Month: May 2020

Matthew Lillard on the ‘Bummer’ of Not Being Cast as Shaggy in Scoob!

Fans who’ve watched the new Scooby gang movie, Scoob!, will surely have noticed that, for the first time in a long while, Matthew Lillard is not voicing Shaggy. The Scream actor has been providing the voice for Scooby-Boo’s best pal, Shaggy Rogers, in animated projects for the better part of two decades, ever since he played the role in the first live-action Scooby movie in 2002.

In a huge change up, Will Forte plays Shaggy in Scoob! and recently Entertainment Tonight spoke with Lillard about this shocking changing of the guard.

“Yeah, about Scoob! I don’t have a lot of good things to say,” Lillard lamented. “I wish them all well. I hope the movie does really well.”

“It was a drag and I was surprised that it happened,” he added. “You know, Hollywood’s an interesting place and I’ve been around for a long time. Some of them are easier than others, when you don’t get a job, but that was a bummer. I like playing the part. I like sort of having a legacy in a career that’s been 30 years.”

You can watch the video interview here…

Lillard also, upon the movie’s release to VOD, offered up this supportive tweet…

You can check out IGN’s review of Scoob! here, which calls it a “pleasant enough diversion during these trying times,” and also watch the cast of Scoob! respond to IGN comments…

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Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.

Get The Sega Genesis Mini At A Steep Discount

New game releases have slowed to a crawl as of late, but you can enjoy some of the best retro games for a great price on the Sega Genesis Mini. The plug-and-play system is currently being sold for just $50 on Amazon, and it comes with 40 of the most popular games for the Genesis across several different genres.

Typically sold for $80, the Sega Genesis Mini comes loaded with 40 games from the original Genesis library as well as two bonus games: Darius and an unreleased Genesis version of Tetris. Its design features impressive attention to detail, including a non-functional volume switch, cartridge slot, and expansion port. The console comes with two controllers by default, as well, so you can start playing competitive fighting games and other multiplayer titles right out of the box.

Most of the biggest Genesis games are included on the Genesis Mini, such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Earthworm Jim, Contra: Hard Corps, Castlevania: Bloodlines, Golden Axe, and Ecco the Dolphin. There is plenty of genre variety, as well, with a few great shoot-em-up games such as Thunder Force 3 and Gunstar Heroes.

The Sega Genesis Mini’s software was developed by M2, the same company responsible for the software on the TurboGrafx-16 Mini. The latter system was delayed in North America but is now scheduled to arrive on May 22. It includes a mix of TurboGrafx-16 games and PC Engine games, and it’s the perfect companion to the Sega Genesis Mini.

Now Playing: Sega Genesis Mini Gameplay – All 42 Games

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Ubisoft Sues Apple and Google Over Alleged Rainbow Six Siege Copycat

Rainbow Six Siege is one of the most popular multiplayer games on the planet, so it comes as little surprise that it has its share of imitators. One such imitator, however, is doing more than that in eyes of Ubisoft. The company has filed a lawsuit against both Google and Apple for selling a game Ubisoft says is a direct ripoff.

As reported by Bloomberg, Ubisoft’s suit against Google and Apple concerns the game Area F2, a multiplayer shooter created by Chinese mega-corporation Alibaba and its website Ejoy. According to Ubisoft’s suit, the game allegedly copies Rainbow Six Siege’s user interface, including its final score screen and the operator selection screen. Area F2 is available in the United States on mobile devices and is currently in a free period, while Rainbow Six Siege is only on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

Prior to filing the lawsuit, Ubisoft said it had told Apple and Google that the game infringed on its copyrights but the games were not taken down. The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles, and neither Google nor Apple have commented on it yet.

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Rainbow Six Siege is one of Ubisoft’s strongest ongoing revenue-generators, making more than $1 billion since it launched in 2015. This is done through microtransactions for new operators and other content, but maps are available for free and keep the community together. It makes sense why the company would be litigious with the game, as it has not received a sequel and continues to acquire players and receive new updates. A cooperative-focused game, Rainbow Six Quarantine, is scheduled to release later this year. As of now, that’s still the title.

Now Playing: Rainbow Six: Siege Review (2020)

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Comedian Fred Willard Passes Away

The lovable comic actor Fred Willard, whose on-screen career spanned 50 years, passed away on Friday.

The scene-stealing star of moves like Best in Show and The Mighty Wind, along with TV shows like Modern Family and Netflix’s upcoming Space Force, was 86-years-old.

Willard’s daughter, Hope, tweeted out the news this afternoon, remarking that her father had died peacefully on Friday evening.

Willard worked steadily in comedic roles for decades before finding notoriety as part of writer/director Christoper Guest’s company of impish improv actors, starring in acclaimed mockumentaries This is Spinal Tap!, Waiting for Guffman, The Mighty Wind, and Best in Show. In a career that ranged from Mad About You to Community to Pixar’s Wall-E to recurring as Phil’s dad, Frank, on Modern Family, Willard always provided hilarious moments and memorable laughs.

Willard was nominated for four Emmy Awards – three for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his role as Hank MacDougall in Everybody Loves Raymond, and one in the same category for Modern Family.

Here’s our own interview with Willard from 2008 for Wall-E…

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Christopher Guest’s wife, Jaime Lee Curtis, posted the following to her Twitter account…

With over 300 credits to his name, what was your favorite Fred Willard role?

Some of Fred Willard’s work can even be found here, in our Top 25 Comedies of All Time…
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Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.