Warner Bros. Announces Eddie Redmayne as "Newt Scamander"

Oscar Winner Eddie Redmayne Enters the Wizarding World as Newt Scamander in “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Academy Award-winning actor Eddie Redmayne has been cast as Newt Scamander in Warner Bros. Pictures’ much-anticipated wizarding world adventure “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.” The announcement was made today by Greg Silverman, President of Creative Development and Worldwide Production, Warner Bros. Pictures.

    “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.”
Redmayne will play J.K. Rowling’s creation Newt Scamander, the Wizarding World’s preeminent magizoologist, who in his travels has encountered and documented a myriad of magical creatures, ultimately leading to his penning the Hogwarts School textbook Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

In making the announcement, Silverman said, “Eddie Redmayne has emerged as one of today’s most extraordinarily talented and acclaimed actors. We are thrilled to welcome him into J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World, where we know he will deliver a remarkable performance as Newt Scamander, the central character in ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.’”

Making her screenwriting debut on the film, J.K. Rowling has developed the character of Scamander and his primer—taken from her globally beloved Harry Potter series—to further explore the unique wizarding world she has crafted in print and bring it to life on screen.

David Yates, who directed the last four “Harry Potter” films and will direct “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” stated, “Eddie is a fearless actor, brimming with invention, wit and humanity. I couldn’t be more excited about the prospect of working with him as we start this new adventure in J.K. Rowling’s wonderful world, and I know she feels the same way.”

The film is being produced by David Heyman, producer of all eight of the blockbuster “Harry Potter” features; J.K. Rowling; Steve Kloves, who scripted all but one of the “Harry Potter” films; and Lionel Wigram, who served as an executive producer on the last four installments of the franchise.

Eddie Redmayne won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in the 2014 biopic “The Theory of Everything.” His stunning portrayal of Stephen Hawking in that film also brought him Screen Actors Guild, BAFTA and Golden Globe Awards. In 2012, Redmayne starred as Marius in Tom Hooper’s screen adaptation of the hit musical “Les Misérables,” with Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Russell Crowe and Amanda Seyfried. In 2010, Redmayne won a Tony Award for his performance in “Red,” which marked his Broadway debut. On screen, he next stars in Hooper’s true-life drama “The Danish Girl,” due out this November.

Warner Bros. Pictures has slated “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” for worldwide release in 3D and IMAX on November 18, 2016.

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VIZ Media Launches "Mega Man Star Force" Anime on Neon Alley

VIZ MEDIA WARMS UP JUNE WITH NEW DIGITAL ANIME CONTENT FOR NEON ALLEY

Catch The Launch Of MEGA MAN STAR FORCE Action Series Along With The Latest SAILOR MOON And SAILOR MOON CRYSTAL Episodes, Brand New NARUTO SHIPPUDEN Simulcasts And More!

VIZ Media prepares for the beginning of summer with a brand new digital anime update for Neon Alley.

Shoot like a rocket to the cosmos with the streaming premiere of MEGA MAN STAR FORCE. Based on the hit Nintendo DS video game, the anime sci-fi series is available now to stream (English dubbed) from the very beginning for the first time. Catch all the action of Season 1, Episodes 1-13, as Geo Stelar and his extraterrestrial partner, Omega-Xis, defend the Earth against alien invasion.

SAILOR MOON continues to captivate viewers on Neon Alley and fans can join their favorite Guardians as Season 3 – SAILOR MOON S – continues throughout the month with two new subtitled episodes added every Monday. Catch Episodes 110 and 111 on June 1st. SAILOR MOON CRYSTAL also draws closer to its climactic series finale with a pair of new first-run subtitled episode simulcasts this month. Don’t miss SAILOR MOON CRYSTAL Act 23: “Covert Maneuvers - Wiseman” on June 6th followed by Act 24: “ATTACK – BLACK LADY” on June 20th. Only 2 episodes remain!

The new June 2015 Neon Alley update is highlighted by several top-rated VIZ Media anime properties including:

MEGA MAN STAR FORCE
·         MEGA MAN STAR FORCE follows the adventures of Geo Stelar and his extraterrestrial partner Omega-Xis. The duo is capable of merging through "Electromagnetic Wave Change" to become the hero, Mega Man. Through this partnership, they defend the Earth against various alien beings, including the invading Planet FM forces! In Episode 1, scientist Dr. Kevin Stelar attempts to contact intelligent life in outer space when the experiment goes wrong and the space station he is on explodes. Back on Earth, Geo Stelar, Kelvin’s son, believes his father is still alive and vows to one day venture into space to find him. Meanwhile, Geo’s fate is about to collide with that of a fugitive extraterrestrial named Omega-Xis who has escaped his home planet with the mysterious Andromeda Key and is headed straight for Earth.

·         Season 1, Episodes 1-13 are available to stream in their entirety with dubbed English dialogue now!

NARUTO
·         The action of Season 3 of the original NARUTO anime series complements the Neon Alley line-up with Episodes 144-156 available to stream with dubbed English dialogue now!

NARUTO SHIPPUDEN
·         Brand new shinobi adventures are in-store throughout June with simulcasts of the latest English subtitled NARUTO SHIPPUDEN episodes. Catch Episode 414 on June 4th. Simulcasts of the next 3 NARUTO SHIPPUDEN episodes are scheduled to take place every subsequent Thursday.

·         Also don’t miss the premiere of a new English dubbed episode of NARUTO SHIPPUDEN every Saturday throughout June beginning with Season 7, Episode 297 on June 6th.

RANMA ½
·         The martial arts mayhem of RANMA ½ continues in June with Season 2 (Episodes 22-46) available to stream with dubbed English dialogue.

Neon Alley is VIZ Media’s consolidated online destination for FREE streaming anime content in the U.S. with over 3,700 subtitled and English dubbed episodes and movies from more than 32 series! Neon Alley also reaches an expansive on-demand U.S.-based audience on Hulu, which enables viewers to watch shows anytime, anywhere across devices including Xbox One, PlayStation®4 (PS4™), Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Google Chromecast, and mobile devices. A full list of Hulu -enabled devices can be found at http://www.hulu.com/plus/devices.

Additional information on Neon Alley is available at: www.NeonAlley.com and http://blog.neonalley.com.

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VIZ Media to Release Japanese Science Fiction Novel, "Gene Mapper"

VIZ MEDIA’S HAIKASORU LITERARY IMPRINT DEBUTS THE FUTURISTIC MYSTERY THRILLER GENE MAPPER

A Deadly Mutation Threatens The World’s Food Supply And Leads A Geneticist On A Quest To Determine Whether The Cause Is Nature Or Human Sabotage

San Francisco, CA – VIZ Media’s Haikasoru literary imprint has announced the release of its newest title, the futuristic bio-thriller – GENE MAPPER – on June 16th, 2015.

The novel about a deadly genetic threat to the world’s food supply was written by author Taiyo Fujii. It will be available for the first time in English in a print edition for $14.99 U.S. / $16.99 CAN. An eBook version also will debut on June 16th for $8.99 (U.S. / CAN) for the Amazon Kindle, Apple’s iBooks Store, Barnes & Noble’s Nook Book Store, the Kobo eBooks Store, and the Google Play store.

In a future where reality has been augmented and biology itself has been hacked, the world’s food supply is genetically modified, superior, and vulnerable. When gene mapper Hayashida discovers that his custom rice plant has experienced a dysgenic collapse, he suspects sabotage. Hayashida travels Asia to find himself in Ho Chi Minh City with hired-gun hacker Yogodo at his side – and in mortal danger – as he pushes ever nearer to the heart of the mystery.

“Taiyo Fujii, winner of a 2014 Nihon SF Taisho Award by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of Japan, is a fast rising star of the Japanese science fiction scene, and we’re thrilled to release his bio-thriller GENE MAPPER,” says Nick Mamatas, Haikasoru Editor. “Fujii explores the darker side bio-engineering in his bestselling first novel, where extraordinary advances being made in the fields of biotechnology and genetics have made the advent of genetically modified organisms a controversial reality. Readers will not want to miss this engrossing and thought provoking thriller!”

Author Taiyo Fujii was born in Amami Oshima Island, Japan, and worked for stage design, desktop publishing, exhibition graphic design, and software development before becoming an author. In 2012, Fujii self-published GENE MAPPER serially in a digital format of his own design, and it became Amazon Japan’s #1 Bestseller of that year for the Kindle device. The novel was revised and republished in both print and digitally as Gene Mapper -full build- by Hayakawa Publishing in 2013 and was nominated for the Nihon SF Taisho Award and the Seiun Award. His second novel, Orbital Cloud, won 2014 Nihon SF Taisho Award and took first prize in the “Best SF of 2014” in SF Magazine. His recent works include Underground Market and Bigdata Connect.

For more information on GENE MAPPER and the Haikasoru imprint, please visit the dedicated website at www.haikasoru.com.


About VIZ Media, LLC
Headquartered in San Francisco, California, VIZ Media distributes, markets and licenses the best anime and manga titles direct from Japan.  Owned by three of Japan's largest manga and animation companies, Shueisha Inc., Shogakukan Inc., and Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, Co., Ltd., VIZ Media has the most extensive library of anime and manga for English speaking audiences in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland and South Africa. With its popular digital manga anthology WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP and blockbuster properties like NARUTO, BLEACH and ONE PIECE, VIZ Media offers cutting-edge action, romance and family friendly properties for anime, manga, science fiction and fantasy fans of all ages.  VIZ Media properties are available as graphic novels, DVDs, animated television series, feature films, downloadable and streaming video and a variety of consumer products.  Learn more about VIZ Media, anime and manga at www.VIZ.com.

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Negromancer's Juneteenth 2015

Jurassic World, y'all!  Welcome to Negromancer 2.0.  This is the rebirth of Negromancer, the former movie review website as a new movie review and movie news site;

Follow Leroy on Patreon.

All images and text appearing on this blog are © copyright and/or trademark their respective owners.

Poster for "A Walk in the Woods" Debuts; Stars Robert Redford

Posted by Leroy on Patreon

A WALK IN THE WOODS starring Robert Redford, Nick Nolte and Emma Thompson Trailer and Poster are now!

To watch the trailer exclusively on Moviefone: http://news.moviefone.com/2015/05/27/robert-redford-walk-in-the-woods-trailer

In this new comedy adventure, celebrated travel writer, Bill Bryson (Academy Award winner Robert Redford), instead of retiring to enjoy his loving and beautiful wife (Academy Award winner Emma Thompson), and large and happy family, challenges himself to hike the Appalachian Trail - 2,200 miles of America’s most unspoiled, spectacular and rugged countryside from Georgia to Maine.  The peace and tranquility he hopes to find, though, is anything but, once he agrees to being accompanied by the only person he can find willing to join him on the trek - his long lost and former friend Katz (Academy Award nominee Nick Nolte), a down-on-his-luck serial philanderer who, after a lifetime of relying on his charm and wits to keep one step ahead of the law – sees the trip as a way to sneak out of paying some debts and sneak into one last adventure before its too late. The trouble is, the two have a completely different definition of the word, “adventure”. Now they're about to find out that when you push yourself to the edge, the real fun begins.

Official site: www.WalkInTheWoodsMovie.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/awalkinthewoodsmovie
Twitter: https://twitter.com/awalkinwoodsmov

A WALK IN THE WOODS will be in theaters nationwide on September 2nd

#TakeAHike


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Comic Book Adaptation of "Fear and Loathing" Due October 2015

Top Shelf Announces Graphic Novel Of Hunter S. Thompson’s FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS Adapted By Troy Little

    What were we doing out here…? What was the meaning of this trip? Did I actually have a big red convertible out there on the street? Was I just roaming around these Mint Hotel escalators in a drug frenzy of some kind, or had I really come out here to Las Vegas to work on a story? — Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Marietta, GA – Legendary journalist Hunter S. Thompson’s genius was rooted in his ability to blend reality with fiction, serious cultural analysis with madcap escapades, astonishing words with unforgettable images.

In that spirit, and in proud partnership with the Thompson ​Estate, Top Shelf Productions is pleased to announce Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, a delightfully bonkers graphic novel by Eisner-nominated artist Troy Little adapting Thompson’s book of the same name.

“I’m so pleased that one of the first collaborative projects to come out of the Top Shelf / IDW relationship will be Troy Little’s inspired take on a true classic of American literature,” said Top Shelf Editor-In-Chief Chris Staros. “One of the most unforgettable writers turned loose in one of my favorite cities! We can’t wait to show you what Troy’s done with it.”

The much-beloved Fear and Loathing, subtitled “A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream,” follows Thompson a​lter-ego Raoul Duke on the mother of all Vegas benders, as he and his attorney Dr. Gonzo cover a motorcycle race, crash a drug-enforcement convention, and rack up obscenely large room-service bills, all while dosed to the gills on a truly spectacular assortment of mind-altering substances.

Troy Little’s faithful adaptation, scheduled for October 2015, will capture the full gonzo experience in a glorious full color graphic novel. Little is previously known for the Xeric-award-winning graphic novel Chiaroscuro and for his Eisner-nominated series Angora Napkin, both from IDW Publishing. Now, his irrepressibly energetic cartooning brings a new level of manic energy to Thompson’s rocket-fueled narrative.

“Buy the ticket, take the ride.” Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas comes to a store near you this fall!

Title: Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (The Graphic Novel)
Author/Artist: Troy Little
Publisher: Top Shelf Productions, an imprint of IDW Publishing
Distributor: Diamond Book Distributors
Release Date: October 2015

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Negromancer News Bits and Bites for May 24th to May 31st, 2015 - Update #16

Posted by Leroy Douresseaux - support on Patreon

NEWS:

From THR: Amandla Stenberg ("Rue" from Hunger Games) speaks out on the approbation of black culture and speaks some truth.

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From RadioTimes:  Simon Pegg says sci-fi movies are "dumbing down" cinema.

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From Vulture:   Geof Darrow on Frank Miller and The Matrix.

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From TheWrap:  It's still being talked about and has no official release date, but we know a little more about "The Legend of Conan."  The film will be a direct sequel to 1982's Conan the Barbarian, and will take place 30 years later.  The film will also star Arnold Schwarzenegger.

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From YahooMovies:  First, the very idea of a utopia as envisioned by Walt Disney is troubling, to say nothing of a movie inspired by that.

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From EW:  Based on early estimates, Tomorrowland leads the Memorial Day 2015 weekend with an estimated haul of $32.2.

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From EW: First look at Matt Damon in Ridley Scott's The Martian.

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From Vulture:   At the 2015 iteration of the Cannes Film Festival, the Palme d'Or goes to the film, Dheepan, directed by Jacques Audiard.


COMICS - Books and Movies:

From THR: Marvel apparently screen-testing actors who will be the next Spider-Man near the set of "Captain America: Civil War."

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From Vulture:  Tilda Swinton cold be in Marvel's Doctor Strange movie.

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From Vulture:  Fox is apparently reviving "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen."

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From Collider:  Chris Pine in talks to appear in Warner's "Wonder Woman" movie.

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From Vulture:  A history of Marvel Comics' "Ultimate" universe.

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From YahooTV:  Michael B. Jordan talks about the online racist reactions to him being cast as "Johnny Storm."  It's not about you, Mike.  It's about "white fragility."

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From YahooMovies: Tyler James Williams would be cool about being Miles Morales in a film.

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From YahooFinance:  Is Flash the most important character in the DC Universe.


OBITS:

From TheWrap:  Anne Meara, the actress and comedian, has died at the age of 85.  She was the wife of Jerry Stiller and the mother of writer-actor-director, Ben Stiller, and daughter, Amy.

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From TheWrap: The Nobel Prize-winning mathematician, John Forbes Nash, Jr. has died.  Nash's life inspired the film, A Beautiful Mind, which won the best picture Oscar-winner for the year 2001.  Russell Crowe played Nash in the film.  Nash, who was 86, and his wife, Alicia (82) died in a taxi crash on the New Jersey Turnpike.