Archive: June 2011 (201-210 of 401)

Jun 14 2011 04:30 PM ET

Mario and Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto on the Nintendo Wii U, and whether we'll ever see another Mario movie

by
Categories: E3, Tech, Videogames
Miyamoto_nintentdo

Image Credit: Chris Pizzello/AP Images

A week ago today, Nintendo unveiled the Wii U, the successor home console to the widely popular Wii, and a clear attempt by the venerable videogame company at bringing more hardcore gamers into its fold. (You can read our full report of the HD-enabled, motion sensitive, touch-screen controller-based Wii U here.) While the success of the Wii U to bring in serious gamers mostly depends on whether companies like Ubisoft and EA will, you know, make games for it, everyone knows that the ultimate success or failure of a new Nintendo system rests on the shoulders of a mustachioed plumber and a green-suited, elven-like warrior. So what does the creator of the Mario and Zelda franchises, Shigeru Miyamoto, make of the Wii U? How does he keep those games fresh? And will we ever see another Mario movie? The guru of Nintendo’s game development spoke with EW, through a company translator, about all these questions and more:  READ FULL STORY »

Jun 14 2011 04:05 PM ET

Know your Fanning: Dakota or Elle?

by
Categories: Apropos of Nothing, Double Vision, Guess Who!, Made Us Think, Ooops!, Super 8, Things That Make Us Feel Old
elle-or-dakota

Image Credit: David Gabber/PR Photos; Andrew Evans/PR Photos

Elle Fanning got her start in the movie business playing younger versions of her sister, Dakota, in films like I Am Sam and Taken, so it’s at least understandable that some people mistake one for the other. Like Kyle Chandler, for instance, who mistakenly told Men’s Journal in a cover story your wife will treasure that his co-star in Super 8 is Dakota Fanning. Though Dakota (far left) is four years older than Elle (near left), they’re both tall and blond, and since movies live forever, it can be baffling to tell one from the other on screen unless you’ve already read the credits. READ FULL STORY »

Jun 14 2011 03:40 PM ET

Cabbage Patch Kids get a TV special. What other '80s toys deserve a pop culture comeback?

by
Categories: 100% Pure Cheese, Animation, Awwwwww So Cuuuuuute, Hindsight Hilarity, I Remember When It Used To Cost A Nickel, Kids' Corner, Ridiculata, Things That Make Us Feel Old, Who Else Remembers This?, You Know You're Getting Old When...
cabbage_patch_kids

Image Credit: Courtesy of Original Appalachian Artworks

It’s a good day to be a product of the ’80s, PopWatchers. Not only are some of us making scads of money, but Mikey from The Goonies (okay, Sean Astin, if you must) is going to voice Raphael in the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series for Nickelodeon, and now the Cabbage Patch Kids, much like the Turtles, will once again be invading your living room.

Paramount Pictures confirmed to EW that Galen Walker, who is currently producing a live-action TMNT movie, will be also be producing the new Cabbage Patch Kids project. The Original Appalachian Artworks, owner of the Cabbage Patch Kids, sold their rights to the CWA Carlin West Agency, who will make the animated special. (West said in a statement, “I am excited that [creator] Xavier [Roberts] has granted us the rights to bring the magic of the Cabbage Patch Kids into the world of entertainment. I also am also thrilled to work on this project with Galen.”)

Yes, it’s true, those dolls with the perfectly round heads, yarn-like hair, unblinking gaze, and cutesy dimples that your parents fought to the death for to get you in the Christmas of 1983, are coming back. READ FULL STORY »

Jun 14 2011 03:15 PM ET

'The Avengers': Licensing image hints at intriguing possible new looks for Hulk and Captain America

by
Categories: Avengers, Comic Books, Geekery

Next year’s superhero super-sequel The Avengers has been filming for a little over six weeks now, but except for a tongue-in-cheek photo from the first day on the set, the film has pretty much moved into the media-blackout stage of production. So it’s not surprising that the fans are currently buzzing over an image, reportedly snapped at the Licensing International Expo in Las Vegas, of all the Avengers together: Captain America (Chris Evans), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.). While it looks like a poster for the film, according to a source close to the production, the image is not a poster, but a licensing guide — an image designed to give licensees a sense of how to design their Avengers products. So take the image (which you can view full-sized at Superhero Hype) with a grain of salt: Some of the characters’ looks may not perfectly match up to the film. Still, at this early stage, it’s worth examining the image as a very early indication of what Avengers may look like — especially in regards to some key costume tweaks.

The thing that instantly jumps out at you about the image is Captain America: READ FULL STORY »

Jun 14 2011 02:50 PM ET

PopWatch PSA: 'American Anthem' finally on DVD!

by
Categories: DVD/Video, Movies, News You Can Use, Things That Are Awesome!, Who Else Remembers This?
american_anthem

For years, I have begged the entertainment gods to put 1986′s American Anthem, starring Olympic gymnast Mitch Gaylord and Janet Jones, on DVD. I’d given up hope. Then, today, I opened a package from an acquaintance, who happens to cover a lot of home entertainment, and found a gift-wrapped DVD with a note that said, “While I can appreciate the camp/pop culture importance of the movie, I found myself asking, ‘Who do I know who would fully love this release?’” He didn’t mention the title in the note, so I opened it skeptically… then gasped, teared up, and ran into the hallway to shout AMERICAN ANTHEM IS NOW ON DVD! to the two closest coworkers. (Neither of them was as excited as I, but one of them, Abby West, knew exactly the Mitch Gaylord poster I had hanging on my bedroom wall as a 9-year-old: Shirtless, jeans, top button undone. The other, Sean O’Heir, assumed I was talking about Gymkata, but I celebrated that DVD release in 2007.)

I felt the need to make sure other fans, who may have missed news of the release, knew the movie was now available. (You can also rent it on YouTube for 24 hours for $2.99.) I watched it so many times growing up, I can quote the announcer at the final meet by heart, with the proper inflection: “He’s thrown a tripus. Steve Tevere has thrown a tripus. The most outstanding dismount tonight, or any night!”

READ FULL STORY »

Jun 14 2011 02:25 PM ET

Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber are the best-paid stars under 30. Think of all the Ramen they could buy!

by
Categories: Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Lists-o-rama!, My Head Hurts, Those Crazy Kids!, Why Am I Crying?
lady-gaga

Image Credit: CFDA Fashion Awards Gallery

Ah, to be young. Youth is a wonderful and tumultuous time filled with exciting career prospects, rocky romances, and making millions of dollars from touring the world, singing, and wearing zany outfits. Okay, so not so much for most under 30-somethings. (In fact, for most under 30-somethings, take out that last part and just add in “Paying off student loans and sharing an apartment with roughly seven people.”) But, then again, Lady Gaga has never been like most under 30-somethings.

The seemingly unstoppable pop star, who is just 25 years old, tops this year’s Forbes list of the best-paid celebrities that are under the age of 30. Forbes estimates that, over the past year, Lady Gaga has earned upwards of $90 million, thanks largely in part to her massive touring schedule and record sales.

Still, Gaga, who rocketed up from No. 3 spot where she sat last year, isn’t the only one making me grateful Cribs isn’t still around to make me wonder where things all went terribly, terribly wrong for me. READ FULL STORY »

Jun 14 2011 02:00 PM ET

'Bachelorette': We're not used to good conversation, Ames

by
Categories: About Last Night, Reality TV, Television, The Bachelorette

When was the last time you saw a conversation on The Bachelorette or The Bachelor that you actually wanted to hear more of? I think the first and only time it’s happened to me was during Ames’ date with Ashley last night. Watch it below. I’m guessing we all, like Ashley, expected their one-on-one to be painful. Instead, it was disarmingly comfortable and, gulp, interesting. “If you could change one thing about growing up, what would it be?” he asked her over dinner. (When was the last time you saw people eat that much of their meal on a dating show?)

So often on these dates, people seem to be just trying to find out if they can tolerate one another, because for the suitor, that’s all it takes to stay in the game. But it felt like Ames was actually trying to find out if he liked her. Most of the time when I hear couples exchange “I like you”s on this show, I’m thinking WHY? We never get to see or hear what they have in common (other than the confidence to make out in swimwear on camera). But I believed it with Ames and Ashley.  READ FULL STORY »

Jun 14 2011 01:34 PM ET

Bono and the Edge talk 'Spider-Man' troubles

by
Categories: Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, Stage/Theater
spider_man_bono_edge

Image Credit: Joan Marcus

Promoting tonight’s official opening of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark – the long-delayed, $70 million musical –  composers Bono and the Edge talked openly with The New York Times about the troubles that turned their show into one of the most notorious productions in Broadway history. In an interview with Patrick Healy, the U2 band mates reveal that original director Julie Taymor exited after refusing a simpler script referred to as “Plan X.” READ FULL STORY »

Jun 14 2011 01:06 PM ET

If you date Katrina Bowden, prepare to know who killed Chewbacca

by
Categories: 30 Rock, Awwwwww So Cuuuuuute, Comic Books, Everyone's a Critic, Geekery, Television, Things That Are Awesome!, YouTube

When 30 Rock‘s Katrina Bowden was named Esquire‘s Sexiest Woman Alive in an Internet poll recently, I admittedly attributed some of her success to a well-organized grass-roots campaign. Certainly the 22-year-old is gorgeous and talented, but her crowning didn’t necessary mesh with who I imagined were Esquire‘s core demo. But kudos to Esquire for being ahead of the curve. Bowden’s new video clip on CollegeHumor is sure to win her even more fans from the PopWatch crowd. She loves Firefly!!! She makes Sheldon Cooper seem like a wannabe. She. Is. Our Queen Bee. Bow down and worship. READ FULL STORY »

Jun 14 2011 10:23 AM ET

Skype and Comcast team to bring video calling into your living room

by
Categories: Geekery, Signs of the Apocalypse, Summer Tech, Tech, Things That Make Us Feel Old
tv-phone

Image Credit: Retrofile/Getty Images

Skype and Comcast are teaming up to bring video calling to your living room big screen. According to the Associated Press, Comcast subscribers will be able to rent a kit with a webcam and adapters that will then enable users to field video calls from their sofa while simultaneously watching American Idol or the Phillies game. (Comcast is based in Philadelphia.)

Comcast still hasn’t decided what to charge for the service, which will begin trials in the next few months, but Skype reported that there’s been an explosion in the interest in the new technology. I might be old-fashioned, but I’m still reluctant to share my super-casual living room and my not-always-ready-for-my-closeup appearance with my friends and neighbors. Are you ready to invite people in to your fortress of solitude at all hours of the day?

Advertisement

TV Recaps

Powered by WordPress.com VIP