Gregory Austin McConnell
| Gregory Austin McConnell | |
|---|---|
| Born | 15 February 1990 Springfield, Missouri, U.S. |
| 💼 Occupation |
|
| 📆 Years active | 2008–present |
| Notable work | LG15: Outbreak |
| 🌐 Website | www |
Gregory Austin McConnell, also known as simply Austin McConnell (born February 15, 1990), is an American filmmaker, author and YouTuber.
McConnell initially rose to prominence with his 2010 webseries LG15: Outbreak, a spin-off of EQAL's Lonelygirl15[1], which was polarizing to LG15 fans.
On his personal YouTube channel, McConnell has garnered 1.36 million subscribers and over 156 million views as of October 2021.[2]
Career[edit]
LG15 (2008-10)[edit]
During the original run of Lonelygirl15, McConnell posted a series of video replies as the character of Mason, who poked fun at the show's flaws. The character of Mason was eventually killed off.[3]
In 2009, EQAL, the company behind LG15, opened a contest for fans of the franchise, called "The Show is Yours". The contest allowed fans to submit pilot episodes and trailers of spin-off shows based on the Lonelygirl15 mythology, where the selected pilot would become an official LG15 Franchise show.[4]
The winner of the first season was LG15: The Last, which was poorly received for its low production values and deviance from the main LG15 story. Because of this reaction, EQAL relaunched "The Show is Yours", this time offering a $5,000 production budget to the winners. As a fan of the series, McConnell was allured by the opportunity and wrote, shot and edited the pilot for LG15: Outbreak. The pilot was well received and McConnell won the contest.[3]
Production began in Christian County, Missouri and was riddled with issues, from broken cameras to the malfunctions of EQAL's new social platform Umbrella.[3]
Sprouting Orchids and YouTube success (2012-present)[edit]
After writing a script for his first feature film, Sprouting Orchids, McConnell started an Indiegogo campaign, attempting to raise $3,000. However, the campaign wasn't a success and only managed to raise $1,245.[5]
Sprouting Orchids's production was messy, which McConnell detailed in a YouTube video, with many mishaps, including a failed scene set in a Hy-Vee parking lot.[5]
The film's theatrical cut was finished in October 2013, and though McConnell submitted it into many film festivals, including Sundance and Slamdance, but was rejected by most. It was also rejected for studio distribution. The film was screened at the 2014 No/Gloss Film Festival[6] and six other small festivals. It had a limited theatrical release in the United Kingdom in 2014. McConnell stated that neither he nor any of the crew got to see the film in theaters.[5]
The film's US premiere was on January 31, 2014 at Springfield's Moxie Cinema,[7] and only eight people showed up. The film had a VOD release on Vimeo and Amazon for a year and was then quietly removed from the services. McConnell stated that in all, the film didn't earn enough money to recoup production costs.[5]
On August 28, 2016, McConnell released a video essay criticizing Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which became a massive success, garnering 5.3 million views as of October 2021, and bringing mass attention to his YouTube channel.[8] On February 24, 2017, McConnell released a followup video titled "Let's Fix Harry Potter and the Cursed Child", in which he detailed how he would change the play's narrative[9], which then inspired a fan play titled "Nineteen Years Later", which included many elements from McConnell's video.[10][11]
From 2016 to present day, McConnell has made many video essays about nearly all aspects of entertainment, including film, literature, video games and even escape rooms.
Personal life[edit]
On February 15, 1990, McConnell was born with a ventricular septal defect, and had a successful open-heart surgery to have it repaired.[12]
During post-production of Sprouting Orchids, McConnell has said that he considered suicide if he wasn't able to complete the film.[5]
McConnell is married.
In 2020, McConnell was diagnosed with an aortic valve regurgitation, which threatened an aortic dissection.[12]
Filmography[edit]
| Year | Name | Role | Director | Writer | Producer | Editor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Shenmue Zero | Ryo Hazuki | No | No | No | No | Fan video game
Voice |
| 2010 | LG15: Outbreak | Gregory "Mason" Almeida | Yes | Yes | Executive | Yes | Webseries
Also creator |
| 2014 | Sprouting Orchids | Lincoln | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 2020 | Voicemails From Strangers | Himself | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Documentary |
Bibliography[edit]
Awards and nominations[edit]
| Award | Year | Category | Title | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shorty Awards | 2018 | Breakout YouTuber of the Year | N/A | Nominated | [15] |
| Branson International Film Festival Awards | 2020 | Best Creative Work | Voicemails From Strangers | Won | [16] |
References[edit]
- ↑ "EQAL's New Lonelygirl15 'Show is Yours'". Tilzy.tv. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "About austinmcconnell". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2021-10-15. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Did I Kill LonelyGirl15?, retrieved 2021-10-15
- ↑ "Is Crowdsourcing a Bad Omen for LG15?". Tubefilter. 2009-01-05. Retrieved 2021-10-15.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 i made a movie. it stunk., retrieved 2021-10-18
- ↑ "No/Gloss Film Festival 2014 Review | Shlur". 2014-10-22. Retrieved 2021-10-19.
- ↑ "Sprouting Orchids". Moxie Cinema. Retrieved 2021-10-19.
- ↑ What Went Wrong With Harry Potter and the Cursed Child?, retrieved 2021-10-25
- ↑ Let's Fix Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, retrieved 2021-10-25
- ↑ They FIXED Harry Potter and the Cursed Child?, retrieved 2021-10-25
- ↑ Musbach, Julie. "Harry Potter Play NINETEEN YEARS LATER Comes to The El Portal This Winter". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 My heart is broken. (Like, literally.), retrieved 2021-10-19
- ↑ McConnell, Gregory Austin (2009). Fallen Angels - Book 1: Welcome To Munich (1st ed.). Missing Mozart Publishing. ISBN 9780984124312. Search this book on
- ↑ McConnell, Austin; Smith, Clara. Neva's Story: A Coming-of-Age Romance Set In 1940s America. Search this book on
- ↑ "Austin McConnell - The Shorty Awards". shortyawards.com. Retrieved 2021-10-15.
- ↑ "2020 Winners". bransonIFF. Retrieved 2021-10-15.
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