‘The Guild’ Season 4, Episode 12: “Guild Hall”

from The Guild:

The season finale! Episode 12: “Guild Hall” is up on MSN, Bing video, Zune and Xbox Live. The Guild’s problems come to a head INSIDE the game!

Thanks fans for all the continuing support! You can still spread word about the show — use the Parallel Universe link to find episodes from all 4 seasons.

“Geek and Gamer Girls” Music Video

This music video parody proves Geek and Gamer Girls really do exist. Extra geek cred for appearances by a rapping Seth Green, Battlestar Galactica’s Katee Sackhoff and Stan Lee.

Lyrics and mp3 available here.

Team UnicornClare Grant, Michele Boyd, Rileah Vanderbilt, and Milynn Sarley
Directed by: David Yarvo

New Web Series: “Superjerks”

from KoldCast TV:

Set on the quaint island of Manhattan, Superjerks follows the adventures of superhero roommates Marvin and Derrick. Whether it is ordering pizza or saving “rich white folk in the Hamptons,” the duo fails at pretty much everything they do. Embedded in a crappy apartment rife with mutual disdain for the other, there is no insult, trick, or low blow they won’t dish out in the name of delicious justice. Who needs the hater’s ball when they’ve got each other?

Derrick — Graduating at the bottom of his class at the superhero academy, Derrick hails from the land of Big Ben and David Beckham. His powers of vegetation are second only to his propensities for booze, gambling, women, petty larceny, snooker, pipe tobacco, four-square, comic-con and Gossip Girl.

Marvin — The conscience of the duo, Marvin tries his best to “keep it classy” and emulate the likes of minority superheroes Orpheous and Jet, but he all too often finds himself drawn into Derrick’s daily shenanigans. Marvin enjoys the cooking channel, scented candles, muscle cars and reruns of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

New Episodes Every Monday!

Watch Now: Trailer | Pilot

“Writing Tips” App by Alice Kuipers

from HarperCollins Canada:

Alice Kuipers, author of The Worst Thing She Ever Did, has written an app for Apple, called Writing Tips, featuring tips, inspiration, and over 300 exercises to help get creative juices flowing. You can download it here.

If you haven’t already read it, check out ÜberSciFiGeek’s review of The Worst Thing She Ever Did, in which Alice Kuipers is interviewed about her writing process.

“Sintel”

Sintel is an independently produced short film, initiated by the Blender Foundation as a means to further improve and validate the free/open source 3D creation suite Blender. With initial funding provided by 1000s of donations via the internet community, it has again proven to be a viable development model for both open 3D technology as for independent animation film.

This 15 minute film has been realized in the studio of the Amsterdam Blender Institute, by an international team of artists and developers. In addition to that, several crucial technical and creative targets have been realized online, by developers and artists and teams all over the world.

“Star Wars” in 3D

from StarWars.com:

Lucasfilm Ltd. announced this week that the live-action Star Wars Saga will be converted to 3D! There are few movies that lend themselves more perfectly to 3D; from the Death Star trench run to the Tatooine Podrace, the Star Wars Saga has always delivered an entertainment experience that is completely immersive. Presented by Twentieth Century Fox and Lucasfilm Ltd., the cutting edge conversion will take that immersion to the next thrilling level, with Industrial Light & Magic supervising the project. Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace is expected to be released theatrically in 2012. A release date has not yet been determined.

“Getting good results on a stereo conversion is a matter of taking the time and getting it right,” said John Knoll, Visual Effects Supervisor for Industrial Light & Magic. “It takes a critical and artistic eye along with an incredible attention to detail to be successful. It is not something that you can rush if you want to expect good results. For Star Wars we will take our time, applying everything we know both aesthetically and technically to bring audiences a fantastic new Star Wars experience.”

Join VIZ Media to Celebrate Naruto’s Birthday with New Manga and Anime, Special Contests, and Fun Events in October

from VIZ Media:

It’s Naruto’s birthday October 10th, and VIZ Media invites fans to help celebrate the birth of the world’s most popular ninja with the release of the latest volume of the Naruto manga series, the next Naruto: Shippuden box set, special coverage in Shonen Jump magazine, and a series of fun events planned around the 2010 New York Comic Con and Anime Festival.

Naruto Volume 49, the latest manga installment, hits retailers on October 5th (rated “T” for Teens, MSRP $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN). In this volume, The Gokage Summit commences, and the five leaders of the strongest villages in the ninja world meet to discuss the fate of their universe and how to deal with the ever-looming threat of the rogue organization, the Akatsuki. Plans are made that will affect Naruto deeply. The new Hokage, the leader of Naruto’s village, is not afraid to make the final end move against Naruto’s old pal, Sasuke!

Naruto: Shippuden Box Set 4 (rated “T+” for Older Teens) will be available October 19th in Special (MSRP $69.97 U.S. / $99.99 CAN and includes Sasuke figure) and Standard editions (MSRP $49.95 U.S / $71.99 CAN). Team Kakashi’s spying mission brings them face to face with the Leaf’s most deadly enemy, Orochimaru. Naruto’s rage brings forth the Nine-Tailed Fox, but at great risk to both himself and those he cares for the most. With Naruto’s rampage quelled, the team continues on to Orochimaru’s lair to find Sasuke, but the mysterious Sai has disappeared. Could one of their own be planning the ultimate betrayal?

VIZ Media’s Shonen Jump magazine also celebrates Naruto in its October edition, available now on newsstands, and online! A Naruto Birthday Sweepstakes is offered where ten lucky fans will win a very special Pakkun backpack filled with exciting premiums including patches, DVD box sets, a collectable figure and more! Also featured is a story on how Naruto will celebrate his birthday, and fun ideas for fans to celebrate theirs. More info is available at: shonenjump.viz.com/features/index.php?id=410.

Finally, fans in the New York City area on October 8th are invited to catch the VIZ Media Naruto Street Team in action. The team will be stationed throughout Times Square during the day and at the 2010 New York Comic Con and Anime Festival at Jacob Javits Convention Center in the afternoon. Come dressed in Naruto gear to win a prize!

Created by Masashi Kishimoto, Naruto was first introduced in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in Japan in 1999 and quickly became that country’s most popular ninja manga targeting tweens and teens with more than 100 million copies in circulation to-date. The manga series (rated “T” for Teens) and animated counterpart (Naruto rated “T” for Teens, and Naruto: Shippuden rated “T+” for Older Teens) are among VIZ Media’s most successful properties and have captivated millions of fans across North America, Europe and South America.

The latest Naruto: Shippuden anime episodes from Japan are currently available for free viewing at VIZAnime.com and Hulu.com. Dubbed episodes are available for download to own through iTunes, PlayStation Network, Amazon, Xbox and more.

For more information on Naruto please visit the official Naruto website at Naruto.com.

Tickets to see “RiffTrax Live: House on Haunted Hill” are on sale nationwide!

from RiffTrax:

NCM Fathom and the stars of Mystery Science Theater 3000 invite you to a haunted house party like none you’ve ever experienced. RiffTrax’s own Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett will be back for an evening of hilarious riffing on the horror classic House on Haunted Hill!

On Thursday, October 28, the guys treat this Vincent Price classic to their signature brand of rapid-fire comedy.

Comedian Paul F. Tompkins will join the guys as a guest riffer on a classic, never-before-seen short!

For participating theatres and to purchase tickets, click here.

New “Gamera” Double Feature DVDs

from Shout! Factory:

The Gamera resurrection continues with two double-feature collector’s edition DVD sets of the titanic terrapin! Featuring North American DVD debuts of the original Japanese versions of the third through sixth Gamera movies, presented for the first time in anamorphic widescreen from recently restored masters.

Gamera Vs. Guiron / Gamera Vs. Jiger Double-Feature Collector’s Edition DVD and Gamera Vs. Gyaos / Gamera Vs. Viras Double-Feature Collector’s Edition DVD Roared onto DVD on September 21, 2010

If you loved the first two Special Edition home entertainment releases of the original Gamera movies — Gamera, The Giant Monster and Gamera Vs. Barugon — prepare yourself for four times the fun! On September 21, 2010, Shout! Factory further unleashed four more Gamera movies (the original Japanese version) from the Showa series in two Double-Feature Collector’s Edition DVD sets: Gamera Vs. Gyaos / Gamera Vs. Viras and Gamera Vs. Guiron / Gamera Vs. Jiger. Featuring all-new anamorphic widescreen transfers, each Double-Feature DVD set includes both the original Japanese and infamous English dubbed versions of each film along with publicity galleries. A must-have for film enthusiasts and collectors, aggregate your Gamera movie collection with these two Double-Feature Collector’s Edition DVD sets. Each DVD set is sold separately with $19.93 SRP.

Until the partnership of Shout! Factory and Kadokawa Pictures in May 2010, the original Gamera films were woefully underrepresented on DVD in the United States, especially in featuring the authentic original Japanese versions of the films. But that has changed with the recent releases of Gamera, The Giant Monster, Gamera Vs. Barugon and now, the two double feature collections Gamera Vs. Gyaos / Gamera Vs. Viras and Gamera Vs. Guiron / Gamera Vs. Jiger. Upcoming highlights include Gamera Vs. Zigra and Gamera: The Super Monster.

Gamera Vs. Gyaos / Gamera Vs. Viras Double Features Collector’s Edition DVD:
As a competitor to Godzilla in the Sixties, Gamera developed a strong following in and out of Japan, and with Gamera Vs. Gyaos his most famous enemy emerged, one that would play a key role in the Gamera trilogy released in the ’90s. Like a giant bat fused with a shark’s head, the laser-spewing Gyaos is discovered in an ancient cave by a young boy named Eiichi and a reporter named Okabe, whose neglect of the child in crisis leads to his death. Once Gyaos is unleashed upon Japan, both Gamera and the country’s Self-Defense Forces try to bring down the flying terror. And that’s not going to be an easy feat!

While Gamera and Gamera Vs. Barugon established the colossal chelonian as both a force to be feared by mankind and a friend to children everywhere, the giant turtle began to live up to his potential as a kids hero in later movies, most notably in Gamera Vs. Viras, in which not only does the oversized turtle race Boy Scouts in the water, but he must save them from an alien menace that uses his compassion as a weakness and ultimately mentally manipulates him to destroy parts of Earth. Once the children free Gamera from his mental slavery, the aliens’ non-human form is revealed, and they bond together to form the squid-like Viras. Then a climactic beachside rumble begins! (And Frankie and Annette aren’t sticking around for one.)

Gamera Vs. Guiron / Gamera Vs. Jiger Double Features Collector’s Edition DVD:
Kids take an even more prominent role in Gamera Vs. Guiron as two star-gazing Japanese tykes get whisked away by a spaceship to a planet where two “groovy spacegirls” are the sole survivors of a once-superior civilization. But the seemingly hospitable women have sinister plans in store, and Gamera comes to save them and battle their rhino-like guardian Guiron, a formidable beast with a razor-sharp steel blade for a snout. This is one Gamera movie that needs to have the Japanese version seen as it features possibly the worst dubbing job in Japanese monster history. But it’s still a camp gem. Space Gyaos makes an appearance, too!

Our favorite flying turtle gets a female foe in Gamera Vs. Jiger, which is set around the 1970 World’s Fair in Osaka. When scientists discover a mysterious statue called The Devil’s Whistle on a remote island, they steal it away to show at the Fair, which causes it to unleash a high-pitched sound that disturbs the Triceratops-like Jiger, who comes after them to stop the auditory pain she is in. And when she faces down Gamera, she proves to be a nasty foe, able to shoot quills from her head and a heat ray that can dissolve entire city blocks, plus she has a tail stinger that implants eggs into her victims. Gamera eventually has to cope with a baby Jiger growing inside of him. You’ve got to love the lovably twisted Japanese concept of family entertainment: No holds barred monster smackdowns!

J!NX: The Super-Colossal Sale Has Been EXTENDED!*

from J!NX:

The Super-Colossal Sale has been EXTENDED!
Worried you missed out on our awesome deal of $7 off all tees? No worries. Because we love youse guys so much, we decided to extend the offer until October 4, 11:59pm PDT. Don’t delay, though. Many of our SUPERWIN designs sold out within the first few days of the sale. *Not valid with any other discount or promotion.

“Her Universe” Message Boards Launching Friday for “Star Wars”/Sci-Fi Fans Everywhere

from Her Universe:

Star Wars and Sci-Fi fans now have a unique opportunity to talk with each other, build their community and empower like-minded enthusiasts all over the world to embrace their love of everything Sci-Fi when the Her Universe message boards go live this Friday (October 1st) at heruniverse.com. The message boards are yet another way that Her Universe founder, Ashley Eckstein, the voice of Ahsoka Tano on Star Wars: The Clone Wars, envisions giving female fans a growing voice in the Sci-Fi universe alongside their male counterparts.

Her Universe, which launched earlier this year, offers fashionable, female-focused apparel and products for fangirls via online and at conventions. However, Ashley’s endeavor is not just about selling merchandise. Rather, her interest is in acknowledging the female fan within the Sci-Fi/fantasy community and creating a place where all fans can share their passion and interest in the genre. The new Her Universe message boards are an affirmation of that and a great way to get in touch and stay in touch.

“We have been working to build a Her Universe community,” noted Ashley Eckstein. “With the addition of message boards on our website, we hope to create a safe place where fans can connect. I have heard from so many women who have said that they hide their gender on other message boards, just so their comments and opinions will be taken seriously. On the Her Universe message boards, female fans are encouraged to be themselves.”

“Since I first learned about Her Universe, I have been incredibly excited,” said Amy Ratcliffe, Her Universe message board administrator/moderator. “It is a huge step for female fans of Sci-Fi to have a whole company dedicated to making merchandise just for us! I am thrilled that I no longer have to raid the boys section of the local department store for t-shirts. Now, it’s going a step further. Her Universe is launching message boards this Friday! Register and join in the discussion. We can all contribute to building a fantastic community for fans (boys are allowed too) — plus, it will be fun. I hope to see you there!”

You can learn more about Her Universe, purchase products at the online store and join the discussion on the Her Universe message boards, by going to heruniverse.com. You can follow Eckstein on Twitter (at http://twitter.com/HerUniverse) and visit the Her Universe Facebook page (at http://www.facebook.com/HerUniverse).