Sony Corp.

Sony To Make Ghost Rider 2 Without Nicolas Cage?

by Sohrab Osati | May 10, 2010 | 6 comments

Sony has been very slowly working on the idea of a Ghost Rider 2. Granted the first film wasn’t a Spider-man or Iron Man surprise, but it made it’s own decent amount of cash to be considered a success. Now Nicolas Cage himself has talked about the idea of a second film here and there but it looks like Sony might have to move a long without him.

According to Slashfilms, Cage’s schedule for National Treasure 3 will likely interfere with Ghost Rider 2, and that the studio is ready to go forward on the film without him. Writers Scott Gimple and Seth Hoffman (Flash Forward) worked with David Goyer on a script, which has just been turned in.

Now the reason for this semi rush (which studio would want to drop it’s Star from a sequel if it didn’t have to) is that unless the film goes into production by November 14th, 2010, Columbia Pictures (Sony) will lose the rights of the film and Marvel will regain them, which means Disney will gain them (Disney last year bought Marvel for somewhere around the $4+ billion mark).

I personally got my kick out of the first one and wouldn’t mind seeing a second film WITH Nicolas Cage in it. One of the reason is that I hate movies with inconstancy. The Batman series is well known for this that there is always a cast shuffle from one flick to the other. This also happened to Iron Man. Sony itself did a great job for Spider-man 1-3 and I hope that Sony can work this out that Cage does indeed return. Hell, start shooting the scenes without Cage in them until he wraps up production on National Treasure 3?

[Via Slashfilms]

New Ultra Mobile VAIO On The Way

by Sohrab Osati | May 9, 2010 | 14 comments

This is one of those stories that there really isnt a whole lot of information about, except the above image and the the announcement on the Sony VAIO Japanese page about a new ultra mobile unit. The only tidbit that seems clear to me is that this will incorporate some form of tri-fold design. But heck, I could be wrong. Expect more news on this, whenever there is more news.

Taylor Swift, Behind The Scenes

by Sohrab Osati | May 8, 2010 | 12 comments

If you dont know by now, Sony is pursuing a new marketing strategy. And if you have yet to see the new ad featuring Taylor Swift, go ahead and check them out; the following is a behind-the-scenes clip from the new Taylor Swift ad.

Leaked: Sony EX3 prototype 3D camcorder

by Sohrab Osati | May 7, 2010 | 21 comments

The guys over at Engadget have a very juicy story about the prototype Sony EX3 3D camcorder. What makes this camera so beautiful is that the size is something very manageable, so this camera can give smaller studios, news rooms, productions, and films all-access to 3D. This is something that Sony is very much on the forefront with their 3D televisions and the PS3 gaining 3D. Of course, all of this comes hot on the heels of Sony announcing their own Red Camera competitor.

What’s more fascinating about this camera that is also gives you the option to interchange its lenses to gain the shot that you want. This also means that you don’t need to own multiple 3D cameras. This one camera can adapt to your shooting style with just a change of the lens.

Some of the details are:
three half-inch CMOS eyeballs that stream 4:2:0 MPEG-2 video at 1080p to SxS memory cards at 35Mbps per eye,
or send uncompressed 4:4:4 footage over a new pair of HD-SDI outputs.

[Via Engadget]

Spider-Man Reboot Will Be “Peter Parker Told Differently”

by Sohrab Osati | May 6, 2010 | 6 comments

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In a THR article, Columbia Pictures president Matt Tolmach talked about Marc Webb’s upcoming 3D Spider-Man reboot. Here is what he had to say about it:

[Tolmach] also cautioned that moviemakers are in “a golden moment of technology,” with 3D and various other digital techniques at their disposal. “With great power comes great responsibility, and we have to always fall back on great storytelling,” he said. Tolmach also said he’s excited but nervous about his company’s upcoming Spider-man reboot, which he described as “Peter Parker told differently.” He promised it will look, feel and smell different from the three films starring Tobey Maguire. “We’re humbled by it,” he said.

I’ve said it before, so please, A. Sony, don’t mess up Spider-man. I loved Spider-man 1-3, and B. Please don’t go the high school emo route. PLEASE don’t follow the Twilight lead. Now for my little rant: The reason Spider-man 4 fell apart wasn’t due to budgets, which is the reason a lot of movies fall apart. It had to do with the fact that Sony and Sam Raimi couldn’t come together on an agreement. As many know, Sam Raimi did not want to have Venom in the 3rd Spider-man film, but Sony is the one who pushed/forced him. Now there is news of the new reboot for the Spider-man series. My problem with origin stories is this: WE KNOW. I know how Superman came to Earth, I know how Batman’s parents were killed, and I certainly know that Spider-man was bitten by a radioactive spider. People want to go on with the stories and the myths; they do not want to see the same part of the story repeat over a decade and then be rebooted again. Hell, Spider-man still feels fresh in everybody’s mind. Also, Marc Webb did (500) Days of Summer. That, to me, does not scream Spider-man…

[Via Slashfilm]

Rumor: PS3 To Gain Background Update Downloads

by Sohrab Osati | May 5, 2010 | 24 comments

So this is completely a rumor and we all know how those work, especially with the PS3. Otherwise, we would have cross game voice chat and would be paying for PSN and all sorts of crazy things. But the guys over at TheSixthAxis are reporting that with the next rounds of updates, the PS3 might be able to scan your game library, see what games need updates and download them for you. This would be such a fantastic feature. Nothing beats being excited about a game (for example, I only play LittleBigPlanet because that’s my and my girlfriend’s game and we only get to play it when shes visiting from school in Hawaii) and nothing takes the excitement out more than when you need to sit for 10 minutes and do updates before playing. Also, I have a huge library of PS3 games; somewhere in the neighborhood of 50+. I would love to know that I have the most recent update for any game I have and if I feel like playing Warhawk, I can just jump into it. But as I said, don’t hold your breath.

[Via TheSixthAxis]

Domino's Blu Tuesday!

by Jenni Petot | May 4, 2010 | 47 comments

Blu Tuesday is when I write about what new Blu-ray releases I’m excited for every week. This week marks a big and exciting Blu-ray release: “Saving Private Ryan.” This is the 4th film to be released in Paramount’s Sapphire Series, which are their award-winning films. Included in this collection so far: “Gladiator,” “Braveheart” and “Forrest Gump.” “Saving Private Ryan” is one of the most realistic war movies I’ve seen. Although my closest experience with war is playing “Modern Warfare” and going to the shooting range, the movie is very moving and as close to war as I’ll get. Either way, how can these films in the series not be in everyones Blu-ray collection? I love what Paramount has done to set apart their award winning films being released on Blu-ray. I hope to see “Titanic” and “Almost Famous” included in this series soon and also more studios doing something similar.

Other releases this week on Domino’s radar are: “Nine” and “The Notebook.” There is quite a shift from the intense war films by Spielberg to girly romantic/musical films like these. I plan to purchase “The Notebook” (they were out at Best Buy) but will rent “Nine,” just to see it again.

When I went to purchase “Saving Private Ryan” during my lunch break today, I also picked up another recently released Spielberg film on Blu: “Minority Report.” The technology in that film is already coming to life with Sony’s atracTable. That thing is sexy. I would love for my entire house to be touch screen. One day…one day. That’s all the Blu releases I’m syked about for this week. What Paramount films would you like to see in their Sapphire Series?

Vodaphone To Get Xperia X10 Mini Soon?

by Sohrab Osati | May 4, 2010 | 3 comments

During the Mobile World Congress, Sony Ericsson debuted its Xperia X10 Mini. The X10 Mini comes with a QWERTY keyboard and runs Android 1.6 though this could change by the time the unit launches. The internal guts are running on a 600MHz Qualcomm MSM7227 with WiFi, Bluetooth, a touchscreen, and a pack-in 2GB microSD card. A particular feature that Sony touts on this unit is their Timescape feature that enables all your communications with contacts to be accessed in one place making it simple to access to call history, Facebook, Twitter, messaging, which reminds us of the Microsoft Kin phones (or Project Pink). These units were then announced for a 2010 Q2 launch. Now, the Xperia 10 Mini is being shown off in a Vodaphone catalogue. Is this an error, or are they right around the corner for those in Europe? There is no news on a US launch, but they are indeed intended for us. Also, expect the usual suspects to carry it; AT&T and maybe T-Mobile.

[Via CoolSmartPhones]

Hit the jump for an official press shot of the Xperia 10 Mini.

Sony Creates Its Own Surface Table: The Sony atracTable

by Sohrab Osati | May 3, 2010 | 2 comments

Well, I don’t think anybody saw this one coming. Sony has been working on its own version of the Microsoft Surface Table. The atracTable was originally developed by a company called Atracsys that Sony eventually came to buy. Using Sony’s own 35-inch HD Screens and Cameras, the atracTable is able to track your body’s movements and even determine your age, sex and emotional state (smiling, frowning, angry). This unit is meant for industrial use in coffee shops, restaurants and museums, but once the pricing is announced, I’m sure that those of us with a big enough bank account can also have one for their living room.

Anybody familiar with the Microsoft Surface Table will of course immediately think of Minority Report and maybe even Star Trek. I think that this is a fantastic direction for Sony to take their more professional and industrial lineup. Imagine them catering this device to dealerships; while you are there, you can explore their cars with different colors, features and side by side comparison. Not enough? In a restaurant’s lobby, you can browse their menu and see a layout of your table. You can drag the food and items you want to spots on the table, and when you get seated, there is already an order on cue for you. Again, I really hope Sony sees the potential gem they have in their hands and puts some weight behind this product. Look for it to be released in June.

[Via Pocket-Lint]

Hit the jump to look at the Sony atracTable in its prototype state.

Sony Pictures iPad App

by Sohrab Osati | May 3, 2010 | 31 comments

Hey, did you know I can write short reviews? Yikes. I couldn’t get term papers out like that when I wanted to. So, I just received my iPad 3G in the mail today, and while I was browsing the App Store, I found that Sony Pictures has an iPad app. It’s a very simple and clean app. You see a reel of posters from upcoming Sony movies (Columbia Pictures) and you click on them and it plays it in the top right. You can also go full screen if you would like. On the top left, there is info about the movie and you can Tweet, Facebook or email that page to other people. My only recommendation is an update that would make the app a little smoother. When you scroll through it, it tends to be a tad slow. Also another annoying thing is that any poster you do scroll on, it auto starts the trailer, which might even be fine if there was a 10 second pause. However, when you’re scrolling around and every time you land on something, it wants to play itself, it can also be a tad annoying; but I’m nitpicking now. Other than that, I like the app.

[Via iTunes]

Sony Television Grabs Smallville Creators

by Sohrab Osati | May 3, 2010 | 9 comments

More good news for Sony on the production side of movies and shows. First, we had news of Men in Black 3 and then the possibility of Bad Boys 3 with Will Smith reprising his star roles in both. Now it seems that Miles Millar and Al Gough have both signed a two-year deal with Sony Pictures TV, where they will develop a series for the studio. In terms of the TV world, the duo are best known for their work creating Smallville. In the feature films world, both are credited with Shanghai Noon, Spider-Man 2, and the upcoming Steven Spielberg-Michael Bay production I Am Number Four.

“We plan to hit the ground running with a broad range of projects aimed at both network and cable,” Millar said.

Added Gough, “We are excited by the opportunity to broaden our TV horizons and think the team at Sony Television is the perfect creative fit.”

[Via THR]

Sony Pictures Reunites With Kevin James

by Jenni Petot | Apr 30, 2010 | 28 comments

Kevin James is hilarious. I remember watching his Comedy Central special “Sweat the Small Stuff” back in 2002 and loving every minute of it. With starring in King of Queens (Sony Television Pictures), 50 First Dates (Sony Pictures) Hitch (Sony Pictures), I Now Pronounce you Chuck and Larry, and Sony’s Paul Blart: Mall Cop (earning $146 million last year), I think Kevin James is becoming the next big comedy actor.

Kevin James now has two more upcoming films being released by Sony. With their fine history together, I believe it’s a great match. The first is The Zookeeper, which was recently pushed from October of this year to a prime summer spot, July 8, 2011. This move was due to strong screening results and a great release date strategy. In The Zookeeper, Kevin plays well a zookeeper that doesn’t really ‘fit in’ to society. Once he decides to leave his job to pursue a normal life and get the girl of his dreams, the zoo animals that adore him reveal they can talk and teach him nature’s mating ways.

The second film announced from Sony starring Kevin will be called Here Comes the Boom. Details are under wraps for the film but it’s said to be an action-comedy. James will produce Boom along with Adam Sandler through Happy Madison Productions. No release date is set for Here Comes the Boom but production could start as early as January. I have yet to dislike a film that Kevin James has done; I’m definitely a fan of the Sony/Kevin James movie match-ups.

Should You Buy the Sony Dash?

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 30, 2010 | 21 comments

I have to first start out this review by saying that unlike the other big blogs, we were not given a Sony Dash to review. So today, I headed on over to Best Buy where I bought a Sony Dash and I point this out to show our love here for Sony products and our commitment to you, our readers. Also, as to be expected, it took nearly 30 minutes to get what I wanted at Best Buy because god forbid anyone having a clue about products.

Ok. I’ve now spent about a good two to three hours with this product and I must say that I get it. I see what Sony was going for and what that final vision was. I’ve read on random blogs and on Facebook and such that the question is: why get the Sony Dash when there is an iPad? First, this is completely bogus. One unit is a table while the other is a stationary unit for the house that also has apps. In the end, these are two completely different units. The idea of the Sony Dash is the following: This unit can be in your bedroom, in your kitchen or wherever else. From there, the Sony Dash can display your Twitter and Facebook feed, it can show you your stocks, weather and news and even stream Youtube, Netflix and Amazon on Demand videos. Music streaming is brought to you buy Pandora and few other companies. I must also point out that Pandora does run on the background as well so while your Twitter feed might be up, you can rock away to your Pandora. Awesome.

Hit the jump for the complete Sony Dash Review.

PSN Videos Now Playable On Your PC

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 29, 2010 | 8 comments

Here is a little interesting tidbit. Today, I jumped on Media Go, which is Sony’s version of iTunes so to speak for the PSP. The service allows for you to add Music, Photos and Videos to your PSP. The Media Go Software will also talk with iTunes and grab files from it (Even over a network; my iTunes library is on my Mac and it was able to grab music from it no problem). To my surprise, when I logged into the Media Go software today, where you also have access to the PSN store to download content for your PC, I found a new feature.

Sony has now given you the ability to watch your downloaded videos, which were originally meant for your PSP and PSPgo exclusively, on your PC as well. This of course is a very welcome feature. If we have the files on our computer, why not be able to play them on there as well? In iTunes, the video content you download is not just meant for your iPhone or iPod. Those who ran the update will note that the Media Go software also asked for a new update which, besides the random enhancement and bug fixes, also adds compatibility for some Sony Ericsson phones as well. The reason this interests me is that like I’ve always said, PSN needs to be at the core of Sony’s business model. Its laptops, cellphones and other mobile devices all need to have access to the content on there. This not only makes PSN more valuable when you know your content is good for 10 platforms versus 2 (PSP and PS3), but also makes your products more valuable as it gives them an ever-growing content service.

While all these features and ideas are great, I do have one small caveat with the Media Go platform. Why is there not a Mac version? I mean, seriously. Do Mac users not buy PSP and PS3’s and other Sony products? The majority of my media is on my Mac it would be nice to be able to just dock my PSPgo and PSP-1000 with my Mac. Come on, Sony.

My Current PSP Setup:

Sony Dash Specs

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 28, 2010 | 30 comments

I’ve been getting quite a few requests for the specs of the new Sony Dash. Currently, on Sony’s own website, there aren’t many specs at all. Still, the few videos they do have sure made me want one. After some digging, here they are. Hit the jump for full details.