Geek News

Geek News on the Radio May 31, 2016

Fandom Is Broken: Controversies and entitlement shine a light on a deeply troubling side of fandom.

What if Annie Wilkes had the internet? What if she didn’t have to kidnap Paul in order to make her displeasure with him known? What if she could tweet hate at him all day, or could fill message boards with personal bile about him or could directly send him death threats through Facebook, email or Tumblr? If Annie Wilkes had the internet she would fit right in with a disturbingly large segment of fandom.

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Jeff Bridges Bringing Some True Grit to ‘Kingsman: The Golden Circle’

The cast of Kingsman: The Golden Circle is already something special with Elton John making a rare turn as an actor. But the roster for the sequel just got a little sweeter with the addition of The Big Lebowski and True Grit star Jeff Bridges, and he even got his own teaser poster that is the perfect way to announce the addition of The Dude to the cast. In fact, the poster just might tease the role of Jeff Bridges in Kingsman 2. Considering Bridges’ on-screen history with alcohol, this is the perfect image to announce his addition to the cast. In addition, this also gives us a hint as to who Bridges might be playing. His character hasn’t been officially named or even described, but we do know that Kingsman: The Golden Circle will see the devastated British spy organization teaming up with their American counterparts known as the Statesman.

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‘Halloween’ Director John Carpenter Revives ‘Friday the 13th’ Rivalry

John Carpenter does not think much of the 1980 film that spawned the hockey-mask-wearing, machete-wielding slasher Jason Voorhees. The Halloween director recently criticized the original Friday the 13th film, suggesting it was a lackluster money grab. Carpenter told author Bret Easton Ellis on his podcast that he is a huge fan of the first Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but Friday the 13th, not so much. “One springs from an organic idea and has a truly artist’s eye working,” Carpenter told the American Psycho author. “And Friday the 13th, I feel, affects me as very cynical. It’s very cynical movie-making. It just doesn’t rise above its cheapness.” Carpenter’s 1978 slasher classic Halloween, starring Jamie Lee Curtis, was an enormous box office success, and he believes that is why similar horror films flooded the market in the years following.

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Original Ghostbusters actor Dan Aykroyd praises remake

Dan Aykroyd, who played Ray Stantz in the original Ghostbusters film, has praised the upcoming reboot. Aykroyd is listed as an executive producer on the movie, which features a female-led cast including Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig. He commended the “brilliant, genuine performances from the cast both female and male”. The actor made the comments after seeing test screening of Paul Feig’s new film. “It has more laughs and more scares than the first two films, plus Bill Murray is in it!” Aykroyd wrote on Facebook. The first trailer became the most disliked movie trailer in YouTube history when it was released in March. A second trailer was released last week on social media, which was more warmly received. Referring to the character he played in the 1984 original, Aykroyd said: “As one of millions of man-fans and Ray Stantz, I’m paying to see that and bringing all my friends.”

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Jeremy Irons Says the Critics Were Right About ‘Batman v Superman’, Remains Optimistic About ‘Justice League’

Jeremy Irons‘ Alfred Pennyworth was one of the best parts of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, a welcome font of warmth and humor in an otherwise pitch-dark movie. Nevertheless, he’s well aware of the drubbing that the film has received from critics, and he’s even inclined to agree that it “deserved” those terrible reviews. But don’t worry — he sounds more optimistic about Justice League, in which he’ll reprise his role as Batman’s loyal butler. And not just because the role gives him “a bit of an income,” as he puts it. In an interview with The Daily Mail, Irons acknowledged that Batman v Superman had been panned by reviewers: “Deservedly so. I mean it took £800 million, so the kicking didn’t matter but it was sort of overstuffed… It was very muddled.”

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