Author: Rob

DARK DAYS AHEAD FOR THE DC UNIVERSE

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Spearheaded by Snyder, these new stories will reveal the dark underbelly of the DC Universe. The mysteries of THE FORGE and THE CASTING will hit shelves on June 14 and July 12, respectively, and break new ground in DC’s publishing line.

 

“Art like this demands an epic story,” says Snyder. “DARK DAYS posits a mystery that traces all the way back to when I started on BATMAN. I’ve hinted at them over the years with Easter eggs and clues. This is a mystery that literally begins at the dawn of man and spans generations of heroes and villains and ultimately leads to huge revelations about the past, present and future of the cosmology of DC. I couldn’t be more excited for DARK DAYS. It’s the prelude to the event we’ve been developing for years.”

 

“We’re taking all the ethos and excitement of the work Scott and I have been doing in the Batman titles and unleashing it across the entire DC Universe,” adds Tynion IV. “The size and scope of what we’re looking to do with DARK DAYS could only be accomplished by the best of the best. Andy, Jim and John are legends. All of us on this project are pushing one another, and every concept, to the extreme.”

 

Visually powering this event is a master class of artists, including Kubert, Lee and Romita Jr., who will drive DC’s initiative to bring artists to the forefront of the storytelling process. Beginning with DARK DAYS, these writers and artists will collaborate to develop new ideas and characters, further enriching the DC Universe.

 

“Working with Scott and James on DARK DAYS is the culmination of the big ideas and endless brainstorming that came out of a recent creative summit,” explains Lee. “It was tremendous fun having peers like Andy Kubert and JRJR in with some of our top writers. Strategically, Dan and I have talked for a long time about bringing the artist back to the table in the genesis of big, epic events. The creative summit was just that, and the level of collaboration was truly invigorating and electrifying. We can’t wait to share DARK DAYS with the DC faithful…they’re in for a thrill ride!” 

Wonder crew: Superhero James

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Wonder Crew is turning the table on the conversation about gender stereotypes and toys, which has largely been focused on presenting more options for girls to play. Wonder Crew brings a great addition to the toy market by offering a buddy that helps boys develop their emotional maturity, including compassion and kindness, to help them grow to be good men, husbands, fathers and more.

Combining the adventure of an action figure with the emotional connection of a stuffed animal, 15″ Wonder Crew Buddies are available now. The crew includes Will (Caucasian), Marco (Hispanic), James (African American) and Erik (Asian). Each comes dressed in superhero gear, complete with matching mask and cape for kids.

Here is our review.

MY LITTLE PONY FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC RARITY FASHION RUNWAY Playset

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MY LITTLE PONY FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC RARITY FASHION RUNWAY Playset

(Ages 3 years & up/Approx. Retail Price: $19.99/Available: Spring 2017)

RARITY loves to create and wear fun fashionable outfits. Fans can dress this 3-inch RARITY pony figure with a twist in the MY LITTLE PONY RARITY FASHION RUNWAY playset! Place RARITY and her outfit on the fashion runway platform and slide the heart-shaped button to dress the pony figure. She twirls as she slides in and out of the outfit! The playset comes with 3 adorable outfits with a clip-and-style feature to dress the RARITY figure by hand or on the playset runway. Add more ponies to the playset with the MY LITTLE PONY RUNWAY FASHIONS sets, each featuring a 3-inch pony figure with 1 fashionable clip-on outfit, hair accessories, and clip-on accessory! Pony figures include FLUTTERSHY, RAINBOW DASH, and PRINCESS TWILIGHT SPARKLE. Each sold separately. Available at most major retailers and on HasbroToyShop.com.

 

• Includes playset, pony figure, and 7 accessories

• Slides 3-inch Rarity pony figure into her fashionable outfits

• Rarity twirls forward and back on the runway

• Comes with 3 fashionable outfits

• Outfits have clip-and-style feature

• Dress pony figure by hand or using fashion runway slider

• Figure scale: 3 inches

• Ages 3 and up

FANDANGO TO PREMIERE “FANSHOP,” ITS FIRST-EVER CURATED MERCHANDISE DESTINATION DEDICATED TO MOVIE FANDOM — LAUNCHING IN APRIL

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 Fandango FanShop Will Feature Hand-Selected, Exclusive Merchandise and Experiences for Hot New Releases and Beloved Franchises, Debuting with Offerings from “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” “Wonder Woman,” and “Despicable Me 3,” Among Others

 

LOS ANGELES (March 16, 2017) – Fandango, the leading digital network dedicated to serving consumers with all of their movie needs, announced today the debut of Fandango FanShop (FandangoFanShop.com), its first-ever online merchandise store, offering a curated collection of unique and exclusive wearables, collectibles, experiences and events tied to theatrical releases and beloved movie franchises.  Launching in April, FanShop’s initial offerings will feature gear from the highly anticipated movies “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” “Wonder Woman,”  “Despicable Me 3,” and many others.

“At Fandango, we are building a digital ecosystem dedicated to super-serving movie fans with all of their needs throughout a film’s life cycle,” said Fandango President Paul Yanover. “With Fandango FanShop, we will immerse and activate fans at home and on mobile devices with new merchandise, experiences and related content they’ll want to share, beginning at the first trailer drop, building excitement for theatrical, and then extending through the home entertainment release.”

 Leveraging its ongoing movie fan research, Fandango is differentiating FanShop from other merchandise sites and apps by curating select products and experiences that are handpicked by studios, filmmakers and fans.  New merchandise and experiences will be introduced throughout a movie’s life cycle, so there is always something new for fans to discover.  In the coming months, FanShop will also feature dedicated hubs for beloved franchises. 

 Fandango plans to promote FanShop across the company’s digital network, and connect consumers directly to the store to peruse and purchase merchandise.  In the near future, fans will be able to purchase movie tickets and merchandise in the same transaction on Fandango, and buy merchandise with Digital HD movies on FandangoNOW, the company’s video on-demand service.  Fandango also plans to offer movie ticket and merchandise bundles as special promotions, gifts with purchase, and other events. Some of the movie ticket bundles will also include promo codes for merchandise on FanShop. 

Fandango’s digital network is a fully integrated ecommerce and content business dedicated to movies, featuring best-in-class properties that reach more than 60 million movie fans per month.  Fans can discover movies on Fandango Movieclips, the No. 1 movie trailers and content channel on YouTube, and decide what to watch by using Rotten Tomatoes’ critic reviews and Tomatometer scores.  Fandango and Flixster are the go-to destinations for purchasing movie tickets, while FandangoNOW enables fans to buy or rent movies at home and on the go. FanShop is a natural addition to the network, giving fans a destination to celebrate their favorite movies, characters and franchises through unique and exclusive merchandise and events.

Fandango’s expanding digital portfolio is driving record-breaking ticketing growth, sending more and more consumers to the theater every year.  The company’s ticketing increased more than 30% in 2016 year-over-year, and is already up 28% to date in the first quarter of 2017.  Fandango continues to pioneer new ticketing innovations on its own site and apps, as well as integrate its ticketing on leading technology and social platforms, such as Messages for iOS 10, Facebook, and others.

The company has also grown its business internationally in Latin America, one of the fastest growing global film markets.  In December 2015, Fandango acquired Brazil’s No. 1 online ticketer, Ingresso.com, and in December 2016 acquired Peruvian-based Cinepapaya, renamed Fandango Latin America (Fandango.lat), expanding its online ticketing business to Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Ecuador and Bolivia.


Seinfeld’s Iconic Apartment Living Room, Recreated As Fine-Art Miniature

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SEINFELD SHOW ADDS A NEW MILESTONE TO ITS STORIED LEGACY

SEINFELD’s ICONIC APARTMENT LIVING ROOM

FAITHFULLY RECREATED AS A FINE-ART MINIATURE

The limited-edition miniature-to-scale diorama, is replicated down to the finest possible detail including over 100 unique miniature element – its familiar furniture, kitchen, wall artwork, lighting fixtures, hanging bicycle, and even a working version of the front door to Jerry’s apartment 5A.  Designed to display on coffee tables and bookshelves, it measures  a tad taller than a cup of coffee.  



The made-to-order,  high-end replicas are available for purchase now only at https://seinfeldsetreplica.com/.   Only 5,000 numbered pieces will be available.  The Seinfeld Set Replica is priced at $399 through March 1,  Subject to availability, the price for orders placed after this date will be $499.

The attention to detail adds to the authenticity.   For  example, the baseball posters that adorn Jerry’s apartment including  James Rizzi’s serigraph “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” and the vintage “Memphis Chick” placard.    Fine mesh covers the speakers, coffee cups and plates are stacked in the kitchen cupboards, books line the shelves and Jerry’s bike hangs from the hall.

Along with purchase, collectors will receive a hand numbered commemorative card featuring an authentic piece of a door from the Seinfeld Archives. Each card is individually numbered and features a section of wood from the actual prop door.  

The detail and size makes Jerry’s apartment a center piece in amyones collection!

The SEINFELD apartment living room was the setting where beloved characters, Jerry, Elaine, George and Kramer would gather to debate, commiserate, celebrate and agitate during many hours of the show’s most memorable scenes.

Ideally suited for prominent display on coffee tables and bookshelves, the made-to-order Seinfeld Set Replica is masterfully crafted at 1:26 scale, measuring 16.5”W x 11.5”D x 6.5”H.  A strictly limited edition of 5,000 numbered pieces, it is available beginning today exclusively at www.seinfeldsetreplica.com.  Extending the Festivus season celebration, the Seinfeld Set Replica is priced at $399 through March 1. `Subject to availability, the price for orders placed after this date will be $499.

Along with purchases of the Seinfeld Set Replica, collectors will receive a hand numbered commemorative card featuring an authentic piece of a door from the Seinfeld Archives. Each card is individually numbered and features a section of wood from the actual prop door shown here. This rare, from-the-set artifact is authentic and certified by the Warner Bros. Studio Archive.  Both the Seinfeld Set Replica and authentic Seinfeld front door relic card will be shipped in June 2017. For more details and complete ordering information, please visit: www.seinfeldsetreplica.com

Working closely with Warner Bros. Consumer Products for special access to the show’s original blueprints and development materials, courtesy of the original production crew, the Seinfeld Set Replica has been meticulously recreated and hand painted to capture the apartment’s realistic, lived-in look.

A multi-talented team of show creators, studio executives, designers, artists, and merchandising experts was assembled in order to bring this unique, fine-art collectible to life:

Tho. E. Azzari, the TV show’s distinguished Production Designer, provided creative consultation for the project. Azzari, a key collaborator on 168 (out of 173) total episodes, pulled sketches, Polaroids and color swatches from his personal archives to ensure the miniaturized Seinfeld Set Replica was faithful to the original, life-size set.

“Once I laid eyes on the completed model, I thought it was amazing. Seeing the piece in all its glory triggered memories of many wonderful experiences working on this now-classic TV show.”

—Tho. E. Azzari, Seinfeld Production Designer

Additional collaborators include:

Mass Operations, an internationally-acclaimed architectural design studio that translated photography of the original set into a detailed digital sculpture then used to produce over 50 individual parts seen in the finished diorama.

Fine artist Alan Wolfson, designer of one-of-a-kind miniature environments, and whose extraordinary works of art have been showcased in galleries and museums around the world, provided creative advice.

Overseeing development and manufacturing is Rvckvs Holdings LLC, the uncompromising collectibles studio run by noted industry veterans Georg Brewer and Robb Gamboa.

Positively Living with Diamond Dallas Page review

Rob 1 Comment

By Chris Vint

Bang…Self High Five…He’ll help you help you! Those are just some of the catchphrases we have heard from DDP and DDP yoga which is now a worldwide phenomenon. But, do we know how the man called Diamond Dallas Page started his journey into professional wrestling? Well this documentary does an amazing job of telling us!

DDP was quite the athlete at school and needed to be as he had one huge obstacle he later overturned later in life…he had ADD and couldn’t focus on reading or writing. Football and hockey were his main interests. That all stopped when he was hit by a car and flew 42 feet which took out part of his knee, he was only 12 years old. 

Not allowing anything to hold him back his next sport of choice was Basketball. While also going to wrestling school once a week he unfortunately tweaked his knee again. So he decided to enter the “bar” business with Norma Jeans. While doing radio work for his bar he soon found himself as a manager in the AWA but his “clients” couldn’t wrestle  – a sharpe contrast to what he became later with WCW. 

Greg Gagne phoned to invite him to the NWA and started in 1988. Eric Bischoff wasn’t a fan of DDP due to his loud and over the top persona. Working with Dusty Rhodes and through Luke of Bushwhackers DDP became rhythm and blues driver at wrestlemania 6 and would later return to the same arena to fight Christian at Wrestlemania X8. He had  a try out at the WWE for a commentator in 1990 to replace Jesse Ventura. He didn’t get the job and then decided he didn’t want to be an announcer or manager but he wanted to be a wrestler!

Going  to the power plant at age 35. Lot of people didn’t think he would make it because most Wrestlers started out much younger. He was put on tv after only 3 weeks of training and had a lot of gimmicks before we finally got the end product of the DDP we know and love now.

  • In 1995, Page got an award for most improved wrestler of the year from PWI. And 2 years later, he worked with Randy Savage and said his promos in that feud were the best he has ever done. It was called the Feud of the Year for 1997. Page said that Randy Savage elevated him to be a top guy. 

Page and Malone vs Hogan and Rodman. Malone stayed with Dallas and trained in the power plant – biggest grossing PPV in WCW history. One of the first celebrities that WCW would have in their time. 

Page’s professional wrestling career forever changed when he was in a 4 Corners Match featuring Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, and Sting. Against all odds, Page emerged victorious, which he couldn’t believe that he was the one to win this match against 3 of the best of all time.

In 2001, DDP came to WWE and did the stalker angle, the Positively Page gimmick, “He will help you like you.” Right here is where his career would end but this wasn’t a horrible situation in Page’s eyes because he ended his career working for the company he always dreamed he’d be.

After Page’s pro wrestling career was over, it was time for him to set the world on fire with Yoga! AJ Styles, Mick Foley, Goldust, Steve Austin and Chris Jericho are some of the WWE Superstars, like so many others, who have used DDP Yoga. Two best known for being “helped” are Jake Roberts and Scott Hall.  Wow, the transformation between these two icons alone is a testament to DDP.  From drug and alcohol addiction, these two changed their lives around thanks to Diamond Dallas Page. He even got them inducted in the Hall of Fame (thanks to DDP yoga)!

One day, DDP gets the call from HHH to say he’s going in the Hall of Fame and gets quite emotional about it. To be honest so did I with seeing how much he had grown over the years and how much he has done for people like Scott Hall and Jake Roberts (who he said helped him get into the wrestling business).

Available on blu-ray and DVD from 27th of March. You can head to WWEDVD and pre-order your copy today. I highly recommend you do so! Click here to order – https://www.wwedvd.co.uk/diamond-dallas-page-positively-living-order-p-12294.html?osCsid=ffb521d03af6b83d21c2b16563578573

Star Wars Celebration 2017 Exclusives Revealed!

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“This R2 unit has a bad motivator, look!”

 

Kotobukiya is excited to announce our 2017 Star Wars Celebration exclusives, which include FOUR unique Droid releases – all first time additions to the ARTFX+ collection! From the new duo 0-0-0 (Triple Zero) and BT-1 to fan favorites R5-D4, R4-M9 & R2-X2 there is something for everyone in this offering. These will be sold exclusively at Kotobukiya booth #3332 during Celebration. And for those not attending this event we have a limited-time pre-order taking place right now on kotous.com.