SnagFilms Announces The Debut Of Jon Friedman's Media Matrix And Animation Scoop To Indiewire

NEW YORK, April 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- SnagFilms, a website which offers the broadest collection of independent films on demand to viewers, is excited to announce the premiere of two new blogs on their Indiewire.com site, Jon Friedman's Media Matrix and Animation Scoop. SnagFilms is expanding the Indiewire Blog Network, which features leading news and information for independent-minded filmmakers, the film industry and moviegoers. These sites will provide online viewers with an opportunity to receive in-depth coverage focusing on vital news within the media industry and animation world.

Jon Friedman's Media Matrix will provide readers an inside look at the media industry by examining the overall landscape. Jon, who spent over 14 years writing a column called Media Web, which was published by MarketWatch, will be sharing his expert opinion on people, events and trends that help to shape the media industry today. Friedman's vision for Media Matrix is to be provocative, informative and entertaining. His readers will be encouraged to interact with other viewers by commenting on topics and discussing the headlines of the day. Some of the features on the site will include "What Were They Thinking?" and "There Ought to Be a Law", which will create a forum for readers to debate current events in media.

Animation Scoop will feature insight and insider content relating to the world of animation from Jerry Beck, a former studio executive with Nickelodeon Movies & Disney. Jerry will utilize his extensive experience to showcase new aspects of the animation industry unknown to the general public. Beck will be joined by a team of animation experts and writers including: contributing editor Bill Desowitz, a veteran film industry journalist who will take the lead in covering animated features with interviews and behind the scenes details; animation historian Charles Solomon, who will be reviewing new features as well as showcasing manga artists and anime filmmakers; computer animator Floyd Bishop, who will be covering the latest in video games and computer graphic developments; author Greg Ehrbar, who will review DVDs and Blu-ray releases and writer Martin Goodman, who will take a look at new books and TV animation.

"We are very excited to have Jon and Jerry join the Indiewire family with the addition of their new websites," said Rick Allen, SnagFilms CEO.  "With Indiewire expanding its coverage of the entertainment world, Jon and Jerry represent the very best incisive analysis of their respective beats."

Jon Friedman's Media Matrix can be accessed at http://blogs.indiewire.com/mediamatrix and Animation Scoop can be accessed at http://blogs.indiewire.com/animationscoop. For more information on SnagFilms, please visit www.snagfilms.com. 

About SnagFilms

SnagFilms features free, sponsor-supported, on demand viewing of more than 3,300 award-winning, fiction and non-fiction titles from some of the greatest names in film. SnagFilms' curated collection is viewed on its own site and a digital network of more than 110,000 affiliated sites and webpages worldwide, including partners such as Comcast's Xfinity, Hulu, the Starbucks Digital Network, IMDb, hundreds of non-profits, special interest sites and blogs — and via its applications for tablets, including Apple's iPad (AirPlay-enabled), Amazon's Kindle Fire, Blackberry Playbook and other Android-based tablets; Android smartphones; OTT platforms Roku, Boxee and Western Digital; connected TVs and Blu-ray players from Sony, Panasonic, LG and Vizio, and soon to launch on connected TVs and Blu-ray players from Samsung.   SnagFilms' titles have been featured on more than 3.5 billion pageviews across its network.  

SnagFilms also offers selected titles via pay video on demand with Comcast, iN Demand (including Time Warner Cable, Cox and Bright House Networks), Verizon's FiOS and DIRECTV, as well as on iTunes, Hulu Plus, Amazon, VUDU, Xbox Live, Google Play, YouTube Movies, and will soon be launching on DISH Network and Samsung Media Hub.  SnagFilms was named one of the fastest growing technology companies in Washington, DC area. Gizmodo has named SnagFilms as a "Best iPad App," OVGuide has twice named SnagFilms a Top Site, and MovieMaker Magazine named SnagFilms to its annual list of "50 Best Websites for Moviemakers." The SnagFilms family also includes Indiewire, for more than 15 years the web's top source of news, reviews and information about independent film – and winner of the 2012 Webby Award as the top film and movie site.

About Jon Friedman:

Jon Friedman's Media Matrix blog debuted on Indiewire in April 2013. One of the most widely read media writers in New York, he wrote MarketWatch's Jon Friedman's Media Web column for about 14 years, concluding in March 2013. A former reporter, columnist and editor for Bloomberg, USA Today, BusinessWeek, Investors Daily and other publications, he is also the author of "Forget About Today: Bob Dylan's Genius for (ReInvention, Shunning the Naysayers, and Creating a Personal Revolution" (2012, Penguin) and the co-author of "House of Cards: Inside the Troubled Empire of American Express" (1992, Putnam). Friedman was born in Manhattan and raised on Long Island. He now lives in Manhattan, where, he marvels, you can see something new everyday of your life there. When was the last time you saw a man walking a turtle, on a leash, down a street? Jon hopes someday to publish, at least, The Mediocre American Novel. His favorite TV show is still The Honeymooners. His favorite band remains The Beatles (followed closely by the first time he saw Elvis Costello and the Attractions, in December 1977) and the best concert he ever saw was Bob Dylan and The Band at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 31, 1974.

About Jerry Beck:

Jerry Beck is an animation historian and cartoon producer. His twelve books on the subject include The Animated Movie Guide, Looney Tunes: The Ultimate Visual Guide and The 50 Greatest Cartoons. He is a former studio exec with Nickelodeon Movies and Disney, and is an animation consultant to Warner Home Video and Shout Factory. Beck has programmed animation retrospectives for the Annecy and Ottawa Animation Festivals, The Museum of Modern Art and The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He has taught animation history at NYU, SVA, the AFI and at UCLA. He is the host/producer of the annual Worst Cartoons Ever screening at the San Diego Comic Con.

Beck started his career in film distribution, working at MGM/UA, Orion Classics, Cannon Films and Expanded Entertainment (Tournee of Animation), before starting his own company, Streamline Pictures in 1989, the first U.S. company to import anime features such as Otomo's Akira and Miyazaki's Castle In The Sky. Beck was instrumental in launching Animation Magazine, has written for Kidscreen, The Hollywood Reporter and Variety, and was co-founder of the website Cartoon Brew.  He has also created, written and produced animated films for various studios. He teaches Animation History at Woodbury University in Burbank, CA and is currently writing a coffee table book on the art of Spongebob Squarepants for Nickelodeon.  

SOURCE SnagFilms