Archive for the ‘News’ Category

Target announced Thursday that it will soon allow customers to trade in electronics (including iPhones, iPods, phones, or videogames) to receive in-store credit.

The company started the program in North California on August 24^th, 2010 and will have an additional 850 stores starting the program by the end of the year.

Best Buy announced Thursday that it plans on accepting used game trade-ins at 600 stores nationwide (in the beginning) beginning August 29^th, 2010, in exchange for store credit.

They will accept an initial line of over 100 titles, and will randomly accept select titles that will come with a $20 Best Buy gift card plus the trade-in value.

Eventually, this will enable the stores to sell used games to the public once they build up enough of an inventory.

Blockbuster announced to Hollywood movie studios that it IS going to file for bankruptcy in mid-September to get rid of its $1 billion dollar debt and escape leases on poorly performing stores. 

The company will be restructured and will focus on its rental kiosks (similar to Redbox), and will continue to rent movies (and games) through the mail (similar to Netflix).

Blockbuster Video is getting very close to declaring Chapter 7 bankruptcy according to a report from Home Media Magazine.  Low second-quarter results are going to be announced in the coming days, and it’s not clear whether or not shareholders will be protected.

This of course is due to heavy competition from services like Netflix and Redbox, and while Blockbuster is changing itself to compete with offerings like digital downloads and Blockbuster Express, the company is real need of a savior.

Gamestop’s Niall Lawlor told many at the Develop conference that Gamestop doesn’t like to be in the used games business, but it’s necessary to keep them “in the game” per say.

"We discovered the used business was a way of preserving our margins.  We don’t like being in the used business, it’s very difficult to manage. If we hadn’t got the used business, we wouldn’t be there."

Interesting.

Along with wax figures of popular Marvel characters, Madam Tussauds in London will feature a new 4D adventure starring your favorite Marvel characters this Summer 2010!  Check out the images below the trailer!

“Get ready for the ultimate 4D adventure! Step into the spectacular 284 seat 4D cinema to witness something incredible. Sitting beneath the 360 degree screen, your senses are bombarded by 70 mind blowing effects from the wind in your hair to tremors beneath your feet all packed into an adrenalin fuelled, nine minute movie featuring the worlds favorite Super Heroes saving London from impending doom.

Exclusively at Madame Tussauds London!”

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Thanks to TJ Stewart of The 13 Skulls for the tip!

Remember Back to the Future 2? Marty McFly used a hoverboard throughout most of the futuristic movie to escape danger at various times, and now a French artist has created one!

Given, it’s not exactly functional like Back to the Future’s was, but it does pull off the concept and looks pretty much like the original prop used in the movie.

Enjoy!

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Leonard Nimoy was recently invited to a ceremony in the city of Vulcan in Alberta, Canada to be a part of the relabeling of the city to “Vulcan: The Official Star Trek Capital of Canada”.

CBS approved the status change and Leonard Nimoy was on hand to witness the ceremony and to immortalize the Vulcan hand salute in cement.  Nimoy was also presented with a bronze bust of his iconic Spock character, and a poster similar to the “Obama + Hope” campaign.

Click HERE for the full video from an audience member

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Gary Coleman
1968 –2010

Actor Gary Coleman, best known for his role as Arnold Jackson on Diff’rent Strokes, died Friday (05/28/10) at the age of 42 from a massive brain hemorrhage. 

Coleman will always be remembered for delivering the best line on TV, "What you talkin’ ’bout, Willis”, that is still used in a variety of ways even today.

Here’s an excerpt from a story on the WSJ website that covers his childhood:

Adopted as an infant in Zion, Ill., he had a congenital kidney defect that led to two transplants by age 16. Drugs to combat rejection stunted his growth, and he had few friends. His mother, Edmonia Sue Coleman, a nurse, started "looking for things that might be fun for him."

She got him cast in a commercial for a Chicago bank, which brought him to the attention of sitcom maven Norman Lear. Mr. Lear at first cast Mr. Coleman as Stymie in a remake of "The Little Rascals," then in his own series. "Diff’rent Strokes" centered on two black brothers adopted by a wealthy white man. African-Americans injected into an otherwise white milieu was a popular television motif of the time, shared with shows such as "Webster," "Benson" and "Gimme a Break!"

Mr. Coleman was a sensation from the start in "Diff’rent Strokes." The Washington Post called him "a most unusual tot with a strikingly professional comic delivery."

Read the rest at the WSJ website.

Read more about Gary on Wikipedia here.

Tired of downloading content at home or just can’t?  Well Gamestop is rolling out a new way to download your digital content in their stores.  COO J. Paul Raines spoke about it during the quarterly earnings call this week:

"We’ve been working on the technology for DLC for well over a year, and I think what’s important to understand is that we’ve had to create proprietary point of sale technology in partnership with Microsoft to be able to show that DLC catalog at retail. We’re also working on merchandising and marketing the DLC content in our stores. So this is something that we feel like the industry is moving our way, and our investments are starting to really be timely and publishers see us as the destination for sale of DLC in stores."

Not only this but Gamestop is rolling out a new customer loyalty program in four different US markets beginning in May.  They plan on using a system similar to a French store called, Micromania,  that managed to wrangle in some of the highest sales in Europe thanks to their loyalty program called MegaCart.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Wall Street Journal reports that all remaining GameCrazy stores are closing around the United States while filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

The parent company, Movie Gallery, is said to be closing roughly 250 remaining GameCrazy stores across the United States.  Also, 19,000 people are estimated to be out of work due to the closure.

Currently, the 184 or so Canadian stores will remain unaffected, but nothing official is known at this time.

Movie Gallery, Inc. hasn’t released a formal statement, but word will surely come soon.

I can’t believe it’s finally happening!!!

A petition from the Motion Picture Association of America was granted by the FCC to allow major studios to release their box-office opening day movies in the home shortly after — or even at the same time as — their release in theaters!  That means you all could be watching Iron Man 2 in your homes right now!

The way they’d do it is by using “selectable output control” technology that would disable video and audio outputs on set-top boxes so that the video stream couldn’t be recorded and shared illegally (think DRM for movies).  The movies would also be on a limited-period use basis so that you’d have a timeframe to watch it in before it expires.  The cost would be more (possibly quite a bit more) than a theatrical ticket, but many won’t mind because sometimes you can’t get out of the house for different reasons. 

MPAA Chairman and CEO Dan Glickman:

“Many of us love movies, but we just can’t make it to the theater as often as we’d like.  That is especially true for parents of young children, rural Americans who live far from the multiplex and people with disabilities that keep them close to home.  Having the added option to enjoy movies in a more timely fashion at home would be a liberating new choice.”

MPAA interim Chief Executive Bob Pisano:

“it is a major step forward in the development of new business models by the motion picture industry to respond to growing consumer demand."

Many are against this, including movie theater chains, who believe by doing this you’re going to put people out of jobs in theaters; and special interest groups that think that by enabling this output control technology they’ll prevent users from using the set top boxes to their full extent.  Under the FCC ruling however, studios could only use the technology for a window of 90 days, or until the movie is released on DVD, whichever comes first. After the 90-day window, the studio would no longer have the security protocol in place.  I say that is fair enough!

Hollywood, go for it… I’d pay a LOT more to be able to just watch movies at home instead of going to the theater.  $10 for a movie ticket and $15 for food is getting ridiculous, and I am tired of people talking and messing with their phones during the movie I paid $25 dollars to see!

I’ll keep you advised on anything more that develops from this story!

Read the press release below:

Read the rest of this entry »

There’s much talk that Activision plans on shutting down developer Infinity Ward studios after continued staff defections.

After Activision fired the two heads of Infinity Ward for allegedly trying to sell a game to another rival publisher, things just haven’t been the same at Infinity Ward.  Allegedly no one is happy, and remaining employees are leaving by the droves, but those who are staying behind are being “rewarded” for not “stealing” company secrets and are actually being handed shares of the bonus money that West and Zampella were supposed to get!  Those who aren’t being tempted by the “bribes” are going to a company called Respawn Entertainment.

Respawn Entertainemnt is a company that the two heads, Jason West and Vince Zampella, went and started up using several million dollars in capital by Activision’s main rival, Electronic Arts.  They chose the name based on a term that is used in multiplayer games called a “respawn”, meaning after someone dies, they start back up in another location.  Clever! 

No real announcements have come from the new studio, but the new company is working on a title they claim will be a “huge, summer blockbuster” for EA.

Here’s statements compliments of 1Up where the different companies responded to all of this news:

Respawn

"Respawn Entertainment marks a fresh start for Jason and me. For the past decade we led a great development team and poured our hearts into creating an epic game franchise. We’re very proud of what we built — and proud that so many millions of fans enjoyed those games. Today we hope to do it all over again — open a new studio, hire a great team, and create brand new games with a new partner, EA." — Official statement

"We have learned the hard way that the best way to ensure the integrity and quality of your work and make sure the fans get what they deserve is to own the intellectual property." — Vince Zampella (via L.A. Times)

Electronic Arts

"It has a certain irony to it. But the fact that they were in this situation was a stunning opportunity for us." EA Games label president Frank Gibeau (via L.A. Times)

"It basically gives them [a] sanctuary where they can really focus in on creative and build a blockbuster product… We’re helping these guys pick themselves up and go kick some ass." — Gibeau (via GameSpot)

Activision

"This agreement comes as no surprise to Activision given the myriad of improper activities detailed in the cross-complaint filed on Friday against Jason West and Vince Zampella. We look forward to continuing to work with Infinity Ward’s deep bench of proven talent on exciting new projects." — Activision statement

Yikes!  This should be interesting to see how it all pans out!

The Toronto Sun is reporting that 79-year old Leonard Nimoy has decided to retire from acting.

In an interview he did with the newspaper, Nimoy explains that he’s been acting for a very long time, and that it’s time for him to step away (even from conventions) and enjoy his life again.

“Countless times, I thought it was done.  I want to get off the stage. Also, I don’t think it would be fair to Zachary Quinto.  He’s a terrific actor, he looks the part, and it’s time to give him some space. And I’m very flattered the character will continue.”

“I’ve been doing this professionally for 60 years and I love the idea of going out on a positive note. I’ve had a great, great time.”

“I was away from acting for 12 years, so I guess I was seducible, but since J.J. Abrams revived the Star Trek franchise, I felt I owed him something. And I’m glad I did it because he promised me a good story, and it was.”

Nimoy plans on concentrating on his photography venture and would even like to attend some art shows.

Enjoy Leonard!  Live Long and Prosper!

CBS and Mad Science announced that a new interactive show stage based on Star Trek will debut at Kennedy Space Center in June 2010 and then go across the United States and Canada.

You will take the role of a young cadet on their first day at Starfleet Academy learning about science and technology, space travel, and living in space.  The attraction will take about 30 minutes and will feature the likes of Captain Kirk and Spock (possibly of JJ Abrams Star Trek). 

Check out the information brochure below and then the press release beneath that.

Read the rest of this entry »

DIXIE CARTER
May 25, 1939 – April 10, 2010

Dixie Carter, star of stage and screen, died Saturday April 10th, 2010 due to complications from endometrial cancer, which was discovered in early 2010.

Carter was best known for her role on Designing Women as Julia Sugarbaker, but also as Gloria, Orson Hodges’ mother on Desperate Housewives. 

Her husband was actor Hal Holbrook, and he released a statement about her death:

"This has been a terrible blow to our family.  We would appreciate everyone understanding that this is a private family tragedy."

In addition to family, her funeral, held April 15, 2010, was attended by Designing Women co-stars Delta Burke, Annie Potts and Jean Smart.

The grand opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is about to take place at Universal Studios Orlando, and they’ve added a screenshot of a new part of the exhibit.

Hagrid’s Hut is up and ready to go at the attraction, and you’ll pass by it as you make your way to the Flight of the Hippogriff family-friendly roller coaster.

The grand opening of the attraction will be June 18, 2010.

“An authentic replica from the Harry Potter films, guests will pass by Hagrid’s hut on their way to the Flight of the Hippogriff family-friendly roller coaster. Just before they board, Hagrid instructs guests on how to properly approach and fly on a Hippogriff. Hagrid’s hut will be seen as part of a feature about The Wizarding World of Harry Potter on NBC’s The Celebrity Apprentice this Sunday, April 4.“

JOHN FORSYTHE
January 29, 1918 – April 1, 2010

John Forsythe, the voice of Charlie from Charlie’s Angels (and the Charlie’s Angels movies) and star of Dynasty, died at 92 on Wednesday April 1, 2010.

John had been diagnosed with colon cancer last year, but recently got sick from pneumonia and passed away due to complications with the illness.

Click here to read John’s complete movie history.

Check out The Icarus Project…

This guy (and maybe a team) put together a piece of equipment that traveled up above the upper most regions of the atmosphere and got stunning pictures and video as it did.  The images and video are just breathtaking and N.A.S.A. has even contacted this guy to see how he was able to do it (and probably why).  Oh, and he did it several times… LOL.  Eat that N.A.S.A.!

Click the image above to go to the site and see all the pics and videos!

Enjoy and congrats to him!

Robert Culp
August 16, 1930 – March 24, 2010

Robert Culp, from TV’s I Spy, has died at 79 after collapsing outside his Hollywood home.

Los Angeles police Lt. Robert Binder said no foul play was suspected, and a jogger found Culp, who apparently fell and struck his head.

On I Spy, Culp played Kelly Robinson, a spy whose cover was that of an ace tennis player. (In real life, Culp actually was a top-notch tennis player who showed his skills in numerous celebrity tournaments.). Bill Cosby was fellow spy Alexander Scott, whose cover was that of Culp’s trainer. The pair traveled the world in the service of the U.S. government.