The rumored new Netflix movie Home Team, which hails from Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison production company, has cast one of its leads. Kevin James, a frequent collaborator with Sandler, is apparently going to play New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton in the upcoming football movie.
This news comes from noted NFL insider Peter King. He revealed that the story of Home Team begins in 2012, which was when Payton was suspended for a year due to his involvement in his team’s plan to purposefully injure other players as part of what was called “bountygate.”
During his time away from the NFL, Payton coached his son’s team of sixth graders, and this same story will be featured in the movie. According to King, Payton is involved with the movie, too. He recently read the script and “made some corrections,” according to King.
Netflix has not officially announced Home Team, and there is no word yet on if Sandler will also appear in it or if he will only produce through Happy Madison.
Sandler doesn’t work with Netflix exclusively. He also starred in the Safdie brothers 2019 movie Uncut Gems, which earned him some of the highest praise in his career.
E3 2020 didn’t happen, and Nintendo Direct shows became somewhat nonexistent for the entire year. We received plenty of Partner Showcases, but no regular Nintendo Direct between September 2019 and February 2021. Typically, Nintendo Direct presentations are announced 1-2 days before airing, but with Nintendo returning to E3 in 2021, we have a solid timeframe of when new announcements will come.
There are a few things lingering from previous years we’d like to see return at this year’s show, like the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Metroid Prime 4, and Bayonetta 3. But what about other stuff? ARMS 2? Pikmin 4? N64 and GameCube Online? All that and more is touched on in this video.
If you want to know more about E3’s return in 2021, then check out our show Console Crew, where Lucy James, Tamoor Hussain, and Jordan Ramée discuss the news and if publishers even need E3 in a world where digital events are doing really well: https://youtu.be/xBhuNg2DMJI
Casa Bonita, a popular Colorado landmark elevated to iconic restaurant since being featured in South Park, has filed for Chapter 11 protection according to The Denver Channel. The restaurant had been closed during the pandemic, though reportedly recently announced it would be reopening soon–but those plans are as of this writing now unclear.
The Denver Channel further reports that the documents filed by Casa Bonita did not specify the amount of debt the company owes, though “the filing states that the company’s noncontingent liquated debts are below $7.5 million.” This is also not necessarily an indication that Casa Bonita will close for good, just that it at least needs time to reorganize and strategize over its debts.
South Park co-creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker, who have both loved the restaurant since childhood, once considered buying the restaurant. In a 2016 interview, Parker told The Hollywood Reporter: “Four years ago, it came up for sale and we had 10 minutes of like, ‘We should buy it,’ because they do have a few things up there now where they’re like, this is the South Park Casa Bonita. There are people who go to Casa Bonita because of South Park.”
Stone and Parker have not yet provided a comment to this developing news, but are likely aware of the situation–and it might even be the focus of an upcoming Season 24 episode, whenever the season is finally announced. The show recently pulled off a run of two hour-long specials, each standalone and not part of any season, about the pandemic and then about vaccines. This potential shuttering of a local, iconic institution is an up-to-the-minute current event that’d fit right in with the show’s topical nature, and also something all towns everywhere are navigating.
An official video showing off the changing face of Halo’s Master Chief appears to end sooner than intended. That video, titled “Master Chief through the years,” was posted on the official Xbox YouTube channel on April 9, and it prominently features the changes in the iconic hero’s model over the many Halo games he stars in, including the upcoming Halo Infinite.
The video certainly showcases the leaps in technology that the Halo games have taken advantage of over the years, and the difference between Halo 1 and 2 Master Chief models is pretty staggering by itself. That said, the video abruptly ends at the 23-second mark, right around the time that Halo Infinite footage starts to get good. This apparent mistake lead some fans to leave humorous responses to the video. Even so, the video is still up, so it’s unclear if it actually was a mistake.
“‘Did we fix the ending?'” commenter Ben jokes, imagining the conversation between the video editors. “‘I already clicked export.’ ‘Meh, it’s Friday.'” Pvt Donut asks: “Hey Xbox, you posted only 24 seconds, where’s the rest of [the] trailer?”
Samsung has opened a specialized site aimed at tempting iPhone users to switch to its Android-based Samsung Galaxy line. The Samsung iTest site takes you to a browser-based simulation of the Samsung Galaxy interface.
Opening the site will prompt you to add the browser shortcut to your home screen, which will allow it to go full-screen. From there you can check out some tool tips you get in messages from your sample “generic friends,” browse and swap themes, make a fake phone call, and more. There’s even a Samsung Kids button to simulate the kid-friendly interface.
The Verge reports that there are some Easter eggs buried in the interface too. The Settings menu is said to be simplified “just so our developer could have a lunch break.” There’s also a Fortnite icon in the game launcher, which actually may be a selling point since the game is blocked on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store due to pending litigation.
It’s marketing, naturally, and so the site doesn’t go into any of the potential drawbacks of making the switch to Samsung. But as marketing goes, it’s pretty clever. You can toy around with the features and see how it feels in case you’re looking into a new phone and open to a new operating system.
The new Will Smith movie Emancipation has pulled out of filming in Georgia due to the recently announced voting laws in the state. It is the first major Hollywood production to withdraw from the state–which is known to be a huge hub for movies–due to the controversial, Republican-backed laws. Director Antoine Fuqua announced the news on Monday in a joint statement with Smith.
“At this moment in time, the Nation is coming to terms with its history and is attempting to eliminate vestiges of institutional racism to achieve true racial justice,” they said. “We cannot in good conscience provide economic support to a government that enacts regressive voting laws that are designed to restrict voter access. The new Georgia voting laws are reminiscent of voting impediments that were passed at the end of Reconstruction to prevent many Americans from voting. Regrettably, we feel compelled to move our film production work from Georgia to another state.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, cameras were set to start rolling in June on the Apple Studios project.
Due to its tax credits, Georgia–and Atlanta, specifically–has become an east coast Hollywood hub for big films and TV shows. It’s where Marvel and Netflix, in particular, film a lot of their shows and movies. According to THR, the decision by Fuqua and Smith to move production on Emancipation out of Georgia “could have a cascading effect” for other projects to leave the state and film elsewhere.
Star Wars actor Mark Hamill also weighed in on the matter, saying he agrees with Mangold about wanting to stop filming in Georgia. “No More Filming In Georgia,” he wrote as a hashtag.
Emancipation the movie is inspired by the 1863 photograph, The Scourged Back, which further illuminated the brutality of slavery in America. Fuqua has said of the film, “You can’t fix the past, but you can remind people of the past and I think we have to, in an accurate, real way.
“We all have to look for a brighter future for us all, for everyone. That’s one of the most important reasons to do things right now, is show our history. We have to face our truth before we can move forward.”
The market for dedicated gaming phones has bloomed in recent years, with a number of brands delivering devices specifically tuned for gaming. The Nubia RedMagic 6 is one of the latest competitors bringing some powerful internals, special features, and beefed-up cooling all for a surprisingly low $599 price. At such a low price, some tradeoffs are going to be unavoidable, but let’s see if they actually stand in the way of the RedMagic 6’s value.
The RedMagic 6 announces itself loudly. From the smartphone’s domineering size to the detailed back panel with RGB lights and reflective accents. The model sent for review is the Eclipse Black, and it’s still a bold design despite being more muted color-wise than the Aurora color option.
Measuring 169.8 x 77.19 x 9.7mm, the RedMagic 6 is larger in every dimension than the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, and it’s nearly as wide as the iPhone 12 Pro Max. At 220 grams, it’s also not very light. It’s not entirely unwieldy thanks to a decent balance of its weight distribution, but it’s certainly not the easiest phone to hold.
Nubia didn’t skimp on premium materials to bring the price down. The phone feels sturdy and solid with a metal frame and Gorilla Glass on both sides. The back glass is gently sloped from edge to edge. There are two RGB strips near each side, as well as a lit RedMagic logo near the bottom. As far as typical gaming RGB lights go, they’re rather subtle. A three-sensor camera system sits right along the centerline of the phone – though it’s very small, one of the first hints at where Nubia cut costs.
Nubia also packs in two other key gaming features. On the right-hand side, there are two touch-sensitive shoulder buttons that can work like triggers in games, and there are two vents, roughly an inch long, on each side of the phone for active cooling. A small red switch on the side of the phone activates a special gaming mode that takes advantage of these two features.
The design takes a turn for the worse when looking at the front. The screen sort of pops out from the frame, almost like a slightly slimmer phone was jammed into another phone’s frame. This really doesn’t lend itself to a seamless design.
That screen itself is something of a plus though. Nubia has packed a 6.8-inch AMOLED display with a 2,400 x 1,080 resolution and a max refresh rate of 165Hz. These are high-end specs for any phone, let alone one that costs $599. The screen is also plenty bright, topping out at 630 nits, which may not be as high as its flagship competitors but is more than enough for clear visibility out on sunny days.
The RedMagic 6 also does one thing its fellow large phones don’t – that 6.8-inch display isn’t cut into at all. There’s no punch hole selfie camera like the S21 Ultra or notch like the iPhone 12 Pro Max. Instead, the selfie camera is in the bezel above the display. There may be a bit of extra bezel at the top and bottom, but it can help avoid accidental palm touches.
The RedMagic 6 includes stereo speakers for decent sound in games, but it also has a 3.5mm headphone jack. Though the phone actually supports a burly 66W charging rate, Nubia includes just a 30W charger in the box.
Nubia RedMagic 6 – Software
Nubia’s software is hands down the worst part of the RedMagic 6. It is thankfully not loaded with bloatware, but that’s about the only positive thing it has going for it. The style reminded me of a much older version of Android despite this running Android 11 out of the box. Though I actually like the classic Back/Home/Recent Android navigation buttons, it strikes me as bizarre for a phone this large to use them by default when Android’s newer gesture navigation is better suited to phones this large.
The launcher is somewhat straightforward but limited and unstable. I ran into issues with it crashing or stalling out, for a while it wouldn’t let me put any apps onto it besides the ones it already displayed, and there’s no option to access App Info by long pressing app icons on the home screen or app drawer.
The Notification Shade and Quick Settings are also a pain, as the shade often closes while I’m scrolling through it. The text descriptions of the Quick Settings are similarly frustrating, as Nubia opted to clip the text and use a scrolling marquee despite having ample space to just display them in full on two lines.
Nubia’s special gaming mode, GameSpace, basically switches the phone over to a separate launcher to display games, gaming settings, and system performance stats. While this is useful (especially since you wouldn’t want the shoulder buttons active all the time), the main launcher has been unresponsive on multiple occasions when exiting this game mode.
Heck, even the phone’s default notification sound is grating. And let me not forget to mention that the phone defaults to putting a big “SHOT ON REDMAGIC 6 POWERED BY NUBIA” watermark on photos in the camera app.
Nubia RedMagic 6 – Gaming and performance
Gaming is where the RedMagic 6 gets to make up some of its lost ground. For the price, it’s wild that Nubia can include a Snapdragon 888 chipset and 12GB of memory. These are premium specs for any Android phone, and as expected games run with ease. The 128GB of UFS 3.1 storage also helps deliver quick loading times.
Between the powerful chipset and the phone’s 165Hz refresh rate, the gaming experience is about as fluid as it can get. Throwing in the shoulder buttons, I had an incredibly easy time diving into Call of Duty Mobile and raking in the kills. Generally I struggle with the controls of this type of game, but being able to separate out the ADS and shoot controls so I could move, aim, ADS and shoot independently made a huge difference. The phone also offers an incredibly fast touch sample rate, with a 400Hz rate for the triggers and a 360Hz rate for multi-touch on the display. That sample rate jumps to 500Hz on the display for single-finger touch. The specs being what they are, these are at levels higher than I can distinguish.
While playing Call of Duty Mobile for a stretch with all the settings cranked, the phone never really got very warm, and that was without the fans turned on. I also tested with the gaming mode active and the fans blasting, but couldn’t notice any difference aside from one: the 20,000RPM fans are obnoxiously shrill.
Performance in games is somewhat contrasted by occasional hiccups outside of games. Despite having all the specs for a smooth experience, I noticed regular hitches while scrolling. And the phone doesn’t seem to take full advantage of its horde of memory, as I briefly left Call of Duty then switched back and saw it reload. This compares to my experience switching away from Call of Duty on the OnePlus 9 Pro to go do a half-dozen other demanding things on the phone only to resume where I was in Call of Duty instantly.
The display’s performance is also betrayed by some odd behavior. While scrolling through Twitter, I watched as the display would frequently shift its brightness and color temperature. It almost appeared as though there was some Auto Brightness Limiter in effect, despite the screen being set well below its peak brightness at the time. I was able to repeat this issue consistently. On the plus side, the under-display fingerprint scanner works super fast.
The battery life on the RedMagic 6 is solid. With a 5050mAh battery, it handles a whole day of high-use easily. Even with a solid hour of gaming, a bunch of hotspot use, tons of Twitter, and a few episodes of King of the Hill, I didn’t bring that battery to 0% by the end of the day. With more moderate use, getting through two full days was just as easy.
I also noted that the phone has a really aggressive haptic motor. This is a feature I rarely notice on phones I review, but just using the onscreen keyboard would have the motor shake hard enough I could hear it.
In the case of connectivity, the RedMagic 6 supports Wi-fi 6E, making it relatively future-ready for high-speed internet. But though it does support 5G, it can only connect to a small handful of network bands (less than half of what the OnePlus 9 supports in the US). This support could prove an issue depending on where you live.
In case the noisy internal fans aren’t enough for you, Nubia also sells the Dual-Core Ice Dock. This is an accessory that goes on the back of the phone and attaches two larger (though still relatively small) fans. How it aims to cool the phone is completely beyond my comprehension though, as the attachment between the cooler and phone is plastic and rubber – not the most thermally conductive materials. Maybe it can keep your hands cool, but it’ll prove a nuisance since it needs a USB connection for power.
Remember that Chekov’s gun on the wall I mentioned in Act 1? That’s right, the cameras on this phone are a big oof. Aside from only one of the cameras managing to be decent, the software once again holds the phone back.
Here are the cameras on the RedMagic 6:
64MP Wide, 0.8-micron, f/1.8
8MP ultrawide (120degree), f/2.0
2MP Macro
8MP Selfie, 1.12-micron, f/2.0
Using the Photo mode in the camera app, the phone seems to think it only has one rear sensor. The macro camera only appears to run when switching to the dedicated (and awkward to use) Macro mode. And, the only way I could figure out how to access the ultra-wide camera was in Pro Mode.
The ultra-wide sensor has a decent dynamic range, but really lacks in color saturation, leaving images feeling like a bit of life is sucked out of them. This color issue is a running theme for the camera system. Meanwhile, the macro sensor can get up close and personal, but can be really hard to get in focus.
Main Camera
The main camera proves more promising than these other two, capturing a reasonable amount of detail to create sharp images. The sensor isn’t powerful enough to handle much zooming in, but close-up subjects look clear and well-defined. The backgrounds for extra close subjects also blur in a really soft and dreamy way. The main sensor delivers a bit more color than the other sensors, though it is still a little on the dreary side. Unfortunately, low-light performance is about as poor on the main camera as all the others.
The selfie camera is crisp and colorful, handling a bit like the main sensor, though it also struggles a bit in lower lighting conditions, even in a dimmer room during the day. It seems to opt for a slower shutter speed that leads to blurry photos.
Selfie Camera
The cameras are a really poor showing for the RedMagic 6. Though cameras might not be the main focus of a gaming phone, OnePlus has recently stepped up its photography chops in a big way, and its phones are also solid performers for gaming.
Oscar-nominated actor Mark Wahlberg is known for his strict diet and exercise program, but he’s throwing some of that out the window to prepare for his next movie role. He is playing Father Stuart Long, a boxer who became a priest.
Wahlberg told Jimmy Kimmel that, once the boxing scenes are finished for the new movie, which is called Father Stu, he plans to gain 30 pounds in six weeks to portray Long.
“After we do the boxing scenes, I get to put on as much weight as possible over the course of the film. I’m challenging myself to put on 30 pounds for the next six weeks,” he said.
Wahlberg, who earned an Academy Award nomination for The Departed, said he’s working with a trainer to try to put on the weight in a healthy way. But the actor said his game plan is simple: eat everything in sight.
“They want me to do it as healthy as possible. I’m like, ‘Dude, I’ve been on such a regimen for so long. I just want to eat everything in sight,'” he said. “I want to go to bakeries. I want to go to Denny’s. I want to get pancakes. I want to get everything that I can possibly get my hands on.”
Wahlberg joked (?) that his first meal in his bulking phase will be a 20-piece McNugget pack with KFC and a six-pack of beer to wash it down.
Wahlberg is working on the Father Stu movie alongside Mel Gibson, who will play Long’s father, just as he did in Daddy’s Home 2. The script is written by Gibson’s partner, Rosalind Ross, who is also directing. Teresa Ruiz, who starred on Narcos: Mexico, is also lined up to appear in Father Stu.
“The story is one of grit, faith and redemption. Long was an angry young man, alienating both students and priests at the Catholic college he attended, turning to boxing as a release. A hoped-for career didn’t take off thanks to a broken jaw so he moved to L.A. for a career in the movies. Even that wasn’t working out when one evening he suffered a horrible motorcycle accident–he was hit by one car, then run over by another,” reads a line from the film’s description (via The Hollywood Reporter). “In the hospital, according to reports, he had an out of body experience and rediscovered his faith and enlisted in Mount Angel Seminary in Oregon.”
Long was later diagnosed with a degenerative muscle disease and he passed away in 2014. “When he passed away in 2014, many were looking to him as an example of faith and love overcoming pain and hardship,” THR said.
Godzilla vs. Kong has remained top of the US box office chart. In its second weekend on release, the big budget monster movie added a further $13.4 million to its domestic gross.
While this was a dip from its opening weekend’s $48 million gross, it’s still an impressive figure given the movie is also available to stream on HBO Max. With a US total of $69.5 million to date, it’s the most successful US theatrical release of the pandemic era.
Godzilla vs. Kong has also continued to earn big money internationally. The movie has made $357.8 million worldwide so far, and it is very close to overtaking Christoper Nolan’s Tenet as the most successful movie of the past 12 months. Tenet made $363.1 million worldwide, but this was over several months of release, whereas Godzilla vs. Kong only opened in the first Asian markets on March 24.
Elsewhere in the US box office chart, the action comedy Nobody is in the second place, making $2.65 million in its third weekend and bringing its US total to $15.6 million. The Sam Raimi-produced horror movie The Unholy is at No.3, while Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon and the sci-fi movie Voyagers are at No.4 and No.5 respectively.
Top 10 Films in the US for the weekend of April 9 April 11 (via Box Office Mojo):
Godzilla vs. Kong $13,380,000
Nobody $2,650,000
The Unholy $2,400,000
Raya and the Last Dragon $2,140,000
Voyagers $1,350,000
Tom and Jerry $1,110,000
The Courier $436,560
The Girl Who Believes in Miracles $403,000
Chaos Walking $265,000
The Croods: A New Age $245,000
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Nintendo is doing big business these days, but the majority of its software success comes from intellectual properties that were created several decades ago. It’s a strategy that has served the company well, but one that Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa wants to supplement by also focusing efforts on developing more original games.
“With the expansion of time spent at home, the range of ‘entertainment’ as an object of consumption is expanding,” the president said to Nikkei, as translated by VGC. “Games are not a necessity of life. In order for customers to choose games in their finite time, they have to be interesting. Competition is tough, and I am not optimistic. I myself am looking at and studying various forms of entertainment. In the future, we will focus on creating new game series as well as long-sellers such as Mario and Zelda.”
