Category: Movies

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Sony Pictures registers a slew of ‘Console War’ movie domain names

Playstation 4 PS4 concept

The next generation of console wars between Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft is set to begin as all three manufacturers are due to release a new console in the near future.  Nintendo plans to release the Wii U in 2012, while the PlayStation 4 and Xbox 720 are expected in 2013.  Adding to the “war of consoles”, Sony Pictures has registered several domain names this week like ConsoleWarmovie.com (Whois) and TheConsoleWarmovie.com (Whois).

Could ‘Console War’ actually be a movie or just a creative marketing video promoting the Playstation 4?

What hints that this is more than just a video, is the names were all registered by Sony Pictures Entertainment, the television and film production/distribution unit of Sony.  The names weren’t registered by Sony Computer Entertainment, the video game company.

Either way, there doesn’t appear to be any news coming out of Sony on the subject, but Sony Pictures Entertainment has picked up well over a dozen names.

Each domain was registered on August 23, 2012, through the brand protection company MarkMonitor.

The full list includes:

console-war.net
console-warmovie.com
console-wars.net
console-warsmovie.com
consolewar-movie.com
consolewar-movie.net
consolewar.net
consolewarmovie.com
consolewars-movie.com
consolewars-movie.net
consolewarsmovie.com
theconsolewar-movie.com
theconsolewar-movie.net
theconsolewar.net
theconsolewarmovie.com
theconsolewars-movie.com
theconsolewars-movie.net
theconsolewarsmovie.com

At the time of this story, none of the domains resolve to a web page.

Talking about this story: Kotaku, Screen Rant, Collider.com, /Film, G4tv, Digital Spy, IGN, Tapscape, Game Informer, GameZone, Push Square, gamona.de, games.on.net, NU.nl, I Am Rogue.com, 411mania.com, WorstPreviews.com, The Escapist, OnlineWelten.com, Side Mission (blog), Techzine, Spong, Joystiq, Le Journal du Geek and VG247

(Image of Playstation 4 concept by Tai Chiem)

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Movies News Video Games

Lucasfilm secretly registers ‘Star Wars First Assault’ domain names

Star Wars First Assault

Lucasfilm, the parent company of LucasArts, appears to have another big project in the works, this one called “Star Wars First Assault” according to several domains the company secretly purchased this week.

On August 22, 2012, names like StarWarsFirstAssault.com (Whois) and StarWarsFA.com (Whois) were registered through the internet brand protection agency Corporation Service Company (CSC).  And you can bet Lucasfilm is the registrant behind the names, as they are a well known client of CSC, which protects many of the world’s most valuable brands.  CSC is the same registrar responsible for managing flagship names like StarWars.com (Whois).

The fact the names were all privately registered, indicates the company is trying to keep the project under wraps for now.

Here’s the full list:

starwarsfa.com
starwarsfa.net
starwarsfa.de
starwarsfa.co.uk
starwarsfirstassault.com
starwarsfirstassault.net
starwarsfirstassault.de
starwarsfirstassault.co.uk
swfirstassault.com
swfirstassault.net
swfirstassault.de
swfirstassault.co.uk

No trademark application has been filed at the United States Patent and Trademark Office nor has the company announced anything about this project, so it’s unknown if it’s related to a video game, film, or some other Star Wars product.

The domains aren’t much help either.

At the time of this story, most of the names resolve to a blank web page.

Talking about this story: GameZone

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Amidst The Hobbit trilogy talk, Riddles in the Dark and Smaug domains registered

'Riddles in the Dark', 'Desolation of the Smaug' domains registered as talk of The Hobbit trilogy

UPDATE – AUG. 31, 2012:. Collider reports the third installment in The Hobbit trilogy will now be called The Hobbit: There and Back Again. The second film has been re-titled, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.  No title or release date changes have touched the first film, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

ORIGINAL STORY:. This week there has been talk of a third ‘Hobbit’ film after The Hollywood Reporter reported that sources close to the production of The Hobbit say the filmmaker Peter Jackson wants to turn his upcoming two-film adaptation of the J.R.R. Tolkien epic into a trilogy.

While the first two films already have names – “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” and “The Hobbit: There and Back Again” – it’s not officially known what the title of the third film will be.

Unless, of course, you take a look at some recent web activity involving “The Hobbit” and the internet brand protection company MarkMonitor.

Domain registrations made this week suggest the title may be “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” or “The Hobbit: Riddles in the Dark”.

On July 27, several domain names were privately registered through MarkMonitor, of which The Saul Zaentz Company is a client.  MarkMonitor is the same registrar responsible for managing the domains for TheHobbitAnUnexpectedJourney.com (Whois) and TheHobbitThereandBackagain.com (Whois).

Here’s a look at the full list of domain names registered through MarkMonitor:

http://whois.domaintools.com/desolationofsmaug.com
http://whois.domaintools.com/riddlesindark.com
http://whois.domaintools.com/thedesolationofsmaug.com
http://whois.domaintools.com/thehobbitdesolationofsmaug.com
http://whois.domaintools.com/thehobbitriddlesindark.com
http://whois.domaintools.com/thehobbitthedesolationofsmaug.com
http://whois.domaintools.com/thehobbittheriddlesinthedark.com
http://whois.domaintools.com/theriddlesinthedark.com

Riddles In The Dark, is the title of one of the chapters of The Hobbit.

The Desolation of the Smaug, is the wasted, unpeopled lands around Erebor and Dale, charred and blackened by the burning breath of Smaug the Dragon.

At the time of this story, none of the domains resolve to a web page.

It’s possible these domain names were registered for something entirely different, and not for a third film.  It’s also possible the company is doing nothing more than protecting its intellectual property.

So, for now, it’s purely speculation.

UPDATE 1: Peter Jackson has confirmed the rumor that “The Hobbit” will now be three films.  No announcement on the title as of yet.

UPDATE 2: On July 31 and August 1, The Saul Zaentz Company registered domain names for “The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies”.  The names, registered via MarkMonitor, include:

http://whois.domaintools.com/thehobbitthebattleoffivearmies.com
http://whois.domaintools.com/thehobbitthebattleoffivearmies.co.uk
http://whois.domaintools.com/thehobbitthebattleoffivearmies.info
http://whois.domaintools.com/thehobbitthebattleoffivearmies.net
http://whois.domaintools.com/thehobbitthebattleoffivearmies.org

Talking about this story: Cinema Blend, Film School Rejects, Coventry Telegraph (blog), Den of Geek, Business Insider, Collider.com, Comic Book Movie, Bleeding Cool News, ScreenCrush, /Film, Screen Rant, Omelete, Uproxx, Revista Cinemania and First Showing

(Image of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey via trailer 1)

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Movies News Video Games

Ubisoft may be planning ‘Watch Dogs’ video game movie according to domains

Watch Dogs movie

Could there already be a “Watch Dogs” movie in the works?

If domain name registrations are any indication of things to come, it looks like Ubisoft may be in talks for a film of its brand new IP called Watch Dogs.

On June 14, 2012, Ubisoft Entertainment registered a handful of domains like WatchDogsmovie.com (Whois) and WatchDogsthemovie.com (Whois).

In total, the gaming company registered four names so far that I could find including Watch-Dogsmovie.com (Whois) and Watch-Dogsthemovie.com (Whois).

Unveiled during Ubisoft’s press conference at E3 2012, Watch Dogs the video game is set to be released in 2013 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360.

This is nothing more than speculation at this point, but given the subject matter and the positive reception the game is already receiving, it’s not too far fetched.

Talking about this story: Blue’s News, Capsule Computers, Dagbladet.no, Eurogamer.net, Film School Rejects, Game Informer, Game Rant, GameDynamo, GameFocus, Gameranx, GameZone, IGN, Joystiq, Kotaku, Level 7, MCV, MeriStation, Multiplayer.it, Playstation Lifestyle, PSXExtreme, Push Square, Shack News, Side Mission, TheGamersHub, VG247 and Yahoo! OMG Philippines

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It looks like Paramount’s “Jackass 4: Bad Grandpa” is coming to movie theaters

Jackass 4: Bad Grandpa movie

It’s been rumored for some time that the next installment of the popular Jackass movie franchise was on its way.  Well, according to some new domain registrations by Paramount Pictures it looks like the next Jackass film will be titled Jackass 4: Bad Grandpa.  On June 5, 2012, Paramount registered a bunch of domains like Jackass4BadGrandpa.com (Whois) and Jackass4BadGrandpamovie.com (Whois).

While this is only speculation since Paramount hasn’t made any official announcement, it can very well be a strong possibility considering the number of domains the Hollywood movie studio purchased.

According to Box Office Mojo, Jackass 3D which was released in 2010, grossed more than $117 million domestically, with a budget of only $20million.

Here’s a look at the list of domain names picked up by Paramount:

badgrampa-movie.com
badgrampa.com
badgrampamovie.com
badgrandpa-movie.com
jackass4badgrampa.com
jackass4badgrampamovie.com
jackass4badgrandpa.com
jackass4badgrandpamovie.com
jackass4movie.com
jackassbadgrampa.com
jackassbadgrampamovie.com
jackassbadgrandpa.com
jackassbadgrandpamovie.com

At the time of this story, none of the domain names resolve to a web page.

As you can see from the registrations, Paramount registered possible typos of the movie title, but it’s unknown which name it will officially go with.

Talking about this story: /FILM, I Watch Stuff, IGN, Indiewire, Collider.com, I Am Rogue.com, 411mania.com, Very Aware, Moviehole and We Got This Covered