The 80s crooner has brewed his own beer with Danish microbrewery Mikkeller. April 13th marks the day of release for this wonderful beverage which also coincides with the sold out concert at Royal Albert Hall.
As bizarre as this all sounds, he is not the first musician to take a shot into the beverage business. Justin Timberlake is not just the face of 901 Sauza Tequila, but he actually is the maker too. Boy band Hanson found their way into the craft beer world, and now have ‘MMMHOPS’ to show just how big craft beer nerds they are.
But is anyone thinking ‘Rick Astley?’
Are we being ‘Rick Rolled’?
Actually, no. Mikkel Borg Bjergsø the founder of Mikkeller was a huge fan. It all started with a rumor of Rick living in Amager, Copenhagen.
“When I heard the news, I immediately thought we should brew a beer with him,” explains the brewer and founder of Mikkeller, Mikkel Borg Bjergsø, who as a pre-teen had posters of Rick Astley hanging on his wall in his childhood home in Nivå and hits such as ’Never Gonna Give You Up’ and ’Whenever You Need Somebody’ on repeat in the walkman.
As it turns out, Astley has been living in London, but that didn’t stop Bjergso from reaching out. They talked over Skype, and really the rest is history.
Red Lager with a touch of ginger like Astley himself. Astley’s Northern Hop will be only available through Mikkellers normal distribution, and at the Bottle Shop UK.
Unfortunately, us Americans won’t be able to get a hand on it, unless we have connections in the UK.
Learn more about the rad beer, along with other awesome beer news from BeerPulse.
Given that Hollywood are determined to squeeze every last dollar out of their movie releases, it’s no surprise to find that some films are licensed in some surprising places. So once they’ve sold their movies for licensed use as condoms, coffins and sleeping bags, what better than a good online slots game to really let that film iconography shine?
The 1963 movie Cleopatra was one of Hollywood’s most ambitious projects. Not only did it nearly manage to bankrupt 20th Century Fox, but it also killed the traditional blockbuster epic whilst doing so.
However, it wasn’t just immortal romance between its stars Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton that lives on, as key images and themes that dominated the Joseph L Mankiewicz-directed movie have managed to survive in the exotic Egyptian imagery of the Cleopatra online slots game over at the MrSmithCasino website.
What’s key to making the leap from the movie screen to the slots game is easily identifiable iconography. So whether it’s the towering ape of King Kong or the terrifying dinosaurs of Jurassic Park, they all manage to make the suitably monster-sized impression on the casino games. Furthermore, these titles lack a singular identifiable human star, so that they can all live on in an endless series of sequels for true cinematic and gaming immortality!
Whilst the rampaging gorillas and fearsome prehistoric creatures of these mainstream movies might be an attractive motif for slots game manufacturers to use, some developers have taken some alternative ideas.
For example, whilst the thought of a Bruce Lee slots game might sound a little anachronistic, it’s worthwhile mentioning that the martial arts star has appeared in many video games, including a controversial appearance in a UFC game that was created by EA Sports.
In addition to this, Bruce Lee is still a massive global star. And as the online revolution means that movies and games can cross borders with ease, it makes perfect sense for games developers to utilize stars who have an international appeal.
And surely there can’t be many more international or intergalactic stars that Superman. As well as being one of our most cherished comic book heroes, the fabled Kal-El from the planet Krypton has also made a pretty good showing at the casino by appearing in one of Mr. Smith Casino’s slots games. All of which shows just how versatile our favorite movie stars have become!
The movie industry is never short of a few quid but when a studio manages to turn one of its features into a brand blown franchise, that is when the serious money can be made.
Huge money-spinning movie franchises are extremely prominent in the industry these days. Take for example the top 20 movies listed in the current all-time worldwide box office. No less than 17 of these movies all belong to a franchise in one form of another with their accumulated gross totaling billions. Even ‘Avatar’ director James Cameron, the movie that currently tops the list and looks to be almost untouchable at the moment, is busy preparing a reported 3 sequels to the action-packed sci-fi 3D epic which we will be able to look forward to in the near future.
If you have the ideas and you can build a rich and detailed universe around your movie, or the characters that populate it then you could be on to a winner. Building a successful franchise these days doesn’t appear to be that difficult but the stronger the theme of a movie and the more appeal it has across a diverse movie-going market the better chance it will have of growing and growing.
Take a look at ‘Star Wars’, arguably the biggest and richest movie franchise of all time. You can see why Disney was keen to buy this up and when you combine the merchandising with a number of new and exciting movies and spin-offs based on the ‘Star Wars’ series, you can just imagine how impactful this new partnership will be in terms of driving revenue and increasing their ticket sales at the box office in the future.
In more recent times the power of the franchise has been very substantial at the box office with the likes of huge hitters such as ‘The Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit’, ‘Harry Potter’, ‘Twilight’, ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’, ‘Transformers’ and the revived ‘Fast and Furious’ series all generating huge takings both domestically and internationally.
Whilst ticket sales and bums in seats play a massive part in future decisions for studios to decide whether sequels or prequels should be greenlit, it is often the post-release revenue that can be a game-changer. The majority of the franchises we mentioned here have all been able to take full advantage of merchandising opportunities, spin-offs and other marketing deals. It doesn’t matter if its collectibles, apparel, toys, online and board games or even casino game spinoffs like those at Play Cosmo, the opportunity to push a new brand into the market off the back of a popular movie release is a no-brainer.
When you consider just how big these franchises can grow you only need to look at the current trend of superhero and comic-book adaptations that are constantly popping up in theaters. There’s already a rich source of influence and iconic characters that can be found in the pages of Marvel comic books and when you begin blending these worlds together and bringing multiple leading characters together for special team-ups such as ‘The Avengers’ and the upcoming ‘Justice League’ movies the possibilities for continual franchises are endless.
The pride and joy of Marvel Comics, Brian Michael Bendis, has seen better days. He’s one of the most celebrated comic book writers of the last 20 years, but not everything can be gold. Bendis has been writing Guardians since 2013, his tenure now comes to a close in 2017. This messy Guardians Of The Galaxy run ends with another mess.
Star-Lord and his galaxy-guarding crew has been “grounded” since Civil War II, where their ship was destroyed. Thanos collaborates with his fellow cosmic villains and decides to invade Earth. Every hero on Earth is apparently busy, other than the Guardians. They defeat Thanos, Rocket puts a ship together, they finally get back to space.
The story here is boring and misguided, trying to get to the end as fast as possible. It’s full of half-hearted tying of loose ends and farewells that have no impact. The only purpose it serves is getting the core together and getting them back into space.
There are a total of eight artists on this one issue for some reason. Some of the pages are beautiful, including the best that “Space Venom” has ever looked. Other pages are as dull and uninspired as the story they’re telling.
One of the problems with Bendis’ Guardians is that instead of putting the team in cosmic situations and stories, he continuously forced Earth heroes into cosmic stories. It started with Iron Man in the very first arc Bendis wrote. From there the team included the likes of Kitty Pryde, Venom, The Thing, and Angela.
In the classic run by Abnett & Lanning, the lineup constantly evolved, but not until after the core was well established. It’s not that Bendis included non-cosmic heroes, it’s that the cosmic element took a back seat. The relationships between the core members were never fleshed out before they started crossing over with Iron Man and the X-Men. What readers will remember the most about these four years are “Space Venom” and that Kitty was engaged to Peter Quill (not a positive memory).
The best thing about this issue is that when it’s over, the core members of the team are leaving Earth behind. They’re also shedding the honorary members for good. I understand that without the Richards family, The Thing and Human Torch have to find something to do. It just didn’t work out the way Marvel wanted it to.
Brian Michael Bendis’ run wasn’t all bad, it got off to an okay start even with Iron Man being forced in there. It progressively got worse and worse, the biggest reason not even being his fault. After the success of the Guardians Of The Galaxy film, Marvel clearly wanted the tone and look of the comics to mirror the movie.
The characterizations for the entire team got farther and farther away from the Abnett versions the longer the series went on. Star-Lord especially has been almost completely morphed following the movie’s success. Every relaunch was another creative filter Marvel ran Star-Lord through, resulting in an annoyingly bored version of the one played by Chris Pratt.
Perhaps the issues with Bendis’ Guardians Of The Galaxy run aren’t even his fault. Marvel could have been limiting him from the start and pushing their MCU agenda into his ideas. Even so, halfway through his four years on the title, Bendis was clearly less interested and focused on the title and decided to eventually walk away.
Guardians Of The Galaxy #19 is a perfectly misguided ending to a messy run of comic book stories. There’s nothing carrying any weight, or worthy of note, outside of the team leaving Earth. Readers, along with these heroes, can finally move on.
If the taste left in readers’ mouths isn’t too overwhelming, we do have a new series to look forward to. Hopefully this will be the return to form for our beloved cosmic heroes we deserve.
What do you think of Bendis’ time on GOTG? Will you be reading the new series? Let us know in the comments below!
Kathryn Bigelow’s Detroit is finally close on the horizon, and we have a new trailer and a poster to get fans ready. And the cast is incredible.
Check it out:
And here is the disorienting new poster:
I particularly enjoy the exchange between John Boyega and the military officer at the beginning of this trailer: “Don’t push it, man.” Enough said.
Along with Boyega, Detroit stars John Krasinski, Will Poulter, Jack Reynor, Hannah Murray, and Anthony Mackie. And Mark Boal, Bigelow’s go to screenwriter (Zero Dark Thirty, The Hurt Locker), is back for this one. This trailer is amazing, and Kathryn Bigelow is amazing.
Detroit could wind up being something very rare these days, a Best Picture hopeful released during the summer months. And August 4 no less. Regardless of the release date, this has the potential to be incredible.
2017 Is Turning Out To Be One Of The Craziest Years In WWE History
WWE is finally getting a welcomed change. Things are “shaking up”, if you will.
Last year’s Brand Draft divided the rosters of wrestlers and kicked in motion something that is now finally paying off. After 2017’s Superstar Shakeup and the aftermath of Wrestlemania, it’s important to look at where WWE will go from here.
Rosters:
MOVED TO RAW-
Apollo Crews, Miz/Maryse, Dean Ambrose, Curt Hawkins, Bray Wyatt, Kalisto, Rhyno & Heath Slater, Elias Samson, Alexa Bliss, Mickie James
MOVED TO SMACKDOWN- Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Epico & Primo, Jinder Mahal, Tamina Snuka, Charlotte, Rusev, Sin Cara, The New Day (Kofi Kingston, Big E, and Xavier Woods)
Now that the Superstar Shake-up is completed, the rosters seem set. While a number of wrestlers switched brands, there is only a few notable changes.
Dean Ambrose and Bray Wyatt going to RAW is extremely refreshing. Also, putting Mickie James and Alexa Bliss on Monday Night’s seems like a genius choice. Debuting Elias Samson during this time is smart as it instantly puts his name in headlines. Sadly, a few “shakeup spots” were wasted on picks like Curt Hawkins and the Slater/Rhyno pairing.
Moving Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and Charlotte will only help each wrestler shine. Monday Night Raw is where so many can get lost in the shuffle and I think Smackdown will eat up their talents. Also, imagine the Kevin Owens and ShinsukeNakamura feud! Speaking of Nakamura, he made his long awaited debut on the main roster following ‘Mania. He’ll prove to be the best NXT call-up ever.
Champions:
Wrestlemania 33 put in place the pieces that would be the current state of WWE Champions. The WWE Heavyweight Title and Universal Title both changed hands that evening, while the undercard more or less stayed the same.
The Superstar Shakeup put the Intercontinental Title on Raw when Dean Ambrose was drafted. It also caused Kevin Owens to bring the U.S. Title to Smackdown. The switches were obvious but instantly changes up the respective midcards.
Both Women’s Titles now have some fresh faces to combat for them as Alexa Bliss can take on Bayley, and Charlotte will easily dominate Smackdown. Also, expect to see Nia Jax be the Raw Women’s Champion within the year!
Tag Team wrestling for WWE still seems to be one of the weaker spots. Returning Hardy Boyz adds something fun to RAW but it seems temporary. Hopefully the amazing team of The Revival can become the brand’s main team. Smackdown was doing okay with their tag division but The New Day will only be a great foil to the brand’s more serious teams.
Feuds & Friendships:
Feuds:
Surprisingly, all the major feuds ended at Wrestlemania 33.
On the Monday Night RAW side, the top feud going forward seems to be Samoa Joe vs Seth Rollins. But I expect the impending Bray Wyatt and Finn Balor feud to trump all the rest. One of the biggest and brightest moments from Raw’s Superstar Shakeup episode is Braun Strowman annihilating Roman Reigns and setting up a great revenge for Reigns.
One of the funniest Superstar Shakeup moments was Kevin Owens thinking he was clear of his past by switching to Smackdown…only for enemy Sami Zayn to be drafted as well. The rest of Smackdown’s drama was cleared up from Wrestlemania 33 but a lot of new foes are being made. Love seeing Dolph Ziggler and Shinsuke Nakamura start a feud as Ziggler will be the best showcase of Nakamura’s “strong style”.
Friendships:
No tag teams were forced to split. No real pairings were torn apart. The Superstar Shakeup didn’t hurt any friends but did put some new faces in front of each other. Seeing The New Day on Smackdown is going to open up a whole new door to some amazing work.
There’s also hints that Alexa Bliss will be using Nia Jax as the muscle to her mouth. The women’s division needs a bit more pairings so this seems like a perfect fit. But, Smackdown seems like it’s every women for herself. Both shows have very different takes on their females and that’s great!
The Future:
Instead of being stagnate, the future of WWE is actually looking brighter.
The rise of NXT and the WWE Network started changing things but it wasn’t until the build of Wrestlemania 33 that I noticed the true shift. A lot of fresh faces shining while older names are starting to put over newer ones. It seems like the influence of Triple H’s new era is making itself known. Thankfully NXT won’t suffer as bad with the main roster stealing their talent and the main roster is using NXT’s big names as their next headliners!
What do you think? Does the landscape of WWE in 2017 look good?
“When all seems lost, a few brave souls can save everything we’ve ever known. Watch the new #Transformers trailer now.”
Are you looking forward to Transformers: The Last Knight? Although the movies are generally disliked by both fans and critics, they continue to rake in cash, which proves theres a market for these bloated, simple action flicks.
“The Last Knight shatters the core myths of the Transformers franchise, and redefines what it means to be a hero. Humans and Transformers are at war, Optimus Prime is gone. The key to saving our future lies buried in the secrets of the past, in the hidden history of Transformers on Earth. Saving our world falls upon the shoulders of an unlikely alliance: Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg); Bumblebee; an English Lord (Sir Anthony Hopkins); and an Oxford Professor (Laura Haddock).
There comes a moment in everyone’s life when we are called upon to make a difference. In Transformers: The Last Knight, the hunted will become heroes. Heroes will become villains. Only one world will survive: theirs, or ours.”
Transformers: The Last Knight hits theaters on June 23, 2017.
The recently released trailer for Thor: Ragnarok is now Disney’s most viewed ever in 24 hours, according to The Hollywood Reporter; it brought in 136 million views in just a day.
Ragnarok beat out all of Disney’s other properties for this record, including the Star Wars and Pixar brands.
2017’s Beauty and the Beast was the previous record holder, and before it was Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Captain America: Civil War.
With Marvel now giving us more team up films, such as Ragnarok and Spider-Man: Homecoming, I’m sure the box office buzz will only continue to rise as we see more characters on screen together.
Now comes the question: what will have a bigger opening weeked – Thor: Ragnarok or Justice League? If you asked me a year ago, I would’ve said Justice League without hesitation. Now, however, I’m questioning that based on the sole enthusiasm around this one trailer.
“In Marvel Studios’ ‘Thor: Ragnarok’, Thor is imprisoned on the other side of the universe without his mighty hammer and finds himself in a race against time to get back to Asgard to stop Ragnarok — the destruction of his homeworld and the end of Asgardian civilization — at the hands of an all-powerful new threat, the ruthless Hela. But first he must survive a deadly gladiatorial contest that pits him against his former ally and fellow Avenger — the Incredible Hulk!”
Thor: Ragnarok stars Chris Hemsworth as the title character, Mark Ruffalo as The Hulk, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Cate Blanchett as Hela, Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, Jamie Alexander as Ladie Sif, Idris Elba as Heimdall, Anthony Hopkins as Odin, Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, and Jeff Goldblum as The Grandmaster. Taika Waititi is the director.
The film will hit theaters this Fall, on November 3.
When an actor is cast as a comic book character, it’s a common occurence to see said person brushing up on their knowledge of the character – this piece of news is no different.
Amber Heard, who’s playing Mera in Justice League and Aquaman, just posted a photo of the research she’s doing for the role.
Are you looking forward to Heard’s portrayal as Mera? Comment below, let us know!
“Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of metahumans to stand against this newly awakened threat. But despite the formation of this unprecedented league of heroes—Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash—it may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions.”
Justice League stars Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Ben Affleck as Batman, Ezra Miller as Flash, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Ray Fisher as Cyborg, Henry Cavill as Superman, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Amber Heard as Mera, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth, Willem Dafoe as Vulko, and Connie Nielsen as Hippolyta.
The film is slated to hit theaters on November 17, 2017.
It seems it is definitely a great time to be a Stephen King fan. In addition to the recently released trailer for the new version of IT, we now have a trailer for Spike TV’s series take on The Mist, courtesy of Entertainment Weekly. Check it out below.
Horror movie fans will remember that The Mist was already adapted into a successful and well-received film by Frank Darabont. But this is a different, expanded story with all new characters.
Series creator Christian Torpe said:
I wanted to be respectful to the source material, but my feeling was there was already a great adaptation out there by Frank Darabont. The novella is 200 pages and one location, and we needed to change that to make an ongoing series. But we wanted to remain faithful to the heart of the story.
Sounds pretty cool! You can check out the rest of the lengthy interview over at EW.
What do you guys think? Can this concept be turned into a compelling, ongoing series? And can it stand (King puns intended!) on its own from the excellent film? Comment and discuss below!
