Crystal Caves Show Sea Levels Were Raised 50 Feet During Warm Period in History
Global Warming seems like it's been a hot topic of discussion for the last couple of decades as we learn more about our environment and the impact we have on it as humans. Surprisingly, though, we're not even in the warmest period the Earth has seen, and now scientists may have a better understanding of what we're in for in the future.
According to a report by Science News, the Spanish Cuevas de Artà off the Balearic island of Mallorca has revealed mineral deposits that were the result of higher water levels from long ago. Scientists have dated these deposits to a time that could be over five million years old, a period known as the Pliocene Epoch.
Uncharted Movie Loses Another Director Over Scheduling Issues With Spider-Man
Another director has left Sony’s live-action Uncharted film starring Tom Holland as Nathan Drake. Travis Knight is the sixth director to leave the project since plans for the movie were started in 2011.
Deadline is reporting that Travis Knight, who previously directed the Transformers spinoff Bumblebee, has left the project due to scheduling conflicts. Tom Holland’s Spider-Man schedule is forcing the production to crunch on Uncharted, which ultimately cost the studio Knight as the director.
Knight is the sixth director to leave the live-action Uncharted movie after Dan Tractenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane) left in 2019, Shawn Levy (Free Guy) in 2018, Seth Gordon (Baywatch) in 2015, Neil Burger (Divergent) in 2012, and David O. Russell (American Hustle) in 2011.
Syd Mead, Artist Behind Blade Runner, Dies
Visual concept artist and cyberpunk pioneer Syd Mead has passed away at the age of 86.
Known for creating the unique and dazzling worlds behind Blade Runner, Aliens, Tron, and countless other watershed sci-fi projects (including Johnny 5 from Short Circuit!), Mead designed some of the most iconic cinematic images of all time.
Mead kept busy through the decades, working as a conceptual artist on everything from Star Trek the Motion Picture and 2010 to '90s fare like Johnny Mnemonic and Strange Days. Even more recently, Mead lent his gifts to Elysium, Tomorrowland, and Blade Runner 2049 (where he designed the future Las Vegas).
The news of Mead's passing reportedly came from John McElroy of Autoline, who'd previously interviewed Mead on his podcast. Twitter is filled today with loving memories of Mead and heartfelt tributes to his talents...
Witcher, Umbrella Academy Rank Among Netflix’s Most Popular of 2019
Netflix has revealed its most popular TV shows and movies of 2019 and Stranger Things Season 3, The Witcher, and Umbrella Academy place in the top ten.
These titles are ranked by how many people watched at least two minutes of the movie or TV series during the first 28 days of release. For the shows and movies that haven't been out for 28 days, Variety says that Netflix estimates how many total viewers will have watched at least two minutes by the full 28 days based on early viewership data from the first few days of release.
PS5 and Xbox Series X GPU and Memory Specs Leak, Report Says
New information on the alleged specs, including GPU (or ‘graphics card’) and memory, for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X next-gen consoles has reportedly leaked, offering us possible, albeit unofficial, better look at these two new consoles.
According to a lengthy report from Digital Foundry, as published by Eurogamer, the PS5 will reportedly feature a 9.2 teraflop GPU. Compare that to the PS4, which featured a theoretical max of 1.84 teraflops. The PS5 will also reportedly feature GDDR6 memory, which is identical to AMD’s RX 5700 series Navi cards, if you want to compare it to the world of PC gaming.
Avengers and Fantastic Four Team Up Against the Kree and Skrulls
The next massive event from Marvel Comics will be Empyre, where the Avengers and Fantastic Four work together to stop the Kree and the Skrulls.
In Marvel's Incoming! #1, a one-off comic released on December 26, the Kree and Skrulls unite under a new leader and are heading for Earth. The story will continue in April when Empyre is released.
In a video published on Marvel's social media pages, Marvel Executive Editor Tom Brevoort promises that Empyre is the ultimate continuation of countless Marvel sagas.
"Empyre grows out of a number of classic, key Marvel stories, including the pre-Skrull war, the Celestial Madonna saga, the origin of the Young Avengers and a bunch of others," Brevoort said. "It is the touchpoint for so many things that have been established throughout Marvel history."
Top 10 Box Office Hits of 2019
As we head out of the year (and decade), here are Top 10 box office hits for 2019 (as of Dec. 30).
From Avengers: Endgame to Frozen 2 to The Lion King, this was a landmark year for Disney. Joker helped break up Disney's chances at full monopoly, though Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker still managed to sneak in at the eleventh hour.
Top 10 Domestic Box Office of 2019
Here's a look at the Top 10 Domestic Box Office earners...
- 1. Avengers: Endgame $858,373,000
- 2. The Lion King $543,638,043
Scientists Report Lead is Actually Stronger Than Steel
Steel is regarded as one of the strongest metal alloys, used in everything from buildings to vehicles to machines, and more. But, a new report shows another common alloy may be stronger than steel, given the right conditions.
According to a report by Science News, Scientists have discovered a way to modify lead's physical properties by exposing it to 160 high-powered lasers. These lasers were able to rapidly compress the lead sample, exposing it to pressures similar to what's found within the Earth's core, and making it stronger in the process.
The tests were performed at the National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. Amazingly, during this process, the lead became 250 times stronger than before it was exposed to an enormous amount of pressure. This extremely dense lead was also rated as being roughly ten times stronger than high-strength steel.
Predicting the Top 20 Movies at the 2020 Box Office
The dawning of a new year also brings with it the dawning of a new decade, and compared to recent years at the box office, 2020 will have more variety. 2020 will be the first year in five years where there will be no new Star Wars movie; even Marvel Studios is paring back, releasing just (*gasp*) TWO movies this year instead of its typical three-film annual roll out. Plus, for the first time since Marvel Phase One, neither of those movies will be sequels, though one brings back a familiar character (Black Widow, May 1) and the other introduces a new group of heroes (The Eternals, November 1).
Since 2012, the No. 1 movie at the domestic box office has either been a Marvel movie or a Star Wars movie, but that may change in 2020. With no Star Wars movies and two non-Avenger Marvel movies, that could open things up for a new box office champ in 2020, maybe even a movie that doesn’t come from (gasp) Disney. Who could take over as the new box office champ? There are several viable possibilities.
Star Wars: Why There Won’t Be a 10th Skywalker Saga Movie
With Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker wrapping up a forty year saga, while also bringing back Emperor Palpatine and concluding the story of Rey and Kylo Ren, one could easily see there being two movies' worth of material available. But two films wasn't the way to go as the Sequel Trilogy was meant be just that: A trilogy
"George always said it was nine movies," Rise co-writer Chris Terrio said in a recent interview with AwardsDaily. "That was the natural size of the saga, and so, other than a few initial discussions, we never really advanced that conversation."