Monthly Archives: June 2016
GoT Showrunners Call Daenerys a ‘Good’ Targaryen
Spoilers for Game of Thrones' "Battle of the Bastards" continue below.
The night is dark and full of terrors -- one of which is Daenerys Targaryen.
The Khaleesi is ready to board the Westeros Express and head across the Narrow Sea to claim her place on the Iron Throne, and her rising prowess as a conquerer has caused some fans -- including us -- to wonder if she's becoming more villain than hero. Her actions in "Battle of the Bastards" could add further fuel to that theory, with even Tyrion Lannister cautioning Daenerys not to become too much like her father the Mad King.
GoT: The Real-Life Battles That Inspired “Battle of the Bastards”
Spoilers for Game of Thrones' "Battle of the Bastards" continue below. Read on at your own risk.
Director Miguel Sapochnik pulled off something truly impressive in "Battle of the Bastards" by executing a battle sequence that was both massive in scope and incredibly personal. In fact, it was such a difficult feat that showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss said they couldn't find great examples of something similar in film.
Instead, they looked to history, and built up a believable medieval pitched battle from there. In "Battle of the Bastards'" Inside the Episode segment, Benioff and Weiss explained the two key moments of history that they drew inspiration from.
In Celebration of That Satisfying Game of Thrones Moment
Game of Thrones spoilers continue below, and if you haven't watch "Battle of the Bastards" yet, do so because it's easily one of the best episodes the series has ever done. Yes, really.
Season 6 has been the Game of Thrones season for Sansa Stark, and that's been proven time and again when she's taken every terrible thing that's happened to her, spun it around as a knowledge base and come out on top. That was proven doubly over in "Battle of the Bastards": first when she saved the day by arriving with the Army of the Vale, and second when she got her vengeance on Ramsay Bolton.
Finding Dory Has Historic Debut at Weekend Box Office
Finding Dory had a record-breaking debut at the North American box office this weekend, coming in first place with $136.2 million.
Pixar and Disney's sequel comes a whopping 13 years after its beloved predecessor Finding Nemo, with an incredibly successful opening weekend that now stands as the biggest domestic debut of all time for an animated movie and 18th highest debut overall.
As noted by THR, the film's record-breaking figure dethroned DreamWorks' Shrek the Third, which opened to $121.6 million in 2007.
Additionally, Finding Dory pulled in $50 million internationally, bringing its worldwide earnings to $186.2 million. It also set a new record for Pixar in both China and Australia, earning $17.5 million and $7.6 million in their respective regions.
Idris Elba Shares The Dark Tower Teaser Image
Ahead of its release next year, Idris Elba has released a teaser image for Sony's upcoming film adaptation of The Dark Tower.
Elba, who stars as the gunslinger Roland Deschain, shared the image in a post on Twitter. See it below.
I am Roland, son of Steven, son of Henry, true descendant of Arthur. And I have not forgotten. #TheDarkTowerMovie pic.twitter.com/GvowjNapPC
— Idris Elba (@idriselba) June 19, 2016
Star Trek Actor Anton Yelchin Found Dead at Age 27
Actor Anton Yelchin was found dead at his home on Sunday, June 19th. He was 27.
When he was late to a rehearsal, Yelchin's friends reportedly found him pinned between his car and a brick mailbox attached to a security gate at his home at around 1 a.m. Sunday morning with the car engine still running and the car in neutral.
TMZ was the first to report the news, which was later confirmed to the Associated Press by Yelchin's publicist. TMZ reports that Yelchin's driveway is fairly steep, and police do not believe foul play is involved.
The 11 Biggest Stories from E3 2016
The sun has set on another E3, and as the games industry pauses for a moment to nurse its collective hangover we thought we’d pull some stats and find out exactly which announcements hit the biggest with the IGN audience during this year’s show.
Below are the 11 biggest stories from E3 2016, as determined by IGN traffic:
After it was announced and immediately placed into the hands of the public via a P.T.-esque teaser on the PSN, we sat down with the game’s producer and director and uncovered 13 interesting details about Capcom’s survival horror revival – including the fact that it has fewer but more meaningful enemies, and that it takes significant inspiration from the original game.
Halo 5’s Warzone Firefight Update Detailed
Ahead of the Halo 5: Guardians' Warzone Firefight update, 343 Industries is giving fans a peek into what's to come with the free DLC.
As mentioned previously, it's the biggest update for Halo 5 yet, and 343 is "packing in as much as
can fit." Players can expect the Warzone Firefight PvE mode on a bunch of maps, the Warzone Boss Refresh, a new Forge canvas alongside additional Forge updates, Campaign Score Attack, new achievements, and plenty of new vehicles, armors, and weapons.
via 343 Industries
Blizzard Shares New Details on Overwatch’s Competitive Mode
Blizzard Entertainment is expected to launch Overwatch's competitive mode at the end of the month, but the feature doesn't have an exact release date just yet.
How will competitive mode be different than it was in the beta, you ask? Good question—and one Overwatch game director Jeff Kaplan has the answer for. In a Developer Update video posted to YouTube, Kaplan went into detail.
Players thought competitive play wasn't competitive enough, Kaplan said. To account for this, Blizzard removed the tier-based progression system from Overwatch's competitive mode. Instead, it'll "directly correlate" a player's matchmaking rating to a player's skill rating. Now, players will be able to see skill ratings for themselves, as well as for others. The team's average skill rating will also be displayed.
Dishonored 2, No Man’s Sky Included in Into the Pixel Art Exhibit
The official selections for the 2016 Into the Pixel art collection were on display at E3 2016.
The exhibit "honors video game artists who continue to push the interactive entertainment art form forward," and is a joint effort between the Entertainment Software Association and the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences.
AIAS president Martin Rae said the exhibit is welcome respite from the "the craziness of the conference" for many convention goers.
The 2015 Into the Pixel winners were on display at DICE 2016, and featured selections from games like Destiny, Overwatch, and Assassin's Creed. Details on Into the Pixel can be found on its website, including past winners.