AMA: Philip DeFranco

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wow that is amazingly helpful

How much to punch RWJ in the mouth?

Let me say this on the record because everyone has the wrong idea. I DO NOT HATE RAY WILLIAM JOHNSON. I've never met the guy, nor do I have any opinion about him. I made a few jokes in a video a long time ago that people took way too seriously.

That being said $1million US. Though....I'd also punch my mother in mouth for that much money.

Guys thanks for a great AMA chat. I have to run away to film the show but maybe we'll do this again.

Love yo faces. :)

PHIL Y U NO MARRY YO GIRL?

<insert cop out answer>

How much does YouTube pay you?

It varies based on views, advertisers and I'm contractually not supposed to mention numbers BUT, I pay myself $100,000 a year. Its all about reinvesting the rest for the next few years. I don't take or look for VC funding so I have to put it all back into the company myself if I want to succeed.

Wow! Well done sir.

I still fucking hate you, but that's because I'm bitter in general.

I'll give you cuddles if that makes it any better.

How many nude pictures do you get sent, from random girls ?

Not a lot...though the PDS has a surprisingly large fan base of MyFreeCams hosts and brazzers porn stars.

How many stories do you usually pull from Reddit for your show each day?

lol I love this question. Maybe 2-3 stories a week MAX, though many Redditors think I take every story from this site. The World News sub-reddit is my favorite because it actually contains things I wouldn't find otherwise. But other than that I usually just stay on the frontpage with all the funny pics and masturbatory "This is how much time I waste on Reddit" posts.

Do you find it hard to switch off work/youtube Sxephil and just be Phillip DeFranco? And how different is your onscreen persona to the regular you?

I'm very quiet. A lot of tubers are always "on" and thats fine, but I see my videos as a the way I get out all my big opinions/feelings. Then its back to being pretty sheepish and relaxed....Unless you piss me off before I eat breakfast and then I'm a raging asshole.

How much do you make a year from Youtube alone?

Let's stick to the movie.

I don't think he's allowed to say that.

You should of called her back!

Anyways back to Rampart......Its a movie set in 1999 and we really focus on making it feel like a 90's movie. It was a great experience.

Link to his past AMA.

Geez, some of those guys were brutal with their comments.

Jesus christ...not even brutal, they were just unabashed assholes. Can't believe the upvotes some of that shit got. You'd think jump cuts killed their dog

In their defense jump cuts have been well documented as dog killers.

How many people do you currently employ? How big is FHP?

FHP consists of 5 employees and working with several freelance graphics guys. DeFranco Inc is now around 11 full time people now thanks to SourceFed. Wow its weird to think that there are that many people here now.

You always make subtle indications of your religious beliefs, but they're very misleading most of the time. What do you actually believe?

Religious beliefs. I don't really believe in anything religious. I would really like to believe it and am jealous of those who find comfort in it. I guess if I believe in anything its that I need to live this life like its my only one and treat others with that same mindset.

But I guess main point so I don't slip past your question, as of right now I don't believe in God.

How the hell did no one in your editing crew stop you from saying Grillys?

HAHAHA that was a fun day. Mistakes happen. I didn't know the guys name before. I literally only called him "That guy who drank his own piss" until that video. But thanks to the several thousand comments about that error I now know its Bear Grylls who drank piss.

Who is your least favorite Internet personality?

Who is your favorite Internet personality?

If you could make a video with anyone, who would it be?

Least Favorite: Not anyone that I would like to give more traffic by mentioning them.

Favorite: The Vlog Brothers

Make a Video with: http://www.youtube.com/user/wheezywaiter/featured Easily on of the most under rated but fantastic youtubers on the site.

Would you rather travel with the 10th Doctor for a week, or the 11th for a month?

The 10th. Easy. I'm a Matt Smith fan, but Tennant is a AMAZAZAZING.

How is the weight loss going? how much have you lost so far?

I'm still a fatty, though a slightly less fat, more muscly fatty.

Can you talk about your breakup with "The Station" a few years back? It seems like you led the charge for it, then left, why?

I didn't like where it was going. That's the best way I can put it without reopening wounds that don't need to be touched. But I met some great people and learned some things. My only regret is that I didn't stay close friends with Shay, Kassem, Rawn, and a bunch of those guys.

It put a bad taste in my mouth as far as "business" goes and was one of the reasons I refused to work with youtubers for about a year.

Pickle or banana.

Choose wisely

Banana duh.

Hi Phil, I went to your Dublin Show : http://imgur.com/i6Cly I was wondering if you'll ever return, I want you to come back on vain reasons because I looked dog ugly in it (Edit : And I want a new one XD) and it really brought me and my cousin together, we had a day we'll never forget. Please reply, even If I don't get any upvotes!

Also, bonus doctor who question, Which episode did you like the most, mine by far is the Vincent one.

Thanks!

I think I'll return one day to actually get a chance to experience the country. I was only able to be in Ireland for about 48 hours and most of that was prepping, being at the event, and drinking yummy yummy beer. BTW Guinness is delicious but doesn't get me drunk. Anyone else?

What would you be doing if youtube didn't exist?

I'd like to think I would have been a successful doctor, but honestly its just as likely that I would have be an assistant manager at Outback Steakhouse.

Do you think SourceFed will become the model for delivering online news as it happens - in an entertainment format. Or is it something you are just trying out?

I see SourceFed as the future of the company and delivering news. We're starting with pop culture because its easy but if we see the same success in 3-6 months that we've had since our launch 2 weeks ago we'll be launching new channels for different categories. I want to make news/opinion fun and interesting to people my age.

Hey Phil. Big fan here, ever since I was 16. Anyway here we go!

What made you decide to to work on your YouTube Chanel full time?

How many times a day do you get stopped in public from people saying "HEY YOU'RE PHIL!"

And how do you "randomly" pick your winners for the "throw something at your face giveaway" haha

and Will you ever do another PhillyD Live show here in the states?

kk I'm gonna answer them in order :)

2007 is the year I decided to become a full time tuber. I made a video announcing I had to quit making videos because it was messing with my grades. 2 days later I got a call from YouTube if I'd like to be one of the first ten in this thing called "The Partner Program" where they would pay us. I still kinda sorta regret dropping out of college.

On a normal day 0 times. But thats also because Im at the office being a crazy person from 6am to 6 at night. But when I travel it happens a few times.

Dani our production coordinator just uses a random number generator. We posted a video showing the underwhelming process on my personal channel if you want to see it.

I'm currently planning a 6 city tour for Live Shows. The hard part is trying to make it free/inexpensive for you guys.

Love yo face

When you were a teenager, who were some of your biggest role models?

My dad, Sylvester Stallone (dont ask), Eminem and then when I hit my 20's my dad, ZeFrank, Tim Ferris.

How did you meet Elliot, Joe and Lee? They are amazing on SourceFed.

I knew of Joe because I've been a fan of Barats and Bereta for years prior to the concept of SourceFed. Lee and Elliott came out of casting calls. Elliott was originally going to replace Toby on LTA a year ago but at the last second I had to shift what projects we were funding. I think it was all for the best and am glad to have gotten another chance to work with him.

If you were in Woody Harrelsons shoes, how would YOU have handled it?

I would have told you all to go fuck yourselves and then watched Natural Born Killers on repeat and masturbated to my own awesomeness for hours.

What should I watch on Netflix?

Lillyhammer is pretty interesting so far oooooorrr start watching Doctor Who. ooo or Sherlock. or weird anime is always good.

What is your favorite part about being able to to "talk" to millions of viewers on a daily basis?

Knowing that in some small way I'm having an impact on at least a few people. Whether its providing someone with info about the world around them, a smile, anything really. Makes me feel fulfilled.

Oh hey. What's your biggest pet peeve when it comes to YouTube videos? Like, when you're watching someone else's video, not making your own.

Bad audio. I'm guilty of this sometimes, but bad audio ruins a video for me. Even more than bad editing or bad cam quality. If you buy a camera you should always price audio into your budget.

What is your favorite video game?

Its a three way tie. Final Fantasy 7, Mass Effect 2, and Chrono Trigger. I remember screaming during "that one scene" in FF7. Nothing beats good story.

What is the weirdest thing someone has sent you (video, fan mail, postal pigeon)?

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I <3 you cocobella. Thanks for answering this for me :)

Do you think lee Newton is as hotahothot as the rest of the nation does?

Lee Newton is a unicorn and knows it :)