It's been a trend recently with huge blockbusters to proliferate the internet with set photos during production. Suicide Squad has proven to be the leakiest set of all time with spy photos coming from the set almost daily. In the story of the new Ghostbusters movie it has been director Paul Feig's decision to control and decide what photos get out to the public. As one of the biggest Ghostbusters fans everything that I've see has been amazing. The heart and soul of the original is alive and well on the new set. Inevitably there has been a lot of hate directed toward the new project and toward Paul Feig because change is always feared. So let's take a look at all the photos that have been released and also at a couple tweets showing how Feig is handling the negativity.
Up close shot of Melissa and Kate on set. Melissa just farted and Kate loves it.
Kristen Wiig is shocked as one man forcefully gives another zerberts.
Kristen eyeing the food truck for lunch.
The Boston Herald recently got their hands on the alleged plot synopsis for the movie. It seems rough but I can definitely see it making it on-screen, here it is:
"Wiig and McCarthy play a pair of unheralded authors who write a book positing that ghosts are real. Flash forward a few years and Wiig lands a prestigious teaching position at Columbia U. Which is pretty sweet, until her book resurfaces and she is laughed out of academia. Wiig reunites with McCarthy and the other two proton pack-packing phantom wranglers, and she gets some sweet revenge when ghosts invade Manhattan and she and her team have to save the world."
The new ghost busting uniforms. Bustin' makes me feel good.
Melissa letting another fart out of her uniform hoping no one notices.
All four new Ghostbusters, now with more Leslie Jones!
Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!
The new Ecto 1. Funeral home approved!
Ecto 1's belfie.
New proton packs. Can strain pasta in a pinch.
Shot of the new Ghostbusters headquarters. They are obviously going to have to deal with a rat problem.
Ghostbusters X-treme?
Paul Feig confirming that the cast will be getting covered in spectral fluids.
Yes, Feig can see all your stupid ass troll tweets...
...and he doesn't give a f@#$!
Ghostbustsers comes out on July 22, 2016. I have a very strong feeling we will get our first trailer when the Goosebumps movie releases in October, it just makes sense (both are Sony movies). Keep checking back because when that releases we will have a trailer breakdown.
Its been almost 5 years now since the last Guitar Hero game has come out. The market at that time was massively proliferated with music games, like Rock Band, that not only did what Guitar Hero did but did it better or changed up the game entirely. Because of the enormous selection and the almost annual release of these games customer interest wore thin and the war that was Guitar Hero vs Rock Band died.
Jump to 2015 and the war has started up again. Time has passed and now the demand for another music focused game has swelled. Now both Rock Band 4 and Guitar Hero Live have been announced. Not a lot of information has been released regarding Rock Band 4 but Activision has come out of the gate swinging with copious details about what Guitar Hero Live is and why you'll want to play it.
Change is a big reason why gamers always came back to music games. Whether it was to play a new song from a band you really love or to try out a new instrument or controller that came out for the game. The new Guitar Hero has changed a few things up and I think they are for the better. The biggest change by far is the new guitar controller. Instead of having the five key in-line fret buttons they have switched it up to two rows of three keys stacked on top of each other at the top of the fret. Fans of Guitar Hero are now going to have to completely re-learn how to play the game. It sounds bad but it's actually not. I remember picking up Guitar Hero for the first time when it came to PS2 and playing it for hours on end learning all the songs. That was part of what made the Guitar Hero experience so awesome was learning how to play and now we'll get to do that all over again.
The other huge thing that the game is doing differently is completely ditching the cartoonish look of the previous games. Instead it will be trying to do as the title implies and make you feel like you are actually live on stage with a real band. That includes a new first person perspective from the point of view of the band's lead guitarist. What you are looking at in-game is actual live footage as well. Activision painstakingly shot hours of footage of not only the bands playing but the audience members as well. They will react dynamically as well to how you are playing. Miss a lot of notes in a row and they will start booing and yelling but get back on a roll and they will start cheering and yelling "I love you!" It isn't really any different than the concepts of previous games it's the fact that they are actual people that makes it so much more immersive. Just check out the new trailer below and you'll know.
Guitar Hero Live is aiming for a fall 2015 release. Hit up the comments with what songs you want to be in the game.
4 Big Reasons Spielberg Is Best For Ready Player One
Not long ago we were talking about a completely different high profile director to helm the 80s reference heavy movie Ready Player One. Not everyone was 100% on board with Christopher Nolan bringing the book by Ernest Cline to life on the screen. With the official announcement that it will be Stephen Spielberg in the director chair there are several reasons why this is a good thing if you are a fan of the book.
4.) He Is Working With A Powerful Script
Screenwriter Zak Penn
Author Ernest Cline
Zak Penn (Incredible Hulk, Avengers) has been collaborating for some time now with the Ready Player One writer Earnest Cline on this script and actually quite successfully. So successfully in fact the two decided to create an episode that went on the documentary series Signal to Noise. The episode was titled Atari: Game Over in which Cline and Penn explored their shared admiration for everything retro and gaming. They were the story behind the great treasure hunt that was the Atari landfill dig. Being such a labor of love for them with this screenplay Spielberg will have an easier time creating the amazing world that is the Oasis.
3.) He Has Always Been Cutting Edge
On Set Of Jaws
With a bulk of this story taking place in a virtual world the possibilities are endless as far as what style and technology he will use to create this movie. Going all they way back to Jaws in 1975 Spielberg has always been on the cutting edge of what technology can do and create on the big screen. He put an animitronic shark on screen and was able to sell it as real to a mass audience, something that just wasn't happening at the time. Sure there were movies like The Dark Crystal but nothing that was trying to imitate real life to the degree that Bruce did (Bruce is what the production team named the shark). As technology advanced Spielberg worked it into his movies. Jurassic Park, which won an Academy Award for visual effects in 1994, was another example of a leap in movie technology spearheaded by Spielberg. It will be very interesting to see what the next step in cinema technology is according to Spielberg.
2.) He Can Get The Rights
Pop-Culture Explosion
One of the biggest concerns fans have with turning the book into a film is all the pop culture references and whether or not Warner Brothers will be able to legally put them in the movie. If it isn't possible it will be incredibly difficult to accurately create the movie given it relies so heavily on those references. Lord of the Rings, Dune, The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Ghostbusters, Space Invaders, Atari, Dungeons and Dragons, Robotron, Star Wars, Swordquest Series, Back to the Future, and the list goes on and on and on. This being a movie adaptation he isn't going to be able to cram all of the awesomeness of the book but I really think he can get the core of what the book is onscreen. As a bonus he bring with him the rights to all of his movies which are referenced in the book as well (Goonies especially).
1.) He Attracts Big Names
Now that Spielberg is attached to this movie Hollywood's biggest and brightest stars will be clamoring to audition for a role. No names have been officially attached but I'm going to go ahead and create my dream-team for these iconic roles.
Wade (Parzival)
Nicholas Hoult
Samantha (Art3mis)
Ellen Page
Aech
Dylan O’Brien
Helen Harris
Gabourey Sidibe
James Halliday
James Urbaniak
Ogden Morrow
Jeff Bridges
Nolan Sorrento
Kevin Spacey
Daito
Ki Hong Lee
Shoto
Ryan Potter
What's you dream cast for the movie? Sound out in the comments! If you haven't read the book check it out over here. We kinda gave it the #1 Book For Geeks Award. Ernest Cline also has another book coming out that you can check out over here.
Powers: PlayStation's First TV Show
Every major media group not associated with cable TV is developing and releasing its own series. Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO GO, Hulu, and now PlayStation. Powers is a show based on the comic book series created by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming. They are also producing the show which is a police procedural about two homicide detectives with the Powers Division. In the world of Powers superheroes are real and some are good and some are psychopathic murderers. That's where detectives Christian Walker and Deena Pilgrim show up at the crime scene and do what they do best.
Christian Walker is played by Sharlto Copley who is best know for starring in all of the Neill Blomkamp movies (District 9, Elysium, and Chappie) as well as Disney's Maleficent. Also of note on the cast is stand-up comic genius Eddie Izzard. Playing some very serious roles lately (including a brief stint on the show Hannibal) he plays the biggest of all evil psychopaths, Wolfe who devours others in the most bloody and disgusting ways.
I had a chance to watch the show and I thought it was amazing. Bendis has an ability to create characters who feel real and grounded even when they are flying around the screen or web-slinging on page (he is most know for penning Ultimate Spider-Man). That comic translates perfectly into television form. The budget here seems substantial as well. Although most of the superhero action is seen form a distance the story stays grounded with how having superheroes around effects society as a whole. It takes the police procedural formula, which has been repeated time and time again on TV, and adds superpowers into the mix. I highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys shows like Heroes or NCIS.
The first three episodes in the series can now be seen on your PlayStation device (Vita, PS3, and PS4) if you are a PlayStation Plus member. You can also watch it online (here) but it still requires you to have a PlayStation Plus membership. With a 12 month membership setting you back $49.99 that's still a lot cheaper than Netflix. Hopefully Sony takes the same route as all the other big-name content providers and continues to put out great shows like Powers.
Top Ten Comic Events Of All Time
On the eve of Marvel's Secret Wars (actually comes out in May 2015) I have been thinking a lot about all of my favorite comic events. Events in comic books are a really big deal. They are a way to bring together characters and universes that might never have been caught dead in the same room together, then mash them up and stir them around, and then post-event they have a truck load of new content to jump off of. The actions taken in the event will often shape the things to come for that entire universe. Here are the Top Ten Comic Events Of All Time:
"Bane, the primary villain of the storyline, is introduced in Vengeance of Bane, and the vigilante Azrael is introduced in Sword of Azrael. Knightfall is divided into two parts. In The Broken Bat, Bane defeats Batman by breaking his spine. This requires Azrael to become the new Batman, and defeat Bane in Who Rules the Night?. Knightquest is also divided into two parts. In The Crusade, Azrael's Batman grows more violent and crazy, while in The Search, Bruce Wayne seeks a cure for his paralysis. In KnightsEnd, Bruce Wayne returns and takes his mantle as Batman back from the usurper Azrael." -(Source)
"Sinestro, former Green Lantern and foe of Hal Jordan, has begun the creation of his own lantern corps following his defeat in Green Lantern: Rebirth. After much time gathering ring-bearers who will "inspire fear" in their sectors, Sinestro and the Yellow Lanterns attack the Green Lantern Corps, killing many, freeing Superboy Prime, Cyborg Superman, and capturing Kyle Rayner, infecting him with Parallax. With their combined power, along with that of the newly resurrected Anti-Monitor, the Sinestro Corps seeks to destroy the Green Lantern Corps and conquer the universe.
The Guardians, in an attempt to even the odds in the ongoing struggle between the two corps, authorize the use of lethal force for Green Lanterns. With their full potential now realized, the Green Lantern Corps takes the fight to the Sinestro Corps, but it is revealed that the Sinestro Corps is attacking Earth. As Hal frees Kyle from the clutch of Parallax, Sodam Yat is appointed the new Ion. With the combined efforts of the Green Lanterns, Ion, and the heroes of Earth, the Sinestro Corps is defeated and Earth is saved once more. But the War of Light has begun..." -(Source)
"Flashpoint picks up right after Professor Zoom unleashes a giant, reality altering blast of built up Speed Force energy that changes the time line completely. Barry Allen wakes up to find everything about his life different, his mother is alive, he isn't married to his wife, he isn't the Flash, and that's just the beginning of his problems. Wonder Woman and the Amazons are at war with Aquaman and the Atlanteans, Cyborg is the United States greatest hero, Superman is nowhere to be found and the world is at the brink of war. Knowing this reality is not his own, Barry Allen seeks out the help of the only man who may be able to help him figure out what happened.... Batman. But the Batman he finds is not who he expects..." -(Source)
"While DC had used the weekly format before, (most notably with Action Comics in April 1988), 52 was their first attempt to launch a new title as a weekly. Set in the time between the end of "Infinite Crisis" and the "One Year Later" story lines, 52 dealt with the events of the missing year - a year without Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, The title was masterminded by writers Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka and Mark Waid, with Keith Giffen producing art breakdowns. Its weekly publication meant several artists had to handle the art, starting with Joe Bennett on the first four issues. A massive saga, spanning the whole DC Universe (and beyond), 52 introduced several new heroes and villains, including a new Question and Batwoman, before the big reveal of a new multiversse of fifty two realities, each containing an alternate Earth.
The story had a huge impact on the DC Universe, affecting everything from Black Adam's World War III spin off, to Booster Gold's post - 52 reality - spanning adventures. It also led into countdown to final crisis and left the DC Universe a dramatically different place." -(Source)
"Mistress Death believed that there was a cosmic imbalance in the universe - that there were more living than there were dead. As a result, Death resurrects her loyal servant Thanos, who is appointed the task of killing off half of the population of the universe. Not only is Thanos' power augmented by Death, he is granted access to the Infinity Well, where he realizes the power of the Infinity Gems. After much plotting and scheming, Thanos wrestles the gems from their owners and gains mastery over Power, Mind, Space, Reality, Time, and the Soul." -(Source)
"After the super-villain Nitro sets off an explosion in Stamford, CT, killing the New Warriors and hundreds of innocents, the American Government, blaming the super-hero community for these deaths, enforces a Super-Human Registration Act that forces super-heroes to reveal their secret identities and work for the government, labeled as weapons of mass destruction. This doesn't sit well with some heroes and the Super-Hero community is divides into sides: Iron Man's Pro-Registration Act team enforced by S.H.I.E.L.D. and its new director Maria Hill, and Captain America's Anti-Registration Act team called the Secret Avengers. This separation causes a super-human Civil War that pits the two teams against each other physically and morally.
The Civil War has many consequences including the separation of the Avengers and the Fantastic Four, the revelation of Spider-Man's secret identity to the world, the departure of the Thing to France, the death of Goliath and finally the death of Captain America himself at the end of the War." -(Source)
"X-men invited to Avengers Tower to discuss the fate of Wanda Maximoff. There's a lot of discussion to whether or not to kill someone whose effectively a god while she's down. Pietro seeks his father, Magneto kidnaps Wanda and Wanda uses her magic to create an ideal world for everyone...except it backfires for a lot of people.
Captain America was a great American Hero but forgotten when he wouldn't compromise his ideals for humanity or later mutant kind. Mutants are ascendant rulers of the world but it's a lie since most people were made mutants by Wanda's magic. Spiderman is married to Gwen Stacy and a pro-wrestler with Uncle Ben still alive but only pretending to be a mutant. Tony Stark is the richest man on Earth....but part of a hated underclass. Scott is married to Emma. Luke Cage is a Crime Lord who nevertheless protects the "little guy" while Falcon is a Police officer who never screwed up his life. Sentry is a normal human being. Doctor Strange is a psychologist (i.e. actually helping people) but otherwise no magic. Wolverine is a SHIELD agent...but he remembers EVERYTHING so he knows the truth. Oh yes and Hawkeyes' alive.
Wolverine hunts allies and after a false start with Professor Xavier finds Luke Cages boys and eventually convinces them their right. They gradually assemble their team for assaulting Magneto and do so. Apparently, telepathy can restore people's memories.
The confrontation is the usual dragged out fight but Magneto basically does something that ROYALLY cheeses Wanda off and convinces her that Magneto cares more about Mutantkind than his own family (more or less true). Wanda thus says "NO MORE MUTANTS!"
Doctor Strange casts a spell to prevent this from happening but it only affects the team in the immediate vicinity." -(Source)
"What happens when evil wins? That's the question Superman, Batman, the Justice League and every being in the DCU have to face when Darkseid and his otherworldly legion of narcissistic followers actually win the war between light and dark. Featuring the deaths and resurrections of major DC characters, FINAL CRISIS is more than your average multi-part event - it's a deconstruction of Super Hero comics and a challenging, thought-provoking take on the modern, four-color icons.." -(Source)
"Marvel's greatest heroes and villains have been brought to a mysterious planet with unlimited power promised to those who can defeat their foes! See Spider-Man, the Avengers, the X-Men and the Fantastic Four battle Doctor Doom, Ultron, Doctor Octopus and more in this classic saga!" -(Source)
"This is the story that changed the DC Universe forever. A mysterious being known as the Anti-Monitor has begun a crusade across time to bring about the end of all existence. As alternate earths are systematically destroyed, the Monitor quickly assembles a team of super-heroes from across time and space to battle his counterpart and stop the destruction. DC's greatest heroes including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Aquaman, assemble to stop the menace, but as they watch both the Flash and Supergirl die in battle, they begin to wonder if even all of the heroes in the world can stop this destructive force." -(Source)
So that is my list in all of its glory. What does your list of best comic events look like? Sound off in the comments!
Net Neutrality has evolved over the years and has come to define a couple different things relating to the global system of interconnected networks that we call the internet. As of right now it stands for a principle that believes that all Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and governments should consider all data on the internet equal. ISPs have been hatching incredibly evil plans in their lairs of doom that essentially create fast lanes for internet sites that pay a fee to have their sites run smoother and faster. If they don’t pay up they would throttle that site sending it into a crawl with maximum amounts of those loading icons that we all love so much. Along with that they wanted to put individual sites into those stupid bundles that they are so obsessed with.
Just look at this bullshit!
This is not in the least bit okay. It would change the face of one of the most important tools that humanity has ever created and essentially make it a cash cow for some of the most despicable companies on the planet (Comcast earned Consumerist’s “Worst Company In America” title for 2014). So the FCC stepped in and in 2010 created regulations that kept the internet neutral. However in early 2014 Verizon challenged those regulations in the U.S. Court of Appeals and they ruled that the FCC does not actually hold the power to create those regulations. The good news that came after all the bad of that ruling was that the FCC could reclassify the internet thereby giving it regulatory powers.
Today a historic vote was tallied by the FCC and in a 3-2 decision the internet was reclassified as a public utility. Here is a run-down of the things now banned because of this reclassification:
"No Blocking: broadband providers may not block access to legal content, applications, services, or non-harmful devices. No Throttling: broadband providers may not impair or degrade lawful Internet traffic on the basis of content, applications, services, or non-harmful devices. No Paid Prioritization: broadband providers may not favor some lawful Internet traffic over other lawful traffic in exchange for consideration — in other words, no 'fast lanes.' This rule also bans ISPs from prioritizing content and services of their affiliates." [source]
Score a win for the little guys. For once. Just in case you haven't watched John Oliver's famous show that detailed Net Neutrality back in June here it is. Oliver was one of the biggest advocators of getting comments into the FCC during their open window. The outpouring of support for Net Nutrality resulted in over 3 million comments made on the FCC's website.
For now the internet will remain an equal playground. An all at once amazing and twisted playground, but equal.
