sony

Sony Completes Acquisition of Crunchyroll for $1.175 Billion

Sony and AT&T today announced the completion of the long discussed Crunchyroll acquisition in a press release issued by Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. The $1.175 billion dollar deal “adds tremendous value to Sony’s existing anime businesses, including Funimation and our terrific partners at Aniplex and Sony Music Entertainment Japan,” said Tony Vinciquerra, Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. The full release, which is copied below, mentions that this deal is part of AT&T’s debt reduction effort, and the deal was paid in cash at closing. Notably, the press release contains words from CEO Vinciquerra regarding the streaming services offered by both companies. “With the addition of Crunchyroll, we have an unprecedented opportunity to serve anime fans like never before and deliver the anime experience across any platform they choose, from theatrical, events, home entertainment, games, streaming, linear TV — everywhere and every way fans want to experience their […]

Ronny Chieng, Sony Developing San Francisco-Set Martial Arts Comedy

Lee B. Golden III

Comedian and actor Ronny Chieng is one of the funniest funnymen ever to hit the airwaves. That he’s also stepping into the martial arts comedy genre now seems pretty damn enticing with word via THR‘s Mia Galuppo. Chieng, whose credits partly include Crazy Rich Asians, Bliss at Amazon, and upcoming Marvel’s Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings starring Simu Liu and Tony Leung, is teaming up with The Daily Show cohort Sebastian DiNatale to pen the untitled comedy for Sony, which the studio’s Jiao Chen is reportedly overseeing. Just as there is no title though, plot details are also being kept under wraps. The idea for the project initially originated at a roundtable hosted by Chieng and run by Ivan Reitman’s Montecito Picture Company, as well as Sony. Reitman is on board to produce via his Montecito banner with Amie Karp.

THE KAIJU SCORE November Comic Book Series Lands At Sony For Feature Film Development

Lee B. Golden III

The word from Mike Fleming Jr. at Deadline is that Sony Pictures has acquired rights to AfterShock Comics’s forthcoming comic book series, The Kaiju Score, publishing November 25. The series hails from writer James Patrick and creator/illustrator Rem Broo and centers on a group of four individuals – each with personal stories of their own – who must find a way out of the worst situation possible: carrying out a meticulous heist in the midst of a devastating kaiju attack. AfterShock blogger Afteradminez elucidates in statements from Patrick that describe the upcoming comic series as “…a Quentin Tarantino film taking place in some corner of a Godzilla movie,” He adds: “It started with Donald Westlake books like the Parker series. I wanted to do something contemporary like those, “But when Rem [Broo, co-creator and artist] came aboard, I knew it felt more Oceans 11 and I adjusted.” As Fleming Jr. […]

James Wan Departs Director’s Chair For ROBOTECH As It Lands Andy Muschietti To Helm

Lee B. Golden III

It and Mama helmer Andy Muschietti is officially directing the long-awaited Robotech adaptation for Sony following its acquisition in 2015. The film, to be based on the 1985 Tatsunoko and Harmony Gold USA animated show, has already seen an extensive journey of flailing development with early life fledgeling at Warner Bros. back in 2007. The news comes after intial buzz in 2015 as James Wan, in the months following the blockbuster success of Furious Seven and along with being confirmed to direct next year’s Aquaman film, was tapped to direct instead of Muschietti. Wan has other projects stirring, including producing Mortal Kombat for Warner Bros. and developing a Resident Evil reboot for Screen Gems. The original Robotech series itself, constructed from three Japanese animated shows to form its own for U.S. broadcast at the time, takes place at a time when crash-landed alien technology becomes the starting point for mankind’s […]

Going ‘Under Siege’ With S.W.A.T. UNDER SIEGE Director Tony Giglio

While the original series harkens from the mid-70’s, the franchise has proven to withstand the test of time in part because of the relevance of the subject matter along with a very iconic ear worm of a theme song. SWAT has been steadily making its way back into the limelight starting with a 2003 reboot featuring Samuel L. Jackson, Michelle Rodriguez, Jeremy Renner, and Colin Farrell. 14 years down the road and other iterations of the show have been made along with a pilot for a tv reboot helmed by Justin Lin. However we don’t have to wait for them to wrap shooting as the newest installation in the franchise, SWAT: Under Siege starring Sam Jaeger, Michael Jai White, and Adrianne Palicki is slated to release this August! Last week Film Combat Syndicate scored a great interview with Director Tony Giglio and got to pick his brain a bit: Hey […]

Adam Wingard To Helm GODZILLA VS. KONG

Making a name for himself with low-budget horror thrillers You’re Next, A Horrible Way To Die, and The Guest, Adam Wingard has closed a deal with Legendary Entertainment and Warner Bros. to direct the upcoming Godzilla vs. Kong for a May 22, 2020 release date. Legendary and Warner have teamed up to revive the classic monster universe. Starting with the 2014 release of Godzilla, it culminated with the phenomenal success of Kong: Skull Island earlier this year (which has grossed $565 million, globally) that a sequel, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, starring Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, and Millie Bobby Brown, is currently in production. Wingard’s directorial reboot of Blair Witch last year was made for $5 million and had a box office run of $45.2 million. Not too shabby for a slightly entertaining horror flick that has lost a lot of it’s audience and charm. The writers that Legendary has put together to author […]

Sony, Marvel Stamp An IMAX Release Date For SPIDER-MAN

Lee B. Golden III

Speculate what you can between now and next summer. Marvel and Sony aren’t pulling any punches this year with the prospects of getting a glimpse of actor Tom Holland in the role of Spider-Man for an upcoming reboot as of nearly a year ago, and as of Tuesday, both studios are making it official with an IMAX release date stamped to boot. Time will tell if he’ll really have a place in Marvel’s current MCU following the Russo’s Captain America: Civil War in May. Nevertheless… a franchise-and-a-half later, we’re going at it again. Yes, I do have some mixed feelings about it as I would have like to see the last one finish in conjunction with Sony’s earlier plans for a Spider-Girl film. Maybe there’s a chance for this…maybe maybe. Deets below! CULVER CITY, Calif., Jan. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Spider-Man, one of the world’s most beloved superheroes, will once […]

The New NSFW Trailer For FREAKS OF NATURE Is A Perfect Storm Of Chaos

Lee B. Golden III

Sony Pictures is releasing their latest horror comedy, Freaks Of Nature later this month for its limited engagement, with no stopping short of any kind, they’ve unleashed all of nature’s fury in a ridiculously insane red-band trailer on Friday. It’s director Robbie Pickering‘s latest after the 2011 award-winning dramedy, Natural Selection, whereas this one is certainly a change of pace for the R-movie crowd, sorted to the brim with over-the-top violence and gore and jokes about vagina shaving. These and all other things on top of its intensely layered sci-fi grim and packed to the hilt with aliens, spaceships, zombies and vampires and we’ve got ourselves what looks like perfect storm of batshit crazy. And it’s opening on October 30 thanks to Sony as per their latest press release: CULVER CITY, Calif., October 16, 2015 – On Friday, October 30, moviegoers across the country will have to take on zombies, […]

Cam's Eye Review: THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 (2014)

Lee B. Golden III

SYNOPSIS: It’s great to be Spider-Man (Andrew Garfield). For Peter Parker, there’s no feeling quite like swinging between skyscrapers, embracing being the hero, and spending time with Gwen (Emma Stone). But being Spider-Man comes at a price: only Spider-Man can protect his fellow New Yorkers from the formidable villains that threaten the city. With the emergence of Electro (Jamie Foxx), Peter must confront a foe far more powerful than he. And as his old friend, Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan), returns, Peter comes to realize that all of his enemies have one thing in common: OsCorp. REVIEW: First off, when I normally review a film it’s based on three things: entertainment value, how the story narrative flows, and how visual it looks overall. After viewing The Amazing Spider-Man 2 with this in mind, I’m left much like a Chinese meal I consume: after an hour I wanted more. And with this […]

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METAL GEAR SOLID Is Getting A Live-Action Film, And Now Has A Director

Lee B. Golden III

Video game movies are still a thing, and Sony is jumping on the bandwagon this week, this time with the attachment of The Kings Of Summer helmer, director Jordan Vogt-Roberts for a live action adaptation of Metal Gear Solid. The film has reportedly been in the works since game director Hideo Kojima’s initial announcement in 2006 and saw a series of ups and downs with several names otherwise rumored for the project, including voice actor, multifaceted filmmaker David Hayter said to be writing the script before those rumors were quelled. Initially released on several Playstation platforms in 1998 courtesy of Konami with more games that followed, Metal Gear Solid tells the story of Snake, a soldier on a stealth mission to rescue two hostages and neutralize a nuclear threat from renegade special forces unit, Foxhound. Avi Arad is producing the film with Michael DeLuca steering the production. The big question […]

Crackle's Fall Slate: What I Learned About CLEANERS And EXTRACTION

Lee B. Golden III

I try to follow a lot of people who work in the entertainment field, namely stunt professionals. I primarily do this on Facebook where I ultimately end up subscribing to a lot of them since their friend lists are full to the hilt. In this case, I vaguely remember-it had to have been sometime between late April or May when I noticed actor, stunt performer and stunt coordinator James Lew posted an interesting set photo of himself and actress Emmanuelle Chriqui (pic below) while filming something called “Cleaners”. Apparently, in the early part of May, there was a major announcement involving Sony’s online entertainment medium, Crackle. Reports from various sources cited a NewFronts conference in New York City attended by a plethora of stars, representatives and investors. The announcements illustrate a Fall slate of digital content through film and webseries formats, spanning several genres. One of these includes a series […]