Grae Drake

Last updated
Grae Drake
Grae Drake (48355103237).jpg
Grae Drake speaking at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con, for "Terminator: Dark Fate"
Born
Colorado, United States
Alma mater University of Texas at Austin
Occupation(s)Host, Presenter, Film Critic, Reporter, Geek Personality
Years active2004–present
SpouseSteve Gelder [1]
Website http://www.graedrake.com

Grae Drake is an American host, entertainment journalist, and film critic.

Contents

Drake is best known for her work as a film critic and her celebrity interviews. [2]

Drake is a recognized "geek culture" personality in fandom circles, [3] and often serves as a panelist, moderator and panel host at major pop culture conventions and events nationwide including New York Comic Con, WonderCon, SXSW, [4] and San Diego Comic-Con. [5]

She is uniquely notable for her approach to celebrity interviews, where her use of costumes, [6] props, and comedy serve to both disarm and engage her celebrity guests in unexpected ways. [7]

Early years

Prior to her journalism career, Drake worked in many facets of the entertainment industry. She has previously worked behind the camera for ABC, Oceangate Productions, Motion Theory and Prometheus Productions.

Drake has also produced, appeared in, and is credited for video editing work on a variety of projects for film and television, [8] including Extreme Makeover: Home Edition , Ancient Aliens , and How to Look Good Naked with Carson Kressley.

Drake became well known in the "geek community" and coupled with her work in the entertainment industry led to a successful self-start in podcasting. In 2004, she founded and hosted a weekly movie podcast called The Popcorn Mafia [9] that ran for over 8 years, and included such notable guests as Diablo Cody, Ahmed Best (aka. Jar-Jar Binks), and James Marsden. The weekly podcast produced at least two shows that were recorded in front of a live audience. The Andy Dick episode was recorded at the Silent Movie Theater [10] in West Hollywood CA, and the Diablo Cody episode was recorded at the New Beverly Cinema [11] in Los Angeles, CA.

Journalism career

Drake is a member of Broadcast Film Critics and is a participant in the Critics' Choice Movie Awards. [12]

Drake was the Senior Movie Editor for Rotten Tomatoes, [13] and co-hosts their Sirius Radio program. Drake continues to work as a film critic for Fandango, Movies.com and provides movie review segments and reports on entertainment industry events on CNN. [14]

In contrast to her work as a serious film critic and journalist, Drake's approach to celebrity interviews are notorious in fandom circles for being comedic, irreverent and entertaining in their own right. Many are re-broadcast in part or whole [7] as segments on mainstream television news programs, talk shows, and entertainment websites. [15]

Drake is notably one of the first legitimate film critics who began using, and continues to use the internet as a medium for entertainment journalism. Drake has spoken to this new paradigm and the changes in the media landscape as a panelist for Comic Con International's "Masters of the Web" in 2012, [16] 2013 and 2015, with peers including John Campea, Ryan Turek, Evan Dickson, James Oster, Heather Wixson, Lawrence Raffel, Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett.

Drake is a frequent guest on assorted television programmes and web streams [17] including Good Day L.A. , [18] CNN, and Fox News [19] where she provides current news topical to the entertainment industry and popular culture in general.

In March 2019, Drake was selected to become the leading brand personality for Moviefone. Under the moniker "Ms. Moviefone", Drake will be responsible for interviews with celebrities and film industry professionals, oversee existing video content, and host new video content for the Moviefone brand. [20]

In January 2025, Drake joined Comic Book Resources as senior producer and lead host. Jon Arvedon, managing editor of CBR, said, "I'm extremely excited to have Grae joining us at CBR. Her experience in the entertainment landscape speaks for itself, and it's perfectly aligned with CBR's mission to deliver content that's both expert-driven and entertaining. I'm greatly looking forward to seeing the impact she'll make!" [21]

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References

  1. ↑ Leonard Maltin (2021). Starstruck: My Unlikely Road to Hollywood. Paladin Communications. ISBN   9781735273822 . Retrieved 5 September 2024.
  2. ↑ "How Rotten Tomatoes became Hollywood's most influential — and feared — website". Los Angeles Times. ISSN   0458-3035. Archived from the original on 1 August 2017. Retrieved 2018-08-06.
  3. ↑ "Rotten Tomatoes' Grae Drake is Ready for her Close-up!". www.torontoverve.org. Archived from the original on 17 August 2018. Retrieved 2018-08-06.
  4. ↑ "SXSW 2018 Schedule". schedule.sxsw.com. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  5. ↑ "Grae Drake in Comic-Con International 2018 - 20th Century Fox's 'The Predator' Panel". Zimbio. Retrieved 2018-08-07.
  6. ↑ "Comic-Con 2015: Unicorn Makes Jennifer Lawrence Fall Over Laughing". What Movie Should We Watch Tonight???. 2017-12-24. Retrieved 2018-08-14.
  7. 1 2 McCollum, Thaddeus. "Watch the cast of Star Wars play a game of 'Star Wars or Florida?'". Orlando Weekly. Retrieved 2018-08-07.
  8. ↑ "Grae Drake". IMDb. Retrieved 2018-08-06.
  9. ↑ ":: Welcome to The Popcorn Mafia Podcast :: Grae Drake :: Movie reviews, news, videos and more!". 2012-03-29. Archived from the original on 2012-03-29. Retrieved 2018-08-17.
  10. ↑ Mafia, Popcorn. "Popcorn Mafia Pressroom on PRLog (Popcorn_Mafia)". pressroom.prlog.org. Retrieved 2018-08-17.
  11. ↑ "Happening Wednesday: Diablo Cody joins the Popcorn Mafia and more". Los Angeles Times. 2010-04-21. ISSN   0458-3035 . Retrieved 2018-08-17.
  12. ↑ "Grae Drake | Critics' Choice AwardsCritics' Choice Awards". Critics' Choice Awards. 1969-12-31. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  13. ↑ Drake, Grae (2018-07-12). "Rotten Tomatoes Author Profile". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2018-08-17.
  14. ↑ A sneak peek at the Oscar's - CNN Video, 2 March 2014, retrieved 2018-08-15
  15. ↑ HoneyBeeeeez (2013-06-26), Ryan Gosling's Funniest Moments , retrieved 2018-08-18
  16. ↑ "Comic-Con 2012 - Wednesday and Thursday Schedules!". GeekTyrant. Retrieved 2018-08-14.
  17. ↑ Maltin, Leonard (2015-02-14). "Oscar Talk With Grae Drake And Me". IndieWire. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  18. ↑ FOX. "Rotten Tomatoes editor Grae Drake reviews 'Daddy's Home 2,' 'Murder on the Orient Express' and more". KTTV. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  19. ↑ FOX. "Grae Drake from Rotten Tomatoes talks "Breaking In," Life of the Party" & "Revenge"". KTTV. Retrieved 2018-08-14.
  20. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (2019-03-28). "Moviefone Takes On Rotten Tomatoes: Taps Review Site's Senior Editor Grae Drake As 'Ms. Moviefone'". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-03-31.
  21. ↑ Reese, Tammy (2025-01-22). "CBR Welcomes Grae Drake as Senior Producer: A Major Win for Pop Culture Coverage". Heart of Hollywood Magazine. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
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