Robert Pattinson Joined Batman Because It’s Not A Cash-In

Robert Pattinson has shared more insight into why he chose to get back into the blockbuster movie genre by donning the cowl and suiting up to play Batman. He told Entertainment Weekly that he was attracted to the film–which will be directed by Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’ Matt Reeves–because of the franchise’s “legacy and lineage” as being more than a simple cash-in to sell toys.

“There was something that always appealed to me about it. I feel like it exists outside the realm of … Batman movies have always attracted really, really good directors, and really good actors,” he said. “It’s got a legacy and a lineage to it … it’s never seemed to me like it’s been just a cash-in. I always feel like it’s not like they just made a movie so they could sell toys.”

Pattinson joins a long list of celebrated actors who have played Batman over the years, including Christian Bale, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, and Ben Affleck.

Other big-name actors who have appeared in Batman movies have included Jack Nicholson, Gary Oldman, Heath Ledger, Danny DeVito, Anne Hathaway, Jim Carrey, Tommy Lee Jones, Uma Thurman, and Liam Neeson, among others.

As Pattinson alludes to, the Batman series has also attracted some highly regarded directing talent. Christopher Nolan, Tim Burton, and Joel Schumacher have directed entries in the series.

In the EW interview, Pattinson said he was “obsessed” with the Tim Burton Batman movies, while he also praised the ’60s Batman TV show featuring Adam West as Batman.

In addition to Pattinson, The Batman stars Andy Serkis (Alfred), Zoe Kravitz (Catwoman), Colin Farrell (The Penguin), Paul Dano (The Riddler), Jeffrey Wright (Commissioner Gordon), and John Turturro (Carmine Falcon).

Also in the interview, Pattinson said he first learned he got the Batman job on his first day of shooting for Christopher Nolan’s new movie, Tenet. That movie and the new Batman share a parent production company in Warner Bros.

The Batman will hit theatres on June 25, 2021. DC’s major film releases for 2020 are Birds of Prey and Wonder Woman 1984, and it’s likely that Batman spin-off Joker will receive a sequel considering its enormous box office success.

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The CW Renews Every Arrowverse Series

Good news for fans of The CW. Chances are, your favorite series has just been renewed for another season.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, The CW has renewed nearly all of its current ongoing series for the 2020-2021 season. That lineup includes:

  • All American: Season 3
  • Batwoman: Season 2
  • Black Lightning: Season 4
  • Charmed: Season 3
  • Dynasty: Season 4
  • The Flash: Season 7
  • In the Dark: Season 3
  • Legacies: Season 3

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Vaping Politician Who Spent Campaign Money On Steam Games And Flights For His Rabbits Is Resigning

United States congressman Duncan Hunter, a Republican representative from California who in December pleaded guilty to using campaign funds to pay for video games and flights for his pet rabbits, has announced plans to resign in the wake of the fallout.

According to The San Diego Tribune, Hunter–who was known for vaping during Congressional sessions–informed California governor Gavin Newsom and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of his intentions to retire on Tuesday. He will officially quit his job on January 13.

In his resignation letter, Hunter said he was honored to serve the people of California’s 50th district over the past decade. “I greatly appreciate the trust they have put in me over these last 11 years,” he said.

In December 2019, the Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California announced that Hunter admitted to how he “knowingly and wilfully stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign funds that he and his wife used to maintain their lifestyle.”

Along with his wife, Hunter is said to have used more than $150,000 in campaign funds between 2010 and 2016 on things that benefitted his family’s “personal use and enjoyment.” Hunter reportedly took part in “30 or more illegal transactions” related to this money.

Hunter pleaded guilty to conspiracy to convert campaign funds to personal use. This is federal felony that carries a maximum prison sentence of five years and a $250,000 fine, though it’s expected he will not serve that much time. Sentencing will take place on March 17.

The Hunters are said to have spent the stolen money on things like video games, Lego sets, fast food, movie tickets, shoes, and groceries. Beyond that, the attorney’s office said the Hunters also used the funds on international vacations and even plane tickets for their pet rabbits, whose names are Eggburt and Cadbury.

In 2016, it was reported that Hunter spent more than $1,000 on Steam video games. At the time, Hunter said his son made the charges and that the politician was trying to reverse them.

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Enter The Gungeon Sequel Headed To PC And Consoles Early This Year

Some three months after launching exclusively on Apple Arcade, Dodge Roll has confirmed on Twitter that Exit the Gungeon will make its way to consoles and PC in the early part of this year.

Dodge Roll didn’t give an exact release date for Exit the Gungeon, nor did the studio specify what systems the roguelike-platformer will launch on. The developer’s first project, Enter the Gungeon, debuted on just about every major platform. This includes mobile devices, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. It’s likely Exit the Gungeon will, at least, launch on PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.

Exit the Gungeon serves as a sequel to Enter the Gungeon. The platformer tasks you with climbing out of the very dungeon you fought tooth and nail to descend in the first game.

Enter the Gungeon, which originally launched in April 2016 for PC and PlayStation 4, has since sold more than three million copies worldwide, Dodge Roll tweeted alongside the Exit the Gungeon news. We awarded the game a 7/10 in our Enter the Gungeon review, saying, “So much care is apparent in its construction, but in its attempt to merge multiple genres and styles together, Enter the Gungeon’s most important elements–namely its roguelike flavors and massive offering of distinct weapons–don’t gel.”

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Pokemon Go Heatran Raid Guide: Shiny Heatran, Counters, And How To Catch

Heatran has returned in Pokemon Go. The Legendary Lava Dome Pokemon is once again appearing in five-star Raids for a limited time, making this your first chance to catch one in nearly a year.

Heatran will be available until February 4. Even if you already have one, you’ll want to take advantage of its return, as this time you’ll have a chance to catch a Shiny Heatran. If you’re hoping to add one to your collection, we’ve rounded up some tips on how to battle and catch Heatran below.

Where To Find Heatran

Until February 4, Heatran will randomly appear as a five-star Raid boss at Gyms around the world. To catch one, you’ll first need to head to a Gym where a Heatran Raid is taking place and battle it alongside other players in-person.

Before you can participate in a Raid, you’ll need to have a Raid Pass. You can either purchase these from Pokemon Go’s in-game store or receive one for free when you spin the Photo Disc at a PokeStop; however, you can only hold one free Raid Pass at a time in your inventory.

While Heatran Raids can happen any time, your best bet for finding one will be on Wednesday evenings from 6-7 PM local time, when Niantic hosts its weekly Raid Hour events. During that hour, Heatran Raids will occur at most Gyms, effectively guaranteeing you’ll be able to find one. The Heatran Raid Hour events will occur on the following dates:

  • January 8
  • January 15
  • January 22
  • January 29

Best Heatran Counters

Heatran is a Fire/Steel type, which makes it doubly susceptible to Ground Pokemon. Groudon, Rhyperior, and Garchomp will be especially helpful when battling Heatran. The Legendary is also weak to Water and Fighting types, so Pokemon like Machamp, Kyogre, and Swampert will also be good choices.

Two types you’ll generally want to avoid using, however, are Dragon and Psychic. Heatran resists both thanks to its Steel typing, so neither will be very helpful when challenging it. Bug, Grass, and other Steel Pokemon are also weak to Heatran, so avoid bringing any of those along to the Raid.

Shiny Heatran

As previously mentioned, you’ll have a chance to encounter a Shiny Heatran while it’s in Raids. However, your odds of finding a Shiny are fairly low, and there’s no guaranteed way to ensure you encounter one, so you’ll need to be persistent and participate in as many Heatran Raids as you can to improve your chances. You also won’t know if Heatran is Shiny until you get to the capture phase, but if you are lucky enough to find one, you’re guaranteed to catch it (provided you don’t miss all your throws).

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The CW Has Renewed 13 Shows For Next Season

The CW has given fans a belated new year’s gift with early renewals of 13 series for the upcoming 2020-2021 TV season. Fans of The CW’s ongoing DC Comics-inspired superhero multiverse, the Arrowverse, will be relieved to see five of their favorite shows already safe from cancelation while Riverdale die-hards can rest easy and wait for Season 5.

According to Mark Pedowitz, president of The CW Network, the renewals are set to “give our production teams a head start in plotting out story arcs and a jump on hiring staff, and this also provides us with a strong foundation of established, fan-favorite CW shows to build on.”

So what all is coming back? We’ve got a complete list right here:

  • Katy Keene (13 additional episodes)

  • Batwoman (Season 2)

  • Nancy Drew (Season 2)

  • All American (Season 3)

  • Black Lightning (Season 4)

  • DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow (Season 6)

  • Charmed (Season 3)

  • Dynasty (Season 4)

  • The Flash (Season 7)

  • In The Dark (Season 3)

  • Legacies (Season 3)

  • Riverdale (Season 5)

  • Roswell, New Mexico (Season 3)

  • Supergirl (Season 6)

Specific airdates and scheduling for these new seasons have yet to be announced, but Katy Keene–which was been given an additional episode order ahead of its series premiere and stars Lucy Hale, Ashleigh Murray, Jonny Beauchamp, and Julia Chen–will debut on The CW on February 6.

Meanwhile, keep up to date with everything currently happening in the Arrowverse’s massive crossover, Crisis On Infinite Earths, which is sure to not only wrap up some loose ends but pave the way for these new superhero seasons that are looming just around the corner.

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Do Marvel VFX Artists Prefer Directors Who Know Less About Effects?

CGI effects are par for the course in superhero films these days. It’s likely that you sit through the credits at Marvel films to check out post-credit sequences, so you’ve probably seen the very long lists of people who work in the effects departments. Computer-generated effects are a specialized skill – sometimes directors know a lot about the process, and sometimes they rely more on the specialists to create sequences and tell them what is possible for a scene.

IGN got a chance to speak to the VFX department for Avengers: Endgame, including Dan DeLeeuw, and Captain Marvel’s Shannon Justison, Janelle Croshaw Ralla and Nick Crew. They told us all about working with directors, and what they prefer in terms of director knowledge about their craft.

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Trailer For Mythic Quest Apple TV+ Series Is A Hilarious Look At Being A Game Dev

Apple TV+ launched back in November, and the new streaming service features original content from creators you know and launched with The Morning Show, See, and other programming. As far as comedy goes, Apple TV+ wasn’t offering a lot, until now, with the trailer release of Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet.

In the new video, Rob McElhenney (It’s Always Sunny) plays Ian Grimm, the creative director of a video game company who runs a very popular game. He’s a bit delusional though, as you can see in the trailer below.

Aside from McElhenney, Mythic Quest stars F. Murray Abraham (The Grand Budapest Hotel), Danny Pudi (Community), Imani Hakim (Everybody Hates Chris), Charlotte Nicdao (Thor: Ragnarok), David Hornsby (It’s Always Sunny), Ashly Burch (Life is Strange), and Jessie Ennis (Better Call Saul). The series was created by the team behind It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: McElhenney, Charlie Day, and Megan Ganz.

Producing the series is Lionsgate/3 Arts Entertainment, along with none other than Ubisoft. Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet will consist of nine, half-hour episode which will all drop on Friday, February 7 on Apple TV+.

The latest streaming service is available on the Apple TV app and on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, select Samsung smart TVs, Amazon Fire TV, and Roku devices. The service costs $5 and new subscribers get a seven-day free trial.

How the Rise of Skywalker VFX Team Pulled Off Carrie Fisher’s Scenes

This article contains some spoilers for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

When Carrie Fisher passed away in 2016, Star Wars fans were heartbroken. They were also concerned about the role General Leia Organa would play in the then-yet to be filmed third installment in the final trilogy of the Skywalker saga. Director J.J. Abrams and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy made the decision not to digitally recreate Fisher for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, but to instead use footage she had already shot for the earlier films and work them into the plot.

Of course, a lot of digital work had to be done to blend Leia into scenes with the actors. IGN got a chance to speak to some of the visual effects department for the film, including visual effects supervisor Roger Guyett, creature effects supervisor Neal Scanlan and ILM visual effects supervisor Patrick Tuback about what it took to bring Princess Leia back for the final chapter in the Skywalker Saga.

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