Legendary comedian who takes method acting to a new level, Sacha Baron Cohen (The Dictator, Bruno), has been signed my Paramount Pictures to an exclusive 3-year first-look deal. This includes his Four by Two Films banner, which will be headed by Sir Todd Schulman (The Dictator, Bruno).
Paramount teamed up with Baron Cohen for his latest film, The Dictator, which is due to be released on June 7th. Apparently the partnership worked very well, because Paramount has also created a development fund for Baron Cohen to find new talent in the UK.
Brad Grey, the Chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures had this to say about Baron Cohen:
“Sacha is a comic genius. A wildly talented writer, actor and filmmaker. Beyond that, he is the rare global comedy star. On behalf of all of us at Paramount, we welcome Sacha and look forward to The Dictator and many more great pictures for years to come.”
The Dictator follows a heroic dictator who risks his life to ensure that democracy will never overtake the country he has so lovingly oppressed. With Sacha Baron Cohen, Sir Ben Kingsley and Ana Faris in the cast list this will certainly be the next in a long line of hilarious films from Baron Cohen and is sure to be something to look forward to.
Keep an eye out on Capsule Computers for more information as it comes.
For any frequent mobile gamers the name Gamevil should be quite recognizable. They’ve certainly released a fantastic range of products, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if one of those apps on your phone came from their capable hands.
The leading publisher and developer has reached their 100 millionth app download, which is an absolutely stunning and impressive result. Especially given the fact that they hit 50 million in August 2011. Though it certainly comes as no surprise, especially with such successful titles as Zenonia, Cartoon Wars, Baseball Superstars and, of course, Air Penguin.
But that doesn’t mean that they’re going to relax any time soon, with the rest of the year including a whopping 40 new titles for the App Store and Android Market. So keep an eye out for these guys, with their incredible track record and great line up, their apps will definitely be a great purchase.
At an event held at the Luxe in Sydney, EA and Bioware hosted an event to celebrate the launch of Star Wars: The Old Republic in Australia. The event itself was a small affair, with a limited number of computers to play that game on, as well as a small presentation from Gabe Amatangelo the Lead PvP Designer for the game and booze.
The presentation from Gabe went in the beginning of the event and and consisted of showing us a handful of cinematics from the game, as well as a brief run through of the some latest additions and future additions to the game. We were also treated to a short film showcasing the impressions of the first few months of playing, which featured a handful of developers, community members and some of the Red Vs. Blue guys. Gabe’s presentation was fairly interesting, but it was more geared towards those that have yet to play the game, rather than the people present that had.
After the presentation was over, we were able to move about freely and socialise with the other media outlets present. During our stay at the event we met many editors, writers and media types from various publications. Characters of note were – Guy ‘Yug’ Blomberg [Mana Bar], David Halloway [Toroz] and a few others from various media outlets, like PC Powerplay, Hyper and the like. What I really like about the local media is that everyone is a pretty sensible bunch, you don’t get anyone too crazy and everyone is easy to approach and talk to.
As well as socialising, we were able to play on some pre-made accounts and make our own characters to play with. I rolled on the Aussie RP server with ‘Sexyena’, the sexy Twi’lek Jedi and demonstrated some of the game. However, as someone who already has a pretty decent toon on his own account, I didn’t find starting again as enjoyable as someone who would have been playing this for the very first time. Still it was fun enough to chat to the people who were in the server already and brag about being at the media launch event.
After our short play through and gas-bag it was time for us to begin our interview with Gabe Amatangelo, which went reasonably well. The interview consisted of Spike (Michael Marr) interviewing and myself holding the camera. Gabe seemed like a pretty nice guy and answered our questions in a reasonable manner. After that it was time to head back into the event floor.
Back at the event we poked around for a little while and chatted to some more people and watched people play terribly and decided it was time to leave. We took a survey on the event in which I responded that the event ‘needed more rising Wookies’ and ‘Twi’Lek dancers’. We then thanked everyone for inviting us and left. Fun was had by all. Especially me.
I enjoy writing articles like this as it reminds me that within this cesspit of a world we inhabit that some people are capable of thinking of someone other than themselves and willing to donate their time and money to prove it. So, it is with great pleasure that Toon Ups, cause gaming pioneer and creator of the fabulous “A Better World” Facebook game have announced a partnership with Wish Upon a Hero to grant a wish for Gracies Place, a special needs school in Sacramento. Gracies place urgently needs a new van so they can expand the invaluable help they give to children and families in need. The best thing is that anyone with a Facebook account can help out by simply signing into the FREE “A Better World” and visiting the Sanctuary of Hope. If 100000 hopes are posted OR supported, Toonups will aid Gracies with their new van.
A Better World is an awesome concept that seems to be heavily driven by its faithful users, and their March “Reach for the Stars” campaign is part of a monthy program that encourages users to to good within the game to affect real world issues. The March campaign is in conjucntion with Wish Upon a Hero, which is endorsed by Hall of Fame Quarterback Dan Merino (who even as an Australian I know), and has granted almost 90000 wishes so far. Toonups wish of choice is Gracies, a progressive child care home that teaches life values and skills to kids with a variety of learning disablities and from all backgrounds. “Like A Better World, we are providing a conduit for people to help others,” said David Girgenti, founder of Wish Upon a Hero. “It’s incredibly encouraging to find companies that are succeeding in collecting and expanding the numbers of people that want to make the world a better place.”
The game is free for use on Facebook and is an upliftining experience that encourages and rewards players for doing good deeds and acts of kindness. Players can create their own character, look after a virtual pet and post all their good deeds and thoughts with friends and other users. “Our players are absolutely extraordinary in their support and desire to do the right thing,” said Gregory Hansell, vice president of product development, ToonUps. “We’re excited that this month, our players can make real world dreams come true for special needs children by sharing their own hopes and dreams inside the game.” We all wish them the best of luck with everything they do.
Nokia are pleased to announce that as of the 28th February the Nokia Lumia 800 smartphone will be available through Vodaphone and Optus, with many more providers to come in the following days. Additionally, Australian retailers, Dick Smith and Harvey Norman are both taking pre-orders on the device, with Dick Smith having units available from 15th March 2012.
Optus in turn are offering from the 1st March through online and retail outlets, the Lumia 800 on a $0 upfront $59 Optus cap and Business Complete Plans (24 month contract, minimum cost $1146).
To pre-order the Nokia Lumia 800 please visit the following retailers:
Madman Entertainment have announced that the Fall 2011 anime, Guilty Crown, will begin streaming in their Madman Screening Room service beginning on Friday the 2nd of March with new episodes updates weekly.
Guilty Crown is another great addition to the current Madman Screening Room line-up which also includes: Persona 4, Nichijou – My Ordinary Life, Last Exile – Fam, The Silver Wing, GOSICK, Deadman Wonderland and Steins;Gate.
Madman have also confirmed that another new series is set to premiere in the Madman Screening Room in the near future. That series being Waiting in the Summer, a Winter 2012 anime series.
What do you think of Guilty Crown joining the Madman Screening Room line-up? Let us know in the shoutbox and comments section.
You can watch a multitude of anime episodes for free at the Madman Screening Room now here.
We have 2 copies of Robotech: The Masters Saga to give away on DVD courtesy of Beyond Home Entertainment. To win simply leave a comment on our review of Robotech: The Masters Saga and we’ll pick 2 lucky winners at random.
We’ll pick the lucky winners on the 16th of March, so you have a little over 2 weeks to enter. Make sure you leave a valid email when you post your comment so we can email you if you win.
Ubisoft have today released a trailer for the upcoming PSN and XBLA title, Shoot Many Robots. The new trailer focuses on the customisation feature of the game in which players can Shoot Many Robots (har har, see what I did there?).
You can check out the trailer below which goes in depth about Shoot Many Robots customisation features. You will be able to download Shoot Many Robots and proceed to Shoot Many Robots on the 13th of March for PSN and the 14th of March for the XBLA.
Be sure to let us know what you think of the new trailer and the game with the golden name, Shoot Many Robots, by leaving your thoughts in the shoutbox and comments section.
Want to go snowboarding but don’t have a snowboard or any snowboarding skills to speak of? Well you are in luck, EA Games have just released SSX for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 today across Australia. Oh and for you New Zealand folk, you will get the game tomorrow.
We recently got a chance to go to the EA Games SSX Hands-On event which you can see here and we also got a chance to interview legendary FMX superstar Josh Sheehan which you can see here.
Will you be taking to the slopes with SSX for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3? Let us know in the shoutbox and comments section.
Following the announcement made by Atlus, the recent issue Famitsu magazine shares plenty of new screens for the upcoming PlayStation Portable port of Persona 2 Eternal Punishment.
The first set of screens how off some in-game action, and just like the PSP port of Persona 2 Innocent Sin, it looks similar to the original release on the PlayStation (PSone), but with obvious improvement in resolution and presentation. The game is set to include new scenarios and other new features in similar vein to the PSP version of Innocent Sin.
Persona 2 Eternal Punishment is confirmed for a Japanese release in May 2012, you can view the gallery below.
Legendary comedian who takes method acting to a new level, Sacha Baron Cohen (The Dictator, Bruno), has been signed my Paramount Pictures to an exclusive 3-year first-look deal. This includes his Four by Two Films banner, which will be headed by Sir Todd Schulman (The Dictator, Bruno).
