Amazon Has a Zombie Apocalypse Clause In Its Terms of Service
Amazon released its open-source game engine, Lumberyard, for free this week. This means extensive customization for game developers, unless they're looking to use Lumberyard to run "life-critical or safety-critical systems," like medical equipment, self-driving cars, or nuclear facilities.
That's totally against the rules, according to the company's terms of service—until the zombie apocalypse comes.
Written into Amazon's clause 57.10, those restrictions won't apply "in the event of the occurrence of a widespread viral infection transmitted via bites or contact with bodily fluids that causes human corpses to reanimate and seek to consume living human flesh, blood, brain, or nerve tissue."
Researchers Are Using Cotton Candy Machines in Organ Engineering
Researchers at Vanderbilt University have developed a technique to mimic complex systems of capillaries using cotton candy machines. The new technique is used in creating three-dimensional templates of the capillary system and is said to be a huge improvement over other methods.
Sugar wouldn't work in creating the threads needed for the template—it was too soluable—so the researchers turned to a special polymer for the job. After spinning a system of polymer threads, the researchers pour a gelatin mixture that includes human cells over the polymer structure. Once the mixture cools, the polymer threads dissolve, leaving behind an elaborate network of tiny passages.
"Some people in the field think this approach is a little crazy,” researcher Leon Bellan told Vanderbilt's research news site, “but now we’ve shown we can use this simple technique to make microfluidic networks that mimic the three-dimensional capillary system in the human body in a cell-friendly fashion."
Danny McBride in Talks to Join Alien: Covenant
Eastbound & Down actor Danny McBride may co-star alongside Michael Fassbender in Alien: Covenant.
According to TheWrap, McBride is in early talks with 20th Century Fox to join Ridley Scott's upcoming sci-fi horror film.
McBride in Eastbound & Down
While Noomi Rapace won't reprise her role as Elizabeth Shaw, Fassbender will be back to play David from Prometheus. Additionally, series newcomer Katherine Waterston is on board to star as Alien: Covenant's female lead.
Agent Carter’s Future in Doubt as Hayley Atwell Signs onto New Pilot
While there's been no official announcement either way regarding the Season 3 prospects for Marvel's Agent Carter, a new casting item has many fans wondering about the ultimate fate of the series.
Per THR, Carter star Hayley Atwell has joined a new ABC pilot called Conviction, in the lead role. Of course, this is just a pilot and the show is a long way off at this point from being considered for a series pickup, but the fact that Atwell is seeking out new TV roles places Agent Carter's future in doubt. As is was, ABC's choice to renew the show for a second season was a late-in-the-game decision.
Scott Snyder to Leave DC’s Batman Comic
It's the end of an era for the Batman franchise, as Scott Snyder will be wrapping up his nearly five-year run on DC's Batman comic. Both he and artist Greg Capullo will be leaving the series with April's Batman #51.
Snyder confirmed rumors that his departure was imminent in an interview with Comic Vine today. He said, "Greg
and I have had a blast together on this run. It’s our second to last issue together. 51 is my last issue as well on Batman. For me, 50 is the quiet issue and 51 is really just a letter to the fans from us and a letter to Batman. It’s the lightest I’ve ever written. Not lightest as in happy but light as in not as many panels per page. It’s really really open. It’s a chance for Greg to draw the close before we take our break. 50 we wanted to be the opposite. We wanted it to be the most explosive, jam-packed sort of blockbuster crazed issue we’ve ever done. I hope it delivers in that regard."
First Photo from Set of The Flash / Supergirl Crossover
Ahead of The Flash's appearance in Supergirl, Grant Gustin ("Barry Allen/The Flash") has shared a photo alongside Melissa Benoist ("Kara Danvers/Supergirl") from the set of the upcoming crossover.
Gustin posted the photo on Instagram, along with the caption: "Those two emblems look pretty good together."
Gustin also humorously tweeted about the difference between filming The Flash in Vancouver (where the temperature is currently in the 40s and 50s fahrenheit) vs. Supergirl's Los Angeles-based production, where it's been in the 80s this week.
Titanfall 2 Toys Arriving Alongside Game in 2016
McFarlane Toys is creating figures for Titanfall 2, which will arrive alongside Respawn's game in Winter 2016.
A promotional image on the McFarlane Toys website specifies that a series of 7-inch figures arrives this winter. Meanwhile, a press release sent to Polygon elaborates that the game and figures are set for release together this winter.
This is in line with a comment made last year by EA CFO Blake Jorgensen. During an investor call the executive told fans to expect Titanfall 2 in the fiscal year 2017. That wouldhave put it between April of this year, and the end of March 2017.
Dominion Mode Is Disappearing From League of Legends
More than four years after introducing Dominion mode, Riot Games is removing the game type from League of Legends.
"Fewer than 0.5% of players actively play Dominion and we’re aware some number of even that small population is still bots," reads an announcement from Riot. The post specifies that alternate match types "work better in short cycles rather than as standalone queues."
League of Legends has a history of short-term events. The winter-themed Snowdown League of Legends event brought with it a returning temporary game mode late last year.
Samuel L. Jackson Up for Role in Stephen King’s Revival
Samuel L. Jackson may star in the film adaptation of Stephen King's Revival.
According to Entertainment Weekly, a "source close to the production" let slip that Samuel L. Jackson may play Charles Jacobs in the upcoming movie.
Samuel L. Jackson in The Hateful Eight
For those unfamiliar with King's novel, Charles Jacobs is a preacher from a small town who, after the death of his wife and child, investigates the supernatural. Meanwhile, Revival's lead character, Jaime Morton, has yet to be cast.
Jennifer Jason Leigh in Talks for Annihilation
Jennifer Jason Leigh is reportedly in talks to star in Annihilation, writer/director Alex Garland's follow-up to Ex Machina.
The Wrap reports that Leigh would join Natalie Portman, Gina Rodriguez, and Tessa Thompson for the film, which will feature an all-female ensemble. It's based on the novel by Jeff VanderMeer, which follows a group of women including an anthropologist, a surveyor, a psychologist, and a biologist.
Leigh has not yet struck a deal, but sources say she's eager to join after working with an all-male cast in The Hateful Eight.