‘The Walking Dead’ season 5 underaway

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Production on The Walking Dead season 5 is officially underway and here’s a clip to prove it! In it you’ll hear from a number of cast members and show producers.

“It’s the most ambitious first episode I think we’ve attempted,” says Andrew Lincoln aka leader Rick Grimes. Adds Steven Yeun aka Glenn: “It’s a great welcome to the season.”

Lincoln talks about how the upcoming season is about hierarchy. “A lot of people are going to work out where they belong in the group.” That is, if they can find a way out of Train Car A…

The Walking Dead returns this October on AMC. And don’t forget to tune into a Talking Dead special airing Sunday, July 6 at 9PM; host Chris Hardwick, Dead showrunner Scott M. Gimple, and actress Aisha Tyler will discuss what’s in store for season 5.

Bateman, Day & Sudeikis return in ‘Horrible Bosses 2’

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Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, and Jason Sudeikis reunite in Horrible Bosses 2, the sequel to the breakout 2011 comedy. Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey, and Jamie Foxx return and new additions include Chris Pine and Christoph Waltz. The logline goes like this:

Fed up with answering to higher-ups, Nick (Bateman), Dale (Day) and Kurt (Sudeikis) decide to become their own bosses by launching their own business in “Horrible Bosses 2.” But a slick investor soon pulls the rug out from under them. Outplayed and desperate, and with no legal recourse, the three would-be entrepreneurs hatch a misguided plan to kidnap the investor’s adult son and ransom him to regain control of their company. 

This is merely a teaser trailer but it hits all the right notes. Sean Anders (That’s My Boy, Sex Drive) directs and co-wrote the script with John Morris (We’re The Millers, She’s Out of My League). Out November 26.

‘Breaking Bad’ spinoff ‘Better Call Saul’ coming in 2015, renewed for season 2, may incorporate ‘Bad’ favorites

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Better Call Saul is coming soon and here’s your first look at the Breaking Bad prequel series starring Bob Odenkirk as the scheming lawyer Saul Goodman. Standing to his right are executive producer Peter Gould (a former Bad exec producer and the inventor of the Saul character) and Bad mastermind Vince Gilligan (who will serve as co-showrunner on Saul alongside Gould and direct the series pilot).

Some new information has surfaced since AMC announced the highly anticipated Breaking Bad spinoff. First of all, the new series was originally intended to premiere this November, but the network decided that more time was needed to prep so now Saul Goodman won’t return to our screens until early 2015. Such news typically stings, but AMC is putting a damper on that by greenlighting a 13-episode second season before the first 10 episodes even launch! That’s right–Bad fans who intend to flock to Saul are already guaranteed a healthy serving of 23 episodes of Gilligan and Gould’s next drama.

Also, there’s this: Jonathan Banks aka Bad‘s dearly departed Mike Ehrmantraut is joining Odenkirk as a series regular! And that’s not all. Gould recently spilled to The New York Daily News that “perhaps some of [Better Call Saul] takes place before Breaking Bad, during Breaking Bad, and after Breaking Bad.” So what does this mean? “That gives us the ability to bring back characters that were killed on Breaking Bad.” Boom. All hail Walter White and his prodigal son Jesse Pinkman?

As exciting as that may sound–Bad favorites, dead or otherwise, returning to the small screen–Gould assures viewers that his new show “stands on it own, is its own story, and is a brand extension” and will not rely on flashy guest spots from Bad alumni. Still, leaving the door open for Mr. White and Jesse “Magnets, Bitch!” Pinkman to return for more mayhem is an exciting proposition to say the least.

AMC president Charlie Collier said the following surrounding the news of Better Call Saul‘s premiere date shift and early season 2 renewal: “Production on Better Call Saul is underway and we could not be more proud of nor more excited about the work to date. We join the fans in eager anticipation for this series and today we happily confirm that our initial Saul order is for two seasons and a total of 23 episodes. When introducing any series, especially one with the DNA of Breaking Bad, there are countless factors to consider in making sure the show gets the launch it deserves. We have a strong history with Vince, Peter, Bob, the studio and so many involved with this production; we are enjoying the process on ‘Saul’ and all share a focus on making it a true television event. No half measures.”

Community revived! Sixth season coming to Yahoo this fall

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Darkest timeline begone! Not even two months after NBC cancelled cult-comedy Community an online suitor–namely, Yahoo–stepped up to the plate to revive it for a 13-episode sixth season. That’s right, Human Beings; we are one step closer to fulfilling our #sixseasonsandamovie destiny.

Everyone is on board for the new season that will debut online at Yahoo Screen this fall; that includes show creator Dan Harmon and executive producers Chris McKenna, Russ Krasnoff, and Gary Foster as well as the cast: Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, Yvette Nicole Brown, Danny Pudi, Alison Brie, Ken Jeong, and the Dean himself Jim Rash. Chevy Chase exited the show prior to season 5, and Donald Glover set sail early last season; Harmon had publicly stated that if a season 6 were to get greenlit he would pursue Glover for a Troy Barnes comeback.

What makes this special announcement even more exciting is that it truly did come down to the wire. After the Peacock network axed it, backing studio Sony Pictures TV almost immediately started shopping it around to various suiters, network, cable and otherwise. Shortly after talks broke down with Hulu last week, hope really began to wane since Sony had until June 30 (today!) to get the series picked up somewhere before cast’s contracts expired. So, in a truly 11th hour decision, Sony sold a sixth season to Yahoo and now you can breath a heavy sigh of relief and allow anticipation to ramp up.

Dan Harmon released the following statement today: I am very pleased that Community will be returning for its predestined sixth season on Yahoo. I look forward to bringing our beloved NBC sitcom to a larger audience by moving it online. I vow to dominate our new competition. Rest easy, Big Bang Theory. Look out, Bang Bus!”

“The fans spoke and we listened. Thanks to Yahoo, and the amazing team that makes Community great, we’ve avoided the Darkest Timeline yet again and plan to deliver a fantastic season,” said Zack Van Amburg, president of programming and production at Sony Pictures TV. Added Jamie Erlicht, president of programming and production: “You can’t get to six seasons and a movie without a 6th season. Yahoo is the perfect home for the continuation of this journey.”

And frontman Joel McHale reminds Community fans that an online-exclusive season might bring a very interesting twist to the sitcom. “The reports of our cancelation have been greatly exaggerated.’ —Mark Twain (The other version of this quote has been wrong for years). # SixSeasonsAndaMovie is real. Thank you Sony. Thank you Yahoo. Thank you Dan Harmon.  And thank you to the greatest f%$#ing fans in the history of the human race. It’s the Internet. We can swear now.”

[Via Yahoo; Deadline; EW]

The Big Three are all about the games at E3 2014

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The 2014 Electronic Entertainment Expo came and went this week and The Big Three–Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo–were all about games, games, and games. The Xbox maker’s show was literally a lineup of upcoming titles for Xbox One. Sony managed to squeeze some hardware and PSN news into theirs but like MSFT they mainly showcased games for PS4. And Nintendo did what they do best: stand out from the pack with a highly entertaining (not live) “digital event” featuring a fun lineup of games starring their famous mascots.

Jump after the break for the full rundown of games unveiled by The Big Three at this year’s E3. Continue reading The Big Three are all about the games at E3 2014 →

Lloyd & Harry return in full form in new ‘Dumber and Dumber To’ trailer

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On Monday night during their guest stint on Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show stars Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels debuted the first official trailer for their upcoming highly anticipated sequel, Dumb and Dumber To. 20 years later Carrey’s Lloyd and Daniels’ Harry still shine here in the first footage from the Farrelly brothers latest comedy. The trailer actually is really, really funny and I’d be surprised if your level of excitement for this long-gestating film doesn’t jump sky high within the first minute of the clip.

The Mutt Cutts van rides again November 14. Watch the trailer after the break. Continue reading Lloyd & Harry return in full form in new ‘Dumber and Dumber To’ trailer →

TV reminder: 6 premieres to look out for in June

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The summer months are upon us and though many of your favorites series are taking a break until September there are quite a few new and returning ones that premiere in June. See what’s coming up and worth checking out after the break! Continue reading TV reminder: 6 premieres to look out for in June →

Upcoming Batman/Superman flick lands a title

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We have a name people. Zack Snyder’s upcoming Man of Steel sequel is now officially called Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. Famous DC characters such as Superman (Henry Cavill), Batman (Ben Affleck), Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg), and Alfred Pennyworth (Jeremy Irons) will be featured in the film that no doubt is laying the groundwork for a future Justice League film that will bring together many DC superheroes and villains much like Marvel’s already done with The Avengers and the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron. Eye the gritty new logo hanging above and start anticipating Dawn of Justice‘s May 6, 2016 release.

Disney & Marvel release teaser for upcoming ‘Big Hero 6’ animated pic

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Disney and Disney-owned Marvel are teaming up for the next Walt Disney Animation Studios film. The next film on Disney animated slate, following Frozen, is Big Hero 6. The movie, inspired by the Marvel comics, goes like this:

“Big Hero 6” is a heartfelt comedy adventure about robotics prodigy Hiro Hamada, who learns to harness his genius—thanks to his brilliant brother Tadashi and their like-minded friends: adrenaline junkie Go Go Tamago, clean freak Wasabi No-Ginger, chemistry whiz Honey Lemon and fanboy Fred. When a devastating turn of events catapults them into the midst of a dangerous plot unfolding in the streets of San Fransokyo, Hiro turns to his closest companion—a cutting-edge robot named Baymax—and transforms the group into a band of high-tech heroes determined to solve the mystery. Inspired by the Marvel comics of the same name, and featuring comic-book style action and all the heart and humor audiences expect from Walt Disney Animation Studios, “Big Hero 6” is directed by Don Hall (“Winnie the Pooh”) and Chris Williams (“Bolt”), and produced by Roy Conli (“Tangled”).

Check out the nearly two-minute teaser trailer above. Though it doesn’t set up the plot, it manages to successfully introduce our main characters in a very fun way. In fact, this teaser reminds me of the initial Frozen teaser which introduced audiences to snowman Olaf and reindeer Sven in a playful way.

Big Hero 6 hits theaters in 3D on November 7, 2014.

Jason Mraz readies fifth studio album ‘YES!’

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I come bearing very exciting news for Jason Mraz fans. The wickedly talented artist also known as Mr. A-Z is releasing his fifth studio album this summer! This will likely come as a surprise to his fanbase because in the past Mraz typically took 3 to 4 years to release new collections of material and it’s only been a little over 2 years since his last major release Love is a Four Letter Word.

Jason’s new album is titled YES! and it’s a very special release because it serves as a collaboration between himself and indie pop-rock-folk all-women band Raining Jane. The Sacramento Bee has the full scoop on the collaboration, but in a nutshell it goes like this:  Raising Jane is a band featuring four talented ladies: Mona Tavakoli on percussion, Mai Bloomfield on guitar and cello, Becky Gebhardt on bass and sitar, and Chaska Potter on guitar, mandolin, ukulele, and glockenspiel. Raining Jane opened for Mraz in 2007 at a show in SoCal and he was immediately impressed by their musicality. They began writing music together that year; they co-wrote a total of 50 songs, 15 were recorded, and 12 in all will be included in YES!. You can preview Raining Jane’s music at their YouTube channel. You may recognize enthusiastic drummer Mona Tavakoli (on Jason’s immediate right in the photo above); she’s toured with Mraz for the last two years. Following the release of YES! Jason and the girls of Raining Jane will go on a brand new tour together.

So what do we know about the new album so far? Jason’s been unveiling details piecemeal on his website; every day something new is unlocked. 5 of 7 locks have been cracked and they’ve included the name of album 5, possibly the album cover featuring five birds in flight, the 14-song track list*, and hand-written lyrics for one of the tracks titled “Love Someone” which may end up being the album’s lead single.

Head over to Jason’s YouTube channel to get a taste of YES! as we wait for the final two locks to open up; perhaps a preview of the single and a firm release date are coming soon.

*According to the SacBee 15 tracks in total were recorded by Jason and Jane; here’s hoping that the missing song not included in the tracklist ends up releasing as a bonus track!

Update: Called it! Jump after the break to hear Jason’s brand new single “Love Someone;” in addition to the standard audio track you’ll also get to experience a live performance of the song performed by Jason and Raining Jane from The Om Studio at Mraz’s very own Organics’ Avocado Ranch. YES!, an album “containing songs about love, friendship, healing, hope, and consciousness” is out July 15. If you preorder the album today at iTunes you’ll receive a new song every Monday leading up to release day. Has anyone coined the term “Mraz Monday” yet? In a blog post Mraz also commented on tour plans: “We’ll be touring across the U.S. later this summer before heading to Europe, Asia, and Australia in the fall and South America in 2015.” Continue reading Jason Mraz readies fifth studio album ‘YES!’ →

Microsoft announces ‘Halo 5: Guardians’ for Xbox One

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On Friday Microsoft announced the next game in the Halo franchise and it’s called Halo 5: Guardians. Despite the subtitle (read: ODST, Reach) and the introduction of a new hero in the game artwork (see above), Guardians is in fact a direct followup to Halo 4 and it is “the next installment in the legendary saga of the Master Chief.” Guardians, from Halo 4 developers 343 Industries, is coming exclusively to Xbox One running at “60 frames per second, on dedicated servers, with the scope, features and scale [Microsoft has] been dreaming of for more than a decade.” The Xbox maker said the following in a press statement regarding the highly anticipated title:

“Halo 5: Guardians” is a bigger effort than “Halo 4.”  That applies to the content and scope of the game, as well as the technology in what’s now a brand new and more powerful engine.  Certainly there are some core elements carried over from prior games, but we’ve invested a huge effort in retooling our tech to take full advantage of the Xbox One’s hardware and ecosystem to create worlds and experiences worthy of next-gen.

For more on Guardians, pop over to Halo Waypoint where you’ll find a blog post written by 343 Industries Franchise Development Director Frank O’Connor and a piece of concept art from the game. Obviously there’s a lot more where this came from and you can expect Microsoft to push next Halo at E3 next month. Rewatch the “Halo on Xbox One” teaser here, for now.

Guardians is slated to release in fall 2015 and in that same year Microsoft will launch the Steven Spielberg produced live-action Halo TV series. It’s being billed as “a series that will stand alone, as well as complement and enrich the game experience.”

[Via Xbox Wire]