Harry Knowles facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Harry Knowles
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Knowles at July 2010 San Diego Comic-Con
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| Born |
Harry Jay Knowles
December 11, 1971 Austin, Texas, U.S.
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| Occupation | Film critic, writer |
| Years active | 1994-2017 |
| Spouse(s) |
Patricia Cho Jones
(m. 2007) |
Harry Jay Knowles (born December 11, 1971) is an American former film critic and writer known for his website Ain't It Cool News (AICN). Knowles was a member of the Austin Film Critics Association until he was removed in September 2017 "by a substantial majority vote" of the organization following ... assault.
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Early life
Harry Jay Knowles was born in Austin, Texas, the son of Jarrell Jay Knowles and Helen Jane (Harrison) Knowles, who married September 19, 1970, in Austin. His parents then settled in Austin. Knowles' parents separated in 1983 and divorced March 12, 1984; his mother received custody of him and his younger sister Dannie. The children subsequently lived with their mother on her family's ranch, the Portwood Ranch in Seymour, Texas. Knowles' other activities included the Boy Scouts of America, where he attained the rank of Eagle Scout.
On January 24, 1996, Knowles tripped on a hose at a memorabilia show and partially paralyzed his legs. Then, "like the 12-year-old asthmatic Scorsese, or the wunderkind Coppola stricken with polio," he wrote, he realized his destiny was to become an internet movie journalist.
Career
His first semi-professional job was providing weekend box office reports to the Drudge Report.
Reviewer
After purchasing a computer in 1994, Knowles started to navigate the Internet and began frequenting newsgroups to exchange gossip and rumors with other fans about upcoming films. After being chastised by future film critic Mike D'Angelo for posting binary image files to the newsgroups, Knowles launched the website that would become Ain't It Cool News in February 1996.
Appearances in the media
Because of the popularity of the website, Knowles was sought out by the mainstream media, including magazines, newspapers and television news programs. In 2000, he was ranked No. 95 in the Forbes Celebrity 100. Knowles has made guest appearances on the television shows Siskel & Ebert & the Movies and Politically Incorrect.
Knowles is featured in the documentary For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism as an advocate of film criticism on the Internet; he articulates the divide between older and younger critics and advocates for the films of Michael Bay, as well as being one of the first major critics to champion genre favorite Adam Green.
Film events
Butt-Numb-a-Thon
From 1999 to 2016, on the weekend closest to his birthday (December 11), Knowles hosted an event called Butt-Numb-A-Thon. The event, also known as Geek Christmas, was a 24-hour celebration of film, featuring unofficial premieres and vintage films, from classics reprinted for the big-screen, to the rare, weird and unheard of. Film fans and professionals alike traveled from all over the United States and the world to attend the event, which was hosted in Austin at the South Lamar Alamo Drafthouse. BNAT was called "the world's most exclusive and mysteriously secretive film celebration" and "the hardest film event to get into in the country". .....
Fantastic Fest
Knowles is a co-founder of the annual Fantastic Fest, held in Austin. It was founded in 2005 by Knowles, Tim League of Alamo Drafthouse, Paul Alvarado-Dykstra and Tim McCanlies, writer of The Iron Giant and Secondhand Lions. The festival focuses on genre films such as horror, science fiction, fantasy, action, Asian and cult cinema. The festival takes place in September at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar.
..... On September 25, 2017, the Alamo Drafthouse severed all business ties with Knowles.
Personal life
Knowles married Patricia Cho Jones on July 15, 2007, at Green Pastures in Austin.
On April 4, 2008, Knowles announced that he was diagnosed as a type 2 diabetic. In January 2011, Knowles underwent emergency spinal surgery to his T-10 vertebra. According to Knowles, the surgery restored sensation in his legs for the first time in over 15 years, and he would be undergoing physical therapy to learn to walk again.
Film credits
- The Ballad of the Sad Café (1991)
- Colin Fitz Lives! (1997)
- The Faculty (1998)
- Monkeybone (2001)
- Ghosts of Mars (2001)
- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
- No Pain, No Gain (2005)
- Pathogen (2006)
- Zombie Girl: The Movie (2008)
- My Sucky Teen Romance (2011)
- Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope (2011)
Portrayals
He was played by Ethan Suplee in the 2009 movie Fanboys.
