Publishers have been trying for a while now to find a way to survive the onslaught of free information available on the web. Many magazines and newspapers have folded, for good, and others have been able to survive as websites, and still others continue to straddle the line both in print and on the internet.

Some publishers see the new tablet craze as a potential way to survive, or better yet to reinvent themselves. Up to now the most popular attempt has come from a company called Zinio. Zinio offers up digital versions of many of the most popular magazines that were once exclusives to magazine racks. The price is lower than their print counterparts and the digital experience offers a slick and cool way to read magazines as well as the ability to carry many magazines on the go all inside a tablet. Media magnate Rupert Mrudoch has jumped into the this new frontier in a big way with his new daily digital newspaper called aptly enough, The Daily. [...]

Back in early March rumors began to swirl that Quentin Tarantino‘s next movie would be a spaghetti western — glorious news for any fan of the director’s work familiar with his many influences. The word was that his Inglourious Basterds star Christoph Waltz would be starring, and that the cast might also feature the likes of star Franco Nero, Keith Carradine, and Treat Williams.

Now a picture has been sent out via Twitter of what looks like the first page of Tarantino’s script, apparently confirming that the title of the new movie will be Django Unchained. This was later confirmed by IndieWire who contacted Tarantino’s agency about the image.

Also confirmed was Waltz’s inclusion in the cast, where he’ll team up with a former slave named Django to fight an evil plantation owner and save his wife. It has not yet been confirmed if Nero, star of the 1966 Sergio Corbucci-directed Django, Carradine, or Williams are also part of the cast or not. [...]

Not much needs to be said about this one. Basically, someone in Warsaw, Poland decided to build a 100% zombie-proof house — you know, just in case the devastating plague we’ve seen play out so many times in movies, TV shows, comic books, and video games ever actually happens.

The shocking thing about the house is that it’s actually really nice when it’s not in zombie-proof mode — where it just looks like a big box — and many folks would happily live here. That said, considering an actual zombie outbreak is known as a fictional event (at the moment, anyway), is the price tag worth the novelty?

Click on over to the other side to see the images for yourself and read about the design.

Here’s a description of some of the house’s features and how they work. You can see more images and read more about the house by heading to All That Is Interesting (via Daily Dead). [...]

Amazon is currently running a deal on Bioshock 2, offering up the standard edition of the video game at drastically reduced prices.

- Xbox 360: $11.59 [42% off the list price of $19.99]
- Playstation 3: $9.99 [50% off the list price of $19.99]
- PC: $9.99 [50% off the list price of $19.99]
Note, there’s no mention as to when this sale ends, so grab it now if you want it [...]

By Darkeva

Originally a game designer behind such titles as Realms of Arkania and Das Schwarze Auge, Guido Henkel was born and raised in Stuttgart, Germany and now calls Southern California home.

In recent years he has turned his attention to writing speculative fiction. Rather than creating full-length novels, he wanted to create a series of horror pulp fiction novellas in the style of Sherlock Holmes and the John Sinclair series, and to make each volume short enough that readers could finish one in a day. Inspired by the gothic horror dime novels he read in his youth, he created the Jason Dark: Ghost Hunter series, which follows the exploits of the eponymous detective who investigates supernatural matters in Victorian London. There are nine volumes in the series to date, with many more planned, and each involves a different paranormal menace, whether it’s a ghost, a vampire, a demon, or a crooked doctor.

I recently had the pleasure of chatting with Henkel about the Jason Dark series, how he came up with the concept, and the design behind his new book covers. Continue reading to check out the interview! [...]

Rubber
Directed by Quentin Dupieux
Starring Stephen Spinella, Wings Hauser, Roxane Mesquida, Robert The Tyre
Released 11 April 2011 on DVD | Blu-ray
(UK), June 7, 2011 DVD | Blu-ray (U.S.)

Just when I thought I’d seen every type of serial killer movie, along comes Rubber. We’ve all seen those horror films where the man in the mask stabs his young victims to death with a big knife, or creatures from outer space chomp on their human victims, or even elaborate devices are created to kill those who have sinned or are otherwise morally tainted. Rubber, however, is about a murderous car tyre with psychokinetic powers.

Robert (the tyre) shakes to life somewhere in the California desert. Robert takes his first tentative rolls, toppling over like a newborn calf and we discover he has a taste for breaking things – bottles, tin cans, scorpions. If he can’t roll over something to destroy it, he uses his powers of telekinesis to make it explode. Robert happily wheels around among the plants and the discarded rubbish until, soon enough, he rolls into town seemingly fascinated by Sheila (Roxane Mesquida), a mysterious young woman. After blowing up rabbits with his mind, now humans’ heads start to explode. [...]

Starz USA has released a new online teaser video for the upcoming series of Torchwood: Miracle Day. John Barrowman and Eve Myles return as Captain Jack Harkness and Gwen Cooper respectively in this fourth season of Torchwood, which takes them from Cardiff and London to the United States in an adventure that may “change what it means to be human forever.” You can view the teaser video at the bottom of this post.

Joining the cast this year is Mekhi Phifer, who portrays CIA Agent Rex Matheson investigating a global conspiracy intertwined with the Torchwood institute. Bill Pullman will also be appearing in the new series [...]

The title character of Hesher, in the upcoming movie produced by Natalie Portman and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, was inspired by the late Metallica bass guitarist, Cliff Burton. Gordon-Levitt revealed the inspiration during a recent interview, in which he discussed how he based his performance of the iconic metal god’s behavior.

Apparently, according to Gordon-Levitt, the current members of Metallica weren’t informed of the basis of the character before seeing the film, and were surprisingly reminded of the much-loved but long lost band member from years gone by. Burton is highly respected and lovingly remembered by the fans as well, so it will be interesting to see fan reaction to the performance as well [...]

Fast Five, the latest installment in the action film franchise The Fast and The Furious, hits theaters this Friday, April 29 and in conjunction with the release, we have a special “Runners Kit” prize pack to give to one lucky winner!

One (1) winner will receive a FAST FIVE Runners Kit Toolbox containing:

- FAST FIVE Maglight
- FAST FIVE Tire Gauge
- FAST FIVE Air Freshener
- FAST FIVE Shammy Towel
- FAST FIVE Window Cling
- Official FAST FIVE Soundtrack (feat. a new track by Ludacris)
- Official FAST FIVE T-Shirt

Former cop Brian O’Conner partners with ex-con Dom Toretto on the opposite side of the law. Since Brian and Mia Toretto broke Dom out of custody, they’ve blown across many borders to elude authorities. Now backed into a corner in Rio de Janeiro, they must pull one last job in order to gain their freedom. As they assemble their elite team of top racers, the unlikely allies know their only shot of getting out for good means confronting the corrupt businessman who wants them dead. But he’s not the only one on their tail. Hard-nosed federal agent Luke Hobbs never misses his target. When he is assigned to track down Dom and Brian, he and his strike team launch an all-out assault to capture them. But as his men tear through Brazil, Hobbs learns he can’t separate the good guys from the bad. Now, he must rely on his instincts to corner his prey… before someone else runs them down first [...]

File this under: Things Hunter will preorder.

The official DC Comics blog revealed today the cover of Grant Morrison‘s Supergods, a non-fiction account of superheroes, and the traditional archetype for the book, which is set to be released through Spiegel & Grau on July 19, 2011.

See the cover here at right (click for larger, full view).

I cannot express how excited I am for this book. After watching the amazing documentary Grant Morrison: Talking With Gods from Halo Eight, I’ve realized how amazing Grant Morrison’s take on superheroes actually is [...]

The very first trailer for Tarsem Singh‘s upcoming Greek mythology epic, Immortals, has been released online for the masses to see.

The trailer shows off stunning visuals — as we all have come to expect from Singh, who has previously directed The Cell and The Fall — and looks seriously epic. It also features an impressive cast led by the new Superman, Henry Cavill, as well as Stephen Dorff, Isabel Lucas, Freida Pinto, Luke Evans, Kellan Lutz, John Hurt, and Mickey Rourke.

You can read a full synopsis for Immortals and see the new trailer by continuing on below right now.

SYNOPSIS
Visionary director Tarsem Singh (The Cell, The Fall) and producers Gianni Nunnari (300), Mark Canton (300) and Ryan Kavanaugh (The Fighter) unleash an epic tale of treachery, vengeance and destiny in Immortals, a stylish and spectacular 3-D adventure. As a power-mad king razes ancient Greece in search of a legendary weapon, a heroic young villager rises up against him in a thrilling quest as timeless as it is powerful. [...]

The lead roles for the movie adaptation of Suzanne Collins‘ popular novel, The Hunger Games, were taken care of early with Academy Award nominee Jennifer Lawrence set to play Katniss Everdeen and Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth locked in for the roles of Peeta Mellark and Gale Hawthorne.

Since the leads were cast, the team working on the movie have been very busy bringing together a bunch of supporting actors to solidify the cast. A short time ago it was reported that Elizabeth Banks (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Zack and Miri Make A Porno) was in talks to play Effie Trinket, the eventual handler of Lawrence’s Katniss. The talks have now been sorted out, and Banks has been officially confirmed for the role.

Others that have been cast so far include Paula Malcomson (Caprica, Tombstone), who will play Katniss’s mother, Willow Shields (In Plain Sight) as Primrose Everdeen, Amandla Stenberg (Colombiana) and Dayo Okeniyi (Slew Hampshire) as District 11′s Rue and Thresh, Leven Rambin (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Grey’s Anatomy) and Jack Quaid as District 1′s Glimmer and Marvel, and Ian Nelson and Kalia Prescott as District 3′s tributes. [...]

Fubar: Balls To The Wall
Blu-ray | DVD | On Demand
Directed by Michael Dowse
Starring: David Lawrence, Paul J. Spence, Andrew Sparacino, Terra Hazelton
Screen Media Films
Release date: April 20, 2011

The sequel to the Canadian mockumentary comedy, FUBAR, has arrived. Screen Media Films have been marketing this film as “Spinal Tap meets The Trailer Park Boys” – but it’s got a bit of Jackass in there too, as well as a touch of Tenacious D, Bill and Ted, and Wayne’s World thrown in for good measure. And while there is truth to the comparisons above, there’s something about the sequel, Fubar: Balls to the Wall that stands on its own. If you’re a metalhead, and enjoy any of the films mentioned above, then this is a movie you will most likely enjoy.

And there’s metal and hard rock spread nicely throughout this film, with songs from and references to bands such as Dio, Krokus, Blue Cheer, Poison, Slaughter, and much more [...]

Action Comics #900
Written by Paul Cornell, Paul Dini, Richard Donner, David S. Goyer, Geoff Johns, Damon Lindelof
Art by Pete Woods, Gary Frank, RB Silva, Ryan Sook, Brian Stelfreeze, Miguel Sepulvedo, Matt Camp, Jesus Merino, Dan Jurgens, Norm Rapmund, Rags Morales, Ardian Syaf, Jamal Igle, Jon Sibal
Letters by John J. Hill, Rob Leigh
Covers by David Finch, Alex Ross, Gary Frank
DC Comics
$5.99
Release Date: April 27, 2010

Action Comics #900 is quite simply a celebration of everything great about Superman as a character. The issue, throughout most of the stories, is a showcase of Superman’s willingness to help and serve the human race primarily through self-sacrifice. Most of the recent anniversary episodes that we’ve seen, primarily through DC Comics, have been treated as anthologies with three or more short stories, one focusing on the end of a story arc, a couple of “untold tales,” and then one that starts the next story arc in Superman #700 and Wonder Woman #600; either that or a one and done story like Batman #700.

This book, on the other hand, focused more than half of its attention on the wrap-up of Lex Luthor’s Black Ring storyline by Paul Cornell and Pete Woods, and the return of Superman into Action Comics. Unfortunately, it also includes the recent Reign of Doomsday story arc, although in this issue it was a minor distraction, but still paled in comparison to the epic showdown between arch rivals Superman and Lex Luthor [...]

It has been six days since Sony was forced to shut down of the Playstation Network, but for PSN members, it probably feels like a lifetime. The popular online gaming service was hit hard by hackers last week, forcing the video game giant to shut down their service. Since then, news has been less than grand.

From talks that the server won’t be fully online for another two to nine months to the hackers possibly obtaining the personal information of over 77 million users, it doesn’t look like PSN members will be fragging any of their friends anytime soon. But before PSN members start to panic and request being put on suicide watch, your friends at Geeks of Doom have compiled a list of five activities to do while the network undergoes a much needed renovation [...]