The first time I ever heard the name Screen Rant, it was in 2008 - at a dive bar that my New School classmates and I frequented after class and workshops. A good friend (former Editor-in-Chief Kofi Outlaw) had started contributing to the site - and was set to become its first dedicated editor upon completion of our creative writing MFAs in 2009. At the time, I was weighing my own post-graduation plans and the prospect of making a living writing about my passions (movies, TV, video games, superheroes, and science fiction, especially) was tempting. Ultimately, I chose to teach college instead of jumping into Screen Rant right out the gate - but became a dedicated reader and commenter nonetheless. Still, a few months, and many more nights at the bar, led me to revisit the conversation with Kofi - who said he'd be happy to bring me on at Screen Rant but thought I might enjoy a new challenge that was spinning up: establishing Screen Rant's video game-focused sister site Game Rant alongside Rob Keyes.
After months of development and content creation, we officially launched Game Rant in conjunction with the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - which I reviewed (you can still read it here), having never played a Call of Duty game, simply because my local GameStop in Astoria broke street date - allowing us time to get a review up the same day as major outlets (despite not having an official early-access review copy). Months later, I began splitting my time between GR and SR - with a heavy focus on reviews and features.
When site-owner Vic Holtreman offered me enough money to turn down a full-time office job, I accepted - and it was around this time that Kofi, Rob, and I (alongside Anthony Ocasio) started the Screen Rant Underground podcast. I genuinely loved this point in my life and career. Few people have the fortune to be part of something so fresh, so malleable, that you truly get to put your stamp on it - and make it yours - but that's what we had at Screen Rant. We welcomed a number of cherished SR alums during this time: Sandy Schaefer, Hannah Shaw-Williams, Kevin Yeoman, Andrew Dyce, Anthony Taormina (now Editor-in-Chief at Game Rant) and Ben Moore - colleagues who became the closest thing this child of divorce ever had to a big, crazy, family.
Still, those early days were a grind and, looking back, I'm amazed at the sheer amount and quality of the content we put out with such a small team. Kofi, Rob, and I poured every ounce of our energy into building Screen Rant - often at the expense of relationships, mental health, and other personal passions. Dedicated readers and SRU listeners will remember a time when I took a month-long hiatus from the site and podcast to recover from a nervous breakdown - and while I look back on the speed and intensity of our work at the time as a contributing factor - whatever damage a lack of work-life balance had done to my mental health was paid-back ten-fold by the support of my colleagues and our readers.
Then, in 2015, Vic sold the site to a small publishing start up, based out of Montreal, QC: Valnet Inc. The initial months at Valnet were a challenge for everyone involved - but, in some ways, probably easier than other competitors that were purchased around the same time. Kofi, Rob, me, and our team were hard workers and fiercely loyal to the site. Still, Kofi eventually parted ways with Screen Rant in late-2015 - eventually landing at ComicBook.com (where he continues to be one of the most insightful and passionate voices in the industry - and, luckily for me, remains a good friend). Rob and I continued on with a chief goal of providing stability for the team and to maintain as much of what made Screen Rant special - even as we scaled up the operation and transitioned from a passion-fueled startup to a business with carefully modeled growth expectations.
To help bridge the gap between Valnet and the editorial team, I moved up to Montreal and began working out of the office in December that same year - which was the beginning of an adventure that I will forever cherish. In my six years in Montreal, I made lifelong friends and was trusted with overseeing the acquisition of CBR (Comic Book Resources) in 2016, the development of Valnet's organic traffic operation, and most recently advising the brilliant team at Collider. I am a better manager, content creator, and all around more grateful person because of my experiences and interactions with everyone that has been part of my time at Valnet. I regret that I leave a lot of projects unfinished and improvements unrealized that I wanted to make in the lives of our teams - but we came a long way.
Throughout it all, I've never taken my eye off Screen Rant - and while a lot has changed in the world, in Hollywood, in the entertainment journalism industry, in Screen Rant itself, since the time Valnet acquired SR, Rob and I continued to build Screen Rant into one of the biggest sources of movie and TV news anywhere in the world. We hired future Managing Editor (now Content Director) Alex Leadbeater and saw other talented individuals take-on leadership roles at the site and video channels, including Molly Freeman, Simon Gallagher, Emily Biondo, Christopher Teuton, Chris Agar, Kazden Risk, Natasha Taggart, Mae Abdulbaki, and Ash Crossan - not to mention the talented (and equally nice) Ryan George, among countless others who I wish I had space to mention. It's humbling to see this kind, sharp, and thoughtful generation of Screen Rant leaders step into the spotlight - and a relief to know the site - which I have loved (angry commenters and all) is in good hands.
I know the site isn't what it once was: a scrappy startup where we knew all our readers by name and posted April Fools' Day articles but we've done our best to keep Screen Rant true to its DNA - and provide an ever-expanding platform for writers from all over the world, with varying (and sometimes conflicting) viewpoints, to weigh-in on the biggest topics in entertainment. In a time when the world is so divided, and everything seemed tone on fire, I used to regret that I hadn't built something that would change the world in a meaningful way; however, in time I came to appreciate that Screen Rant, whether our articles or podcasts or videos or social media memes, provided a welcome distraction, community, and place of refuge from political devision and global pandemics - and now, stepping away from the helm, I'm excited to see what new avenues Rob and the team find that will evolve and continue to deliver on that mission.
The last thing I want to say is "Thank You." To the contributors who shared your time and talent with us, to the mentors I've had along the way, to the readers who supported and criticized us, none of this incredible experience would have been possible without you. I am truly grateful and know how lucky I am to have been able to do this for as long as I did.
As for what's next for me: I'm leaving the industry and going to apply the knowledge I've accrued in the PR field as the VP of Content for Rise at Seven (the search-first creative agency), leading their expansion into the U.S., and helping colleagues as well as clients improve their content and brands. You can find me on Twitter still and I'll also be sticking around Screen Rant, not as the site's content director, but as a film reviewer and feature writer - taking me back to what I loved doing here the most. Maybe I'll even dust off my podcast mic - and talk Kofi and Rob into recording with me.
Until then, may the Force be with you.
Sincerely,
Ben Kendrick, Content Director of ScreenRant.com (2008 - 2022)