News
E.A.’s Comic-Con Line Up
E.A. is going to be rocking at Comic-Con in San Diego this year, and they have quite the line up to be showing off.
Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ: ERTS) revealed the titles that it will showcase at San Diego Comic-Con International from July 23 – 26, 2009. EA’s booth can be found in stall #5213 in the San Diego Convention Center and will feature over a dozen open, playable kiosks of blockbuster holiday games Brütal Legend™, Dante’s Inferno™, Dead Space Extraction™, G.I. JOE™ The Rise of the Cobra™, The Saboteur™ and Warhammer® Online: Age of Reckoning®. At the booth, consumers will also find a signing station for the comic artists behind Army of Two™: The 40th Day, Dead Space Extraction and Dante’s Inferno.
Everything you need to know is beyond the break.. In addition to the booth at the show, EA will host the ‘EA Gaming Lounge presented by Xbox 360’ at the Hilton San Diego Gaslamp Quarter Hotel (401 K Street, San Diego, California 92101) that will run from Thursday July 23 to Sunday July 26. The ‘Gaming Lounge presented by Xbox 360’will be open from 2pm – 9pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday 6/25; 12pm – 5pm on Sunday. At this all-access venue, show-goers will get hands-on play with Dragon Age™: Origins, Battlefield 1943™, Battlefield: Bad Company™ 2 and Left 4 Dead 2 from Valve.
On July 22nd, EA will also host a press-only preview showcase from 11am – 5pm. Media interested in attending should RSVP to: EAmediaevents@ea.com.
“Games are a powerful force in pop culture and EA’s presence at Comic-con proves it. The line-up of titles we’re bringing to the show demonstrate best in breed action, adventure and RPG interactive entertainment,” said Mike Quigley, Group Vice President of Marketing, EA. “Our footprint at Comic-con is designed to give show-goers hands-on time with the holiday’s hottest titles, and even give non-registered attendees a chance to get a sneak peek at the ‘EA Gaming Lounge presented by Xbox 360’.”
In addition to the games on display at the show, EA’s development teams will be participating in the following panels in the conference program:
Thursday July 23; 12:30-1:30 Dante’s Inferno — Jonathan Knight (executive producer, EA), Ash Huang (art director), Brandon Auman (writer), Christos Gage (writer), and Victor Cook (director) talk about the adaptation of this literary classic into pop culture. They will discuss how they translated the various aspects of The Divine Comedy into a video game, an animated feature, and a comic series, where they were faithful and where they invented, and how each of the mediums differs. Also get a peak at EA’s game in development, and also watch the world premiere trailer for the animated feature Dante’s Inferno co-produced by EA and Starz Media. Room 8
Friday July 24; 6:00-7:00 Dead Space Extraction — Chuck Beaver (Producer), Ben Templesmith (Illustrator) and Antony Johnston (Writer) will discuss utilizing the interactive gaming medium to portray emotion in a more visceral way than books & film traditionally display. Visceral Games executive producer Steve Papoutsis discusses the implementation of story and talent into games and the art of crafting a believable, epic story into this fall’s Wii exclusive Dead Space Extraction. Room 2
Saturday July 25; 2:00-3:00 The Saboteur — Rethinking the WWII Gaming Genre— Pandemic Studios™ lead designer Tom French and art director Chris Hunt discuss how historical events served as the foundation for their upcoming action sandbox game The Saboteur, who the Saboteur is, and how the innovative combination of game design and artistic style were employed to develop a unique experience. Room 2
Sunday July 26; 3:15-4:15 Army of Two: The 40th Day — Bridging Video Games with Comics. In this panel Reid Schneider (Executive Producer – Army of Two) and Alex Hutchinson (Creative Director – Army of Two) will discuss how they have been working with comic artists to show players the consequences of their moral choices throughout the game, and how the in-depth involvement of these artists in the production of Army of Two changes the feel of the game. Room 6A.
Sam Neill, the New Zealand actor best known for his role in 1993’s Jurassic Park, has passed away this week at 78 years old. In a statement shared on Neill’s Instagram page this morning, the actor’s family said that his passing was “sudden and unexpected.”
Neill had been diagnosed with a rare blood cancer in 2022, but stated the following year that he was in remission. The family notes that he “remained cancer free” at the time of his passing.
The family statement reads, “It is with immense sadness that the whānau of Sam Neill share the news of his passing on Monday 13th July, in Sydney Australia. Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life. The loss was sudden and unexpected but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer free.
“They would like to express their deepest gratitude to the staff at St Vincent’s Private Hospital for their incredible care. More details will be shared later, but for now, on behalf of the family, we ask that you respect their privacy as they navigate this immeasurable loss.”
In addition to his iconic role as Dr. Alan Grant in the original Jurassic Park and the sequels Jurassic Park III and Jurassic World: Dominion, Sam Neill left an indelible mark on the horror genre with memorable roles in Andrzej Żuławski’s Possession, The Omen: The Final Conflict, John Carpenter’s In the Mouth of Madness, and sci-fi horror favorite Event Horizon.
Sam Neill’s vast resume in film and television began in the early 1970s and also includes the films Sleeping Dogs, Enigma, The Good Wife, A Cry in the Dark, Dead Calm, The Hunt for Red October, Memoirs of an Invisible Man, Hostage, The Jungle Book, Snow White: A Tale of Terror, The Horse Whisperer, Bicentennial Man, Daybreakers, Escape Plan, and Thor: Ragnarok.
Sam Neill is survived by his four children and eight grandchildren.
Steven Spielberg said in a statement to Variety, “I owe a debt of gratitude to Roger Donaldson, Gilliam Armstrong, Graham Baker and Phillip Noyce for casting Sam Neill in the roles in which he was so brilliant that brought him to my attention and led to his playing Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park. Sam was exceptionally collaborative. It was a stretch for him to play a character who acted as though children were messy and smelly because this was the opposite of the loving father he was to his children. I adored making all the Jurassic movies with him.”
Spielberg adds, “Along with Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum, we will always have our Jurassic family and Sam will never be forgotten by us or his many millions of fans around the world.”
Sam Neill in ‘Event Horizon’
You must be logged in to post a comment.