TV, Movies & Home Theatre News - Page 8

The iconic videogame franchise Fallout is getting the prestige TV treatment, with the first season set to debut on Amazon's Prime Video streaming service on April 12, 2024. Until now, full details on the adaptation have been kept under wraps, and outside of a few leaked set photos, we haven't had much to go on.

Thanks to an in-depth reveal at Vanity Fair, we now have a lot of Fallout TV series info to chew on. The story is a brand-new one and not based on any of the games - and it's canon, according to Bethesda's Todd Howard, who serves as an executive producer on the show. With Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy at the helm, the duo behind HBO's Westworld, the good news is that the dark humor of the Fallout games will be a big part of the post-apocalyptic story being told.

On that front, the main character will be Lucy, plates by Ella Purnell, "an optimistic Vault Dweller with an all-American can-do spirit" who will venture outside the Los Angeles-based Vault 33 for the first time in her life after "her peaceful and idealistic nature is tested when people harm her loved ones."

In a world where there is are seemingly exponential options when it comes to convenient streaming services, physical media sales are down with less and less people going out and buying Blu-rays of their favorite movies and instead just catching them on Netflix.

Famed directors such as Guillermo Del Toro, and Christopher Nolan have expressed concern regarding the dwindling physical media sales of movies, and the power streaming services such as Netflix have over film history. The directors point out that if Netflix remove a movie from its directory because the views its getting are no longer proportional, or profitable, compared to what it costs to have it on Netflix's servers, the movie is gone forever and can never been seen again.

Nolan recently touched on this, saying, "There is a danger, these days, that if things only exist in the streaming version they do get taken down, they come and go." This statement from the Oppenheimer director was backed up by Guillermo Del Toro, who wrote, "Physical media is almost a Fahrenheit 451 (where people memorized entire books and thus became the book they loved) level of responsibility. If you own a great 4K HD, Blu-ray, DVD etc etc of a film or films you love... you are the custodian of those films for generations to come."

Apple is reportedly getting ready to make a change to the way people buy and rent movies, with the familiar iTunes Movie Store set to be killed off. Instead, it's claimed that Apple will move the same functionality into the Apple TV app, somewhere where it arguably makes more sense.

The news comes after 9to5Mac spotted code in the second beta releases of iOS 17,2 and tvOS 17,2 that show Apple will merge the iTunes Movie Store into the Apple TV app. Notably. users can already buy movies and TV shows in the TV app but those using Apple devices like the iPhone and iPad still have a dedicated iTunes Movie Store available as well. That, it seems, is about to change.

The strings seen by 9to5Mac mention text that suggests a new message will be displayed to say that the iTunes Movie Store has moved to the Apple TV app. However, it isn't yet clear whether the change will be implemented when iS 17.2 and tvOS 17.2 are rolled out to the public. That being said, the 9to5Mac report does say that comments left over from Apple engineers suggest that the tweak will be rolled out remotely. That means that it might not be strictly tied to the release of these new software updates after all.

Take-Two Interactive CEO confirms the company is currently "in discussions" to adapt more of its video game IPs into films.

The success of the Super Mario Bros. movie has catalyzed more film adaptations of big games, and Nintendo recently announced that a new Zelda movie is in the works (with Sony Pictures, no less). Take-Two already has two films in the works--a Borderlands movie with an all-star cast from Lionsgate, and a new BioShock film--but company CEO Strauss Zelnick says that more IPs could be licensed out for future movies.

In TTWO's recent Q2'24 earnings call, Zelnick gave a thorough answer that underlines the high risks of film and TV, saying that if any more movies are made (like, say, a Grand Theft Auto or Red Dead Redemption feature length film) that the company would be extremely careful and very selective. At no point does Take-Two plan to self-finance a film, instead opting for licensing. One wrong move could essentially dilute or damage the IP which is something that Take-Two absolutely does not want to do.

The reports were correct: Nintendo has officially announced that it is developing a live action film based on The Legend of Zelda franchise.

Shortly after releasing strong Q2 earnings results, Nintendo today formally announced that is working on a new live action Zelda movie. The film will be produced by Shigeru Miyamoto and Avi Arad, former CEO of Marvel Studios and current chairman of Arad Productions, a studio that's had a hand in multiple live action Marvel adaptations including Uncharted, Spider-Man Homecoming, Ghost in the Shell, and many more.

Sony Pictures Entertainment will be co-financing the film, with Nintendo paying for the majority of production costs. Wes Ball, the director of the Maze Runner films and the upcoming Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, will direct the Zelda film.

Here's some more bad news in the world of streaming services, as Apple is hiking the price of Apple TV+ - and sadly, it's a big old increase, plus it's not the only subscription charge to increase among Apple's offerings.

As TechSpot noticed (and Mark Gurman raised on X), Apple TV+ is going to increase from a $6.99 monthly fee to $9.99, which is a 43% hike - ouch indeed. The yearly price will go up from $69 to $99, we're told.

It's particularly painful as with the pricing on other streaming services like Netflix on the way up, and Amazon planning to show ads with Prime Video (and charge to remove them) early next year, Apple has remained a wallet-friendly alternative.

Today has special significance in the world of Fallout, with October 23 being the day that the bombs fell and thermonuclear war broke out between the world's superpowers. When you look at it that way, it might not sound like a cause for celebration, but Bethesda has taken the opportunity to offer a Fallout Day Sale across storefronts like Steam and GOG.

With up to 80% discounts on games like Fallout 4 and Fallout 76, with the sales extending to the many bits of DLC that dropped post-launch - if you haven't played Fallout 4's Far Harbor or Nuka World expansions, now's the time - it's the perfect time to catch up on or jump into any of the many Fallout gaming experiences out there, which includes older titles like Fallout 2 and the iconic Fallout: New Vegas.

The biggest Fallout-related news of the day is definitely the word coming from Amazon, with confirmation that the highly-anticipated Fallout TV series will begin streaming on April 12, 2024.

The ad-free plan for Discovery Plus is going up in price in the US, and it's a fairly hefty jump.

Currently the subscription runs to $6.99 per month, but that is being hiked to $8.99 (and then applicable taxes on top).

The change will kick in with the next billing cycle for subscribers after (or on) November 2, so as you might expect, nothing is happening this month.

Apple has become the go-to destination for those looking to enjoy Major League Soccer thanks to its MLS Season Pass while Major League Baseball is also covered off via the Apple TV app. What's next? A new report suggests that we might see Apple turn its attention to motorsport.

That new report comes via the Business F1 magazine and was picked up by 9to5Mac. If a deal is done, it's thought that it could cost Apple around $2 billion per year to become the exclusive rights holder for streaming Formula 1 sport around the world.

However, the move would take time to come to fruition. It's noted that there are already F1 deals in place that would need to expire before Apple would be able to swoop in, including an ESPN deal that runs until 2025. The report claims that Apple would look to sign a seven-year deal, with the global rights becoming available around five years into that timeframe.

Hot on the heels of Netflix's change of stance on password sharing in an attempt to drive up subscriber numbers, Disney+ looks set to become the next streaming service to follow suit. That's after the news that the streamer will start to crack down on password sharing starting from November 1, with Canada being the first to make the change.

The news comes after Canadian Disney+ subscribers began to receive emails warning them that password sharing will be a big no-no from November. The email says that Disney+ will begin to implement restrictions on account sharing.

The email, first reported by MobileSyrup, included notification of a new agreement that warns Disney+ may limit or terminate access to its service if people are discovered to be sharing their password with people outside their household. Disney+ says that the household is defined as a collection of devices associated with a primary personal residence and that are only to be used by people who live in those residences.