Tony E. Valenzuela | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | June 3, 1972 Fontana, California, U.S. |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2008 - present |
| Children | 1 |
| Website | blackboxtv |
Tony Edvard Valenzuela (born June 3, 1972) is an American director, producer and writer widely known for creating BlackBoxTV, a YouTube channel dedicated to short horror films and series. [1] He also directed The Axe Murders of Villisca (2017), [2] for IFC [3] and Fight of the Living Dead . [4]
In 2008, Valenzuela wrote and directed 2009: A True Story, a thirteen-episode dystopian web series that was nominated for Best Dramatic Web Series at the first-annual Streamy Awards [5] and was featured by director Wes Craven during his Halloween 2008 YouTube Takeover. [6] In 2009, Valenzuela directed Harper's Globe , [7] a thirteen-episode web series companion to the CBS television drama, Harper's Island [8] and the mixed reality series Green Eyed World for Sprite, [9] which won the Webby Award for Best Use of Social Media in 2010. [10]
Valenzuela is the creator of BlackBoxTV Presents , [11] a horror anthology series that debuted on YouTube on August 17, 2010 and is the longest-running online drama, according to Variety. [12] The first season, which featured a cast of YouTube creators including Philip DeFranco, iJustine and Shane Dawson, was financed by Valenzuela. [13] In 2012, Valenzuela created, co-produced and directed Silverwood [14] and collaborated with CSI creator Anthony E. Zuiker to create Anthony E. Zuiker Presents as part of Google's YouTube Original Channel Initiative. [15] For BlackBoxTV Presents , Valenzuela has won Streamy Awards for Best Writing: Drama [16] and Best Drama Series. [17]
In 2014, Valenzuela directed and co-wrote Versions of Elloise in collaboration with Legendary Entertainment as part of “YouTube Space House of Horrors: A Legendary Halloween” [18] and was selected as one of ten finalists by Guillermo del Toro. [19]
In 2015, Valenzuela directed the pilot episode of the reality competition Fight of the Living Dead , [20] which he executive produced and distributed through BlackBoxTV [21] from 2015-2016 for YouTube Red. Also in 2015, Valenzuela was recruited by New Form - the digital studio co-founded by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, to create, write and direct The Fourth Door, [22] a supernatural good versus evil drama series starring Joey Graceffa and Monique Coleman from High School Musical. The Fourth Door debuted on October 27, 2015 on go90 [23] and received honors at Marseille Web Fest [24] and Raindance Film Festival. [25] Beginning in 2016, Valenzuela directed nine episodes of the virtual reality series BlackBoxTV Presents: 360\Horror and won the Best Immersive Storyteller Streamy Award [26] in 2017 for excellence in VR and 360 filmmaking.
Valenzuela's feature-length directorial debut, The Axe Murders of Villisca [27] premiered at the LA Film Festival on June 7, 2016. [28] In his December 7, 2016 review, Austin Chronicle critic Richard Whittaker wrote, "Villisca has heart and horror, creating an elegant melding of teen angst and supernatural horror that is as much The Breakfast Club as Sometimes They Come Back.” [29]
The YouTube Streamy Awards, also known as the Streamy Awards or Streamys, are an awards show presented annually by Dick Clark Productions and Tubefilter to recognize excellence in online video, including directing, acting, producing, and writing. The formal ceremony at which the awards are presented takes place in Los Angeles, California. They were the first ever awards show dedicated entirely to web series.
DeStorm Power is an American Internet personality, actor and rapper who began his career on YouTube.
Grace Anne Helbig is an American comedian, actress, and internet personality. She is the co-creator and co-host of the podcast This Might Get Weird (2018–present) alongside frequent collaborator Mamrie Hart and is the voice of Cindy Bear in the Max animated series Jellystone! (2021–present).
React Media, LLC is an American reacting, digital media and entertainment company founded by brothers Benny Fine and Rafi Fine, creators and media entrepreneurs. React Media produces the React video series, their several timed-spoiler series, narrative web series, and created a "transmedia" sitcom on YouTube, MyMusic.
The Philip DeFranco Show, often abbreviated and referred to as the PDS, is a pop culture and news series created by American YouTube personality, Philip DeFranco, and his main claim to fame. The show has gone through several schedule changes through its lifetime, but as of 2023, airs weekly, Monday through Thursday. The first video with The Philip DeFranco Show included in its intro was uploaded on June 21, 2007. As DeFranco became increasingly popular, he signed with Revision3, which would eventually acquire all of DeFranco's assets, including the PDS. The Philip DeFranco Show has been sponsored by Netflix, Ting, and State Farm. The show has been nominated for and has won several awards that focus on internet culture and web series. In 2017, DeFranco purchased his assets back from Group Nine and the Philip DeFranco Show is now a part of the Philip DeFranco Network and produced by Rogue Rocket, DeFranco's production company.
Philip James DeFranco, commonly known by his online nickname PhillyD, and formerly known as sxephil, is an American media host and YouTube personality. He is best known for The Philip DeFranco Show, a news commentary show centered on current events in politics and pop culture.
The 3rd Annual Streamy Awards was the third installment of the Streamy Awards honoring streaming television series. The awards were held on February 17, 2013, at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, California. It was hosted by the founder of Nerdist Industries, Chris Hardwick. Presented three years after the unsuccessful 2nd Streamy Awards which led to the International Academy of Web Television leaving the show, Tubefilter partnered with Dick Clark Productions in an attempt to bolster the credibility of the awards and with hopes of broadcasting the show on television. The show was viewed as more professional than previous years and was praised for its musical performances, but it also received a more mixed reception on its increased focus on mainstream shows and celebrities.
Mark Edward Fischbach, known online as Markiplier, is an American YouTuber, actor and filmmaker. He mainly uploads Let's Plays and is known for his videos of indie horror games. After joining YouTube in 2012, Fischbach became popular on the platform with Let's Plays of Amnesia: The Dark Descent (2010) and the Five Nights at Freddy's series. As of March 2024, his channel has over 36 million subscribers.
Esteban "Steve" Zaragoza is an American online personality, singer-songwriter, musician and web series host, notable for his work on the current events and news series SourceFed. Zaragoza became a host on the series in 2012. The following year, Zaragoza became a host on its spin-off channel, SourceFedNERD. On his personal YouTube channel, Zaragoza frequently combines or crosses between dark, deadpan, surreal, character, and sketch comedy in a non-sequitur fashion.
Jennifer Ann McAllister, also known by her former pseudonym and YouTube username jennxpenn, is an American internet personality, actress and comedian. She is known for her work on YouTube, for which she has been nominated for a Shorty Award and four Teen Choice Awards.
Flula Borg is a German actor, comedian, and musician. Borg's acting career includes roles in feature films, including Pitch Perfect 2 and The Suicide Squad, as well as in a number of television shows, including Curb Your Enthusiasm,The Good Place, Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin, and The Rookie. He has made multiple appearances on Conan and has participated in a number of other collaborations with Conan O'Brien.
Matthew Robert Patrick, better known as MatPat, is an American semi-retired YouTuber and internet personality. He is the creator and former host of the YouTube series Game Theorists, and its spin-off series Film Theorists, Food Theorists, and Style Theorists, each analyzing various video games, films alongside TV series and web series, food, and fashion respectively. Each of the different series are posted on individual channels, each named after the respective series. In addition to the creation of his channels, Patrick narrated the majority of the videos that are presented on his channels prior to his retirement on March 9, 2024.
Escape the Night is an American reality television series created, hosted, produced, and owned by Joey Graceffa. The series follows fantasy plots based on horror and murder mystery aesthetics. The series premiered on June 22, 2016, through YouTube Red. The series concluded its fourth season on September 4, 2019, making the longest-running series on YouTube Premium until 2020. After the cancellation of the series, the creator announced an upcoming film and set up a fundraiser.
Wilson Cleveland is an American actor, producer and writer. He is known as the creator, producer and co-star of Leap Year and The Temp Life.
Bernie Su is an American web series creator, writer, director and producer. He is best known for his work on the Emmy Award-winning web series The Lizzie Bennet Diaries with Hank Green, a modern vlog-style adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice which won YouTube's first primetime Emmy. His five-platform interactive re-imagination of Austen's Emma, called Emma Approved, won the same Emmy two years later. Su also worked on Vanity, was Multi-channel network StyleHaul's first original online series, with Maybelline New York attached as the exclusive sponsor for its centennial celebration.
Elizabeth ShailaKoshy is an American YouTuber, media personality and actress. Her main YouTube channel has amassed almost 17 million subscribers, and her two channels have a combined total of over 3 billion views. She has received four Streamy Awards, four Teen Choice Awards, and a Kids' Choice Award.
The 4th Annual Streamy Awards was the fourth installment of the Streamy Awards honoring streaming television series. The awards were held on September 7, 2014 at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California. They were hosted by the YouTube stars Grace Helbig and Hannah Hart. To reflect the industry as it had evolved since 2009, 10 new award categories were added, including multiple awards honoring the short-form video hosting website Vine, a new category to honor traditional TV media engaging in online content, and categories reflecting recent YouTube trends. The event also honored the American comedian Joan Rivers whose funeral had been earlier in the day and who many of the attendees had previously met on her web chat series In Bed With Joan, including Jenna Marbles, Tyler Oakley, and Grace Helbig, which was praised as a heartfelt moment of the show. The show was received well in media publications and generated a high level of social media interest, although it did receive criticism for the influence of sponsors at the event.
BlackBoxTV Presents is an American horror anthology web series created by Tony E. Valenzuela and Philip DeFranco. The first season, which featured a cast of YouTube creators including DeFranco, iJustine, and Shane Dawson, was self-funded by Valenzuela and debuted on the BlackBoxTV YouTube channel on August 17, 2010.
BlackBoxTV is a commercial YouTube channel and production studio founded by director Tony E. Valenzuela. It was launched on August 17, 2010 and relaunched on April 13, 2012 as part of YouTube's $150 million original channel initiative. The channel, which has collaborated with Wes Craven, Guillermo del Toro and Anthony E. Zuiker, is home to BlackBoxTV Presents, which Variety called "the longest-running scripted drama online" in March 2016.
Brandon George Rogers is an American comedian, actor, filmmaker, and YouTuber. He plays many characters in his eponymous YouTube channel and is a writer on the adult animated web series Helluva Boss, in which he primarily voices the main character Blitzo, as well as voicing reporter Katie Killjoy in Hazbin Hotel.
