Diane here and fresh off  the red carpet premiere of Universal Studios’ Hollywood latest attraction, King Kong 360 3D.  If you have a chance to swing on by this summer, it is worth the wait.

Yesterday while walking among a 360lb Bengal Tiger, a 13 foot Python, a feisty monkey, and tribal dancers who kept on telling me to touch their dinosaur bones I became entranced with the world of Skull Island and a gorilla who’s eaten one too many Big Macs.

I was not alone, The Office’s Craig Robinson, Oscar Nunez, and Kate Flannery, along with Kevin Smith, Yvette Nicole Brown of Community, Wayne Brady,Wanted and King Kong’s Thomas Kretschmann, and a very shy Christopher Lloyd were all there sampling the gourmet apps and reveling in a filmed introduction to the experience by none other than a slimmed down Peter Jackson in 3D.

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Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. People love the iPhone but hate the AT&T network and are waiting for the day when the iPhone comes to Verizon. Well, as in the past, that rumor is being reported again that the device will indeed be coming to the Verizon network. This time the report is in USA Today.

Although they don’t name any sources due to anonymity, the report does say the iPhone will be hitting Verizon in January. If true, this is great news for those who really want an iPhone but love to have a network where phone calls are possible even sitting in the living room.

Although, with the issues that seem to be plaguing the new iPhone, you have to wonder if a new network is really the answer. Maybe those issues are because the iPhone 4 had to be modified with a new antenna to accommodate AT&T’s poor network performance?

If so, a Verizon iPhone potentially would not have to be designed the same way and any issues with antenna strength, for example, may be removed. Plus, with Verizon potentially rolling out its LTE network in November, perhaps the new Verizon iPhone would even have 4G?  Wouldn’t that be cool?

Of course, it’s all speculation until either Apple or Verizon confirm something is really going to happen. Still, it’s fun to think of the possibilities.

Activision has released two new pop themed DLC packs, one for DJ Hero and another for their Guitar Hero series, and headlining both is the ever outrageous Lady Gaga. Lately Activision has been embracing the popularity of Gaga as they have also had her song “Just Dance” as the focus of the DJ Hero 2 trailer that was released just in time for E3.

For DJ Hero, the Dance Party Mix Pack will include three mashups exclusive to the DJ Hero series. First will be a mix of Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance” along with the 80′s classic “Girl’s on Film” by Duran Duran. In addition, R & B vixen Rihanna lends her voice to DJ Hero as well with a beat juggle of her Top 40 hit “S.O.S.” while the lovely ladies of the Pussycat Dolls’ “Buttons” also makes a beat juggle appearance as well. Trailers of all three songs can be viewed after the jump.

Meanwhile on the Guitar Hero side of things, people’s living room garage band will finally be able to play Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance” (not a remix or mashup) with the Pop 1 Track Pack. Joining her will be one of Maroon 5′s earlier hits “This Love” and recent synth pop anthem “Fireflies” from Owl City.

The DJ Hero Dance Party Mix Pack is available on Xbox Marketplace for 640 Microsoft Points and the PlayStation Store for $7.99. All mixes are available as singles for the Wii for 300 Wii Points each.

The Pop 1 Track Pack will sell for 440 Microsoft Points on the XBox 360, $5.49 on the PlayStation Store and 550 Wii Points. All songs will be available individually for 160 Microsoft Points, $1.99 and 200 Wii Points respectively.

Check out previews of the DLC content after the break.

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Make no mistake, the love for San Diego Comic-Con is strong with all of us here at The Flickcast. In fact, we’ll be covering the Con like no one’s business next month. And yet, as much fun and eye-candy as SDCC can offer the attendee, I wondered, what’s it like for the typical exhibitor? You know, those hard-working and creative artists that manage to secure a booth every year? I decided to find out.

This week, I sat down with Cutter Hays, artist and writer of the Mouse Knight series and perpetual Comic-Con exhibitor (please visit him at booth #I-2; check the official guide under “Mouse Knight”). I wanted to find out what the Con is like from his perspective, what are some of his likes and dislikes regarding the Con itself, and what he looks forward to this year.

The Flickcast: Comic-Con is nearly a month away, what are you doing to get prepared as an artist and an exhibitor?

Cutter Hays: Oh, you know, playing lots of WoW, sleeping 20 hours a day and getting it on with my 20 year-old girlfriend. Actually none of that is true. My girlfriend is 22. No, okay – actually, I’m incredibly busy, under the gun hardcore.

One month ago, a UK publisher signed my books (all of them, the entire Mouse Knight series), signed contracts even.  They were going to be doing a special limited run of 200 of each of the first two books, numbered and everything – they were going to say “2010 Comic-Con” on them for collectability.  Then, two weeks ago, they wrote to say they weren’t going to be doing any of it this year for some reason (they declined to say).

This left me and my agent in a very bad spot. Not enough time to do it ourselves.  Fairly certain that was some kind of break of contract, but maybe not.  Who cares?  They flaked hard, last minute, and now its up to us. We’re in a time crunch from hell to get those same special editions (minus the hard covers) printed in time for Con and at a huge cost to myself.

Sucks hard, but…whatever. Definitely not the first time publishers have broken their word, it’s just too bad that it’s the rule and not the exception.

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Warhammer 40,000 is giving a double dose to this year’s E3. In addition to the announcement of the Warhammer 40,000 MMO titled Dark Millennium, Relic Entertainment and THQ have also announced Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine which will be coming to the XBox 360 and PlayStation 3. Relic has a lot of familiarity with the Warhammer franchise, having worked on titles such as Dawn of War and its sequels and expansions. They have also developed Company of Heroes and Homeworld.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine is being billed as a third person Action RPG. Players will control a squad of four Ultramarine Space Marines as a horde of Orks attempt to invite an Imperium controlled world, though right now it is possible the chapter of Space Marines may change. During levels, players will control one of the four members of their squad, be it an Assault Marine, a Tactical Marine, a Sergeant or a Devastator Marine. Each marine type has different roles and weapons according the Warhammer 40,000 lore.

Check out the video and pictures below and let us know what you think about the first peek at Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine.

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It looks like DC Comics has decided to make a few changes to one of its most enduring characters. To commemorate the 600th issue of the Wonder Woman comic, the publisher has decided the character needs a makeover.

Wonder Woman‘s costume is being changed to reflect her new origin by the incoming creative team of J. Michael Straczynski and artist Don Kramer. The costume was designed by Jim Lee, one of the top comic artists in the industry who was also named co-publisher of DC Comics earlier this year.

“She’s been locked into pretty much the exact same outfit since her debut in 1941,” said Straczynski in the article . “If you’re going to make a statement about bringing Wonder Woman into the 21st century, you need to be bold and you need to make it visual. I wanted to toughen her up, and give her a modern sensibility.”

In addition, DC reportedly wants to make the character more contemporary and more suited for and “international film franchise.”

“The original costume was the American flag brought to life,” said Lee. “This one is a little more universal.”

In the rebooted origin story conceived by Straczynski, unknown forces have changed history by destroying Wonder Woman’s island home in the past. Now, she was raised in the outside world by a few surviving Amazons, giving her greater ties to both humans and Amazons. She is also less powerful than before, but her powers may return as things progress.

Check out larger versions of the new Wonder Woman after the break, courtesy of Deadline. Wonder Woman # 600 is out in comic stores today. Are you happy with the changes to Wonder Woman or do you think they should have left her alone?

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Hey brother, can you spare, oh, $35,000? If so, I don’t have a bridge to sell you, but I do have a Tron Lightcycle you might be interested in. According to Gizmodo, there are five exclusive Lightcycles currently up for auction on eBay. They are being built by same team who replicated Batman’s Batpod earlier this year.

The Parker Brothers team is building 5 custom one off “Lightcycles” to the exact specs of the movie bikes. Each bike will be black with an accent color – 5 bikes with 5 different accent colors (red, blue, yellow, green, and orange). There will only be one bike made per color so if you must have a certain color, you better call now…

About the bikes themselves, the wheels are custom made 22″ x12″ dual hubless wheels with custom made tires (Hoosier is custom making 5 sets just for us specifically for this project). (Buyers will have the option of additional tires as needed) The frame is 2″ cold rolled and boxed hardened steel with carbon fiber/fiberglass bodies. Accent colors are neon glowing from behind frosted plexiglass and can be turned off or on with the flip of a switch.

Additionally, each bike will come with it’s own Tron helmet and the owner will be able to watch their bike being built on YouTube.

Going once…going twice…

Tron Legacy will be in theaters December 15.

The first Paranormal Activity was a bit of a phenomenon. It managed to capture the attention of audiences and also be a pretty scary movie that you wouldn’t necessarily want to watch in a dark room alone. Naturally, when something is a success as the first film was, people want to try and capitalize on that success. Thus we have the inevitable Paranormal Activity 2.

The first trailer for the sequel has arrived and with it we get our first chance to see if the magic of the first film can be recaptured. After watching the trailer a few times I think I can safely say it probably can’t and won’t. Still, I give the filmmakers props for trying. I’m just concerned we might have another Blair Witch 2 situation on our hands. And really, nobody wants that.

Judge for yourself and check out the trailer after the jump. Paranormal Activity 2 hits theaters on October 22.

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In some casting news that seemed to slip under our radar yesterday, it looks like we can add yet another actor to the growing list of those with a part in The First Avenger: Captain America. Tommy Lee Jones has joined the cast as Super Soldier program supervisor Colonel Chester Phillips.

Jones will star in Captain America alongside Chris Evans as the star-spangled superhero, Sebastian Stan as his sidekick Bucky, Stanley Tucci as Dr. Abraham Erskine and Hugo Weaving as the Red Skull. In addition, it looks like the front runner to play the enticing Emma Frost in X-Men: First Class is now Alice Eve, late of the movie She’s Out of My League.

Previously, it seemed she may have ended up with the role of Peggy Carter in Captain America but, as we previously reported, that went to actress Haley Atwell. Instead, Eve will reportedly take on the Emma Frost character and join others already in the film including James McAvoy as Professor Xavier, Michael Fassbender as Magneto and Benjamin Walker as Hank “Beast” McCoy. Matthew Vaughn is directing and co-writing the adaptation with Jane Goldman.

Captain America is currently slated for a July 22, 2011 release. X-Men: First Class is currently scheduled for a June 3rd, 2011 release. So, lots of good superhero action next Summer. Can’t wait.

The long-awaited Android Mobile OS v.2.2 (AKA “FroYo”) has officially rolled out, but before you get too excited, it’s only for Nexus One owners.

Revealed last month at Google’s I/O Developer Conference, FroYo represents a huge leap forward in features for Google’s mobile OS. The newest Android version boasts not only faster performance, but a virtual laundry list of cool features like the ability to create a 5-device mobile hotspot, built-in tethering support, improved cloud-to-mobile device functionality, Adobe Flash 10.1 optimized for the mobile platform, and the list just goes on and on.

Owners of other Android-powered handsets such as the HTC Evo, Droid Incredible and even the upcoming Droid X will unfortunately have to wait a bit longer to get their hands on the new OS. Because most of these phones run a customized version of Android, or have an add-on UI layer like the ‘Sense UI,’ it’s up to the manufacturer to handle their own roll-outs.

That said, if you are using one of these HTC mobile devices, all signs point to August before you’ll be able to get your hands on FroYo.

For those lucky few with a Nexus One, expect an over-the-air update sometime soon.

Fans will be relieved to know that Eclipse is a vast improvement over its two predecessors, Twilight and New Moon. Director David Slade (Hard Candy, 30 Days of Night) manages to elevate almost every aspect of the film.  There is a decidedly darker and edgier tone this time around, and it is a welcome change.  It’s not a great film, but it is a lot more enjoyable than the first two.

For the uninitiated, let me quickly bring you up to speed on what has previously happened in the story.  Bella (Kristen Stewart) is  in love with a Vampire, Edward (Robert Pattinson.)  He is part of a Vampire clan who will not feed on humans based on principle.  They are “good” Vampires, if you will.  In the same town there is a Quileute tribe who can shape-shift into wolves.

They have been sworn to protect their town from Vampires.  One of the wolves (Jacob, played by Taylor Lautner) is in love with Bella, thus setting up a love triangle between Bella, Edward, and Jacob. Got it?

Slade immediately establishes that this is not going to be the same teeny-bopper fare with a brutal opening sequence that is worthy of any horror movie. A teenage boy is walking by himself at night and is stalked, assaulted, and murdered. There has also been a rash of murders in Seattle that carry the markings of Vampire killings.

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Hard to believe, but the last episode of Rescue Me was back in September. Feels like forever, but Tommy Gavin and the gang are back tonight with all new episodes in an amazing sixth season.

This year is said to have some interesting new character development, including an all new storyline for Franco, Lou, and the whole crew. Also, we’ll finally learn what happened to Tommy after the huge accident in the last episode of season 5.

Check out a few hilarious (and very NSFW) clips from upcoming episodes this season, and be sure to catch the season premiere of Rescue Me tonight on FX at 10pm ET/PT.

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