Some cliche somewhere said that ‘a picture is worth a thousand words.’ This has proven to be the case for me and especially when it comes to fan art. I have always sought out great fan art and have wanted to share it with as many people as possible. “Awesome Art We’ve Found Around The Net” is the outlet for that passion. In this column, I will showcase the kick-ass artwork of some great artists, with the hopes that these artists get the attention they deserve. That’s the aim. If you have any questions or comments, or even suggestions of art or other great artists, feel free to contact me at any time at theodorebond@joblo.com.
For a game we’ve all been calling “Pokémon with guns,” turns out there aren’t all that many guns in the first few hours of Palworld. But you know what there is far too much of? Crafting mechanics in video games. Anyway, here are our takes on this week’s news.
For a game we’ve all been calling “Pokémon with guns,” turns out there aren’t all that many guns in the first few hours of Palworld. But you know what there is far too much of? Crafting mechanics in video games. Anyway, here are our takes on this week’s news.
The WWE’s annual Royal Rumble isn’t until tonight but already the company has seen a major elimination, as Vince McMahon has officially resigned from his position at TKO following a lawsuit launched by a former employee over alleged battery and sex trafficking.
Vince McMahon bowing out as executive chairman and board of directors member stems from Janel Grant suing the sports entertainment icon over the aforementioned claims. More specifically, she says she was offered a job at WWE that soon enough put her in the position of sexual acts not just with McMahon but with other company employees, including former Head of Talent Relations John Laurenitis. Grant also alleges that she was used as a bargaining chip to lure a former talent back to the ring; while the person has only been described as “both a UFC and WWE talent”, that’s about all the WWE Universe needed to narrow down who they beleive the unnamed Superstar is…A series of grotesque text messages supposedly sent by McMahon also quickly circulated the internet.
Vince McMahon issued the following statement regarding his resignation: “I stand by my prior statement that Ms. Grant’s lawsuit is replete with lies, obscene made-up instances that never occurred, and is a vindictive distortion of the truth. I intend to vigorously defend myself against these baseless accusations, and look forward to clearing my name. However, out of respect for the WWE Universe, the extraordinary TKO business and its board members and shareholders, partners and constituents, and all of the employees and Superstars who helped make WWE into the global leader it is today, I have decided to resign from my executive chairmanship and the TKO board of directors, effective immediately.”
Vince McMahon’s reputation has come into serious question as of late. Although behind-the-scenes stories have circled during much of his run in the business, the last couple of years have really put it all to the test. A 2022 investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct and payoffs cost close to $20 million. McMahon retired around this time as well.
This news of Vince McMahon’s (likely final) retirement will no doubt cast a shadow over this year’s Royal Rumble, an event he actually won in 1999. While the commentators will absolutely ignore it, it wouldn’t be surprising to catch a few signs in the crowd.
Variety reports that The Umbrella Academy star Tom Hopper is set to star in The Terminal List prequel series.
Tom Hopper will play Raife Hastings in Terminal List: Dark Wolf, who is described as “a hunter, protector, guardian and Navy SEAL.” Hooper will star in the series alongside Chris Pratt as James Reece, Taylor Kitsch as Ben Edwards, and Jared Shaw as Ernest “Boozer” Vickers. Set five years prior to the events of the first series, Dark Wolf focuses on Kitsch’s character as he moves from life as a Navy SEAL to a CIA paramilitary operator. Jack Carr, author of the book series on which The Terminal List is based, co-created Dark Wolf alongside David DiGillio, who developed the original series.
In addition to The Umbrella Academy, Tom Hopper is also known for TV shows such as Merlin, Black Sails, and Game of Thrones, as well as movies such as Terminator: Dark Fate, SAS: Red Notice, Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, and Resident Evil: Welcome to Racoon City. The fourth and final season of Umbrella Academy is expected to debut on Netflix later this year.
When The Terminal List: Dark Wolf was officially announced, Chris Pratt said, “For those who are fans of Taylor Kitsch‘s Ben Edwards, I’m happy to say that we’re also working on a spinoff series that will delve deeper into his story and follow his journey from a Navy SEAL to a CIA operative. And to make it even more exciting, I will also be appearing in this prequel series! I promise you it will be just as thrilling and engaging as The Terminal List.” Taylor Kitsch, who also executive produces the prequel, added, “Thank you to all the fans for believing in this show, we wouldn’t be here without your support. I’m excited to continue this wild ride that is Ben Edwards and bring to life Jack Carr’s amazing stories.“
In addition to the prequel series, the second season of The Terminal List is also on the way.
I honestly never expected that Denis Villeneuve’s Dune would be a success, but despite the simultaneous release in theaters and HBO Max, the film became a modest box-office success, grossing $402 million worldwide. With Dune: Part Two on the way, there’s already talk of Dune 3, and if it does happen, Zendaya is more than ready to return as Chani.
During a cast interview with Fandango, Zendaya was asked about Dune 3. “Would we be down? I mean of course,” Zendaya said. “Any time Denis calls it’s a yes from me. I’m excited to see what happens. I started ‘Messiah’ and I was like, ‘Woah, I’m only shooting the first movie. Let me just go back to the first one.’ It’s so much to take in, but there’s no better hands with better care and love for it than Denis.“
Villeneuve confirmed in December that the script for Dune 3 was almost complete, but that he might tackle another project before returning to Arrakis. “I don’t know exactly when I will go back to Arrakis,” Villeneuve said. “I might make a detour before just to go away from the sun. For my mental sanity I might do something in between, but my dream would be to go a last time on this planet that I love.“
As for Dune: Part Two, Villeneuve has said that he feels the sequel is a “much better” movie than the first installment. “There’s something more alive in it,” Villeneuve said. “There’s a relationship to the characters. I was trying to reach for an intensity and a quality of emotions that I didn’t reach with Part One and that I did reach with Part Two. I’m not saying the film is perfect, but I’m much more happy with Part Two than I was with Part One. I can not wait to share it with the fans and the moviegoers.“
Dune: Part Two will “explore the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a path of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, he endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.” The film will hit theaters on March 1st.
It was announced last year that Spyglass Media had firedScream star Melissa Barrera after alleging that the actress made anti-Semitic comments following the attack in Israel and the invasion of Gaza. Hayden Panettiere came to the defence of Melissa Barrera while speaking with The Messenger, calling her firing “very unfair and upsetting.“
“After she [spoke out], then a whole bunch of other actors and people in the industry started to do the same thing, right?” Panettiere said. “It was almost like she just did it earlier than everyone else.” Panettiere added that she reached out to Barrera after hearing the news, who thanked her for reaching out. “You know, a lot of people hadn’t really asked her how she felt,” Panettiere said, adding that she’s not worried about Barrera. “Melissa is such a badass as a human being and as an actress,” she said. “She was hurt by it, but I think she took it in stride and was very, very gracious about it.“
Since Melissa Barrera was fired from Scream 7, we’ve also seen Jenna Ortega drop out of the film, citing scheduling conflicts with the second season of Wednesday, as well as director Christopher Landon. The Freaky director was very excited about helming the latest installment of the Scream franchise, but his dream job soon turned into a nightmare. “I guess now is as good a time as any to announce I formally exited Scream 7 weeks ago,” Landon said. “This will disappoint some and delight others. It was a dream job that turned into a nightmare. And my heart did break for everyone involved. Everyone. But it’s time to move on. I have nothing more to add to the conversation other than I hope Wes’ legacy thrives and lifts above the din of a divided world. What he and Kevin created is something amazing and I was honored to have even the briefest moment basking in their glow.“
As for Barrera, she doesn’t harbour any ill will towards the franchise, despite what happened. “I’m just so grateful on what I got to infuse in the franchise, and that’s something I’ll be proud of forever,” she said. The actress also reunited with her fellow Scream co-stars at Sundance. “We’re family for life,” Barrera said. “If we’re ever in the vicinity of each other, we always find each other and that’s what happened at the event. When we find each other, we just want to spend the night with each other, and nothing is ever going to change that.“
Rocksteady developers behind the upcoming Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League—a DC villain-themed open-world co-op looter shooter—revealed some new details and thoughts behind the game’s battle pass, seasons, and endgame content. And while it’s still a live-service game that will likely have its own issues come…
Rocksteady developers behind the upcoming Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League—a DC villain-themed open-world co-op looter shooter—revealed some new details and thoughts behind the game’s battle pass, seasons, and endgame content. And while it’s still a live-service game that will likely have its own issues come…
The disaster film Twister (watch it HERE) was a massive success for Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, and Amblin Entertainment when it was released during the summer movie season in 1996. Made on a budget of $90 million, it earned almost $500 million at the global box office and ranked as the tenth highest-grossing film of all time. Quickly cashing in with a sequel would have made a lot of sense. But while there were rumors – including a memorable one that said the sequel would involve a tornado hitting a major city – a follow-up never made it into production. Until now. Universal and Amblin are reviving the Twister IP with a film called Twisters, which is set to receive a theatrical release on July 19, 2024. Twenty-eight years later, will it be able to replicate or surpass the success of its predecessor? We’ll have to wait and see. But for know, we’re going to dig into Twisters: Everything We Know About the Sequel.
DIRECTOR(S)
We have Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski to thank for the existence of Twisters. He developed the concept with The Revenant screenwriter Mark L. Smith before taking the pitch to Twister executive producers Steven Spielberg and Frank Marshall. That got the project rolling – and announced in the trades as a reboot. But then Kosinski dropped out of the project to direct the Brad Pitt F1 racing movie Apex instead. While Smith worked on the script, other directors like Dan Trachtenberg, Travis Knight, and the duo of Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi were considered. Twister director Jan de Bont didn’t make the list – probably because he hasn’t directed a movie in over twenty years. After making the Lara Croft: Tomb Raider sequel The Cradle of Life, he had enough. So the job went to Lee Isaac Chung, who had earned a Best Director Oscar nomination for his semi-autobiographical drama Minari and also helmed an episode of The Mandalorian. Once Chung was signed on, he did his own script revisions.
STARS
Daisy Edgar-Jones of Where the Crawdads Sing stars Twisters as a former storm chaser who works a desk job after surviving a disastrous tornado encounter. As the story plays out, she will be forced back out onto the field. That’s all we know about her character – and all we know about the plot so far. Edgar-Jones is joined in the cast by Glen Powell, Anthony Ramos, Daryl McCormack, Kiernan Shipka, Maura Tierney, Harry Hadden-Paton, Sasha Lane, Nik Dodani, Tunde Adebimpe, Katy O’Brian, Brandon Perea, and the new Superman, David Corenswet. Unfortunately, we don’t know anything about the characters any of the actors other than Edgar-Jones are playing.
NO RETURNING CHARACTERS
You might have noticed that the cast list doesn’t include any actors from the first film. Of course, we’ve lost some of them since ’96, including Bill Paxton and Philip Seymour Hoffman, but there are still several who could have been brought back for an appearance. Despite this, Twisters apparently doesn’t feature any returning characters. Although it was once rumored that Edgar-Jones would be playing the daughter of Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt’s Twister characters, that doesn’t appear to be the case. Twisters has been described as a completely standalone story.
A few years ago, Hunt was developing a sequel with Blindspotting writers Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal that she wanted to direct herself. Hunt said she envisioned the film centering on a diverse group of storm chasers from a Historically Black College and University. They would be part of the rocket science club, and would be shooting rockets into the tornado for reasons she didn’t reveal. Hunt intended to reprise the role of Doctor Jo Harding and would have played the character as elder, tired, and haggard. But she wouldn’t have been around for long, because Jo was going to get caught in a tornado and killed in the opening sequence. So maybe it’s for the best that she’s not in the movie at all. Hunt’s idea didn’t get anywhere because she had terrible timing: she pitched her Twister sequel to Universal in June of 2020. The exact same month they announced they were working with Kosinski on a reboot.
CLIMATE CHANGE
While writer Mark L. Smith hasn’t revealed any plot details, he did tell Collider that Twisters will deal with climate change. He was quoted as saying, “I talked to so many storm experts, tornado experts, storm chasers, and rode around with some. Even the tornado season itself, because of climate change, what used to be tornado alley going through a certain stretch now extends further east. It’s moving across, the dates are wider, the numbers are higher, and the storms themselves are more violent. So we use elements of that to shine a light on it, the causes and effects of climate change.“
UNIVERSAL APPEAL
Cast member Glen Powell told Vogue (with thanks to Deadline for sharing the text) that Twisters is “definitely not a reboot. We’re not trying to recreate the story from the first one. It’s a completely original story. There are no characters from the original movie back, so it’s not really a continuation. It’s just its own standalone story in the modern-day. I don’t think anyone has brought up (Twister) in forever, but talking to people, they’re like, ‘That was one of my favorite movies growing up. That movie terrified me.’“ So whatever the story may be and whoever the characters are, Powell is confident that Twisters is going to have universal appeal. In fact, that’s the whole reason he decided to work on the film. He’s following advice he received from his Top Gun: Maverick co-star Tom Cruise, who told him, “If you want to make movies of a certain size and scope and scale, you have to figure out what can connect with everyone around the world in every territory.” That led him to Twisters because “humans versus weather is a very universal idea—how powerless we really are in the face of these cataclysmic forces.“
And that’s everything we know about Twisters at this time. Are you a fan of Twister, and are you looking forward to watching this return to the concept? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
