Monthly Archives: June 2019
Keanu and 12 Other Unforgettable Times Celebs Played Themselves
There's plenty of brilliant things about the arrival of Ali Wong and Randall Park's lovely Netflix rom-com Always Be My Maybe. The predominantly Asian American cast, the subtle balance of humor and heart, and, of course, Keanu Reeves playing a very hyper-ridiculous version of himself. This example of a meta-celebrity cameo feels particularly brave and funny with the notoriously private actor crafting a ridiculous version of himself that mocks the very idea of the dark and enigmatic celebrity bad boy.
Reeves' awesome performance matched with Wong, Park, and Michael Golamco's super-smart screenplay got us thinking about other times celebrities played themselves. The satirical self-cameo is nothing less than a Hollywood tradition and there are plenty of examples of some of the biggest names to have graced the silver screen taking on roles that parody their public personas and lives both off and on screen.
What We Want From Final Fantasy 7 Remake At E3
In 2015, audiences around the world shed tears after Sony seemingly did the impossible: revealed that Final Fantasy 7 would be receiving a remake for its modern console.
You see, Final Fantasy 7 is one in an elite series of games that could be described as truly iconic. It shaped a generation of gamers into appreciating Japanese role-playing games - and indeed, Japanese games in general - and was very mich the touchstone for graphical prowess at the time. It also very much tapped into the sort of storytelling that teenagers, in particular, loved - brooding heroes and longing romanticism and dark, black-clad pain.
SpongeBob SquarePants Prequel Series Will Focus on Him at 10 Years Old
Nickelodeon has announced that it has greenlit a 13-episode SpongeBob SquarePants prequel series, tentatively titled Kamp Koral, which will introduce a 10-year-old SpongeBob SquarePants during his summer at sleepaway camp.
Production on this new animated TV series will begin this month at Nickelodeon in Burbank, CA, and the official description for the show reads "SpongeBob and his pals spend the summer building underwater campfires, catching wild jellyfish, and swimming in Lake Yuckymuck at the craziest camp in the kelp forest, Kamp Koral."
“SpongeBob has an incredible universe to expand upon and the greenlight for Kamp Koral is a testament to the strength and longevity of these characters known and loved by generations of fans around the world,” said Ramsey Naito, EVP Animation Production and Development, Nickelodeon.
New Monster Hunter World: Iceborne Trailer Teases Blade-Tailed Glavenus
The newest Monster Hunter World: Iceborne trailer not only showcased the fan-favorite Tigrex, but also teased the return of a wyvern from a previous Monster Hunter generation: Glavenus.
At the end of the story trailer, which you can watch below, a hunter confronts a Rathian. Behind the hunter, you can just make out the feet of another monster in the back right corner. The screen cuts to black before we can get a clear shot, but the subsequent roar and fiery sword slice can only belong to Glavenus.
The brute wyvern was originally introduced in Monster Hunter Generations, a Nintendo 3DS game. It’s huge, resembles a spikey T-Rex, and wields a heated blade-like tail. It sharpens its tail in its mouth, and one of its most powerful attacks is telegraphed by that very action. Fun fact, its tail can only be severed while it's heated to the point of glowing. Otherwise, it's hard as steel!
UPDATE: Borderlands 3 Fan With Terminal Cancer Got to Play Early
UPDATE (6/4/2019) - Trevor Eastman had his wish come true as Gearbox allowed him to play an early build of Borderlands 3.
On Reddit, Eastman gave the update we've all been waiting for.
To everybody that made this dream of mine come true...I just wanted to say thank you all so much. To Brandon, to Noelle, to James...to everybody that made this actually happen for me...I couldn't be happier. You all went out of your way to make this dying man's dream come true and I won't ever forget that. I got to play for a good 4 hours or so and just saying...Borderlands 3 is amazing. It will definitely be worth the wait and I'm so happy. To every single one of you that helped....from the bottom of my heart, thank you.
Bethesda E3 2019: Conference Date, Time, Predictions
Update: Bethesda's E3 2019 conference starts today at 5:30 PM PT / 8:30 PM ET / 1:30 AM BST (6/10) / 10:30 AM AEST (6/10). While we expect to hear about Wolfenstein: Youngblood and Doom Eternal, it's what we don't know that excites us the most. Elder Scrolls? Starfield? Let's see what they have. Tune in now for exclusive coverage of E3 and our pre-show with predictions ill kick off just before the Bethesda E3 2019 conference. All times and places to watch the Bethesda press conference at E3 2019 can be found below.
The countdown for Bethesda's E3 2019 conference is growing ever shorter. In just a few hours, the event kicks off, and the stakes are high for Bethesda coming into E3 2019. What will be only its fifth-ever press conference at the annual expo will also be its most pivotal, as the publisher comes off a year marred by controversy surrounding Fallout 76.
Harrison Ford: Indiana Jones 5 Starts Filming in 2020
Harrison Ford has confirmed that Indiana Jones 5 should begin filming sometime next year, contrary to earlier reports that claimed production would begin much earlier than that.
Speaking with Variety, Ford said Indiana Jones 5 “should be starting to shoot sometime next year.” This corrects an earlier version of the story that quoted Ford saying that filming would actually commence next week.
Ford recently made a humorous point to say once he’s done playing Indiana Jones, nobody else can play the character. This somewhat contradicts director Steven Spielberg's comments, saying Indiana Jones 5 will likely be Ford’s last, but the series “will certainly continue” without him.
Destiny 2: Shadowkeep Is Allegedly Next Destiny Expansion
Destiny 2's next expansion has reportedly leaked from a user on ResetEra as of Tuesday, ahead of Bungie's live stream happening on June 6.
The alleged title of the expansion is Shadowkeep, and the user said the imagery was datamined from PC files. The focus around the expansion seems to be the Moon – a place many fans from the original Destiny have been waiting to go back to.
Another Vampire: The Masquerade Game Is in Development
Vampire: The Masquerade - Coteries of New York is a “single-player narrative experience,” and it’s coming to PC and Nintendo Switch this year.
Coteries of New York’s Steam listing went live this morning, detailing the upcoming Vampire: The Masquerade game being made by Draw Distance, the developer responsible for the games Halls of Horror, Ritual, Serial Cleaner and more.
"Coteries of New York presents the struggle for power between two vampiric factions: Camarilla and Anarchs among the iconic buildings and night lights of Big Apple,” reads the game’s Steam description. "It's a single-player narrative experience, set in a rich, fully licensed, globally recognized universe of Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition."
The Surprising Sensuality of Swamp Thing
Swamp Thing is currently airing on DC Universe. Be sure to check out our spoiler-free series review of the first two episodes right here.
The latest show to attempt to explore the connection between sensuality, horror, and everything in between is DC Universe's Swamp Thing, which debuted last week. In a post-Hannibal world, there has been a lack of shows that blur the line between horror and horniness, but as the premiere of Swamp Thing moved ever closer, the promotional materials seemed to be leaning into the erotic aspects of the strange story of Alec Holland and his green alter-ego.