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11/17/22 @ 12:14 pm EST
 Today videogames are arguably one of the dominant forms of media and art, with the global industry generating nearly $200 billion in sales each year. Younger and older people of all backgrounds are playing games of diverse types and on countless platforms. Videogames have gone through many evolutions to get to this point, and Dynamite Entertainment is proud to present the all-new coffee table book Supercade: A Visual History of the Videogame Age 1985-2001 to cover one of the most pivotal eras in their story. This hotly anticipated tome is an insightful and indispensable read for gamers of all ages, releasing in February. Writer and curator Van Burnham has lovingly crafted this 500-plus page tribute to everyone's favorite games and hardware of the time period, with high quality screenshots and photographs joined by research and commentary on the significance of each entry to the industry at large and those gamers who played them. This book follows a previous volume covering the time span of 1971-1984. That era was the initial explosion of the medium, especially in the homes of families with releases from Atari and others. But due to various complicated factors, the industry infamously crashed around 1983. This new release covers the era many today will be most familiar and nostalgic about. When asked about the inspiration for the book, Burnham said, “After the original Supercade was released, I was asked by readers and game fans when I’d do a sequel and I honestly didn’t feel it was important until now. The next generation of gamers have since come of age, raised in the aftermath of the crash, and over the past two decades they’ve expressed a passion for the games of their youth — Street Fighter, Space Harrier, and Super Mario — which are now equally, if not more relevant than the games of the golden age.”   1985 saw the release of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in the United States, the iconic Japanese company's first foray into home video games overseas. With massively successful titles and viral marketing, franchises like Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, and more inspired a new generation to draw maps, share secrets (real or not) on the playground, and rush home to get to the next level. A wave of third party developers like Capcom, Konami, Tecmo, and others added to the growing library of favorites with the likes of Mega Man, Castlevania, Contra, Final Fantasy, and licensed released from so many popular films, TV shows, board games, comic books, and beyond. Nintendo's surging success saved the gaming industry and began building toward what fans recognize today. Nintendo was not alone through this period though, as it quickly saw competitors in Sega's Genesis, which came flying in with Sonic the Hedgehog, claiming that it could do what "Nintendon't." Over the almost 20 years covered in this book, Nintendo and Sega would continue duking it out. Along the way they would be joined by fellow Japanese electronics giant Sony with their PlayStation brand, the next major American heavy hitter with Microsoft's Xbox, and more. Also delved into in Supercade are Nintendo's subsequent Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), Nintendo 64, and GameCube. In addition to the Genesis, Sega's Master System, Saturn, and Dreamcast are covered (plus the Sega-CD and 32X). Sony's first two PlayStations are chronicled. Handheld devices such as the Game Boy and Game Gear are also included. Other platforms along the road include Atari's Jaguar, the TurboGrafx-16, and others. The continuing success and latter days of the arcades and the dramatic shifts in PC gaming are also touched on. To cover the innovative and enduring movements, technologies, and new genres of the era, Burnham interviewed luminaries like John Romero ( Doom, Quake), Tim Schafer ( Monkey Island, Grim Fandango), Warren Spector ( Deus Ex, Ultima), Eugene Jarvis, Richard Garriott, and more. Names like these were responsible for advancements like fighting games, graphical adventures, real-time strategy, immersive sims, first-person shooters, and the transitions and breakthroughs brought on by 3D graphics. In addition to Van Burnham in charge, she has brought in an extensive list of contributors, with varying expertise and insight. Tim Lapetino, of Dynamite's The Art of Atari joins on. Additional writers include Ian Bogost, Jeremy Parish, Nathan Altice, Max Blackley, Chris Charla, Brian Crecente, Gabe Durham, Benj Edwards, Scott Fontana, Paul Ford, Darren Gladstone, Raiford Guins, Blake J Harris, Robin Hunicke, Roland Ingram, Alex Kane, Chris Kohler, Kelsey Lewin, Henry Lowood, Chris Melissinos, Mike Mika, Jess Morrissette, Chris Moyse, Laine Nooney, Chris Priestman, Chris Schilling, Brandon Sheffield, Dean Takahashi, Tony Temple, Tom Vanderbilt, Brittany Vincent, John Wills, and Erik Wolpaw. The book is a 10 by 10 inches paperback with deluxe features including gatefolds, inserts, metallic inks, and more in addition to the luscious product photography, optimal definition screenshots, and meticulous design   05/03/24 @ 10:02 pm EST
Daytime Emmy-winner Mike Manning (This is Us, Days of Our Lives) and Olivia Blue (Theater is Dead, Animal Kingdom) will star in alien adventure film Unexpected Treasures, directed by John Paul Ungaretti, and written by Ungaretti and Christina Heller. The film’s cast is rounded out with AnnaMaria DeMara (Lost in Space, Lucifer), Jay Whittaker (The Orville, Let’s Go to Prison), Michael Dunn (Bosch, NCIS), Lauren Han (Beef, Extracurricular), and Rex Edhlund. Production for the film recently wrapped in Joshua Tree, CA. The script was inspired by the many extra-terrestrial-related stories and folklore of the Joshua Tree community and desert area. In the film, a wild alien encounter restores a local resident’s faith in humanity. Blue stars as the local resident, while Manning stars as the alien. (via Deadline) 05/03/24 @ 10:03 pm EST
Ali Afshar’s ESX Entertainment is entering into the horror space with the feature The Necklace starring sisters Madeleine & Violet McGraw, each of whom have garnered widespread acclaim for gripping performances in M3GAN and 2021’s The Black Phone respectively. Cameras will roll this summer. The screenplay was written specifically with the McGraw sisters in mind by Afshar collaborator John Ducey (A Hollywood Christmas, That’s Amor). The pic is being directed by Chilean filmmaker Juan Pablo Arias Muñoz, who helmed Pumpkinhole and HBO’s Perry Mason. Said Afshar, “Madeleine and Violet are among the brightest lights of this generation of young actors, and an absolute joy to work with. Each brings a unique energy to the screen and, together, they are absolutely electrifying to watch. I couldn’t be more thrilled to team up with these enormously gifted young actors to bring this fresh and terrifying story to the big screen and plunge audiences into the dark and chilling world of The Necklace.” (via Deadline) 05/03/24 @ 10:03 pm EST
The Maze Runner is back at the starting line. 20th Century Studios is rebooting the sci-fi action adventure franchise, which ran as a trilogy from 2014 to 2018. The Disney arm is in negotiations to tap Jack Paglen, perhaps best known for writing the Johnny Depp-starring sci-fi movie Transcendence, to pen the script for a new installment. Ellen Goldsmith-Vein and Lee Stollman of Gotham Group and Wyck Godfrey and Marty Bowen of Temple Hill, who produced the original trilogy, are back to produce this one. Wes Ball, who directed the original trilogy, will also be involved as a producer. THR is reporting that the reboot is not a redo of the story nor is it a direct sequel to the original trilogy, which starred Dylan O’Brien and Kaya Scodelario. The hope is to make a sort of continuation of the story yet also return to the elements that made the first movie connect with its audience. (The original movie, made by 20th Century Fox in the years leading up to its acquisition by Disney, also proved to be an unexpected moneymaker, generating $348 million worldwide but costing only $35 million to make.) 05/03/24 @ 2:09 pm EST
Oscar nominee Hugh Jackman (Les Misérables) and Emmy winner Jodie Comer (Killing Eve) are attached to star in a new movie, The Death Of Robin Hood. Pig and A Quiet Place: Day One director Michael Sarnoski is writer-director on the project, which will be among the hot titles on sale at this month’s Cannes market via WME Independent. Arrival and The Prestige producer Aaron Ryder is among the producing team. The film is a darker reimagining of the classic Robin Hood tale. Set of its time, the film will see the title character grappling with his past after a life of crime and murder, a battleworn loner who finds himself gravely injured and in the hands of a mysterious woman who offers him a chance at salvation. Production is due to begin in February 2025. (via Deadline) 05/03/24 @ 2:03 pm EST
Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy will lead the film adaptation of Enid Blyton’s children’s classic The Magic Faraway Tree. The story from the author, based on her The Faraway Tree series of novels for children, follows Polly and Tim and their children Beth, Joe and Fran — a modern family who find themselves forced to relocate to the remote English countryside. Two-time Academy Award-nominee Andrew Garfield (Tick, Tick…BOOM!, Hacksaw Ridge) will play Tim and two-time Emmy Award-winner Claire Foy (All of Us Strangers, The Crown) will take on the role of Polly. Screenwriter Simon Farnaby, British star of Wonka and Paddington 2, said: “To have two actors of the quality of Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy is a dream for any screenwriter.” (via The Hollywood Reporter) 05/02/24 @ 10:59 pm EST
Jennifer Zhang (Fetish, Charon) is set to direct sci-fi feature length anthology, Trüebadour. Also written by Zhang, the film stars Gina Su (Autopilot, Blue, Transpo), and Daphne Qin Wu (The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster, Beacon) serves as cinematographer. Based on the sci-fi short Autopilot, Trüebadour follows an enigmatic engineering prodigy who introduces the bombastic founder of a tech start-up to an innovative “storytelling” device that scans its wearer to generate an original work of fiction. No one at the company is prepared for the unsettling stories their minds inspire, nor the disturbing consequences of using the device. (via Deadline) 05/02/24 @ 10:51 pm EST
Louis Leterrier, director of Fast X and several Transporter action movies, has been tapped to direct and produce the sci-fi horror film 11817, based on a script by Matthew Robinson. The genre pic produced by Leterrier’s Carrousel Studios, Rocket Science, Thank You Studios, Chernin Entertainment and 3 Arts Entertainment is now casting. Rocket Science will fully finance, handle foreign sales and introduce the film in Cannes, while CAA Media Finance will handle a North American sale. In 11817, inexplicable forces trap a family of four inside their house indefinitely. As both modern luxuries and life-or-death essentials begin to run out, the family must learn how to be resourceful to survive and outsmart who – or what – is keeping them trapped. (via THR) 05/02/24 @ 10:39 pm EST
Paul Walter Hauser will be making his Marvel debut with a role in The Fantastic Four, The Hollywood Reporter is confirming. No character details are available, but he joins a cast that includes Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/The Human Torch, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing and Julia Garner as the Silver Surfer. The feature has a July 25, 2025 release date and hails from WandaVision director Matt Shakman, with Eric Pearson writing the latest draft of the script. It centers on the characters created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby for the comic book that launched the Marvel Comics universe in 1961. 05/02/24 @ 11:25 am EST
Todd McFarlane Productions and Image Comics will bring fan-favorite "Baby-Spawn" character 'Spawny' back to shelves in an action-packed, five-issue miniseries, Spawn Kills Every Spawn launching in July. Written by John Layman (Chew) and illustrated by Rob “Sketchcraft” Duenas, with colors by Robert Nugent, this bold story brings a hilarious-yet-deadly twist to the world of Spawn. In Spawn Kills Every Spawn, the character baby of ‘Spawny’ attends Spawn-Con, a convention filled with various Spawns from across the Spawn Universe. Unfortunately for Spawny, he discovers that he’s not even close to being the most popular Hellspawn. Instead, he’s the least liked among that group. To battle his identity crisis, Spawny decides to take drastic action: KILL THEM ALL! What follows is a darkly comedic, action-packed adventure that explores the insanity of a convention full of Hellspawn, and the lengths one very sensitive Spawn will go to in his quest to gain fame and recognition. “From the very outset of our first miniseries starring our adorable little maniac, fans have been bugging me to bring him back once again for another series of mayhem," said Todd McFarlane, creator of Spawn and President at Image Comics. "This time around, the wonderful art by Rob puts so much detail into the pages, I think readers will be going back through each book to find all the visual Easter Eggs he has planted within the story. And Jon Layman has brought his own sense of absurd cuteness to this story so that you are both shocked and smiling at what is unfolding in front of you. The overwhelming support for this tiny, little character has been quite surprising to me.” This new addition to the Spawn Universe is perfect for the life-long SPAWN fan, as well as new readers—make sure to grab your copy and join Spawny as he goes on a killing spree like no other! Spawn Kills Every Spawn #1 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, July 24, for the retail price of $2.99. The Final Order Cutoff deadline for comic shop retailers is Monday, July 1: Cover A by Duenas - Lunar Code 0524IM237 Cover B by McFarlane - Lunar Code 0524IM801 Spawn Kills Every Spawn is also available across many digital platforms, including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play.    
... 05/02/24 @ 11:26 am EST
The final season of Netflix’s Cobra Kai will be released in three parts with the first premiering on July 18 followed by Part 2 on November 28. The final installment is more of a mystery as the streamer is only teasing it will drop in 2025. The season picks up with Cobra Kai eliminated from the Valley as senseis and students decide if and how they will compete in the Sekai Taikai — the world championships of karate, according to the official description. (via Deadline) Check out the date announcement and teaser: https://youtu.be/WPUGgxf3tx8 |
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