Big Sean and Jane Zhang Record Song for "Terminator: Genisys"

CHINESE POP STAR JANE ZHANG AND G.O.O.D. MUSIC / DEF JAM RECORDINGS ARTIST BIG SEAN RECORD ORIGINAL SONG FOR “TERMINATOR GENISYS”

HOLLYWOOD, CA – Chinese pop star Jane Zhang and American hip hop artist Big Sean (G.O.O.D. Music / Def Jam Recordings) are collaborating on the original song “Fighting Shadows” for Paramount Pictures and Skydance Productions’ highly anticipated film “TERMINATOR GENISYS,” which opens in theaters in the United States on the 1st of July.

The partnership represents the first time that Zhang has recorded a song for an English-language film and marks Big Sean’s musical debut for a feature film.

“Fighting Shadows” will be released digitally in Asia by Sony and the rest of the world by Def Jam Recordings. It is available to download at iTunes beginning June 30th.

“Contributing to the ‘Terminator Genisys’ movie and inviting Big Sean to collaborate was a very special opportunity for me,” said Zhang. “I am really looking forward to the moment when people get to hear this song.”

Zhang will be featured on CCTV 6’s “Talking to Hollywood with Betty Zhou” this Friday, June 19th at approx. 5:30 p.m. and on future episodes. Fans can receive more information about Zhang and “TERMINATOR GENISYS” by following Betty Zhou’s official Weibo page http://weibo.com/bettyzhoulingan or @Betty周玲安.

“I have been a huge fan of Arnold and the ‘Terminator’ movies since I was a kid, so it’s especially exciting to be a part of the new film,” said Big Sean. “Working with Jane has been an amazing experience and I can’t wait for audiences around the world to hear her song.”

Zhang is a Chinese pop singer who came to prominence after her performance in the 2005 season of the Super Girl contest, a national all-female singing competition in China.

Zhang's debut album, “The One,” was produced by Craig Williams. Her next album, “Update,” broke away from the Chinese pop scene by combining elements of R&B and jazz. After its release, Zhang participated in a World Peace One concert with such artists as U2, Madonna, Pink Floyd and Green Day to increase awareness and activism for world peace and to raise funds for humanitarian relief. She made her American television debut on The Oprah Winfrey Show with the release of her third album, “Jane@Music.”

“Believe in Jane,” Zhang's fourth album, was released in 2010. Following its popularity, she performed at the first New York China Film Festival, where she was awarded most popular Chinese singer, and further represented China in the 7th Asia Song Festival held in Korea. She has recorded two songs for the Chinese film “EMPRESS OF CHINA” and was selected to record “Fighting Shadows” for “TERMINATOR GENISYS” due to her unique vocal range and talent.

American hip hop artist Big Sean has earned worldwide attention since the release of his debut album “Finally Famous” in 2011. As his first major label effort, the album made an impressive #3 Soundscan debut in the U.S., solidifying a joint venture by Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music with Island Def Jam Music Recordings.

With more than 10 million records sold to-date, Sean was the first rapper to ever perform at the White House and has released two successful shoe designs in partnerships with Adidas Originals. While his professional work as an artist keeps him extremely busy, Sean makes the time to use his resources to give back through his Detroit-based non-profit, the Sean Anderson Foundation.

He is currently on a worldwide tour promoting his third major label album, “Dark Sky Paradise,” which debuted at #1.

Paramount Pictures and Skydance Productions present “TERMINATOR GENISYS.” When John Connor (Jason Clarke), leader of the human resistance, sends Sgt. Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) back to 1984 to protect Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) and safeguard the future, an unexpected turn of events creates a fractured timeline. Now, Sgt. Reese finds himself in a new and unfamiliar version of the past, where he is faced with unlikely allies, including the Guardian (Arnold Schwarzenegger), dangerous new enemies, and an unexpected new mission: to reset the future. Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Clarke, Emilia Clarke, Jai Courtney, J. K. Simmons, Dayo Okeniyi, Matthew Smith, Courtney B. Vance and Byung-Hun Lee.

The film is produced by David Ellison and Dana Goldberg. Written by Laeta Kalogridis & Patrick Lussier. Directed by Alan Taylor.

“TERMINATOR GENISYS” opens in theaters on July 1st, 2015.

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First Trailer for "Captive" with David Oyelowo and Kate Mara

The trailer for CAPTIVE starring David Oyelowo and Kate Mara is now available on iTunes Trailers!

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/paramount/captive/

CAPTIVE, based on a miraculous true story that drew the attention of the entire nation, is the dramatic, thrilling, and spiritual journey of Ashley Smith and Brian Nichols.  After being taken hostage by Brian in her own apartment, Ashley turns to Rick Warren’s inspirational book, The Purpose Driven Life, for guidance.  In reading from the book, Ashley not only finds purpose in her own life, but helps Brian find a more peaceful resolution to a harrowing situation.

CAPTIVE is in theaters September 18, 2015

http://www.captivethemovie.com

https://www.facebook.com/CaptiveMovie

https://twitter.com/captive

#CaptiveMovie

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First Trade Paperback for "The Autumnlands" Comic Book Due in July 2015

THE AUTUMNLANDS: TOOTH & CLAW, VOL. 1 arrives this July

The first six issues of sword, sorcery, and talking fauna will be collected into trade paperback

Writer Kurt Busiek (ASTRO CITY, Marvels) and artist Benjamin Dewey (Tragedy Series, Star Wars) build a vibrant, layered fantasy series in THE AUTUMNLANDS: TOOTH & CLAW. The first six issues of the series will be collected into a trade paperback and available this June.

THE AUTUMNLANDS: TOOTH & CLAW, VOL. 1 is Conan meets Game of Thrones with a splash of Kamandi. An original high-fantasy epic for mature readers, THE AUTUMNLANDS begins with a secret conclave of wizards as they summon a legendary champion back through time in an effort to save the world. But instead, their efforts are met with disastrous consequences.

THE AUTUMNLANDS: TOOTH & CLAW, VOL. 1 (ISBN: 978-1-63215-277-0) hits comic book stores on July 1 and bookstores on July 14, and will be available for $9.99. It can be ordered by retailers from Diamond Book Distributors with Diamond Code APR150573.

More praise for THE AUTUMNLANDS:

“An ambitious and entertaining story in grand fashion.” —Comicosity

“Each panel is worth the cover price all by itself.” —Comic Book Resources

“I use no hyperbole when I say this may be the comic of the year, and have no doubts about giving it a perfect score.” —Newsarama

“Fantasy lovers rejoice, for we can now add Tooth & Claw to our growing collection of comics in our favorite genre. Once this is collected I will be sure to set it immediately beside my Mouse Guard hardcovers, and Rat Queenspaperbacks.” —Word of the Nerd

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"Batman Day" Returns September 26, 2015

DC Entertainment Announces That on September 26: “Batman Day” Returns

Back By Popular Demand, BATMAN DAY 2015 Makes the Celebration of The World’s Most Popular Super Hero and Global Pop Culture Icon an Annual Event

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--DC Entertainment is bringing back the fan-favorite event celebrating The Dark Knight. “Batman Day” is back by popular demand and will take place on Saturday, September 26, 2015, kicking off what has become an annual event honoring one of the most popular and iconic Super Heroes and celebrating all things Batman from comics to video games and more. Fans everywhere are invited to partake in festivities with thousands of comic book shops, bookstores, schools, libraries and other retail partners participating in the bat-centric event.

Those who visit select comic stores, libraries and bookstores on “Batman Day” will also have the opportunity for meet-and-greets with premier DC Entertainment talent including legendary artist and DCE Co-Publisher Jim Lee, Grant Morrison, Scott Snyder, David Finch, Brian Azzarello, Cameron Stewart, Pat Gleason, Dustin Nguyen, Tim Seeley, Tom King, Dan Jurgens, Jeff Parker, Matthew Manning, and Daniel Wallace with many more to be announced.

In addition to DC Entertainment, “Batman Day” partners include Warner Bros. Consumer Products with licensees Capstone, Penguin Random House, Scholastic, and DK Publishing, as well as Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Warner Bros. Television, with additional partners to be announced. Partners will provide unique retail and digital promotional tie-ins across multiple media to celebrate the Caped Crusader.

The official “Batman Day” event kit will include activity sheets, trivia, and games and will be available for download on http://www.dccomics.com/batmandaykit.


About DC Entertainment
DC Entertainment, home to iconic brands DC Comics (Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, The Flash, etc.), Vertigo (Sandman, Fables, etc.) and MAD, is the creative division charged with strategically integrating its content across Warner Bros. and Time Warner. DC Entertainment works in concert with many key Warner Bros. divisions to unleash its stories and characters across all media, including but not limited to film, television, consumer products, home entertainment and interactive games. Publishing thousands of comic books, graphic novels and magazines each year, DC Entertainment is one of the largest English-language publishers of comics in the world.

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Digital Manga Announces Osamu Tezuka's "Storm Fairy"

Digital Manga, Inc. to publish Osamu Tezuka's shojo manga, Storm Fairy

GARDENA, CA - With successful Kickstarter campaigns like Captain Ken, Lugwig B, Alabaster, and the recent Clockwork Apple, Digital Manga isn't slowing down their Kickstarter train to publish “God of Manga” Osamu Tezuka titles, and their next project is a shojo (girl's) title called Storm Fairy. This manga is a collection of three short stories with the first being the longest at the length of half the book, and the other two make up the rest. Their new standard will have the book printed in high-quality off-set white paper, and is scheduled to be released in October, 2015. The Kickstarter campaign is planned to start June 16th, and will run for 30 days.

In Storm Fairy, Kuwagata Castle is in the midst of being invaded by enemy forces and the Empress flees to a nearby forest to implore a forest fairy to save her husband and her kingdom. A deal was struck and in exchange for the fairy's favor, the empress must give up the face of her next born child. Thus, two girls life become entwined, one who has to wear a mask to hide her disfigured face, another born with the face of the other. One day, while the Emperor and Empress are away, a usurper finds out about Princess Ruri's curse and steals her mask so he can place his own daughter on the throne. They oust Princess Ruri from her kingdom, and while on the run she meets a samurai, Tonosuke, who takes pity on her and takes her under his wing. Hakobe, the forest fairy blessed with another woman's face, is tasked with tricking unwary travelers but her sweet heart always leads her to help others. While on a trip into the town, she finds out the real Princess Ruri is on the run and decides to help her win back her kingdom. But, little does she know, she wears the face of the woman she's trying to save...

The second short story, “Kokeshi Detective Agency,” has a similar tone and feel to young adult book series, Encyclopedia Brown. Little fearless Paco goes around solving mysteries for she is not afraid of things that go bump in the night while her dog friend Waco does his best to protect her. In the third story, fairy Pink from the realm of beautiful sunsets morphs into whatever she wants so she may help those who are unhappy and in need, but King Brown and Sepia from the realm of thunderstorms do their best to make people miserable.

Even though this manga is classified as a shojo manga, Tezuka still questions what is perceived as beautiful or ugly, and I love it. – Hikaru Sasahara, President of DMI

Shojo is a type of genre born in Japanese magazines that were segregated according to gender. Shonen and shojo was printed similarly like the funnies in your Sunday newspaper. Magazines aimed at boys to sympathize with WWII created the genre shonen whereas magazines aimed at girls focused on their feelings and home life created the genre shojo. Post-WWII showed a surge of girls interested in manga, and when Tezuka published Princess Knight, he raised the bar on what was acceptable for Japanese girls to read. There are not a lot of shojo titles created by men (including Tezuka), so Digital Manga, Inc. is proud to add this teen shojo title to their library.

There will also be a stretch goal to reprint Unico in sharper color, and another stretch goal to print Crime and Punishment which was previously released as digital-only. More information regarding swag for stretch goals when it becomes unlocked.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/digitalmanga/publish-tezukas-storm-fairy-and-reprint-unico


About DMI and Tezuka Productions
Digital Manga Inc. has over 20 years of experience publishing manga, and president and founder, Hikaru Sasahara, personally knew Tezuka and his dreams of world unity. Hikaru had created Digital Manga, Inc. in order to bring about his concept of "East meets West," and has published many manga including other Tezuka titles like Barbara, Unico, Triton of the Sea, and Captain Ken.
Tezuka Productions has brought to the anime and manga industry controversial books that always pushed the boundaries of what it means to be human. Tezuka does not shy away from showing all the facets of humanity, whether it be sorrow, joy, humor, tragedy, these things encompass what it means to live no matter what type of skin, color, shape, or gender others have. Some famous books Tezuka and his production company have published are Astro Boy, Blackjack, Unico, and Buddha.

Questions? Contact us at: contact@emanga.com

Digital Manga Inc.
Located in Gardena, CA, Digital Manga Inc. is one of the industry's most unconventional and innovative companies, specializing in building corporate and cultural bridges from Japan to the West - specifically through the licensing, importation, and preparation of anime (Japanese animation), manga (Japanese comic books) and related merchandise for North America's mainstream and niche markets. In this capacity, DMI serves as a catalyst for the spread of Japanese pop culture institutions into the global arena. The company's imprint lines include DMP (its mainstream imprint), DMP Platinum (its classic manga imprint), JUNÉ (its boys love imprint), 801 MEDIA (its adult boys love imprint), DokiDoki (its exclusive co-publishing imprint with Shinshokan Publishing), DH/DMP (a co-publishing venture with Dark Horse Comics, Project H (its Seinen Hentai manga imprint) and DMG (a new forefront for its digital distribution initiative).
For more information about Digital Manga Publishing, visit http://www.digitalmanga.com as well as:

http://www.dmpplatinum.com/
www.dmpbooks.com
www.junemanga.com
www.digitalmangaguild.com
https://www.emanga.com/tezuka
https://www.akadot.com/

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Webcomics Update: Grumble #2, Page 9

Grumble Chapter Two, Page 9 is here: http://www.comicbookbin.com/grumbletwopage009.html

NOTE:  Last year, I printed some promotional copies of Grumble: Chapter One through a POD printer.  I will sign and number a copy of this "rare" comic book for $5 post paid, which you can purchase here or http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/p/i-reads-shopping.html

I am also on Patreon.

Neil Gaiman's "American Gods" Headed to Starz

Starz Gives Green Light to “American Gods” from FremantleMedia North America

#CastingShadow BEGINS!

Bryan Fuller and Michael Green to Serve as Showrunners on the New Scripted Drama Series Based on Neil Gaiman’s Blockbuster Novel

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Starz has given a greenlight to FremantleMedia North America’s (FMNA) adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s acclaimed contemporary fantasy novel American Gods. Bryan Fuller (“Hannibal,” “Pushing Daisies,” “Heroes”) and Michael Green (“The River,” “Kings,” “Heroes”), will pen and showrun the series. Gaiman will also executive produce the series. FremantleMedia North America will produce. Start of production is dependent on casting the lead role of “Shadow Moon.”

    “Almost 15 years ago, Neil Gaiman filled a toy box with gods and magic and we are thrilled to finally crack it open and play. We're grateful to have STARZ above us and FremantleMedia at our backs as we appease the gods, American or otherwise.”

Starz CEO Chris Albrecht said, “STARZ is committed to bring American Gods to its legions of fans. With our partners at FremantleMedia and with Bryan, Michael and Neil guiding the project, we hope to create a series that honors the book and does right by the fans, who have been casting it in their minds for years. The search for Shadow begins today!”

Commented Neil Gaiman, "I am thrilled, scared, delighted, nervous and a ball of glorious anticipation. The team that is going to bring the world of American Gods to the screen has been assembled like the master criminals in a caper movie: I'm relieved and confident that my baby is in good hands. Now we finally move to the exciting business that fans have been doing for the last dozen years: casting our Shadow, our Wednesday, our Laura..."

Commented Bryan Fuller and Michael Green, “Almost 15 years ago, Neil Gaiman filled a toy box with gods and magic and we are thrilled to finally crack it open and play. We're grateful to have STARZ above us and FremantleMedia at our backs as we appease the gods, American or otherwise."

Craig Cegielski, Co-CEO, FremantleMedia North America said “’American Gods’ has been the passion project for us at FMNA since Stefanie Berk brought this exceptional piece of literature to the company when she joined two years ago. Chris, Carmi and the entire team at Starz are committed partners, sharing the same creative vision and ambition for this series. Neil’s novel is a brilliant work of art, and together with the talented Bryan Fuller and Michael Green, we are committed to delivering a series that is nothing short of extraordinary.”

The 2001 novel has been translated into over 30 languages and earned numerous accolades including Hugo, Nebula and Bram Stoker Awards for Best Novel. The plot posits a war brewing between old and new gods: the traditional gods of biblical and mythological roots from around the world steadily losing believers to an upstart pantheon of gods reflecting society’s modern love of money, technology, media, celebrity and drugs. Its protagonist, Shadow Moon, is an ex-con who becomes bodyguard and traveling partner to Mr. Wednesday, a conman but in reality one of the older gods, on a cross-country mission to gather his forces in preparation to battle the new deities.

FremantleMedia North America’s Craig Cegielski and Stefanie Berk will executive produce the series along with Bryan Fuller, Michael Green and Neil Gaiman. Senior Vice President of Original Programming Ken Segna will be the Starz executive in charge of “American Gods.” Starz will retain all network pay TV and SVOD rights to the project. FremantleMedia will distribute the series worldwide.

Fans can tweet @AmericanGodsSTZ and @STARZ_Channel using the hashtag #CastingShadow to share who they think should play the role of “Shadow Moon.”


About Starz
Starz (NASDAQ: STRZA, STRZB) is a leading integrated global media and entertainment company with operating units that provide premium subscription video programming on domestic U.S. pay television channels (Starz Networks), global content distribution (Starz Distribution) and animated television and movie production (Starz Animation), www.starz.com.

Starz Networks is a leading provider of premium subscription video programming through the flagship STARZ® and ENCORE® pay TV networks which showcase premium original programming and movies to U.S. multichannel video distributors, including cable operators, satellite television providers, and telecommunications companies. As of March 31, 2015, STARZ and ENCORE serve a combined 57.5 million subscribers, including 23.7 million at STARZ, and 33.8 million at ENCORE, making them the largest pair of premium flagship channels in the U.S. STARZ® and ENCORE®, along with Starz Networks’ third network MOVIEPLEX®, air more than 1,000 movies monthly across

17 linear networks, complemented by On Demand and authenticated online offerings through STARZ PLAY, ENCORE PLAY, and MOVIEPLEX PLAY. Starz Distribution develops, produces and acquires entertainment content, distributing it to consumers globally on DVD, digital formats and traditional television. Starz Distribution’s home video, digital media and worldwide distribution business units distribute original programming content produced by Starz, as well as entertainment content for itself and third parties. Starz Animation produces animated TV and movie content for studios, networks, distributors and audiences worldwide.

About FremantleMedia North America
FremantleMedia North America (FMNA) is the U.S. arm of global media giant FremantleMedia, which includes a distribution arm, FremantleMedia International, a digital and branded entertainment division and a kids & family entertainment business. As one of the world’s largest and most successful creators, producers and distributors of TV brands in the world, FremantleMedia’s comprehensive global network has operations in 28 countries, creating over 10,000 hours of programming a year, rolling out more than 45 formats and managing over 350 individual titles. The company also distributes more than 20,000 hours of content in over 200 territories. FMNA and its portfolio of companies, including Original Productions and 495 Productions, produce entertaining and innovative scripted and alternative programs for network, cable, syndicated and online platforms. Their slate includes a diverse range of both critically-acclaimed and award-winning successes including “American Idol” (FOX), “America’s Got Talent” (NBC), “Family Feud” (SYN), “Let’s Make A Deal” (CBS), “The Price Is Right” (CBS), “The Great Christmas Light Fight” (ABC), “Deadliest Catch” (Discovery), “Married to Medicine” (Bravo), “Party Down South” (CMT), “Ice Road Truckers” (HISTORY), “Storage Wars” (A&E), “Celebrity Family Feud” (ABC), “Celebrity Name Game” (SYN) and “American Gods” (STARZ) , among others.

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