In a galaxy really, really close by comes a new animated Star Wars TV series: Star Wars Rebels. The animated series will debut in fall 2014 as a 1 hour movie on Disney Channel, with the series itself airing on Disney XD channels.
Filming is already underway on the new animated show which retains Star Wars: The Clone Wars‘ Dave Filoni as executive producer. The series also has screenwriter/producer Simon Kinberg (X-Men: First Class) on board as executive producer and writer of the first episode. Greg Weisman is also attached as an executive producer.
“I couldn’t be more excited to explore new corners of the Star Wars universe,” said Kathleen Kennedy, president, Lucasfilm. “I think Star Wars Rebels will capture the look, feel and fun that both kids and their parents love about Star Wars.”
The Plot:
The action-filled series is set between the events of Episode III and IV – an era spanning almost two decades never-before explored on-screen. Star Wars Rebels takes place in a time where the Empire is securing its grip on the galaxy and hunting down the last of the Jedi Knights as a fledgling rebellion against the Empire is taking shape. Details about the show are a closely guarded secret at this point.
Benedict Cumberbatch has a voice I could listen to recite the phone book – it’s that mesmerizing. Equally mesmerizing is his performance as the bad guy in Star Trek Into Darkness which opened in theaters on May 16, 2013. And in this interview courtesy of Paramount Pictures, Cumberbatch talked about how his inner 10 year old child screamed “Yes” at the prospect of playing a Star Trek villain. He also talks about seeing himself in IMAX 3D and his reaction to watching the finished film for the first time.
The Plot:
In the wake of a shocking act of terror from within their own organization, the crew of The Enterprise is called back home to Earth. In defiance of regulations and with a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads his crew on a manhunt to capture an unstoppable force of destruction and bring those responsible to justice.
As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.
'Doctor Who' - Photo Courtesy of BBCDoctor Who fans have reason to celebrate; BBC has renewed the popular series for an eighth season. BBC also announced Steven Moffat will be back as the lead writer and executive producer when the season airs in 2014. The announcement comes on the heels of season seven’s finale.
And while BBC did say the show’s been picked up again and Moffat will return, they did not announce which cast members will return for another season. However we do know there will be an anniversary special in November and a Christmas special in December.
The November 23, 2013 50th anniversary special will star Matt Smith, Jenna-Louise Coleman, David Tennant, Billie Piper, and John Hurt.
Lakeshore Entertainment and Lionsgate announced filming will take place this July in Los Angeles on director Mark Neveldine’s The Vatican Tapes. The horror movie will mark the fourth film Neveldine’s been involved with at Lionsgate, following Crank, Crank High Voltage, and Gamer.
Neveldine will direct from a script he penned, with Lionsgate eyeing a 2014 theatrical release.
The Plot:
The Vatican Tapes follows the haunting tale of 27-year-old Angela Holmes, who accidentally cuts her finger and ends up in the emergency room. Infection leads to erratic behavior, and she begins to have a devastating effect on anyone close, causing serious injury and death. Priests examine Holmes and believe she is possessed, but when the Vatican is called upon to exorcise the demon, the possession proves to be an ancient satanic force more powerful than they imagined.
Not everything worked on the season finale of Saturday Night Live hosted by Ben Affleck, however the final Weekend Update sketch to include Stefon was easily one of the night’s better skits. Bill Hader is exiting the show and so the Weekend Update bit was both a good-bye to the character and the actor.
The set-up: After getting slammed by Seth Meyers for the umpteenth, Stefon has had enough. He runs out of the studio to a church to join his groom at the alter. But just as with The Graduate, the wedding doesn’t go off as planned.
San Diego’s most popular news team – Ron Burgundy, Brick Tamland, Brian Fantana, and Champ Kind – welcome audiences back with this second teaser trailer for the comedy movie Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues. And while the trailer gives away absolutely nothing about the plot (except for the fact Brian has a new cologne made out of snake venom), it’s still kind of fun to see Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, and David Koechner back in their Anchorman characters – even if they’re just standing there talking.
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues opens in theaters on December 20th, 2013.
The Plot:
With the 70’s behind him, San Diego’s top rated newsman, Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell), returns to the news desk in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues. Also back for more are Ron’s co-anchor and wife, Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate), weather man Brick Tamland (Steve Carell), man on the street Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd) and sports guy Champ Kind (David Koechner) – all of whom won’t make it easy to stay classy…while taking New York’s first 24-hour news channel by storm.
The countdown is on, the final season of Dexter is approaching and Showtime’s just unleashed the official trailer. Debuting on June 30, 2013 at 9pm, Dexter‘s eighth season promises more murders as well as – we hope – answers to lingering questions about Deb and Dexter’s dysfunctional relationship.
Details on Season 8:
Season eight begins six months after LaGuerta’s murder – and Dexter (Michael C Hall) is still managing life as a dad, brother, and serial killer. As Deb (Jennifer Carpenter) struggles to deal with the consequences of her actions, a mysterious woman comes to work with Miami Metro, offering first-hand information on Dexter’s past. The series also stars Desmond Harrington, C.S. Lee, Aimee Garcia, David Zayas, Geoff Pierson and James Remar.
Cody Simpson 'Surfers Paradise' - Released by Atlantic RecordsCody Simpson’s new album, Surfers Paradise, will hit stores on July 16, 2013 as just announced by Atlantic Records. The Aussie singer’s follow-up to 2012’s Paradise has already scored success on Youtube with the new singles “Pretty Brown Eyes” (which has amassed over 2.6 million views thus far) and “Awake All Night.”
“Surfers Paradise is basically the most famous area on the Gold Coast of Australia, where I am from,” explained Cody Simpson. “I think this album really represents that piece of me, my lifestyle, and where I come from. When making my first album Paradise it was sort of a journey to find myself as a young adult & artist. With Surfers Paradise the entire process felt more natural and comfortable, like being back home. I wanted to share that feeling with my fans.”
Simpson recently performed both of his new singles at the 2013 Radio Disney Music Awards and will be continuing to promote the album’s upcoming release with a North American tour. The 36 city Paradise Tour kicks off on May 30th in Jacksonville, Florida with support from Ryan Beatty and Before You Exit.
In addition, Simpson will be releasing his autobiography – Welcome To Paradise: My Journey – on October 24th.
CODY SIMPSON PARADISE TOUR SUMMER 2013
MAY
30 – Jacksonville, FL at Times Union Center for the Performing Arts Moran Theater
31 – Tampa, FL at Straz Center for the Performing Arts
JUNE
2 – Birmingham, AL at BJCC Concert Hall
4 – Atlanta, GA at The Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre
6 – Houston, TX at Bayou Music Center
7 – Dallas, TX at Palladium Ballroom
8 – San Antonio, TX at Lila Cockrell Theatre
9 – El Paso, TX at Plaza Theatre
12 – Phoenix, AZ at Celebrity Theatre
13 – Tucson, AZ at The Historic Rialto Theatre
14 – Los Angeles, CA at Club Nokia
16 – Las Vegas, NV at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
19 – Fresno, CA at Saroyan Theatre
20 – San Francisco, CA at The Warfield
21 – Sacramento, CA at Sacramento Community Center Theater
22 – Portland, OR at Roseland Theater
23 – Seattle, WA at Paramount Theatre
24 – Vancouver, BC at Orpheum Theatre
27 – Calgary, AB at MacEwan Hall
28 – Edmonton, AB at Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
30 – Winnipeg, ON at Burton Cummings Theatre for the Performing Arts
JULY
2 – Minneapolis, MN at State Theatre
5 – Chicago, IL at Akoo Theatre at Rosemont
8 – Toronto, ON at Massey Hall
10 – Montreal, QC at Metropolis
12 – Philadelphia, PA at Tower Theater
13 – Pittsburgh, PA at Carnegie Library Music Hall
14 – Washington, DC at DAR Constitution Hall
17 – New Brunswick, NJ at tate Theatre
18 – New York, NY at Best Buy Theater
20 – Boston, MA at House of Blues
23 – Detroit, MI at Royal Oak Music Theatre
24 – St. Louis, MO at Peabody Opera House
25 – Kansas City, MO at The Midland by AMC
26 – Wichita, KS at The Cotillion
27 – Denver, CO at Ogden Theatre
The end of life on Earth as we know it is such a fun subject matter that filmmakers just can’t stop themselves from making movies in which we’re all doomed. And Rapture-Palooza – coming to theaters and Video on Demand on June 7 – is another movie about the apocalypse, but at least it takes a new approach.
Lionsgate’s showing off a new trailer for the comedy starring Craig Robinson, Anna Kendrick, John Francis Daley, Rob Corddry, Rob Huebel, Paul Scheer, Thomas Lennon, Ana Gasteyer, John Michael Higgins, and Tyler Labine, and directed by Paul Middleditch.
The Plot:
When the Apocalypse actually happens and a billion people are raptured up to heaven, Lindsey (Kendrick) and her boyfriend Ben (Daley) are left behind in suburban Seattle. The young couple try their best to lead a normal life surrounded by talking locusts, blood rain showers, and pot-smoking wraiths. But when the Anti-Christ (Robinson) makes his home base in their neighborhood, Lindsey finds herself the object of his affection.
With the help of her family, friends, and a lawn-mowing zombie neighbor, the young couple set off to stop the Anti-Christ from taking her as his bride… and just maybe, saving the world in the process.
'The Voice's' Adam Levine, CeeLo Green, Christina Aguilera, Blake Shelton, and Carson Daly (Photo by: Mark Seliger/NBC)
It’s official: Christina Aguilera and CeeLo Green will be returning to the revolving judges chairs for the upcoming fifth season of NBC’s The Voice. If you remember back when it was first announced they’d be taking time off from judging/coaching the singing competition series, NBC said both coaches would be returning to the show. And NBC kept its word – Aguilera and Green are both signed up for season five.
That means that, unfortunately, Shakira and Usher will not be back as coaches this spring. However, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton are both set to return so at least we’ll still be able to witness their ongoing bromance. And in even better news for fans of the rookie coaches, NBC says Shakira and Usher will return for season six alongside Levine and Shelton.
“We locked in a plan several months ago to have the outstanding Christina Aguilera and CeeLo Green rejoin Blake and Adam for cycle 5, and we’re pleased to announce that the original four coaches are going to be back together in the fall,” explained Paul Telegdy, President of Alternative and Late Night Programming, NBC Entertainment. “They’re the reason this show was launched so strong for the first three cycles and we owe them a debt of gratitude. And after careful consideration of everyone’s schedules for next spring, we are excited to be returning the current cycle of coaches — Shakira and Usher along with Blake and Adam — for cycle 6, which will premiere after the Winter Olympics.”
“I am so thrilled that our Voice family has grown from four coaches to six,” added executive producer Mark Burnett. “This show thrives on the ability of our coaches to continue to balance their enormous music careers with working on The Voice to coach some of the best undiscovered talent in America. The coaching panel of Christina, CeeLo, Adam and Blake was at the heart of this show in its first three seasons and we are so lucky to have found equal success with Shakira and Usher in season four. Our best seasons are ahead of us.”
Season four of The Voice has been averaging 14.5 million viewers on Monday nights and 13.4 million on Tuesday nights.
And in case you haven’t caught on to The Voice, here’s the details [courtesy of NBC]:
The show’s innovative format features four stages of competition: the first begins with the blind audition, then the battle round, the brand new knockouts and finally, the live performance shows.
During the blind auditions, the decisions from the musician coaches are based solely on voice and not on looks. The coaches hear the artists perform, but they don’t get to see them — thanks to rotating chairs. If a coach is impressed by the artist’s voice, he/she pushes a button to select the artist for his/her team. At this point, the coach’s chair will swivel so that he/she can face the artist he/she has selected. If more than one coach pushes their button, the power then shifts to the artist to choose which coach they want to work with. If no coach pushes their button, the artist is eliminated from the competition.
Once the teams are set, the battle is on. Coaches will dedicate themselves to developing their team of artists, giving them advice, and sharing the secrets of their success along with the help from their celebrity advisers. During the battle rounds the coaches will pit two of their own team members against each other to sing the same song together in front of a studio audience.
After the vocal battle, the coach must choose which of his/her singers will advance to the next round of competition, while the losing artist is available to be stolen by another coach. Each coach has two steals during the battle rounds.
At the end of the battles, only the strongest members of each coach’s roster remain and proceed to the new knockout rounds. The artists will be paired again with a member of their team, but this time they find out only minutes before performing who they are being compared against. The artists each select their own song to perform individually, while their direct competitor watches and waits. They are vying for their coach’s confidence and decision to take them to the live shows. Their coach will choose the winner and the artist not selected will be sent home.
In the final live performance phase of the competition, the top artists from each team will compete each week against each other during a live broadcast. The television audience will vote to save their favorite artists and the two artists with the lowest number of votes will be sent home each week. In the end, one will be named “The Voice” and will receive the grand prize of a recording contract.
