85th Acadamey Awards Nominees

The 2013 Oscar Nominees have been announced this week. Not every ones thoughts are reflected across the categories however, Skyfall and the Hobbit are only noted on some of the technical categories. But nonetheless there are some incredible movies nominated this year, the following are the nominees for the main categories.

Best Picture

• Amour
• Life of Pi
• Argo
• Lincoln
• Beasts of the Southern Wild
• Silver Linings Playbook
• Django Unchained
• Zero Dark Thirty
• Les Miserables

Actor in a leading role

• Bradley Cooper - Silver Linings Playbook
• Joaquin Phoenix - The Master
• Daniel Day Lewis - Lincoln
• Denzel Washington - Flight
• Hugh Jackman - Les Miserables

Actress in a leading role

• Jessica Chastain - Zero Dark Thirty
• Quvenzhane Wallis - Beasts of the Southern Wild
• Jennifer Lawrence - Silver Linings Playbook
• Naomi Watts - The Impossible
• Emmanuelle Riva - Amour

Actor in a supporting role

• Alan Arkin - Argo
• Robert De Niro - Silver Linings Playbook
• Phillip Seymour Hoffman - The Master
• Tommy Lee Jones - Lincoln
• Christoph Waltz - Django Unchained

Actress in a supporting role

• Amy Adams - The Master
• Sally Field - Lincoln
• Anne Hathaway - Les Miserables
• Helen Hunt - The Sessions
• Jacki Weaver - Silver Linings Playbook

Animated Feature Film

• Brave
• Frankenweenie
• ParaNorman
• The Pirates! Band of Misfits
• Wreck-It Ralph

The full list can be seen on the official site, http://oscar.go.com/nominees

- Welsh 11/01/13

Hellboy 3 needs one hell of a Kickstart

For quite a while now, we've heard little rumours and talks about the Hellboy series getting another sequel.
Interviews with lead actor Ron Pearlman and director Guillermo Del Toro have teased at the idea, both announcing their willingness and readiness to go ahead with the film. Del Toro has always viewed the series as a trilogy, with the first two movies being act one and two, the third and final movie to be the grand finish to the series.

Pearlman was on board for this vision, saying in an interview 2 years ago.

"he (Del Toro) always thought of it as a trilogy . . .the take that Guillermo had on finishing the trilogy was epic, and if it doesn't get made it would be unfortunate because it was always designed to have this big finish and I would love to see it being filmed."

So with the lead actors on board, a relatively successful release of two movies already, and a director with a story eager to go, you may find yourself asking what is the hold up? How come its been eight years since we saw Hellboy on the big screen? (Yeah! Hellboy 2: The golden army, is now EIGHT years old!)

It turns out that it all comes down to money. Del Toro talked about it in a recent interview with Latino Review.

"A couple of weeks ago or months ago, I did make a couple of phone calls to test, to gauge the possibility of doing that because its a big movie. There's no takers for a movie of that size. The two movies made their money back and a little bit, but one was $50 (million) and the other was $80/$85. This is $140, so no one wants to do that leap from the financial side."

When questioned on the possibility of a Kickstarter, Del Toro is all to aware that there is a big jump between a $2 million indie game and a $140 million blockbuster, "Unless we find a way to do the mother of all Kickstarters" Del Toro said, "It's just not going to happen."

Sources:

• http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/121448-Del-Toro-Hellboy-3-Would-Take-The-Mother-Of-All-Kickstarters
• http://screenrant.com/hellboy-3-ron-perlman-rob-95373/
• https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmFAqULeDIFf_s3qFfJ1p-9cfvg0kj3oSjkH2HWqKLpJaNM6yJSMrmOdtlZdo8y1QBZVUJ3n_l4yd9X4QN15Ovk79ipegtdZrKxuazlPeItRl7yq0GM_xdIZp1qjZFdZamia4_fK1Qw9Hz/s1600/Hellboy-hellboy-534795_1280_1024.jpg

Glenelg confident for cinema to open in 2015

Back in 2009, the local Glenelg cinema was closed down, screening its last film Gone with the Wind. The cinema itself was shut down with the structure still standing, the owners planning to build retail developments in its place. Locals filed a 1200 signature petition, to try to keep the building as a heritage site, but was unsuccessful, with the structure finally being demolished in August 2011.


Now, developer Andrew Taplin wants to build a $17 million cinema on the lot, only waiting on local government to give the OK.

An artists impression of the proposed cinema

Taplin is confident that if approval is given in the coming weeks, the cinema itself could be finished by summer 2015, hoping that the addition to Jetty road will boost local business and benefit other traders.

The decision is yet to be made by the government on whether or not this project will go ahead, but Taplin and other local traders are confident that it will go ahead and be a great success to the area.

Taplin talked about the Norwood cinema, and how the introduction of it helped The Parade become such a desirable shopping and entertainment precinct, and is hoping for the same successes.

- Welsh 10/01/13

Sources:

•  http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2011/08/24/3300733.htm
• http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/developer-confident-glenelg-cinema-will-be-open-by-summer-2015/story-e6frea83-1226551095171
• http://resources3.news.com.au/images/2012/09/05/1226465/702895-glenelg-cinema-plan.jpg

Microsoft sheds a little light

Microsoft has stepped up during Samsungs keynote speech at this years CES to reveal a project of theirs that could change the perception of "bigger is better" with tv screens.

Enter Illumiroom, an experimental project that augments the area around your screen with in game projections to enhance the experience.

What? Yeah it's a little odd of a concept, but just look at the proof of concept trailer below to get the gist of it,

Illumiroom will use a combination of a rear mounted projector and the kinect sensor, to sort out the size of your room and what needs to be projected where.

Microsoft patented an immersive display experience last year, with the hopes to make gaming "more realistic" by elminating exterior out of context images, and now it would seem that they have reached this goal with the illumiroom.

Comparisons are being made to the "ambilight technology" from a few years back, where TVs would project coloured lights depending on what was on the screen at the time. It wasn't a neccessity but it was a nice touch. Illumiroom on the other hand seems to show actual in game footage and effects on your back wall.

They are still a little way off having this product ready for purchase, and it is still isn't known whether this will tie in with the next xbox or future kinect technology, but Microsoft plans to reveal more information in Paris later on in the year at the ACM SIGCHI Conference in April. (Assocaiton for Computing Machinery Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction).

As an avid gamer, and a heavy consumer of television shows and movies, I am very keen to see how this technology pans out across the board. Keener still to see how it works when you already use a projector!

- Welsh 10/01/13

Sources:

• http://www.kotaku.com.au/2013/01/microsofts-illumiroom-xbox-360-project-makes-your-tv-size-irrelevant/
• http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/01/09/ces-microsoft-illumiroom-makes-your-room-a-screen
• http://au.gamespot.com/news/microsoft-reveals-new-xbox-illumiroom-concept-6402178
• http://d1vr6n66ssr06c.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/illumiroom.jpg

LEGO MARVEL GAME ANNOUNCED!



The next cover of Game Informer

 That should be enough, shouldn't it? Just telling you that this game is being made, should be enough good news for this week, but nonetheless I will tell you what I know, just to make it even better!

Warner Bros. has announced that a Marvel LEGO game is to be made, LEGO Marvel Superheroes coming to us later this year. We have already seen such iconic franchises as Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and DC converted into colourful building block form but this is the first time that Marvel characters will receive the treatment.

The game will have a brand new storyline, wherein Nick Fury calls upon the help of such heroes as Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Spiderman, Wolverine, yeahhhh you get the picture, to save Earth from such powers as Loki, and Galactus the Devourer of worlds.

In true LEGO game form, LEGO Marvel Superheroes will have the most characters ever in a console game boasting over 100 playable characters from all areas of the Marvel Universe, and the family friendly action packed puzzle solving is obviously going to remain, along with endless collectibles.

Players will brave the ultimate mission to save the universe, in a LEGO-fied version of New York, along with a selection of Iconic locations from the Marvel universe.

More news will be coming out with the next release of Game Informer, the cover of which can be seen above.

Just quietly, I'm still fangirling like crazy over this announcement :D

- Welsh 09/01/13

Sources:

• http://www.superherohype.com/images/stories/2013/January/gameinformerbig.jpg
• http://www.comingsoon.net/news/gamenews.php?id=98628
• http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/01/08/lego-marvel-super-heroes-announced

Transfomers 4 starts new trilogy

Transfomers 4 is due for a June 2014 release.

So you may or many not of heard by now that Michael Bay was planning another Transformers movie, the net has been littered with rumours, here say, possible actors, possible plots, but not much has come to light on what is ACTUALLY going on with this project.

Rejoice (maybe) for Michael Bay, as of January 8th announced on his official site some news on the film. We recently heard that Mark Wahlberg has been selected as the lead role, and now Bay has revealed his casting for another lead, acting opposite Wahlberg. Bay had a reasonably large pool of young up and comers to pick from, including actors such as Luke Grimes, Landon Liboiron and Australian actor Brendan Thwaites, but he has chosen relatively unknown Irish actor Jack Reynor to fill the role.

Bay had the following to say on his choice, "Jack Reynor, he is an Irish kid who came to America with 30 dollars in his pocket. Pretty ballsy. Seriously who does that? Anyway I spotted him in a great little Irish movie What Richard Did. This kid is the real deal."

Along with the casting announcement, Bay took the time to quell some of the other rumours that have been floating around by defining the movie a little more.

"This movie takes place exactly 4 years after the war in Chicago (Transofmers:Dark of the Moon). The story makes a very natural transition, and reason as to why we have a whole new cast," Bay wrote. "This 'Transfomers' will feel very different then the last three. We are embarking on a new trilogy."

So what do you think Didders? Will a new cast, new time, new range of transformers bring new life to a series that has become staler with each dose of robot destruction pornography?

- Welsh 09/01/13

Sources;

•  http://collider.com/wp-content/uploads/transformers-4-logo1.jpg
•  http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1699845/transformers-4-michael-bay-jack-reynor.jhtml
• http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=98641
• http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2930503/

11th Annual VES Awards Nominees

With 2012 drawing to a close, its time to stop, look back, and reflect upon what the best of the year was in numerous awards ceremonies. As of January 7th, the Visual Effects Society (VES) announced their nominees for the 11th annual VES awards, which recognize outstanding visual effects across 24 categories of film, commercial, television, animation, and video games.

This year the VES are honouring Ang Lee with the VES Visionary Award, for his ground breaking work on "The Life of Pi".

The nominees include:

• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
• Prometheus
• Life of Pi
• The Avengers
• BattleshipRust and Bones
• The Impossible
• Argo
• Flight
• Zero Dark Thirty
• Game of Thrones: Volar Morghulis
• Once Upon A Time: The Stranger
• Falling Skies: Worlds Apart
• Curiosity
• Munsters: Mockingbird Lane
• Call of Duty: Black Ops II
• Halo 4
• Dirt Showdown
• Forza Horizons
• Dishonored
• Brave
• Paranorman
• Rise of the Guardians
• Wreck-It Ralph
• Hotel Transylvania

So what do you think? What Visual Effects really stood out for you in good old 2012?