Monthly Archives: June 2020
IGN’s Summer of Gaming Will Now Begin on June 10
IGN's Summer of Gaming will kick off on June 10, with four days of IGN Expo events to come.
Fantastic 4 Director’s Biggest Regret Is About the Casting of Sue Storm
Fantastic Four director Josh Trank says his biggest regret about his infamous 2015 comic book movie is that he backed down over his intent to cast a black actress as Susan Storm, aka the Invisible Woman, after receiving "pretty heavy pushback" from studio 20th Century Fox.
In a chat with Geeks of Color, Trank revealed he wanted the entire Storm family to be played by black actors. In the end, Michael B. Jordan played Johnny Storm opposite Reg E. Cathey as his dad Franklin Storm, with Kate Mara cast as Sue, Franklin's adopted daughter.
While Trank didn't name any particular actress he had in mind for the role of Sue, he said he was "embarrassed" with himself for backing down from his principles and said he should have just quit the movie right then.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2016/08/24/kate-mara-is-game-for-a-fantastic-four-sequel"]
"There was a lot of controversial conversations that were had behind the scenes on that," Trank said. "I was mostly interested in a black Sue Storm and a black Johnny Storm and a black Franklin Storm. But when you're dealing with a studio on a massive movie like that, everyone wants to keep an open mind to like who the big stars are going to be. Like, maybe it'll be Margot Robbie or something like that. But when it came down to it I found a lot of pretty heavy pushback on casting a black woman in that role."
Trank said that, in hindsight, he should have parted ways with the project -- a film which went on to be a commercial and critical failure, with its stories of behind-the-scenes drama tainting the young director's once-promising career.
"I feel bad that I didn't take it to the mat with that issue. Yeah, I feel like I failed in that regard," Trank said. "If there's one regret that I have -- and I've talked a lot about not having any regrets -- it's that one issue."
[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=7-milestones-for-black-superheroes-on-screen&captions=true"]
With his new movie Capone now on VOD, Josh Trank has been opening up a lot recently about his grueling experience thus far in Hollywood, revealing he has no interest in a "Trank Cut" of Fantastic Four, how Fantastic Four made him bitter toward James Gunn and superhero movies, and the real reason why he left the Boba Fett movie.
Fantastic 4 Director’s Biggest Regret Is About the Casting of Sue Storm
Fantastic Four director Josh Trank says his biggest regret about his infamous 2015 comic book movie is that he backed down over his intent to cast a black actress as Susan Storm, aka the Invisible Woman, after receiving "pretty heavy pushback" from studio 20th Century Fox.
In a chat with Geeks of Color, Trank revealed he wanted the entire Storm family to be played by black actors. In the end, Michael B. Jordan played Johnny Storm opposite Reg E. Cathey as his dad Franklin Storm, with Kate Mara cast as Sue, Franklin's adopted daughter.
While Trank didn't name any particular actress he had in mind for the role of Sue, he said he was "embarrassed" with himself for backing down from his principles and said he should have just quit the movie right then.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2016/08/24/kate-mara-is-game-for-a-fantastic-four-sequel"]
"There was a lot of controversial conversations that were had behind the scenes on that," Trank said. "I was mostly interested in a black Sue Storm and a black Johnny Storm and a black Franklin Storm. But when you're dealing with a studio on a massive movie like that, everyone wants to keep an open mind to like who the big stars are going to be. Like, maybe it'll be Margot Robbie or something like that. But when it came down to it I found a lot of pretty heavy pushback on casting a black woman in that role."
Trank said that, in hindsight, he should have parted ways with the project -- a film which went on to be a commercial and critical failure, with its stories of behind-the-scenes drama tainting the young director's once-promising career.
"I feel bad that I didn't take it to the mat with that issue. Yeah, I feel like I failed in that regard," Trank said. "If there's one regret that I have -- and I've talked a lot about not having any regrets -- it's that one issue."
[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=7-milestones-for-black-superheroes-on-screen&captions=true"]
With his new movie Capone now on VOD, Josh Trank has been opening up a lot recently about his grueling experience thus far in Hollywood, revealing he has no interest in a "Trank Cut" of Fantastic Four, how Fantastic Four made him bitter toward James Gunn and superhero movies, and the real reason why he left the Boba Fett movie.
Steam Game Festival Postponed by a Week
Valve has announced that the Steam Game Festival has been postponed a week. Originally started to begin on June 9, the Steam Game Festival will instead start on June 16 and last until June 22.
While Valve did not provide a statement with the new dates, this is the latest digital games event on the horizon that has been postponed. Other events like Blizzard's World of Warcraft: Shadowlands livestream and EA Play have been postponed in honor of the protests happening across the United States.
The Steam Game Festival is a digital spotlight that's meant to give players access to limited-time demos or short teasers that highlight upcoming games. It also connects developers with players for a more hands-on experience.
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Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN.
Steam Game Festival Postponed by a Week
Valve has announced that the Steam Game Festival has been postponed a week. Originally started to begin on June 9, the Steam Game Festival will instead start on June 16 and last until June 22.
While Valve did not provide a statement with the new dates, this is the latest digital games event on the horizon that has been postponed. Other events like Blizzard's World of Warcraft: Shadowlands livestream and EA Play have been postponed in honor of the protests happening across the United States.
The Steam Game Festival is a digital spotlight that's meant to give players access to limited-time demos or short teasers that highlight upcoming games. It also connects developers with players for a more hands-on experience.
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Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN.
EA Play Live Delayed by One Week
EA has announced that its EA Play Live showcase has been delayed from June 11, 2020 to June 18, 2020 at 4pm PT/7pm ET (that's 12am BST and 9am AEST on June 19.)
EA announced the decision alongside a message that states "with the important conversations taking place and important voices being heard around the world right now, we're moving our time to come together in play."
EA hasn't confirmed what games will be featured at EA Play Live, but it does promise it will showcase "games through a live broadcast, community content, and more."
EA Play Live is just one of the many events that have been delayed in response to the global protests following the death of George Floyd.
Sony delayed its PlayStation 5 reveal event, Fortnite delayed its Chapter 2 Season 3 debut, and the Cyberpunk 2077 news broadcast, Night City Wire, was delayed from June 11 to June 25.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/01/sony-delays-ps5-june-reveal-event"]
Other game developers have taken action to support the protests around the world, including Rockstar shutting down GTA Online and Red Dead Online for 2 hours, NBA 2K20 adding Black Lives Matters shirts, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare delaying its seasons, committing to ban racist names, and putting a Black Lives Matter message front and center for all players.
IGN stands in solidarity with the black community, and condemns racism. We encourage those reading to donate to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and support the fight for racial justice.
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Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.
Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.
EA Play Live Delayed by One Week
EA has announced that its EA Play Live showcase has been delayed from June 11, 2020 to June 18, 2020 at 4pm PT/7pm ET (that's 12am BST and 9am AEST on June 19.)
EA announced the decision alongside a message that states "with the important conversations taking place and important voices being heard around the world right now, we're moving our time to come together in play."
EA hasn't confirmed what games will be featured at EA Play Live, but it does promise it will showcase "games through a live broadcast, community content, and more."
EA Play Live is just one of the many events that have been delayed in response to the global protests following the death of George Floyd.
Sony delayed its PlayStation 5 reveal event, Fortnite delayed its Chapter 2 Season 3 debut, and the Cyberpunk 2077 news broadcast, Night City Wire, was delayed from June 11 to June 25.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/01/sony-delays-ps5-june-reveal-event"]
Other game developers have taken action to support the protests around the world, including Rockstar shutting down GTA Online and Red Dead Online for 2 hours, NBA 2K20 adding Black Lives Matters shirts, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare delaying its seasons, committing to ban racist names, and putting a Black Lives Matter message front and center for all players.
IGN stands in solidarity with the black community, and condemns racism. We encourage those reading to donate to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and support the fight for racial justice.
[poilib element="accentDivider"]
Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.
Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.
Ghostbusters Alternate Titles Revealed
"Who ya gonna call?" "Ghoststoppers!" Doesn't have the same ring to it, does it? But that's one of the alternate names the 1984 movie Ghostbusters had as a back-up in case they couldn't use their preferred title.
Outtakes from the movie reveal different names for the team were filmed in case director Ivan Reitman and Co. couldn't call the film Ghostbusters due to rights issues (more on that in a bit). The outtakes -- unearthed by /Film and posted on the official Ghostbusters YouTube channel -- for the scene where Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd), and Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) shoot a TV commercial for their business reveal the two other names their team almost went by.
One name was Ghoststoppers and the other was Ghostblasters. Other titles reportedly considered included Ghostbreakers and Ghostsmashers.
The Ghostbusters commercial outtakes were first exclusively teased by IGN almost exactly a year ago but our clip (seen below) did not include the alternate team names.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/06/10/ghostbusters-tv-commercial-outtakes-exclusive"]
During the production of Ghostbusters, director Ivan Reitman and co-writer/star Dan Aykroyd were aware that their movie might not ultimately be able to be called Ghostbusters due to rights issues. There was an existing kids TV series from the 1970s called The Ghost Busters that was owned by Universal. (Reitman's Ghostbusters is a Columbia Pictures property.)
As recalled both in this Ghostbusters oral history as well as in an episode of the Netflix docuseries The Movies That Made Us, it took some wheeling and dealing between Columbia and Universal to hash out a deal. Fortunately, the new boss at Universal, Frank Price, was previously the boss at Columbia where one of the projects developed under him was none other than Ghostbusters.
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In the end, Columbia paid Universal $500,000 plus 1% of the movie's profits to be able to use Ghostbusters as the title of what is now widely considered one of the best comedies of all time.
For more on the (largely) unknown history of the Ghostbusters franchise, learn about the unmade Ghostbusters 3 and how Ghostbusters impacted the ending of Marvel's Avengers. The surviving original Ghostbusters stars will return in Ghostbusters: Afterlife, opening in 2021.
Ghostbusters Alternate Titles Revealed
"Who ya gonna call?" "Ghoststoppers!" Doesn't have the same ring to it, does it? But that's one of the alternate names the 1984 movie Ghostbusters had as a back-up in case they couldn't use their preferred title.
Outtakes from the movie reveal different names for the team were filmed in case director Ivan Reitman and Co. couldn't call the film Ghostbusters due to rights issues (more on that in a bit). The outtakes -- unearthed by /Film and posted on the official Ghostbusters YouTube channel -- for the scene where Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd), and Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) shoot a TV commercial for their business reveal the two other names their team almost went by.
One name was Ghoststoppers and the other was Ghostblasters. Other titles reportedly considered included Ghostbreakers and Ghostsmashers.
The Ghostbusters commercial outtakes were first exclusively teased by IGN almost exactly a year ago but our clip (seen below) did not include the alternate team names.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/06/10/ghostbusters-tv-commercial-outtakes-exclusive"]
During the production of Ghostbusters, director Ivan Reitman and co-writer/star Dan Aykroyd were aware that their movie might not ultimately be able to be called Ghostbusters due to rights issues. There was an existing kids TV series from the 1970s called The Ghost Busters that was owned by Universal. (Reitman's Ghostbusters is a Columbia Pictures property.)
As recalled both in this Ghostbusters oral history as well as in an episode of the Netflix docuseries The Movies That Made Us, it took some wheeling and dealing between Columbia and Universal to hash out a deal. Fortunately, the new boss at Universal, Frank Price, was previously the boss at Columbia where one of the projects developed under him was none other than Ghostbusters.
[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-25-best-comedies&captions=true"]
In the end, Columbia paid Universal $500,000 plus 1% of the movie's profits to be able to use Ghostbusters as the title of what is now widely considered one of the best comedies of all time.
For more on the (largely) unknown history of the Ghostbusters franchise, learn about the unmade Ghostbusters 3 and how Ghostbusters impacted the ending of Marvel's Avengers. The surviving original Ghostbusters stars will return in Ghostbusters: Afterlife, opening in 2021.
Summer Games Done Quick 2020 Cancels On-Site Event, Moves Online
Games Done Quick has announced that its physical Summer Games Done Quick (SGDQ) 2020 event has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but an online event will take its place to allow runners to "participate from the safety of their homes."
Summer Games Done Quick 2020 Online will run from August 16-23, 2020 in support of Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières. 100% of all donations go directly to Doctors Without Borders and Games Done Quick has raised over $26 million for charities around the world since 2010.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/07/04/the-celeste-speedrun-that-wasnt-humanly-possible"]
"We would like to thank the community for its patience while we were figuring out the best way to proceed with Summer Games Done Quick 2020," said Kasumi Yogi, Director of Marketing and Business Development at Games Done Quick. "We're excited to continue showcasing some of the most talented speedrunners in the world while observing best practices to keep everyone safe in the midst of a global pandemic."
Games Done Quick also holds the Awesome Games Done Quick event in the Winter, and the last one took place earlier this year and raised over $3.13 million for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. The over 54,000 donations were from over 80 countries.
Games Done Quick also recently held a speedrunning marathon to help raise funds against the COVID-19 pandemic called Corona Relief Done Quick. It was held in April 2020 and raised over $400,000.
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For more on speedrunning, be sure to check out our Devs React series where developers watch speedrunners race through their games. Some of the latest runs were from Darksiders Genesis, Resident Evil 2, Dead Cells, Doom Eternal, and Half-Life 2.
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Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.
Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.