Sci-Fi Storm

In honor of the original radio broadcast of H.G. Wells’ The War Of The Worlds, here is the audio of my favorite rock opera, which is an impressive adaptation of the original story in music. And if you think the music is awesome, you need to see the concert…it is UNBELIEVABLE.

However, I do apologize in advance…some of these songs will stick in your head. But it’s a brave new world…

If you like Fear The Walking Dead, you won’t have to fear the season finale coming up on October 4th – because a 16-part web series kicks off that day called Fear The Walking Dead: Flight 462.

The series will premiere on amc.com, with new one-minute episodes debuting every Sunday thereafter, both online and during commercial breaks of The Walking Dead.

The web series tells the story of a group of passengers aboard a commercial airplane during the earliest moments of the outbreak. Over the course of the series, the plane and the lives of its passengers are put in jeopardy once they discover an infected traveler. The series is written by L. Signorino and Mike Zunic and directed by Fear director of photography Michael McDonough. Producers are Fear showrunner Dave Erickson and co-exec producer David Wiener.

It seems like the great people at Lucasfilm behind Star Wars: The Clone Wars, despite getting ready for the debut of Star Wars: Rebels, aren’t quite ready to let go of their previous saga just yet. With six seasons, a novel, a comic and more, and the “lost episodes” released on Netflix, it seems they still have some stuff left over.

StarWars.com has now release 3 unfinished stories plus another short story reel that have “proxy” animation (one of the intermediate steps before the full animation is rendered) but the voices and story are in place. Check them out here, along with the “Clone Wars Legacy”, about how they story, and the untold stories, fit into the Star Wars Saga.

The extended edition of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is available for pre-order now…it is available in [sfs=1440]Blu-ray 3D/Blu-ray/Digital[/sfs] and [sfs=1438]Blu-ray/Digital[/sfs] versions – no U.S. DVD release has been announced yet. Amazon also has an exclusive gift pack featuring a special Weta figurine depicting the river barrel run…that is available in both the [sfs=1439]Blu-ray 3D/Blu-ray/Digital[/sfs] and [sfs=1441]Blu-ray/Digital[/sfs] editions as well!

The extended edition adds 25 minutes of additional footage to the original feature, plus another 9 hours of bonus features!

Check out the extended edition trailer below, plus as an added extra, watch how they created the river scene…

While we all await “The Time of the Doctor” on Christmas Day, don’t forget that “The Day of the Doctor” is available on [sfs=1371]Blu-ray[/sfs] and [sfs=1372]DVD[/sfs] tomorrow! Order now!

Disney and Netflix issued a joint statement today about a plan to bring several series and a miniseries to Netflix based on Marvel characters, including Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Iron First and Luke Cage, over the course of several years, culminating in The Defenders, a “mini-series event that reimagines a dream team of self-sacrificing, heroic characters.”

“This deal is unparalleled in its scope and size, and reinforces our commitment to deliver Marvel’s brand, content and characters across all platforms of storytelling. Netflix offers an incredible platform for the kind of rich storytelling that is Marvel’s specialty,” said Alan Fine, President of Marvel Entertainment. “This serialized epic expands the narrative possibilities of on-demand television and gives fans the flexibility to immerse themselves how and when they want in what’s sure to be a thrilling and engaging adventure.”

“Marvel’s movies, such as ‘Iron Man’ and Marvel’s ‘The Avengers’, are huge favorites on our service around the world. Like Disney, Marvel is a known and loved brand that travels,” said Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos. “With ‘House of Cards’ and our other original series, we have pioneered new approaches to storytelling and to global distribution and we’re thrilled to be working with Disney and Marvel to take our brand of television to new levels with a creative project of this magnitude.”

This new original TV deal follows last year’s landmark movie distribution deal through which, beginning with 2016 theatrically released feature films, Netflix will be the exclusive U.S. subscription television service for first-run, live-action and animated movies from the Walt Disney Studios, including titles from Disney, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Studios, Disneynature and Lucasfilm. Netflix members can currently enjoy a wide range of Disney, ABC TV and Disney Channel films and shows across the 41 countries where Netflix operates.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is out on [sfs=1373]Blu-ray 3D[/sfs], [sfs=1374]Blu-ray[/sfs] and [sfs=1375]DVD[/sfs] this Tuesday, November 5th…I’ve reviewed the theatrical edition already, so what’s so cool about this version? In a word: extras. In a few more words – over nine hours of additional material, not including the feature-length commentary by Peter Jackson and Phillipa Boyens.

First, a quick synopsis:

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is the first in Peter Jackson’s highly anticipated trilogy adapting the enduringly popular masterpiece The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien.

The adventure follows the journey of title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome Dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the Wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of 13 Dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakenshield. Their journey will take them into the Wild, through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins, Orcs and deadly Wargs, as well as a mysterious and sinister figure known only as the Necromancer.
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A little more than a month away from the release of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, on November 5th Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will release the Extended Edition of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which will feature 13 minutes of extra film footage that extends individual scenes, and nine hours of additional special features! It is available now for pre-order in a [sfs=1373]Blu-ray 3D/Blu-ray/Ultraviolet 5-disc package[/sfs], [sfs=1374]Blu-ray/DVD/Ultraviolet 3-disc package[/sfs], and a [sfs=1375]DVD 5-disc package[/sfs]. A digital version is already available on iTunes and includes the same extra features (iTunes extras may not be available in all countries.)

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is the first in Peter Jackson’s highly anticipated trilogy adapting the enduringly popular masterpiece The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien.

The adventure follows the journey of title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome Dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the Wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of 13 Dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakenshield. Their journey will take them into the Wild, through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins, Orcs and deadly Wargs, as well as a mysterious and sinister figure known only as the Necromancer.
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The final full season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars is now out on [sfs=1368]Blu-ray[/sfs] and [sfs=1369]DVD[/sfs] today, plus the Collector’s Edition of the complete series is also out on [sfs=1365]Blu-ray[/sfs] and [sfs=1366]DVD[/sfs], if you haven’t started your collection yet – 14 discs for Blu-ray and 19 for DVD, including over 7 hours of extras!

Unfortunately, no signs of the completed Season 6 segments here either…

Star Trek: Into Darkness will be released on [sfs=1342]Blu-ray 3D[/sfs], [sfs=1344]Blu-ray[/sfs] and [sfs=1343]DVD[/sfs] on September 10th, but it will also get a digital release three weeks earlier!

From the press release:

DIRECTOR J.J. ABRAMS’ WORLDWIDE BLOCKBUSTER SETS A COURSE FOR BLU-RAY™, BLU-RAY 3D™ AND DVD
SEPTEMBER 10, 2013

STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS

Global Hit Debuts Three Weeks Early on Digital August 20th

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – Lauded by critics as “a sleek, thrilling epic” (Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly), “a clever, exhilarating action adventure” (Claudia Puig, USA Today) and “stratospherically entertaining” (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone), director J.J. Abrams’ phenomenal global sensation STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS makes its highly-anticipated debut on Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD and On Demand on September 10, 2013 from Paramount Home Media Distribution. Fans can be the first to own the film on Digital when it arrives three weeks early on August 20th. Boasting “spectacular visual effects” (Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer) and “one of the best villains in recent memory” (Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News) STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS delighted audiences around the world, earning a coveted A CinemaScore.
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