Mikey Neumann | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Neumann in 2013 | |
| Born | (1982-04-16)April 16, 1982 (age 43)[1] |
| YouTube information | |
| Channel | |
| Years active | 2013–present |
| Genre | Film criticism |
| Subscribers | 303 thousand |
| Views | 23.19 million |
| Last updated: 14 July 2022[needs update] | |
Mikey Neumann (born April 16, 1982) is an AmericanYouTuber and video game writer. He is known for the channelFilmJoy, which hostsfilm criticism seriesMovies with Mikey. The series celebrates the positive elements of movies, and was nominated for the Outstanding Informational Series or SpecialEmmy in 2017.
Before his work on YouTube, Neumann worked in thevideo game industry as a creative director and on games includingBrothers in Arms,Borderlands, andBorderlands 2. He worked atGearbox Software for 16 years, ultimately earning the title "chief creative champion" before departing the company because of health problems.
Neumann began working in the video game industry at the age of 19. He left college after one year to doquality assurance onGearbox Software'sPlayStation 2 port ofHalf-Life, becoming a full-time texture artist in 2001, a year later.[2][3] He went on to write, voice act, and serve as creative director or associate creative director for games including theBrothers in Arms series,Aliens: Colonial Marines, andBorderlands.[4][5] ForBorderlands, Neumann providedmotion capture and voiced the character Scooter.[6][7] He also wrotecomics for the series, including the prequelBorderlands: Origins.[8][9][7]
Whenpre-orders forBorderlands became available, Neumann tweeted "Twitter me a screen of you buying the game and I'll play BLs with you and give you loot." When the tweet was picked up by gaming news websiteKotaku,[10] the popularity of the tweet exploded, with more than 200 players tweeting their game receipts. As a result, Neumann spent more than 3 days playing the game, grouping up with each player and giving them in-game weapons.[11] In 2014, Neumann gave thekeynote talk atPAX Prime.[4] Alongside developers from other game studios, he created a card forMagic 2015, titledChasm Skulker.[12]
In 2016 Neumann, then in the position of 'chief creative champion', was announced as the lead writer on the upcomingBorderlands 3.[13] He left Gearbox Software in June 2017, before the game's release, as a result of ongoing health problems, saying that "Everything is 1,000,000% amicable with Gearbox. I physically just can't do the work anymore", and opened aPatreon account to crowdfund his YouTube videos.[14] Neumann later assisted with theBorderlands 3 trailer.[15]
In 2010, Neumann created aweb series alongsideAnthony Burch calledAnthony Saves The World.[16] He started afilm criticism series titledMovies with Mikey in 2014 on theChainsawsuit Original YouTube channel (now titledFilmJoy) in collaboration withKris Straub.[17] The videos focus on the positive elements of movies, celebrating and highlighting aspects of those movies Neumann enjoyed. He described the impetus for the series as a desire for people "to feel good about the things they like, as opposed to feeling attacked all the time" and he aims to bring something new to viewers' opinion of the film, such as framingJohn Wick in amythological context.[18] After leaving Gearbox Software in 2017, Neumann began funding the series viaPatreon as he worked to become a full-timeYouTuber.[19] 5 days after his Patreon opened, more than 1,300 fans were pledging money each month to fund his videos.[17]
Neumann envisionedMovies with Mikey as being focused on films that were reviewed negatively in the 1990s and 2000s, providing viewers with a deeper appreciation for them. When the first videos received few views, he refocused the series. His video onThe World's End received considerably more attention, including being shared and commented on by the film's director and cast.[3]Movies with Mikey has since covered movies and television shows, including10 Cloverfield Lane,[20]Princess Mononoke,[21] andStranger Things.[3] The series was nominated for anEmmy in 2017, in theOutstanding Informational Series or Special category.[22]
Neumann had astroke while playing games at theGearbox Software office in October 2011, resulting in him being hospitalized for nine days. Doctors diagnosed Neumann withmultiple sclerosis.[2][23] Followingauto-immune failure as a result of his condition, Neumann was hospitalized again in 2017.[7][17]
Neumann has identified asasexual.[24]
| Year | Game | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 | Writer; voice of Corporal Sam Corrion[25] |
| 2005 | Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood | Writer and Story Director; voice of Corporal Sam Corrion[26] |
| 2007 | Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway | Writer; Voice of Corporal Sam Corrion[27] |
| 2009 | Borderlands | Writer;[5] voice of Scooter |
| 2012 | Borderlands 2 | Co-writer and Creative Director; voice of Scooter[28] |
| 2013 | Aliens: Colonial Marines | Writer[29] |
| 2013 | Poker Night 2 | Voice of Steve the Bandit |
| 2014 | Tales from the Borderlands | Scooter |