We’ve heard of shows being canceled due to difficult cast members, poor ratings, or a lack of a budget, but an abundance of deaths? That’s new.

That seems to be the case with HBO’s freshman show Luck, about the comings and goings of a horse track and its characters that surround it. The Dustin Hoffman-starring vehicle seems to have been the victim of too many horse deaths to continue on the network. Here’s the official message from HBO:

It is with heartbreak that executive producers David Milch and Michael Mann together with HBO have decided to cease all future production on the series LUCK.

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According to a joint press release, Paramount Pictures and J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions have agreed to an extension of their exclusive, first-look agreement through December 2015. The deal looks to be incredibly lucrative for both sides.

“J.J. is a unique talent and a captivating storyteller,” said Brad Grey, Chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures. “J.J., Bryan Burk and the whole Bad Robot team are an integral part of Paramount and we’re proud to continue our collaboration. Their pictures have extraordinary resonance around the world and we’re so pleased Paramount will be their home for years to come.”

Bad Robot Productions’ original first look deal with Paramount began in 2006. Since then we have had releases of a variety of successful films and franchise continuations. Considering that grosses on Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol are now $670M globally, while those for the Star Trek reboot hit $385M worldwide, it is no surprise that Paramount is excited about the continuation of this deal. Under the previous Paramount deal, Abrams also had made Cloverfield and Super 8, both of which did well at the global box office.

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The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a lot like the Golden Globes. It is an honor in and of itself, but it is often awarded to someone whose project has a large advertising budget. This causes many cynics out there to feel it has no merit at all, but at the end of the day it is an honor and is part of the fabric of Hollywood.

The 2,459th star to adorn Hollywood Blvd is officially going to The Simpsons creator Matt Groening. Just in time for the 500th episode airing in two weeks, Groening will be honored with a star devoted entirely to him. A previous star honoring the Simpsons themselves already lines the famed street, close to where Groenings own star will soon be located.

Groening has forever left an indelible mark on society.   Voted the “Best Show of the 20^th Century” by Time Magazine, the [Simpsons] has left a path of catch-phrases (Homer’s “D’oh!” and Bart’s “Eat my shorts”) and societal commentary. It has also given birth to a theme park ride and United States postage stamps, personally designed by Groening. He served as producer and writer during the four-year process of the long-awaited hit feature film The Simpsons Movie, released in July 2007.  

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Fans of the Action/RPG genre are eagerly awaiting the release of The Lord of the Rings: War in the North, a new role-playing title from Snowblind Studios. WitN will feature an expansive three-player cooperative campaign allowing players to form their own fellowship, as well as a series of in-game challenges which will test players abilities to work together.

To emphasize the importance of co-op gameplay, the developers have released a behind-the-scenes / gameplay trailer focusing on “The Power of Three,” and highlighting the different abilities and tactical advantages offered by each character class.
From Premier PR:

“Each hero in this tale – Andriel the Elf, Eradan the Human, Farin the Dwarf – contributes a vital talent further uniting the Fellowship.  Hear from the creators themselves as they delve into the inner workings of the game’s heroes.  Utilising teamwork and communication, players can join together to fight the War in the North. ”

Watch the video below, and keep an eye out for The Lord of the Rings: War in the North when it releases for PS3, PC, and XBox 360 on November 1st, 2011  in the U.S., and the 25th in the UK.

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Activision announced pre-order bonuses late last week for their upcoming titles ‘Spider-Man: Edge of Time’ and ‘X-Men: Destiny’. Depending on which retailer you choose to reserve your copy (or copies) from, you’ll receive a different and unique bonus item for each game. Web-headed fans will receive a bonus in-game suit, while X-Men players will get an exclusive X-Gene to further develop their arsenal of mutant abilities.

For those pre-ordering Spider-Man from Best Buy, you’ll get the Big Time suit – based on the outfit from the comic series of the same name. Gamers who reserve via Amazon.com receive a code to unlock the alienesque black and white Future Foundation Spidey suit, and lastly anyone pre-ordering with Gamestop will receive a whopping four alternate costumes from the Identity Crisis storyline.

The bonus codes for ’X-Men: Destiny,’ on the other hand, unlock more than just a fancy change of pants. Pre-order unlocks for this title grant you access to otherwise unavailable mutant X-Genes:  from Best Buy come the powers of the unstoppable Juggernaut; Amazon offers Emma Frosts diamond-clad telepathic abilities, and codes from Gamestop will unlock the plamsa-blasting X-Gene of Havok.

Check out the videos below for exclusive footage of these bonuses in action. ‘X-Men: Destiny’ hits shelves on September 27th of this year, with ‘Spider-Man: Edge of Time’ coming shortly after on October 4th.

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Nintendo has sent out official word that in two weeks, their latest gaming platform, the Nintendo 3DS will be having its first price drop. Usually price drops happen once a system has been available for an extended period of time and the initial sales spike begins to falter. Unfortunately for Nintendo, their 3DS never had an initial spike.

A few years ago, the Nintendo DS was the chart topping selling system, even overtaking the next-gen XBox 360 and PlayStation 3, many times beating the Nintendo Wii and completely crushing the PlayStation Portable. Since its March release however, the 3DS hasn’t even hit the 1,000,000 seller mark and it has not been for lack of systems available to consumers.

Now in what looks to be a desperation move to entice consumers to purchase the new portable, Nintendo is dropping the MSRP a full $80 from $249.99 to $169.99. Never before has a Nintendo console had such a massive price drop, especially in such a short time since its release. The lack of software available to consumers is most likely the reason for the system’s subpar sales. Even with the price drop, it will be the software that ultimately will drive sales to the system.

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Coinciding with NBC’s remake of the BBC series starring the awesome Helen Mirren, Acorn Media is releasing the original Prime Suspect, Series 1 in an individual season set on August 23rd, with guest stars Ralph Fiennes and Tom Wilkinson. Starring Oscar winner Helen Mirren in her iconic, Emmy-winning television role, the original series aired on PBS to universal acclaim with more than 20 major international awards, including seven Emmys (“Outstanding Miniseries” and “Outstanding Actress”), eight BAFTAs, and a Peabody.

The new American version, starring Maria Bello, premieres on September 22, 2011 on NBC. We’re kinda looking forward to it. Although, it’s hard to believe anyone could walk in the shoiues of Ms. Mirren. However, we’re willing to give Bello a chance because, well, you know, she’s kinda hot.

Here’s all the scoop on the DVD release from the official press release:

Helen Mirren in PRIME SUSPECT, SERIES 1

On DVD August 23, 2011

The first series of the Emmy®-winning police drama is now available in an individual set;
Guest stars include Tom Wilkinson and Ralph Fiennes;
NBC remake premieres September 2011

“Superlative” —Entertainment Weekly “Powerful” —The New York Times
“A masterpiece” —USA Today “Riveting” —The Boston Globe
“Brilliant” —Los Angeles Times
“One of the great character creations of our time” —The Washington Post
“A perfect marriage of astoundingly talented actress and brilliantly conceived character” —USA Today
“Perhaps the greatest role and performance of a female police detective, ever” —San Francisco Chronicle

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With Comic-Con only about a week away expect lots more announcements of events, panels, signings and more over the next several day. This time around its the folks at Dark Horse Comics with the announcement.

They’ve got a whole bunch of events planned for Comic-Con including stuff at their booth, panels in various Con rooms and a green screen full of exciting showings.

To make things easier, we’ve included the full press release so you can make sure to include Dark Horse in your Comic-Con planning. Check out out right here:

DARK HORSE ANNOUNCES SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON 2011 SCHEDULE! SIGNINGS, PANELS, AND GREEN SCREENS, OH MY!

July 13, MILWAUKIE, OR—It’s here! San Diego Comic-Con 2011 is upon us, and Dark Horse Comics is telling you all the goods ahead of time! Plan accordingly!

SIGNINGS
Wednesday, July 20
7:30 p.m.—Preview Night Reveal

Thursday, July 21
11 a.m.— Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá
11 a.m.—Tara McPherson (The Art of Tara McPherson)
12:30 p.m.—Eric Powell (The Goon)
2 p.m.—Bruce Campbell (My Name Is Bruce) *Ticketed by Lottery
3 p.m.—Morgan Spurlock (Supersized)
3:30 p.m.—Jerry Robinson (Jet Scott)
4:30 p.m.—Jill Thompson (Beasts of Burden)

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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.

When you run a website like The Flickcast, you are often lucky enough to see movies in advance of their release to the general public. Or, in the case of the horror comedy Tucker & Dale Versus Evil, way in advance.

I first saw this movie last year during Austin’s South By Southwest Film Festival and reviewed it for the site. Now, over a year later, the film has finally found distribution through Magnolia Pictures Magnet Releasing arm.

To save you the trouble of reading my review I will tell you that at the time I didn’t fall madly in love with the movie. However, it was fun and leads Tyler Labine, Alan Tudyk and Katrina Bowden are likeable and very watchable.

The film has problems, of course, as to many movies these days. I don’t really blame it for its problems, though, as it aspires to do a lot and is mostly limited by its extremely modest budget. I definitely give director Eli Craig points for at least trying to do something.

So, I’m happy more people will get a chance to experience Tucker & Dale Vs Evil. Plus, if the film does well we may be able to see what director Craig does with a larger budget.

Expect Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil to hit VOD on August 26th and then theaters on September 30th. For more info, click through for the full press release.

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This week Nintendo announced the upcoming release of its new Wii U console but even with that announcement, details on the console itself were still few and far between. But now, more info has begun to emerge as the E3 show is in full swing.

According to BGR iinformants, the new console will support full HD 1080p gaming and sports a custom Radeon HD graphics processor from AMD. In addition, IBM will be supplying Nintendo with a 45nm multi-core processor with embedded DRAM for the console.

There are also four USB ports, an HDMI port, an S-video port and component jacks. It will also feature 802.11n Wi-Fi. And that, for the moment, is pretty much it.

Expect more details of this new console to emerge as E3 progresses. Of course, we may not know it all right away and that’s okay. What’s life without a little mystery, right?

Check out the full press release of the Wii U announcement after the break.

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Although they are pretty important, E3 and Apple’s WWDC are not the only things being going on this week with lots of things being announced. Obvioulsy, other news happens in other areas that we love and cover here at The Flickcast.

This time around one of the other things we we love and cover is comics. Our pals at Marvel have sent over a cool preview for one of their upcoming titles: Fear Itself: Uncanny X-Force #1. Naturally, we’re going to share it with you.

Here’s the deets direct from the source:

Extremists hell-bent on saving humankind from the evils of Fear Itself must answer for their crimes this July in Fear Itself: Uncanny X-Force #1! As the comic blockbuster event of the summer tightens it’s stranglehold on the Marvel Universe, the Uncanny X-Force storms into action courtesy of red-hot writer Rob Williams and superstar artist Simone Bianchi.

They’re the only thing that stands in the way of mass murder on a global scale when a group of frenzied zealots set out to save souls of the Marvel Universe from the clutches of the God of Fear! Except when the only way to reach true salvation is death at their hand, Marvel’s mutant black-ops team has no choice but to step in. But will their actions feed the frenzy?

Click through for your first look at this upcoming title. Fear Itself: Uncanny X-Force #1 hits comic store shelves on July 6th.

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