Almost nothing has been said about the production of the Gears of War movie; everything said about the movie, so far, is either speculation or PR “contribution”. That said, the Gear of War movie producer, Wyck Godfrey recently sat down to discuss the challenges of translating the popular video game series into a movie.

Revealing that he didn’t take kindly to the already to explored environment within the Gears of War video games, Godfrey told Making Of that the Gears of War movie will center around the events of “Emergence Day”, 14 years before the original Gears of War – “Emergence Day” wasn’t explored fully within the video games’ storyline.

“The hard part is to make [Gears of War] into something that doesn’t feel like a world torn asunder and people just in battle,” Godfrey tells Making Of. “I think we really want to focus on the idea of a world that’s running well and then it’s Emergence Day.”

Besides recent reports, it seems that unannounced Final Fantasy project is alive and well. According to a report posted by GameIndustry.biz, sources confirmed that the unannounced Final Fantasy project that was in development at GRIN is now in development over at Square Enix.

You see, Square took the project off GRIN’s hands after only six months of development due to concerns over quality. Sadly, because business laws in Sweden prohibits companies from going into debt without severe penalties, GRIN was subsequently to bear its wage burden without new projects, and had to closed its doors. Square didn’t respond to the news.

We have some bads news. Director Gore Verbinski has stepped down from directing the BioShock movie for a possible forth installment into the Pirates of the Carribbean movie series, which isn’t all bad news because Pirates of the Carribbean is awesome, and it looks like Juan Carlos Fresnadillo has stepped in as director – SlashFilm reports.

Verbinski will remain involved in the project, but only as producer. However, as we reported back in April, Universal has shut down production of the movie because of the film’s ballooning budget that continues to grow. Also for some reworking of the script, and to explore possible locations outside the country offering financial incentives.

With a pool of talented name brand filmmakers hoping to helm such a project (Guillermo del Toro has been outspoken), its amazing that Universal went with Fresnadillo in the end, who’s best known as the writer/director of 28 Weeks Later.

In all the recent videos, not including the ones at E3, Final Fantasy XIII has been featured with it’s translated English dialog. However, we can now confirm that, that should no longer be an issue. Because Square Enix has revealed that they have completed the remainder of all the English dialog for Final Fantasy XIII.

“Sweet! English VO for FFXIII is complete,” stated Square Enix’s Klee Kuo twitter feed.

Since Comic-Con, news that Neill Blomkamp and Peter Jackson had plans to bring Master Chief to the big screen sparked a little bit of attention around movie goers and gamers alike. However, than there’s the fact that Stuart Beattie, who worked on the recently released G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra movie – also a huge Halo fan – had possession of  a Halo movie script.

But, with G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra already finished, Stuart has put the Halo script on the market, and it has already has sparked interest in someone who isn’t Jerry Bruckheimer or Peter Jackson. According to IESB, Steven Spielberg is in negotiations for the movie:

“Spielberg is blown away by writer Stuart Beattie’s take on the game in his script entitled HALO THE FALL OF REACH. This coupled with the fact that his Dreamworks umbrella is looking for a big tent pole to help launch their newly independent studio with distribution over at Walt Disney Pictures after losing Transformers to Paramount in the separation, it’s the perfect combination.”

It’s good to know that the movie is still alive and getting attention, while I may not approve of Speilberg doing the movie over Peter Jackson, it’s good to know that the movie is still wanted by big name movie producers such as himself. Could we finally see Halo in 2011-12? Only time will tell.

The sequel to the film adaptation of Hitman is in production, according to a new report by movie site IESB.

Writer Kyle Ward, also attached to the Kane & Lynch adaptation, is handling the script for Hitman 2. Producers Adrian Askarieh, Daniel Alter and Chuck Gordon will return to work on the project.

The original Hitman movie, released in 2007, starred Deadwood veteran Timothy Olyphant in the role as Agent 45 himself. Despite dismal reviews, the film eventually raked in $99.9 million at the box office.

Movie based games normally aren’t as good as they appear, but when a developer gets that movie and game combination just right, they can amaze everyone with their final product. X-Men Origins: Wolverine is just that kind of game, but instead of some hand-me-down PG-13 character, you get a Wolverine that stays true to Wolverine. Because of this, “the kiddies” can’t take on this role of Wolverine – thanks to some very brutal decapitations – but that just sucks for them.

Following events from the film, the game tosses you in into the tattered white tank top of Weapon X in a setting all too familiar from the movie. However, X-Men Origins adds a lot of back story into it. The game centers around the time when Logan was running with his commanding officer Stryker and Sabertooth doing animalistic missions within Africa. But that isn’t all, the title also follows Lugan’s turn from the group for a better life – but we all know how that turns out. So now, he’s on a one man mission of revenge. However, for some reason, the game finds away to pop in and out of these timelines, which sometimes can get a bit tedious.

Luckily, this game isn’t much about story; it’s mostly about hacking ‘n’ slashing your way though waves and waves of enemies. Thanks to some quick reaction, combat provides enough variety in its moves to keep things up to speed and interesting, while the ability to unlock special moves and upgrade them with points earned by experience offers an rewarding sense of progress. But without some of these controls such as the game’s lunges, blocks, rolls, and special moves – handled by shoulder buttons and triggers – the controls feel sufficiently different to most other hack ‘n’ slash titles. And once you get the hang of things, you’ll soon find yourself a pro.

Another thing that’s interesting about X-Men Origins is the new health system they have finally given to Wolverine. Like before there is a heath bar, but you won’t need it because Wolverine has the ability to heal in-game. When bullets fly into Wolverine, the holes appear in his chest and they begin to bleed out. Along this, you can also see the shirt being torn off of Logan back as enemy bullets and explosions hit him.

When playing thought this game, I found that there there hasn’t been much work on the characters within the design department. There are three character types that aren’t bosses, and depending on which mission you are on, there are different character skins you will be able to fight. Don’t get me wrong, there are many special moves and attacks that you can utilise, but you can only do something for so long before you get bored of it. This is want happens with X-Men Origins. Sure, adding new character skins in the mix is a nice aspect, but there’s aren’t that many of them to keep things fresh.

Closing Statement:

There’s only so much you can ask from a movie game, but lucky, X-Men Origins is able to capture them all well. When I was playing though this game I was surprised by all the things they’ve added to give the game replay valve. I played though this game twice: the first to beat it, and the second to find all the extra collectables and ablites. There have been very few movie games that people can consider good, however I’m happy to tell you that X-Men Origins: Wolverine happens to be one of these games.

Score: B+

We recently had the chance to speak with Yuri Lowenthal and Tara Platt, known for their healthy career in the gaming industry, about their latest venture together “Tumbling After”.

GCO: For those that aren’t up to date with what you have done in the past, can you guys list some of your past works – both within the video gaming industry and on-screen?

Sure, Yuri might be best known for his work in video-games like The Prince of Persia series (as the Prince) in Sands of Time and Two Thrones. He also recently worked on Afro Samurai (Jinno/Kuma) – both the video games and series – opposite Samuel L. Jackson, Lucy Liu and Ron Perlman. He’s been in countless other game titles from .Hack// (Haseo), Saints Row, Persona 3 & 4 to Final Fantasy, as well as anime series Naruto (Sasuke), Gurren Lagaan (Simon) and more. He also does a lot of original animation work, having starred in Legion of Superheroes (Superman & Superman X), Ben Ten: Alien Force (Ben), Wolverine & The X-Men (IceMan) in addition to on-camera jobs. Most recently on TV he had a recurring role on Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (Christopher Garvin) as well as recurring on The Gilmore Girls (Carl).

And Tara is no stranger to video games, animation and television as well. In video games, some of Tara ‘s credits include Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles (Red Queen), DC vs. MK (Wonder Woman), Persona 3 (Mitsuru) and Soulcalibur (Setsuka). In anime, she’s also on Naruto (Temari), Blue Dragon (Cynthia) and Buso Renkin (Tokiko). Tara also worked on Legion of Superheroes (DreamGirl). On-screen in film and TV she’s appeared in Gilmore Girls (Shelly), Charmed (Muse), recurring on Attack of the Show (Baronness & Spoiler Whore) as well as several indie films: Death’s Door, Time & Tide and Tumbling After, the feature film that we wrote, produced and completed this year under our production company Monkey Kingdom Productions. Clearly we don’t like to sit still…:)

GCO: How did you guys use your experiences with your recent venture “Tumbling After”?

Well, I think simply being in the entertainment industry as long as we have definitely helped us as we worked on Tumbling. It was its own unique process, which I don’t know that anyone could have been totally prepared for given the circumstances. And there were certainly moments when things got hairy, that we had to say, “This is just the way it’s gonna go!” and not take it personally or get bummed out, or we wouldn’t have finished the film at all. Yuri jokes that making Tumbling was our equivalent to going to film school; we had to learn on the spot and make things happen however we could just to get through the day.

We certainly called a few favors from people we know in all areas of the business. At every step of the process. It’s really the way things get done here, we’ve found. First it was calls to see if people could jump in as cast/crew, then it was to see if they could help in post-production. Those friend-favors are invaluable and we owe the caliber of the film in great part to the hard work and efforts of those people…which we couldn’t have accessed without having laid the groundwork in our personal careers up to that point. It’s such a huge undertaking, making a movie, that there’s a lot of trust involved, from start to finish, which is kind of funny, because trust is a major theme in the film.

GCO: When you hear the name “Tumbling After” you hear the ringing of the popular children song “Jack and Jill went up the hill”, was that you inspiration for the name of the movie? If yes, why?

Great! Then it’s working. Although the film is a psychological thriller, we like the eerie feel you get when you juxtapose children’s rhymes with scary ideas and images. Most of those fairy tales are pretty scary when you get right down to it, anyway. The main characters are named Jack and Jill for that reason, so that you are following the ‘tumbling after’ that befalls them. In fact, our tagline for the film is “Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water, Jack fell down and broke his crown and then began the slaughter…”

It’s funny really, since when we started filming we thought we might name the characters Jack and Diane, like the John Cougar Mellencamp song but fate stepped in and we ended up changing Diane to Jill just before shooting. And it all lined up perfectly. We couldn’t have planned it any better, really, since the character of Jack starts the film having just had a mental breakdown (he broke his crown) which sets all the events in motion (slaughter, you ask? Well, you’ll just have to watch and see.). So, yay! We’re glad that those images were conjured when you heard the name. Success!

GCO: Monkey Kingdom Productions. This has to be one of the most unique names I have heard in a long time, how did you guys come up with it? What’s the reason behind the name?

Why thank you! It actually stems from Asian myth and legend, by which we are both intrigued and inspired. In Eastern mythology, there is a Monkey King god. The Monkey King is a trickster god, always playing pranks on the bigger more powerful gods. We liked this image of the clever underdog, especially in the studio-powerful entertainment industry. So, we took that idea and our love of teamwork or a ‘kingdom’ of people, since in this business a successful project is never the work of a single person, and we created Monkey Kingdom Productions. ‘Cause when you’re having fun, its not really working, right? And if we don’t take ourselves too seriously and allow ourselves to play, then we’re just monkey-ing around. As we like to say, “C’mon monkey, let’s make a movie!”

Currently we’re shopping Tumbling After to several distributors and we are also in production and filming our next feature film, a documentary about the world of comic/cartoon/anime/video game conventions from the perspective of actors who travel there, since we live that firsthand. We are also co-authoring a book on voice-over due out this fall entitled Voice-Over Voice-Actor: What It’s Like Behind the Mic, so keep your eyes out for that. Like we said earlier, we’re always on the move!

The casting for the upcoming film adapation of Thor seems to be coming along well. When paying a vist to MTV Studios, movie director Kenneth Branagh was asked about the casting of the title.

“We’re down to the final stages of it,” Branagh said. “The reason one has to be properly diplomatic, is simply that some talented peopled have been patient, kind, creative and really committed to working with us in this process.”

He added that, “My reluctance to say anything about it is simply out of respect for people who have been extremely respectful of us. That said, I think we are extremely close and I hope to announce a decision sooner rather than later.”

Marvel Studios are targeting for a May 20, 2011 release for the film.

[Thor Casting is in the Final Stages via SuperHeroHype]

Update: It has been brought to my attention that there was a little error within the title. However, it has now been edited.

Original: That’s right. According to The Hollwood Reporter, it seems that Activision have set up deals for “Call of Duty: The Movie”, the movie for the very popular video game.

“[The Call of Duty movie is] being talked about for the big screen,” said one person with knowledge of the deal.

However, in an interview prior to Thursday’s quarterly earnings conference call, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick wouldn’t comment on the status of Call of Duty becoming a film.

Kotick added that video games, especially family-friendly titles – like Guitar Hero, which will be getting its own show - are “capturing leisure time away from TV and film.”

Evidence that Kotick might be correct was in the company’s financial report on Thursday. Revealing that Activision Blizzard’s first-quarter revenue had more than tripled to $981 million as net income swelled to $189 million from $43 million in the year-ago quarter.

Beside being leaked on the internet a couple of weeks ago, it seems that it didn’t stop the beast from unleashing in the box office this weekend.

According to USA Today, the fourth movie in the X-Men franchise, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, took in an estimated $87 million in the box office since its release on friday, which, in short, means that the movie surpassed the studios expectations of $70 million – but, sadly, it still didn’t meet the standards set by Iron Man last year ($98.6 million).

“We sweated this one out,” says Chris Aronson, senior vice president of distributor 20th Century Fox. “But the exit polls are terrific, with nearly half the audience saying it’s better than they had expected. It really comes back to Hugh (Jackman). I think audiences have a tremendous appetite for both Hugh and his character, Wolverine, that he really created.”

It looks like this big budget movie may have been too big for its budget. Announced last May, the movie was in pre-production by Universal and 2K with Pirates of the Caribbean director, Gore Verbinski attached to helm the film along with John Logan, responsible for Gladiator and The Aviator, planning the script.

According to a spokesperson from Universal, the film will remain alive in an extended pre-production “so the studio and production can take a look at possible alternate shooting locations, available tax credits, foreign exchange rates and other elements that might help us make the film at a responsible budget.”

“No plug has been pulled on BioShock,” reps told Kotaku. “Universal remains committed to making the project and Gore absolutely remains attached as director.”

The movie was announced to have a budget at about $160 million, which, if you remember, rocked the internet with the announcement.

[Universal Puts BioShock Movie On Hold On Budget Concerns via Kotaku]

Back when the DVD and Blu-ray versions of Wanted was released, Universal Studios implanted on to the discs 10 secret codes, which are hidden among the menu screen and/or bonus features, that unlock new portions of the game.

The codes will give you the ability to open up a new character, access enhanced weaponry and exclusive game modes, etc.. But, it also back into the DVD/Blu-ray movies. When an embedded code in the game is entered into the movie disc’s menu screen, a special featurette starring Wanted lead James McAvoy will be revealed.

Universal did not aggressively promote this game-movie cross-over when Wanted bowed on DVD and Blu-ray last year because the game, initially planned to release at the same time as the DVD, was delayed until March.

“Universal saw an exclusive opportunity to creatively intensify Wanted fans’ entertainment experience by crafting a code program that essentially is designed to drive film and game enthusiasts from the Blu-ray and DVD releases to the game and back,” said Hilary Hoffman, the studio’s senior VP of brand and digital marketing.“By bridging these two platforms, we effectively extend the marketing window for the film’s DVD and Blu-ray releases, substantially enhance game play and enable fans to unlock even more bonus content for one of their favorite films.”

[Wanted: Weapons of Fate in DVD, Blu-ray crossover via Video Business]

I was never a really a big fan of RPGs until this game came along and pointed me in the right direction, but it wasn’t because it’s a timed 360 exclusive, it was because it’s from Square. Now, I’m not saying that Fable, or the other RPGs, aren’t great games it’s just that this games from the Kings of RPGs. And well, it seems that when the game comes to the PlayStation 3 Squares going to be adding Japanese voiceovers.

“Because this is the 360 version and it’s just a DVD we didn’t end up with enough room on the DVD to have two languages worth of voice. There’s a lot of voice in this game. It would be cool if we can do that for a Blu-ray release. We’ll see!” - Yuji Isogawa via VideoGamer.com

It’s really kinda trivial to ask this question, but why just not just keep the game the same as the 360 version? O well, this is just as great anyway, but lets wait and see what other things they well change, like adding new missions but we can only lets hope.

It’s been along time since we last heard news on the latest project from the guys over at Running With Scissors, but in an past interview the developers mentioned that the game will be “bigger, badder and ballsier.” Yeah, it does sound like something a special someone that we know, an I mean that in the full sense of the word, would say. In an interview with XboxCore when asked about gameplay features that have changed, Vince Desi and creative director Steve Wik, mentioned that they’ll be making POSTAL 3 “bigger, badder and ballsier.” And I’ll leave that to you to figure out.

“It’s all about the Gameplay. I like movies as much as anyone, but I’d rather watch ‘em on a big screen. I can tell you from all the fan mail I get that the gamers who liked POSTAL 2 really loved it, and so we will make POSTAL 3 bigger, badder and ballsier.” said Vince Desi.

[Postal 3 First Impression Interview via XboxCore/VG Core]

The last Street Fighter movie was downright atrocious, but that doesn’t always mean that you should give up on the game as a movie series, or does it? We all may know as Steven E. de Souza has the guy who messed up with the games creditable as a film back in 1994. Well, when he was speaking to the guys at MTV’s Movie Blog he said that “Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li,” will be better then the first movie which was simply entitled “Street Fighter”.

“When we were making the original one, they insisted that all of the characters be in the movie,” de Souza remembered with a sigh. “And if you do the math, that gives you about 7 minutes per character if you split it up equally.”

“I’m envious of this group, because they’re able to construct a movie around a single character rather than a three-ring circus that needs to be lassoed with the story,” he insisted. “It’s a rich universe, and I think it can support all of these versions.”

This movie has been rumored since last year and at E3 Sony reveal the third installment into the serie is well on it’s way. Well, we all knew that this was going to happen, it was just a matter of when. When confronted by UGO’s Movie Blog, Brett Ratner, who just happens to be a Movie Directer said that he was working on some new movie. No, it’s not the Mass Effect: The Movie. It’s God of War: The Movie, this game does have a kinda deep story and if i where to pick on game to be turned into a movie this will be it. Here also revealed some other movies that he will be working on and you can watch the video on the site.

God of War follows the story of Kratos a servant to the God of War, Ares, during a battle against an immense Barbarian horde from the east. Kratos and his men were greatly outnumbered and the merciless Barbarians couldn’t be stopped by the disciplined Spartans, resulting in a massacre. Realizing that he could not win, Kratos offered his life and servitude to Ares in exchange for salvation.

3D Realms really loves movies so they have decided to move their well known franchise, Duke Nukem, to the big screen. To help with this big screen move they have decided to pick a very responsible man Scott Faye will be taking on this big project. If you don’t know Faye, he has worked on the upcoming future blockbuster Max Payne, starring Mark Wahlberg. “I am already working on building a scenario that does justice to the game, as Duke Nukem is one of the most important franchises in the history of video games,” Said Faye. As producer he will work very close with Scott Miller,3D Realms, to ensure that this movie is done right. Even if it takes 10 years to make this movie as gamers we would rather have a great movie then a bad one.

According to GamesIndustry.biz, Swedish developer Grin is currently working with Universal on a Wanted movie based video game. The movie has taken over USD 192 million at the box office since release. The game will be published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.

“From the time we read the script and saw the film’s pre-visual material, it was clear that Wanted was a powerful property – one that was well poised to deliver an engaging gaming experience,” commented Bill Kispert, VP and general manager for Universal Pictures.

Pete Wanat will work with Grin as executive game producer, who previously worked on movie games like The Thing, The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay and Scarface: The World is Yours.

According to Variety , Capcom is teaming up with producer Avi Arad to bring the Lost Planet movie adaptation to life. The movie is set to be part of a distribution deal with Warner Bros. Along with the news we got word that David Hayter , which was aready know by the rumor posted on the net, will be the writing the script for the movie. Arad will be producing the movie with his son Ari in partnership with Steven Paul through Seaside Entertainment. We are still waiting for officail word from Capcom about the movie.

That rights. Nintendo just revealed Grand Theft Auto for there DS called China Town Wars. There was no word on this game at this time we will keep you updated…….

Here’s some more Details:

“This is a game that will deliver a rich, fast-paced and intense ‘Grand Theft Auto’ experience that will be truly unique to Nintendo’s handheld platform,” said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games. “Rockstar Leeds, along with…the….team at Rockstar North, has built upon a decade of progressive design on Grand Theft Auto, and has created something fundamentally fresh and immersive.”

Update 7/16/08 2:00 AM EST: With the use of the DS touch screen, players will navigate their way through the streets as they uncover the truth behind an epic tale.

It may seem like common to get a game with this kind of hype over a movie, The Dark Knight, and with there being many rumors pointing to the game being reality there was still no official word about the game. But, yet still Joystick Radio seems to think that you “may see in the future” something about The Dark Knight video game, but they didn’t say it in that in that order. So keep your eyes peeled because you may see something about a new batman game.

Update 6/21/2008: You guys may want to take a look at this.
The Dark Knight Game Confirmed

Not so long ago we reported that David Hayter would be working a deal with Warner Bros. to induce Capcom’s Lost Planet to the big screen. Now, a rumor has been spotted up on the internet that advises the Lost Planet movie adaptation will be coming our way in 2011.

According to 1UP, the Lost Planet movie adaptation will be coming our way in 2011, or in other words the movie will be seen for the first time in theaters some in late, mid or early 09.  Many rumors have been going around that the movie would indeed be coming to life on the big screen, and many sources state that Warner Bros. will indeed be the distributor, with Capcom and Seaside Films co-producing the adaptation in to film. But, for now this is still a rumor so until E3 there is still no official word on the movie so far, so we still need to wait.

Lost Planet: Extreme Condition is currently out for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

According to an article posted by IGN (Joystiq ), veteran voice actor/screenwriter David Hayter revealed a deal with Warner Bros. to bring Capcom’s Lost Planet to the big screen. Bring Lost Planet closer to fruition than previously thought. Hayter told IGN that "It’s not entirely confirmed yet," he goes on to say "we are just closing the deal with Warner Bros. for me to adapt Lost Planet." But, unfortunately due to Hayter’s contractual agreements, IGN was unable to obtain more specific information about the film. Just keep E3 as an open window for an announcement.

In the article Hayter goes on to talking about his Hayter’s approach to adopting games to film here’s what he had to say "There is gap in Hollywood between people who write good movies and those who appreciate good video games," he said. "I’m fortunate enough to be in both worlds. For myself, I try to make an effort to take the essence of the game, keep as much of that as possible, and still put it into a proper film structure."

It’s time to unleashed your inner chimp with today’s newly released box art revealed by Warner Bros. The game is based off the upcoming movie, which will release this July, Space Chimps. In the game you play as HAM and LUNA, who are both passengers on a harrowing mission through a dangerous inter-universal wormhole.

Features

• Alternate between playing Ham and Luna exchanging humorous banter between the two acrobatic chimps.
• Unleash your animal abilities as you tumble, jump, climb and swing your way through environments straight out of the movie.
• Switch from fighting mode to sneaking more to puzzle solving mode as you travel from level to level.
• Fly on the back of alien fluvians, or get yourself your own pair of flutter eye wings.
• 11 levels including 3 bosses.
• Battle 2-player coop style.
• 13 entirely new enemies, not found in the film, to challenge your combat skills!
• Entirely exclusive NDS experience, with 3D side-scrolling action and 2 player multiplayer.

Black Rock Studios along with Disney Interactive Studios revealed today the box art for the upcoming off-road racing video game. The box on the right will grace stores in  Europe, the Middle East and Africa while North America, Asia, Latin America and Australia will get the box art on the left this gam set to be released in the Fall of 2008 and we where assured  by director Jason Avent that both game would run the same on the 360 version and Playstation 3  version.

You can take look at both in there Hi-Def glory Image 1 Image 2 .

According to producer Patrick Aiello, Ryu and Ken will not be featured in the latest Street Fighter movie. Here’s what he had to say:

"Capcom got together and decided to make it more of an origin story for Chun Li. There are just way too many characters in the Street Fighter universe to cram them all into one film. We want to do each one the justice he/she deserves. So, in short, Ken and Ryu will not be appearing in this film. But, that doesn’t mean we wont see our red and white-clad heroes in potential sequels… "

[Questions. Answered. via Street Fighter Movie]

In a speech given at a campaign stop in Indianapolis, Indiana, the senator addressed the problem of children being raised by video games. Here’s what he had to say:

I was just catching the news this morning about Grand Theft Auto, this video game, which is gonna break all records and make goo-gobs of money for whoever designed it. Now, this isn’t intended for kids, although I promise you there are kids who are playing it, but these video games are raising our kids…

Across the board, middle-class, upper-class, working-class kids, they’re spending a huge amount of their time not on their studies, but on entertainment.

And so part of our job is going to have to be to inspire the entire country to say, ‘How are we giving our kids a thirst for knowledge?’ And turning off the TV set, and getting them to be engaged and interested, like their future really does matter on how well they do in school.”

[Obama Name Checks GTA, Says Video Games Are Raising Our Children via Kotaku]

ShockTillYouDrop interviewed Michael Stahl-David , who played the lead in Cloverfield:

Should that be the case, has he heard any rumblings about the proposed Cloverfield 2? “I think they’re still trying to figure out how they’re going to pull it off,” the actor laughs. “They have some ideas they’re excited about but they’re really not sharing them with many people…and they’re not sharing them with me.”

He adds he would be surprised if Reeves and company asked him to return, “unless it was being glimpsed for a second by somebody else’s camera. And I think people have seen enough of me running around anyway.”

Here a very interesting rumour which circulates on the Net, Yoshitaka Amano (designer on Final Fantasy) is joining Ubisoft to work on Beyond Good & Evil 2! Obviously few additional information was giving. One can always request to see a continuation of this game, in spite of his innumerable qualities, not known discounted success.

Source

Update:

This is a translation of the source text

A source close to Moviehole , told them "this morning that the film remains in-tact – and nothing of Ledger’s will be cut from the movie, including the body-bag scene. ‘’I KNOW for a fact that that scene is in the film. I also know that WB has made no such mandate and that Chris [Nolan] is honest when saying that he will not change what was intended with The Joker.”

Great news, the cover story Game Informer is Gears of War 2 and we have some new details from the game thanks to a member of the NeoGaF Forums.

New characters:

Chairman Prescott : Lots of gamers found themselves wondering if Marcus’ domineering superior officer was the head of the human government. It turns out that Hoffman is only second in command. Above him stands the Chairman, an almost dictatorial military leader who nonetheless has made the hard choices necessary to keep humanity alive through decades of warfare. As Gears 2 opens, this leader of the COG forces will deliver a speech to the troops before sending them reeling into the suicidal mission ahead.

Dizzy : In the seemingly unending struggle with the Locust Horde, the military forces of the COG have taken massive casualties. Somewhere along the way, Operation Lifeboat was enacted to bring in some fresh blood. Under this new act, the Coalition government will rescue a Stranded family and bring them into the relative story of a COG-protected zone. In return, the able-bodied men of that family join up and contribute their skills to the war effort. Such is the case with hardened soldier Dizzy, a new character who drives the massive Derrick on which Delta Squad ascends into the mountains. With a trademark drawl and an insistence on calling his truck “Betty”, he’s a colorful new addition to the cast.

Maria Santiago : When Emergence Day struck, Dom’s wife Maria became a victim as surely as if she had died in that first attack. On that day, her children were killed. Unable to deal with the shock and loss, Maria lost herself in the ruins of civilization. For Dominic, who joined the COG to protect his family, no priority is higher than to retrieve his lost love – his very personal quest to find her is a major part of the story that unfolds in Gears 2.

Gears of War 2 begins six months after the deployment of the Lightmass bomb at the end of part one.

Lots of talk about the new Unreal tech. GI says the story and gameplay are a pretty major leap forward from the original game, but an equally large step is being made in the behind-the-scenes tech. Gears 2 is set to impress just like Gears 1 did. New character lighting, it’s a step away from realistic lighting and towards cinematic lighting. New version of Unreal 3 constantly shifts the lighting technique in order to make a character stand out in the environment. Ambient occlusion is another tech being used. Unreal’s new ability to render huge numbers of individual creatures at the same time… hundereds of Locust troops, each moving independently and as unique individuals. Awesome water effects, soft body physics.

Most multiplayer details are under wraps. There is a remake of Gridlock. Step up in technology is obvious. “We hear hints of all sorts of new multiplayer features, from dramatically expanded co-op modes to multiplayer content that takes advantage of Unreal’s new ability to deliver huge numbers of the Locust horde at one time, but confirmed details will have to wait until a later date.”

“Gameplay of Gears 2 will appear mostly familiar to fans, with a few small variations. The core cover/shoot mechanics remain largely intact, but the use of cover has been carefully retouched so it will be harder to get hit while protected, as the character will rest a little further back from the corners. Active reloads won’t be dramatically altered, particularly with the returning weapons. However, some of the new arsenal may vary the way in whihc active reloads are used. New chainsaw duels expand that gruesome combat mechanic to deliver even more excitement. Boss battles return, but a big push is geared towards refining them, making them more fun and epic in scale.

1. “We have creatures that make the Brumak look like a baby panda bear.” -Cliff Bleszinski
2. Drop in and drop out co-op.
3. Multiple save files to maintain the integrity of each playthrough without abandoning your other attempts.
4. Gears 2 will have different difficulty settings for each player in co-op. One person can play on Hardcore, one on Casual, for instance. When you are together, the game will understand what that means, and when you split up, you will have individual experiences. Details on how this works exactly are under wraps.
5. A fourth difficulty is being added for the most casual gamers. Harder difficulty settings will remain “truly devastating.” They say Casual in the first game wasn’t casual enough. This way everyone who wants to pick up the controller will be embraced.
6. COG Centaur tank. Takes the best parts of a monster truck and a military tank and combines them. There’s a dedicated level where you’ll pilot one.

“We were shown a vast underground cave level wherin Marcus and his companions will take the fight to the Locust. Unlike the sometimes cramped and and linear subterranean paths from the first game, the cavern complex is vast and breathtaking. Branching levels and open spaces give players true tactical choices as they decide which way to tackle an assault. Whatever path you choose, bio-luminescent plants light light the faces of the new Locust Kantus enemies. These monk-like devils hum low and droning chants that can be focused into sonic attacks against you. They wield weapons like the new Gorgon burst pistol and poison grenades, both of which can become part of your arsenal if you play your cards right. However, the Kantus’ true danger lies in their ability to revive their fallen bretheren from afar. Where before you could rest easy after taking down an enemy soldier, now there is the constant danger of them rising back up to continue to fight. The only alternative is to brave the hail of gunfire to break through enemy ranks and kill the Kantus sulking in the rear. Along the way, you may not have access to stable cover anymore, so you’ll have to make do with the moving kind. Massive Locust rock worms will emerge from the cavern walls during battle, guided by the Kantus’ chanting. Luckily, the creatures are so large you can hide behind them as they sliter about, and you too will be able to guide them to an advantageous firing position.”

1. The team at Epic is well aware that many players out there hunger for a deeper and more involved storytelling experience. Lots of emotion this time. Joshua Ortega has been brought on, he is a novelist / comic writer. Really sounds like they are working a lot on the story. Sense of depth with the characters. A “darker and more heartfelt narrative.” “THE STAKES ARE RAISED. THIS IS HUMANITY’S LAST STAND. EVERYTHING IS AT RISK. NOTHING IS SAFE.” -Joshua Ortega
2. Voice actors returning include John DiMaggio as Marcus Fenix, and Carlos Ferro as Dominic Santiago. They will be recording the dialogue side by side, more authentic this way.
3. Forced walking scenes that masked loading time have been replaced with a dynamic conversation camera system – focused facial close ups, shifting dramatic angles, but the player is still in control. There is a “SHUT UP” button that will let you have Marcus end the conversation early and get back to the action.
4. “There’s a certain percentage of the audience that wants to skip all that, and they just want to shoot some s—, and we’re more than willing to cater to that.” -Cliff Bleszinski
5. There are collectibles that are relevant to the story. COG tags can be examined to learn about who owned them. War Journal from the pause screen shows your collectibles and what you’re missing, and the locations to search for them.
6. Many Achievements will be able to be earned in Single or Multiplayer. You can check for instance, if you need 1,000 headshots, you can look at your progress in the journal.
7. Your floating robot has a video screen now, so Anya can give you mission updates face to face.