The Flickcast

Verizon Announces ‘Record Sales’ of iPhone 4

Posted on February 4, 2011

Given that many people are unhappy with AT&T, but love the iPhone, it’s not surprising that once the iPhone came to Verizon Wireless, it would be a success. With pre-orders for existing Verizon customers taking place yesterday and stopping after only about 24 hours due to being sold out, it’s not surprise that Verizon today has announced record sales figures for the device.

According to the company, sales of the iPhone were bigger than any first-day phone launch for them ever. In addition, the company announced these unprecedented sales happened during the first two hours the iPhone was available, which was between the hours of 3 and 5 AM.

Impressive but also pretty understandable. There’s been pent up demand for the iPhone with millions of customers already on Verizon looking to have the device. We can probably expect those numbers to climb even higher once the iPhone is available to all (including AT&T switchers) on February 10th.

Check out the full press release from Verizon after the jump. Did you get your iPhone yesterday?

Morena Baccarin Tops List of Potential Actresses To Play Wasp in ‘The Avengers’

Posted on February 4, 2011

Or at least, that’s the role we think they are casting for. In a recent interview with Sam Jackson, who will play Nick Fury in just about every upcoming Marvel film from Captain America: The First Avenger to The Avengers, the actor spilled the beans on the shortlist of actresses the studio is looking at for a potential “sidekick” role for his character. From THR:

Marvel is conducting screen tests Friday for one of the final roles still looking to be cast in The Avengers, the all-star superhero ensemble being directed by Joss Whedon. Last night Samuel L. Jackson revealed on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon it is that of his “sidekick.”

V star Morena Baccarin is on that list. Also said to be vying for the part are Jessica Lucas, Cobie Smulders and Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who are still negotiating their test deals for the part of a key member of the espionage agency run by Nick Fury, played in the Marvel movies by Jackson. Some earlier speculation pegged the role to be that of Avengers team member Janet van Dyne/the Wasp, but Marvel declined to comment.

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Trailer & More Details Released For ‘The Walking Dead’ On Blu-Ray

Posted on February 4, 2011

Back in October, the country got rocked by a little show many thought would not make a wave. That show, of course was AMC’s The Walking Dead, about a group of survivors of the Zombie Apocalypse.

Between a Golden Globe nomination for best series and record breaking ratings, the show went on to be one of the bigger series on TV. Now it’s about to hit DVD and Blu-Ray for fans and newcomers to experience the whole first season and all of its extras. Here’s the full breakdown on what you can expect from the release:

Featurettes:
•   The Making of THE WALKING DEAD
•   Inside THE WALKING DEAD: Episode 1-6
•   A Sneak Peek with Robert Kirkman
•   Behind The Scenes Zombie Make-Up Tips
•   Convention Panel With Producers
•   THE WALKING DEAD Trailer

Extra Footage:
•   Zombie School
•   Bicycle Girl
•   On Set With Robert Kirkman
•   Hanging With Steven Yeun
•   Inside Dale’s RV
•   On Set With Andrew Lincoln

The whole set is due to hit shelves on March 8th. Until then, we’ve got a sneak peek trailer for you to gaze upon after the jump. So gaze!

Verizon Wireless to Throttle Data Speeds of Heavy Users, Optimize Network

Posted on February 3, 2011

No doubt in anticipation of the millions of iPhone customers about to be let loose on its network, Verizon today announced, via a PDF memo on its website, that it will begin to throttle the data speeds of users who consume an “extraordinary amount of data.” In addition, the company will also implement technologies to “seamlessly” optimize content and data speeds.

You could go and read the memo or we can just give you the highlights right now. So, to that end, here’s what Verizon has to say in the memo regarding data speeds:

Verizon Wireless strives to provide customers the best experience when using our network, a shared resource among tens of millions of customers. To help achieve this, if you use an extraordinary amount of data and fall within the top 5% of Verizon Wireless data users we may reduce your data throughput speeds periodically for the remainder of your then current and immediately following billing cycle to ensure high quality network performance for other users at locations and times of peak demand. Our proactive management of the Verizon Wireless network is designed to ensure that the remaining 95% of data customers aren’t negatively affected by the inordinate data consumption of just a few users.

I wonder how many people will be in that top 5%? I would guess a few people around our offices for sure as well as more than a few of you reading right now.

Wesley Snipes Is Back In ‘Game of Death’

Posted on February 3, 2011

Regardless of his troubles with the law, I’ve always been a fan of Wesley Snipes. Maybe because he’s pretty good and convincing in a variety of action roles or maybe its just because he was a cool guy to talk to one day and made a joke at his own expense during an encounter at a now defunct Laserdisc and DVD store that once dominated the market here in the San Fernando Valley.

Whatever the reasons, I’m glad to see he’s back to doing what he does best: making action movies. Sure, his days of headlining big budget studio films may be behind him (or just on hold for a bit . . . or 2 to 3 years) but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t stopped working. Case in point is the impending Sony Pictures Home Entertainment release of the action film Game of Death.

In the film Snipes, stars as CIA Agent Marcus Jones, a “professional hit man caught in a double-cross between his partners in the agency, a ruthless arms dealer and a powerful Wall Street broker worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Framed for a murder he didn’t commit and chased by expert assassins, Jones must clear his name before its too late.”

The film also stars some other favorites of mine including Robert Davi (Die Hard), Gary Daniels (The Expendables) and Zoë Bell (Grindhouse). Yes, the plot may seem familiar and the cast may not rise to the level of the latest Summer blockbuster, but that doesn’t stop the film from looking pretty fun. Check out the trailer after the jump and look for Game of Death on DVD and Blu-ray February 15th.

MTV Announces the Return of ‘Beavis and Butt-Head’

Posted on February 3, 2011

90’s nostalgia must be at an all-time high, as MTV announced they will be returning Beavis and Butthead to the network sometime this summer. After months of rumors, and even a brief cameo by the two head-banging animated idiots in the network’s flick ‘Jackass 3D,’ it appears the show will indeed be a part of the MTV line-up later this year.

In New York, at the channel’s annual upfront presentation, it was revealed that among the episodes being planned is a Jersey Shore spoof in which Beavis and Butt-head watch the reality show. According to the LA Times the two cartoon characters will poke fun at ex-Jersey Shore star Angelina and her orange tan in one episode.

SXSW 2011 Film Lineup Announced

Posted on February 3, 2011

Yesterday, the SXSW Film Festival (March 11-19) announced its lineup for 2011, and, once again, it’s a pretty big showing. Among the headliners is Jodie Foster premiering her film The Beaver, indie-favorite James Gunn and the U.S. premiere of his superhero comedy Super, and the North American premiere of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost’s latest film, Paul.

The full list can be found at the SXSW website. In all the festival will screen 130 features, including 60 world premieres, 12 North American premieres, and 16 U.S. premieres. The full press release announcement, including recaps of the narrative features, documentary features, and headliners, follows:

The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival is thrilled to announce the features lineup for this year’s Festival, March 11 – 19, 2011 in Austin, Texas. The 2011 lineup continues the SXSW tradition of tapping into the cultural zeitgeist, highlighting emerging talent and breakthrough performances and supporting first-time filmmakers. The Midnighters and SXFantastic feature sections, along with the short film program, will be announced next week.

“This is the most exciting moment for us. After a fantastic festival of discovery in 2010, we can finally unveil the line up for this year’s event,” says Film Conference and Festival Producer Janet Pierson. “SXSW prides itself on taking chances, sifting for films that are the seedlings of the next generation of must-see artists. This year’s line up is full of emerging voices and filmmakers who transcended the resources they had on hand, often with an alchemist’s touch.”

Over the course of nine days, 130 features will screen at SXSW 2011. The program consists of 60 World Premieres, 12 North American Premieres and 16 U.S. Premieres. These films were selected from a record 1,792 feature-length film submissions composed of 1,323 U.S. and 469 international feature-length films. SXSW saw a 23% increase in its overall submissions over 2010, with a record number of nearly 4,900 total.

‘The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ Season One Wrap-Up

Posted on February 3, 2011

Rodeo Drive is rolling up the sidewalks for a while. The second part of the Beverly Hills Housewives Reunion has just aired and Jiggy Vanderpump is no doubt nestled in Lisa’s incredibly wealthy armpit once more. So, let’s reflect on season one.

After barely managing to get through the first episode of the Real Housewives of DC, I initially couldn’t be bothered to even record the newest franchise, Beverly Hills. Finally, in an act of holiday hiatus desperation, I settled in to give the NHOTB (much like NKOTB but sans any references to Hangin’ Tough or a Whalberg) a chance.

What stuck me was that for the most part, the women in this franchise differed from the other Bravo Housewives in two distinct ways:

These women are genuinely likable.

These women are legitimately filthy stinkin’ rich. Like, solid-gold-toilet rich.