This documentary showed why Moviepass failed, how its original founders were rugged. The people behind Moviepass failure repeated it again in another public traded company called Vinco Ventures. Its essentially Moviepass 2.0, acquire public companies, hype it up with sub-par product, hang out with hollywood, neglect the product, spend more money. Similarities of Vinco and Moviepass goes hand and hand. This time around instead of movies subscription business, it's a "TikTok competitor" Ted Farnsworth is a sick man, he deserves all the jail time in the world plus more. Can't wait until the sequel to Moviepass 2.0 - Vinco Ventures.
4 Reviews
Decent yet Lacking
mgalercail1 June 2024
This is probably one of the most infamous company downfalls in recent history, and it's a great story to tell; yet I wanted more.
There are a lot of talking heads with different perspectives, including most of the former board members; yet I feel I didn't see the whole picture.
We are told how the original team came to be and the rise of what would've been considered the standard for movie going experiences. A proper subscription service where you can see any film, any theater anytime. Ideal and I think it would've been a good thing to continue. ESP with cinemas becoming less valued these days.
We saw the back and forth between AMC, investors.
We then switch once the newer CEO's come in Remove the founders and begin a campaign that would eventually crush themselves under their own weight.
While I was engaged and enjoyed the breezy feel of this doc I felt like there was things left unsaid. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what Maybe they had NDA's they couldn't break at the moment.
Mitch Lowe comes across as a man who simply made mistakes, far from it. Pure slime along with Ted Farnsworth.
The ultimate revelation comes in when it's revealed that this was a fraud scheme from the get go.
And how they let the system go down while embezzling funds from the venture capital group.
But by the time we get to the meat of what went wrong, it's over.
Maybe it really was a, what you see is what you get.
I don't know. I feel that they stretched it out more than what was needed. And more could've been said on what the core of movie pass was. How the software worked and why they didn't hire more staff.
Worth a watch, but don't expect a huge revelation from it. More of a cliff notes of history.
There are a lot of talking heads with different perspectives, including most of the former board members; yet I feel I didn't see the whole picture.
We are told how the original team came to be and the rise of what would've been considered the standard for movie going experiences. A proper subscription service where you can see any film, any theater anytime. Ideal and I think it would've been a good thing to continue. ESP with cinemas becoming less valued these days.
We saw the back and forth between AMC, investors.
We then switch once the newer CEO's come in Remove the founders and begin a campaign that would eventually crush themselves under their own weight.
While I was engaged and enjoyed the breezy feel of this doc I felt like there was things left unsaid. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what Maybe they had NDA's they couldn't break at the moment.
Mitch Lowe comes across as a man who simply made mistakes, far from it. Pure slime along with Ted Farnsworth.
The ultimate revelation comes in when it's revealed that this was a fraud scheme from the get go.
And how they let the system go down while embezzling funds from the venture capital group.
But by the time we get to the meat of what went wrong, it's over.
Maybe it really was a, what you see is what you get.
I don't know. I feel that they stretched it out more than what was needed. And more could've been said on what the core of movie pass was. How the software worked and why they didn't hire more staff.
Worth a watch, but don't expect a huge revelation from it. More of a cliff notes of history.
Great behind the scenes look
dark41969-818-4698101 June 2024
Warning: Spoilers
This was such a great documentary on a story I didn't know much about. I knew about Movie Pass, but had no idea it was invented by two very knowledgeable & business minded African American men. I only saw the two White ceo-s on interviews claiming to be the co-founders. This documentary shined the light on corporate greed & racism in corporate American business dealings. The fact that they stole the company from the two real founders & drove the company into bankruptcy was appalling. I went from anger to sadness to joy & hope. I'm so glad 1 of the real co-founders was able to require his company & fulfill his vision. It's a necessary tale to anyone who wants to get into business & fulfill their dreams. The documentary's pacing is excellent & has candid interviews. It isn't afraid to ask tough questions & get to the truth. Well worth the watch for any documentary lover.
Unbelievable, all too believable story
greatandimproving2 June 2024
Classic before-and-after tale of a company's glory days under the founders before corporate egos come in and drive it into the ground. MoviePass, MovieCrash concerns the ill-fated MP subscription service that allowed members to attend multiple screenings for a flat monthly fee. Kind of like the Netflix formula, but for actual theatergoers.
In this case glory days is relative since the business model was not sustainable to begin with. The founders seem indifferent to having lost 'only' a few $100K per month when compared to the $30Mil burn rate of their hedge fund-backed successors, but to me that almost misses the point. Yes one was embarrassing while the other was downright absurd, but neither was poised for success. After all, the concept of all-you-can-eat should be used as a temporary bridge rather than a long-term plan, and any company whose survival relies on users NOT taking advantage of why they signed up is doomed no matter who's at the helm- be it the charming founders, the greedy businessmen or any of their acolytes. In hindsight the blame game appears even more trivial given that MoviePass went bankrupt in January 2020; would the pandemic not have wiped them out regardless?
I would have been ok had the filmmakers left it there, but they do favor one side over the other (you can guess which one) and romanticize their journey as they prepare for a re-launch today. So it could be worth your time to see how persuasively that argument is made. Otherwise I'd just lump MoviePass in with all the other victims of streaming (there've been too many) and this film as one long commercial for what they plan to do next. I do hope they make it because I still treasure going out to the movies, but I doubt I'd go for this one.
In this case glory days is relative since the business model was not sustainable to begin with. The founders seem indifferent to having lost 'only' a few $100K per month when compared to the $30Mil burn rate of their hedge fund-backed successors, but to me that almost misses the point. Yes one was embarrassing while the other was downright absurd, but neither was poised for success. After all, the concept of all-you-can-eat should be used as a temporary bridge rather than a long-term plan, and any company whose survival relies on users NOT taking advantage of why they signed up is doomed no matter who's at the helm- be it the charming founders, the greedy businessmen or any of their acolytes. In hindsight the blame game appears even more trivial given that MoviePass went bankrupt in January 2020; would the pandemic not have wiped them out regardless?
I would have been ok had the filmmakers left it there, but they do favor one side over the other (you can guess which one) and romanticize their journey as they prepare for a re-launch today. So it could be worth your time to see how persuasively that argument is made. Otherwise I'd just lump MoviePass in with all the other victims of streaming (there've been too many) and this film as one long commercial for what they plan to do next. I do hope they make it because I still treasure going out to the movies, but I doubt I'd go for this one.
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