Wii U getting price cut September 20

By Eddie Makuch,

32GB model dropping to $300 effective next month in US and Europe; Wii U Basic model will be phased out; Wind Waker HD bundle revealed.

The Wii U is getting a price cut on September 20.

Nintendo announced today that the struggling system will drop to $300 for the 32GB version in the United States and Europe. The $250 8GB Wii U Basic model will be phased out.

In addition to the price cut, there will be a new Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD Wii U bundle, which will debut on September 20.

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Filmmaker Lucas Purchases $10 Million in Starbucks Shares

By Miles Weiss

George Lucas, the “Star Wars” creator who reaped $4 billion selling his company to Walt Disney Co. last year, invested a fraction of his fortune in Starbucks Corp. (SBUX), the world’s largest chain of coffee shops.

A trust controlled by Lucas bought almost $10 million of Starbucks shares, according to a filing yesterday by Mellody Hobson, the billionaire’s wife and a member of the Starbucks board. The couple married in June at Lucas’s Skywalker ranch in Marin County, California, and announced the birth of their daughter, Everest Hobson Lucas, this month.

Lucas, 69, in December sold Lucasfilm Ltd., whose movie franchises include “Indiana Jones” as well as “Star Wars,” to Disney for about $4 billion of cash and stock. The next month, he announced his engagement to Hobson, the president of Ariel Investments LLC, a Chicago-based money-management firm with $6.3 billion in assets as of June 30.

Hobson, 44, didn’t immediately return a telephone call seeking comment. Connie Wethington, a Lucas representative, said in an e-mail that “no comments or statements will be issued with regard to stock inquiries.”

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Ben Affleck to Play Batman in Man of Steel Sequel

Warner Bros. has announced Affleck is the new Dark Knight.

August 22, 2013

Ben Affleck is set to star as Batman in Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel sequel, Warner Bros. has announced.

“We knew we needed an extraordinary actor to take on one of DC Comics’ most enduringly popular Super Heroes, and Ben Affleck certainly fits that bill, and then some” said Greg Silverman, President of Creative Development and Worldwide Production at Warner Bros. earlier today. “His outstanding career is a testament to his talent and we know he and Zack will bring new dimension to the duality of this character.”

“Ben provides an interesting counter-balance to Henry’s Superman,” added director Snyder. He has the acting chops to create a layered portrayal of a man who is older and wiser than Clark Kent and bears the scars of a seasoned crime fighter, but retain the charm that the world sees in billionaire Bruce Wayne. I can’t wait to work with him.”


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Superman to battle Batman in Man of Steel sequel

Sunday, Jul 21, 2013, 8:56 IST | Place: SAN DIEGO | Agency: Reuters

After announcing the plan to bring the two superheroes together, Snyder issued a statement via Warner Bros. saying the two would be fighting each other, and conceded this might surprise some.

A sequel to last month’s hit Superman film Man of Steel is not only in the works, but will feature two of DC Comic’s best-known caped crusaders – Superman and Batman – facing off against each other, director Zack Snyder said on Saturday.

Snyder, who directed British actor Henry Cavill as Superman/Clark Kent, was a surprise addition to the end of the Warner Bros. film panel at San Diego’s Comic-Con, an annual comics convention, and received thunderous applause from the 6,000-plus in attendance.

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‘The Voice’ admits to voting snafu on the air

By Billy Nilles

Fans of “The Voice” were in for a shock when they tuned in to Wednesday’s (May 8) episode of the NBC singing competition, ready to learn which of their favorite artists were advancing to the Top 12, only to be informed that the show had a glitch with their voting this week.

While it didn’t derail the show, fans who tried to vote online and via text message had trouble casting their votes using the show’s vote-tallying company, Telescope, which also manages voting for FOX’s “American Idol” and “The X Factor.” The network says that the issues would not have altered the outcome of the vote. Host Carson Daly opened the show with the admission, introducing Telescope CEO Jason George. “Tonight we’d like to be completely upfront with you,” Daly said. “We noticed some inconsistencies with this week’s texting and online voting.”

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‘Avengers’ Cast And Stingy Marvel Ready To Rumble Over Sequel Cash & Strong-Arming

By NIKKI FINKE

Robert Downey Jr is set for another huge payday from a mega-hit Marvel movie, this time Iron Man 3. I’ve learned he’s already made $35 million from the actioner, which grossed $680 million worldwide in its first 12 days. He should exceed his biggest payday to date — that $50M from The Avengers which I’ve learned was more like $70M-$80M now that the film is all in. But it’s really Avengers 2 where he’ll clean up big-time — if he wants to reprise the role. He’s hinting to some media it may be time to retire Tony Stark. And saying to other outlets that Marvel better show him more money for Avengers 2. ”I don’t know,” he said on The Daily Show. ”I had a long contract with them and now we’re gonna renegotiate.” (“You are Iron Man! You are!” cheered Jon Stewart.)

I’ve learned that Marvel and therefore owner Disney are going to run into big trouble on that sequel because the upfront pay, backend compensation, break-even points and box office bonuses aren’t pinned down yet for several big stars and castmates. This is major hurdle that Walt Disney Co Chaiman/CEO Bob Iger hasn’t even mentioned to Wall Street or shareholders though he’s already been hyping Avengers 2 for more than a year now.


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Time unveils its 100 Most Influential People list

Ann Oldenburg

It’s time for the Time 100, Time magazine’s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

For the first time, the issue, unveiled today and hitting newsstands Friday, features seven separate covers, each featuring a member of the list. Jennifer Lawrence, Jay-Z, Elon Musk (CEO and founder, SpaceX; co-founder, Tesla Motors and PayPal), Sen. Rand Paul and teen activist Malala Yousafzai each appear solo on the five domestic split covers. Internationally, Li Na and Aamir Khan are also featured along with some of the U.S. covers.

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Hammond On Roger Ebert – An Appreciation

By PETE HAMMOND

Certainly Roger Ebert will be remembered for many things. Winning an unprecedented Pulitzer Prize in 1975 for film criticism is just one of them. For me, though, beyond that distinction Roger was far more unique in the pantheon of the truly great critics of our time, and all time. Along with Gene Siskel he figured out a way to take film criticism to the masses in a way it never really had been, at least on a national basis. With their patented ’2 Thumbs Up’ and ’2 Thumbs Down’ reviews on their pioneering PBS and later syndicated weekly TV show, this pair not only brought the job of a film critic into the national consciousness, they also made it fun. And accessible. The ‘thumbs’ signature was really the forerunner of a site like Rotten Tomatoes, an instantly recognizable label that moviegoers could use like a Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval when it appeared in an ad as it did hundreds of times.

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