Some sites have been reporting that Sony is considering selling the Spider-Man movie rights.

Sony is having some financial problems and one of their investors, Daniel Loeb from Third Points, has made a bold proposal for the Japanese giant. The proposal would ask Sony to put part of their Sony Entertainment division for sale so that it can help them focus independently. Loeb mentions that even though he thinks the Sony Entertainment division is doing a lot better than their Electronics division, it’s still not up there when compared to their US competitors; for example, Disney.

Here’s the suggestion Loeb said in the letter:

“Take public a 15—20 per cent stake in Sony Entertainment, allowing it to thrive independently with the support of the Sony parent company while increasing capital to revitalize Sony Electronics”

So is Sony really considering selling the Spider-Man movie rights? I highly doubt it. The proposal isn’t about selling the movie rights, but to keep what Sony has and help them focus.

It was a nice dream to have for Marvel fans though. Just imagine Spider-Man in an Avengers movie and hanging out with the other big dogs like Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor.

Source: The Register

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Here’s the newest trailer for Gore Verbinski’s The Lone Ranger. After having directed the first three Pirates of the Caribbean movies and Rango, Verbinski has his eyes set on the West.

The Jerry Bruckheimer-produced movie follows John Reid (Armie Hammer) as he transforms into the masked hero, The Lone Ranger. Accompanied by Tonto (Johnny Depp), the duo are out for justice as they encounter epic train stunts, greed and corruption.

The movie stars Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer, Tom Wilkinson, William Fichtner, Barry Pepper, James Badge Dale, Ruth Wilson and Helena Bonham Carter.

The Lone Ranger hits theaters on July 3, 2013.

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Here’s the tech comparison for Call of Duty: Ghosts that was shown yesterday during the Xbox One pre-E3 presentation. Using the next-gen consoles, the Infinity Ward team was able to increase the details of the new game exponentially compared to their previous game, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. We get more polygon counts, smoother curves, detailed characters, and more importantly, a detailed dog. Since your character’s arms will be prominently featured, it will also be more detailed, including blood underneath nails, cuts, hair, and etc.

Call of Duty: Ghosts will be available on November 5, 2013, for major platforms.

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Darkseid attacks the Earth and you are Superman. You can only save four Justice League allies, leaving only one to get kiled by Darkseid’s Omega Beam. Your allies are Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Batman, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern. Who will you sacrifice and why? Answer in the comment section below.

Contest ends Friday on May 31, 2013. U.S. residence only. Winner will be announced shortly after on our Contest Page. Once announced on our site, the winner must send me an email within a week, or else it will be forfeit to another.

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The Jurassic Park 4 movie has been put on hold while Universal decides what to do with it. Previously it was set to be released on June 13th, 2014, with Colin Trevorrow (Safey Not Guaranteed) attached to direct. The cause of the delay was probably due to Universal wanting a bigger and grander movie.

Now we have an update for the fate of Jurassic Park 4. Sam Neill, who plays Alan Grant, has told Stuff.co.nz that Universal is planning a reboot.

“I’m told it’s a big reboot, a total re-jig.”

Since the first Jurassic Park movie is a classic, do we really need another reboot?

Source: Stuff.co.nz

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The Xbox One Reveal is now over, and it is not looking good for core gamers. After the event, sites were able to get some more insight on the Microsoft console that wasn’t revealed via the presentation. One of them is that gamers would have to pay a fee to play a used game.

Gamers should be excited that the Xbox One won’t require an always online connection, but there’s a catch. Microsoft Vice President Phil Harrison has told Kotaku that the console will require an online connection once a day. Microsoft has told Polygon that Harrison’s answer is a “potential scenario.” Whatever it is, Microsoft is clearly all over the maps.

And if you love your indie gaming, then this piece of information should be disappointing for you. The Xbox One will not give indie developers the ability to self-publish.

If an indie developer wants to have their game on the Xbox One, they will need to strike a publishing deal with Microsoft Game Studios or another third-party publisher to have their games be on XBLA. The only exception is if they were to release their games on Xbox Live Indie Games. This would be a bad route, since it’s lesser known and has more financial drawbacks.

Things might change though, since Redmond Game Studios and Platforms Matt Booty told Shacknews:

“I would also expect that for this new generation, that we’re going to continue to explore new business models and new ways of surfacing content. But Microsoft Studios is a publisher that works with a wide range of partners, as do a lot of other people, to bring digital content to the box.”

If you don’t care about indie games, then this shouldn’t be an issue for you, but for those who love their indie gaming, they might want to consider other console options.

Indie developers can self-publish via Sony’s PSN and Nintendo’s eShop.

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Disney teamed up with EA to help produce more Star Wars video game titles after closing down LucasArts. The developers assigned to produce these new games include BioWare, Visceral and DICE. There are no details on what these games are going to be like, but now that E3 is coming next month, EA has announced that they will shed some more light into their plans during their E3 briefing, “The Download: EA 2013 Preview”.

One of the things I’m curious about is whether one of their plans include bringing Star Wars 1313 back into development (since the game was previously being worked on by LucasArts). Let’s just check out the trailer again and imagine it’s going to happen.

BioWare has developed Star Wars games in the past including Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and The Old Republic. This has potential of being either great or disappointing, since KotOR was well received and TOR was considered a disappointment.

DICE has known for their first-person action games like Mirror’s Edge and the upcoming Battlefield 4. I can only guess that we’re going to get a first-person shooter Star Wars game from them. Other first-person shooters in the Star Wars universe that come to mind are Republic Commando and Battlefront.

As for Visceral doing a Star Wars game, they could incorporate what they have learned with the Dead Space series into this. Will it be a horror-like Star Wars game? Will it be a third-person shooter? Maybe they will be the one responsible for bringing Star Wars 1313 back to life. Let’s hope we’ll find out when E3 hits.

You’ll be able to stream EA’s E3 Briefing live on Monday, June 10th, at 1pm PT on Spike TV or at www.ea.com/e3.

Source: EA

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Man of Steel is getting closer to release, and here’s another new trailer called “Fate of Your Planet” featuring a cryptic-like message from General Zod (Michael Shannon) threatening Earth to give up Superman…or else. It’s the most action-packed trailer to date with ships crashing into buildings, Superman super-punching supervillains, Superman drowning in human skulls (or it could be Kryptonian skulls), deflecting bullets, General Zod’s heat vision, and more.

The movie is directed by Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen) and stars Henry Cavill as Superman, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Laurence Fishburne as Perry White, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent, Russell Crowe as Jor-El,

Man of Steel hits theaters on June 14, 2013.

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Because the Xbox One uses the x86 architecture, it won’t be able to play Xbox 360 games, nor will it be able to transfer XBLA games from the Xbox 360. However, your Gamerscore and Xbox Live Gamertag will transfer, according to engadget.

Microsoft will still support the Xbox 360 even after the Xbox One launches.

“We care very much about the investment people have made in Xbox 360 and will continue to support it with a pipeline of new games and new apps well into the future,” a Microsoft rep told engadget.

The Xbox One is designed “to play an entirely new generation of games — games that are architected to take full advantage of state-of-the-art processors and the infinite power of the cloud.”

At least they’re not dropping XBLA support completely for the 360 like they did with the original Xbox.

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VEVO has a new show called The Comment Show where host David So makes fun of ridiculous comments found on popular VEVO music videos. We chat with show creator, Thomas Bannister, about the show.

Nerd Reactor: You’ve got a lot of projects under your belt. How did you get into all of this?

Thomas Bannister: I started at a digital studio, and, really what we’re trying to do is develop the next generation of programming for the Internet. That’s our ultimate aim. Rather than necessarily break into other media, like television or film. We want to really be on that wave, creating new programming for the web. We started in 2008 with the first season of Easy to Assemble. Since then – it’s just five years, but it seems like a long time – things have just been continually producing. Everything from commercials, documentary series, comedy to action. I’ve worked with a whole host of different companies, from the likes of Disney and NBC, to brands like Sunstone and IKEA, to now working a lot with these exciting new media channels like Vevo. Great media.

Nerd Reactor: How did the idea for the Comment Show come about?

Thomas Bannister: I’m a huge music fan. I love music, and for me, one of the best entertainment inventions of the last decade has been YouTube. The reason is, for me, because it gives me instant access to music. Not just the random things, but music – any kind of song you want, from classical to modern to disco, to ’60s and then all kinds of remixes and that kind of thing. So I use YouTube all day every day for music, and obviously Vevo is a big part of that. I’m constantly on Vevo, and I think really, the idea for the show just stemmed out of me, at home, on a Saturday night.

Rather than going out, maybe I sat there listening to a song on YouTube, drinking a glass of wine and scrolling down, continually leafing through the comments underneath the music videos – specifically on some of my favorite songs. I always find it very interesting to see what people are writing about. Increasingly, on all kinds of videos, now it’s gotten to the point with the show, where I think of music, in part, through the types of comments that people put underneath the videos from having worked on these episodes.

The ideas for the show really stem from that, just being interested in the things people write under music videos and then having this idea that they could be used as information to inform comedy. That’s what we’re trying to do with the show.

Nerd Reactor: Any particular reason why you chose David So as a host?

Thomas Bannister: I’ve always loved David’s comedy, and I know the guys at Vevo loved his comedy too. We approached him, I think, in August of 2012 to do it. We ultimately shot the pilot in late October, early November.

Nerd Reactor: Just for the comments, do you have a part in picking out the comments?

Thomas Bannister: Yeah, I certainly have for the first five episodes. We have some comment researchers, we have writers who do it too. But I’ve definitely been very much involved in picking out most comments. It’s amazing how long you have to spend to find appropriate comments. It’s like an hour, on each video to filter through and find a decent comment.

It’s not necessarily because there aren’t a lot of good comments, it’s to find a comment that fits the show. It also has to be short enough. We’ve found that the comments have to be on the shorter side, because it’s difficult to keep continually reading out very long comments. There’s criteria for comments that fit our show better. So I’ve certainly spent a lot of hours over the last three months or so, digging through a wealth and wealth of YouTube comments.

Nerd Reactor: What’s the writing process like?

Thomas Bannister: It starts off really with Vevo. They send this selection of what they’re promoting on a certain week, what videos they’re promoting, what videos are new. So we really work on that, and then we’ll go on and see what’s happening in the music world. From that, we’ll develop a hit list of about 10 to 15 videos which we haven’t done before, which are new. I’ll assign comment researchers to some of those videos, and I’ll take some myself. We’ll delve into them and spend about a day or two digging out any comments for each of the artists.

We’ll put them all into a main reservoir of comments, in a Google Doc. Once they’re all in, Dan and I, who has directed the first four episodes, will then go through the comments and discuss which ones we like best. We’ll hone those comments down to about ten, which are our favorites. Then we’ll suggest gags and bits and reasons why we like them. We then take that and give it to the writer that we’re working with that week. The writer can then knock them up into a script which follows the format we developed. It starts off quite quickly with shorter comments, then gradually gets longer and into some longer sections. Then hopefully they’ll move into an interactive bit with the show – comments and Skyping with people. Then once we’ve got that script, Vevo will come back to us with notes. David, our host, will come back to us with notes. We’ll adapt it, we’ll do a table read. David will re-shoot to knock it up, and then as we shoot it, we try and do a lot of improv on the set. Then it goes into editing.

Nerd Reactor: On YouTube, everyone is about the “dislikes” and “likes.” This one has a considerable amount of people disliking it, and I was wondering if you want to talk about that.

Thomas Bannister: Yeah. Firstly, I don’t, 100% know why. I think there’s a number of different answers to it. But I think there are two ways to answer that question. On the one hand, we’re very aware of how people are commenting and responding to our show. We are adapting the show as we go along to fit those responses. That, for me, is a very new thing. Normally I produce all the shows, then they get parceled out over weeks. Whereas with this show, since we’re doing it week in, week out, and each week we’re doing it in the flesh, we can really adapt what we’re doing to the responses about what’s working and what’s not from the previous episode.

So the episodes are definitely being informed by feedback and by the responses to different videos. That, to me, is a really unique and interesting process. That being said, I think that having a lot of “Likes” on a specific episode – and certainly there are always more likes than dislikes – in episode four, there were a lot of dislikes. To me, and I don’t know if Vevo feel the same way, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. You can never please everyone, especially with comedy, you can never please everybody. I think our audience is a certain kind of person. And there will always be people who really hate that kind of comedy, and hate the kind of comedy in this show. Just like any show, any comedy show. Trying to create a show which is loved by all would be a mistake.

I think that we have a sense of what works and what doesn’t. We’re going to keep doing that to a degree without being too afraid of dislikes. I think dislikes also stem from being a little bit provocative. I think, certainly episodes three and four are perhaps a little more provocative than one and two. In that sense, you’re always going to get people who dislike what you do. It doesn’t bother me too much, although we’re definitely taking stats and feedback into perspective and trying to make it as interactive as possible without being afraid in terms of dislikes necessarily.

Nerd Reactor: The show is based on talking crap on other people’s comments, I think some YouTubers go, “What? How dare they!” Their idea is to dislike it automatically.

Thomas Bannister: One thing I’ve learned from reading comments under music videos is that there’s a tremendous amount of people who hate everything. Especially on hip hop videos specifically there’s a lot of hate. I think that in some ways, it’s just something that comes with the territory of YouTube. You’re always going to get nasty comments, you’re always going to get people saying negative stuff, and I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. I think it’s worth it no one watches the show. I don’t want to incite a tsunami of hatred, but I’m certainly not afraid of people saying that the show sucks.

Nerd Reactor: Yeah, especially if you’re in the realm of YouTube. It comes with the territory.

Thomas Bannister: Yeah, I think it’s part of this new world we live in, and in the 21st century, people have a voice, and it may be a small voice. It may be a Twitter account with a hundred followers, or it may be posting comments on YouTube, but even in that way it’s a voice. And if people didn’t have that ten years ago, fifteen years ago when everybody was watching every day, and even in a small way, that voice does have an effect. It influences other people who are watching the videos to change their opinion of it, or even the person who has created the video or article. They might read those, then rethink their approach. Even in the smallest way it does have effect, and I think that just goes with the new media territory.

The viewer has more of a stake in the content that they’re watching and consuming online than they perhaps do in other media. It’s more of an interactive forum. They have more of a stake and more of a say. I think, as a producer and creator of shows, to me, that’s not something to be afraid of necessarily. It’s something to try and embrace. In embracing it, you also have to be willing to accept the negative as well as the positive.

New episodes of the Comment Show premiere Thursdays.

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The Wolverine gets a new trailer and some new artworks featuring The Silver Samurai, Wolverine’s claws, Japan, and more sword-and-claw action.

It looks like James Mangold is going to make Viper a mutant, as we can see with her snake-like tongue (in the comic, she doesn’t have any superhuman powers). Also, the Silver Samurai is looking awesome and he’s freakin’ huge! (it looks to be a mech suit.)

Check out the ink wash artworks below.

The Wolverine slashes into theaters on July 26, 2013.

Source: The Wolverine

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You can also see the new Xbox One controller and Kinect 2.0. The Xbox One controller is pretty much similar to the Xbox 360 controller.

Another important piece of information that was announced by Microsoft is that the Xbox One will not require you to be always online. Many gamers were furious about the rumor, but it has now been laid to rest. You will still need to connect online to play online multiplayer and view streaming videos, but if you’re playing a single-player campaign, you can do so.

UPDATE: Phil Harrison, corporate vice president of Microsoft, has also confirmed with Eurogamer that people playing your game using their profile will have to pay a fee.

As for playing used games, this might be an issue. The Xbox One games, according to Wired, will be installed into the HDD and will be tied to your Xbox Live account. This is to prevent the game from being installed into other HDD and being played freely.

But what if your friends want to play your games? If they are using your profile, then it’s okay, but if they’re using their own profile, they’ll have to pay a fee and install the game from the disc. The question is, how much is the fee and how many accounts can be tied to that game?

Via Polygon

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Steven Spielberg has been trying to do a Halo movie for quite some time now. With the popularity of the Halo: Forward Unto Dawn web series, it looks like Spielberg will do a Halo story on the small screen. During the Xbox One Presentation today, he plans for a Halo premium TV show with high-production values like Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead. Spielberg is no stranger to the TV world, since has worked on the highly-acclaimed Band of Brothers miniseries.

What I’m wondering is if the Halo TV show will focus on Master Chief, or will it focus on other many other characters with different story arcs.

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The following are some interesting news for Transformers 4; however, these are still rumors.

The Dinobots are a fan favorite in the Transformers universe. We haven’t had the Dinobots featured in Michael Bay’s Transformers movies, but it looks like that’s about to change. According to Joblo, a source has told them that the Dinobots will be in Transformers 4. With the inclusion of the Dinobots, you can bet that the popular Autobot, Grimlock, will be there.

Spoilers ahead

There are other Transformers revealed like the villain Lockdown, who has a ship filled with decommissioned Transformers, including the Dinobots. This is how a captured Optimus Prime finds the Dinobots and brings them back to life. He’ll be joined by Bumblebee as they ride the Dinobots in Hong Kong into battle.

Hound will also make his debut as a “Samurai” Decepticon who turns into an Autobot to have his honor back. Yeah, even robots can be honorable.

Since Megatron was killed by Optimus Prime in Transformers: Dark of the Moon, you would think that this would be the end of the Decepticon leader. Well, if you’ve seen the animated Transformers movie, then you should be pleased to know that Megatron will be reborn as Galvatron.

If these are all true, you can bet that Transformers fans, even some in the anti-Bay camp, will catch the movie when it comes out.

Transformers 4 will hit theaters on June 27, 2014.

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We have two different sides arguing about whether or not the Human Torch should be black in the Josh Trank-directed Fantastic Four reboot. In the comic book, the Fantastic Four’s Human Torch is white who has a white sister, Susan Storm. Michael B. Jordan, who’s in talks to play the Human Torch, chimes in on the matter to USA Today during the Cannes Film Festival for his role in Fruitvale Station.

“Things change and time goes on, it’s 2013 right now,” Jordan says about the Human Torch. “The characteristics of the Human Torch are his name is Johnny Storm, he’s charismatic, and he’s a playboy. That’s it. You know what I’m saying? That’s all there is.”

As for whether he’s officially playing the character, he says that nothing is set in stone yet.

“Nothing is real. Everyone knows we’re good friends. It’s something that if it happened I would be ecstatic,” says Jordan. “I’d love to be a part of it.”

Jordan responds to the fans who are opposed to the idea of a black Human Torch.

“I think all these people have a continuity problem.”

Although there are critics, he’s confident that there are enough fans out there who are okay with him being the Human Torch.

“I get a lot of support and a lot of love from comic-book geeks. I love it,” says Jordan. “If you go looking for negative things you’re going to find it. You never go through a girl’s phone. If you’re looking for trouble, you’re going to find it. But we’ll see where this all goes.”

Jordan also talks to Huffington Post about how things are different and that it’s okay for blacks to break the mold.

“I’m all about breaking barriers and changing stuff.”

“It’s 2013. We’ve got a black president. Times have changed.”

This isn’t the first time a black actor has played a white character in a comic book. We’ve seen this with Michael Clarke Duncan as the Kingpin in the Daredevil movie, Billy Dee Williams as Harvey Dent in Batman, Idris Elba as Heimdall in Thor, and we’ll be seeing it in the upcoming Man of Steel movie where Laurence Fishburne will be playing Perry White. The only difference is if this actually does happen for Jordan, it’ll be for a character who’s more popular than the rest.

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