Frozen Fever Première Date Announced

Source: The Wrap

Anyone who has since melted their snowman would be advised to start rebuilding it at the next opportunity...
Walt Disney Pictures have this week confirmed the date on which Walt Disney Animation Studios' latest production, Frozen Fever, will première in cinemas. Sporting a storyline which will depict the post-Frozen antics of inspirational protagonists Elsa and Anna, this much-anticipated short film will début during the adverts shown within screenings of the overall studio's impending fantastical romantic-drama Cinderella (which, for those interested, stars Broken's Lily James, The Hobbit's Cate Blanchett and Game of Thrones' Richard Madden).

That the pair will walk hand-in-hand into auditoriums across the globe in a quarter of a year's time is no coincidence, of course; quite to the contrary, we'd be willing to bet that Disney are none too pleased with the lukewarm levels of anticipation currently circulating around Cinderella and as such are bringing in the metaphorically sizeable armaments needed to boost ticket sales through the roof. The worst part of this cynical commercial ploy? We'd be equally confident in asserting that it'll pay off infinitely come release day, since Frozen went from strength to financial strength earlier this year, indicating that any related media - this ten-minute spin-off piece included - will thrive to just as great an extent, if not moreso. In other words, for better or for worse, welcome to the modern film industry.

Frozen Fever will send shivers of elation into the hearts of audiences the world over at each and every screening of Cinderella, meaning that we'll first receive the chance on March 13th, 2015.

Bond 24 Title, Plot Synopsis & Central Cast Members Revealed

Source: Reddit

The name's hype - unrestrained, ever-increasing hype. Is it October 2015 yet?
Metro-Goldwyn Mayer and Columbia Pictures have today released details on the narrative and central cast of their twenty-fourth cinematic adaptation of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels. Starring Daniel Craig - who reprises his role as Agent 007 for the fourth consecutive time after starring in Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace and Skyfall - and directed once again by Skyfall helmer Sam Mendes, the follow-up to last year's sensationally celebratory 50th Anniversary adventure will also see Ben Whishaw, Ralph Fiennes and Naomie Harris resume their already-popular portrayals of Q, M and Ms Moneypenny respectively.

What's more, with the news that the motion picture in question will go by the not-so-covert codename of Spectre (better known as the organization headed by the white cat-stroking Blofield - a version of whom Christoph Waltz is rumoured to be playing here - in the classic films), it seems that the franchise's ongoing connections to its sizeable past won't terminate with the defenders of British social order mentioned above. Indeed, these links are only evidenced by the official plot synopsis that accompanied today's reveal event, the full text of which reads as follows: "A cryptic message from Bond's past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organization [no prizes for guessing its name, we'd imagine]. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind SPECTRE [see what we mean?]."

That Fiennes' incarnation of M will tackle "political forces" in order to ensure the survival of MI6 here is an enticing proposition in itself, not least since it means that not unlike Quantum of Solace, Spectre will pick up the pieces laid down by Skyfall last November rather than opting for the traditional standalone narrative structure favoured by the executive producers of the Connery, Dalton, Moore and Brosnan entries of old. If Bond's newly-appointed boss is to keep MI6 afloat, however, he'll doubtless need both some help from fellow agents and the right amount of competition from deadly adversaries. Enter the film's just-announced central cast, a star-studded line-up which has already raised our anticipation level to maximum simply on the basis of its inclusion of both Sherlock's Andrew Scott and Django Unchained's Christoph Waltz. Read on for all of the juicy details...

• The dazzling Aston Martin DB10 plays itself, naturally - who could've possibly called that one?
• Andrew Scott (Sherlock; Pride) will portray MI6 agent Denbigh, the final allegiances of whom remain to be seen...
• Evidently riding the wave of his success as Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy, Dave Bautista has stepped aboard 007's bandwagon to play the enigmatic Mr. Hinx.
• Lea Seydoux mightn't have appeared in many major productions so far - with Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol marking the single notable exception - but that shouldn't prevent her from taking Bond by storm as Madeleine Swann.
• She'll have her work cut out, though, as Monica Bellucci (The Apartment; A Burning Hot Summer) is set to vie for the audience's affections (or scorn, depending on the moral standpoint of her construct) in the role of Lucia Sciarra.
• As eagle-eyed readers will probably have noticed, we've saved the most thrilling casting announcement for last - Christoph Waltz (Inglorious Bastards; Django Unchained; Muppets Most Wanted) will play the mysterious antagonist of the piece, Oberhauser!

Spectre will begin filming next Monday, December 8th before infiltrating UK cinemas worldwide on October 23rd, 2015 and doing likewise in the United States on November 6th, 2015.

New Game of Thrones: A Telltale Game Series Voice Actors Announced

Source: 6aming

Winter is coming, but there's really no need to worry, as so are two fan-favourite characters.
Entertainment Weekly have today announced two more actors who are set to lend their voices to Telltale Games' ongoing video game adaptation of HBO's long-running fantasy drama Game of Thrones. Creatively dubbed Game of Thrones: A Telltale Games Series, the saga of six two-hour episodes chronicles the quest of the lowly House Forrester to remain intact amidst the War of the Five Kings as well as both the Red and Purple Weddings, all of which - along with physical and political adversaries such as the White Walkers and the increasingly influential Lannisters respectively - threaten to tear their family apart before too long.

(Warning - From here on out, there be minor spoilers for the first episode of Game of Thrones: A Telltale Game Series, "Iron from Ice", along with the trailer for Episode 2, "The Lost Lords")

Anyone who's had the pleasure of experiencing "Iron from Ice", A Telltale Game Series' opening instalment - which we'd give a sturdy 9/10 on the basis of its politically charged narrative, its fidelity with regards to the tone and thematic strands of the source material and the occasional technical / aesthetic hitches which rear their heads along the way (in other words, be sure to purchase it on XBLA or PSN if it seems desirable) - will know full well that Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey, Natalie Dormer and Iwan Rheon reprised their televisual Thrones roles as Tyrion, Cersei, Margaery and Ramsay Snow respectively, and it transpires that they'll be joined by Kit Harington - who features in the trailer for "The Lost Lords" (below) - and Emilia Clarke later in Season One (let's be honest, future seasons of this particular Telltale sub-franchise are all but guaranteed given the show's popularity) as the latter thespians return to the roles of Jon Snow and Danaerys Targyrean respectively for an as-of-yet unspecified length of time, By now it should just about go without saying that we - along with the vast majority of US drama fans, we'd imagine - will support almost any decision made by HBO or Telltale regarding Game of Thrones' immediate future and indeed, given that 3-4 months still separate from Season Five of the TV series, this'll more than suffice as a temporary substitute from our perspective.

Game of Thrones: A Telltale Game Series continues with Episode 2, "The Lost Lords", in 2015 on Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PC and iOS devices. Its opening instalment, "Iron from Ice", is available now on each of these platforms' online marketplaces for an RRP of £3.99.

Doctor Who: "Last Christmas" Timeslot Announced (& "Death in Heaven" Thoughts)

Source: BBC - Newsround

For better or for worse, this December 25th, Santa Claus really is coming to town.
The BBC have this week announced the final broadcast time for (and thus the total running time of) this year's Doctor Who Christmas Special. Picking up where Season Eight's final instalment - "Death in Heaven" (more on that in a moment) - left off, the tenth edition in the show's growing ensemble of seasonal romps stars Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Cuban Fury) and Dan Starkey (aka Strax the Sontaran-turned-butler) alongside series regulars Peter Capaldi and (for one last time, if the as-of-yet divided rumour mill is to be believed) Jenna Coleman as the Doctor and Clara Oswald confront extraterrestrial creatures who can bend both dreams and reality to their devious will.

Given that this time of year is a period of goodwill and generosity - something that evidently hasn't occurred to the aforementioned antagonists of the piece, though such is the nature of the Christmas Special's central adversary, we suppose - we've decided to include the entirety of BBC One's prime-time December 24th-25th schedule below for your viewing delight. Before that, however, as we promised via this article's title, it's about time that we provide a brief thought or three on the episode that tail-ended one of our least favourite seasons to date (and yes, we're referring to "Death in Heaven" and Season Eight respectively in this instance). A word of warning - this one isn't for fans who tend to be unwilling to compromise or shift their views on generally beloved episodes of the programme based on differing opinions surrounding said outings.

In contrast to our verdict on the season in question's penultimate chapter, "Dark Water", even after several viewings of "Death", we're still struggling to understand why it's regarded as one of the best season finales to date the world over. Not only does Moffat roll out countless tropes from the show's past here - from overly emotional Cybermen to faked deaths (see Kate and - according to Michelle Gomez - Missy), from deus ex machina resolutions (funny that Danny et al didn't mention his newfound species' ability to cleanse the air by self-destructing before the episode's final moments) to the Doctor's assertion of himself as a mere "idiot" (something which we could have argued to be apparent as far back as Season Five, wherein Matt Smith's incarnation branded himself as a "madman in a box"), they're all here and they're all uncomfortably familiar - he then goes on to make the near-unforgivable error of failing to provide Clara with any kind of closure beyond Danny's inevitable demise, prompting what's all but guaranteed to be another needlessly prolonged farewell sequence in the impending Christmas Special.

As ever, for the most part the perks on offer here outweigh the shortcomings - Rachel Talalay's direction is some of the best we've seen on the show since Steven Moffat took the helm, if not ever, whilst Capaldi, Coleman and particularly Gomez stole the show with their constantly emotionally stirring performances and Moffat's inclusion of the Brigadier was a much-appreciated (if somewhat convoluted) touch - but bearing in mind that Season Eight arguably ranks as this reviewer's least-favourite (or second-least - it's a toss up between this and Season Two, which contained memorably woeful romps such as "The Idiot's Lantern", "Love and Monsters" and (shudders) "Fear Her"), it's nothing short of a tragedy that after "Dark Water" set up its successor to be one of the sci-fi drama's most accomplished outings to date, instead the series went out with a relatively triumphant bang rather than one which signified a new era of critical prosperity for the Whoniverse. It would take an absolute train-wreck of a season to put us off returning for further adventures in time and space with the world's most beloved Time Lord, naturally, although it's simultaneously difficult for us to deny that - despite "Death in Heaven" narrowly earning a 4* score from us - Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, House of Cards and the like are running circles around the decade-old revived version of the Beeb's longest-running drama nowadays.

Now, let's get onto the main event - this, unless we're sorely mistaken, is the full line-up of seasonal programmes scheduled to air on Christmas Eve and the big day itself via BBC One (and as always, our personal highlights are marked in yellow)...

CHRISTMAS EVE (WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24TH)

• 6.25pm - Toy Story 3
• 8pm - Eastenders
• 8.30pm - The Incredible Adventures of Professor Branestawm
• 9.30pm - Not Going Out
• 10.15pm - The Vicar of Dibley
• 10.55pm - Mrs Brown's Boys

CHRISTMAS DAY (THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25TH)

• 3.10pm - Puss in Boots
• 5pm - Strictly Come Dancing
• 6.15pm - Doctor Who
• 7.15pm - Miranda
• 7.50pm - Call the Midwife
• 9pm - Eastenders
• 10.05pm - Mrs Brown's Boys

In case it wasn't already obvious from the schedule above, the 2014 Doctor Who Christmas Special, "Last Christmas", will première on BBC One at 6.15pm on Christmas Day and on BBC America at 9/8c.

Derek Christmas Special Broadcast Date Announced

Source: Radio Times

Just nineteen days remain until we bid farewell to the residents of Broadhill - bring tissues...
Comedian Ricky Gervais has today announced the broadcast date and airtime of the final episode of his hit comedy-drama Derek. Taking the form of a Christmas Special, the one-off outing - which has once again been written and directed by lead star Gervais - will depict both the marriage of Hannah (Kerry Godliman) and Tom (Brett Goldstein) and the titular protagonist's charming attempts to continually woo his newly-appointed girlfriend Lizzie (Kay Noone).

Just as we've made no secret in the past regarding our enduring enthusiasm for all things Derek - something which only strengthened as the mostly-remarkable Season Two aired earlier this year - so too will we do nothing to remove how much the prospect of a seasonal instalment of the show entices us in spite of said festive outing simultaneously marking the programme's swansong. Whilst Channel 4 have elected to slot the one-hour finale in before Christmas Eve or Christmas Day arrives nevertheless strikes us at a bit odd, if nothing else it'll ensure that our TV schedules don't become too clogged up (in theory) come December 25th. For better or for worse, though, that does mean we'll be spending a heck of a lot more time digesting Christmas and Yorkshire puddings alike twenty two days from now - make of that what you will.

Derek closes its doors on Monday, December 22nd at 10pm on Channel 4.

Assassin's Creed Victory Announced

Source: VG 24-7

And we have a feeling that our readers will be thrilled by the setting!
Ubisoft have today announced the development of Assassin's Creed Victory for release on an unannounced set of platforms in the not too distant future. Purportedly based in the city of London (yes, really!), the spiritual successor (or direct follow-up - who knows?) to this year's Assassin's Creed Rogue and Unity will apparently take place in the Victorian era, hence why there'll be the opportunity for players to duel with adversaries atop horse carriages before scaling Big Ben with the (seemingly original) protagonist's nifty grappling hook gadget.

Sadly, however, the news hasn't exactly arrived in the best of circumstances for multiple reasons, not least that Kotaku leaked details surrounding Victory's new gameplay mechanics - carriage swashbuckling and gambling amongst them - as well as its narrative and main character last night rather than allowing Ubisoft Quebec - the incumbent development team - to do so at a time that suited them during the early stages of 2015 as per the traditional Ubisoft marketing model. No doubt some would argue that this'll force the company to revise their business strategy in future so as to prevent slip-ups of this nature from hampering their upcoming products' marketing campaigns somewhat, but in all honesty, we're sympathetic towards the publisher's plight at the moment, especially given that they've got more than enough on their plate what with the seemingly infinite number of Unity glitches they're currently in the process of sorting out. Nevertheless, as and when more details on this effortlessly tantalising project arrive on the web, On-Screen will compile all of the key information right here as soon as cybernetically possible (though please bear in mind that we haven't acquired a real-life Animus...yet).

Assassin's Creed Victory - according to Kotaku, at least - is set to launch its grappling hook into video game retailers worldwide ready for release on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC in Autumn 2015.

Suicide Squad Central Cast Members Announced

Source: DC Entertainment

Believe it or not, the DC Cinematic Universe is finally gaining some traction. Here's why...
Warner Bros. Pictures have today announced the identities of the esteemed thespians who'll comprise the central cast ensemble of their upcoming anti-hero blockbuster Suicide Squad. A spin-off of sorts from the hotly-anticipated Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, this sure-to-be-quirky adaptation of the beloved Detective Comics saga of the same name has the unenviable job of matching Dawn's ambition just a few short months after the aforementioned crossover motion picture's March 2016 release.

Were we talking about any other aspiring franchise, the odds of a secondary outing eclipsing the main event in two years' time would seem hopelessly improbable, yet the DC Cinematic Universe has done little but defy our expectations in recent months, rolling out subversive reveal after subversive reveal - not least through Warner's confirmation that they'll be the first studio to launch female-led and Caucasian-led genre efforts - up until now and, thankfully, today's no different in that regard. If Marvel Studios' current line-up of Hollywood A-listers appeared impressive, then prepare for a shock, since between Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Ben Affleck and now this foremidable roster of legendary performers, DC have seemingly assembled every major thespian who wasn't already signed on for an MCU instalment in order to match their greatest competitors from the outset.

Without further ado, then, here's a comprehensive round-up of Suicide Squad's leads, who they're playing and how those characters are represented in the realms of DC comic-books (as well as how they've been portrayed in past adaptations (where appropriate)):

• Will Smith plays Deadshot, a exemplary assassin whose power lies in his ability to dispatch opponents from a distance using his trusted-but-deadly sniper rifle. For evidence of the potential of Smith's latest construct, we'd advise sampling the character's cameo appearance in Batman: Arkham City or Michael Rowe's deliciously sinister portrayal of one of the Suicide Squad's longest-serving members in The CW's superhero drama Arrow.
• Cara Delevingne (Grand Theft Auto V; Pan) will take on the role of Enchantress, a protagonist-turned-antagonist who's known for her divided loyalties to infamous DC teams such as Justice League Dark (more should be coming on Warner's potential adaptation of this story arc soon, by the way, at least if director Guillermo del Toro has anything to say on the matter), the Sentinels of Magic and, of course, the band of merry villains who give this project its fascinating title.
• Tom Hardy (This Means War; Inception) is making his return to the DC Cinematic Universe - albeit a different version of said universe from the one he remembers - after his contribution as Bane in The Dark Knight Rises in order to play Rick Flagg, a character who's well-known as a regular leader of the titular Squad, particularly as he was one of its founding members (though at the time of its inception, the team went by the name of Task Force X, as diehard fans will surely already know!).
• Jai Courtney (John Reacher; A Good Day to Die Hard), meanwhile, is following in the footsteps of Arrow's Nick Tarabay by bringing us an innovative rendition of Boomerang. Normally this traitorous foe goes by the name of Captain Boomerang, though with any luck even the most ardent fans of the character will forgive the omission of the rather silly forename once they see an oft-mocked yet nonetheless still-loved menace receive his big-screen début.
• Jared Leto (Mr. Nobody; American Psycho; Dallas Buyers Club) and Margot Robbie (The Wolf of Wall Street; Focus) are doubtless the names on everyone's minds following Warner's announcement, however. They'll conspire in tandem as the Joker and Harley Quinn respectively, the latter of whom has - for reasons beyond our comprehension - until now stayed well clear of the cinematic linelight, instead remaining confined to televised (check out the sixteenth episode of Arrow Season Two, "Suicide Squad", to witness a marvellous cameo) and video game appearances. The question remains, of course, as to whether Leto can possibly top Heath Ledger's critically acclaimed work as the aforementioned Clown Prince of Crime in The Dark Knight, but if nothing else, we're fascinated to discover the answer.

Suicide Squad embarks on its daring first mission in cinemas worldwide on August 5th, 2016.