Category Archives: News

TV trailer: Jeff Daniels in Aaron Sorkin’s ‘The Newsroom’ for HBO

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From the mind of Aaron Sorkin, creator of The West Wing and screenwriter of The Social Network and Moneyball,  comes The Newsroom,  a behind-the-scenes look at the people who make a nightly cable-news program. Focusing on a network anchor (played by Jeff Daniels), his new executive producer (Emily Mortimer), the newsroom staff (John Gallagher, Jr., Alison Pill, Thomas Sadoski, Olivia Munn, Dev Patel) and their boss (Sam Waterston), the series tracks their quixotic mission to do the news well in the face of corporate and commercial obstacles-not to mention their own personal entanglements.

The Newsroom is a drama you clearly do not want to miss out on: stellar acting mixed with smart writing and compelling stories make up the agenda of this upcoming political drama with humor. Watch the buzzy trailer above and anticipate the season premiere that lands on Sunday June 24 on HBO.

TV reminder: ‘Game of Thrones’ returns tonight at 9PM on HBO [Update: record ratings]

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Ten months, five trailers, numerous posters, and one 22-minute featurette later, HBO’s wildly popular fantasy series Game of Thrones is finally back. War is coming, friends, and the battle for the Iron Throne is already in progress. We return to the Starks and the Lannisters breathing down each other’s necks, Jon Snow leading the Night’s Watch beyond the Wall into supernatural territory, and Daenerys training her dragons. The season 2 opener is titled “The North Remembers” and it starts precisely tonight (4/1) at 9PM on HBO.

The gallery below contains some new posters hyping tonight’s must-see event. Warning: one contains a major season 1 spoiler, so if you haven’t caught up yet (what are you waiting for?!) don’t go digging just yet.

Update:  The ratings are in and boy are they spectacular. So many more people tuned into the second season premiere of Game of Thrones compared to the first season. Here are the record-setting facts. A grand total of 3.9 million viewers tuned into “The North Remembers” at the 9PM hour; that’s up a significant 74 percent from the first season premiere. This is also the most watched episode of Thrones to date; it beat out the previous record holder, the season one finale “Fire and Blood” (that episode clocked in just over 3 million viewers). When you factor in all three airings from Sunday night, a grand total of 6.3 million viewers took in the premiere. HBO greenlighting season 3? Now it’s only a matter of time.

Earth Hour 2012 is tonight, and you’re invited!

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Date: Saturday, March 31, 2012

Time: 8:30PM, local time

Place: Wherever you live

What to do:  Turn off your lights for one hour

“Hundreds of millions of people, businesses and governments around the world unite each year to support the largest environmental event in history – Earth Hour. More than 5,200 cities and towns in 135 countries worldwide switched off their lights for Earth Hour 2011 alone, sending a powerful message for action on climate change. It also ushered in a new era with members going Beyond the Hour to commit to lasting action for the planet. Without a doubt, it’s shown how great things can be achieved when people come together for a common cause.”

DO YOUR PART and contribute to Earth Hour 2012 by turning off your lights for one hour starting at 8:30PM (local time) on Saturday, March 31.  And while you’re at it, disconnect all electronics from their wall sockets and conserve energy during this time.  Even the small things count.  Since 2007 Earth Hour has become a worldwide shared experience with an important mission: to make a positive impact on our planet.

[Via EarthHour]

Xbxo 360’s video selection grows with HBO GO, Comcast Xfinity TV, and MLB.tv

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On Tuesday Microsoft launched three new video apps on Xbox 360: HBO GO, Comcast Xfinity TV, and MLB.tv. All three apps require that you be a subscriber to each of their respective services, obviously. With HBO GO, Xbox owners can now access every episode of every season of HBO’s most popular programming like Game of Thrones and The Sopranos. If you’re a Comcast subscriber, you can now view on-demand content via your console. And MLB.tv gives sports fans yet another way to stream live every out-of-market regular season game in HD with features like split-screen, a mini guide, and a personalized My Teams page. These apps come baked with Kinect integration, meaning you can put the controller down and use gestures and your voice to control the menus and playback. If you’ve got an Xbox 360, turn it on and download these video apps for free today. Game of Thrones returns to HBO for a second season tomorrow night, so this just might be the best way to catch up quick.

In related news, Microsoft’s Yusuf Mehdi told the LA Times that Xbox owners are spending more time with the “video game” console to watch video and listen to music than play games. “What we’re seeing is that people are turning on the Xbox to play games and then keeping it on afterwards to get other types of entertainment,” he said. With Netflix, Hulu, ESPN, Verizon FIOS and now HBO GO, Xfinity TV, and MLB.tv, the term “video game console” is starting to get blurry as “entertainment hub” starts to come into view, at least in regards to Microsoft’s Xbox brand.

Jump after the break to watch the new video apps in action.

[Via MajorNelson] Continue reading Xbxo 360’s video selection grows with HBO GO, Comcast Xfinity TV, and MLB.tv →

Nokia Lumia 900, the first LTE Windows Phone, is out April 8 at $99.99 on AT&T

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Announced in January, the Nokia Lumia 900 smartphone has been tagged with an imminent release date and an affordable price point. The Lumia 900, which will soon become the first Windows Phone to boast 4G LTE, releases into the marketplace on April 8 at $99.99 after a two year contract with AT&T. The handset features a 4.3-inch (800 x 480) AMOLED ClearBlack display, a Carl Zeiss 8 megapixel camera with large aperture (F2.2) and wide angle focal length (28mm) and LED flash that supports 720p HD video capture, and a front-facing camera for video calls. It runs the latest version of Windows Phone, that is 7.5 aka Mango. The Lumia 900 will come in cyan blue and matte black flavors on the 8th, and later on April 22 a high-gloss white version will release. Preorder today. PR after the break.

[Via Engadget 1, 2] Continue reading Nokia Lumia 900, the first LTE Windows Phone, is out April 8 at $99.99 on AT&T →

New featured player Kate McKinnon joins ‘SNL’ next week

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Well that was fast. In under two months Saturday Night Live honcho Lorne Michaels has found a replacement feature player for NBC’s late night sketch comedy show. One Kate McKinnon will be filling the void that Paul Britten left vacant when he rather abruptly left the show in early February. An active member at New York City’s Upright Citizens Brigade theatre since 2008, McKinnon for her time spent playing Fitzwilliam, a young British boy who wishes to be a girl on the LOGO program The Big Gay Sketch Show. She also has experience voicing animated characters on shows like Venture Brothers and Robotomy on Cartoon Network and Ugly Americans on Comedy Central. Interestingly, McKinnon will become SNL‘s first openly gay cast member since Terry Sweeney in 1985. The plan is for McKinnon to make her debut next weekend when Modern Family‘s Sofia Vergara has hosting duties on April 7.

[Via Deadline; UCB]

Trailer: ‘Safety Not Guaranteed’

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Check out this trailer for the upcoming sci-fi comedy Safety Not Guaranteed. It stars Aubrey Plaza from Parks and Rec, Jake M. Johnson from New Girl, Karan Soni (who you might recognize from FOX’s Touch premiere), Kristin Bell, and Mark Duplass. The movie, which comes from the producers of Little Miss Sunshine, tells this story:

When an unusual classified ad inspires three cynical Seattle magazine employees to look for the story behind it, they discover a mysterious eccentric named Kenneth, a likable but paranoid supermarket clerk, who believes he¹s solved the riddle of time travel and intends to depart again soon. Together, they embark on a hilarious, smart, and unexpectedly heartfelt journey that reveals how far believing can take you.

Safety Not Guaranteed was screened at the Sundance Film Festival and SXSW this year and came out with radiant reviews. Watch the trailer for it above, then jump after the break to hear director Colin Trevorrow summarize and expand on what the movie is all about. What would you do if you discovered time travel? This film will tackle that question and simultaneously take you on an exploration of friendship and revelations. It opens June 8. Continue reading Trailer: ‘Safety Not Guaranteed’ →

It’s official: ‘Anchorman 2’ is A-GO

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Great Odin’s raven! Anchorman 2 is officially underway at Paramount with star Will Ferrell aboard, along with original cast members including Steve Carell and Paul Rudd. Today Ferrell crashed the set of Conan O’Brien’s TBS late night talk show in full Ron Burgundy garb, flute in hand. He came prepared to play, make fun of the red-haired comic, and most importantly to announce that Paramount is going to back a sequel to the outrageous, cult 2004 comedy. Ferrell as Burgundy proclaimed, “As of 0900 Mountain time, Paramount Pictures and myself–Ronald Joseph Aaron Burgundy–have come to terms on a sequel to Anchorman.” And the crowd went wild.

Rumors of an Anchorman sequel have been rumbling since July of 2009 when Ferrell said that he was excited to talk about what a potential sequel would be about with castmates Carell and Rudd. Unfortunately due to salary concerns and scheduling conflicts, the movie failed to get off the ground. Since then, however, Ferrell must have pushed hard to make this happen and now Anchorman 2 is most definitely in the works! Adam McKay is back to direct and he will pen the script with Ferrell. Judd Apatow is producing under his production banner. Though the plot still remains under wraps, Ferrell teased in ’09 that a followup “would bring classy 1970s newsman Ron Burgandy into the 1980s.”

Grab a scotchy scotch scotch and click after the break to watch Burgundy flaunt his jazz flute and announce the highly anticipated sequel. Continue reading It’s official: ‘Anchorman 2’ is A-GO →

Harry Potter Wizard’s Collection covers all eight films and new bonus material in 31 discs

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Warner Bros. is readying the most comprehensive Harry Potter movie collection ever released. The “Harry Potter Wizard’s Collection” 31-disc box set contains the following: all eight Harry Potter movies on Blu-ray, DVD and UltraViolet Digital Copy; more than 37 hours of special features including all previously released materials and more than 10 hours of new to disc bonus content; and 5 hours of never-before-seen material. Deathly Hallows part 1 & 2 can be watched in 2D or 3D if you have a TV that can handle it. Unfortunately, there is one major gripe that fans will find in this amazing collection: only the first two films in the franchise–namely Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and the Chamber of Secrets–include both the theatrical versions and extended cuts. The other six films only come with their theatrical versions. Will Warner release an even more epic box set including the extended cuts of the rest of the films and more bonus footage? That is still unknown.

But if you truly are a loyal Potter fan then there’s no denying how great this collection really is. Harry Potter Wizard’s Collection in all its elaborate design, comes out September 7 for $500. Head over to Amazon to preorder today; the e-tailer is selling it for a more digestible $349. Jump after the break to watch the collection come to life (you’ll see what I mean) and there’s also a first look at new bonus footage featuring a young and old Rupert Grint. A lengthy press release further details what you’ll get. Continue reading Harry Potter Wizard’s Collection covers all eight films and new bonus material in 31 discs →

Mickey and Oswald team up in ‘Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two’

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Disney’s masthead Mickey is back in a sequel to the 2010 Wii exclusive Epic Mickey. Video game developer Warren Spector and his Junction Point Studios are hard at work on Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two, refining the gameplay and aesthetics of the original. Fans of Epic Mickey will notice two key differences here: one, Mickey will have a trusty sidekick in the the sequel and it’s Oswald!; two, the game will release for Wii as well as the Xbox 360 and PS3, so gamers can now fully explore the grim but vibrant Wasteland in hi-def on the next-gen consoles. It has been confirmed that Epic Mickey 2 will be compatible with PlayStation Move accessories, however there are no plans to make use of Xbox’s Kinect. Check out the epic trailer above!

EM2 is expected to release this fall, and a 3DS companion game called Epic Mickey 2: Power of Illusion is on its way, too. Eye the box art after the break, as well as a video featuring Spector talking about the upcoming game. Continue reading Mickey and Oswald team up in ‘Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two’ →

The new iPad sells like hotcakes, big surprise

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On March 19 Apple released a statement announcing that their “resolutionary” new iPad is the fastest selling slate they’ve sold so far. In just three days–from launch on March 16 to the 19th–Apple sold over three million new iPads.

Apple’s Phil Schiller said this. “The new iPad is a blockbuster with three million sold―the strongest iPad launch yet. Customers are loving the incredible new features of iPad, including the stunning Retina display, and we can’t wait to get it into the hands of even more customers around the world this Friday.”

That Friday, March 23, has come and gone and now the iPad is being sold in an additional 24 countries. No further announcements have been made, but rest assured that the new iPad is doing just fine on the market. Who knows? Maybe the idiom “sells like hotcakes” will one day become “sells like iPads.”

In other news, AT&T has announced that it has set a new single-day record for its iPad sales and activations. Full PR after the break.

[Via Apple; Engadget] Continue reading The new iPad sells like hotcakes, big surprise →

Comedian Aziz Ansari releases new standup special for $5; sound familiar?

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Following Louis C.K.’s enormous success, Parks and Recreation star Aziz Ansari is self-distributing a brand new stand-up special. The comedian promises that the one-hour special is uncensored, uncut, contains zero ads, and no bleeps. Dangerously Delicious, which was filmed last year at The Warner Theatre in Washington DC, is now available for download at Aziz’s website. It’s steal, just like Louis’ special, at only $5. Now will it gross over $1 million in two weeks? Perhaps not, but I like how Louis is influencing his peers. Get a taste of what you can expect in Aziz’s special after the break. Continue reading Comedian Aziz Ansari releases new standup special for $5; sound familiar? →