PARTNERSHIPS | COMMUNITY | PODCAST | FRIENDS
The New Backrooms Movie Sparks A Question Of Ownership
Courtesy of A24
Backrooms, which has evolved from a viral creepypasta into a major motion picture, is sparking a debate about ownership — or at least the sense of ownership — in the internet age.
The Big Picture: Creepypastas derive their followings from communities that continually expand their lore and narratives, with each new contribution enriching the legend as it spreads across the internet. The more people who meaningfully contribute, the merrier. But when a Hollywood studio partners with one of those contributors to formalize it as IP, it raises questions about the creepypasta’s future as a communal story.
Behind The Scenes: Backrooms just delivered A24’s biggest box-office debut ever — and, according to Bloomberg, that has parts of the Backrooms community worried.
The Context: Backrooms began as an anonymous 4chan post in 2019 depicting a terrifying liminal space. Over time, contributors across forums and social media platforms expanded the concept with new images, stories, and narrative twists.
The Turning Point: In 2022, Kane Parsons transformed the concept into a YouTube series using an analog-film aesthetic, Unreal Engine, and the 3D creation software Blender. The series quickly went viral, amassing 224 million views across 22 videos.
The Deal: That virality led Parsons to a deal with A24 and Chernin Entertainment to adapt Backrooms into a feature film, effectively making him the public face of the concept.
The Reaction: While audiences are clearly stoked about the movie, some contributors and fans are questioning what elements they can still build on, whether creators will remain motivated to expand the lore, and whether A24 might pursue legal action against future contributions.
Final Deliberation: The Backrooms debate is ultimately about remix culture: Is something genuinely new and original created when artists build on existing ideas? Legally, A24 and Parsons are well within their rights to make the film, but for many people, the vibe is more important than the law. As Parsons put it on a recent podcast: “I would be an advocate for someone else going down the road of making their own Backrooms series and interpretation, and they get a film.”
Still, the reality may be more complicated. Scott Manson, CEO of North Road Company and one of the film’s producers, said the company is “not focused on lawyering up.” At the same time, he noted that they are not “inviting the world to take these specific characters in this movie.”
Coming Soon: While the future of Backrooms as a creepypasta may be uncertain, expect an explosion of new internet-first horror universes hoping to receive the same Backrooms treatment.
Together with SafeBets
Minnesota Just Made Prediction Markets A Felony
Last week, Governor Walz signed the first law in the country criminalizing the operation of a prediction market. Seven more states are lining up. The largest platforms in the category face criminal exposure. And this is just the beginning.
SafeBets is a prediction market without the legal gray area.
Users never place a wager. Never risk a stake.
The prize pool is funded entirely by public-market inefficiencies captured by affiliated trading companies — not by what other users lose.
Thanks to that unique architecture, SafeBets offers all the upside of calling market outcomes correctly, with none of the exposure that’s now catching up to the rest of the category.
Minnesota’s law doesn’t touch SafeBets. No state gambling statute does.
Different design. Perfect timing.
PARTNERSHIPS | COMMUNITY | PODCAST | FRIENDS
Today’s email was written by David Vendrell.
Edited by Nick Comney. Polled and Copy-edited by Kait Cunniff.
Published by Darline Salazar.