HBO’s highly successful comedy Ballers returns this Sunday for its third season, and here are five things fans need to know to get ready.
Spencer Is Still Trying Score That “Big Deal.”
One common thread throughout the first two seasons is Spencer Strasmore (Dwayne Johnson) is always searching for that bigger and better deal. Season 3 centers around the real life story line of the Oakland Raiders relocating to Vegas. Strasmore is attempting to secure financing for the deal which may depend on a Casino owner named Wayne Hastings (Steve Guttenberg).
Guttenberg Can Be Quite Sinister
Audiences are used to seeing Guttenberg play either the nice guy from Police Academy or the man who saves everyone from radio active spiders. In this season of Ballers, he plays such a rich asshole that Johnson’s character has to woo him in order to close one of the biggest deals ever. Seeing him in this role is helluva a lot of fun.
This Season Seems Flashier And The Stars Are Bigger
It appears that this season the producers of Ballers have upped their game and made the sets seem more lavish and the main characters of the show get to play with more expensive toys. This show has the same allure that Entourage once had. Fans aren’t tuning in to hear witty banter. They want to see hot girls and kick ass cars. The guest stars are bigger than they were in the 2nd season. In the first episode, Stephen Curry makes a cameo and offers to meet with Strasmore to talk business.
It wouldn’t be ‘Ballers’ without the players pushing the limits
Vernon (Donovan W. Carter) and Reggie (London Brown) end up scoring an endorsement for a clothing line that promotes smoking weed, and the NFL is livid. When Vernon refuses to step away from his commitment to the clothing line it threatens his career.
Overall
Season Three is as funny if not at points funnier than the previous two season. There is a reason why this show is such a draw, and it’s the charisma of Johnson. His presence is an instant bonus for fans. The rest of the cast is fairly standard, but the show is great fun and worth your time.
Fans of the DC Films’ Universe are expecting a slew of announcements regarding the future of the DCEU, including new trailers for Justice League and Aquaman, when Warner Bros. hosts its Hall H Panel at San Diego Comic Con later this afternoon. But they were given an early surprise this morning when the official social media accounts for Justice League dropped a new poster and banner for the team-up movie online!
Vertical Entertainment released a news trailer for the horror/thriller ‘Ghost House’ Wednesday. Watch with the lights on!
“Young couple, Jim and Julie, are vacationing in Thailand. While there Julie falls in love with photographing small shrines called“Ghost Houses” that are believed to give spirits shelter and comfort. A couple of British travelers take them into the countryside with the promise of showing Jim and Julie a ghost house graveyard where many of the shrines are discarded. After leaving the graveyard with a souvenir, Julie is increasingly plagued by visits from a malevolent spirit that threatens both her sanity and her life. After Julie is literally frozen in a state of terror, Jim must find a way to lift the curse before he loses Julie to the ghost world forever.”
Thailand was the setting for one of this years most disturbing horror’s “Who’s Watching Oliver.” In Vertical Entertainment’s new horror “Ghost House”, viewers will be getting a return trip to the country.
In “Ghost House”, Scream Queen in the making Scout Taylor Compton (Halloween 1 & 2) will have to survive an ancient Thai evil. As the trailer shows Scout will accidentally upset ancient spirits and be forced to endure their wrath. Will she survive or is she doomed to meet a bloody end?
With a solid soundtrack and a some jump scares the trailer certainly set’s the tone for the movie. Using Thailand’s natural beauty and lore “Ghost House” promises to be a hell of a ride.
“Ghost House” is directed by Rich Ragsdale, written Kevin O’Sullivan and Jason Chase Tyrrell. Follow the film via their Facebook page and make sure to check back soon. We’ve got some interviews with the cast coming this way!
Are you excited about the movie? How many times did you jump during the trailer? Let us know in the comments below.
DC announced on its official Weibo (a Chinese microblog) that an extended cut trailer of The Justice League is set to be released tomorrow in China (which would be later today in California) and a bunch of surprises would be announced as well. What surprises could they be hinting at? Could we have multiple casting announcements? It appears the DC panel is shaping up to be one of the biggest panels at San Diego Comic-Con.
What surprises do you think they are hinting at? Could we find out who is playing Green Lantern? Perhaps even Nightwing? My best guess is that we at the very least find out who is playing Green Lantern in the next Justice League movie.
Newsaramareports that Duke Thomas, the fan-favorite character from Scott Snyder’s run who is now heavily a part of DC: Metal and it’s various lead-ups is getting both a codename and a series. The character is named The Signal and the series will be called Batman: The Signal. The character is described by Snyder as “Gotham’s hero by day.” The ongoing will be written by Snyder and Tony Patrick, who is a graduate of Snyder’s DC’s Writer’s Workshop.
As some one who has been reading all the various Dark Days books and is excited for DC: Metal, I think this could be a great new addition to the ‘Batman’ family. What do you guys think? Can Duke Thomas support a series of his own? Does Gotham City need a daytime superhero? Comment and discuss below!
The news cycle for the last 24 hours at San Diego Comic-Con has been dominated by whether or not Ben Affleck is going to step away from his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman. No one anticipates that story being resolved anytime soon but it appears DC might just have a strategy to quell all this Affleck/Batman hysteria. Check out what Jason Momoa posted last night on social media.
For starters, Momoa seems to let slip that we will be seeing some form of a teaser trailer for Aquaman. The part that sticks out to me is where he talks about knowing something big. Also, take note of the photo he used when posting this to Instagram. Could we be getting some sort of casting announcement? Think about Marvel did last year as SDCC. The announcement of Brie Larson as Captain Marvel was easily one of the biggest stories to come out of last years Comic-Con. What better way to take everyone’s mind off of the Affleck/Batman story than to make some sort of big casting announcement.
What do you think the announcement will be? Personally, it would be shocking if we didn’t find out today who was playing Green Lantern. It would give the fans something to go crazy about and take the spotlight off of the whole Batman controversy.
Named after comic book legend Will Eisner, the Eisner Awards are sort of like the Academy Awards of comics. Handed out every year at San Diego Comic-Con, the nominees usually include a good spectrum of indie and mainstream books and creators. Check out the 2017 winners below!
Best Short Story
“Good Boy,” by Tom King and David Finch, in Batman Annual #1 (DC)
Best Single Issue/One-Shot
Beasts of Burden: What the Cat Dragged In, by Evan Dorkin, Sarah Dyer, and Jill Thompson (Dark Horse)
Best Continuing Series
Saga, by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (Image)
Best Limited Series
The Vision, by Tom King and Gabriel Walta (Marvel)
Best New Series
Black Hammer, by Jeff Lemire and Dean Ormston (Dark Horse)
Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 8)
Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea, by Ben Clanton (Tundra)
Best Publication for Kids (ages 9-12)
Ghosts, by Raina Telgemeier (Scholastic)
Best Publication for Teens (ages 13-17)
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, by Ryan North and Erica Henderson (Marvel)
Best Humor Publication
Jughead, by Chip Zdarsky, Ryan North, Erica Henderson, and Derek Charm (Archie)
Best Anthology
Love is Love, edited by Marc Andreyko (IDW/DC)
Best Reality-Based Work
March (Book Three), by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell (Top Shelf)
Best Graphic Album—New
Wonder Woman: The True Amazon by Jill Thompson (DC Comics)
Best Graphic Album—Reprint
Demon, by Jason Shiga (First Second)
Best U.S. Edition of International Material
Moebius Library: The World of Edena, by Jean “Moebius” Giraud et al. (Dark Horse)
Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia
The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye, by Sonny Liew (Pantheon)
Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips (at least 20 years old)
Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy, Colorful Cases of the 1930s, edited by Peter Maresca (Sunday Press)
Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books (at least 20 Years Old)
The Complete Wimmen’s Comix, edited by Trina Robbins (Fantagraphics)
Best Writer
Brian K. Vaughan, Paper Girls, Saga, We Stand On Guard (Image)
Best Writer/Artist
Sonny Liew, The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye (Pantheon)
Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team
Fiona Staples, Saga (Image)
Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art)
Jill Thompson, Wonder Woman: The True Amazon (DC); Beasts of Burden: What the Cat Dragged In (Dark Horse)
Best Cover Artist (for multiple covers)
Fiona Staples, Saga (Image)
Best Coloring
Matt Wilson, Cry Havoc,Paper Girls, The Wicked + The Divine (Image); Black Widow, The Mighty Thor, Star-Lord (Marvel)
Best Lettering
Todd Klein, Clean Room, Dark Night, Lucifer (Vertigo/DC); Black Hammer (Dark Horse)
Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism
The A.V. Club comics coverage, (Comics Panel, Back Issues, and Big Issues, by Oliver Sava et al) www.avclub.com
Best Comics-Related Book
Krazy: George Herriman, A Life in Black and White, by Michael Tisserand (Harper)
Best Academic/Scholarly Work
Superwomen: Gender, Power, and Representation, by Carolyn Cocca (Bloomsbury)
Best Publication Design
The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye, designed by Sonny Liew (Pantheon)
Comicazi, Robert Howard, David Lockwood, Michael Burke. Somerville, MA
The five finalists were:
Comicazi, Robert Howard, David Lockwood, Michael Burke. Somerville, MA
The Comic Bug, Jun Goeku, Mike Wellman. Manhattan Beach, CA
Illusive Comics and Games, Anna Warren Cebrian. Santa Clara, CA
Kingpin Books, Mário Freitas. Lisbon, Portugal
Space Cadets Collection Collection, Jen King. Oak Ridge North, TX
The Spirit of Comics award judges were:
John Hertzler (actor, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
Josh Geppi (president, Diamond International Galleries)
Victoria Jamieson (graphic novelist, Roller Girl, The Great Pet Escape)
Adam Sherif (2016 Spirit Award winner, Orbital Comicz, London, UK)
Bill Morrison (executive editor, MAD magazine)
BILL FINGER AWARD WINNERS
Jack Kirby
Bill Messner-Loebs
RUSS MANNING AWARD
Anne Szabla, writer-artist of Bird Boy (Dark Horse)
BOB CLAMPETT HUMANITARIAN AWARD
Joe Ferrara
Marc Andreyko
WILL EISNER COMIC AWARDS HALL OF FAME
Judges Choices (automatically inducted)
Milt Gross (1895–1953)
H. G. Peter (1880–1958)
Antonio Prohías (1921–1998)
Dori Seda (1950–1988)
Voters Choices
Gilbert Hernandez and Jaime Hernandez
George Perez
Walt Simonson
Jim Starlin
What a great year for comics and this list proves it. Personally, The Vision was hands down the best book and deserved the win for Limited Series. But it’s great to see important books like March and Love Is Love get recognition. A big congratulation to all winners and let’s hope for another year of great comics, nominations, and winners!
What books were your favorites? What winners would you have picked? Which ones did you read? Comment and discuss below.
And stay tuned to Monkeys Fighting Robots for all your SDCC news!
Oh, my! San Diego Comic-Con International just got interesting with the release of ‘The Defenders’ trailer during the Netflix Hall H panel Friday.
Blind ninja. Smart-ass detective. Bulletproof ex-con. Kung Fu billionaire. Marvel’s The Defenders centers on four outsider heroes that have to put aside their personal issues and come together when a villainous sect threatens to destroy New York City as we know it.
Charlie Cox, Krysten Ritter, Mike Colter, Finn Jones, Sigourney Weaver, Elodie Yung, Deborah Ann Woll, Jessica Henwick, and Executive Producer and showrunner Marco Ramirez attended the panel.
Weaver could be the best villain the Marvel Cinematic Universe has seen so far. Alexandra looks to destroy New York. I’m sure Marvel is holding its cards close to the vest, but it would have amazing to see the Kingpin of Crime in the trailer as well. You can bet Vincent D’Onofrio will show up at the worst possible time for ‘The Defenders.’
‘Marvel’s The Defenders’ stars Charlie Cox, Krysten Ritter, Mike Colter, Finn Jones, Sigourney Weaver, Elodie Yung, Scott Glenn, Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson, Carrie-Anne Moss, Rachael Taylor, Eka Darville, Simone Missick, and Jessica Henwick.
The Netflix original series launches globally on August 18.
FOX released the first official trailer for the new series ‘The Gifted’ at San Diego Comic-Con International Friday afternoon. The Bryan Singer directed pilot mentions the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants.
The series follows two ordinary parents who discover their children possess mutant powers. The Strucker’s are forced to go on the run from a hostile government, and the family joins up with an underground network of mutants and must fight to survive.
‘The Gifted’ stars Stephen Moyer as Reed Strucker; Amy Acker plays his wife, Caitlin Strucker; Natalie Alyn Lind and Percy Hynes White play their children, Lauren Strucker and Andy Strucker; Sean Teale plays Eclipse – Marcos Diaz; Jamie Chung plays Blink – Clarice Fong; Emma Dumont plays Polaris – Lorna Dane; Blair Redford plays Thunderbird – John Proudstar; and Coby Bell as Jace Turner.
Sidenote – Are the Strucker’s related to Baron Strucker?
Baron Strucker, a former Nazi officer, is one of the leaders of Hydra and an enemy of S.H.I.E.L.D., the Avengers, and the interests of the United States of America and of the free world in general. He has been physically augmented to be nearly ageless. He has been seemingly killed in the past only to return to plague the world with schemes of world domination and genocide, time and time again.
Maybe FOX and Disney worked out a deal for shared rights…
The first episode of ‘The Gifted’ airs October 2 on FOX.
Todd McFarlane announced via Facebook Friday afternoon at San Diego Comic-Con International that Jason Blum and Blumhouse Productions have signed on to produce an R-Rated Spawn film.
Watch the announcement below:
“The ink is just dry, and we’ve gone from the theoretical – no more theoretical. We’re now making movies. We’re going. Blumhouse, Spawn, badass, R, it’s coming, get ready for it! We’re going into production,” said McFarlane.
McFarlane stated earlier that he will direct the film as well. He believes that the new ‘Spawn’ film can be made with $10 million, and understands that a no studio will not give him a $100 million budget.
“I wouldn’t ask to be a newbie director on a script that was going to have an $80 million budget for it. Why? Because as the CEO of my own corporations, I wouldn’t take that deal. I wouldn’t stick out $80 million and go, ‘we’re going to give it to a rookie, and he’s going to basically be in charge of it,’” said McFarlane to SYFY WIRE.
No casting or production schedule has been announced. McFarlane created Spawn for Image Comics with the first issue hitting the shelves in May 1992, selling 1.7 million copies. Michael Jai White played the title charcter “Al” Simmons in the 1997 feature film.
