Jeff Sneider | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1983 or 1984 |
| Education | Tisch School of the Arts |
| Occupation | Entertainment journalist |
Jeff Sneider (born 1983 or 1984)[1] is an Americanentertainment journalist who founded the entertainment newsletterThe InSneider.[2][3] A 2006 graduate from theTisch School of the Arts, Sneider had previously held tenures atAin't It Cool News,Variety,TheWrap,Mashable andAbove the Line. Other publications Sneider has written for includeMTV Movies Blog,Hollywood Life,Washington Square News and theColorado Springs Independent.[4] Sneider's public statements and tweets have been the subject of controversy.
Sneider started working atAin't it Cool in 2003, then interned atVariety in 2006. He joinedTheWrap before returning toVariety in 2011, though was fired in 2013 after making atweet about killing himself because he lost a story to aHollywood Reporter writer. He rejoinedTheWrap thereafter and worked forMashable, and his tenure at the latter site ended in 2016 following a racially insensitive declaration about theAcademy Awards. He joinedCollider in 2018, and had a tenure as the editor in chief ofAbove the Line that ended in a pay dispute.
FromNeedham, Massachusetts,[4] Sneider graduated in 2006 from theTisch School of the Arts at New York University, from where he holds aBachelor of Arts in Dramatic Writing.[5] From 2003, Sneider wrote forAin't It Cool News under the alias "MiraJeff",[5] aportmanteau of his own name with the name of his favorite film studio,Harvey andBob Weinstein'sMiramax.[1] In 2006, Sneider represented the website ina boxing tournament by directorUwe Boll, who fought contributors to websites that criticized him. Since the site's founderHarry Knowles exceeded the 190-pound weight limit, Sneider fought in the tournament despite not having reviewed one of Boll's films—Sneider figured that sinceAin't it Cool was known for criticizing Boll, the director had them in mind.[1] Sneider considered himself disadvantaged because he smoked, hasasthma, didn't jog, and "can't have sex for more than five minutes at a stretch", and said that he was Boll's "highest-profile target".[1] Sneider made it to round two of his match before being taken down twice by Boll, at which point his cornerman thenthrew in the towel.[1]
He joinedVariety as an intern in August 2006, then joinedTheWrap,[5] where he anchored their Deal Central column.[6] Sneider returned toVariety in February 2011 as a film reporter.[5] In late January 2013, Sneider was fired fromVariety.[7] The outlet was reported as firing him for "unprofessional" behavior, though did not specify an incident.[7] Sneider had recently been tracking a scoop onChristopher Nolan's then-prospectiveInterstellar, though lost this toThe Hollywood Reporter'sKim Masters.[7] As a result of Masters getting the scoop on the story over him, Sneider had tweeted about driving his car into a tree and declared his blood would be "on Hollywood's hands", and reportedly was asked by editors atVariety to write a letter of apology to a publicist who had promised to update him on the deal, from whom Sneider never saw confirmation of the story.[7] At the beginning of April, he rejoinedTheWrap to take over their Deal Central column, covering casting and deals.[6] Sneider stated he was grateful for the "second chance" and was impressed with the growth the outlet experienced since he had left.[6]
Sneider had a tenure atMashable, serving as senior film reporter, which ended in December 2016 following racially charged comments about #OscarsSoWhite, a hashtag which gained popularity online due to a controversy that nopeople of color were nominated for major acting awards during a stretch of time.[8] Sneider had claimed that the movement was "canceled" following the prospects of non-Whites receiving consideration at the89th Academy Awards, and posted this in aMashable article and subsequent tweet.[8] Online backlash followed, with Sneider being criticized as he is aWhite man who attempted to declare a movement started by aBlack woman as "dead".[8]Mashable entertainment editor Josh Dickey expressed regret for the controversy, attaching a correction to the article and tweeted acceptance of responsibility, whileMashable's director of communications Paul Cafiero confirmed that this ordeal resulted in Sneider leaving the website.[8]
Following his termination fromMashable, Sneider served as Editor in Chief of the Tracking Board and the host of Meet the Movie Press.[4] In June 2018, Sneider joinedCollider as Video News Director and a contributor to Movie Talk.[4] Sneider had served as editor in chief ofAbove the Line until October 2023, claiming publisher Patrick Graham owed himUS$15,800.[9] Sneider was responsible for instigating a rumor about actressSydney Sweeney starring in the filmDay Drinker withJohnny Depp, which caused controversy online.[2] Sneiderquote tweeted a tweet of denial from the actress, claiming it was a "non denial".[2][3] Sneider claimed it was the fault of Sweeney's representatives, saying that the "mess" he caused by reporting what his sources told him was just spoiling a "bigCannes [Film Festival] announcement".[2] Sneider's claims thatSony scrapped the majority of the animated filmSpider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse (2027) due to creative reasons forced producerChristopher Miller to deny this report on social media, with composerDaniel Pemberton disputing the accuracy of Sneider's internet reporting.[10] However, Sony later removed the film from its schedule to an unspecified future date[11] with a later report confirming that the film would not release in 2025 nor 2026.[12]