Category Archives: News

‘Nashville’ is prepping a three-city spring tour

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Starting to see a trend here! Following in the steps of other musical television series Glee and Smash, ABC’s country drama Nashville is stepping outside the box that’s in your living room to perform songs from the show live on a three-city tour. The tour will make stops in Chicago (4/25), Washington, D.C. (5/4), and New York (5/6). Those actors participating are Charles Esten (Deacon Claybourne), Chris Carmack (Will Lexington), Clare Bowen (Scarlett O’Connor), Jonathan Jackson (Avery Barkley), Sam Palladio (Gunnar Scott), and Will Chase (Luke Wheeler). Chase will only be featured in NY performance. Tickets go on sale April 4 at Chi-town’s Joe’s Bar, D.C.’s Lincoln Theatre, and NYC’s Best Buy Theatre.

“We’re thrilled to have an opportunity to showcase our artists in a live setting where fans can enjoy the music from the show in a more intimate setting,” said Dawn Soler, Senior VP TV of Music at ABC Entertainment Group. “Each song is a crucial part of our storyline and each week our multitalented actors are able to breathe life into the story by performing these wonderful lyrical works.”

“We have an exceptionally talented cast of great actors, many who are also wonderful singers, musicians and songwriters,” said Steve Buchanan, Nashville executive producer and president of the Opry Entertainment Group. “It is exciting to be able to hit the road and be face to face with our show’s fans.”

It’s unfortunate that the show’s two big stars Connie Britton (Rayna James) and Hayden Panettiere (Juliet Barnes) are a no-show and that the tour is so short; and what’s puzzling is that the Nashville tour isn’t setting up shop in the very city that makes up the heart of the show. Regardless, if you’re a fan of series, its stars and the music (and if you live in one of the three lucky cities) then this tour is definitely something to get excited about. Scarlett and Gunnar are going to duet because they have to, am I right?!

[Via THR]

Google makes watches “smart” with Android Wear

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Google is making a big play when it comes to wearables. First, of course, there’s Google Glass, those high-tech spectacles still be tested in the field before being unleashed to the mass market. And while we wait for that, Google wants to get consumers hyped with another wearable powered by Android: the watch.

Smartwatches have been a thing for years; Samsung, in fact, has been working on their own “Galaxy Gear” watches recently and does anyone remember Motorola’s MOTOACTV? Anyway, those smartwatches failed to make it big and Google hopes to make a splash in the wearables market with their latest software initiative Android Wear.

Simply put, Google is developing a new version of Android suited for watches that various manufacturers–from big industry players like Motorola and Samsung to fashion brands like Fossil–can use to power their hardware. Like Android on Google Glass, Android Wear aims to make wearables like watches “understand the context of the world around you, and you can interact with them simply and efficiently, with just a glance or a spoken word.” In other words, a smartwatch powered by Android Wear will provide you with contextual updates depending on your location and daily schedule. For example, when you arrive at the airport your smartwatch will automatically recognize where you are and pull up relevant information such as flight details and even your boarding pass. Now of course, you’re smartphone can likely do the same thing (think Google Now or Apple’s PassBook app), but having this kind of quick, glance-and-go information on your wrist instead of inside your pocket makes things more convenient and efficient.

In addition to providing contextual information, Android timepieces can give you straight answers to spoken questions. Speak aloud “Ok Google” and pose a question to receive an answer on the fly. Want the score to the Knicks game? Ask your watch and it’ll bring to the surface the information you’re looking for. You can also use this spoken service to request things like taxis, make restaurant reservations, and even send a text. Android Wear also promises to serve as a helpful way to monitor your health and fitness, as well as stream content such as music and movies to your phone and TV.

Google hopes that developers will jump on the Android Wear bandwagon and start tailoring their apps for the wearable OS; a Developer Preview is available today. To date, Google is working with Asus, HTC, LG, Motorola, and Samsung, chip makers Broadcom, Imagination, Intel, Mediatek, and Qualcomm, and fashion brands like the Fossil Group to create new and intuitive smartwatches. They’re not giving a very specific timeframe as to when consumers can expect to their hands on Android Wear watches, but they tease they’re coming “later this year.” In fact, Motorola and LG are already starting to show off what they’ve got up their sleeves with Moto 360 and G Watch, respectively.

Jump after the break to watch a couple clips showing off these new watches. And brace yourselves–Google says this is just the beginning for Android Wear: “we’ve barely scratched the surface of what’s possible with mobile technology.” Glasses, watches, what’s next? Apple, ahem, your move.

[Via Google] Continue reading Google makes watches “smart” with Android Wear →

Sony reveals Project Morpheus, virtual reality for PS4 gamers

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From Virtual Boy to true Virtual Reality–[expletive] is about to get real.

This month at the 2014 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Sony revealed the latest piece of hardware they’re working on. No, it’s not the PS5 but rather”Project Morpheus.” That’s the code name for their attempt at virtual reality hardware. It’s something that’s straight out of the future–a sophisticated-looking head-mounted unit gets strapped to your noggin and you peer into two LCD 1080p displays (that merge into one) with a 90 degree field of view. Simply put, Morpheus is going to fully immerse you in games like never before. Or in Sony’s Shuhei Yoshida words Morpheus promises “to build on our mission to push the boundaries of play.”

Morpheus, at its core, aims to “create experiences that deliver a sense of presence – where players feel as though they are physically inside the virtual world of a game.” Furthermore, “presence is like a window into another world that heightens the emotions gamers experience as they play.” I think you get the picture.

Morpheus is PlayStation branded hardware that is still very much in the prototype stage. A handful of details, however, managed to trickle out from GDC as a number of units were in fact playable at the conference. The VR headset works in tandem with PS4; accelerometer and gyroscope sensors inside collaborate with the PlayStation Camera to deliver VR experiences. Also, the PlayStation Move controller as well as the PS4’s standard DualShock controller assist in said experiences. For example, future gamers will strap Morpheus on and be transported to a castle with a fire-breathing dragon. Tilt and move around your head as if you are actually there to view your landscape. Whip out your PS Move controller and suddenly you wield a sword to take down the otherworldly beast.

In addition to visuals, Sony is also making Morpheus an all-encompassing virtual reality experience by incorporating 3D audio technology. Gamers will be able to hear sounds coming from all around them in real-time depending on their head orientation. For example, sounds will barrage you from above you (think helicopters flying overhead) and even below you (the pitter-patter of footsteps rushing up a flight of stairs). A stereo headset jack on the unit allows you to plug in any kind of headphones you like to fully step into a virtual world with realistic visuals and 360-degree audio.

As made clear earlier, Project Morpheus is still in its infancy state in terms of final design and function. However, Sony is eager to share the hardware and SDK with developers so that early kinks can be fixed and exciting software can be developed. At GDC, Sony had a dogfighting shooter EVE Valkyrie and stealth actioner Thief playable inside Morpheus, as well as in-house demos “The Castle” and “The Deep” demonstrating the VR headset’s basic functions. In time, more games will be made for it. I think we know what Sony will be hyping when E3 rolls around this June.

Jump after the break to watch Project Morpheus in action.

[Via Sony] Continue reading Sony reveals Project Morpheus, virtual reality for PS4 gamers →

First details spill from upcoming ‘American Horror Story: Freak Show’

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As has been the case each year, American Horror Story creator Ryan Murphy has fun with his fans by slowing doling out details about the next incarnation of his adored anthology FX series. For the fourth round, he started with the upcoming season’s title: American Horror Story: Freak Show (see the revealing tweet embedded above). EW managed to scoop up a tantalizing bit of the plot:

Set in Jupiter, Florida, in 1950, Freak Show finds Jessica Lange playing a German ex-pat who is managing one of the last freak shows in the U.S.

On March 28 at PaleyFest celebrating AHS: Coven, Murphy confirmed that the majority of the witchy season’s cast will return for Freak Show: Kathy Bates, Angela Bassett, Sarah Paulson, Emma Roberts, Gabourey Sidibe, Frances Conroy, Jamie Brewer, Denis O’Hare, and Evan Peters. The newest addition to the AHS cast is Michael Chiklis (The Shield). Season 4 will also try to reel back some actors from the series’ first two seasons, Murder House and Asylum.

At PaleyFest Murphy elaborated, “It’s not a circus, it’s not a carnival, it’s a freak show set in 1950, and it was a concept that Jessica Lange talked about as she wanted to play this type of character.” The season, like Coven before it, will be shot in New Orleans though, as previously stated, it will take place in Jupiter, Florida.

So we’ve got the what, the when, and for the most part the who for the upcoming Freak Show. That’s quite a start! Stick it here for more details regarding the next installment of AHS as they creep in.

[Via EW 1, 2; Deadline]

CBS renews 20 series for the 2014-15 season

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On Thursday CBS renewed 20 series consisting of 9 dramas, 6 comedies, 3 reality shows, and 2 newsmagazines and they are:

NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, Person of Interest, Criminal Minds, CSI, Elementary, Hawaii Five-0, Blue Bloods, The Good Wife, The Big Bang Theory, 2 Broke Girls, Mike & Molly, Mom, The Millers, Two and a Half Men, Survivor, The Amazing Race, Undercover Boss, 60 Minutes, and 48 Hours.

Those CBS shows still “on the bubble” and that haven’t been greenlit for another season at this time include veteran The Mentalist and freshman dramas Intelligence and Hostages (the latter of which has a .01% chance of returning), and freshman comedy The Crazy Ones.

“The best way to launch new shows in the fall and throughout the season is to surround them with a strong and stable lineup of successful series,” said CBS Entertainment Chairman Nina Tassler. “The shows we’re picking up today cut across every night of the week and feature genre leaders, time period winners and the most-watched shows on broadcast television.”

Note: The network renewed Survivor for two additional cycles and The Big Bang Theory‘s renewal includes three more seasons of the hit Chuck Lorre sitcom.

“Comedy is a big part of our schedule, and The Big Bang Theory is the biggest comedy force on television,” said Tassler. “This multi-year deal further strengthens our network’s position for future seasons and marks another chapter in the great partnership CBS enjoys with Warner Bros. Television for delivering audiences the best in comedy. We’re proud to work with and showcase the incredible talents of Chuck Lorre, Steve Molaro and this amazing cast every week.”

FOX renews ‘New Girl,’ ‘The Mindy Project,’ ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ & ‘The Following’ [Update: ‘Raising Hope’ cancelled]

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Great news for fans of FOX programming: on Friday the network renewed three of its popular sitcoms and one thrilling drama. The Zooey Deschanel half-hour New Girl will return next season for a fourth season; though it’s performing modestly in the ratings this season it still remains one of the network’s flagship comedies. Though they were considered “bubble shows” due to their low ratings this season, Mindy Kaling’s The Mindy Project and two-time Emmy winner Brooklyn Nine-Nine with Andy Samberg are both coming back for a third and second season, respectively. Additionally, Kevin Bacon’s Ryan Hardy will live to see another day to take down Kevin Purefoy’s serial killer Joe Carroll when The Following returns for a third season next fall. Again, despite a drop in ratings this season, FOX deemed it right to bring back the cult show. And I can see why; creatively all of these are hitting their marks.

“These shows are some of the best and acclaimed series on television, with influential, culture-driving stars, and some of the best, most creative talent behind the camera,” said FOX execs Kevin Reilly and Joe Earley in a press statement. “All four are core assets within our 2014-15 portfolio of content, and we’re really happy to bring them back to our FOX fans for another season.”

These four series join Glee, Bones, and Sleepy Hollow on the list to return on FOX’s 2014-15 slate.

Update (3/10): Here’s one sitcom that won’t be returning in the fall: the zany, often heartfelt Raising Hope. After four seasons fans will be checking out of Natesville and saying goodbye to the Chance family when the show airs its one hour finale (2 back-to-back episodes) on Friday, April 4th. Though the final episode has already been shot, EP Mike Mariano assures viewers that it will serve as an appropriate series with a satisfying sendoff. Jump after the break for quotes from Mariano and FOX exec Reilly. Continue reading FOX renews ‘New Girl,’ ‘The Mindy Project,’ ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ & ‘The Following’ [Update: ‘Raising Hope’ cancelled] →

2014 Oscar winners: ‘Gravity’, ’12 Years A Slave’ & ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ big winners

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Though 12 Years A Slave took home the top prize at this year’s Oscars for Best Picture, it was Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity that came away with the most statues. Gravity nabbed seven of them: Best Director, Original Score, Film Editing, Cinematography, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Visual Effects. In addition to Best Picture, 12 Years was awarded two more Oscars; young rising actress Lupita Nyong’o was named Best Supporting Actress and it was awarded for its Adapted Screenplay. Dallas Buyers Club also came out on top winning three Oscars, too; Matthew McConaughey won Best Actor, Jared Leto won Best Supporting Actor (and Best Speech), and the movie was also awarded for its Makeup and Hairstyling. Elsewhere, Frozen won Best Animated Feature and its popular theme “Let It Go” by Adele Dazeem Idina Menzel was crowned Best Original Song.

Jump after the break for the full list of winners. Continue reading 2014 Oscar winners: ‘Gravity’, ’12 Years A Slave’ & ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ big winners →

Xbox One update brings social improvements, Twitch live broadcasting

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I told you it was coming and now it’s here: part 2 of Xbox One’s first major system update has arrived. As promised, the update provides improvements to the multiplayer and party systems. You can get to your friends list faster now that the Friends app shows you the list right off the bat when you open it up; to get to the activity feed simply swipe to the right. Also, party chat is turned on by default now so when you invite friends into a party you can get the conversation started immediately. The Friends app has also been updated to feature the missing “recent players” list. Another significant addition to the XB1 is live broadcasting. When the Twitch app gets updated this week, gamers will be able to say “Xbox, broadcast” to stream their gameplay live to other platforms. Twitch also allows you to watch stream from other Xbox One gamers as well as other platforms like PS4 and PCs. Though live broadcasting gameplay was a major feature that shipped with PS4 at its launch, Microsoft may have the upper hand now since their console extends the ability to share and view beyond their own system.

Just like the first update, this new one will automatically download while your console is “Instant On” enabled; if it isn’t you’ll be prompted to download and install it the next time you turn it on. Interestingly, and quite annoyingly, Microsoft is also issuing a firmware update for its Xbox One wireless controllers. Connect your pad to the system via micro-USB and hit start, go to settings, system, update controller. The update open the controller to accepting the Xbox One stereo headset adapter as well as support for 1st and 3rd party headsets.

Click after the break to view the full list of updates packed inside the latest Xbox One update. You’ll also spot a brief video tour of the new update, as well as a first look at Twitch live broadcasting. The Twitch app update enabling this anticipated new XB1 feature goes live this Tuesday, March 11 to coincide with the launch of the even more anticipated XB1 exclusive title Titanfall.

[Via Xbox 1, 2] Continue reading Xbox One update brings social improvements, Twitch live broadcasting →

Kid Cudi releases EP-turned-album ‘Satellite Flight: The Journey to Mother Moon’

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It was originally imagined to be an EP to bridge the gap between Indicud and 2015’s Man on the Moon III but somewhere Kid Cudi decided to turn it into a full-fledged new album; Satellite Flight: The Journey to Mother Moon released digitally on Tuesday, February 25 comprised of 10 tracks. Cudder produced the entire album with help from his WZRD collaborator Dot da Genius. R&B musician Raphael Saadiq is the sole feature artist on the record. Even though it morphed into a full-length album, Satellite Flight still fits in place like puzzle piece in Cudi’s discography; it resumes where Indicud left off and it teases the third and final chapter of the MOTM trilogy. Download Satellite Flight at iTunes today. Alternatively, you can wait until Cudi drops the physical album in stores which he teases will include additional bonus tracks currently not for sale digitally. There is no street date for the physical release but signs point towards later this month.

Kid Cudi is on fire right now. In addition to releasing fourth studio album, Scott Mescudi stars in Need for Speed alongside Aaron Paul (which hits theatres March 14) and it was recently announced that he will star as Ari Gold’s new assistant in the upcoming Entourage movie. Catch up with Cudi in this extensive Complex interview that came out late last month.

NBC revives ‘Heroes’ with new arc & characters in ‘Heroes: Reborn’

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Save the cheerleader, save the world. But it didn’t stop there…

Like FOX is doing with 24, NBC is bringing back one its most popular and lucrative series back to the air with Heroes: Reborn. And just like 24: Live Another Day, Heroes: Reborn is being labeled as an “event series” that will produce 13 episodes for a shorter-than-normal broadcast season. Mostly everything is being kept under wraps for now; all we know is that the new season of Heroes will be shepherded by series creator and executive producer Tim Kring and it will tell a brand-new standalone story-arc with new characters. NBC Entertainment President Jennifer Salke shares that existing characters introduced during the show’s original four season run may show up in the revival; her statement in full:

“The enormous impact Heroes had on the television landscape when it first launched in 2006 was eye-opening. Shows with that kind of resonance don’t come around often and we thought it was time for another installment. We’re thrilled that visionary creator Tim Kring was as excited about jumping back into this show as we were and we look forward to all the new textures and layers Tim plans to add to his original concept. Until we get closer to air in 2015, the show will be appropriately shrouded in secrecy, but we won’t rule out the possibility of some of the show’s original cast members popping back in.”

Heroes, an imaginative series about ordinary people who discover they have superhuman abilities, premiered to much fan-fare in 2006. Viewership was high and so was critical acclaim. Watching ordinary people like Peter Petrelli, Mohinder Suresh, Hiro Nakamura, Niki Sanders, and Claire Bennet discover their respective abilities and eventually all coming together to work towards a common goal of destroying the compelling villain Sylar was more than entertaining to watch. While many shows suffer from growing pains in their first seasons on air, Heroes managed to shine creatively from the get-go; in my opinion Heroes season 1 is one of the best premiere seasons of any show out there. Unfortunately, things went quickly downhill from there; though season 2 is manageable the plot and the characters get seriously bogged down in season 3 and if I’m being honest I’ve never even felt compelled to watch the fourth and (then) final season. Without getting into the nitty gritty details of it all the show simply lost itself creatively and the Heroes introduced in season 1 started to feel tired and without the same purpose they shared across the brilliant first 23 episodes. The original idea behind Heroes was to intro a new crop of characters to follow each season, but following Sylar’s quick getaway at the end of season 1 it was decided that our Heroes were here to stay. Though fans of the series may be divided on the return of the show, perhaps we can all have some faith that a new series reborn featuring all-new Heroes might finally inject some excitement and fresh storylines into a show that once carried incredible potential.

NBC aired a brief 21-second promo announcing Heroes Reborn during the Olympics on Saturday and you can watch it after the break. It teases a 2015 launch, and fans can also look forward to a digital web series that plans to introduce the new characters before the show premieres in earnest. Continue reading NBC revives ‘Heroes’ with new arc & characters in ‘Heroes: Reborn’ →