Yearly Archives: 2020
Christopher Nolan Doesn’t Allow Chairs on His Movie Sets
Director Christopher Nolan is responsible for some of the biggest and most critically acclaimed blockbusters of recent years. Actress Anne Hathaway, who worked Nolan on The Dark Knight Rises and Interstellar, thinks she might have cracked the code to Nolan's success: he doesn't allow chairs on his movie sets.
Hathaway revealed this unusual working method during a one-on-one interview with her Les Miserables co-star Hugh Jackman, spearheaded by Variety (via the Playlist). According to the Catwoman actress, Nolan's philosophy can be summed up this way: "If you have chairs, people will sit, and if they’re sitting, they’re not working."
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Hathaway continued, "I mean, he has these incredible movies in terms of scope and ambition and technical prowess and emotion. It always arrives at the end under schedule and under budget. I think he’s onto something with the chair thing."
Nolan fans will remember Jackman also starred in a Nolan film (2006's The Prestige), but he doesn't reveal whether that "no chairs" rule was in effect back then.
(It should be noted that film sets are very busy and often crowded and cluttered places with the most notable seating usually reserved for the video village where a bank of monitors allow for playback. Stars, of course, have trailers they can return to during downtime on set.)
Nolan's next big screen epic is Tenet, an ambitious, time-bending spy movie starring John David Washington and future Batman Robert Pattinson. We're still not entirely sure what the movie is about, and even Washington admitted the cast was confused about the plot of Tenet.
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Unfortunately, it's also hard to say when exactly Tenet will arrive in theaters. Like many film and TV projects, Tenet's release date has already been pushed back multiple times due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nolan was reportedly very adamant to release the film theatrically in July, but Warner Bros. has now pushed the release back to August 12. Accordingly, AMC Theaters has delayed its planned reopening until July 30.
Do you think an anti-chair agenda is the secret of Nolan's filmmaking success? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
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Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
Everything Coming to Disney+ in July 2020
Disney+ in July features the debut of the X-Men franchise on the streamer, with X-Men: Days of Future Past dropping on July 10 and X-Men: Apocalypse on July 17. More titles set in the imaginative X-Men universe will be released in the coming months, including the original X-Men film on August 7, and The Wolverine on September 4. Other upcoming Marvel titles coming to Disney+ include Ant-Man and the Wasp on August 14 and 2005's Fantastic Four on August 28.
Also premiering in July is the award-winning Broadway hit Hamilton on July 3. Subscribers will be able to stream the original Broadway production, which stars Lin-Manuel Miranda as Alexander Hamilton, Leslie Odom Jr. as Aaron Burr, and Phillipa Soo as Eliza Hamilton.
Other notable titles coming to Disney+ in July include Ice Age: Collision Course on July 3, and Solo: A Star Wars Story on July 10. In our Solo: A Star Wars Story review, we say that the film "commits to being a charming and fun exercise in repackaging nostalgia and pre-owned protagonists."
Read on to see the full list of shows and movies coming to Disney+ in July.
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New on Disney Plus - Friday, July 3
- Animal ER (Seasons 1-2)
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
- Ice Age: Collision Course
- Ice Road Rescue (Seasons 1-4)
- Race to Witch Mountain (2009)
- The Big Green
- The Mighty Ducks
- Hamilton
- Pixar in Real Life - Episode 109 "UP: Balloon Cart Away"
- Disney Family Sundays - Episode 135 "Peter Pan: Shadow Box Theater"
- One Day At Disney - Episode 131 "Zama Magudulela: The Lion King Madrid, Spain"
- It's a Dog's Life with Bill Farmer - Episode 108 "Movie Star Dogs & Hounds and Horses"
New on Disney Plus - Friday, July 10
- X-Men: Days of Future Past
- Critter Fixers: Country Vets (Season 1)
- Gigantosaurus (Season 1)
- Secrets of the Zoo (Season 3)
- Solo: A Star Wars Story
- Disney Family Sundays - Episode 136 "Lilo and Stitch: Family Tree"
- One Day At Disney - Episode 132 “Marc Smith: Story Artist”
- It's a Dog's Life with Bill Farmer - Episode 109 "Movie Star Dogs & Hounds and Horses"
New on Disney Plus - Friday, July 17
- X-Men: Apocalypse
- A Pre-Opening Report from Disneyland
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul
- Disney Junior Music Lullabies
- Lost City of Machu Picchu
- Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! (S1-2)
- The Mouseketeers at Walt Disney World
- Wild Chile (Season 1)
- Disney Family Sundays - Episode 137 "Moana: Tomato Photo Holder"
- One Day At Disney - Episode 133 "Mike Davie: Imagineering Project Manager"
- It's a Dog's Life with Bill Farmer - Episode 110 "Snake Search Dogs & Hawaiian Conservation Dogs"
New on Disney Plus - Friday, July 24
- Wild Congo (Season 1)
- Wild Sri Lanka (Season 1)
- Disney Family Sundays - Episode 138 "The Jungle Book: Finger Puppet"
- One Day At Disney - Episode 134 "Chris Cristi: Helicopter Reporter"
New on Disney Plus - Friday, July 31
- Alaska Animal Rescue (Season 1)
- Animal Showdown (Season 1)
- Best Job Ever (Season 1)
- Big Cat Games
- Cradle of the Gods
- Destination World (Season 1)
- Dr. Oakley, Yukon Vet (Season 8)
- Fearless Adventures with Jack Randall (Season 1)
- Hidden Kingdoms of China
- Hunt for the Abominable Snowman
- India’s Wild Leopards
- Jungle Animal Rescue (Season 1)
- King Fishers (Season 1)
- Lost Temple of the Inca
- Marvel Funko (Seasons 1-2)
- Surviving the Mount St. Helens Disaster
- Weirdest, Bestest, Truest (Season 1)
- What Sam Sees (Season 1)
- Muppets Now - Episode 101 - “Due Date”
- Disney Family Sundays - Episode 139 "Mickey and Minnie: Pillows"
West Of Dead Review – Run And Cover
There are a lot of reasons to take a look at West of Dead. Cowboys and Wild West aesthetics are hot in games right now, in the wake of Red Dead Redemption 2. Run-based games are, likewise, very much a structure du jour. It's dusted with voiceover narration from Ron Perlman, who you might know from Guillermo Del Toro's Hellboy films or the FX TV Show Sons of Anarchy. And it certainly doesn't hurt that its core mechanical conceit, as a cover-based twin-stick shooter, helps Frankenstein it to original and, dare I say, innovative gameplay. Unfortunately, West of Dead is a textbook case of a half-baked concept: Though its big sweeping ideas work well, the minutiae, from scaling the difficulty of encounters to unrefined enemies and plain old technical issues, threaten to undo the experience at any time.
West of Dead's conceit builds up a simple but interesting little tale. In Purgatory--which is apparently in Wyoming--the dead have stopped filtering "east" to heaven or "west" to hell. You play an undead cowboy called the Marshall who's lost his memory, save for his mission to kill the evil preacher holding up the afterlife. Though it's more narrative glue than captivating storytelling, the Marshall's inner monologue, in subdued performance from Perlman, keeps the story in mind, evoking a world that you might not see in its generic, monotonous Wild West-themed levels.
Like so many of today's Rogue-inspired games, the story naturally falls away at a certain point, as you play and replay the game over and over, attempting to reach your goal. West of Dead retains many of the tropes established by the many, many rogue-lites that have launched in the last few years, and it cribs its structure specifically from 2018's wildly successful version, Dead Cells. West of Dead procedurally generates long levels, which are punctuated with a store where you must spend Sin points to permanently expand your arsenal of weapons. In each run, you find upgrades to your specs and more powerful gear--two weapons, two accessories, and a passive charm. By defeating optional bosses, you gain access to branching paths with harder levels. You carry an upgradable healing flask, which you refill between levels. There's even a hall at the start of each run where you can see all the weapons and upgrades you've bought. Though it comes dangerously close to getting branded as a "Dead Cells clone," using familiar structure makes it easy to focus on West of Dead's combat, where its real innovations lie.
Continue Reading at GameSpotWest Of Dead Review – Run And Cover
There are a lot of reasons to take a look at West of Dead. Cowboys and Wild West aesthetics are hot in games right now, in the wake of Red Dead Redemption 2. Run-based games are, likewise, very much a structure du jour. It's dusted with voiceover narration from Ron Perlman, who you might know from Guillermo Del Toro's Hellboy films or the FX TV Show Sons of Anarchy. And it certainly doesn't hurt that its core mechanical conceit, as a cover-based twin-stick shooter, helps Frankenstein it to original and, dare I say, innovative gameplay. Unfortunately, West of Dead is a textbook case of a half-baked concept: Though its big sweeping ideas work well, the minutiae, from scaling the difficulty of encounters to unrefined enemies and plain old technical issues, threaten to undo the experience at any time.
West of Dead's conceit builds up a simple but interesting little tale. In Purgatory--which is apparently in Wyoming--the dead have stopped filtering "east" to heaven or "west" to hell. You play an undead cowboy called the Marshall who's lost his memory, save for his mission to kill the evil preacher holding up the afterlife. Though it's more narrative glue than captivating storytelling, the Marshall's inner monologue, in subdued performance from Perlman, keeps the story in mind, evoking a world that you might not see in its generic, monotonous Wild West-themed levels.
Like so many of today's Rogue-inspired games, the story naturally falls away at a certain point, as you play and replay the game over and over, attempting to reach your goal. West of Dead retains many of the tropes established by the many, many rogue-lites that have launched in the last few years, and it cribs its structure specifically from 2018's wildly successful version, Dead Cells. West of Dead procedurally generates long levels, which are punctuated with a store where you must spend Sin points to permanently expand your arsenal of weapons. In each run, you find upgrades to your specs and more powerful gear--two weapons, two accessories, and a passive charm. By defeating optional bosses, you gain access to branching paths with harder levels. You carry an upgradable healing flask, which you refill between levels. There's even a hall at the start of each run where you can see all the weapons and upgrades you've bought. Though it comes dangerously close to getting branded as a "Dead Cells clone," using familiar structure makes it easy to focus on West of Dead's combat, where its real innovations lie.
Continue Reading at GameSpotWarners Launches Investigation Into Ray Fisher’s Justice League Allegations
UPDATE 3: WarnerMedia is officially launching a third-party investigation into Justice League actor Ray Fisher's claims that reshoots director Joss Whedon ran a toxic, hostile set and that former DC Films co-chairs Geoff Johns and Jon Berg enabled the alleged bad behavior. Fisher has also claimed Johns reprimanded him for complaining up the chain about it at the time.
Fisher, who played Cyborg in the 2017 film, tweeted about the investigation Thursday, claiming, "I believe this investigation will show that Geoff Johns, Joss Whedon, Jon Berg (and others) grossly abused their power during the uncertainty of AT&T’s merger with Time Warner."
Fisher, as Variety notes, has yet to (publicly) provide corroboration or specifics to support his allegations.
"There have been no findings yet, and there is no specific timeline for the investigation," according to Variety. "The source stressed that WarnerMedia hasn’t prejudged Whedon, Johns, or Berg, that the investigation is not limited to them, and that to preserve the integrity of the investigation, the company won’t conduct it in the public sphere."
Our original report follows.
UPDATE 2: Justice League producer and former Warner Bros. co-president of production Jon Berg has fired back at Cyborg actor Ray Fisher's claims that Berg and his former fellow DC Films exec Geoff Johns "enabled" any alleged bad behavior from director Joss Whedon on set, and also revealed one thing Fisher was upset about during the reshoots.
Berg told Variety that it was "categorically untrue that we enabled any unprofessional behavior.'" Berg also said Fisher was upset that the filmmakers wanted him to utter one of Cyborg's signature catchphrases from his small screen appearances.
“I remember [Fisher] being upset that we wanted him to say ‘Booyaa,’ which is a well known saying of Cyborg in the animated series,” Berg said.
Berg and Johns also announced today that they are reteaming with Justice League's Jason Momoa for a Frosty the Snowman movie where Momoa will voice the title role.
Our earlier report follows.
UPDATE 1: Cyborg actor Ray Fisher has tweeted an explanation of why he wanted to "forcefully retract" his previous praise of Justice League director Joss Whedon, claiming Whedon's "on-set treatment of the cast and crew of Justice League was gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable."
Fisher also blamed former DC Films co-leads Geoff Johns and Jon Berg because he believes they "enabled" Whedon's behavior.
Our original report from June 29 follows. Cyborg actor Ray Fisher was onstage alongside his fellow Justice League cast members at San Diego Comic-Con 2017 to promote Joss Whedon's reshot, reedited version of the DC movie that Zack Snyder had originally been hired to make. Fisher said at the time, "Joss is a great guy and Zack picked a good person to come in and clean up, finish up for him." That was then. On Monday, Fisher tweeted a video of him saying those very words at SDCC 2017 with this caption: "I’d like to take a moment to forcefully retract every bit of this statement."Joss Wheadon’s on-set treatment of the cast and crew of Justice League was gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable.
He was enabled, in many ways, by Geoff Johns and Jon Berg. Accountability>Entertainment — Ray Fisher (@ray8fisher) July 1, 2020
Fisher, a theater actor who made his big-screen debut in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice before segueing to Justice League, did not provide any further context for retracting his past praise of Whedon. It's unclear whether Fisher's slam is a personal beef with Whedon or simply about not liking the theatrical version of Justice League that Whedon shepherded, which was mandated to lighten up the darker tone of Snyder's version of the film. It's also worth noting Jason Momoa's stone-faced expression and seemingly half-hearted nod reacting to Fisher's praise. Fisher has long been a supporter of #ReleaseTheSnyderCut on his social media. Given that Snyder gave Fisher, whose sole credit since 2017's Justice League was a recurring role in Season 3 on HBO's True Detective, his start as a screen actor perhaps it's a matter of loyalty for him. However, actor Joe Morton, who played Cyborg's dad Silas Stone, told IGN in 2017 that Whedon's reshoots were in part to alter the tone of the Cyborg character, a creative shift that could get to the heart of Fisher's retraction of his past praise for Whedon. "Well, the stuff that I had to do were just really small little bits and pieces, nothing necessarily having to do with tone. I know that with Ray [Fisher], the young man who plays Victor, there were some adjustments that they made in terms of the tone of that character," according to Morton. "I think what I heard was that there was a need from the studio to lighten up the film in a way, that the film felt too dark. I don't know what that meant in terms of how it actually got translated in terms of the reshoots but that's what I heard. That's what I thought some of the reshoots were about." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-flash-movies-possible-dceu-cameos&captions=true"] This isn't the first time Fisher has criticized creative personnel that worked on past DC films. In June, Fisher responded to a tweet from Suicide Squad director David Ayer who answered a fan question about his film's timeline. In the tweet (seen below), Ayer claims Geoff Johns -- the DC Comics writer who was also then leading point on Warner Bros.' overhaul of DC Films -- added an element to Suicide Squad, which was also infamously retooled before release, that he felt "broke my timeline" of Joker. To which Fisher replied, seemingly throwing shade at Johns, "I feel your pain."I’d like to take a moment to forcefully retract every bit of this statement: pic.twitter.com/1ECwwu6TG1
— Ray Fisher (@ray8fisher) June 29, 2020
Zack Snyder's Justice League is being completed and is expected to debut on HBO Max in early-to-mid-2021. For more Snyder Cut coverage, watch the first Darkseid clip and find out about some of the visual changes the movie will have from Justice League's theatrical release.I feel your pain...
— Ray Fisher (@ray8fisher) June 10, 2020
Warners Launches Investigation Into Ray Fisher’s Justice League Allegations
UPDATE 3: WarnerMedia is officially launching a third-party investigation into Justice League actor Ray Fisher's claims that reshoots director Joss Whedon ran a toxic, hostile set and that former DC Films co-chairs Geoff Johns and Jon Berg enabled the alleged bad behavior. Fisher has also claimed Johns reprimanded him for complaining up the chain about it at the time.
Fisher, who played Cyborg in the 2017 film, tweeted about the investigation Thursday, claiming, "I believe this investigation will show that Geoff Johns, Joss Whedon, Jon Berg (and others) grossly abused their power during the uncertainty of AT&T’s merger with Time Warner."
Fisher, as Variety notes, has yet to (publicly) provide corroboration or specifics to support his allegations.
"There have been no findings yet, and there is no specific timeline for the investigation," according to Variety. "The source stressed that WarnerMedia hasn’t prejudged Whedon, Johns, or Berg, that the investigation is not limited to them, and that to preserve the integrity of the investigation, the company won’t conduct it in the public sphere."
Our original report follows.
UPDATE 2: Justice League producer and former Warner Bros. co-president of production Jon Berg has fired back at Cyborg actor Ray Fisher's claims that Berg and his former fellow DC Films exec Geoff Johns "enabled" any alleged bad behavior from director Joss Whedon on set, and also revealed one thing Fisher was upset about during the reshoots.
Berg told Variety that it was "categorically untrue that we enabled any unprofessional behavior.'" Berg also said Fisher was upset that the filmmakers wanted him to utter one of Cyborg's signature catchphrases from his small screen appearances.
“I remember [Fisher] being upset that we wanted him to say ‘Booyaa,’ which is a well known saying of Cyborg in the animated series,” Berg said.
Berg and Johns also announced today that they are reteaming with Justice League's Jason Momoa for a Frosty the Snowman movie where Momoa will voice the title role.
Our earlier report follows.
UPDATE 1: Cyborg actor Ray Fisher has tweeted an explanation of why he wanted to "forcefully retract" his previous praise of Justice League director Joss Whedon, claiming Whedon's "on-set treatment of the cast and crew of Justice League was gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable."
Fisher also blamed former DC Films co-leads Geoff Johns and Jon Berg because he believes they "enabled" Whedon's behavior.
Our original report from June 29 follows. Cyborg actor Ray Fisher was onstage alongside his fellow Justice League cast members at San Diego Comic-Con 2017 to promote Joss Whedon's reshot, reedited version of the DC movie that Zack Snyder had originally been hired to make. Fisher said at the time, "Joss is a great guy and Zack picked a good person to come in and clean up, finish up for him." That was then. On Monday, Fisher tweeted a video of him saying those very words at SDCC 2017 with this caption: "I’d like to take a moment to forcefully retract every bit of this statement."Joss Wheadon’s on-set treatment of the cast and crew of Justice League was gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable.
He was enabled, in many ways, by Geoff Johns and Jon Berg. Accountability>Entertainment — Ray Fisher (@ray8fisher) July 1, 2020
Fisher, a theater actor who made his big-screen debut in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice before segueing to Justice League, did not provide any further context for retracting his past praise of Whedon. It's unclear whether Fisher's slam is a personal beef with Whedon or simply about not liking the theatrical version of Justice League that Whedon shepherded, which was mandated to lighten up the darker tone of Snyder's version of the film. It's also worth noting Jason Momoa's stone-faced expression and seemingly half-hearted nod reacting to Fisher's praise. Fisher has long been a supporter of #ReleaseTheSnyderCut on his social media. Given that Snyder gave Fisher, whose sole credit since 2017's Justice League was a recurring role in Season 3 on HBO's True Detective, his start as a screen actor perhaps it's a matter of loyalty for him. However, actor Joe Morton, who played Cyborg's dad Silas Stone, told IGN in 2017 that Whedon's reshoots were in part to alter the tone of the Cyborg character, a creative shift that could get to the heart of Fisher's retraction of his past praise for Whedon. "Well, the stuff that I had to do were just really small little bits and pieces, nothing necessarily having to do with tone. I know that with Ray [Fisher], the young man who plays Victor, there were some adjustments that they made in terms of the tone of that character," according to Morton. "I think what I heard was that there was a need from the studio to lighten up the film in a way, that the film felt too dark. I don't know what that meant in terms of how it actually got translated in terms of the reshoots but that's what I heard. That's what I thought some of the reshoots were about." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-flash-movies-possible-dceu-cameos&captions=true"] This isn't the first time Fisher has criticized creative personnel that worked on past DC films. In June, Fisher responded to a tweet from Suicide Squad director David Ayer who answered a fan question about his film's timeline. In the tweet (seen below), Ayer claims Geoff Johns -- the DC Comics writer who was also then leading point on Warner Bros.' overhaul of DC Films -- added an element to Suicide Squad, which was also infamously retooled before release, that he felt "broke my timeline" of Joker. To which Fisher replied, seemingly throwing shade at Johns, "I feel your pain."I’d like to take a moment to forcefully retract every bit of this statement: pic.twitter.com/1ECwwu6TG1
— Ray Fisher (@ray8fisher) June 29, 2020
Zack Snyder's Justice League is being completed and is expected to debut on HBO Max in early-to-mid-2021. For more Snyder Cut coverage, watch the first Darkseid clip and find out about some of the visual changes the movie will have from Justice League's theatrical release.I feel your pain...
— Ray Fisher (@ray8fisher) June 10, 2020
The Last of Us Part 2 Was Once More Open World in Development
The Last of Us Part 2 takes a lot of design cues and lessons from developer Naughty Dog’s recent games, including its direct predecessor and the Uncharted series. The final result is a linearly focused adventure, but one that often opens up into the studio’s biggest environments and levels. And at one point, it could have been an even greater departure from past games.
Speaking to IGN ahead of The Last of Us Part 2’s release, director Neil Druckmann discussed how early ideas of the game had taken on an open-world design.
Warning: Major spoilers for The Last of Us Part 2 follow. Turn back if you haven’t finished!
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“The game initially was this open world thing. And you spent all this time in Jackson,” Druckmann, who also spoke to us about The Last of Us Part 2's ambitious story, explained.
Jackson, Wyoming is the first major location for the sequel, which spends most of its time in the Pacific Northwest. In Jackson, though, we see where Ellie and Joel have been living in the ensuing years since the end of The Last of Us. There’s a full community here, and in the final release of the sequel, we meet other citizens like Dina, Jesse, Maria, and Seth, while hearing stories about others like Eugene.
The more time players would have spent in Jackson also altered the way Abby, the main second playable protagonist, was introduced.
“Abby joined the community and you were playing as this new character until she betrayed Joel later on,” Druckmann explained. “And it just didn't work because Joel dying is the inciting incident, and you want to get to the inciting incident as quickly as you can.”
And so Abby’s introduction and quick playable levels comes early on, before Joel’s death sends Ellie on her revenge quest to Seattle.
Druckmann explained how Abby’s role actually shrank from earlier iterations of the sequel’s story, but that ultimately the team settled on a playable portion that felt long enough to convey what was necessary.
“Abby was the concept that made us want to make this game about empathy, interactivity; knowing we could use Joel and Ellie to create that feeling right at the beginning,” he said. “Her role actually kept shrinking and shrinking until we thought this is the right amount for what we need you to feel about Abby.”
Stay tuned to IGN for more from Druckmann on the sequel, and if you haven't already be sure to check out IGN's The Last of Us Part 2 review. For more on the Naughty Dog sequel, read our dive into The Last of Us Part 2's accessibility features, how much The Last of Us Part 2 sold in its debut weekend, and why the sequel probably won't get DLC. And if you're playing, be sure to check out IGN's comprehensive The Last of Us Part 2 guide for help with collectibles, Trophies, and more.
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Jonathon Dornbush is IGN's Senior News Editor, Host of Podcast Beyond!, and can't stop hearing Pearl Jam in his head now. Talk to him on Twitter @jmdornbush.
The Last of Us Part 2 Was Once More Open World in Development
The Last of Us Part 2 takes a lot of design cues and lessons from developer Naughty Dog’s recent games, including its direct predecessor and the Uncharted series. The final result is a linearly focused adventure, but one that often opens up into the studio’s biggest environments and levels. And at one point, it could have been an even greater departure from past games.
Speaking to IGN ahead of The Last of Us Part 2’s release, director Neil Druckmann discussed how early ideas of the game had taken on an open-world design.
Warning: Major spoilers for The Last of Us Part 2 follow. Turn back if you haven’t finished!
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/the-last-of-us-part-2-ps4-pro-limited-edition-unboxing"]
[poilib element="accentDivider"]
“The game initially was this open world thing. And you spent all this time in Jackson,” Druckmann, who also spoke to us about The Last of Us Part 2's ambitious story, explained.
Jackson, Wyoming is the first major location for the sequel, which spends most of its time in the Pacific Northwest. In Jackson, though, we see where Ellie and Joel have been living in the ensuing years since the end of The Last of Us. There’s a full community here, and in the final release of the sequel, we meet other citizens like Dina, Jesse, Maria, and Seth, while hearing stories about others like Eugene.
The more time players would have spent in Jackson also altered the way Abby, the main second playable protagonist, was introduced.
“Abby joined the community and you were playing as this new character until she betrayed Joel later on,” Druckmann explained. “And it just didn't work because Joel dying is the inciting incident, and you want to get to the inciting incident as quickly as you can.”
And so Abby’s introduction and quick playable levels comes early on, before Joel’s death sends Ellie on her revenge quest to Seattle.
Druckmann explained how Abby’s role actually shrank from earlier iterations of the sequel’s story, but that ultimately the team settled on a playable portion that felt long enough to convey what was necessary.
“Abby was the concept that made us want to make this game about empathy, interactivity; knowing we could use Joel and Ellie to create that feeling right at the beginning,” he said. “Her role actually kept shrinking and shrinking until we thought this is the right amount for what we need you to feel about Abby.”
Stay tuned to IGN for more from Druckmann on the sequel, and if you haven't already be sure to check out IGN's The Last of Us Part 2 review. For more on the Naughty Dog sequel, read our dive into The Last of Us Part 2's accessibility features, how much The Last of Us Part 2 sold in its debut weekend, and why the sequel probably won't get DLC. And if you're playing, be sure to check out IGN's comprehensive The Last of Us Part 2 guide for help with collectibles, Trophies, and more.
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Jonathon Dornbush is IGN's Senior News Editor, Host of Podcast Beyond!, and can't stop hearing Pearl Jam in his head now. Talk to him on Twitter @jmdornbush.
Donald Trump’s Official Twitch Channel Suspended
Twitch has suspended President Donald Trump’s official Twitch channel citing a violation of Twitch’s community guidelines against hateful conduct. A suspension is not the same as a ban, but it’s unclear when President Trump’s Twitch channel will be reinstated.
In a statement provided to IGN, a Twitch spokesperson said, “Hateful conduct is not allowed on Twitch. In line with our policies, President Trump’s channel has been issued a temporary suspension from Twitch for comments made on stream, and the offending content has been removed.”
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Twitch defines Hateful Conduct on its platform as any “content or activity that promotes, encourages, or facilitates discrimination, denigration, objectification, harassment, or violence based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability or serious medical condition or veteran status, and is prohibited. Any hateful conduct is considered a zero-tolerance violation.”
Trump’s Twitch channel rebroadcasted multiple rallies that Twitch cited as violations of this rule. One was a recent rebroadcast from his 2016 campaign rally where he said:
“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people. But I speak to border guards and they tell us what we’re getting. And it only makes common sense. It only makes common sense. They’re sending us not the right people.”Twitch cited a second comment made during a Twitch stream from Trump’s Tulsa Rally:
“Hey, it’s 1:00 o’clock in the morning and a very tough, I’ve used the word on occasion, hombre, a very tough hombre is breaking into the window of a young woman whose husband is away as a traveling salesman or whatever he may do. And you call 911 and they say, “I’m sorry, this number’s no longer working.” By the way, you have many cases like that, many, many, many. Whether it’s a young woman, an old woman, a young man or an old man and you’re sleeping.”Twitch told the President’s team when the channel was started last year that, “Like anyone else, politicians on Twitch must adhere to our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. We do not make exceptions for political or newsworthy content, and will take action on content reported to us that violates our rules.” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/03/08/president-trumps-violence-in-video-games-highlight-reel"] Several other politicians have Twitch channels, including Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. Trump’s suspension from Twitch comes on the same day Reddit banned subreddits deemed as propagating hateful content, including the r/The_Donald subreddit which is not officially associated with the President. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN. Blogroll photo by Gage Skidmore via Flickr. Some rights reserved.
Donald Trump’s Official Twitch Channel Suspended
Twitch has suspended President Donald Trump’s official Twitch channel citing a violation of Twitch’s community guidelines against hateful conduct. A suspension is not the same as a ban, but it’s unclear when President Trump’s Twitch channel will be reinstated.
In a statement provided to IGN, a Twitch spokesperson said, “Hateful conduct is not allowed on Twitch. In line with our policies, President Trump’s channel has been issued a temporary suspension from Twitch for comments made on stream, and the offending content has been removed.”
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/03/02/trump-to-meet-with-game-industry-execs"]
Twitch defines Hateful Conduct on its platform as any “content or activity that promotes, encourages, or facilitates discrimination, denigration, objectification, harassment, or violence based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability or serious medical condition or veteran status, and is prohibited. Any hateful conduct is considered a zero-tolerance violation.”
Trump’s Twitch channel rebroadcasted multiple rallies that Twitch cited as violations of this rule. One was a recent rebroadcast from his 2016 campaign rally where he said:
“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people. But I speak to border guards and they tell us what we’re getting. And it only makes common sense. It only makes common sense. They’re sending us not the right people.”Twitch cited a second comment made during a Twitch stream from Trump’s Tulsa Rally:
“Hey, it’s 1:00 o’clock in the morning and a very tough, I’ve used the word on occasion, hombre, a very tough hombre is breaking into the window of a young woman whose husband is away as a traveling salesman or whatever he may do. And you call 911 and they say, “I’m sorry, this number’s no longer working.” By the way, you have many cases like that, many, many, many. Whether it’s a young woman, an old woman, a young man or an old man and you’re sleeping.”Twitch told the President’s team when the channel was started last year that, “Like anyone else, politicians on Twitch must adhere to our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. We do not make exceptions for political or newsworthy content, and will take action on content reported to us that violates our rules.” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/03/08/president-trumps-violence-in-video-games-highlight-reel"] Several other politicians have Twitch channels, including Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. Trump’s suspension from Twitch comes on the same day Reddit banned subreddits deemed as propagating hateful content, including the r/The_Donald subreddit which is not officially associated with the President. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN. Blogroll photo by Gage Skidmore via Flickr. Some rights reserved.