Monthly Archives: October 2019
Gemini Man: How They Made Will Smith Young Again
While much has been made of the digital de-aging of Will Smith to play his younger clone, Junior, in Gemini Man, the creation of the younger Smith owes a lot more to how Gollum was brought to the screen than to the traditional de-aging effects done on movies such as this year’s Captain Marvel and The Irishman. For Gemini Man, director Ang Lee and his visual effects team opted to create a fully digital character via performance-capture for Smith’s younger clone rather than to simply digitally soften the then-50-year-old actor’s features.
Netflix’s The Witcher: Henry Cavill ‘Lived and Breathed’ the Games
Henry Cavill, who stars as Geralt of Rivia in Netflix's The Witcher series, recently shared his passion for both the video games and the novels written by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski.
Per an interview with French magazine Premiere, and translated by Reddit user u/Valibomba (so some nuances from the quotes may have been lost in translation), Cavill reportedly said, "I discovered the games, then I discovered the books, and the universe of The Witcher instantly meant something to me. I often thought about playing Geralt. When the opportunity appeared, I didn't let the chance pass me... I didn't even have the need to prepare myself for the role. Because I breathe, I live this universe every day."
Banned South Park Episode Screened in Hong Kong Streets
As political tensions between Hong Kong protesters and the Chinese government grow, the animated comedy South Park once again finds itself at the heart of the conflict.
In the wake of reports that China has outright banned all South Park content from the Internet, protesters have found other ways of disseminating the episode "Band in China." As spotted by The Hollywood Reporter, protesters in Hong Kong's Sham Shui Po district screened the episode to an impromptu but very appreciative crowd.
PS4 Is In the Endgame Now
Welcome back to Game Scoop!, IGN's weekly video game podcast. This week we're talking PlayStation 5, Doom Eternal, Concrete Genie, and more. Watch the video above or hit the link below to your favorite podcast service.
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The 5 Best Versions of Joker in Video Games, Ranked
Batman’s arch-nemesis, The Joker, has been depicted in numerous forms of media since his introduction in the original Batman #1 comic in 1940. In addition to the comics, Joker has appeared in movies -including the most recent Joaquin Phoenix film - and many animated and live-action TV series. While there are some iconic versions of the Clown Prince of Crime throughout the gaming pantheon, some of them have gotten much bigger laughs than others. Here are the five best versions of Joker throughout the years in video games.
H. Jon Benjamin Talks Being the Worst Starfleet Officer Ever
Full spoilers follow for the latest Star Trek: Short Treks episode, “The Trouble With Edward.”
While Starfleet is typically depicted as having only the best people among its ranks, occasionally a dud creeps in. In the original Star Trek series this was usually some captain or admiral who had turned bad. In the Next Generation, Reginald Barclay was introduced, the most inept whoever stepped among Starfleet’s finest. But whereas Reg got a chance to redeem himself over multiple episodes and years, H. Jon Benjamin’s character in the new Short Trek “The Trouble With Edward” will seemingly never have that opportunity. And judging by the events of the short, he probably doesn’t deserve it either.
League of Legends Esports Players Asked to Not Discuss Sensitive Topics On Air
Following a recent controversy where Blizzard banned a professional Hearthstone player for a year and stripped him of his prize money for supporting the protests in Hong Kong on a live interview, Riot Games’ esports head has asked its players casters to refrain from discussing “sensitive topics” on air.
In a statement published on League of Legends’ official esports Twitter account, Riot’s global head of League of Legends esports John Needham issued a long statement on expected player conduct ahead of the League of Legends World Championship Group stage.
Fortnite Chapter 2 Leak Suggests a New Map Is on the Way
With Fortnite season 10 winding down, fans are wondering what’s coming next for Epic Games’ popular battle royale game. A new leak on the Apple App Store seems to indicate a new map may be in the cards.
The leak comes from the Italian iOS App Store. A user on the r/FortniteBR subreddit posted a video showing their iPad screen as they browse the App Store for Fortnite. At first glance, a search for Fortnite turns up the regular app page and icon.
One Piece Stampede Exclusive Dub Trailer Brings Back A Ton of Familiar Faces
IGN can exclusively debut the English dub trailer for the upcoming One Piece Stampede movie, and along with it are glimpses of a smorgasbord of villains and allies from the Straw Hat Pirates' storied past that all come together to participate in "the greatest treasure hunt the world has ever seen."
Watch the trailer by clicking the video above.
In this trailer alone, we see appearances from a majority of the members of the "Worst Generation," such as Eustace Kid, Scratchmen Apoo, X-Drake, Jewelry Bonney, Trafalgar Law, and of course, Monkey D. Luffy and the rest of the Straw Hat Pirates. In addition to that, there's the surprising return of Crocodile, Wapol, and Foxy.
Oxenfree Creator Got His Start in…Daytime Soap Operas?!
A lot of game developers admit that they kind of fell into the job by accident. Some come from tech, some from the movie industry, or maybe even just from being a part of a game’s community. Night School Studio’s Sean Krankel, however, came from the particularly uncommon path of the daytime soap opera.
On this month’s episode of IGN Unfiltered, the Oxenfree and Afterparty developer joins host Ryan McCaffrey to discuss how he worked his way from an EB Games store, through an internship with a daytime soap opera in Los Angeles, and through Disney’s animated films, before making his way into game development.