Lords of Kobol, hear my prayer...

++ The Olympics and SDCC have both started this weekend. Should be interesting to see what comes from both.

++ 2NE1 is returning for a global world tour!!! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ I was legitimately shocked when I saw this announcement, like truly an unexpected yet pleasant surprise. The last we saw them together was a small reunion at Coachella in 2022, and I guess it's been kind of in the works for them to reunite properly since then, which makes sense. I'm still side-eying YG Entertainment for screwing them over the way they did, though. Regardless, this is just awesome news. It might not be a proper comeback as with most kpop groups/artists, but they're reuniting for a tour that will go from October well into 2025, so I'm not complaining. Now I'm waiting for the same thing with 4Minute and Wonder Girls....

++ SAG-AFTRA is going on strike again, this time from those members who work on video games to protect themselves from AI. This sadly seems that this is going to be an ongoing battle within the entertainment industry, that even though last year's strike was historic in many ways AI has unfortunately become the biggest hurdle since I constantly see this being an issue. So yeah, as much as it sucks, good luck to them.

++ Zhu Yilong won "King of Weibo" at the Weibo Awards (or Weibo Night as I've seen it being referenced), an event that I wasn't even aware existed. You can see him accepting the award here.

++ We now have the casting announcements of Abby Anderson, Jesse, and Dina for the second season of The Last Of Us. I'm excited, although I hope that the actress set to play Abby is going to avoid social media, for her sanity and safety. Laura Bailey, who voiced Abby in The Last Of Us: Part II game, received so much hate and death threats that I don't want history to repeat itself.

This is a downside to having an adaptation of The Last Of Us, because while I'm enjoying seeing the different pieces of meta and discussions surrounding the characters and the story, there's also the continued wank too that I'm just so tired hearing about. I just want to enjoy the story unfold on the screen as I did with the game, and discuss things civilly with fellow fans, especially newer fans who are experiencing the story for the first time with the show. Furthermore, I don't want any of the actors to suffer because people cannot separate fiction and reality.

++ Learning that SAG-AFTRA has screwed over voice actors by approving of using AI for video games has been completely disappointing, but sadly unsurprising. Voice actors have rarely been taken seriously within the industry, since they're viewed as not being "real actors", and so while the strikes that happened recently were important they also gave voice actors the short end of the stick. I don't know what's going to happen. I wouldn't be surprised if they went on strike because of this because yeah, it's a shitty deal for them. Voice acting is a small but growing community for a niche part of the industry, but that doesn't make them any lesser than other actors. They deserve better.

An addendum to my review of The Last Of Us, I wanted to share some things for those who watched the first season and are unfamiliar with the game and are curious to see where this lovely story originates from. At first I just wanted to share the cinematics of the game itself, a good way of seeing the game without playing it, but then I realized there were some other goodies that most may not know about, even if you have played the game and don't really venture beyond that. This will only feature things from the first game, there may be little bits of TLOU2 featured in one thing but I made sure that it's entirely spoiler-free from anything in relation to that story's plot. Otherwise, this will remain entirely focused on the first game to coincide with the first season of the show.

( You keep finding something to fight for. )

Obviously there's more out there, but I figured this was a good starting point. I just really love this game, I love this story, I love the people involved, and I'm really loving all the newcomers who are falling in love with the story through the show, going on this amazing emotional journey similarly to the rest of us did ten years ago. ❤

Continuing the movie meme:

( Answers to multiple questions this time. )

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++ The whole situation with the HBO Max/Discovery merger is one massive clusterfuck, and I mostly just feel horrible for the creators and everyone else who worked on the projects that are getting royally fucked over by the poor decisions being made. I don't think this is going to work in favor of whoever is in charge now who is basically tanking these things for so-called tax write-offs, if the controversy and backlash surrounding it is anything to go by. Although this just reaffirms the fact that streaming wars is utterly stupid, and that the lack of physical media is going to kill the industry because of it.

++ So, I'm going to reserve judgment until I actually see it in its entirety, but just from the small teaser we got of the live-action The Last Of Us show, Pedro Pascal sounds almost exactly like Joel from the games, just the gruffness of his voice. Like, regardless of how the show turns out, I think Pedro as Joel is fantastic casting.

++ Gina Carano has been fired from LucasFilms/The Mandalorian, and her agency has dropped her as well. I'm surprised it took them this long to do something, considering that she was very public with her vile and bigoted tweets from the controversial explosion last year. While I liked Cara Dune well enough, I didn't have a strong attachment to the character so I'm not that torn up about it. I know that there's a lack of muscular women in media who not only look like but can fight and kick ass, and that was amazing to see that on The Mandalorian, but this is the price for not acting a damn fool online and thinking you can get away with it. I don't know what's going to happen with the Cara Dune series they were planning, if they're going to recast or not do it at all. Not that we need it, to be honest, since there's far too many things lined up anyway. But either way, good riddance.

++ Pedro Pascal has been cast to play Joel for the live-action television adaptation of The Last Of Us! Along with the young actress who played Lyanna Mormont in Game of Thrones as Ellie. I have to admit, I'm pleasantly surprised by this news. This also is very on brand for him, because he seems to be playing the single dad roles in projects lately and this is the most single dad of single dads. I approve immensely.

I'm still slightly wary of how they're to adapt the game in itself, since it's very immerse as it is and there is a delicate balance to have with the beats of the story, but I know that this is another medium that will expose people who aren't gamers into the story so I'll have to keep an open-mind when it comes to that. I do think some fans are getting too worked up over the casting decisions, as in wanting actors who looked like the characters, but I think if you cast solely on looks alone that's where things can sometimes fall apart. If an actor can act the part and totally immerse themselves and disappear into the role than what they look like doesn't matter. Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson will always be Joel and Ellie, they made the characters what they are in the game and did they so much hard work, but this is another take on the characters so we'll see how it goes.

(I also hope that Pedro doesn't get pressured to beef himself up for the role though, because Joel isn't a muscular action kind of character, he's fit enough but he's also much older and has his limits. I just worry because it looks like Pedro is becoming a breakout star and this can unfortunately mean more pressure by the industry to shape him to be whatever they want, so I hope that regardless he takes care of himself.)

++ It looks like Brooklyn Nine-Nine is ending, that their upcoming season will be their last and it'll have only ten episodes. It's a bummer, but they had a good run, and I think it's a good time to end things. I know that they have rewritten the upcoming season in light of the protests of police brutality that happened last year, so it'll be interesting to see what they've done and how the show will conclude.