Monthly Archives: January 2016
Maz Kanata, BB-8 Score Visual Effects Nominations
Star Wars: The Force Awakens lead the pack of feature film nominees announced today for the Visual Effects Society's 14th Annual VES Awards, with lovable droid BB-8 and Lupita Nyong'o's space pirate Maz Kanata in particular getting singled out.
The VES Awards recognize outstanding visual effects artistry and innovation in film, animation, television, commercials and video games and the VFX supervisors, VFX producers and hands-on artists who bring this work to life.
The Force Awakens scored seven VES nominations in all:
- Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature
- Outstanding Created Environment in a Photoreal Feature -- Falcon Chase/Graveyard
PlayStation Essentials Sale Offers Deep Discounts on P4G, Mass Effect Trilogy, and More
The PlayStation Store's new "Essentials Sale" is offering some hefty discounts on some of last year's big games.
The sale page promises up to 75% off games, or 80% with a PlayStation Plus subscription. Some notable discounts include Persona 4 Golden for $12, the full Mass Effect Trilogy for $12, and Dragon Age Inquisition for $12 (PS3) or $18 (PS4). It also has several PSOne Classics, mostly RPGs, for a cool four bucks.
More than 100 games in all are on sale, so take a look around. Meanwhile if you are a PlayStation Plus subscription, you can currently grab another Dragon Age game, Dragon Age Origins, on PS3 for free, along with Grim Fandango Remastered, Hardware: Rivals, Nihilumbra, and Medal of Honor Warfighter.
Better Call Saul: New Season 2 Mariachi Promo
In the spirit of Breaking Bad's second season "Negro y Azul: The Ballad of Heisenberg" mariachi song opening comes a brand new spot for AMC's Better Call Saul: Season 2 - featuring Saul's very own mariachi song, "Yo Soy Saul!"
IGN's got your exclusive first look at the video - along with two new Season 2 gallery images of Bob Odenkirk as Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman.
The promo takes a loop around a dicey cantina while Mariachi Bandido performs "Yo Soy Saul," which was written by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould (the creators of Better Call Saul) and Arturo Salas.
And here are your new Saul images, featuring a pensive/contemplative Jimmy as he walks the shadowy path toward becoming "Saul Goodman."
The Shannara Chronicles Gives Its Female Leads Room to Grow
The women in MTV's The Shannara Chronicles have a lot more to do in the TV series adaptation than they did in the novel on which it's based, Terry Brooks' The Elfstones of Shannara. Even Brooks himself welcomed the changes, which gave main character Amberle (Poppy Drayton) agency in the adventure she finds herself central to and upgraded thief extraordinaire Eretria (Ivana Baquero) from a supporting role to a major player.
It's a shift in storytelling that is cognizant of the world we live in, and one that Drayton and Baquero relished. Their characters get well-rounded arcs that allow them to be fighters and fall in love and be heroic and vulnerable, whereas in the book they often became supporting players.
Neil deGrasse Tyson on Backlash From ‘Prickly’ Star Wars Fans
Following the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, American astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson detailed a few of the scientific flaws found in J.J. Abrams' space epic, and several fans weren't happy.
Tyson responded to the backlash on last night's episode of Conan (via EW), saying his fact-checking wisdom was met by "prickly" fans. "You can’t say anything bad," he added. "You can’t say anything correct if it somehow gets interpretred as saying something bad."
Rey Will Be Featured in Second Wave of Star Wars Toys
The controversy surrounding Rey's absence from select licensed toy merchandise from Star Wars: The Force Awakens may soon be settled.
EW revealed a host of new toys set to release this month as part of a second wave of toy merchandising, and Rey is prominently featured in all of it.
She previously had figures available, but was omitted from the official figure play set and Hasbro's most recent version of Star Wars Monopoly. In this second wave, she's not only featured in each, but in other action figure variations is also wearing the Resistance outfit seen in the final scenes of the film and wielding the lightsaber previously belonging to Luke and Anakin Skywalker.
Google Sets I/O 2016 Event for May 18-20 in Mountain View, CA
Google I/O 2016 will once again take place during the month of May, with company CEO Sundar Pichai announcing the event will be held from May 18 - 20. This is a much earlier time than it was last year, when it was held closer to the end of the month.
In a Google+ post, Pichai also confirmed that I/O would not take place in the San Francisco's Moscone Center, as it did previously, but will instead be held at the larger Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View. The move to the new location is a particularly special one, as I/O 2016 marks the 10th anniversary of their first developer day at the Googleplex, which also resides in Mountain View alongside Google HQ.
Agent Carter Actress Talks Bringing Mrs. Jarvis to Life
Of the many mysteries that were pivotal to Agent Carter: Season 1, the one that many fans attached to the most was, "Who is Mrs. Jarvis?" Edwin Jarvis's (James D'Arcy) mystery wife who he adored so much was mentioned on numerous occasions throughout the show's first season, and viewers will finally meet her in Season 2.
Lotte Verbeek was cast in the role following her arc as Geillis Duncan on Outlander, and she talked to IGN at ABC's Television Critics Association party about taking two parts that had a lot of fan anticipation.
Lotte Verbeek as Ana Jarvis on Marvel's Agent Carter
Jhin, the Virtuoso, Is League of Legends’ Next Champion
League of Legends champion Jhin is a slow-firing perfectionist who does major damage. He's also the next addition to the game's roster.
Jhin is League’s slowest marksman yet, according to Riot Games' announcement. Even going so far as needing to reload every four shots. That fourth shot, however, is a guaranteed critical hit that does even more bonus damage depending on the target's missing health.
Jhin can also lay mines, mark enemies, toss a bouncing grenade, and damage groups of enemies in a line. Like his first ability, most of these skills are based on a factor of four — with the fourth shot, or fourth target of each taking extra damage.
Shield Creator on the “Farce Noir” of Amazon’s Mad Dogs
On January 22nd, Shawn Ryan (The Shield, Terriers) takes us down to tropical Belize for an edge-of-your-seat survival series on Amazon - Mad Dogs.
Starring Ben Chaplin, Michael Imperioli, Romany Malco, and Steve Zahn, Mad Dogs follows four old friends on a vacation to paradise that turns into a trip from hell. Dangerous drug dealers, killer cats, and voodoo are not what these hapless, middle aged college buddies had in mind when they headed to the beach to visit their rich, retired-young friend (Billy Zane).
As an American remake of a hit U.K. series, this Mad Dogs is actually a collaboration between Ryan and original show creator, Cris Cole. A creative endeavor that both thought would be worthwhile if it "could become its own unique, original thing," as Ryan put it at the TCA Winter Press Tour, where he, Cole, and the cast appeared for a Q&A session.