TV, Movies & Home Theatre - Page 20

The first Sonic the Hedgehog movie was announced all the way back in February 2016, quickly being hyped throughout 2018 and 2019 -- and then delayed in May 2019 to fix the bad CGI of Sonic after fan backlash.

Sonic the Hedgehog was delayed into 2020 to allow the visual effects teams to tweak Sonic's look, with a re-designed Sonic shown off in the awesome trailer to Sonic the Hedgehog in November 2019 -- with a new release of February 14, 2020. That trailer cemented it: the director and team behind the movie listened, and the movie released was in far better form than the early trailer.

This has all led to today: where Variety is reporting that Paramount Pictures and Sega Sammy have "commenced development on a sequel to the live-action family comedy. The sequel would re-team the filmmakers, with Jeff Fowler directing, and Pat Casey and Josh Miller writing the script".

The day is here: HBO Max has officially launched, with the new subscription service costing $15 per month and competing directly against Disney+ and Netflix. You can read everything you need to know about HBO Max here.

The launch hasn't been perfect, but the library is better than most on day one -- offering a gigantic library of content in the form of cartoons, TV shows, and movies from Warner Bros. At $15 per month, it's the most expensive streaming service on the market, but it has lots of content to binge -- HBO Originals coming soon, and exclusives like Zack Snyder's Justice League.

You can binge every single series of Friends, or The Big Bang Theory -- or dive right into some of the largest movies WB has in its catalog. This includes DCEU movies like Aquaman and Wonder Woman (others to come) as well as the Harry Potter movies, and so much more.

I'll remember the moment that Zack Snyder alongside Henry Cavill announced that Zack Snyder's Justice League was coming to HBO Max in 2021. It was a moment that will live with me forever.

But one of the concerns is the financing of getting it finished, as Snyder might have hours of footage to use -- but he'll need to make some adjustments to get the movie in a final state. During the recent episode of the Recode Media podcast, WarnerMedia and HBO Max boss Bob Greenblatt said it would cost far more than the reported $30 million to finish off Zack Snyder's Justice League.

Greenblatt said: "It isn't as easy as going into the vault and there's a Snyder Cut sitting there to put out... Zack is actually building it and it's complex, including - and I don't wanna get into too much detail that we haven't already talked about yet - but, new effects shots. It's a radical rethinking of that movie and it's complicated and wildly expensive. Which is, of course, a number I won't quote... I'll just say I wish it was $30 million and stop there".

Today is the day that HBO Max launches and today is the day news took a giant leap of a new rumor: Henry Cavill is set to return in the role of Superman in future DCEU movies.

The news is coming from exclusive sources of Deadline, who said that Cavill is in talks to return as Kal-El. Deadline writes: "While there is not a Man of Steel sequel in the works, we're hearing that Henry Cavill is in talks to reprise his role as Superman in the Warner Bros. DC Universe".

But what is more interesting is how Cavill will return as Superman, as there is no announcement of Man of Steel 2 yet -- a sequel to Man of Steel from 2013 which kicked off the DCEU and was directed by Zack Snyder's Justice League director, Zack Snyder. Snyder also directed Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice released in 2016.

Seriously, if you haven't watched Dark on Netflix -- you really should check it out. It is a truly game-changing show, and it is so complex I don't even know how to describe it.

Anyway, it is is a suspenseful series from Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese that had a fantastic first season, and even better second season with a truly nail-biting finale. It was a mystery if season three was coming, and now we know as there is a trialer (above). If you don't want to be spoiled (like me) then don't watch it (but we both know you want to, because I do, too).

Dark's new season is called "The final cycle", with the teaser trailer above unveiling that the show's final season will be ready to binge on Netflix on June 27. For a quick TL;DR on Dark, its Wikipedia explains it (without spoilers) as: "Set in the fictitious town of Winden, Germany, Dark concerns the aftermath of a child's disappearance which exposes the secrets of, and hidden connections among, four estranged families as they slowly unravel a sinister time travel conspiracy which spans three generations. Throughout the series, Dark explores the existential implications of time and its effects upon human nature".

James Cameron and his team in New Zealand will be resuming production of Avatar 2 sometime "next week", now that COVID-19 calms down in the country.

Jon Landau, a long-time collaborator, producer and friend of James Cameron, shared a new image on his personal Instagram. The photo showed that the Avatar 2 sets are "ready" and that the production crew will be returning to New Zealand sometime "next week" post Memorial Day.

Landau writes: "Our Avatar sets are ready -- and we couldn't be more excited to be headed back to New Zealand next week. Check out the Matador, a high speed forward command vessel (bottom) and the Picador jetboat (top) -- can't wait to share more".

We've had the official trailer to Tenet drop in December 2020, with Christopher Nolan's craziest looking movie yet looking, well, crazy. It is mysterious like many of his movies, but now a new trailer will debut inside of Fortnite:

The new trailer to Tenet will debut inside of Fortnite in the Party Royale space at 8PM ET, and will repeat every hour on the hour. Epic Games says that if you miss the trailer presentation in Fortnite, don't worry -- they will repeat it for 24 hours until 8PM ET tomorrow night.

I do find it weird, though: Christopher Nolan is a man of quality, the cinematography in his movies is absolutely top notch (see Dark Knight, Inception, Interstellar) yet he will be debuting his latest trailer inside of Fortnite in low quality?

I have just finished watching the Man of Steel Watch Party which was hosted by director Zack Snyder, which was an awesome in-depth commentary to the first DCEU movie: Man of Steel.

At the end of the Man of Steel Watch Party, Snyder had Superman star himself Henry Cavill join him with a bunch of fans from around the world. The hottest question to ask right now would be "is there a Snyder Cut of Justice League, and if so... when is it coming out?" The entire #ReleaseTheSnyderCut movement has been one of, if not the largest movement in Hollywood post-release of a gigantic tent pole like Justice League.

At the end, Snyder himself confirmed the news with a teaser picture of Zack Snyder's Justice League -- coming to HBO Max in 2021. We don't know specific dates yet, and I waited and waited (it's 3:45am here as I'm typing this here in South Australia) but there was no trailer. The announcement was enough to have every single hair on my body standing, and now my body is completely ready for 2021 for Zack Snyder's Justice League.

HBO Max is about to launch and with it there will be millions of hours of your favorite TV shows and movies, and hopefully the launch of Zack Snyder's Justice League -- yeah of course I was going to say it.

AT&T's Warner Media will be launching HBO Max on May 27 for a price of $15 per month, which is more expensive than the competitors and their cheapest plans. Netflix costs $9 per month, while Disney+ starts at $7 per month, and Apple TV+ at $5 per month. However, HBO Max launches out of the gate with some gigantic libraries of some of the biggest TV shows in history, as well as a gigantic library of movies.

HBO Max isn't just another quick streaming service being launched, rather the company has invested billions of dollars into HBO Max to make sure it is a success. This is why the company paid $1 billion to the streaming rights of The Big Bang Theory, a 5-year streaming deal for Seinfeld that cost over $500 million, and they signed Lost and Fringe creator, as well as Star Trek, Star Wars, and Mission Impossible director J.J. Abrams for $250 million.

Zack Snyder recently held an awesome and very casual screening of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice on his personal Vero account, and now the director has announced a Man of Steel Watch Party. You can join the Man of Steel Watch Party (with a Q&A) right here.

Snyder will host the Man of Steel Watch Party on his personal Vero account on Wednesday, May 20 @ 8AM PDT, where he will provide some live commentary on the movie. He tweeted: "Many of us are struggling during this difficult time. Felt it could be cathartic to come together now for a Man of Steel Watch Party and celebrate the ultimate symbol of hope. Submit some questions, I'll answer a few after".

Man of Steel was an important moment for Warner Bros. as it started the DCEU, in its battle against Marvel and the MCU. Snyder had much more control alongside Dark Knight producer Christopher Nolan, with Man of Steel being the start of a 5-part story arc from the director. The second movie was Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and the third was Justice League.

I'm sure most of you will know what "red pilling" someone means, but if not here is the definition of it in the "slang dictionary" of Dictionary.com: "Red pill refers to the truth behind a situation, especially a truth that is difficult to accept".

The site itself even refers to it originating from "1999 cult classic film" -- and one of my favorite movies of all time: The Matrix. Dictionary.com explains: "There's a scene early on in the movie in which the main character, Neo, is offered two pills: a red one and a blue one. The red pill represents an awakening, but one that could be difficult and painful. Neo's world will be changed uncomfortably if he takes the red pill, but he'll be made aware of the truth of the world. The blue pill represents comfort and security. If he takes the blue pill, he'll continue to live in blissful ignorance".

But now there's a war raging on Twitter between Lilly Wachowski, who is the director of the upcoming The Matrix 4 -- as well as co-director on The Matrix Trilogy, and SpaceX and Tesla Motors CEO and founder Elon Musk -- as well as President Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump.

Netflix reduced the streaming quality of its video down to just HD back a couple of months ago in March 2020, after millions of people were stuck at home and binge watching TV shows and movies.

FlatpanelsHD reports that Netflix streams have returned to normal, with HD by default now in a few countries throughout Europe. The site writes "Denmark, Norway, Germany, and other European countries have contacted FlatpanelsHD or taken to forums to report that streaming quality has been restored, meaning 4K HDR streaming at up to 15 Mb/s bitrate. HD bitrates are also reverting back to normal".

A statement from a Netflix spokesperson to FlatpanelsHD explains: "Please note, we are working with ISPs to help increase capacity. In the last month alone we have added four times the normal capacity. As conditions improve we will lift these limitations".

You might know him as Olaf from the Frozen franchise of movies, but Josh Gad has a new show called "Reunited Apart" -- where Gad gets in most of the main actors and people behind Back to the Future. Check it out:

If you're like me you'll be completely geeking out over the video, and while I won't give anything away -- you'll be surprised by how many people join the Back to the Future reunion. Gad of course gets the main actors in Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, and Lea Thompson -- but also director Robert Zemeckis and composer Alan Silverstri.

Gad first revealed his new YouTube series on April 27, kicking things off with the cast of another one of my most favorite movies of all time: The Goonies. You can check that one out here. I may or may not have teared up many times writing this news and watching this video (and The Goonies Reunion). So awesome!

Twitch is ramping things up in 2020 and beyond, with Bloomberg reporting that the Amazon-owned gaming-focused company is taking in pitches for "unscripted" TV shows.

These new unscripted TV shows are being aimed at male gamers that are aged between 18-24, with the idea that Twitch will make its own game shows, dating shows, and other reality TV shows. The budgets for these new Twitch-made shows will be between $50,000 per week and $250,000 per week.

Twitch is expecting to make a show better than a normal video podcast that goes onto YouTube, or a multi-window Zoom chat. But it doesn't want the TV shows to swell out to the size of a traditional show. We should see these new Twitch shows in the coming months.

If your mind wasn't exploded from the latest Rick and Morty episode, then you really need to go and watch it right now. After you have done that, come back here and watch the teaser for the next episode.

The new trailer has been released on the official Rick and Morty Twitter page, and shows that this new episode will be a rip-off the alien universe. Even from the name "Promortyus", we can already see that this next episode will contain numerous alien references, some of which can be seen in the trailer above.

The short clip features Rick and Morty ripping off face-huggers, and then Rick mentions that the last thing he remembers is that he was looking at some "wet egg". We also get a quick glimpse at an alien society, and Rick notices that they have an M&M store. Rick and Morty Season 4 Episode 7 will release next this coming Sunday at 11:30 pm ET/PT.

I didn't think I would have to be writing an article like this, but Tom Cruise is making a movie with Elon Musk's space company SpaceX in a new project with NASA.

The news is coming from Deadline, which reports that it is not a new Mission: Impossible movie, saying: "and no studio is in the mix at this stage but look for more news as I get it. But this is real, albeit in the early stages of liftoff".

Tom Cruise is no stranger to dangerous stunts, so venturing into space makes sense for the veteran actor. Cruise recently broke his ankle filming Mission: Impossible Fallout -- where in the same movie he is hanging from a helicopter. Speaking of hanging, Cruise clung to the side of a plane in Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation... and he's not scared of heights considering he climbed the Burj Khalifa (in Dubai) in Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol.

HBO Max is offering some pretty nice discount to its upcoming streaming service, which if you sign up to the pre-order promotion the company will drop the monthly charge from $15, to just $12 per month.

The deal of $12 per month lasts for the first year, and it will apply to new subscribers as well as a "returning eligable" HBO Max customer. The discounted monthly price of HBO Max is only available if you sign up on the official HBO Max website, or go through WarnerMedia directly.

HBO Max will be launching on May 27 with some rather big exclusives, with Warner Bros. Picture Group opening a new production wing in Warner Max, that will create streaming movies for HBO Max. HBO Max will also have the entire Friends catalog, the hour-long Friends Reunion Special, the entire seasons of The Big Bang Theory -- something that cost WarnerMedia a huge $1 billion for the exclusive rights to the show.

You should know that you aren't alone if episode six of Rick and Morty broke your brain, because it also broke the brains of the writers behind the show. How comforting.

In a new video uploaded to the Adult Swim YouTube Channel, co-creator Dan Harmon, and writer Jeff Loveness sat down to share their thoughts on episode six and its mind-blowing approach. Disclaimer: this article will contain spoilers, so if you haven't yet watched the new episode, I'd advise on not continuing to read this post. Writer Jeff Loveness, says that this episode "broke me", and that the whole idea got away from the writers by the end of the episode.

The writers explain that Rick is a representation of limitless potential, and that even though he can do anything that can be a trap, and he can be kept doing it forever. Loveness reveals that it was his personal fear that inspired the shirtless old men ripping their t-shirts off and being cut underneath, and Harmon threw his disgust of the "cumgutter" to complete the idea. The writers also talk about how they started to have "fun" with meta-structural stuff, which is more than apparent throughout the episode. Personally, this is one of my favorite Rick and Morty episodes yet; if you haven't seen it and are a Rick and Morty fan, you need to get onto it ASAP.

The Avengers: Endgame was met with some extreme popularity, but how extreme exactly? Well, it had enough backing that the movie is now the most commercially profitable movie in history.

According to a new report by Deadline, Endgame made a whopping $2.79 billion at the global box office, with $890 million of that being in profit, setting the new record for any future movie that will try and beat it. The report also states that Endgame cost $356 million to produce, additionally $175 million went towards paying the cast and staff, and $155 million went towards marketing the movie on the global stage.

In total, Endgame cost $899 million to produce, which includes all of the costs such as staff/actor payments, marketing, budget, and any other hidden costs. In just the first weekend of release, Avengers: Endgame made $1.2 billion at the worldwide box office, which covered all of the costs and even left a surplus of money.

Saitama's hilarious and action-packed adventures are getting adapted as a live-action film from Sony Pictures.

This is not a drill: One Punch Man, the immensely popular manga series, is getting a feature-length movie. Sources tell Variety that Sony Pictures has teamed up with Israeli-based film team Avad Productions to make the One Punch Man film. Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner, who wrote Sony's profitable Venom and Jumanji movies, will pen the script.

It'll be interesting to see how One Punch Man is made into a movie starring real people. The series is known for its comedic overtones--the first episode has a half-man half-lobster enemy who runs around in underwear--complemented by a different kind of hero, one who has to deal with being the most powerful person alive and not ever really being challenged.