stephen.nyc

Tag: Video

  • Rockstar Games hacked, leaked footage of upcoming Grand Theft Auto 6 game

    Rockstar Games hacked, leaked footage of upcoming Grand Theft Auto 6 game

    It was a big weekend with this game leak. GTA 6 peaks and leaks are hyped up so much, they’re about on par with the level of hype Half-Life 3 confirmed memes. It just isn’t going to happen and everyone doubts the claims when users post them on Reddit.

    Until it does. The leaks over the weekend were genuine and bold. High-quality footage of the in-development game were stolen from Rockstar. According to The Verge, over 3GBs of videos were obtained by a hacker.

    On Sunday morning, the hacker posted a 3GB file containing 90 videos of early GTA VI gameplay footage, which aligns with previous reports that indicate the game could feature a female protagonist for the first time.

    Which of course elicited a response from Rockstar:

    You know you have the Real McCoy when two things happen:

    1. There’s an official Twitter response
    2. Reddit posts start disappearing

    For example, this megathread on r/GTA6 was taken offline sometime last night. But, not before the page was archived.

    Wayback Machine screenshot of the fabled megathread on r/GTA6

    While the gameplay is still in early development, the footage and content looks absolutely fantastic. Game leaks can be a kiss of death from the public. However, support for GTA 6 has been overwhelmingly positive following the leaks. Probably due to the size and variety of what was shared. In previous leaks, such as the Nvidia PC Leak of 2021, not much qualitative data was obtained. This was a gargantuan leak, and according to the hacker, more is yet to come.

    The videos (which have been taken down in most of the links on Twitter and Reddit) were very convincing and very Rockstar-esque. But, I found these two still photos from the deleted megathread to be the most convincing evidence:

    Redwood Cigarettes are a GTA Staple. This is either the most elaborate fake of all time or the real deal
    MAYBE main character with a different hairstyle

    It’s bittersweet that these details were leaked. But, not much can be gleaned from the story from these videos and photos. There’s evidence of a male and female lead (which was previously leaked but these photos suggest a confirmation on the Bonnie and Clyde story mode) — but apart from that, not much else is known.

    What is known, is the hacker that stole the footage and data from Rockstar (which included source code mind you), is in some very hot water.

  • Undeveloped World War II Film Discovered

    From the 2015 video description:

    The Rescued Film Project discovers and processes 31 rolls of film shot by an American WWII soldier over 70 years ago.

    Incredibly, The Rescued Film Project still operates to this day. Remarkable non-profit organization. Consider donating to their cause if you can!

  • Death, Through a Nurse’s Eyes

  • All Movies are Connected

    All Movies are Connected

    @ignmontalvo makes wonderful, dare I say powerful visual essays. His account on Vimeo is full of treasures. I found his account only after someone shared with me Netflix Film: Looking. His older upload, is an oldie but a goodie:

  • Joywave’s, “Obsession” music video features incredible fictional movie title screens

    Joywave’s, “Obsession” music video features incredible fictional movie title screens

    Joywave, a rad indie band that hails from Rochester, New York is known for their penchant for the meta and the weird. Just watch their 2015 music video for Somebody New and you’ll see what I mean. In 2019, Joywave released the single Obsession, in preparation for the full-length Possession slated for March 2020. The single came with goodies, a delicious music video that is oozing with nostalgia and American culture.

    Here’s a few of my favorites stills from the music video:

    The music video is well produced. It’s also very visibly Los Angeles. THat’s not a slight either. It’s really beautiful. It has the weight of a hundred films, and shows just how flexible the Los Angeles landscapes can be for filmmakers. Check it out:

  • Metropolitan Cats

    Metropolitan Cats

    The Met turns 150 years old this year. Its collection is as vast as it is priceless. Within their enormous collection, there are over a 1000 years of cats in art. Quite an impressive catalog of cats! This film, was produced in 1983 and there’s even a companion catalog book (used hardback) published by the museum a couple of years prior available on Amazon. This was unearthed from the archive to commemorate their 150th anniversary. Each month, the museum plans to release more films from the archive.

    From the video description:

    As part of The Met’s 150th anniversary in 2020, each month we will release three to four films from the Museum’s extensive moving-image archive, which comprises over 1,500 films, both made and collected by the Museum, from the 1920s onward. This includes rarely seen artist profiles and documentaries, as well as process films about art-making techniques and behind-the-scenes footage of the Museum.

    The closing credits go to Robin Lehman as producer and director for this short film. It’s unclear if it is the same Robin Lehman on IMDB, but what a lovely, charming and informative short.

  • Daniel Radcliffe and Samara Weaving star in Guns Akimbo

    Daniel Radcliffe and Samara Weaving star in Guns Akimbo

    Guns Akimbo is the sophomoric return of Jason Lei Howden. A marriage of America’s favorites: a balance of high-octane action and one-the-nose comedy. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe, and Samara Weaving of Three Billboards fame. The breadth of character both of these stars will bring to the big screen is going to be so much fun.

    I love how much of a good sport Howden is being about YouTube’s notorious comments section on the trailer:

    https://twitter.com/JasonLeiHowden/status/1217734673402597376

    Give the trailer a watch, leave a comment (he is reading them after all) and share. It’s pretty awesome. Guns Akimbo opens in select theaters on February 28, 2020.

  • BBC Dracula billboard comes alive at night in the shadows

    BBC Dracula billboard comes alive at night in the shadows

    Sometimes, advertising can be really really fun. BBC really outdid themselves here. Drive or walk by this billboard during the day and you see one thing — but at night you see a ghastly vampire visage. Very clever:

    (shared via u/lllDUNN at r/gifs – Reddit)

  • John Krasinski breaking character on The Office

    John Krasinski breaking character on The Office

    The Office was pure gold. The Jim Halpert and Michael Scott characters were the unstoppable dyads in the series. Behind the scenes, when the comedy dam breaks, John Krasinski’s laughter is contagious as the flu. I love hearing Steve Carell completely lose it over Krasinski’s wincing high-pitched giggles and his explosive belly laughter explode like Bart Simpson. Two whole minutes of raw uncut comedy:

    https://youtu.be/V9I1-c9o1LM

  • The ‘No Time To Die’ Trailer is Here and it Looks Smashing

    The ‘No Time To Die’ Trailer is Here and it Looks Smashing

    There’s so many awesome names in this production it’s not even funny. I simply cannot wait for this release. Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Daniel Craig, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Barbara Broccoli, Lashana Lynch and Christoph Waltz.

    If the name Cary Joji Fukunaga sounds familiar, it’s because you know his handy-work. He was Executive Producer on the first season of True Detective for which he took home an Emmy for his work. He directed the powerfully fantastic film, Beasts of No Nation, and directed the Netflix mini-series, Maniac.

    This Bond film is going to be a record-setter:

  • Texas: The Big State

    Texas: The Big State

    I have a deep love for The Lone Star State. Every inch of Texas feels like home to me. I was born in Texas, and I would prefer to be buried there.

    It’s a place that is seemingly boundless in resources, kindness and wholesome kinships (for those unaware, the state motto is simply, friendship). I advise everyone to take a road trip sometime through the heartland of Texas via its highway arteries: I-35, I-30, I-20, I-45 and I-10 and befriend some Texans in far-away places. There are so many treasures that dot the landscape in pretty much any direction. Buc-ee’s, Whataburgers, kolaches, and breweries and all! Texas has thick forests, wide canyons, rocky mountains, wild rivers, deserts, beaches, thousands of gigantic lakes, farms, big cities, sleepy towns, historic sites and BBQ like you wouldn’t believe.

    Texas also has a history unlike any other state in the union. One might say that turmoil, drama, oil, entertainment and entrepreneurship are the tenets of Texan culture. Speaking of entertainment — enter Dallas SMU’s G. William Jones Film & Video Collection. It has a remarkable video/film archive. Within its vast collection are film prints, tapes, reels, and television tapes. The archive was originally known as the Southwest Film/Video Archives, but was later renamed after its founder Dr. William Jones. Yesterday, they posted a new video, highlighting Texas treasures and culture from 1952:

    This film in particular is interesting. It was produced by The Dudley Pictures Corporation. The motion picture company takes its name from the esteemed and legendary travelogue producer, Carl Dudley. The company completed a number of remarkable and charming travelogues which have been compiled into a handy YouTube playlist here. The playlist description reads:

    Carl Dudley was best known for his 1958 production of Cinerama’s South Seas Adventure, but throughout his career produced more than 300 “travel adventures” as he preferred to call travelogues. Dudley was born in 1910 in Little Rock, Arkansas aboard his father’s Ward & Wade Minstrels Show train. In 1935, inspired by seeing the film Mutiny on the Bounty, he traveled to Tahiti, Australia and India, supporting himself by working on film crews. He landed back in Hollywood in the late 1930’s and worked briefly as a screenwriter. In 1944 he started Dudley Pictures Corp which produced the series This World of Ours and This Land of Ours for theatrical and educational distribution. He died of a heart attack in Hong Kong on September 2, 1973.

    Without further distractions, here’s Texas: The Big State (skip to 13:18 for Fort Worth and TCU)

  • 5 True Tales of Manhattan

    5 True Tales of Manhattan

    Lorri Cramer, is a New Yorker who re-habilitates turtles in her Upper West Side apartment. The last Cuban-Chinese restaurant (La Caridad 78) in Manhattan. The best Jazz in NYC can be heard in Marjorie Eliot’s apartment in Harlem every Sunday. New York can be a tough place for the birds — meet the city’s only bird clinic called the Wild Bird Fund. Lastly, NYC can be lonely, Mr. Jones Supper Club aims to solve that problem.

  • Lost at 15

    Lost at 15

    From SyFy Wire:

    What separated Lost from the pack is that it had compelling characters, a great cast, and an enticing mystery that invited fans to solve it. Lost was one of the first shows to embrace AR storytelling, which has now become ubiquitous. Other networks, and even ABC itself, tried to recreate Lost‘s magic formula … and have yet to find a way to recapture that lightning in a bottle.

    But all good things come to an end, and that’s the biggest problem some people have with Lost: the ending. It must have been impossible to craft a conclusion that would please everyone, but the Lost finale was unusually divisive. Some even claimed that it retroactively ruined the show for them. We wouldn’t go that far. If the Lost finale had truly been that bad, we wouldn’t still be talking about the show’s beautifully convoluted mythology a decade and a half later.

    LOST was monumentally epic (just read through some of the comments on this forum thread at MacRumous, classic). It had a mythology that captivated millions (and continues to do so to this day). It was ahead of its time, inspired countless sci-fi series, horror anthologies, films, and kicked Bad Robot Productions into override to produce sleeper hits such as, 10 Cloverfield Lane. It led Abrams to the directorial helm in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Lastly, until HBO’s Game of Thrones, LOST previously held the contrarian title of worse series finale ever.

    LOST was and continues to be so important to me. I think I might be overdue for a re-watch. We have to go back…

  • Treasures in the Trash

    Treasures in the Trash

    New York has an entrenched and somewhat mystical entanglement with waste management over the course of its history. For the past 34 years, Nelson Molina, a former DSNY worker has collected and maintained an incredible (but unofficial) museum of 45,000 collected objects that were thrown out to the curb by New Yorkers. The short which follows Molina, offers us a glimpse of the collection. The short is titled, Treasures in the Trash and is directed by New York based filmmaker, Nicolas Heller.

    My favorite line from Molina is so poetic:

    Before you throw something out, think about. Everything can have a home.

    Since the museum resides inside an active garage for the Department of Sanitation, it’s not open to the public. But, that could all change with your help! From the video’s description:

    The collection is not open to the public since it is in an active garage, but our hope is to get a proper space with the help of this film. Please visit nycstrongest.org/future-museum to donate!

    According to Atlas Obscura, you can also email tours@dsny.nyc.gov to schedule a private tour of the MANEAST11 garage’s collection.

  • Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian Will Explore the Origins of the First Order

    Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian Will Explore the Origins of the First Order

    SyFy.com reports:

    “What could happen in the 30 years between celebrating the defeat of the Empire and then the First Order?” said Favreau who also serves as writer and executive producer on the project. “You come in on Episode VII, [the First Order are] not just starting out. They’re pretty far along … “So somehow, things weren’t necessarily managed as well as they could have been if [the galaxy] ended up in hot water again like that.”

    “This doesn’t turn into a good guy universe because you blew up two Death Stars,” added Dave Filoni, a producer and director on The Mandalorian. “You get that the Rebels won and they’re trying to establish a Republic, but there’s no way that could have set in for everybody all at once. You have in a Western where you’re out on the frontier and there might be Washington and they might have some marshals, but sometimes good luck finding one.”

    Sign me the hell up. One of the missing pieces from the new Star Wars films was all the politics and progeny of strife in this new realm.

    We have the First Order, which acts a stand-in for The Empire. I get it. These films require an opposing armada of protagonists to move and grow the plot. It works, but how did the First Order happen in the first place? Obviously there’s dismay and some chaos that descends unto the galaxy in the wake of the fall of The Empire 30 years prior. But the specifics aren’t really known on the big screen. The Mandalorian occupying that timeframe is fertile storytelling ground in my opinion. Super exciting.

    I know where I will be on November 12. I’ll be glued to my couch counting down the hours for Disney+ to launch.

  • Cugurt

    Cugurt

    I’m especially proud of this one. I was honored to be one of the production assistants on set for this short film. In fact, one of the shot locations happened to be at my old apartment in Brooklyn! It had a particularly remarkable set of stairs. Overall, it was a lot of fun and I was thrilled to be part of this (thanks Rico!).

    If you ever get a chance to work on a short film, take it. It’s so rewarding to help make a script come to life.

    Now, onto the main attraction. Cugurt is directed by Rico Turrubiarte, produced by Kaitlin Scott and the Director of Photography is Rachel Anne Klein — all dear friends of mine. A brief synopsis:

    After the death of his only friend, a lonesome man finds happiness in a mysterious pizza delivery.

    Enjoy the show!