Brad Pitt And Leonardo DiCaprio Get Retro In First Once Upon A Time In Hollywood Trailer

The first trailer for Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood has been released. The latest movie from the revered director of Pulp Fiction and Django Unchained arrives in July and stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, and Margot Robbie.

The trailer doesn’t reveal many plot details, but it does establish the late ’60s setting and main characters. We see DiCaprio as action star Rick Dalton, being interviewed alongside his long-time stunt double Cliff Booth, played by Pitt. There are shots of Robbie as Sharon Tate, the actress who was murdered by the Manson family in 1969, plus lots of cool period detail. Oh, and a very funny appearance from martial arts star Bruce Lee (played here by Mike Moh). Check it out above.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood hits theaters on July 26 and features probably the most ridiculously star-studded cast of the year (outside of Avengers Endgame of course). It also includes Al Pacino, Dakota Fanning, James Marsden, Scoot McNairy, Damian Lewis, Emile Hirsch, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, and Lena Dunham, plus Luke Perry, who shot a role before his death earlier this month.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Tarantino spoke about the origins of the film. “I’ve been working on this script for five years, as well as living in Los Angeles County most of my life, including in 1969, when I was seven years old,” he said. “I’m very excited to tell this story of an LA and a Hollywood that don’t exist anymore. And I couldn’t be happier about the dynamic teaming of DiCaprio and Pitt as Rick and Cliff.”

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is Tarantino’s ninth movie as director. In 2016 he stated that he would quit directing after his tenth movie, but we don’t know if this is still the case. In addition, there were rumors last year that he was working a new Star Trek movie, but with the future of that entire franchise on the big screen uncertain, there has been no further news about this.

Konami Anniversary Collection Series Announced, Get All The Details Here

Konami has announced a new compilation pack series that bundles together a number of “iconic arcade games and classic console titles” into one package on modern systems. The Konami Anniversary Collection series, as it’s called, is coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

The first in the series is the Konami Anniversary Arcade Classics, which launches on April 20, as a digital-only title for $20 USD. The package comes with the following games:

  • Haunted Castle
  • A-Jax
  • Nemesis
  • Vulcan Venture
  • Life Force
  • Thunder Cross
  • Scramble
  • TwinBee

In addition to the games, the package includes an ebook that contains extras like interviews with developers, sketches, and design documents that have reportedly never been seen by the public before.

Following that will be the Castlevania Anniversary Collection and the Contra Anniversary Collection, both of which are due out in Summer 2019. The Castlevania bundle comes with Castlevania, Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge, Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse, and Super Castlevania IV, along with four other titles and an ebook to be revealed later.

The Contra package will include Contra, Super Contra, Super C, Contra III: The Alien Wars, and at least four games to be revealed later, along with a bonus ebook.

2019 is Konami’s 50th anniversary.

Rumor: GoT Showrunners’ Star Wars Films to Be Set in The Old Republic

A new rumor has suggested that the upcoming series of Star Wars films by Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss will take place during the Old Republic era.

Via Comicbook.com, Star Wars News Net has reported that one of its sources, a contact who “has worked on every Disney Star Wars film,” is “95% confident” that this new series will in fact take place in the Old Republic, which has been featured in such games as Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and the MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic.

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Friends Reboot Is A Bad Idea, Creator Says

Friends is one of the most iconic TV shows ever, and it’s remained popular–and lucrative–thanks to its continued play on Netflix and other streaming sources. Given the current wave of reboots happening for TV shows, many are wondering if Friends might come back someday.

Creator Marta Kauffman said in a new interview that there are “several reasons” why there will be no Friends reunion, and if it were to happen, it would only disappoint.

“One, the show is about a time in your life when your friends are your family. It’s not that time anymore. All we’d be doing is putting those six actors back together, but the heart of the show would be gone,” she told Rolling Stone. “Two, I don’t know what good it does us. The show is doing just fine, people love it. [A reunion] could only disappoint.”

Last year, NBC executive Robert Greenblatt said there was effectively zero chance of Friends coming back for a reunion show. One of the issues with reboots of shows that were immensely successful in their own time is that actors are asking for big paydays.

“The actors want a lot more money than we’re willing to pay them,” Greenblatt said.

The entire catalog of Friends is available on Netflix in the United States, and the streaming network reportedly paid $100 million to keep it there through the end of 2019.

Friends ran for 10 seasons from 1994 through 2004. Its May 2004 finale drew 52.5 million viewers in America, according to The New York Times. As of 2015, the show was bringing in $1 billion every year from syndication, with stars Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, and Matthew Perry making $20 million a year from that based on their 2 percent share of syndication revenue, according to USA Today.

Apex Legends’ New Character Octane Is Live–Here’s What He Can Do

The first new addition to Apex Legends‘ character roster is here as part of the game’s first season and alongside its first battle pass. There are a lot of cool things as part of the battle pass, but the new character Octane is definitely the biggest addition. Octane changes up the game with a huge focus on speed–he’s a character who benefits from moving fast to attack and flank enemies. And as with all the characters in Apex Legends, Octane also comes with a batch of cool skins.

Octane is an aggressive character, so if you’re going to use him, expect to be in the fight a lot. He should operate similarly to Wraith, Bangalore, and Mirage, allowing you to close distance quickly with his speed abilities. It sounds like while Wraith and Mirage are positioned more as flanking characters who distract enemies, Octane operates more like Bangalore as a front-line fighter. His abilities should make him tougher to hit, and when you do take damage, you’ll likely be able to deal with it more easily.

Like other characters, Octane packs three abilities: one passive, one activated by a button push, and one ultimate that takes a long time to charge up. Octane’s active ability lets him boost his speed at the cost of his health, increasing his movement speed by 30% for six seconds. That allows you to jet around the battlefield, drawing fire or flanking enemies while being much tougher to hit. To counteract the fact that Octane is the only character who sacrifices his own health for his abilities, his passive ability slowly regenerates at a rate of one health point every two seconds. That should also help in tough battle situations if you’re able to hide or get to safety, but you’re short on healing items.

For an ultimate, Octane’s ability should change a lot of battles. He can drop a launch pad on the ground that springs players through the air, allowing you to send your teammates flying in on enemy positions, or giving you a chance to bounce out of the battle and back to safety. The verticality is going to mean players will need to get used to looking up more when Octane is on the battlefield, since you never know when death might be descending from above.

We’ll have more coverage of Octane coming soon, including a full guide on how to use him most effectively. Until then, check out our other character guides, as well as our Apex Legends pro tips and a rundown of things the game doesn’t tell you.

The Flash Proves the Arrowverse Has a Speed Problem

Note: you’ll notice we didn’t run a review for tonight’s Flash episode. We’re trying something a little different with this week’s coverage, so let us know in the comments what you think.

Also, beware of spoilers ahead for The Flash Season 5, Episode 17!

There’s a lot to like about this week’s installment of The Flash, “Time Bomb.” This episode provides the momentum boost the series has desperately needed since the mid-season premiere, pushing forward the Cicada storyline and finally forcing Barry and Iris to confront the fact that their daughter has been working with Eobard Thawne from the very beginning. At long last, this season’s ongoing Cicada conflict seems to be living up to its potential.

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Konami Anniversary Collections Include Castlevania, Contra, and Arcade

Konami, in celebration of its 50th anniversary, will be releasing three Anniversary Collections that highlight Castlevania, Contra, and its Arcade Classics.

These Anniversary Collections will be available digitally on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC and will each include a bonus eBook that is “packed with new information about the titles, including interviews with the development staff, behind-the-scenes insights, and sketches and design documents never before revealed to the public!”

The first collection available will be the Arcade Classics Anniversary Collection on April 18, 2019, and for $19.99 plays will gain access to eight games from the ’80s – Haunted Castle, Typhoon (A-JAX), Nemesis (Gradius), Vulcan Venture (Gradius II), Life Force (Salamander), Thunder Cross, Scramble, and TwinBee.

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Apex Legends Season 1 Update: Patch Notes For Octane, Battle Pass, And More

Respawn has launched the latest update for Apex Legends, and it’s a very big one. This patch introduced the game’s first season, so it covers more than just the typical additions and tweaks–although those are a big part, with the much-anticipated hit box changes being implemented. The new update also adds both the Battle Pass and new character, Octane. Here’s everything new and different in the patch notes.

Respawn released the patch notes for the Season 1: Wild Frontier update on the Apex Legends subreddit, and they give a little more detail on a few things, like how long Octane’s abilities last, and included a bunch of quality-of-live improvements that are now part of the game as well. Arguably the biggest is the hit box change, though. According to Respawn, the hit boxes for Gibraltar, Caustic, and Pathfinder have been changed “to better align with their shapes.” These were announced previously, and the adjustment to character hit boxes should make big characters like Gibraltar, Caustic, and Pathfinder a lot more viable on the battlefield.

Hit boxes are invisible shapes assigned to characters that register when they’ve been hit–if you shoot a character but your bullet lands outside their hit box (hitting, say, a hand or a piece of clothing), the hit doesn’t count and the character takes no damage. Caustic and Gibraltar, being the biggest characters in Apex Legends, had the biggest hit boxes, but they were also apparently not quite in line with the character players see on screen. The same is true of the robot Pathfinder, whose hit box previously extended into places that didn’t look like they should count as a hit, such as the space between his metal legs. The change should make all three characters a little tougher to hit, and therefore, more players will be likely to choose them going forward.

The new update also throws in a number of bug fixes, like patching a spot in Gibraltar’s shield that wasn’t blocking bullets and fixing a problem in which Pathfinder’s zip line wouldn’t deploy if players used it while jumping. There are a bunch of other quality-of-life changes that should make playing the game a bit easier for some people, like the ability to swap the functions of the left and right bumpers on controllers.

Another notable addition in this patch is the new ability to report people you suspect might be cheating. Players using hacks have been a problem for Apex on PC, and Respawn said in its patch notes it has banned just shy of 500,000 players for cheating. That’s a pretty big number, but considering Respawn says 50 million people have downloaded the game, there might still be a long way to go in cleaning up the cheater problem.

Finally, another aspect of note is improved crash reporting. PC crashes are still more commonplace than many would like, and this update aims to improve the way reports are generated. It also makes it easy for you to decide whether to share this report with Respawn and that there isn’t any personal data being included when you do.

You can read the full patch notes below. The update–and accompanying new content, include Octane skins–is now live on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

Apex Legends March 19 Update Patch Notes

Stability & Performance

We’ve got some fixes in this patch that will improve stability on PC but we know there are still issues out there we need to address. We also added crash reporting so we can better understand how to tackle the issues we haven’t solved yet and address future ones.

  • Improved stability for various GPU configurations.
  • Capped PC FPS to 300 to balance improving stability but still letting you folks enjoy those sweet frames.
  • Addressed issue with PS4 crashes due to running out of memory.
  • Introducing better reporting when Apex crashes on PC without error message.
    • We really want to fix any crashes people happen to get on PC. We also respect our player’s privacy. So, if the PC game crashes, it will write “apex_crash.txt” to your “Documents” folder. This tiny file is plain text, so you can easily see for yourself that it has no personal information. If you choose to share this file with us, it will tell us whether the crash was in Apex or in third party software. If the crash was in Apex, our programmers can use the information to find and fix it. If you experience a crash, please include this file when you report.
      • We protect your personal information.
      • You can easily see everything in the file yourself; we have no secrets.
      • You’re in control of whether we ever see the file.
  • Added Report a Player feature for cheating and abuse on PC.
    • Players can now report cheaters they encounter in-game and it’ll be sent directly to Easy Anti-Cheat. You can do this from either the spectate view after dying or when looking at your team’s Banner Cards in the Squad tab.
    • We have lots of other work going on behind the scenes and this remains high priority for us. We won’t be able to share many specifics of what we’re doing but we’ll strive to provide updates on progress for the things we can talk about.
    • As I’m finishing the notes this morning, 499,937 accounts and counting have been banned for cheating.
    • Speed hacking: We do currently have anti-speed hacking in Apex Legends, but it’s not being as effective as intended due to a bug that we believe we’ve identified and will be addressing in our next server update. Will provide ETA for it when I have it. Working to get it out ASAP.
  • Added Report a Player for abuse on Consoles
    • You can report players from the spectate view after dying or when looking at your team’s Banner Cards in the Squad tab.
  • Optimized skydiving to improve overall server performance.
  • Fixed bug where sometimes the client could crash when opening Apex Packs one right after the other.

Quality Of Life

  • Added “Swap LT/RT & LB/RB” / “Swap L1/R1 & L2/R2”) toggle in the Controller Button Layout settings.
  • Added “Sprint View Shake” setting under the Video tab.
  • Added “Trigger Deadzones” setting under the Controller tab.
  1. Added “Advanced Look Controls” settings submenu under the Controller tab.
    • Fine-tune specific aspects of the look controls for a custom feel; such as Deadzone, Response Curve, Target Compensation (aim assist), and more.

  • When you relinquish the Jumpmaster position to another player you will now hear your Legend’s VO line in addition to the new Jumpmaster. The third player won’t hear it though.
  • Pathfinder grapple: updated icon
  • Pathfinder grapple: added indicator near crosshair to show when player is in range of grapple-able geo
  • Improved mantling from a grapple point.
  • Pathfinder can now grapple ziplines.
  • We’ve added D-pad navigation as a convenience in most of the menus. Our hope is this will speed up browsing and improve accessibility.
  • UI improvements to the KO Shield
    • Shield bar drains to indicate the remaining health of the shield.
    • When you have a Gold KO Shield and are down, we’ve added an effect to the label that reminds you that you can self revive.
  • We saw that the Ring indicator that appears when players are viewing the whole map wasn’t accurately showing the player’s position so we fixed that.
  • Character animations while taking damage now accurately reflect the direction the damage is coming from.
  • Fixed a bug where occluded sounds would sometimes sound unoccluded.
  • Patched up some issues with missing geo on Kings Canyon and fixed a few spots where players were getting stuck.
  • Fixed a script error that could happen when removing attachments on holstered weapons.
  • General polish to game UI fixing some grammar issues, improved navigation, and composition of elements.
  • Fixed PC users constantly switching weapons while scrolling through items in a Death Box.
  • Fixed issue where we were seeing server stability issues sometimes caused by purchasing items while matchmaking.
  • Fixed script errors that could occur during the skydive.
  • Reduced skybox fog.
  • Adjusted the code for Supply Bins so they are less likely to kill players. If you do still get killed by one please let us know!
  • Made it so push-to-talk is no longer on when a chat box is active.
  • LT/RT no longer switches between players in spectator mode while the map is open.
  • Updated the minimap to more accurately reflect the geo and points of interest on the main map.
  • Adding sound FX to the UI for the key binding menu.
  • Fixed issue where a player’s name would not show up when they send a message that reached the character limit.
  • Fixed bug where sometimes the Champion screen resolution would be stretched in widescreen resolutions.
  • Fixed audio bug where sometimes the zipline sounds FX would keep playing after disembarking.
  • Added accessibility option to modify the subtitle size.
  • Improvements / fixes for color blind players:
    • Added better color blind support for Blood Hound’s Threat Vision.
    • Colorblind colors per setting are now displayed in the settings menu.
    • Colorblind settings moved from Video Settings to Gameplay->Accessibility. They are now applied on the fly.
    • Enemy pings now use proper enemy color instead of only using red.
  • Audio:
    • Turned down volume when Wraith activates a portal.
    • Turned down the end sounds on the Peacekeeper charged shot.
    • Turned down the draw/holster sound slightly for thermite grenades.

Legend Hit Box Adjustments

Weapons

  • Fixed players being able to shortcut weapon swap by changing stance
  • Fixed players being able to shortcut Peacekeeper rechamber sequence
  • Fixed inaccurate auto ranging fullscreen (sniper) optics when base FOV is not set to default
  • Spitfire: fixed ADS view on Legendaries partially obscured by custom geo. (The Continuum, The Heavy Construct)
  • Fixed ADS view being blocked when using Caustic legendary skins with certain weapon/ optic combos
  • Digital threat optics: threat highlights are now more visible (slightly brighter; no longer affected by TSAA)
  • Fixed bug where Devotion audio sometimes wouldn’t accurately reflect rate of fire.

Additional Bug Fixes

  • Fixed rare issue where a player could get stuck on the drop ship and be invulnerable.
  • Patched up the hole we found in Gibraltar’s shield.
  • Fixed issue where Lifeline’s revive shield wouldn’t stay put while on a moving platform.
  • Fixed issue where sometimes players would get stuck in map geometry while skydiving from the dropship or Jump Towers.
  • Fixed bug where players could still shoot even after being downed.
  • Fixed bug where occasionally Lifeline’s D.O.C. drone would stay connected to a player but not heal them.
  • Limited the amount of Lifeline’s D.O.C. drones that can connect to a player to 2.
  • Fixed Pathfinder’s zipline not deploying when jumping.
  • Fixed a bug with the HUD where sometimes the Heal Bar would stay up if the heal was cancelled right after it was started.
  • Fixed a bug where sometimes the audio would continue to play sound FX for the Knockdown Shield even after it’s been destroyed.
  • Fixed issue where sometimes players could get disconnected when unplugging their controller during a game.
  • Fixed the exploit where you could do infinite wallclimb using Pathfinder’s Grapple.
  • Fixed bug where sometimes you couldn’t fire the Peacekeeper after riding a zip line.
  • Fixed issue where sometimes the skybox fog would not appear while spectating after you died.
  • Fixed bug where Banner Cards would show through walls occasionally when viewed through a very high FOV.
  • Fixed some odd light flickering that was happening on the ballon flags attached to Jump Towers.
  • Fixed bug where sometimes a player’s Banner Card would not show up after character select.

Razer Chroma Support

Apex Legends will now detect Razer Chroma peripherals and supported devices will now play animated colors that react to things you do in the game! Some examples:

  • Red lights during banner transitions.
  • While skydiving colors will tune to the color of your smoke trail.
  • Picking up loot.
  • Opening Apex Packs
  • Firing and taking damage.
  • Colors that flash when your Ultimate is ready.
  • And more!

Disney Completes Deal To Buy Fox, It Now Owns The Simpsons, Deadpool, X-Men, Family Guy, And More

Disney’s massive deal to buy the majority of Fox’s assets and franchises–including The Simpsons, Family Guy, Deadpool, and X-Men–for around $71 billion has finally gone through. Fox and Disney announced in their own press releases that the acquisition is expected to become effective at 12:02 AM EST on March 20. [Update: it’s a done deal]

“This is an extraordinary and historic moment for us–one that will create significant long-term value for our company and our shareholders,” Disney CEO Robert Iger said in a statement. “Combining Disney’s and 21st Century Fox’s wealth of creative content and proven talent creates the preeminent global entertainment company, well positioned to lead in an incredibly dynamic and transformative era.”

Disney said buying Fox’s franchises will allow Disney to “provide more appealing high-quality content and entertainment options to meet growing consumer demand; increase its international footprint; and expand its direct-to-consumer offerings.”

Some of the “direct-to-consumer offerings” Disney has in the pipeline include ESPN+, and Disney+, along with its continued investment in Hulu.

Here is a specific rundown of what Disney gets in its Fox acquisition:

  • Twentieth Century Fox
  • Fox Searchlight Pictures
  • Fox 2000 Pictures
  • Fox Family
  • Fox Animation
  • Twentieth Century Fox Television
  • FX Productions
  • Fox21
  • FX Networks
  • National Geographic Partners
  • Fox Networks Group International
  • Star India
  • Fox’s interests in Hulu, Tata Sky, and Endemol Shine Group

After the buyout, Fox will still live on, but in a more limited capacity. Fox is creating a spinoff unit that will continue to operate the Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox Sports, and the Fox Televisions Stations Group, along with the cable networks FS1, FS2, Fox Deportes, and Big Ten Network.

Even before the Fox buyout, Disney was primed for a massive 2019 with movies alone. The company already released Captain Marvel from its Marvel division, while Avengers: Endgame is coming next month. Some of Disney’s other major film releases in 2019 include Dumbo, Aladdin, Lion King, Frozen 2, and Star Wars: Episode IX.