Blog Archives
May The Force Be With Him: David Ward On JJ Abrams and Star Wars
A few months ago, we were all hit with the news that Disney had acquired Lucasfilm for a staggering $4.05 billion, which, in an unbelievable act of altruism, George Lucas will be donating to charity. While jokes and memes hit the Internet within minutes of the announcement, as well as superficial complaints, it quickly became apparent that this acquisition was likely going to be a good thing. Yes, while Disney is responsible for a colossal amount of trite and repulsive shorts, films, and merchandise, it is also the owner of Pixar, Marvel Entertainment, and The Jim Henson Workshop. None of these staples of modern pop culture suffered from the change in ownership; in all cases, its creators kept total control of their visions and properties and made, arguably, the best feature films any company had ever produced after the change.
And then, the news yesterday: 2015 will bring us Star Wars VII directed by JJ Abrams, which is possibly the biggest and most exciting bit of Geek News to hit the Internet since the announcement that Joss Whedon was handling Marvel’s The Avengers. I, for one, welcome our new Jedi Master.
Watch With Amanda: See The First 5 Minutes of AHS and other TV News & Gossip
FX has released the first five minutes of American Horror Story: Asylum and it doesn’t disappoint. The season premiere opens with horny newlyweds Jenna Dewan and Adam Levine wandering around the abandoned asylum featured in this new installment and giving us a bit of a backstory about the building. Viewers will also get a change to “meet” this season’s creepy villain: Bloody Face. Watch the first five minutes of Asylum below (WARNING! It’s explicit, bloody, freaky and not the safest for work viewing). Hit the comments to tell us what you think!
Fall TV Preview: The Revolution
Each week we will previewing new shows being added to the Fall TV Line-up. These recaps should help you decide what’s worth adding to your viewing schedule and what you should skip. This week introduces us to NBC’s The Revolution starring Billy Burke (Twilight), Elizabeth Mitchell (Lost), and Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad). The series is executive-produced by J.J. Abrams (Lost), Jon Favreau (Iron Man), Eric Kripke (Supernatural) and Bryan Burk (Fringe); Favreau directed the Kripke-penned pilot. To start off, have a look at the trailer for the new series and then read on after the jump for a full synopsis:
Mat Langford’s Gaming World – The Worst Movie Tie-In Video Games
After writing my piece last week, I got to thinking about how awfully bad some of the movie/TV-tie-in games are.
The main problem with the majority of these games is that they’re usually just a cash grab, quickly developed and produced to launch with some of the biggest blockbuster films or newest TV trends. While it’s worked in some cases (see: Spider Man 2 or GoldenEye 007), it usually results in an extremely poor experience, as well as a severe case of gamer regret after dropping the money on the hefty price tag usually associated with these games (though now, every gamer should know to read reviews of these tie-in games before buying them…just saying).
So, without further adieu – and in no specific order – here is my list of the worst movie tie-in games ever…after the jump.
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Fall TV Preview: 666 Park Avenue
Each week we will previewing new shows being added to the Fall TV Line-up. These recaps should help you decide what’s worth adding to your viewing schedule and what you should skip. First up is 666 Park Avenue starring Terry O’Quinn (Lost) and Vanessa Williams (Desperate Housewives). To start off, have a look at the trailer for the new series and then read on after the jump for a full synopsis:
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Exclusive Interview: Matt Kindt On The Mind, The Artistic Process And His New Monthly Series, MIND MGMT
Last month, the first issue of MIND MGMT, Matt Kindt’s new monthly series published by Dark Horse Comics, hit comic book store shelves with high praise. Of course, it also made our weekly Wednesday Run column! Those with great expectations surrounding the series were not left disappointed.
In MIND MGMT, Matt Kindt, acclaimed artist and author of Revolver, 3 Story: The Secret History of the Giant Man and Super Spy, weaves a blend of sci-fi, speculative fiction and government conspiracy story, that is both action-packed and engrossing. Multiple (and absolutely fun and rewarding!) readings of each issue seem to be the order of the day. He spoke with JP Fallavollita via email about the series, its’ beginnings, his creative process, and the pleasures of monthly comic book storytelling.
JP Fallavollita: Congratulations on a thrilling first issue, Matt! MIND MGMT immediately evokes many different aspects of pop culture and speculative fiction: the stories of Philip K. Dick, the television show Lost and late-night conspiracy radio shows spring to <a-hem> mind. And it’s got a government black-ops twist, of course! What can you tell us about the genesis of the series?
Matt Kindt: It started with the title – I loved those words together – and then started to build something around it. It really just seemed to suggest itself. And I liked the idea of revisiting a sort of “Super Spy” world but in the present day (most of the time) and adding an extra crazy element that I haven’t really played with before with the sort-of-sci-fi mind powers.
Then it’s just a matter of thinking of what kind of people would be in this organization and what would it be like for them? The scenarios and stories then just sort of suggested themselves as well.
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Watch With Amanda: Private Practice & SOA Casting News, New trailers for True Blood & Dexter
Tim Daly who plays Pete Wilder on Private Practice announced on Tuesday that Shonda Rhimes has not picked up his contract option for the ABC drama’s upcoming sixth (and likely final) season. In a post on his twitter page Daly explained, “Wonderful fans of PPP. Shonda informed my agent today that Pete wont be returning for season 6. It was a great 5 yrs. R.I.P. Pete Wilder.” I guess it’s not too much of a shocker. In the season finale, Pete was jailed for compassionately ending the life of a patient kept alive by machines. Personally I would’ve much rather seen Violet go. What do you Private Practice fans think about this?
MIND MGMT Is On The Mind (Again) On The Wednesday Run – May 23, 2012
Last week I told you to stay at home and not make the Wednesday run to your local comic book shop – crazy head games, huh?!? Instead, I said that all you had to do was hit the internet superhighway and make your way to Dark Horse Digital and pick up the free online prequel comic book, MIND MGMT: Secret Files #’s 1-3.
Well today, get on your horse and visit your bricks and mortar comic book shop because the highly anticipated first hardcopy issue of the new MIND MGMT monthly series is waiting for eager hands to thumb through. You know, old school style!
There are actually a number of interesting comics out this week. Marvel Comics has Astonishing X-Men #50 wherein Canadian Alpha Flight hero, Northstar, proposes to his beau, Kyle. DC Comics publishes the first issue return of Grant Morrison’s Batman Incorporated #1 as well as the Absolute version of Batman: Dark Victory. Speaking of dark, Dark Horse Comics has the return of Dean Motter’s beloved Mister X in the pages of Dark Horse Presents #12. But it’s MIND MGMT, also published by Dark Horse that’s got hold of my <a-hem> mind.
