Even casual comic book fans realized that The CW wasn’t kidding around with its DC Comics properties when they revealed that Arrow‘s Season 3 would be getting a new central antagonist in the form of Ra’s al Ghul (a part made famous on film by Liam Neeson in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy). Not long after Neeson claimedhe’d be happy to reprise the role, the actual actor set to bring the character to life has been revealed: relative newcomer Matt Nable (Riddick, Killer Elite). According to Deadline, the Australian former-Rugby League footballer has landed the part after arriving on the scene in his first role in 2007. The actor may be best known to our readers for his role as ‘Boss Johns’ in the latest Riddickmovie, taking on a leadership role with another group of hired killers (while showing he’s not afraid of getting his hands dirty). Little is known about how this version of Ra’s al Ghul will differ from those previously seen on film or in the comics, but Nable fits the physical description that the showrunners were looking forquite well. And despite his relatively short resume, Nable’s ability to convey a likable and believable bounty hunter (in an American accent, no less) made him a standout in the action-focused Riddick. As far as Arrow‘s version is concerned, the leaked casting description sounds like the showrunners are staying faithful to the source material: “An iconic villain from the pages of DC comics. Leader of the League of Assassins. Regal, mysterious, of a bygone era. Proud and unforgiving. Ra’s is a ruthless strategist, a master of martial arts, and a shaper of history. He carries the wisdom of the ages, and protects some of its greatest secrets.Think the character of Bane from The Dark Knight Rises. Someone just terrifying. Not a lunkhead, but a smart and physically imposing man.” Nable will make his first appearance in the role in Arrow‘s fourth episode, titled “The Magician.” The limits of his power aren’t yet known (nor whether he’ll one day make an appearance in The CW’s other superhero series), but the fiftieth episode of Arrowlooks to be a special one for DC Comics fans, and Batman enthusiasts in particular. As the leader of the League of Assassins, Arrow viewers have already seen Ra’s play a significant role in the lives of several characters, sending his forces to Starling City in varying numbers, with varying purposes. Season 3 looks to make that threat even greater, building off of the introduction given to the warlord’s daughter Nyssa al Ghul (Katrina Law) after making the trip to Starling City. It’s unclear if Nable’s performance will be set in the present day or the past, but with Oliver Queen’s history being elaborated upon by the week, anything is possible. What do you Arrow fans make of the casting? Is Nable an intriguing choice, or an unknown one? We’re willing to see what he can bring to such a commanding role, since a character of his stature within DC’s TV universe isn’t going to be disappearing any time soon. Feel free to speculate on what kind of voice Nable will be adopting for the role, since it seems a long shot that his native Aussie accent will be maintained. On the bright side, Liam Neeson has offered a few words of advice for his successor. Are there any other actors you were hoping to see land the part, or are you keeping an open mind after Liam Neeson’s indelible turn in the role? Sound off in the comments. Arrow season 3 premieres October 8th, 2014 @8pm on The CW. http://screenrant.com/arrow-ras-al-ghul-actor-matt-nable/

Brad Falchuk and Ryan Murphy’s stylish and strange anthology series American Horror Story has so far featured many staples of the horror genre – including ghosts, aliens and witches - but the upcoming fourth season, American Horror Story: Freak Show, will introduce perhaps the most nightmarish creatures ever born from the human imagination: clowns. One of the most famous (and most horrifying) clowns in the history of horror cinema is Tim Curry’s cheerfully demonic Pennywise from It. Fittingly, in one of the newest teasers for American Horror Story‘s new season, we get to see an imitation of one of the most memorable scenes from it, in which Pennywise opens his mouth to reveal a gaping maw full of nasty teeth. Though it’s not as original as some of the other promos for the show, American Horror Story‘s clown is pretty respectable nightmare fuel in its own right. The other teaser, titled “Twisted Smile,” also conjures up some carnival/circus imagery, which is odd since Murphy has explicitly said that the new season does not take place in a carnival or a circus, but in an independent freak show in Florida circa 1950. American Horror Story: Freak Show will feature a mix of cast members from past seasons and newcomers to the series, some of whom will be transformed to become the “freaks” of the show’s title. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaYAuQKvJTo The returning cast includes series mainstay Jessica Lange as Elsa Mars, the manager of the show; Sarah Paulson as Bette and Dot Tattler, a set of conjoined twins; Michael Chiklis as strongman Wendell Del Toredo; and Kathy Bates as Effil Darling, the bearded lady. This season will also star regulars Emma Roberts and Evan Peters, American Horror Story: Coven‘s Angela Bassett and Gabourey Sidibe, and the world’s smallest woman, Jyoti Amge. American Horror Story can be hit and miss, but the teasers for the show are always top notch. Possibly the best promo for American Horror Story: Freak Show so far, however, is a fan-made sequence featuring a ‘Fallen Angel’ that was so well-made it was mistaken for being an official release. If the next season brings with it as much freaky imagery as the teasers have indicated, viewers could be in for a real treat. American Horror Story: Freak Show will premiere Wednesday, October 8 @ 10pm on FX. http://screenrant.com/american-horror-story-freak-show-clown-trailers/

James Gunn is having a pretty terrific 2014: the Troma wunderkind gets to claim bragging rights for directing the year’s highest grossing domestic release, Marvel’s big screen gamble Guardians of the Galaxy, while basking in the showered adulation of his peers, his fans, and critics alike. Having Joss Whedon, lord and master of the MCU, say good things about your movie before it opens in theaters probably doesn’t suck. Receiving similar, if possibly more effusive, compliments from Al Pacino isn’t half bad, either. If you’re directing a Marvel film, Whedon might be the uppermost source you’d expect high praise from. Pacino, on the other hand, exists so far outside the realm of the comic book movie that his bout of Guardians gushing would seem to come entirely from left field. But that’s exactly what happened at this year’s Venice International Film Festival, where the acting legend laid down rave after rave over Guardians‘ spectacle and ingenuity, even going so far as to put it on a Shakespearean level. Pacino made his remarks about Gunn’s film while discussing his own current projects screening at the festival, David Gordon Green’s Manglehorn and Barry Levinson’s The Humbling. In point of fact, it almost seems that Guardians was the more important topic of conversation; maybe it’s because Guardians is the blockbuster of the year, maybe it’s because there’s novelty in the notion of Michael Corleone loving a movie featuring an anthropomorphic raccoon, but when Deadline sat down to chat with Pacino one on one, they just had to hear more of his thoughts on the lauded space opera. Inevitably, their talk led to the matter of whether or not Pacino could ever see himself being in a Marvel movie, with specific mention made of Guardians of the Galaxy 2; if his Guardians love fest came as a shock, then his reply might be more so. Here’s the full quote, direct from Pacino himself: “I would do anything that I could understand in terms of how I fit in it. And you know, of course if I could fit in it. Anything’s possible. You know, I did Dick Tracy and I got an Oscar nomination, so come on. I mean, what can I say?” As is always the case with “if” statements, don’t make his words into more than they are: the man is merely expressing his possible interest in showing up in a Marvel film. On top of that, his response is so nonchalantly roundabout that it’s difficult to gauge how seriously to take him. There isn’t a “yes” or a “no” here, just a vaguely worded answer to a loaded question. So don’t expect Pacino to show in the next Guardians jaunt, or in any future Marvel production, until further notice. At the same time, Pacino doesn’t exactly dismiss the suggestion, either, and so neither should Marvel. Pacino’s at a point in his career where he doesn’t need to prove anything to anybody; his filmography is long, varied, and largely successful, whether looking at his work in the Godfather trilogy, Dog Day Afternoon, Serpico,Glengarry Glen Ross, or Angels in America (just to scratch the surface). If he foundGuardians of the Galaxy quite as delightful as the rest of us, it stands to reason he might like the idea of having some fun and dipping his toes in that world. But if we’re left to speculate over his flimsy potential involvement in the MCU at large, where would Pacino figure in and who would he play? Grandmaster, perhaps, or Mephisto (though that’s a tad obvious)? What do you think, Screen Ranters? If the stars align, would Pacino be a good fit for Marvel? Guardians of the Galaxy is currently in theaters. http://screenrant.com/al-pacino-marvel-movie/

Over the course of four seasons, HBO’s Game of Thrones has always worked with a large ensemble cast spanning the continent of Westeros and even across the Narrow Sea. The series has achieved success — and record-breaking viewership — by following multiple concurrent storylines revolving around a handful of characters including Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), Jon Snow (Kit Harrington), Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage), Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner), as well as Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright) and his companion, Hodor (Kristian Nairn). At the end of season 4, many of these characters embarked on new storylines that will lead into season 5. However, seeing as the showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss, are pulling from both book 4 and 5 of George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, some characters won’t appear in season 5 of Game of Thrones. In an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Commission, Nairn revealed his character, Hodor, and Wright’s character, Bran, won’t appear in the fifth season of Game of Thrones. However, Nairn did acknowledge that the characters’ storyline is an integral throughline of the A Song of Ice and Fire series and gave no inclination that his and Wright’s absence will last longer than a single season of the show. Read Nairn’s full quote: “We have a season off and we have a year’s hiatus, solely because I imagine our storyline is up to the end of the books.” During season 4, Bran and Hodor — along with Jojen (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) and Meera Reed (Ellie Kendrick) — travelled beyond The Wall, were captured by men who had deserted The Night’s Watch, and (after making their escape) finally found the Weirwood tree for which they had been searching. Bran and Hodor’s storyline in the finale episode, ‘The Children’, included revelations about the existence of magic and the non-human race known as the Children of the Forest. With Wright and Nairn sidelined for season 5, viewers won’t learn more about these revelations until season 6 at the earliest. But, as fans of the books will point out, this departure from Bran and Hodor makes sense. Game of Thrones closely followed Martin’s book series up until the third season. In the fourth season, however, the show pulled from both book 4 and 5 of A Song of Ice and Fire. In fact, the scene of Bran and Hodor at the Weirwood tree in the season 4 finale is from A Dance With Dragons, the fifth book. Bran and Hodor are completely absent from the fourth book, A Feast for Crows, so in that respect it seems reasonable enough that the show will focus on the other characters’ storylines during the corresponding season. A possible downside of this choice is that Game of Thrones fans who aren’t familiar with Martin’s source novels will have forgotten where they last left Bran and Hodor’s storyline after season 5 – or, if not that, will no longer find their plotline compelling after the break. It may prove to be a bigger challenge to make sure viewers re-invest themselves in that particular storyline come season 6, compared to the other characters’ storylines that will appear in season 5. However, given that Game of Thrones has been largely successful in both adapting the A Song of Ice and Fire series and making the most of each episode in every season, it’s almost certain Benioff and Weiss have a plan for the next two seasons (at least) of Game of Thrones that will satisfy fans. Game of Thrones returns for season 5 in 2015. http://screenrant.com/game-thrones-season-5-bran-hodor/

Walt Disney Animation Studios’ 2013 theatrical release, Frozen, has now grossed nearly $1.3 billion worldwide in theaters. The Mouse House has already crossed over select characters from the movie on the ABC live-action series Once Upon a Time, but a full-length movie sequel to the 3D musical fairy tale isn’t currently in the works (officially, anyway)… though a short film followup is. Disney announced development on a Frozen Broadway stage musical near the beginning of 2014, but this is the first confirmation we’ve gotten about the property being continued in some form on the big screen. Walt Disney Animation Studios has revealed, via a press release, that an animated short titled “Frozen Fever” is currently being put together, under the supervision of Oscar-winning Frozen screenwriter and co-director Jennifer Lee, along with her Frozen co-helmsman Chris Buck. Frozen‘s Oscar-winning songwriting husband and wife duo, Kirsten Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, have written a new original song that will be featured in “Frozen Fever”. Frozen voice actors Kristen Bell (Anna), Idina Menzel (Elsa), Jonathan Groff (Kristoff) and Josh Gad (Olaf) are expected to reprise their respective Frozen roles in the developing short – officially summarized as follows. In “Frozen Fever,” it’s Anna’s birthday and Elsa and Kristoff are determined to give her the best celebration ever, but Elsa’s icy powers may put more than just the party at risk. There’ve been rumblings about Pixar making Toy Story 4 over the last few years, but thus far the animation studio has instead stuck to release short films set in theToy Story universe – allowing the studio to both keep that specific brand alive andoffer new imaginative stories featuring the beloved Toy Story characters. That is, without also having to deal with the expectations and/or potential blowback that a full-length movie could prompt (and having fewer creative restrictions to overcome, most likely). Point being, it seems that Disney is taking a similar approach to the Frozen property for now – which, frankly, sounds like a better idea than pressing ahead with Frozen 2. “Frozen Fever” is also being planned for a Spring 2015 release, which indicates that it could be attached to prints of director Kenneth Branagh’s live-actionCinderella - a fitting choice to launch what sounds like it could be a fun new adventure in the world of Frozen. We’ll continue to keep you posted on Frozen-related news in the future. http://screenrant.com/frozen-forever-short-film-release-date/

Quentin Tarantino’s original plan was to shoot his western Hateful Eight in the early going of 2015 – and now, after he publicly went back and forth about whether or not he would make the movie at all (following an early script draft leak), the filmmaker is moving ahead on the project as he originally intended. Hateful Eight already has a poster and teaser trailer that mention a 2015 release, but today the Weinstein Company announced that principal photography on the film will begin in January 2015 – as likely cast member Kurt Russellpreviously said might happen – in order to make a fall 2015 launch date. In a joint statement (via THR), Bob and Harvey Weinstein said that Hateful Eight will be “as innovative, brash, and of course fun as all Quentin projects prior.” The Weinsteins also confirmed that Hateful Eight (which Tarantino is going to shoot in 65 mm) will receive the widest 70 mm release for a movie in more than twenty years, followed by releases in the 35 mm and DCP formats. It’s fitting enough, given the throwback nature of the film - a move that may’ve partly been inspired by Tarantino’s friend/fellow auteur, P.T. Anderson, having photographed The Master in 65 mm a couple years back. Tarantino’s Hateful Eight takes place a few years after the end of the American Civil War, and revolves around a group of eight individuals who end up trapped in an isolated saloon during a blizzard – when they discover (as the trailer puts it) “They shared a deadly connection.” Russell, as mentioned before, is lined up to play one of the film’s leads, while Samuel L. Jackson is likewise expected to reprise his role from the live script reading earlier this year. Indeed, for a while now the expectation has been that most of the cast members from the Hateful Eight script live reading – including such familiar Tarantino collaborators as Michael Madsen, Bruce Dern, and Tim Roth – will star in the actual movie. However, a recent report that Oscar-winner Jennifer Lawrence is in talks for a Hateful Eight role (presumably the female prisoner that is being transported by the characters that Russell and Jackson played in the script reading) raised doubt about that assumption. Jennifer Lawrence (seen here in ‘Serena’) may be one of the ‘Hateful Eight’ Hateful Eight, for some people, may read as being too similar to Tarantino’s prior work, especially since it will serve as his followup to Django Unchained (both are western genre throwbacks with similar historical backdrops, etc.). Still, the Hateful Eight script is said to have some key difference form past Tarantino joints – such as a more intimate scope and primarily single-location setting – that should help to set it apart from the director’s most recent output. Either way, a 2015 awards season release for Hateful Eight makes sense, going by the caliber of its prospective cast and director. Next year is a big one for blockbusters, yet Tarantino’s new film is but one of several promising auteur projects – such as the Coen Brothers’ Hail, Caesar!, Alejandro González Iñárritu’sThe Revenant, and Steven Spielberg’s current-untitled Cold War drama/thriller – that are likewise on target to land in theaters in 2015. We’ll let you know when Hateful Eight gets an official release date. http://screenrant.com/tarantino-hateful-eight-filming-release-date/

The Wire has become more than a TV show – until Breaking Bad or those acclaimed Netflix shows came along, The Wire was THE social barometer for if you were on the up and up of sophisticated TV viewing. David Simon’s crime drama/intricate social critique lasted five seasons, over seven years, and remained one of (if not THE) highest-rated shows by critics and fans alike throughout its run. Aside from the now-proven accuracy of its unflinching and uncensored look at life and culture in urban America, The Wire remains a talking point in the TV zeitgeist due to the fact that it never received any major awards (Emmy, Golden Globe) – just two nominations for writing over the course of seven years. Now that’s criminal. However, now those who slept on the show – or claimed they couldn’t get into the directorial format – will have another chance to discover one of the most famous (and talked about) shows that ever aired on American TV – because HBO is remastering The Wire in its entirety. Previous reports have it that The Wire was being remastered for HD broadcast this September, but that’s not fully accurate. After reaching out to sources at HBO, we can report that while The Wire is in fact being remastered – and September was the target date for completion – full approval of all episodes is not yet complete, and an exact timeline for completion and release has not yet been decided. This little announcement raises two very important questions: Is this re-mastering for broadcast AND HD home release? Or just the latter? Will the show’s original, old-school, 4:3 box aspect ratio be recut into the 16:9 letterbox format of today’s HD broadcasts? HBO would not comment – but the first question is a basic one, which calls to question whether or not unfamiliar viewers will be given full (and free) opportunity to discover The Wire. he latter question is more for cinematic purists who worry about whether or not authenticity is being maintained throughout the process of “upgrading” the show’s visuals. For those who don’t know the technical side of things: In order to convert older, square 4:3 film ratio to 16:9 rectangular HD, you must crop part of the picture out in order to make the conversion. This means that while people might ultimately get a crisper and more HD gorgeous look to The Wire, they will not be seeing all that David Simon and Co. packed into the frame. Those drastic changes can actually have big ramifications in a show like The Wire, where one character sitting on the side or in the background of one scene may have major implication or importance to the larger narrative (see: the secret lifestyle of Dep. Comm. Rawls – or the lunchtime habits of The Greek). Of course, if changing the look to a more modern and accepted format helps more people get into this show? Personally, I’m all for it. It has been painful to watch the rise of high-quality, high-art, cable and premium television over the last few years, while The Wire still languishes in a cesspool of disregard – despite the enduring truths of its many messages, or the gang of talent it sent forth into the world of TV – talent that has strangely managed to find recognition whenever they aren’t telling the story of Urban America’s plight, with a diverse cast of diverse and wonderfully complex characters. This was a show that, as far back as 2002 counted a sensitive gay black man as the most feared (and respected) criminal in its lineup – while a tough-as-nails, soft-spoken, Blasian lesbian served as one of our primary detectives. Talk about progressive; Simon’s world and characters were so far ahead of their time, that rebroadcasting The Wire now may only make it seem contemporary. We’ll keep you updated about the timeline and details of The Wire: Remastered as they come to light. http://screenrant.com/wire-remastered-hbo-release-date-aspect-ratio/

This October, Supernatural returns for its 10th season on The CW. And while its still uncertain whether the series will be back for even more seasons after next year, the drama already has the full support of CW president Mark Pedowitz to continue on for “as long as they want.” So basically, if the ratings stay the same, with Supernatural in third place right behind Arrow and The Vampire Diaries, season 10 may not be the end of the Winchester brothers on TV. That’s assuming, of course, that Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) make it out of this season alive. In the season 9 finale, Dean was killed by Metatron and turned into an unholy demon, due to the influence of the Mark of Cain he’d used to wield the First Blade and kill Abaddon. As a result, Sam will be forced to do some very questionable things this year in order to find his missing brother. Meanwhile, Castiel (Misha Collins) will be dealing with his own problems too, mainly his new mortality, and so everyone is in for a very rough ride. It makes sense, then, that the tagline in the recently released season 10 poster is “Wrestle your demons.” Check it out below: The creepy new art, which also features new series regular Mark Sheppard as the high-ranking demon Crowley, seems to have hands reaching for all the characters from both heaven and hell. It’s already been rumored that God, or a form of the almighty, may make an appearance this season, so the fact they’re continuing the same theme of heaven and hell into this season is very interesting. We really don’t know much more about the upcoming season at this point, but a retrospective for the series is scheduled to air on October 6th, 2014 @9pm. During the special, the cast and crew will share their favorite memories from the first nine seasons, as well as reveal hints about what’s to come in season 10. So what do you think, Screen Rant readers? Do you like the new poster? Are you excited for the new season of Supernatural? Let us know in the comments. Supernatural premieres on October 7th, 2014 @9pm on The CW. http://screenrant.com/supernatural-season-10-poster/

When season 1 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. came to a close earlier this year, it left many unanswered questions. We even listed 13 of them. Despite our mixed feelings towards the season as a whole, we did explain why Marvel’s first, connected live-action TV show deserved a second season. There are characters we’ve grown fond of, the series did become “more Marvel” towards the end, as the producers promised, and there’s been an exciting stream of news and casting announcements regarding the second season ever since. We’re only three weeks away from the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 2 premiere, an episode that’ll introduce a notable character from the comics codenamed Absorbing Man (Brian Patrick Wade) and a few episodes later, star Adrianne Palicki will appear as Mockingbird, a key character in Marvel Comics who has some history with The Avengers. Other cast additions and guest appearances include Lucy Lawless as Agent Isabelle Hartley, Kyle MacLachlan as Skye’s dad, Reed Diamond (Dollhouse) as Hydra agent Daniel Whitehall, Nick Blood (The Bletchley Circle) as Lance Hunter, Simon Kassianides (Quantum of Solace) in an unspecified major role as the character Bakshi, Henry Simmons (NYPD Blue) as Alphonso “Mack” Mackenzie. The show’s executive producer Jeff Bell spoke with TV Line about the upcoming second season and promises that they’ll be delivering on the story front, starting off with a bang in the September 23rd premiere. “Once we could say the word HYDRA, it’s been a sprint, and we’re planning to just keep sprinting.” As for what questions the premiere will answer, or at the very least, partially address – Bell mentions the following plot threads: What happens now with Agent Ward now that he’s been captured? Can Agent Coulson and Agent May trust each other? What’s up with Skye’s dad and real parents? What’s that status of the Fitz and hence, the Fitz-Simmons relationship? All of these questions we raised ourselves in our own list so we’ll see if these are definitively answered or left hanging. Below is a new image of Agent Skye (Chloe Bennet), rocking a large firearm. Where the first season struggled to introduce non-powered characters who weren’t from the comics and fit them into the larger shared Marvel Cinematic Universe in a meaningful way, by the time Captain America: The Winter Soldier hit theaters, the show drastically changed for the better. The equally challenging Season 2 aims to maintain that high and must prove itself after forcefully keeping viewers in the dark about Coulson’s condition, its implications, and Skye’s mysterious origins. After all, she’s a “0-8-4″ which SHIELD classifies as an “object of unknown origin.” If that doesn’t have some major Marvel Comics related payoff in the films, then what’s the point? Agents of SHIELD Season 2 Billboard – What Does It Mean? Time will tell! Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 2 premieres on Tuesday, September 23, 2014 on ABC. The Avengers: Age of Ultron releases on May 1, 2015, Ant-Man on July 17, 2015, Captain America 3 on May 6 2016, Guardians of the Galaxy 2 on July 28 2017 and unannounced films for July 8 2016, May 5 2017, November 3 2017, May 4 2018, July 6 2018, November 2 2018 and May 3 2019. http://screenrant.com/agents-of-shield-season-2-premiere-questions/

DreamWorks’ How to Train Your Dragon 2 was not just one of the better-received sequels of the 2014 Summer Movie Season, it remains one of the best-reviewed films of this year in general, and just crossed the $600 million mark at the worldwide box office over the 2014 Labor Day holiday frame. It’s also the top-grossing animated motion picture of 2014 – having outperformed The LEGO Movieoutside the U.S. - in the absence of a new Pixar release this year (we’ll see how Disney’s Big Hero 6 does at the box office in November, though). Yet, as was discussed during the 2014 Summer Movie Awards edition of the SRU Podcast, Dragon 2 didn’t seem to make as strong an impact on the public consciousness as certain other summer releases did. The 3D animated feature also suffered a significant drop-off at the U.S. box office, compared to its predecessor’s take in 2010 ($174 million vs. $216 million), despite a slight uptick in ticket prices – along with the increase in the number of 3D screenings available – over the four years between the films. This is all worth taking into consideration, as How to Train Your Dragon 3 has now been pushed back by a year, from a planned launch during the 2016 Summer Movie Season to the same period in 2017. Still, the fact that Dragon 3 has been given a new official release date – as opposed to being shifted to a more vague frame (see: Sony having recently pushed Amazing Spider-Man 3 to “sometime in 2018″) – is a sign that DreamWorks remains confident about the property’s future - and with good reason. Dragon 3 was previously set to arrive on June 17th, 2016, which is the same date that Pixar has claimed for the Finding Nemo sequel, Finding Dory. It’s not quitea Captain America 3/Batman V Superman situation, but it makes sense that Dragon 3 would be the one to move away first, all things considered (see: Dragon 2performing somewhat weaker than expected). Earlier today, Warner Bros. also set Shane Black’s The Nice Guys to hit theaters the same day as Dory, but it’s unlikely that had much of an impact on DreamWorks’ decision to scoot Dragon 3 back. How to Train Your Dragon 3, following its move, is now scheduled to reach theaters on June 9th, 2017, which is two weeks after the currently-untitled LEGO Moviesequel opens in theaters, and one week before currently-untitled new animated movies from both Pixar and Blue Sky are slated to arrive. There will for certain be more release date announcements (and, equally likely, release date changes) for June 2017 over the next couple of years, so we’ll have to wait and which – if any – of these family-friendly animated offerings wind up moving. There was some talk about how DreamWorks executives have been entertaining the thought of a fourth How to Train Your Dragon movie down the line (not that long before Dragon 2 opened in theaters). Dragon 2 writer/director Dean DeBlois, who also co-wrote and co-directed the first How to Train Your Dragon installment, did indeed leave the door open for a third Dragon installment (which he will also make), after all, and could do the same on Dragon 3 while still providing a satisfying self-contained story. Nonetheless, it’s best to not jump to any conclusions on that front until further notice. DeBlois may have enough story for two more How to Train Your Dragon films, as the fantasy series’ composer John Powell has indicated, but DreamsWorks might be a tad more hesitant than it was before, when it comes to saying yes to Dragon 4 at this point in time. How to Train Your Dragon 3 arrives in theaters on June 9th, 2017. http://screenrant.com/how-train-dragon-3-release-date-2017/

- A lot of feature length horror movies tend to follow prescriptive formulas, but 2012 anthology film The ABCs of Death shook things up by gathering together 26 directors and giving them total free rein to create a film on the subject of death – provided the film was only a few minutes long. One of the benefits of this approach was that there was something for everyone in the insane and often ridiculous mix of horror and comedy, and if you don’t happen to enjoy one chapter then there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy the next one instead. The appeal of The ABCs of Death was enough to earn it a sequel with attached directors including Vincenzo Natali (Splice), Larry Fessenden (Habit) and Oscar-nominated short film director and animator Bill Plympton. The 26th director, Robert Boocheck, won his place within the anthology by entering his short film, “M is for Masticate“into an online competition. Now a red-band trailer for The ABCs of Death 2 has been released, and it doesn’t take its red band lightly. Featuring a blend of gore, swearing, more gore, graphic sexual imagery, even more gore and a bit of laugh-out-loud bizarre comedy to cap it all off, The ABCs of Death 2 looks every bit as insane as the first film. Probably not every chapter will be gold, but you can bet that there will be some high points to make it worthwhile. There are a lot of tiny clips featured in this trailer and little context for any of them (to be honest, context probably wouldn’t make them any less weird), but highlights include a clip of some unhappy people playing Russian roulette, a stop-motion character having their face ripped off and a warning that what’s inside the mattress could be even scarier than what’s under the bed. With 26 creative ways to die from both established horror directors and newcomers,The ABCs of Death 2 definitely looks like worthy Halloween watching for anyone who can stomach it. The ABCs of Death 2 will be available on VOD from October 2nd, 2014, and will release in theaters a few weeks later on October 31st. http://screenrant.com/abcs-death-2-red-band-trailer/

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Iron Man 3 helmsman Shane Black has a finger in several pies right now, including a movie adaptation of the Doc Savage pulp adventure novels, a new installment in the Predator franchise (an “inventive sequel,” as Black calls it), and a film based on Warner Murphy and Richard Sapir’s Destroyerpaperback novels. However, we can now safely say that Black’s next project will be the noir/detective film The Nice Guys. Production on the film will begin this fall (according to the official press release from Warner Bros.), so that the project can make a Summer 2016 release date. Producer Joel Silver, who’s been working alongside Black as far back as 1987′sLethal Weapon (which Black wrote), praised the Nice Guysscreenplay in his official statement, claiming it reflects“Shane’s great cinematic voice.” Similar to Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Nice Guys boasts an original script penned by Black and his current writing partner, Anthony Bagarozzi. The similarities don’t end there, as the Nice Guys premise (like Kiss Kiss) draws from detective/Noir genre elements and combines them with buddy movie tropes (an area where Black is something of a specialist) – pairing Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe, in a plotline that has been officially summarized as follows. “The Nice Guys” takes place in 1970s Los Angeles, when down-on-his-luck private eye Holland March (Gosling) and hired leg-breaker Jackson Healy (Crowe) must work together to solve the case of a missing girl and the seemingly unrelated death of a porn star. During their investigation, they uncover a shocking conspiracy that reaches up to the highest circles of power. RDJ and Shane Black filming ‘Iron Man 3′ Nice Guys is scheduled to open in U.S. theaters on June 17th, 2016, which is the same date set for DreamWorks’ How to Train Your Dragon 3. Other titles currently on the docket for arrival that month include Paramount’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2, Sony’s Uncharted video game movie, and the Mummy property reboot from Universal - making Black’s detective drama stand out all the more as the rare example of a non-tentpole, non-franchise genre movie aimed at adults during that frame. Indeed, as much controversy as Black’s creative decisions on Iron Man 3 continue to stir up within the geek community, the filmmaker certainly has a decent-sized fanbase all his own – and the majority of its members should be more than happy to show up for Nice Guys. Having Gosling and Crowe as the leads won’t hurt, either. The Nice Guys opens in U.S. theaters on June 17th, 2016. http://screenrant.com/nice-guys-ryan-gosling-release-date/

Attempts to get a 24 movie up on the big screen have been going on for years. One version almost made it to the screen before hitting an indefinite production delay; when Jack Bauer finally did resurface, it in the form of a 12-episode TV miniseries called 24: Live Another Day. Live Another Day turned out to be a welcome return to the violent espionage world of Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland), with the shortened episode count (12, as opposed to 24) actually working in the show’s favor to keep the action and drama nice and tight and focused – sans random cougar attacks or memory loss story fillers. That’s all to say: fans were glad to get back Jack, and would arguably like to see more. Hence why more 24 movie talks are reportedly taking place. TV Line has the exclusive that show producers Imagine Entertainment – and chairman Brian Grazer – are once again optimistic about getting a 24 movie into production. Noted in the report is the fact that while movie plans may be on the minds of producers, there’s still the issue of show owner 20th Century Fox and whatever plans could be in store for a 10th season of the show – presumably another miniseries like Live Another Day. The article quotes Fox Networks Group Chairman CEO Peter Rice (back in July) as saying there would have to be talks about where to take the show next. For the studio and producers, the answer is fairly straightforward: you want the most out of your brand, and that means making the movie AND another miniseries. If the opportunity is there, why not? However, for the fans, it is a different question – and one the studio and producers should ultimately be paying close attention to: How much fan enthusiasm is there really for Jack Bauer? 24: Live Another Day worked in large part because we were getting the characters and world back in a smaller dose, after much time had passed, with enough new elements mixed in with the old to make the experience both fresh and familiar, all at once. Right now, if I were a betting man, I’d say there’s much more enthusiasm to see another miniseries produced with a quality of Live Another Day (which wasn’t universally loved, mind you), instead of having to go through the big marketing sell for a 24 movie. As always, there’s question of what a 24 movie has to offer that any number of other single-day action movies (see: Die Hard 1 – 3) didn’t already offer before. However, on the TV side, Jack Bauer proved this past year that even in the now-crowded action/espionage sub-genre, there’s still room for the godfather of American counter-terrorism badassery to have has day. Maybe the show execs should play it safe and stick with their (new) winning formula. As always, we’ll keep you updated on all things 24. http://screenrant.com/24-movie-season-10-kiefer-sutherland/

Poor Hawkeye. Marvel’s greatest archer can’t seem to catch a break in the film franchise. From a cameo appearance in Thor and a zombified role in The Avengers to not even making the cut for Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Jeremy Renner has long talked about his desire to play the Hawkeye (real name: Clint Barton) he signed on for years ago, and in next year’s The Avengers: Age of Ultron, he’ll be finally getting some spotlight attention. Rumor has it, he might even be a key part of Captain America 3 in 2016. He almost had a part in this year’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier as we learned from writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely but his role was minor and so he was cut. If you pick up Captain America 2 on Blu-ray (available September 9th), you’ll learn from the audio commentary on the deleted scenes one key sequence Hawkeye was originally going to be a part of. As Cap 2 (and 3) directors Anthony and Joe Russo tell us when they joined us on the latest episode of theScreen Rant Underground podcast, it was mainly scheduling that prevented Renner from having a role, but they had quite the epic plan if it did work out. I know listening to the commentary in the deleted scenes, there’s sort of a sequence there where the strike team is tracking down Cap to the city gym. I think one of you guys mentioned originally that Hawkeye was going to be chasing down Cap. Was he going to be somewhat of an antagonist in the early versions of this film? Joe Russo: What it was going to be, we were trying to complicate the relationship between Cap and his S.H.I.E.L.D agent friends. If Hawkeye got a call from S.H.I.E.L.D saying Captain America is a fugitive, would he listen to that call or not listen to that call? That sequence actually was heartbreaking for us to cut it. I think it ultimately might have been a conflict with Renner’s schedule. But there was a great sequence where Hawkeye was chasing Cap through Washington D.C. there was an awesome sequence where they confronted each other in a ravine on the outskirts of D.C. and Hawkeye was shooting a series of arrows closing in on Cap, Cap closing in on him. And then Cap took him down and he realized for the first time that Hawkeye was trying to trick S.H.I.E.L.D, where he whispered something into Cap’s ear that Cap had a tracker on his suit and to punch Hawkeye to make it look real, because there was a Quinjet hovering above where they were watching the feedback back at S.H.I.E.L.D. So it was a cool sequence. But look, there’s a million iterations of films, and especially when dealing with Marvel movies where characters can come in or come out during the creative process. And you keep working and working like a Rubik’s Cube till you find the right configuration where everything lines up. So even though we lost that sequence, I think we may have streamlined the movie and made it a little bit more propulsive. With the way Phase 2 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe shaped up, it’s only Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner (Hulk) and Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton (Hawkeye) who didn’t get a role. Banner of course, did pop up in a post-credits button for Iron Man 3. They’re both set to get a lot to do in Age of Ultron but we can only hope both live through the film and get a significant roles in Phase 3. As for what Hawkeye’s been up to since the Battle of New York, we’ll learn about his mission in The Avengers 2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier is produced by Kevin Feige, directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, from a screenplay by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely, and stars Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Cobie Smulders, Frank Grillo, Emily VanCamp and Hayley Atwell, with Robert Redford as Alexander Pierce and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury. Captain America: The Winter Soldier releases on Disney Movies Anywhere August 19, 2014, and on 3D Combo Pack, Blu-ray, DVD and On-Demand September 9, 2014. Captain America 3 opens in theaters May 6, 2016. http://screenrant.com/hawkeye-captain-america-2-role-explained/

Universal Pictures is planning to kickoff a rebooted version of its classic monster universe with The Mummy in 2016. However, well before that happens, the feature Dracula Untold - starring Luke Evans (who reprises as Bard the Bowman inThe Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies this December) and helmed by first-time feature director Gary Shore – will be opening in theaters. (This fall, as it were.) The Dracula movie, as illustrated by both the international trailer (see above) and the domestic theatrical preview, is a cinematic re-envisioning of the eponymous vampire’s origins – one that makes him out to be something closer to a dark superhero, complete with a tragic backstory (even before his transformation). Dracula Untold‘s storyline is also heavily informed by the actual history of Vlad Tepes, a.k.a. Vlad the Impaler – Dracula author Bram Stoker’s inspiration for his supernatural horror icon - according tothe film’s producer, Alissa Phillips. Dracula Untold, as scripted by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless (the upcoming Gods of Egypt), picks up in the 15th century, as Vlad (Evans) finds his homeland facing the thread of invasion by the Ottoman Empire, led by Sultan Mehmed II (Dominic Cooper). Desperate to find a way to defend his people, Vlad ends up striking a Faustian bargain with an ancient evil (Charles Dance) that allows him to gain incredible powers that will help him win the war – but, eventually, at a terrible cost to his own soul. Evans, during our interview with him on the Dracula Untold set, said that Vlad’s bloodlust in the film is, on a subtextual level, along the lines of a drug addiction, as his most vampiric qualities manifest themselves slowly over the course of the story – becoming more uncontrollable with time. The Dracula movie in general also seems to have more in common with pop historical epics such as the 300franchise, compared to the sort of atmospheric horror commonly associated with the Dracula character. In other words, Dracula Untold looks and sounds in keeping with Legendary Pictures’ recent slate of genre blockbusters – ones that cover familiar narrative ground, yet in inventive and stylish ways. Evans has often been a bright spot in otherwise lackluster genre films (see: Immortals, The Raven, etc.), but the Dracula re-imagining has the potential to be a more fitting blockbuster showcase for his talents – and could even lead to Evans’ Dracula joining Universal’s monster universedown the line, if all goes well. Dracula Untold opens in U.S. theaters on October 17th, 2014. http://screenrant.com/dracula-untold-trailer-luke-evans/

Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy has already become the highest-grossing film of 2014 (domestically) just one month into its theatrical run. Not only that, James Gunn’s entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe made a name for itself as a critics’ favorite, giving the property a one-two punch of commercial and critical appeal. As discussed on the Screen Rant Underground podcast, its success opened many doors for Marvel as they continue their shared universe for years to come. As Kevin Feige and company move onwards to Phase 3, there’s been a lot of talk of the company’s so-called “third-tier” characters joining the ranks of Star-Lord and Rocket as international movie stars. Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man is already in production, Scott Derrickson is set to call the shots on Doctor Strange and there’s a script for Inhumans that’s ready to be passed around. One hero in particular that comic fans have been clamoring for a long time is Black Panther. A native of the fictional African nation of Wakanda, it has been speculated by some that the character will be making an appearance in next year’s Avengers: Age of Ultron - based on director Joss Whedon having shot some scenes in South Africa. The potential for a Black Panther adaptation has been a discussion point for a while now. Feige himself said that the project was “absolutely in development” last year and more recently admitted that the studio is listening to the public’s requests to feature Black Panther in a film. Not only that, Star Wars: Episode VII star John Boyega teased around SDCC 2014 that he was “aiming” for a Marvel role and “booking a flight to Wakanda.” Even Marvel Comics icon Stan Lee has had a thing or two to say about Black Panther possibly showing up in a feature film. Lee mentioned last year that Black Pantherwas one upcoming MCU installment he knew about, and now he’s at it again. During a panel at Fan Expo Canada (via Comic Book Resources), he opened up about Marvel Studios’ future plans when discussing the prospect of a Black Widow solo film. “We haven’t made a Black Widow movie but she’s been in some of our movies, and she will be featured more prominently as we move forward. And the chances are she will have her own movie because eventually all the superheroes are going to have their own movies. They are already working on Ant-Man, Dr. Strange and the Black Panther and there are others I am not allowed to talk about.” Given that Marvel has their movie universe planned out through 2028 and haveseveral unannounced films on the horizon, it seems very likely that the King of Wakanda will become known to moviegoers soon. Still, we’ve been down this road before with Lee namedropping Black Panther and the studio remaining silent in regards to actually confirming it. Feige’s comments are a promising sign, but until Marvel Studios comes out and says that it’s officially happening, all fans have to go off on is hearsay. This is essentially becoming Marvel’s version of Shazam; the upcoming movie everyone knows is coming via elaborate teases, but isn’t scheduled yet. With the recent quotes from Feige, Boyega, and Lee, it certainly appears that the wheels are in motion, so it’s plausible to think that there will be some word about the film in the foreseeable future. With this much activity surrounding it, it wouldn’t add up if nothing came to fruition. The issue, as it stands, is not if we’ll see Black Panther, but when. There are currently six unclaimed release dates for Disney/Marvel, including two in 2017 and three in 2018. We know Thor 3 and The Avengers 3 will take two of those spots eventually, while Doctor Strange and Inhumans are likely to claim two of the remaining dates. However, that still leaves room for a newcomer like Black Pantherto arrive on the scene in there. We’ll keep you updated on Black Panther as more information becomes available. http://screenrant.com/marvel-black-panther-movie-stan-lee/

Global tech firms including Google, Facebook & Microsoft have rejected calls for a graduated response to online piracy in Australia. Slamming bogus piracy stats and describing copyright as a "moral hazard" that can stifle innovation, the group says that offering easy access to content at a fair price is the only solution. As more of the submissions to the Australian Federal Government’s call for input on online copyright infringement are published, it’s becoming clear that the music and movie industries have a battle on their hands. Hollywood in particular is seeking a tightening of the lawwhich would hold ISPs more responsible for the actions of their users, while introducing a graduated response to deal with persistent domestic file-sharers. Still can’t agree In 2012, movie and recording companies fought a bloody battle with tech companies over SOPA in the United States but more than two years on it’s evident that the divide over what should be done about piracy is as wide as ever. In a submission to the Government, a group of tech companies including Google, Facebook, Microsoft, eBay, Samsung, Motorola and BT largely oppose the wish-list of the entertainment industries. Mirroring the tendency of Hollywood to state how important its members are to the economy, the Computer & Communications Industry Association begin by stating that its members employ more than 600,000 workers who generate more than $200 billion in revenue. Launching its key observations, CCIA say that rather than pushing for the introduction of a so-called graduated response scheme, policy makers could achieve better results by focusing on the issues that encourage people to pirate in the first place. No graduated response: provide content in a timely manner at a fair price The group describes “high prices” and a “lack of availability of lawful content” as key domestic and international market barriers for consuming online content. But the problems don’t end there. “Naturally, from this follows that access to on-demand/online content across territories becomes even more cumbersome and restrictive due to territorial copyright restrictions, licensing conduct, geo-blocking, price discrimination holdback and windowing,” CCIA explains. Noting that there is “an inverted relationship” between lawful and unlawful access to content, the tech group underlines their point with a quote from Kevin Spacey. “Audience wants the freedom.. they want control…give consumers what they want, when they want it and in the format they want it and at reasonable price,” they write. Don’t believe their lies A couple of points raised by the CCIA will sting their entertainment industry adversaries more than most. Noting that there “is little or no evidence” that graduated response schemes are successful (but plenty to the contrary), enforcement policies should be based only on facts, not on the claims of those determined to introduce them. “It is also absolutely essential that enforcement debate and policy is not based on manufactured claims, exaggerations and deceptions that will in the long run risk resulting in a negative public sentiment concerning intellectual property,” CCIA writes. “Empirical data on the impact of copyright infringement over the last two decades is deeply contested and in some cases to such a level that it is being ridiculed. This is a highly undesirable development for the perception of copyright and by extension intellectual property in general by the broader public.” Copyright is a “moral hazard” In another interesting statement the CCIA suggest that when supported by legislation, companies will fall back on that to maintain business models that are no longer viable. “Economists have expressed concerns that copyright has a moral hazard effect on incumbent creative firms, by encouraging them to rely on enforcement of the law rather than adopt new technologies and business models to deal with new technologies,” the tech firms continue. “Hence, enforcement should not become a tool to protect businesses from competition, changing business realities and changes in consumer exactions, hereby allowing them to continue to hold on to outdated business models.” Conclusion Summing up, CCIA director Jakob Kucharczyk says that any new scheme should employ a “holistic end-to-end approach” and be coupled with efforts by content providers to give customers the content they need at a fair price. On the issue of ISPs, the CCIA is clear. There must be a level playing field, legal protection from liability must be enshrined in law, and rightsholders must be held responsible for their actions when making allegations of infringement. “If all parties are willing to look at equitable, cooperative programs that include a focus on the key issues outlined above, we believe that a better, more balanced and more effective outcome is achievable than that which is likely to result from the Government’s present proposals,” Kucharczyk concludes. How the conflicting approaches of the technology companies, ISPs and the entertainment industries can ever be reconciled will be a topic for heated debate in the coming months, not only in Australia, but across the world. http://torrentfreak.com/google-facebook-and-microsoft-reject-anti-piracy-proposals-140905/

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The U.S. Government is going after Kim Dotcom's bank accounts, cars, art and other property. In a complaint filed at a Virginia federal court the Department of Justice argues that the property of the Megaupload and its founder should be forfeited as it was obtained through criminal means. Acting on a lead from the entertainment industry, the U.S. Government shut down Megaupload early 2012. Since then the case hasn’t progressed much. Kim Dotcom’s extradition hearing has been delayed until 2015 and most of the recent court proceedings dealt with how the seized assets should be handled. Dotcom tried to regain his possessions but this effort failed last month. Meanwhile, both the MPAA and RIAA have protected their claims on the Megaupload millions, and now the U.S. Government has joined in as well. In a complaint submitted at a federal court in Virginia the Department of Justice asks for a forfeiture of the bank accounts, cars and other seized possessions, claiming they were obtained through copyright and money laundering crimes. The filing starts with a brief summary of the indictment that was brought against Dotcom and his colleagues. According to the Government, Megaupload was a criminal organization set up to profit from copyright infringement. “The members of the Mega Conspiracy described themselves as ‘modern day pirates’ and virtually every aspect of the Mega Sites was carefully designed to encourage and facilitate wide-scale copyright infringement,” the U.S. attorney writes. The Government wants the seized properties to be handed over to the authorities, and claims it’s permitted under U.S. law. This includes the bank account that was used by Megaupload for PayPal payouts. The account, described as “DSB 0320,” had a balance of roughly $4.7 million (36 million Hong Kong Dollars) at the time of the seizure, but processed more than $160 million over the years. “Records indicate that from August 2007 through January 2012 there were 1,403 deposits into the DBS 0320 account totaling HKD 1,260,508,432.01 from a PayPal account. These funds represent proceeds of crime and property involved in money laundering as more fully set out herein,” the complaint reads. One of Megaupload’s bank accounts More than a dozen bank accounts are listed in total including some of the property they were used for to buy. The list of assets further includes several luxury cars, such as a 2011 Mercedes-Benz G55 AMG with a “Wow” license plate, TVs including a 108″ Sharp LCD TV and artwork in the form of Olaf Mueller photographs. The Government claims that the possessions can be forfeited since they were obtained through criminal copyright infringement and money laundering, but Megaupload’s lawyer Ira Rothken disagrees. “Kim Dotcom and Megaupload will vigorously oppose the US Department of Justice’s civil forfeiture action,” Rothken tells TF. “The DOJ’s efforts to use lopsided procedures over substance to destroy a cloud storage company is both offensive to the rights of Megaupload and to the rights of millions of consumers worldwide who stored personal data with the service,” he adds. According to Rothken the U.S. ignores several crucial issues, including the Sony Doctrine and the fact that criminal secondary copyright infringement no longer exists. “The DOJ’s forfeiture complaint ignores the US Supreme Court’s protection called the Sony Doctrine provided to dual use technologies like cloud storage, ignores substantial non infringing uses of such cloud storage including by DOJ users themselves, and ignores the fact that Congress removed criminal secondary copyright infringement from the copyright statute in 1976,” Rothken says. Which side the District Court judge will agree with has yet to be seen, but with so many parties claiming their cut of the Megaupload assets it’s certainly not getting easier for Dotcom to reclaim his property. To be continued. http://torrentfreak.com/u-s-government-wants-kim-dotcoms-cash-cars-140904/

2014-09-03 'H & R Rules formal operation Please carefully read the H & R system rules will be strictly enforced by the rules. Please note: One, keep an eye on your HP values, and HR record personal page. 2, when HP is 0, it will be automatically disabled. 3, HP values ​​can be purchased through the points. The H & R rules are now officially effective. Please read the H & R rules carefully and abide by them. Note: 1. Always mind your HP and your H & R records; 2. Your account WILL be disabled when your HP = 0; 3. HP CAN be purchased with Bonus points.

The effects of a DDoS attack that crippled NYAA, one of the largest anime torrent sites, continue today with fingers being pointed at everyone from the Japanese government to an anti-piracy group working with anime distributors. Subtitling site HorribleSubs, which was also affected, has its own ideas. Distributed Denial of Service or DDoS attacks are a relatively common occurrence in the file-sharing community and something that many sites are subjected tothroughout the course of a year. They disrupt service and can often cost money to mitigate. Those carrying out the attacks have a variety of motives, from extortion and blackmail to “the lulz“, and a dozen reasons in between. Often the reasons are never discovered. During the past few days several sites involved in the unauthorized sharing of anime have been targeted by DDoS-style attacks. Swaps24 reported that Haruhichan, Tokyo Toshokan and AnimeTake were under assault from assailants unknown, although all now appear to be back online. A far more serious situation has played out at NYAA.se, however. The site is probably the largest public dedicated anime torrent index around and after being hit with an attack last weekend it remains offline today. The attack on NYAA had wider effects too. NYAA and leading fan-subbing site HorribleSubs reportedly shared the same hosting infrastructure so the DDoS attack took down both sites. That’s significant, not least since at the end of August HorribleSubs reported that their titles had been downloaded half a billion times. As the image above shows it now appears that HorribleSubs has recovered (andadded torrent magnet links) but the same cannot be said about NYAA. The site’s extended downtime continues with no apparent end in sight. This has resulted in a backlash from the site’s fans and somewhat inevitably accusatory fingers are being pointed at potential DDoS suspects. As far-fetched as it might sound, one of the early suspects was the Japanese government itself. The launch of a brand new anti-piracy campaign last month in partnership with 15 producers certainly provided a motive, but a nation carrying out this kind of assault seems unlikely in the extreme. Quickly, however, an announcement from HorribleSubs turned attentions elsewhere. “Chill down. It’s not just us. Every famous anime sites [are] getting DDoS attacks, but that doesn’t mean this is the end,” the site’s operator wrote on Facebook. “We have located where DDoS are coming from. It’s from ‪#‎Crunchyroll‬ and ‪#‎Funimation‬ Employees.” Funimation is an US television and film production company best known for its distribution of anime while Crunchyroll is a website and community focused on, among other things, Asian anime and manga. While both could at least have a motive to carry out a DDoS, no evidence has been produced to back up the HorribleSubs claims. That said, HorribleSubs admits that its key motivation is to annoy Crunchyroll. “We do not translate our own shows because we rip from Crunchyroll, FUNimation, Hulu, The Anime Network, Niconico, and Daisuki,” the site’s about page reads, adding: “We aren’t doing this for e-penis but for the sole reason of pissing off Crunchyroll.” Shortly after, attention turned to anti-piracy outfit Remove Your Media (RYM). The company works with anime companies Funimation and Viz Media, which includes the sending of millions of DMCA notices to Google. The spark came when the company published a tweet (now removed) which threatened to send “thousands” of warning letters to NYAA users once the site was back online. This doesn’t seem like an idle threat. A few weeks ago the company posted a screenshot on Twitter containing an unredacted list of Comcast, Charter and CenturyLink IP addresses said to have been monitored infringing copyright. Due to the NYAA downtime, RYM later indicated it had switched to warning users of Kickass.to. This involvement with anime companies combined with the warning notice statement led to DDoS accusations being directed at RYM. TorrentFreak spoke to the company’s Eric Green and asked if they knew anything about the attacks. “The short answer is No. In fact we were waiting for [NYAA] to go back online to begin monitoring illegal transfers again. Sorry to disappoint but we had no involvement,” Green told TF. Just a couple of hours ago RYM made a new announcement on Twitter, stating that the original tweet had been removed due to false accusations. “Nyaa post deleted due to all the Ddos libel directed at this account. Infringement notices continue to ISPs, for piracy, regardless of tracker,” they conclude. Although it’s impossible to say who is behind the attacks, it does seem improbable that an anti-piracy company getting paid to send notices would do something that is a) seriously illegal and b) counter-productive to getting paid for sending notices. That said, it seems likely that someone who doesn’t appreciate unofficial anime sites operating smoothly is behind the attack. Who that might be will remain a mystery, at least for now. http://torrentfreak.com/anti-piracy-outfit-denies-ddosing-anime-sites-140904/

New data shows that the Emmy's award ceremony resulted in a piracy surge for many of the nominated shows. For Emmy winner Breaking Bad the number of file-sharers increased more than 400% overnight due to the increased exposure, and most other nominated shows saw a spike in pirate interest too. People have many different motivations to pirate TV-shows and other media. Availability is a factor, for example, and price plays a role as well. Another important driver of piracy is exposure or promotion through traditional media. The latter is illustrated by new research from piracy monitoring firm CEG TEK, who found that the interest in pirated copies of Emmy nominated TV-shows surged after the award show aired on television. The company measured the BitTorrent swarms of 50 Emmy-nominated TV-shows and found a big spike in overall piracy rates. Breaking Bad, winner of the Emmy for best drama series and several individual awards, saw a 412% increase in peers after the award ceremony. Pirate’s interest in True Detective, House of Cards, Homeland and The Newsroom also spiked at least 340% the day after the Emmys. These peaks are unusual according to CEG TEK, who note of the 47 of the 50 nominated shows they monitored saw an increase in sharing activity. “Typically, piracy peaks on weekends, but of the 50 shows we monitored, 47 were pirated more as a result of the Primetime Emmy Awards broadcast,” CEG TEK CTO Jon Nicolini says. “Clearly, the prestige of the Emmys is alive and well,” he adds. While an Emmy award is certainly a big win, some people in the TV industry believe that being the most pirated TV-show may do even more to boost a show’s profile. Jeff Bewkes, CEO of HBO’s parent company Time Warner, previously said that Game of Thrones piracy resulted in more subscriptions for his company and that receiving the title of “most pirated” show was “better than an Emmy.” So that’s a double score for the Emmy winners then. http://torrentfreak.com/breaking-bad-piracy-surges-emmy-win-research-finds-140903/

After doing without an element needed for safe harbor protection, 4chan has just introduced an official DMCA policy. The decision comes in the wake of the celebrity photo leak known as The Fappening and 4chan users' connections to it. In the meantime, the leaked image library has clocked a million torrent downloads. Every now and again a phenomenon takes the Internet by storm. They’re situations that the term ‘going viral’ was made for. A couple of weeks ago it was ice buckets, and since the weekend its been leaked celebrity pictures. The event, which needs little introduction, saw the iCloud accounts of many prominent female celebrities accessed illegally and their personal (in many cases intimately so) photographs leaked online. The FBI are investigating and for the leakers this probably isn’t going to end well. But for the users of 4chan this leak, which was rumored to have begun on the board itself, was the gift that just kept on giving. Excited users quickly came up with a portmanteau based on ‘happening’ plus ‘fapping’ and The Fappening was born, a prelude to taking the Internet by storm. While the event itself appears to be dying down, the leak and the worldwide attention it bestowed on 4chan may have prompted a surprise decision by the site’s operator. Whether the leak was directly responsible will become clear in due course (we’ve reached out to the site for a response), but sometime yesterday 4chan introduced a DMCA policy. The policy registers a DMCA agent for 4chan, which helps to afford the site safe harbor protection under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Although not yet listed in the numerical section of Copyright.gov, the designated agent will now become the point of contact for copyright complaints and DMCA notices when content owners believe that their ownership rights have been violated on 4chan. While most US-based user-generated content websites should not entertain operating without safe harbor, the way 4chan is set up provides a unique scenario in respect of infringing content being posted by its users. “Threads expire and are pruned by 4chan’s software at a relatively high rate. Since most boards are limited to eleven or sixteen pages, content is usually available for only a few hours or days before it is removed,” the site’s FAQ explains. 4chan’s Chris Poole (‘moot’) previously told the Washington Post his deletion policy was both a necessarily evil and a plus to the site. “It’s one of the few sites that has no memory. It’s forgotten the next day,” he said. Despite the board’s userbase being notoriously rebellious, the deletion policy appears to work well. To date Google’s Transparency Report lists takedowns for just 706 URLs. “I don’t have resources like YouTube to deal with $1 billion lawsuit with Viacom,” Poole said in 2012. “Don’t store what you absolutely don’t need. People are pre-disposed to wanting to store everything.” Of course, it’s not only companies such as Viacom on the warpath. Yesterday a spokesman for Jennifer Lawrence said that the authorities had been contacted and anyone found posting ‘stolen’ photos of the actress online would be prosecuted. While the scope of that action isn’t entirely clear, many of the leaked photos were ‘selfies’ to which Lawrence has first shout on copyright. They’re still being posted on hundreds if not thousands of Internet sites even today, so having a DMCA policy in place will help those sites avoid liability, even if in 4chan’s case the images are only present for a few hours. In the meantime, sites such as The Pirate Bay who care substantially less about copyright law than 4chan does today are continuing to spread the full currently-available ‘Fappening’ archives at a rapid rate. Statistics collected by TorrentFreak suggest that the packs have been downloaded well over a million times. http://torrentfreak.com/in-the-fappenings-wake-4chan-intros-dmca-policy-140903/

ScienceHD | News - 3/9/2014