Category Archives: Image cache

‘Breaking Bad’ teaser poster & video hype the series’ final run

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Starting Sunday, August 11 at 9PM on AMC Walter White’s journey to the dark side will continue with its final eight episodes in the back half of season five. Here we have teaser poster sporting the classic Breaking Bad green-hue with the tagline “All bad things must come to an end.” After the break watch two back-to-back spots featuring new, fleeting clips pulled from the new batch of episodes; a drugged? Jesse and definitely vengeful Hank star. Continue reading ‘Breaking Bad’ teaser poster & video hype the series’ final run →

Your first look at George R.R. Martin’s “real” Iron Throne

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If you read the books and watch the show you might have two very different images in your head of how you perceive the Iron Throne. In case you didn’t know, the Iron Throne is the enormous pedestal the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros sits upon when he reigns over the land and its people inside the world of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire novels and the HBO series Game of Thrones. Martin addressed this matter this week in an explanatory blog post I will extrapolate here. In essence, Martin says it would not be possible to replicate his imagination’s version of the Throne. In his words:

The HBO throne has become iconic. And well it might. It’s a terrific design, and it has served the show very well. There are replicas and paperweights of it in three different sizes. Everyone knows it. I love it. I have all those replicas right here, sitting on my shelves. And yet, and yet… it’s still not right. It’s not the Iron Throne I see when I’m working on THE WINDS OF WINTER. It’s not the Iron Throne I want my readers to see. The way the throne is described in the books… HUGE, hulking, black and twisted, with the steep iron stairs in front, the high seat from which the king looks DOWN on everyone in the court… my throne is a hunched beast looming over the throne room, ugly and assymetric… The HBO throne is none of those things. It’s big, yes, but not nearly as big as the one described in the novels. And for good reason. We have a huge throne room set in Belfast, but not nearly huge enough to hold the Iron Throne as I painted it. For that we’d need something much bigger, more like the interior of St. Paul’s Cathedral or Westminster Abbey, and no set has that much room.

With the Iron Throne the process has been particularly frustrating. A dozen different artists have done versions of the Iron Throne over the years. Some have been very striking, some less so, but none of them have ever been quite RIGHT. Their versions never quite matched what I saw in my mind’s eye.

Until now. Artist Marc Simonetti “has come closer here to capturing the Iron Throne as I picture it than any other artist to tackle it,” admits Martin. “This Iron Throne is massive. Ugly. Assymetric. It’s a throne made by blacksmiths hammering together half-melted, broken, twisted swords, wrenched from the hands of dead men or yielded up by defeated foes… a symbol of conquest… it has the steps I describe, and the height. From on top, the king dominates the throne room. And there are thousands of swords in it, not just a few. This Iron Throne is scary. And not at all a comfortable seat, just as Aegon intended.”

Above, behold the real Iron Throne, or as close as we may ever see one. A more polished version of this work of art will be featured in Martin’s series companion book The World of Ice and Fire coming next year.

 

Cap’s shield stars in ‘Captain America 2’ teaser poster

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Here’s our first teaser poster for the upcoming Captain America sequel subtitled The Winter Soldier. At the end of the first one, Cap aka Steve Rodgers is transplanted into present day America and his vibranium shield must be acting flakey ever since the big battle of New York as seen in The Avengers.

Cap’s adventures continue April 4, 2014.

Kanye West drops ‘Yeezus’ on Tuesday, exalts his achievements in NYT interview

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This Tuesday Kanye West releases his sixth studio album Yeezus. Pictured above is what the physical album will look like in stores. Its minimalist design features no album album artwork, only a transparent jewel case with some red tape. There is no link from iTunes or Amazon to preorder the album. It drops June 18 and that’s the day you can snag it. ‘Ye hasn’t done much in terms of promoting the album in the traditional sense. He performed on SNL and after that he projected images and sound on buildings around the world for fans to flock to and discover his new sound.

The most hype is emitting from a recent interview he conducted with The New York Times. In it ‘Ye opens up about his past mistakes, his problem with the Grammys, the inspiration behind previous albums 808s & Heartbreak and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, parenthood (his girlfriend Kim Kardashian gave birth to their daughter days after the interview posted), fashion, and more. Expectedly, Kanye stroked his ego more than once throughout the back-and-forth describing himself as “the Michael Jordan of music” and saying about his career “I knew I was going to make it this far; I knew that this was going to happen.” He also calls himself the “Steve [Jobs] of Internet, downtown, fashion, culture.” And he concluded the interview with this:

I think that’s a responsibility that I have, to push possibilities, to show people: “This is the level that things could be at.” So when you get something that has the name Kanye West on it, it’s supposed to be pushing the furthest possibilities. I will be the leader of a company that ends up being worth billions of dollars, because I got the answers. I understand culture. I am the nucleus.

It’s a must-read for fans of the undoubtedly talented artist who has certainly evolved in many ways since his 2004 debut The College Dropout. Read the interview in full here.

Now what can you expect from Yeezus? The Times‘ Jon Caramanica describes it as “a turn away from [Kanye’s] reliable maximalism to something more urgent and visceral.” He describes the songs as “becoming more skeletal and ferocious.” He goes on to say, “The music of Yeezus — spare, direct and throbbing — is, effectively, a palate cleanser after years of overexertion, backing up lyrics that are among the most serrated and provocative of his career.”

And even Mr. West, who thinks of himself as a “black new wave artist,” shared some of his influences: “It’s like trap and drill and house. I knew that I wanted to have a deep Chicago influence on this album, and I would listen to like, old Chicago house. I think that even “Black Skinhead” could border on house, “On Sight” sounds like acid house, and then “I Am a God” obviously sounds, like, super house.”

After the break, a brief clip of Kanye rapping new track “I Am A God” on headphones with an appearance by collaborator Rick Rubin. Under that, a short film inspired by the movie American Psycho starring Kourtney Kardashian’s boyfriend Scott Disick (who actually really does resemble the movie’s star Christian Bale) and Kim’s friend Jonathan Cheban in the role orignially made famous by Jared Leto.

Update (6/17): Yeezus is now available for digital download at kanyewest.com & iTunes, and you can purchase a physical copy at Amazon.

Update 2 (6/25): Yeezus debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 327,000 copies in its first week. For more stats surrounding Kanye’s latest release, head over to Billboard.com. Continue reading Kanye West drops ‘Yeezus’ on Tuesday, exalts his achievements in NYT interview →

ABC picks up ‘Once Upon A Time In Wonderland’

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Here’s the first production still from the Once Upon A Time spinoff now titled Once Upon A Time In Wonderland. English born actress Sophie Lowe stars as Alice, seen for the very first time in the image posted above. Here’s the latest synopsis provided by ABC:

In Victorian England, the young and beautiful Alice (Sophie Lowe) tells a tale of a strange new land that exists on the other side of a rabbit hole.  An invisible cat, a hookah smoking caterpillar and playing cards that talk are just some of the fantastic things she’s seen during this impossible adventure.  Surely this troubled girl must be insane and her doctors aim to cure her with a treatment that will make her forget everything.  Alice seems ready to put it all behind her, especially the painful memory of the genie she fell in love with and lost forever — the handsome and mysterious Cyrus (Peter Gadiot).  But deep down Alice knows this world is real and just in the nick of time, the sardonic Knave of Hearts (Michael Socha) and the irrepressible White Rabbit (John Lithgow) arrive to save her from a doomed fate. Together, the trio will take a tumble down the rabbit hole to this Wonderland where nothing is impossible.

This fresh adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s tale down the rabbit hole comes from Once co-creators Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz and will be executive produced by Steve Perlman and Zack Estrin. Wonderland is envisioned as a standalone, limited series that will air when the flagship series is on its winter hiatus. In a way, it will bridge the gap during the break. Next week ABC will be unveiling its entire slate of new series for next season and there the network will likely shed even more light on the exciting promise of a new realm to be explored.

First look: ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ & ‘Thor: The Dark World’

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Real quick: here’s the very first photo from the production of Marvel’s Captain America sequel subtitled The Winter Soldier. Chew on this for a while because Cap doesn’t return to the big screen until April 4, 2014.

After the break, catch the official poster for another Phase 2 Marvel movie Thor: The Dark World, out November 8. Watch the debut trailer for it right here. Continue reading First look: ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ & ‘Thor: The Dark World’ →

Kid Cudi’s ‘Indicud’ album cover and tracklist displayed [Update: iTunes preorder up, new single out, JKL performance]

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With less than a month left to go, the album cover and tracklist for Kid Cudi’s third solo record (fourth overall) has been revealed for all to see. The album art, like Cudder’s past few music videos, features a baroque-inspired frame. “The album art represents me. A ball of flames in a rose gold frame,” the rapper tweeted.

Indicud features a total of 18 tracks including singles “Just What I Am,” “King Wizard,” and “Immortal.” And for long-time fans of the once Lonely Stoner, a special track titled “Solo Dolo Part II” featuring rising rapper Kendrick Lamar will increase anticipation for the album’s release tenfold. Other featured artists include Cudi’s close friend King Chip (the artist formally known as Chip Tha Ripper is featured on two tracks), Father John Misty, Too $hort, Haim, RZA, A$AP Rocky, and Michael Bolton. Jump after the break to see the full tracklisting.

Currently Indicud is up for preorder at Amazon and at Kid Cudi’s official online store. His store sells digital and physical copies of the album, as well as the vinyl. On April 23 the hype becomes real.

Update (4/1): Today Indicud popped up on iTunes and is now available for preorder at that popular destination for music. Once you get there, you’ll notice that a previously unheard song “Girls” (Featuring Too $hort) is available for download. That’s the fourth single off the album–preview it at iTunes. Also, after the break I’ve posted Cudder’s first live televised performance of “Immortal” on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Continue reading Kid Cudi’s ‘Indicud’ album cover and tracklist displayed [Update: iTunes preorder up, new single out, JKL performance] →

TV reminder: ‘Hannibal’ premieres April 4 at 10PM on NBC

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If you were intrigued by the platter of trailers that premiered in February promoting NBC’s upcoming serial killer thriller Hannibal, let this serve as a friendly reminder: the televised adaptation prequel to the classic 1991 horror film Silence of the Lambs premieres next week on Thursday, April 4 at 10PM. Hannibal comes from the visionary producer behind Pushing Daisies Bryan Fuller and stars Hugh Dancy as gifted criminal profiler Will Graham, Laurence Fishburne as Agent Jack Crawford, Caroline Dhavernas as Dr. Alana Bloom, and Mads Mikkelsen plays the infamous serial killer who eats his prey Dr. Hannibal Lector. Click after the break to watch two new trailers plus get an inside first look at the show with commentary from the cast, Fuller, and pilot director David Slade. Continue reading TV reminder: ‘Hannibal’ premieres April 4 at 10PM on NBC →

Movie trailer round-up: ‘The Wolverine’, ‘Kick-Ass 2’, ‘World War Z’ & ‘Pain & Gain’

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Ever since this totally awesome motion poster for The Wolverine came out fans have been waiting on pins and needles for a full blown trailer. This week it finally arrived. Hugh Jackman is back as one of the X-Men’s most formidable members in a standalone installment directed by James Mangold. Here’s the official synopsis:

Based on the celebrated comic book arc, this epic action-adventure takes Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), the most iconic character of the X-Men universe, to modern-day Japan. Out of his depth in an unknown world, he will face a host of unexpected and deadly opponents in a life-or-death battle that will leave him forever changed. Vulnerable for the first time and pushed to his physical and emotional limits, he confronts not only lethal samurai steel but also his inner struggle against his own immortality.

The Wolverine hits theatres July 26. After the break catch the international trailer that plays out quite differently than what you see here.

Jump after the break for more trailers. Continue reading Movie trailer round-up: ‘The Wolverine’, ‘Kick-Ass 2’, ‘World War Z’ & ‘Pain & Gain’ →

Daft Punk readying new album ‘Random Access Memories’ (hear snippet here)

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Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter, better known by their stage name Daft Punk, are hard at work on their followup album to 2005’s Human After All. True, they worked on the soundtrack for 2010’s Tron: Legacy, but this new collection of tracks marks the fourth studio album release for the French electronic music duo. The name of their next album is Random Access Memories (I love it) and it will include 13 new tracks, one of which was teased in a commercial break during a recent episode of SNL. Take a listen to the 15 second snippet above.

Random Access Memories is out May 17 and it’s up for preorder at iTunes today ($11.99). Visit the Columbia-signed artists website to preorder a physical copy of the CD ($12.98) or the vinyl ($39.98) which includes a digital album download code, an LP size booklet, and a 180 gram double vinyl gatefold. Check out the official album artwork after the break.

Come on, people; it’s time make it get funky. Continue reading Daft Punk readying new album ‘Random Access Memories’ (hear snippet here) →