Monthly Archives: April 2016
Netflix’s National Lampoon Movie Finds Its Bill Murray
Netflix's film about National Lampoon co-founder Doug Kenney has filled the roles of three legends of comedy. Seth Green has signed on to play comedy legend Christopher Guest in the Netflix adaptation of the 2006 book A Futile and Stupid Gesture, with Rick Glassman as Harold Ramis and Jon Daly as Bill Murray, Deadline reports.
The book, and soon to be movie, follow the life of National Lampoon co-founder Doug Kenney. According to Deadline, the movie also explores the importance of National Lampoon to American comedy in the '70s and '80s.
Wolverine 3 Casts Narcos’ Boyd Holbrook as Villain
Actor Boyd Holbrook (Netflix's Narcos, Gone Girl) has reportedly been cast as the main villain in Wolverine 3.
According to Variety, Holbrook "has signed on to star as the chief of security for a global corporation pursuing
Jackman’s Wolverine."
The trade also confirms that Sir Patrick Stewart will reprise his role as Professor X in the film, which will be Jackman's final time donning the claws.
Boyd Holbrook in the Netflix series Narcos.
Netflix Raising Standard Streaming Prices Come May
Netflix will raise the price of its standard HD service to $10 for those previously grandfathered in at a lower rate. Price increases begin in May.
Around 17 million Netflix subscribers will be affected by the price hike, analysts reported.
"Impacted members will be clearly notified by email and within the service so that they have time to decide which plan/price point works best for them," Netflix said in a statement.
Back in October, the streaming service increased the price of its two-stream HD plan for all new members in the United States, Canada, and Latin America. Those already on the plan held steady at $8.
Vinyl Showrunner Terence Winter Exits HBO Series Over Creative Differences
Terence Winter, showrunner, co-creator, and executive producer, has been let go from the HBO series over creative differences.
Deadline reports that the Winter will be replaced by Scott Z. Burns as showrunner and executive producer, and Max Borenstein will also join Vinyl as an executive producer.
“As we head into the second season of ‘Vinyl,’ we have decided it is an appropriate time to make a change in the creative direction of the show,” HBO said in a statement to Deadline. “We have enjoyed a longtime partnership with Terry Winter at HBO on projects from ‘The Sopranos’ to ‘Boardwalk Empire’ to ‘Vinyl,’ and we look forward to our next collaboration with him. We are pleased to welcome Scott Z. Burns, executive producer and showrunner, and Max Borenstein, executive producer, as the new team helming the show.”
Ford’s Metal Gear Solid Commercials Feature David Hayter
David Hayter returns as Solid Snake in a commercial for the 2016 Ford Focus.
The commercial is one of two Metal Gear Solid Ford commercials that were revealed by Hayter on Twitter.
Snake is back.
And he's driving a @Fordhttps://t.co/0vvEW4M9Io https://t.co/8jujF4xHAr @4pauleiding #SnakeMysteryResolved
Microsoft: ‘We’re Ready’ for Cross-Network Play
Just last month, Microsoft announced plans to allow cross-network play over Xbox Live, and according ID@Xbox European boss Agostino Simonetta, the company is now ready for any developer who wants to take advantage of the feature.
"Absolutely, we're ready," Simonetta told Eurogamer at EGX Rezzed when asked if the technology is currently in place. "Any title that wants to update their game to include cross-network play, any title that wants to launch soon and take advantage of that, we are ready."
Report: WB May Make Less Profit From BvS Than MoS
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice may be poised to top the box office for the third weekend in a row, but financial analysts are reportedly less than bullish about how well it will ultimately do for its studio, Warner Bros.
According to Bloomberg, BvS may actually end up turning less of a profit -- not just what the movie made at the box office but what the studio actually takes home after costs and revenue from ancillaries are factored in -- for Warners than the Batman and Wonder Woman-less Man of Steel did:
"Batman v Superman, one of the most expensive films ever made, is on pace to produce a $278 million profit for Warner Bros. once home video, TV and merchandise proceeds are tallied, according to SNL Kagan analyst Wade Holden. That’s less than the estimated $300 million the studio earned from Man Of Steel. It’s also evidence that Warner Bros. has more work to do to make its DC Comics division the unbreakable superhero movie business it needs. ... To be as profitable as the lower-budget Man of Steel -- and some of the more successful Marvel films, which generate 44 percent net profit on average -- Batman v Superman would have to gross $1.15 billion worldwide."
Marvel Possibly Teasing Mary Jane Watson in Superhero Armor
Mary Jane Watson may be joining the fight in Marvel's epic battle, if an unnamed female hero plastered across the cover of Invincible Iron Man #9 is any indication.
The cover, which comic book writer Brian Michael Bendis revealed in a post on Tumblr (via Newsarama), showcases a character fully clad in an armored suit along with the tagline: "Introducing... Okay, she doesn't have a name yet - She's working on it!"
Image credit: Marvel Comics, Mike Deodato Jr.
Opinion: Don’t Make Rogue One Hero Related to Rey
Is Jyn Erso Rey's mom?
Is Jyn Erso actually Captain Phasma?
Is Jyn Erso somehow related to someone else we already know in a galaxy far, far away?
Honestly, I hope not.
Almost immediately after the first teaser trailer dropped for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, speculation ran rampant that Felicity Jones' character -- a thief brought in to help the Rebellion steal plans for the Death Star from the Empire -- was related to someone already familiar within the Star Wars universe. But with The Force Awakens (as successful as it was) already leaning heavily on nostalgia, it would be the better choice to have Jyn be a character definitive unto herself.
Spider-Man Solo Film Will Be Part of the MCU
Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige has again confirmed that the upcoming Spider-Man solo movie in 2017 will be a part of the MCU, and that there's a chance an Avenger or two could show up in it.
“He is in the universe now, and the fun of the universe is that characters go back and forth,” Feige said in an interview with EW.
When it was first announced last year that Spidey would appear in Captain America: Civil War, Feige intimated that the solo film would also be part of the MCU, and that Marvel's deal with Sony allowed MCU characters to appear in it.