Monthly Archives: September 2015
NBC Orders Taken Prequel Series
With development news dating back to 2010, it appears Luc Besson‘s Taken franchise will finally land on the small screen as a TV series.
As reported by THR, Besson's EuropaCorp. and Universal TV have teamed up for this co-production, which has already been picked up straight-to-series by NBC. No writer or showrunner is currently attached.
Statham to Star in Layer Cake-Inspired TV series
Jason Statham will star in a new TV drama called Viva La Madness.
He will also executive produce the hour-long action thriller from Gaumont International. It's based on a book of the same name by crime writer J. J. Connolly, a sequel to Connolly's novel Layer Cake, which was previously adapted into a 2004 film starring Daniel Craig.
Jason Statham in Transporter.
The series will follow an anonymous former criminal in the Caribbean, who soon joins forces with two London gangsters.
Will The Base-Building RTS Live On After StarCraft 2?
We're back from a brief hiatus with IGN Overclocked Episode 6! Dan Stapleton ponders the future of the real-time strategy genre (specifically the base-building RTS) after StarCraft 2: Legacy of the Void, Tal Blevins returns to Skyrim after a few years to sample some new mods, and Vince Ingenito judges the quality of the PC port of Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain.
Ice Cube to Play Scrooge in Humbug
Universal Pictures has won a bidding battle to secure Humbug, a contemporary retelling of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.
According to Deadline, Ice Cube will be playing a wealthy real estate mogul who must learn the true meaning of Christmas, and Tim Story will be directing. Cube and Story have teamed up before on Barbershop, action comedy film Ride Along, and the upcoming sequel Ride Along 2.
IGN’s Comment Features Have Been Updated
Over the past several months, we’ve been listening to the constructive feedback of the community and working with Livefyre to roll out a gradual shift from the current commenting system to a platform that IGN needs to support our incredible community for years to come. If you’ve been following along, we’ve outlined the potential Livefyre has to benefit the community, and we’ve been taking your keen insights to heart about what’s most important to you, the IGN community, when it comes to this transition to Livefyre.
Oscar Winner Akiva Goldsman to Script Transformers 5
Paramount Pictures has found its writer for Transformers 5 in Oscar winner Akiva Goldsman, who was already spearheading the Writers Room developing the future of the film franchise.
According to Deadline, Goldsman has a "concrete blueprint" to write the script, with Michael Bay returning to direct and Mark Wahlberg reprising his role as Cade Yeager.
Production is set to commence in June.
For those who don't know, Goldsman has quite the pedigree, having crafted the screenplay for the award-winning picture A Beautiful Mind, as well as I Am Legend and Cinderella Man. But lest we forget, he also scripted the Schumacher Batman films.
Scientists Use Burton’s Alice to Test for Psychosis
Finnish neuroscientists from Aalto University recently published a study detailing how they used Alice in Wonderland to identify early-stage psychosis.
In the study, first reported by Van Winkle's, the brain activity of 78 people was recorded as they watched Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. 46 of them had had just one psychotic episode, while the other 32 had no history of psychosis. None of the participants had been diagnosed with psychosis, because that is only linked to multiple disorders.
Game of Thrones Casts Samwell Tarly’s Father for Season 6
It's been assumed for a while now, based on casting descriptions, that we'd meet Samwell Tarly's father in Game of Thrones' upcoming sixth season. Many even thought it may have been the character Ian McShane was playing when he was cast a few months back in a mystery role.
Well, now the news is out, per Variety, that Sam's strict father, Randyll Tarly, will be played by actor James Faulkner (Da Vinci's Demons, Downton Abbey).
James Faulkner.
Robert Kirkman Teaming with YouTube for Halloween Scares
The Walking Dead comic book creator Robert Kirkman's Skybound Entertainment is teaming up with YouTube Space LA deliver some "Halloween-inspired content."
From now until October 29, creators will be able to shoot videos on YouTube's special Halloween set in LA, which is inspired by Kirkman's works. The theme is "What happened here?"
The videos should go live between October 26 and 31, and selected videos will appear on the YouTube Spaces channel, as well as the official Skybound channel.
A number of YouTubers took part in a script writing workshop which included guest speakers such as David Alpert, executive producer of The Walking Dead and President of Skybound Entertainment, and the Academy Award winning Geena Davis. These YouTube creators are in a competition for a development deal with Skybound, with the winner being announced in late October.
Jonathan Blow on Why The Witness Is a Sony Console Exclusive
Jonathan Blow's The Witness was part of the original press conference in which the PlayStation 4 was announced, and the decision for Blow to take his game to Sony's platform for timed exclusivity was more about Sony's willingness to share technical specs prior to the PS4's official announcement than any other factor.
Speaking to Ars Technica, Blow said he was invited by Sony to a 2-day pre-announcement summit for developers that went over the then-new machine's specs.
Following the Sony summit, Blow reached out to Microsoft for similar information and was told Microsoft had no plan in place to reveal to an independent developer details on upcoming hardware.