Category: Announcements

Weta News: September 2009

from Weta:

Hey Weta fans,
There are more and more trailers coming out for the movies we have worked on over the last few years. Weta is very proud of our work on District 9, Neill Blomkamp’s first feature-length film, where Weta designed as well as created creatures, vehicles, weapons and props. This movie has been in theatres for a couple of weeks now. We have also been heavily involved in James Cameron’s Avatar — his first feature film since Titanic. This movie premieres in December world wide. Enjoy!

T-shirt clearance — all shirts under US$20! Save 20%!
As spring officially commences (although still very tentatively) here in the southern hemisphere, we thought we’d celebrate with a special offer. All adult T-shirts are now US$19.95 and kids’ shirts US$17.50. Offer ends 20 September. We have new colours in some styles and for the big-boned among us, a couple of styles now also come in 3XL. Check out the range!

In the News:
It’s been a busy and tumultuous time here at the Workshop. We’re getting used to being back in Middle-earth on many levels, not least in terms of our new range of collectibles. The first sword in our Master Swordsmith’s Collection — Andúril — has sold out. The Miniature Shields have been very popular. We are also incredibly proud that John Howe’s sculptures from Middle-earth have received such wide-spread accolade. It is especially pleasing for us to be able to offer these in faux bronze, to make them more accessible to our loyal friends and collectors.

Other stories from the last month:
Mess with the Mouse at Your Peril!
The Weta Halo Warthog takes a trip to Australia
Postcards from Venus — here are the winners

Have you ever tuned in to the Weta Cast?
We’ve had a lot of good feedback for our “online radio show”, the Weta Cast. Daniel Falconer and Magnus Hjert interview Weta Workshop crew as well as visiting celebrities and give you the inside scoop on the work that goes on inside Weta, reports from the shows we go to as well as friendly banter between your two fanboy hosts. It’s easy to tune in — if you can hear sound on your PC, you can listen to the Weta Cast. Go check it out! Listen to the Weta Cast, Episode XII with District 9 lead designer Greg Broadmore.

Just in — Two GREAT Interviews with Greg Broadmore
Greg has been a busy man – check out these two great interviews:
Indy Mogul interview Greg Broadmore about District 9, Rayguns and catfood
The Arms Channel interview Greg at Comic-Con about Rayguns

The Second Dr Grordbort’s book is near!
In a few weeks we’ll be starting to take pre-orders for Greg Broadmore’s second book: Victory! Scientific Adventure Violence for Young Men and Literate Women. As politically correct as ever, Greg has this time written an Adventure Annual, designed to teach the younger generation all about conquering the Universe and those who inhabit it. It follows the style of Dr. Grordbort’s Contrapulatronic Dingus Directory that was released last year. We let a few of our friends have a preview — this is what one of them says:

“I utterly love this universe Greg has created. Join Lord Cockswain as he selflessly ventures out into our solar system in the name of science, and discovery. Watch in awe as he uses his fantastic guns to research all of the wondrous life he encounters! And while he’s at it, teach those filthy savages a thing or two. This satirical take on the colonial era and the astonishing and fully complete world that Greg has created leaves the reader engulfed in an overload of creatures, weapons, locations and characters that are truly fantastic. Drawing from both twenties and thirties fiction, while simultaneously mocking it, the end result is pure gold. Propaganda posters, ray guns and tanks, what more could you ask for?”
Neill Blomkamp, Director — District 9

Customers who buy the book directly from Weta’s website or at the Weta Cave, get an exclusive Art Card, signed by Greg Broadmore. Check out a preview of some of the pages in the book.

Have you checked out Weta’s NEW FAN FORUMS?
Charles Song and our friends at The Shadow & Flame have kindly agreed to host the official Weta forums. These only opened last week but have instantly become a hit. There are two — one for Weta stuff in general and one especially dedicated to Dr. Grordbort’s Infallible Aether Oscillators — The Infallible Forum! Go check it out! These are very friendly online forums and we highly recommend you go have a banter with other Weta fans.

Weta Dollars Reminder:
Don’t forget — if you hold Weta Dollars that were earned on our OLD website, these expire 31 December 2009, so make sure you spend them before then!

This is how you find us online!
http://fans.wetaNZ.com/Magnus/ | Twitter: @wetaworkshop | Facebook: Weta Workshop

Milky Way and the Galaxy Girls: Milky Way Chibis Orbit Etsy!

from Milky Way and the Galaxy Girls:

Eight absolutely ONE OF A KIND CHIBI MILKY WAY DOLLS will be made available at 12 noon on Saturday, September 5th on our Etsy Shop.

Each chibi Milky Way is entirely HAND-MADE by MWGG creator, Lauren Faust, and is less than 3” tall — so tiny, all stitches had to be sewn by hand! All eight feature a unique facial expression, a stitched signature and date, and will come with its own teeny weeny certificate of authenticity. Plus, you get to decide if you want your little Milky Way to be a magnet, a pin, or have a simple loop for hanging wherever you want her.

Make sure you arrive at the shop promptly to secure your favorite!

“Weird Al” Yankovic: The Essential Me

from “Weird Al” Yankovic:

First of all, big thanks to everybody that bought (or still intends to buy) Internet Leaks — I’ve had a terrific time reading everybody’s reactions to the new songs and videos.

Next up… Sony Legacy will be releasing The Essential “Weird Al” Yankovic on October 27. This will be a jam-packed 2-CD collection featuring the best of my first 12 studio albums.

Long-time fans know that I’m extremely leery about releasing any kind of hits compilations, but this one is exciting to me for a number of reasons. First of all, my record label hasn’t released a new hits package since 1994, so, well, it’s about time. Also, frankly, it’s a pretty great deal. The good folks at Sony Legacy managed to remove the 12-songs-per-disc ceiling that I usually have, and they’ve allowed me to cram each disc to near capacity. And they’re telling me the MSRP is $15.98 — which I think is a darn good value for over two and a half hours of music! Of course it will be available at all the usual retailers like Amazon, and naturally we’ll have it for sale at weirdal.com too.

As per usual, the track listing was left entirely up to me, and it was an extremely difficult process. I wanted to include all the hits, all the fan favorites, and all the historically important songs — but in making my list, I found that I painfully had to omit tunes in all three of those categories. I wanted this collection to feel like a true “best of” instead of just another generic Greatest Hits package.

Hardcore fans will probably be a little disappointed, because this collection is not specifically geared toward them. There are no basement tapes, hidden tracks or hard-to-find rarities (unless you count the alternate mixes of “UHF” and “The Night Santa Went Crazy”). If you already have most or all of my albums, this collection will probably hold little interest for you, unless you’re a completist who just compulsively buys anything with my name on it (bless you, whoever you are). I should also point out that this collection doesn’t include any tracks from Internet Leaks — it didn’t seem right to include songs on a hits compilation before they had a chance to be on an actual studio album.

The Essential collection is more geared toward the cost-conscious consumer who wants a great “instant Al collection” without having to purchase an armload of my back catalogue. And of course, The Essential “Weird Al” Yankovic makes a fantastic holiday gift for any and all of your sadly Al-deprived friends and family members!

As I mentioned, it was very tough narrowing down the tracks. At one point I asked my Twitter followers to help me decide between “Polkas On 45” and “Polka Your Eyes Out.” The tally was very close… I believe that “Eyes Out” actually got a few more votes, but the fans of “45” in general seemed more passionate about their choice, so I went with that. Hey, it’s not a democracy, it’s art.

I apologize if I’ve left off any of your favorite songs. I know that I had to leave off some of mine. But in the end, I felt like the list below would please the most people… including me.

Thanks,
Al

THE ESSENTIAL “WEIRD AL” YANKOVIC
(Release Date: October 27, 2009)

DISC 1

1. Another One Rides The Bus
2. Polkas On 45
3. Eat It
4. I Lost On Jeopardy
5. Yoda
6. One More Minute
7. Like A Surgeon
8. Dare To Be Stupid
9. Dog Eat Dog
10. Lasagna
11. Melanie
12. Fat
13. UHF (single version)
14. The Biggest Ball Of Twine In Minnesota
15. Trigger Happy
16. Smells Like Nirvana
17. You Don’t Love Me Anymore
18. Bedrock Anthem
19. Frank’s 2000″ TV
20. Jurassic Park

DISC 2

1. Since You’ve Been Gone
2. Amish Paradise
3. Gump
4. Everything You Know Is Wrong
5. The Night Santa Went Crazy (extra gory version)
6. Your Horoscope For Today
7. It’s All About The Pentiums
8. The Saga Begins
9. Albuquerque
10. eBay
11. Bob
12. Hardware Store
13. I’ll Sue Ya
14. Canadian Idiot
15. Pancreas
16. Don’t Download This Song
17. White & Nerdy
18. Trapped In The Drive-Thru

The Slide Rules at ThinkGeek

from ThinkGeek:

Prawn Sympathizers,

Can somebody please enlighten us as to how it got to be September already? One minute we’re making April Fools jokes like Squeez Bacon and the Tauntaun Sleeping bag (which is no longer a joke, yay!) and the next it’s back to school time. Seriously, we need a timeturner or an anomaly in the space-time continuum up in here folks, because we’re not getting any younger and we have lots of of geektastic stuff to do before the year is up. And in case you’ve been wondering what we’ve been doing to lead us to this point, we’ve been trying to figure out how folks back in the 60’s used these things to get us to the moon!

ThinkGeek Slide Rule

Appreciate the technology you have today by experiencing the calculators of yesteryear. They may be analog computers, but with a little practice, you can ramp up your geek cred and count yourself amongst the great scientists, astronauts and smarty-pants of the analog era.

Find more What’s New items at ThinkGeek!

VIZ Media Announces the Release of Bleach the Movie 2: The DiamondDust Rebellion on DVD

from VIZ Media:

VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced the upcoming DVD release of Bleach the Movie 2: The DiamondDust Rebellion on September 8th; it will carry an MSRP of $29.92 US / $49.99 CAN, and is rated “T” for Teens.

Adapted from the wildly popular animated series and best-selling Bleach manga series by acclaimed Japanese creator Tite Kubo (both distributed and published in North America by VIZ Media), the animated feature film Bleach the Movie 2: The DiamondDust Rebellion continues the action-packed adventures of Ichigo Kurosaki. After the treasured Ouin is stolen, Toshiro Hitsugaya disappears and becomes suspected of treason. When the Soul Society calls for his capture and execution, Substitute Soul Reaper Ichigo Kurosaki vows to prove Hitsugaya’s innocence. Will the secret of the Ouin and Captain Hitsugaya’s motives be revealed before his honor, his life, and the Soul Society are destroyed?

“Bleach the Movie 2: The DiamondDust Rebellion is the next exciting feature film in the ongoing Bleach saga and the new DVD release also includes lots of great extras such as the original Japanese production extras and trailers, a production art gallery, a Japanese movie booklet and both English and Japanese audio,” says Brian Ige, VIZ Media Director of Sales, Home Entertainment. “We know many fans have eagerly awaited this release and the action and drama reach new heights as Soul Reaper Ichigo Kurosaki risks his life to uncover the truth behind the mysterious disappearance of Toshiro Hitsugaya. For fans of the popular Bleach manga and anime series, this is definitely an adventure not to be missed.”

Bleach is a tremendously successful multimedia property internationally. The manga series has been licensed to more than a dozen countries, and has sold over 52 million copies in Japan alone. In North America the manga has been a sales hit and the popular animated series is viewed weekly by millions in the United States and Canada. This success has further spawned an array of related video games, apparel, action figures and other merchandise. For more information on Bleach and Bleach the Movie 2: The DiamondDust Rebellion, please visit the official Bleach website at bleach.viz.com or viz.com. Bleach episodes can also be viewed on the Sony PlayStation VIZ Media channel, Amazon Unbox, XBOX Live, iTunes, and online at hulu.com.

Matthew J. Elliott riffs the original Planet of the Apes

from RiffTrax:

If the movies have taught us nothing else — and plainly, they haven’t — then they’ve at least shown us that astronauts and evil supercomputers are similarly cursed with a stunning lack of imagination. Just as Skynet can’t seem to come up with a better plan than to repeatedly send a Terminator back in time to eliminate John Connor before he gets fat, starts wearing a checkered shirt and marries Roseanne, so, with all the planets in an infinite Universe to choose from, NASA’s best and brightest only seem capable of crash-landing on the Planet of the Apes (which turns out to be Earth all along, by the way). Chuck Heston began this trend in 1968, demonstrating his right to bear arms as effectively as his right to bare chest.

So, if you’ve ever felt the need to rail against unnamed maniacs who blow “it” up, this is your big chance to do it alongside the guy who played Jason Colby. Also Moses.

Get it here.

The Guild: Season 3 Premieres on the Web

from The Guild:

We’re excited to announce that “Expansion Time” is now streaming on MSN!

Episode 2 will be up across all platforms; Xbox, MSN and Zune, starting next week for the 12 week season run.

Please go to our community site, Facebook page or Tweet @theguild if you have feedback, we love to hear from you! Zune downloads will be available today as well, and Xbox silver members can download in HD as well. Enjoy!

Edit [Thanks Dani!]:
Here is our community Season 3 Episode 1 discussion post, Zune link and Xbox link. Apologies if these links do not work in your regions.

New Thriller Web Series LUMINA Debuts September 8

LUMINA Front Page

from Jennifer Thym:

Creating worlds is a passion, and one that writer and director Jennifer Thym enjoys. When she entered the film world in July 2008, the investment banker turned filmmaker decided to take a novel approach to reaching her audience. “With LUMINA we wanted to go beyond the conventional format of short film,” says Jennifer Thym, “and create an online fantasy series with wonderful potential for interactivity with its viewers.” As theatrical and DVD sales fall around the world, viewers are increasingly turning to the web for entertainment. “The online audience is already there. To me, it’s about connecting to them with an engaging and beautifully told story.”

“LUMINA will open your minds cinematically, and the story will open your hearts to the impossible,” says producer Sommer Nguyen.

LUMINA stars actress and model JuJu Chan, who also stars in the new RTHK reality show on poverty and is the winner of Miss United Nation International Ambassador 2009, Miss United Nation China, Miss Congeniality and Miss TVB People’s Choice for Miss Chinatown USA Pageant 2009. Michael Chan, star of the viral hit Wall Street Fighter IV, and Vince Matthew Chung, winner of The Amazing Race Asia 3, co-star.

The series features music from around the world, including songs from groundbreaking music collective The Enigmatic Army, American college circuit favorite Tim Be Told, and China Global Battle of the Bands winner Killer Soap. “Good music is integral to drawing viewers into the story, and I’m honored to have collaborated with such talented musicians,” says Jennifer Thym.

LUMINA the Web Series premieres with a double webisode release on Tuesday, September 8, 2009. The accompanying press conference will include a screening of the first two webisodes and an exclusive Q&A session with the cast and director.

WHEN: 5:00 pm, Tuesday, September 8, 2009
WHERE: Scirocco, 1/F, 10-12 Staunton’s Street, SoHo, Central Hong Kong

For all inquiries, please contact:

Jennifer Thym, Director
RockGinger Limited
Mobile: +852 9546 9489
e-mail: jen@rockginger.com

OR

Sommer Nguyen, Producer
Sommertime Productions
Mobile: +1 310 629 8670
e-mail: sommer@sommertimeproductions.com

FORMAT:
Original English language web series filmed on the RED ONE, 2:1 aspect ratio, shot at 4K resolution and mastered at 2K+.

DURATION:
63 minutes total running time.

SCHEDULE:
The first season consists of nine webisodes, four to eight minutes each, and will be available free to view starting Tuesday, September 8, 2009, on the website luminaseries.com. A new webisode will be released every Tuesday.

GENRE:
Fantasy thriller/suspense.

SYNOPSIS:
Lumina Wong (JuJu Chan) is beautiful and works far too much; although she lives in a city of millions, she still feels lonely and isolated. Late one night, Lumina has a chance encounter with Ryder Lee (Michael Chan), a handsome young man from another world that she can only see in mirrors and darkened window reflections. She revels in the fantasy relationship until mirrorspy Eben Sanchez (Jacob Ziacan) comes into her life, warning her of the treacheries of the people of the Dark Realm. Soon Lumina must choose between the safety of the world she knows and the deadly allure of the unknown.

CAST:
LUMINA WONG — JuJu Chan
RYDER LEE — Michael Chan
TEDDY WAITS — Vince Matthew Chung
EBEN SANCHEZ — Jacob Ziacan
LAETITIA RICOU — Emilie Guillot
ELIZA CHAN — Shell Z. Zhu
JAMES WESTON — Lawrence Jacob Milman
SERENA FONG — Kate Sullivan
DITA SAUNDERS — Aisling Kinsella
DAMIEN WU — Simon Yin
LADY SIUHUA HAN — Lorea Sola
LORD AMAURY DE LING — Spencer Douglass
YURI THE THIEF MASTER — Jaime Cham
TRAM MIRRORSPY — Lucas Griego
SECURITY GUARD — Jayson Li

Talk to the Dead with the latest Emily the Strange Toy

from Emily the Strange:

Talk to the Dead with the Emily The Strange Talking Board — a classic magical, mystical parlor game! Comes with limited edition special comic book — The Odd.I.See — 48 full color pages of classic stories plus one all new exclusive tale. Also includes planchette (but no candles).

Raggedy Emily now in stock!

Shop all Emily Toys.

Find Emily on: Facebook | MySpace | YouTube

Shout! Factory: This ‘N That

from Shout! Factory:

We’re just back from both the San Diego Comic-Con and G.I. Joe-centric JoeCon. We loved getting out there to meet those of you who attended, especially hearing about which Shout! CDs and DVDs you have or wish we’d release. It was great fun for us, and we just want to thank you for stopping by.

We’re running a “Back to School Sale” on Shoutfactory.com. Stock up on all your educational needs, like Freaks and Geeks, Undeclared, The Paper Chase and The Electric Company. Learning has never been this fun!

Official Facebook Fan Pages. Join us, won’t you?
It’s Garry Shandling’s Show
thirtysomething

If you don’t want to miss out on the things that happen at Shout! between newsletters, find us on Facebook and Twitter. We update both throughout the day… every day! Come on, we know you want more…