Category Archives: News

‘Toy Story 4’ is in the works

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I’m a bit up in the air about this. Disney and Pixar so eloquently closed out the Toy Story trilogy in 2010 when Andy goes off to college and his toys–including Woody and Buzz–are handed off to a new owner, little Bonnie. What can possibly come next that’s worthy enough to warrant another sequel and potentially the start of a new trilogy? Pixar’s been successful at bringing new life to the toys in animated shorts premiering before other Disney movies and on ABC. But a whole new theatrical release? As much as I adore Woody and the gang, do we want to keep this party going for the sake of keeping it going? Pixar Chief Creative Officer and Toy Story 1 & 2 director John Lasseter attempted to get ahead of fan skepticism with this statement made on the day Disney announced the film’s development:

We love these characters so much; they are like family to us. We don’t want to do anything with them unless it lives up to or surpasses what’s gone before. ‘Toy Story 3’ ended Woody and Buzz’s story with Andy so perfectly that for a long time, we never even talked about doing another ‘Toy Story’ movie. But when Andrew, Pete, Lee and I came up with this new idea, I just could not stop thinking about it. It was so exciting to me, I knew we had to make this movie—and I wanted to direct it myself.

Consider my fears quelled, for now.

Toy Story 4 is coming to theatres June 16, 2017 with Celeste and Jesse Forever writing parters Rashida Jones (yes, of Parks and Recreation) and Will McCormack penning the script.

Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 3 unveiled

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Following in the steps of rival DC Entertainment, Marvel Studios carved out time to lay the groundwork for its future feature film slate. In Marvel grand fashion, President Kevin Feige rented out the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood and spelled out Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in front of rabid fans and the press.

After Phase 2 closes out with Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ant-Man this coming summer, Phase 3 will kick off in May 2016 with Captain America and Iron Man facing off in Captain America: Civil War. That film will introduce Chad Boseman (42, Get on Up) as Black Panther. Following the Cap threequel is the introduction to Doctor Strange in November 2016; Deadline reports Sherlock actor Benedict Cumberbatch will play the title role. Then in May 2017 the Guardians of the Galaxy return in a sequel, followed by a Thor threequel subtitled Ragnarok. In November 2017, Boseman will reprise his African American superhero Black Panther in his very own film. In May 2018 the Avengers will assemble for a third time in Infinity War Part 1. And before Part 2 comes around a year later, female superhero Carol Danvers will debut as Captain Marvel in July 2018 and an entirely new super-powered group The Inhumans will hit the big screen in November 2018. Yeah, it’s a mouthful; so here it is in list form:

Click the respective links above to learn more about each film. Now, comic book fans rejoice–so many more of your favorite heroes are jumping from the page to the screen between now and 2020! (Bonus: click here to watch the Infinity War announcement trailer Marvel screened at the event.)

New documentary explores “the art of running a TV show”

Movies, News, Television,

If you watch a ton of television like I do, you must be at least a little interested in how it’s all made. Well, a new documentary is here to satiate your curiosity. It’s called Showrunners and it explores the creative teams and decisions that go into the making of a formidable TV program. The docu features exclusive interviews with some of the most successful producers, writers, and creators around including J.J. Abrams (Lost), Jane Espenson (Once Upon a Time), Hart Hanson (Bones), Mike Kelley (Revenge), Robert and Michelle King (The Good Wife), Damon Lindelof (The Leftovers), Jonathan Nolan (Person of Interest), Jeff Pinkner and J.H. Wyman (Fringe), Bill Prady (The Big Bang Theory), Joss Whedon (Firefly), and many more.

Director Des Doyle’s Showrunners promises to be an intriguing and informative look behind the scenes at what it’s like to build television drama and comedy, from a percolating idea to production to premiere. Learn more about the doc here, or head over to iTunes today to stream and watch.

Premiering this month: Marvel special & the final season of ‘The Newsroom’

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November is a relatively quiet month in terms of flashy new premieres, but there are two you simply cannot miss.

First up is an ABC special called Marvel 75 Years: From Pulp to Pop! Emily VanCamp (Revenge, Captain America: The Winter Soldier) hosts the hour-long special celebrating Marvel’s 75th anniversary with exclusive interviews and an exploration of the company over the years. It promises to shed light on comic book/movie studio enterprise’s history, as well as peek into its future; perhaps viewers will be privy to new looks at Avengers sequel Age of Ultron or even the now-in-production Ant-Man. It airs this Tuesday (11/4) at 9pm on ABC.

And then there’s the final season of HBO’s award-winning political drama The Newsroom. The final episodes kick off Sunday, November 9 at 9pm. Fans of the fictional News Night with Will McAvoy will get to say goodbye to Aaron Sorkin’s journalistic jamboree over the course of six tight episodes that conclude on December 14. “Every story needs a final word” reads the tagline of the show’s third season, and it’s certainly sad to say that time has come now. Click here to watch a trailer.

Ryan Murphy discusses the interconnectedness of ‘American Horror Story’

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How have you been enjoying American Horror Story latest incarnation? Only four episodes in and it’s already proven to be one of the franchise’s best seasons yet. The Halloween themed “Edward Mordrake” two parter was quite exquisite, to say the least. And I’m sure you feel the same way I do about the inclusion of little miss Pepper. It’s a shame she never got her meatloaf, but more than that she’s served as a great addition to the season’s sprawling cast. Creator Ryan Murphy said including her and effectively bridging a gap between season 2’s Asylum and the current Freak Show was a decision that was not made lightly. But now that the door is cracked open, he’s going all the way in.

It’s been reported that AHS mainstay Lilly Rabe is making an appearance later this season and she will be the second actor to reprise a character from a previous season. She’s coming to the Freak Show as her Asylum alias Sister Mary Eunice to snatch up poor Pepper and bring her to the mental institution Briarcliff Manor. In an interview with EW, Murphy waxed about Rabe’s return as well as the interconnectedness of it all.

I don’t want to say much about it but obviously she’s playing Sister Mary Eunice. The interesting thing about doing a show like this is every season is incredibly its own story and its own beginning, middle and end. Its own journey. But we have always from the very beginning in the intertwining mythologies and how things connect. This is the first year where we begin to tell you that season two is connected to season four which is connected to season one. People have started to write articles about that. A lot of their hypotheses have been completely right on. That’s the fun of the show. Hopefully by the end of the run, be it 10 years or 15 years, people will be able to stand back and be able to say, “Oh that was connected to x.”

There’s definitely a rhyme or a reason and a connectedness to all of these seasons, but in the same way, they’re standalones, which is the fun of it. But it is a puzzle. And Lily coming back and dealing with Pepper is sort of the first unveiling of that connectedness. She’s so great in that role, Lily. I understood she wanted to go off and do her own show. But I was thrilled she was able to come back and give us a couple days and show how Sister Mary Eunice and Pepper are connected and how it’s all connected. I’m glad she’s back in the habit!

So AHS fans, rejoice! The show will remain an anthology series, but going forward Murphy and co. will begin to tie at least some things together for studious fans to froth over. I, for one, cannot wait to find out how exactly this season will make a bridge to Murder House!

AHS: Freak Show airs Wednesdays at 10 on FX.

Full season orders handed out to 5 network series; 4 others get axed [Updated 11/7]

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Good news for fans of The Eye’s older-skewing programming: four freshman series will live on to see their first season of television all the way through and they are: hacker drama Scorpion, spinoff NCIS: New Orleans, Kevin Williamson’s thriller Stalker, and Téa Leoni top-lined Madam Secretary.

“These four shows have had an immediate impact on our schedule by improving nights, winning time periods and adding more hours of success across our primetime lineup,” said Nina Tassler, CBS’ Entertainment Chairman, in a statement.

Elsewhere, The Peacock picked up The Mysterious of Laura for a full 22-episode first season.

Debra has effortlessly infused Laura with a relatability that is captivating audiences,” said Jennifer Salke, NBC’s President of Entertainment. “We can’t wait to see how Laura will continue to evolve throughout the entire season.”

And now, the sour news. Low ratings are forcing out rom-coms Manhattan Love Story (ABC) and A to Z (NBC), as well as Kate Walsh sitcom Bad Judge (NBC) and FOX’s “social experiment” reality show Utopia. MLS and Utopia were pulled from their network schedules on the dates of their cancellation (10/24 and 11/2, respectively), but in a surprise move NBC is allowing A to Z and Bad Judge finish out their original 13-episode orders. The former comedy has shot 11 of 13 episodes and the latter has produced 10. What this means is that the creatives behind them will be able to scramble together plotline bookends since they’re aware the end is in sight. A silver lining: at least these shows will air final episodes that will indeed serve as series finales with at least some closure before audiences are forced to say goodbye.

If you’re keeping count, these full season orders join previously announced pickups of ABC’s Black-ish and How to Get Away with Murder, FOX’s Gotham, and The CW’s The Flash and Jane the Virgin.

Update (11/7): ABC has cancelled rom-com Selfie and has given a full season order to the Ioan Gruffudd-led drama Forever.

Sony pushes out Share Play for PS4, a new way to experience games without a disc

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Believe it or not, Sony’s PlayStation 4 has been on the market for one year now. To celebrate its one year anniversary, the console maker has released the first major software update for PS4, namely version 2.0. With it comes theming, a more organized games and app library, new voice commands, and the ability to share game session recordings directly to YouTube, just to name a few functionality and aesthetic updates. But there’s one new addition I’m here to spew about because it’s something that may very well change the game (pun!) forever.

It’s called Share Play, and it’s something Sony teased at Gamescom this year. Essentially it works like a “virtual couch;” two players in a party (with PS Plus subscriptions, of course) can play a game as if they were in the same room. A real-life example helps explain: Let’s say you have a copy of Destiny and you’re stuck at a certain level. With Share Play, you can invite a friend to join your party and actually share your gameplay session with them, across the Internet in real time. Your friend, then, can take over the controls of your character and take a crack at getting you past the hard part. Additionally, if the game supports local multiplayer (let’s say NBA 2K15), your friend can join your session and complete against you. The magic here: your friend does not have to own the game you are playing. That’s right–you are hosting an “online local co-op experience,” Sony calls it, where you can share your screen with a spectator, hand over your gameplay session to a friend, and invite a friend to join a multiplayer session. If you thought the inclusion of Twitch and UStream was an effective tool of the future for the console market, Share Play takes things to a whole ‘nother level.

Now, there are a couple stipulations. As mentioned earlier, you and your friend your sharing your session with must be Plus subscribers; additionally, Sony says Share Play sessions can last “for up to one hour at a time.” Not exactly sure what this means; will the session time out after the hour has passed? If you’ve got a PS4 you can test it out for yourself today; software update v2.0 is out now. See how Share Play works in the video above.

Mysterious sci-fi pic ‘Ambition’ requires your attention [Update: ‘Ambition’ revealed, short film inside]

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Coming completely out of left field is this extremely promising science fiction film Ambition. I happened to have stumbled upon it at Sploid and ever since I’ve been fascinated by its lofty design and minimal exposure. Here’s what we know: Ambition hails from Polish director Tomek Bagiński who is best known for his short films Bieg, The Kinematograph, Fallen Art, and Oscar-nominated The Cathedral. It stars Aidan Gillen (most famous for his role as Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish in HBO’s Game of Thrones) and Aisling Franciosi (Netflix’s The Fall). And here’s what we have in terms of plot:

Bagiński’s latest project – tells of a young apprentice (Franciosi) struggling to master nanotechnology on an alien world and prove herself to her enigmatic master (Gillen). Will her herculean goals remain tantalizingly out of reach, or will she fulfill them and in the process, change life as we know it?

The film was shot on location in Iceland, and as you can see in the trailer embedded above, the director took full advantage of the stellar landscape. What else does the trailer disclose? In the future, humans have the ability to build and control worlds. Oh, and Gillen poses the lovely existential question that so many movies before have attempted to tackle: “What is the key to life on Earth?” It certainly seems like Ambition will be, erm, ambitious in figuring out the meaning of life and how to truly sustain it.

“This is a project, ultimately, about great ambition: the power of the human spirit and our collective will to exceed all perceived boundaries,” said Bagiński of his shiny new film. “As our heroes seek out and close in on the very key to life, it goes beyond mere cinematic tropes to deal with the bolder universal themes of facing the future, battling uncertainty and showing the determination that makes us great. But it’s not all that it seems!”

Up to this point, this is all the information we have regarding the mysterious Ambition. Of course, there’s the movie’s official website which offers posters, production pictures, and behind-the-scenes stills. YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram accounts also follow the journey of its release. And yet Ambition is riding under the radar. Perhaps the tide will change when it premieres in front of an international audience tomorrow, Oct. 24 in London at the British Film Institute’s celebration of sci-fi film and television. A major announcement regarding the project (it better be a stateside release!) is expected.

Jump after the break and let Bagiński’s vision wash over you with its utterly beautiful landscapes, computer-generated visuals, and epic score. Check back here in the coming days to discover more about Ambition.

Update (10/24): What if I said Ambition is available for you to watch right now, in the comfort of your own home? Well, it is! Click after the break to view the short film and learn more about its origins and purpose.

Continue reading Mysterious sci-fi pic ‘Ambition’ requires your attention [Update: ‘Ambition’ revealed, short film inside] →

Live out your Star-Lord dreams with ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ mixtape coming to cassette tape

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GOTG fans, listen up! “Awesome Mix Vol. 1,” you know, the truly awesome mixtape carried around by hero Peter Quill in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy filled with the greatest hits of the 70s and 80s curated by the little Star-Lord’s mother… it’s being released on cassette tape so now you can pop it into a Walkman and dance around and fend off baddies like no one’s watching. The limited release lands on shelves Friday, Nov. 28 at participating record stores; it will remain an exclusive to that community of independent retailers associated with Record Store Day through Dec. 31, according to Billboard. The cassettes will also come with digital downloads of the album so you can easily transfer the tracks to your portable music player of choice.

Just another fun distraction as we await the inevitable “Awesome Mix Vol. 2.”

[Via Marvel; Billboard]

Leslie Jones joins the cast of ‘SNL’

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Here we go. Some great news for longtime fans of Saturday Night Live who might have lost faith in the late night variety show’s funny bone. SNL writer and featured guest Leslie Jones has officially joined the cast as a featured player four episodes into season 40. Audiences were first introduced to Jones’ off-kilter comedy last season when she invaded Weekend Update as an “Image Expert” and talked about black beauty; the controversial discussion projected her unique and brash delivery. SNL head honcho Lorne Michaels must have noticed the effect she had on viewers; she as brought back to the desk again this month to talk about relationships, once again proving her comedy chops. And now, she’s getting upgraded from writer/guest to full on featured player. Welcome to the cast, Leslie Jones!

She will make her official debut this coming Saturday, Oct. 25 with host Jim Carrey and musical guest Iggy Azalea. Let’s hope she’s the spark SNL has been craving ever since Wiig/Hader/Armisen/Samberg era ended.

The CW gives full season orders to ‘The Flash’ & ‘Jane the Virgin’

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On Tuesday, The CW expressed their confidence in two of their fall freshman series–The Flash and Jane the Virgin–by allotting them full season orders. Both were buzzy shows pre-launch, and then they fared well in the ratings. The DC Comics-based Flash pilot, in fact, was crowned the network’s most watched series premiere ever with 6.1 million viewers in Live+3 tracking.

“We have had a fantastic start to our season this year, with The Flash launching as our most-watched series premiere ever, and Jane The Virgin recognized as the best new show this season by critics across the country,” said CW president Mark Pedowitz. “Over the past three seasons, we have made it our mission to grow and to broaden out our audience, and to keep raising the bar with the quality and impact of our new shows, and The Flash and Jane have both exceeded our expectations on all counts.”

The Flash airs Tuesdays at 8 and Jane the Virgin airs Mondays at 9.

Apple reports 2014 Q4 results: $42.1 billion revenue & $8.5 billion net profit

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On October 20, Apple reported its 2014 fourth quarter financial results. Apple posted a record quarterly revenue of $42.1 billion and net profit of $8.5 billion. Compare this to one year ago, that’s up from revenue of $37.5 billion and net profit of $7.5 billion. Says CEO Tim Cook: “Our fiscal 2014 was one for the record books, including the biggest iPhone launch ever with iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. With amazing innovations in our new iPhones, iPads and Macs, as well as iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite, we are heading into the holidays with Apple’s strongest product lineup ever. We are also incredibly excited about Apple Watch and other great products and services in the pipeline for 2015.”

Now let’s break it down by product category. Apple sold 39.3 million iPhones in the quarter (compared to 33.8 million in the year-ago quarter); 12.3 million iPads (compared to 14.1 million); and 5.5 million Macs (compared to 3.8 million). iPod sales continue to decline; Apple reports 2.6 million units sold, down 24 percent from the year-ago quarter.

Looking ahead to the first fiscal quarter of 2015, Apple CFO Luca Maestri expects revenue between $63.5 billion and $66.5 billion.

[Via Apple]