The Weekly Swarm: 5/27 - 6/1
We had a steady influx of music drops this week, didn't we? Shintendo64 dropped TERRABYTZ, De la Soul made their video return with "Get Away," Vic Mensa teased and dropped the "Orange Soda" video, Sir Michael Rocks finally released While You Wait..., GhostWridah got into the mixtape fun with Flu Game, and Sulaiman and Vic Spencer dropped their collaborative EP, We're Still Disappointed, and ShowYouSuck debuted a new sound with "Watching Walking Dead" (with some pretty amazing artwork, right?). We also had a collection of great movie trailers debut, including Machete Kills, This is the End, and Prisoners.
Needless to say, it was a busy week, so if you missed out on every post we put up, you can easily check down the list below.
Movie News
New Directors Added into the James Bond 24 Mix
Sam Mendes Will Direct Bond 24 After All
[Video] Much Ado About Nothing "I am an Ass" Clip
Michael Bay Woke Up in a New Bugatti for New Transformers 4 Car Models
[Trailer] Machete Kills
[Trailer] This is the End
[Trailer] Prisoners
Nicolas Cage, Jackie Chan, Milla Jovovich, and Wesley Snipes Become Not So Expendable for The Expendables 3
Forest Whitaker Will Have a Dream as Martin Luther King, Jr. in Memphis
Green Lantern Screenwriter Hired to Ruin Blade Runner Sequel
New Alamo Drafthouse "Don't Talk" PSA features Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke
Music News
Schoolboy Q: "Hell Of A Night"
Roman Flowrs: "RainFore$t" (Instrumental)
Blu: “Summertime” (feat. Arima Ederra)
[Mixtape] ShowYouSuck: "The Essentials"
[Podcast] Closed Sessions Radio 5.24.13
Disclosure: "You & Me" (feat. Eliza Doolittle) (Toro y Moi Remix)
WHITE-OWL: "WAX TRAP VOL. 3 (TURNT UP EDITION)"
LIZ: "Horoscope"
Lil Bibby & Lil Herb: "Know They Role" (prod. by C-Sick)
[Mixtape] Shintendo64: "TERRABYTZ"
[Video] Alex Wiley: "Earfucked"
Spring Awakening Schedule and Daily Tickets Available
Craig Robinson: "Take Yo Panties Off" (feat. Snoop Dogg)
[Video] Wonda: "Please Don’t Listen To This Song"
[Video] Saba: "Gurlfran"
[Video] Lucki Eck$: "Everything Out$ide"
Manny P: "This Is Where" (prod. by Savier)
[Video] De La Soul: "Get Away" (feat. The Spirit of Wu Tang)
[Mixtape] Sir Michael Rocks: "While You Wait..."
More Artists Added to North Coast Music Festival Lineup
[Mixtape] GhostWridah: "Flu Game"
Martin $ky: "Rapture" SNIPPET (prod. by Saba)
[Video] Vic Mensa: "Orange Soda"
Hodgy Beats: "Years"
J. Cole: "N***az Know"
[Mixtape] Sulaiman x Vic Spencer: "We're Still Disappointed"
[Video] YP: "I Like That In You"
[Video] L.atasha A.lcindor: "Down to Earth Thoughts"
Mick Jenkins: "BOB" (feat. Dally Auston) (Prod. by OnGaud)
ShowYouSuck: "Watching Walking Dead" (feat. Chris LeSage) (prod. by MikeJaxx)
Roman Flowrs: "Rock With Me"
Photography
[RH Photos] Anamanaguchi (Live at Lincoln Hall 5/25/2013)
[RH Photos] Jambalaya Fest Austin (5/24/2013)
[RH Photos] Impolite Society (Live at Double Door 5/24/2013)
Tech News
Google Adds New Video Features to YouTube Videos
ShowYouSuck: "Watching Walking Dead" (feat. Chris LeSage) (prod. by MikeJaxx)
What do you know about zombie raps? With vocals from Chris LeSage and production by Tha Hydrox' MikeJaxx, ShowYouSuck changes up his style to educate us about The Walking Dead. Jaxx switches up the trap sound he's known for with a drop transition full of smooth keys and LeSage's relaxed vocals. Will this prove to be the next musical evolution in the ShowYouSuck/MikeJaxx sound? We'll all just have to pay attention to Chicago's hometown hero.
Listen to "The Walking Dead" below, and be sure to catch ShowYouSuck at Alex Wiley's Club Wiley release party on June 6th.
"When I make songs I usually like to celebrate moments in my life and share my interest. This time around I wanted to celebrate the fact that I had recently finished getting caught up on the Walking Dead series. I got in the studio with Mike Jaxx to start working on a new sound, and this is the first record from this process. Hopefully I made a song for people who love watching the Walking Dead." -ShowYouSuck
New Alamo Drafthouse "Don't Talk" PSA features Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke
To commemorate the theatrical release of Richard Linklater's Before Midnight, one of my Top 10 Summer Movies, the film's stars Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke recorded a "Don't Talk" PSA for the Alamo Drafthouse. For those who haven't been to a Drafthouse, which are primarily located in Texas, but have a few locations across the country, they talk movies very seriously. While food and drinks are served during the film, they have an intensely strict policy on phone use and talking during screenings. If you're caught using your phone or talking too loudly twice, you'll be kicked out with no refund offered. Like I said, serious stuff.
The series of "Don't Talk" PSAs are tongue-in-cheek videos that play prior to each screening to ensure people are following the rules. Some of them are outright hilarious, including this one of a voicemail left by an angry Drafthouse attendee who somehow wasn't aware of the rules. I'm waiting for the day for a Drafthouse to expand to Chicago. Until then, I'll have my memories of SXSW and these PSAs to tide me over.
[youtube id="YZhbZAW_Zp0" mode="normal" align="center"]
[via Flixist]
Green Lantern Screenwriter Hired to Ruin Blade Runner Sequel
Philip K. Dick is one of the most storied science-fiction authors ever. A large number of sci-fi films, from Minority Report to A Scanner Darkly to The Adjustment Bureau were adapted from Philip K. Dick stories. The most famous and successful of the Dick adaptations, Blade Runner, has become a huge cult film transcending the typical sci-fi audience over the 30 years it's been out.
However, with Ridley Scott, who directed the original Blade Runner, set to go forward with a sequel, the film's legacy could risk becoming tarnished. Look at what happened with last year's Prometheus, which was a quasi-prequel/reboot of Alien, another Ridley Scott film: It raised more questions than it answered and added even more confusion to an already convoluted Alien mythology. What's more, the Blade Runner series of books that the upcoming sequel might be based off of weren't written by Dick, but a friend of his (with approval, of course), which lacked the charm and wit that only Dick possessed.
Adding more salt to the wound is the hiring of Michael Green, one of the many screenwriters credited for the abomination that was DC's Green Lantern film, to rewrite the film's script. Granted, with so many people hired to work on that script, it could be possible that Green didn't have much influence on the final product. Still, Green Lantern isn't exactly one of the best films to have on somebody's resume, especially when it comes to handling such a beloved film as Blade Runner.
Blade Runner 2: Son of Blade Runner is still years away, so there's the possibility that fortunes can be turned around and it could match the level of amazement its precursor did. I'd advise not to hold your breaths for that to happen, though.
[via /Film]
Forest Whitaker Will Have a Dream as Martin Luther King, Jr. in Memphis
With a varied filmography from Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai to The King's Speech, which garnered him the Oscar for Best Actor, Forest Whitaker has become one of the most versatile actors in Hollywood. That versatility will be put to the test in an upcoming Martin Luther King, Jr. biopic, Memphis. Directed by Philip Greengrasss (The Bourne Ultimatum), the script follows the last years of MLK's life leading up to his final rally in the titular Memphis.
Memphis has been in development hell for years due to being dropped by Universal and losing support from King's family. However, the project will become a strictly independent film, meaning it will have a lower budget and possibly finding distribution through a smaller studio. However, with Whitaker's name attached to the project, it should be green-lit and fast tracked towards production.
With rumors of a separate MLK film in discussion with DreamWorks (with the support of King's family), it'll be interesting to see who'll be cast as King for that film. Personally, with no scheduling conflicts, I think Terrence Howard would make a perfect MLK. What do you guys think? Is Whitaker the right actor to portray King, Jr? Or would you rather have seen a different actor in the role?
[via /Film]
Nicolas Cage, Jackie Chan, Milla Jovovich, and Wesley Snipes Become Not So Expendable for The Expendables 3
How do you build on a film franchise that has already featured such illustrious action stars as Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Bruce Willis, Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke, Chuck Norris, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Terry Crews, and Arnold Schwarzenegger? Obviously by adding even more stars. Collider is reporting that Jackie Chan, Nicolas Cage, Wesley Snipes, and Milla Jovovich are in discussions to join The Expendables 3, this time being directed by Patrick Hughes.
It'll be great to see Chan return to his martial arts roots, especially if Jet Li returns. With Snipes making his return to acting following his prison sentence, it'll be interesting to see how Stallone writes his character. Cage, I'm not the biggest fan of, but I'm sure he'll be used mostly for weird non-sequitors and one-liners. Jovovich, of course, showed how much of a badass she can be in the Resident Evil franchise, so it's good to see Stallone being aware of the franchise's need for more of a female presence.
The Expendables 3 is still in the early stages of production, but keep your eyes open for it. Hopefully, it'll become the action film it should be, given the stars attached, and not the shell of an action epic that the previous two films have been.
[via Collider]
[Trailer] Prisoners
http://youtu.be/Yv7WGFPR7ew
What would you do when your daughters go missing and you feel the cops aren't doing enough to help? In Denis Villeneuve's (Incendies) upcoming new film, Prisoners, the question of self-justice is explored. When Keller Dover's (Hugh Jackman) daughter and her friend go missing during a family party, Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal) is assigned to the case. Once they discover a suspect (Paul Dano), Keller and his neighbor (Terrence Howard), whose daughter also went missing, find some relief. However, when the suspect goes free due to a lack of evidence, Keller takes the law into his own hands... but at what cost?
The trailer, which you can watch below, shares a lot of the story. However, I can only assume there's a lot more that it (hopefully) isn't showing. You can feel the intensity of the thrill, which can't be said for most thriller trailers. Prisoners will be in theaters on September 20th.
[Trailer] This is the End
http://youtu.be/Z51cfNUagn8
It all started off like any normal night in Beverly Hills. James Franco (Springbreakers) throws a party at his mansion full of a bunch of celebrities, including Seth Rogen (Knocked Up), Jay Baruchel (Goon), Jonah Hill (Superbad), Danny McBride (Eastbound and Down), and Craig Robinson (The Office). Shenanigans that only A-listers can make are happening, the least of which is Michael Cera (Arrested Development) slapping Rihanna's ass (could you blame him?). However, what appears to be a typical Californian earthquake turns out to be the beginnings of the end of the world.
Celebrity cameos! Laughs! Action! Emma Watson! Emma Watson! Emma Watson! This is the End hits theaters on June 12th.