Rihanna’s back with another music video coming off her latest album Loud. Whips, chains, bananas, and Perez Hilton all make extended appearences in the colorfully vibrant video for “S&M.” And as usual, Rihanna brings sexy back. Videos for “Only Girl (In the World)” and “What’s My Name” are also available for your viewing pleasure.
Trailer: Bridesmaids
Hey ladies, Judd Apatow has made a comedy tailor-made specifically for you. From the man who brought you The 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up comes Bridesmaids, a movie that follows a maid of honor (Kristin Wiig, who also serves as co-writer) preparing to celebrate the wedding of her best friend (Maya Rudolph) while at the same time having to deal with her fellow bridesmaids. In addition to the SNL alum, the ensemble cast includes Rose Byrne (Damages), Melissa McCarthy (Mike and Molly), Wendi McLendon-Covey (Reno 911!), and Ellie Kemper (The Office…it’s great to see Erin stepping into the big screen!). The IT Crowd‘s Chris O’Dowd and Mad Men hunk Jon Hamm also make brief appearances in the trailer.
Apatow’s on board as producer and Paul Feig (Freaks and Geeks, The Office) is the helmer. “The whole goal of making this movie was to make a very funny, very honest movie about women in a way that they’re not normally made,” Feig tells EW. “Both Judd and I feel women are very much underserved by modern comedy, because it’s all so guy-centric. It was important for us to do that so when women come to see the movie, they would go, like, ‘Oh god, that’s just like my friends – maybe a funnier version of my friends.’ He adds, “It’s a hard movie to sum up in a trailer because it’s also very emotionally honest. There’s tons of comedy but there’s also very relatable honest moments that are real and not always reaching for a laugh.”
I really think Bridesmaids is going to hit a chord with audiences and I can’t wait for it to hit theatres May 13, 2011.
[Via EW]
‘Power Rangers Samurai’ premieres February 7 on Nick
Back in May it was reported that original creator Haim Saban bought the Power Rangers franchise from Disney and that Nickelodeon would air the eighteenth season of the show this year. Since then so much more detail has surfaced about the upcoming series. The official name of the kids program is Power Rangers Samurai and we’ve got a synopsis:
Power Rangers Samurai follows a new generation of five Rangers who must master the ancient Samurai Symbols of Power which give them control over the elements of Fire, Water, Sky, Forest and Earth. Under the guidance of their all-knowing Samurai mentor, Ji, and with the aid of their devoted animal Zords (Lion, Dragon, Ape, Turtle and Bear), they battle to save Earth from the dark forces of the Netherworld led by the evil Master Xandred.
Get to know the cast: The Samurai Power Rangers are: Jayden (Alex Heartman), the Red Ranger and the team’s leader; Mia (Erika Fong), the Pink Ranger who is the confident and caring “big sister” of the Rangers; Kevin (Najee De-Tiege), the Blue Ranger, is a great swordsman who lives by the code of the Rangers; Emily (Brittany Pirtle), the Yellow Ranger, is the youngest but most optimistic of the group; and Mike (Hector David), the Green Ranger, who is a bit of a rebel and would rather be destroying video monsters than real ones.
Oh and remember the slapstick duo from the original 1993 series run Bulk and Skull? Actor Paul Schrier is returning to the Power Rangers universe and will reprise his role as Bulk in the Samurai premiere and will make guest appearances throughout the season. Neat-o right? Look after the break to watch the 2011 version of Bulk in action. Nothing’s changed.
Nick’s Pete Danielsen promises, “This new season of Power Ranger Samurai will feature all new heroes, villains and special effects while keeping the core messages of friendship, teamwork and empowerment that the series has always exhibited.”
Says Saban Brands president Elie Dekel: “We wanted to get back to the original core DNA of the show that made it so powerful and resonant in the ’90s. We made sure that moving forward we drew on the best possible elements that we knew kids responded to, so we embedded a lot more humor in the show, a lot more charm and fun. Bringing back some of the silliness of the original series was a goal, and now it’s in high-def, which has never been done before, which gives it a really great new look.” Beyond that, Dekel continues, “We really wanted to pay homage to, if you will, the show’s Japanese origins with Samurai.”
The 20-episode 18th season premieres February 7 at 8PM on Nickelodeon. Look after the break for some more sneak peek videos, and hit up EW to watch the brand new intro.
[Via PRNewswire; EW; IGN] Continue reading ‘Power Rangers Samurai’ premieres February 7 on Nick
NBC decreases ‘The Cape’ episode count by three
Things are not looking good for NBC’s new superhero drama The Cape. On the heels of a series ratings low this week, today the Peacock decided to cut the season one episode count from 13 to 10. All signs are pointing to cancellation, so I hope you’re not too invested in these characters already. After the five episodes that aired thus far, I’ve stuck with it but news of the cut does not come as a surprise. As easy as it might be to criticize the show’s cheesy dialogue, lack of top notch action sequences, and poor character development, what it all comes down to is ratings for the network. Last night’s episode drew a meager 5.3 million viewers; that’s down 6% from the previous week. The TV watching public doesn’t seem interested in it, and soon the network won’t be either. According to Deadline, now that The Cape will bow out earlier than expected, fans of the serial sci-fi The Event can prepare for that show to make a return on March 7 in a two-hour block.
[Via Deadline]
Snyder’s Superman is Henry Cavill
Say hello to the new Superman. 27-year-old British actor Henry Cavill, who is best known in the States for playing Charles Brandon on Showtime’s The Tudors, has been cast to play the Man of Steel in Zack Snyder’s reboot of the franchise. Said Snyder in a press release: “In the pantheon of superheroes, Superman is the most recognized and revered character of all time, and I am honored to be a part of his return to the big screen. I also join Warner Bros., Legendary and the producers in saying how excited we are about the casting of Henry. He is the perfect choice to don the cape and S shield.” Interestingly enough, Cavill was tapped for the lead role in 2006’s Superman Returns, but as we all know the role went to Brandon Routh and now they’re rebooting it. Cavill’s certainly got the looks to play the part, and we’ll soon find out if he’s got the silver screen talent to captivate audiences when he stars in the fantasy-action film Immortals later this year.
Superman was written by David S. Goyer and its producing team includes talents Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas, Charles Roven, and Deborah Snyder. The movie’s on track for a 2012 holiday release.
[Via EW]
Google Art Project brings galleries from around the world to your computer screen
Today Google dipped its paws into the art industry. Art Project is “a unique collaboration with some of the world’s most acclaimed art museums to enable people to discover and view more than a thousand artworks online in extraordinary detail.” In short, over the past 18 months Google’s traveled to 17 art museums around the world and captured super high resolution images of famous artworks. Now online users can take 360 degree tours of individual galleries using the same Street View click, zoom, and pan techniques most are used to using when navigating Google Maps. Google hit up many world renowned museums including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, MoMA, State Tretyakov Gallery, and Van Gogh Museum. And check this: each of the 17 museums hand-picked one piece of artwork to be photographed using gigapixel technology; these super super high definition selections contain around 7 billion pixels allowing users to explore them in extreme detail. For example, the people hidden behind the tree in Ivanov’s ‘The Apparition of Christ to the People’ suddenly become visible thanks to the gigapixel capture. In addition to browsing the beautiful works of art, Google is enabling users to create their own collections, share them with others, and make them sociable with commenting support.
Head over to http://www.googleartproject.com/ to check it out! Look after the break for official PR and some videos detailing the project.
Food for thought: Libraries are dead because of the digitization of books; with instant access to high definition galleries are museums on their way out now as well?
[Via GoogleBlog] Continue reading Google Art Project brings galleries from around the world to your computer screen
Motorola takes a bite into Apple with “Goodbye 1984″ advert
Here’s a sneak peek at Motorola’s flashy Super Bowl ad. The Motorola Xoom tablet was teased last month and detailed at CES, so now it’s time to build hype before its mid-February release. The Honeycomb packin’, dual-core processin’, 4G capable tablet is nearly ready to take on Apple’s iPad. More than that, Moto is going so far to spit on Apple’s “1984” ways (“One authority. One design. One way to work.”) and replace it with ideals including “choice,” “exploration,”and “freedom.” Gone is a world dominated by Apple and their pesky white iPod buds and ready to take over is a red gaseous planet with a giant M emblazoned on it. Tablet competition is about to get fierce.
[Via Engadget]
IntoNow app is Shazam for your TV
Shazam is to music as IntoNow is to television. Get it? Simply hold your compatible device up to your TV and the app will scan the program’s audio to determine what you’re watching. The app can even recognize a show even if it’s airing live for the first time. You’re thinking, how does it work? The embedded “fingerprinting” tech is dubbed SoundPrint and it runs a series of algorithms that can quickly identify a show based on the audio from that program. SoundPrint’s index covers over 140 million minutes of previously aired shows, or 266 years of video. Over 2.6 million airings have been indexed over the past five years and that number is constantly growing.
So the app can tell you what you’re watching, big whoop! The social aspect of IntoNow is what makes it most interesting. In addition to displaying the program being watched, the app will provide all kinds of relevant data about the program including episode and cast information. In turn, this can be shared with your friends over social networks such as Facebook and Twitter (i.e. “Larry is watching “House” can be shared with your friends across networks). What’s more you can create and manage an in-app friends list, see what your friends are watching, receive notifications when your friends are watching the same episode or show as you, and comment on their statuses. The feature list goes on…you also have one-click access to Netflix from the app, so you can add your favorites shows to your Instant Queue right then and there before you forget.
IntoNow is available in the App Store today, it’s free, and it’s compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.
A brand new Angry Birds game based on ‘Rio’ animated flick coming soon [Update: Super Bowl embedded code]
App developer Rovio has teamed up with 20th Century Fox to put together a new Angry Birds game for iOS and Android. Following the original Angry Birds and Seasons games, this new installment is inspired by the upcoming Fox animated feature Rio (watch a trailer for it here). Angry Birds Rio will pack 45 new levels, increased graphics performance, and “a few new twists.” Future updates will add more levels. Look out for the app to hit iOS, Android, and Symbian app stores this March, ahead of Rio‘s April 15 theatrical release.
And if you you didn’t know, Team Rovio is currently developing an animated TV series based on the Angry Birds universe. After watching this trailer for the Rio-inspired game I cannot wait to see what they come up with for the show. Who needs dialogue when you’ve got furious birds yelling and slimy green pigs snorting?
Update: It’s been revealed that during the Super Bowl 20th Century Fox will air a 30-second commercial promoting Rio that features an embedded code, the first of its kind. The secret code will be inserted into a single frame of the ad. When it’s entered into the Angry Birds app a new level will be unlocked and it will enter players into a Rio sweepstakes. Winners will attend the animated flick’s world premiere in Rio de Janeiro on March 22. That also happens to be the day Angry Birds Rio hits the App Store, in case you were wondering.
[Via Nerdist; UnwiredView; Reuters]
SOCOM 4 ships April 19, new multiplayer trailer and game stills enclosed
Fans of the beloved PlayStation franchise SOCOM, listen here! Developer Zipper Interactive announced a release date for the latest installment. SOCOM 4 hits shelves April 19 exclusively for the PlayStation 3. As promised the game will boast multiplayer support we’ve come to know and love, as well as a significantly enhanced single player campaign. As I’ve shared with you before, all SOCOM games following PS2’s SOCOM II never sat well with me. Thankfully, Zipper promises that they’re going back to their roots with SOCOM 4, eliminating all of the fluff and nixing all the problems of past iterations (namely SOCOM 3, Combined Assault, and Confrontation; online lag issues and weak (and sometimes totally absent) single player modes plagued these titles). After previewing SOCOM 4 at E3 2010 I am happy to report that the updated graphics are stunning and at the same time the title manages to capture the classic feel I last experienced playing the 2003 sequel. Add in the PlayStation Move support, and you’ve got a PS3 shooter that deserves wild anticipation.
Preorder SOCOM 4 at GameStop. Why? Because you’ll receive a GameStop exclusive map. “Abandoned” is a modern take on SOCOM & SOCOM II’s “Suppression” map and it’s being described like this: “Abandoned takes place in the daytime around an ancient Thai village deep in the misty jungle. Fight your way over dense hillsides, through dark caves, and into the close-quarters mayhem of the archeological site. Classic SOCOM heritage meets evolved SOCOM 4 action.” That’s what I like to hear. You’ll also receive a weapon, the Super M90 Shotgun. Whether you purchase the game online or pick it up in-store, you will be given instructions and a code to download the exclusive map and weapon when you load the game. Want to get in on the action early? For a limited time new copies of Killzone 3 (which releases February 22) will include an access code to the SOCOM 4 multiplayer beta. Specially marked cases for the Killzone 3 standalone and Helghast editions are your ticket into the beta, so keep an eye out of them. Zipper has not announced when they will turn the beta on.
According to a Zipper rep, “the good news is that this is just the beginning of an upcoming flood of SOCOM goodness.” So stick it right here for the latest news in SOCOM 4 single and mulitplayer news. For now, check out the brand new multiplayer trailer (embedded after the break) called “Not For Self” and look in the gallery below for game stills. And that’s some slick box art up there, huh?
[Via PlayStationBlog; Socom]
Continue reading SOCOM 4 ships April 19, new multiplayer trailer and game stills enclosed
Sony unveils the PSP successor, brings PS games to Android devices with PlayStation Suite
Today Sony hosted PlayStation Meeting 2011 in Japan, and there they announced the successor to the PSP (codenamed NGP) and provided details on how they plan to expand the PlayStation brand to Android devices.
Let’s start with what you’ve been waiting oh-so-long for. The oft-rumored PSP2 has finally been unveiled. But don’t call it that; Sony has branded the new device “Next Generation Portable” or NGP for short. Though at first glance the NGP aesthetically appears similar to its predecessor, additional control options and the spec sheet will blow your mind. The NGP packs a 5-inch 960×544 OLED capacitive multitouch display (OLED screen technology allows for great viewing angles, and the screen resolution is 4x greater than the PSP’s), a powerful quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor, a quad-core Imagination Technologies PowerVR SGX543MP4+ GPU, dual analog sticks (as opposed to the PSP’s single analog nub), front and rear-facing cameras, built-in GPS, WiFi, 3G, Bluetooth, microphone, stereo speakers, the same Six-axis motion sensing system that’s featured in the PlayStation Move controller (three-axis gyroscope, three-axis accelerometer), and there’s a three-axis electronic compass. Buttons-wise, you’ll find the usual suspects: the D-Pad, action buttons (triangle, circle, cross, square), left and right shoulder buttons, start, select, volume, power and PS buttons. And I’ve managed to save the coolest new input implementation for last. The NGP packs a rear-mounted multitouch pad; it’s the same size as the front-facing OLED display, so the location of your finger is mapped directly to the game screen. This new kind of input allows for “touch, grab, trace, push and pull” finger gestures and will open up a whole new world of gaming opportunities for developers. All of this is stuffed inside a “Super Oval Design” form factor that is, again, similar to the PSP (there is no slide-up mechanism as featured in the PSP Go). Continue reading Sony unveils the PSP successor, brings PS games to Android devices with PlayStation Suite
Kid Cudi joins Twitter (again), says new mixtape coming this summer
In December 2009, shortly after Kid Cudi dropped his debut album Man on the Moon: The End of Day, he stated, “I will never get back on Twitter or Facebook. I’m getting my blog back together and that will be the only way to stay connected with me.” So much for that. Today Cudder joined Twitter again, and you can follow him @wizardcud. Why the change of heart? “i really only got back on twitter becuz i heard will smith tweeted about a fresh prince reunion and i wanted to post my response to that…” he joked. Only hours after reintroducing himself (“yes, its true. its me, the real wizard”), Cudi dropped an explosion of headlines.
First he announced that his upcoming rock-themed album Wizard is expected to release this summer. Cudi will serve as producer and he says every track will feature his guitar talents, while collaborator Dot Da Genius is currently learning the bass. He also spilled that the long lost “Dose of Dopeness” will be a bonus track on the album. He describes Wizard in a tweet: “Wizard is a rock album, no raps, just singing. brand new thing. flavor.”
What else, what else. He mentions the “Maniac” music video/short film is still under construction; Cudder, Cage, and video director Shia LaBeouf are holding back on dropping it until “everything [is] just right…i need the proper time for scoring…the edit must be epic.”
Last, Cudi drops this exciting bombshell: he’s releasing a brand new mixtape this summer called A Man Named Scott, the followup to 2008’s A Kid Named Cudi. Of the mixtape he says, “for all those who fucks with my raps, this is for u since ima be all rocked out with the wizard shit. also its free! yes!” In other words, since Wizard is going to be all about Cudder crooning, he wants to hold over his rap fans with the mixtape until the true successor of Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager releases presumably later this year.
He concluded all these hot tweets with this: “man im really happy to FINALLY get all that good news out there. more to come, not even close.” And the man’s not lying; in between all this news he revealed that he’s been working with Kanye West and Jay-Z, almost definitely on their collab album Watch the Throne so you can expect a Cudi feature there. He also shared that HBO’s How To Make It In America starts filming its second season in March and he’s excited to reprise his true-to-life character Domingo Dean.
[Via @wizardcud]