Monday 31 October 2016

It’s a Stranger Things Christmas, Charlie Brown



It's Halloween! So, here's an adorable animated short that mashes Stranger Things and Peanuts. Two great tastes that taste great together.



The voice-over work is on point and there's spoilers for those who haven't seen Netflix's ode to Hollywood cinema of the 1980s.

Saturday 22 October 2016

Donald Glover cast as Lando Calrissian in Star Wars



Billy Dee Williams portrayed iconic scoundrel Lando Calrissian in the original Star Wars trilogy and most recently Star Wars Rebels. Now Donald Glover will play the beloved character in an upcoming Han Solo Star Wars spin-off movie directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (The LEGO Movie).

Glover will join Alden Ehrenreich - previously cast as the young Han Solo - in an adventure set before A New Hope. Incidentally, rumours persists Ehrenreich will first appear in Gareth Edwards' Rogue One: A Star Wars Story this December.

Details are scant, but fans should expect to see Solo and Calrissian in their formative years as the galaxy is plunged into turmoil with the fall of the Republic and rise of the Empire.

“We’re so lucky to have an artist as talented as Donald join us,” said Lord and Miller. “These are big shoes to fill, and an even bigger cape, and this one fits him perfectly, which will save us money on alterations. Also, we’d like to publicly apologize to Donald for ruining Comic-Con for him forever.”

Donald Glover appeared in The Martian, directed by Ridley Scott, and will be seen in Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2017.

The untitled Han Solo movie is scheduled to be released in 2018.

Friday 14 October 2016

The Power of the Daleks to conquer cinemas in the US



US-based Doctor Who fans are in for a cinematic treat when the Doctor and the Daleks return to the big screen in lost classic The Power of the Daleks this November.

The Power of the Daleks is one of the most celebrated Doctor Who adventures, and yet no complete film recordings are known to have survived. The master negatives were destroyed in an archive purge in 1974. This brand-new animation, being released 50 years after its only UK broadcast, is based on the program’s original audio recordings, surviving photographs, and film clips. The six-part adventure features the regeneration – or as it was then called “renewal” – of First Doctor, William Hartnell, into Second Doctor, Patrick Troughton, and follows the Time Lord and his companions Polly (Anneke Wills) and Ben (Michael Craze) as they do battle with the Daleks on the planet Vulcan.

“Ahead of the premiere on BBC America we wanted to give fans a chance to watch this unique content on the big screen. It is a rare treat to be able to bring the lost episode, Power of the Daleks, to life using modern animation techniques. Doctor Who cinema events have been incredibly successful, and this is extraordinary opportunity to allow a new generation of fans the opportunity to experience this classic adventure for the first time,” said Soumya Sriraman, EVP, Franchise and Digital Enterprise, BBC Worldwide North America.

“We’re pleased to continue our long-standing and successful partnership with BBC America to bring more fantastic Doctor Who content to the big screen,” said Fathom Events Vice President of Programming Kymberli Frueh. “The Whovians are always one of our biggest and most passionate group of fans at the cinemas.”

Tickets for The Power of the Daleks can be booked here. UK fans, without tickets to a BFI screening, will have to make do with the DVD and digital download for now.

Thursday 13 October 2016

Rebellions are built on hope in trailer for Rogue One



Lucasfilm unveiled the official theatrical poster for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story ahead of today's new trailer. The one sheet spectacularly harkens back to the original trilogy and the iconic art of Drew Struzan.

Director Gareth Edwards makes an appearance on The Star Wars Show to reveal the poster and announce the anticipated new trailer.



Actress Felicity Jones, who plays Jyn Erso, addressed the controversy surrounding summer reshoots in an interview with THR.

"Obviously when you come to the edit, you see the film come together and you think, 'Actually, we could do this better, and this would make more sense if we did this.' I've done it so many times," Jones says. "I mean, you wouldn't just give your first draft on this story, would you?"

Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy was never concerned. "I'm sure if you picked up the phone and called every single large, technical movie and said, 'You ever gone in and done reshoots?' they'd all say, 'Oh God, yes. So why has it turned into a big story? Because it's Star Wars, and they put a spotlight and scrutinize every single thing that gets done," she says. "But it was always planned and nothing unusual."

Kennedy's latest comments echo those made by the movie's director, Gareth Edwards, who assured Entertainment Weekly in July, "It was always part of the plan to do reshoots. We always knew we were coming back somewhere to do stuff. We just didn't know what it would be until we started sculpting the film in the edit."

This is the Rogue One trailer you're looking for. Disney may have its prequel.



Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is released in theatres on 16th December. The queue starts here.

Wednesday 12 October 2016

Doctor Who's superhero Christmas caper



Not to be outdone by DC Comics or Marvel. Doctor Who teams up with a superhero, played by Justin Chatwin (Orphan Black), in New York this Christmas!

“I’ve always loved superheroes and this Christmas ‘Doctor Who’ dives into that world,” said Steven Moffat, the outgoing series showrunner. “My favorite superhero is Clark Kent. Not Superman, Clark Kent.”

Whilst Doctor Who has become an inseparable part of the festive fabric. The specials are a hit-and-miss affair. So, be sure to stick around for Andrew Lewin and me discussing the latest yuletide yarn in the New Year. I may try to entice Andrew into including reflections on Doctor Who's latest spin-off, Class, too.

The Christmas special, The Return of Doctor Mysterio, will air Christmas Day on BBC One.

Looking forward to the next Christmas special? Do you have a favourite? Let me know in the comments below.

Tuesday 4 October 2016

Adam Driver clarifies comments on Star Wars sequel



A few weeks ago the internet exploded when Adam Driver, who plays Kylo Ren in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, was seemingly quoted as saying director Rian Johnson's upcoming sequel to The Force Awakens echoed The Empire Strikes Back. The movie just so happens to be my favourite film of all time and Alexa (Siri in a speaker) seems to agree it's the best Star Wars movie to date.

Here's what Driver said about his interview with Collider:

“No, no, and that’s not even what I said. What I said was the tone of it was different, I didn’t say that it was gonna be in the vein of [it]—I was using it as an example, so poor example,“ he clarified. ”Next time I should say—I’m trying to think of another sequel to a movie that’s good. When I read the script, it was not what I expected, in the best of ways.”

Whatever the case may be. During a panel at Star Wars Celebration Europe, there was a palpable sense of excitement when Rian Johnson most modestly hinted at the direction of his Star Wars movie and Kathleen Kennedy's allusion to Steven Spielberg.

Saturday 1 October 2016

Design By Humans launches Rogue One collection



Design By Humans launched officially licensed Rogue One apparel on Force Friday!

To celebrate this exciting news, we've teamed up to bring Star Wars fans an exclusive discount on the latest collection featuring many of the great new characters from the upcoming movie. This includes Jyn Erso, K-2SO, Director Krennic and Darth Vader.

“This is really exciting for Design By Humans and our community,” says President Jeff Sierra. “It’s incredible to see how passionate the DBH team and artists are about working on something that’s so close to us.”

Exclusive savings of 10% on all products with coupon code: GENSTARWARS. Good through 31st March 2017. No minimum spend required.

Shop Design By Humans for official Rogue One apparel today!

About Design By Humans
DBH is a collective of gifted and creative people who take their inspiration from their surroundings. Over 15,000 of these fantastic artists share their imaginations with everyone by designing unique creations which can then be purchased on anything from stickers and wall art to phone cases and t-shirts. Because of the way this collective works consumers have easy access to unique art, and the artists themselves have an excellent space from which to promote their work. Artists use their individual stores to display their artwork which fans can then purchase on the item of their choice.

This blog post is sponsored by Design By Humans and as such I may receive compensation for any referrals.