In the world of MMORPGs, the players who excel are the ones that have the most time to devote to the game. It makes sense that the longer you have to dedicate to grinding out levels, stocking up on gear and materials, and running dungeons, the more of an advantage you’d have.

While other MMOs give minor rewards to players for resting between gameplay, like World of Warcraft‘s “rest bonuses”, they don’t have any kind of system comparable to what Final Fantasy XIV has planned.

In Final Fantasy XIV, players will be allowed eight hours per class at full experience points. After the eight hours are up, the amount of experience gained will decrease over the next seven hours. Once these seven hours are up, you will receive no experience points for the rest of the week. Players have the option to change classes at any time in FFXIV, so they’d have eight hours of gameplay per week, per class.

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Kevin Smith (director of Clerks, Chasing Amy, Dogma) and Ralph Garman (The Joe Schmo Show, Family Guy and KROQ’s entertainment reporter for the Kevin and Bean radio show) have teamed up for a new podcast dubbed the ‘Hollywood Babble-On’ and appearing on Smith’s SModcast Podcast Network. The podcast, recorded live at Smith’s new venue, ‘SmodCastle’ on Santa Monica Blvd in L.A., is positioned as a tongue-in-cheek review of the week’s entertainment news by two veteran Hollywood insiders.

The new show marks the fifth in Smith’s growing podcast network, which currently includes the original SmodCast, wherein Smith and his long-time friend and sometimes producer Scott Mosier, shoot the shit about whatever topics they find amusing that week. Also, Malcolm Ingram’s Blow Hard, whose show only serves to fuel Smith’s frequent gay jokes.

Board the way-back machine for Jay and Silent Bob Get Old, an excuse for old pals Jason Mewes and Smith to wax nostalgic about the good ol’ days. Rounding out the selection is the popular Tell ‘Em Steve-Dave, which features Walt Flanagan, Smith’s long-time friend and artist for the Batman ‘Widening Gyre’ series. The show also features long-time Jersey friend and fellow writer-director, Bryan Johnson.

In their first episode of the podcast, Smith and Garman discuss Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag and their possible tell-all book/sex tape depending on who you talk to, Keeping up with the Kardashians and how they both feel stupider for having watched one episode, Kevin’s 40th birthday and how he’s old and about to die at any moment and Smith’s voyeuristic hotel adventures. Also discussed was Lawrence Fishburn’s daughter and the porn industry, Stallone debuting 5 number one movies in 5 different decades with the recent The Expendables and him being the only actor to do so. The topics vary wildly and frequently veer into NSFW dialogue that Ralph and Kevin seem to draw upon at will.

According to Smith’s Twitter feed, Hollywood Babble-On will be a weekly event, with new episodes going live every Saturday. Tune in at www.SmodCast.com for more details and streaming shows.

As if having six children and being one of the most famous actresses on the planet were not enough, Angelina Jolie has decided to write, produce and direct a movie. Jolie wrote the screenplay about a Serbian man and a Bosnian woman who meet just prior to the Bosnian War.

True to her nature,  Jolie will go about it in a somewhat unconventional way.  She has announced that all the actors in the movie will be from the Bosnia region.

Jolie has been a Goodwill Ambassador for the United States, and has visited the war torn country before. She has stated that the film will not be political in nature, but rather a love story set in the region.

This is not Jolie’s first time as a director.  She previously directed a documentary entitled A Place In Time in 2007, which documented simultaneous moments in time from several different locations, including Cambodia, Kosovo, and India.

Next up we will see Jolie in The Tourist, with Johnny Depp. The film is in post-production,  and is slated for release on December 10.

After its reveal at E32010, Goldeneye 007 has become one of the most anticipated upcoming Wii games for this holiday season. As the re-imagining of an incredibly successful game on the Nintendo 64, this game is a real opportunity for Nintendo to attract hardcore gamers to their casual console. A few weeks ago, we gave you a look at the new Classic Pro controller made specifically for Goldeneye 007.  Now, we’ve got some great screenshots and a brand-new trailer showing off the best part about Goldeneye 007: the multiplayer mode.

The screenshots and trailer give us a much better look at the multiplayer in Goldeneye 007, which, like the original, looks incredibly diverse with both fast-paced shooting and stealth attacks. The various locations will allow for a multitude of different encounters, blending very close-up combat and targeted distance shooting. And with both split-screen and online multiplayer, you’ll be able to play with anyone, anywhere.

Voiced by star of the last two Bond films, Daniel Craig, Goldeneye 007 brings everything you know and love about the original N64 game to the Nintendo Wii. Featuring 40 characters, ten maps, three standard modes, 18 special modifiers, and support for the Wii Zapper, Goldeneye 007 looks to revolutionize the way we think about first-person shooters for the Wii.

Goldeneye 007 will be released exclusively for the Nintendo Wii on November 2nd. You can check out all the screenshots and the brand-new trailer after the jump.

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There hasn’t been a genuine outer space sci-fi drama flick on the horizon since last year’s Pandorum, which is why I’m really excited about Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity. With films like Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Children of Men under his belt, Cuaron has certainly proved to be an excellent director and one to keep an eye on. While Gravity, his latest venture, was on the back burner for some time, it looks like the project is full-steam ahead.

Gravity will be about a woman fighting to return to Earth after being separated from the Hubble. While casting for the lead role is unknown, Blake Lively and Scarlett Johansson are rumored to be fighting for the part. Though his role is currently unknown, Robert Downey Jr. is a confirmed cast member in the film.

The film is planned to be released in 3D, and will feature one of Cuaron’s amazing long takes, with a rumored 20-minute opening shot similar to the amazing scene at the end of Children of Men. The movie will also be almost entirely CGI, as it sounds like it’ll take place almost exclusively in outer space.

After Azkaban it’s clear that Cuaron can handle a film with a lot of CGI and imagined landscapes, and Children of Men proved him to be a master of taking a futuristic premise and creating a very realistic film. I think he’s the best person to undertake this project, and it’ll be exciting to see what the film becomes as casting is decided and production begins.

For any fans of the sci-fi genre or any kind of survival dramas, this certainly sounds like a film for you. We’ll keep you posted on Gravity and any other exciting flicks on the horizon.

We may be getting farther and farther away from the opening weekend of this year’s biggest action film, but that just means that we’re getting closer to this year’s biggest action film based on a spoof trailer, Machete. Robert Rodriguez has promised that this film will not disappoint fans who love this genre, and especially fans who love the film’s star Danny Trejo.

Why not keep that excitement going with a brand new clip of Jessica Alba and Michelle Rodriguez having some harsh words. This looks to be one of the only scenes in the flick that doesn’t involve gratuitous nudity or violence, but it’s ok because we at least have some pretty things to look at.

If Alba and Rodriguez aren’t enough to get the blood pumping, how about a full cast of stars like De Niro, Cheech, Lindsay Lohan, Steven Seagal, and Don Johnson? That put a smile on your face? It should.

Check out the clip after the jump, and be sure to keep it here for more upcoming clips from Robert Rodriguez’s Machete, in theaters next Friday.

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Sometimes, things happen in public that actually reflect things you’ve been discussing in private. In this case I was just having a discussion about TV show rentals the other day and was lamenting the fact that Apple didn’t offer that model for its Apple TV device. Cut to today and it looks like that problem might be remedied by Apple shortly.

According to Bloomberg, Apple is supposedly in “advanced talks” with News Corp., CBS and Walt Disney Co. to allow iTunes users to rent their programming for 99-cents an episode instead of, or in addition to, the existing model where you can only purchase content. From the article:

“The content deals would give Apple users access to some of the most-watched shows on TV and increase the appeal of its devices. . . Added programming also would build on iTunes’ role as the biggest retailer of music and mobile applications, and help Apple ward off companies like Netflix Inc. and Amazon.com Inc., which offer their own online video services.”

Not only that, Apple will reportedly announce this service, and potentially more, at an as yet unofficial press event on September 1st. Some of these other things could include an Apple TV re-branded as the iTV and/or new versions of the iPod. With Apple, really anything is possible.

As someone who’s just gone through this and only wanted to rent some episodes of a show and not own them, I hope the rental deal turns out to be true. It makes sense that companies would want to offer this option in order to get some revenue instead of none from people only looking to rent a show and not own it. Hopefully we’ll find out on September 1st.

This week on The Flickcast Chris and Matt are back after not doing a show last week. Fortunately, the boys are in good spirits and ready for action diving into a bunch of new topics for this week’s show.

Some of these topics include Scott Pilgrim and its box office performance, XXX parodies of mainstream film and television programs, X-Men First Class casting news, Fantastic Four casting news, the films of Edgar Wright and Piranha 3D and its sequel. In addition, the boys discussed the latest Machete clips, the new Black Swan trailer, the fake Comic-Con Captain America trailer and the brand new trailer for The Walking Dead.

In addition, Matt and Chris made some new picks this week including Matt’s pick of Operation: Endgame, featuring Rob Corddry, and Chris’ pick of the “bloody good time” film Piranha 3D.

As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques, offers of sponsorship or whatever, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter, at Facebook and MySpace or via email.

David Goyer has had quite a successful relationship with DC and Warner Bros. dating back to Batman Begins. Now, with his potential to write scripts for the upcoming Superman and Batman projects, Warner has optioned a brand new property from the mind of Goyer, based on his brand new series of science fiction novels.

The first story of the trilogy, titled Heaven’s Shadow, has been optioned by the studio to be made into a large-budget picture, with Goyer staying attached to re-work the script. If all goes according to plan, the film is only the first to be adapted from the series. From Deadline:

The trilogy begins when an object is discovered heading for earth. Initial panic gives way to a competition between governments to be first to intercept what they believe is a breakaway meteor. What the astronauts discover leads to an encounter with alien forces that are a threat to humanity. It is the first book that Goyer has written and last spring, he set it at the Penguin imprint Ace Books to be published in July, 2011. Heaven’s War and Heaven’s Fall will be released in subsequent summers. The studio bought the book series after Goyer pitched it, as Goyer and his co-author are still working on the prose.

No word on how this upcoming project could effect Goyer’s work on his other projects, especially the upcoming third Batman film in the new trilogy. According to film star Michael Caine, the studio and Nolan are planning to shoot as soon as April of next year, which could mean Goyer’s script is already in the can.

Not only that, but DC Entertainment is also tired of leaving the Superman property on the shelf, and plans are already in action to streamline the film for a 2012-2013 release.

Whatever the case may be, you can believe we’ll be keeping a close eye on all things coming out of Goyer’s camp over the next few years, as he should have his work cut out for him.

All geeks really love gadgets. It’s one of the things we live and breathe for. And while we may have some of the latest and greatest in tech, it’s still important to make sure they’re protected while still looking as cool as possible.

That’s where Gelaskins, a product I recently discovered at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, come in. Gelaskins replaces the idea of a bulky case or a boring, one-tone skin with some cool designs for almost any gadget you can think of.

Whether you’ve got an iPod Touch or an Xbox 360 you want to jazz up, you can snag yourself a Gelaskin skin in many really cool art designs. For us geeks, they’ve got skin art from Marvel, Buffy, Hellboy and more.

If Gelaskins doesn’t offer any art to your liking, you can upload your own design and have it printed for a vast array of products including netbooks, eReaders, and the latest and greatest phones.

You can check out Gelaskins at their website.

After his big win at the Oscars last year for Slumdog Millionaire, we’ve all had our eye on Danny Boyle. News of his newest project, 127 Hours, has been buzzing for quite awhile, and now that the trailer has finally hit the web, we have a chance to see for ourselves.

127 Hours is based on the true story of Aron Ralston, a lone mountain climber who, after being trapped by a boulder while climbing in Utah, amputated his own arm in order to escape and survive. The film stars James Franco as Ralston, and the screenplay is written by Boyle and Simon Beaufoy, who wrote and won the Academy Award for Slumdog Millionaire.

Looking to be in the same vein as films like Castaway and the upcoming Buried, 127 Hours looks to be a suspenseful and compelling survival story. The film will be released November 5th of this year.

You can watch the trailer right here after the jump.

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SyFy’s Eureka and Warehouse 13 are filled to the brim with gizmos a plenty and government geniuses.  Much like the perfect swirl at Pink Berry, when these two shows crossover they form the perfect blend of high tech adventures. So, when The Flickcast sat down with the energetic, witty, and down to earth Neil Grayston, we couldn’t help but inquire about his fictional and non-fictional cohort Allison Scagliotti.

Neil Grayston, who plays Douglas Fargo on Eureka, it seems is an international man of mystery.  I say international because he is in fact from Canada, and mystery because who knew he used to be a wrestler and still keeps his black belt firmly pressed?  I’m sure this is why Allison Scagliotti of Warehouse 13 finds her pal perpetually fascinating.

The Flickcast: Is it fun seeing Warehouse 13’s Allison Scagliotti in San Diego?

Neil Grayston: Yeah, well it’s funny, Allison and I met a year ago, here at Comic-Con.  We hit it off pretty much right away and we’ve kept in touch and we’re like really, really good friends. And then, we got paid to hang out and work together for 2 weeks, and make out and stuff.

We have a very similar way of doing things- we answer each other’s sentences so many times and we have the same punch lines.  Like when another person has just said something and we’ll both try to make a clever quip and it’ll be at the same time with the same inflection.

It was really fun, I hope I can go back, because the whole Warehouse 13 cast is great and the whole Eureka cast is great, and we all sort of blend quite well together.

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