Shawn wanted MJ in one of his films

[btshady]

From his IG:

"yeah I really try to get him in Desert Fiends the film I just directed that had Tom Arnold in it I had a person reach out to him but there seem to be no interest."

So, it appears that there's absolutely no chance of a reunion. It's a shame. I know that MJ had a passion for acting whereas Shawn just stumbled into it. Though, I do wonder if MJ would ever consider acting again if the right film came along. I can't really blame him for not wanting to work with Shawn.

[Chauncey's Talent Agent]

Tom Arnold, Tom Sizemore, and now it seems that James Duval is Matt Damon to his Ben Affleck. Chauncey has definitely graduated from his typical College-Boner-type roles, and has now become an actual indie filmmaker.

Would of loved to see Chauncey, ItzMoe (90s Kids Forever), Brendan, Luna and Gabe all together in a film. Alien Vampire Busters (the film where Luna applies cream to Chauncey's bald head) still hasn't released, and that was the last time they've been seen together.

Sadly it seems everybody has drifted apart.

[Voo Dude]

Not surprised that MJ has no interest in being around Shawn. I'd say a large part of it is the whole Jayla thing. MJ probably knows Shawn wouldn't be able to resist poking fun, or Jayla hates Shawn for whatever reasons.

I get people drift apart but I would love to know what caused Luna to drift away from Brenan/Shawn. She seemed to genuinely be friendly with Brendan. 

[ColossalAvenger]

Though my viewing of Shawn's videos have scaled way back these days, I've always held out hope MJ would pop up in a video with Shawn again, unlikely as it may be. I've said it time and time again....my favorite period of Shawn's channel was the pre-move/Maryland era and the around the town videos of theirs was definitely the overwhelming reason I first subscribed to Shawn's channel back in the late 2000s. On one hand, shame it very well won't ever happen. I had two friends from high school who had a falling out in 2005...far as I know, they haven't spoken to one another since.

Plus, I always said how disappointed I was about never getting to see a "MJ and Gabe meet" video lol. 

Jayla very well could be a lot of it, one way or the other. After all, Shawn is the same person who did a video calling a friend's then-girlfriend "a smelly meatball" and took shots at another and that same friend's mother. And we do know another of the "Cringe Crew" has just straight up refuses to be around Shawn, making his views on Shawn not exactly a secret. It wouldn't be outside the realm of possibilities.

But I agree. I'd like to know what happened with Luna too. Wasn't it said around here she unfollowed Brendan? She did always seem to be very friendly with him.

[Chauncey's Talent Agent]

It was the other way round. Brendan unfollowed Luna for a while, and wasn't following her when she posted a happy birthday pic on IG. Brendan has now re-followed Luna. I get the feeling that Luna is probably having a tough time due to the cost of living, and is keeping off IG and youtube.

Back 15 years ago, a young Chauncey didn't know how to react to Jayla. I vaguely recall him calling Jayla "Carlos", which really offended MJ. At that point MJ wasn't comfortable with those sort of jokes. I think that's why Chauncey wasn't invited to the wedding, because MJ felt Chauncey wasn't supportive, and MJ was fearful of all the jokes in the comment section.

There was a brief period where Jayla spoke openly about being transgender (and MJ was in these videos too), but they have been wiped from youtube.

Feels like yesterday Chauncey was leaving Brendan a voicemail that he was ending their friendship. It was pretty clear that Chauncey was unhappy with Brendan being a lot more social after his weight loss.

Even though it was cringey, it was good to see Chauncey and Brendan really enjoying their new leases on their lives. Brendan's birthday party, and the water park date was the best parts of their youtube careers IMO.

[btshady]

Yeah, Shawn asked MJ if things had gotten serious between him and "Carlos."

For reference: https://youtu.be/B824awT7eCE?t=112

MJ gives him a dirty look and then Shawn awkwardly laughs. Shawn was notorious for gay jokes, but this one was out of left field. It's possible that Shawn was oblivious to the fact that Jayla was a transgender. When she first started appearing in videos (after Shawn moved), there were a ton of comments about MJ dating a guy. Shawn could have just been using those comments to get under MJ's skin and fuel the rumors.

But their friendship was on life support well before this.

[Jimmy Bones]

I really think if Shawn and MJ had kept their focus on the vlogs, maybe even doing those live streams or w/e like people do now ( I sound like someone's grandma lol ) then their channel could've eventually blown up.  The great thing about the vlogs / Around the Towns was there was an element of spontaneity to them and Shawn/MJ have good chemistry, now it's just Shawn pumping out DVD pick up videos and everything feels more or less like going through the motions versus 2 buddies hanging out.

[Voo Dude]

It makes you wonder, had MJ and Jayla never met. Would the friendship had continued? I know Shawn had moved away and that could have still led to the friendship sizzling out, but it's interesting to think how different things could have been if MJ never met Jayla and Shawn had started directing low budget films sooner.

[Chauncey's Talent Agent]

Remember when Brendan lost weight and started living it up? He started going to clubs, and he had that surprise birthday party with multiple females showing up. It felt like Brendan was the prom king. When Brendan was at Cinestalker's house warming party - Chauncey left him a voicemail and cut off all contact. Chauncey felt like he was being left behind as Brendan said "hello change, goodbye gravity".

I feel like the same thing happened with MJ when he reached his adult crossroads. Chauncey would have became very competitive given MJ was more versatile as an actor. Remember Chauncey would get competitive with Brendan when he didn't receive the same promo blu rays. The move to San Diego just made the separation easier.

I do think initially Chauncey would have been more active with making skits and spoofs if MJ moved to San Diego too. Chauncey started elying on the bluray pickups more because he was a bit creatively stumped without having somebody to act in his skits on a weekly basis.

Will be interesting to see how Chauncey reacts to Best Buy ending physical media sales.

[btshady]

Even if Jayla was out of the picture, I don't think there's any guarantee that MJ moves to California. I just think that having some time away from Shawn allowed him to clear his head and think about what he really wanted in life. He was always more social than Shawn, and actually put himself out there. Before Jayla, he was dating (rumored to be engaged to) a girl named "Allie". It's reasonable to assume that MJ would meet someone else (in Maryland or California) and Shawn would handle it immaturely (as he did with Danny's ex-girlfriend... the "meatball" one).

I keep thinking back to their high school reunion. MJ was socializing with old classmates and having a blast, whereas Shawn was solely focused on filming content for his channel. At the end of the video, MJ declares it one of the best days of his life. I don't think I've ever seen MJ so happy in a video. Now compare that to "Around the Country" video. MJ seemed like a caged animal. 

But, yeah, there are a lot of parallels between the Shawn/MJ and Shawn/Brendan feud. It's interesting to speculate how MJ moving to California would shape that whole group dynamic. I could see MJ and Danny forming a bromance, and Shawn getting super jealous. Remember that time Shawn called out Brendan for referring to the guys as his crew?

[Voo Dude]

I remember the Wetmovie Crew incident, but can't remember which video it was. Any chance of dropping a link to that video, I'd like to watch it again. Yeah, MJ was definitely the more outgoing of the two, it would have been funny to see Shawn/MJ/Brendan/Gabe in Vegas together or even MJ out in a club with Brendan. It's sad how things turned out, but I can't help but think would could have been if the friendship had lasted just a little longer.

[btshady]

Here you go: https://youtu.be/xwabOYb-q8k?t=416

[Voo Dude]

Thank you. Such an odd moment.

[ColossalAvenger]

Yeah, definitely an odd moment for sure. I do remember Shawn's family doing the videos a lot when they first moved, and then just sort of stopped.

As I've said, I always would have loved seeing a "MJ and Gabe meet" video. It would have almost certainly been entertaining in its own way, I'm sure lol. But now you mention it, I do wonder what all sort of dynamics would have sprung out of MJ moving to California. Or even just still being an active role in Shawn's life. Of all the group, I could see MJ and Danny getting along particularly, now it's mentioned. 

And I remember the "Last video in Maryland" video Shawn did. At least in the early parts of the video, the feeling MJ not at all wanted to be there was palpable. You could cut it with a knife!

[btshady]

After the move, the channel took a nosedive and there was a sense that Shawn couldn't carry it on his own. He didn't have the Tuesday shopping videos to fill in the gaps, and the DVD collection updates came out every month or so. There was also a large segment of his audience that couldn't care less about his Blu-ay and DVD collection. Shawn needed content and his family served as a placeholder for MJ. When Shawn found out that he wasn't invited to MJ's wedding, he relaunched his proboards forum as the "Coolduder/Wetmovie1" forum the following day. At that point, Brendan was MJ's permanent replacement. Shawn saw Brendan more as a protege/sidekick than someone who could potentially usurp him. I think that's why he felt threatened by the whole "cringe crew" thing. He probably thought that he "made" Brendan, and by extension, the cringe crew.

[Voo Dude]

Yeah, good point about the Brendan thing. I think I more or less lost significant interest in Shawn's videos after MJ left. Brendan was fun to watch and the "rivalry" that developed between them made for some good content and discussions here. But now all that's gone. I actually used to appreciate Shawn's movie recommendations, it was a decent way to find a unique under the radar movie, but then his DVD updates....were just positive about everything, it could be the crappiest, low budget toilet water movie and Shawn would "like" it.

[Chauncey's Talent Agent]

Just a response here to let everyone know that Chauncey's film is available free on Tubi. I've watched 10 minutes and can say it's much better than his previous films that he directed. Still Z-grade, but the dialog and acting feels like amateur - 

https://tubitv.com/movies/100015617/woods-witch

[Chauncey's Talent Agent]

edit - but the dialog and acting feels LESS amateur (compared to the first film he directed).