A24 Allegedly Issuing Copyright Notices Against ‘Backrooms’ Material

The success of Backrooms has been wildly exciting to witness. It feels like being at the forefront of a new era in Hollywood, seeing outsiders bring something inventive to movie screens that is captivating audiences. The director, Kane Parsons, also has a solid head on his shoulders despite being born after the first season of American Idol (what is time?). Hopefully, the movie’s success leads to more open-minded executives who take the right lessons from… look, you know where this is going.

One of the first bad signs to emerge from this was the reports that executives were now combing Reddit and YouTube for their own Backrooms. Movies based on other strange properties have already been greenlit because the movie has been such a big hit. And it all feels like people trying to play catch-up. They’re looking for something that already exists instead of trying to find the next “new” thing. And, if they can’t find their new thing, they’re going to protect the one they have.

Backrooms is not wholly the invention of Kane Parsons; he just played a big part in its popularity. The concept itself predates his making videos about it. Regardless, A24, the studio behind the hit film, is now allegedly hitting people with copyright notices for posting material connected to the concept, even if the material pre-dates the film. A post on X shared by Creative Bloq shows an alleged screen capture of material being removed due to copyright complaints by A24, and a Backrooms-dedicated website has posted an open letter complaining about the issue.

The open letter shows at the end that director Kane Parsons is likely aware of what is going on, but whether or not he will have any power to stop it is another question. Regardless, pissing off the community that helped make your movie a success does not seem like a very smart move. But then again, A24 hasn’t been using its best judgment lately, as this controversy comes hot on the heels of its signing a deal with a large AI company. Folks were not happy about that!

This also shows a lack of understanding about where this phenomenon came from. The Reddit threads and comments about this are filled with people who are rightfully upset by something they love being torn away from them. The sting is stronger given A24’s past as a smaller film company that gave chances to directors who were taking big swings. Parsons emerged from a very specific community, and watching A24 possibly use its money to squash their creativity is a big old bummer.