Well, Sony is at it again, apparently. Earlier today Kotaku had a report about Sony's upcoming PlayStation 3 announcement for the Game Developer Conference next week in San Francisco. Phil Harrison (pictured left), president of Sony Computer Entertainment's Worldwide Studios, is schedule to give one of the major keynote addresses again this year. Kotaku received a tip form an anonymous source about the big PlayStation Home announcement, which apparently will be a combination of Nintendo's Mii and Xbox Live Achievements.

Kotaku followed up on this tip with a couple of other media reports that lent some credibility to the rumor, which the site repeatedly called an unconfirmed rumor. Kotaku also went to Sony and asked the company to confirm or deny the scoop; instead, Sony PR declined to comment. Not only that, Sony informed the popular gaming blog that if it went ahead and published the rumor, Kotaku would essentially be blackballed by the company.

And that's exactly what happened. Kotaku decided not to bow down to corporate pressure and published the information. Sony responded by:

• canceling all of Kotaku's GDC meetings

• un-inviting Kotaku from Sony's media event at GDC

• demanding that Kotaku return its PlayStation debug review unit

• canceling all future interviews with Kotaku

Despite Sony's recent run of bad PR and PS3-related missteps, I was shocked that the company took this action. In the good ole days, blackballing a media outlet was reserved for truly offensive actions such as publishing unsubstantiated rumors, false reports and misleading information. If the report was false, Sony had every opportunity to say so and ask Kotaku not to print it. Instead, the company tried to bully the blog. Sony is apparently smarting from some of the bad press it has received in last year, and as a result the company dropped the hammer on one of the best gaming blogs on the Web. All because Kotaku scooped Phil Harrison's big announcement?

I'm shaking my head. I know that some folks tend to think I'm anti-Sony because I've written some op-ed columns over the last year that have been critical of the company. In truth, I have a vast amount of respect for Sony and its distinguished track record. I think that the PlayStation 2 might just be the greatest console ever made, and I give the company a heap load of credit for advancing the technology of gaming with the original PlayStation. That's why this latest flap with Sony is so maddening: it's beneath them. Blackballing a gaming blog like this is conduct unbecoming of a renowned, respected multi-billion dollar technology company.

Does Kotaku deserve to be shunned by Sony for printing information that looks to be true? Let me know.

I just read an interesting bit of news on Chud.com about how Tom Cruise was interested in the upcoming "Watchmen" movie. Devin Faraci at Chud.com recently spoke with "300" director Zack Snyder, who's slated to the direct the movie version of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' epic graphic novel. Snyder confirmed that Cruise had expressed interest in starring in the movie and that the two had talked about Cruise playing the role of Ozymandias, "Watchmen's" smarmy, un-likeable All-American pretty boy superhero (pictured left, center).

Snyder added that he didn't think it was going to happen. Still, the idea of Tom Cruise as Ozymandias has probably upset a few fans out there. I must admit that I'm one of those obsessive "Watchmen" fan. I consider it to be one of the greatest works of fiction, let alone comic books, of the last 50 years. I've tracked pretty much every rumor and news report about the movie, and even though I think "Watchmen" may be next to impossible to pull off as a great movie, I'm still going to see it.

Still, I think the possibility of Cruise as Ozymandias is an excellent idea, and I agree with Faraci, who wrote that it would be "great casting." After my initial shock wore off, I started thinking about it. Of all the characters that Tom Cruise could play in "Watchmen," which one would be the best fit? That's right: Ozymandias. Here's why:

5. Everyone hates Tom Cruise right, so he's perfect to play a rich, devious genius known as "the smartest man in the world."

4. Adrian Viedt, a.k.a. Ozymandias, is completely out of touch with reality and drunk on his own fame and power. Sound familiar?

3. Tom Cruise can actually act, and when he takes on darker, non-Cruise roles like in "Magnolia" and "Collateral," he can be pretty damn good.

2. Ozymandias is a supporting role, and Cruise proved he could pull off such a feat with "Magnolia."

1. Of all the big-name actors that could play Ozymandias, I can only think of one that would be better: Clive Owen. He just has the right look, and he's a great actor. I know others have been recommended by fans - everyone from Jude Law and Brad Pitt to Val Kilmer and Matt Damon - but to me, Cruise is just about as good as any choice.

Of course, he could have another incident on "Oprah," in which case all bets are off.

To celebrate the release of Grindhouse, the new film directed by Robert
Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino, the new Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles is
hosting a two month long grindhouse movie fest, featuring some of the best and
worst low budget cinema the seventies had to offer.

The grindhouses were the sleazy, run down theaters that ran equally sleazy, down
and dirty movies of all stripes: Kung-fu, horror, sex comedies, rednecks running
amok, and more. To be sure, many of these movies were pretty awful, but there
are definitely some real gems to be found in the dung heap.

When Tarantino hit it big with Pulp Fiction, he bought up all the prints of his
favorite movies he could get his hands on, and the films he's showing at the
Grindhouse Festival come from his personal collection. As reported in the L.A.
Times, his lobby cards and posters for some of these films will also be on
display, and in some cases, they're much more entertaining to look at than the
films themselves.

Just a sample of the films scheduled:

* The Mack (1973), the epic story of a pimp's rise and fall, March 4, 5, 6.

*A sex comedy triple feature with The Van (1977), Pick-Up Summer (1980), and
Summer Camp (1979), March 9-10.

* Rolling Thunder (1977), one of Tarantino's all-time favorite films about a
Vietnam vet out for revenge, with a screenplay by Paul Schrader, March 11, 12,
13.

*Tunnel Vision (1976), a look at an uncensored, and very politically incorrect,
network of the future (it takes place in 1985 and David Eisenhower is the
President). Featuring early appearances of Chevy Chase, John Candy, and Al
Franken. One imdb review pointed out that a lot of the skits, which are pretty
tasteless, aren't that funny today, some of the political satire, like the
commercial for Axxon, a conglomerate that's killing the environment with oil
spills, was ahead of its time. March 23, 24.

*There's kung-fu up the wazoo with a double bill of Chinese Hercules (1973), and
Black Dragon (1974), March 14, 15, Fearless Fighters (1971) and Supermanchu
(1973), March 28, 29, as well as Dragon's Vengeance (1972), and Kung Fu: The
Punch of Death (1973), April 18, 19.

*There's also films that defy categories like The Female Bunch (1969), directed
by Al Adamson, the Ed Wood of the '60's and '70's, about a secret society of
chicks fed up with men who will kill any guy that gets in their way, April 4.

* And of course, no grindhouse fest would be complete without low budget horror
flicks like Grave of the Vampire (1974), a great little gem written by Sopranos
creator David Chase, April 22, 23, 24, Slithis (1978), about a giant nuclear
lizard on the loose in Venice, CA, April 11, 12, and many, many more.

Having seen a bunch of local grindhouse screenings of my favorite B movies, I
can attest they're a lot of fun to see with an audience, who make the bad dialog
and filmmaking gaffes even funnier. If you want to see what independent cinema
was all about long before there was a Miramax, check out the Grindhouse Festival,
and be prepared for a really wild ride.

For more information and showtimes, go to:

http://www.newbevcinema.com/calendar.cfm

The Police were a really smart band. They got out at the right time, when they
were on top of the world with the biggest album of their career, Synchronicity.
They didn't turn themselves into a shameful Behind the Music episode, and their
music is still influential and innovative today.

It's also a testimony to how well their music holds up that they're still able
to headline a stadium tour without any new tunes in over twenty years. It's
doubtful they need the money, and they don't need the glory either. But unlike a
lot of reunions that are usually shotgun marriages of convenience (The Eagles
didn't call their tour "Hell Freezes Over" for nothing), The Police have the
best shot yet of any reunited band at delivering a great tour.

Once some bands finally reunited, like Kiss and Motley Crue, they quickly
outwore their welcome. Others, like Van Halen, to the surprise of no one,
quickly imploded before playing a single gig. Velvet Revolver will reportedly be
performing in their place at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (who would have
thought a band with Scott Weiland and half of Guns N' Roses would be more
functional?!).

While they're not exactly spring chickens themselves, Sting, Andy Summers, and
Stuart Copeland, aren't broken down wrecks, and they can all still play and
perform very well. There won't be any lip synchin' here, it's just gonna be
three very talented guys making great music together. In today's age of American
Idol, and pop "artists" who are spending more time making drunken fools of
themselves in public than actually making any music, it will be a nice change of
pace.

Now this sounds like an interesting MMO: the LEGO Group announced today that it's teaming up with Colorado-based game developer NetDevil to create an online game based on the popular LEGO toys. NetDevil is best known for its MMO titles Jumpgate, a space simulation title, and Auto Assault, a futuristic vehicle combat game. NetDevil is also working on Warmonger, a first-person shooter title based on Unreal Engine 3.

The LEGO MMO will be NetDevil's highest profile project to date. Details about the new LEGO title are scarce other than it's schedule release date of 2008. "Playing with LEGO bricks and developing online worlds are both creative activities. To bring them together is deeply professionally satisfying and we look forward to working with the LEGO team," said Scott Brown, President of NetDevil, in a press statement.

"As children around the world continue to spend more time online we are developing new and engaging ways for them to interact with our brand," said Lisbeth Valther Pallesen, Executive Vice President, Community, Education and Direct Division LEGO Group, in a press statement. "The LEGO brand represents construction, creativity and problem solving - values that compliment the MMOG market. By merging the online world of social interaction with physical play, the LEGO brand is providing new experiences for children, as well as fans. NetDevil's technological capability, openness to work with a large community, and their enthusiasm for the LEGO brand made them a natural partner."

While I was scanning the 'net on March 5, I came across a very familiar face,
namely a toga-clad, unshaven John Belushi from the movie Animal House. Then the
headline on variety.com, that the great comedian died twenty-five years ago. Has
it been that long? Many who were around then can remember it like it was
yesterday.

The general public, who weren't in Belushi's inner circle, couldn't have known
how out of control his partying was, and the news of his death was an incredible
shock. It wasn't just that we lost a great comedian, but the generation that
came up with Saturday Night Live, and Animal House, who looked to Belushi as a
counter-culture hero, took a big hit as well.

Belushi's death was a big wake-up call to Hollywood. Robin Williams, who partied
with Belushi at the Chateau Marmont not long before he died, was scared straight
by the tragedy, and other Hollywood stars soon cleaned up as well.

Animal House was the first R rated movie I ever saw, and my parents let me stay
up on the weekends to watch Belushi on TV. I always felt he was the heart and
soul of Saturday Night Live, and once he left, I didn't watch the show again for
years. I also didn't see several of his post-Animal House films because either
he wasn't in them enough (like 1941), or wasn't his usual Belushi self (like
Neighbors).

Yet Belushi had a lot of integrity, and refused to do the usual slop comedians
will star in to make their house payments. He was also ahead of his time in
being one of the first major celebrities to embrace punk rock back when it
wasn't fun for the whole family like Green Day, but the scourge of the earth
like the Dead Kennedies. He fought Columbia hard because he wanted the L.A. punk
band Fear to perform the title song for Neighbors. Wherever he is now, the fact
that punk music is filling stadiums and is on movie soundtracks galore must make
him smile (he's also gotta love that Animal House is now in the Library of
Congress).

In his autobiography, Belushi's manager Bernie Brillstein felt the comedian
would have had a big comeback if he'd lived, and Dan Aykroyd had a role planned
for him in Ghostbusters, which later went to Harold Ramis. I also feel the fans
were still hoping Belushi would do a big, funny movie again, and maybe he was a
movie or two away from being back on top again.

Now we'll never know what could have been. In the controversial Belushi
biography Wired, actor Treat Williams recalled visiting Belushi's grave in
Martha's Vineyard not long after he died. A fan left a message that read: "He
could have given us a lot more laughs, but NOOOOOOOOO...."

I knew this was going to happen. I just freaking knew it.

During Wondercon last weekend, director Zack Snyder (pictured right) appeared on a panel for his upcoming movie "300," along with stars Gerard Butler and Len Headey (that's a whole different story, which I'll get to later). After the packed ballroom at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco got done oooing and ahhhing at the amazing footage of "300" and its incredibly good- looking stars, one audience member asked Snyder about the "Watchmen" movie, which is currently being developed for Warner Bros.

For those that don't know, Alan Moore and David Gibbons' masterwork comic book series "Watchmen" has been rolling around Hollywood for nearly two decades. But because of the dark nature and mature, deconstructionist themes of "Watchmen," efforts to film a movie version always seemed to fail. A few years ago, Paramount, which owned the rights to the graphic novel, tapped director Paul Greengrass ("United 93," "The Bourne Supremacy") to film the movie, which had already been attempted by Terry Gilliam in the later 80s.

Well, the "Watchmen" project was revived once again recently when Paramount sold the rights to Warner Bros., which turned the film over to Snyder, who was coming off of the successful "Dawn of the Dead" remake and the buzz worthy "300." Snyder and crew are in the preliminary stages of getting the project together and have even talked casting with some major stars, including Tom Cruise (click here for a previous post about that subject).

Back to the audience member: he asked Snyder for an update regarding "Watchmen." Here's what Snyder said: "I want to make it into a movie. The studio wants me to make into a movie. We're talking about shooting it at the end of the summer." But hold on, he's not finished. Snyder alluded to some issues with production, specifically the rating of the film. "The studio might say, 'An R- rated superhero movie. What the hell is that? It doesn't exist.'"

Earth to Warner Bros.: you just made a rated R comic book movie. It's called "300"!

So the "Watchmen" movie once again appears to be on shaky ground. And I'm making the call right now: if "300" makes good on its buzz and becomes a blockbuster hit, then Warner Bros. will give Snyder the budget he needs to make a two and a half hour R-rated epic. But if "300" somehow disappoints, which seems to be a remote but plausible possibility, then I believe the doors may close on this "Watchmen" project. The studio won't give Snyder a $150 million budget for a rated-R comic book movie that it believes has little chance of becoming a hit, let along breaking even.

And there's just no way that you can make "Watchmen" into a happy-ending, good triumphs over evil PG-13 comic book movie. It's a dark comic book with disturbing themes and even more disturbing truths. Condensing the graphic novel, which was originally published as a 12-part series, into one feature film is hard enough to do without trying to tone it down for a PG-13 rating.

Now I know why Alan Moore has consistently disowned Hollywood.

A lot has happened since last year's Game Developer Conference. For example, prior to the 2006 GDC, Introversion Software was a little known indie game developer started by handful of college friends that built a small but loyal following with its first title, Uplink. Then came the GDC's Independent Game Festival (IGF), where Introversion scored three awards, including the including the Seumas McNally Grand Prize, for its indie hit Darwinia.

That pretty much changed everything for Introversion. "So much came together for us last year," Mark Morris, co-founder of Introversion, told me today. "After GDC, we got everything we wanted and more. I don't think I'll ever have another week like that in my life where everything worked out exactly the way we wanted it to."

After winning the IGF awards, Introversion became a hot item. The company had already signed a deal with Valve Software to sell Darwinia through Steam, but sales for the game began to take off after Introversion's newfound fame. Then the company released its follow-up title, DEFCON, which is a global nuclear war strategy simulation inspired by the movie "WarGames."

Introversion is back at the GDC this year - well, at least Mark, fellow co- founder Tom Arundel and public relations director Vicky Arundel -and it's a very different world for the company. DEFCON became a critical hit and surpassed Introversion's expected demand for the title. Introversion's games are actually being covered and reviewed by the mainstream games press. And the guys themselves have literally become the poster boys of indie game development: their pictures are pasted on a massive banner for this year's IGF inside the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

The company is currently working on a Linux and Mac version of DEFCON, as well as a multiplayer version of Darwinia in 2008 called Multiwinia. Mark and Tom said they've hired new developers and built out the staff beyond the core group of co-founder and lead designer Chris Delay and fellow designer John Knottenbelt.

But now come the hard part for Introversion: how can the company grow without straying too far from its indie roots and core focus? "We have to decide whether we're going to remain in the marble tower or branch out and try some different things," said Introversion co-creator Tom Arundel. Tom and Mark said Introversion are looking at a number of options for the company's next project, including getting into console gaming.

One thing Introversion doesn't plan on doing, Mark said, is doing contract work for other major developers on big blockbuster titles. Introversion, he said, would rather focus on developing its own games. And following its success at the IGF and its banner year of 2006, Introversion can actually afford to do just that.

It's Tuesday at GDC 2007, or as I like to call it, "Microsoft Day." The software giant had lured many members of the games press, me included, away from the Moscone Convention Center to a nearby hotel with promises of juicy secrets and tantalizing previews of titles such as BioWare's Mass Effect and Lionhead Studios Fable 2.

The sessions started at 9 a.m. sharp and will pretty much run throughout the day. It's a bit of a grind, considering that Microsoft invited dozens of tech media members and games journalists to the hotel and packed them into very small rooms. During the waiting period this morning, there were close to 30 of us squeezed into a small foyer near the elevators of the Mezzanine level of the hotel. There was absolutely no room to move, and I couldn't stop thinking about how an earthquake at that very moment could have wiped out half of the games press in one fell swoop.

Well, an earthquake didn't strike, thankfully. And we were well rewarded for the wait. Microsoft gave us exclusive previews of Fable 2, Mass Effect, the new Conan title, and several other games for its next generation platform. More on those later.

A number of media members, myself included, remarked on how Microsoft is really turning the tide in its favor lately in the game community. Years ago, the company was catching nothing but flack for its initial Xbox effort. Hell, even after Xbox 360 launched a year ahead of the competition, people were still doubting them. Now Microsoft has assembled what is clearly is clearly the strongest library of next-generation games available today, with more titles like Halo 3 coming.

While Sony has run afoul of gamers lately with backwards compatibility issues, public relations gaffes and other eyesores, Microsoft has clearly gained momentum and credibility in the industry. To be sure, Microsoft is still a long way off from the buzz and gamer love that Nintendo is enjoying. But the software giant is leaps and bounds ahead of where they were with the first Xbox.

The Longest Journey series just got a lot more interesting, which I didn't even think was possible. Funcom announced recently that its epic adventure franchise, which includes The Longest Journey and its sequel Dreamfall, will become an episodic series titled Dreamfall Chapters. Funcom said Dreamfall Chapters will pick up exactly where 2006's Dreamfall: The Longest Journey ended. The episodic series will continue the epic saga of the twin Earths, Star and Arcadia, in "a brand new format" that promises to reveal "the greatest mystery of them all - one that will bring the groundbreaking saga to a surprising and stunning conclusion."

I have no idea what that means, and I don't care. I'm so pumped up about this that I can barely type the words. I recently played The Longest Journey after I had had enough of people nagging me about giving it a try. Well, I did, and the game was fantastic. And despite begin a seven year old title, it changed the way I think about games as an interactive narrative. Rarely have I felt more passionate about a game and its characters. I just started Dreamfall: The Longest Journey recently, and I curse the Game Developer Conference for taking me away from it for a week.

It seems that Longest Journey fans like myself have the government of Norway to thank for the new development. Funcom, which is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, announced last week that the Norwegian Film Fund awarded the game developer with a grant which will partially fund the research and initial development of "Dreamfall Chapters." The company said the grant gives it the ability to establish a core technology team that will concentrate on online-only delivery of episodic content and create the foundation for the pre-production phase of the episodic series.

According to Funcom, each new installment of 'Dreamfall Chapters' will initially be delivered as online-only content, but said there may be retail releases with combined chapters both for console and PC at a later date. In addition, the company stated that there may be potential for an MMO version of The Longest Journey.

Seriously, I just got goose bumps.

I caught up with Funcom product director Jorgen Tharaldsen, who was giving previews of Funcom's forthcoming MMO Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures at Microsoft's press preview today for GDC. I asked him about Dreamfall Chapters, and he said Funcom isn't planning on releasing many details about the episodic series. "We had to announce Dreamfall Chapters last week because of the funding. We knew we couldn't hide it because we're a public company, but we wanted to keep it secret," Tharaldsen said. "So we're not going to announce any more information for a while because we don't want to give anything away. But we're excited because we think in a year or two, the digital distribution market will be really strong and will be right for this kind of content. This is the kind of game we want to make. We probably should make shooters since they're more successful. But we love adventure games and we're good at making them, so hopefully the fans are as excited as we are."

After I was done drilling Tharaldsen for information, I gushed like a total fan boy about how much I loved The Longest Journey and how crazy excited I am for Dreamfall Chapters. I can't wait to learn more.

Speaking of gushing, I put April Ryan and Zoe Castillo of The Longest Journey and Dreamfall, respecitvely, on the TwitchGuru list of the 50 Greatest Female Characters in Video Game History. Enjoy.

The Onion recently ran an article listing "14 Neglected TV Shows That Deserve a
DVD Release." The list included entries as varied as The Many Loves of Dobie
Gillis, It's Gary Shandling's Show, and Max Headroom, but two entries
particularly stood out to me (ironically they were also both in order on the
list).

Number 5 on The Onion's list is the Batman TV series starring Adam West and Burt
Ward, which still hasn't gotten the big, box-set treatment it deserves. "It's a
testament to corporate greed and intractability that Warner Brothers and Fox
still haven't been able to strike a deal to release the '60's Batman series on
DVD." I grew up watching the reruns, and I couldn't agree more with The Onion
when they wrote, "What would childhood be without it?"

The Onion also hit it on the head by pointing out that "Batman still works on
plenty of levels: as superhero spectacle, as pop-art splash, and as ironic
camp." Especially as ironic camp. In the sixties, Batman was the pinnacle of pop
culture cool. Long before it was a badge of honor to be a guest voice on The
Simpsons, many celebrities loved hamming it up as a guest Batman villain.

And who could forget the great theme song, the cartoon punches that popped up
during fights (BIFF! BOOFFF! OOOOOF!), the ridiculous puzzles The Riddler came
up with that only Batman could decipher ("Which can only mean only ONE THING
Robin!"), and of course, Robin shouting holy this and holy that every time he
came to a startling conclusion about something. Hopefully one day he'll be
shouting, "Holy DVD box-set Batman!"

Number 6 on the Onion list is a short-lived western created by Rod Serling
called The Loner. It only lasted twenty-six episodes, and The Onion reported it
"put an existential dent in the cowboy genre." TV Land showed some reruns of The
Loner almost ten years ago, and clips from the show can be seen in Submitted For
Your Approval, an excellent documentary on Serling, but it remains a tough TV
show to track down today.

Serling's work often tackled tough subjects that the network censors objected to.
In The Twilight Zone, it was easier to sneak in the message by way of science
fiction. But in the western genre, people were expecting Gunsmoke or Bonanza,
and Serling butted heads with CBS, the network that ran The Twilight Zone and
The Loner.

Lloyd Bridges played the loner of the title, a Union solider named William
Colton, riding the range after the Civil War. As the Onion reported, the show
"tackled everything from white supremacy to post-traumatic stress disorder."
Sounds like it would have been right at home on HBO.

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It looks like Marvel Comics has done it again.  Following his surrender at the end of Civil War, Captain America was shot dead in the pages of Captain America #25 which went on sale yesterday.  In a press release a Marvel spokesperson stated, "The story broke in the Daily News and quickly news spread to other outlets such as CNN, FOX News, MSNBC, and USA Today.  Variety even ran an obituary-style article saluting the fallen comic hero!  And across the country, over 50 radio and television news stations ran stories detailing the passing of the Star-Spangled Avenger."  Captain America was being transported to the location of his public trial for defying the Superhuman Registration Act when shots rang out.

Here's the thing about death in comics.  It never lasts.  For the longest time the rule-of-thumb was, "No one stays dead in comics except Uncle Ben and Bucky."  Well, even Bucky is back from the dead now as The Winter Soldier.  While reading the arc of Captain America where Bucky comes back, I repeated the phrase, "I can't believe that the Winter Soldier is actually Bucky," so many times that, to this day, I can ask my wife who the Winter Soldier is and, after a long sigh of exasperation, she'll say, "Bucky."  Now, Marvel Editor- in-Chief Joe Quesada has stated that he only allows characters to be killed if the death is meaningful, so maybe they won't bring him back in a few months.  But Steve Rogers will be back. 

The problem I have with this death is that he was basically just shot by a villain (Crossbones).  This could have happened at any point during the last 60 years, and it really has nothing to do with Civil War.  If they wanted to tie Cap's death into Civil War, then he should have died in the final issue at the hands of Iron Man.  THAT would have had meaning.  It would have shown Tony Stark's commitment to his beliefs, and it would have affected all the Marvel heroes in a much more serious way.  This death is just bad luck.

Marvel's press release went on to say, "Next week's Civil War: The Confession details the last moments of Captain America's life and this April and May, the ramifications of Cap's death and the responses of Marvel's greatest heroes will be seen in the pages of the five part Fallen Son: Death of Captain America event."

How quickly things can change in the gaming industry.

Sony, which had been riding a bumpy road of bad press, negative reviews and disappointing developments, pulled a coup of sorts this week at the 2007 Game Developer Conference. Sony impressed gamers yesterday during its keynote with its announcement of PlayStation Home and its preview of a loveable new PS3 title called LittleBigPlanet from independent developer Media Molecule. Suddenly, Sony had a good buzz going again.

Meanwhile, Nintendo's keynote today fizzled, despite the presence of Shigeru Miyamoto, one of the true luminaries of gaming. Nintendo didn't really have any announcements this morning, no breaking news and no real earth-shattering innovations or developments. Worse, the new console's Miis look positively ancient comared to the new PlayStation Home that Sony debuted yesterday. And perhaps worst of all, the library of Wii games coming this year doesn't look all that impressive outside Super Mario Galaxy (Metroid has apparently been pushed off again).

Is Sony really on the comeback trail? Is Nintendo and the Wii losing its luster? Time will tell.

For all the Half-Life 2 fans out there that are bummed about the next installment of HL2 Episodes being delayed until the fall, I have some news that might cheer you up a little: you'll get more content and gameplay in Episode 2.

According to Doug Lombari, director of marketing at Valve, the next Half-Life 2 episode will be noticeably longer than the first. "Episode 1 was about six hours of gameplay, and Episode 2 will be closer to eight hours of gameplay," Lombardi said. Valve also said that despite the delay of Episode 2, the development cycle for the episodic content was getting shorter.

"Episode 1 took 18 months to complete and Episode 2 will end up being about 13 to 14 months, so we're trimming it down," he said. "I think we'll get closer to a year and be on a 12 month cycle. We'll see how it goes after this trilogy is done."

In other Valve news, Lombardi said Steam will be getting some enhanced community features such as personalized stats and scores rankings for player profiles. "The idea is to add features so that people can build a community in Steam," he said. "We'll be rolling out the changes some time this spring."

And finally, Valve will be releasing the long-awaited Team Fortress 2 later this year via special Half-Life 2 bundles in color-coded boxes. The Orange Box will feature Half-Life 2, Episodes 1 and 2, Portal, and Team Fortress 2, while the Black Box will features just Episode 2 plus Portal and Team Fortress 2. No specific release date for the boxes has been announced but they are expected sometime in the fall.

I expected "300" to do quite well at the theaters this week, but not quite this well. The movie, based on Frank Miller's graphic novel 300, took in an astounding $70.9 million at the U.S. box office over the weekend.

I suppose I shouldn't be that surprised, considering the film had been getting good buzz since its trailer wowed action film and comic book fans last fall. Plus, Warner Bros. launched a formidable marketing campaign for the film; I can barely drive a half mile here in L.A. without seeing a "300" billboard or poster, and the movie has been hyped at Comic-Con 2006 last July as well as Wondercon in San Francisco earlier this month. Not to mention the fact that "300" had a massive promotional day on MySpace in January.

I caught the film last night in a sold-out theater down the street from my home in L.A., and I was not disappointed. I had been waiting for this film for almost a year, and I was truly excited when I learned that Zack Snyder was directing the film (I'm a big fan of his "Dawn of the Dead" remake). I concur with Travis' review of the film (the lucky bastard saw it early during a press screening): the story is remarkable and the historical accuracy is pretty much non-existent, but the hyper-kinetic battle scenes, stylish visuals and wondrous imagery made "300" an exhilarating experience. And it's been quite some time since I've had one of those.

That's not to say the acting wasn't good. Gerard Butler (pictured above, from Wondercon) was fantastic as King Leonidas, and Lena Headey (pictured below) as his wife, Queen Gorgo, was almost as good. At the end of the day, however, this movie is about the action. And Snyder's film delivers. It has some of the best combat and fight scenes I've ever witnessed. "300" has been savaged by some critics, most notably the New York Times, and I can certainly understand how it wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea. But people need to keep in mind that the movie is based on a comic book's version of history and enjoy the film as such.

The success of "300" has made me happy on a couple of levels. First, it raises the bar for comic book adaptations. If you're familiar with Miller's graphic novel, then you'll know that the movie was essentially a scene-for-scene conversion of Miller's art and Lynne Varley's colors. Thus, the movie proves that you can make a film that looks and feels like its source material.

Second, Snyder's triumph with "300" bodes well for his planned adaptation of "Watchmen." I blogged about the "Watchmen" project last week and asked whether the movie was in doubt. During a Wondercon panel for "300," Snyder was asked about the project and while he said he and Warner Bros. really wanted to make the movie, he alluded to some obstacles - the biggest of which was getting the studio to greenlight a big budget R-rated movie instead of a PG-13 superhero film, which "Watchmen" isn't. Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' epic masterwork, which some consider the greatest comic book of all time, is a dark story that deserves the proper treatment.

Well, "300" should put Warner Bros. fears to rest; the movie has a record- setting debut for the month of March, and it also had the third-highest opening for a rated R movie behind "The Matrix Reloaded" and "The Passion of the Christ." I'm crossing my fingers that "Watchmen" continues because I can't wait to see what Snyder does next.

Hurts.

First a major character "dies" (ALERT: don't read the comments section if you don't want it spoiled!) and now BattlestarGalactica.com gets worked over by a Turkish hacker. What's happening to my Battlestar?!?!?!

Seriously, of the sites that a geek would hack, the home base for the most popular sci-fi show on television would have been my last guess before today.

For more on Battlestar, check out this discussion between Ronald Moore and sci-fi- writer Harlan Ellison.

I got a chance last Friday to sit in as a guest on the All Games Interactive radio show with Scot Rubin and Lawrence Young. Good times. Lawrence invited me on their "Freeplay Friday" show to chat about the recent TwitchGuru feature on the "50 Greatest Female Characters in Video Game History," and hearing that there would be free beer and plenty of games, I happily obliged.

After chatting about PC gaming hardware, graphics cards and DirectX 10 for a while, we jumped in the topic of female video game characters and ran through pretty much all of the 50 gals on the list. I also got a number of interesting comments regarding omissions from listeners on the live AGI chat, as well as suggestions from Scot, Lawrence and other AIG regulars like L.A. games journalist Redmond Carolipio and Xbox Live "Achievement Whore" Chris Shima.

From there, the show pretty much spiraled gleefully out of control. We jumped into movies and comics, chatting about the new "Transformers" live action movie, "Heroes" plot theories, and the success of "300." We also talked about the upcoming "Watchmen" movie adaptation, and I was pretty much in heaven. At one point I remarked that I felt like I was in the Lambda Lambda Lambda house from "Revenge of the Nerds."

We did get into some serious talk. For example, Remond had just finished God of War 2 and delivered a glowing review of the game. I've played through about half the game since then, and while I've enjoyed it quite a bit, I'm not ready to give it a perfect score just yet. We'll see.

Scot and Lawrence and I also discussed the consoles war, specifically Microsoft's success with its second generation effort and Sony's tough times with the PlayStation 3. Sprinkled in here and there were some interesting calls from listeners young and old. I'm not sure we came to any conclusions about the consoles themselves, but one interesting topic we discussed was the idea that consoles are now eclipsing PC gaming. That's not to say that PC gaming is dying, but after speaking with the AGI guys as well as others in the gaming news business over the last couple months, I think many people agree that in the current PC/console cycle favors the consoles.

Why? Well, for one the new consoles are attractive, and each has its own strong selling points (the Xbox 360's game library and Xbox Live system, the Wii's motion sensor control scheme and affordability, and the PS3's hardware and free online network).

Second, we're seeing major titles like Call of Duty developed for the consoles only, while some big franchises are being created for the consoles first and then ported (quite poorly) to the PC later on, such as Splinter Cell Double Agent.

Another factor is the frustrating Vista upgrades. After investing in a new top line Vista PC, you expect Company of Heroes, for example, to run efficiently if not superbly. But when it hardly runs at all, well, that's tough to stomach.

The whole console/PC gaming cycle may yet shift again this year back toward PCs; highly anticipate shooters like Crysis, BioShock and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. will certainly help, as will the enormous growth in MMOs.

Will 2007 be the year of PC gaming or console gaming? And if it's console gaming, which one? Let me know what you think.

To listen to or download the AGI show, go here.

I'm not sure how long this video will be online, but I hope it lives forever. In this behind the scenes video, director David O. Russell completely loses it on actress Lily Tomlin during a shoot of "I Heart Huckabees." I can honestly say that I've never seen a more unprofessional, out- of-control, reality-detached rant like this before.

Now I know what "Huckabees" was such a strange movie.

The sad thing is, I'm a huge fan of "Flirting with Disaster" and "Three Kings," during which Russell also went nuts on George Clooney and allegedly tried to choke the actor, Latrell Sprewell-style when Clooney defended a lowly crew member who was being berated by Russell.

Does this change the way I feel about these movies? Not at all. They're great films. And so what if Russell himself acts like a bullying psycho behind the scenes? Other than feeling bad, for Lily Tomlin and having my respect for her increase tenfold, I suppose it doesn't matter.

But man, it's great video.

I have absolutely no interest in seeing "Reign Over Me." I love Don Cheadle and all, but the movie looks kind of silly to me, especially with Adam Sandler looking like a homeless person while playing a serious role.

However, the movie does have a rather compelling scene in which Cheadle and Sandler are playing a video game. And it's the critically acclaimed Shadow of the Colossus, no less. Strange game to be featured in a movie, don't you think?

Well, Kotaku has an outstanding feature about how Colossus found its way into "Reign Over Me." Kotaku's Brian Ashcraft goes into detail with Jeremy Roush, one of the film's editors, on how the game was brought to the attention of the movie's stars and its director, Mike Binder. It's good stuff, plus it shows a different side of gaming in a feature film.

While we're on the subject, what do you think was the best video game scene in a movie? I know it's kind of an obscure question, but in light of Colossus and "Reign Over Me," who knows? Maybe we'll see more scenes like it. Personally, I think the Sega hockey scene in "Swingers" takes the prize. But the Mortal Kombat: Deception scene in "The 40-year-old Virgin" was pretty funny, too.

Some other ideas:

"Grandma's Boy": Almost too many to count, but DDR was sweet.

"WarGames": Global thermonuclear war!

"Tron": Space Paranoids rocks.

"Mallrats": He left NHL All-Stars on pause overnight. Awesome.

"Nightmares": Emilio Estevez can't beat the Bishop of Battle.

"Night of the Comet": Catherine Mary Stewart playing Tempest=hot!

"Cloak & Dagger": Pretty much the whole movie.

"The Last Starfighter": Every kid's fantasy.

Any other suggestions or nominations?

The Onion recently ran a story about great TV shows that still haven't been
released to DVD. There was one I forgot to add to the list myself, The Green
Hornet. The Green Hornet TV show ran from September 1966 to July 1967, starring
Van Williams as Britt Reid / The Green Hornet. The show was created by the same
team behind the Batman TV show, and it was America's first introduction to kung-
fu superstar Bruce Lee as Kato.

It seemed an odd bit of serendipity that while I had The Green Hornet on the
brain, that it was then announced The Green Hornet, the movie, was announced by
Sony. Wait a second. Hasn't been movie been announced before? By Universal, and
by Miramax, now the Weinstein Company? In fact, in the past seven years The
Green Hornet was announced at both studios, and both ultimately got stung.

Screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects) was writing his take on
The Green Hornet back to back with another long awaited big screen adaptation of
a classic TV show, The Prisoner, both for Universal. Neither got off the ground,
and it would certainly have been interesting to see McQuarrie's takes on them
(The Prisoner was recently announced again at Universal, with Chris Nolan to
direct a script from Blade Runner / Unforgiven writer David Webb Peoples).

Then Kevin Smith was set to direct, but like his fabled Superman Lives script,
it would never hit the screen, and he chose to make Clerks II instead. Smith
told Superhero Hype Harvey Weinstein tried to strong arm Smith into The Green
Hornet, telling him, "It's time for you to grow and stretch as a filmmaker," to
which Smith responded, "Doesn't anybody get it after twelve years? I'm not that
talented."

Yet Smith did say he would have loved to do it as a comic book. "I love to write
comic books," he continued. "You don't have to think about shooting that sh*t,
plus you can get into the inner life of a character, you can deal with years of
continuity, you can drop reference to a story that happened fifteen years ago.
Doing that in the mainstream on a feature basis is just not the same." But still,
it also would have made Smith's take interesting as well.

I do agree with Deadline Hollywood's Nikki Finke that "there's already way too
many comic book pics," but I still feel a big screen Green Hornet could be very
cool in the right hands. You can see how a major studio thinks looking at the
franchise. There's a chance for sleek new costumes, Kato can do tons of kung-fu,
and there's a bad ass car, The Black Beauty. And hopefully, after so many years
in gestation, the movie will be much more than that.