80s post-apocalyptic sci-fi. He’s also a diehard Indianapolis Colts fan and collects VHS, laserdiscs, and classic game systems. An eighth-level geek overlord, Brian is one of the founders of OneOfUs.net, the brainchild of he and partner in crime Christopher Lawrence Cox. Brian formerly cohosted both the Inside the Locker and Digital Noise podcasts. Follow Brian on Twitter and Facebook.

Rod Paddock (Publisher, Tech Guru)

Software engineer, cinephile, metalhead, comic book aficionado, damn good dungeon-master, Rod Paddock could be considered a true-blooded geek if there was such a classification. Born and raised in Southern California, Rod made his way to Austin with his beautiful wife and two amazing children in 2008. As the owner of Dash Point Software, Inc. Rod has had the opportunity to write killer software, author numerous articles, and books on the art of software development and has been a featured speaker at numerous conferences in the US and abroad. Rod is a co-founder of www.oneofus.net and is happy to work with three of the finest gentleman a microphone has ever met. Follow Rod on Twitter or visit his software company at www.dashpoint.com.

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