We just found out that Will Smith might not be appearing in the two planned Independence Day sequels because his price tag is far too high. Some would argue that doing the movie without Smith’s face plastered on all of the posters, no matter what the price is, is pointless. But they’ve been prepared to make the sequels without the megastar for a couple of years now at least.

While doing a Q&A session for his latest movie, White House Down, director Roland Emmerich was asked about what other stars of the first movie we might see in Independence Day 2 we might see return if not Smith, to which he replied that both Jeff Goldblum and Bill Pullman were on board so far.

Star Wars: Legacy, Vol. 2 #4
Showdown with a Sith!
Script by Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman
Art by Gabriel Hardman and Rachelle Rosenberg
Cover by Dave Wilkins
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: June 26, 2013
Cover Price: $2.99

Picking up the outstanding groundwork established in the original Legacy series, and creating some new outstanding work of their own, the creative team of Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman continue delivering the goods with the new Star Wars: Legacy, Vol. 2, focusing on a descendant of Han and Leia, named Ania Solo.

Unlike Cade Skywalker from the first series, Ania has no formal Jedi training, and is more in the vein of a Han Solo smuggling underworld type of character. Following the gargantuan galactic war with the One Sith led by the formidable Darth Krayt, the galaxy is now run by a new Triumvirate, a conglomeration of multiple governments working together to form a prosperous and peaceful time to come.

Richard Matheson, celebrated novelist and scriptwriter, passed away earlier this week at the age of 87 in Los Angeles. At this time, no confirmed information is available as to how or why he died. He is survived by his wife and four children (three of whom are authors, as well). He was scheduled to receive the Visionary Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Films this Wednesday. The 39th annual Saturn Awards ceremony will be dedicated to him and he will receive the award posthumously.

Best known as an author, Matheson wrote stories that inspired artists from all walks of life. His best known novel, I Am Legend, has been adapted for film three credited times and has been an obvious influence for quite a few others. And while that is always the first book that leaps to mind, there are many others that have also been given life on the silver screen. His book What Dreams May Come is a favorite of mine, both in prose form and the film adaptation from 1998. Other adapted works include A Stir Of Echoes, Hell House and The Shrinking Man. Probably the most interesting adaptation was Duel, directed by a young Steven Spielberg, that was produced by Universal Studios as a made for TV movie.

One of the many wonderful things that the 1980s are known for is the awesome montages we got in many of the movies of the time. Montages had been around long before the ’80s arrived, but when mixed with the music of that decade, they became a truly magical thing to experience.

Montages haven’t quite been the same since then (for better or for worse), but that’s not stopping people from making them and trying to recapture some of that magic. YouTube user Magooch86 decided to take the popular Game of Thrones character Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and his trying to make it in the Night’s Watch, and turn it into a classic ’80s montage set to the powerful vocals of John Farnham from the quintessential ’80s flick Rad. The results is…well it’s freakin’ perfect. Especially the opening.

Go forth, and see for yourselves.

Dead Space 3
Xbox 360 | PS3 | PC | PC Download
Rating: M
Developer: Visceral Games
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Release Date: February 5, 2013

When Dead Space 3 came out, my first impressions were, for me, too bleak to comprehend. This was a franchise that held such a strong nostalgic imprint in my mind, that the idea that the latest entry could actually be just average was impossible. So I stopped playing, it was better to feign ignorance than actually confront the reality that the series was possibly losing steam.

But like so many Necromorphs, Dead Space 3 slithered and hacked its way into my subconscious where it hung like a grim effigy reminding me that I betrayed one of my most beloved series. So, when the opportunity to review this third installment came along, half to ease my guilt and half out of curiosity, I took it.