Category Archives: News

Up-and-coming director Chris Alender’s short film ‘Eye of the Storm’ catches J.J. Abrams’ attention

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In 2008, J.J. Abrams put director Matt Reeves on the map with the shaky-cam monster movie Cloverfield; Reeves would go on to also direct the thriller Let Me In and this year’s excellent Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Abrams is looking to strike gold again by fostering new talent, according to Deadline. Enter Chris Alender, the founder of Soapbox Films, a production house that specializes in the making of music videos, commercials, and films. One of his films, namely Eye of the Storm, must have caught J.J.’s attention because Alender is now working hand-in-hand with the Star Wars director on an upcoming top secret project for Sony Pictures. Of course, as details slowly but surely spill out about the Abrams/Alender project you’ll hear it here.

But more on Alender’s short film. Eye of the Storm, embedded above for your viewing pleasure, is technically a music video for musician Ben Lovett whose song of the same name is featured throughout the clip. It wears an aesthetic that’s reminiscent of what you’d find in a Sin City movie, and yet it’s distinctive enough to be hailed as a success all on its own. Elements from science fiction and steampunk are fused together here to create a mini-adventure in the sky as a giant ship soars into the eye of a massive storm. There’s a mystical potion and a dragon, to boot. What Alender’s created here, essentially, is an exquisitely executed short film that leaves the viewer wanting more by the time you get to the end. Equally impressive is the effort put into making it a reality; after the break, check out a BTS video revealing practical effects used to manifest stunning results.

Abrams knows how to pick ’em. Cannot wait to see what Alender cooks up next. Continue reading Up-and-coming director Chris Alender’s short film ‘Eye of the Storm’ catches J.J. Abrams’ attention →

FX renews ‘The League’ for a seventh and final season

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It’s the beginning of the end for The League.  The fantasy football comedy that’s really not about fantasy football at all has been renewed for a seventh and final season by FX. The upcoming batch of 13 episodes, set to premiere in fall 2015 on FXX, will see Pete, Kevin, Ruxin, Andre, Taco, and Jenny vie for the Shiva one last time. Even after six seasons, The League is still a great go-to comedy for consistent laughs and total absurdity (is a Rafi/Dirty Randy spinoff on anyone else’s mind?). Though it’ll be sad to see the show conclude, I’d say they’re certainly going out on top and not overstaying their welcome. Read quotes from the husband-and-wife team behind the series below:

“We are incredibly excited to work with our amazing cast for another season, especially because I can now announce that I finally won the fantasy football league that we play in with them,” said Jeff Schaffer.

“Whatever, I’ve won it twice,” Jackie Schaffer said. “Most players in the NFL don’t make it seven seasons, and most TV shows even less so. We want to thank FX Networks and all our Eskimo Brothers and Sisters – NFL teams would be lucky to have fans as diehard as ours.”

“Spoiler alert – We already know how it will all end – with credits and the theme song,” added Jeff Schaffer.

Click here to learn about how the series got started.

Sony celebrates 20 years of PlayStation with a retro-designed limited edition console

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This December 3 marked the 20th anniversary of PlayStation. It was on that day in 1994 when Sony released the original PlayStation in Japan forever changing the gaming landscape and evolving the industry into what it has become today: a place to play and discover and wow with incredible, life-like graphics and intuitive mechanics.

To celebrate 20 years of PlayStation, Sony is manufacturing a special, limited edition PS4 with a design that harkens back to the aforementioned OG PlayStation. The bundle is packed with a 20th Anniversary Edition PS4, DualShock 4 wireless controller, PlayStation Camera, and a vertical stand all coated in the same Original Grey finish as the PS1. You’ll also spot the original PS logo across the new hardware, as well as a cool 20/X/Square/Triangle pattern design scheme embossed all over the console and the controller’s touch pad. And when Sony says “limited,” they mean it: only 12,300 of these bad boys will be made (that number matches the PS1’s release date–neat, huh?). Consoles will be specially marked with their number (as in x/12,300). Want one? Today (12/6) the company put it up for preorder on its online store and to nobody’s surprise it sold out in minutes. This is not to say Sony won’t release another batch, but eBay will likely end up being your best bet in the future.

Already own a PS4 and still want to get in on the celebration? Sony’s got you covered: fire up your console, download the latest firmware update, and you’ll be privy to a free PS1 retro theme that takes over your home screen with a predominantly grey color scheme with floating colorful O’s, X’s, Squares, and Triangles. It also features a familiar boot-up sound! Preview the theme here.

Elsewhere in PS Land, Sony is holding its inaugural PlayStation Experience this weekend in Las Vegas. Some cool announcements worth mentioning follow, in brief. Remember when Microsoft offered those customizable console faceplates for its Xbox 360? Well, Sony is following in their footsteps with new faceplates to spruce up the PS4 for those so inclined. “Project Skylight Beta” is currently offering two faceplates at $24.99 apiece featuring designs inspired by the games The Order: 1886 and LittleBigPlanet 3 with more on the way. Removing the console’s current faceplate and snapping in a new one is, well, a snap; Sony demonstrates the painless process here.

Also at PSX, the company held a keynote for fans brimming with upcoming titles for PS4, PS3, and PS Vita. Engadget‘s done a nice job of collecting trailers for the announced games. Ones that popped out for me include this new look at Hello Games’ trippy exploration adventure No Man’s Sky, this first look at Capcom’s fifth major installment in the Street Fighter franchise, and this 15-minute preview of stunning in-game footage from Naughty Dog’s Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. Oh, and speaking of games, EA is handing out three free (I’ll reiterate: free) games at this very moment. PS4 owners can download the addictive animated shooter Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare, PS3 users can nab the uniquely first person Mirror’s Edge, and handheld Vita gamers are awarded Need for Speed: Most Wanted. You’ll want to hop on this fast–these awesome deals expire tonight at midnight PST/3am EST.

Jump after the break to continue the anniversary celebration with unboxing videos and a special clip featuring Sackboy and the rest of the LittleBigPlanet universe embodying the past 20 years of PlayStation. Continue reading Sony celebrates 20 years of PlayStation with a retro-designed limited edition console →

‘Bond 24’ gets a title, release date, official synopsis, cast & all-new specifically designed Astin Martin car

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Bond, James Bond returns in the 24th film in the long-running espionage franchise. On Wednesday, returning director Sam Mendes (Skyfall) hosted an unveiling event that revealed the film’s shrouded title, among other tidbits. Bond 24 is name SPECTRE and it aims to release November 6, 2015. In case you’re not ‘in the know’ when it comes to all things 007, SPECTRE is a fictional global terrorist organization featured in a number of James Bond novels written by Ian Flemming. It’s also an acronym: SPecial Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion. The head of the organization is evil genius Ernst Stavro Blofeld; the character is featured in a number of Flemming’s novels as well as many 007 films. He was perhaps portrayed most famously by Donald Pleasence in You Only Live Twice (1967). The character would go on to spawn Mike Myers’ Dr. Evil, of course.

With SPECTRE at the center of the new film, you’d think Blofeld would serve as Bond’s main antagonist here. Interestingly, the cast announcement left his name out entirely. Obviously Daniel Craig reprises 007 for the fourth time running; other returning cast includes Rory Kinnear as Tanner, Ben Whishaw as Q, Naomie Harris as Miss Moneypenny, and Ralph Fiennes as the new M. Joining the cast is Andrew Scott (Moriarty from BBC’s Sherlock) as Denbigh, Dave Bautista (Drax from Guardians of the Galaxy) as Mr. Hinx, Monica Bellucci as Bond Girl #1 Lucia Sciarra, Léa Seydoux as Bond Girl #2 Madeleine Swann, and Christoph Waltz as Hannes Oberhauser. Now, Oberhauser is an actual character plucked from Bond lore; he served as a mentor for James before he mysteriously vanished. Even then, why can’t I stop postulating that this is merely a ruse and Waltz will indeed portray the sinister Blofeld? (Star Wars did it when they cast Benedict Cumberbatch as “John Harrison” and we all know who that ended up being.)

SPECTRE will shoot at Pinewood Studios in London, as well as in exotic locales like Rome, Mexico City, Tangier, Erfoud, and the Austrian Alps. Principal photography begins this Monday at Pinewood with Mendes at the helm and Interstellar‘s cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema and editor Lee Smith beside him. Skyfall writers John Logan, Neal Purvis and Robert Wade have also penned the SPECTRE script.

As in all Bond movies, 007’s method of transportation here plays an important, flashy role. Mendes dramatically revealed Bond’s latest ride at the press event: it’s the all-new Astin Martin DB10. Little is known about the high-performance vehicle, expect for the fact that it was designed specifically for the movie and limited production is underway.

What else? Here’s a log line: “A cryptic message from Bond’s past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organization. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind SPECTRE.”

So pretty much all that’s left is to find out who will be performing SPECTRE‘s theme. Recent rumblings point to talented British crooner Sam Smith. For now, jump after the break view the official teaser poster. Continue reading ‘Bond 24’ gets a title, release date, official synopsis, cast & all-new specifically designed Astin Martin car →

Sam Smith, Pharrell Williams & Beyoncé lead 2015 Grammy nominations

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Newcomer Sam Smith, Pharrell Williams, and Queen Bey collected the most Grammy nominations (six apiece!) at the nod announcement ceremony this week. Fun fact: Beyoncé is now the most-nominated female artist in history with 53 nods total thus far in her illustrious career. Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me” is up for Record of the Year along with Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy” (featuring Charli XCX), Sia’ “Chandelier,” T-Swift’s “Shake It Off,” and Meghan Trainor’s “All About That Bass.” Smith was also nominated for Album of the Year for his debut effort In The Lonely Hour; in this coveted category he’ll be competing against Beyoncé (Beyoncé), Pharrell (Girl), Beck (Morning Phase), and Ed Sheeran (X). In addition, Smith’s “Stay With Me” hopes to be crowned Song of the Year as is “All About That Bass” (Meghan Trainor), “Chandelier” (Sia), “Shake It Off” (T-Swizzle), and “Take Me To Church” (Hozier). Smith’s luck doesn’t end there; he’s also up for Best New Artist along with Iggy Azalea, Bastille, Brandy Clark, and Haim (woo!). Click here for the full list of nominees.

The 57th Annual Grammy Awards airs Sunday, Feb. 8 on CBS.

‘Toy Story’ special & new Netflix original ‘Marco Polo’ premiere this month [Update: ‘Black Mirror’ Christmas special]

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Now here’s something to tide you over until Disney and Pixar unleash Toy Story 4: it’s another Toy Story TV special, a follow-up to 2013’s Toy Story of Terror! Tom Hanks and Tim Allen reprise their roles as Woody and Buzz Lightyear (alongside other fan favorite characters) in a half-hour tale titled Toy Story That Time Forgot.

During a post-Christmas play date, the Toy Story gang find themselves in uncharted territory when the coolest set of action figures ever turn out to be dangerously delusional. It’s all up to Trixie, the triceratops, if the gang hopes to return to Bonnie’s room in this Toy Story That Time Forgot.

Watch the trailer here. The special premieres Tuesday, Dec. 2 at 8pm on ABC.

Jump after the break to preview Netflix’s latest drama. Continue reading ‘Toy Story’ special & new Netflix original ‘Marco Polo’ premiere this month [Update: ‘Black Mirror’ Christmas special] →

‘House of Cards’ season 3 lands February premiere date

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And now, a special message from the White House: Kevin Spacey’s Frank Underwood returns to our screens on February 27, 2015. The official House of Cards Twitter account revealed the season three premiere date on Monday with a silent clip embedded here. All 13 episodes will launch at once, naturally, on Netflix.

ABC gives FSO to ‘Cristela’, FOX pulls ‘Red Band Society’, ‘Selfie’ moves to Hulu

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Quick update for those of you keeping score: ABC Latino sitcom Cristela is the second comedy to get a full season order this fall following ABC’s African American sitcom Black-ish.

Elsewhere, Fox is pulling hospital drama Red Band Society from its schedule after the low-rated series’ fall finale airs next week on Dec. 3. The network hasn’t officially cancelled it yet, but with its latest airing logging a dismal 0.7 rating in the adults 18-49 demo, all signs point to this being the end.

Selfie fans, are you out there? Though ABC already axed the Karen Gillan/John Cho quirky sitcom, series creator Emily Kapnek tweeted out news that the remaining six unaired episodes will see the light of day on Hulu. They will premiere on the streaming site on a weekly basis between Nov. 25 and Dec 30.

Update (12/2): Another canceled ABC rom-com, Manhattan Love Story, will also play out the remainder of its first and final season on Hulu. Starting Dec. 4 the remaining seven unaired episodes will unspool every Thursday on the streaming site.

Stephen Merchant’s cringe-tastic HBO series ‘Hello Ladies’ returns to wrap things up

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Stuart Pritchard is never one to bow out without a fight. Though HBO cancelled the low-rated but highly enjoyable comedy Hello Ladies last January, creator and star Stephen Merchant (The Office, Extras) managed to put together an 80-minute special that promises to wrap up the short-lived series. Hello Ladies was a uniquely qualified show in that it would effortlessly swing the pendulum between uproarious laughter and more-than-subtle sadness, grief, and despair. Merchant’s protagonist Stuart played this gawky, frequently awkward Englishman transplanted in Los Angeles always on the prowl for women way out of his league. “Cringe-worthy” is the term that always came to mind when friends asked me to describe the series to them. It’s true: some scenes were so awkward that they forced me to turn away in utter embarrassment for poor Stuart who could never win at his own game (episode 5, “Pool Party,” instantly comes to mind). But across all eight episodes of the first and final season of the show, I grew to feel empathy for Merchant’s odd character who–at his core–was a dickish yet romantic guy reaching too high. Friends including divorced Wade (Nate Torrence), wheel-chair bound, profane Glenn (Sean Wing), wacky work colleague Rory (Kyle Mooney), and tenant/love interest Jessica (Christine Woods) helped elevate Hello Ladies to its cult status. I’m happy to report all are returning for the special. On a final note, it’s definitively sad to see this promising young series leave the airwaves prematurely, but not every cancelled show gets the chance to properly wraps things up like this. We’ll always have eight episodes and a movie.

The logline for Hello Ladies: The Movie goes like this: “When Stuart learns that his British ex-girlfriend is planning to visit Los Angeles with her husband, he sets out to impress them with his glamorous lifestyle, enlisting a Russian model he’s just met to play the role of his beautiful girlfriend. What could go wrong?”

As much as I want Stuart to “get the girl” or simply get with a girl (whether it be Woods’ Jessica or just a smokin’ hot model), I am largely expecting the series to conclude with poor Stuart sprawled out on his couch at home, alone. This is, after all, Hello Ladies. (P.S. Jenny Slate reprising Jessica’s arch-nemesis Amelia would be the cherry on top!)

Hello Ladies: The Movie airs this Saturday night (11/22) at 10PM on HBO. Hop after the break to watch a new promo and an invitation to the set with commentary from Merchant and other members of the cast. Continue reading Stephen Merchant’s cringe-tastic HBO series ‘Hello Ladies’ returns to wrap things up →

Showtime renews ‘Homeland’ & ‘The Affair’, TBS wants more ‘American Dad’

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Showtime and the creative team behind Homeland have done a spectacular job rebooting the series. In seasons past, Damian Lewis’ Nicholas Brody played a major role opposite Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes). Intertwining plots would shift between Carrie’s work at the CIA and Brody’s involvement with terrorists. Brody’s emotional demise at the end of last season also meant the phasing out of his family since they, ultimately, served to support his character. Now the show focuses solely on Carrie and the relationships she has formed over the past three seasons with Saul (Mandy Patinkin), Quinn (Rupert Friend), and Fara (Nazanin Boniadi). That small anti-terrorism group is expanding this year with more input from Senator Lockhart (Tracy Letts) and newcomer Laila Robins (she plays US ambassador Martha Boyd). Homeland has managed to let go of its typically trotting plotlines (read: Dana Brody) and refocus squarely on Carrie. The show is as intense as ever, and every episode thus far has kept me on the very edge of my seat. #SaveSaul

The premium cable network is celebrating Homeland‘s recent creative successes by renewing it for a 12-episode fifth season. Additionally, Showtime has granted a second season to freshman The Affair. The subtle drama about an intermarital affair swiftly proved to be an addictive character piece with unique storytelling and scenic direction. Though I’m not sure what another season would explore, I have faith in creators Sarah Treem and Hagai Levi to continue this uniquely captivating love affair.

“In its fourth season, Homeland has brilliantly reinvented itself. It continues to capture the attention of a devoted fan base, and has provided an enviable platform for the successful launch of The Affair,” said Showtime head David Nevins. “With thought-provoking, relevant and addictive storylines, both series have been embraced, dissected and much debated week after week. We’re excited to see more from these complex shows in 2015.”

Elsewhere, TBS has proven to be a fine home for Seth MacFarlane animated series American Dad since it left Fox for the cable network; it’s been renewed for a 22-episode 12th season. Also of note, CBS cancelled Will Arnett/Margo Martindale sitcom The Millers.

Sony announces cloud-based TV service PlayStation Vue

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There certainly is no shortage of ways to consume entertainment these days, and Sony wants in. Sure, it’s got the PlayStation Store where gamers can stream movies, music, and TV shows to their big screen TVs. But the media giant is looking to capture even more eyeballs by providing a full-fledged cloud-based service whereby consumers can pay a monthly rate and watch their favorite TV programs to their heart’s content. Think of it as Hulu Plus or even Netflix, provided by Sony. Thankfully the company is securing deals with major content providers prior to PlayStation Vue’s launch and they include CBS, Discovery Communications, Fox, NBCUniversal, Scripps Networks Interactive, and Viacom. Here are a couple of cool features to mull over:

-PlayStation Vue delivers catch-up and on-demand TV, freeing viewers to watch TV on their own schedules. The service makes the past three days of popular programming available without the need to schedule recordings.

-Viewers can save their favorite shows to the cloud without storage restrictions or scheduling conflicts. Once viewers tag a favorite show, they will automatically have access to episodes of that show for 28 days so that they can watch on their own time.

In essence, if you’re lacking a DVR and if you prefer to watch TV on your own time like the majority of the world, PS Vue sounds like a promising effort from team Sony. In the end it all comes down to content provider support; if Sony can continue to lure in the big guns like CBS, Fox, and NBC (ABC, where you at?), Vue has the potential to become a go-to destination for PS4 and PS3 console owners.

“PlayStation Vue reinvents the traditional viewing experience so your programming effortlessly finds you, enabling you to watch much more of what you want and search a lot less,” says Andrew House, president and group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment. “PlayStation Vue brings the best of live TV and a robust catalog of the latest content, always keeping you connected to what’s popular, new and trending. Today’s announcement builds on the historic success of PlayStation 4 and demonstrates what our company is capable of when we embrace disruption and stay true to gamers.”

A beta preview for PS Vue is rolling out this month for select people, “with phased rollout starting in New York followed later by Chicago, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles.” In time the service with become compatible with Apple’s iPad as well as more Sony and non-Sony devices. Sony plans to launch it commercially in early 2015. Stick it here for more details about pricing and availability as that becomes apparent.

[Via PRNewswire]