TV, Movies & Home Theatre - Page 12

The founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, has commented on his company's upcoming "Lord of the Rings" prequel series that will release on September 2, 2022.

Amazon has poured about $1 billion into creating a prequel TV show for the "Lord of the Rings", with the TV show being set some 3,000 years before the events that were seen in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

The upcoming show titled "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" is expected to detail the forging of all the Rings of Power, the three eleven rings worn by Gandalf, Galadriel, and Elrond in the Peter Jackson movies, the eleven rings forged for dwarf lords, and the nine, given to mortal men doomed to die (the black riders in the Peter Jackson movies). Based on the released trailers, we can assume that the story will follow a young Galadriel through of the Second Age of Tolkien's world.

When Disney+ released in 2019 for just $6.99 it seemed too good to be true. Everyone knew price hikes were coming, and of course they happened. Disney+ jumped to $7.99, and now the service is getting its second price hike.

Today Disney announced it's increasing Disney+ subscription prices by $3. Subscribers will have two options on what plans to buy: an ad plan for $7.99 that will run interstitial advertisements periodically through shows or movies, or an ad-free plan for $10.99. The new ad plan will cost as much as the current ad-free plan.

This price hike represents a 38% increase as Disney continues spending big to produce new content. Disney has spent $3.55 billion on Disney+ programming and production costs throughout this fiscal year, with a record $1.435 billion spent during Q3'22 alone. Domestic Disney+ subscribers have reached 44.5 million in Q3 and a whopping 152 million worldwide including Hotstar in India.

A new live action Pac-Man movie is in development, sources have told The Hollywood Reporter.

Japanese games giant Bandai Namco has greenlit a new film based on its most iconic arcade character. The Pac-Man movie will follow Sonic The Hedgehog's winning live-action formula and will be based on an all-original idea from Lightbeam's Chuck Williams, who produced the Sonic films. The Sonic movies are now the highest-grossing video game movies of all time.

Not much is known about the project other than those involved; Wayfarer is set to produce alongside Lightbeam Entertainment, with Wayfarer's Justin Baldoni, Manu Gargi and Andrew Calof joining Lightbeam's Tim Kwok and Chuck Williams on the film. Pac-Man remains one of the most recognizable video game franchises of all time and is prominently featured on Bandai Namco's website, merchandise, and gaming products.

MrBeast is one of the biggest content creators on the planet, with MrBeast aka Jimmy Donaldson, saying to his 100M strong YouTube subscribers that he hopes "to do YouTube until the day I die".

MrBeast tweeted rather humbly: "Over a million people celebrated 100,000,000 subscribers with me. YouTube is the one thing that's always made me happy and I'm grateful I get to do this all day everyday :) Also I just want to say that no matter how big I get I'll never own a mansion, yacht, Lamborghini etc. All I want is to make the best videos possible and help as many people as I can while doing it".

In a statement, Jimmy explained: "100 million means so much. I've been making videos since I was 11 years old. This number in a way represents everything I've ever done in my life and I'm so grateful to everyone who's ever watched a video. I hope to do YouTube until the day I die".

The life of John McAfee was a wild one, ramping up considerably towards the end until his "suicide" and now Netflix has greenlit a documentary on McAfee called "Running with the Devil: The Wild World of John McAfee".

Netflix's upcoming Running with the Devil: The Wild World of John McAfee will be produced by Reclaiming Amy producer Curious Films, and will feature hundreds of hours of previously unseen footage as well as "in-depth accounts from the people who knew him best" reports Deadline.

Running with the Devil: The Wild World of John McAfee will see us follow McAfee as he was travelling through the Belizean rainforest, across international borders, through the river and into the jungles of Guatemala, and into the Bahamas infamously on his boat that was loaded with guns, drugs, booze, and more as he was on the run from US authorities.

Marvel unveiled one of the very rarest collectibles on the planet at San Diego Comic-Con, with Marvel teaming up with East Continental Gems with the introduction of the Infinity Collection of Gemstones.

Marvel teased an image on Twitter, inspired by the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and used by Thanos to finger-snap half of existence, out of existence. There will be 6 stones in total, which include: Time Stone, Space Stone, Reality Stone, Power Stone, Soul Stone and Mind Stone. All of the Infinity Stones are (carefully) placed into a custom Infinity Gauntlet, like the one that Thanos (played by Josh Brolin in the Avengers movies) wears.

Paul Gitter, of Marvel Consumer Products explained: "Fans and collectors are a very important consumer for Marvel since they truly live the Marvel lifestyle every day and are always seeking to connect with the brand in new and unique ways. We feel this authentic gemstone collection is cool and unexpected and extends the reach of the Marvel brand".

Keanu Reeves is the star of some of my favorite franchises, the franchises of millions and millions of people across the world: culturally-impacting movies, and now he wants to play Batman... an older Batman.

The Matrix and John Wick star is currently doing the press rounds for DC League of Super-Pets, the new animated DC movie where he voices Batman, and said he'd love to play an older Batman in the future. Robert Pattinson played the caped crusader in Matt Reeves' recent "The Batman", while Ben Affleck truly captured the role in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Zack Snyder's Justice League.

Reeves said: "It's always been a... it's been a dream. Pattinson's got Batman right now, and he's doing awesome. Maybe down the road. Maybe when they need an older Batman".

Game of Thrones is available right now in a 4K HDR box set, but that'll cost you $150-$240 (depending on whether you get it on discount) but winter is coming to HBO Max, folks.

The entire eight seasons of Game of Thrones will debut on HBO Max in beautiful 4K HDR in August, with support for both Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos technologies. Game of Thrones debuting in August is a star-aligning marketing move by the company, as House of the Dragon premieres on August 21.

If you hadn't heard of House of the Dragon, it's marketed as Game of Thrones: House of the Dragon. But if you wanted to hit up Game of Thrones on HBO Max then you'll need the ad-free tier of HBO Max, which will cost you $14.99 per month or $149.99 per year. House of the Dragon will debut with all of the tech from the beginning: 4K + HDR10 + Dolby Vision + Dolby Atmos.

Marvel is officially reviving the X-Men animated series from the 1990s with a similar art style and a direct continuation where the show left off.

The X-Men animated series was one of the best parts of growing up in the 1990s. It ran for five years from 1992 - 1997 (I still have my original X-Men Beast shirt from way back when) and was a pivotal part of my childhood. Comics and action figures were everywhere back in those days, and Saturday morning cartoons dominated your weekends. It was a great time to be a kid...and now that old-school fun is coming back.

The new series is called X-Men '97 and will pick up right were the original animated series ended in 1997. Bolivar Trask is confirmed as a villain. Sentinels are back, of course, and it appears Magneto is leading the X-Men. The show is due out in Fall 2023 and has already been greenlit for a second season.

Netflix is moving forward with its plan for a lower-cost, ad-supported subscription tier and has teamed up with Microsoft to make it happen.

Today Netflix announced that it has partnered with Microsoft as its global advertising partner for its new advertisement subscription model. Completely new to the world of advertisements, Netflix has chosen to team up with Microsoft due to the company's massive reach and its ever-growing ad platform (Microsoft purchased adtech specialists Xandr from AT&T in 2021).

Microsoft makes billions every year from its lucrative and powerful adtech platform, which Netflix will use to beam ads to its 221 million subscribers across the world. Netflix has not divulged further details of pricing, availability, or launch dates of its new ad subscription tier.

Johnny Depp recently went through a public defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife Amber Heard, and now that has concluded, we are starting to hear about Depp's upcoming role.

Reports have surfaced from Bloomberg that reveal Netflix is involved in a deal to help produce Johnny Depp's first film following the lawsuit, and according to these reports, Netflix has put money down for French actress and director Maiwenn Le Besco's period film La Favorite.

The film focuses on France's King Louis XV, who will reportedly be played by Depp, and the relationship between the king and his third mistress, Madame Jeanne Becu du Barry, played by Le Besco. Ultimately the relationship between the king and the mistress leads to her beheading during the French Revolution.

In an exclusive reveal with IGN, Amazon Prime Video has revealed what the orcs will look like in the upcoming "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power".

Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy made a point of using prosthetics and practical effects when designing the orcs, which is a large part of why the movies have aged so well. Jackson switched to CGI effects in The Hobbit trilogy, which wasn't particularly welcomed by Tolkien fans. Now that Amazon has a new Lord of the Rings TV show in the works, fans have been itching to know if the orcs, or the show in general, will be CGI-focused or use practical effects like the original trilogy.

In an exclusive interview with IGN, executive producer Lindsey Weber and prosthetics department chief Jamie Wilson revealed that the show will be taking the practical effects and prosthetic route for their orcs of Middle-Earth, and that visual effects or CGI will only be used when there is an overwhelming number of orcs. Weber explains that when an orc is close to the camera, it will almost be entirely comprised of practical effects.

Netflix is going all in on Squid Game, with the streaming company announcing a second season of the hit show is on the way, as well as a reality competition show based on the series.

Squid Game was one of, if not the biggest series to ever arrive on Netflix, and the streaming company seems to want to fully capitalize on the popularity of the show by bringing out a second season and giving people an opportunity to actually compete for money in a similar way to the characters in the show. The coming reality show will be a 10-episode series called Squid Game: The Challenge and will feature games that are "inspired" by the events that take place in the show.

Much like the Squid Game series, contestants will be competing for a multi-million-dollar prize pool that will be an astonishing $4.56 million, which seems to be a reference to the number assigned to the main character - 456. Notably, Netflix has already begun casting efforts as the streaming platform is recruiting English-speaking contestants from around the world. Filming will take place in the UK, and according to Netflix, participants will be required to film for approximately four weeks throughout 2023.

Squid Game quickly become the most popular Netflix series ever when it debuted last year, and now the streaming giant has just announced Season 2 of Squid Game, as well as a teaser for the new season:

The teaser is pretty simple, with a video of the massive doll from the first season of Squid Game that wipes out waves of the contestants in the infamous "Red Light, Green Light" game. Netflix uses this, teasing "Red light... GREENLIGHT! Squid Game is officially coming back for Season 2!"

Hwang Dong-Hyuk, writer, director, producer, and creator of Squid Game has said "a whole new round is coming. It took 12 years to bring the first season of 'Squid Game' to life last year. But it took 12 days for 'Squid Game' to become the most popular Netflix series ever".

Duke Nukem is getting his own king-sized movie adaptation from the creators of Cobra Kai, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter.

A new Duke Nukem film is in development at Legendary Entertainment, the production company behind 2021's massively popular Dune remake. Cobra Kai creators Josh Heald, Hayden Schlossberg, and Jon Hurwitz are lending their retro-resurrecting magic to the project and will produce under their company, Counterbalance Entertainment.

The Duke film doesn't have a director or writer yet and today's announcement is just Legendary acquiring the rights to make a movie on the series. THR also notes the franchise has made over $1 billion in earnings since its original launch on PC. Gearbox, who owns the rights to the Duke Nukem franchise and has expanded its business to include TV and film, has shared the news on Facebook.

BoJack Horseman and Arrested Development actor Will Arnett to lend his iconic voice to maniac clown Sweet Tooth in the new Twisted Metal TV show, Variety reports.

Sony's new Twisted Metal TV show is taking shape. The series has secured Will Arnett (of BoJack Horseman and Arrested Development fame) to voice the destruction derby battle royale franchise's most notorious character--the crazed, flame-haired Sweet Tooth--in the Twisted Metal live action rendition. Other talent include Marvel's Falcon Anthony Mackie, who will portray Axel, as well as Neve Campbell, Stephanie Beatriz, and Thomas Haden Church.

The show is described as a post-apocalyptic comedy and will be developed for NBC's Peacock streaming services. Sony Pictures and Sony's new PlayStation Productions label alongside Universal Television are producing the series.

Amazon has done something no other company has ever attempted: blasted its latest TV show into outer space, yeah -- they actually did it.

Amazon Prime Video's new sci-fi series "Night Sky" has become the "the first-ever intergalactic premiere for a TV series", with a collaboration between Amazon, and satellite services companies SES and Intelsat, with their ground stations and geostationary satellites sending the episode into outer space.

Vernon Sanders, Amazon Studios TV Head said: "Night Sky is all about appreciating both the magical and the mundane in our everyday world. To be able to share this poignant story and amazing performances with those in the larger universe seems like the perfect way to launch this show".

Stan Lee, the face of comic books, will be returning to the big screen in the form of his hit cameos, according to a new report.

A report from The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Marvel has entered into a 20-year-long deal with Genius Brands International and Lee's POW! Entertainment intellectual property company. The deal is to bring back comic book fans' beloved father figures in future Marvel-related products such as upcoming movies, merchandise, Disney theme park rides, or "experiences".

Stan Lee passed away in 2018, and his last cameo appearance was a posthumous digitally de-aged a car driver in Avengers: Endgame. The Hollywood Reporter writes that just because Marvel now has permission to digitally resurrect Lee in future movies, it doesn't mean that it will. The publication cited "insiders" cautioning that Lee's reappearance wouldn't be in the traditional way fans are expecting.

A new report from CNBC has revealed that Netflix plans to cut over a 100 employees from its company, with most of the staffers being located in the US.

According to a Netflix representative that spoke with CNBC, as a result of Netflix's slowing revenue growth, the company has been forced to reduce our cost growth, which has translated into 150 staffers being let go. Netflix's 150-employee cull represents just 2% of the company's 11,000 employees, with the majority of the cut staffers being US-based.

The representative explained that the decision to fire staff had been driven by "business needs rather than individual performance," and for that reason, it makes it especially difficult to "say goodbye to such great colleagues. We're working hard to support them through this very difficult transition". These staff reductions are hardly surprising considering the fall of Netflix's stock price following its forecast for future losses in the coming quarter.

Remedy Entertainment's new Alan Wake TV show has found a home at AMC, the network behind shows like Better Call Saul, Breaking Bad, and The Walking Dead.

The Alan Wake TV series is still happening and Remedy is currently working alongside AMC to develop the show. The project was originally announced in 2018 with game writer Sam Lake executive producing the project. Reports at the time said the show is being produced by Contradiction Films, the studio behind 2011's Mortal Kombat Legacy.

"Making video games takes a long while. Well it turns out making a TV show can take even longer. Some of you might remember that quite a while ago we were talking about an Alan Wake TV show. Well AMC, the wonderful home for absolutely brilliant TV shows, has bought the rights for Alan Wake," Remedy Entertainment's creative director Sam Lake said in a recent anniversary video.