The Batman veteran will once again lend his voice to the Dark Knight.
MediaZEALOT ran an article a week ago about the confirmation Christian Bale may not voice The Bat in the upcoming Batman: Gotham Knight. Well, today DC and Warner Home Entertainment have revealed Kevin Conroy will once again be the man behind the voice of Batman.
As much as I love Kevin Conroy's Batman I am disappointed by this announcement. Bale should be the one doing this project. Gotham Knight is about Batman in Christopher Nolan's universe, not the one found in Batman: The Animated Series. Bringing Conroy into the mix just blurs the line between what has come before and what is now.
I'm still enthusiastic about Batman: Gotham Knight. However, quite a bit of my excitement has been lost due to Bale not taking part.
Batman: Gotham Knight hits DVD and Blu-ray disc on July 8th.
A new trailer for LEGO Batman: The Video Game has hit the web.
If you haven't yet played any of the LEGO Star Wars games make it a priority to go out and pick one up. The series may look like it's aimed at children but it's surprisingly fun and addicting. I always have a good time playing LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Trilogy and it's arguably one of the best Star Wars games ever made.
It's because of my love for LEGO Star Wars that I was so excited when Warner Bros Interactive and game developer Traveller's Tales announced LEGO Batman last year. The game has a ton of potential and if it can provide a similar experience to that of LEGO Star Wars gamers will be in for a treat. Warner Interactive has released a new trailer for the game, check it out below:
LEGO Batman: The Video Game will feature 18 levels and 36 different characters, how many of which are playable is still unknown. Apparently the game will focus on the Batman seen in the comics and animated series rather than following storylines found in Batman Begins or The Dark Knight.
Traveller's Tales has also been hard at work on another LEGO video game. LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures will allow gamers to play out moments from the first three Indiana Jones films. It will be released on June 8th, two and a half weeks after the release of Indiana Jones and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
LEGO Batman: The Video Game will be released in September 2008 for the Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PC, PS2, PSP, and DS. MediaZEALOT will continue to keep you posted on the game leading up to it's launch.
The British star is displeased in his lack of involvement in the American remake of Spaced.
I love Spaced. It's one of my TV favourites and was the start of my appreciation for Simon Pegg and director Edgar Wright. Warner Bros must feel the same was as they have been planning a US version of the show for the past few months. The catch is both Wright and Pegg have not been asked to get involved in the American remake of the series. This annoys me greatly and has obviously gotten under the skin of Simon Pegg as well. The actor has released an official statement about the show, read it below.
SIMON PEGG'S OFFICIAL STATEMENT REGARDING THE US SPACED
Now that the pilot has been officially announced, I thought it might be a good idea to clarify my position on the subject. The whole affair seems to have inspired some spirited debate and some heartening displays of loyalty and love. All this for a show which is almost 10 years old, is all rather wonderful and a vindication of all the blood, sweat and tears (both of joy and pain) we shed in the show’s creation. It was always our aim to create a comedy which spoke to its audience on such a personal level, it almost felt one on one. It would seem the fan reaction to the news that Fox has appropriated the format, confirms at least, that we succeeded.
As far as remaking TV shows for different territories is concerned, I don’t have a problem. The Office remake being a perfect example. Yes, the original British version is a wonderful and compact piece of comedy writing and performance, but I think it’s bit much to expect a large scale American television audience to fully relate to the minutiae of day-to-day business life in an obscure British suburb. I’m sure if you’re reading this, you are the type of person who takes pleasure in the variety of entertainment you enjoy, relishing the differences between our various cultural touchstones but there is a massive audience out there, which perhaps isn’t as culturally savvy (euphemistic phrase for ‘geeky’) as we are and need their signifiers to be a little more familiar. So, Slough is replaced by Scranton, and the office archetypes become a little more archetypal to an American audience. The spirit of the show remains intact. The performances are uniformly great and the show scores big ratings and wins EMMYs, whether we as comedy purists prefer the original or not. The success of the remake is born out by it’s undoubted success and appeal.
My main problem with the notion of a Spaced remake is the sheer lack of respect that Granada/ Wonderland/Warner Bros have displayed in respectively selling out and appropriating our ideas without even letting us know. A decision I can only presume was made as a way of avoiding having to give us any money, whilst at the same time using mine and Edgar’s name in their press release, in order to trade on the success of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, even professing, as Peter Johnson did, to being a big fan of the show and it’s creators. A device made all the more heinous by the fact that the press release neglected to mention the show’s co-creator and female voice, Jessica Hynes (nee Stevenson). The fact is, when we signed our contracts ten years ago, we had neither the experience or the kudos to demand any clauses securing any control over future reversioning. We signed away our rights to any input in the show’s international future, because we just wanted to get the show made and these dark days of legal piracy seemed a far away concern. As a result, we have no rights. The show does not belong to us and, those that do own it have no obligation to include us in any future plans. You would perhaps hope though, out of basic professional respect and courtesy, we might have been consulted. It is this flagrant snub and effective vote of no confidence in the very people that created the show, that has caused such affront at our end. If they don’t care about the integrity of the original, why call it Spaced? Why attempt to find some validation by including mine and Edgar’s names in the press release as if we were involved? Why not just lift the premise? Two strangers, pretend to be a couple in order to secure residence of a flat/apartment. It’s hardly Ibsen. Jess and I specifically jumped off from a very mainstream sitcom premise in order to unravel it so completely. Take it, have it, call it Perfect Strangers and hope Balkie doesn’t sue. Just don’t call it Spaced.
It’s a shame, since the pilot is now a certainty, whether we like it or not, a simple phone call and a few reassurances might have helped to at least curtail the tide of indignation from fans and creators alike. I have, as of yet, heard nothing.
Simon Pegg
This is disappointing. The least Warner Bros could do was bring Pegg and Wright on board as consultants for the show. After all, the original Spaced was entirely their vision. Remaking it without them isn't a smart idea.
The McG produced Spaced will hit TVs later this year. If you haven't seen the original Spaced give that a watch before you check out the American remake.
Is Paramount overlooking the extras as it rushes to pump out a Cloverfield Blu-ray disc?
Paramount was well into the HD DVD development of their 2008 blockbuster hit Cloverfield and the studio was aiming for an April shelf-date. Over a month's work was put into HD special features including new story content and viral campaign back story. It now appears that these features may never see the light of day.
Due to the death of Toshiba's HD DVD format, and the end of their exclusivity agreement with Paramount, the movie studio is now scrambling to release Cloverfield on Blu-ray disc. However, Paramount plans to keep their original release date of April this year. Many are speculating that, due to time constraints, the disc will be a bare-bones affair with no special features to be found. Paramount is putting all of their resources towards bringing the film to Blu-ray and rumour has it they don't have the time to port over any additional content.
If this rumour is true it is a very disappointing one. I loved Cloverfield when I saw it in theatres but would probably refrain from buying a disc without any extras. I'll wait for the double-dip with all the special features if there is one.
Paramount may be trying to cash in on a double-dip with a special edition Blu-ray release somewhere down the line. Maybe the studio is simply waiting for Blu-ray 2.0 so that they can get the most out of their film. Whatever the case a bare-bones Cloverfield Blu-ray disc won't be a good thing. The movie is priority, don't get me wrong, but additional content can make or break a great DVD release.
Paramount plans to release Cloverfield on Blu-ray in April. Stay tuned to MediaZEALOT as we'll keep you posted on whether or not this rumour is fact or fiction.
30 Days of Night is well worth a look on Blu-ray disc.
I, for the most part, enjoyed 30 Days of Night when I saw it in theatres back in October. I'm a huge survival-horror fan and with vampires thrown into the mix it was hard for me not to be attracted to the film. However, the movie is far from perfect. The setup isn't that strong and a lot of the dialogue is too loaded to be taken seriously. I was entertained by 30 Days of Night but was disappointed it wasn't able to introduce anything new to the now-stagnant vampire genre. Regardless, I like the flick and made sure to pick it up on Blu-ray on Tuesday. Keep reading for a full review of what's on the disc.
PICTURE:30 Days of Night has a very distinct visual style that looks amazing on Blu-ray disc. The transfer is nearly perfect and really shows off the film's desaturated imagery along with the vibrant red splashes of blood. The picture's detail is simply amazing as you can see every bump on someone's face or count every stitch in their uniform. If you thought the gore looked gruesome before wait until you see it in full detail on Blu-ray disc.
However, the picture does have a few problems. There is a slight halo effect due to edge enhancement in some scenes causing a thin white outline visible around some characters. It doesn't plague the entire film but is noticeable in some of the wide angle shots. There is also quite a bit of grain during some of the darker scenes but that isn't necessarily the fault of the transfer. Don't let these minor complaints fool you, 30 Days of Night looks breathtaking on Blu-ray and is one of the best looking HD transfers I've seen.
AUDIO:The audio quality of the disc is simply astounding. The audio is delivered in Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround Sound which chills you to the bone. The dynamic range of the film's audio is expansive and as clear as can be. The movie's score sounds amazing here and really sets the mood and never dips too high or too low as to overwhelm the experience. A poor audio performance would ruin this movie before the opening titles were shown but 30 Days of Night sounds amazing.
DVD EXTRAS:30 Days of Night has a few bonus features on the disc but I would have liked to see more. There's an awkward commentary track featuring Josh Hartnett, Melissa George, and producer Rob Tapert but it isn't that great and doesn't warrant a listen. I would have loved to hear director David Slade's thoughts on his film but we're unable to with this disc. The Blu-ray also features eight HD behind-the-scenes featurettes which provide a decent peek into the production of the film. They are pretty interesting and well worth a look but not as effective as they could have been.
One bonus feature on the disc that is pretty cool is a graphic novel-to-film slideshow comparison. Here you can flip through images from the film and see the original Ben Templesmith art that inspired it. It's interesting to see where the film copied Templesmith's layout exactly and where they changed things up.
FINAL THOUGHTS: If you're a fan of survival horror or just a casual vampire fan 30 Days of Night is a must watch on Blu-ray disc. The Blu-ray transfer is almost perfect and really showcases what the HD format can do.
Click HERE to buy 30 Days of Night over at Amazon.
After releasing a few teasers earlier this year Paramount has finally released a full-length trailer for their upcoming May release.
The first full-length trailer for Iron Man, which was shown off at WonderCon last weekend, aired tonight on ABC during LOST. Check it out below or visit IGN if you wish to watch in high-resolution.
The trailer features quite a bit of old footage but also showcases some previously unseen content that is quite a treat. The more footage of Robert Downey Jr I see from Iron Man the more I can picture him as Tony Stark. I was on board with the actor portraying Stark from the beginning but I'm more and more impressed with every new bit of footage. This Marvel release is really looking promising and I can't wait to check out the final film.
Iron Man hits theatres on May 2nd. MediaZEALOT will keep you up to date on the film leading up to its release.
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