Tatum, Gordon-Levitt to Star in Musical Comedy
Universal Studios has picked up the rights to Wicked producer Marc Platt's new musical comedy with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Channing Tatum attached to star.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film is currently untitled, but will follow two pilots on a R-rated musical misadventure. It's based on a plot Gordon-Levitt came up with the movie's screenwriter, Michael Bacall, several years ago while filming a movie called Manic.
Gordon-Levitt will also produce with his production company, hitRECord Films, as will Tatum with his company, Free Association.
Neither actor is stranger to song and dance, with Tatum frequently busting a move in the Magic Mike series and Gordon-Levitt making everyone's dreams come true with his Hall and Oates dance number from (500) Days of Summer.
P.T. Inspires Upcoming Hyper-Real Horror Game
Visage is an upcoming horror game from SadSquare Studio influenced by the hyper-real visuals and environmental storytelling explored in beloved horror demo P.T., but extended into a longer experience.
Its creators plan to launch on PC with VR compatibility in January 2017, with PlayStation 4 and Xbox One to follow if SadSquare meets its funding goals.
Check out 12 minutes of alpha gameplay footage from Visage below.
Visage isn't just inspired by P.T. – it began as a recreation of the Silent Hills demo's iconic home in Unreal Engine 4. When Konami canceled Silent Hills and removed the playable teaser from the PlayStation Store, Visage level designer Jonathan Vallières decided to turn the prototype into a game of its own.
What Kylo Ren Owes to a Cat
Star Wars: The Force Awakens villain Kylo Ren owes much to a feline, as it turns out his Force rumble sound effect came from the purring of a cat.
"The Kylo Ren Force rumble—the really chunky and animalistic rumble—is my cat’s purring," supervising sound editor and designer David Acord revealed to Nerdist (via THR). "It’s heavily pitched and slowed version of my cat’s purr that becomes
Kylo Force rumble."
Acord also discussed a few of the movie's other sound effects, some of which were pulled from other Lucasfilm properties, including one starring Harrison Ford. "When the rathtar is rolling down the hallway after Han and Chewie, I put in the sound of Ben Burtt’s boulder roll sound from Raiders of the Lost Ark when the boulder is chasing Indy," he said.
Studio Blames Star Wars for Mockingjay 2’s Lower Gross
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 is the lowest-grossing entry in the Lionsgate franchise with $652 million worldwide (over $100 million less than what Part 1 earned).
During a call with Wall Street analysts Friday, the studio -- whose stocks took a tumble after it announced weaker than expected Q3 earnings -- blamed the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and the Paris terrorist attack last November for the film's "softer than anticipated" performance at the box office. (Mockingjay, Part 2 opened in November.)
“I think the combination of circumstances was unique between the terrorist attack in Europe and Star Wars,” said Rob Friedman, Lionsgate’s co-chairman of the Motion Picture Group, according to Deadline.
The Walking Dead Beats Secret Wars in January
The Walking Dead #150 was the best-selling comic book of January 2016, according to Diamond Comics' sales figures. The series topped the charts for the first time since the release of The Walking Dead #100 in July 2012.
The Walking Dead managed to outsell even the final issue of Secret Wars. However, Marvel still published eight of the top ten best-selling books in January, thanks to Spider-Man/Deadpool #1, Old Man Logan #1, Uncanny X-Men #1 and their various Star Wars comics. DC had one book in the top ten with Batman #48.
Daily Deals: Star Wars: Battlefront, $40 Kindle Fire Tablet, PS Plus
Star Wars: Battlefront is $30 Digital, $40 on Disc
Amazon has $40 disc copies of Battlefront on PS4 and Xbox One, but if you opt for a PS4 digital copy, it's just $30.
Star Wars: Force Awakens to Cross $900M Domestically
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is expected to cross the $900 million mark in domestic sales today on its 50th day of release, Disney has announced.
Once J.J. Abrams' space epic reaches this new milestone, it will be the first film in box office history to earn $900 million. Disney also expects The Force Awakens to hit the $2 billion mark globally on Saturday, which will make it the third movie ever (and second in its original release) to reach this level of success.
As of yesterday, February 4, the film has made approximately $899.1 million domestically and a whopping $1.096 billion internationally, making for a grand total in worldwide earnings of $1.995 billion.
"This is a historic moment for Star Wars, for Lucasfilm, and for Disney, and all of us here are extremely gratified to be a part of this journey with fans around the world who have made Star Wars: The Force Awakens such an extraordinary success," Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn said in a statement.
H1Z1 Is Being Made Into Two Games, Confirmed for Consoles
H1Z1 is being split into two separate games, according to publisher Daybreak.
H1Z1: Just Survive will have a renewed focus on a persistent, open-world survival experience where players will have to scavenge, craft, and build bases to survive from the zombie threat. H1Z1: King of the Kill will be more of a "fast-paced shooter" focusing on fight-to-the-death game modes, including the popular Battle Royale. Both games will be given "their own dedicated development resources."
Daybreak said last year it started to notice separate communities pop up within H1Z1. One was solely focusing on the initial survival game, while others were dedicated to the Battle Royale game mode. "Many players in the community have been discussing splitting the game and we’ve heard you loud and clear," said the developer in the announcement. "We want to make sure we give both titles the support they need and deserve to truly flourish."
Bring on the Bad Girls! Phasma, Hela and Rita Repulsa
Download Keepin' it Reel, Episode 315!
Welcome back to Keepin' It Reel, the IGN show where Jim Vejvoda and Eric Goldman (subbing for Terri Schwartz this week) bring you the latest genre movie news.
This week's topics include news and rumors on the next three Fast and Furious sequels, Power Rangers, Thor: Ragnarok, Star Wars -- Episode VIII and Episode IX, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Alien: Covenant, Transformers 5, Avatar 2, Wolverine 3, X-Men: Apocalypse, and Deadpool.
This Winter’s 8 Most Promising New Anime
With the Winter 2016 anime season well underway, many of the best-looking shows have already found their footing. If you’re looking to add a few new shows to your watchlist, you can’t go wrong with any of these picks.
Keep in mind this list only includes new shows. There are many great anime returning this season, but they do not qualify for this list.
Erased takes the premise of having a special ability and keeps it grounded in a very serious reality. Protagonist Satoru has a power that sends him back in time to prevent tragedies and right wrongs, and he works to investigate a murder from his childhood. The show gracefully handles the horrors of child abuse, and as a result it’s consistently heartfelt and moving. That, combined with its engaging murder mystery, makes it a must-see.