and now it's time to say goodbye
Popular Austin-based film site 'Gordon and the Whale' to close
Popular film site Gordon and the Whale announced it would be shutting its digital doors in August, today.
The news comes as a disappointment for film lovers who show the same amount of enthusiasm for both '80s horror flick Tenebrae and this month's Tinseltown-packagedHorrible Bosses. Since 2007, GATW has been gaining serious film industry credibility, sending the team to cover Sundance in 2010 and 2011 and Cannes in 2011.
The website, which garnered a hefty 250,000 unique hits a month, saw exceptional traction in a short amount of time, transforming the site from hobby to a legitimate business.
But as that serious business grew, additional money was needed to fund the site's adventures and, regrettably, it just never came through. Site owner and editor in chief, Chase Whale, tells CultureMap, "We all decided it was best for us to pursue other adventures in the film and writing world."
The GATW crew remains tight-knit, and you can expect to see them cross promoting their own projects. Look for senior editor James Wallace's new site, IHeartCinema.net and various "huge announcements" from managing editor Kate Erbland in the next few days. Whale himself will be added to Alamo Drafthouse's roster of talented creative directors.
"All of us love each other so very much and will be very supportive of everything we accomplish," Whale explains. "We're like 2011's The Goonies; we stick together, fight and cry together. We're family."
Why can't love just ever be enough?
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CultureMap asked Chase Whale to recommend some sites for filmophiles to visit in lieu of Gordon and the Whale. Here are his top recommendations:
For advance screenings in Austin, IHeartCinema.net. For movie reviews, news, and all around kick-ass movie content: FilmDrunk.com, FilmSchoolRejects, Movies.com, JoBlo.com, SlashFilm.com, TwitchFilm.com, BadassDisgest.com, BoxOfficeMagazine.com,TheFilmStage.com, HitFix.com, HorrorsNotDead.com, BrutalAsHell.com, IFC.com, HitList from MSN.com, EricDSnider.com (for all the hilarious movie snark you can handle), indieWIRE.com, ThePlaylist (a part of indieWIRE), and Thompson on Hollywood (a part of indieWIRE).