Ever since Sony announced that they were releasing The Amazing Spider-Man 3 and The Amazing Spider-Man 4 in the coming years, Shailene Woodley‘s role as Mary Jane was thrown into the rumor mill. In a matter of hours Woodley’s involvement went from being cut out of two and introduce her in 3, to her being cut out from the film entirely. Part of this reason is because Woodley is on contract to appear in an adaptation of the Divergent novel series, which is more than just one book, which also conflicts with her schedule.

It has been made clear that Mary Jane would not be a vital part of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 to begin with, and that her biggest role would be in the sequel. Not too long after director Marc Webb made his announcement to streamline the Mary Jane character to focus on Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) and Gwen Stacy’s relationship, EW Canada reports that Sarah Gadon (A Dangerous Mind, Cosmopolis) has reportedly signed on to appear in the film, which could possibly mean that Woodley’s replacement has been found.

The Bling Ring
Director: Sofia Coppola
Screenwriter: Sofia Coppola
Cast: Emma Watson, Taissa Farmiga, Erin Daniels, Israel Broussard, Katie Chang, Paris Hilton, Leslie Mann
American Zoetrope | A24
Rated R | 98 Minutes
Release Date: June 21, 2013

Live Fast, Die Young,
Bad Girls Do It Well

Written and directed by Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation), The Bling Ring stars Emma Watson as a member of a gang of fame-obsessed L.A. teenagers who begin burglarizing the homes of the rich and famous.

The movie opens with a nighttime break-in, as kids scale a security gate and infiltrate a well-secured property in the Hollywood Hills. They snatch up thousands in exotic clothing, jewelry, and cash.

As the film jumps forward to their arrest and then flashes back to tell their story (via media interviews), Coppola reveals that this is Orlando Bloom’s house. Based on a Vanity Fair article by Nancy Jo Sales, The Bling Ring is inspired by a 2008–2009 spree of L.A. robberies where high-schoolers from Calabasas, California — Rebecca (Katie Chang), Marc (Israel Broussard), Nicki (Watson), Sam (Taissa Farmiga), and Chloe (Claire Julien) — use the Internet to track celebrities’ whereabouts and target their homes for theft.

This week, Greg Davies from the BlendoveR podcast and frequent Geeks of Doom contributor (including the Tardisblend podcast) joins us to discuss how the National Security Agency is eavesdropping on our phone calls, e-mails, texts, and all online activity in the name of national security. Are we overreacting, or not acting enough? Also, the NSA may have our data, but they can never patent our DNA. Microsoft does a 180 on their followup to the 360, and Google creates a network of floating balloons…

We’ve got a treat for fans of the classic ’80s cartoon Robotech, with the first trailer for the Robotech 2-Movie Collection featuring a re-release of Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles and an all-new feature, Robotech: Love Live Alive. The DVD will be released on July 23rd, 2013.

Love Live Alive is partially set after the events of Robotech and follows the adventures of Lance “Lancer” Belmont as he recounts the story of the Third Robotech War and what happens after the end of the war. It’s based on a music video released only in Japan way back in 1985 and originally tied into the “Genesis Climber MOSPEADA” series that was used to create the third part of the original Robotech series. Alive is part of another plan to get Robotech restarted, and will hopefully pave the way for Robotech: Shadow Rising.

Check out the clip below now and let us know if you’re looking forward to more Robotech.

Monsters University
Director: Dan Scanlon
Cast: Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Helen Mirren, Aubrey Plaza, Nathan Fillion, Bobby Moynihan, Charlie Day, Joel Murray, Sean Hayes, Dave Foley
Walt Disney Pictures | Pixar
Rated G | 110 Minutes
Release Date: June 21, 2013

Directed by Dan Scanlon, Monsters University is a prequel to 2001’s Monsters, Inc that concerns the origins of Michael “Mike” Wazowski (voiced by Billy Crystal) and James P. “Sulley” Sullivan’s (voiced by John Goodman) friendship and professional partnership.

Set 10 years before Monsters Inc., Scanlon’s film is essentially a rehash of 1984’s Revenge of the Nerds with a group of uncool kids who form their own fraternity to compete against a gang of jocks and bullies.

Mike and Sulley are both in the university’s prestigious scaring program but have differing philosophies on the art of terrifying little children. Mike is the quintessential college nerd, devoting 100 percent of his time to studying in his dorm room. Sulley is the prototypical jock, the son of a famous Scarer who coasts through classes thanks to his undeniable natural talent.