SYFY CELEBRATES THANKSGIVING WEEKEND WITH HELIX BLACK GOO FRIDAY MARATHON

SYFY CELEBRATES THANKSGIVING WEEKEND WITH HELIX BLACK GOO FRIDAY MARATHON

ORIGINAL EPISODES OF Z NATION AND HAVEN

SCI-FI HOLIDAY MOVIE MARATHONS       

NEW YORK – November 11, 2014 – Syfywill celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday weekend with a Helix Black Goo Friday marathon, all-new episodes of the popular series Haven and Z Nation, and a two-day festival of iconic sci-fi films.

 

Syfy will kick off the movie fun on Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 27beginning at 9:30AM (ET/PT) with 2001: A Space Odyssey, followed by Star Trek Nemesis, Space Cowboys, Stargate andPoseidon. 

 

To get fans ready for the return of Helix, Syfy will telecast the entire first season of the hit drama on Friday, November 28 from 6AM-6PM. The Black Goo Friday marathon features cast interviews as well as a never-before-seen sneak peek of Season 2, which premieres Friday, January 16 at 10PM.

 

Haven (7PM), SmackDown (8PM) and Z Nation (10PM) will comprise the Friday primetime schedule.

 

The Saturday, November 29 movie marathon will begin at 10AM, highlighted by classic science fiction flicks ranging fromFifth Element and Terminator 2 to Blade: Trinity.

 

The holiday programming extravaganza will conclude on Sunday, November 30, beginning at 10:30AM, with movies such as30 Days of Night and The Happening.

THE EQUALIZER Available Dec. 16 on Digital HD, & Blu-ray, DVD Dec. 30

Starring Academy Award^®Winner Denzel Washington 

From the Director of Training Day 

THE EQUALIZER

 

 

Available Dec. 16 on Digital HD, & on Blu-ray^™, DVD Dec. 30

 

Blu-ray Bonus Features Include Six Behind-the-Scenes Featurettes, 

Plus “Vengeance Mode” and a Photo Gallery

 

 

CULVER CITY, Calif. (Nov. 10, 2014) – Director Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) reunites with Academy Award^® winner Denzel Washington (Best Actor, Training Day, 2002) for the gritty, action-packed thriller THE EQUALIZER, available on Digital HD Dec. 16 and on Blu-ray^™ and DVD Dec. 30 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. After retiring from the world of government intelligence, Robert McCall (Washington) believes he has put his past behind him and is determined to dedicate himself to a new, quiet life. Instead, he forms a friendship with Teri (Chloë Grace Moretz), a young and desperate girl under the control of Russian gangsters, and decides to use his expert and resourceful combat skills to help shake her loose from their powerful grasp. THE EQUALIZER also stars Marton Csokas (The Amazing Spider-Man 2), David Harbour (“Manhattan”), Haley Bennett (The Haunting of Molly Hartley), Bill Pullman (Independence Day), and Academy Award^® winner Melissa Leo (Best Actress, The Fighter, 2011). 

 

In addition to six behind-the-scenes featurettes that give viewers insight into the making of the film, the Blu-ray bonus features include “Vengeance Mode.” When viewers turn on this feature, they get an inside look during the major action sequences as Denzel Washington and Antoine Fuqua break down the deadliest moves in the scene and reveal how their collaboration helped reinvent action choreography as seen in THE EQUALIZER.

  

Synopsis:

In THE EQUALIZER, Denzel Washington plays McCall, a man who believes he has put his mysterious past behind him and dedicated himself to beginning a new, quiet life. But when McCall meets Teri (Chloë Grace Moretz), a young girl under the control of ultra-violent Russian gangsters, he can’t stand idly by, he has to help her. Armed with hidden skills that allow him to serve vengeance against anyone who would brutalize the helpless, McCall comes out of his self-imposed retirement and finds his desire for justice reawakened. If someone has a problem, if the odds are stacked against them, if they have nowhere else to turn, McCall will help. He is THE EQUALIZER. 

 

The film is directed by Antoine Fuqua from a screenplay by Richard Wenk based on a television series by Michael Sloan and Richard Lindheim. Executive producers include David J. Bloomfield, Ezra Swerdlow and 

Ben Waisbren. Producers include Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, Tony Eldridge, Mace Neufeld, Alex Siskin, Michael Sloan, Steve Tisch, Denzel Washington, Richard Wenk, Lance Johnson, Molly Allen and Kat Samick.  

 

Blu-ray & DVD Bonus Features Include:

o   Two Behind-the-Scenes Featurettes:

§  Home Mart: Taking Care of Business One Bolt at a Time – On the film’s climactic Home Mart sequence.

§  Children of the Night – Moretz discusses her character, Teri and the research she did to play the young, exploited girl.

 

Blu-ray Exclusive Bonus Features Include:

o   Vengeance Mode 

o   Photo Gallery 

o   Four Behind-the-Scenes Featurettes: 

§  Inside The Equalizer – Exploring the creative process of re-imagining and bringing Robert McCall to life. 

§  Denzel Washington: A Different Kind of Superhero – A behind-the-scenes look at how Washington trained for his physically demanding role in this film.

§  Equalizer Vision: Antoine Fuqua – A firsthand look at the movie-making process from the Director. 

§  One Man Army: Training and Fighting – A discussion with Washington, Csokas & stunt coordinator, Keith Woulard, on the process of building a one-man army.

 

THE EQUALIZER has a run time of approximately 131 minutes and is rated R for strong bloody violence & language throughout, including some sexual references. 

 

R.E.M. By MTV Premieres In NYC.

LOS ANGELES - Founding members of R.E.M. Michael Stipe and Mike Mills came together last week (November 6) for a private screening of R.E.M. By MTV at the Director's Guild Theatre in New York City. The new feature-length documentary, directed by Alexander Young, draws exclusively on archival footage, tracing the history of R.E.M. and MTV together in real time, making it feel as exciting and immediate as it did when it was happening.

 

R.E.M. By MTV is featured in the upcoming six-DVD collection REMTV, which includes over 14 hours of material including many live shows from throughout the band's storied career and will be available on November 24 at retail outlets for a suggested list price of $99.98.

 

Prior to release, fans in select cities can get a sneak peek at R.E.M. By MTV with special "one night only" theatrical screenings on November 18. Markets include New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, Seattle, Washington, DC, and Atlanta. For details, please visit at  www.remhq.comor the Landmark Theatre website.

 

R.E.M. By MTV will also premiere simultaneously on VH1 Classic and Palladia later in November, marking its first television run in the United States. Additional information about air dates will be announced.

 

A trailer for the film can be viewed here.

 

R.E.M. and MTV came of age together. From the start, their fates were intertwined, with the band releasing its first single in July 1981, just weeks before the network premiered its first music video. From that point on, MTV documented everything about R.E.M, their music, their stories, and ultimately, their decision to disband in 2011.

 

"It occurred to us that there's all this footage of some of the band's absolute career highlights sitting in some MTV vaults in London and New York-- and thanks to a lot of effort and digging and arranging, this is our chance to share that music with various generations of R.E.M. fans in a pretty unique release," said longtime manager Bertis Downs. "And Alexander Young's documentary is a fine way to tell the story of R.E.M. through its various twists and turns, as captured in real time by MTV's cameras-- it has some great funny bits too!"

 

"This is the first DVD project to unite material from all across Viacom's networks," said Bill Flanagan, EVP of the Viacom Music Group. "Not only are we drawing from the vaults of MTV - domestic and international - but from VH1, Comedy Central, and Nickelodeon.  I don't think anyone realized just how much terrific R.E.M. footage we were sitting on. To gather the best of it in one collection is pretty overwhelming. R.E.M. started great, stayed great and ended great - here's the evidence."

 

REMTV

DVD Listing

 

Disc One

Unplugged 1991

Outtakes 1991

Unplugged 2001

Outtakes 2001

 

Disc Two

VH1 Storytellers

Storytellers Outtakes

The Cutting Edge

Livewire

MTV 10th Anniversary Special

Video Music Awards 1993

Video Music Awards 1995

European Music Awards 1998

European Music Awards 2001

Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction 2007

The Colbert Report 2008

 

Disc Three

R.E.M. In Dallas

R.E.M. Uplink At Bowery Ballroom

Live In Cologne

Live In Cologne Outtakes

 

Disc Four

R.E.M. At The Tabernacle, London

MTV Sonic Milan

Rock AM Ring

Rock AM Ring Outtakes

 

Disc Five

Live At Rolling Stone, Milan

Live At Oxegen Festival

R.E.M. Live In Athens, Greece

 

Disc Six

R.E.M. By MTV

Deleted Scenes

 

 

The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug: Extended Edition Blu-Ray 3D AndBlu-Ray Disc Set Review

While The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey felt padded and inconsistent with what  Peter Jackson and his team at WETA had brought to life in the now classic Lord Of The Rings film trilogy with only the return of Gollum serving as the highlight for the entire film, The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug proved to be a tighter, faster paced and more exciting entry because in part it leaves behind some of the silliness with the Dwarves at Bilbo's home and it moves faster with a plot line that feels more adult as well as truer to the novel, which is far less of a thriller, but still a great novel for children and adults alike. It took an hour just to get Bilbo out of his house in the first film, but here we move from set piece to set piece much faster so that before one knows it, we finally see the magnificent Smaug in all of his glory complete with Benedict Cumberbatch's signature and almost unearthly deep voice. He also provides the voice for the Necromancer in the films. While Smaug is clearly the star in terms of visual effects and is perhaps one of the greatest dragons to ever appear on the silver screen, the characters get to do more here and by the time the film reaches it's conclusion, one feels a better understanding for what is on the line and who the characters are beyond any superficial facades. 

At twenty five minutes longer than the theatrical cut, the Extended Edition of the Desolation Of Smaug goes deeper into the lore of Middle Earth without getting bogged down in the process. This is not just a film with scenes reinserted, but rather a complete reshaping of the movie, which is what made the original Lord Of The Rings Extended Editions so fantastic. Once more Jackson has made a good film on home video even better and it shows with a stunning transfer on both Blu-Ray Disc and Blu-Ray 3D too. The feature is presented in fantastic detail across two discs for the 3D version and disc three contains the complete extended edition in high definition on Blu-Ray Disc too. The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug: Extended Edition is presented in a 1080p 2.4:1 aspect ratio for both presentations. The soundtrack is every bit as expansive as I remembered it in the theater. It really is quite amazing. Both presentations include English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio Soundtracks along with a French Dolby Digital 5.1 Dubbed Surround Soundtrack and English Subtitles for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired as well as French and Spanish Language Subtitles included as options. Both presentations include the New Zealand: Home Of Middle Earth - Part 2 featurette in 2D in both cases.

The two-dimensional version of the film also includes a Filmmakers feature length audio commentary with Writer and Director Peter Jackson as well as Co-Producer and Writer Philippa Boyens. The commentary goes into great detail about how the second film was crafted after Peter Jackson got the permission to expand what was originally a two-part film into another trilogy and it is very interesting because Jackson is screen specific regarding exactly where the film would have begun and ended if it remained a two-part feature. He describes the construction of The Desolation Of Smaug as being a Frankenstein's monster of literally restructuring what had already been written and shot with additional pickups produced after the fact and during the production as well. It is a very good audio commentary that even hints about a remote possibility of The Silmarillion being brought to the big screen some day with Philippa Boyens sweetly telling her husband, Peter Jackson, "No." I certainly would love to see that book brought to life even if Jackson was not directing so long as it retains continuity with the other films.

The fourth and fifth Blu-Ray Discs contain the Appendices Parts 9 and 10 and showcase in great detail the pre-production, photography, training, and visual effects. There is also a limited time only redeemable code for a free Ultraviolet Digital Copy, which can run either streaming from the cloud or downloaded on to both Android and iOS devices as well as Windows and OSX computers and television streaming devices like a Roku or the smart TV suite that came with your TV where available. I ordered the Amazon exclusive that comes with a WETA Collectibles statue and will have a companion review of it added to this Blu-Ray 3D/Blu-Ray Disc set review via a link to my YouTube channel where I review select high end collectibles at TBC718. 

Here is a text link for mobile and desktop users to my off the cuff video review of the Barrel Riders statue on my YouTube channel, TBC718:

http://youtu.be/TS5K929h9DM

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug: Extended Edition Blu-Ray 3D and Blu-Ray Disc Set is available now at retailers on and offline courtesy of Warner Brothers Home Entertainment.

(C) Copyright 2014 By Mark Rivera

 All Rights Reserved.

From Prolific Writer And Director Kevin Smith, Tusk, Arrives on Blu-ray and DVD on December 30 from Lionsgate Home Entertainment

ANTA MONICA, CA (November 4, 2014) - From writer/director Kevin Smith (Clerks, Dogma, Mallrats) comes this wickedly funny modern-day monster movie that will hold you in terror as it keeps you in stitches. The highly anticipated film Tusk arrives on Blu-ray^™ (plus Digital HD) and DVD (plus Digital) December 30^th from Lionsgate Home Entertainment. Starring Michael Parks (Kill Bill: Vol. 1, Kill Bill: Vol. 2, Django Unchained), Justin Long (Live Free or Die Hard, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story), Haley Joel Osment (Amazon's "Alpha House," The Sixth Sense) and Genesis Rodriguez (Identity Thief, Hours), Tusk is being called "Kevin Smith's very best work" (Variety). Tusk premiered to the world at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival as a part of the Midnight Madness program and was released theatrically by A24. 

 

A podcaster (Long) looking for a juicy story is plunged into an unpredictable, unsettling and absurd nightmare after he travels to the backwoods of Canada to meet an eccentric recluse (Parks) with a lifetime of adventures-and a disturbing fondness for walruses. 

 

The Tusk Blu-ray and DVD include deleted scenes, multiple "making of" featurettes, a career retrospective featurette with Kevin Smith, an audio commentary with Kevin Smith plus the original podcast that inspired the film. The Tusk Blu-ray and DVD will be available for the suggested retail price of $24.99 and $19.98, respectively. 

 

BLU-RAY/DVD SPECIAL FEATURES*

• Deleted Scenes
• Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Kevin Smith
• "20 Years to Tusk" featurette
• "The Making of Tusk" featurettes
• SModcast #259: The Walrus and The Carpenter

*Subject to change

 

*** For artwork, please visit www.lionsgatepublicity.com ***

 

PROGRAM INFORMATION

Year of Production: 2014

Title Copyright: Tusk © 2014 Big Oosik, LLC, and SModCo Inc. All Rights Reserved. Artwork & Supplementary Materials © 2014 Lions Gate Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Rating: R for some disturbing violence/gore, language and sexual content

Type: Theatrical Release

Genre: Comedy; Horror            

Blu-ray Closed Captioned: English SDH

DVD Closed Captioned: English 

Subtitles: English and Spanish 

Feature Run Time: 104 minutes 

Blu-rayFormat: 1080P High Definition 16x9 Widescreen (2.40:1)

DVD Format: 16x9 Widescreen (2.40:1)

Blu-rayAudio Status: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio^™

DVD Audio Status: English 5.1 Dolby Digital

 

Exciting Home Entertainment Releases Arriving January 13 From Lionsgate Home Entertainment

       

 

Executive producer Martin Scorsese (The Departed) and acclaimed director Andrew Lau (Infernal Affairs franchise) present a gritty crime thriller based on real-life events - Revenge of the Green Dragons, arriving on Blu-ray (plus Digital HD) and DVD (plus Digital) January 13 from Lionsgate Home Entertainment. Theatrically released in 2014 by A24, the film is based on a New Yorker article chronicling New York's most notorious street gang, the Green Dragons. The gripping drama features Justin Chon (The Twilight Saga franchise), Harry Shum Jr. (TV's "Glee") and Golden Globe^® nominee Ray Liotta (Goodfellas). The Revenge of the Green Dragons Blu-ray and DVD include audio commentary with the filmmakers, as well as three behind-the-scenes featurettes. The Blu-ray will also include exclusive deleted scenes.  Written by Michael Di Jiacomo and Andrew Loo and directed by Andrew Lau and Andrew Loo, the Revenge of the Green Dragons Blu-ray and DVD will be available for the suggested retail price of $24.99 and $19.98, respectively. 

 

Two immigrant brothers join the Green Dragons gang. They quickly rise up the ranks and become notorious in the community, drawing the attention of the NYPD's Detective Bloom. But when an ill-fated love affair pits one of the brothers against the gang's leader, he sets out for revenge on the group.

 

CAST

Justin Chon - Twilight franchise, 21 & Over

Kevin Wu - TV's "Tiny Commando," TV's "The Amazing Race" 

Harry Shum Jr. - TV's "Glee," Step Up 2: The Streets

Shuya Chang - Chinese Puzzle

Eugenia Yuan - Memoirs of a Geisha, The Eye 2, 3 Extremes II

with Geoff Pierson - Showtime's "Dexter," TV's "Days of Our Lives," J. Edgar 

and Ray Liotta - Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, Goodfellas, The Place Beyond the Pines

 

BLU-RAY^™/DVD SPECIAL FEATURES*

• Deleted Scenes (Blu-ray Exclusive)
• Audio Commentary with Director Andrew Lau and Writer/Director Andrew Loo
• "The Not So American Dream: The Cast" featurette
• "Stitches in Time: Costume Design" featurette
• "A Claustrophobic World: Production Design" featurette

*Subject to Change

 

PROGRAM INFORMATION

Year of Production: 2014

Title Copyright: © 2013 ROTGD Productions, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Type: Home Entertainment Premiere

Rating: R for Strong Violence Including a Sexual Assault, Pervasive Language, Some Drug Use and Sexual Content

Genre: Action; Crime; Drama

Blu-ray Closed Captioned: English SDH

DVD Closed Captioned: English

Subtitles: English and Spanish 

Feature Run Time: 94 minutes

Blu-ray Format: 1080p High Definition 16x9 Widescreen (2.40:1)

DVD Format: 16x9 Widescreen (2.40:1)

Blu-ray Audio Status: English5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio^™

DVD Audio Status: English5.1 Dolby Digital

       

The acclaimed best-selling H2^™ series returns with Ancient Aliens^®: Season 6 - Volume 2,the final 12 episodes of Season 6 arriving on Blu-ray^™ and DVD January 13from Lionsgate Home Entertainment. The 3-disc collectionwill be available on Blu-ray and DVD for the suggested retail price of $19.99 and $19.98, respectively.

 

This is a journey into a yet uncharted world of astonishing ancestors and phenomenal technological advances. From which supernatural beings do healers and superheroes really gather their powers? Who, or what, were the voices that drove Nikola Tesla to his compulsive need to reinvent the future? Were the winged messengers revered within age-old texts really birds, angels . . . or aliens? In these 12 episodes, H2 reaches back in time to explore these alternative inquiries and offers explanations and theories to the questions of where we come from, who we are and what else is out there. This Ancient Aliens^®: Season 6 - Volume 2 collection connects science with faith and investigates the creatures of early religious texts including the scorpion-tailed locust in Revelations; Ezekiel's fiery, angel-driven chariots; and India's half-human half-reptile gods called Nagas. The voyage travels down the paths of extraterrestrial seduction, Nazi time travel and the mysterious megalithic stone structures which continue to baffle archaeologists.

 

PROGRAM INFORMATION

Year of Production: 2013-2014            

Title Copyright: Ancient Aliens © 2013-2014, Cover Art and Design © 2014 A&E Television Networks, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Ancient Aliens, HISTORY, the "H" logo, the "H2" logo and A+E Networks are trademarks of A&E Television Networks, LLC. Distributed by LIONSGATE^® under license from A+E Networks Consumer Products^™.

Type: TV on DVD

Rating: TV-PG

Genre: Adventure; Mystery; Science Fiction

Closed Captioned: NA

Subtitles: Spanish and English SDH 

Feature Run Time: 528 minutes

Blu-ray Format: 1080P High Definition 16x9 Widescreen (1.78:1)

DVD Format: 16x9 Widescreen (1.78:1)

Blu-ray Audio Status: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio^™

DVD Audio Status: English 5.1 Dolby Digital

 

SYFY TO ADAPT 3001: THE FINAL ODYSSEY AS A MINISERIES RIDLEY SCOTT, SCOTT FREE TO EXECUTIVE PRODUCE; STUART BEATTIE TO WRITE AND EXECUTIVE PRODUCE

SYFY TO ADAPT 3001: THE FINAL ODYSSEY AS A MINISERIES

 

RIDLEY SCOTT, SCOTT FREE TO EXECUTIVE PRODUCE; STUART BEATTIE TO WRITE AND EXECUTIVE PRODUCE

 

 

NEW YORK—November 3, 2014—Syfyannounced today that it is working with Scott Free Productions and Warner Horizon Television to adapt the Arthur C. Clarke novel 3001: The Final Odyssey into a miniseries. Stuart Beattie (Pirates of the Caribbean, Collateral) will write the adaptation and serve as executive producer along with Scott Free’s Ridley Scott and David W. Zucker. Clayton Krueger will serve as co-executive producer. 

 

An epic story of a man lost in time, Arthur C. Clarke's final "Odyssey" book resolves the tale that was begun in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Beginning with the discovery of Frank Poole's frozen body, floating in space, 3001: The Final Odyssey offers an extraordinary range of complex characters with conflicting agendas, stunning visuals, and dark thematic meditations on the final fate of all Humankind.

 

Arthur C. Clarke’s “Odyssey” series spanned over 30 years, with the initial publication of “2001” in 1968, and the final “3001” 1997.  The original film, directed by Stanley Kubrick, is an Academy Award winning classic, and “2010” was the only other of the novels to be filmed.  The estates of both Kubrick and Clarke have offered their full support for “3001: The Final Odyssey.”

 

“I have always been a fan of Clarke’s extraordinary ‘Odyssey’ series, and certainly Kubrick’s adaptation of 2001.  I am thrilled to be part of bringing that legacy to audiences and continuing the great cinematic tradition that this story and its creators deserve,” said Ridley Scott.

 

“Arthur C. Clarke is the father of modern science fiction,” said Syfy President Dave Howe. “We couldn’t be more excited to be working with Scott Free and Warner Horizon Television to bring to the screen, for the very first time, the final chapter of this extraordinary masterpiece.”  

 

The announcement comes on the heels ofSyfy announcing the greenlight of another Arthur C. Classic novel, Childhood’s End, which begins production later this year.