Can Warner Bros. find gold in Sumner Redstone's mud?
As The Times' tech blog reports, the studio has emerged as the sole bidder for Midway Games, all but guaranteeing its $33 million offer for the bankrupt publisher of titles including "Mortal Kombat" will soon go through. Midway had been controlledby Viacom Chairman Sumner Redstone until last November, when he soldit at a huge loss to a private investor in exchangefor a controversial tax benefit.
Buying Midway would significantly expand the scope of Warner Bros.Interactive Entertainment, the studio's growing video game division. Warner has acquired three gamedevelopment studios in the past few years and hired industry veteranMartin Tremblay to run the video game unit. It also made anunsuccessful attempt to purchase Eidos, the British publisher of "TombRaider" video games.
The most immediate effect of the deal would be that Warner would be able to publish games currently in developmentat Midway. That includes a new "Mortal Kombat" fighting title and another called "This Is Vegas" set in Sin City. The studio would also gain control of Midway's intellectual property, whichincludes a number of well known but dormant series like "Joust" and "SpyHunter" along with "Mortal Kombat." It could not only release new gamesbased on them, but also adapt them for film and television. Warner would also take possession of Midway's development studios in Chicago and Seattle.
As The Times' tech blog explains, there are still several legal hoops Warner and Midway would have to jump through in bankruptcy court before the acquisition can officially close. They include objections to the deal terms from Vin Diesel, whose production company claims it is owed $200,000 by Midway for a game in which he starred, and Larry Kasanoff, producer of the two "Mortal Kombat" movies.
-- Ben Fritz
Photos: Warner Bros. logo. "Mortal Kombat Armageddon." Credit: Midway Games
HBO's 'Hung' doesn't quite measure up
If you tune into âHungâ (10 p.m. Eastern Sunday, HBO; two stars) expecting sex and lots of it, adjust your expectations. This tale of a high school teacher who takes a side job as an escort isnât terribly racy by pay-cable standards, despite that attention-getting title.
And about that title. Strangely enough, the object that provides the inspiration for that adjective does not make an appearance in the first four episodes of the show. Apparently viewers just have to take the other charactersâ word for it when it comes to the physical attributes of former jock, current teacher and would-be gigolo Ray Drecker (Thomas Jane).
Though âHungâ is billed as a comedy, this wry half-hour show isnât a male version of âSex and the Cityâ (that would probably be the dude-fantasy âEntourage,â which returns July 12). âHungâ is set in Detroit and, like the city, Drecker has seen better days.
His wife left him for a prosperous doctor, his teen twins view him with suspicion, if not scorn, and other misfortunes are heaped on him as well. With financial ruin looming, Ray eventually decides, with the help of Tanya (Jane Adams), his diffident new lover, to put his only real asset to work.
âHungâ has a good deal in common with AMCâs âBreaking Bad,â not to mention a host of other shows that dwell on the plight of middle-age men at sea in a changing society. And maybe you have to be a guy in order to fully appreciate either show. I often find âBreaking Badâ tedious and predictable, despite its terrific lead actor, Bryan Cranston, and I also found myself growing impatient with Ray for any number of reasons.
Hereâs a guy who is so tethered to his past that he refuses a reasonable offer on his decrepit house, despite his desperate need for money. Perhaps weâre supposed to feel sorry for the big galoot, but it takes four episodes before Ray begins to actively embrace his new life as an escort, and before that happens, he treats one customer with shocking arrogance.
Back when he lettered in three sports and was a prospect for the major leagues, Ray âtasted and came close to greatness,â as he puts it in a voice-over. So?
Despite Thomas Janeâs innate appeal as a performerâ"and his deft, deadpan skills are the showâs main drawâ"I came to realize that Rayâs tendency to wallow in the past is rather grating. Not to be all Kate Gosselin about it, but move on, buddy.
Anne Heche has a mostly thankless role as Jessica, Rayâs high-maintenance ex-wife, whose second marriage and newfound prosperity has left her unhappy and âunrealized.â (Jessica, like Rayâs uptight next-door neighbor, exists mainly to reinforce Rayâs moral if not financial superiority.) âHungâ isnât exactly subtle in its symbolism; at one point, Jessica retrieves a decorative nutcracker from Rayâs shabby home.
âHungâ was one of the first projects commissioned by the HBO regime that was eventually installed after longtime CEO Chris Albrecht exited the network in 2007. As such, it tells us something about the tastes and creative ambitions of this new set of executives.
And thus âHung,â despite some droll humor and the occasional dry insight, is even more of a disappointment. Perhaps we still expect too much from HBO; not every show is going to be the next âSopranosâ or âDeadwood.â
But âHung,â it must be said, is less than advertised.
Three more "Hung" clips are below.
Coroner: Cause of Michael Jackson's death deferred
Los Angeles County coroner's spokesman Craig Harvey says determining the cause of Michael Jackson's death will require further neuropathology and pulmonary tests that will take four to six weeks.
'Bad' Choreographer Remembers Michael Jackson
Choreographer and dancer Jeffrey Daniel worked with Michael Jackson on his hit videos Bad and Smooth Criminal. He also taught Jackson "the backslide," which the king of pop later developed into the famous "moonwalk."
TRADE-MAURITIUS: Paradise Island, Piratesâ Den
PORT LOUIS, Jun 25 (IPS)Pirated goodsfrom music and vehicle parts to clothes, perfumes and softwareare sold at ridiculously low prices on the streets or in local shops. This is big business in the paradise-like island state of Mauritius.
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