Jason Lee is one of very few actors to cross couple of different thresholds in Hollywood. He’s achieved cult status for his work in the Kevin Smith films, received mainstream notice and plenty of award nominations for his work on My Name is Earl, and he’s recognized by thousands of kids for his role as Dave in Alvin and the Chipmunks.

Now Jason is moving to something a little different and takes the lead in TNT’s upcoming Memphis Beat as a detective who moonlights as an Elvis Presley impersonator.

We recently got a chance to sit in on a discussion with Lee about his role in the upcoming show, the fate of My Name is Earl, his tendency to drift towards comedy rather than drama, and his new found appreciation for Elvis.

What is it about this show and the character that appealed to you and made you want to be part of it?

Well you know on the surface it was clear that it was very different than anything I’ve ever done.  And you know so that was a big part of it and then the fun of getting to play a detective and certainly the fun of getting to play a detective who also performs the music of Elvis on stage.

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Sega has announced a new direction for the Sonic The Hedgehog series with the introduction of Sonic Colors, set for release on the Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS platforms for Holiday 2010. While the announcement trailer below leaves a lot to the imagination as it doesn’t show any actual gameplay in it, there is always something exciting about the announcement of a new Sonic game. Some of it resembles the Nascar scenario of wondering how bad a crash could turn out while others have nostalgic hope ring through that the game may live up to the early Sonic games we all know and loved, like that of the Sonic The Hedgehog 4 trailer.

Sega tells us about Sonic Colors:

An extraordinary amusement park has been seen orbiting around the home planet of Sonic the Hedgehog, and rumours are spreading that an alien race of Wisps, who have a unique colorful energy, are being held captive there by the evil Dr. Eggman. Soon after arriving at the amusement park, Sonic discovers he is able to use these mysterious alien forces to help the Wisps escape! Sonic Colors for the Wii seamlessly combines both 3D and classic 2D game play perspectives, while the Nintendo DS version takes full advantage of the console’s dual screen.

“In Sonic Colors, players run at supersonic speed through incredible looking planets each with their own unique visual style.” commented Gary Knight, Senior Vice President of Marketing, SEGA. “In addition to the classic Sonic gameplay style, the colorful new Wisp power-ups offer a fresh new way of exploring these worlds and helps make Sonic faster than ever before!”

Take a peek after the jump at the announcement trailer and a few new images from the upcoming game and let us know your thoughts on Sonic Colors.

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Given the current spate of advances in genetic engineering, Splice seems eerily prescient. After all, we have already seen the rapid evolution of cloning. Supermarkets now carry cloned produce, and mammals are routinely and successfully cloned as well. Is it really unreasonable to assume we will see a human-animal hybrid in our lifetime? Who’s to say one doesn’t already exist?

It is hard to believe that director Vincenzo Natali (Cube) first conceived the idea for Splice almost 15 years ago, all because he was intrigued by the shocking image of the Vacanti mouse, that little white mouse that had a human ear growing out of its back. The result is this chilling sci-fi/horror hybrid that is teeming with the ethical and moral implications of genetic research.

Elsa (Sarah Polley, The Sweet Hereafter) and Clive (Adrien Brody, The Pianist) are gifted young genetic bio-engineers, who have successfully spliced the genetic material of different animals into a hybrid. A pharmaceutical company has sponsored them, in the hopes of developing new medications.

Frustrated, Elsa chomps at the bit to add a little human DNA to the next experiment, but the company shoots her down, deeming it too risky, not to mention illegal.

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Since it’s announcement, Rob Marshall’s upcoming sequel in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise has gotten more and more interesting casting news. First Ian McShane joined the cast as Blackbeard, then Penelope Cruz was cast as his daughter and now the cast has grown by one more.

Actor Stephen Graham, possibly best known for his roles in Gangs of New York and Snatch, will be standing side by side with Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow in next summer’s epic sequel. From Variety:

He’ll portray Scrum, a Machiavellian pirate in Disney’s fourth installment of the franchise in which Sparrow seeks out the fountain of youth. Graham worked with Depp on “Public Enemies” and recently wrapped on murder drama “The Fields” opposite Sam Worthington.

He also will be seen as Al Capone on Martin Scorsese’s series “Boardwalk Empire” for HBO and in William Monahan’s “London Boulevard” opposite Keira Knightly and Colin Farrell.

Pirates 4 is geared to set sail on May 20th, 2011.

We’re about 3 months away from the August 16th premiere of Weeds Season 6, yet Showtime is already ramping up their marketing for the newest season with a brand new teaser showing Mary-Louise Parker rocking out to an indie track by April Smith & The Great Picture Show.

Last we left the family Botwin, things got pretty heavy when Shane (Alexander Gould) committed the unthinkable. There hasn’t been much speculation on where the series is headed this season, aside from the fact that Linda Hamilton will be joining the cast in the short-term.

From what we can gather in the cryptic teaser, Nancy seems to be burying everything that has to do with Esteban (Demian Bichir) including a gun, cell phone, and the infamous croquet bat.

Check out the teaser after the jump, and join Weeds on Showtime as “The plot deepens” on August 16th.

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Android users have long had to suffer with inferior music management on their smartphones, especially when compared to the ease-of-use of Apple’s iTunes and iPhone pairing. But like a beam of light from the heavens, software firm doubleTwist aims to make things easier for users of the popular Android OS, as well as a myriad of other supported devices.

First, there’s the software which is currently in public beta and runs on both the PC and the Mac. With support for a huge array of mobile devices, the doubleTwist software is your go-to app for syncing your podcasts, music and video with just about anything you can connect. With built-in support for Android-powered smartphones, Blackberry mobile devices, Sony PSP, Palm Pre, certain Nokia handsets, Windows Mobile, Kindles and more than 100 different products, this software can handle virtually any device you can connect.

Once you connect, doubleTwist has some great features beyond merely syncing your devices with your media library. For podcasts, they’ve built the largest podcast search service available. For purchasing new music, connect directly to the Amazon MP3 store while syncing your devices to your iTunes playlists. Impossible you say? Wait, there’s more. On the video side, download any video in virtually any format and with a quick drag ‘n’ drop, doubleTwist converts it to a format suitable for your devices. Very slick.

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HBO may only have a few shows to work with, but they definitely have their marketing strategy down to a tee. They know that fans everywhere are hungry (no pun intended) for the new season of True Blood, so they’ve given us a series of new webisodes, as well as a whole slew of new teasers and previews of the upcoming seasons.

We know that Bill is missing, Eric wants Sookie, and werewolves will be a prominent part in this season, but now we finally get a glimpse of what they look like. It looks like the obvious visual of having werewolves transform from furry dudes was not lost on Alan Ball and the showrunners over at True Blood.

The newest teaser gives us a bit more of these hirsuit antagonists, as well as some more Eric/Snookie action. Check out the newest spot after the jump, and be sure to keep an eye out for season 3 of True Blood starting June 13th on HBO.

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Back in April, we brought you the first trailer for the upcoming comedy Dinner for Schmucks starring Steve Carell and Paul Rudd. We didn’t know much about it, but what we saw, we loved. Now we’re getting more footage in a full trailer, and it looks like it has potential to be one of the top comedies of the year.

The film comes from director Jay Roach, who brought us the first Meet the Parents films and the first two Austin Powers films. Basically, the premise is about up-and-coming executive Tim (Rudd) who needs to impress his co-workers and bosses by bringing the weirdest guest, played by Carell, to their annual dinner.

Not only will the film bring together Carell and Rudd for the first time, but will also throw in a few other comedic favorites such as Zach Galifiniakis, Ron Livingston, Jeff Dunham, and Flight of the Conchord’s Jemaine Clement. The newest trailer gives us a bit more of the epic “mind battle” between Galifiniakis and Carell, and some more awkward momest of Carell as the unfomfortable “Barry”.

Check out the new trailer after the jump, and be sure to catch Dinner for Schmucks when it hits theaters on July 23rd.

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As reboots go, CBS’s update of the show Hawaii Five-O is actually one I’m kinda looking forward to. Sure, I also wish networks could come up with more original ideas instead of looking to the past and updating shows that have already been around. But I guess you can’t have everything.

Like some of CBS’s other shows, Five-O is a police procedural which takes the concept in a slightly new direction without making it completely different. It’s familiar without being a complete retread and manages to be somewhat fresh take on things.

It also includes lush tropical settings, car chases, gunfights and an appealing cast which includes Alex O’Laughlin, Scott Caan, Grace Park and Daniel Dae Kim. Will the show succeed? Perhaps. Fortunately, the cast manages to uplift the somewhat familiar premise and as with most series, will be a key factor in its success.

Fortunately, CBS has done a good job putting the show together and it could enjoy a rather long run on the network. Look for Hawaii Five-O to hit the beach this Fall on Mondays at 10/9C on CBS. Until then, check out a preview of the show after the jump.

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There’s no denying the success and appeal of the first Star Wars: The Force Unleashed game. It quickly rose to be the highest selling Star Wars franchise game ever and was universally praised for its high quality visuals and exciting gameplay. At the Spike VGAs, the first trailer was released for the game’s sequel, aptly named Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2. But since the VGAs, news of the game has been sparse.

Lucas Arts has recently launched the game’s website which looks to take the viral route to promote the game. Connecting to Facebook, visitors can track the progress of Subject 1157 from inside his bacta tank, listening to audio logs and playing games to help uncover memories of Vader’s former apprentice.

Some notable questions come up through exploring the site. First and foremost is how the two games will be tied together, especially since there were two drastically different endings to choose from at the end of the first Force Unleashed and the aftermaths these lead to for the apprentice. Next comes the question of the dual lightsabers.

While we have seen this done in the past, these lightsabers are shown to be blue while traditionally within Star Wars, the Sith only use red. Does this mean the apprentice is no longer a pawn of the Dark Side? Finally, keep your ears tuned to the audio clue at the end of the trailer when a very familiar voice gives a foreboding warning to those who dare traverse down this game’s dark past.

Star Wars: the Force Unleashed 2 hits stores on October 26th, 2010. Check out all the pics and video after the jump.

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We’ve been pretty excited about AMC’s series The Walking Dead from director/writer/producer Frank Darabont since it was first announced. Actually, to be perfectly honest, we were reading rhe comics long before the TV series was a possiblity so we go way back. Fortunately, it looks like the TV series creative team is taking the small screen adaptation very seriously. How can I tell? The zombies man, the zombies.

Over at the official blog of the show they’ve posted the first look at the zombie make-up for some of the zombie “Walkers” and I have to say they look pretty cool. Of course, if you’re making a TV show about a zombie apocalypse and the aftermath, your zombies had better look cool. We’ve got a few of the pics here for you as well as video featuring series main man Frank Darabont.

The Walking Dead is based on a comic series created by Robert Kirkman and follows a group of survivors led by police officer Rick Grimes, who search the zombie controlled county for a safe and secure home. Along the way they encounter the worst of what’s left including zombies galore and humans at their worst. Filming on the six episode series begun yesterday in Atlanta with a premiere set for October of this year.

Check out some larger zombie pics and the interview with Frank Darabont after the jump. For more, head on over to the show’s official blog.

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Well, it wass bound to happen sooner or later, especially with a company like AT&T. Change is, after all, inevitable. What am I talking about? Unlimited smartphone data from AT&T is a thing of the past. Or at least it will be soon.

Starting on June 7th, the company will introduce two new data plans to replace its current $30 unlimited smartphone plan. These new plans will, according to AT&T, make it “more affordable for more people to enjoy the benefits of the mobile Internet.” How nice of them.

Here’s the details on the new plans:

DataPlus
200MB of data for $15 per month. AT&T says this will be enough data to meet the needs of 65% of its smartphone users. Go over this limit and be charged $15 per 200MB.

DataPro
2GB of data for $25 per month. According to AT&T, only 2% of its smartphone customers use more than 2GB of data per month. Go over this limit and be charged $10 per GB.

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