Monthly Archives: January 2016
X-Men Filmmakers Explain Apocalypse and His Powers
With X-Men: Apocalypse hitting this May, fans have been curious about just how the iconic titular villain will be translated to film. Magneto is essentially Malcolm X for mutants with the power to control metal. Easy, right? Apocalypse, on the other hand, is an ancient Egyptian obsessed with Darwinism who modified his body with alien technology and can do, well, just about everything. Seriously, he can grow to the size of a giant and turn his hands into buzzsaws, plus he has all manner of energy-manipulation and psionic abilities. And you don't even want to know about the time he lived inside Cyclops’s mind.
Chris Rock Will Still Host Oscars
Despite the considerable amount of backlash the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has received over the lack of diversity among this year's Oscar nominees, Chris Rock will still host the 88th Academy Awards.
Rock was being pressured to back out of hosting the show, but Academy Awards producer Reginald Hudlin told Entertainment Tonight (via Variety) that he will indeed be hosting. In fact, he'll be addressing the #OscarsSoWhite situation during his opening monologue.
Google Will Pay Around $185 Million in Back-Taxes to the UK
Google has allegedly been using strategic accounting methods to skip out on taxes in the UK. Bloomberg Business reports Google's parent company, Alphabet Inc., will pay £130 million, or roughly $185 million USD in back-taxes to the country.
Making over $18 billion in revenue from 2006 to 2011, the tech giant paid just $16 million in "UK corporation tax." Along with the settlement, Google will change its approach to UK taxes, now paying tax on "revenue from UK-based advertisers, which reflects the size and scope" of its business in the UK, according to a statement made by the company.
343 Launches Community Breakout Forge Playlist for Halo 5
343 Industries has launched Halo 5: Guardians' first community Forge playlist. Aiming to highlight the best Forge maps, it's the first of many new playlists to come.
The community Breakout playlist is a curation of the game's top player-made Breakout maps, though the company does hint that other game types—like "competitive 4v4 to Big Team Battle to wacky mini-games and Action Sack"—could have community playlists of their own one day.
Ten of the community's favorite Breakout maps are being thrown into the new playlist, and once the season is over, players will be able to vote on their top choices. Once the best are chosen, they'll be added into the February 2016 Breakout playlist with "the previous on-disc maps."
FOX Orders TV Pilot for The Exorcist
A pilot for a one-hour drama series of The Exorcist has been ordered by FOX.
According to TheWrap, this new series will serve as a "reinvention" of William Peter Blatty's 1971 novel and tell the story of two men who work to resolve a demonic possession.
Blatty's original book centered around two priests who perform an exorcism on a 12-year-old girl. The novel was adapted to film two years later in 1973 by director William Friedkin.
In addition to writing the pilot for FOX's new drama series, Jeremy Slater will executive produce alongside David Robinson, James Robinson and Barbara Wall.
Top 12 X-Files Standalone Episodes
It's been 25 years and the truth is still freakin' out there, people.
With The X-Files celebrating its 25th anniversary today, what better time to dust off, and shine up, our picks for the greatest standalone episodes from the show ever? That's right, these are episodes that don't involve the over-arching alien mythology. They're most commonly categorized as being "Monster of the Week" chapters, which in X-Files' case often led to some of their best and most creative episodes.
But why a top 12? Simple: When we first created this list based on the original run of the show, it was a top 10. But since then we got two more modern seasons of The X-Files, and we just had to add two more of our favorites. So let's get into the Top 12!
Why Magneto Decides to Serve Apocalypse
May’s X-Men: Apocalypse is bringing a slew of new things -- new mutants, fresh faces of beloved characters, and a big, blue baddie -- but one of the more shocking new things is the status quo of Magneto, played by Michael Fassbender for what will be the third time. Apocalypse recruits four powerful Horsemen to do his bidding, and this movie will see Magneto, who has always been a leader (or a lone wolf James Bond-esque Nazi killer), serve under him.
Labyrinth Reboot Now in Development
The previously announced reboot to David Bowie's 1986 classic Labyrinth is now in development at TriStar Pictures.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the studio finalized a deal with The Jim Henson Company and hired Nicole Perlman, the co-writer on Guardians of the Galaxy, to pen the script. In addition to TriStar's reboot, Perlman and co-writer Meg LeFauve are scripting Captain Marvel.
The Jim Henson Company announced plans to make a new Labyrinth movie back in 2014, at which point it was believed to be a sequel. However, THR's report says it's currently unknown whether or not it will indeed be a followup to the 1986 classic or a reimagining instead.
Deadpool Reportedly Tracking to Open in $55 Million Range
According to analysts, Ryan Reynolds' long-gestating Deadpool movie is estimated to make around $55 million when it finally debuts on February 12.
The news comes courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter whose sources say the character's first solo outing is polling strongly with both male and female moviegoers. In particular, it is the first choice among women despite premiering over a weekend more associated with romance than bloody, foul-mouthed vengeance.
Deadpool will be premiering against the long-awaited Ben Stiller comedy Zoolander 2 and How to Be Single which features Rebel Wilson, Alison Brie, Leslie Mann, and 50 Shades of Gray's Dakota Johnson presumably learning how to be single.
Walking Dead Stars are Bruce’s Parents in Batman v Superman
Walking Dead star Lauren Cohan will have a small role in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Cohan—who stars as Maggie Greene on the AMC show—will play Martha Wayne, a source told Entertainment Weekly. The Walking Dead's Jeffrey Dean Morgan will play Thomas Wayne.
Director Zack Snyder hasn't discussed Batman's origin story, but this casting shows that'll have at least some impact on the film. As told in the comics, Bruce Wayne's parents are killed by a Gotham criminal when Wayne still a young boy—a moment that plays heavily in the beginnings of Batman.