There are a lot of questions floating around about the upcoming Star Wars movies. A few actors have spoken up about returning to the film. Samuel L. Jackson wants to work on the movie in some way. Since his character died, he said he’d be happy returning as a hologram. Ewan McGreggor also spoke up saying he’d return if needed. It looks like the only person not getting in on the project is George Lucas. Lucas described his hands off consulting role as being something of a Star Wars encyclopedia.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey comes out this Friday, but some lucky folks in New Zealand have already had the chance to enjoy it. However, there are complaints that the innovative 48fps format that Jackson used is causing nausea for some. Jackson fought to bring 48fps to theaters, so we’ll have to wait until The Hobbit is released worldwide to know the extent of problems the high frame rate will cause. While the first Hobbit film isn’t out just yet, the first still from the second movie The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug was release via EW.
Man of Steel is already being called one of the most disappointing movies of 2012. This is a bit confusing as Zack Snyder’s Superman movie doesn’t release till June 14, 2013. Yahoo! writer Jonathon Crow hasn’t even seen the film yet. He was disappointed enough that the movie wasn’t released in 2012 to take umbrage, and was further perturbed by the fact that Snyder was throwing tradition away with his superhero’s red underwear. However, the comics have had Superman out of the red briefs for some time now. Don’t take these early negative critiques seriously, Christopher Nolan has put his full support behind the film. A new trailer, the second, has just been released for the film – see above.
Back in September, the CW announced they were going to film a Wonder Woman pilot. An in depth character bio has been released. Despite Wonder Woman being referred to as Iris, pilot script writer Allan Heinberg tweeted it was just a code name. There have been a few failed attempts at bringing the Amazonian Princess back to TV. Let’s hope the CW do as well with Wonder Woman as they did with Smallville and Arrow.
The Justice League movie isn’t set to hit theaters until 2015, but reports that Darkseid will be the major movie villain have ht the internet. Thanos was the hand controlling Loki throughout the Avengers, so it’s fitting that the Justice League would face off against what could considered DC’s counterpart to Thanos. Whether Darkseid will battle the JSA on his own or be using pawns is still unknown.
Joss Whedon has handed in his outline for Avengers 2. Marvel’s Phase 2 will officially begin in 2013. If everything goes right, the S.H.I.E.L.D. series will premier next year. ABC President Paul Lee is excited about the series. He said, “It’s very Joss Whedon,” which should only be taken as a good thing.
The hunt for Harry Osborne is over. Chronicle star Dane DeHaan will be playing the part in the Amazing Spider-Man 2. Many expect he will be the villain in the sequel, although he may be fitted for the best friend role in this outing before becoming a villain in a subsequent one. The movie is set to start production in early 2013 for a May 2, 2014 release date.
Some huge news for X-Men fans. The sequel to X-Men: First Class has two new cast members: both Sir Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellen will be in the movie. Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy have also signed up. They may need them for a classic X-Men time travel story or perhaps a snapshot of the future.
It’s a sad week for Batgirl fans. Long time DC writer Gail Simone has been fired from the Batgirl book – via email! Simone wrote Batgirl for the New 52 after lengthy runs on Birds of Prey, Secret Six, and Wonder Woman. The graphic novel of her first story arc, which brought back Barbara Gordon as Batgirl, landed at No. 4 on the New York Times graphic books bestsellers list. Simone pushed boundaries with her characters, and had plans for a new transgender character that are now being scrapped. This upsetting news came just a week after Karen Berger stepped down as Executive Editor of DC’s Vertigo brand.
It’s that time of year, everyone is releasing their Best of 2012 lists. Spike TV hosted their Video Game Awards last week. While they certainly aren’t the Oscars, they’re the biggest name in video game awards right now. Out of the winners, there were some upsets. Borderlands 2 took Best Shooter and Call of Duty: Black Ops II didn’t win anything. The Walking Dead took the Game of the Year title. NerdBastards did an excellent job assembling all the amazing trailers from the show.
Kevin Smith announced he was leaving the movie game with his film, Hit Somebody. Well it turns out that might not be the case. The film was originally one movie, then two movies, and now it is back to one movie or perhaps a miniseries. That being the case, Smith is looking at leaving the movie business the way he came into it. He is now just waiting on Jeff Anderson to sign on so he can make his last cinematic creation, Clerks III.
The market for digital movies has grown a lot in recent years. While there are several choices for getting your films online, most of them seem to be equivalent to each other. That is until Netflix signed an exclusive deal to stream Disney. It means you will soon find all your childhood favorites on Netflix. Some movies have already been uploaded including Alice in Wonderland and Nightmare Before Christmas.
Fraise is this week’s SuicideGirl gamer of the week. She is a girl gamer from Germany who loves open world games and fighters. Fraise teaches us how to sound cool talking trash over Xbox LIVE in German and talks about how gamers in Germany actually get some games before the United States!
What is the meaning behind your SuicideGirls nickname, “Fraise”?
Fraise is French for strawberry. Actually, I wanted another name. My first choice was the name of my grandma’s cat, Misha. My second choice was Cerise, that’s French for cherry and I seriously love cherries a lot. But there is already another Suicide Girl with the name Cerise. You have to give three different names when you apply and I had no third name. I thought strawberries are awesome, too. Everybody loves them. And everything sounds better in French so why not go with Fraise. Why I did not get my first choice, I don’t know, but Fraise is totally fine with me. It was a one-minute decision that stuck with me for five years now. That’s how it can go!
French huh? Are you fluent in French?
Lets put it like this: my French is far better than my Spanish and my Spanish is better than my Swahili. I had French at school for five or six years, but to be honest, I sucked. The fact that I have never really traveled to France (I have been to Paris one time, but that’s it) did not make it better. Surprisingly, I remembered a lot when I started to learn Spanish. I was able to answer every question my teacher asked in perfect French! At university, I took Swahili for one year. The only sentence I remember is “mtu anasoma kitabu.” If you can get it translated, you will see how helpful that one is!
How does living in Germany affect your gaming habits? Do you get games later than people in the U.S.?
Actually there are no negative effects at all. Sometimes we even get the games a little bit earlier. The restriction laws are sharper, as I see it, but it’s no problem to get the version you want. You have to buy the Austrian version in shops or order from Austria.
How do you say “get owned, noob” in German?
I can’t really think of a fitting phrase, probably because the standard language online is English. It would probably be safe to translate “get owned“ with “friss scheiße!“ Then “noob“ would be a “neuling” or “neuer” which is far too long and does not have the effortless sound that this cool internet language has.
What is your favorite genre of video games?
I love open world games like Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption!
What did you think of the ending of Red Dead?
A lot a people complained about the end but I had no problem with it at all and I think it’s a perfectly fine ending. I have to admit that it took me a while to figure out that, as the son, I had to go and get my final revenge on the cop.
Anyways, Red Dead Redemption was great. I spend hours riding around, catching horses, and just enjoying the landscape. Seriously, the horses were amazing. The Four Horses of the Apocalypse in Undead Nightmare were even cooler. Demon horses! A burning demon horse! Can it get any better?
What are you looking forward to most about GTA V?
GTA is one of my favorite games ever and I’m bursting with excitement. It’s always amazing to see how games evolve that you knew from the beginning (besides Tekken, that just makes me cry). First of all, it goes back to fake California which is cool. I loved San Andreas. Second, a bigger map. The biggest map ever! Sounds pretty good. I’m not 100 percent sure about switching characters during the game, but most likely I will find it convenient when I play it. There is one thing though; I really hoped for a female character. To be honest, I counted on it and it’s sad that it’s not happening. I hope they at least give me horses and some animal interaction like in Assasin’s Creed 3.
The last thing I have to say about GTA V is that it can be released now. I’m ready. Thanks.
Do you do much gaming online?
Actually no. I’m more of a loner when it comes to gaming. I like to lock myself up in my room, all by myself and without any interaction with other people.
Xbox 360 or PS3?
For me it went like this: PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360. I don’t know if the PS3 would be a better choice. Probably not, but I don’t know for sure. How could I if I don’t have one? Actually, a girl should have both.
In your opinion, who is the coolest video game character ever?
What kind of question is this? Are you kidding?! You know it’s impossible to answer this one, right? There are way too many options. But there is a character that has a lot of emotional value for me: Nina Williams from Tekken. She’s a blond girl like I am and I have known her from the beginning. Even though she has no sense of style whatsoever, we became very close. I remember the first time when my nagging was finally successful and the boys handed over the controller to let me try, my first pick was Nina and we clicked right from the start. Ever since, we’ve made a perfect team and after years of training you can’t win against us. A long time ago I went to the Manga and Anime Con in Kassel, where the PS2 was presented. I kicked a lot of nerdy butt that day and it still makes me proud.
If I think about it, I’m quite sure that the coolest character is a Pokemon, but I don’t know which one. My favorite is the Evoli (Eevee) because it’s so unspecific.
Bixton is this week’s SuicideGirl gamer of the week. She is a former GameStop employee that likes a wide variety of video games and even has some gaming tattoos! I talked to her about her personal taste in video games and whether or not she thinks GameStop rips people off with their used game prices.
So what are some of your favorite video games?
My choice in video games is often considered casual as I lean towards a stress less atmosphere. I enjoy RPG’s, turn-based games, tower defense, side-scrollers, and the occasional button masher or adrenaline pumping zombie hunt. I guess all the obvious ones like The Legend of Zelda series, all of the Super Mario and friends series, Super Smash Bros., Mortal Kombat, Tekken, Dead or Alive, Soul Calibur, and Ninja Town. Haha, I’m a Nintendo fan that’s for sure. I don’t much care for first person shooters unless it’s in an arcade (like House of the Dead and Time Crisis), so my Xbox 360 gets used in other ways. Ninja Gaiden and Resident Evil are two other series’s I like. And I love Limbo and Castle Crashers. Dang I think I’m going to stop now. You get the picture.
Ah a tower defense fan! What are some of your favorite TD games?
Haha to be honest I have been hooked on South Park Let’s Go Tower Defense Play! on the 360, especially with my brother and his girlfriend. It’s a riot and even better with a little help from some friends, definitely worth trying out. Ninja Town, Desktop TD, Plants Vs. Zombies, and PixelJunk Monsters. And there’s an even longer list for ones I NEED to try still.
Desktop Tower Defense has to be one of my favorites.
The funny thing about the Desktop TD is it was recently suggested to me, but oh man is it addicting. The audio effects are quite distracting, I’m usually giggling to myself as I try keep up. It’s intense.
What are you currently playing?
I am actually playing Blue Dragon these days since I no longer have access to a Wii to finish Skyward Sword. I used to work at GameStop and purchase games I read great reviews on. Now that I still have a sibling in the haven for me, I can just borrow his and return them when I’m done. Of course I have to wait until they’re no longer needed so often times a few days or weeks after new releases I’m forced to share.
Are people ever skeptical that you are a “real” gamer just because you’re a girl?
What do you say to them?
Of course, I don’t know who wouldn’t be. I am skeptical of even guys when they say they like video games or claim gamer status. I go through dry spells sometimes where I lack energy to do anything but sleep, and to be honest, I usually don’t get into intense conversations about my gamer qualifications. Instead they’re coy quips or novelty knick knacks that give it away to detail orientated folk. Thus ending their feelings of disbelief towards me.
What was it like working at GameStop? Is that a job you’d recommend for others?
It was cool for awhile, and I would recommend it to folks, but with a warning. It can be a very demanding job, and like myself, when I walk into a specialty store, I expect you to know your stuff. They were becoming strict about dress code around the time I transferred states, I got a new boss who wasn’t too keen on body art and basically made work a drag with the badgering. I hear as a company as a whole, they’re lenient, even encouraging body art now. But I loved it, and enjoyed the knowledge I gained the two years while I was there and of course the few friends I made working there and still talk to.
Speaking of body art, do you have any nerdy tattoos?
I have five Invincibility Stars on my right wrist, a Zombie Ninja, and a Triforce scarification.
As someone who has worked at GameStop what is your opinion of used games? Are they are rip-off?
It’s a bummer that you don’t get your full rupees worth when you trade in a game, but it works that way in video game life too. You build something up or purchase an item, it costs you X amount of rupees, you destroy it or sell it back and you get X/3 (a third of it back, maybe 1/2). We were just talking about tower defense games so you know what I’m talking about. The best thing about the used game aspect at GameStop is the fact that if you purchase it and within the week if you so choose you don’t like it, or it’s not working properly you can return/exchange it. Also they have bonuses on certain days for trade ins if you have an Edge Card with them, you get more trade-in credit and more of a discount on used items. It’s the way they keep the cycle going.
Do you think anybody will ever be able to compete with GameStop in terms of the used game market?
I know other businesses will get close, only time will tell with any company. Hell I know a few people who don’t even bother doing trade-ins any more because they feel they are a ripoff or are in too much control, blah blah blah. However, they somewhat pioneered it, when they were EBgames and so forth. Funny thing is they won’t/don’t have many rarer titles and copies of games that are worth a heck of a lot more than some newer titles. Plus they stopped carrying obsolete platforms. I still own my GameCube and once upon a time a Sega Genesis and Dreamcast (pretty sure most don’t carry cartridges for the older hand held systems either). Where the heck am I supposed to go for my used games? There sure aren’t any new ones out. Instead we’re forced to look online and in swap-meets or Ma’ N’ Pa stores.
Tell me about your split tongue…
My tongue is one of my favorite mods for sure. The most physically demanding, too. It was just exhausting during healing, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I had to retrain my tongue to do everything all over again. Mastication was gosh darn difficult for a few weeks, maybe months. I can do a few tricks, of course. They were a pain to learn. Spent lots of time starring at it in the mirror, haha.
October 19 was a momentous night in the Twitterverse. We were having some after-hours lulz involving over nine thousand #tittysprinkles, when all of a sudden our favorite Twitter play thing, the @DBZNappa bot came to life. It was a miraculous moment; synapses and circuits were blown. Our sugar-titted tweets had caused the automated entity inspired by the Japanese manga series Dragon Ball Z to break character.
For the uninitiated, @DBZNappa, in homage to dialog from a legendary Dragon Ball Z episode, is programmed to respond to mentions of “over 9000” or “over nine thousand” on Twitter with the obligatory reply: “WHAT, NINE THOUSAND?!” However, when SG was iron trolling his ass, he responded with an “I love you girls.”
Seizing the opportunity, we asked the temporarily lucid autoresponder if we could honor his master with an SG membership. Thus we tracked down DBZNappa’s elusive Dr. Frankenstein, Daniel Lo Nigro from Melbourne, Australia. We had oodles of questions for him – well over 9000. Here he answers just 15 of them:
SuicideGirls: What’s your favorite episode of DBZ?
Daniel Lo Nigro: To be honest, I didn’t really watch a lot of DBZ. I used to watch it but not really pay attention (I’d have it on TV in the background, while doing other things). Obviously, the “Over 9000” episode segment is a favorite of mine 😛
SG: What inspired you to code the bot?
DLN: Some of my friends had a habit of saying “Over nine thousand” a lot, and so I started replying with “What? Nine thousand?” (Yeah, I was a bit lame.) They suggested creating a Twitter bot to do the same thing. I loved the idea and started working on it right away. I didn’t think that it’d get as popular as it did!
SG: What did you study? What do you do now to pay the rent?
DLN: I studied software development at university. I graduated last year and I’ve been working full-time as a web developer since then.
SG: How long have you been coding?
DLN: I’ve been coding since I was 8 or 9 years old. Even before then, I had an interest in computers and computer games. My uncle introduced me to computer programming and showed me how to do a few things on the computer. Together we made a little Tamagotchi game (much like the handheld Tamagotchi) and my interest for programming grew from there. I was mainly self-taught and “learnt by doing” (that is, giving myself projects to learn new things). When I got an internet connection for the first time (dialup!), I spent ages browsing the internet. It was amazing. I was interested in how web pages were made, so I got a copy of FrontPage and messed around with it. I started to realize that I really liked creating websites, and decided to focus on web programming. At high school I met other people with similar interests, and spent more time learning about programming. This helped pique my interest even more.
SG: What’s your favorite language?
DLN: Definitely C#. It’s is my language of choice because it’s a very powerful, clean, clear and concise language. Microsoft’s developer tools and languages are generally very good, and they keep adding very helpful features in every new release. JavaScript is my second favorite language; in the last few years I’ve been learning it more. You need to know it well to truly appreciate it. In the end though, all programming languages are pretty similar to each other. They’re just tools that help you build awesome things, and it doesn’t matter which one you use as long as you know how to use it well 🙂
SG: Do you have any other bots on Twitter?
DLN: No. I’ve considered it, but haven’t had any good ideas
SG: Hypothetically, would you make an SG #TittySprinkles bot. And, if so, how could you see it working?
DLN: I could totally see myself doing that! I can if you like. I have no idea how it would work or what it would do though. What do you think a #TittySprinkles bot would do? Haha
SG: Chocolate or vanilla?
DLN: That’s a tough one! They’re both good. I think a mix of both is best – then you get the best of both worlds 🙂
SG: What other anime do you watch?
DLN: I don’t really watch anime any more. I used to watch Speed Racer, Cowboy Bebop, Naruto, Death Note, Bleach, and Inu Yasha. I’m sure there’s others that I can’t remember at the moment though, haha.
SG: Do you have a favorite SG?
DLN: I only got a subscription recently and haven’t had a chance to explore much yet. Having said that, Quinne is definitely one of my favorites. I think she’s really cute (but most Suicide Girls are). There’s just something about her that makes me like her. Bob is one of my favorites as well 🙂
SG: How much time do you spend on Twitter?
DLN: I used to spend a long time on Twitter, but nowhere near as much any more. I use it mainly when commuting to work since I catch public transport.
SG: Would do you follow and why?
DLN: Being a developer, the people I follow are mainly web developers and people that are very influential in the web development industry, mainly for inspiration and to learn about new development techniques and resources. I also use Twitter as a way to get news quickly, as stuff pops up on Twitter quicker than it does on news sites. Of course, I also use it to keep up-to-date with what my friends are doing. And @SuicideGirls of course!
SG: Any other bots you admire?
DLN: I love @CapsCop. It replies to people that tweet entirely in uppercase. @KingLeonidaz_ is somewhat similar to DBZNappa. There was also @AnnoyingNavi – but it’s been suspended by Twitter. Twitter don’t seem to like auto-reply bots and a lot of them end up suspended by Twitter. Not too sure how @DBZNappa has survived. I guess I’m just lucky?
SG: How would you improve Twitter?
DLN: Honestly, I don’t know. I think it’s pretty good as it is now.
SG: What else are you working on now?
DLN: No personal projects at the moment. I used to work on random projects (half of which I’d never finish), but recently I haven’t had much time or many good ideas. So now I’m just doing my day job 🙂
If readers have questions about @DBZNappa, Daniel will be happy to answer them in the blog comments below. For more from Daniel, read his blog and follow @Daniel15.
One announcement surpassed all others this week, shaking the foundations of this galaxy and those far far away as well. Disney bought out Lucas Film, and therefore the Star Wars franchise, for $4 billion dollars. A new Star Wars movie is already planned for 2015. What does this mean for the geek universe? Since Disney also owns Marvel comics, the potential for crossovers is high. Also the purchase begs the question, is Leia now officially a Disney Princess? And, if so, will she get bigger boobs and a fancier ball dress? In an interview, Lucas said he intends to donate a large portion of the sale profits to charity.
Some news has surfaced about The Amazing Spider-Man 2, including the film’s villain. Jamie Foxx is reportedly in talks to play the shocking Electro. While Foxx is not confirmed, it is likely that Electro will appear in the film. Electro is one of Spider-Man’s first villains, appearing first in The Amazing Spider-Man #9.
Sin City: A Dane to Kill For is in the casting process and we already have some new faces. Jaime King is returning for the sequel, playing the sister of her character in the first movie. She is joined by newcomer Jamie Chung, who plays the part of Devon Aoki. A Dame to Kill For is currently set to hit theaters on October 4, 2013.
If you have a vacation coming up, why not choose Middle Earth? Or the next best thing, New Zealand? To get you in the Hobbitsville mood, Air New Zealand has created an inflight safety video using characters from the film. Director Peter Jackson even makes a cameo appearance.
One last message before Election Day, Joss Whedon has given his endorsement to Mitt Romney – apparently so he can drive this country into a corporate wasteland ending in a Zombie Apocalypse. So if you haven’t voted yet, listen to your nerd overlord and embrace the “Zomney Apocalypse.” While you’re at it, go take a parkour class.
Warner Bros. has walked away the victor in the legal battle with the heirs of Superman co-creator Joseph Shuster. Warner Bros. retains rights to the Man of Steel. The big news here is Warner Bros. is moving forward with the Justice League movie. They will start on it next year and plan to release the Justice League movie in 2015.
Last week, it was revealed that Agent Coulson would be returning on the upcoming S.H.I.E.L.D. television series. Coulson isn’t the only Agent confirmed for the show, Ming-Na Wen has been cast as Agent Melinda May in the series. These are the only confirmed cast members so far. There is no word as to whether or not Cobie Smulders will be reprising her role as Agent Maria Hill. Joss Whedon is co-writing the script with his brother Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen.
It was a big week as the Iron Man 3 marketing campaign put their thrusters on over-drive. First, the official synopsis for the third movie was released as well as several new stills and posters. After fans finished ‘powering up Iron Man’s core’ in the Facebook campaign, a teaser trailer was released to introduce the full length trailer released on Tuesday. Iron Man 3 is set to release in theaters on April 26, 2013.
Captain America: Winter Soldier is currently in the casting phase, and it looks like Frank Grillo is taking the role of Crossbones. Crossbones is an assassin who worked for the Red Skull. Most notably, Crossbones is the man who killed Captain America after the Marvel Civil War. The film is scheduled to release on April 4th, 2014.
The Wolverine movie is coming to theaters on July 26, 2013. While the casting is long over, it looks like there is a last minute cameo appearance from one of the original X-Men. Rumor is that Famke Janssen will reprise her role as Jean Grey from the original X-Men trilogy.
There are more video game based movies on the horizon. It’s been a while since there has been news on the Mass Effect movie, but Legendary Pictures is still moving forward with it. Now Morgan Davis Foehl has been assigned with penning the script for the film. Mass Effect isn’t the only video game movie in progress. New Regency will finance and distribute the Assassin’s Creed movie with Michael Fassbender set to star in the film.
The trailer for the Evil Dead remake is now online. The film promises not only the return of several of the best moments from the original film, but also more gore and depravity than any of the originals. Evil Dead is opening in theaters on April 13, 2013.
The third episode of the third season of Walking Dead has been widely hailed as one of the best episodes in the series. If a new episode each week isn’t enough to fill your zombiefied cravings, the new the Walking Dead Magazine is your one stop of all upcoming franchise news. The first issue recaps the comic series so far and covers what is coming up next in the television series. There are multiple interviews in the first issue, including an excellent and revealing interview with executive producer and writer Robert Kirkman. The cover story from the magazine gives readers an in depth look at the katana wielding Michonne. Kirkman describes Michonne as the ‘Boba Fett of the Walking Dead universe’ and gives more insight into the mysterious character. The Walking Dead Magazine is a must for fans looking for all the official news behind the comic book and television series.
