TCA Award Winners: Better Call Saul, Jon Hamm, More
The Television Critics Association honored the top programs and actors of the 2014-2015 television season tonight, at the 31st Annual TCA Awards presentation.
Hosted by James Corden, host of CBS' The Late Late Show, the TCA Awards ceremony was held at the Beverly Hills Hilton hotel. The results were determined from votes cast by the TCA’s membership, comprised of more than 220 professional TV critics and journalists from the United States and Canada. FOX's freshman hit Empire took home the prize for Program of the Year while AMC's Breaking Bad spinoff/prequel Better Call Saul nabbed Outstanding New Program.
Bob Odenkirk and Michael Mando in Better Call Saul.
The Strain: Is a Notable Book Character on Their Way?
Up until the Season 2 premiere of FX's The Strain, savvy viewers who had read the books were led to believe that Guillermo del Toro's Quinlan character had arrived. However, in the episode "BK, N.Y.", it was revealed that Stephen McHattie's character was in fact a Strigoi hunter named Vaun. It was such a big smokescreen that even McHattie's IMDB page lists the actor as having played both roles.
But with Vaun's well-being now up in the air following last week's attack and a clip from FX's TCA presentation on Friday showcasing a quick peek at another unidentified, sallow-faced type vampire hunter, now seems like a prime time for Quinlan to make his big appearance.
"We felt it would be a fun mislead for people who knew the books that Stephen McHattie was Quinlan when in fact he was actually Vaun," showrunner Carlton Cuse told IGN in a scrum following the TCA panel. "It also makes it feel like Quinlan would be more formidable if we introduced a guy who seems pretty bad ass and then discover that Quinlan is even more badass."
Sense8 Renewed for Season 2 by Netflix
Sense8, the Netflix original series from Andy and Lana Wachowski, is getting a second season.
The popular video-streaming service announced the news in a post on Twitter, which features a short video of the show's cast confirming its renewal.
Birthdays are just the beginning. #sense8 is reborn. https://t.co/tmMV66gKhm
— Netflix US (@netflix) August 8, 2015
Fargo EP Talks Bruce Campbell as Ronald Reagan
Fargo, one of the most critically acclaimed shows of 2014, returns for its second season on FX this October 12th.
So how does one try to top (or match) the excellence of Season 1? Which not only lovingly (and perfectly) emulated the locale, look, and tone of the superb award-winning Coen Brothers film, but also stood as a close-ended story? Well, you take things back to the 1970s and center the story around Molly Solverson's father, Lou (now played by Patrick Wilson). As well as a cast of colorful cops and crooks played by the likes of Ted Danson, Jeffrey Donovan, Bokeem Woodbine, Jean Smart, Brad Garrett, Kirsten Dunst, and Jesse Plemons.
Creator/showrunner Noah Hawley appeared with the cast during FX's presentation at the TCA Press Tour to answer questions about the upcoming second season. One of them being, would the show, if a Season 3 ever came about, always need to branch off from an existing character?
Everything You Need to Know About the Need for Speed Reboot
Even though Need for Speed has been around for over 20 years, it’s hard to really say what the series is about. Some entries differ so much it’s hard to latch onto common elements – sometimes street racing has been at the fore, other times there’s been an emphasis on storytelling, evading the cops or even catching criminals. It’s been a lot of different things, and that's the motivation behind this year's installment.
The lack of a subtitle is actually a statement: Need for Speed is a resetting of the clock, an opportunity to look at what has worked in the past and say these are the foundations going forward. So what lies at the base of the new game?
Rayman Creator Designs a Super Mario Maker Level
Michel Ancel, the designer behind Rayman and Beyond Good & Evil, has created a Mario level that could potentially be one of the 60 pre-made levels for Super Mario Maker.
Nintendo France uploaded a video on their YouTube account which shows the famed French developer go hands-on with Super Mario Maker. As such, the video is in French, but it is still fascinating to watch Ancel using his expertise to design a Mario level. He even pulled out graph paper to brainstorm various level design ideas.
According to Perfectly Nintendo's translation, the Rayman creator has played games featuring the mustachioed Italian plumber since Donkey Kong, but his first "true" Mario game was Mario Land on the Game Boy. Ancel claims that he likes Mario's simplicity and that "as a level designer, one of the most interesting for him is to find out is just how much you can do with a limited number of elements."
Tons of New Exotics Coming to Destiny in Taken King
Destiny's upcoming expansion The Taken King is bringing more than just story updates and Destiny's biggest raid ever in "King's Fall." The new content will also include an arsenal update Bungie calls "huge."
"We've got more weapons and gear than were in the shipping game back in September 2014," Bungie community and marketing relations manager Eric "Urk" Osborne told us.
Among the new arrivals will be "tons of new exotics," Osborne said, adding there will also be "tons of new gear" and new weapons.
Bungie showed off The Taken King content at Gamescom, including parts of the story mission "The Coming War." In it, "you can see the warlock gloves with electricity charging through them," Osborne said, teasing one of the new exotics coming in the expansion.
LEGO Dimensions Has Some Wonderful Toys
The small touches in LEGO Dimensions are ridiculous. One minute I was running around Oz as Peter Capaldi’s Doctor, tearing up the yellow brick road in the DeLorean, when I was killed by a flying monkey. It happens. But when I respawned, even though the minifigure of Capaldi’s Doctor remained on the base plate, I was now strutting around the level as the very first Doctor, portrayed by William Hartnell.
eyond appearance – he walks with his hands fixed to his lapels, with a stately grace. I died again. Bloody monkeys. This time I spotted the regeneration animation – it’s the same one that accompanied Tennant’s violent transformation into Matt Smith. This time Hartnell gave way to Tennant, who once again felt totally different. Complete with iconic white trainers, he stood feet apart, a cocky swagger animating his tiny frame. It feels authentic, yes, but more importantly it also feels affectionate.
Avoid Stagefright Vulnerability With New Android App
Mobile security firm Zimperium Inc. has released an app for Android users to detect the presence of the Stagefright vulnerability in their phones.
Zimperium, who discovered the exploit, calls the vulnerability "extremely dangerous", as it doesn't require an affected user to take any action to be taken advantage of. The tool, which is available on Google Play, will let you know if your phone is at risk.
The bug is particularly troublesome because to execute an attack, an attacker only needs your mobile number. From there, they can remotely execute code using a "specially crafted media file" delivered through MMS.
Aquaman Director May Produce Mortal Kombat Reboot
James Wan -- the ultra-hot filmmaker behind Furious 7, Saw and the upcoming Aquaman --is reportedly coming aboard the long-gestating big screen reboot of Mortal Kombat. But the plan isn't for Wan to direct the video game movie.
According to The Tracking Board, New Line Cinema has tapped Wan to produce the reboot, which "the studio has described as 'a departure from the mythology,' with 'darker, brutally real martial arts.'”
Mortal Kombat: Legacy's Oren Uziel and The Expendables' Dave Callaham are scripting the reboot, which The Tracking Board claims "centers around a seemingly harmless guy who realizes his potential when he finds himself caught in the middle of a cross-dimensional battle between the warriors of Earth and the monsters of Outworld. Now, in order to stop the world from total destruction, he must win the martial arts tournament known as ‘Mortal Kombat'."