Antony Johnston is a New York Times bestselling writer and podcaster. The Charlize Theron movie Atomic Blonde is based on his graphic novel; his Brigitte Sharp thrillers are critically acclaimed; and Dead Space, his first videogame, redefined its genre. He also hosts a writer’s podcast.
Antony told me about how he transformed his career as graphics artist into successful graphic novels and video game scripting. Later, on his Mac, he delved into novel writing (with Scrivener), most notably the Brigitte Sharp thrillers. Antony recounted how his graphic novel The Coldest City came to be made into a theatrical movie, Atomic Blonde. And to top it all off, Antony told me about his podcast “Writing and Breathing,” a show about “why, how, and what we write,” in which he chats with fellow authors of all kinds.
Dave Hamilton and John Martellaro join host Kelly Guimont to discuss what the new version of macOS could look like (and when we’ll see it), and an interesting documentary about an interesting guy, Stewart Brand.
To combat financial losses from movie theaters shutting down due to the pandemic, NBCUniversal is making brand new movies available to download.
Under the shadow of the last great city in the sky, prepare to set off through the streets of Iron City and get ready for an epic adventure six-hundred years in the making. Alita: Battle Angel – The Game is the official game based on the all-new theatrical film produced by James Cameron and Jon Landau and directed by Robert Rodriguez. It’s a high-octane cyberpunk MMORPG mobile game that allows players to experience all the action, emotion, locations, weapons, and characters from the movie. Lost in the labyrinthine streets of Iron City, join forces with the heroine Alita, cyborg jacker Hugo and their friends in an effort to stop the power-hungry forces of The Factory. Alita: Battle Angel – The Game provides both PvE and PVP game modes alongside an innovative gameplay narrative told within the story of the Alita movie! Enhance your character with cyborg upgrades, gather your crew and hit the streets. App Store: Free (Offers In-App Purchases).
Nahimic, long-time makers of enhanced audio for video games, on Sunday launched Nahimic for Mac. Built to enhance music and movies, Nahimic brings real-time processing of your Mac’s audio from any app. They demoed it with movies and music and the results were impressive. Their 3D Sound truly made a noticeable difference out of MacBook Pro speakers at CES Unveiled, a very noisy environment. Tests on our own back at the hotel confirmed what we heard earlier: this sounds fantastic, there’s no noticeable latency, and the app performs well. A free trial is available and one-year subscription will set you back just US$35.
A cool new app called Mister Lister lets you make lists out of anything, and rate items. From restaurants to movies, if you can think of it, you can rate it. Need more detailed reviews than just an overall rating? Split up your ratings into weighted categories. Want a movie list but want to split by genre, tag your movies. Have some extra notes about that restaurant you ate at, write them down. This sounds like a cool app to me, sort of a personal Yelp. It sounds great for people with hobbies like keeping track of your favorite wine, beer, coffee, books, etc. You can then share your lists with friends to rate things together. App Store: Mister Lister: Free
Apple’s new TV entertainment subscription service will either delight or infuriate its customers. Let’s go for delight.
Apple’s planned improvements for the Apple TV make it a great streaming device for an increasingly all-digital age, but if you’re intent on sticking with physical media, you can pick up an incredible collection of more than 21,000 UHD, Blu-ray, HD-DVD, DVD, Laserdisc, VHS, and even Beta films on eBay and never need to communicate with the outside world again. It will cost you $1 million but, hey, free shipping!
Apple launched a new movie promo on iTunes called Build Your Collection. It features hundreds of movies, all under US$8 and many at $4.99. Bullitt, Battle Royale, The Goonies, Empire Records, Risky Business, Beetlejuice, The Matrix, and newer movies like Black Swan, The Revenant, plus many more. They’re broken down into categories, including: Drama, Action & Adventure, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Comedy, Horror, and Romance. Unfortunately, the prices are only listed once you click through to an individual movie, but they’re all under $8 and I can’t wait to rewatch Bullitt.
Whether you want movies, TV shows or even live TV, these apps have you covered.
Apple’s annual Best Of list for the App Store and iTunes Store is out with picks for the iPhone and iPad.
Not sure which Marvel movies you should watch before seeing Thor: Ragnarok in the theater? TMO has the list for you, plus where to stream them from Amazon, Netflix, and iTunes.
This quick tip can save you either dozens of hours of computer processing time, or hundreds of dollars in buying digital copies of your favorite films.
Bryan Chaffin and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to talk about the possibility of an iPhone Apple Pencil, plus they look at Disney’s new Movies Anywhere service.
You don’t need to stay up all night to finish watching your movie rental anymore, unless you’re really into that sort of thing.
The James Bond movie rights are up in the air and Apple and Amazon are both hoping to land a deal.
Apple is offering a fantastic US$40 deal on a six-movie bundle featuring The Lord of the Rings trilogy as well as The Hobbit trilogy. Called the Middle-Earth Extended Editions 6-Film Collection, the HD movies are all extended editions, which means they have extra scenes and details you couldn’t see in theaters. The Middle Earth bundle includes: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. We don’t know how long this deal will last, so if you’re a Tolkien fan and don’t have the movies yet, take advantage of this deal today.
Apple just bought the iPhone and iPad automation app Workflow. Jeff Butts and Bryan Chaffin join Jeff Gamet to share their thoughts on what the Workflow purchase means for iOS, plus they look at Apple’s push to offer rentals for movies that are still showing in theaters.
Spring is almost here for the northern hemisphere, and that means it’s almost lightning season. It’s time to talk UPSs and battery backups. Listen as John and Dave talk through all the permutations you’ll need to know to choose the right UPS for your setup. On top of that, a few things in Cool Stuff Found, solving mailbox syncing problems, and a deep discussion about how to rip movies and then to get them onto your iPhone or iPad!
According to Home Media Magazine, “The free Movie of the Day app on Apple TV gives consumers a 24-hour window to buy some of the most popular movies from the Fox catalog for $4.99 to $9.99 — up to 75% off. Fox reports the app, previously launched for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, boasts a loyal following of close to 90% of monthly users returning and engaging with the app daily.” Upcoming dates and titles: Feb. 15-Deadpool; Feb. 16-Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters; Feb. 17-Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates and Feb. 18-Epic. Feb 14th launched with Kingsman.
