‘Theodore Rex’ star Whoopi Goldberg is joining the cast of Amazon Studio’s adaption of Neil Gaiman’s modern fantasy novel ‘Anansi Boys’ as the Bird Woman.
“I have been a fan of this book for a very long time and when Neil Gaiman told me it was being brought to the screen, I did everything I could to be part of it to help make people aware of Anansi and all his magic,” Goldberg said in a statement.
Neil Gaiman, who also serves as an executive producer and co-showrunner, celebrated the casting.
“When I first conceived Anansi Boys, decades ago, I imagined Whoopi Goldberg as Bird Woman,” he said. “I wasn’t able to meet her until 2018, when she interviewed me with some of the Good Omens team at New York Comic Con. At which point she mentioned that she had just finished listening to Sir Lenny Henry’s reading of Anansi Boys, and that it was one of her favourite books. Sometimes things feel planned and inevitable, and we are incredibly lucky. She’s going to be scary.”
“Playing opposite Malachi Kirby’s leading roles of Fat Charlie and Spider, Goldberg will play the role of Bird Woman, God of Birds, who exists within The World Before Time,” Amazon said in a press release.
They continued, “The six-episode series stars Malachi Kirby in the leading roles of brothers Fat Charlie and Spider. Anansi Boys is set throughout contemporary London and follows an exciting cast of characters in an epic story that stretches from the UK to Florida, the Caribbean, and the mythical World Before Time. The series is currently filming in Scotland and will premiere on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.”
The show also stars Delroy Lindo, Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn, Grace Saif, CCH Pounder, Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Emmanuel Ighodaro, Cecilia Noble, Ayanna Witter-Johnson, and Don Gilet.
The ‘Anansi Boys’ novel was released in 2005, and later won both the Locus Award and the British Fantasy Society Award in 2006.
Whoopi Goldberg Joins The Cast of Amazon Studios’ ‘Anansi Boys’
Have Your Own Party With Jet Jaguar and This King Ghidorah Tiki Mug!
Jet Jaguar? Jet Jaguar! “He jock it made of steel!” Yes, the heroic robot who once teamed up with Godzilla has returned in the form of a 7.75″ tall soft vinyl figure from Mondo! He may be short and a little stubby, but he comes at a hefty price. So if you want this Jet Jaguar, be ready to pay $85.
Sadly, he is already sold out. Maybe more will become available before his August 2022 release date?
This soft vinyl figure is the first in our line of JET JAGUAR collectibles, featuring a colorway inspired by the seminal GODZILLA VS. MEGALON. Beautifully designed by Rocom, sculpted by Tufan Sezer, and painted by Hector Arce, this is one figure that no Toho fan will want to miss out on.
Jet Jaguar first showed up in the 1973 kaiju feature Godzilla VS. Megalon, directed by Jun Fukuda. It’s one of the sillier Godzilla films, and MST3K gave us the best translation of Jet’s song. The size-shifting robot has also shown up in a couple of newer animated Godzilla series. One of those versions, from Singular Point, also had S.H.MonsterArts figure.
And remember, “he mother never really love him.”
Now that we’ve got that bit of nostalgia out of the way let us have a drink with the king!
The King Ghidorah Tiki mug holds 26 ounces of whatever tickles your fancy. He is a pretty big guy, and you’ll be paying $65 if you decide to pre-order him. According to Mondo, these Tiki mugs are limited to a run of only 1,000 pieces, and each one is handmade. King Ghidorah is expected to ship out this July.
Designed after its Showa Era appearance by Hector Arce and sculpted by the awesome Tufan Sezer. Holding a massive 26oz, King Ghidorah is ready to electrify any tiki concoction you could think of!
I’m not sure if Tiki mugs or Tiki bars are still popular. I haven’t seen a Tiki-themed bar since I moved out of LA. Is there money to be made by converting someone’s patio into a Tiki lounge?
What do you think of the Tiki mug and Jet Jaguar vinyl figure? Let us know in the comments section below!
[Source: Mondo]
[Source: Mondo]
Darksider’s Death Lives On With A Dark Horse Direct Statue
Feeling that his brother War was wrongly convicted of kicking off the apocalypse, Death sets forth into the remnants of our world to find out who is really behind the end times. Out of all of the Four Horsemen of the Apocolypse designs, Death was the coolest of them all. His armor was made of bone, and he armed himself with two scythes!
Dark Horse Direct has a new statue of Darksiders’ Death up for pre-order now. The statue is made entirely of resin. No polystone, fabric, or silicon. This would explain why Death is still pretty affordable, coming in at $579.99. The original price was $619.99. Expect this thing to ship sometime during the first quarter of 2023.
The concept for this statue is inspired by official Darksiders II artworks, where on the majority of them, Death dons the Necromancer armor set. This is a lootable armor set in the game that increases Death’s Arcane Abilities. The weapon he’s wielding is his signature dual scythes, which is his starting weapon, and the base design is of the Kingdom of the Dead, which is one of the major overworlds in Darksiders II.
Death’s statue is sized as follows: 19.57″ (497mm) x 16.81″ (427mm) x 29.41″ (747mm).
Darksiders II was released in 2012. It improved on many aspects of the original game and followed the story of the horseman Death. It was an action-adventure game with a plot that ran concurrently with the first game’s events. While it wasn’t perfect, I remember being pretty happy with it upon completion. The other two games in the series never hit with me because I never finished more than a couple of hours of either.
What do you think of this statue of Death? Let us know in the comments section below.
[Source: Dark Horse Direct]
MCU Star Chris Pratt Discusses ‘Alaskan Nets’ Documentary
When he is not being chased by dinosaurs or traveling through the galaxy, Chris Pratt finds time to make a documentary with Good Deed Entertainment titled ‘Alaskan Nets,’ about the basketball team Metlakatla Chiefs from a remote Alaskan village.
Directed by Jeff Harasimowicz, the film made its official debut at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival where it won the Audience Award for its story of the Chiefs rallying for their first championship in three decades.
Pratt sat down with Slash Film for an interview where he discussed ‘Alaskan Nets’ and what he liked about the movie.
“The film was brought to Indivisible Productions by the director Jeff who had personally financed the piece,” he explained. “I hadn’t heard of it before I saw the film, but it really resonated with me given I spent a portion of my childhood in Alaska and grew up in a town fiercely dedicated to -and in many ways defined by their high school sports programs.”
Pratt continued, “What is community if not the connection between inhabitants of a certain region through hope, pride, suffering and sacrifice. Basketball, along with the local fishing industry is one of the only threads that weaves the fabric of Metlakatla together. Sports teams allow us to be part of something bigger than ourselves, they give us an identity. With Alaskan Nets the audience gets to follow along as these wonderful young men search for meaning. Basketball, the State Championship, the legacy means everything to them and because we love them it means everything to us too.”
When asked about a narrative film about the story, Pratt replied, “Who knows. It’s not a bad idea. Add a talking raccoon and a couple of dinosaurs and we’ll talk! Ha!”
You can watch the trailer below:
The film’s official synopsis says,
“Off the coast of Southeast Alaska lies an island — remote, largely hidden from the outside world and home to the Tsimshian natives of Alaska’s last remaining native reserve: Metlakatla. For more than a century, two sacred traditions have defined Metlakatla: fishing and basketball. Audiences will witness the improbable journey of cousins Danny Marsden and DJ King, fishermen and stars of the high school basketball team as they lead their team and town toward their first state championship in more than 30 years – the only thing that will bring life back to an island that has undergone unimaginable tragedy.”
The documentary is available for digital and video-on-demand viewing.
Mezco Takes Another Trip To Silent Hill With New 5 Points Action Figures
Mezco is back with a new set of figures based on Silent Hill. Specifically, Pyramid Head and the Nurse are based on the creatures we see in Konami’s Silent Hill 2 from 2001. Wow. That makes me feel old. I remember playing that on launch day on my PS2.
Pyramid guy is decked out in a smock and can be armed with either his giant sword or rusty spear. His right arm is interchangeable depending on how you’d like him to hold a weapon.
The Nurse creature is a mixture of sexy and ghastly. The bubblehead is featureless aside from the nurse’s cap and video monitor mouth. She, too, comes with an alternate right arm for holding her pipe any way you see fit.
Both figures are 3.75″ tall and the set is priced at $44. Expect these to start shipping out between December 2022 and February 2023.
This pack comes with the following figures and accessories:
- Bubble Head Nurse – the shrieking and gurgling monster known for her spastic movements. The Bubble Head Nurse is outfitted in a nurse’s uniform and comes with two interchangeable right arms, both of which can hold her rusted pipe accessory.
- Red Pyramid Thing – the executioner and manifestation of James Sunderland’s desire for punishment. Red Pyramid Thing is outfitted in his signature weathered smock and comes with two interchangeable right arms, both of which can hold his Great Sword or Great Spear accessories.
- One (1) rusted pipe
- One (1) Great Sword
- One (1) Great Spear
- Two (2) display bases
- The double-sided diorama features the decrepit halls of Brookhaven Hospital on one side, and the nightmarish basement of the hospital on the other side.
What do you think of these? Let us know in the comments section below.
[Source: Mezco]
This Shogun Godzilla Figure Is Hot. 1200°C Hot!
If you missed out on the chance to own the last couple of versions of Super7’s 3.75″ tall Shogun Godzilla, don’t worry. There’s a brand new one on the way, and he’s hot! Based on the King of the Monsters’ burning form during the climax of Godzilla vs. Destoroyah.
Everything about this ‘Zilla is the same as the previous ReAction release, but now he is molded in translucent orange. Still no firing rocket hand, though. Come on, Super7! I want my giant lizard monster to have a detachable limb that flies through the air!
1200°C Godzilla is priced at $25 and can be ordered right now by clicking here.
While it sure looks like it might be too hot to touch, you won’t actually need special heat-resistant gear to handle the new 1200ºC Shogun Godzilla ReAction figure! This 3.75” articulated figure is modeled after the vintage Shogun Godzilla toy and is injected in translucent, bright orange as an homage to the 1995 film Godzilla vs. Destoroyah. Featuring a spring-loaded, retractable “flame” tongue and packaged in a special throwback miniature box, you’ll be the one getting fired up if you miss out on this 1200ºC Shogun Godzilla ReAction figure!
- Inspired by the vintage large format Shogun Godzilla toy
- Translucent, bright orange colorway is an homage to the 1995 film Godzilla vs. Destoroyah
- Features spring-loaded retractable flame tongue
- Packaged in special vintage-inspired miniature box
- 3.75” scale action figure with five points of articulation
- Look for more Godzilla ReAction figures by Super7!
The two previous releases of the Shogun-styled Godzilla included a standard paint job and one with the glow-in-the-dark parts similar to the Atlantis model we reviewed recently.
Check out the video below for more information on the Shogun figure line from the 1970s.
What do you think of this new variation of the ReAction figure? Let us know in the comments section below.
[Source: Super7]
Arcade1Up Follows Up The Pac-Man Couchcade With An Atari Version
Last week we covered Arcade1Up’s newest device, the Couchcade. The initial release was based around Pac-Man and other Namco games. This follow-up is all about the golden age of Atari’s arcade dominance.
The Atari Couchcade comes with ten classic games, and the control deck features a trackball and spinner rather than a joystick. The bottom of the control deck is a beanbag featuring the 1970s Atari color scheme. The controls connect wirelessly to a console which can be hooked up to a TV via an included HDMI cable.
For $179, I hope the quality of the controls has improved since the early days of Arcade1Up’s Atari cabinets. If not, it may be entirely possible to swap out the trackball and spinner.
Easily connect the Micro Game Console to your TV via HDMI port, the wireless control deck features real-feel arcade controls on top, and a soft bean bag bottom. Yep, retro gaming just literally fell into your lap!
When looking back at the history of video gaming, there is no doubt which company was the trailblazing pioneer: Atari. A name that became synonymous with the arcade boom, and a powerhouse in broad entertainment.
Here are the ten games that come with this version of the Couchcade:
- ASTEROIDS
- ASTEROIDS DELUXE
- CENTIPEDE
- MILLIPEDE
- MISSILE COMMAND
- TEMPEST
- MAJOR HAVOC
- LUNAR LANDER
- CRYSTAL CASTLES
- GRAVITAR
The Atari Couchcade’s specs are as follows:
- Assembled Dimensions: 19.6”L x 11.2”W x 4.5”H
- Box Dimensions: 21.3” Lx 6.0”W x 13.6”H
- Weight: 7.0 lbs
- 2.4Ghz Wireless Control Deck
- Control Deck powered by 4 “AAA” (Not Included)
- Adjustable Volume
- HDMI Micro Game Console
- HMDI & USB cables included
- 30ft Wireless gameplay range
- Real feel trackball, spinner, and buttons
This one is a more challenging sale than the Pac-Man version, in my opinion. Whenever I hear people talk about retro gaming, they rarely reference Atari. The allure of gaming from that era is collecting the actual hardware and games, not emulating them. Maybe I’m wrong. What do you think?
[Source: Arcade1Up]
Ellen Ripley Shines In This Premium Masterline Statue From ‘ALIENS’
Ellen Ripley is back! No, it’s not some lousy reboot, but a premium statue from Blitzway featuring the classic sci-fi hero as she appeared during the climax of the legendary ALIENS film from 1986.
At the Big Bad Toy Store, we spotted this recreation of Ripley’s heroic quest to save Newt as the atmospheric processor started to go nuclear. Decked out with only flairs, a flamethrower, and a pulse rifle, the most badass mother in the universe, is about to clash with the grotesque xenomorph queen.
The statue is priced at $1,264.99 and will ship around September 2023.
The statue is composed of several different mediums, including polystone and fabric. Ripley’s clothing is all done with stitchwork, and from the up-close shots, it looks impressive. The Reeboks are probably polystone, but they’re painted and textured so well that it’s hard to tell for sure.
The LE statue comes with a bonus in the form of an Ovomorph (egg) with a Facehugger crawling out of it. Sadly, there’s no Newt statue to accompany this whole scene.
Following the Locator, Ripley navigates the narrow gangways of the Atmosphere Processing Plant, and here, Prime 1 Studio’s engineering really shines! Not only is Ripley’s base reminiscent of the grimy, industrial maze of pipes and grates, but if you look down at the platform, the LED Illuminated floor recreates the seemingly endless levels Ripley has to traverse until she reaches the Xenomorph Queen’s Hive!
Here’s what all comes in the box:
- Ellen Ripley statue
- M41A Pulse Rifle
- M240 Flamethrower
- Ammunition Cross Bag
- Marking Flare Pouch
- M-94 Marking Flares
- Bonus Ovomorph and Facehugger
The only thing I do not like about this statue is Ripley’s face. The structure is correct, but the eyes look like they’re too small. Maybe Blitzway/Prime 1 Studio couldn’t get Sigourney Weaver’s likeness rights? Regardless, all the other details make up for it. What do you think?
[Source: Big Bad Toy Store]
You Need Jean-Claude Van Damme’s Sick Kicks On Your Shelf
You may not be able to afford the real Jean-Claude Van Damme to sit atop your shelf. OK, nowadays you probably could. However, Diamond Select has just the thing for you if space is an issue. Introducing a 10″ tall version of the “Muscles from Brussels.”
This statue is 10.5″ in height and is made from PVC. It features Van Damme demonstrating his iconic high kick. Rippling muscles and bulging quads are included! They even threw in his chiseled good looks and boyish haircut.
The statue is priced at $49.99 and is limited to two-per-customer. Expect these mini-Jean-Claudes to arrive in August of this year.
The Legend begins! Diamond Select Toys kicks off a new line of Jean Claude Van Damme collectibles with this Gallery Diorama of the Muscles from Brussels in one of his iconic, superhumanly balanced poses! Demonstrating one of his famous high kicks in front of a gong, the young JCVD stands approximately 10.5 inches tall and is made of high quality PVC. It comes packaged in a full color window box.
Van Damme had a storied career in the early ’90s. However, he came around at a time when the whole super-macho heroes of the 1980s were on the way out. His role as Guile in Street Fighter: The Movie: The Game: The Movie: The Debacle didn’t help cement his career as a leading man. To be fair, his fight scenes in Bloodsport are friggin’ amazing.
At the very least, he did contribute to the Predator franchise … by being cut out of the movie and having the film’s monster totally reimagined.
What are your thoughts on Van Damme and his Hollywood career? Let us know your opinions in the comments section below. But be careful because he may just be watching … just like the Predator.
[Source: Diamond Select]
Toei Animation Shares Update On Cyber Attack
The Japanese movie company Toei Animation faced a brutal cyber attack on their servers in March 2022 that caused many of their projects to be delayed. ‘Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero’ had its theatrical release delayed while episodes of ‘One Piece’ ‘Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai,’ ‘Delicious Party Precure,’ and ‘Digimon Ghost Game’ were forced to have their broadcasts briefly canceled following the hack.
Crunchyroll is now reporting that the NHK has revealed that the company was targeted by ransomware from hackers who were seeking to make a profit.
They explained that “the hack on Toei Animation was a ransomware virus that demanded a pay-off. Toei was able to confirm the existence of the virus and shut down its internal systems to investigate the extent of the virus’ reach. Details on the ransom, the virus itself, or where the virus may have come from, were not revealed.”
“The Japan Computer Emergency Response Team Coordination Center (JPCERT) revealed that these types of cyberattacks had become more common against Japanese companies during the pandemic, jumping from 20,000 reports in 2019 to 35,000 in the first 9 months of 2021. In February 2022, Toyota and its supply chain companies were targeted by a similar hack causing production to halt, with March seeing three other high-profile companies attacked,” they continued. “All anime production is currently still slowed down due to internal systems not being fully operational.”
While new episodes of the anime are restarting production, ‘Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero’ is still in limbo with no firm release date being offered.
“The extent of the situation is still under investigation, and efforts are underway to normalize the operations. We deeply apologize to our fans for any concern this may cause,” Toei Animation said in a statement.
Most of the shows will begin airing new episodes in the middle of April 2022 while other projects will continue to see delays.
