Good Girls Gone Geek Podcast Episode 10 - British Invasion

Recently, Bex and Proffitt, the lovely ladies of Good Girls Gone Geek, invited me to be a part of their podcast extolling the virtues of the British television programs which have been invading American airwaves. We talk about news and updates for Sherlock, Downton Abbey, and Doctor Who and also discuss what makes them our favorites. We're also joined by Sean Perrault, Gaming Team Lead for Word of the Nerd, a Canadian who talks for bit about the awesomeness of Canadian film. It was a fun time!

Listen to the podcast here.

For more podcasts from Word of the Nerd Online, subscribe on iTunes or go directly to the podcasts page!

Word of the Nerd Online Presents: WOTN Theatre Spectacular!

In honor of The Tony Awards which were held last week, we decided to host our own "Theatre Specacular" podcast. I was very privileged to take the reigns as host for this special edition of the Word of the Nerd Online podcast. I'm joined by Jason Padua of Word of the Nerd Online and Rachel Proffitt of WOTN and Good Girls Gone Geek. In this podcast, we give a run-down of the Tony winners. We also discuss the highs and lows from the show. Rachel, JP, and I are all theatre people so we talked about the shows that we are excited to see and what is coming near us. We also talk about our favorite theatrical experiences as either actors or technical crew. Later, we're joined by Sean Perrault of WOTN, who helps us close out the show.

The podcast can be found here.

Head over to Word of the Nerd Online for more awesome podcasts and check out Rachel (and her partner in geek, Bex) at Good Girls Gone Geek.

What's your favorite musical or play?

Newest Trailer for Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter Released – Features Villain and Speeches

On this Memorial Day, we Americans remember the heroes who have made the biggest of sacrifices to keep our nation free. In Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, that includes preserving the Union from Vampires who wish to overthrow the country and create their own nation. We are very excited about Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter here at Word of the Nerd, especially because the book on which the film is based is the first selection for the new Word of the Nerd Book Club. In just under one month, the film, penned by the book's author Seth Grahame-Smith and directed by Timbur Bekmambetov, will be hitting theaters. A third theatrical trailer was released today, and this one is a doozy. Featuring more history, speeches, and a good look at the film's villain, a vampire named Adam, played by Rufus Sewell, this clip is sure to get everyone excited for the movie. 

Talking Dead and Comic Book Men Renewed for Season 2

Things seem to be pretty good over at AMC, the station formerly known as American Movie Classics that has gone from being a go-to source for golden-era Hollywood films to gritty, original programming. With hits such as The Walking Dead and Mad Men, fans have come to expect a lot out of the cable channel. In a release today, executives unveiled their plans to not only renew the network's newest shows The Talking Dead and Comic Book Men, they are extending their run from thirteen episodes to sixteen. Both shows are part of the network's Sunday night line-up and follow the series The Walking Dead, based on the comic book by Kentucky-native Robert Kirkman.


The Talking Dead, hosted by 'The Nerdist' Chris Hardwick, invites celebrity guests in a panel-style discussion of the night's episode of TWD. The show has featured Felicia Day, as well as stars of the show and Kirkman himself. The reality show Comic Book Men follows the staff of director Kevin Smith's New Jersey comic book shop Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash. In addition to the documentary style of the show, the podcast which Smith leads is part of every episode, recounts the adventures of the week. According to the AMC Blog, Neilson ratings place Comic Book Men as one of the most engaging reality programs on television. Both Hardwick and Smith are very happy with the news about their AMC programming. Smith was quoted as saying,  

"A thousand thank you's wouldn't cover the gratitude I'm feeling right now. And as you might imagine, everyone at SModcast Pictures is in love with everyone at AMC today! Rest assured, Walt, Bry, Mike, Ming and I are suited up and ready to hit the ice for our second season with Team AMC."

  Hardwick shared similar elation.  

"Talking Dead has been an amazing experience and I cannot pile enough hugs and thanks onto AMC for renewing it. I CAN'T WAIT for Season 3 of Walking Dead, so that we can finally talk about Rick meeting [SPOILER] and [SPOILER]-ing him with a heavy-duty [SPOILER] at the [SPOILER]. And let's not forget all the rest of the [SPOILER]s getting in on the action! [EXPLETIVE] me! It's going to be great..."

  According to network executives, both programs fit the model that AMC strives for in creating engaging original programming. While both television shows feature "real" people, they do tell unique stories and create "authentic characters." Both programs should be back in the fall to correspond with the premier of season three of The Walking Dead.

Are you a fan of these two programs? Leave a note in the comments and tell me what you think of them!

This article appeared on Word of the Nerd Online on May 10, 2012.

CONFIRMED: And the Star Trek 2 Villain Is...

This post contains spoilers for Star Trek 2.

But really deep in our hearts, we already knew this. The details have been few and far between. We learned months ago that Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch would be appearing in J. J. Abrams' 2013 Star Trek sequel. The rumor mill began to churn out stories that he would be playing Khan Noonien Singh, first played by Ricardo Montalbon in the TOS episode "The Space Seed" and again in Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan, which both featured the original cast. Then, we heard that instead of Khan, Cumberbatch would be portraying Sybok, Spock's brother. However, confirmation has come that Benedict Cumberbatch will indeed be playing Khan and will be Star Trek 2's villain.

Of course, the set photographs that were reported on weeks ago did allude to the fact that Cumberbatch's character would be no friend of the Enterprise crew. In fact, the pictures featured Cumberbatch grappling with Zachary Quinto's Spock. We reported in the last few days that Leonard Nimoy himself had let his it slip about his appearance in the film. This news has been confirmed and Nimoy will indeed be reprising his role as Spock Prime. Klingons will also be in the film!

So, here we have it. Suspicions confirmed: Benedict Cumberbatch is Khan. Honestly, I cannot think of another actor for that role, and that is not just by bias toward Benedict Cumberbatch talking.

Did you see this coming?  Who would you have cast in the role of Khan?

This article was originally published on Word of the Nerd Online on May 1, 2012.

Bryan Fuller and Bryan Singer May Team for Star Trek Television Series

It has been seven years since a series within the Star Trek franchise has aired new episodes. J. J. Abrams’ 2009 Star Trek reboot film brought discussion of a show back into the collective consciousness and many are clamoring to see the new timeline established by that film displayed on the small screen. Abrams’ Star Trek sequel, for which no title has been announced, is set to premiere in 2013 and there has been recent buzz that a former Star Trek: Voyager producer wishes to bring the science-fiction show back to television. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Bryan Fuller discussed the likelihood of achieving that, with the help of producer Bryan Singer, whose big project currently is the X-Men reboot franchise.

Francis Lawrence to Helm Catching Fire

In late breaking news, director Francis Lawrence has become Lionsgate's choice to head up Catching Fire, the highly anticipated sequel to The Hunger Games. This comes less than two weeks after Gary Ross, THG's director, made his decision not to be involved with the rest of the franchise. His decision was due to the filming schedule for Catching Fire and the high demand for the film's star Jennifer Lawrence, who will be splitting her time between filming the movie adaptation of the next installment of the Hunger Games series and the sequel to 2011's X-Men: First Class, in which she played a young Mystique. The wildly successful Hunger Games adaptation has grossed $336,666,363 as of April 15,  $152,535,747 of which is the total for the opening weekend.

FUNimation Teases 'Mass Effect' Prequel Anime

Mass Effect: Paragon Lost is a feature-length animated film which will serve as a prequel for the newly released video game Mass Effect 3. The film is in development from ProductionIG, the internationally renowned animation company behind Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. FUNimation will distribute the film and a video of concept art was recently posted on the company's YouTube channel.

From FUNimation:

Mass Effect: Paragon Lost is the prequel to the highly-anticipated Mass Effect 3 and follows the early career of Alliance Marine, James Vega. Vega leads an elite Special Forces squad into battle against a mysterious alien threat known as The Collectors. Stationed at a colony in a remote star system, Vega and his soldiers must protect the civilians from a ruthless invasion determined to capture the population for unknown purposes. Learn more about the Mass Effect universe with an unprecedented glimpse into the haunted past of Mass Effect's newest hero!

Be sure to check out the latest news on the BioWare blog and the new Mass Effect: Paragon Lost website.

Do you think that someone (like myself) who hasn't played any of the Mass Effect franchise would enjoy this?

Viral Videos for 'Prometheus' Hit the Web: Weyland Ted Talk 2023 (Guy Pearce) and Happy Birthday David (Michael Fassbender)

Capitalizing on the success of viral videos, the marketing department at Twentieth Century Fox who arebehind the new Ridley Scott film Prometheus have released two videos that they expect will make their way around the internet. The two videos set up the film quite nicely and definitely make me want to see it even more than an awesome IMAX trailer that was attached to The Hunger Games.

In Weyland TED Talk 2023, Peter Weyland (Guy Pearce) follows a timeline of technological advancements. Beginning with Prometheus, who stole fire from the gods, and following the trajectory that takes civilization to the year 2023, Weyland outlines the way technology has evolved over the course of human history. By 2023, technology has advanced to the creation of cybernetic individuals. To Weyland, only one conclusion can be drawn from this. Humans are now the gods.

Happy Birthday David features the cybernetic individuals that Weyland referenced in his TED Talk. The beginning of the video asks "What is it about robots that make them so robotic?" Effectively a commercial for Weyland Industries, Happy Birthday David introduces the world to David, portrayed by Michael Fassbender. In the video, David explains his capabilities to understand human emotion and says that "war, poverty, cruelty, and unnecessary violence" make him sad. He is unable to feel emotion, but is capable of understanding it. David explains that he can do almost anything that can possibly be asked of him. Because he is incapable of feeling human emotion, he is able to perform tasks that human workers may feel are unethical. Take a look at the video, if nothing more than it is an amazing example of Fassbender's acting chops.

/

What do you think of these new videos?

Is An Elder Scrolls MMO Announcement Coming In May?

You can find this and other articles by me at Word of the Nerd Online!

After the success of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, there has been a tremendous amount of speculation as to the likelihood of Bethesda Game Studios releasing an Elder Scrolls MMO. Take off the tinfoil hats, folks, because there may be an announcement sooner than you think. Kotaku, via Tom's Guide, has late-breaking news that the makers of Oblivion will be unveiling their plans to market a massively-multiplayer game based on their Elder Scrolls franchise. Now, there are few details at this point, but it looks as if Bethesda and ZeniMax Online Studios will be making their announcement in May.

Of the few details that have been leaked, where this game would fit on the Elder Scrolls timeline seems to be the most important. Sources are reporting that it would take place a full millennium before Skyrim, during the "Second Era", which basically places it several hundreds of years before any of the current Elder Scrolls games. As of now, there will be three factions. It's not clear where each of the playable races of the current Elder Scrolls will fit into each of these factions, or if all races will be able to choose their own faction.

One detail that seems not to have surfaced at this point is the subscription model. With so many games going free-to-play, one can't help but wonder if an Elder Scrolls MMO would hang with the likes of World of Warcraft and Star Wars the Old Republic. The trajectory of the industry seems to be placing more and more games into a free-to-play model, but time will tell when details of Elder Scrolls Online are fully revealed!


Check back for any news as it develops!

Geeky Super Bowl Commercials

Super bowl commercials are as old as the game itself. In fact, the championship that pits the two best teams in American Football turns 45 this year. The Super Bowl is the most watched event of the year and the ad space is worth millions of dollars, but who cares about sports? Seriously, folks, why does everyone watch the game now if not for the commercials? In the past few weeks, the 2012 Super Bowl commercials have been unveiled and are being shared on Facebook walls across the world. With the Avengers spot, the G.I. Joe Retaliation commercial, and an homage to Star Wars on the slate this year, I thought we could take a look at Super Bowl commercials of years past. Clips after the break!