Author: ÜberSciFiGeek

New People and Scrap to Open a New Home Base for The Real Escape Game in San Francisco

Innovative Interactive Multiplayer Puzzle Solving Game Originally Invented In Japan Returns To The Bay Area On A Semi-Permanent Basis

NEW PEOPLE, a dynamic entertainment destination bringing the latest examples of Japanese popular culture to North American shores, has teamed up with creative company, SCRAP, to launch a new home for the popular “Real Escape Game” at the notable Japanese Pop Culture venue through 2013.

“The Real Escape Room: SF Vol. 1 – Escape from the Mysterious Room” opens on Friday, December 14th and will run periodically thru 2013. Multiple game sessions will take place most weekends on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays inside NEW PEOPLE’s 3rd floor SUPERFROG Gallery space. NEW PEOPLE is located in San Francisco’s Japantown district at 1746 Post St. (Cross St. is Webster Ave.). More information at: www.newpeopleworld.com.

“The Real Escape Room” will be the newly installed, semi-permanent home for the latest version of“The Real Escape Game,” which is an inventive puzzle solving interactive game event, originally created in Japan, which requires players to cooperate and use their intuition and detective skills to solve multiple mysteries within a limited time.

In “The Real Escape Room: SF Vol. 1 – Escape from the Mysterious Room,” players find themselves locked inside a seemingly ordinary room. It has a desk, chairs, a carpet – everything seems normal. But on closer inspection players will find a series of mysterious codes and puzzles that must be solved in order to find a hidden key to escape. The maximum capacity of participants for each game will be limited to 11 people. Game duration is around 1.5 hours (including introductions and a solution walkthrough). More than 10,000 people have played this game in Japan, China, and Taiwan.

The Real Escape Room: SF Vol. 1 – Escape from the Mysterious Room Game Times:

Fridays: 6:30pm, 8:30pm

Saturdays: 11am, 1pm, 3pm, 5pm, 7pm

Sundays: 11am, 1pm, 3pm, 5pm

Tickets are $28.00 in advance; $33.00 at the door. Tickets and additional information are available at:http://realescapegame.com/rersf1.

“The Real Escape Game thrilled hundreds of players during several sessions held previously in San Francisco, most recently with the Real Escape Game x Evangelion: Escape from an Angel, which was inspired by the hit Evangelion anime series and staged during the 2012 J-Pop Summit Festival last summer,” says Seiji Horibuchi, the President/CEO of NEW PEOPLE, Inc. “We are very excited to again team up withSCRAP to present a brand new installment that will run weekly at the NEW PEOPLE venue. Join other plays and test your powers of deduction and reasoning with this intriguing and fun game!”

About SCRAP Co. & SCRAP Entertainment Inc.

SCRAP Co. (www.scrapmagazine.com), based in Kyoto, Japan, produces the free magazine, “SCRAP” and the Real Escape Game (REG), a new style of live entertainment. Over 200,000 participants have played this game in Japan, China, Taiwan, Singapore and the United States. SCRAP Entertainment Inc (RealEscapeGame.com), based in San Francisco, California, is a U.S division of SCRAP Co., and produces REG in the United States.

About NEW PEOPLE, Inc.
Based in San Francisco, California, NEW PEOPLE, Inc. (www.newpeopleworld.com) offers the latest films, art, fashion and retail brands from Japan through its unique entertainment destination as well as through licensing and distribution of selective Japanese films. NEW PEOPLE Entertainment (www.newpeopleent.com), a film division of NEW PEOPLE, Inc. strives to offer the most entertaining motion pictures straight from the “Kingdom of Pop” for audiences of all ages, especially the manga and anime generation, in North America. Some titles include DEATH NOTE, GANTZ, KAMIKAZE GIRLS, and THE TASTE OF TEA.

Doctor Who’s David Tennant To Guest Star on Star Wars: The Clone Wars

David Tennant, best known as the tenth doctor to play The Doctor on the hit seriesDoctor Who, will make his Star Wars: The Clone Wars debut this week in “A Test of Strength,” airing Saturday, November 10th at 9:30am ET/PT on Cartoon Network.

Tennant will voice the character Huyang, a droid who greatly impacts the journey of a group of young Jedi, who were just setting out to build their first lightsabers in last week’s episode.  The famed actor will continue to appear in the series for the following two episodes, “Bound for Rescue” and “A Necessary Strength.”

“When I heard the Doctor himself, David Tennant, was a fan of Star Wars I knew I had to find a way to get in contact with him to see if he would perform on Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” said Dave Filoni, Supervising Director, Star Wars: The Clone Wars. “The result was ‘Huyang,’ an ancient droid in the service of the Jedi Order, whose sole task in life has been overseeing the construction of lightsabers. I thought David was perfect for the part and he did not disappoint. He delivered a performance which impressed even the Master himself, George Lucas.”

Trivia:

  • This episode marks the first appearance of “Huyang,” an ancient droid in the service of the Jedi Order, whose sole task in life has been overseeing the construction of lightsabers. The character is voiced by David Tennant (Doctor Who, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire).
  • Petro’s lightsaber training maneuver – the Whirlwind of Destiny – was actually created a young fan as part of the Join the Jedi contest sponsored by Hasbro. The winning entry was animated into the show.
  • The training remotes seen aboard the Crucible are the same design as the one seen aboard the Millennium Falcon in Episode IV, and in Jedi Temple youngling training verandah in Episode II.

 

The Barbary-an Invasions: Nerdist at Outside Lands

from Nerdist:

Saturday the 11th is Nerdist Day at San Francsisco’s festival of music, food, art and comedy.

For four years, the Outside Lands festival has brought Golden Gate Park the best in bands, food, art and more, but this year, Aug. 10-12, they top themselves with an entire day of Nerdist. In the Barbary, a tent with mirrored walls and a stained-glass ceiling, three days of comedy and variety include a Saturday presented by us.

Nerdist Day, August 11th (which we’d call “Sat-Nerd-Day” if BBC America hadn’t beaten us to it.) kicks off at noon with a session of soft rock and sweet ‘staches from Mustache Harbor.  Then things really get into gear at 1 p.m. with a Nerdist stand-up cluster hosted by Jonah Ray, featuring Pete Holmes, David Koechner, Michelle Buteau, Jesse Elias and Caitlin Gill. If your weekend isn’t sufficiently magical after that, stick around at 2:10 p.m. for Justin Willman and his masterful Magic Meltdown.The Dork Forest‘s Jackie Kashian hosts a second stand-up cluster at 5 p.m. with Reggie Watts, Ron Funches, Michelle Buteau, Cory Loykasek and Mike Drucker, and then between 5 and 8 p.m. there’ll be back-to-back Nerdist variety shows featuring Chris Hardwick, Neil Patrick Harris, David Koechner, Justin Willman, Marcus Monroe, Jonah Ray, Pete Holmes, Ron Funches and Jackie Kashian. Holmes will also be hosting a live edition of You Made It Weird Sunday at noon with stars from Adult Swim.

So come and step “Outside” next weekend. In addition to our all-star line-up, some of the finest in food, beer and wine will be available, plus there’s an art show and of course some heavy-hitting bands like Metallica. But to quote one of their more famous tunes, when you’re hanging with the Nerdist gang at the Barbary, “Nothing Else Matters.”

Retrofit Films Hires Ryan Copple as VP of Digital Development

Halo and Riese Webseries producer appointed by Retrofit to lead original content team.

Retrofit Films, an award-winning digital production company, announces that Ryan Copple has joined the executive management team as VP of Digital Development. Copple brings to the company an expertise in digital series development, strategy and production with partnerships at BBC Worldwide, Syfy, E One, Muse Entertainment and Content Media, among others.

“Ryan’s breadth of experience in interactive content development and monetization launches Retrofit Films into our next stage of growth,” says Retrofit’s co-founder Chris Hanada. “We’re very excited to expand our own stories by building on our experience creating digital, cross platform, branded entertainment for existing franchises with the studios and networks.”

Ryan’s background includes co-creating and executive-producing the critically acclaimed sci-fi webseries “Riese: Kingdom Falling” whose rights were picked up and licensed worldwide by the Syfy Network’s digital arm before the project crossed media boundaries with a spin-off iPhone game and prequel novel published by Simon & Schuster.

Most recently Ryan completed co-producing Microsoft’s highly-anticipated webseries “Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn” for Machinima before relocating from Vancouver to Los Angeles. “Innovative content coupled with equally innovative strategy is the future of traditional and new media companies,” say Copple. “A company with Retrofit’s pedigree is primed to bridge the gap between traditional and new media, and I’m thrilled to be a part of that evolution.”

“Ryan is here to really light the fire under our own intellectual properties,” says Retrofit co-founder Tanner Kling. “We’ve produced two original series in the past year, but bringing him into the fold signals a full-throttle dive into our development slate of original projects and our company’s continuing emphasis on creating strong strategic partnerships in the digital landscape.”

 

About Retrofit Films
Retrofit Films is an award-winning digital production company founded in 2004 by Chris Hanada and Tanner Kling. The company has a history of producing multi-platform stories and experiences for global brands, television networks and Hollywood studios with franchises such as FRINGE, HOUSE MD, HEROES, and THE VAMPIRE DIARIES.

For more information, please visit us at http://www.retrofitfilms.com

The Guild: Five Years and Counting

From WatchTheGuild:

 

Five years ago today – on July 27, 2007 – the very first episode of The Guild was uploaded to YouTube.  It’s hard to believe how far the show has come, and as always, on behalf of the show we want to thank the fans for the incredible support which has made the show the success it is today.  Today the show is widely available on many platforms for free (YouTube, Xbox, MSN/Bing, Hulu, Blip, Zune) and for purchase/with subscription (Netflix, iTunes, Amazon DVD or VOD).

All next week we’ll be celebrating the past five years – and looking ahead to more with the recently announced sixth season, which will come to Geek and Sundry (subscribe now) this fall .  Connect with us via social media as we have some some cool stuff planned including giveaways (LOOT!).  Check out the post on Geek and Sundry for details on the giveaways, which start at 1pm today!

Here’s THE GUILD’S Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and Tumblr, and here’s GEEK AND SUNDRY’S Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and Tumblr.  And please join us for more discussion on Geek and Sundry’s new discussion forums.

We asked the producers and cast to give us their thoughts on those early episodes, and the growth of the show over the last five years.

What do you remember about the first episode?

FELICIA DAY: I remember emailing 12 hours a day to blogs I read about gaming and geek stuff, introducing myself as an “actress from Buffy” and please spread word about my show.  Most of them ignored me, but a few picked it up. Some of the first fans we had were Veronica Belmont and Alice Taylor withWonderland blog. Without their spreading word of the show we wouldn’t have gotten nearly as much traction as fast with the online community.   But I remember refreshing the video and seeing people actually comment about our work, and realizing that THAT was what I wanted to do with me life, make things for people to react to immediately.  It was a whole new life when we uploaded that episode.

VINCENT CASO: When that first episode went up, I didn’t think a whole lot of it. I mean, it was cool, and a lot of fun to see myself in this production, but who had any idea it would turn into this?

AMY OKUDA: The Guild was my first acting job, and my first day of shooting was me and the webcam so I was talking and acting to a blank computer screen and I remember thinking, “wow this is a lot harder and less fun than I thought” but the day we all shot together for the first time at Cheesybeards changed everything for me. It was the “aahhh, this is what acting is, it IS fun” moment for me.

ROBIN THORSEN:  I have to be honest and say that when I auditioned for The Guild, I really had never heard of World of Warcraft…during my audition I actually said something like “AKFing,” like it was a real word instead of A-F-K-ing.  I remember  Felicia said  after I finished, “That was good!  Let’s try it again and it’s A-F-King” I was like oooooooh! Now, I think that after five seasons I have become a little more seasoned with all the game lingo.

 

There’s lots more where that came from so go check out The Guild’s website to read the rest of the interview and check out some great photos.

RIP Mary Tamm, “Doctor Who”‘s Romana I

From Kyle Anderson at The Nerdist:

I’m very sad to have to again report on the passing of a beloved Doctor Who actor. Mary Tamm, who brilliantly played the first incarnation of Romana to Tom Baker’s Doctor, has passed away from cancer at the age of 62.

Though Tamm appeared for just one season from 1978-1979, the season-long “Key to Time” story arc, the mark she left on the series was indelible. Romana was the Doctor’s very first Time Lady companion since his granddaughter in the very beginning. Brought in to assist the Doctor in retrieving the Key to Time by the mysterious White Guardian, Romana, short for “Romanadvoratrelundar,” was a glamorous and intelligent young (139) Time Lady fresh out of the Academy on Gallifrey. Initially, she was dismissive of the Doctor’s eccentric ways and considered him her intellectual inferior; however, as the season progressed, they grew to compliment each other and become a team, with Romana’s book smarts pairing nicely with the Doctor’s experience and cunning. Romana is one of my favorite companions, and her interplay and quip-exchanging with Tom Baker makes even some of the “Key to Time”‘s sillier stories delightful to watch.

Read the full article here at The Nerdist.

Sci-Fi Patriarch Ray Bradbury Dies

Official statement from raybradbury.com

Ray Bradbury, recipient of the 2000 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, the 2004 National Medal of Arts, and the 2007 Pulitzer Prize Special Citation, died on June 5, 2012, at the age of 91 after a long illness. He lived in Los Angeles.

In a career spanning more than seventy years, Ray Bradbury has inspired generations of readers to dream, think, and create. A prolific author of hundreds of short stories and close to fifty books, as well as numerous poems, essays, operas, plays, teleplays, and screenplays, Bradbury was one of the most celebrated writers of our time. His groundbreaking works include Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Man, Dandelion Wine, and Something Wicked This Way Comes. He wrote the screen play for John Huston’s classic film adaptation of Moby Dick, and was nominated for an Academy Award. He adapted sixty-five of his stories for television’s The Ray Bradbury Theater, and won an Emmy for his teleplay of The Halloween Tree. In 2005, Bradbury published a book of essays titled Bradbury Speaks, in which he wrote: In my later years I have looked in the mirror each day and found a happy person staring back. Occasionally I wonder why I can be so happy. The answer is that every day of my life I’ve worked only for myself and for the joy that comes from writing and creating. The image in my mirror is not optimistic, but the result of optimal behavior.

He is survived by his four daughters, Susan Nixon, Ramona Ostergren, Bettina Karapetian, and Alexandra Bradbury, and eight grandchildren. His wife, Marguerite, predeceased him in 2003, after fifty-seven years of marriage.

Throughout his life, Bradbury liked to recount the story of meeting a carnival magician, Mr. Electrico, in 1932. At the end of his performance Electrico reached out to the twelve-year-old Bradbury, touched the boy with his sword, and commanded, Live forever! Bradbury later said, I decided that was the greatest idea I had ever heard. I started writing every day. I never stopped.

BOOM! Titles Hitting Stores This Week

From BOOM! Studios:

Hello BOOM!ers,

This week there’s plenty to be excited about! In stores we have ADVENTURE TIME #4, PLANET OF THE APES #14, and in VALEN THE OUTCAST #6, Valen and his comhorts face off against the Sulk in a savage battle you don’t want to miss.

 

Planet of the Apes #14 (Cover A)

$3.99

Writer(s): Daryl Gregory

Artist(s): Carlos Magno

As Sully struggles to sustain the fragile alliance between man and ape, Alaya must root out the traitor in the midst of her closest confidantes…Writer Daryl Gregory and artist Carlos Magno continue their critically acclaimed run that Comics Alliance calls “…a wonderful world, not just worthy of the PLANET OF THE APES name, but better than it.”

 

 

Valen The Outcast #06 (Cover B)

$3.99

Writer(s): Michael Alan Nelson

Artist(s): Matteo Scalera

After surviving a harrowing journey across the treacherous Silent Sea, Valen Brand and his companions have finally reached Wraithendal, the kingdom of Korrus Null. But before Valen can exact revenge, he must first face off against the necromancer’s favorite new pet…his undead bride, Darleanna Brand! Don’t miss the next chapter of the hit new fantasy series from fan-favorite writer Michael Alan Nelson (28 DAYS LATER, ROBERT E. HOWARD’S HAWKS OF OUTREMER) and rising star DEADPOOL artist Matteo Scalera!

 

 

Adventure Time #04 (Cover A)

$3.99

Writer(s): Ryan North

Artist(s): Braden Lamb, Shelli Paroline

OH MY GLOB! THE LATEST SUPER-COOL ISSUE OF THE HIT SERIES! Finn, Jake, Marceline, Princess Bubblegum and even Lumpy Space Princess have banded together to stop that jerk the Lich from throwing all of Ooo into the sun! It’s gonna take a lot more than a sweet punch to knock this guy out…luckily, Finn and Jake are on it! The Cartoon Network cartoon’s brand-new comic book series is a HUGE HIT! Don’t miss this arc-ending issue!