by Stone Marshall | Aug 6, 2018 | Awesome Book News, Free, Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, news, parent-news, State of Stone, Stone Marshall Book News, Stone Marshall Books, Stone Marshall Club, Stone Marshall Minecraft Adventures, Uncategorized |
Sony's Venom no longer has any major box office competition in October. The studio has bet the house on Venom, which is intended to launch a new shared universe featuring Spider-Man secondary characters. If Venom proves to be a box office success, then viewers can expect other spinoffs such as Morbius, Silver & Black, and Silk. If it doesn't perform well, then Sony's plans could potentially come crashing down. With so much riding on one film, the studio understandably chose a release date with as little competition as possible (no easy task in a year increasingly packed with big-budget tentpoles). Luckily for Venom, however, what little competition there was seems to be slipping away.
The most direct competition was Andy Serkis' Mowgli, a “faithful” adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book. Serkis's pitch is darker than Disney's films, and has a great cast – including the likes of Benedict Cumberbatch, Cate Blanchett, and Christian Bale. Unfortunately, it has only been two-and-a-half years since Jon Favreau's The Jungle Book took the world by storm. As a result, Mowgli had long been expected to underperform, and Warner Bros. has taken the unusual step of pulling it from theaters outright. Instead, Mowgli will release straight on to Netflix. For Warner Bros., it avoids the gamble of an expensive theatrical release for a movie with poor prospects, and means they're able to focus marketing on A Star is Born, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, and Aquaman.
Mowgli's departure from the box office is very good news for Venom. The film is expected to be a blend of superhero action and classic horror tropes, although it may not actually be R-rated after all; the Sony panel at SDCC suggested the studio is aiming for a PG-13, and producer Avi Arad insisted in a recent interview with Vulture that “Kids love Venom.” If that's the case, then Venom's only real competition for October is Damien Chazelle's First Man, starring Ryan Gosling as Noel Armstrong, the first man to walk on the Moon. The concepts are so different that they shouldn't affect one another. Halloween is the next major horror, releasing on October 19, but that's going to have a higher age-rating and so shouldn't put too much of a dent in Venom's box office.
In theory, October could yet become a little busier; there are a lot of major releases in December, including the Warner Bros. Aquaman movie. In practice, however, it's too late in the day to push a major release forward to October. The marketing campaigns for the December releases are kicking into gear, with the first Aquaman trailer dropping at San Diego Comic-Con. What's more, major films like that tend to continue post-production until only very close to the theatrical release, so pushing a December release back to October would mean a visual effects rush-job (which Aquaman really can't afford). With that in mind, it's unlikely Venom will find itself facing any increase in competition.
Even with this boost, it remains to be seen whether or not Venom will be a box office hit. Audiences were initially skeptical – especially after the first teaser trailer didn't even show a glimpse of the Venom symbiote. But the first full trailer was moderately well-received, becoming the most-viewed in the entire Spider-Man franchise. Another trailer is expected soon, and hopefully that will be followed up with a strong marketing campaign. Ultimately, though, everything will depend on the quality of the product. In the absence of any real competition, good reviews and positive word-of-mouth will likely make or break this film.
by Stone Marshall | Aug 5, 2018 | Awesome Book News, Free, Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, news, parent-news, State of Stone, Stone Marshall Book News, Stone Marshall Books, Stone Marshall Club, Stone Marshall Minecraft Adventures, Uncategorized |
Superhero movies are everywhere. With the MCU, DC Universe, and X-Men franchise, there's a ton of superheroic properties being released every few months. Sony is now trying to get back into the superhero game, developing a series of films with Spider-Man's supporting characters. The first of these is Venom, which will bring Eddie Brock and his antihero alter ego to the silver screen for the first time since the less than stellar attempt in Spider-Man 3. Joining Tom Hardy's title character is four-time Oscar nominee Michelle Williams, playing his love interest Anne Weying. Williams isn't exactly a superhero regular like Zoe Saldana, so why did she sign on? As she recently revealed:
I always like to do things I haven't done before—genres, parts. I like a challenge. And one of those challenges has been stepping into a bigger world.
It looks like Michelle Williams is an actress who like to challenge herself. And what could be more challenging than a Venom movie without Spider-Man? The odds are stacked against Ruben Fleischer's upcoming blockbuster, so only time will tell if Williams made the right call by joining the infant Spider-Verse.
Michelle Williams' comments to Vanity Fair make a great deal of sense, as the actress has been in a ton of different projects throughout the years. This includes big budget CGI wonders like Oz the Great and Powerful, intimate dramas like Brokeback Mountain, horror flicks like H20, and comedies like I Feel Pretty. Williams has never been one to take predictable acting jobs, so playing Anne Weying in Venom is just another way to continue challenging herself.
From the looks of Venom's first trailers, Michelle Williams will mostly be playing a love interest and supporting character in Venom. In addition to her relationship with Eddie Brock, she's also an attorney representing shady Life Foundation, run by Riz Ahmed's Carlton Drake. Anne Weying will likely be the connective tissue between Venom and the Foundation, and will hopefully be able to get into some action of her own by the film's end. With a talent like Williams attached, it would be a waste to keep her on the sidelines.
If Venom ends up being a success, then Michelle Williams' role in the still growing Sony Spider-Verse will likely grow as well. In the comics, Anne Weying ends up eventually bonding with the symbiote herself. After being shot, it temporarily bonded with her to save her life, thus transforming her into She-Venom. This made her far more aggressive and violent, totally flipping the character on its head. This seems like a great storyline to explore in a possible Venom sequel, and will incentivize William to return for another go at Anne.
Venom will hit theaters on October 5th. In the meantime, check out our 2018 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
by Stone Marshall | Aug 5, 2018 | Awesome Book News, Free, Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, news, parent-news, State of Stone, Stone Marshall Book News, Stone Marshall Books, Stone Marshall Club, Stone Marshall Minecraft Adventures, Uncategorized |
Video: When comic book fans think “Venom”, they automatically think “Spider-Man”. That isn’t just because Venom is one of Spider-Man’s most famous villains, it’s also because his comic book origins are tied directly to those of Spider-Man.
However, in Sony’s upcoming movie Venom, the villain is on his own — and we asked the director how that was going to work.
We spoke to director Ruben Fleischer at San Diego Comic-Con about how the focus of Venom is, well, Venom.
“We just focused on making the best Venom movie that we could possibly make and tried to be true to the nature of Venom in the comics,” Fleischer said. “As far as the origin, that’s already been portrayed on screen before and so we wanted to make a new movie with an original story.”
Fleischer also told us which comic book runs most influenced the film (Lethal Protector, Planet of the Symbiotes) as well as movies (An American Werewolf in London). Watch it above and read more about what happened Venom-wise at Comic-Con here.
Venom opens October 4.
by Stone Marshall | Aug 4, 2018 | Awesome Book News, Free, Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, news, parent-news, State of Stone, Stone Marshall Book News, Stone Marshall Books, Stone Marshall Club, Stone Marshall Minecraft Adventures, Uncategorized |
COMME des GARÇONS has just released a new selection of tote bags, currently available at Dover Street Market New York, Dover Street Market London, and COMME des GARÇONS Chelsea.
Released under the brand’s SHIRT label, the bags come optioned in paper and plastic, featuring silver CDG branding against a black backdrop. Multicolored artwork then livens up the accessory, which boasts a nod to X-Files and Minecraft‘s Creeper enemies.
Again, you can find the new COMME des GARÇONS SHIRT tote bags at Dover Street Market New York, Dover Street Market London, and COMME des GARÇONS Chelsea.
In other style news, Gosha Rubchinskiy’s PACCBET just debuted a new collection.
by Stone Marshall | Aug 4, 2018 | Awesome Book News, Free, Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, news, parent-news, State of Stone, Stone Marshall Book News, Stone Marshall Books, Stone Marshall Club, Stone Marshall Minecraft Adventures, Uncategorized |
The men’s World Cup kicks off this week. As exciting as it promises to be, however, most of us will only get to watch it on flat television sets, as opposed to getting the three-dimensional experience of seeing it live and in person. Researchers from the University of Washington have come up with an augmented reality alternative, though. While it probably won’t be available to the masses in time for this year’s tournament, it does hint at one way in which fans at home may be able to enjoy sports games in the future.
What the researchers have developed is a machine learning algorithm capable of transforming 2D soccer clips into 3D reconstructions, which may be viewed using AR headsets like Microsoft’s HoloLens. The results allow viewers to turn flat surfaces like their desk or kitchen table into a virtual pitch, complete with three-dimensional action that you can circle around to view from different angles.
It’s not quite the equivalent of watching it in person, but it’s much closer than regular TV. And significantly cheaper, too!
“Our goal is to enhance the viewing experience of sports,” Konstantinos Rematas, one of the researchers on the project, told Digital Trends. “Instead of watching a soccer game or highlights on a flat 2D screen, we convert the original video into 3D and visualize it in augmented reality. Essentially the game becomes a hologram, where you can move around and look from different viewpoints, generating a more immersive experience.”
As its input, the algorithm generating the AR experience requires just a single YouTube soccer video. Because this is not enough information to train an entire rendering system to “upconvert” 2D players into 3D, the neural network learned to estimate depth by playing the playing the EA video game FIFA 2018. Using the totality of this information, it can do a passable job of accurately gauging where players are on the pitch.
At present, the system is still a work in progress. For instance, the ball is not yet properly rendered (something which turns out to be pretty darn important in soccer) and the players remain two-dimensional cutouts. These are two improvements the researchers hope to make.
“The next steps are about increasing the quality of the game reconstruction,” Rematas continued. “In particular, we want to estimate precisely the location of the ball and reconstruct better the players — occlusions, full 3D shape estimation, [and more].” In addition, the researchers plan to extend the framework to also cover other sports such as basketball, hockey, and football.
A paper describing the work is available to read online.
by Stone Marshall | Aug 3, 2018 | Awesome Book News, Free, Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, news, parent-news, State of Stone, Stone Marshall Book News, Stone Marshall Books, Stone Marshall Club, Stone Marshall Minecraft Adventures, Uncategorized |
There is now more evidence suggesting that Apple is working on its own smart glasses for augmented and virtual reality experiences. In a new job listing, Apple is seeking to hire a 3D user interface engineer to “drive the next generation of interactive experiences for our platform.”
“You will work with some of Apple’s most advanced technologies including the Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) support offered in ARKit and Metal 2,” Apple said of the 3D UI Frameworks Engineer position within The Technology Development Group in a job post spotted by 9to5 Mac.
A prior report suggested that Apple could ready its AR glasses by 2020, with company exploring wireless technologies to create a consumer-friendly untethered augmented and virtual reality experience. Unlike some current AR and VR solutions on the market today, Apple’s implementation will reportedly not need trackers or cameras. Instead, all the hardware will either be packed into the glasses or an accompanying box. The headset will rely on the WiGig 2.0 wireless standard to communicate with the box, eliminating clunky wires.
“We have been and continue to invest a lot in this,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a 2016 earnings call when asked about the technology. “We are high on AR for the long run, we think there’s great things for customers and a great commercial opportunity.”
Apple’s mixed reality glasses would be a natural progression of the company’s efforts in the augmented reality space. Apple has been experimenting with AR through its smartphones. The iPhone X, for example, allows users to create AR emojis called Animoji, and Apple allows third-party apps to deliver AR capabilities by using the cameras on its smartphones.
In addition to software, Apple had also been working on the hardware side for its glasses, and the company had filed a patent application for a lens system that would allow for a more compact set of glasses. Given that AR glasses are worn on the face, reducing the bulk and weight of the glasses would lead to a more comfortable experience, especially if the glasses are worn for a longer duration.
When it launches, Apple’s mixed reality glasses will face competition from Microsoft, Facebook, HTC, and others. Microsoft is pushing its Hololens at enterprise customers, while less expensive Windows Mixed Reality headsets are designed for AR experiences on Windows 10. Facebook’s Oculus and HTC Vive are also popular options.
