Bravo, the NBCUniversal cable network that aims for affluent female viewers, said it would debut two new scripted comedies in the year ahead while also launching 13 new unscripted series. TV PILOTS/DEVELOPMENT SCORECARD: Follow all of the development action during upfront season The scripted series being highlighted are “Girlfriends’ Guide To Divorce’ and “Odd Mom Out.” The first is based on the best-selling “Girlfriends’ Guide” book series by Vicki Iovine. Series follows Abby, played by Lisa Edelstein, a self-help book author who hides her separation from her husband as she navigates a new life as a single woman. Robert Duncan McNeill will be producing director of the series, which is slated to begin production this summer. Produced by Universal Cable Productions with Marti Noxon, who wrote the pilot, Vicki Iovine, Meryl Poster and Robbie Duncan McNeil serving as executive producers. “Odd Mom Out” is a half-hour comedy based on the life of author Jill Kargman, and looks at the outrageous world of moms on New York City’s Upper East Side. Produced by Left/Right with Ken Druckerman and Banks Tarver serving as executive producers along with Jill Kargman, and Piro Vision’s Tim Piper and Daniel Rosenberg. New unscripted series set to debut are: “Top Chef Duels”: New culinary competition series hosted by celebrity chef Curtis Stone brings back eighteen of the biggest, boldest and most talked-about personalities from past seasons of “Top Chef” and “Top Chef Masters.” Contestants face off head-to-head in three rounds of extreme culinary challenges. Winners will compete in the season finale until only one is standing to claim the $100,000 grand prize and culinary bragging rights. Curtis Stone will also anchor the judges table with Gail Simmons, while chefs Wolfgang Puck and Hugh Acheson and special guests will round out the judging panel throughout the series Produced by Magical Elves with Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz serving as executive producers. “Best New Restaurant”: Restaurateur Tom Colicchio pits 16 of the nation’s hottest new restaurants against each other in a series of challenges aimed at determining who provides the best all-around, top-to-bottom experience. Series modeled after the UK hit “Ramsay’s Best Restaurant” from executive producer Gordon Ramsay.Produced by One Potato Two Potato with Gordon Ramsay, Tom Colicchio, Elizabeth Cook, Nicola Moody, Pat Llewellyn and Ben Adler serving as executive producers. “100 Dates” (working title): Series marks Bravo’s first foray into real-time docudrama production. Each episode will be shot and aired within the same week. Young New York singles look for love. Fans will be able to interact with the cast and affect the storyline through social media. Produced by All3Media America, Goodbye Pictures and Lime Pictures. Eli Holzman, Stephen Lambert and Derek McLean will serve as executive producers for AllMedia America; Rich Bye will serve as executive producer for Goodbye Pictures; and Kate Little and Claire Poysner will serve as executive producers for Lime Pictures. “Friends to Lovers?”: Series follows multiple sets of friends who take a leap of faith and decide to take their relationships to the next level. Produced by World of Wonder with Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato, Tom Campbell and Angela Berg serving as executive producers. “Manzo’d with Children”: Caroline Manzo of “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” attempts to be the ring leader of her crazy Italian family. Produced by Sirens Media with Lucilla D’Agostino, Valerie Haselton and Rebecca Toth Diefenbach serving as Executive Producers. “Euros of Hollywood”: Six successful European jetsetters take Los Angeles by storm. Produced by CORE Media Group with Jennifer O’Connell, Rob Lee of Bayonne Entertainment and Andrew Hoegl serving as executive producers. “Ladies of London”: Debuts in June. Docu-series follows a group of elite British socialites, Annabelle Neilson and Caroline Stanbury along with American expats Juliet Angus, Caprice Bourret, Marissa Hermer and Noelle Reno who all run in similar social circles, but are worlds apart. Produced by Adjacent Productions with Izzie Pick Ashcroft, Claire O’Donohoe, Anna Geddes, Jane Tranter and Michael Brooks serving as executive producers. “Game of Crowns”: Debuts in July. Six pageant wives compete on the “Mrs.” pageant circuit to snatch the spotlight – all while being dedicated mothers and wives.Produced by Shed Media US with Pam Healey, Lisa Shannon, Dan Peirson and Tess Gamboa as Executive Producers. “Million Dollar Listing Miami”: Debuts in June. In the newest edition of this Bravo franchise, three luxury agents, Chad Carroll, Samantha DeBianchi and Chris Leavitt, battle it out in the world of high-end real estate. Produced by World of Wonder Productions with Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato, Tom Campbell and Eric Detwiler serving as executive producers. “Jersey Belle”: Docu-series follows outspoken New Jersey native and Hollywood publicist, Jaime Primak Sullivan, as she navigates life in the upscale southern suburb of Mountain Brook, Alabama. Produced by Authentic Entertainment with Lauren Lexton, Tom Rogan and Sonia Slutsky serving as Executive Producers. “Untying the Knot”: Debuts in June. When couples go from “I do” to “I don’t,” Vikki Ziegler is who they call to mediate, advise and divide their assets out of court. Each episode features a different divorcing couple struggling to divvy up their belongings that range from dazzling diamonds to the family pets. Produced by Engel Entertainment with Steven Engel, Krystal Kennedy and Dean W. Slotar serving as executive producers. “Extreme Guide to Parenting”: Debuts in July. Each episode gives a candid look at two different households with very unique styles of raising their children – and each family strongly believes their methods are superior. Produced by Punched In The Head Productions with Amelia D’Entrone, Craig D’Entrone and Lauren Lazin serving as executive producers. “The Real Housewives of Atlanta: Kandi’s Wedding” (working title): Against vocal family opposition that played out dramatically in season six of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” Kandi Buruss and Todd Tucker have decided to move forward and tie the knot. Each episode follows Kandi and Todd as they plan a larger-than-life “Coming to America” themed wedding ceremony, signifying the couple’s initial introduction in Africa. Produced by True Entertainment with Steven Weinstock, Glenda Hersh, Lauren Eskelin and Carlos King serving as executive producers. Kandi Burruss and Todd Tucker also serve as executive producers.

HBO’s “Game of Thrones” returned in a big way Sunday, soaring to a series record and drawing some of the premium cabler’s best numbers in years. The HBO series produces just 10 episodes a year, so each one is a precious gem to its fans. After waiting more than nine months for a fresh hour, roughly 6.6 million of them showed up for its fourth-season premiere, according to Nielsen estimates — up 50% from its year-ago opener (4.37 million) and triple the 2.2 million who watched the show’s inaugural telecast in April 2011. It was also 22% more than the audience for the show’s third-season finale last June (5.39 million). This is the largest audience for any HBO program since the finale of “The Sopranos,” which drew 11.9 million in 2007. The highest in recent years had been 5.53 million for “True Blood” in August 2011. The previous high for “Thrones” was 5.5 million for an episode in the middle of last season. A second airing of Sunday’s season premiere of “Game of Thrones” added 1.6 million viewers for a gross audience of 8.2 million. Season 3 grossed 14.4 million viewers per episode across various platforms. “Game of Thrones” was big on social media as well, with Facebook reporting that 1.9 million people participated in the conversation about the show, with more than 2.8 million interactions (posts, likes, shares) related to “Thrones.” HBO on Sunday also bowed Mike Judge comedy “Silicon Valley,” drawing about 2 million viewers at 10 p.m. — the largest audience for a new half-hour on the network since “Hung” in 2009 (2.8 million). The third-season opener of “Veep” followed at 10:30 p.m. (955,000 viewers), down a smidge from last year. Also bowing Sunday night was AMC’s Revolutionary War drama “Turn,” whose 90-minute series premiere drew a modest 2.1 million viewers and skewed older as might be expected (garnering a 0.53 national rating in adults 18-49). Starting next week, “Turn” will lead into “Mad Men,” which kicks off its final season on Sunday.

Easily one of the most requested actors for the Marvel universe – especially since Joss Whedon became a part of it – is Firefly star Nathan Fillion. It makes sense in many ways, since he has had experience both as a space explorer and as a superhero (the, ahem, noble Captain Hammer), so what better place to feature him than in James Gunn’s upcoming galactic adventure Guardians of the Galaxy? Fillion has so far starred in two of Gunn’s feature films, Slither and Super, and now he’s dropped hints about a possible cameo appearance in Guardians of the Galaxy as well. During a Firefly panel at Wizard World Comic Con last weekend, Fillion was asked by a fan whether he had wanted a part in Guardians of the Galaxy, to which he gave the cryptic reply: “Wanting to get a part… or maybe did. I’m just saying maybe. Maybe you’ll be surprised. Maybe. Check the credits.” On its own this is rather ambiguous, and could simply be a case of Fillion teasing fans, but CBM reports that Gunn also made comments to a similar effect, saying that the recently wrapped reshoots for Guardians of the Galaxy were for the purposes of capturing, “Anything we want, but didn’t get.. something to make the movie better… [a] cool cameo idea.” With the scope of the Marvel universe(s) there are plenty of characters that Fillion might appear as, if he’s not just a random Nova Corps officer or space pirate. He was a popular fan choice for the role of Ant-Man, but even before that part went to Paul Rudd and Michael Douglas, Fillion made it clear in an interview with IGN that he wasn’t in line to play either Hank Pym or Scott Lang. “I’m pretty booked-up right now as far as work goes and there’s so much more going on in the entertainment industry than just, ‘Oh, you know who would be great in that?’ There’s a lot more that comes into play. There’s a lot of variables that a fan does not have to concern themselves with. If they want to see a movie and they want that actor, they’re not thinking about the variables that come into play. But there are a lot of variables that don’t make it a real possibility.” At the time, Fillion explained that his commitment to ABC’s crime series Castle only gives him two months off each year, which isn’t nearly long enough to film a Marvel movie as a central character. However, it’s easy to imagine Gunn convincing him to do a day or two of filming for a fun cameo appearance, so keep your eyes peeled for Fillion when Guardians of the Galaxy arrives in theaters this summer.

[This is a review of the TURN series premiere. There will be SPOILERS.] - Just one week after The Walking Dead season 4 finale, AMC shows off its latest wares with a period drama, entitled TURN. Accomplished film actor Jamie Bell (Fantastic Four) does his best to elevate this rather ordinary Revolutionary War tale about “America’s first spy ring.” With the highly-acclaimed Breaking Bad series at an end, and Mad Men entering Part 1 of its final season, AMC is in desperate need of new original programming. TURN looks to fill that gap, but airing the premiere on the same night as HBO’s Game of Thrones may have a negative impact in terms of viewership for this new venture. It is perhaps unfair to compare a historically-based drama to an epic fantasy, but when the social media arena is ablaze with talk of dragons and white walkers, how can TURN stand out amongst the cacophony of noises? The problematic nature of TURN does not arise from its absence of fantastical creatures and places, but from the lack of any kind of charisma from its leading cast. Jamie Bell, who is a fine actor in his own right, plays Abraham (Abe) Woodhull, son of a local judge who has great influence with the British military. Talk of rebellion against the British crown is far from Abe’s mind; the young man wishes to be left to his family and cabbage fields. After a confrontation at a local tavern with British troops, everything in the simple farmer’s life changes for the worst (or better, depending on one’s point of view). TURN’s nearly 90-minute pilot takes the viewer to a point he or she already knows is coming. A great spy film or novel needs to have suspense, which is another element this show lacks. Again, this is not to take anything away from the cast, but not one of the ensemble is given a moment to shine. Bell does not have to be the center of everything – like HBO’s The Wire proved, a drama can revolve around a plethora of interesting characters without having “the man/woman of the hour.” AMC, however, seemingly desires for Abraham to be the focal point. His complicated relationship with his father (Richard Woodhull) portrayed by the talented Kevin McNally (Pirates of the Caribbean) has the potential for a good narrative about a son who wants to be accepted by his father, but cares for his friends as well. Since his childhood friend Ben Talmadge (Seth Numrich) and his long time love Anna Strong (Heather Lind) are with the rebels, Abe’s loyalties are divided. What is a conflicted young man with a wife and son to do? All of these dramatic tropes set in a backdrop of Revolution in 1776 could turn into something special for a network looking for new blood, but the premiere wears a familiar garb, unable to stand out in a television landscape riddled with quality programming. In all fairness, TURN is still in its infancy. Some shows – like Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer - take time to grow and find their own way. The series is not lacking in talent, and director Rupert Wyatt (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) sets a beautiful template for Revolutionary times in America’s Northeast. Jamie Bell has the charisma needed to lead, but will the writers be able to give him something substantial to work with as this season progresses? Only time will tell. What did you think of AMC’s TURN? As far as the spy genre goes, was this thrilling enough for you, or does this series still have some work ahead of it? Keep watching to discover the secrets behind one of America’s greatest conflicts.

Star Wars: Episode VII is happening at last and will hit theaters a decade after the last installment in the cosmic adventure property created by George Lucas. It’s not been officially confirmed yet, but the main cast members from the original Star Wars movie trilogy (a.k.a. Episodes IV-VII) – Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford – are all expected to play significant roles in the film, blazing the trail for a new generation of heroes to take the lead in Episode VIII and beyond. Fisher has spilled the beans on her return for Episode VII multiple times in spite of director J.J. Abrams’ “mystery box” pre-production approach, while Hamill very much looks like he’s been getting in shape to play the older version of Jedi Master Luke Skywalker. Elsewhere, Anthony Daniels has been playfully teasing his return as golden-plated protocol droid C-3PO, opposite his trusty astromech droid companion R2-D2. THR is reporting that Peter Mayhew is also returning as the 7’5” (or so) tall Chewbacca, the seasoned wookiee warrior and companion to former smuggler-turned rebel hero Han Solo (Ford) from the original Star Wars trilogy. There should be more official confirmation on that front, as production on Episode VII has already partially begun. There was previously some back and forth, on the matter of whether Mayhew would be physically able to reprise his iconic role in the next Star Wars installment. Shortly after rumors emerged asserting that he might be replaced in the Chewbacca role (which he reprised in Episode III), Mayhew passed on a message to fans, claiming “I intend to pursue the role of Chewbacca for Episode VII,” having undergone double-knee replacement surgery in order to regain his ability to walk. Then, about a week ago, news emerged that Mayhew won’t be attending the 2014 Comicpalooza Con, which takes place at the time as Episode VII will be shooting – and thus, breathed new life into rumors about his involvement with the film. We’re glad to hear that Mayhew is fit enough to reprise as Chewbacca in Episode VII; depending on how the film plays out, it could be one of the last times (if not the last time) that we see the older iteration of the character in the cinematic Star Wars universe. - - POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD! - - There are rumors that the Episode VII storyline – based on a script written by Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan (The Empire Strikes Back) that was drawn from an earlier draft by Oscar-winner Michael Arndt (Toy Story 3) – might take a number of cues from the Star Wars “Expanded Universe” literature. As EU fans are aware, Chewie’s last chronological appearance was in R.A. Salvatore’s Vector Prime novel; that’s the first installment in the New Jedi Order series (which takes place 21-26 years after Return of the Jedi), and sees the character sacrifice his life in order to save Han and Leia’s son Anakin. It looks safe to assume there will be pivotal differences between the EU canon and how things play out in Episode VII, seeing how the latter is confirmed to take place over 30 years after Return of the Jedi and Chewie is apparently still alive. Nonetheless, there’s a chance that everyone’s favorite wookiee might meet his demise onscreen sometime during events in Episode VII-IX. The same could be true for other older citizens of the Star Wars universe, but we’ll save that uncomfortable discussion for another day… - - END SPOILERS - - No matter what happens to Chewbacca in Episode VII (or subsequent Episode installments), it might not be the last time we see Han’s “giant, walking carpet” in action. Disney and Lucasfilm have confirmed that spinoff films that will be released in the years between Episodes (so that there’s a new Star Wars film opening in theaters each year) are in development, with a Han Solo origin movie heavily rumored to be one of the first coming down the pipeline. So, again, there’s a fair chance that Mayhew as Chewie will have one more Star Wars film in his future besides Episode VII – since, really, what would a Han Solo origin adventure be if it didn’t bother to show how the scruffy-looking scoundrel met up with his big, furry partner? (Whether or not it differs from the explanation in Ann C. Crispin’s Han Solo origin book trilogy, that remains to be seen.)

Ubisoft appears to be quite serious about getting it “right” on the first project from its newly-formed Motion Pictures production house, no doubt hoping to emulate the success that Marvel Studios achieved once it extended its reach beyond just comic books to also encompass films, with Iron Man back in 2008. As such, the video game company has been attached top-tier creative talent to its upcoming movie adaptation of the Assassin’s Creed game franchise, including star/producer Michael Fassbender and the writers recruited so far. A director has yet to be formally attached to Assassin’s Creed, though the initial script draft for the project was written by Michael Lesslie, a young up and coming screenwriter, as well as an award-winning playwright for his work in the British theater. Later, news emerged that Lesslie’s draft (or elements from it) has been revised by Scott Frank, whose resume includes such respected genre fare as Steven Soderbergh’s Out of Sight and Sydney Pollack’s The Interpreter, in addition to well-received pop genre material like The Wolverine. According to Deadline, Assassin’s Creed is getting another rewrite, this time courtesy of writing duo Bill Collage and Adam Cooper; it’s not clear how substantial their revisions will be, nor whether they are working with story and character material that was cooked up primarily by Lesslie and/or Frank. The pair essentially started out their careers as writers-for-hire ten years ago, when they penned the Olsen Twins’ vehicle New York Minute; from there, Collage and Cooper kept pulling themselves up by their bootstraps, co-writing the aptly-named Brett Ratner heist flick Tower Heist. Most recently, they’ve moved onto more ambitious subjects, covering the story of Moses with their script for Exodus: Gods & Kings (the recently-expanded title for Ridley Scott’s upcoming Biblical epic previously known as just Exodus), as well as the script for the George Washington war drama The General, which Darren Aronofsky (Noah) has been attached to direct for a couple years now. Christian Bale as Moses in ‘Exodus: Gods and Kings’ All in all, it’s encouraging to hear that either proven and/or promising writing talent has been attached to Assassin’s Creed, given the potential for the film to explore complex sci-fi themes inherent to the source video games. That includes the basic premise, which involves sci-fi tech that allows for the main character to access his genetic memories and relieves the experiences of his ancestors (including, a 12th-century assassin). It was that intriguing concept that attracted the Oscar-nominee Fassbender to the project in the first place. Sometimes, having too many screenwriting cooks in the kitchen can be a problem with genre blockbusters, though as was mentioned before, it’s not clear yet how much each of the four aforementioned writers will have contributed to Assassin’s Creed (or, rather, done enough to earn final credit), when all is said and done. Hiring a solid director to call the shots would surely help to ease any concerns about the direction in which this game adaptation is headed, of course. Let us know if this latest Assassin’s Creed update reads as good news or possibly a signal of trouble for the film, as well as who you would like to see brought onboard to direct this video game movie.

With all the criticism surrounding remakes and reboots these days (like the recent drama about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), sometimes it’s hard to remember there are quite a few new takes on old material that turn out to be successful. For instance, Christopher Nolan brought new life to Batman in three hugely popular films, and Amazing Spider-Man and Man of Steel each did very well at the box office, even if both films had their share of detractors. Television is the same, too. A remake of British series The Office became one of NBC’s most beloved of all time, and CBS’ Hawaii Five-0 has some of the highest ratings on TV each week. While transitioning a reboot from TV to film may be a bit more difficult, both Star Trek and 21 Jump Street have managed to reestablish themselves for a whole new audience on the big screen. Now there’s another TV series hoping to make that same jump. Variety reports that Universal is working with Transcendence writer Jack Paglen (who is also penning the Prometheus sequel for production this fall) to adapt a movie version of their Battlestar Galactica franchise. As with the 2003 reboot series, original creator Glen Larson will produce the new film. Bryan Singer was previously supposed to direct a film version, but he’s not mentioned in these new developments. Battlestar Galactica first became a series during the 1978-1979 season with stars Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict playing part of the last remnants of humanity searching for Earth while in a war against a cybernetic race known as the Cylons. Star Trek writer Ron Moore then gave the franchise new life in 2003 when he created a reboot for Sci-Fi starring Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell. Both Battlestar Galactica series maintained the same premise, yet differed widely in tone and theme. Moore’s newer series took on deeper aspects like politics and religion, preferring to create a more thought-provoking series for a new age. This new film is said to be yet another complete reimagining of the original story, so there’s no telling what we can expect. But if Transcendence and the Prometheus sequel are anything to go by, this version will probably also include a darker tone. Still, it may be too early for audiences to wrap their heads around another Battlestar Galactica reboot, since Moore’s version has only been off the air for just five years, and its prequels, Caprica and Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome, even less than that. Some fans may still be eager for more in the universe, but it’s hard to see what else can be done that the other series didn’t. Fortunately, the premise easily lends itself to either a television or movie format. So what say you, Screen Rant readers? Could Paglen get the material right just like Ron Moore before him? Do you want to see another reboot so soon after the TV show ended? Let us know in the comments.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is now playing in most major markets across the world and the timing of its release couldn’t be better for the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole, which extends beyond the films and onto television. The Captain America sequel, serving as a bridge of sorts between The Avengers and next summer’s The Avengers: Age of Ultron, puts the S.H.I.E.L.D. organization front and center. And what happens with S.H.I.E.L.D., must play into what happens in ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. series – set in the same continuity – which follows a special ops team from the organization. Along with glowing reviews, Captain America 2 broke multiple records at the box office this weekend. Earning just over $95 million domestically in its opening, Captain America: The Winter Soldier became the biggest April release of all-time, living up to its advanced ticket sales record it broke days earlier. The film now sits at $300 million worldwide, on track to demolish the box office earnings of its predecessor, Captain America: The First Avenger. Well-timed to take advantage of the buzz surrounding the key ‘Phase 2′ film release, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. returned last week from its final break in the schedule to begin its seven-episode push through to the end of the season. Needless to say, after the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, fans who are following along with the series and the film are eagerly anticipating the April 8th episode (“Turn, Turn, Turn”) which deals partly with what occurs in The Winter Soldier. We can only speculate what the remaining episodes will cover in relation to the film and whether, if anything, the series will play into next summer’s The Avengers: Age of Ultron, which has already been shooting for several weeks. But it is going to deal with the bigger picture agenda of the franchise as we can confirm that one important character from the films will be playing a part on the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season finale on May 13th… [Warning: Potential Spoilers for Marvel Cinematic Universe]

When it comes to taking rather dubious movie concepts and making the best of them, directing duo Phil Lord and Chris Miller seem to have mastered the art. After making their feature debut with animated culinary adventure Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, the pair went on to cook up a surprisingly good movie version of 21 Jump Street and the endlessly fun toy tie-in The LEGO Movie. If there was ever a property in need of Lord and Miller’s revival techniques it was Ghostbusters 3, a project that has been gathering dust for decades despite many efforts to get it moving. When it transpired that the pair were in talks to helm the project after Ivan Reitman relinquished the job, it seemed like just the kind of shot in the arm that the long-languishing sequel needed. For better or worse, however, it seems that Lord and Miller have decided to pass on the Ghostbusters franchise for now. TheWrap‘s Jeff Sneider broke the news in a recent tweet, explaining that, “They were the studio’s choice but wanted to keep their options open.” The news is the latest in a series of setbacks for Ghostbusters 3, the most significant of which was Bill Murray’s refusal to sign off on the script or agree to star in the sequel. The project finally passed through that particular bottleneck last year, when Murray lost the franchise rights, but after so many years in development hell we’re staying wary of any promises until Ghostbusters 3 actually begins production. According to recent reports, filming is supposed to begin some time in 2015, though it’s worth remembering that this time last year it was supposed to begin filming in early 2014. The combined efforts of Reitman and Dan Aykroyd are what have kept the idea afloat up until now, but Reitman has said that the recent death of Harold Ramis somewhat dampened his passion for the franchise. Presumably Sony will now be turning to the second choice on the director shortlist, but there’s been no indication yet as to who that might be. Hopefully the search goes well; Ghostbusters 3 will need a truly special director and cast in order to bring the franchise back to life after so many years.

The recent release of Captain America: The Winter Soldier was a great start to the year for Marvel, breaking April box office records and impressing critics with its gripping spy thriller plot. The film definitely felt more grounded than any of the studio’s other comic book adaptations, 95 year-old superhuman soldiers notwithstanding. On the other end of the spectrum is Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel’s second 2014 offering and one of the last movies anyone could ever describe as looking down-to-Earth. Set out in the cosmos and featuring a ragtag band of dubious heroes that includes a very angry talking raccoon and a sentient tree creature, James Gunn’s outer-space adventure looks joyously weird. Perhaps to stop the more timid mainstream audience members from backing off in terror, the first trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy focused on the film’s single tether to our own culture: Peter Quill AKA Star Lord (Chris Pratt), a half-human who brought with him from Earth an Indiana Jones-esque charm and a love of classic pop tunes. MTV has debuted an extended clip of the opening scene from the trailer, in which Star Lord is caught red-handed robbing a mysterious orb and has to make an improvized getaway. One of the most hyped battles in Guardians of the Galaxy is the stand-off between green-skinned assassin Gamora (Zoe Saldana) and blue-skinned space pirate Nebula (Karen Gillan). Gillan has admitted that she required two months of rehearsals for the fight scene since she “looked like spaghetti” when production first began, and it seems that one of the purposes of the current reshoots for Guardians of the Galaxy is to perfect this fight scene. This week Gunn teased the epic showdown with an image of Saldana and Gillan doing some last-minute preparation for the scene. Check out said image, below: It would be nice to think that Nebula will actually be wearing a Mickey Mouse sweater during this scene; every infamous space pirate should own at least one piece of clothing with a Disney character on it. In a show of true dedication, Gillan originally shaved her head completely bald for the role of Nebula, but she may well have opted for a skull cap during reshoots rather than send her locks back to square one again. As with the Avengers, the Guardians all have different motivations and, in several cases, personal vendettas. Despite their wayward morals, anger issues, pursuit of personal gain and lust for revenge, however, they do somehow manage to come together to form a powerful superhero team – though it’s a very odd-looking one. __________________________________________________

When it comes to trailers, there’s green-band, red-band, and there’s, well, the new trailer for Neighbors, kindly embedded above for your viewing pleasure. For those keeping track of the running tally, this makes for the fourth proffered preview Universal has released to promote their upcoming raunchy comedy; unlike previous clips, at least one of which is very much not safe for work, this latest slice of bad behavior actually contains a surprising amount of new material, all of which happens to be calibrated to tickle your funny bone. By now, you may already be well-acquainted with Neighbors‘ plot, in which married couple Mac and Kelly Radner (Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne, respectively) with a newborn baby find themselves on the back foot when a fraternity (led by Zac Efron) sets up shop right next door to them in their otherwise idyllic suburban oasis. That almost sounds like the set-up to a thriller, or perhaps a really terrible horror film, but with Nicholas Stoller (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) at the helm, that conflict instead becomes a breeding ground for seriously depraved behavior, unhinged college parties, and a merry war of pranks waged on both sides of the fence. For more on that, check out the newly-released international red band trailer for the film (which is appropriately titled Bad Neighbours in certain non-U.S. markets): We’ve only seen glimpses of how that fracas plays out on screen; so far, it’s clear that it involves a whole lot of airbags, lots of property damage, occasional displays of fireworks, and intimidation through impersonating Robert de Niro. (And Al Pacino. And Samuel L. Jackson. Clearly, these kids don’t really know their cinema all that well.) This fresh red band clip adds “home intrusion” to that list of tactics for engagement, not to mention “interrupting personal time” and a form of armed combat that can’t really be articulated in full detail here. Let’s just say it makes a certain moment in the “furry wall” sequence of Get Him to the Greek look kind of tame. Neighbors has two wild cards in Rogen and Efron. The former had a great 2013 thanks to the critical and commercial success of This Is the End, but he still has his share of detractors; the latter, meanwhile, has had a rocky start in 2014 with That Awkward Moment, though that’s largely because of the quality of the film rather than his performance. But Rogen’s operating in a slightly different mode than normal here, so it appears, which might help bridge the divide between people who like his style and people who can’t stomach him, and Efron could be a good foil for the more veteran comic actor to bounce off of. So, on the whole, they look like a good combination on paper. Early response to Neighbors (which played at this year’s SXSW festival) has been pretty positive, which just makes the wait for the picture’s opening day that much harder. We’ll find out if it lives up to hype in roughly a month.

[This is a review for Being Human season 4, episode 13. There will be SPOILERS.] - The central crux of Being Human has always been can these characters actually be, if not human, something close? Can they tamp down the things that made them unequally monstrous and be normal? After four seasons, it would be hard to answer in the affirmative as calamities and backslides have marred the existence of the vampire (Sam Witwer), the werewolves (Sam Huntington and Kristen Hager), and the ghost (Meaghan Rath), but through it all, they have continued to strive toward something better, and that is admirable. The question is, is that worth a reward? According to the producers, the answer is yes, but while a certain amount of fan service is often par for the course when it comes to presenting a series finale, Being Human‘s relative happy ending felt hastily thrown together and surprisingly unearned. Seemingly off on an ambitious journey to the bitter end, Being Human shook things up immediately after it was announced that the show would cease after the current season, introducing the characters to rock bottom before embarking on a trip to an alternate timeline by way of Sally’s magic. At the time, we wondered if the show might stay in the other timeline, but it was quickly pushed away to allow for a return to the status quo, save for a newborn relationship between Aidan and Sally that was in-feasible and not nearly as emotionally resonant as producers had hoped it would be. The greatest sin of this final season of Being Human is that after 3 1/2 seasons of platonic friendship between Aidan and Sally, the audience was asked to not just accept their bittersweet coupling, but to accept that their love was all-consuming and the key to an immortal bliss that their characters, specifically Aidan, might not have deserved. Aidan is a willing monster at times; moreso than Josh, Nora, and even Sally (whose abuse of magic could qualify as monstrous, considering the consequences). This has been a recurring theme throughout the show’s run. Yes, Witwer’s vampire has openly rebelled against his natural tendencies and pushed himself free from the vampire politics of Boston, but despite those good deeds and the deeds that he has done for his friends, though, there is still a pile of bodies that can be laid at his feet. When Aidan’s vampirism is removed by Sally, who saves Josh from both the prophecy and Aidan’s wrath by way of a completely self-sacrificing act that ends her own life and infuriates Ramona, Aidan worries about what’s next. He worries about being judged, so much so that he tries to stave off his suddenly fast approaching death by re-turning into a vampire and that’s a sound worry that could have been answered with ambiguity after Aidan’s own act of sacrifice. There’s a poetry to the moment, at the very end of the episode, when Josh and Nora stand in the charred remains of the house, Ramona seemingly gone and unable to hurt anyone else thanks to Aidan’s torch job. Everything old has turned to ash, Aidan and Sally have both redeemed themselves with heroic acts that saved the future for Josh and Nora while stopping Ramona. The future is finally able to blossom for Josh and Nora, the only two characters on the show who honestly seemed fated for such an ending. Those two represented the fulfillment of the original “experiment” when Josh and Aidan moved into the brownstone, and their happiness completes the circle, giving Josh and Nora the peace that they both wanted and deserved as the characters with the cleanest hands. Adding ghost Aidan, his rapidly appearing door, and the Sally twist just feels tacked on for sentiments sake and it ultimately drags down a series finale that doesn’t so much feel like a goodbye as it does a thank you hug.

Warner Bros. is both expanding and organizing its DC film and television universe with upcoming projects The Flash – a direct spinoff of the Arrow TV show – and the Man of Steel sequel, tentatively known as Batman vs. Superman, which is going to introduce versions of Batman and Wonder Woman that exist in the same world as Henry Cavill’s Kal-El/Clark Kent. Many people watching all this from a distance have argued that WB is, in no uncertain terms, clearly emulating Marvel Studios’ approach to brand-building – and, to be fair, that’s a fairly persuasive and reasonable argument to make, given that Marvel’s recent financial success is undoubtedly the envy of other studios. into the X-Men film series through this year’s X-Men: Days of Future Past, with assistance from creative talents like director Bryan Singer and screenwriter Simon Kinberg. Similarly, Sony has put together its own “brain trust” of creative talent to oversee the expansion of its rebooted Spider-Man property The Amazing Spider-Man, with this year’s Amazing Spider-Man 2 laying the foundation for solo vehicles featuring Spidey anti-hero Venom and the villainous Sinister Six – the latter of which is being written and directed by Drew Goddard, who’s also working on Marvel’s Daredevil Netflix series, by (probably not a) coincidence. That is to say, Marvel Studios’ “Shared Universe” approach has certainly influenced how other studios are now playing the superhero/comic book movie game, though neither Fox nor Sony’s Marvel universe-building tactics are a direct copy-cat of the Marvel Studios technique. Filmmaker David S. Goyer, who wrote Man of Steel and co-wrote Batman vs. Superman, has likewise suggested that while WB might want to bring the tidiness of the Marvel-world to its DC-verse, they’re not necessarily going to rehash Marvels’ formula step-for-step either. Goyer has been collaborating with WB for years now and recently signed a formal three-year deal with the studio, which helped to lock him down while he essentially serves as the (technically, unofficial) overseer on the new wing(s) of the DC universe. It was during an interview with IGN that Goyer offered his thoughts on the possibility of future DC show connecting to upcoming DC movies, similar to what Marvel Studios is doing: I mean, it’s too early. I know that Warner Bros. would love to make their universe more cohesive. There have been a lot of general conversations about that, but it’s really, really early. I’m not sure. Marvel has had enormous success, but I’m not sure that everybody should try to emulate them either. It’s just been vague conversations so far. It’s already clear that the DC universe won’t be structured exactly like the Marvel Cinematic Universe, given that the new Batman (Ben Affleck) and Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) are crossing over with Man of Steel‘s Superman before they’re even given their own solo vehicles. Similarly, recent DC projects like Man of Steel and Arrow have very much skirted the thin line between fantasy and sci-fi genre elements, yet are by and large are grounded in sci-fi mechanics (read: non-magic) like Marvel’s film/TV universe – yet with upcoming ventures like the Constantine TV series and the Sandman movie, both of which feature Goyer in a creative capacity, the DC universe is headed deep into fantasy territory. Admittedly, Marvel Studios has begun to open the doors so that it might organically incorporate characters that have supernatural abilities and use magic into its films and future TV programs. However, during the same interview Goyer told IGN that “I’m trying to branch off with Sandman,” indicating that he’s not, per se, striving to make Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s comic fit together smoothly with Zack Snyder’s vision of the world occupied by Superman, Batman and other Justice League members (or any other DC properties, for that matter). All things considered, it’s arguably encouraging to hear Goyer shoot down the idea that WB and DC will play the same game as Marvel Studios. Marvel and DC comic book properties are very different beasts, so it doesn’t necessarily seem all that wise to use the same approach to organize them while adapting them into live-action form. Besides, as profitable as Marvel’s shared-universe has been thus far, it’s also had its share of shortcomings from a creative perspective, which just goes to show: there’s not yet been a way to play the superhero movie game that’s been proven to be perfect. Would you like to see a more “cohesive” DC universe, in terms of the various films and TV shows? Or do you think that WB and DC should keep things more separate, rather than attempt and link everything together in a manner that resembles the Marvel Studios approach?

Twentieth Century Fox’s planned Daredevil reboot may have failed to take off, and Marvel may have deemed the character not popular enough to lead a feature film, but Matt Murdock is nonetheless making a comeback in the first of several Marvel TV shows being produced by Netflix. With the time until the scheduled production start date for Daredevil fast closing in, the most pressing question is that of which actor will be chosen for the lead role. A source claiming to be close to the production recently reported that Netflix and showrunner Drew Goddard were interested in Dexter star Michael C. Hall, but didn’t mention whether this interest had progressed into official negotiations. It’s possible that Goddard and Netflix really are interested in casting Hall in the role of Matt Murdock, but if that’s the case then they haven’t approached him yet. When questioned by Vulture on the subject of the casting rumors, Hall said that he doesn’t believe there’s anything to the rumors and that he hasn’t been made any offers… yet: “I’ve heard them, but I think that’s all they are — rumors. Don’t misunderstand, I would definitely consider it … but I can’t tell you any inside information, because I think they’re nothing but rumors… I really am enjoying mixing it up a little bit, and I’m committing to things that have a foreseeable end in sight when I start them. I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of [a new series] happening at some point. But I’d have to read the script!” Fans who are rooting for Hall to be offered the role shouldn’t give up all hope just because the actor has denied the recent rumors – after all, his schedule is looking fairly free right now and he did say that he would “definitely consider it” if approached. There is still time for Netflix to make an offer before filming begins in July, but if Hall was a top choice we’d expect him to have been personally informed by now. Netflix now has a fixed schedule laid out for its five upcoming Marvel shows. Daredevil, the best known of the characters, will get a series first, followed by Jessica Jones and then Iron Fist and Luke Cage, respectively, before bringing the heroes together in The Defenders. It’s an ambitious plan, but Netflix original series like Orange is the New Black and House of Cards have already set a strong precedent. Although at 43 years old Hall would be playing a slightly more mature version of the Hell’s Kitchen vigilante, he’s displayed enough talent for playing dark and complex characters that we definitely wouldn’t object to him being cast as Matt Murdock if the rumors do turn out to be true.

At the start of the year Warner Bros. announced that the untitled Man of Steel sequel (Batman vs. Superman) needed more development time. Since it was originally positioned in a late summer date already, and the 2015 fall season is jam-packed with blockbusters, that meant pushing it all the way back to summer 2016. The studio took a rather aggressive approach and decided to place the sure-fire success in the first May summer weekend, right up against an unannounced Marvel Studios production that had claimed the date months earlier. It was an odd and bold move. Warner Bros. typically schedules their DC Comics adaptations in June and July, and for a decade and a half, Marvel-branded features from Fox, Sony and Marvel have traditionally taken May dates. Warner Bros. was presumably expecting Marvel – backed by Disney – to move away. We think. Marvel Studios president of production Kevin Feige, while promoting the release of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, said he and Marvel had no intentions of moving. And he wasn’t joking. After breaking box office records and becoming the biggest April opening of all-time, Marvel was quick to make Captain America 3 official, putting in in that May 2016 slot. It was no surprise since it was already public knowledge that writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely and directors Anthony Russo and Joe Russo were all confirmed to be back, already breaking the story for the followup. The directors even told us they were going to be shooting the film in 2015, meaning it would be one of Marvel’s two 2016 releases. Since we know the formula is to release a sequel first, followed by a new property, it was a given that Cap 3 was Marvel’s first 2016 release. So now we’re in a spot where Marvel isn’t moving for a pile of reasons I mentioned on the Screen Rant Underground podcast weeks ago. What will Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment do in response? Bloomberg spoke with Dan Fellman, president of domestic distribution for Warner Bros., and got his thoughts on the opening May summer weekend competition. “It doesn’t make a lot of sense for two huge superhero films to open on the same date but there is a lot of time between now and 5/6/16. However at this time, we are not considering a change of date for ‘Batman vs. Superman.’” While fans would love the idea of seeing Captain America 3 and the Man of Steel followup back-to-back in the same weekend, studios and theater chains would not. Both films will be in 3D and there’s a limited amount of screens available. Most moviegoers wouldn’t see both in the same weekend, so the dual release would involve each film cannibalizing each other. For Warner Bros., who at this point are only releasing a single DC Comics film every few years (this will hopefully change post-BvS), they can’t afford to share a weekend, and Disney-Marvel isn’t going to hand it over, since they’re pumping out two releases annually as part of a larger plan, and making sure there’s space between releases for Fox and Sony’s Marvel-branded tentpole releases as well. Warner Bros. has already shown that the release dates of their Superman flicks are flexible, delaying both once already. Batman vs. Superman will move and that likely means another delay, either to June where Man of Steel released, July where The Dark Knight films saw success or perhaps to the fall. Although, that would make an already long wait even longer for fans. Could WB try moving it earlier and seek out an April date that Captain America 2 just saw success at? Batman vs. Superman is going to be a massive release for Warner Bros, and Captain America is increasing in popularity with the success of The Winter Soldier and the boost from The Avengers: Age of Ultron. They each need their own weekend. Like Fellman says, there’s lots of time before that weekend and lots of things can change. One of the films will move. You can guess which.

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The European Court of Justice has overturned Europe's data retention directive, arguing that it's disproportionate and a violation of people's privacy. The decision has far-reaching consequences for the collection of data from European internet users, including their IP-addresses. In a landmark ruling, the European Court of Justice has declared Europe’s Data Retention directive to be a violation of Internet users’ privacy. Under the Directive Internet providers and other telecom companies were required to log and store vast amounts of information, including who their subscribers communicate with, and what IP-addresses they use. The local authorities could then use this information to fight serious crimes, but it was also been frequently used by third parties, in online piracy cases for example. Today the Court ruled that the data collection requirements are disproportionate. In a case started by Digital Rights Ireland the Court effectively annulled the directive, and it’s now up to the individual member states to change local laws accordingly. “The Court is of the opinion that, by adopting the Data Retention Directive, the EU legislature has exceeded the limits imposed by compliance with the principle of proportionality,” the Court states. “By requiring the retention of those data and by allowing the competent national authorities to access those data, the directive interferes in a particularly serious manner with the fundamental rights to respect for private life and to the protection of personal data,” it adds. The judgement has far-reaching implications for large telecom companies, but also for smaller businesses including many VPN providers. With the new ruling these companies are no longer required to log extensive amount of user data as was required under the EU Directive. While many ISPs are waiting to see what local Governments decide, the Swedish provider Bahnhof immediately announced that it would wipe all subscriber data it stored. “Bahnhof stops all data storage with immediate effect. In addition, we will delete the information that was already saved,” Bahnhof CEO Jon Karlung says. The European Court of Justice judgement is a clear victory for privacy activists, but mostly for the public who will regain some of their online privacy. While the ruling specified that some data retention may be needed, broad and mandatory retention laws are no longer the standard.

David Cameron is claiming that the British ISP BT has to give more detail of their roll-out plans. Perhaps, Prime Minister is miffed that rival Internet service providers can’t see whether there are different ways to fill a gap in the planned broadband coverage. At the moment, the government’s initiative dubbed Broadband Delivery UK is working with BT to provide fast broadband available to 95% of the UK by 2017. However, the critics of the initiative are frustrated by both the apparent lack of competition or alternatives to BT’s infrastructure. They complained that operators lack detailed broadband rollout plans which could have allowed them to create conditions whereby alternative suppliers may be crowded out. Although smaller broadband providers can’t afford to bid for Broadband projects, they still can apply to the Rural Community Broadband Fund. But this means that the smaller providers have to understand whether their plans will conflict with the superfast broadband initiative or BT deployment. This is what BT keeps silence about. One of the Liberal Democrat MPs asked Prime Minister for help at his question time, pointing out that his constituents were very frustrated that BT can’t tell them when, or even if, they could be connected, which undermines the very idea of alternative planning. David Cameron replied that he had a chat with BT on this matter and can have it again. He confirmed that they have asked the Internet service provider to provide more detail in their roll-out plans about which areas would get broadband so that others could see whether there are other gaps they can fill. Nevertheless, Prime Minister didn’t agree with the critics who believe that BT has somehow not been putting its shoulder to the wheel: David Cameron claimed that the ISP was putting a massive investment into broadband, with 10,000 homes and businesses being connected every week.

The tech giant has recently announced important steps to encrypt its users’ information following Snowden’s revelations about the government surveillance. The company’s Chief Information Security Officer, who was just appointed to the position, claimed that he was going to make sure all Yahoo traffic will be encrypted by default. Yahoo has introduced HTTPS on almost every aspect of its online presence in a bid to lock the American government spooks out of its networks. Late in 2013, it turned out that the National Security Agency was tapping into the cables of the Yahoo and Google and email providers, even those residing outside the United States. The company’s announcement is expected to demonstrate how far it has gone to keep the spies out. Yahoo explained that it has mostly dealt with the problem by rolling out HTTPS for its services. By the end of March 2014, data traveling between Yahoo data centers have been fully encrypted. Since then, all searches performed within Yahoo and its properties use HTTPS for encryption. Even emails sent between Yahoo Mail and other providers can make use of HTTPS if the other part supports the SMTPTLS protocol. In addition, Yahoo promised to roll out a fully encrypted version of its Messenger software in the nearest future. The company issued an official statement saying that the users are encouraged to ensure that they are using the encrypted channels, or manually switch to them by typing “https” instead of the usual “http” in their browsers when access Yahoo services

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The business of mass-copyright litigation has taken off in the past few years. Several firms around the country gather forensic evidence about illegal downloads on BitTorrent, and then file lawsuits against hundreds, or thousands, of users, demanding settlement fees of several thousand dollars each. One of the most prolific litigators is Malibu Media, which runs an adult website called "x-art." Malibu has sued over 1,000 Internet users for downloading its content. Now that Prenda Law has become defunct and is mired in sanctions, Malibu may be the most vigorous copyright litigator in the United States. A court document filed over the weekend by Malibu lawyers, and first published by the Fight Copyright Trolls blog, contains some striking, hitherto-unknown facts about the company's campaign of lawsuits. The new information is part of a status update filed with the court in the Northern District of Illinois, which covers Chicago and suburbs, as well as reaching into more rural parts of the state. Gathering the evidence The revelation that Malibu has administered lie-detector tests over porn downloads comes as part of the first section of the document, in which Malibu explains to the court its high standards for proceeding with a copyright lawsuit. Malibu describes "additional evidence" it gathers, consisting of "a list of all other BitTorrent content that is downloaded by a defendant in a lawsuit," including music, mainstream movies, ebooks and computer programs. Malibu has actually been banned by some judges from filing this information publicly, who believed that the document typically attached as Exhibit C was being used to embarrass defendants. But Malibu is still using this evidence to decide how to proceed with its cases, since it's "critical to determining the identity of the responsible party." The company points out that it dismisses many types of cases where defendants can't be specifically identified: small businesses with public Wi-Fi, multiple roommates within a single residence "with similar profiles and interests," or situations where the defendant can't be located. Malibu lawyers add: Further, Malibu will dismiss its claims against any Defendant who agrees to and passes a polygraph administered by a licensed examiner of the Defendant's choosing. Out of the entirety of polygraphs administered within the United States by Malibu, no Defendant has passed and all such examinations have subsequently led to the Defendant settling the case. The company doesn't reveal how many polygraph tests it has administered. Malibu has sued 886 people in northern Illinois, some individually and some as "joined defendants." The company's statistical snapshot is revealing: 49 defendants have been dismissed for "hardship," 259 for "insufficient evidence," and 304 because it could not get discovery from the ISPs. (That could be because the ISP didn't retain the subscriber data, or Malibu's subpoena was quashed, or because the ISP data handed over didn't match other databases used by Malibu.) The company has settled 174 cases. It has won judgments in two cases, is "negotiating" in 30 cases, and is actively litigating eight cases. 60 cases are listed as being either in pre-discovery or pre-litigation phases. Who's a troll? Critics "moved the goalpost" Later in the document, Malibu's lawyers couch the lawsuits in terms of the company's overall goal: "To create erotica that is artistic and beautiful." The company notes that the single federal judge who oversaw an entire trial about Malibu Media's claims, US District Judge Michael Baylson, specifically said the company was not a "copyright troll." "Rather, Malibu is an actual producer of adult films and owns valid copyrights," wrote Baylson. Malibu says it has no interest in embarrassing defendants, and allegations that it "seed its own copyrighted works on BitTorrent" (as Prenda Law is alleged to have done) are "sheer false speculation." The company goes on to slam its critics, saying that the "troll" moniker is one they have shifted to meet their needs: The undeniable fact is that some people and entities will never agree with the enforcement of copyrights on the Internet. At first, critics labeled “copyright trolls” as those who acquired copyrighted content for the sole purpose of litigation. Once Judge [Michael] Baylson of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, as a component of Malibu’s Bellwether trial, determined that Malibu did not fit this definition of a "copyright troll," the critics moved the goalposts and determined that any entity who derives an appreciable percent of their income from litigation is a "copyright troll." Once it was disclosed that a de minimis percent of Malibu’s income is derived from litigation, the definition changed to an amorphous "anyone who files a lot of lawsuits." With that definition, any person or entity owning content that is heavily infringed is destined to be called a "troll"... Critics mainly devolve to ad hominem attacks and offensive and patently false suppositions about myriad issues including compliance with 18 U.S.C. § 2257, technicalities of contracts with vendors, and other such ancillary details unrelated to the core issues at hand in these cases. These detractors will claim to support copyrights in principle, but condemn those who try to enforce them. The question of whether Malibu is able to position itself as a copyright enforcer that's able to sue thousands, but "do it right"—whatever that may mean—remains to be seen. Embarrassment of defendants may not be a part of their business model, but it's certainly a convenient byproduct. Companies that have tried to engage in mass-copyright litigation over mainstream content haven't been too successful, although the strategy was recently embraced by the company that produced Dallas Buyers Club. An attorney for Malibu Media didn't respond to a request for comment for this story. The FCT blog estimates that, based on settlement figures ranging from $2,000 up to $10,000, Malibu may have earned as much as $1 million from the 174 settlements it has reported in this district.

Kim Dotcom became the Internet's most widely known fugitive in 2012 when his New Zealand home was raided and he was hit with criminal copyright charges for running the popular website Megaupload. The charges brought by US authorities led to Dotcom and his colleagues being arrested and his assets frozen, including bank accounts holding more than $175 million. However, Dotcom was quickly released and is fighting extradition efforts in New Zealand courts. A trial over his extradition could be held as early as July. But a new lawsuit filed today will add to Dotcom's headaches. Already facing criminal charges, Megaupload—along with Dotcom and two other former Megaupload executives—was sued today by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). "Megaupload wasn't a cloud storage service at all; it was an unlawful hub for mass distribution," said MPAA general counsel Steven Fabrizio in a statement accompanying the lawsuit. Fabrizio focused on the "incentive system" that Megaupload employed to encourage the sharing of content. He stated: To be clear, if a user uploaded his term paper to store it, he got nothing—and, in fact, unless he was a paying subscriber, Megaupload would delete the paper if it was not downloaded frequently enough. But if that same user uploaded a stolen full-length film that was repeatedly infringed, he was paid for his efforts. That’s not a storage facility; that’s a business model designed to encourage theft—and make its owners very rich in the process. There’s nothing new or innovative about that. That’s just a profiteer using existing technology to try to get rich off of someone else’s hard work. The lawsuit notes that just one percent of Megaupload users were "premium" subscribers, meaning that they could use the service for long-term storage. "Any content [users] uploaded would be deleted if it was not also downloaded within a certain period of time—after 21 days in the case of unregistered, anonymous users and after 90 days in the case of registered users who were not premium subscribers," states the suit. The lawsuit also notes that at the point at which Megaupload was shut down, in January of 2012, it was absolutely huge. "The site claims to have had more than one billion visitors, more than 180,000,000 registered users, an average of 50 million daily visits, and at one point to have accounted for approximately four percent of the total traffic on the Internet," write MPAA lawyers. “A desperate move” Megaupload lawyer Ira Rothken said that he'll defend the MPAA case against Megaupload vigorously "at the appropriate time." "It's likely that the MPAA and DOJ have a healthy understanding that the pending criminal case lacks merit," Rothken said. "There is no such thing as criminal law related to secondary copyright infringement. They're now filing a civil action in a desperate move." A civil suit is "a more appropriate forum for this type of dispute," said Rothken, who has said that there's no room under US law for a criminal case to be brought over Dotcom's alleged conduct. Still, if a civil trial ultimately proceeded, Megaupload would prevail, Rothken said. "There are DMCA safe harbors," he said. "Megaupload had no search engine. It was a much more conservative site than YouTube," which recently settled a long-running civil lawsuit brought by Viacom. Neither Dotcom nor Megaupload have any assets they can access outside the living expenses he is allowed to withdraw under an order from a New Zealand court. Rothken himself has not been paid for his work on criminal or civil cases, although that may soon change, he said. As for the MPAA's focus on the Megaupload incentives system, Rothken said it's a red herring. For starters, the rewards system was limited to file sizes of 100MB or smaller. Suggesting the system was used to promote widespread pirating of movies, which have much larger file sizes, "doesn't pass the giggle test," said Rothken. "Megaupload had a rewards program that was copyright-neutral," he said. "It paid out a very, very tiny amount of money over a multi-year period. It was a rounding error on total revenue. It had little to do with the growth of Megaupload as a cloud storage company. This is a misleading attempt to try to take a legitimate cloud storage site and brand it as something negative, just for the MPAA to concoct a lawsuit." An earlier civil case was stayed after Rothken pointed out that Megaupload has no assets it can access. Megaupload can't even access its own servers, which were seized by the US government (along with cars, televisions, and a "Predator statue.") Megaupload isn't being allowed to access that evidence, even to prepare for Dotcom's upcoming extradition trial. Dotcom responded to the lawsuit on Twitter, writing that "DOJ probably demanded that @MPAA sues #Megaupload because they initiated this shitty Hollywood science fiction script of a case... Now it's David vs. Goliath & Godzilla."

It was a raid to be remembered, one that could have been taken right out of a scene from a movie, except it was very real. The raid was on January 19, 2012, and it was Kim Dotcom, the former founder of Megaupload being raided by government officials complete with a swat team. Megaupload and its other sites was shut down after the domain names were seized, following the indictment and arrests of the owners for operating as a business dedicated to alleged copyright infringement. Later, Mega.com was launched which Kim Dotcom is an active Board Member on, but no longer participates in the daily operations of. On Monday, more than two years after the site was shutdown, six Hollywood studios, Twentieth Century Fox, Disney, Paramount, Universal, Columbia, and Warner Bros., filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia against former file-sharing site Megaupload, its founder Kim Dotcom, as well as others who ran the site. The lawsuit for the most part contains the same complaints as those filed in 2012 by the studios, alleged copyright infringement both direct and secondary, mentions of premium subscriptions for profit, etc., and while the suit does not list the exact amount the studios are seeking in damages, it did state that the plaintiffs’ are entitled to the maximum statutory damages of $150,000 per infringement, and attorney fees plus any profits that the defendants generated, all to the maximum allowed by law. In the court papers Megaupload is defined as “A commercial online hub for publicly providing popular copyrighted content, including thousands of plaintiffs’ copyrighted works over the Internet to millions of Megaupload users without authorization or license.” In the suit, the suit defendants are named as Megaupload Ltd. and its founder, Kim Dotcom, Vester, the majority shareholder of Megaupload; Mathias Ortmann, who was the chief technical officer for the Megaupload site, and Bram van der Kolk, who oversaw all the programming. The plaintiffs’ state that “the defendants did not take any of the simple, meaningful steps they could have taken to curtail infringement because they wanted and needed that infringement to make their illegal business profitable.” Meanwhile Kim Dotcom is already facing charges, so now he faces a MEGA amount of additional charges, and is being sought for extradition to the U.S. A hearing is scheduled in New Zealand on July 7th. Revealing the news himself, Dotcom tweeted, “Breaking: The @MPAA is suing me & #Megaupload. Read how the @MPAA and Chris Dodd forced Obama to destroy Megaupload: in the White Paper. This lawsuit comes as no surprise, at least not in comparison to the massive raid that took place, that was quite a huge surprise as it was carried out. However, it appears that the plaintiffs’ may be concerned about the statute of limitations. We’ll keep you updated on future developments, so stay tuned.

With more than a million downloads in half a day, the premiere of Game of Thrones' fourth season has set a new piracy record. People from all over the world grabbed a copy, and at its height this morning over 300,000 BitTorrent users were sharing the episode simultaneously. Yesterday evening saw a massive demand for the premiere of Game of Thrones’ fourth season, both on legal and less-authorized channels. The unprecedented demand caused trouble for the HBO Go service, which crashed and was unreachable for several hours on end. This outage probably motivated some to look for unauthorized copies, which were widely available through dozens of torrent sites soon after the episode finished. Unlike HBO Go, downloads via BitTorrent actually benefit from the increased interest, which usually means that downloads finish faster. And indeed, there has been plenty of interest in unauthorized copies of the Game of Thrones season premiere. Data gathered by TorrentFreak reveals that half a day after the first episode appeared online over a million people have already grabbed a copy via a torrent site. Earlier this morning, more than 300,000 people were actively sharing one of the three most-popular torrents. The number of downloads is roughly the same as last year, but the season premiere didn’t set a record for the largest BitTorrent swarm, most likely because there were multiple popular copies available. The most shared torrent file had around 140,000 people sharing at once at its height this morning. Game of Thrones sharers http://torrentfreak.com/images/got-peers.jpgDuring the days to come the number of downloads is expected to grow by several millions. Last year Game of Thrones became the most pirated TV-show for the second time, and with today’s numbers it is well on its way to securing the title for another year. In addition to the downloads, we also looked at the countries people were sharing from. A sample of 18,333 IP-addresses collected over the day shows that Australia takes the crown with 11.6% of the total. The United States is a good second with 9.3%, followed by the United Kingdom with 5.8%. The number one spot for Australia is all the more impressive since it has a population of just over 22 million people, relatively small compared to the other two countries. Looking at the city level we see that most downloads come from Melbourne, before Athens and Sydney. So, why are all these people pirating Game of Thrones? As always, there are many reasons why people may choose torrents or other pirate sources. In some cases there is simply no legal alternative, because of licensing issues for example, or due to technical troubles such as those suffered yesterday by HBO Go. In other cases the legal options are too limited, restrictive, or expensive. The reasons above are not exhaustive of course, there are many more reasons why people turn to BitTorrent. For some it’s become a habit that will be hard to break, no matter where they live and how good the legal alternatives are. If there are any Game of Thrones pirates reading this, let us know what drives you in the comments. # Country % City % torrentfreak.com 1 Australia 11.6% Melbourne 3.2% 2 United States 9.3% Athens 2.9% 3 United Kingdom 5.8% Sydney 2.0% 4 Canada 5.2% London 1.9% 5 The Netherlands 4.7% Stockholm 1.7% 6 Philippines 4.6% Amsterdam 1.7% 7 India 4.2% Madrid 1.5% 8 Greece 3.6% Warsaw 1.4% 9 Poland 3.0% Brisbane 1.4% 10 Sweden 2.7% Perth 1.3%

We started Popcorn Time as a challenge to ourselves. That's our motto. That's what we stand for. We are enormously proud of this project. It is the biggest thing we've ever achieved. And we've assembled an amazing team in the process, with people we love to work with. And to be honest, right now every single one of us has a knot in our stomachs. We love Pochoclín and everything it stands for, and we feel that we are letting our amazing contributors down. The ones who translated the app into 32 languages, some of which we weren’t even aware existed. We stand in awe at what open source community can do. We are startup geeks, first and foremost. We read Techcrunch, Reddit and Hacker News. We got frontpaged in Hacker News twice. At the same time. We got articles on Time Magazine, Fast Company, TechCrunch, TUAW, Ars Technica, Washington Post, Huffington Post, Yahoo Finance, Gizmodo, PC Magazine and Torrent Freak, just to name a few. And we got some action on TV and Radio shows, and this doesn't even include the many interviews we had to reject due to the barrage of media attention. And they were not chastising us. They were cheering for us. We became the underdog that would fight for the consumer. Some people we respect, some of our heroes spoke wonders of Popcorn Time, which is a lot more than what we wanted to get out of an experiment we threw together in a couple of weeks. Popcorn Time as a project is legal. We checked. Four Times. But, as you may know, that's rarely enough. Our huge reach gave us access to a lot of people, from newspapers to the creators of many sites and apps that had a huge global reach. We learned a lot from these people, especially that standing against an old fashioned industry has it’s own associated costs. Costs that no one should have to pay in any way, shape or form. You know what's the best thing about Popcorn Time? That tons of people agreed in unison that the movie industry has way too many ridiculous restrictions on way too many markets. Take Argentina for example: streaming providers seem to believe that "There's Something About Mary" is a recent movie. That movie would be old enough to vote here. The bulk of our users is not in the US. It's everywhere else. Popcorn Time got installed on every single country on Earth. Even the two that don't have internet access. Piracy is not a people problem. It’s a service problem. A problem created by an industry that portrays innovation as a threat to their antique recipe to collect value. It seems to everyone that they just don’t care. But people do. We've shown that people will risk fines, lawsuits and whatever consequences that may come just to be able to watch a recent movie in slippers. Just to get the kind of experience they deserve. And maybe, that asking nicely for a few bucks a month to watch whichever movie you want is a bit better than that. Popcorn Time is shutting down today. Not because we ran out of energy, commitment, focus or allies. But because we need to move on with our lives. Our experiment has put us at the doors of endless debates about piracy and copyright, legal threats and the shady machinery that makes us feel in danger for doing what we love. And that’s not a battle we want a place in.