Found it on twitter. New Call of Duty baby!

Video Game - E3 2009 - Video Game Trailers

As a kid, my favorite movies were the ones that had so much going on at once, I was impossible to look away. When I first saw the Star Wars Trilogy, all the phaser cannons and light sabers glued my eyes to the screen. I didn't even want to look down to grab my soda. My hand would wander around the cup holder until I felt the cold cardboard. This resulted in a lot of spilled drinks. I am the reason that three theaters in Wyoming always had sticky floors.

But the point is that I want to do that to people. I want to craft a scene so distracting that people ignore everything else around them to watch it move, duck, and dive in every direction.

The scene involves the three main characters being chased down a violent river on little floating rafts meant to sunbathe on.. not meant for roaring rapids. The characters pursuing them are quick and motivated, but not that bright. The best part is that the good guys aren't that bright either: they're just some college-aged kids trying to save their own lives.

So I've been bouncing ideas off of my co-workers relating to my script. The story involves 3 college friends who meet up for a little bit of a wild weekend and run into some trouble with some dangerous people.

Initially, I had one of these guys being in a relationship, only acknowledging the girlfriend character through shot stints of him talking to her on the phone - since she wasn't a part of the story. She was meant to be a sign that this character is a reliable, mostly responsible guy who can maintain a relationship like that. But it didn't really come through like I'd hoped and seemed to be a detriment to the narrative.

I had another idea about one of the other characters trying to get the attention of a girl from his church (he's the responsible force in the movie now, and likes good girls). But, after writing some ideas and some dialogue to develop that part of the story, it seems like a complete waste of time.

I want to pull at people's heart strings with this story (action/comedy), but I fear I may be trying too hard. Maybe I'll just axe the love story idea. To hell with it.

A few months have gone by since I've made a post, and for this I apologize sincerely. We all have issues and distractions that take us away from our favorite hobbies. This blog is one of mine. So here's what I've been up to:

* I tried to join a branch of the armed forces, and was rejected due to some poor past decisions and some health issues.
* I got a new job working in a bakery (I know, sounds uneventful. But it's been surprisingly fun and rewarding).
* I've been writing a screenplay for some weeks now.

The latter is probably what this blog will focus on for the next couple of months at least. The story has been in my head since 2 summers ago and at the very least I can promise that it will be very funny. I'm determined to make it so.

Other than that, I hope you all had a fantastic holiday season and I'm stoked to start this new year. It's gonna be big.

Apparently Warner Brothers put up one for "Get Smart" too, but it's only available on iTunes... plus I'm nowhere near as stoked about that flick as I am about the car-flipping and bullet-curving glory that "Wanted" has to offer. Enjoy.

(Update)...
I'm sorry, but the video source has pulled the "Wanted" preview, I'm going to investigate and see if I can find another copy. Again, I'm sorry for the inconvenience.

Retro Pic, Right? /\/\/\

Atlantic Records filed the lawsuit in Manhattan yesterday against STP singer Scott Weiland and drummer Eric Kretz, saying that they're trying to get out of their record contract with Warner Music Group prematurely.

It seems the catalyst for this mess was when Weiland and Kretz sounded off that they'd refuse to play and terminate their contract unless the label made some big changes. In the suit, Atlantic says that despite STP recording six LP's, it has the right to a seventh, and two more, which could be live or greatest hits compilations.

The band issued a statement today, and sounds pissed:

"Stone Temple Pilots were deeply disappointed to see that Atlantic filed a surprise lawsuit against two members of the legendary band ... when they were in the middle of what were believed to be cordial and positive discussions about STP returning to the studio to make a new album after 5 years... Despite the allegations in the complaint, the band never threatened anything more than remaining away from the studio until equitable terms could be arranged. The precipitous filing of this action is yet another example of the difficulties facing artists in the new music environment, as relationships between artists and their labels fall further and further apart.

"Eric and Scott have not yet been served and hope that Atlantic will allow cooler heads to prevail and have the courtesy of shelving this action to permit negotiations to continue in a positive spirit rather than under a dark cloud of hostility," the statement continued. "Should everyone operate in good faith, STP are certain that a new album from the band will be available soon. Should Atlantic instead pursue this scorched-earth policy towards the band, the ultimate victims will be STP's fans, who will never be able to enjoy a new album from the group."

I really like these guys, and I think I want to continue working with them. Let's sue 'em!

[MTV.com]

I know this is the third post about WALL-E in like 3 days, but I who can blame me? This film looks like tons of fun. If it's half as good as Finding Nemo... ah, whatever. I'm a Pixar fanboy. Take a looksy at Stanton's insight [ComingSoon.net] into the new movie. Especially how he pinned down WALL-E's language with beeps and squawks.

Its getting closer and closer to June 30th, the when the Screen Actors Guild's Contract runs out and negotiations start. Maybe this means a strike, maybe it doesn't, but the film industry isn't taking any chances.

The Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers (AMPTP) says a de facto strike is already happening "limiting the green-lighting of features and disrupting pilot production" On talent attorney said "No one is doing anything that finishes after June 30, (and) nobody's starting anything now. There is the impact of a strike already."

There's a pretty fantastic lineup of films that will finish production before the contract deadline, but will they be enough to last another work stoppage?

Here's some for-sures.

DreamWorks' - John Hamburg's "I Love You, Man"; Peter Jackson's "The Lovely Bones"
Paramount - "G.I. Joe"; Martin Scorsese's "Shutter Island with Leonardo DiCaprio
Warner Bros. - Steven Soderbergh's "The Informant"; "Observe and Report" starring Seth Rogen; and "Ninja Assassin"
Universal - Will Ferrell starring "Land of the Lost"
Disney - "When in Rome"; "High School Musical 3"
Columbia/MGM's - Newest Bond Film "Quantum of Solace"

That's not gonna be enough to satisfy the masses... not even close.

[Reuters]

Disney/Pixar want to remind you how adorable their new robotic hero is with these 4 movie posters. WALL-E opens June 27th.






Full Size Images at [Film School Rejects]

After all the rumors and outrage at Konami for making reviewers sign an agreement to not talk about MGS4's cut-scenes and install times. Turns out that this game has the greatest install screen I've ever seen. For any of you Xbox 360 owners who haven't gotten a chance to take a look at it yet, BAM! \/\/\/



[G4]

According to Joystiq, an ad promoting a yet-to-be-released MTV2 track pack for Harmonix's Rock Band gives away a few of the new jams up for grabs.

These tracks include:

* Avenged Sevenfold - Afterlife
* Machine Head - Aesthetics of Hate
* Nine Inch Nails - Burn
* Nirvana - Breed

There's also the matter of the entire "Who's Next" album that has been in the works for months now, but has been delayed or canceled altogether due to theft. Give me Pinball Wizard!

[Shack News]

Family Guy is somewhat of a legend since it's become such a force to be reckoned with not only as a cartoon, but as a primetime show in general. After being resurrected on Adult Swim, and making it's way back to FOX, the show has become a fan favorite and a huge financial success.

Now it has it's own spin-off and IGN did a preview of what to expect. Here's some of the finer points:

* Mike Henry, who played the voice of Cleveland in Family Guy, will return.
* Cleveland is more unattached after finding out that his wife was sleeping with Quagmire.
* He's moved on with an old girlfriend and moved to Stoolbend, Virginia to live with her and her teenaged daughter and infant son. Cleveland Jr. comes too!
* As you can tell from the image, Cleveland has two neighbors that are bears.. more on that later.



[IGN]

Jay and Seth vs. the Apocalypse that will begin production in 2009. The movie is based on a short that Rogen and writing partner Evan Goldberg created last year. It's about two losers who have to deal with the apocalypse and, after being cooped up for too long, not killing each other. Oh, and there's something about giant monsters taking over the planet.

The trailer is getting a lot of hype though. So much that various studios have been fighting for the rights for some time now. Mandate Pictures eventually won and is producing the film with Rogen and Goldberg. Mandate's Nathan Kahane has nothing but good things to say about Rogen, saying, "he's busy, but he's also unbelievably focused on his business… I've never seen anyone turn around material faster or notes or whatever. He's good." No director has been chosen yet.

Here's the trailer.


[FirstShowing]

In the great American Tradition of recycling old material, the Smurfs are coming to the big screen for a live-action/CGI movie adaptation with Columbia Pictures. What a way to celebrate your 50th anniversary.

Neither the cast nor the director have been chosen yet, but the Studio is in talks with David Stem and David Weiss, who wrote both "Shrek" sequels and "The Rugrats Movie."

[Reuters]

Spore, Electronics Arts' new universe and life simulations game, won't require a whole lotta' computer to run it. Check it out.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

FOR WINDOWS XP

* 2.0 GHz P4 processor or equivalent
* 512 MB RAM
* A 128 MB Video Card, with support for Pixel Shader 2.0
* At least 6 GB of hard drive space

FOR WINDOWS VISTA

* 2.0 GHz P4 processor or equivalent
* 768 MB RAM
* A 128 MB Video Card, with support for Pixel Shader 2.0
* At least 6 GB of hard drive space

MAC SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Spore requires at least the following:

* Mac OS X 10.5.3 Leopard or higher
* Intel Core Duo Processor
* 1024 MB RAM
* ATI X1600 or NVidia 7300 GT with 128 MB of Video RAM, or Intel Integrated GMA X3100
* At least 4.7GB of hard drive space for installation, plus additional space for creations.*

It will not run on PowerPC (G3/G4/G5) based Mac systems (PowerMac).

It's set for release on Sep. 7th, and don't forget to check out the PC Creature Creator for Spore on June 17th to help you get ready for the full release.

[ShackNews]

Whoa! They really kicked it up a notch this time. Now Jason Statham's character gets a bracelet clamped on to his arm that will blow up if he removes it. If that's not a blockbuster plot!!.. Ah, you get the idea. Plus they have him riding a bike!

Hulu.com has grabbed Comedy Central's The Daily Show and The Colbert Report to run on their fine website. Get full episodes of your favorite irreverent political humor shows in 480 at the click of a button. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to bow and worship the almighty web for a while. God bless it.

[G4TV The Feed]

The New York Times is reporting that the "Roadrunner," an American military supercomputer, has reached a long-sought-after benchmark by processing more than 1.026 quadrillion calculations per second. Part of it's insides comes directly out of the Playstation 3.

This (world's fastest?) computer contains 116,640 processor cores, with 12,960 chips that are an improved version of the Cell processor used in the PS3. "The Sony chips are used as accelerators, or turbochargers, for portions of calculations," said the New Work Times

"Roadrunner" takes a lot of power.. like enough to power a large mall, and requires three different programming tools since it has three different kinds of processors. Plus all 116,640 processor cores need to stay occupied at once for it to continue running. What a chore.

[NY Times]

This is what Terrence Howard to Military.com. Marvel has already claimed April 30, 2010 as the release date, so that leaves a little over a year to get it done.

Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, and Jon Favreau are all expected to return, but don't forget you can also catch a Tony Stark Cameo in The Incredible Hulk, which hits theaters this Friday.

[Filmonic ]

This is a giant beer syringe. You two should get to know each other.

The Bierstick is supposed to give 24 ounces of beer in less than two seconds. Your throat won't be happy with you, but you don't have to pay attention to it. 'Cause after a 3 or 4 rounds, you won't feel it anymore. It's FDA approved for bachelor parties and will probably be used for Hop Skip and Jungle Juice as much as beer. At a $20 price tag, you can't afford not to get it. There is the matter of paying the girls in their unmentionables to operate it. According to the instruction manual, you gotta have those.

[Bierstick]
via
[Gizmodo]