#gt:culture

[denofgeek]

Alan Dean Foster, the legendary science fiction writer behind the novelizations of the original Star Wars, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Alien, Aliens, Alien 3, and the godfather of the original Star Wars Expanded Universe with his authoring of the first sequel in the franchise, Splinter of the Mind’s Eye, says he hasn’t been paid royalties owed to him by Disney since the megacorporation’s acquisition of those series’ rights...

[Read more at Den of Geek]

#star wars #alan dean foster #disney #sw news #star wars the force awakens #star wars novels #alien 3 #splinter of the mind's eye #star wars expanded universe #sweu #gt:culture #g:imported

[denofgeek]

As Arsène Lupin, the gentleman thief created by Maurice Leblanc in 1905, is a renowned master of disguise, it is fitting that he has inspired a number of literary characters to take up his mantle. Arguably the most recognizable riff is Lupin III, a copyright-infringing, quasi-canonical descendant by way of Japanese manga and anime. Yet it wasn’t until Netflix’s new French mystery comedy-drama series Lupin—which reinvented the source material through Omar Sy’s Lupin and the lenses of immigration, racism, and fandom—that readers and viewers have truly been challenged to consider what it means to inherit, whether through blood or through books, an iconic character’s legacy. Consider this a field guide to the many different Arsène Lupins...

[Read more at Den of Geek]

#arsene lupin #arsene lupin iii #inspector gadget #arsène lupin #maurice leblanc #lupin iii #netflix lupin #lupin #omar sy #the castle of cagliostro #hayao miyazaki #gt:culture #g:imported

[denofgeek]

In stories of doomed World War II gallantry, little is as romanticized as Operation Market Garden. A technical failure by the Allied Powers to defeat the Nazis in 1944, this invasion of the Netherlands left British paratroopers stranded around a bridge in Arnhem, far too removed from their tanks to hold the line. Nevertheless, the bravery of those Airborne “Red Devils” has lived on in pop culture, as have the Dutch resistance fighters who sheltered them. What hasbeen largely forgotten is that among those courageous souls was… a teenaged Audrey Hepburn? For about a week, in fact, the future movie star kept a Red Devil hidden in the cellar...

[Read more at Den of Geek]

#audrey hepburn #world war ii #world war 2 #Robert Matzen #roman holiday #Breakfast at Tiffany’s #my fair lady #Anne Frank’s Diary #gt:culture #g:imported

[denofgeek]

Dani Chambers (The Ancient Magus Bride, Ace Attorney, My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising) and Lee George (Appare-Ranman!, Listeners, Smile Down the Runway) are two talented voice actors from Funimation who have taken some time to discuss and spotlight Black representation in the anime industry, the connection that they’ve had with anime throughout their lives, and the power that anime has to empower certain communities...

[Read more at Den of Geek]

#dani chambers #lee george #anime dub #the ancient magus bride #ace attorney #my hero academia #appare-ranman #listeners #smile down the runway #funimation #voice acting #gt:culture #g:imported

[denofgeek]

For the first time during the pandemic era, a major Comic Con was held in person, and where there’s a Comic Con, there’s a cosplayer waiting for a chance to display their impressive handmade looks. Mask mandates and vaccination requirements didn’t stop fans from strutting their stuff around the showroom of the Javits Center at New York Comic Con 2021. Den of Geek was on the floor, bringing you on-the-ground coverage and our print magazine featuring an exclusive Dune cover story and the NYCC show guide. One of the more enjoyable parts of the convention for us, beyond spending way too much time browsing which comics to purchase, was seeing all the creative cosplay.

Here are some of the best cosplays we saw each day of the convention...

[Read more at Den of Geek]

#new york comic con #nycc #nycc 2021 #nycc cosplay #marvel cosplay #mcu cosplay #dc cosplay #star wars cosplay #avatar cosplay #lotr cosplay #gt:culture #g:imported

[denofgeek]

In 1996, Joseph Tobin was a professor of early education at the University of Hawaii when he decided to walk into a hobby store in Kaimuki for field research.

“They had some Pokémon stuff—the Japanese versions of the cartridges,” Tobin recalls. “People could buy them in this store before they were even available elsewhere. We interviewed the owner and decided that Pokémon would be a really interesting thing to study.”

Tobin had a pre-existing interest in Japanese culture from time spent in Japan as an exchange student and therefore continued his research in other hobby shops and toy stores throughout Honolulu. As the years progressed, he traded Pokémon cards with children who were adamant that he would not get ripped off in lopsided swaps. He followed as a colleague’s six-year-old son spent 90-plus hours with his Pokémon Blue cartridge for the Nintendo Game Boy, learning to read, understanding maps, and calculating sums in the process...

[Read more at Den of Geek]

#pokemon #pokémon #pikachu’s global adventure #pikachu #nintendo #pokémon go #pokemon go #pokémon tcg #gt:culture #g:imported

[denofgeek]

The misconduct allegations against Joss Whedon have intensified over the last 24 hours, as multiple Buffy the Vampire Slayer stars have spoken out about their former showrunner’s behavior. While there have been storm clouds surrounding Whedon’s behavior and personal life circling for years, Wednesday brought detailed allegations from Charisma Carpenter about her time as Cordelia Chase on Buffy...

[Read more at Den of Geek]

#buffy the vampire slayer #cordelia chase #charisma carpenter #joss whedon #ray fisher #amber benson #tara maclay #buffy summers #sarah michelle gellar #gt:culture #g:imported

[denofgeek]

A close-knit crew of wildly different people ride around on a spaceship having adventures. If you’re a sci-fi fan, there are very good odds that this synopsis describes one of your hooks into the genre. That crew might be a dysfunctional band of space criminals and revolutionaries, or a clean cut team of scientists, diplomats and soldiers serving a galactic Space UN, but there is a core appeal to this set up across the genre...

[Read more at Den of Geek]

#science fiction #found family #star trek lower decks #guardians of the galaxy #seven devils #victories greater than death #farscape #fermi's progress #the savage crew #gt:books #gt:culture #g:imported

[denofgeek]

#anthony rapp #star trek cast #star trek discovery #Paul Stamets #dungeons and dragons #dungeons & dragons #gt:culture #g:imported

[denofgeek]

It’s been a weird and often devastating year, and our social media has reflected that. Tumblr has just released its top fandoms of 2020 and it’s fascinating to see how a year of pandemic and quarantine has affected transformative fandom and broader cultural trends. In a year when almost everyone spent a lot more time at home, Animal Crossing: New Horizons was the most blogged about topic on the social media platform, followed by animated dramedy Steven Universe, Belgian SKAM adaptation WtFOCK, K-pop supergroup BTS, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. 

We talked to Tumblr’s Trend Expert Amanda Brennan about how she interpreted the biggest trends of the year, how this was a big year for animation and international media, and why 2020 was the year everyone stopped worrying about what was cool and just embraced what they love. But, first, some 2020 Tumblr statistics...

[Read more at Den of Geek]

#the rise of skywalker #steven universe #animal crossing new horizons #bts #wtfock #critical role #the witcher #supercorp #destiel #the mandalorian #good omens #the untamed #killing eve #ducktales #star wars #gt:culture #g:imported

[denofgeek]

Like many, I admit I was skeptical upon hearing the news that Sacha Baron Cohen was making Borat 2, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, no less. But less than a month later, and a handful of days before its Amazon Prime premiere, I stand corrected. It seems Borat is the exact kind of October Surprise we need this election year… or at least the one we deserve. Look no further than details about Rudy Giuliani lying in a bed with his hands allegedly near his crotch.

As revealed in a report filed in The Daily Beast, late in the film Baron Cohen’s Borat and his daughter Tutar, played by Bulgarian actress Maria Bakalova, attempt to seduce Giuliani. Why? Because Borat dreams of marrying his daughter to someone inside President Donald Trump’s inner circle...

[Read more at Den of Geek]

#sacha baron cohen #maria bakalova #borat #borat 2 #borat subsequent moviefilm #rudy guiliani #us politics #gt:culture #gt:movies #g:imported

[denofgeek]

Monica Rial (Case Closed, Golden Kamuy, and Dragon Ball’s Bulma) and Caitlin Glass (My Hero Academia, Fairy Tail, The Vision of Escaflowne) are two highly accomplished voice actors. In celebration of Women’s History Month in partnership with Funimation, we spoke with the actors to discuss female representation in the anime industry, the versatility and freedom that anime can provide women, and the joys of inspiring the next generation of talent to realize and reach for their dreams...

[Read more at Den of Geek]

#monica rial #bulma #caitlin glass #my hero academia #fairy tail #case closed #golden kamuy #dragon ball #the vision of escaflowne #funimation #anime #voice acting #anime dub #gt:culture #g:imported

[denofgeek]

With an announcement from collectible maker VeVe, the world was introduced to the first officially licensed DC NFTs. “What is VeVe?” you might ask. Or possibly “What is an NFT?”

Excellent questions, friends! We will do our absolute best to explain them in clear, concise terms to you right now.

Here are simple answers to complicated questions: NFTs are ecologically devastating vaporware created to part very dumb, very wealthy collectors from their money, made by stoned libertarian math nerds trying to prove a point they think is profound but is actually just very banal. Veve is no different than any other secondary huckster that springs up around a particularly successful snake oil economy...

[Read more at Den of Geek]

#veve #dc comics #cryptocurrency #nft #nfts #blockchain #jack dorsey #gary frank #darwyn cooke #gt:culture #g:imported

[denofgeek]

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Lucasfilm. To say the corporation that George Lucas founded as a way to realize his artistic vision forever altered popular culture is akin to understating the heat of the sun. Indeed, it is incomprehensible to think of a world without Lucasfilm and the wonders it has given us over the course of the past half century.

What initially began as a way for Lucas to pursue his creativity outside of the auspices of the Hollywood machine is a fascinating story in and of itself – one whose irony is impossible to overlook given how the independent filmmaking ideologies held by the company eventually gave way to the biggest film franchise in history. And that’s not to overlook the significant artistic and technological achievements Lucasfilm unleashed, Ark of the Covenant style, with the Indiana Jones franchise...

[Read more at Den of Geek]

#star wars #trading cards #trading card games #lucasfilms #george lucas #the empire strike back #princess leia #leia organa #luke skywalker #han solo #darth vader #return of the jedi #the force awakens #the mandalorian #gt:culture #g:imported

[denofgeek]

The first thing I thought when I heard the title of the latest true crime documentary to arrive on Netflix, Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel was “please be the Elisa Lam case! Please be the Elisa Lam case!”. The second thing I thought was “My God, you utter monster, that was a young woman’s life”.

It’s a conflict that most true crime fans juggle with constantly. We are fascinated by these cases but we know the importance of questioning our motives, of keeping the victims as people front and centre and of trying to remember that this is real life and not just something here for our entertainment...

[Read more at Den of Geek]

#cecil hotel #netflix #true crime #elisalam #joe berlinger #documentary #true crime documentary #gt:culture #g:imported

[denofgeek]

It was supposed to end like a movie. That was certainly one of the buzzwords used by producers of 2021’s Oscars telecast in the run-up to tonight’s Academy Awards. Other terms included “cinematic” and “joyful.” The broadcast began like an Ocean’s 11 movie, with producer Steven Soderbergh’s camera following Regina King to the Oscar stage. Yet if this was a movie, it’s probable even Soderbergh didn’t expect the twist ending when Anthony Hopkins beat Chadwick Boseman for Best Actor...

[Read more at Den of Geek]

#oscars 2021 #anthony hopkins #chadwick boseman #academy awards #best actor #ma rainey's black bottom #ma rainey #the father #gt:culture #gt:movies #g:imported