About Us – The Showbiz Junkies Team

ShowbizJunkies.com was founded by Rebecca Murray and Gary Murray in 2011. Showbiz Junkies was created to spotlight the best (and occasionally the worst) in films, TV shows, and music. It’s not a gossip site and we attempt to avoid all mentions of the Kardashians, focusing more on actors, directors, writers, and musicians in the news for their work rather than celebrity connections.

Contributors to Showbiz Junkies Include:

Rebecca Murray – Editor-in-Chief and Lead Writer
Rebecca Murray has more than 23 years experience as an entertainment journalist. Murray has interviewed thousands of celebrities as the writer of the About.com Hollywood Movies website (formerly one of the top 20 websites). Murray believes she represents the average moviegoer and embraces films of all genres, and she’s a member of the Critics Choice Association (film & TV branches), Alliance of Women Film Journalists, and San Diego Film Critics Society.

Beth Accomando – Feature Reporter
Beth Accomando studied film at UCSD. She’s a member of the Critics Choice Association and is director of Film School Confidential: A Showcase of San Diego Student Filmmaking. Accomando covers independent and international films for National Public Radio’s Morning Edition and Public Radio International’s The World. Beth is also the author of the KPBS blog ‘Cinema Junkie’.

Kevin Finnerty – Reviews and Analysis
Kevin Finnerty’s worked at Clear Channel Communications, KOGO radio, since 1997. Finnerty’s film reviews are heard by the Southern California audience on a weekly basis, and he’s also a member of the San Diego Film Critics Society.

Ian Forbes – Reviews and News
Ian Forbes is the founder and senior editor of SoberingConclusion.com. A former member of the San Diego Film Critics Society, Forbes loves classic ’80s films and can’t wait until Hollywood is done remaking them and crushing his soul.

James Colt Harrison – Celebrity Profiles
James Colt Harrison is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, with a BA in Architecture. He is a co-founder and former President of the San Diego Film Critics Society. James began his love for comedy and the arts as a cartoonist for the campus humor magazine, The Pelican. He served in the military service in the Navy, and began his freelance writing career writing for Stars and Stripes, All Hands, and Seabee Pacific Newspaper in Okinawa.

Ending up in La Jolla, began a freelance career as a film, book, theatre and music critic. He’s published 1000s of reviews and articles about films, stars, and early Hollywood in magazines such as BUZZ, Bottomline, No Cover, Review Express, San Diego City News, Alpine Sun, Escape, The Californian, ArtsNFashion and Hillcrest News.

In 1995 James started and served as publisher for the Uptown Marquee magazine, a 50-page monthly distributed to 22 communities in San Diego County and centered on entertainment. In 1998 he was hired as Managing Editor of the entertainment magazine Preview distributed in Loews Theaters. He was the film critic for the La Jolla Village News for 15 years. He regularly contributes reviews and interviews to several websites. He is a frequent guest and co-host of Betty Jo Tucker’s Blog Talk Radio show, Movie Addict Headquarters, talking about movies, classic films, and helping to interview stars on the air.

From his first interview with Marilyn Monroe on the set of Some Like It Hot in San Diego, James has interviewed 100’s of A-list Hollywood talent and filmmakers. He has written the complete history of the early studios and is working on a book about the subject.

Alison Helms – Recaps, Reviews, and Music News
A pop culture junkie who is a proud member of BTS’s ARMY. Helms specializes in recapping dramas for Showbiz Junkies.

Aimee Krenz – Recaps and Reviews
Aimee Krenz is an Owner/Operator at Nathan Fillion FANS and Jeffrey Dean Morgan Fansite, and a source editor at MuggleNet. Krenz is a Book Review Blogger at Naked Pages. Proud Slytherin. Lover of television and film. She constantly live-tweets her favorite shows with unfiltered reactions, and she’s secretly dreaming of pursuing a Film Continuity job.

Laura Putnam – Recaps and Reviews
An entertainment junkie beginning to venture into writing. After completing BSM, MBA, and MPA degrees, Putnam’s new hobby is writing her first novel and dancing when she thinks no one is looking.

LRShive – Recaps and Reviews
An entertainment junkie beginning to venture into writing. After completing BSM, MBA, and MPA degrees her new hobby is writing her first novel and dancing when she thinks no one is looking. Outlander fans can stay in touch with her on Twitter – @yellowrose816.

Fred Topel – Interviews and Features
Fred Topel has been an entertainment journalist since 1999. He covers movies and television for over 20 websites and magazines including About.com, CraveOnline, and Fanhattan, and has been a contributing writing with About.com since 2000. Topel’s a member of the Television Critics Association.

Misty Walker – Recaps and Reviews
Misty Walker is a long-time fan of Supernatural and this genre of show. Besides watching “the boys” and their craziness, she also spends her time with her husband and two teenage sons, volunteering at the local theatre, and working on the geeky side of the healthcare industry.

Sheri Young – Recaps and Reviews
Sheri Young is a writer, blogger, cinemaniac with a head-full-of-useless-information trivia maven. One of three writers currently working on a series of romantic suspense novels, she is obsessed currently by Outlander and always by Gerard Butler’s hair.

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Interested in contributing as a writer? Please reach out via [email protected].