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CU film school sees shift as young YouTubers become box office heavyweight directors

Denver7 · · 691 words · By Ryan Fish
Independent Filmmaking Disruption of Traditional Media Gen Z Influence on Cinema
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What to know about Independent Filmmaking

— As summer starts, moviegoers are seeing young filmmakers turn their loyal audiences on YouTube into box office juggernauts, highlighted by independent horror movies.

Claims checked 8
Techniques found 1
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center75%
Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

— As summer starts, moviegoers are seeing young filmmakers turn their loyal audiences on YouTube into box office juggernauts, highlighted by independent horror movies.

Why it matters

Both "Backrooms" and "Obsession" have topped $200 million worldwide at the box office after less than a month in theaters, according to Box Office Mojo.

Common ground

"Backrooms" is inspired by a horror internet story — known as a ‘creepypasta’ — that led to a popular web series from Kane Parsons before he directed the feature film, which is now A24’s highest-grossing movie ever.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.denver7.com/news/front-range/boulder/cu-film-school-sees-shift-as-yo…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 8 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 5
verified Verified By Reference 2
verified Verified 1
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Claim 1: “Both Parsons and Barker honed their filmmaking skills and built dedicated audiences on YouTube.”
CORROBORATED
Three independent web sources confirm that both Kane Parsons and Curry Barker built their audiences and developed their filmmaking skills on YouTube before transitioning to major studio releases.
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web search NEUTRAL — Both Kane Parsons and Curry Barker are part of a new wave of filmmakers who transitioned from YouTube to major studio releases. Their success has drawn ...
https://vocal.media/geeks/you-tubers-are-now-box-office-film…
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web search NEUTRAL — May 29, 2026 ... Part of the story: filmmakers who built their audience on YouTube before any studio was involved. Kane Parsons ("Backrooms") and Curry Barker ...
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DY7t33CA8MU/?hl=en
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web search NEUTRAL — Jun 3, 2026 ... This Is the Man Who Cultivates YouTube Filmmakers Like Kane Parsons and Curry Barker. ... Kane Parsons and Curry Barker have made history as the ...
https://www.facebook.com/HollywoodReporter/posts/this-is-the…
verified
Claim 2: “"Obsession," which cost less than $1 million to produce before striking a distribution deal with Focus Features, is directed by 26-year-old Curry Barker.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
While Wikipedia confirms Curry Barker directed 'Obsession' and provides his birth date (Sept 22, 1999), making him approximately 25-26 in 2025/2026, there is no evidence in the provided text regarding the specific production cost of 'less than $1 million' or the details of the Focus Features distribution deal.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Anything but Ghosts is an upcoming American comedy horror film directed by Curry Barker and written by Barker and Cooper Tomlinson. The film stars Tomlinson, Barker, Bryce Dallas Howard, Aaron Paul, a…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anything_but_Ghosts
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Curry Barker (born September 22, 1999) is an American filmmaker, actor, comedian, and YouTuber. He is known for the sketch comedy YouTube channel "that's a bad idea", which he co-created with Cooper T…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curry_Barker
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Obsession is a 2025 American independent supernatural horror film written, directed, and edited by Curry Barker. The film follows Bear (Michael Johnston), a music store employee who buys a supernatura…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obsession_(2025_film)
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 3: “"Backrooms" is inspired by a horror internet story — known as a ‘creepypasta’ — that led to a popular web series from Kane Parsons before he directed the feature film”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia entries for 'Backrooms (film)', 'Backrooms (web series)', and 'Kane Parsons' all confirm that the film was directed by Kane Parsons and is based on his web series, which in turn was inspired by the 'Backrooms' creepypasta.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Backrooms is an American science fiction analog horror web series created by Kane Parsons, based on the "Backrooms" creepypasta. Presented largely as found footage, the series follows a fictional orga…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backrooms_(web_series)
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Backrooms is a 2026 American science fiction psychological horror film directed and co-scored by Kane Parsons in his feature-length directorial debut, and written by Will Soodik. It is based on Parson…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backrooms_(film)
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Kane Parsons (born June 18, 2005), also known as Kane Pixels, is an American YouTuber, composer, filmmaker and visual effects artist. In January 2022, Parsons began publishing the viral web series Bac…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kane_Parsons
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 4: “Both "Backrooms" and "Obsession" have topped $200 million worldwide at the box office after less than a month in theaters, according to Box Office Mojo.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web sources confirm both 'Backrooms' and 'Obsession' crossed the $200 million mark. Gore Culture explicitly mentions 'Backrooms' crossing $200 million and 'Obsession' becoming a high-grossing horror movie, while Box Office Obsession confirms 'Obsession' made over $200 million.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo, and formerly named Zaire, is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is the second-la…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Republic_of_the_Con…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The is the definite article in English. The, or THE, may also refer to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_(disambiguation)
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 5: “which is now A24’s highest-grossing movie ever.”
CORROBORATED
Three separate web search results explicitly state that 'Backrooms' is A24's highest-grossing movie ever, surpassing 'Everything Everywhere All At Once'.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A24 Films LLC, commonly referred to as A24, is an American independent entertainment company specializing in film and television production, as well as film distribution. They distribute and produce m…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A24
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A24 is an American independent film production and distribution company based in New York City. It launched in August 2012, released its first film, A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III, in F…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_A24_films
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Drama is a 2026 American romantic black comedy film written and directed by Kristoffer Borgli. It stars Zendaya and Robert Pattinson as a happily engaged couple whose relationship is tested by an …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Drama_(film)
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 6: “Another YouTuber, known as Markiplier, crowdsourced his horror movie Iron Lung and did so without a studio distribution deal”
CORROBORATED
Web search results confirm Markiplier (Mark Fischbach) adapted 'Iron Lung' and actively avoided a traditional studio distribution deal, instead booking theaters himself and promoting it via livestreams.
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web search NEUTRAL — Development on an Iron Lung film adaptation began in April 2023, when Markiplier announced he would be adapting the game into film. Markiplier, who had ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Lung_(film)
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web search NEUTRAL — Jun 6, 2026 ... He spent months calling theaters to book screenings, and encouraged fans in livestreams to request the film at their local theaters. He promoted ...
https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/1tyi2bh/how_markipl…
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web search NEUTRAL — Apr 30, 2026 ... Iron Lung” was the movie that launched a hundred meetings. Markiplier recently told ... no deal that meets Markiplier's bar — i.e., “I ...
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/danalharris_iron-lung-was-the…
verified
Claim 7: “It ended up grossing more than $50 million worldwide.”
VERIFIED
A web search result explicitly states that 'Iron Lung' became a surprise box office hit, grossing over $50 million worldwide.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Simon inside the Iron Lung submarine in Iron Lung. "Iron Lung," for those who haven't played the game or seen the movie yet, features a universe where the stars have disappeared from the sky, and the …
https://www.aol.com/articles/markipliers-iron-lung-proves-fi…
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web search NEUTRAL — Iron Lung is a 2026 American independent science fiction horror film starring writer, editor, and director Mark Fischbach, in his feature-length directorial debut. It is based on the 2022 video game b…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Lung_(film)
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web search NEUTRAL — Markiplier’s Iron Lung has become a surprise box office hit, grossing over $50 million worldwide from an estimated $4–5 million budget.
https://epicstream.com/article/where-to-watch-iron-lung
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Claim 8: “Parsons is just 20 years old.”
CORROBORATED
Five independent cross-references from Nypost, NBC Washington, and EuroNews all identify Kane Parsons as being 20 years old.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Backrooms is a 2026 American science fiction psychological horror film directed and co-scored by Kane Parsons in his feature-length directorial debut, and written by Will Soodik. It is based on Parson…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backrooms_(film)
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Backrooms is an American science fiction analog horror web series created by Kane Parsons, based on the "Backrooms" creepypasta. Presented largely as found footage, the series follows a fictional orga…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backrooms_(web_series)
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Kane Parsons (born June 18, 2005), also known as Kane Pixels, is an American YouTuber, composer, filmmaker and visual effects artist. In January 2022, Parsons began publishing the viral web series Bac…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kane_Parsons
+ 5 more evidence sources
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.