At an event held this morning at Apple’s Cupertino campus, newly minted Apple CEO Tim Cook unveiled what many were expecting: a brand new iPhone. Dubbed the iPhone 4S, the device is cosmetically very similar to the current iPhone 4 but features a host of internal improvements which may appease fans eagerly awaiting an iPhone refresh.

In addition, Cook announced the release data for iOS 5, the software that powers Apple’s lineup of devices including the iPhone and iPad, as well as updated iPods with price cuts and an intelligent assistant, dubbed Siri, which enables user to verbally interact with their iOS devices.

Here’s the highlights of today’s event:

• Apple made the iPhone 4S official. It features the same Retina Display but features Apple’s dual-core A5 processor and a dual-core graphics chip.

• The iPhone 4S battery can provide 8 hours of 3G talk time, 6 hours of browsing time on 3G and 9 on Wi-Fi, 10 hours of video playback or 40 hours of music playback.

• Apple has redesigned the iPhone 4S antenna to switch between two antenna to send and receive. Hopefully how you hold the device won’t matter now.

• The iPhone 4S features HSPA+ 14.4 support, though Apple isn’t branding it as “4G.” It’s also a world phone, so one device will support CDMA and GSM/WCDMA networks around the globe. That means it will work on AT&T, Verizon and Sprint networks in the U.S.

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As a fan of the Star Tours attractions on both coasts, I was excited to go to the D23 panel on the making of Star Tours: The Adventures Continue… I crowded into the 1,000+ seat ballroom, not knowing what Imagineer insights awaited me.

In true Disney fashion, the panel was a professionally crafted presentation, with no room for questions..errr, I mean error. In this panel, lead Imagineer, Tom Fitzgerald, spoke with the aid of Powerpoint and took us on the journey to bring this attraction into the future.

Tom Fitzgerald, began his Star Tours story in 1998 when George Lucas summoned the Imagineer team to his ranch to watch the pod race, and only the pod race. After seeing the infamous scene, the Imagineers decided to wait to see the rest of the film, hoping against hope that it would the pod race would be scrapped for something way cooler.

Ok, so Tom said, “In fact, we did think it was a great idea”, but I can read between the lines. Interestingly back in 1998, way before the 3D onslaught, the Imagineers knew the ride was going to be in 3D.

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Just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse when 75% of the films hitting theaters this year are in 3D or RealD, Robert Rodriguez introduces 4D with his new feature, the Aroma-Scope.

Sure, it’s not the newest idea. From the major plot points in Joe Dante’s Matinee from 1993 to John Waters’ “Odorama” in the film Polyester, the idea has been played with in the past, but never to the level of a summer blockbuster. Deadline explains.

[Rodriguez] used the marketing strategy of billing his fourth installment in the Spy Kids franchise as a “4D” flick by adding scratch-and-sniff scent cards for audiences. It’ll be interesting to see if this add-on “Aroma-Scope” value increases moviegoing beyond just the 3D higher ticket prices when the pic opens Friday. ”When it came time to do Spy Kids 4, I couldn’t just go back and do 3D like everybody else is now. I had to bring something extra,” Rodriguez told the the AP.

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In july we brought you the news that the first wave of programming for Austin’s amazing Fantastic Fest had been announced. Now, we’re delighted to tell you the schedule for the second wave of programming has been released as well.

Most of the second wave films are new to most people but they probably won’t be once the fest is underway. That’s just what happens.

Here’s the list of the new films announced. Expect more announcements, and lots of coverage, in the weeks ahead. Fantastic fest runs from September 22-29 in Austin, TX.

MOVIES ON FIRE: HONG KONG ACTION CLASSICS- presented by AGFA

The amazing Grady Hendrix of the famous New York Asian Film Festival will join us and introduce four surprise 35mm screenings of classic Hong Kong grindhouse gems (most not available on DVD) from Hong Kong’s exploitation heyday of the late 80’s and early 90’s, these movies are cinematic crystal meth: cheap n’crazy, they’ll spoil you for everything else. Designed to play to rowdy audiences who threatened mayhem if they weren’t delivered a dose of gonzo delirium every five minutes, they have a total disregard for three-act structure, Hollywood plotting and the lives of their stuntmen. Get ready to burn!

AARDVARK (2010)
Texas Premiere
Director Kitao Sakurai live in person
Director: Kitao Sakurai, Japan, 80 minutes
Larry (AARDVARK’s blind-since-birth protagonist) has an innate curiosity that lands him smack in the middle of a bizarre criminal underworld replete with mixed martial arts, intrigue, murder and pillow humping.

BLIND (2011)
US Premiere
Director – AHN Sang-hoon, Korea, 111minutes
A blind woman narrowly escapes from the clutches of a serial killer. When he circles back to get rid of any witnesses, the woman must rely on her other acute senses to identify and outwit the killer.

CALIBRE 9 (2011)
World Premiere
Director Jean-Christian Tassy & Producer Axel Guyot live in person
Director: Jean-ChristianTassy, France, 84 minutes
A city planner becomes strangely linked to a gun possessed by the soul of a dead hooker.

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Now that San Diego Comic-Con 2011 is far enough in the rear view mirror for us to safely say we had a good time and forget all the long days and blackout nights that took place, we are pretty happy with how this year turned out.

Between amazing interviews we had  with stars like  Felicia Day, Katee Sackhoff, Paul Scheer, the cast of Black Dynamite, Mark Hamill, John Barrowman, Eliza Dushku and many more, and the extensive coverage we got of the events going on at the show, we consider this year’s Comic-Con a big success.

As we’ve done in years past, we put together this highlight reel showcasing some of the great stuff we had at the show this year.

Big thanks to our newest team member Eric Medina who helped us out at the show and put together the reel below. Check it out and keep an eye out for more exclusive interviews and in-depth reviews coming straight to you!

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Living in Los Angeles is awesome. There are hundreds of events, screenings, parties and exclusives that would make any film fan explode from joy. One of those awesome events has just been announced for the end of August. The Fans of Film Music gathering is a wonderful chance for film score aficionados to get together with some of the best composers in the industry to talk about their dual passion, film music.

The 2nd annual event has been put together by Peter Hackman, a film score die-hard who felt the need to keep an annual event going for fans of film music. Of all the niche groups of fans in the film world, film score fans rank amongst the smallest and most spread out. So this event is especially exciting as it brings film fans together from all around the world. And that isn’t hyperbole, Peter literally has people flying in from all over the world for the event.

More details on the event and a full list of attending composers can be found after the jump.

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With Comic-Con in San Diego starting this Wednesday night with Preview Night and going through Sunday, it’s a great time to make sure you’re ready and able to find all the great coverage we’re going to be doing during the show. With that in mind, following are some links to where our content and coverage are going to be.

Of course, the main place you can find our coverage and content will be right here at The Flickcast website. See that link above that says San Diego Comic-Con 2011? Click that and it will take you directly to all our Comic-Con features, news, interviews, video and more.

We’ll also be posting items of interest to our Facebook Page and our Twitter feed. So, if you haven’t yet become our friend on Facebook or started following us on Twitter, now is a great time to do that! You can also find our video content directly at our video site.

This year’s Comic-Con promises to be better than ever so be sure to check back right here for all your Comic-Con news, interviews, photos, videos and more!

Bear McCreary, best known for his Emmy -nominated TV composing work, has been commissioned by NASA to write an original fanfare commemorating the final Space Shuttle launch. A recent press release unveiled the plans:

“After composing four seasons of music for a television show set in space, creating music inspired by a historic NASA mission was a natural fit. The composition will be played first on Friday morning at the NASA launch TweetUp. People viewing the launch from some of the other locations at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida will also be able to hear the composition.”

Bear is best known for his work on the hit Sci-Fi show Battlestar Galactica, but has written for multiple shows over the last few years. One of his recent highlights include the show Human Target, which earned him his most recent Emmy nomination.

McCreary is an interesting choice for NASA, being a TV composer he is not all that well known and their is a history of people of John Williams-caliber writing music specific for events. That said, being familiar with his work I can assure you all that McCreary is an inspired choice, and I for one can’t wait to hear it.

This year’s Comic-Con International was looking like it would be a bit lame with studios like Marvel, Paramount, Warner Bros, and other big companies dropping out of the festivities entirely. That means we won’t be seeing massive lines for Hall H and a glimpse at Henry Cavill in the Superman suit or footage of Thor and Hulk whomping on each other.

Instead we’re getting some of the lesser known properties in that famous football stadium-sized room known as “Hall H” such as The Knights of Badassdom and Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil. With the very first day of programming for the ‘Con announced, it looks like we’re going to be getting just that, and a truck load of TV.

One good note is that all things Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1 will be in the early half of Thursday, leaving the rest of the weekend vampire free (except for those Southern vamps from True Blood).

Check out the full day’s schedule after the jump, and head to their official Scheduler app, so you can make official the things you want to see that weekend!

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Probably a bit too late for it to be popular, but Comedy Central has been scraping the bottom of the “who’s funny right now” barrel with Hasselhoff and Donald Trump being the last few names to grace the Comedy Central Roast stage. Now it seems they’re still trying to catch up with the viral webgoers, as Charlie Sheen has agreed to star in his very own roast. They even have a hashtag reserved!

NEW YORK, July 5, 2011 – COMEDY CENTRAL has secured one of Hollywood’s most notorious bad boys.  The network announced today that Charlie Sheen will be the next Roastee.  The “COMEDY CENTRAL Roast Of Charlie Sheen” (#SheenRoast) will tape in Los Angeles on Saturday, September 10.

The Roast will premiere on COMEDY CENTRAL on Monday, September 19 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.

“You could say I’ve been providing kindling for this Roast for a while,” said Sheen.  “It’s time to light it up.  It’s going to be epic.”

The true hilarity of this whole thing is that the Roast is set to air on the debut night of Ashton Kutcher on CBS’ Two and a Half Men. Coincidence? We absolutely think not. Be sure to catch them (both) on September 19th.

With Comic-Con in San Diego coming next month it stands to reason we will start to get a better idea of what film, TV and comic book creators and studios are going to be bringing to the show. Today the news comes from Fox, who will be brining 13 shows down to San Diego and in particular will be showing off their brand new Steven Spielberg pre-historic time travel drama Terra Nova.

Other shows making an appearance at the Con include the animated Napoleopn Dynamite, Awake, Bones, Bob’s Burgers, The Finder, Allen Gregory, Glee, Bones, Family Guy, The Simpsons, American Dad, The Cleveland Show, and Futurama. So basically, it’s pretty much the Seth McFarland show with a bit of Spielberg thrown in for good measure. Plus, it will be nice to see Stephen Lang get to play a good guy finally.

Oh yeah, those kids from Glee will be there too. Plus, and this isn’t related to Fox, Twilight will also be in attendance and taking over Hall H this year as well. Good times.

Click through for Fox’s schedule. Comic-Con in San Diego goes from July 21 – 24. Of course, as we were last year, we’ll be there this year to bring you all the fun.

So, check back early and often right here for all your Comic-Con 2011 news, reviews, interviews and more.

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After you roast the likes of Flava Flav, Pamela Anderson, Larry the Cable Guy, David Hasselhoff, and Donald Trump, where can Comedy Central possibly go from there? How about taking on Detroit-based white rapper turned americana rock star turned balladeer Kid Rock?

That’s exactly what they have planned this August, as the people who brought us the First Annual Comedy Awards are planning on a celebrity roast to honor the rocker on hist 40th birthday.

NEW YORK, May 9, 2011 – COMEDY CENTRAL announced today that Kid Rock is set to join the likes of Donald Trump, David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson as COMEDY CENTRAL’s next Roastee.  During Kid Rock’s illustrious career as a performer, there has yet to be a single audience that could prepare the five-time Grammy nominee for the vicious onslaught of sharp barbs that will be thrown his way when he takes center stage for the “COMEDY CENTRAL Roast Of Kid Rock.”

The event is currently scheduled to tape on August 14th and will air shortly thereafter. No announcements have been made as to which celebrity roasters will make an appearance, but you can expect the usual gang, and probably an appearance by current touring partner Sheryl Crow.