A Famous Lord Of The Rings Filming Location Has Re-Opened In New Zealand

A Lord of the Rings filming location in New Zealand is re-opening to the public after 11 years, but it may be some time before people can visit it due to the COVID-19 crisis and its impact on travel globally.

Deer Park Heights in Queenstown, New Zealand has re-opened for public visitors, and those lucky enough to visit can walk in the same places where scenes from The Towers and The Return of the King were filmed. Specifically, Deer Park Heights is the site of the Warg attack and Aragorn’s fall off the cliff from The Two Towers, as well as the refugee camp where Eowyn serves Aragorn some questionable soup.

You can see a more detailed breakdown of Lord of the Rings filming locations here at the Deer Park Heights website. The movies X-Men: Origins Wolverine and Pete’s Dragon were also filmed partially in the park.

It costs $55 NZ to enter the park for a self-driving tour, and people can stay as long as they want as they drive across the landscape and take in the sights. No commercial vehicles, buses, or vans are allowed. The location remains a working farm, so attendees can also have a gander at deer, goats, donkeys, pigs, and other animals.

Owner Mike Mee told Lonely Planet, “It’s such an amazing location and it seems a shame to not share it. We want to welcome visitors to a great fun, good value family day out for those who want to spend time in the outdoors and with our animals.”

Due to the global COVID-19 crisis, the Deer Park Heights park might be inaccessible to people outside of New Zealand for the time being. The country recently lifted all of its restrictions in its most populous city, Auckland, after new cases dropped zero as of October 19.

Amazon’s big-budget Lord of the Rings TV show is currently filming in New Zealand.

Watch Dogs: Legion takes series to new heights with Play as Anyone feature

Watch Dogs: Legion is the latest and biggest entry in the series, taking you to the streets of London as criminal organizations have overtaken the city. Following the spirit of the previous two games, it’s your task to hack your way through the enemy forces and regain control. Only this time, you won’t be alone — anyone in the city can join your revolution thanks to the Play as Anyone feature.

Play as Anyone is an ambitious, never-seen-before premise. As part of DedSec, you’re tasked to recruit citizens to stir up the underground resistance and begin causing a ruckus. The intriguing twist is that everyone has the potential to help support the cause and make these changes happen. There’s no such thing as non-playable characters. Anyone from punks and street artists to grandparents have their own array of abilities to offer.

The secret hacking collective of DedSec has always been a varied and interesting crew, but for the first time, you’re in control of choosing the new candidates that will set out to make history, inspiring others to do the same and becoming stronger together. Each potential recruit carries a personal backstory, as well as unique perks and gadgets, and it’s your mission to convince them that they can be a part of your movement by listening to their problems and letting DedSec handle the rest.

The sheer variety of skills really makes the characters stand out from one another in multiple ways. Some are excellent when it comes to knocking on the front door with powerful weapons, while others can bypass certain areas more easily as construction workers or even paramedics. In Watch Dogs: Legion, it’s up to you to decide who joins DedSec’s finest.

Once someone new is on-board, you’ll be able to change between characters in real time, tracking their current activities from the city’s map. They are all customizable, too. You get to choose their abilities, from stealth to hacking maneuvers, focusing on what each of your recruits does best. Before sending them over to a mission, make sure to pass by a clothing store to personalize their appearance, from London’s everyday wares to all sorts of over-the-top masks.

Watch Dogs: Legion takes the ideas that have been evolving ever since the first entry in the series to new heights, quite literally. Hacking takes on a new scale, making this the most advanced dystopian setting in the franchise. That’s reflected in the available gadgets, as well, such as massive drones overseeing the crowded streets. By choosing the right recruit, you can take control and even pilot these drones, gaining tactical advantages over the enemy without any guard interrupting your infiltration.

But this is only one of the ways in which you can make use of this new playground. In this rated M for Mature experience, storming one of the many criminal organizations’ headquarters can play out very differently if you choose to stay in the shadows and avoid firearms completely, use spider drones to take enemies one by one, or employ all sorts of lethal weapons, leaving no witnesses behind.

Whether you want to join forces with a beekeeper who happens to be visiting the city and can use a bee swarm to distract enemies, an expert driver who’s equally skillful at hacking vehicles, or a street artist ready to make use of their paintball gun, Watch Dogs: Legion encourages you to make the most out of the Play as Anyone feature. It’s the next big step from the franchise, and we can’t wait to build our own team, create new skill sets for each one of the recruits, and try out all the exciting gadgets that await to be discovered to fight back and recover the city.

You can learn more about the ways the Play as Anyone feature will impact your experience in Watch Dogs: Legion at the official site, and start making preparations ahead of the game’s launch on Xbox One on October 29, and on the next generation of Xbox consoles on November 10.

New Sims 4 Snowy Escape Expansion Pack Announced

The Sims 4 confirmed on Twitter that the tenth expansion pack, Snowy Escape, will arrive soon. A trailer with more details will premiere on October 20 at 8 AM PT / 11 AM ET.

We’ll have to wait until the trailer officially streams to know what’s in the pack. But from the vague winter-themed teaser image, fans suspect that the Snowy Escape expansion will include an East Asian location. Whether the pack is a living world or vacation world is also unknown at this time.

Responding to fans’ speculations, The Sims 4 global community manager also clarified that owning a Seasons expansion pack will not be necessary to purchase the Snowy Escape pack.

The Sims 4 recently released a Star Wars-themed pack called Journey to Batuu. The add-on featured franchise characters like Kylo Ren and Rey, as well as popular locations like Oga’s Cantina. Players could also create their own lightsabers and build custom droids. The expansion pack also let players decide whether they wanted to swear loyalty to the Resistance or the First Order.

The last expansion pack was titled Eco Lifestyle and was released in June. As the name suggests, players could produce their own water and electricity through sustainable methods. Other activities like growing food in a vertical garden, recycling, and thrifting for used furniture were also part of the add-on.

Now Playing: The Sims 4 Star Wars expansion: Journey To Bautu Official Trailer | Gamescom 2020

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Avengers Cast Reuniting For A Biden Fundraiser

Did you know there’s an election happening in November? A significant portion of the Avengers cast and directors the Russo Brothers will be helping get the word out for a fundraiser to support democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden during a virtual fundraiser taking place Tuesday at 3:45 PM PT / 6:45 PM ET. To attend the event, dubbed Voters Assemble!, a donation of “any amount” is required–funds go towards helping Biden, his running mate Kamala Harris, and the democratic ticket.

Among those slated to appear so far are: Don Cheadle, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Paul Rudd, Mark Ruffalo, and Zoe Saldana. The Russo Brothers will moderate a Q&A session, and also a trivia context.

Of the Avengers cast, Ruffalo has been among the most vocal for supporting Biden, recently posting on Instagram that, “We must elect champions who will fight for the Green New Deal and push Congress to pass climate action that matches the scale of the problem with the urgency our country’s future demands.” Fellow Avengers cast member Samuel L. Jackson recently teamed with the Biden campaign on a video focused on mobilizing Black voters for the 2020 election.

Last week, the cast of Hamilton reunited for a similar Biden Victory Fund event, imploring attendees to “be in the room where it happens.”

Elsewhere in Marvel Cinematic Universe news, you can check out our breakdown of Marvel’s Phase 4–the production slate for productions due to be released between 2020 through early 2022–for a look into what’s still ahead from Marvel beyond the horizons of the upcoming election.

Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat Will Stream With DrLupo On Twitch

In a rather unexpected crossover, Borat Sagdiyev–a satirical and fictional character created and played by comedian Sacha Baron Cohen–will be streaming with DrLupo on Twitch on October 20 at 3 PM PT / 6 PM ET. The livestream will premiere on DrLupo’s Twitch channel.

Borat is a fictional Kazakh journalist and rose to fame as the protagonist of a 2006 mockumentary comedy film titled Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. In it, Cohen takes on the role of Borat and interfaces with real-life Americans who believe he is actually a foreigner. Because Borat is a satirical figure who says intentionally vulgar statements and gleefully touches on social taboos, many of the movie’s scenes are shocking, hilarious, and unintentionally expose a lot of things about American culture and politics.

To give you an idea of Cohen’s content, the comedian posed as an Israel security expert and successfully convinced a Georgian politician to bare his butt and say unsavory racist statements. He also met with Dick Cheney and famously got the politician’s signature on a waterboarding kit.

Borat also recently joined Twitter in September and has been highly active in tweeting about Trump. He poked fun at Trump’s handling of the COVID-19 situation by tweeting comments like, “Premiere Trump just appear on Whitehouse balcony where he took off his mask and threw into crowd for one lucky patriot to wear!”

Both Borat’s Twitch appearance with DrLupo and new Twitter account come just on the heels of the upcoming Borat sequel titled Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. (According to the New York Times, there’s apparently a scene in the new movie with a top Trump advisor that’s “gobsmacking.”)

You can catch Cohen’s new Borat movie on Amazon Prime Video on October 23.

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Pokemon Go Removes Mega Venusaur From Raids Later This Week

Mega Venusaur was one of the first three Mega Raid bosses to appear in Pokemon Go after developer Niantic introduced Mega Evolutions to the game, but it won’t be around for much longer. The studio has announced that Mega Venusaur will be leaving Raid battles this Friday, October 23 (when Pokemon Go’s Halloween 2020 event kicks off), but you’ll have other ways to earn Venusaur Mega Energy after it’s gone.

Following Mega Venusaur’s departure, Niantic says you’ll be able to receive Venusaur Mega Energy as a reward for completing certain Field Research tasks. The studio also teases that it will hold an event next month that will feature exclusive Timed Research tasks, and completing these will likewise net you Venusaur Mega Energy.

Other changes to Mega Evolutions are also coming in November. You’ll be able to earn Mega Energy by walking with your Buddy Pokemon if you’ve Mega Evolved a Pokemon in its line. You can also earn extra Candy when you have a Mega-Evolved Pokemon and catch another monster that has the same type as it. This extra Candy bonus will extend to any Raid boss you catch as well, regardless of its type. You can read more on the official Pokemon Go website.

As previously mentioned, Mega Venusaur is leaving Raids when Pokemon Go’s Halloween 20202 celebration begins. As part of the event, a new Mega-Evolved Pokemon will take its place in Raids: Mega Gengar. You’ll earn Gengar Mega Energy by defeating it and completing Timed Research tasks. A special costumed Gengar will debut as part of the event as well, while the Legendary Pokemon Darkrai will return to five-star Raids.

In the meantime, there are still a few days left to catch Pokemon Go’s current Legendary, Origin Forme Giratina. The Ghost/Dragon Pokemon is appearing in five-star Raids until October 23. There’s also still time to complete October’s Field Research tasks and catch this month’s Research Breakthrough reward, Shedinja.

Now Playing: Pokemon Sword & Shield DLC, EA Play On Game Pass, & Torchlight 3 Release Date | Save State

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There’s a 50-50 Chance We Really Are Living in a Simulation

Some scientists believe that there’s a 50-50 chance we really are living in a simulation, and now we have to wonder if The Matrix is looking more like a documentary than science fiction.

In a report from Popular Mechanics (via Scientific American), some scientists believe that the odds that life as we know it is a simulation could be as simple as a coin toss. This 50-50 coin toss approximation comes from the Scientific American-cited odds of 50.22222 to 49.77778 when determining whether or not life is a simulation. Scientific American, and subsequently Popular Mechanics, cite philosopher Nick Bostrom’s 2003 paper, “Are We Living in a Computer Simulation?” to explain where odds like the ones above come from.

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“I argue that at least one of the following propositions is true,” Bostrom says in his paper. “(1): the human species is very likely to become extinct before reaching ‘posthuman’ stage; (2): any posthuman civilization is extremely unlikely to run a significant number of simulations of its evolutionary history (or variations thereof); (3): we are almost certainly living in a computer simulation. It follows that the belief that there is a significant chance that we shall one day become posthumans who run ancestor-simulations is false, unless we are currently living in a simulation.”

Bostrom’s simulation theory focuses on computing power, much like The Matrix and its sequels did when discussing the idea of humankind simulation. It might be hard to believe there exists a computer powerful enough to simulate our entire existence but, if such a computer did exist, we would never be able to recognize it to begin with as we’d be inside of it, or rather, a part of its simulation.

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Bostrom’s theory of simulation sees the odds at nearly 50-50 and Columbia University astronomer David Kipping used Bostrom’s theory as a guide for arriving to his own odds. Kipping’s theory dictates that simulations cannot spawn their own additional simulations.

“That is because as simulations spawn more simulations, the computer resources available to each subsequent generation dwindles to the point where the vast majority of realities will be those that do not have the computing power necessary to simulate offspring realties that are capable of hosting conscious beings.”

As Popular Mechanics points out, think of Russian nesting dolls. Each subsequent doll after the first doll must fit into the doll that came before it. As a result, each doll grows smaller and smaller in size and scale as you go deeper into the nest of dolls.

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Basically, we are either in a simulation or we are not in a simulation. If humankind never creates its own simulation using conscious beings, then the odds of us living in a simulation tip further toward “yes,” because if we are in a simulation, then we likely wouldn’t be able to create one. If humankind does create a simulation of its own using conscious beings, then Kipping and Bostrom’s theory about computing power are closer to being proven wrong and the odds of us living in a simulation shift more towards “no.”

Regardless, it’s probably not a bad idea to let Keanu Reeves know now just in case.

For more science, read about how some scientists claim evidence of a parallel universe where time runs backward and then read about how this simulation might not matter because various species on Earth keep evolving into crabs.

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Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN who became increasingly more existential while writing this story. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes. 

Back To The Future: Ben Stiller’s Audition For Marty McFly Is Pretty Great

Working actors usually audition for plenty of roles, but rarely does anyone get to see them. For the new release of the Back to the Future trilogy on 4K–which arrives on October 20–one of the special features showcases a few big names you may be familiar with. This includes Ben Stiller, who recently appeared in Adam Sandler’s Hubie Halloween.

In the special feature “An Alternate Future: Lost Audition Tapes,” six audition tapes are shown for various actors, with the most notable being Ben Stiller. While he may be a household name now, back in 1984-85, he hadn’t landed a major role. Stiller was around 19 at the time, trying out to play Marty McFly. The brief video shows Stiller reading lines, and he’s pretty great. Both C Thomas Howell (The Outsiders) and Jon Cryer (Pretty in Pink) tried out for Marty McFly as well, but neither fit the role as well as Stiller did from the audition tapes. However, as good as Stiller seemed from the short clip, there is no one better for that role than Michael J. Fox.

However, there are other audition roles in the featurette. Billy Zane (Titanic) tries out for the role of Biff Tannen–and frankly, he’s not very believable as the infamous bully. However, he ended up being in both Back to the Future 1 and 2 as Match, Biff’s sidekick. Peter DeLuise (21 Jump Street) also tried out for the role of Tannen. Casting made a great call on this because no one embodied the role more than Thomas F. Wilson.

For the love interest of Jennifer Parker, Kyra Sedgwick (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) tried out. There isn’t anything too memorable about Sedgwick’s performance from the clip. And even though Claudia Wells landed the role for the first movie, she was recast for the sequel when Elisabeth Shue came aboard the franchise.

Back to the Future: The Ultimate Trilogy will feature all three movies in ultra high definition and plenty of special features, including ones that have never been released before.

Back to the Future Ultimate Trilogy on 4K UHD

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$43 (was $55)

The boxed set will have all three movies along with an extra disc filled with special features both old and new. Below, you’ll find the new additions for this collection.

New special features:

  • An Alternate Future: Lost Audition Tapes
  • The Hollywood Museum Goes Back to the Future
  • Back to the Future: The Musical: Behind the Scenes
  • Could You Survive The Movies?

In addition to those, previously released supplemental material from various other versions of the movie are on this collection. This includes the six-part documentary about the trilogy, deleted scenes, audio commentaries, and more. The Back to the Future: The Ultimate Trilogy releases on October 20.

First Details On Adam Sandler’s New Netflix Movie, Hustle, Revealed

The ever-prolific Adam Sandler has another new Netflix movie on the way. Early details on Hustle indicate Sandler plays a down-on-his-luck NBA basketball scout who finds an incredible talent overseas and fights for his chances to join a team. The movie’s genre has not yet been revealed, meaning it could be construed as a continuation of Sandler’s drama turn in the thriller Uncut Gems–or it could be another goofball comedy.

The announced cast as reported by Deadline doesn’t offer any further clues on which way the tone might be tipping: Rapper-actor Queen Latifah (22 Jump Street), Oscar-winner Robert Duvall (Apocalypse Now), and Ben Foster (Leave No Trace, X-Men: The Last Stand) will co-star alongside Sandler. NBA player Juancho Hernangomez and sports commentator Kenny Smith also appear in the film, lending the film’s world extra credibility. Along those lines: LeBron James is a producer.

Will Fetters (A Star is Born) and Taylor Materne (Dominoes) will co-write the script, and Jeremiah Zagar (We the Animals) will direct. Given the behind-the-camera talent involved, it perhaps seems more plausible that Hustle will be a drama–or dramedy.

In other Adam Sandler news, last week a news anchor who had a cameo in the new Hubie Halloween reported that she lost a job as a result of her role. Neither Netflix nor Adam Sandler have issued a response.

New Texas Chainsaw Massacre Sequel Gets Creepy First Poster

The 1974 classic Texas Chainsaw Massacre is one of the the most influential horror movies of all time and has been followed by numerous sequels, prequels, and remakes over the years. The ninth film in the series is due for release in 2021, and the first poster has been released.

The movie doesn’t have an official title yet, but the poster has been revealed at the film’s new website texaschainsaw.com. A link to the site was also included in the trailer for Call of Duty: Warzone’s limited-time The Haunting of Verdansk event. The poster is a creepy painting of the franchise’s iconic chainsaw-wielding killer Leatherface, which updates the classic intro text from Tobe Hooper’s original film: “In 1974, the world witnessed one of the most bizarre crimes in the annals of American history. In 2021, the face of madness returns.” Check the poster out below:

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The movie is produced by Fede Álvarez (Don’t Breathe) and directed by David Blue Garcia. In August, it was reported that original directors Andy and Ryan Tohill had been fired after a week of shooting over “creative differences,” and the film would be reshot from scratch by Garcia. While the last film, 2017’s Leatherface, was a prequel to the original Texas Chainsaw, this next entry will reportedly be a direct sequel, set four decades later, that ignores all the films in between.

The new Texas Chainsaw film is only one of several movies in the long-running horror franchises due for release over the next couple of years. Halloween Kills was originally set to arrive this fall, but has been put back until October 2021, with Halloween Ends following a year later. Scream 5 is due in early 2022, with Truth or Dare’s Matthew Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett directing, and Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, and David Arquette all set to return to their roles from the previous movies in the hit slasher series.

For more, check out GameSpot’s guide to the biggest upcoming movies of 2020 and beyond.