All posts by Chris Tansuche

TV

The 2013 Emmy Nominations Are Out; Let’s Complain About Them Together!

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The Emmy nominations were announced this morning for 2013 and as usual, there are some snubs/surprises/”holy crap were you high?” type of moments. One of the big things is that cable and Netflix shut out the broadcast networks in the best drama category, showing the best dramas are definitely not on the big networks. American Horror Story: Asylum also led the way with the most nominations (helps to be competing in the miniseries category) while Game of Thrones and Behind the Candelabra trail behind as well. Also The Walking Dead got the total shaft. But first, let’s list the nominations before we all shake our fists in the air:

Lead Actor in a Drama Series

Bryan Cranston as Walter White on Breaking BadHugh Bonneville, Downton Abbey
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards
Damian Lewis, Homeland

Lead Actress in a Drama Series

Connie Britton, Nashville
Claire Danes, Homeland
Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men
Michelle Dockery, Downton Abbey
Vera Farmiga, Bates Motel
Kerry Washington, Scandal
Robin Wright, House of Cards

Outstanding Lead Actor In A Miniseries Or A Movie

Benedict Cumberbatch, Parade’s End
Michael Douglas, Behind The Candelabra
Matt Damon, Behind The Candelabra
Toby Jones, The Girl
Al Pacino, Phil Spector

Outstanding Lead Actress In A Miniseries Or A Movie

Jessica Lange on American Horror Story AsylumJessica Lange, American Horror Story: Asylum
Laura Linney, The Big C: Hereafter
Helen Mirren, Phil Spector
Elisabeth Moss, Top of the Lake
Sigourney Weaver, Political Animals

Outstanding Host For A Reality Or Reality-Competition Program

Ryan Seacrest, American Idol
Betty White, Betty White’s Off Their Rockers
Tom Bergeron, Dancing With The Stars
Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn, Project Runway
Cat Deeley, So You Think You Can Dance
Anthony Bourdain, The Taste

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Jason Bateman, Arrested Development
Louis C.K., Louie
Don Cheadle, House of Lies
Matt LeBlanc, Episodes
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

Tina Fey for 30 RockLaura Dern, Enlightened
Lena Dunham, Girls
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation

Reality-Competition Series

The Amazing Race
Dancing With the Stars
Project Runway
So You Think You Can Dance
Top Chef
The Voice

Variety Series

The Colbert Report
The Daily Show
Late Night With Jimmy Fallon
Jimmy Kimmel Live
Saturday Night Live
Real Time With Bill Maher

Drama Series

House of CardsBreaking Bad
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
House of Cards
Homeland
Mad Men

Comedy Series

30 Rock
The Big Bang
Girls
Louie
Modern Family
Veep

Miniseries or Movie

American Horror Story
Behind the Candelabra
The Bible
Phil Spector
Political Animals
Top of the Lake

Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series

Peter Dinklage for Game of ThronesBobby Cannavale, Boardwalk Empire
Jonathan Banks, Breaking Bad
Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad
Jim Carter, Downton Abbey
Peter Dinklage, Game Of Thrones
Mandy Patinkin, Homeland

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series

Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Emilia Clarke, Game Of Thrones
Christine Baranski, The Good Wife
Morena Baccarin, Homeland
Christina Hendricks, Mad Men

Outstanding Guest Actor In A Drama Series

Nathan Lane, The Good Wife
Michael J. Fox, The Good Wife
Rupert Friend, Homeland
Robert Morse, Mad Men
Harry Hamlin, Mad Men
Dan Bucatinsky, Scandal

Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series

Julie Bowen for Modern FamilyAdam Driver, Girls
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family
Ed O’Neill, Modern Family
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Bill Hader, Saturday Night Live
Tony Hale, Veep

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series

Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory
Jane Lynch, Glee
Julie Bowen, Modern Family
Merritt Wever, Nurse Jackie
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family
Jane Krakowski, 30 Rock
Anna Chlumsky, Veep

Outstanding Guest Actor In A Comedy Series

Bob Newhart, The Big Bang Theory
Nathan Lane, Modern Family
Bobby Cannavale, Nurse Jackie
Louis C.K., Saturday Night Live
Justin Timberlake, Saturday Night Live
Will Forte, 30 Rock

Outstanding Guest Actress In A Drama Series

Downton AbbeyMargo Martindale, The Americans
Diana Rigg, Game Of Thrones
Carrie Preston, The Good Wife
Linda Cardellini, Mad Men
Jane Fonda, The Newsroom
Joan Cusack, Shameless

Outstanding Writing For A Drama Series

George Mastras, Breaking Bad • Dead Freight
Thomas Schnauz, Breaking Bad • Say My Name
Julian Fellowes, Downton Abbey • Episode 4
D.B. Weiss and David Benioff, Game Of Thrones • The Rains Of Castamere
Henry Bromell, Homeland • Q&A

Outstanding Directing For A Drama Series

Tim Van Patten, Boardwalk Empire • Margate Sands
Michelle MacLaren, Breaking Bad • Gliding Over All
Jeremy Webb, Downton Abbey • Episode 4
Lesli Linka Glatter, Homeland • Q&A
David Fincher, House Of Cards

Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series

Louis CK and Pamela AdlonMolly Shannon, Enlightened
Dot-Marie Jones, Glee
Melissa Leo, Louie
Melissa McCarthy, Saturday Night Live
Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live
Elaine Stritch, 30 Rock

Outstanding Writing For A Comedy Series

Jeffrey Klarik and David Crane, Episodes • Episode 209
Louis C.K and Pamela Adlon, Louie • Daddy’s Girlfriend (Part 1)
Greg Daniels, The Office • Finale
Robert Carlock and Jack Burditt, 30 Rock • Hogcock!
Tina Fey and Tracey Wigfield, 30 Rock

Outstanding Directing For A Comedy Series

Lena Dunham, Girls • On All Fours
Paris Barclay, Glee • Diva
Louis C.K., Louie • New Year’s Eve
Gail Mancuso, Modern Family • Arrested
Beth McCarthy-Miller, 30 Rock • Hogcock! / Last Lunch

Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Miniseries Or A Movie

James Cromwell, American Horror Story: AsylumScott Bakula for Behind the Candelabra
Zachary Quinto, American Horror Story: Asylum
Scott Bakula, Behind The Candelabra
John Benjamin, The Big C: Hereafter
Peter Mullan, Top Of The Lake

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Miniseries Or A Movie

Sarah Paulson, American Horror Story: Asylum
Imelda Staunton, The Girl
Ellen Burstyn, Political Animals
Charlotte Rampling, Restless
Alfre Woodard, Steel Magnolias

Outstanding Writing For A Miniseries, Movie Or A Dramatic Special

Richard LaGravenese, Behind The Candelabra
Abi Morgan, The Hour
Tom Stoppard, Parade’s End
David Mamet, Phil Spector
Gerard Lee and Jane Campion, Top Of The Lake

Outstanding Directing For A Miniseries, Movie Or A Dramatic Special

Steven Soderbergh, Behind The CandelabraLouis CK - Oh My God
Julian Jarrold, The Girl
David Mamet, Phil Spector
Allison Anders, Ring Of Fire
Garth Davis and Jane Campion, Top Of The Lake • Part 5

Outstanding Reality Program

Antiques Roadshow
Deadliest Catch
Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives
MythBusters
Shark Tank
Undercover Boss

Outstanding Variety Special

The Kennedy Center Honors
Louis C.K.: Oh My God
Mel Brooks Strikes Back! With Mel Brooks And Alan Yentob
Saturday Night Live: Weekend Update Thursday (Part One)
12-12-12: The Concert For Sandy Relief

Outstanding Writing For A Variety Series

The Colbert Report
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
Jimmy Kimmel Live
Portlandia
Real Time With Bill Maher
Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live

Outstanding Writing For A Variety Special

Louis C.K.: Oh My God
Night Of Too Many Stars: America Comes Together For Autism Programs
Saturday Night Live: Weekend Update Thursday (Part One)
66th Annual Tony Awards

Outstanding Directing For A Variety Series

James Hoskinson, The Colbert Report
Chuck O’Neil, The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
Andy Fisher, Jimmy Kimmel Live
Jerry Foley, Late Show With David Letterman
Jonathan Krisel, Portlandia
Don Roy King, Saturday Night Live

Outstanding Directing For A Variety Special

Louis J. Horvitz, The Kennedy Center Honors
Hamish Hamilton and Bucky Gunts, London 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony
Louis C.K, Louis C.K.: Oh My God
Don Mischer, The Oscars
Michael Dempsey, 12-12-12: The Concert For Sandy Relief

Alright, let’s break it down in the least amount of words possible. For the comedies, Parks & Recreation got snubbed, The Big Bang Theory continues to be formulaic and powerful in garnering academy votes, The Office gets no love in its final season while 30 Rock scored in its final year, Arrested Development got robbed (even though it wasn’t its best season, still better than most of the stuff out there) and New Girl must have gotten stale with the voters. As for the dramas, House of Cards came out huge with nominations for Spacey and Robin Wright, although none for a great performance from Corey Stoll. The Walking Dead didn’t score any major categories, Boardwalk Empire also was left on the bench for the most part, Tatiana Maslany from Orphan Black became the big snub after being the critics darling for the last year and Downton Abbey continues its powerful run through awards shows.

Quite frankly, there’s a lot to debate so we ask you, who else got snubbed, deserved it or other WTF moments can you identify? I think the nominations have gotten better but there’s still the darlings of the Academy that just feels like they are put on there because they are always there, or politics and loyalty wins out in the end. Regardless, I’m pretty happy about House of Cards personally. That’s just good times right there.

SPORTS

No More NCAA Football for EA Sports! Here’s What It Means For You

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It looks like Ed O’Bannon gets to chalk up a victory for him and his class action lawsuit against EA Sports and the NCAA. According to ESPN and Gamespot, the NCAA has decided not to renew their contract to produce video games using the NCAA name and likenesses. It means that NCAA Football 14, the most recent edition released this month, will be the last of the series for the time being. It turns out that the potential lawsuit started by O’Bannon has presented itself as an obstacle to continuing the relationship between the video game maker and collegiate body without incurring more wrath financially and legally from others.

ncaa football 14 1

For those that don’t remember, Ed O’Bannon was a former college basketball player that was frustrated with seeing his likeness in video games and other licensed products from the NCAA and was not getting paid for it. So, like any American would, he sued both EA and NCAA for lost royalties and licensing profits. Other former student athletes followed suit and the grand total they believe stands at billions of dollars that need to be paid out to them. The video game part of it plays a major part in it as we gamers know that the names are NEVER used in the game but the numbers, height, weight, speed, strength, and how they play are put exactly in the game even as they lack an identifying marker. Some people even go as far as just renaming the players to the original name just to have the full experience. Obviously, this is a hotly debated part playing out in the legal system as we speak.

What does this mean for us gamers? Well, that copy of NCAA Football 14 with Denard Robinson on the cover? That’s the last game you’ll see with any NCAA likeness and names in a game from EA. Now, there’s still going to be a college football game for next year from EA Sports, most likely to be called College Football 15. They still are able to partner with the Collegiate Licensing Co. in order to include teams and leagues so we won’t see the game completely using NAIA teams or community colleges not affiliated with the NCAA. They just have to negotiate with each team and league individually in order to get them included in the game. There have been talks to have one featured team such as an Alabama or Ohio State to represent the game as powerhouses to help overcome the loss of the big license but that remains to be seen.

ncaa football 14 2

What we can probably see from here on in is even more generic football players that won’t look like the players or resemble them by number or likeness, so as to not throw gas on the fire. The NCAA is obviously spooked by this lawsuit and wants to get away from EA Sports, who continue to put players in the game that resemble the underclassmen. They don’t want to get into deeper hot water so they’ve decided to cut their losses and move on and see how this legal dilemma plays out. Either way, it’ll be interesting to see how this will affect games. While not as big as Madden, the NCAA games still represents a good portion of the EA Sports cash cow and if there’s a lot of changes coming to the games, it just might be time for them to cut their losses too.

Movie News & Opinions

The Newest Marvel One-Shot Features the Return of Hayley Atwell as ‘Agent Carter’

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Despite previous reports, it looks like Hayley Atwell and her Peggy Carter character will be coming back to the Marvel Cinematic Universe… Sort of. According to Entertainment Weekly, Peggy Carter will make her return, but not in a way that everyone previously thought. As Captain America’s would be love interest from the first movie, most thought she should make her return in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. It was announced months ago that she would not return for that and most of us closed the book on her involvement in future Marvel ventures. Apparently, we thought wrong.

She will actually be returning in her own little Marvel One-Shot, a short film series made popular at last year’s 2012 Comic-Con in San Diego with Item 47, which starred Jesse Bradford and Lizzy Caplan. Marvel has had a succesful run of  One-Shot’s, with a couple featuring Agent Coulson and the previously mentioned Item 47, and this new short will act as the bridge to the next Captain America movie. The title is Agent Carter, and it will obviously follow the lovely Peggy Carter as she navigates a world that just survived Red Skull and Hydra and the issues that arise when you happen to be a female secret agent in a world dominated by men.

Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter in 'Agent Carter'

The short film is directed by Marvel’s go-to short film guy, Louis D’Esposito, who did Item 47 and produced some of the Marvel Studios films. Seeing that Disney chairman and CEO Robert Iger greenlit the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. series based off of Item 47, you know that they have a lot of faith in this type of entertainment medium. Agent Carter starts off a year after Cap decided to chill out (yep, Batman & Robin reference for Kronner) as she works for the precursor spy agency before S.H.I.E.L.D. called the SSR (Strategic Scientific Reserve) and is on the hunt for Zodiac. We don’t know what  iteration Zodiac might take in the MCU (person, weapon, item, key), but we do know he/she/it/they are the evil element in this story.

Of course, Ms. Carter must also deal with her superiors, namely one Bradley Whitford, who plays her sexist boss who obviously frowns upon having a woman attempt to rise in the ranks of his office. He does whatever he can to keep her down, because he believe that her meal ticket was Captain America and with no Cap, there’s no reason to keep her around.

Bradley Whitford in Agent Carter

Of course, she probably exercises some form of girl power to rise above the sexism and crap but that’s beside the point. It’s important that some of these characters will still have a say in the MCU and won’t go away once they’ve left the main narrative. Having these One-Shots are a great way to branch out without having to sacrifice the main story to pigeonhole someone in, while giving these ancillary characters their time to shine. Also returning is Tony Stark’s dad, Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper) to help bridge the gap from Iron Man 3 to the Winter Soldier. We`ll have to wait and see if he’ll look more gray and have a chance to hook up with Joan from Mad Men (Iron Man 2, anyone? When Howard Stark was Roger Sterling?), but it’s good to see throwbacks and the promise of other cameos will definitely make this a worthwhile venture.

For those not attending Comic-Con this year in lovely San Diego, you can still catch the One-Shot when Iron Man 3 comes out on DVD/Blu-ray on September 24th. However, those that are going to be in SoCal (ED. NOTE: Chris was just fired for using that term) next week, keep your Friday night open and check the Marvel booth to see if tickets will be available. It won’t be like the scavenger hunt that took place last year to secure a spot into Item 47, so just ask around and hopefully we’ll see you there to catch Agent Carter.

Marvel One-Shot - Agent Carter

 

Movie News & Opinions

‘Bond 24’ Gets A Director, and He Seems Familiar…

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Well, it looks like Sam Mendes is a huge liar.

According Entertainment Weekly, Sam Mendes will in fact return for Bond 24, the new obviously permanent title for the next James Bond movie. You might recall that he had backed out of committing to return because of his obligations to theater productions of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and King Lear. However the lure of the spy world, beautiful women and double crosses have brought the critically acclaimed director back the franchise he helped revitalized with Skyfall last year.

Daniel Craig

Here’s what Mendes had to say in the statement:

[box_light]“I am very pleased that by giving me the time I need to honor all my theatre commitments, the producers have made it possible for me to direct Bond 24. I very much look forward to taking up the reins again, and to working with Daniel Craig, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli for a second time.”[/box_light]

This announcement obviously reunites him with Daniel Craig again, as well as Skyfall screenwriter John Logan. Hopefully we get another fantastic film that essentially continues its journey towards recapturing the feel of the Bond movies with Q, and the new M and Moneypenny, of course. The new movie is slated to come November 6th, 2015 in the United States with the United Kingdom (damn you Brits!) getting their official release earlier on October 23, 2015.

We can’t complain too much that the UK are getting it first. After all, James Bond is their national treasure as far as I’m concerned.

Daniel Craig - New James Bond movie Casino Royale

Movie News & Opinions

The ID4 Sequel Won’t Get Jiggy Wit It, Goldblum and Pullman Celebrate More Screen Time

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Since we are on the eve of the Roland Emmerich release of White House Down/Olympus Has Fallen 2.0/Die Hard 5.2/White House Explodes Yet Again, however you want to call the movie, it’s ample time to address the ID4 sequel. The director has been getting questions about the sequel and who’s coming back, who’s not, and the major news has come out: Will Smith will NOT be return to defend planet Earf.

According to Emmerich via the Hollywood Reporter, Will Smith won’t be coming back for the sequels ID Forever Part I and Part II (get it, ID FORever, that’s so 2 Fast 2 Furious) and not because After Earth crapped its pants commercially and critically (seriously, why do a movie where Will Smith has to dial his charisma from a 10 back down to a 2), but because he’s too big. That’s right, he priced himself out of the action movie franchise that made him. According to Emmerich, the story concentrates on the younger generation that must learn to defend themselves from the alien reinforcements that come back to conquer Earth. Of course, that meant a concentration of younger (read: cheaper) stars for the movie so having Will Smith for a smaller role apparently meant the money wasn’t worth it to overshadow whoever else decided to come aboard. Which is understandable, and Will Smith wouldn’t agree to a smaller role most likely, seeing as he’s pretty picky about his roles, as evidenced with the Django Unchained casting of Jamie Foxx. Regardless, Emmerich decided that he’s too much of a marquee name and it would be “too much”. Yes, because Roland Emmerich movies are usually defined by their subtlety.

However, who will be coming back is your favorite bicycle-riding, computer tech guy know-it-all, Jeff Goldblum and terrific speech giver and fighter pilot President Bill Pullman. According to Vulture, these dudes will be making a return because they need to cover rent. That and I imagine if that if my President was one of the fighter pilots that brought down one of the ships, he deserves a mention in the next few movies. That and I’m sure Goldblum will have some sort of speech about the environment and nuclear deterrents that will provide a subtle message about mistreating planet Earth. Or they just bridge the 20 year gap between the sequels. Who knows. It would be interesting if they bring back Mae Whitman (her?) to reprise her role as the President’s daughter. Heck, just bring back Adam Baldwin and I’d be perfectly content with that.

Regardless, this sequel is coming and I’m sure we’ll see more fun stuff get destroyed. Although I guess since the aliens destroyed everything the first time around, we’ll just have to wait and see on July 3rd, 2015 if they get to destroy the recreations of major landmarks. Just because it’s starting to get really redundant in seeing the White House destroyed over and over again… Bonus though, courtesy of YouTube user CinemaSins, you can experience ID4 all over again…now with glaring errors and commentary!

GAMING

New Call of Duty DLC ‘Vengeance’ Comes Out Next Week: Summer Officially Postponed

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So it’s that time again, we have a new Call of Duty DLC coming out just in time to make sure you avoid the beach and stay pale playing indoors for the next few months. There’s actually some cool goodies in this pack which has the standard four new multiplayer maps as well as a new zombie map We also get to see a new weapon in the zombie map, which is cool because it’s an updated version of my favorite gun to take down the undead. But first, let’s let you watch the official trailer below, introduced by our favorite pitchmen: The Replacers.

call of duty vengeance coveIt’s actually a heckuva lot shorter video than what we’re used to and provides very minimal use of the awesome Peter Stormare. Sucks because the previous Replacers trailers were awesome but no matter as we’re really interested about the gameplay itself. With Call of Duty: Vengeance, we have four new maps starting out with Cove, which for some odd reason reminds me of the Koopa Beach map on Mario Kart. Cove seems like a cool map as you’re surrounded by water on an island of rock and rainforest plus a downed plane. Just think of it like the cast of Lost got stranded with guns. With less confusion and smoke monsters too. It looks to be a sweet map though that breeds chaos and yelling at the television; my favorite combination in a Call of Duty map. Next up, we have Detour – a multilevel bridge map that keeps the action head to head and in front of the players. It looks to be a cool map that will have the short range players underneath and the long range players battling up top. Plus lots of exploding cars so more people will be angry when a stray grenade takes out the car and takes them out in the process as well.

call of duty vengeance rush

Next map we have is Rush, which is probably going to become my favorite new map. It’s basically a paintball obstacle course. Indoor, outdoor, close quarters running around, it’s got the makings of a brilliant map. Should be almost as fast paced as Nuketown in my opinion with barely any cover and the need to press forward at all times. The last multiplayer map is Uplink, but everyone actually will recognize this map as Summit from the original Call of Duty: Black Ops game. This one will probably be a favorite of Kronner’s as Summit was his boy. The major difference is no snow and it’s during the nighttime but for the most part, it’s a nice call back for a classic map.

call of duty vengeance buried

call of duty vengeance ray gunOf course, we have the zombie map called Buried and it’s basically an Old West town that’s underground. With zombies. Of course, there’s one major wildcard and it seems to be a giant, somewhat hick-ish type NPC that you can either confront and try to kill (if it’s like Romero in Call of the Dead, good luck) or use to your advantage to clear the path. Either way it looks to be exciting and even more so because I get a new ray guy out of it too. The ray gun has always been my boy and now they have upgraded it with the Ray Gun Mark II. Apparently it’s a lot more powerful and laser-like as it can cut through a whole row of zombies. So yeah, that definitely sounds like my boy right there.

Of course, this all comes out on July 2nd on Xbox Live first so Xbox 360 gamers will get the first experiences with this DLC. From the looks of things, it won’t disappoint at all. Below is a more in depth trailer about the maps so watch it, love it, and I’ll see you guys online. I’ll be the guy swearing and being berated by 12 year olds with no sense of morality or political correctness.