TV/Movies Megathread

[Barrister]

Yeah, one of the screens at the local multiplex has this gimmick too - although I have yet to see a movie in it.

It probably makes very little sense to actually use those two side screens too much for a regular movie, because it will be mostly released in regular theaters.

The movie industry has been trying this gimmick game for a long time - but is always trapped.  Probably not so much because of "regular theatres" but because movies are going to be released for tv/streaming and need to be viewable at home.

So while you can add IMAX, 3-D, "smell-o-vision" all you want by necessity it can't be essential to the experience.

[Syt]

Having finished It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (new season starts filming this winter, apparently?), I've started Veep. Two episodes into season 2. It's decent, though it's neither Yes, Minister nor The Office exactly.

Ep. 2 in S.2, at the pork roast has a guy talking about pig rearing: "They can't raise pigs without excrement, ma'am. It just can't be done. They defecate, and they defecate with speed and volume."

And I thought a) what a pleasant voice this random guy has and b) also sounds a bit familiar.

Turns out it's Wes Johnson who you may remember as one of the regular voice actors on Elder Scrolls, including Sheogorath/Lucien Lechance/Gray Fox/Jauffre/Arena Announcer and dozens other NPCs (including the guards) in Oblivion, Emperor Titus Meade/Sheogorath/Hemaeus Mora in Skyrim, etc.

Wes Johnson is in a bad way: https://www.pcgamer.com/games/the-elder-scrolls/beloved-bethesda-rpg-voice-actor-wes-johnson-is-in-critical-condition-after-being-found-unconscious-and-barely-alive-and-his-family-is-asking-for-help-from-fans/

Beloved Bethesda RPG voice actor Wes Johnson is in critical condition after being found 'unconscious and barely alive,' and his family is asking for help from fans

Oblivion's guards, Lucien Lachance, Sheogorath, and more were all brought to life by Wes Johnson.

The family of prolific videogame voice actor Wes Johnson has shared a GoFundMe to raise money for his hospital bills following a life-threatening medical emergency. Johnson is most famous in the gaming world for his work in Bethesda's Elder Scrolls series.

"On Wednesday, Jan. 22nd, Wes volunteered to host a benefit event for the National Alzheimer's Foundation in Atlanta," the GoFundMe explains. "When he didn't show up at the event, his wife Kim tried desperately to get in touch with him. It took hotel security to enter his room and discover him unconscious and barely alive. EMT crews struggled to find a pulse. Right now, Wes continues to battle for his life in an intensive care unit."

Elder Scrolls YouTubers the LaFave Bros, who have worked with Johnson in the past, shared a video asking fans to contribute to the campaign, noting that it has been posted to Johnson's Instagram account. The campaign has already surpassed its initial $50,000 goal at the time of writing, but as the LaFave Bros note in a pinned comment under the video, it's unclear what the full cost of Johnson's treatment and recovery will come out to.

Johnson has had an eclectic career encompassing radio broadcasting, sports announcing (Washington Capitals fans know him for his calls to "unleash the fury" as the arena PA announcer), and TV roles on shows like Veep and The Wire. But gamers know him best for his iconic performances in Bethesda's RPGs, with Johnson showing up in every game from the studio since Morrowind in 2002. He's demonstrated a great dramatic range, delivering a sinister snarl as villains like Lucien Lachance and Mr. Burke, but his capacity for off the wall bombast is what I most hold dear.

Johnson's manic Scottish brogue as Sheogorath in The Shivering Isles and Skyrim is of particular note, but he also took on the mammoth task of voicing every single male Imperial character in The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion⁠—the Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages list 182 individual Imperial men in the game, but that doesn't include unnamed enemies or the game's thoroughly memefied guardsmen. Johnson's explosive delivery of "Stop, You violated the law! Pay the court a fine or serve your sentence. Your stolen goods are now forfeit," has transcended Oblivion and even videogames as a whole at this point, becoming a cheeky shorthand for overenthusiastic enforcement of the rules on the order of Judge Dredd's own "I am the Law."

Johnson's specific diagnosis hasn't been shared. "Wes has always been the friend who would give you his last dollar, as well as the shirt off his back," say the GoFundMe organizers. "Wes volunteers for so many causes and is always the first person to jump at helping anyone who asks, and even helping those who don't ask.

"It's your turn to show him your gratitude and love. Please make a donation to help his family get through this period and cover his medical expenses as well as cover the time he will be unable to work."

[HVC]

Looks like Sleeping Dogs is becoming a movie. Hopefully one of our posters is getting $$$

[HVC]

Another fantastic 4?!? Do they lose the rights if they don't keep pumping these out or something?

[garbon]

Another fantastic 4?!? Do they lose the rights if they don't keep pumping these out or something?

Just catching up with old news?

[HVC]

Another fantastic 4?!? Do they lose the rights if they don't keep pumping these out or something?

Just catching up with old news?

It appears so

[The Minsky Moment]

Fantastic 4 5 is it?

[The Minsky Moment]

Looks like Sleeping Dogs is becoming a movie. Hopefully one of our posters is getting $$$

With or without Emma Stone?

Game works in Winlator BTW (Android devices).  Also great on Steam Deck.

[HVC]

Looks like Sleeping Dogs is becoming a movie. Hopefully one of our posters is getting $$$

With or without Emma Stone?

Game works in Winlator BTW (Android devices).  Also great on Steam Deck.

Whomever Simu Liu likes more .this is like the 2nd or 3rd attempt I think.

It was a great game. Only story driven game i ever finished.

[Tamas]

Fantastic 4 5 is it?

4 or 5 make up your mind.

[Barrister]

Another fantastic 4?!? Do they lose the rights if they don't keep pumping these out or something?

They shouldn't.  Fox had to make movies or the rights would revert to the original rights holder, but Disney is now the original rights holder (since they own Marvel) so there's no worry there.

[Barrister]

Saw the Fantastic Four trailer.

I will say - the retro-60s-future look of it was a lot of fun.  Pedro Pascal is good in almost everything he's in.

Still not sure I need to see a Fantastic 4 movie though.  I've been pretty "blah" on Marvel since Endgame, although a few of their projects have been fun.

[Neil]

Fantastic Four isn't a rights issue.  It's Marvel Studios starting to bring the big-name properties that the sold to Fox to stave off bankruptcy into their cinematic universe.  Because most of their production after Endgame has been such a disaster, they're hoping that they can use this as a launching point to try and restore the brand with characters that people know.  Of course, the Fantastic Four aren't exactly top-tier superheroes these days, and really haven't been since the Seventies, but they do have a certain nostalgic weight. 

The big gun is going to be when they start rolling out the X-Men.

[garbon]

Fantastic Four isn't a rights issue.  It's Marvel Studios starting to bring the big-name properties that the sold to Fox to stave off bankruptcy into their cinematic universe.  Because most of their production after Endgame has been such a disaster, they're hoping that they can use this as a launching point to try and restore the brand with characters that people know.  Of course, the Fantastic Four aren't exactly top-tier superheroes these days, and really haven't been since the Seventies, but they do have a certain nostalgic weight. 

The big gun is going to be when they start rolling out the X-Men.

As a kid in the 90s, the Fantastic Four were right up there with X-Men and Spiderman as they all had cartoons that aired near one another.

[Barrister]

Fantastic Four isn't a rights issue.  It's Marvel Studios starting to bring the big-name properties that the sold to Fox to stave off bankruptcy into their cinematic universe.  Because most of their production after Endgame has been such a disaster, they're hoping that they can use this as a launching point to try and restore the brand with characters that people know.  Of course, the Fantastic Four aren't exactly top-tier superheroes these days, and really haven't been since the Seventies, but they do have a certain nostalgic weight. 

The big gun is going to be when they start rolling out the X-Men.

Yeah Marvel proper was kind of interesting when they got started as they needed to make movies from what were considered second-tier superheroes.  I mean - Iron Man?  Captain America?  Thor?  You can almost forget how second-rate those characters were compared to Spiderman or the X-Men.