HERO COMPLEX - Los Angeles Times

DC Comics' 'Rebirth' brings new life - and huge sales - to old superheroes

Graeme McMillan — Thu, 1 Sep 2016 13:05:00 PDT

In June, while Batman was still fighting Superman in movie theaters, the comic book versions of both characters — along with a whole catalog of DC characters — underwent a high-profile makeover as DC Entertainment relaunched its superhero universe. It was a “Rebirth” both in name and in execution,...

Joe Manganiello will play Deathstroke in Ben Affleck's Batman movie

Tracy Brown — Thu, 8 Sep 2016 14:45:00 PDT

Ben Affleck wasn’t just teasing when he teased footage of the comic book character Deathstroke running around on a set. Deathstroke will, in fact, be featured in his upcoming solo Batman film, and the villain will be played by real-life werewolf Joe Manganiello.

In August, Affleck tweeted footage...

Everything we know about the new 'Star Trek' series

Tracy Brown — Thu, 8 Sep 2016 13:55:00 PDT

While the new James T. Kirk and his U.S.S. Enterprise crew continue their adventures in the rebooted "Star Trek" films, the franchise is preparing to boldly return to where fans first fell in love with the original series: television.

More than 700 "Star Trek" episodes have aired throughout five different...

Cover reveal: 'Real Friends' and navigating the perils of elementary school

Tracy Brown — Thu, 8 Sep 2016 11:40:00 PDT

Summer vacation has come and gone and now kids are back in school. And there's no better way to get into the back-to-school spirit than with new graphic novel "Real Friends," set on the playgrounds of grade school. Author Shannon Hale and artist LeUyen Pham have teamed up for "Real Friends," a...

Ranking every 'Star Trek' movie and TV series from first to worst

Marc Bernardin — Thu, 8 Sep 2016 11:10:00 PDT

We get the science fiction we need at the time we need it. When “Star Trek” premiered on Sept. 8, 1966, the United States was escalating its involvement in the Vietnam War while also reckoning with the civil rights movement — not to mention waging a cold war with the Soviet Union that seemed always...

How Vasquez Rocks, L.A.'s onetime outlaw hideout, became 'Star Trek's' favorite alien landscape

Randy Lewis — Thu, 8 Sep 2016 02:00:00 PDT

The mission, from the day “Star Trek” premiered on America’s televisions on Sept. 8, 1966, was ambitious: “to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.”

Where did Gene Roddenberry’s TV series go to find that world?

Often as...

'Doctor Who' resurrects lost serial 'The Power of the Daleks' thanks to animation

Meredith Woerner — Tue, 6 Sep 2016 17:25:00 PDT

Long-lost “Doctor Who” serial “The Power of the Daleks” has been resurrected thanks to the power of animation and the BBC.

Large chunks of the long-running, cult sci-fi series “Doctor Who” have been all but erased from history. A sizable portion of the fourth season of “Doctor Who” from the ’60s...

Read every single L.A. Times 'Star Trek' movie review from 1979 to 2016

Shannon O'Connor — Tue, 6 Sep 2016 16:45:00 PDT

"Star Trek" is celebrating 50 long years of existence, and tucked into those 50 years are 13 "Star Trek" movies of all kinds and caliber; there's even one hinging on humpback whales. If you're planning a "Trek" movie marathon, look no further: We've cobbled together all the reviews from the first...

'Nightmare Before Christmas' and Danny Elfman returning to Hollywood Bowl for 2016 Halloween

David Ng — Mon, 5 Sep 2016 09:40:00 PDT

“The Nightmare Before Christmas” is returning to the Hollywood Bowl for Halloween, with Danny Elfman reprising his live performance as Jack Skellington, the melancholy Pumpkin King who longs to celebrate Christmas.

The performances, scheduled for Oct. 29 and 30 at the Bowl, will feature an orchestra...

'Star Trek' at 50: Program your transporter settings for these upcoming 'Trek'-related activities

Chris Barton — Mon, 5 Sep 2016 05:15:00 PDT

“Star Trek at 50” Screenings and after-show panels discussing Robert Wise’s 1979 big-screen adaptation of the series “Star Trek: The Motion Picture,” and the first features involving the original “Star Trek” cast. Sept. 9-16 American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd. $11 ...

Games festival IndieCade relocates to USC

Todd Martens — Sun, 4 Sep 2016 14:05:00 PDT

This fall, the University of Southern California, home to the nation’s most highly-regarded video game design program, will host IndieCade, one of the gaming industry’s most respected festivals. Celebrating its 10th year, the festival, which drew about 7,000 people in fall 2015, has long called...

Chris Klein leaves 'American Pie' behind and takes to the skies for the WWI thriller 'Game of Aces'

Amy Kaufman — Thu, 1 Sep 2016 06:00:00 PDT

You always hear those stories about how famous people got discovered -- shopping at the mall, grabbing a slice at the local pizza parlor -- and they seem too good to be true. Too fortuitous, too perfectly anecdotal.

Chris Klein has one of those stories. He was a senior at Millard West High School...

Long Beach Comic Con 2016 program includes 'Con Man's' Nathan Fillion, Girl Scout badges and more

Meredith Woerner — Wed, 31 Aug 2016 14:25:00 PDT

The eighth annual Long Beach Comic Con is quickly approaching, and we’ve got the full run-down on the who, what, where, why and when that will be happening in the halls of Long Beach Convention Center. Including appearances by Kevin Conroy and Loren Lester from “Batman: The Animated Series,” Nathan...

'Stranger Things' is coming back for a Season 2

Meredith Woerner — Wed, 31 Aug 2016 10:00:00 PDT

Nostalgia junkies, you’re in luck. The Amblin-channeling, “Goonies”-for-TV series “Stranger Things” is officially returning to Netflix for a second season. Here’s everything we know.

Netflix has officially announced that its original series “Stranger Things” will return to the streaming service in...

'Doctor Strange' video explains what 'Doctor Strange' is actually about

Tracy Brown — Tue, 30 Aug 2016 15:50:00 PDT

Marvel has released a brand new behind-the-scenes featurette explaining “Doctor Strange,” because let’s be real — nobody really knows exactly what this movie is going to be about.

The brief clip includes Chiwetel Ejiofor talking Karl Mordo and Tilda Swinton explaining how the Ancient One deals...

'Jurassic World' exhibit opening at a Philadelphia museum because kids love dinosaurs and tempting fate

Meredith Woerner — Tue, 30 Aug 2016 14:10:00 PDT

“Jurassic World,” the 2015 blockbuster extension of the “Jurassic Park” series is going to be recreated in Philadelphia, seemingly by people who have never seen a single film from the franchise. Someone needs to inform this group that the dinosaurs win, every time.

On Nov. 25, the “Jurassic World:...

Marvel's Kirby Week and Kirby4Heroes tout the influence of one of comic's greatest creators

Jevon Phillips — Fri, 26 Aug 2016 13:45:00 PDT

Marvel is in the midst of Kirby Week, a celebration of all things Jack “The King” Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg), one of the most influential comic book creators and a founding father of the Marvel Universe.

From Aug. 22-28, comic creators and others (like historian Peter Sanderson) will talk about...

'Star Trek' at 50: How the TV series inspired a boy to become a scientist

William Marcellino — Fri, 26 Aug 2016 04:30:00 PDT

Like “Star Trek,” I turn 50 this year. But that’s not my only connection to the original television series. “Star Trek” inspired me to become a scientist, convincing me at an early age that science and the advancement of human knowledge could make the world a better place.

Like many people my age,...

A 24-room labyrinth in a Boyle Heights warehouse gives audiences a custom terror experience

Meredith Woerner — Fri, 26 Aug 2016 03:00:00 PDT

The first thing that happens when you walk through the doors of “The Tension Experience: Ascension” is that you’re handed a recruitment document for a cult, masquerading as the O.O.A. Institute. Printed on top of the enrollment paper is your own face, smiling back at you.

A rosy-lipped receptionist...

Watch me: 'Rings' trailer gives cursed video franchise a digital upgrade

Nardine Saad — Wed, 24 Aug 2016 13:25:00 PDT

Death by viewership is back in the “Rings” trailer.

The long-awaited third installment of the “The Ring” franchise hit the Internet on Wednesday, bringing the haunted VHS tape into the digital age.

See the most-read stories in Entertainment this hour »

This time around, a young woman is sucked...

Marvel champions education by pairing superheroes and science on variant covers

Tracy Brown — Mon, 22 Aug 2016 13:30:00 PDT

It's back-to-school season, and Marvel comics marked the occasion by revealing five variant covers promoting science, technology, engineering, art and math. Even superheroes are excited for education, because knowledge is power. Marvel has turned to some of its youngest and brightest - including...

'No Man's Sky,' arguably the world's largest video game, asks if bigger is better

Todd Martens — Thu, 18 Aug 2016 08:45:00 PDT

Fourteen minutes and 54 seconds.

I’m on a distant planet and I need to get to my spaceship. Yet "No Man's Sky" is telling me that the vessel is a 14-minute, 54-second hike away. So I settle into the couch. But after three minutes of strolling through a salmon-colored rocky surface — and admiring...

Marvel's 'Runaways' comic finally getting a TV series on Hulu

Meredith Woerner — Wed, 17 Aug 2016 12:20:00 PDT

After years of whispers, fan castings and general hoping, the fan-adored Marvel comic series “Runaways” is finally getting a TV series adaptation on Hulu. This is a big deal for fans and for Hulu.

Deadline broke the news that former executive producer of “Gossip Girl” and “Chuck” Josh Schwartz would...

J.K. Rowling will explore Hogwarts in-depth in three new e-books

Michael Schaub — Wed, 17 Aug 2016 10:15:00 PDT

J.K. Rowling just can't quit Hogwarts.

The "Harry Potter" author will release three new short e-books next month "that dig deep into the Harry Potter stories," she announced on the Pottermore website Wednesday.

The trio of books, called "Pottermore Presents," will feature "titbits taken from Pottermore’s...

'American Horror Story' will come alive at Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights

Meredith Woerner — Tue, 16 Aug 2016 09:55:00 PDT

Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk’s “American Horror Story” is setting up shop at Universal Studios’ “Halloween Horror Nights.” But which perplexing plot will its amusement parks use from “American Horror Story’s” five freaky seasons?

Universal Studios Hollywood and FX have selected three seasons from...