JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS ADD A LITTLE SPICE TO THE SWEET CLASSIC “SUGAR, SUGAR” WITH A NEWLY RECORDED COVER VERSION DEBUTING IN THE THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, EPISODE OF RIVERDALE ON THE CW

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BURBANK, Calif. (February 1, 2017) — Josie and the Pussycats add a little spice to the sweet classic pop song “Sugar, Sugar” with the performance of a newly recorded cover version airing during the Thursday, February 2, episode of The CW’s acclaimed new drama seriesRiverdale (9:00–10:00 p.m. ET/PT). Featuring lead vocals by series star Ashleigh Murray (Josie), the recording is a cover of the 2009 single “Candy Girl (Sugar Sugar)” by Inner Circle featuring Flo Rida, which was itself inspired by the iconic hit 1969 song “Sugar, Sugar.”

A video for the 2017 version of “Candy Girl (Sugar Sugar),” set during a Riverdale football pep rally and accompanied by a choreographed routine from the River Vixen cheerleading squad led by Cheryl Blossom, debuted online today, featuring additional footage not seen in the show.

 

In addition to the lead vocals by Ashleigh Murray, the new “Candy Girl (Sugar Sugar)” cover features backing vocals by guest stars Asha Bromfield (Melody) and Hayley Law (Valerie), who play the Pussycats, as well as series star Madelaine Petsch (Cheryl Blossom).

Executive producer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa said: “The hit song ‘Sugar, Sugar’ has always been a huge part of Archie’s history, so we knew we had to include it in Riverdale in some way. Since Archie’s just starting his musical journey when we meet him, we thought it would be a fun reinvention to have Josie and the Pussycats perform an updated version of ‘Sugar, Sugar’ — with an assist from Riverdale High’s cheerleaders and resident mean girl Cheryl Blossom.”

Series star Ashleigh Murray said: “As if stepping into the shoes of a fiery icon like Josie wasn’t enough, I was gifted the opportunity to reimagine and rock out on the classic ‘Sugar, Sugar.’ And boy, was it sweet.”

Originally performed by The Archies, a group of fictional teenager characters from the Archie Comics–inspired television series The Archie Show, the song stayed at #1 for four weeks on theBillboard 100 chart in 1969, topping songs by the Rolling Stones, Marvin Gaye, Elvis Presley and The Beatles, among others.

The original “Sugar, Sugar” was written by Andy Kim and Jeff Barry, and featured lead vocals by Ron Dante. The Inner Circle featuring Flo Rida version was written by Andy Kim, Jeff Barry, Bernard Harvey, Ian Lewis, Roger Lewis and Tamar Dillard.

Based on the characters from Archie Comics and produced by Berlanti Productions (The Flash, Supergirl, Blindspot, Everwood) in association with Warner Bros. Television, Riverdale is a bold, one-hour drama that offers a subversive take on the surreality of small-town life. The series stars are KJ Apa, Lili Reinhart, Camila Mendes, Cole Sprouse, Marisol Nichols, Madelaine Petsch, Ashleigh Murray, with Mädchen Amick and Luke Perry. Greg Berlanti, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Sarah Schechter and Jon Goldwater are the executive producers.

Hotel Coolgradie Review

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Hotel Coolgardie which is directed, shot and edited by Pete Gleeson is a fish out of water tale which shines a light on misogynistic attitudes of Australian men albeit in the Australian outback. Two young Finnish girls try their luck when they take a job working as barmaids at a pub, Hotel Denver City, in a remote mining town, Coolgardie, in the Australian outback. Although they are forewarned by the female recruiting agent in Perth that they are going to a mining town and will be dealing with a lot of male attention from gentlemen, Lina and Stephanie take the job regardless, out of economic necessity.


Every quarter new batches of girls arrive to work the bar at Hotel Denver City. Lina and Stephanie are replacing Becky and Clio who are wrapping up their three month contract. Interviews with the male regulars of Hotel Denver City reveal that they view the girls as the only game in town, and the race is on to see who beds them first. Their employer, Pete, announces their pending arrival, on the sandwich board outside the bar, with the words, “New Girls Tonite”. The film documents Lina and Stephanie’s attempts to see through their contract and hold it together while they fend off the unrelenting male attention. Gleeson creates intimate portraits of these two young women struggling to maintain their dignity in a sexually charged atmosphere. You not only feel their discomfort and alienation but are worried about their mental health. They are subjected to rude and insulting language and behaviour not just from the blokes from the bar but from their boss, Pete, who does nothing to stop it but adds insult to injury by belittling them in public.  I was thankful for the presence of John, aka “The Canman”, one of the male characters in the film, who presents a different male perspective. I was touched by John’s story and his friendship with Lina and Stephanie. The dramatic tension in the film doesn’t let up and if you want to find out what happens to Lina and Stephanie, well, you’ve got to see the documentary.


I found Hotel Coolgardie a fascinating documentary. Gleeson has done an excellent job editing his film as it moves fluidly between Lina and Stephanie allowing for two different perspectives, and by interspersing the entire film with day and night shots of Coolgardie and the Australian outback which situates their story in a cultural context. The film not only shines a light on misogynistic attitudes prevalent among Australian men albeit in the Australian outback, but, is a metaphor for the outsider, the migrant, who far away from home, most often alone, must learn an unfamiliar language and navigate and adapt to new cultural contexts and norms to eke out a precarious economic living. The documentary has tremendous educational appeal and can serve as a vehicle to promote human rights and social change. I highly recommend it for you won’t be disappointed.


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UDON Entertainment reveals STREET FIGHTER VS. DARKSTALKERS #1 covers

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UDON Entertainment reveals STREET FIGHTER VS. DARKSTALKERS #1 covers

When the World Warriors meet the Night Warriors, they’ll raise hell! 
 

Toronto, ON – January. 25, 2017 – The time-tested combatants of Street Fighter and Darkstalkers have met many times in the arcades, but nothing can prepare you for their first action-packed, fan service-fueled comic crossover! Villains will unite, friends will become foes, and the worlds of two fighting game franchises will be changed forever! This April, STREET FIGHTER VS. DARKSTALKERS #1 arrives, launching the 8-issue comic series with a bevy of unique and fun variant covers.

Street Fighter VS. Darkstalkers #1 sports two standard covers. Series artist Edwin Huang provides the Wraparound Story cover (CVR A). Rob “Robaato” Porter illustrates the Midnight Bliss cover (CVR B), which features an array of fighters who have succumbed to Demitri’s gender-swapping power – in fact, issue #1-4’s CVR B will connect to form one massive four-part Midnight Bliss image!

Also available for Street Fighter VS. Darkstalkers #1 is a special Blank Sketch cover (CVR C) and two retailer incentive covers. The Movie Poster incentive cover (CVR D) by Joe Vriens pays tribute to a classic horror movie poster, while popular cover artist Stanley “Artgerm” Lau provides a Guest Artist incentive cover (CVR E) showcasing leading ladies Chun-Li and Morrigan.

UDON has also teamed up with some righteous retailers to produce epic retailer-exclusive variants! Focus Attack, the top-tier arcade parts e-commerce shop, will be selling an exclusive wraparound cover by Jeffrey “Chamba” Cruz, that pays homage to a classic Capcom Secret File cover. It will be available in both full color and black-and-white line art versions at focusattack.com.

Meanwhile, Fried Pie Comics will be selling their own Street Fighter VS. Darkstalkers #1 exclusive cover by Jean-Baptiste Nanteau. This cover connects with Fried Pie’s exclusive cover for Street Fighter VS. Darkstalkers #0 to form a terrifying two-part image! Fried Pie variant covers are available through Books-A-Million and 2nd & Charles stores.

Street Fighter VS. Darkstalkers #1 hits stores everywhere in April 2017, preceded by a special prelude issue, Street Fighter VS. Darkstalkers #0, in February 2017. Every issue of Street Fighter VS. Darkstalkers will also be made available digitally via comiXology. Media inquiries and/or requests for review copies should be directed to Jenny Myung at press@udonentertainment.com.

STREET FIGHTER VS. DARKSTALKERS #0
DETAILS: 32 pg, Full color
MSRP: $3.99
DIAMOND ORDER CODES:
DEC162023 STREET FIGHTER VS DARKSTALKERS #0 CVR A HUANG
DEC162024 STREET FIGHTER VS DARKSTALKERS #0 CVR B NANTEAU
DEC162025 STREET FIGHTER VS DARKSTALKERS #0 CVR C 10 COPY VRIENS INCV
PUBLICATION STATUS: Available February 2017

STREET FIGHTER VS. DARKSTALKERS #1
DETAILS: 32 pg, Full Color
MSRP: $3.99 (CVR A, B, D, E) $4.99 (CVR C)
FEB172039 STREET FIGHTER VS DARKSTALKERS #1 (OF 8) CVR A HUANG
FEB172040 STREET FIGHTER VS DARKSTALKERS #1 (OF 8) CVR B PORTER
FEB172041 STREET FIGHTER VS DARKSTALKERS #1 (OF 8) CVR C BLANK SKETCH
FEB172042 STREET FIGHTER VS DARKSTALKERS #1 (OF 8) CVR D 10 COPY INCV
FEB172043 STREET FIGHTER VS DARKSTALKERS #1 (OF 8) CVR E 20 COPY INCV
PUBLICATION STATUS: Available April 2017

INJUSTICE 2’ PREQUEL COMIC BOOK SERIES SET TO LAUNCH APRIL 11

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‘INJUSTICE 2’ PREQUEL COMIC BOOK SERIES SET TO LAUNCH APRIL 11

 

DC Taps Critically Acclaimed Artist Bruno Redondo to Spearhead Digital First Comic and Adds Artist to Growing Talent Roster

 

DC Entertainment revealed today all-new details for the highly anticipated INJUSTICE 2 comic book series inspired by the upcoming videogame. Set to make its digital debut on April 11, Injustice fans can dive into the earth-shattering universe before the game launch via the prequel comic, which will debut new chapters every week. DC also announced that fan favorite artist Bruno Redondo will join series writer Tom Taylor as the book’s lead artist.

 

Redondo previously worked with Taylor on the hugely successful Injustice: Gods Among Us comic book series in 2013 and has recently reached an agreement with DC to create comic book content solely for the company’s DC and Vertigo imprints.   

 

“Returning to INJUSTICE and working with Tom again feels like a homecoming,” said Redondo. “Much of the work I’m most proud of is what Tom and I did during the first comic and it feels great to come back. Tom is one of my favorite writers and one that I enjoy working with the most. We have a similar understanding of the characters, the drama and the humor, which I think helped make the first series so successful. Working in the Injustice universe allows us to do so many things we’re unable to do in any other comic and I can’t wait for fans to see what we have in store for INJUSTICE 2.”

 

“I am so excited to continue working with Bruno Redondo. He’s a good friend and an incredible talent,” said Taylor. “I think Bruno ‘gets’ me as well as any artist ever has. We compliment each other well, and Bruno lifts INJUSTICE up with every stroke of his pen. As a former theatre director and performer, my main focus is always on how well our characters ‘act’ on the page. Bruno brings so much emotion to the page, nailing the low points and the high. His characters breathe, and he’s just as comfortable delivering big action and shocks as he is with my ridiculous humor.”

 

In addition to interiors, Redondo will also provide cover artwork for the series including one of the first covers revealed today by DC. Other artists tapped to contribute to INJUSTICE 2 include Juan Albarran (INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US), Daniel Sempere (ARROW:  THE DARK ARCHER), Mike Miller (INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US) and many more to be announced.

 

The prequel comic book storyline will look to bridge the gap between the first Injusticevideogame and the upcoming Injustice 2 game that debuts in May 2017. Taylor previously noted, “Our overarching goal is to tell one complete story between the comics and the games. There are a lot less ‘Gods Among Us’ in INJUSTICE 2 than when we started our story, but we hope to join Batman and the world’s finest Super Heroes in cleaning up the mess an evil Superman and his regime left behind.”

 

Following the digital launch, DC will also offer the INJUSTICE 2 comic as a twice-monthly print periodical beginning in May.

 

About Injustice 2 Video Game

The Injustice 2 videogame is the super-powered sequel to the hit game Injustice: Gods Among Us. The newest game in development from the award-winning NetherRealm Studios and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment features a massive roster of DC Super Heroes and Super-Villains and allows players to build and power up the ultimate version of their favorite DC characters. Injustice 2 will be available for the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system and Xbox One on May 16, 2017.