biteho.com

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

Paul Thomas Anderson, the auteur director behind Boogie Nights, There Will Be Blood, The Master, and Phantom Thread, is moving to MGM for his next film. Deadline is reporting that the director’s next feature is currently having its deal ironed out, with production not yet starting after a COVID-19 related delay.

Anderson’s previous film, Phantom Thread, was distributed by Focus Features on a budget of $35 million. It was nominated for multiple Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, and won for Best Costume Design. The plan was for Focus Features to release the director’s next film, too, but this will no longer be the case.

Deadline reports that the move to MGM is not contentious. Universal, the parent company of Focus Features, will likely still be involved, as they have previously helped with distribution on MGM titles (including upcoming Bond title No Time To Die).

Anderson’s next film does not have a title set yet. It will be set in the San Fernando Valley in the 1970s, and will be about a child actor. Casting has not been announced, and details are pretty vague right now.

Anderson is famous for his collaborations with actors–Daniel Day-Lewis, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Joaquin Phoenix have all been acclaimed for the work they’ve done with the director in leading roles. Until 2019’s Uncut Gems, Adam Sandler’s most famously “good” performance was in Anderson’s Punch-Drunk Love, a movie that taps into the comedian’s boiling inner turmoil.

One of the most memorable parts of Disney’s 2013 animated movie Frozen is the song, “Do You Want To Build A Snowman?” which would go on to become a bonafide earworm. As it turns out, the song was not originally in the film. Actor Josh Gad, who plays Olaf the snowman in the movie, told PeopleTV that the song was only added after the first test screenings for Frozen came back ice cold.

As Gad tells it, songwriter Robert Lopez told Gad that the movie was a “mess” with its first screenings. Lopez’s idea was to address the problem by adding a new sequence that showcased a “moment where we really see the girls’ affection for each other early on.”

Lopez, who co-wrote “Do You Want To Build A Snowman?” with his wife Kristen Anderson-Lopez, came to the producers with the song, and six months later, it was in a new cut of Frozen that was much more well-received.

The “Do You Want To Build A Snowman?” sequence in the movie, is, as Lopez alluded to, very impactful in helping the audience understand the relationship between Anna and Elsa. The scene shows Anna–over the course of many years–trying to bond with her sister by building a snowman.

After years of waiting, Disney released Frozen 2 in theatres in November 2019. It was a gigantic success, bringing in more than $1.4 billion at the global box office, though you could argue it did not spawn any songs that were as popular and prolific as “Do You Want To Build A Snowman?” except for maybe “In the Unknown.”

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

The next Nintendo Direct event has been announced, but this one is a little different. The first-ever Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase is slated for Monday, July 20, at 7 AM PT / 10 AM ET.

The Partner Showcase is a new series “focused on titles from our development and publishing partners.” In the debut episode, Nintendo will share “a few updates” on Nintendo Switch games that have already been announced, so do not expect any new game reveals at this show.

The broadcast will be streamed on YouTube, and you can watch it right here at GameSpot. It will be about 10 minutes long, according to Nintendo Japan.

According to a report, Nintendo delayed its usual June summer presentation due to development complications caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This event, which is not the Partner Showcase, is now expected to air “late in the summer.”

Rogue Company, the team-based shooter, teased on Twitter that it may be involved with the Nintendo Direct event on Monday.

Check back on Monday for all the big news from the Partner Showcase event. This new event follows the Treehouse Live July 2020 stream that provided new details on Paper Mario: The Origami King and the new game Bakugan: Champions of Vestroia.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced a new Location Incentive program, with $280 million in cash grants intended to attract big international productions to film down under, Variety reports. The new program has been added in addition to Australia’s Location Offset program, which provides tax rebates for productions and post-work carried out in the country.

The new program follows $175 million that was announced for Australian arts and entertainment industries last month, as both struggle to recover from the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Around $34 million of that will go towards insurance guarantees for the TV and film industries, enabling productions to restart after COVID-19.

The Australian government is no doubt hoping to capitalise on Australia’s low rates of coronavirus, while other production hubs in the US and UK are still virus hotspots. However a recent outbreak in Melbourne resulting in extended lockdowns and closed borders proves the threat is still very much present.

Australia was a production hotspot in the late 90s and early 2000s, with big-name films such as the Matrix trilogy and parts of the Star Wars prequel trilogy filmed in Sydney. Now, the government is hoping to attract that industry back with similar tax incentives. Hollywood films including Aquaman, Thor: Ragnarok and Alien: Covenant have filmed in Australia in recent years, with upcoming productions Thor: Love and Thunder and Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings also set to film in Sydney this year.

First announced back in 2018, Amazon’s Invincible animated series has announced another round of additions to an already star-studded cast, THR reports. The series is based on Image Comics’ Invincible series by The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman. Like his famous zombie franchise, Invincible will be targeted at adults, with the animated show taking on a dramatic tone borrowed from the comics.

The Walking Dead’s Steven Yeun will lead the voice cast as the titular hero, also known as teenager Mark Grayson. Yeun will now been joined by his fellow Walking Dead alum Khary Payton, who will play Black Samson, a member of the Guardians of the Globe–Invincible’s answer to the Avengers-esque supergroup. Zachary Quinto has also signed on to play Robot, one of the lead character’s allies.

Already announced cast members include J.K. Simmons as Invincible’s father Nolan Grayson, Sandra Oh as mother Debbie Grayson, and Zazie Beetz as love interest Amber Bennett. Other voice actors include Mark Hamill, Gillian Jacobs, Grey Griffin, Jason Mantzoukas, and Seth Rogen, who is also on board to write, direct and produce together with Evan Goldberg. Creator Robert Kirkman is on board with the adaptation as executive producer.

The series is kicking off with eight hour-long episodes, and though Amazon hasn’t yet announced a release date, it’s expected to drop on Amazon Prime Video sometime in 2020.

Visitors to the newly re-opened Disney World will no longer be allowed to wander the parks maskless with the excuse of food or drink, thanks to new rules banning eating or drinking while walking. While the rule change didn’t merit an announcement from the entertainment giant, the change to Disney World’s face mask policy was picked up by Disney fan blogs, and reported by Variety.

Guests at the park are still allowed to remove their masks for the purpose of eating or drinking, but the rule change now specifies that they remain stationary and socially distanced from other patrons while doing so.

“Face coverings are required for all guests (ages 2 and up) and cast members. Please bring your own face coverings and wear them at all times, except when dining or swimming,” read the guidelines on Disney World’s website. “You may remove your face covering while actively eating or drinking, but you should be stationary and maintain appropriate physical distancing.”

It seems too many patrons were using the excuse of eating or drinking to avoid wearing a mask since the park re-opened on July 11, warranting the new addition to the rules.

Despite the new guidelines on mask-wearing, physical distancing and increased cleaning procedures, experts have slammed the decision to re-open Disney World in Florida, a current hotspot for COVID-19. The number of new daily cases detected in the state has fluctuated between 10,000 and 15,000 since Disney World opened on the 11th, with almost 5000 deaths now recorded in Florida.

Microsoft’s big Xbox Series X games showcase is coming up this Thursday, July 23, and it’s expected to feature Halo Infinite and some of Microsoft’s other first-party titles. The show kicks off at 8 AM PT with a pre-show led by games media veteran Geoff Keighley.

Unlike some pre-shows that don’t have much news, this one will be different, according to Xbox marketing boss Aaron Greenberg. “Trust me you don’t want to miss this pre-show,” Greenberg said on Twitter. “We have been working with and our partners on some exciting reveals!”

Greenberg did not offer any further teases about what to expect. GameSpot will be reporting for the entirety of the event, so keep checking back with us for the latest.

Greenberg has also clarified that the July 23 event will focus exclusively on games. The executive said he’s seen some “wild expectations” for what people think Microsoft will show.

“No business, devices, or similar news, just games. A whole show about hour-long focused on games. Hope you enjoy it!” he said.

Greenberg is likely referring to the long-running rumors that Microsoft is working on an all-digital next-generation Xbox. If Microsoft is, it won’t be announced until a later date. More recently, rumors sparked that Microsoft is going to further integrate Xbox Live and Xbox Game Pass, but as Greenberg says, this July 23 event will focus only on games, not the business models surrounding them.

What we do know about the July 23 event is that Microsoft will use it to finally show more of Halo Infinite. The presentation will include a reveal of the campaign mode, with multiplayer saved for a later date.