About

Meet the Mikes of MediaMikes.com

Mike Gencarelli has always been a fan of movies growing up from cutting out the newspaper movie ads and posting them all over his wall to running the website, BoxOfficeWizard.com. Mike has been a contributor to various sites including MyVideoStore.com, DarkHorizons.com and Moviehole.net . Mike was even an extra in the Troma film, “Terror Firmer” back in 1998 and “Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!” in 2015. Since then he has turned to the role of Producer and worked on upcoming films like “The Forest Hills”, “Kaiju Glam Metal Shark Attack” and coming back full circle to Troma with their latest film “Sweet Meats”.  He grew up in Long Island, NY and currently resides in the Orlando, FL area.

Mike A. Smith served as the film critic for the Leavenworth (KS) Times from 2002-2011. He also served as the film critic and a featured writer (“Mike’s Rant”) for Nolan’s Pop Culture Review for more than a decade. He is a weekly contributor to the Rotten Tomatoes web site. He served three terms as Vice President of the Kansas City Film Critics Circle, the second oldest professional film critics’ association in the United States, currently serves as the group’s recording secretary and is a long-serving member of the groups governing board. His most recent book, “JAWS 2: The Making of the Hollywood Sequel“ was published by Bear Manor Media in the fall of 2015. Smith resides in Lee’s Summit, Missouri.

Meet the “Honorary” Mikes of MediaMikes.com

Adam Lawton came on board in the fall of 2010 conducting interviews with celebs and writing movie reviews featured on the site. Since the change from MovieMikes.com to MediaMikes.com, Adam has become the sites Music Editor conducting interviews with musicians and reviewing albums/concerts. Adam is also the eye behind MIA Photographs. In 2017 he and his son Ian began reviewing toys for the site as well. When he’s not covering live music or playing with toys he keeps busy by performing around the Tri-State area with his own band TAKE TWO.

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Dr. Walter S. Zapotoczny Jr. is an award-winning writer, editor and college professor with over 40 years’ experience. He is the author of over 150 published articles and eleven books. Walter is a contributing writer and reviewer for several international publications and is a former historian with the US Army, specializing in military history and Holocaust studies. He interviews musicians and writes concert and film reviews. Zapotoczny resides near Hershey, Pennsylvania.

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Jeremy Werner still smirks like an immature nine-year-old every time he tells people he has a BS degree. He spent five booze-filled years at Northwest Missouri State University, majoring in Broadcast Communications, with a minor in Advertising. Don’t let that fool you though; before coming to Media Mikes, Jeremy has worked at four radio stations, including a short lived Internet radio station and an NPR affiliate. When he’s not breaking his ankle, Jeremy is reading a good true crime novel, horror story or fantasy book. He also enjoys drinking craft beers unpretentiously and trying new food on his meager budget. When he has the time, he’s going to metal concerts and enjoying the Kansas City nightlife. Despite his jokes in poor taste, and the awkward silences that follow, Jeremy hopes you’ll enjoy what he writes and the people he talks to. Also give that podcast he helped start a listen. It’s pretty badass. Jeremy is a member of the Kansas City Film Critics Circle

Michael D. Smith, with a passion for movies that began when his parents would take him when he was a kid to the local drive-in theater, and inspired by critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, Michael started reviewing works of cinema in 1992 for his college’s student-run newspaper. Two years later he returned to the Kansas City area where he convinced the editor of his hometown newspaper, the Democrat Missourian in Harrisonville, Missouri, to publish his reviews. In 2000 he joined Sun Publications in Overland Park, Kansas where he served as film critic and A&E Editor. During his tenure there, he was also the film critic for the “Fine Arts Radio Hour” and “Celebrity Scoop” radio shows on KXTR in Kansas City. After three years at the Sun he became the A&E writer for the Olathe News in Olathe, KS while also working as a freelance writer for The Squire in Leawood, KS, Showcase Publishing in Lake Ozark, MO, and the Kansas City Star. Most recently, Michael served for almost 10 years as the film critic for the Kansas City arts-oriented Web site KCMETROPOLIS. Michael, who holds a B.A. and M.A. in American history, is a long-standing member of the Kansas City Film Critics Circle, a professional film critic organization established in 1966 by the late Dr. James Loutzenhiser.

Keith Stevenson An avid fan of cinema since the age of 7 when his dad would take him to see Bruce Lee films, nothing prepared Keith for a little film that opened in the summer of 1975 called “Jaws,” which he still considers one of the greatest films ever made.  His love for films continued when he got a job at a local movie theatre in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, working his way up to manager/projectionist.  His love of cinema continues to be fueled today by the almost 20 film groups he administers on Facebook.

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J.R. Deeter Coming into the world at the very tail end of the Boomer generation, I grew up in the glory days of Gen X 70’s & Gen Y 80’s….The music, the movies, television…it never has been the same and never will be. Movie Theatre Exhibition 1980 to 2017 / Radio Disc Jockey 1982 to 1994 / Contract Project Lead 2017 to present. My passion is for all things trivia that deal with my life’s journey.

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Click Here to read our Press Release from August 30, 2011, announcing the expansion of MovieMikes.com to MediaMikes.com.

Click Here to read Change Places! An Interview with Mike Gencarelli of MediaMikes.com by Mike Schneider (January 11, 2011).

Click Here to read our Press Release from October 7, 2010, that announced our 250,000 hit.

Click Here to read our Press Release from February 23, 2010, that announced the start of our site.