Glitch: The Rise & Fall of HQ Trivia

Last updated
Glitch: The Rise & Fall of HQ Trivia
Glitch Film Poster.jpg
Official poster
Directed bySalima Koroma
Produced by
  • Ken Druckerman
  • Banks Tarver
  • Amy Entelis
  • Courtney Sexton
  • Dylan Abruscato
  • Brandon Teitel
Edited byPierre Takal
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • March 5, 2023 (2023-03-05)(CNN)
  • July 20, 2023 (2023-07-20)(Max)
Running time
90 minutes [1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Glitch: The Rise & Fall of HQ Trivia is a 2023 American documentary film directed by filmmaker Salima Koroma. It was produced by former HQ Trivia employees, and is largely guided by the voice of former HQ host Scott Rogowsky. [2] [3] The film follows HQ Trivia, the trivia mobile game developed by Vine creators Rus Yusupov and Colin Kroll.

Contents

The film had its world premiere on CNN on March 5, 2023, [4] and became available to stream on Max, the successor to HBO Max, beginning on July 20, 2023. [5] As of September 26, 2023, the film was removed from the streaming service and not available in search results. [6]

Synopsis

The film chronicles the rise and fall of HQ Trivia, the "game show on your phone" app.

People interviewed in the film include former HQ hosts Scott Rogowsky and Sharon Carpenter, along with technology journalists and experts such as Scott Galloway, Laurie Segall, and Taylor Lorenz. [7]

Release

The film had its world premiere on CNN on March 5, 2023. [4] Boosted by the film, CNN outpaced MSNBC and Fox News during primetime that evening, claiming the number-one spot in the coveted 25–54 age demographic. [8]

Reception and controversies

Critical reception

The film has an 88% approval rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. [9] It was selected as a New York Times "Critic's Pick," with Calum Marsh praising Glitch as "slyer and smarter than some of its paint-by-numbers dramatized contemporaries," and describing the film as a "smart, briskly funny documentary." [10]

Nate Adams of The Only Critic called the documentary "terrific" and "a must-see." [11] In his review, Adams wrote, "Director Salima Koroma has assembled a nice parade of familiar faces within the tech sector to offer valuable logistics and understanding that paved the way for HQ’s massive blow-up and eventual death." [12] Nick Schager, the Entertainment Critic for The Daily Beast called the documentary "entertaining." [13] In his review, Schager wrote, "The cautionary tale is a familiar one. But it’s told with enough flashy verve and humor, along with a gossipy bombshell audio recording, to play as a breezy non-fiction look back at a phenom that had its 15 minutes—or, at least, enough time to get through an evening’s worth of quiz questions—in the smartphone spotlight." [14]

Unethical production practices

Schager also wrote that "Glitch: The Rise & Fall of HQ Trivia is a saga about foolishness and strife that has itself become mired in controversy." Rolling Stone reported that several former HQ employees pitched the documentary to CNN Films, with former HQ executives Dylan Abruscato and Brandon Teitel serving as executive producers. [2] On February 10, 2023, technology reporter Alyssa Bereznak, the host of Boom/Bust: The Rise and Fall of HQ Trivia, [15] raised concerns over CNN Films' ethical practices, revealed Scott Rogowsky's close collaboration with the network, and said that “Scott and other employees are not objective storytellers.”

Biased nature

The biased nature of the documentary has drawn criticism, particularly for the way Scott Rogowsky's influence appears to shape the narrative. The film is described as "Quiz Daddy’s show," where the former host portrays himself as a hero who tried to mitigate the damage done by the feud between co-founders Rus Yusupov and Colin Kroll. [16] Rogowsky's version of events is guided by his own interests, and his unreliability as a narrator becomes apparent when viewed alongside other sources. As Claire Spellberg Lustig writes, "Glitch is guided by Rogowsky's version of events, but it's difficult to read his heroic retelling as anything other than an attempt to depict himself in the best possible light" and cautioned that "Max subscribers should be mindful of the underlying narrative and all that's been excluded from it." [17]

Omission of key perspectives

The documentary has been criticized for omitting key perspectives from its narrative. Sarah Pribis, who hosted HQ Trivia for over a year, expressed her concerns through a "TikTokumentary," detailing the toxic environment and sexism she experienced at the company. Pribis's voice was notably absent from the film, leading her to question "whose narrative they're telling and what pieces they're choosing to leave out." The film's director, Salima Koroma, stated that "Pribis was brought in for a pre-interview during filming—it’s just that her story didn't make it into the final product." [2] HQ Trivia co-founder Rus Yusupov cited potential conflicts and bias as his reason for not participating in the documentary. [18]

Plagiarism claims

On February 10, 2023, Alyssa Bereznak wrote a Twitter thread about similarities of title, sources, artwork, and themes between her podcast and the trailer for Glitch: The Rise & Fall of HQ Trivia. [18] She also said Koroma called her prior to the release of the documentary to ask questions about the HQ story. According to an interview Bereznak gave Rolling Stone, "the trailer flagged a ton of narrative similarities between the documentary and her podcast, something she thinks she should have been credited for." [2]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Weather Underground</i> (film) 2002 American film

The Weather Underground is a 2002 documentary film based on the rise and fall of the American radical far-left Communist organization Weather Underground.

<i>Runnin Down a Dream</i> (film) 2007 film by Peter Bogdanovich

Runnin' Down a Dream is a 2007 documentary film about Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, directed by Peter Bogdanovich. The 4-hour documentary chronicles the history of the band, from its inception as Mudcrutch, right up to the 30th-anniversary concert in Petty's home town of Gainesville, Florida, on September 21, 2006, at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center, University of Florida. The film features interviews with George Harrison, Eddie Vedder, Stevie Nicks, Dave Grohl, Jeff Lynne, Rick Rubin, Johnny Depp, Jackson Browne and more. Petty's solo career is also touched on, as is his time with The Traveling Wilburys.

rakontur is a Miami-based media studio founded by Billy Corben and Alfred Spellman in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Stone Quarry</span> American film production company

The Stone Quarry Inc. is an American production company established in 2004 by filmmaker Zack Snyder, his wife Deborah Snyder and their producing partner Wesley Coller.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfred Spellman</span> American film and television producer (born 1978)

Alfred Spellman is an American film and television producer who co-founded the media studio rakontur.

Cable News Network Films is a motion picture division of CNN under Warner Bros. Pictures, originally launched in 2012. Its first film, Girl Rising premiered in spring 2013 in the United States.

<i>Weiner</i> (film) 2016 American film

Weiner is a 2016 American fly-on-the-wall political documentary film by Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg about Anthony Weiner's campaign for Mayor of New York City during the 2013 mayoral election.

<i>Bad Rap</i> (film) 2016 film

Bad Rap is a 2016 documentary directed by Salima Koroma, and produced by Jaeki Cho. The documentary follows the lives of Korean-American hip-hop artists Dumbfounddead, Awkwafina, Rekstizzy, and Lyricks, and their struggle to garner credibility in the American hip-hop industry. Bad Rap premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 13, 2016, and has since been screened at twelve other film festivals around the world. As of September 7, 2017, the film has been made available on the iTunes Store, Amazon, VUDU, Google Play, and Netflix.

<i>HQ</i> (video game) Live trivia game show app

HQ was a mobile trivia game developed by Intermedia Labs for iOS, Android, iPadOS, and tvOS. First released in 2017, the HQ app allowed users to participate in daily, live, trivia games in which they could win or split prize money. HQ was developed by Vine creators Rus Yusupov and Colin Kroll and credited as a production of Intermedia Labs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rus Yusupov</span> American designer and tech entrepreneur

Rus Yusupov is a designer and tech entrepreneur. He is best known as the co-founder of Vine and the co-founder and CEO of HQ Trivia.

Colin Kroll was an American entrepreneur who co-founded the video hosting service Vine and the trivia game app HQ Trivia.

<i>Midnight Family</i> Documentary film

Midnight Family is a 2019 Mexican-American documentary film written and directed by Luke Lorentzen. It focuses on Ochoa family who run a private ambulance business. It is produced by Kellen Quinn under the banner of Hedgehog Films, and No Ficción. It stars Fer Ochoa, Josue Ochoa, and Juan Ochoa.

<i>Citizen Ashe</i> 2021 film

Citizen Ashe is an 2021 American-British documentary film directed by Rex Miller and Sam Pollard revolving around the life and career of Arthur Ashe. Alex Gibney and John Legend were two of the executive producers.

<i>AlphaGo</i> (film) 2017 American film

AlphaGo is a 2017 documentary directed by Greg Kohs about the Google DeepMind Challenge Match with top-ranked Go player Lee Sedol.

<i>Navalny</i> (film) 2022 American film

Navalny is a 2022 American documentary film directed by Daniel Roher. The film revolves around Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and events related to his poisoning. It was produced by HBO Max and CNN Films. The film premiered on January 25, 2022 at the Sundance Film Festival, where it received critical and audience acclaim and won the Audience Award in the US Documentary competition and the Festival Favorite Award. It also won the Best Documentary Feature at the 95th Academy Awards, won the award for Best Political Documentary at the 7th Critics' Choice Documentary Awards and picked up best documentary at the 76th BAFTA awards ceremony.

<i>Harka</i> (film) 2022 film

Harka is a 2022 internationally co-produced drama film, written and directed by Lotfy Nathan, in his narrative directorial debut, inspired by Mohamed Bouazizi's self-immolation that sparked the Tunisian revolution and Arab Spring in 2010 and 2011. It stars Adam Bessa, Salima Maatoug, Ikbal Harbi and Najib Allagui.

Justice is a 2023 documentary film about American Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. The film was directed by Doug Liman. The film recounts the sexual assault allegations made against Kavanaugh, including the testimony of Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez. It debuted on January 20, 2023, to a sold-out screening at the Sundance Film Festival.

Surviving Sex Trafficking is a 2022 American documentary film directed by Sadhvi Siddhali Shree and produced by the team of monks at Siddhayatan Tirth.

The Rise and Fall of is an English snowclone popularly used in titles of works. Examples of its usage include:

<i>Stormy</i> (2024 film) 2024 American documentary film

Stormy is a 2024 American documentary film, directed and produced by Sarah Gibson. It follows Stormy Daniels, as she navigates being a mother, artist, and advocate working hard to reinvent herself following the Stormy Daniels–Donald Trump scandal.

References

  1. ↑ "Glitch: The Rise & Fall of HQ Trivia - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. February 18, 2023. Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Jones, C. T. (2023-03-02). "How an HQ Trivia Documentary Started a 'Drama Vortex' Online". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2023-03-02. Retrieved 2023-03-03.
  3. ↑ Spellberg Lustig, Claire (July 19, 2023). "Don't Mistake Max's HQ Trivia Documentary For the Full Story". Archived from the original on July 26, 2023. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  4. 1 2 Carey, Matthew (February 3, 2023). "'Glitch: The Rise And Fall Of HQ Trivia' First Look: CNN Films Doc Presses Play On Wildly Popular Game App That Exploded Then Imploded". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 3, 2023. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
  5. ↑ Struss, Jason (June 26, 2023). "'Everything coming to Max (formerly HBO Max) in July 2023". MSN. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Max". play.max.com. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  7. ↑ Glitch: The Rise & Fall of HQ Trivia at IMDb OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  8. ↑ Katz, A.J. (March 7, 2023). "Sunday, March 5 Scoreboard: CNN Is No. 1 in Primetime Demo, Boosted by HQ Trivia Original Film". Adweek . Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  9. ↑ "Glitch: The Rise & Fall of HQ Trivia". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved July 22, 2023.
  10. ↑ Marsh, Calum (2023-07-20). "'Glitch: The Rise & Fall of HQ Trivia' Review". New York Times.
  11. ↑ Adams, Nate. "Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2023-02-28.
  12. ↑ Adams, Nate (2022-11-15). "'Glitch: The Rise and Fall of HQ Trivia' review: Doc offers valuable insight into app's demise". TheOnlyCritic. Archived from the original on 2023-03-02. Retrieved 2023-02-28.
  13. ↑ Schager, Nick. "Twitter". Twitter. Archived from the original on 2023-03-05. Retrieved 2023-03-05.
  14. ↑ Schager, Nick (2022-03-05). "'Glitch: The Rise and Fall of HQ Trivia' review: Doc offers valuable insight into app's demise". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2023-03-05.
  15. ↑ Bereznak, Alyssa (2020-05-14). "Introducing 'Boom/Bust: The Rise and Fall of HQ Trivia'". The Ringer. Retrieved 2023-03-03.
  16. ↑ "'Glitch: The Rise And Fall Of HQ Trivia' Review/Recap: This Documentary Was Going To Help Anyone | Film Fugitives". 2023-07-21. Retrieved 2023-07-31.
  17. ↑ EDT, Claire Spellberg Lustig Wednesday 7/19/2023 at 9:00AM (2023-07-19). "Don't Mistake Max's HQ Trivia Documentary For the Full Story". primetimer.com. Retrieved 2023-07-31.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  18. 1 2 Bereznak, Alyssa (Mar 2, 2023). "alyssa bereznak on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2023-07-31.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.