Avengers: Endgame promises the culmination of a story arc that has lasted more than a decade. The ambitious Marvel Cinematic Universe has borrowed liberally from the criss-crossing continuity that comic fans have known for years, and evolved into a sprawling movie empire. And because it has become so larger-than-life, it's easy to forget that it began with a single hero. Tony Stark was our unlikely introduction to this universe. Now it's time for his character to exit, and in the process, to finish one of the longest continuous character arcs in filmmaking history. By the time the credits roll on Endgame, Tony Stark should be deceased.
The MCU has introduced or reintroduced dozens of heroes to the big screen, but none has had a single coherent character trajectory quite like Tony Stark. Captain America has become disillusioned and questioned what his patriotic symbolism means, and Thor has gone through a variety of relationship ups-and-downs with his brother Loki, but Stark has had the most room to subtly grow. Part of that is his sheer screen-time. Due to a combination of his appearances in his own trilogy of Iron Man films, all of the Avengers films, and even cameos in others like Spider-Man: Homecoming, actor Robert Downey Jr. and the MCU writers have had the space to develop Stark to an incredible degree.
In addition, he's one of the few Marvel heroes who is utterly mortal, making his character that much more identifiable. Other regular humans like Black Widow or Hawkeye just haven't taken center-stage like Stark. All this builds a relatable human story of a man--a particularly gifted one intellectually, but just a man nonetheless--responding to and coping with the existence of profound knowledge and unfathomable stress.
In the original Iron Man, Tony Stark was a selfish, smug jackass. It took a near-death experience and seeing the consequences of his irresponsible lifestyle firsthand to force him to confront his own complacency. This was the crucial first step to his growth as a person, although he only extended his heroism to correcting his own mistakes and interdicting the misuse of Stark weapons against innocent people. He hadn't yet learned how to look outside himself or work with others in any meaningful capacity.
This was partially corrected in Iron Man 2, which, although it was the sloppiest of all the movies in characterization, did knock Tony down a peg and allow him to see the value in having support from others. In this sequel, he started to act self-destructively, and only survived thanks to help from his friends Rhodey and Pepper, and to a larger extent, Black Widow and Nick Fury.
By the time The Avengers arrived, Tony Stark was still cocky, but he'd accepted some amount of a mantle of leadership and an appreciation for teamwork. At this point, it's precisely because of this increased sense of responsibility that he clashes with Captain America. Cap's criticism after Agent Coulson's apparent death is harsh, but correct: Tony Stark isn't a soldier, and deep-down he simply doesn't believe that sacrifices are necessary.
This is fundamental to understanding Tony Stark, and his relationship with Cap puts it into sharp relief. As we know from Captain America: The First Avenger, Steve Rogers was the type of man to jump on a grenade just to protect those in his company--most of whom thought he was a worthless wimp. Tony Stark didn't have that trait. His clash with Cap is about a disagreement that comes up over and over throughout the series. Stark always believes that he can engineer a clever solution, a backdoor, a failsafe. His origin story is grounded in outwitting a problem to keep himself safe, and that continued to define his approach. That's why, when he made the impulsive decision to fly into space at the end of The Avengers, it was a moment of real growth. But it also devastated him, and led to a series of decisions driven by trauma.
When Iron Man 3 began, he was wracked with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. He had seen the expanse of the universe and grappled with the magnitude of its threats. A man utterly confident in his ability to deal with anything the world threw at him suddenly had to cope with the idea that there are other worlds, and he felt a responsibility to be the guardian of his own.
It was this realization that led him to build the Iron Legion, an army of his own equipped to take on any conceivable specialized task. This reckless sense of unilateral responsibility also led him to build Ultron, dubbed "a suit of armor around the world." This is when he conspicuously pointed out that cosmic threats were "the end-game" that all of his machinations revolved around. And most crucially, the vision shown to him by Scarlet Witch was one of mass death of all his allies and friends. The worst part, he confided in Nick Fury, was that he didn't die with them. This was a major shift in his perspective and values.
As the team entered Infinity War, Tony Stark had developed more healthy interpersonal relationships, but we quickly learned that he was still constantly mindful of intergalactic danger. In fact, he'd developed a suit that is on him at all times, equipable in seconds, and specifically engineered to deal with cosmic threats. Arguably his decision to venture into the far reaches of space itself carried an implicit acknowledgement that he may not make it back to Earth. By the end of that film, his absolute worst fear was realized when his mentee, Peter Parker, died in his arms.
We can glean additional meaning from the actions of one of Stark's fellow heroes. Doctor Strange only gave up the Time Stone to save Tony, after explicitly stating that he would rather let his allies die than surrender it. We can infer that he did this because, after peering into the possible futures, he saw only one that was a success: the one in which Tony Stark lives.
Consider Tony Stark's position and mindset as Avengers: Endgame approaches. He's finally internalized that sacrifice is sometimes necessary, and he feels survivor's guilt over living through the randomness of Thanos's cataclysmic snap. Yet he appears to be crucial to whatever eventuality will stop Thanos. Whatever the Avengers are planning to restore the other heroes and set things right, it's now Tony Stark who is most primed to sacrifice himself for the greater good. No more failsafes, no more witty solutions, no more outsmarting the problem. Just sacrifice. Someone will need to hold the line, and while Captain America will be more than willing, Tony Stark needs to make sure that it's him in order to satisfy this decade-long character arc.
It's possible that the trajectory of Tony's character arc has happened by chance--that this is all the coincidence of several different script writers planting seeds that will never quite bear fruit. It's possible that the various teases and winks that Captain America will die in Avengers Endgame are not clever misdirects after all. Maybe the Russo brothers feel they've already devastated us with death, and this victorious conclusion will be all catharsis and joy.
But I hope not.
As much as I love Tony Stark and Robert Downey Jr.'s portrayal of him, Marvel has a chance to use its enormous ongoing universe to deliver a powerful conclusion for the character who started it all. It would be a fitting, emotionally resonant send-off to the franchise that brought a new level of serialized storytelling to the silver screen. Tony Stark helped us all become part of a bigger universe. It's time for him to make a satisfying exit from it.
Season 8 of Fortnite is just around the corner. With only a few days remaining in Season 7, developer Epic Games has now confirmed that the new season of the battle royale game will kick off across all platforms this Thursday, February 28.
Just as it has done in the run up to previous seasons, Epic is dropping teasers in the days leading up to Season 8. Each of the hints thus far has come in the form of a poem that suggests the new season will have a pirate theme; the first references "X marks the spot" and treasure, while the second warns players to beware "those who arrive on the waves."
What this means as far as gameplay goes remains to be seen, but it'll presumably somehow tie into the earthquakes that have been occurring in the game. Players first began experiencing these tremors earlier this month following the release of Fortnite's 7.30 update, and they've been growing in intensity since, so much so that cracks are now appearing in the island.
We'll find out soon enough what all this means for Season 8, but in the meantime, players still have a few days to complete any remaining Season 7 challenges, including the new Overtime challenges. Epic is giving the Season 8 Battle Pass to players for free if they finish these Overtime challenges, so you'll want to complete them before the season ends to get your hands on the pass without having to shell out any V-Bucks.
Even after massive hits like Rockstar Games' Red Dead Redemption series, the setting of the old west isn't something see games used that often. But with the upcoming Outlaws of the Wild West, coming from developer Virtual Basement, this online open-world survivalist take on the timeless concept of the Western aims to give the setting a different spin. Throughout your journey in the open world, you'll be able to explore the vast plains and snowy mountains in order to survive the lawless lands of the old west.
Releasing in early access on March 12 for PC, Outlaws of the Wild West brings up to 150 players into an open-world where they'll scrape together resources found from exploring and foraging throughout the environment. In familiar survival game fashion, everyone starts out with little to no resources, and you'll have to slowly acquire the necessities to survive. If you aren't able to meet your character's basic needs, such as food and water, then they'll meet their end fast--and anything you had on you at the time of your death will be free for others to take. Much like in the old west, you'll have to contend with constant threats from nature and the occasional ruthless bandit or two that want what's yours.
We spent some time checking out an early build of the game and got to see what to expect in the online world. With the game being in development for more than two years, Outlaws' core gameplay is very familiar as far as survival-focused adventures go, though what sets this apart from other titles is the setting itself. During our session, executive producer Tim Hesse explained why they set their sights on the old west.
"One of the primary reasons why we chose the setting was because of how underutilized it is," said Hesse. "The developers had experience working on other survival games, and they love the Western setting, and honestly, there aren't that many games like that out there. In some ways, it's a little more challenging making a game set in the West, because if you did a sci-fi survival game you could come up with anything you would want. With Outlaws, we are limited to the time period, which keeps things focused."
Outlaws features some rather strict rules with its take on survival gameplay. If you're able to gain enough resources and survive the elements long enough, you'll gradually work your way up to become a seasoned survivor, giving you the means to explore further into the wild. Eventually, you'll be able to build houses and even take up minor professions. Though there are NPC characters that roam around--including bandits, some townsfolk, and even miners holed up in their gold mines--the majority of the interactions to be had are with other players. Though you can form parties, and even create guilds, you're still free to become a true outlaw and rob others. Doing this, however, will affect your standing in the world, and if you cause enough chaos, other players can put a bounty on you, painting a large target on your back.
With that steep focus on survival-gameplay and resource gathering, the mechanics and itemization in the online game can get extremely granular. For instance, to acquire a lasso you'll first need to get plants to serve as the precursor materials, which then need to be taken to a spinning wheel for crafting. And of course, the spinning wheel will need to be made first from spare wood materials before you can do all of this. In some cases it seemed like it got way It was interesting to see how deep the crafting was in the game, which seems to go a bit further than other survival-focused games out there.
With the PC serving as the testing grounds for the game, the full retail release will eventually make its way to PS4 and Xbox One. According to the developers, they'll be directly engaging with the community while in the early access period. From our experiences, the pre-release was noticeably rough around the edges on the technical side of things, but the concept still showed solid promise. It'll be interesting to see how Outlaws of the Wild West can act upon the rich and underused setting of the old west and evolve its online world from there.
Capcom has announced the release dates of three Resident Evil games' Nintendo Switch versions. The first game, plus Resident Evil 0 and Resident Evil 4, will come to the Eshop on May 21.
North American Switch owners can purchase Resident Evil and Resident Evil 0 as part of an Origins Collection at retail, though it appears the games will not receive physical versions in Europe. Pre-orders begin in all territories on February 28; pricing has not yet been revealed.
Nintendo Switch previously received Resident Evil: Revelations and Resident Evil: Revelations 2, but May will be the first time a mainline title from the popular horror series come to the Switch. The original Resident Evil first released in 1996, and many of its successors are third-person survival-horror games, while others are more action-centric or play out in first-person. The 2002 prequel Resident Evil 0 and 2005's Resident Evil 4 are considered some of the best games in the series.
The franchise's most recent entry is a remake of Resident Evil 2, which launched for PS4, Xbox One, and PC in January. We awarded the game a 9/10 in our Resident Evil 2 remake review, saying it's a "stellar remake of the original," but as yet it is not listed for release on Nintendo Switch.
If you're in the market for a Nintendo Switch, you can save some money by purchasing one at about 10% off the regular retail price. Retailer Newegg has the neon red/blue and gray variations for just $270, with a coupon code.
Though the price displays at the full $300, you can shave it down by entering "EMCTVVA34" in the promo box at checkout. This is a low-cost alternative to the standard deal running currently across several retailers, which gives you a $35 Eshop credit with the purchase of a new Switch console. If you don't particularly need the Eshop voucher it saves you some money.
Meanwhile, the company is undergoing some changes in leadership. Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime is retiring, to be replaced by current sales VP and on-the-nose reference Doug Bowser. Fils-Aime has been known throughout the industry for his larger-than-life personality and enormous stature, so the announcement was met with rounds of fond farewells from around the industry.
Anthem's official launch day arrived on February 22, and it has shot straight to the top of the UK physical sales chart. The PS4, Xbox One, and PC game pushes last week's No.1, Far Cry: New Dawn, down to No.2.
No more new titles entered the chart this week, allowing sales monitor Chart-Track's top 10 to remain largely unchanged. FIFA 19 rises two places to No.3, as Red Dead Redemption 2 (No.4) and Metro: Exodus (No.5) round out the top five.
Despite Anthem's chart-topping debut week however, Eurogamer reports the game's physical sales total just half the number of boxed copies shifted in the debut week of BioWare's last game, Mass Effect: Andromeda. The intervening two years have seen a shift toward a greater proportion of games' sales coming digitally--and downloads are not tracked by Chart-Track--while Anthem's various digital special editions made the game available early. However, a physical sales decrease of 50% is a considerable one--and Andromeda's boxed sales themselves were half those of the previous game in the series, Mass Effect 3.
Anthem has suffered from a number of issues so far, some of which were fixed in a day one update. The issues contributed to a mixed critical reception for BioWare's game, including a 6/10 from GameSpot in our Anthem review.
"Anthem has good ideas, but it struggles significantly with the execution," wrote Kallie Plagge. "It's a co-op game that works best with no one talking; it buries genuinely interesting character moments and puts its most incomprehensible story bits at the forefront; its combat is exciting until you get to the boss fights and find your wings have been clipped. Even the simple, exhilarating act of flying is frequently interrupted by the limitations of your javelin, and you never quite shake that feeling of disappointment--of knowing, throughout the good parts of Anthem, that you'll inevitably come crashing back down."
Epic Games has dropped some Fortnite teasers indicating what awaits us in Season 8, and it appears a pirate theme is preparing to wash ashore. Both teasers pair poems about buried treasure and seafaring threats with spooky pirate imagery.
The first teaser references "X marks the spot" and treasure, with an image of a hook. The second has an image of a snake, and warns you to beware "those who arrive on the waves." The teasers are counting down days until Season 8 launches, which will be on Thursday, February 28.
Given the poems, it seems likely that the players will be able to hunt for loot in buried treasure form, and there may be some form of AI opponent arriving on ships. New teasers are dropping every day so we may see more specific hints as time goes on.
'X' Marks The Spot Treasure abound Loot that has been lost Can always be found. 4 days to Season 8. pic.twitter.com/1U8n7x4pQQ
This means you have just a few days left to unlock the Prisoner Skin levels and Waterfall challenges to earn your rewards. When the new season rolls over, it will bring an all new Battle Pass (which you can earn for free) with its own challenges and skins and new game mechanics. Season 7 ends this week, just prior to the start of Season 8.
Fortnite has become known for its big seasonal changeover events, each of which changes its gameplay in some significant ways. So far, this is one big distinguishing factor it has against a new challenger in the battle royale genre, Apex Legends. That game has taken off quickly, but Epic Games says Fortnite is still doing fine for itself. It just set a new record and announced a massive prize pool for its esports tournament.
Sssomething shimmers Within the cave... But beware of those Who arrive on waves. 3 days to Season 8. pic.twitter.com/Gn7ttmR39m
As part of the 91st Academy Awards broadcast tonight, Netflix released the first teaser trailer for its upcoming mobster movie The Irishman from Martin Scorsese. It doesn't contain any footage, sadly, but we hear the voices of some of the characters, including Robert de Niro.
De Niro plays Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran, who supposedly had links to the mob and was said to be involved in the disappearance of union boss Jimmy Hoffa in the '70s. Al Pacino will play Hoffa. The movie also stars Anna Paquin, Ray Romano, Joe Pesci, and Harvey Keitel. It's based on the Charles Brandt book "I Hear You Paint Houses." You can watch the trailer in the video embedded above.
Scorsese is a Hollywood legend who is known for his mobster movies. He won an Oscar for the Boston mafia movie The Departed, while he is also known for Goodfellas, Casino, Gangs of New York, and Mean Streets.
While The Irishman is a Netflix movie, it's also coming to theatres when it releases sometime this fall. For more on the 91st Academy Awards, check out GameSpot's roundup of winners.
It didn't take long for Black Panther to make an impact at the Academy Awards, snagging two Oscars early in the evening--one for Best Costume Design and the other for Best Production Design--and not stopping there. In all, the Marvel Cinematic Universe film has been nominated for 7 Oscars.
Upon accepting her award for Best Costume Design, Ruth Carter was quick to give thanks to Spike Lee for giving her her start in 1988's School Daze, which he directed. She also gave thanks to Marvel for creating Black Panther in the first place, saying, "Marvel may have created the first black superhero, but through costume design, we turned him into an African king."
"Thank you to the Academy, thank you for honoring African royalty and the empowered way women can look and lead on-screen," she continued. This was Carter's first Oscar and also sees her making history as the first black person to win an Academy Award for Best Costume Design. "This has been a long time coming," she joked.
As for the Best Production Design awards, Hannah Beachler did the majority of the speaking for herself and Jay Hart. "I stand here with agency and self-worth because of Ryan Coogler," she said of Black Panther's director. As with Carter, Beachler also gave thanks to Marvel, who she said "lifted us up" every day during the process of making the film.
As the show continued, Black Panther stayed in the forefront, picking up its final award of the night for Best Original Score. Accepting the award, composer Ludwig Göransson remembered, "Thank you, Ryan Coogler. Ryan, working with you has been an incredible honor. I remember 12 years ago we were in our dorm at USC, writing the score to your first short film."
With Game of Thrones Season 8's April 14 release date quickly approaching, HBO has released some new footage just in time for the 2019 Oscars. The footage came in a larger video full of clips from various of the premium cable network's upcoming shows, including Big Little Lies Season 2, Barry Season 2, Watchmen, and more.
The video opens with a shot of ravens flying around the top of the Wall, which isn't anything to write home about. But if you skip ahead to around 48 seconds in, you'll see what's really exciting in the new footage: some recent arrivals at Winterfell.
Check out the video above.
As you can see, Dany's lethal Unsullied army of eunuchs will apparently arrive at Winterfell some time during the upcoming Season 8--and with them, Dany's largest dragon, Drogon. It makes perfect sense that they'd be marching North, given what happened in the Game of Thrones Season 7 finale. I'd bet this will be in the first episode, given what little HBO usually reveals about new Game of Thrones seasons before they air.
There's not much else to glean from this, although it's worth watching the full video for a look at some of HBO's other upcoming shows. Keep checking GameSpot for all the Game of Thrones Season 8 coverage you need leading up to the April 14 release.
The 91st Academy Awards were held this evening, and Green Book took home the overall award for Best Picture. The movie stars House of Cards actor Mahershala Ali as jazz pianist Don Shirley and Lord of the Rings star Viggo Mortensen as his driver and bodyguard Tony Vallelonga in the Deep South. The film was directed by Peter Farrelly, who is one of the Farrelly brothers behind Dumb & Dumber, Shallow Hal, Me, Myself, And Irene, and There's Something About Mary.
Ali also won Best Supporting Actor for his role in Green Book, while Farrelly, Brian Currie, and Nick Vallelonga (the son of Tony Vallelonga) won for best Original Screenplay.
Also during the show, Rami Malek won Best Actor in a Leading Role for playing Queen singer Freddie Mercury in the biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, while Olivia Colman took home the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role for The Favourite. Alfonso Cuaron took home the Best Director award for Roma, while Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse won Best Animated Picture.
Another highlight of the night was the performance of the song "Shallow" by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper from A Star Is Born. The song won Best Original Song, and Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, Andrew Wyatt, and Benjamin Rice shared the award.
Marvel's Black Panther was also a big winner at the 91st Academy Awards. It was nominated for seven awards, and won three, making it the first Marvel movie to earn an Oscar. Its wins included Costume Design, Original Score, and Production Design.
Below you can see a list of the Oscars categories and nominees. The winners are in bold. And for lots, lots more on the 91st Academy Awards, head to GameSpot sister site ET.
91st Academy Awards Categories And Winners
Best Picture
Black Panther
BlacKkKlansman
Bohemian Rhapsody
The Favourite
Green Book [WINNER]
Roma
A Star Is Born
Vice
Best Actor
Christian Bale, Vice
Bradley Cooper, A Star Is Born
Willem Dafoe, At Eternity's Gate
Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody [WINNER]
Viggo Mortensen, Green Book
Best Actress
Yalitza Aparicio, Roma
Glenn Close, The Wife
Olivia Colman, The Favourite [WINNER]
Lady Gaga, A Star Is Born
Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Supporting Actor
Mahershala Ali, Green Book [WINNER]
Adam Driver, BlacKkKlansman
Sam Elliott, A Star Is Born
Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Sam Rockwell, Vice
Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, Vice
Marina de Tavira, Roma
Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk [WINNER]
Emma Stone, The Favourite
Rachel Weisz, The Favourite
Director
Spike Lee, BlacKkKlansman
Pawel Pawlikowski, Cold War
Yorgos Lanthimos, The Favourite
Alfonso Cuarón, Roma [WINNER]
Adam McKay, Vice
Animated Feature
Incredibles 2, Brad Bird
Isle of Dogs, Wes Anderson
Mirai, Mamoru Hosoda
Ralph Breaks the Internet, Rich Moore, Phil Johnston
Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse, Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman [WINNER]
Animated Short
Animal Behaviour, Alison Snowden, David Fine
Bao, Domee Shi [WINNER]
Late Afternoon, Louise Bagnall
One Small Step, Andrew Chesworth, Bobby Pontillas
Weekends, Trevor Jimenez
Adapted Screenplay
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Joel Coen , Ethan Coen
BlacKkKlansman, Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott, Spike Lee [WINNER]
Can You Ever Forgive Me?, Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty
If Beale Street Could Talk, Barry Jenkins
A Star Is Born, Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper, Will Fetters
Original Screenplay
The Favourite, Deborah Davis, Tony McNamara
First Reformed, Paul Schrader
Green Book, Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly [WINNER]
Roma, Alfonso Cuarón
Vice, Adam McKay
Cinematography
Cold War, Lukasz Zal
The Favourite, Robbie Ryan
Never Look Away, Caleb Deschanel
Roma, Alfonso Cuarón [WINNER]
A Star Is Born, Matthew Libatique
Best Documentary Feature
Free Solo, Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi [WINNER]
Hale County This Morning, This Evening, RaMell Ross
Minding the Gap, Bing Liu
Of Fathers and Sons, Talal Derki
RBG, Betsy West, Julie Cohen
Best Documentary Short Subject
Black Sheep, Ed Perkins
End Game, Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman
Lifeboat, Skye Fitzgerald
A Night at the Garden, Marshall Curry
Period. End of Sentence., Rayka Zehtabchi [WINNER]
Best Live Action Short Film
Detainment, Vincent Lambe
Fauve, Jeremy Comte
Marguerite, Marianne Farley
Mother, Rodrigo Sorogoyen
Skin, Guy Nattiv
Best Foreign Language Film
Capernaum (Lebanon)
Cold War (Poland)
Never Look Away (Germany)
Roma (Mexico) [WINNER]
Shoplifters (Japan)
Film Editing
BlacKkKlansman, Barry Alexander Brown
Bohemian Rhapsody, John Ottman [WINNER]
Green Book, Patrick J. Don Vito
The Favourite, Yorgos Mavropsaridis
Vice, Hank Corwin
Sound Editing
Black Panther, Benjamin A. Burtt, Steve Boeddeker
Bohemian Rhapsody, John Warhurst [WINNER]
First Man, Ai-Ling Lee, Mildred Iatrou Morgan
A Quiet Place, Ethan Van der Ryn, Erik Aadahl
Roma, Sergio Diaz, Skip Lievsay
Sound Mixing
Black Panther
Bohemian Rhapsody [WINNER]
First Man
Roma
A Star Is Born
Production Design
Black Panther, Hannah Beachler [WINNER]
First Man, Nathan Crowley, Kathy Lucas
The Favourite, Fiona Crombie, Alice Felton
Mary Poppins Returns, John Myhre, Gordon Sim
Roma, Eugenio Caballero, Bárbara Enrı́quez
Original Score
BlacKkKlansman, Terence Blanchard
Black Panther, Ludwig Goransson [WINNER]
If Beale Street Could Talk, Nicholas Britell
Isle of Dogs, Alexandre Desplat
Mary Poppins Returns, Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman
Original Song
All The Stars from Black Panther by Kendrick Lamar, SZA
I'll Fight from RBG by Diane Warren, Jennifer Hudson
The Place Where Lost Things Go from Mary Poppins Returns by Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman
Shallow from A Star Is Born by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, Andrew Wyatt and Benjamin Rice [WINNER]
When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs by David Rawlings and Gillian Welch
Otto Bathurst, who directed Black Mirror's horrifying first episode, "The National Anthem," has been tapped to direct and executively produce the new Halo TV show. After Black Mirror, Bathurst went on to work on Peaky Blinders and later 2018's Robin Hood movie.
The Halo TV show will air on Showtime, whose parent company, CBS, also owns GameSpot. The last we heard from network president of programming Gary Levine was that the Halo show is "evolving beautifully with rich characters, compelling stories, and powerful scripts."
Showtime said previously that Halo is the network's "most ambitious series ever," and that's notable given Showtime is behind some massive productions such as Homeland, Shameless, Billions, and more recently the Jim Carrey show Kidding.
The Halo TV show will feature Master Chief in some capacity, but it remains to be seen if he is the lead, or what other characters might join him. Kyle Killen (Awake) will serve as writer, showrunner, and executive producer.
The next Halo video game, meanwhile, is Halo Infinite. The game is in development for Xbox One and PC. According to a recent report, it will be a launch title for a new Xbox console coming out in 2020.
The non-profit advocacy group As You Sow has released its 2019 "Most Overpaid CEOs" report and it includes two notable companies from the games industry. Both Activision's Bobby Kotick and Electronic Arts' Andrew Wilson appeared on the top 100 list, which is intended to promote corporate responsibility.
The non-profit bases its estimates on a CEO's yearly earnings, based on a calculation that takes into account shareholder returns. Kotick appeared at number 45, with an annual pay of more than $28 million--which As You Sow estimates is overpaid by almost $13 million. Andrew Wilson barely appeared on the list at number 98, with salary of more than $35 million, or an excess of $19 million.
The median ratio between company CEO and median worker is 142:1. By comparison, Activision's was 301:1 and EA's was 371:1. The As You Sow list in general has a ratio of 300:1.
Recently, stories of working conditions at high-profile developers like Rockstar, as well as Activision's mass layoffs, inspired the labor organization AFL-CIO to write an open letter to the games industry encouraging them to unionize. That letter explicitly mentioned both Kotick and Wilson.
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