Ghostbusters Gets Wacky New Title to Appease China
In an effort to appease censors in China, Sony Pictures has renamed Ghostbusters to Super Power Dare Die Team to help win their film a release in the world's second-largest movie market.
According to Variety's sources, however, it's unlikely that Ghostbusters -- er, Super Power Dare Die Team -- will even get a release in China after all.
"Though Ghostbusters hasn’t officially been screened for Chinese officials, its subject matter will likely run afoul of the country’s censors," the trade reports. "The state-controlled film board does not approve of films that promote cults or superstitious beliefs. In the past, movies that focus on the paranormal, such as last fall’s Crimson Peak, have been unable to secure a berth in the country."
The Present & Future of Overwatch Competitive Play
Overwatch’s Competitive Play mode has been out in the wild for a month now, and it’s already received balancing changes based on fan feedback. There’s also the impending release of Overwatch’s first new character, Ana, in the soon-to-be-released next patch, and she’s poised to change the meta in interesting ways. Today, I chatted with principal designer Scott Mercer about new support character Ana, as well as the future plans for Overwatch’s Competitive Play mode.
Read on for the full transcript.
IGN: You’ve just unveiled a new character, Ana. How do you see her impacting the meta and general character selection of support classes for both regular players and pro-level players?
Hideo Kojima Says He “Could Never Stop Making Games”
It looks like Kojima is here to stay in the games industry.
Speaking today at Develop: Brighton, game developer Hideo Kojima discussed the reason he has stayed in game development for so long in an interview with Mark Cerny.
"Every game brings me closer and closer to making what I imagine," Kojima told Cerny. "That’s why I could never stop making games."
Comments like these come after Kojima's moves through the industry, including a tumultuous separation from Konami, publisher of the Metal Gear Solid series. Kojima now runs his own studio, Kojima Productions, and unveiled the studio's newest project Death Stranding live during Sony's E3 2016 press conference. Kojima recently discussed about how he was very concerned this latest project would leak before its E3 reveal.
First Star Wars Rebels: Season 3 Clip and Image
Ahead of the Star Wars Rebels panel this weekend at Star Wars Celebration in London, Lucasfilm has revealed the first clip and image from Season 3.
Executive producer Dave Filoni unveiled the new footage during this week's episode of The Star Wars Show, which also features an interview with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story director Gareth Edwards. The Rebels clip begins at the 3:39 mark and includes Ezra's new lightsaber.
Additionally, a new image of Ezra Bridger (voiced by Taylor Gray) was revealed, showcasing the character's new look for Rebels' third season.
Ezra in Star Wars Rebels: Season 3
Star Wars: Episode 8 Wraps With Stormtrooper Dance Party
Filming for Star Wars: Episode VIII is now complete, and in celebration, a wrap party was held in London that featured a crew of dancing Stormtroopers.
According to UPROXX, the cast and crew celebrated at the London's Natural History Museum, where a group of Stormtrooper dancers known as Boogie Storm (who io9 notes were on Britain's Got Talent) put on quite the show.
Luke Skywalker star Mark Hamill shared a clip from the party on Facebook, during which Boogie Storm dances to the tunes of Beyonce.
How Much $$$ Warcraft Will Lose
Warcraft will end up losing around $15 million, less than it would have if not for a strong showing in China.
THR says that the film, which was budgeted at $160 million, may lose $30-40 million according to industry execs, but a digital rights deal for China at the unusually-high amount of $24 million, and a $20 million merchandising pact, help offset the loss. Though the loss is smaller than expected after a dismal domestic showing, it is still a deficit.
The U.S. release bombed, making only $46.6 million. The rest of its total $430 million global gross came from international sales, and more than half of that was from China alone.
Steam Bans Item Gambling
In response to recent controversy surrounding Steam's ability to allow users to trade in-game items and the use of that functionality by third-party sites for gambling, Valve has announced it will begin asking these sites to "cease operations through Steam" and effectively ban item gambling on the service.
The full statement from Valve explains that the company has "no business relationship with any of these sites" and has never received revenue from them.
Valve's Erik Johnson issued the following statement concerning the company's decision, explaining how the sites are violating Steam's user agreements:
"In 2011, we added a feature to Steam that enabled users to trade in-game items as a way to make it easier for people to get the items they wanted in games featuring in-game economies.
Who Are Marvel’s Accused and Fallen?
Warning: this article contains spoilers for Civil War II #3!
With Civil War II #3 in stores, Marvel can now reveal details about two upcoming tie-in comics, Civil War II: The Accused #1 and Civil War II: The Fallen #1. Both of these one-shot issues will spin directly out of the events of Civil War II #3 and the death of Hulk at Hawkeye's hands.
As announced by ComicBook.com, Civil War II: The Accused #1 will focus on the trial of Clint Barton. While some of that trial was glimpsed in the pages of Civil War II #3, this issue will explore that trial in greater depth and the wide range of reactions among Marvel's superhero community. Matt Murdock looks to be the star of this issue, as he digs deeper into Clint's actions and finds some surprising truths about what unfolded, truths that tie back to the Superhuman Registration Act.
First Look at Pennywise the Clown From It Movie
Pennywise the Clown is back to instill a fear of clowns into a new generation of moviegoers, and Entertainment Weekly has a first look at the latest incarnation of It.
Bill Skarsgård plays Pennywise in Andrés Muschietti's take on Stephen King's It, which is due in theaters on September 8, 2017.
Originally brought to terrifying life by Tim Curry in the 1990 TV movie version, Pennywise will have a less "weird, greasy look" as the filmmakers aim for something "fresh and original," Skarsgård told EW.
Hideo Kojima Was Worried Death Stranding Would Leak Before E3 Reveal
Hideo Kojima's newest project, Death Stranding, debuted at Sony's E3 2016 PlayStation press conference. And while the particulars of the game and its trailer were kept hidden before that reveal, Kojima was concerned that the surprise would be spoiled.
"So every single year, there are leaks before E3," Kojima said in the latest episode of his HideoTube series. "...So we didn't let more than five people at Sony know about