DC Universe Online Drops Charge

I am a huge fan of the DC Universe in all aspects. Comics, cartoons, movies, action figures, statues, you name it I probably have it if it's DC. When the DC Universe online game was announced my excitement level was through the roof with the potential this game would bring. It took about 2 or 3 years upon it's initial announcement of being made and when the day finally arrived all excitement dropped when I learned that you had to pay monthly to even play the damn game. Luckily today Sony Entertainment released the official statement below giving players three levels of access to the game, one of those being free.

Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) today announced a new free-to-play business model for its popular massively multiplayer online (MMO) game DC Universe Online (DCUO) - where players have the freedom to become legendary, fighting alongside DC Comics icons like Superman, Batman and The Joker in an ever-evolving online action adventure that has seen players log more than 42 million hours of super-powered gameplay action since its launch earlier this year.

Beginning late October, players will be able to download and access DCUO for free on both the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and PC. As part of this transition, SOE is introducing three new access levels to the game: Free, Premium and Legendary. All three levels will provide access to open world gameplay and missions, general game updates and fixes to the game, with each level offering different game options and benefits.

"When we launched DC Universe Online, we introduced a very different brand of massive online game driven by fast action combat to PC and PS3™ gamers and with that, we discovered a new type of online gamer," said John Smedley, President, Sony Online Entertainment. "We've listened to our community, and we've determined that the free-to-play model is the best fit for DC Universe Online."

Smedley added, "Our philosophy embraces learning from our experience and as a pioneer in the free-to-play space with proven successful games like Free Realms and Clone Wars Adventures, we believe this new model will expand the DCUO experience and offer more options that cater to every type of player so they can play the game in a way that fits them."

All three levels provide access to the current game, but allow differing tiers of convenience and flexibility. The levels are:

Free: New players will now have access to the current gameplay in DC Universe Online (including Gotham City, Metropolis, and all current raids and alerts), with the ability to create two characters, join a league and many other benefits. Free level players will be able to purchase downloadable game packs/updates, additional character slots, powers and more through microtransactions.

Premium: Any player who has spent at least $5 USD (including former paid subscribers and new players who have purchased $5 of in-game items) will qualify for the Premium access level. Premium level players will have more benefits available to them than the Free level player, including additional character slots, additional inventory slots, and higher cash limits. Downloadable adventure packs, additional character slots, and more can be purchased in-game.

Legendary: Maximum features and benefits are included at this level. Loaded with enhanced additional features, Legendary access will be available for a $14.99 USD monthly fee and includes all DLC packs at no cost, more than 15 character slots, more than 80 inventory slots, the ability to form unrestricted-sized leagues, and many other benefits.

More information on the DCUO free-to-play access levels can be found here: www.DCUniverseOnline.com/free.

DC Universe Online combines immersive environments and fascinating story arcs with fast-paced, physics-based combat, allowing players to pick up buses and other objects in the environment, fly into the air and throw them at enemies; run up the sides of buildings to engage in melee brawls while shooting flames of fire from their hands; or cling to the side of buildings while using a grappling hook to pull flying opponents out of the sky - all while fighting alongside or against the legendary characters of DC Comics and charting their own path to legendary.

New Total Recall Set Pics

Comingsoon.net via WENN.com have gotten hold of some new pics from the set of Total Recall which is currently filming in Toronto.

Over the last month or so TMT has posted several pics and videos of the filming of a hovercar chase, using plinths and rigs, the pics below seem to be from the end of the chase, which Len Wiseman talked about at Comic Con, saying it's so complex it has taken twice as long to shoot as a normal action sequence.

Insane Stunt On The TDKR LA Set!

Yesterday I posted the video of the new Bat vehcile blasting at Bane's HEMTT, well today it met it's end by the looks of things from the stunning stunt captured on this video......Man i LOVE real stunt action!

Batwing vs Bane's HEMTT!

Well it's not officially the Batwing but we may as well call it that until team Nolan say otherwise. SHH poster Red Skull snapped these pics of the Bat vehicle and the monstrous HEMTT in LA today, ready for a big stunt sequence.

Below are the pics and a couple of of vids that caught the action as the two huge machines went head to head!

Weekend Box Office: September 16-18

Courtesy of Box Office Mojo:

1.  The Lion King (3D) - $29.3 million

2.  Contagion - $14.4 million

3.  Drive - $11 million

4.  The Help - $6.4 million

5.  Straw Dogs - $5 million

6.  I Don't Know How She Does It - $4.5 million

7.  The Debt - $2.9 million

8.  Warrior - $2.7 million

9.  Rise of the Planet of the Apes - $2.6 million

10.  Colombiana - $2.3 million

Welcome back, 1994!  Disney's The Lion King felt the love at the box office this weekend, with its new 3D incarnation outgrossing all three of this weekend's new releases combined with an impressive $29.3 million.  Then again, it shouldn't come as a surprise, since the film earned a record-breaking $312 million during its original theatrical run, and another $15 million when an IMAX version was released in 2002.  So it's obviously still pretty popular, even in 3D.  At this rate, Disney will be getting to sing another chorus of "Hakuna Matata" when the film arrives on DVD/blu-ray next month.

Last week's champ, Contagion, was still popular with the grownups, dropping a mere 35% to gross another $14.4 million, bringing its domestic total up to $44 million.  It seems audiences like catastrophic plagues almost as much as they like singing lions. 

What they weren't so much in love with was any of this weekend's new releases.  Drive fared best, earning $11 million, but despite some great reviews, the Ryan Gosling thriller earned a not-very-good "C-" Cinemascore rating from audiences, which is never a good sign.  No one was particularly interested in a remake of Straw Dogs, which limped out of the weekend with just $5 million, and they were even less interested in Sarah Jessica Parker's I Don't Know How She Does It, which flopped by landing in sixth place with just $4.5 million.

On the better side of the box office news, The Help continues playing well, earning another $6.4 million to bring its domestic total to $147 million, while Rise of the Planet of the Apes (the last of the big summer movies still in the top ten) crossed the $170 million mark with a $2.6 million weekend.

So outside of The Lion King, it was a fairly unremarkable weekend at the box office.  Maybe everyone was home watching their Star Wars blu-rays.  Oh well.  Next weekend is looking a little better with the releases of Abduction, starring Twilight heartthrob Taylor Lautner, and the early Oscar-bait Moneyball, starring Brad Pitt.

Premium Rush Trailer Cycles Online!

David Koepp divides opinion but this high octane chase thriller looks like good fun, and JGL being in the lead with Michael Shannon as the bad guy doesn't hurt things.

The fact the hero's ride is a mountain bike certainly opens up the possibilities for some imaginative chase sequences.

Premium Rush opens January 13th, 2012 and you can check out the synopsis and trailer below.

Dodging speeding cars, crazed cabbies, open doors, and eight million cranky pedestrians is all in a day's work for Wilee (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), the best of New York's agile and aggressive bicycle messengers. It takes a special breed to ride the fixie -- super lightweight, single-gear bikes with no brakes and riders who are equal part skilled cyclists and suicidal nutcases who risk becoming a smear on the pavement every time they head into traffic.

But a guy who's used to putting his life on the line is about to get more than even he is used to when a routine delivery turns into a life or death chase through the streets of Manhattan. When Wilee picks up his last envelope of the day on a premium rush run, he discovers this package is different. This time, someone is actually trying to kill him.

"The Sitter" International Poster

A college student, suspended for the semester and living back at home with his single mom, who has a night to remember when he gets talked into baby-sitting the eccentric kids next door -- two boys and a wild8-year-old girl.

ComingSoon.Net Via ImpAwards

Oh Look Another Muppets Trailer Lampooning Someone Else's Movie

The joke didn't fly over our heads the first time you did it or the second time either. We get it, fellas. You're lampooning big releases in your own Muppet way. The latest comes in the form a trailer riffing David Fincher's The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.

If this was the first one, I won't lie. I'd probably like it. But Jesus, people, The Muppets opens in two months and you're still stuck on "Look, we're making fun of new movies...but with Muppets!" instead of a straight-forward trailer to sell to the masses?

Like my fellow nerds online, I too am looking forward to The Muppets. But I'm pretty certain the general public (who will make this flick a success or failure and not us - unfortunately) don't find this as amusing as you do.

Metrosexual Clark Kent Rides Bike With No Glasses

It's a tad askew that we have yet to see Herny Cavill portraying Clark Kent while actually wearing glasses. It's lead some to believe that this new version of Superman might not support a spectacle wearing mild mannered reporter.

My thought is that the photos of Clark without glasses that we've seen, including the ones below, are before he has made an appearance as Superman in the film. It's possible that after Supes makes his first big save the glasses become a necessity and the disguise evolves.

Also not out of the realm of possibility that the glasses are out completely. If The Brothers Warner can eliminate Superman's trunks they can certainly eliminate the four eyes version of Clark. I've even seen some comments referring to CGI glasses. Just like the CGI trunks I guess?

Zod Sees A Superman Suit And Wants To Paint It Black

If you've been following the "Man Of Steel" production you would know that fans have been treated with a plethora of set shots from the Plano, Illinois shoot. When "Team Snyder" packed up their capes and moved the production from faux Smallville to downtown Chicago for a quick September shoot, nobody was sure what the access level was going to be.

First, some shots of Laurence Fishburne and Amy Adams either on set or prepping to shoot leaked out.  Next, was the lobby of the new Daily Planet with an aged bronze globe front and center. Now, the "not affiliated with Warner Bros" Man Of Steel Facebook Page has shots of Zod, from what could be the Chicago set.

I remember in multiple conversations with our very own Jamie Williams we discussed how we thought Zod and company would sport similar suits to the Man Of Steel. From the below shots, it looks like our assumptions were correct. Even looks like Zod has his own symbol on his chest. Maybe a Z crest? Jamie bets money Jor-El is wearing Cavill's Superman suit or a very similar suit at some point in the film. He says that Superman's suit could actually Jor-El's "war uniform." I agree.