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Netflix has announced a reality competition series inspired by the hit show Squid Game titled Squid Game: The Challenge. Netflix says that this will be “the biggest reality competition series ever,” hosting the largest cast and offering the largest lump sum cash prize in reality television history as 456 players compete for $4.56 million.

The contestants will compete in a series of games inspired by the original Netflix show, “plus new additions, which are all intended to test their strategies, alliances, and character as others are eliminated around them.” But, don’t expect anyone to die, they aren’t going to kill any contestants.

Recruitment for the series is currently open to English-language speakers from anywhere in the world. Brandon Riegg, Netflix’s vice president of unscripted and documentary Series shared in a statement:

“Squid Game took the world by storm with Director Hwang’s captivating story and iconic imagery. We’re grateful for his support as we turn the fictional world into reality in this massive competition and social experiment. Fans of the drama series are in for a fascinating and unpredictable journey as our 456 real world contestants navigate the biggest competition series ever, full of tension and twists, with the biggest ever cash prize at the end.”

The 10-episode competition series is a co-production between Studio Lambert and The Garden, and will be filmed in the U.K.

For more information about joining the show, visit SquidGameCasting.com. Are any of you going to try to get on the show!? It actually sounds like it would be fun to be a part of!

Source: Variety

Sony Pictures has confirmed that a Gran Turismo film is in development and that District 9 director Neill Bomkamp will helm it. It was also revealed that the movie will be released on August 11th, 2023.

I’m a fan of the racing game franchise, and I’ve always enjoyed Blomkamp’s filmmaking style. This is just such a different kind of film project for him, and it’ll be interesting to see how he handles the story.

When it comes to that story, Sony Pictures confirmed that it will be based on actual events! The film “is the ultimate wish-fulfillment tale of a teenage Gran Turismo player whose gaming skills won a series of Nissan competitions to become an actual professional race car driver.”

This teen was able to translate his Gran Turismo gaming skills into real life through a series of Nissan competitions, resulting in him becoming a professional race car driver. This is actually a pretty cool story and it seems like it would work great for the movie.

With the film set to be released next year, the project will go into production soon. I imagine we’ll have some casting news to share in the near future. Stay tuned!

What do you all think about Neill Blomkamp directing Gran Turismo and the story that it will tell?

Source: Deadline

We’ve got a new trailer for director Park Chan-wook’s upcoming film Decision to Leave. I’m a fan of Chan-wook’s films such as Oldboy, Lady Vengeance, Stoker, and Thirst, and I’ve been looking forward to this one. Unfortunately, the new trailer is in Korean and I have no idea what anyone is saying.

The movie is a noir crime drama that follows police detective Hae-joon (Park Hae-il), who is “called in to investigate the mysterious death of a man who fell from a mountain peak. During his investigation, he begins to develop an interest in the man’s widow, Seo-rae (Tang Wei), who is a suspect in the case.”

The movie is beautifully shot. It made its big premiere at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival and it’s been getting good reviews! Decision to Leave will be released on October 14th, 2022 in the U.S. and U.K.

Netflix has shared several new photos from Stranger Things 4 Vol. 2, and they offer a little tease of what’s in store for our favorite characters in the final two episodes of the season. Those final episodes arrive on July 1st, and fans are anxiously awaiting to see what happens!

Well, these six photos feature all the characters from the different storylines that have been playing out over the course of the season. You’ve got the gang in Hawkins dealing with Dungeon Master Eddie Munson, Mike Will, and Jonathan on a road trip from California, Eleven still involved with working on her powers, and the rest of the gang in Russia.

Check out the photos below!

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In the new season, “It’s been six months since the Battle of Starcourt, which brought terror and destruction to Hawkins. Struggling with the aftermath, our group of friends are separated for the first time – and navigating the complexities of high school hasn’t made things any easier. In this most vulnerable time, a new and horrifying supernatural threat surfaces, presenting a gruesome mystery that, if solved, might finally put an end to the horrors of the Upside Down.”

The new season’s cast includes Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Noah Schnapp (Will Byers), Sadie Sink (Max Mayfield), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), Maya Hawke (Robin Buckley), Priah Ferguson (Erica Sinclair), Brett Gelman (Murray), Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler) with Matthew Modine (Dr. Brenner) and Paul Reiser (Dr. Owens).

Additional cast members include Jamie Campbell Bower (Peter Ballard), Joseph Quinn (Eddie Munson), Eduardo Franco (Argyle), Sherman Augustus (Lt. Colonel Sullivan), Mason Dye (Jason Carver), Nikola Djuricko (Yuri), Tom Wlaschiha (Dmitri), Myles Truitt (Patrick), Regina Ting Chen (Ms. Kelly), Grace Van Dien (Chrissy), Logan Riley Bruner (Fred Benson), Logan Allen (Jake), Elodie Grace Orkin (Angela), John Reynolds (Officer Callahan), Rob Morgan (Chief Powell), Amybeth McNulty (Vickie) and Robert Englund (Victor Creel).

The directors of this season include The Duffer Brothers (401, 402, 407, 408, 409), Shawn Levy (403, 404), and Nimród Antal (405, 406).

If you’re a fan of shark attack films, I’ve got a trailer here for you to watch for a new thriller titled The Reef: Stalked, which is a sequel to the 2010 film The Reef. The director of the first movie, Andrew Traucki, returns to write and direct the sequel.

I don’t recall ever seeing the first film, but it’s described as being “one of the best shark attack horror movies ever made, a simple tale of friends stranded in shark-infested waters that’s made all the more terrifying due to Traucki’s insistence on using real sharks rather than animatronic or computer-generated ones.”

So, he threw his actors into real shark-infested waters and yelled “Action!” I guess that’s one way to do it.

In the sequel, “Nic, in an effort to heal after witnessing her sister’s horrific murder, travels to a tropical resort with her friends for a kayaking and diving adventure. Only hours into their expedition, the women are stalked and then attacked by a great white shark. To survive they will need to band together and Nic will have to overcome her post-traumatic stress, face her fears and slay the monster.”

Mark Ward, Chief Acquisitions Officer of RLJE Films shared in a statement: “Audiences have an insatiable appetite for shark films, which we know first-hand from our incredible experience releasing The Reef years ago. We are thrilled to be working with the team again to bring this new terrifying adventure to audiences.”

The Reef: Stalked stars Teressa Liane (The Vampire Diaries), Ann Truong (Cowboy Bebop), Saskia Archer (Boshack), Kate Lister (Clickbait) and Tim Ross (Wonderland).

RLJE Films will debut The Reef: Stalked in select US theaters and on VOD starting July 29th, 2022. Watch the trailer and let us know what you think!

Gun Interactive (Friday the 13th: The Game) has released a gameplay trailer for the upcoming The Texas Chainsaw Massacre video game, and it gets pretty brutal. This trailer definitely contains more bloody violence than we’ve seen in previous trailers.

The game is based on the Tobe Hooper-directed 1974 film, and the developers of the game made sure to meticulously recreate the setting of the film and the characters.

The game features the demented characters from the movies as well as new family members, and the events of the game take place before Tobe Hooper’s film. The story follows “a group of five young adults led by Ana Flores set out to search for her missing sister. What they found was terror beyond their wildest nightmares.”

When previously talking about the film, Wes Keltner, CEO and Audio Director at Gun Interactive said: “We say it a lot here at Gun. Authenticity is incredibly important to us. That’s probably the more press friendly way of saying, we’re obsessive. We studied the exact cameras Hooper used as well as the lens, the LUT’s and color corrections that occurred in post. We’re also lucky that we get to work directly with Kim Henkel, so we can really peel apart the DNA of this film and bring it to life the best way we can. This is what we’re passionate about because we’re fans, just like you.”

Kane Hodder will be reprising his role as Leatherface in the game. Hodder previously did motion-capture work for Jason Voorhees for the Friday the 13th game, which Gun Interactive also made.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is still slated to come out sometime in 2023 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

Frank Grillo (Captain America, The Purge, Boss Level, Copshop) seems to keep very busy as an actor making action films. It seems like he’s always being cast in a new film project! Well, his most recent project is a new action film titled MR-9.

The movie is based on the popular Masud Rana novels written by late novelist Qazi Anwar Hussain and Grillo is set to play the “nemesis of secret agent Rana — code name MR-9 — of the Bangladesh Counter Intelligence Agency.”

This film is an adaptation of the original first novel Masud Rana: Dhongsho Pahar (The Hill of Destruction) and it’s being written and directed by Asif Akbar. There are 468 books in the series!

There are no details on the story, but the books tell the adventures of its hero, Masud Rana, “an international espionage agent of Bangladeshi origin, closely resembling James Bond in his expertise with weapons and love for women.”

The movie is starting production and it will shoot in the U.S. and Bangladesh.

Source: Deadline

During Summer Game Fest, Sega of Europe and Amplitude Studios shared two big announcements for Humankind. The first announcement is that the game is being ported by Aspyr to PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S consoles.

This will allow more gamers to enjoy the game although I do questions how well it plays with a controller. Maybe I should try it. The console port is set to release on November 4 with pre-orders now live. Talking about the opportunity, Michael Blair of Aspyr said:

As big fans of Humankind, we’re ecstatic to partner with Sega and Amplitude to bring this amazing game to new audiences. With our history in this space, we know that we’ll be able to deliver a deep strategy experience that really shines on consoles.

The other major announcement for Humankind was the launch of the Cultures of Latin America DLC pack. This is available now and brings 6 new cultures, 6 new wonders, 9 independent peoples, 15 narrative events, and more than 30 new music tracks from Arnaud Roy. The DLC is available on both Steam and Epic Games Store for $8.99.

• 6 New Cultures: Caralans, Nazca, Taíno, Inca, Argentinians, and Cubans

• 6 New Wonders: Pyramid of the Sun – Teotihuacan, Maracana Stadium, Salar de Uyuni, Salto Angel, Lençóis Maranhenses, and the Atacama Desert.

• 9 Independent Peoples

• 15 Narrative Events

• 30+ New in-game themed music tracks composed by Arnaud Roy

In addition to the major announcements above, the Humankind team also released a major game update. Some of the changes include a reworked surrender system, unique wonder effects, infrastructure yield previews, and more.

The series The Lincoln Lawyer has been renewed for a second season at Netflix, with Dailyn Rodriguez (Ugly Betty, Queen of the South) signing on as co-showrunner and executive producer. She will run the show alongside Season 1 showrunner Ted Humphrey.

The show is based on the book series by Michael Connelly, with the first season covering the story from the book The Brass Verdict. Season 2 will follow the Season 1 format, being 10 episodes, and will be based on the book The Fifth Witness.

Manuel Garcia-Rulfo will reprise the role of Mickey Haller in Season 2, with Neve Campbell (Maggie McPherson), Becki Newton (Lorna), Jazz Raycole (Izzy), and Angus Sampson (Cisco) all returning as well. In Season 1, Mickey Haller, an iconoclastic idealist, runs his law practice out of the back seat of his Lincoln, as he takes on cases big and small across the expansive city of Los Angeles.

The series was developed by David E. Kelley and Humphrey. Both serve as executive producers on the series alongside Connelly, Rodriguez, Ross Fineman, Barry Jossen, and Tana Jamieson. A+E Studios produces the series for Netflix.

I haven’t sat down to watch this series yet, but I’m really looking forward to it. I am a huge fan of the Bosch series, which are also based on books by Connelly, and I know this series should be great too. Are you looking forward to a second season of The Lincoln Lawyer?

via: Variety

Disney Channel dropped a sneak peek at their upcoming animated series Hamster & Gretel which I am very excited for. The series was created by Dan Povenmire (Phineas and Ferb) and follows a boy, his younger sister, and her pet hamster.

The latter two end up getting superpowers from some aliens and the show just looks fantastic. Now, Disney Channel has revealed some of the casting for the show including Povenmire’s daughter Meli Povenmire as Gretel. Gretel’s brother Kevin will be voiced by Michael Cimino (Love, Victor), Hamster will be voiced by Beck Bennett (SNL), Joey King (Kissing Booth) will voice Gretel’s tech-savvy cousin Fred, Matt Jones (Bob Hearts Abishola) will voice Gretel’s and Kevin’s easygoing dad Dave, and their charismatic mother Carolina will be voiced by Carolina Ravassa (Maya and the Three).

“Hamster & Gretel” introduces Kevin and his younger sister Gretel, who are about to be bestowed superpowers by space aliens. But something goes awry, and it’s Gretel and her pet hamster (named Hamster) who suddenly have new abilities. Now, protective older brother Kevin must figure out how to work with both Gretel and her pet Hamster to protect their city from mysterious dangers.

The series was inspired by the relationship Povenmire shares with his younger sister. I know that I cannot wait to watch Hamster & Gretel this summer.