“I don’t mind the pain…” A new UK trailer has arrived for boxing drama Bleed For This, starring talented young actor Miles Teller as World Champion Boxer Vinny Pazienza. Paz started to rise in the boxing world in the early 90s, winning the junior middleweight world title, but broke his neck in a serious car accident. Doctors told him he may never walk again, but Paz returned to the ring thirteen months after the accident and made one of the greatest comebacks in the history of boxing. The cast includes Katey Sagal, Ciarán Hinds, Aaron Eckhart, Ted Levine, Kimberly Howe and Amanda Clayton. Both Teller and Eckhart give fantastic performances in this powerful story of overcoming hardship and fighting to do what you love. ›››
“Dogs don’t got teeth like this.” A24 has finally unveiled a trailer for the horror thriller The Monster, the latest feature from Bryan Bertino, the director behind the 2008 hit The Strangers. The Monster is indeed about a creepy monster, despite the tendency for movies like this to trick you into thinking “the monster” is just some deranged human living in the woods. Zoe Kazan and Ella Ballentine play mother-daughter in the film. When their car breaks down in the middle of the woods, things get increasingly creepy. The cast includes Scott Speedman, Aaron Douglas, Christine Ebadi and Chris Webb as the “monster”. This seems like a very quiet release, with the film being dumped without much buzz, but who knows. Take a look. ›››
“You act like everything’s the same. What planet are you on?” IFC has unveiled an official US trailer for the film Things to Come, the latest from French filmmaker Mia Hansen-Løve (read my interview with her here). This is also the other great Isabelle Huppert film this year, along with Paul Verhoeven’s Elle (which Jeremy raved about at Fantastic Fest). This film has been playing the festival circuit since premiering at the Berlin Film Festival in February, and we already posted the UK trailer for it a few months ago. The full cast includes André Marcon, Roman Kolinka, and Edith Scob. The film follows a woman who experiences a few major shakeups in her life, including a divorce and the birth of a grandchild. It’s a very philosophical but enjoyable film (there’s a cute cat in it!), as expected from Mia Hansen-Løve. In theaters later this year. ›››
“We are on the map. And we will stay on the map! Not only in sports, but in everything!” That was the iconic line spoken by Israeli basketball player Tal Brody after his team won the European Championship in 1977. On the Map is a documentary that profiles the successful victory of the Israeli basketball team in the 1970s, an amazing feat that actually did help put Israel “on the map” – at least in sports history. This looks like it has glorious old school footage from the matches, as well as some great interviews with many of the players who are still alive today. Israeli figures from outside the sports world, including former ambassador Michael Oren, politician Yair Lapid and former refusenik Natan Sharansky, all recall what TV commentator Alex Giladi calls “the end of Israeli sport losing with honor.” If you’re into sports docs, check this out below. ›››
Acitivision releases a new Call of Duty ever year. One of the main discussion points around the franchise is what’s new and different for each annual installment. Activision CEO Bobby Kotick said in a new interview that much care and consideration goes into every new game in all of its franchises. This is done as part of the company’s effort to make sure every new installment feels fresh and exciting, he said.
“Our priority is audience focus–the recognition and appreciation that our audiences invest so much in our franchises and our responsibility to them to continually innovate within those,” he told Forbes. “We feel a tremendous responsibility to our audiences to keep our franchises exciting.”
Kotick went on to say, “Great franchises provide great roadmaps for innovation and inspiration.” He specifically cited Star Wars and Star Trek as being examples of “sustainable entertainment franchises.” Indeed, Star Wars debuted in 1977 and Star Trek in 1966 and both remains hugely popular today.
Kotick also likened Activision’s gaming business to professional sports leagues like the NFL, NBA, and MLB; they don’t come and go, but instead continue every year with new wrinkles and storylines.
Also in the interview, Kotick talked about how a benefit of making new games in an existing franchise is that you already know who your audience is.
“You have an understanding of their expectations. You then take your inspired, creative teams and think about those franchises and what you want to create that is going to delight, surprise, and entertain your fans–all with a lot of knowledge about what actually matters to them and what’s important,” he said.
“All you have to do is listen. And that doesn’t mean they’re going to give you the ideas, but they are certainly going to give you their thoughts and opinions,” Kotick added. “And if you’re respectful of those thoughts and opinions, you’re usually going to have a pretty good roadmap for innovation.”
The chemistry of Star Trek’s actors has always played a big part in making the long-running sci-fi franchise so popular. The latest version of the classic Enterprise crew is certainly well cast, and a new blooper video from this summer’s Star trek Beyond reveals that the humour extended behind the scenes as well. Check it out below, via Yahoo! Movies.
Star Trek Beyond hits Blu-ray and DVD on November 1, while the digital version is already available. The film was a modest box office success, earning $337 million worldwide to date, but this was a considerable drop-off in popularity from the previous two parts.
Nevertheless, a fourth movie in the reboot series has been announced. In July, it was reported that Chris Hemsworth, who had a small role in JJ Abrams’ 2009 film, would return. Abrams is producing once more, but there is no word on whether Beyond‘s Justin Lin will be back to direct.
A statement from producers Alex Kurtzman and Bryan Fuller said: “We aim to dream big and deliver, and that means making sure the demands of physical and post-production for a show that takes place entirely in space, and the need to meet an air date, don’t result in compromised quality
“Before heading into production, we evaluated these realities with our partners at CBS and they agreed: Star Trek deserves the very best, and these extra few months will help us achieve a vision we can all be proud of.”
A Nickelodeon executive has come forward to say the network’s famous ’90s animated show, Rugrats, could come back through a revival series or movie.
According to EW, Nickelodeon executive Michael Sammaciccia said this week at New York Comic-Con that the network is looking at “all” of its franchises for possible revivals.
Nickelodeon has already announced TV movies based on Hey Arnold!, Rocko’s Modern Life, and Legends of the Hidden Temple, while Double Dare is coming back for a 30th anniversary special. Rugrats could be next to return, though nothing is confirmed at this stage.
“What’s happening with [Legends of the Hidden Temple] is that it’s allowing Nickelodeon to look at the rich library they have, and not just Rugrats,” Sammaciccia said. “All of them are being considered.”
Rugrats creators Paul Germain, Arlene Klasky, and Gabor Csupo spoke to EWabout what they would like to see from a potential revival. Germain said one idea would be to keep the show in the ’90s.
“I think that’d be cool. Cell phones can be interesting, but technology has a funny way of making it very difficult to write around because people are always in constant communication with each other in a way that works against drama,” he said. “It takes a really fun writers’ obstacle away and makes it too easy.”
Following its launch late last month, Destiny’s Rise of Iron expansion still has a few issues.
Bungie rounded these up in its latest weekly blog post, listing off the issues that are currently being investigated by the studio. The issues include the S-39 Lightrider Sparrow not being available through Crucible reputation packages and Dusty Iron Engrams rewarding Legendary Marks when dismantled, even though that should not happen.
In addition, Bungie said it is looking into user reports about the trophy/achievement “Student of History” not unlocking when players complete the objectives required to unlock it. Players facing this issue can follow the steps listed in this help page.
You can visit Destiny’s Known Issues forum to learn more and seek help from Bungie if you are encountering problems in the shared-world shooter.
Microsoft and Conan O’Brien have partnered up for a new Clueless Gamer segment dedicated to Gears of War 4, which comes out today, October 7, for some people.
In the silly video, O’Brien plays the shooter alongside rapper Wiz Khalifa. Conan says he invited Khalifa to play the game because it’s such a gritty, tense game that he wanted someone to mellow out the mood. I think we all know what happens next. Check out the video below.
Gears of War 4 launches today, October 7, for people who bought the $100 Ultimate Edition. Additionally, the $450 2 TB Xbox One S themed around the game, featuring laser-engraved claw marks, launches today and includes a copy of the Ultimate Edition.
The standard edition version of Gears of War 4 comes out this coming Tuesday, October 11. It’s an Xbox Play Anywhere title, so buying it on Xbox One gives you access to the PC version and vice versa.
Last week Ben Affleck spoke about the progress on his standalone Batman movie, and suggested that the working title was The Batman. However, the star has now explained that the DC film doesn’t actually have any title yet.
During an Facebook Live Q&A on E! News, the star was asked about the Batman film, which he will also direct and co-write. “There is no Batman movie happening yet,” he said, via Screenrant. “We’re still trying to figure it out, you know, get the script and budget and all that stuff.
“Someone said, ‘What are you calling it?’ and I was like, ‘We don’t have a name for it, we’re just going with The Batman or Batman movie.’
“I said that, and everyone was like ‘Affleck announces the name of his Batman movie.’”
