Details on Melbourne’s Square Sounds Festival
When it comes to different genres of music, there aren’t many out there as retro-minded as chiptune. You might be thinking to yourself, “What exactly is chiptune music?” Well, to quote a hypothetical listener with quintessential old person mentality, it’s “Nintendo music.” And apart from writing the genre off as a bunch of computer-sounding noises that couldn’t possibly hold a candle to the likes of a Chubby Checker, to a certain extent, they’re right. A good chunk of chiptune music available today is made using the sound capabilities of old gaming hardware like the Nintendo Game Boy, Commodore 64 and Atari 2600. And the end results range from melody-driven synth-drenched soundscapes to beat-driven bass workouts, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the chiptune scene is both vibrant and flourishing.
12 Xbox Predictions for 2015
DOWNLOAD PODCAST UNLOCKED EPISODE 181
Four editors. Three predictions each. That means we've got 12 Xbox predictions for 2015 that you can hold us to come Christmas-time. Plus, we can bet on them! Which of us is Nostradamus (probably none of us), and which of us is Nostra-dumb-us (probably all of us)? Plus: A few Sony games look like they're on their way to Xbox, Condemned 3 might happen, Grand Theft Auto V's sales numbers continue to astound us, Dying Light isn't being ignored (yay!), and more.
Oh, and if you're new to Podcast Unlocked or have missed any episodes, get caught up!
Ryan Reynolds on Why Deadpool Won’t be Another Green Lantern
Ryan Reynolds has assured us that his upcoming Deadpool project will take a very different path to the one trodden by his unspectacular 2011 flick, Green Lantern.
Speaking to Yahoo, Reynold's admitted that a major part of Green Lantern's problem was the lack of a screenplay from day one.
"When we shot Green Lantern, nobody auditioning for the role of Green Lantern was given the opportunity to read the script, because the script didn’t exist", said Reynolds. "I’m not complaining about it — it was an opportunity of a lifetime, and if I were to go back and retrace my steps, I would probably do everything the exact same way."
Man Has Face Altered to Look Like Red Skull
A Venezuelan man who claims to be a Captain America fan has had his face surgically altered to resemble Marvel supervillain Red Skull.
As The Daily Mail reports, "Henry Damon, 37, had already had several subdermal implants on his forehead before having part of his nose removed in order to achieve the right Marvel madman look. Despite the drastic surgery, Mr Damon, from Caracas, Venezuela, is getting ready to take it even further to fulfill his dream. The married father, who now calls himself Red Skull, also tattooed his eyeballs black before adding red and black face tattoos to look like the comic book villain."
South Park: The Stick of Truth DLC is Unlikely, But Not Impossible
Although highly unlikely, there's still a fighting chance South Park: The Stick of Truth could one day get additional downloadable content.
Speaking with Polygon, Obsidian Entertainment CEO Feargus Urquhart explained that the tumultuous development cycle for The Stick of Truth may put a damper on the possibility. However, the development team has reached out to publisher Ubisoft to explore their options.
"As far as we know
are done," he said, adding that they aren't sure what The Stick of Truth's future could be.
Originally set to be published by the now-defunct THQ, South Park was in trouble for a brief time when it was in between publishers after THQ's shutdown.
300 Team Takes on Live-Action Robotech Movie
Good news for fans of the '80s anime series Robotech: it looks like it might finally be getting a live-action adaptation courtesy of the team that brought us 300 and its sequel, 300: Rise of an Empire.
Deadline reports that Warner Bros-based producers The Hollywood Gang - run by Gianni Nunnari and Mark Canton - are going to develop the film, and will employ 300 scribe Michael Gordon to write the screenplay. While there's no official word on a director, Deadline's been told via sources that the pair are eyeing Mama director Andy Muschietti for the role.
An adaptation of Robotech was first announced back in 2007, with Tobey Maguire nabbing the rights. Back then, it was described as as a "sprawling sci-fi epic" which would take place when Earth had developed giant robots from alien technology, used to fend off three distinct waves of alien invasions.
The Strange History of the Ghostbusters Reboot
For decades now, Hollywood has been full of rumors and conjecture and teases about the possibility of a third Ghostbusters film. And given the popularity of this horror/comedy franchise, why wouldn't there be another sequel? But Ghostbusters 3 never did crawl out of development hell. Instead of the long-awaited sequel, fans can now look forward to a complete reboot from director Pail Feig. The all-female Ghostbusters crew will reportedly feature Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Leslie Jones, and Kate McKinnon.
Hopefully this reboot will actually come to fruition and offer fans the new Ghostbusters film they've been waiting decades for. While we wait for the film's July 2016 release, we figured it would be fun to look back at the long, complicated history of this project. We're tracing many of the announcements and false starts and hopeful teases that have surrounded the failed Ghostbusters 3 and the current reboot.
Florida Lab Studies Lightning by Firing Rockets into Storms
The International Center for Lightning Research and Testing (ICLRT) is attempting to find an answer to the age-old question of where lightning comes from.
Operating out of the Camp Blanding Florida Army National Guard Base, the ICLRT is using a unique method of rockets and copper wire to reach into the clouds and facilitate a lightning bolt.
About a meter long, the rocket is attached to a long Kevlar-reinforced copper wire and fired into a storm cloud, which ideally provides a pathway for lightning-causing charged particles to go. This movement in the particles helps create lightning, which is then analyzed for data.
The current understanding of charged particles leading to a lightning strike stands as a solid theory, although Nerdist reports that researchers feel they're still missing something, as the charge imbalances in the clouds don't seem to be powerful enough to create lightning. One theory suggests that cosmic rays from the exploded stars in our universe may be at work, as they are able to strip ample electrons and atoms to create a massive charge.
John Wick 2 Is in Early Development
John Wick filmmakers Chad Stahelski and David Leitch are already in early development on a sequel to the Keanu Reeves revenge flick, which IGN named the Best Action Movie of 2014.
In an exclusive interview with Movies.com, the duo revealed that they are currently working on the sequel, with their focus on keeping John Wick compelling. “We have ideas for days and without blinking twice we know we can outdo the action from the original. It’s the matter of story and how much you like the character," said Stahelski. "So we want to make sure we have a story and a character that everybody loves and then we’ll dress it with action that we promise will be awesome.”
Astro Boy Live-Action Movie in the Works
Animal Logic Entertainment has announced plans for a live-action adaptation of the classic manga and anime series Astro Boy.
The Australian studio, known mostly for effects work in movies like Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron, has been working on developing its own projects since 2007, according to THR. It has a special eye towards live-action projects with heavy use of special effects. It's currently also developing an adaptation of Betty Boop.
The project is early in development. The producers are preparing to search for writers, and no director has been attached yet. While the manga and anime were targeted towards children, producer Zareh Nalbandian says this will share more in common with comic book films.