If you thought today was exciting, you’d better get your running boots on – Die Hard 5 has been confirmed in a big way with Bruce Willis bringing out the heat once again in an explosion-filled fun-fest you’ll not want to miss. What we’re seeing here in the premiere of this beast is director John Moore taking over for our good pal Len Wiseman after the 2007 film Live Free or Die Hard – now we’ve got John McClane hanging out in Russia – with his son.
You’ll want to buckle your belt as it appears that the Die Hard crown is passed on from everyone’s favorite shoot-em-up hero in Willis to Jai Courtney, aka John McClane Jr. Here we’ve got a collection of slightly lesser-known actors playing the rest of the roles in the film save Mary Elizabeth Winstead of Scott Pilgrim fame and a still-rumored villain role set for Patrick Stewart (but we shall see.) What’s important here is that there’s explosions – lots of explosions.
The director of this film, John Moore, is most well known for his direction of the classic “Behind Enemy Lines”, and is sure to bring another lovely page to the years-long story arc. Bruce Willis will still be breaking necks and busting caps as he’s proven he’s more than able to do in his role as Joe in LOOPER. Have a peek at our LOOPER movie review to get all the deep dark news on how he’s gotta kill his younger self – or avoid being killed by his younger self as he interrupts his own past – it’ll make sense, break out the straws!
Meanwhile have a peek at our Entertainment tag portal for all the special features you can handle for only the most excellent big-name films and science-related flicks. We’ve worked through our fair share of great science-fiction pictures over the past few months and action has been abundant – stay tuned for more!
The Vers 2Q is a powerful stereo Bluetooth sound system that is compatible with nearly all smartphones, laptops and tablet devices. The speaker features a hand-crafted cabinet that produces warm, surprisingly natural sound, two 6.5W full range speakers, a 10 meters wireless range and a rechargeable battery that provides around 2 hours of operating time. Measuring 76mm x 76mm x 152mm and weighing 339 grams, the Vers 2Q will be released in mic-October 2012 for $199.99. [Vers]
We love riffing on TV shows like a latter-day MST3k, which means that companies are desperate to harness our homespun satire to their own ends. Second-screen start-up Zeebox has inked a deal with MTV and Comedy Central owner Viacom, offering exclusive content in exchange for on-screen advertising. That said, we’re not sure if the promise of behind-the-scenes clips would be enough to draw us away from just cattily judging the Project Runway contestants on Twitter, where we’re less likely to be moderated into oblivion.
There’s a limited edition Entertainment Weekly magazine out there in the wild right now that contains no less than a fully functional Android smartphone. This Android device is being utilized as an advertisement, with its components spread out apart across a page that works with its tiny 2.3-inch display as an interactive experience. This device has been discovered to essentially be a cut-apart ABO 810, a budget smartphone running Android 2.2 FroYo and costing right around $40 USD if you buy one yourself.
This advertisement page with interactive display was run by the CW, showing commercials for programs like The Arrow and Emily Owens, M.D. – both of them coming to your television set soon. The device shows a commercial or two then moves on to CW’s Twitter page where you’ll see them Tweet in real-time. This means of course that you’re working with a wireless internet connection – and indeed the setup has been discovered to be working with a T-Mobile SIM card inside.
Of course the SIM card is quite likely rather limited in its scope, pre-paid without a doubt. This device still has a microUSB port which means you’ll be able to tinker with it if you like – and charge it too. There’s no keyboard, on the other hand, and it’s almost certainly going to be more than just a little challenge for you to break into this little gem if that’s your goal.
According to the BBC, this isn’t the first time the magazine worked with a video display – back in 2009 they ran an advertisement program with a display created by Americhip. This newest integration, working with 3G data and able to be pulled apart and tinkered with outside the page (though not by intention, we must suspect), make this the strangest – and yes, most technologically advanced – magazine advertisement in the universe today. Time for the next step – full page tablet ads!
This week the folks at Sony Entertainment have released a new Amazing Spider-Man Second Screen app before its companion Blu-Ray Disc hits the market. With this app you’ll be working on your iPad, Sony Tablet S, or Sony Xperia Tablet S to see content related to the film feature even before the Blu-ray is released. Once the Blu-ray is out on the market and you’ve got it home with you, you’ll have companion content available with bonuses galore!
This app currently has a collection of media that relates to the process included in the creation of the Spider-Man franchise reboot. This app will also have new content each week until the Blu-ray hits store shelves on November 9th – just a month away! This app will then work with two interactive modes – Timeline and Production – both of them immersing you in the Amazing Spider-Man universe in ways you’ve never before experienced with a home-bound video.
In Production Mode you’ll be working with media involving Filmmakers, Story, Cast, Stunts, Location, and Design, each of these ready for “sling” action. Once you’ve got your tablet connected to your Blu-ray player, a quick “sling” will push the content you’ve got in your Production Mode interface to your full HD television – neat stuff!
Timeline Mode is also included, here connecting with your Blu-ray Disc to show scene-specific trivia bits, storyboards, featurettes, interviews, and content galore related to the video you’re watching. This app is available for download from the iTunes app store as well as through the Google Play app store right this minute – totally free – just look for The Amazing Spider-Man Second Screen App. Check it out!
The Bowers and Wilkins Panorama 2 sound bar features completely new, specially designed tweeters, midrange and low frequency drive units to deliver enhanced acoustic performance. The sound bar also provides the latest HDMI connectivity (three inputs and one output), six class D amplifiers with a total power output of 175W, and a proximity-sensitive display. The Bowers and Wilkins Panorama 2 sound bar will be released in mid-October 2012 in the UK for £1,650 ($2,660). [Bowers and Wilkins]
This week we got to speak to the multi-talented Genndy Tartakovsky about his direction of the new-to-theaters animated feature Hotel Transylvania. This film is a big step in an already star-studded path for Tartakovsky whose creative career also crossed paths with or was straight up responsible for Dexter’s Laboratory, Power Puff Girls, Samurai Jack, Star Wars: Clone Wars, and soon Popeye – another animated feature coming soon. Have read here as we trade words with the director on his new vision for a monster-filled hotel filled with the likes of Adam Sandler, Steve Buscemi, and Andy Sandberg.
The story we’re seeing here with Hotel Transylvania is one with lots of monsters all having a fabulous time staying in a hotel run by Dracula. Of course Dracula has a daughter who wants to see the world, this all coming to a head when a human named Jonathan arrives at the hotel by chance – and there’s not supposed to be any humans at the hotel. Thus ensues a lovely comedy fest crowned with the top-notch visuals of Sony Pictures Animation and the music of Mark Mothersbaugh.
What we’re interested in is how Tartakovsky handled this movie with his past experience in more traditional animation in mind. How does Tartakovsky work with TV shows vs a star-studded feature for the big screen?
Genndy Tartakovsky: I think that one of the main differences is the pressure. With a TV show you work for multiple shows and when the show comes out, if one episode comes out and doesn’t perform as well as it could, the audience usually forgives you. Then the next episode is going to be better. There’s a pressure to perform, but it’s OK if you have an off episode once in a while.
With a movie, you have opening weekend and then that’s it. Everything is done for that opening weekend, and if you don’t get the characters right, and the humor and the entertainment and everything, then it fails and all that work is gone. It’ll be gone within 6-8 weeks and then that’s it.
So to think of it like you have one shot, it makes you think quite differently.
SG: You’ve had quite an expansive career when it comes to animation – how would you describe the difference between shows you’ve worked on like Dexter’s Lab or all the way back to Batman: The Animated Series back up to Star Wars: The Clone Wars and this new film Hotel Transylvania?
GT: In a way it’s hard to compare because one is CG and one is 2D. The two are very obviously different in the way we use the pencil. The one big difference for me, personally, is – when I worked on Dexter, especially – is I know how to do every different part of animation production. From the lighting to the camera work to the sound editing, mixing; I’ve done it all before.
Some things I can do better than others, obviously, but I know how to do it. So if there was something to troubleshoot, I could have an opinion about it. But then on CG, I don’t know how it works – to fix something, I have to trust my official tech supervisor Dan Kramer. All I could say is “yeah I don’t like the way that’s working,” but never say “let’s use this different lens to make it work.”
GT: I could just say “this isn’t working, let’s try a different way to try and fix it.” It was something that was very difficult for me because I’m so used to problem solving and having this push that’s a big part of being a director, in my experience. Especially on technical things – “why doesn’t this camera look right?” And then I’d figure it out. So in our production I couldn’t do any of it because I just didn’t know.
After a while I realized that I’m in good hands, and it became easier that way. In some ways it was a lot easier, in some ways it was a lot harder.
SG: You recently did a Reddit AMA post answering questions from the public – could you describe the changes in the way you’re able to communicate with viewers of your shows and now movies over this rather quickly evolving time period you’ve been working in?
GT: I remember when we started on Dexter, the internet was just sort of taking off – and we never went online to see the reactions. And now you can get thousands and thousands of reactions to a movie or TV show. I remember when we were doing [Samurai] Jack and it was taking off and after each episode we’d go and see what people thought, and on Sym-Bionic Titan it was even more intense and especially on Clone Wars. You could go to Star Wars [online] and totally see that all the fans were talking about if we messed it up or not.
What’s great for television is you get instant feedback. It’s a more specific audience that’s talking back, it’s not everybody, but you definitely get a clue, and see what people like, if your stuff is landing. It was really hard on Dexter – we would do an episode, we’d air it, I’d watch it at home, and I’d go “yeah I guess people liked it, I have no idea.”
GT: Then on Monday you’d get a rating, “oh I did a 2.2″, and that’s it. It wasn’t until I started doing comic book conventions and film conventions that I actually met some of the people who love the show and they would say how much they loved it. Then our numbers would slowly start going up, and you’d start to realize – “oh, it’s getting popular”.
It’s a really hard thing to capture, the popularity, especially when, in the beginning when Cartoon Network only had 12 million viewers. You know when Nickelodeon has a 120 or 160 or something, it’s different in such a mass. But what’s so much fun about a movie is that I can go to a theater to see if I’ve failed or succeeded instantly.
SG: What’s the difference between the built-in fanbase you had with Star Wars: Clone Wars and the audience you’ll have with Hotel Transylvania? Is there a big difference?
GT: For sure when you’re doing something that’s built-in like Star Wars, it’s all about getting it right – for yourself being a fan, and for the people who know the material and the last thing you want to do is be insincere about the material and change it so much that people hate it. Like saying “that was a huge disaster!” But here you’re presenting a new idea.
And you’re selling it for the first time, so you want to try to do something – you’re trying to sell your point of view. You want to do something that’s new and fresh and people have an experience watching. It’s a really big pet peeve of mine to – you know, I’m selling my point of view, it’s what I get hired for. And if my point of view is the same as 5 other directors, then I’m screwed. Replaceable.
But if my point of view is very unique, and strong, and people can sense it, then I’m much more successful that way. To me, that’s what the difference is.
Stay tuned for more entertainment coverage straight from the source here on SlashGear and be sure to check out Hotel Transylvania in theaters right this minute across the USA! This film has already set a new record for highest-grossing September opening weekend with a budget of $85 million and total earnings of $51.1 million – keep it growing!
If you’ve had a loved one with advanced Alzheimer’s disease, you likely know what sundowning syndrome is, even if you’ve never heard the term before. Alzheimer’s patients with this syndrome either don’t sleep at night or wake up after a short sleep and may create havoc, waking up caregivers and disturbing others in the home, possibly for hours. But a care center in New York City has an innovative program for night owl Alzheimer’s patients, that lets them ‘play,’ while their caregivers sleep….
Starting on October 11th, 2012, you’ll be able to take command of your favorite Marvel Comics superheroes and villains in a brand new game for both iOS and Android devices. This game is a hero card-based game working with all of your favorite classic heroes like Spider-Man and Captain America and introduces a brand new narrative to the comic-based environment. Here you’ll not be facing just Loki as it was in the Avengers movie just released to digital download at the end of last month, you’ll be diving in with the whole Marvel universe in strides!
The pre-event details include your ability to sign up for updates with your email and a free limited edition Black Widow card for you to start your collection off well before the final app release. This app will have a base set of cards and new character cards and events added on a regular basis. This format allows for a continually evolving gameplay experience – quite similar to what some of you might recognize as the format made popular by the real-life card game Magic: The Gathering.
UPDATE: This game will almost certainly be taking on the same format as the ultra-popular mobile-based card game Rage of Bahamut – exciting stuff!
We’ve yet to see how the mechanics of this Marvel-based game work, but from what we have seen so far, it’s going to be interesting! DeNA’s Mobage is responsible for the development of this game, and it’ll be showing up next at New York Comic Con at the Jacob Jarvits Center in New York City on the 11th of October through the 14th. That’s the same day as launch, of course, so keep your eyes peeled!
Meanwhile you’ll want to check out marvelwarofheroes.com to sign up with your email for information updates, and stick to SlashGear for more information on the game as it approaches. Note that this game is being prepped for both iOS and Android at the same time, this quite likely pointing towards a release on not just smartphones, but tablets as well, right out of the box. Let us know if you plan on joining in on the fun!
Yantouch has proudly introduced the new Black Diamond 3 wireless speaker. It is actually a combination of an iOS-compatible Bluetooth speaker and a color-changing lamp. The lamp provides 16 million colors. The Yantouch Black Diamond 3 can be controller via a remote. The wireless speaker draws power from a USB port or a wall power. Too bad, there is no info on pricing or availability so far. [Yantouch]
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