Author: Mary Anne Butler

Mary Anne Butler (Mab) has been part of the fast-paced world of journalism since she was 15, getting her start in album reviews and live concert coverage for a nationally published (print) music magazine. She eventually transitioned to online media, writing for such sites as UGO/IGN, ComicsOnline, Geek Magazine, Ace of Geeks, Aggressive Comix (where she is still Editor-in-Chief), Bleeding Cool (where she was News Editor), and now Nerdbot as Editor-In-Chief. Over the past 10 years, she’s built a reputation at conventions across the globe as a cosplayer (occasionally), photographer (constantly), panelist and moderator (mostly), and reporter (always). Interviews, reviews, observations, breaking news, and objective reporting are the name of the game for the founder of Harkonnen Knife Fight, a Dune-themed band with an international presence. Though she be but little, she is fierce.

We are so sorry to report that legendary composer Stephen Sondheim has passed away. You would be hard pressed to find another person who has contributed quite so much to American musical theater.Just a sampling of Sondheim’s best-known works as composer (and lyricist) include A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962), Company (1970), Follies (1971), A Little Night Music (1973), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1979), Sunday in the Park with George (1984), and Into the Woods (1987). He also wrote the lyrics for West Side Story (1957) and Gypsy (1959).During a recent stop by “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” Sondheim revealed that he was hard at work on a…

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Sure, maybe buying someone a movie as a holiday gift isn’t…the most thoughtful. But maybe it just depends on who you’re getting it for? In my house, physical media and classic films are absolutely a big part of our family, so, we’d all appreciate it. There are some pretty great deals on new releases, specialty box sets, and some surprise titles!Here are just some of the Blu-ray / 4K releases you should add to your collection, or someone else’s. “Dune” (2021) is available to pre-order on Amazon now! (We assume this is NOT the final cover, because what the hell…

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During the 95h Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the three hosts of Nickelodeon series “Blues Clues” made a surprise appearance! If you’re watching the replay on NBC’s streaming service Peacock, head to about 2 hours 20 minutes to see them.Donovan is in the purple, new host Joshua is in blue, and original host Steve is in his iconic green! This was to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Blue. Let’s not forget Steve’s emotional message to us back in September. Happy holidays, from the Nerdbot family to yours.

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Just when you thought you’d missed your chance to experience Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” in IMAX, the legend returns. Announced earlier this morning, the science fiction epic will head back to IMAX theaters in December. It is no longer available to stream on HBO Max, but, David Lynch’s 1984 version is! We know the physical release of 2021’s “Dune” is coming in January of 2022. If you’ll recall, this movie was filmed and formatted for IMAX. At select locations, audiences will get to experience up to 40% more viewable screen, with a 1.43 aspect ratio. The normal 1.90:1 IMAX ratio adds…

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The happiest place on earth is getting more and more exclusive. After an almost year-long shutdown during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, desire to visit the House of Mouse is still at an all-time high. If you’ll recall, during the park’s shutdown, it was announced that the Annual Pass, a membership tier that would allow guests to access the park pretty much whenever they wanted (depending on their level of pass), was being cancelled. This was met with trepidation from passholders and Disney enthusiasts. What would replace it? Would it be better? Would it be worse?Earlier this year,…

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In a great bit of news for fans of the classic Hammer Horror films, a full restoration is coming! And not only that, but new films and projects of existing and new IP are in the works as well. Network Distributing from the UK has officially partnered with Hammer to create Hammer Studios Ltd., which will manage the brand.Tim Beddows and Jonathan Lack of Network Distributing will lead the new company along with Hammer CEO Simon Oakes. Beddows said: “This partnership is a really exciting opportunity to merge Hammer’s amazing library with Network’s infrastructure. Whilst we work our way through…

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Earlier today, NBC’s Peacock streaming service released the first teaser for their upcoming reimagined take on “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” Coming at the premise from a slightly more serious angle than the original Will Smith sitcom, “Bel-Air” looks pretty interesting so far.Staring Jabari Banks as Will, the cast also includes Cassandra Freeman as Aunt Viv/Vivian Banks, Olly Sholotan as Carlton Banks (no word on if he’ll dance), Coco Jones as Hilary Banks, Akira Akbar as Ashley Banks, Jimmy Akingbola as Banks’ family butler Geoffrey, Jordan L. Jones as DJ “Jazz” Jeff, and Simone Joy Jones as Lisa. Peacock describes the…

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We were delighted to watch Simu Liu host the most recent episode of “Saturday Night Live.” The “Shang-Chi” star had some good zingers in his opening monolog, and fit right in with the cast. Seriously, the episode is worth a watch.But, what we wanted to highlight was this Target Thanksgiving ad sketch, which pretty accurately describes both the retail giant’s ads, and what a Turkey Day celebration may be like this year. Catch up on classic and new “SNL” episodes on either Hulu or NBC’s streaming service Peacock. “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” is available to steam…

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If you were wondering when the hell that “Jurassic World Dominion” prologue shown with “Fast 9” was ever going to release, we have an answer. Today, apparently. Universal Studios released the almost 6-minute long segment this morning. We just wanna take a minute to appreciate this amazing “Jurassic Park” design that took the place of the iconic Universal Earth logo. That’s some good work there. This original 5 min prologue to “Jurassic World Dominion,” directed by Colin Trevorrow, rockets audiences back 65 million years into the past to experience the world before humans existed—and offers a glimpse of a world…

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When Warner Bros. Pictures first announced their animated arm (WB Animation) was tackling another beloved chapter from DC Comics, we were intrigued. The Super Pets, animals exhibiting metahuman (and more) abilities, have been around in the funny papers for decades. Think of Krypto, Superman’s faithful doggo, and you’ll get the idea.The first trailer for the project arrived this morning, and features John Krasinski as Superman, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Krypto. Keanu Reeves, Diego Luna, Natasha Lyonne, Kate McKinnon, and Vanessa Bayer are also voicing characters. We do know that Kevin Hart will be playing Ace the Bat-Hound, and that Marc Maron will be voicing Lex…

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