PopCulture No.2

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ENTERTAIMENT IN ENGLISH, FIRST TIME IN SCANDINAVIA!

Cover page image: Christopher, Warner Music Denmark Other images in this issue: Discovery Network‍ //Viasat //TV 2 // The Walt Disney Company Nordic //Universal Studios //MCF //DR2 // WarnerMusicDenmark POPCULTURE MAGAZINE ENTERTAINMENT IN ENGLISH, FIRST TIME IN SCANDINAVIA! SUITED FOR EXPATS. Published monthly Issue 02, November 2015.

Published by

Founder & Editor-in-chief MARIN MILOSAVLJEVIC Art Director GORDANA BAKIC Proof reading TANJA MILOSAVLJEVIC Cover Story MICHEL PETKOVIC Contributing writers LAZAR KOVACEVIC // DANILO OBRADOVIC // VELIBOR MITRIC // MILJAN TANIC // JØRGEN MAGNUS

All About Digital Tåsingegade 51 2100 København Ø Denmark Contact Phone: +45 60 544 303 E-mail: info@popculture.dk Web: www.popculture.dk Digital distribution

Marketing & PR ALL ABOUT DIGITAL Language support MILJAN TANIC Web & Digital Development MIHAILO MILOSAVLJEVIC

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PopCulture Magazine is digital only magazine and no part of it can’t be reproduced in any form without the written permission by the publisher.

All the articles in this publication are intellectual property of their authors and publisher cannot accept any responsibility for the accuracy of the information included.

#EditorsWord DOES SCANDINAVIAN AUTUMN MAKE YOU HAPPY OR SAD? One of the first information you get when you move to one of the Scandinavian countries is actually a warning: beware of the autumn and winter depressions! You’re automatically think of “Winter is coming”, even if you’re not such big a fan of Game of Thrones.

My autumn is full of joy, and so will be yours if you love quality TV-production. New shows are just blooming everywhere and that’s just a part of the joy: movie premieres, sequels to beloved novels, new comic books, music stars are on tours, autumn collection of brands that we love to wear and feel good doing it… all that comes in September and October and that’s why I don’t see any reason for depression. Autumn is colored by all kinds of pop-culture joys!

Our second issue is joyful as well – after showing you a dark future and a zombie apocalypse in #1 of PopCulture Magazine, November brings us Christopher and his hit “Tulips”, which takes us back to summer, even while you’re getting into your raincoat and into the downpour outside. Are you going to watch the upcoming DMA, hosted by none other than Christopher? PopCulture Magazine will be there, too, and in our next issue you can read our exclusive report.

My favorite for this month is The Wolverine: Wishlist, our very, very subjective fantasy on the subject what we want to see from Hugh Jackman’s last superhero-venture. How do you see the future of movie-Wolverine after the muscled Australian takes off the claws for the last time? Tell us about it on our Facebook page!

Tell us also about whether you’re happy that just with issue #2 we managed to become a free online magazine – we’re literally jumping up and down and big thanks goes to the company Issuu, which liked #1 almost as much as we did, so they decided to back us up as an advanced technical support.

See you in a month, and until then, enjoy everything this rich November issue has to offer.

Marin Milosavljević Editor in Chief

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ABOUT the new

STAR WARS movie!

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#ThisMonth

GOTHAM

The beautif unbelievab ed Morena is the new Gotham Cit

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

20 QUESTIONS

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M

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01 60

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ful and bly talenta Baccarin jewel of ty.

DRAX

The muscle of the Guardians of the Galaxy is making his Mighty Marvel solo debut!

08 KYGO:

The nordic lord of EDM 12 HOMELAND

16 THIS FALL SIZZLING COMIC-BOOKS

20 MORE GEORGE R.R.

MARTIN: SKIN TRADE

22 DEVIOUS MAIDS 23 THE X FILES

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CHRISTOPHER

The new star of the European music scene, Christopher Nissen, shines ever stronger.

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THE MARTIAN

Question: Are the actors doing a good job? Answer: Hell, yes! Starting with Damon.

32 DOMINIC PURCELL 66 BLOODING WEEKEND 68 FREDRIKSTAD ANIMATION 70 78 84 92 98

FESTIVAL COMIC CON STOCKHOLM HUMANS THE WALKING DEAD: S06E01 Review BACK TO THE FUTURE: 30th anniversary TOP 10 MOVIE KISSES

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5 SCANDINAVIAN THRILLER AUTHORS

Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland are obviously fruitful land for great thrillers!

POPCULTURE NO.1 NOW ALSO FREE!

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by: Michel P.

#HOT START

michel_p@popculture.dk

KYGO

IMAGE: Courtesy of Kygomusic.com

THE NORDIC LORD OF EDM!

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THE NORWEGIAN DJ AND PRODUCER KYRRE GØRVELL-DAHLL, KNOWN AS KYGO HAS IN HIS 24 YEARS OF LIFE GAINED HUGE FAME, AND ONLY THROUGH THE INTERNET. HE GAINED INTERNATIONAL ATTENTION WITH HIS HIT SINGLE „FIRESTONE“, WHICH HAD 100 MILLION VIEWS ON YOUTUBE AND 275 MILLION PLAYS ON SPOTIFY.

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#HOT START

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e started remixing when he was 15, when he discovered Avicii, and after he proved himself in the internet-scene, Avicii and Chris Martin from Coldplay invited him to do official remixes of their respective upcoming songs. Diplo invited him to BBC 1 Radio during the Essential Mix. In his music and remixes he points out the melodies, because he is, as he says, sick of songs revolving only around the beatdrops. Ultra Festival used one of his mixes for their promo video, what additionally boosted his career. If you’re not sure if you know him, then we’ll just tell you that his remix of the Passenger hit “Let Her Go” has gained more views than the original, and the same happened with Ed Sheeran’s song “I See Fire”.

He became an A-lister in the industry and hence played at big festivals like Lollapalooza, Coachella and TomorrowWorld. Last year he was on his “Endless Summer Tour” in the US and signed an international contract with Ultra/Sony Music.

IMAGE: Courtesy of Kygomusic.com

Everyone of us had once the idea how cool it would be to become a DJ, at least for a day. And then you get the chance to even own a hotel for three days? After his set at Coachella, Kygo wrote that he’ll get his own hotel. Not for good though, but he got an offer from a renowned Norwegian hotel to rename it to “Kygo Hotel” for three days between June 12th and 14th, during the Norwegian Bergenfest.

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So the Kygo Hotel offered their guests special entrance, a special party hall and a Kygo music video game. The guests also got exclusive Kygo shirts and other merchandise. Kygo’s friend, singer Sam Smith, visited the “opening” of the Kygo Hotel.

ULTRA FESTIVAL USED ONE OF HIS MIXES FOR THEIR PROMO VIDEO, WHAT ADDITIONALLY BOOSTED HIS CAREER. IF YOU’RE NOT SURE

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is first solo material is expected by the end of the year, after successful remixes for artists like Ed Sheeran, Elli Goulding, Passenger, The Weeknd and Marvin Gaye. His remix of “I See Fire” by Ed Sheeran has more than 12 million plays on Soundcloud and more than 40 million views on YouTube.

PLAY THIS!

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by: Velibor M.

#HOT START

velibor_m@popculture.dk

HOMELAND

THE EX-QUEEN OF DRONES RETURNS AT THE END OF SEASON 3, HOMELAND WAS AT A CROSSROADS. WILL IT SIMPLY END NOW WHEN THE CRAZY RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CARRIE AND BRODY CAME TO A TERRIBLE HALT? OR WILL IT TAKE A NEW TURN? SHOWTIME CHOSE THE LATTER.

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eason 4 revolves around Carrie’s relocation to Islamabad, Pakistan, where she became the new station chief, after the former chief was killed by an angry mob. Carrie and Quinn witnessed that in a shocking scene in the season opener, a scene which laid grounds for a season full of Carrie’s emotional struggles, from betrayal up to the murder attempt of her own baby.

IMAGE: Courtesy of DR2

ATTENTION!!

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The season delivered some of the most appealing episodes to date, as a byproduct of splitting the story with Brody. The embassy siege, the murder of Aayan, negotiating again for Saul’s freedom – all that are elements of a big emotional journey through the season. Carrie’s journey was the one with the most surprises. So what can we expect from the ex-CIA agent in season 5?

Watch Homeland Season 5 in Denmark on DR2, from October 7, every Wednesday at 21:30.

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ACTION BACK IN THE SPY GAME SHE DOESN’T WORK FOR THE CIA ANYMOR

IMAGE: Courtesy of DR2

in the troubled intelligence officer… then you’d be right. Even if she did try to drown her own child Season 5 starts two and a half - as the saying goes, it’s better years after the season 4 finale, late than never. Trailers and clips and we find Carrie in Germany. shown so far give us a glimpse of As the official synopsis says: Carrie getting used to her new life in Europe with a little red“The game has changed for Carheaded girl. We even see her with rie Mathison. Out of the CIA and the kid, now a bit grown up, ridliving in Berlin, Carrie is trying to ing a bike and recording a tearful start a new life but realizes now video-message – Carrie changed, she’s the one with a target on her more than ever. “You are the best back. As the danger intensifies, thing I have ever done,” she cries, and without Saul and Quinn to “I love you very, very much.” rely on, one thing becomes clear –she’s never been at greater risk After a history of bad romanor with more to lose.” tic choices, she has herself a new boyfriend who, let’s hope, Out from the federal governdoesn’t plan to commit treason. ment’s clutches Carrie now works Since the showrunners do evsecurity detail for German philanerything so Carrie can’t have a thropist Otto Kuring, who’s also normal life, her respite probably going to be a main antagonist for won’t last longer than the first the season. episode. “This season, Carrie’s realizing that she can’t fully disown THE HOUSEWIFE her past,” says Danes, “and she’s If you thought the birth of her going to have to reconcile that daughter Francesca sometime with her current reality. That’s between season three and four going to be a very painful experiwould spark a mothering instinct ence.”

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Working for Otto won’t be easy for Carrie. She’s thrown back in at the deep end when she accompanies the billionaire to a war zone in Lebanon. As one of her new acquaintances drily observes, you can take the girl out of the CIA but you can’t take the CIA out of the girl. She’s soon caught up in another international incident that finds her on a kill list. “Maybe I knew someday the past would catch up with me,” she says astutely during the trailer, as it cuts to her wearing a wig, then losing the curly hairpiece when two armed men put a bag over her head and shove her into a van.

If you ever wanted to see how Carrie reacts to situations and problems like ISIS, the Charlie Hebdo shooting, and the Edward Snowden NSA leak? That’s all to come this season, confirmed series’ showrunner Alex Gansa.

So with more back-stabbing, drug-taking, kidnapping, torture and dodgy marksmanship on the cards, it’s looking like another day in paradise for Carrie.

“If Oliver decides to let go, the object of his affection would be Felicity’’ once said Amell.

PLAY THIS!

and MORE...

Three weeks ago, Amell was apparently filming scenes with Matt Ryan, the British actor who will be reviving the title character from the canceled Constantine TV show and bringing him over to the Arrow-verse Season four. “I’ve been filming scenes all week long with Matt Ryan,” Amell said with a smile. “He is such a treat. And a trip.”

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#HOT START

by: Miljan T.

mailjan_t@popculture.dk

IMAGE: Courtesy of Marvel Comics, DC Comics

SIZZLING COMIC-BOOKS YOU MUSTN’T MISS THIS FALL!

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IF YOU’RE A FAN OF COMIC-BOOKS, YOU PROBABLY KNOW THAT THE TWO MAJOR PUBLISHERS, MARVEL AND DC COMICS, BOTH STARTED WHOLE NEW UNIVERSES THIS YEAR – MEANING ALL OR MOST COMICBOOKS STARTED AGAIN WITH #1.

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ow if you’re new to the comicbook-world, this is good, since you can easily start without bothering too much about the past (though we will bring you recommendations for past storylines in our future issues, be sure about that). So here are 10 of our pics of books you just must not miss this fall!

10 – The Omega Men (DC) The Omega Men are back in an all-new se Kyle Rayner and now, the universe wants tic criminals – and is there more to their a

eries! They’ve murdered White Lantern them to pay! Who are these intergalacactions than meets the eye?

#9

DOCTOR STRANGE (MARVEL) The Omega Men are back in an all-new series! They’ve murdered White Lantern Kyle Rayner and now, the universe wants them to pay! Who are these intergalactic criminals – and is there more to their actions than meets the eye?

#8

STAR LORD (MARVEL) So you and the rest of the planet just LOVED Guardians of the Galaxy? You want more of Peter Quill? Explore Peter Quill’s formative days in STAR-LORD beginning this November with Sam Humphries and Javier Garron!

#7

ROBIN: SON OF BATMAN (DC) The son of a Bat and a Demon, Damian al Ghul has set out to forge his own destiny – and atone for the shameful Year of Blood! Will he be aided or hindered by the behemoth Goliath? And what mysterious legacy trails behind him?

Join writer/artist Patrick Gleason as he chronicles the globe-hopping adventures of ROBIN: SON OF BATMAN!

#10

WONDER WOMAN (DC) A daring new direction begins with the arrival of a brand-new villain! But while he may be new to us, he’s not new to the world he seeks to tame. And speaking of villains, Donna Troy’s quest to destroy Wonder Woman ratchets up another gear (if that’s even possible!), while the games of the Gods bring dark portents to the ultimate Amazon!

#6

THE OMEGA MEN (DC) The Omega Men are back in an all-new series! They’ve murdered White Lantern Kyle Rayner and now, the universe wants them to pay! Who are these intergalactic criminals – and is there more to their actions than meets the eye?

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#5 DAREDEVIL (MARVEL)

Mark Waid will be a tough act to follow, but who else to follow him but one of comics' foremost moonlighting lawyers? Soule gets his shot at writing the other major Marvel lawyer character, and he's teaming him up with... Gambit? The lawyer/thief combo certainly has our attention!

#4 CYBORG (DC) The machine that gives Cyborg his

#1

powers is evolving! The only problem is that machine is his body and he has no idea what’s causing these changes!

UNCANNY X-MEN (MARVEL)

Now don’t expect a classic team here or something – the Uncanny X-Men title has been revamped several times over the course of the past years, but in light of “All new, all different Marvel”, it has so to say none of the “original” team members, but rather Magneto leading a team consisting of Psylocke, Mystique, Fantomex and Sabretooth, along with other as-yet-unannounced team members. I’m excited about this one, especially because of artist Greg Land who always brings stunning images that make you think the characters’ll come alive any second. The tagline for the relaunched series is “Bigger threats require more threatening X-Men”, so we can probably expect some serious action in X-Force style.

Geeking out about this?

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Of course, we’ve skipped some big titles or some other smaller, but interesting titles – Marvel alone has 45 new titles this fall! But we wanted to give you something classic and something different. And there were only ten spots…

What are your top 10?

What would you change in our list? Let us know on Facebook page!

#3 MS. MARVEL (MARVEL)

The inevitable continuation of Marvel's most important title of the last two years, with Miyazawa joining the art team alongside Alphona. Given that this book is a truly standout hit featuring a woman writer and a very new and actually different lead character, it's genuinely surprising that the rest of the 'All-New, All-Different' line doesn't take more of its lead from Ms Marvel. This is a book that's bringing in new readers. This is the book that Marvel needs to emulate if it wants to be truly new, truly different.

#2 ALL-NEW WOLVERINE (MARVEL)

No, Marvel isn’t bringing Logan back from the dead…Instead - Laura Kinney (X-23) embraces her destiny and becomes the Wolverine. X-23 was created to be a weapon and for a time, that’s all she was. But with the help of her mentor, LOGAN— the original WOLVERINE—she escaped that dark past. Tragically, Logan has fallen, but Laura will continue in his footsteps as a hero. Recent events have her doing everything in her power to keep those around her alive, as violent forces are hell-bent on mutual destruction. If anyone can stop them, it’s Laura. She is the best there is at what she does. She is THE ALL-NEW WOLVERINE.

㄀㈀⸀㄀ ⸀㄀㔀 吀䠀䔀 圀䄀䰀䬀䤀一䜀 䐀䔀䄀䐀 匀䔀䄀匀伀一 㘀 倀刀䔀䴀䤀䔀刀䔀

伀䌀吀伀䈀䔀刀 ㄀㈀琀栀Ⰰ ㈀㄀㨀㔀㔀 圀圀圀⸀䘀伀堀吀嘀⸀一伀

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#HOT START

MORE GEORGE R.R.MARTIN

SKIN TRADE

HEADS TO CINEMAX C IMAGE: Courtesy of Wikipedia, Avatar Press

inemax, sister channel to HBO, has acquired the television rights to George R.R. Martin’s acclaimed werewolf novella The Skin Trade, which was first published in the 1988 in horror anthology “Night Visions 5”.

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The story follows private investigator Randi Wade, who sets off on the trail of a serial killer who takes the skin of victims, only to be drawn into a dark underworld when her close friend Willie Flambeaux suddenly becomes a target and must reveal a startling secret.

Scriptwriter Kalinda Vazquez (Once Upon a Time, Prison Break) has been hired to work on the pilot.

Martin wrote on his blog that he “… always thought there was a TV series (or maybe a feature film) in Willie Flambeaux and Randi Wade,” and that those of you who know the story of Doorways, his ill-fated ABC pilot from the early 90s, may even recall that it was Skin Trade that he was actually trying to sell back in 1991, when he flew out to LA for a round of pitch meetings.

Since Martin have Game of Thrones book to finish, he won’t have a hands-on role if The Skin Trade gets picked up. “While I would have loved to write the script and run the show myself myself, that was never really in the cards,” says writer.

SCRIPTWRITER KALINDA VAZQUEZ (ONCE UPON A TIME, PRISON BREAK) HAS BEEN HIRED TO WORK ON THE PILOT. 21 21

by: Lazar K.

#HOT START

lazar_k@popculture.dk

FINALLY RENEWED!

IMAGE: Courtesy of Fox ICB

AFTER ALMOST THREE MONTHS OF WAITING, IT WAS FINALLY ANNOUNCED THAT DEVIOUS MAIDS GOT RENEWED FOR A FOURTH SEASON.

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THERE WAS ROOM FOR PANIC, SINCE LIFETIME CANCELLED SOME OF ITS HIT SHOWS AFTER THE RATINGS DROPPED, LIKE WITCHES OF EAST END.

Some had thought that the show would be renewed right after the premiere of season 3, while others expected the renewal after the season. In the end, both sides were worried, since neither of those situations happened. Lifetime announced just recently that we're going to watch the most popular maids in the world next summer, too. There was room for panic, since Lifetime cancelled some of its hit shows after the ratings dropped, like Witches of East End. Now we can all relax and think about

PLAY THIS!

the new season. Last season ended with some impressive scenes – Zoila in labor, entering the hospital, the return of the wicked Peri and of course the Powell Mansion in flames.

The show, inspired by the telenovela Ellas son… la alegría del hogar is produced by Mark Cherry, together with ex-desperate housewife Gabriela Solis, a.k.a. actress Eva Longoria. The show stars Ana Ortiz, Dania Ramirez, Judy Reyes, Rebecca Wisocky and Susan Lucci.

1 topic, 2 stories about… by: Miljan T.

miljan_t@popculture.dk

Though it was announced that the world premiere of the first of the new X-Files episodes would be on October 10th at the NYC Comic Con, it already happened on October 6th at the MIPCOM conference in Cannes, France, after which a short Q&A with the show’s creator Chris Carter was held. He said that the return to the TV-screens is still “unreal” for him, but also a dream come true. “I've been doing this for a little over a third of my life, so it's obviously very important for me, so I jumped at the chance to do it”, said Carter.

According to reports, the audience packed into Cannes' Grand Auditorium broke out in spontaneous applause multiple times — including when Duchovny and Anderson first appeared.

Carter said how he always had new ideas for X-Files stories, especially in light of the newly leaked information on government surveillance and corporate malfeasance added to the show's trademark paranormal paranoia. What we know so far about the story is that Mulder and Scully are separated both privately and professionally, but that after new evidence involving alien abductions and a possible global conspiracy surfaces they join forces and reopen the X-Files. Carter hopes that the show can return, though likely in the form of more limited runs and specials.

X-Files returns to the screens on January 24th, and we expect that the new episodes will be soon after that available in Scandinavia, too.

THE X FILES NOW AVAILABLE ON BLURAY! If you still haven’t bought a DVD-collection of your favorite TV-show (we’re talking X-Files, of course), or maybe if you have, but you want to own it in the best possible HD-quality – Fox has published some fantastic news: starting December 8th, all the original nine seasons of the show will be available for the first time in full HD. The box says it contains the original nine seasons, which means that it possibly doesn’t include the two movies. Though there are no technical specs yet, we can assume that the aspect ratio for the first four seasons, originally 4:3, has been changed to 16:9, as we have seen in some HD-broadcasts.

Though you can’t watch the whole show between December 8th and January 24th, when the new episodes premiere, this is surely a great Christmas treat for real fans.

IMAGE: Courtesy of Viasat

CANNES PREMIERE!

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#HOT START

DRAX Destroying his very first ongoing series!

IMAGE: Courtesy of Marvel Comics

That’s right, the muscle of the Guardians of the Galaxy is making his Mighty Marvel solo debut this November in DRAX #1! And he’s bringing along some can’t miss creators! World renowned UFC fighter CM Punk makes his ongoing series debut alongside fan-favorite co-writer Cullen Bunn and artist Scott Hepburn!

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So, what does Drax do when he’s not hanging with the Guardians? He lets his bloodthirsty quest for revenge take the driver’s seat, of course! Determined to find and kill Thanos once and for all, Drax is ready to take on the universe. And nothing is going to stop him – not even crash landing on a dangerous and wild planet. The depths of space might not be enough to contain this much grit, vengeance and all-out action! Don’t miss the explosive debut of DRAX #1 – coming this November from CM Punk, Cullen Bunn and Scott Hepburn!

ATTENTION!

DRAX #1, on sale in November! Written by CM Punk & Cullen Bunn, art & cover by Scott Hepburn, variant covers by Ed McGuiness and Skottei Young, hip-hop variant by Mike Choi.

and MORE...

NEW BROMANCE! After making their big-screen debut last year in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy movie, and headlining their own solo comics – ROCKET RACCOON and GROOT, respectively – everyone's favorite space-faring duo return this fall in an All-New, All-Different ongoing series, ROCKET RACCOON AND GROOT, by Skottie Young and Filipe Andrade.

Usually, when they’re together, they get up to all kinds of trouble and this series will be no exception.

The opening story will see the pair waking up to discover that they have become big crime lords but have no memory of how they became that way. The only clues they have are strange markings that have been carved into Groot.

Take off with ROCKET RACCOON AND GROOT in December – we are hearing that this new comic book series will be very new-reader friendly.

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by: Marin M.

IMAGE: Courtesy of www.christianmagdu.com

marin_m@popculture.dk

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I didn’t always understand people and the world

#HOT START

CHRISTIAN MAGDU Q: Very often, you mix big budget movies with low budget movies, and in an interview you said you like both. But which suit better for you, and why do you mix it like that?

A: Good question. There was a manager in Hollywood, one of the first big managers, and he had a saying: One for them, one for you. Because that’s the way you build a career, you know. And I think it’s a nice quote. Sometimes you have to do something that means something in a broad perspective, to a bigger audience, than maybe the little film that you’re passionate about, but has such a small budget and maybe goes straight to video and it might only have an audience of 20,000, whereas the big movie will be seen by millions. I’m not saying that big films cannot be a fantastic experience, but you know, the reality is, as an actor you have to be out there and do good work in big and small films. But when you ask which ones are better – the big films are better when it comes to money, of course, and sometimes the small films pay you very little – if anything at all. You get money at the back end, if it sells. But that can be so great because you can be passionate about the story, passionate about the filmmakers, and sometimes the roles are very interesting.

Q: You had a premiere in july – Johan Falk: Lockdown, which is very popular in Sweden. Tell us something about that whole experience.

A: Johan Falk was an amazing experience, because it’s something like number 16 and 17 in this long series of movies, and I got involved after I met both the creator Anders Nilsson and the director Richard Holm, and it was so great to have this opportunity

SURPRISINGLY MODEST AND UNBELIEVABLY TALENTED, ONE OF SWEDEN’S MOST POPULAR ACTORS, CHRISTIAN MAGDU, VISITED COMIC CON MALMÖ AND TOOK PART IN THE ‘A DATE WITH HOLLYWOOD’ PANEL, BUT ALSO DECIDED TO TAKE SOME TIME FOR THE READERS OF POPCULTURE MAGAZINE.

to work with them on this. Johan Falk has some main characters and then what they change all the time are the opponents and I got to play a really fun character, as part of this Russian mob group, and the character stretches over two films. It was a nice and interesting arc, because my character is the adversary of Johan Falk and his family, so it was fun to explore that kind of darkness, which you would have to get into if you’re a mobster.

I’m not a big fan of people thinking of characters as good or evil – I think people and characters are who they are and they try to motivate their existence to themselves. I think if I play this person just as evil, I don’t think it would be interesting for you, because you’d think ‘ok, this guy is evil… but what does he do, what’s his day job’ and stuff like that.

Q: You were on HBO’s True Blood. How did that happen?

A: That was great. I was in L.A. and they called me and said ‘look there’s this tiny part, but it’s True Blood and we need an actor who’s tall like you’ and I was a perfect fit for what they were looking for – we were playing the vampire SWAT-Team, and it was a lot of fun. That production has so much talent, you know, the actors – like the Swedish ac-

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#HOT START tor Alexander Skarsgård, whom I hadn’t met before, but knew his brothers and dad, and it was interesting to see him at work, because he is so committed. It’s so great to work with HBO, because it’s big budget, and they take care of you so well, and that’s why you love the job then.

IMAGE: Courtesy of www.christianmagdu.com

Q: How did you actually decide to become an actor?

A: I grew up in a family which was obsessed with stories – we were watching a lot of films and TV-shows. My parents liked to read and taught us to read, and growing up I thought I didn’t always understand people and the world. I felt like I was from outer space, like somebody just put me here and the only times I felt like myself and safe was when I was creating these worlds and putting on shows with my toys. I used my sister as an assistant and we did shows for our parents to entertain them.

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RIGHT NOW I’M AUDITIONING FOR NEW PROJECTS AND I WOULD LOVE TO WORK ON A TV-SERIES.

Q: So it was actually written in the stars from the start?

A: I think so, I always wanted to be a filmmaker, because I loved Steven Spielberg so much and I said ‘look, I’m gonna make E. T. and Indiana Jones’, but then I got the opportunity in high school to be on stage for the first time, and when that happened, when I got the opportunity to be in front of people for the first time, something happened in me – you know when you’re ‘in the zone’, it’s an amazing feeling. I remember that so vividly, because it lasted for about half an hour but to me it felt like seconds, and it was over. And I was just an ok student at school – not good, not bad – but this teacher came up to me and told me ‘Christian, this what you did on stage, that’s something you’re really, really good at”. That’s when I found something I really feel grat at. So from that moment on I knew it’s something I wanna do. And we had a drama class at school so I started studying drama, to understand what acting is and how you do it, and the teacher was so passionate about me and liked what I

was doing, so he said ‘Look, when you’re done with high school, I’m a director, and I’d like you to come and be the star of my productions’. And I was 19, had never been in theater school or anything, so I basically got my schooling through passion.

Q: And now you’re on Comic Con, which is like a role, and we hear you’re good at it. How come?

A: It was a great opportunity. Having worked in L.A. and here in Sweden, I know a lot of people, and I know there are a lot of people in Sweden who are wondering about Hollywood, about films, about TV, how to get a job, an agent, a manager… and we had Americans coming over in April for something called ‘A Date with Hollywood” – there were managers, an actor and a casting director and the people from Comic Con saw us and loved it and asked us to come to their show and be on the panel and speak about this. I’m really excited about tomorrow, there are going to be so many people on the floor and we’re having not something like a master class with actors and people who want to be in the industry, but general audience and that’s something I look forward to.

Q: You’re very popular with the LGBT population and I hear you’ve been selected Hottest male actor by a gay magazine in Sweden?

A: I was really happy about that. I don’t like the expression ‘fans”, like ‘HEY I’M YOUR FAN’ – I’m not looking to gain fans, I’m looking for people who are somehow touched by what I do, because when I was a kid I was so touched by what others did, and that meant something to me, made me who I am. And I want to give back, so if that means people will say ‘You’re the hottest guy’, that’s great as long as they watch and take in what the story is. One of the nicest feedbacks that I got was for

a film called ‘Prinsessa’ – which was a really nice drama comedy about a girl who wants to be an actress, and I played a director. And the production got a mail from a girl – I think she was from Serbia – and she wrote how her mother was very sick and she had a hard time coping with life, so she wanted to watch something that was lifting her spirits and searched for ‘The Princess and the Frog’ – the Disney movie, and for some reason the first hit she got was ‘Princessa’, and she thought it’s the Disney movie and downloaded it.

She saw it and wrote us how she cried, because it’s also about the relationship with your mother, and she cried because she was going through hard times and the movie meant so much to her – and now I get goose bumps just talking about it – and that’s exactly what I want. Just make people’s lives better – if I can. Even if it’s for just two hours.

Q: Tell us something about your plans for the future – more movies, more TVshows?

A: God willing, there are some exciting projects on the horizon, I constantly meet new people and get new opportunities. I have agents who are working on getting me out there, because there are many people in the business who want to do the same thing, and they want to do it for different reasons. I wish it was a human right to be in films and television, but it’s not, so you have to really go out there and say ‘Look, I want this, because I have this story that I want to share with you’. Right now I’m auditioning for new projects and I would love to work on a TV-series.

I’m a big fan of Game of Thrones for example, and I’m sure there is something there I could well fit for. To me, the most important thing is to work on something that makes sense, not just from a money perspective, but from a storytelling perspective.

IT WAS FUN TO EXPLORE THAT KIND OF DARKNESS, WHICH YOU WOULD HAVE TO GET INTO IF YOU’RE A MOBSTER. I’M NOT A BIG FAN OF PEOPLE THINKING OF CHARACTERS AS GOOD OR EVIL 29 29

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all eyes on him!

ABOUT NORWEGIAN ROOTS I`m from Norway. My father and grandfather came from there, and I have an uncle who still lives there. My full name is Dominic Haakon Myrtvedt Purcell.

My dad spoke norwegian to me when I was a kid, but unfortunately I doesn`t remeber nothing. I have lots of tattooes – one of tham is norwegian ship on my arm.

ABOUT KIND OF GUY HE IS I'm a physical kind of guy. I've always liked being physical. It takes a stuntman to really say, 'Look, we don't want you to do this. No, no, I'm serious, you're not going to do this' to get me not to do my stuff.

ABOUT BEING A PARENT I'm a hands-on dad. I love my kids more than anything. It's very important to me. I'd give myself a 10 out of 10 for being a dad.

IMAGE: Courtesy of Viaast

ABOUT PRISON BREAK REVIVAL As soon as Wentworth and I started on The Flash, it reminded us that it just made perfect sense for us to get the ball rolling again for Prison Break. I can speak for myself and Wentworth, we're both just very fortunate and blessed that we were part of such an iconic show and that they're bringing it back. That's very rare. It's really rare.

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ABOUT DC’S LEGENDS OF TOMORROW It’s gonna be monstrous. I'm not like Spider-Man or Superman, but Mick Rory and Captain Cold are still just as fascinating, wise, and just as charismatic -just as interesting. And then the flame gun, I may as well be a superhero because the thing is like an atomic bomb."

DOMINIC PURCELL 17.02.1970.

Australian actor

international

community

JOIN THE LEADING EXPAT NETWORK IN DENMARK Today more than 3,400 people are part of International Community Aarhus, including international employees, accompanying family members, internationally minded Danes, repat and companies. This is what you get - for free: Social activities Seminars

Family events Practical info

Cultural events Sports activities

Personal support And much more!

A SELECTION OF OUR UPCOMING EVENTS:

31 03 OCT

NOV

Time: 14:00 – 15:30 An Introduction to Yoga and Mindfulness

Time: 17:00 – 21:00 First Tuesday at Headquaters & BORA BORA

11 14 NOV

NOV

Time: 19:00 – 21:00 Game Night in November

Time: 18:00 – 20:30 Hygge with a Latin Jazz & New York Salsa Class

To learn more about our activities visit our website and follow us on Facebook www.internationalcommunity.dk International Community is part of

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Q: Well, we must admit that your latest single “Tulips” had huge success in Scandinavia and the video received massive airplay on MTV. That's awesome! It’s a very catchy song... So, tell us a little bit more about the song and video?

A: Tulips is first of all a song about admitting that you made a mistake or you fucked up. Secondly it’s about how you want make it up to the person you let down. There is a number of ways to say ‘Baby, I’m sorry’. One classic way is to buy flowers (maybe tulips) and another classic way is kissing your way out of trouble, ‘two lips’.

IMAGE: Courtesy of Warner Music Denmark

LIFE AS INSPIRATION

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I HAD THAT FEELING “IF PEOPLE LIKED WHAT I DID EARLIER, THEY ARE GOING TO LOVE THE SHIT I CAN DO NOW” :)

Q: Your debut album “Colours” was a great success, and you shot to fame quite quickly after your top tracks played probably on all major radio stations across Europe. Is it difficult to follow up on such a success?

A: It’s always difficult to follow up on a success, but I think I have naturally grown into a better songwriter and singer along the way. I’m more much confident now and aware of my strengths and weaknesses and that makes it a lot easier to make good music. Therefore I’ve been looking forward to get back in the studio and working on some new stuff. I had that feeling “If people liked what I did earlier, they are going to love the shit I can do now” :) Q: What is your favorite aspect of the debut album?

A: I’m really proud of my first album, it had some of the first songs I ever wrote. It’s so funny and motivating to look back at those songs and see how far I have come in such a “short” time.

Q: Your name’s popping up in countless lists of acts who’ve done well in the past two years, having huge success... You won the Danish Music Award 2012, you were awarded the New Thinker of the Year (Årets nytænker), given as an innovation prize by Spotify and you also won the MTV EMA Best Danish Act 2014. How does that feel?

A: It feels amazing :) It’s amazing to feel the love and support from the fans and how the fan base is just constantly growing and expanding.

Q: Would you say having success has affected your life since then?

A: It has affected my life a lot. I think especially fame changes a lot. You have to consider a lot of things you didn’t have to before. There is suddenly a lot of people out there listening to your voice. That is of course a huge privilege, but having 400.000 followers is also having a great deal of power and with that comes a great deal of responsibility.

Q: What inspired you to first start writing music?

A: Music has always just been my biggest passion and I think it happened all by itself. I don’t remember deciding “now I want to write my own songs” – it just happened as I got tired of playing everybody else’s songs.

Q: Let’s talk “CPH Girls”. The song was u huge hit, reaching #1 in Denmark. Did you have any idea the song was going to explode like that? What's the story behind it?

A: You never really know if a song is going to be a smash or not, that’s is what I love about music. But I definitely had a really good feeling about it. It was such a fun song to write.

The idea behind the song started as a joke (as most of my songs) in the car on the way to the studio with my producers.

Q: So, where do you draw inspiration for your music when you're not in the car?

A: I mostly write about my own life and things I’ve been through. Writing songs is all about putting words to feelings and thoughts. I find it a lot easier to write about stuff you have felt or been through, therefore I would say my own life is where I draw most of my inspiration.

I FIND IT A LOT EASIER TO WRITE ABOUT STUFF YOU HAVE FELT OR BEEN THROUGH

Q: Describe your journey from making demo tracks to signing a record deal for EMI Records?

A: I was 17 when EMI signed me and I didn’t really know anybody in the music business. My first demo was really shit :) So I feel like the journey started when they signed me.

Q: Your second album “Told You So” has 10 tracks, pure pop tunes.

What part of writing/recording the album was the most challenging?

A: I think the hardest part of making the second album was finding the right direction. Due to the success of the first album, all of a sudden, everybody had an opinion on what we should do. So the hardest part was listening to myself and not to everybody else.

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IMAGE: Courtesy of AMC

Q: Are you pleased with how people have received the record?

A: The way people reacted when “Told You So” dropped was amazing. That was the turning point of my career in Denmark and my real breakthrough.

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ANY PLANS? WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM YOU? MY THIRD ALBUM NEXT YEAR IS GOING TO BE MY BEST ALBUM SO FAR. I CAN’T WAIT FOR YOU GUYS TO HEAR IT. THANKS FOR THE LOVE AND SUPPORT.

and help your creativity?

A: As I private person I get tired of fame sometimes, but as an artist I think it’s amazing and the best way to create attention around your music.

Q: Talent shows, such as X-Factor or The Voice are very popular across Europe. Do you think that's a harder or easier way for an artistic career? Or is it better to promote yourself online?

A: I think it’s easier to get big really fast but it’s harder to get a long solid career if you attend in such TV shows. They peak too fast. You have you be ready for the peak of your career and it takes more the two auditions and a boot camp.

Q: You are really at the frontline of the internet revolution in music. You are very active in social media. What are your thoughts on the Internet advantages?

A: The internet and especially the social media has played a major role in my career. I had 10.000 followers on Facebook before I released my first single…haha…Some people hate it and some love it. It has been amazing for me and I see it as a huge advantage and a unique way to interact with my fans.

Q: What would you be if you weren't a singer? You said that Q: You've worked with American your dream as a child was to beproducer Brandon Beal on the come a professional football playsong “Twerk It Like Miley” which er and be just as good as Messi. was a big hit... What was working A: Don’t we all dream of being as with him like? good as Messi? :) I certainly did A: Brandon is a really good friend when I was a kid. But being a proof mine. He is an amazing song- fessional musician was always my writer and he worked with me on first priority. the “Told you So” album and long before “Twerk It”. He is absolutely Q: This year you’ll host the DMA one of the best writers i have ever Awards. That’s a great honor and worked with and such a funny dude. a great responsibility, watching the Crème de la Crème of the muQ: Which artists are your biggest sic industry line up to get awards. influence?

How do you feel about that?

A: John Mayer, no doubt. I was 12 A: It is a huge honor to host the when I started playing guitar and DMA’s this year. I’m a little nervous I listened to nothing but john for 3 but at the same time I’m really exyears…haha cited and confident that its gonna be a GREAT show.

Q: Are you tired of fame, or do you think you can use that hype

THE INTERNET AND ESPECIALLY THE SOCIAL MEDIA HAS PLAYED A MAJOR ROLE IN MY CAREER. 39 39

and MORE...

CHRI

2013: A Star is Born!

2014: Second Album

Christopher won an award at the Danish Music Awards 2012 New Artist of the Year!

Media and the music industry love him: Christopher is Denmark's Prince of Pop!

Christopher released his second album “Told You So” in 2014, and it reached #4 in the Danish Charts.

IMAGE: Courtesy of AMC

2012: First Success

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ISTOPHER SO FAR! 2011: Before Fame

2012: Debut Album

His debut single, "Against the Odds" was released in 2011.

His debut album, “Colours” was released in 2012.

2014: Power Hit His biggest hit so far, “CPH Girls”, reached #1 in Scandinavia.

2014: First Collabs He worked with American producer Brandon Beal on the song “Twerk It Like Miley” which was a huge hit, reaching #1.

2014: MTV Loves Him He won the MTV EMA Best Danish Act 2014!

2015: Extending Winning Streak He released the new single “Tulips”. It is also the first taste of his forthcoming album.

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DMA 2015: THE BEST OF DANISH MUSIC THE DMA 2015 IS DRAWING NEAR AND WITH IT THE CHOICE FOR THE BEST DANISH ACT! THE #COVERSTORY STAR OF THIS ISSUE OF POPCULTURE MAGAZINE, CHRISTOPHER, WILL BE THE HOST OF THIS YEARS SHOW, WHICH WILL BE HELD IN COPENHANGEN’S FORUM ARENA ON NOVEMBER 7TH, WITH LIVE BROADCAST ON TV2.

ATTENTION! Don’t miss the DMA 2015 live from the Forum Arena in Copenhagen on Saturday, November 7th at 8 P.M., exclusively on TV2. Join the DMA-fans in social media with #DMA15 on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or on Snapshat with @dma_tv2.

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and MORE...

S

uspekt are dominant with six DMA nominations, followed by Luke Graham and Marie Key with five each, while Lars H.U.G., Cisilia and Ulige Numre have four nominations each. In most categories the DMA academy votes on nominations and winners. The DMA academy consists of 28 renowned persons from the Danish music industry – musicians, songwriters, representatives of labels, producers, managers and agents of concert agencies.

contribution to Danish music will be awarded to the Danish TV-journalist Anders Breinholt.

On stage he will be helped by popstar Christopher, together with live acts Lukas Graham, Cisilia, Marie Key og L.O.C. Last year the award was received by the rock band D-A-D.

It will be interesting to see who’ll take the most awards home this year. Remember that last year the singer-songwriter MØ got the most awards – four (Best Danish Release, Best Danish Solo Artist, Best Danish New Artist, This year the honorary award Ærespris for Best Danish Music Video).

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IMAGE: Courtesy of The Walt Disney Company Nordic

#BIGones by: Michel P.

michel_p@popculture.dk

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20 questions about the new

Star Wars movie!

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W

HILE WE WAIT FOR STAR WARS EPISODE VII: THE FORCE AWAKENS TO HIT THE THEATERS WORLDWIDE ON DECEMBER 18TH, WE ALREADY KNOW THAT EPISODES VIII AND IX WILL BE RELEASED 2017 AND 2019, RESPECTIVELY. STAR WARS WILL UNDOUBTEDLY REMAIN THE MOST POPULAR FILM FRANCHISE OF ALL TIME.

IMAGE: Courtesy of The Walt Disney Company Nordic

Although almost all fans agree that the original trilogy is far better than the three prequels, some claim that Star Wars has done a much better job on the TV-screens then in cinemas, with projects like Star Wars: The Clone Wars or Star Wars: Rebels, which presented the Star Wars world in a better way than the movies.

Online movie-portals report that ca. 63 % of the Star Wars fans think that Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be the best movie to date. That’s a pretty bold statement, but it has its reasons.

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When Disney bought Lucasfilm three years ago, they promised a return of Star Wars to the theaters. They paid 4 billion $ for the company and raised its net worth by 2 billion $ with only one wellmade teaser. Thus their investment will pay off with just the first movie. Right from the beginning they announced plans for more than just three movies. They promised loads of cartoons, toys, comics and spin-off movies, which will not be a continuation of the original movies. And thanks to the Star Wars Convention, we have first details on one of those movies – Star Wars: Rogue One, and we’re delighted.

Since the franchise is in Disney’s hands, there are many rumors.

People speculated about movies taking place before Episode I or after Episode VI. With time, we learned things about the movies to come. There will be one or maybe two accompanying movies.

There is a rumor about a movie centering on the legendary Jedi knight Obi-Wan Kenobi, but it is still unconfirmed. For now. But here are 20 facts about the already most talked-about movie of the season.

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1

WHY THIS TITLE?

We’ve waited for years for another chapter of the saga, and the wait is over. The new movie is called Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The title was heavily criticized by some fans and media, because they were confused by the idea that the Force can sleep (?). They asked why the title isn’t simply Star Wars: Episode VII. It’s not hard to grasp a wider meaning of the title, since it means the re-awakening of the franchise.

2

WHAT STAGE IS THE PRODUCTION IN?

Shooting lasted for nearly six months, and the movie is now in post-production. Principal photography began on May 16th 2014 and was finished in November, on location in the Abu Dhabi desert, the Skellig Michael Island in Ireland, while the majority of the movie was shot in the famous Pinewood Studios in England.

IMAGE: Courtesy of The Walt Disney Company Nordic

3

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WHAT’S THE TIMELINE OF THE MOVIE LIKE?

It was confirmed that the movie takes place 30 years after the battle of Endor and Episode VI. This appears to be a logical movie, since we get to see again the fearless trio from Lucas’ original trilogy – Luke, Leia and Han.

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WHO’S DIRECTING?

Although at first he declined, J.J. Abrams is not only the director, but one of the co-screenwriters. Abrams has a lot of experience with SF-movies, having directed the last two Star Trek movies and Spielberg’s Super 8. He also claims to be a huge Star Wars fan. Does that mean that we can expect a great and timeless sequel? We’ll have to wait and see.

5

WHO ARE THE SCREENWRITERS?

Given the events of the new film Captain America: Civil War it is not hard to see why Captain America a.k.a. Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) may have a problem with something like Superhero Registration Act. That’s because the last time he put his trust in the state authority which was, by the way, completely rotten and corrupt at its core, and therefore it should have been destroyed. This is the attitude – to be completely opposite of Tony Stark. In the comic book version of the Civil War, Captain America goes into hiding, and in the eyes of Iron Man and SHIELD he was seen as a fugitive because of his resistance to new regulations.

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6

ARE THERE NEW CHARACTERS?

Yes, lots. Finn, Rey, Kylo Ren, Poe…

8 WHO’S KYLO REN? J.J. Abrams introduces another epic villain, played by Adam Driver. Kylo Ren is no Sith. He works for the Supreme Leader Snoke, who’s a powerful user of the dark side of the Force. Abrams said that his real name is not Kylo Ren. It appears that “Ren” is the last name Ren-knights get, similar to the “Darth” that Sith Lords take as their title. Ren’s real name is one of the great mysteries of the upcoming movie.

7 WHO’S FINN?

IMAGE: Courtesy of The Walt Disney Company Nordic

We know him from the first trailer, in which he appears in a stormtrooper uniform without a helmet, played by John Boyega. We don’t have much information on his roots. The reigning theory says that he’s the son of Han and Sana Solo, whom we met in #6 of Marvel’s Star Wars comic.

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9 WHO’S POE? Poe, an X-Wing-pilog is the son of Leia Organa and Ematt, a new character appearing in Episode VII, where he has the rank of major in the Resistance. Leia and Ematt met in a mission between Episodes V and VI. After Endor, both continued to serve in the New Republic and later on in the Resistance, and the result of their Romance is Poe. Poe is played by the talented young actor Oscar Isaac.

10 WHO’S REY? Rey, played by the young British actress Daisy Ridley is the granddaughter of ObiWan Kenobi! There are rumors that she’s the daughter of Luke Skywalker and Kenobi’s daughter. Many movie-portals have made a timeline, according to which Rey’s

mother was born some 14 years before Episode IV and Rey was born 10 years after the battle of Endor and was left with Kenobi’s brother (played by Max von Sydow) some 10 years before Episode VII.

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11

ANOTHER LUKE SKYWALKER?

Abrams says that Ren’s origins aren’t that much different from the origins of Luke in A New Hope. In the 1977 movie, Luke is a boy on a farm who goes on to become a Jedi Knight and fights against the Empire. Abrams teased the fans by saying that Ren’s story is similar. What makes Ren so unique is that he’s not as rounded a person as the situation was when we first met someone like Darth Vader.

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THE RETURN OF DARTH VADER?

IMAGE: Courtesy of The Walt Disney Company Nordic

The latest trailer gave us some evidence that Darth Vader would return. Luke Skywalker says: "The Force is strong in my family. My father has it. I have it. My sister has it. You have that power too". This is interesting, since he talks about his father in the present tense, as if he were still alive. In the trailer we also see the remains of Darth Vader, which will be important to the story later on. Movie-portals report that Hayden Christensen, who gained fame playing young Anakin Skywalker in Episodes II and III will be involved in Episode VIII.

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13

YAVIN 4 IS THE BIRTHPLANET OF POE DAMERON?

This feels like an interesting theory… Oscar Isaac, an actor of Latin-American descent, said the following to the press: “In the Galaxy, there is place for another Latin-American family”. He laughed and added: “What’s interesting is… that planet at the end of the first original movie, Yavin 4, that last scene was filmed in Guatemala and you know, I think Poe Dameron comes from there… and that’s a nice coincidence.”

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MORE ADVANCED CGI?

We all remember how the original trilogy was made. For that time, the effects were really impressive, but we can’t be happy about something that was cool 40 years ago while knowing what computers can do today. The Force Awakens will make a huge step forward in this regard.

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A MORE INTERESTING STORY?

After the return of the Jedi knights and the destruction of the Death Star, the whole Galaxy began a renewal and the future looked bright for the Rebel Alliance. Real work on re-uniting the Galaxy had begun and that will be mentioned in The Force Awakens. We’ll see the 30-something years of struggle to make that happen, and that’s what makes the story interesting.

16 NEW ROBOTS? Yes. The return of Star Wars to the big screen is in itself a sensation. After the legendary R2D2 and C-3PO, who became trademarks of the franchise, it would seem that we got another hit droid in BB-8. In the trailer he’s shown as a droid, who’s lower part is round as a ball. The unusual droid immediately got the fans’ sympathy. At the Star Wars Convention, the euphoria became bigger when, together with R2D2 and C-3PO, BB-8 appeared on stage, showing that it’s not CGI, but a real prop. He was remotely steered, but has also the potential to become the new hero of the franchise.

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IMAGE: Courtesy of The Walt Disney Company Nordic

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17

THE MOVIE LEANS MORE TOWARDS THE ORIGINAL STAR WARS THEMES?

Yes. The first three stories were a fight between good and evil. The fight for the life of the Galaxy.

The prequels parted ways from the story in a way.

They showed intrigues, intergalactic political and trade regulations, quarrels and changes. Abrams and Lucasfilm announced their goal to return the movies to the original feel which made the audiences fall in love with the franchise. Heroes, action, unique alien characters, a bit of comedy and the magic is there.

18 A BETTER CREW? Absolutely! Aside from the young actors, who appear for the first time in the franchise, we have veterans like Max von Sydow and Andy Serkis and of course the original trio Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill. We can expect a mixture of nostalgia and new energy, action and a union of different generations

19

WILL STAR WARS: EPISODE VII BE THE MOST SUCCESSFUL SF-MOVIE OF ALL TIME?

Since the movie was announced, anyone who knows anything about the movie business knew that the movie is going to be a huge success. The best proof for that was the Star Wars Convention in Annaheim in April. Only a few hours after the release of the trailer, the Disney stock on Wall Street went up unbelievable 2 billion $! Yes, all signs say that Episode VII will be a gigantic success.

20

WHEN IS THE PREMIERE?

Disney and Lucasfilm announced that the European premiere will be held on December 16th and the U.S on December 18th.

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#BIGones by: Miljan T.

IMAGE: Courtesy of MCF

mailjan_t@popculture.dk

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THE MARTIAN THE REDEMPTION OF RIDLEY SCOTT THESE DAY A MEME CIRCULATES AROUND THE INTERNET: AMERICA HAS SPENT INSANE AMOUNTS OF MONEY, FROM SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, TO INTERSTELLAR AND THE MARTIAN, ALL TO RETRIEVE MATT DAMON. I LAUGHED EVEN BEFORE I SAW THE MOVIE, WHICH I DREADED. I feared a catastrophe, since in The Martian we have both Damon and Jessica Chastain in almost the same roles (at least by what we see in the trailer) as in Interstellar – and I didn’t like that one at all.

The other thing from the trailer that scared me is the American phantomising of the word “science”, which in moves gets abused for everything – as a noun, verb, adjective, you name it. Damon declares in the trailer (and now having seen the movie, I tell you that one is going to go down in movie history): “I’m going to have to science the shit out of this!”

– He speaks about his food shortage, which he will solve with the help of science. The fact that the sentence was taken verbatim from the book which the movie is based upon didn’t help. But boy, was I in for a surprise…

Frankly, I don’t remember when it was the last time that I exited a theater after a movie, being that happy, like I was after The Martian. Yes, I read different reviews, I saw to what people object in the movie, and I think it’s only hairsplitting. We’ll make all that go away with a few simple questions: Let’s pretend people can travel to Mars. Are all calculations and factors regarding that travel accurate?

The answer is: yes. There are objections that a rocket under wind on Mars wouldn’t lean in the angle as shown in the movie, as well as that the gravitation on Mars wasn’t shown in an exact way, but hey, we have tons of movies taking place on Earth and those aren’t too precise about the influence of weather on people and objects, either. Question: Are the actors doing a good job? Answer: Hell, yes!

Starting with Damon, who showed on numerous occasions that he can carry a story by himself if needed, to Chastain, who after all doesn’t even resemble her character from Interstellar, Jeff Daniels and Kristen Wiig (of SNL fame), who we wouldn’t even expect in such a “serious” movie. Everything fits. We even get Sean Bean NOT dying onscreen – that’s like having Wile E. Coyote finally catching The Road Runner! Question: Is the movie hard to understand? Answer: No! Though in the dialogue we get mathematical calculations, “science terminology” and complicated and long sentences, the movie is easy to understand, because in addition to showing you everything on screen the movie doesn’t act as if it’s smarter than it actually is (unlike some other abovementioned movies, but we’ll get into that later).

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#BIGones

IMAGE: Courtesy of MCF

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o, what makes The Martian so special, then? While movies like Interstellar by Chris Nolan are overly smartassy – on- and off-screen, with their aggressive marketing campaigns – and then go on and don’t even understand themselves and tend to forget rules they themselves postulate, The Martian plays by the book. I have this amount of food, if I ration it like this, then it will last that long, if I build myself a greenhouse on Mars, then the growth will be accelerated and I’ll have that much – after all, I’m a botanist. Then there’s no philosophy about… well, about anything. It’s not worn down by big ideas of the origins and the future of everything, multiple dimensions (and it certainly doesn’t try to pack that into a “scientific” story) – no, this is a simple story about a man stranded on an empty planet, who solves problems as they come, and about the rescue mission which has its own ups and downs. Unlike Gravity, which it resembles in external shots (if we can call the shots in outer space external), and which is gravely serious, The Martian is full of unexpected but unforced and non-aggressive humor which makes it easier to digest the “serious” part of the story. The movie has a positive vibe overall and what else it has in common with Gravity is the fact that it doesn’t solely concentrate on the USA and NASA is not

THE MARTIAN IS FULL OF UNEXPECTED BUT UNFORCED AND NON-AGGRESSIVE HUMOR WHICH MAKES IT EASIER TO DIGEST THE “SERIOUS” PART OF THE STORY. the savior. It’s more international, and as in Gravity, we see that some problems humans can solve only united, as a global community. And that has been done in a very mild and unforced way, which has at least touched me very deeply.

The tone of the movie is especially dictated by the choice of songs played, but that is something you have to hear for yourself, since every song has it’s own role in the story and relaxes the mood. But I will tease you a bit and only tell you one thing: Eurovision in space.

Now after having read all this praise, you probably ask yourself why the title reads “redemption” of Ridley Scott? After flukes like Prometheus and Exodus, the legendary director needed a hit like this, and with this movie he’s gotten redemption for at least those two. It’s also interesting to see the evolution of his treatment of space-stories: from the industrial feel of Alien, to Prometheus and it’s slick, shiny futurism, to the “realistic” Martian.

This is a movie which you should watch in a theater, because a TV-screen, no matter how big, can’t give you the experience of sitting in the dark in front of a huge screen, and I’ll quote and agree with a review which says: This is the best movie about Mars since the original Total Recall.

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#BIGones by: Miljan T.

IMAGE: Courtesy of Viasat

miljan_t@popculture.dk

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THE

WOLVERINE WISHLIST 12 FANTASIES ABOUT THE NEXT (AND FOR THE TIME BEING) LAST WOLVERINE MOVIE NOW WE ALL KNOW HUGH JACKMAN IS GOING TO PLAY WOLVERINE ONE MORE TIME – IN THE UPCOMING SOLO-SEQUEL, SCHEDULED FOR A 2017 RELEASE. BEING THE ONLY CHARACTER APPEARING IN ALL SEVEN X-MEN MOVIES SO FAR (INCLUDING HIS SOLO MOVIES), THIS WILL BE THE EIGHTH TIME JACKMAN PLAYS THE CHARACTER. And though it is not officially confirmed yet, it’s hard to imagine X-Men: Apocalypse (coming out next year) not to feature at least a tiny cameo by our clawed friend. Now, since the third standalone movie will be the last time we see Wolverine like we’ve been used to all these years (15 years people!), and though Jackman has hinted at the story being based on the comic storyline “Old Man Logan” we are still free to dream and imagine what we’d like to see in the last Jackman-Wolverine-movie. A list of our 12 top picks follows.

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#12

MORE JAPAN

Though we already got our Wolverine-Japan story in The Wolverine (2013), I’m not really happy about how they handled it. Japan has a bigger role to play in Logan’s life, but I doubt it will get the full treatment again. It would be interesting though, because that could potentially lead into our number 11.

#11

DAKEN

IMAGE: Courtesy of Viasat; Marvel Comics

In the comics, Daken is Wolverine’s son with his deceased wife Itsu (actually, she was killed by the Winter Soldier, you know, Captain America’s friend?) and even assumed the codename Wolverine (or Dark Wolverine) in some stories (Dark Reign, when Norman Osborn comes to power and forms his “Dark X-Men” and “Dark Avengers”). His relationship with Logan isn’t a good one and that’s something that could move the story forward for the Wolverine family.

He could possibly even be the new Wolverine when Jackman exits – without having to recast Logan. And an interesting thing to see in such a character is Daken’s sexual orientation – he’s been shown to engage both men and women in the comics and even had some double entendres like “playing for both teams” (while actually referring to being on Dark X-Men and Dark Avengers). One of his powers is to manipulate his own pheromones and change the way anyone feels about him – from emotions to utter sexual arousal.

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#10

MORE OF THE WEAPON X TIMES

Now although we know “everything” about Wolverine by now (including himself finally knowing his real name and having regained his memories), we still have only fragments of his time in the Weapon Plus program. It would certainly be cool to see at least one scene from one of the missions, with characters like Maverick (whom we’ve seen in X-Men Origins: Wolverine actually).

#09

SABRETOOTH

Speaking of Weapon X times, we want more Sabretooth! Played in previous movies by Tyler Mane and Liev Schreiber, Sabretooth is one of the most beloved X-villains and it’s certainly always exciting to see him and Wolverine get into each other’s fur (pun intended) for no apparent reason at all (yes, yes, we know their history, but it’s funny how they just turn into angry animals the moment they see each other!).

#08

PROFESSOR X

Now since Patrick Stewart confirmed he’ll be in the third Wolverine movie, we know we’ll get to see him. What I love about the relationship Logan has with Xavier is that – for the most time – while being rude and closed off to everybody, he has a pretty “normal” relationship with him, and I want to see more of that.

#07

I’M THE BEST AT WHAT I DO

You know how in some TV-shows and comics characters have catchphrases they repeat so much until everyone is annoyed by them? Well, Wolverine has this one: “I’m the best at what I do…but what I do best isn't very nice. I'm the Wolverine.” There was a time when that phrase appeared in almost every issue with him in it.

We hear the phrase at least in the trailer for Origins, but we would love to hear it more in the movies, since it’s almost as a big part of Wolverine as his claws.

#06 X-23

X-23 (Laura Kinney) is a female clone of Wolverine. Like Wolverine, X-23 has a regenerative healing factor, superhuman strength, senses, speed, agility, and reflexes. She also has retractable adamantium-coated bone claws in her hands and feet. Cloned from a damaged copy of Wolverine's genome, X-23 was created to be the perfect killing machine. For years, she proved herself a capable assassin working for an organization called the Facility. A series of tragedies eventually lead her to Wolverine and the X-Men. She attends school at the X-Mansion, and eventually became a member of X-Force. It would certainly be cool to see Wolverine interact with her in a movie (since in the comics he's very protective of her, and vice versa), and this could also, like Daken, be a solution to the Jackman-is-out-problem.

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problem Logan actually has with Scott Summers is Jean Grey, his girlfriend/wife, whom, as we already said and know, Wolverine has feelings for (kind of mutual feelings, though). And although Wolverine did accept Cylops’ leadership and followed his orders, there was a huge schism between them at one point, creating two X-Men teams.

Now I put this on number three because it’s a very defining thing for both characters, but it would need to involve a lot more of the X-Men characters and, sadly, I just don’t see that happening.

#02

WOLVERINE DYING

#05

JEAN GREY

The relationship between Jean and Logan has never been fully dwelwed into in the movies, though we know and see how much she means to him. It has been awesome to see the Famke Janssen Cameo in The Wolverine and I for one want more!

#04

IMAGE: Courtesy of Viasat; Marvel Comics

OMEGA RED

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Arkady Rossovich was a serial killer born in Russia. He was captured by the Interpol agent Sean Cassidy and turned over to the KGB, which wanted to experiment and attempt to create a super soldier similar to Captain America. Omega Red is the end result. He’s one of those not fully explained things from Wolverine’s past, but also a very, very dangerous villain. The Soviet government implanted a retractable carbonadium tentacle within each of Omega Red's arms. Carbonadium was the Soviets’ attempt to recreate the artificial alloy known as adamantium, as Carbonadium is a more malleable form of adamantium. He uses them as weapons and as grappling appendages. He is able to a wrap a victim in his coils to literally drain them of their "life" energy. Now who doesn’t want to see that?!

#03

RIVALRY WITH CYCLOPS

Though Cyclops got “unexpectedly” killed off in the third X-Men movie (which was fixed in Days of Future Past), in the comics there is a huge rivalry between Cyclops, the “natural born” leader of the X-Men and Wolverine, who does what he does best and doesn’t care much for “softies” like Cyclops or rules, for that matter. But the biggest

Now this is not really a spoiler, since all comic book characters tend to die and get resurrected (with or without explanation) at some point. But currently, in the Marvel universe, Wolverine is dead, which was portrayed in the 2014 storyline “Death of Wolverine”, if you want to read that. For the movie it would work perfectly, since Jackman, who is IMHO not replaceable, could exit and remain the only Wolverine. After that, Daken or X-23 or simply no one could take over.

Let’s face it – we don’t want anyone else except Jackman to be Wolverine and we don’t want to watch him until his man-tits are saggy. And being in eight movie so far is also kind of enough.

#01

THE COSTUME

Yes, you read it right, our top pick is the costume.

Didn’t we all cry FOUL when the first movie appeared and they were all wearing some black leather jackets and Cyclops was even joking with Wolverine, saying: “What were you expecting? YELLOW SPANDEX?” Yes, we were. Superheroes wear costumes. No one ever said it’s not ok for Superman and Batman or tried to show them without their costumes. But in the filmmakers’ defense: the black leather outfits were what the team was actually wearing in the comics at that time. Kind of. It was the time when Grant Morrison was running one of the X-books and he changed a lot in the appearance and tone of the book, so the movie went with it. But – the iconic yellow-and-black (or orange-and-black) costume is one of Wolverine-trademarks and should at least be included in the last movie. And in some way, it has already appeared in the last Wolverine movie – in an alternate ending scene, released as a bonus feature on DVD and BluRay, we see him opening a case with his new costume in it – THE costume! So yeah, there is still hope.

DOYOU YOU AGREE AGREE WITH DO WITH OURLIST? LIST? DO OUR DOYOU YOU HAVE SOME SOME OTHER HAVE OTHER THINGS/PEOPLE YOU THINGS/PEOPLE YOU WOULD TO WOULD LIKELIKE TO SEE IN MOVIE? THE MOVIE? INSEE THE LET LET US KNOW ON US KNOW ON FACEFACEBOOK PAGE! BOOK PAGE!

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BLODIG WE

28 OKTOBER – 01 NO

HALLOWEEN IS COMING WHERE YOU WILL BE THAT NIGHT? IF YOU LIVE IN COPENHAGEN, WE HAVE A SCARY GOOD 66 66

EEKEND

OVEMBER 2015 Blodig Weekend (Bloody Weekend) is Denmark's only genre film festival. One weekend a year, it gives the most intense, surprising, scary, amazing, crazy and surprising film experiences at Cinemateket in Copenhagen.

The festival was founded in 2012.

It offers film on Danish, but also international guests and films.

As well as a wide presentation of genre films from all over the world, Blodig Weekend every year has a unique collectors market, where sellers from all over the country gather to sell and exchange all kinds of movie memorabilia.

From the very beginning the festival had guests from all over the world. Among those are Troma founder and director Lloyd Kaufman, directors Ruggero Deodato, Lamberto Bava, Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury, Olivier Beguin, Christian E. Christiansen and Ole Bornedal.

BLODIG WEEKEND EVERY YEAR HAS A UNIQUE COLLECTORS MARKET, WHERE SELLERS FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY GATHER TO SELL AND EXCHANGE ALL KINDS OF MOVIE MEMORABILIA.

ATTENTION! For more information about Blodig Weekend, please visit: www.blodigweekend.dk

#DoNotSkip DANISH PAGES

October 30 Dave Matthews Band @ 20:00 Ny Carlsberg Vej 91, Copenhagen Denmark WHAT: October 30 Spectre 007 @ different times Biografpremiere, Copenhagen Denmark WHAT:

October 31 Halloween 2015 @ 21:00 Culture Box, Copenhagen, Denmark WHAT: November 07 Danish Music Awards @ 20:00 Forum Copengahen, Copenhagen Denmark WHAT:

November 16 Madonna Rebel Heart Tour @ 20:00 Jyske Bank BOXEN, Herning Denmark WHAT:

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FREDRIKSTAD ANIMATI 12 – 15 NOVEMBER THIS FESTIVAL IS THE OLDEST AND LARGEST OF ITS KIND IN THE NORDIC REGION, DATING BACK TO 1994 AND THE FESTIVAL ANIMERTE DAGER IN OSLO, NORWAY.

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ION FESTIVAL ER 2015

T

he annual festival now takes place each November in the town of Fredrikstad, outside Oslo. One of the cornerstones of the festival is the Nordic-Baltic animated short film competition, with the awarding of the prize known as the Golden Gunnar. Fredrikstad Animation Festival is also one of the nine animation film festivals that nominate films for the prestigious European animation award Cartoon d’Or. The festival is a professional arena for the animation industry as well as being an important event for students of and educational institutions within animation, graphic design and digital media production. Each year, top animation industry professionals hold seminars and lectures, and the festival has previously hosted guests from famous studios such as Pixar, Disney and Aardman.

ATTENTION!

For more information about Fredrikstad Animation Festival, please visit: http://animationfestival.no/

#DoNotSkip NORWAY PAGES

October 27 – November 01 Oslo World Music Festival @ different times Different locations, Oslo, Norway WHAT:

October 28 Da Vinci’s Demons @ 21.55 Season 3 premiere, Fox, Norway WHAT:

October 29 American Horror Story @ 21.55 Season Hotel premiere, Fox, Norway WHAT:

October 31 The Prodigy @ 19:30 Spektrum, Oslo, Norway WHAT:

November 18 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 @ different times Norgespremiere, Oslo, Norway WHAT:

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COMIC COM GAMEX S

30 OCTOBER – 1 NOVE

IF YOU HAVEN'T DONE IT SO FAR, THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE TO PACK YOUR BACKPACK AND BUY A TICKET TO SWEDEN – COMIC CON GAMEX STOCKHOLM IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER!

So what can you see in those three days dedicated solely to popculture and geeks? We got exciting announcements for you!

ATTENTION!

IMAGE: Courtesy of Comic Con Malmö

For more information about Comic Com Gamex Stockholm, please visit: http://www.mcmcomiccon.com/stockholm

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• "Vikings" star Clive Standen will attend Q&A panels, as well as sign autographs and offer photo opportunities in the “Talent Signing” area.

STOCKHOLM

EMBER 2015 • Meet Game of Thrones actors Ian Beattie and Ian McElhinney, who will participate in Q&A panels, signings and photo shoots.

• World renowned cosplayer Yaya Han will attend Q&A panels, signings and photo shoots, and is one of the judges of the World Cosplay Summit.

• Meet & greet with several popular YouTubers like Clary Henry, Tejbz and JustWantToBeCool.

• Experience the DC Comics booth and meet DC Comics cartoonist Bob Layton.

• See one of the world’s most famous voice actors Maile Flanagan, known among other things for voicing the character Mother Aardvark in Ice Age.

by Complete) and the Cosplay Championship 2017 • Test upcoming games such as Star Wars Battlefront, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Dark Souls 3, The Division, Hitman, Deus Ex. • Meet Arild Midthun, the Nordic region's leading and most prolific Donald Duck cartoonist.

• Q&A at the Royal Fury panel with several of the actors and the producer Linus Andersson.

• Artist Alley, with over 30 individual creators in comics and fantasy.

• Comic Village with over 10 series by publishers such as Egmont Publishing, Bonnier Carlsen, Apart Publishers, and others.

• Game Developer Area with over • Meet Dan Pinchbeck, creative 14 Swedish gaming companies. director and founder of the British game studio The Chinese Room. •Ask a knowledgeable staff about The Chinese Room is the studio the phenomenon of e-sports in behind, among other things, the E-sports zone. In a Super Mega innovative and praised game Viewing Party, the visitor can get “Dear Esther”. Dan talks about the answers on how computer games process behind his latest game are actually made, watch pro “Everybody's Gone to the Rap- matches and compete for great ture“ that was released in August prizes in daily tournaments such on the PS4. as Guitar Hero Live and HeartATTENTION! stone.

• Qualifying rounds for the World Cosplay Summit 2016 (sponsored

#DoNotSkip SWEDEN PAGES

September 25 – November 01 Lights in Alingsås @ all day Different locations, Alingsås, Sweden WHAT:

October 29 Bröderna Lindgren @ 20:00 Orionteatern, Stockholm, Sweden WHAT:

November 07 The Dance of Death @ 19:00 Biograf Spegeln, Salon A, Malmö, Sweden WHAT:

November 20 S.A.R.S. @ 21:00 Cultural Centre, Malmö, Sweden WHAT:

November 21 – December 23 Christmas Market @ 11:00 – 18:00 Old Town, Stockholm, Sweden WHAT:

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IMAGE: Instagram

SCANDINAVIAN MODELS

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THEY ARE STUNNING AND & YOU NEED TO SEE THEM!

Nobody understands exactly how, but it seems that the Scandinavian countries found the magical wand and are not afraid to use it - as a result, Denmark, Sweden and Norwegen gave us some of the most beautiful women in the world. They don't mind the cold - and neither will you when you see them. Prepare to be speechless, and when you clear your mind again, go straight to Instagram and follow the profiles of these ladies.

ELSA HOSK Born: November 7, 1988, Stockholm, Sweden Height: 1.77 m Nationality: Swedish Instagram followers: 1.6m Elsa Anna Sofie Hosk is a Swedish model and currently a Victoria's Secret Angel, who has worked for a number of leading brands including Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Free People, Ungaro, H&M, Lilly Pulitzer and Guess.

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NINA AGDAL IMAGE: Instagram

Born: March 26, 1992, Denmark Height: 1.76 m Nationality: Danish Instagram followers: 958k

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Nina Agdal is a Danish model. She is one of three models that were featured on the cover of the 2014 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.

FREJA BEHA ERICHSEN Born: October 18, 1987, Roskilde, Denmark Height: 1.78 m Nationality: Danish Instagram followers: 12.4k Freja Beha Erichsen, also known as Freja Beha, is a Danish model. Dubbed as the "Queen of Cool", she is known for her androgynous look and for being one of the muses of Karl Lagerfeld.

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FRIDA AASEN IMAGE: Instagram

Born: December 5, 1994, Kristiansand, Norway Height: 1.76 m Nationality: Norwegian Instagram followers: 49.7k

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Frida Aasen is a Norwegian fashion model born on 5 December 1994 at Kristiansand.

MINI ANDÉN Born: June 7, 1978, Stockholm, Sweden Height: 1.78 m Nationality: Swedish Instagram followers: 26.5k Susanna "Mini" AndÊn is a Swedish model, actress, occasional TV-host and producer. She was born in Stockholm and began modeling at the age of ten, joining Elite Model Management when she was fifteen.

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#RATEthis by: Danilo O. danilo_o@popculture.dk

IMAGE: Courtesy of TV2

HUMANS 78 78

WE RE-VISIT SOME CLICHÉS BECAUSE THEY’RE SIMPLY GOOD.

WHAT CAN WE EXPECT, WHEN INTO AN ALREADY UNSTABLE MARRIAGE A VERY ATTRACTIVE, VERY BEAUTIFUL ROBOT-ESS (ANDROID-ESS?) IS INTRODUCED, WHICH DOES EVERYTHING YOU DESIRE? AND IT CAN COOK!

DO SYNTHS DREAM OF SYNTH-SHEEP? What Humans more or less successfully tries to do is to give answers to that and a load of other questions. The idea isn’t too original – it´s actually one of the more popular ideas among small and great writers of science-fiction. Robots, human nature, humanity and artificial intelligence have been very fruitful landscape for stories in the last century. The best known author is Asimov, of course, after whom the laws of robotics were named. The theme got treatments by Arthur Clarke, Dan Simmons, Robert Heinlein, William Gibson, Philipp K. Dick, Douglas Adams and many more.

years, movies and TV haven’t had that luck. Beginning with Spielberg’s Artificial Intelligence, the last two parts of the Matrix trilogy, Total Recall 2070 (not the movie, but the Canadian TV-show), to this years Chappie, filmmakers and showrunners haven’t really mastered the topic. Either it wasn’t very deep or they were preoccupied with philosophy and boring the audience.

Luckily, Interstellar and Ex Machina are there to save the day. And we can be free to add Humans to that, a co-production of the British Channel 4 and American AMC, which, though not original, has probably made a more faithful and convincWhen we think of written works, our memories ing approach to the theme, where far stronger are mostly pleasant. But in the last 20-something and more experienced players failed.

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IMAGE: Courtesy of TV2

ORIGINAL? HUMANS FALLS NEATLY INTO LINE WITH THE STORIES OF SEXROBOTS WHICH ARE COMMONPLACE LATELY AND BROUGHT US TONS OF ARTICLES ABOUT HOW IN 20 YEARS WE’RE GOING TO HAVE SEX WITH MACHINES.

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hen I say “not original”, I don’t only mean the theme which has been worked over a hundred times, but the fact that the Anglo-American Humans is actually a remake of the Swedish Äkta människor or “Real humans”. The show’s creator, Lars Lundström, wasn’t too excited about announcements of the remake, but forcing audiences in Britain and the US to read subtitles is all but heresy.

finish product on paper or screen would be something similar to masturbation. They would get lost in big ideas and neglect basic elements like characters or plot. That’s why stories which only grazed the theme (like the already mentioned Interstellar) or where it was part of a much bigger plot (likein Battlestar Galactica, for instance) have made a much better impression.

Humans was smart to steer away from such traps, by concentrating on the purely human aspects of the Concerning androids and artificial story and the influence the removintelligence, authors often had the ing of barriers between humans and syndrome of an (overly) smart writ- machines has on a common, albeit er. Directors and screenwriters saw a little bit dysfunctional family. The these themes as a field in which they show doesn’t waste time by giving could show the broadness of their big answers about the consequencintellectual capacities and often the es for humankind or about the hu-

man nature. It only looks at how normal people behave in the light of the fact that a machine has its own thoughts, wishes and emotions. And that’s why Humans, in comparison to the aforementioned attempts (or failures), has soul. You get attached to the family and follow their every step. There is no theatricality, idealism or raw realism, only sincere drama.

And that’s strange, because if we disassemble the show, we have many clichés. There’s the absent mother, the clumsy father, the moody teenage daughter and the horny teenager son. The story is also well known: a genius scientist pushes the barriers of robotics and breaks the laws to save his son. Later on that same scientist condemns his own creation. The common man has no place in the new world of hi-tech, purists vs. technocrats, androids with freedom ideals, matrix-like ideas of humans and consciousness and other clichés we already encountered in other movies and shows.

And all that could have turned out hard to digest and boring, had the show taken some other turn.

Luckily, it has not – as I said, it doesn’t focus on abstract of ephemeral elements, but on characters. Laura, Toby, Matilda, Mia, Leo, Niska aren’t perfect, but they’re far from the cardboard cutouts we so often see onscreen. We get attached to them incredibly easy, which is a task not easily completed in only eight episodes. My favorite was George, but that is probably thanks to the brilliant William Hurt.

There are themes which can be expected in such a show, like paranoia, humanity, conscience and above all family. In a world where millions of androids help people in everyday tasks and corporations have high security authorizations, this is first and foremost a family drama which explores what makes a family and what kinds of connections exist within a family.

And no, I don’t mean only a human family.

THERE ARE NO SHAMELESS CLIFFHANGERS AT THE END OF SEASON 1. THAT’S WHY WE CAN PEACEFULLY WAIT FOR 2016 AND ANOTHER 8 EPISODES. 81 81

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IMAGE: Courtesy of TV2

Just so no one says I had no objections‌ I always wondered why androids in every movie/show of this kind have the strength of dozens of men. They pull out doors off their hinges, they break necks with one hand etc.

I understand that they have to be in good shape to be able to save a human life if needed, but if you ask me, making them that strong is just like poking a bear. Or asking for a robot apocalypse;

ATTENTION! Watch Humans in Norway on TV 2, every Tuesday at 23:15.

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SPLITTING HAIRS 1. A good part of the plot in the first part of the season relies on the characters overhearing the (private) conversations of other people; 2. Why are there physical androids in call-centers?

It would be cheaper if their programs were on a server from where the calls would be answered.

Waste of money, if you ask me.

3. Does the greatest invention of humankind (the code that unlocks the consciousness in the machines) have to be kept in a closet under a pile of sweaters? I have to admit that Laura didn’t show best reason in that regard. There are far better places to hide an external HDD. 4. There is sex in the show, but no nudity like in the Swedish original. Therefore Sweden vs. England 1:0

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#RATEthis by: Danilo O.

IMAGE: Courtesy of Fox Norway

danilo_o@popculture.dk

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JUST WHEN YOU THINK EVERYTHING WILL GO WITHOUT MUCH OF A PROBLEM (A DEATH HERE AND THERE), SOMEONE GETS THE GREAT IDEA TO TAKE A BIG DUMP ON THEIR EFFORTS, SOUND THE BULLHORN AND INVITE ALL THE ZOMBIES TO ALEXANDRIA'S DOORSTEP.

THE WALKING DEAD THEY'RE BACK SOME TIME HAS PASSED SINCE WE LAST SAW RICK AND THE GANG. HE WAS DRENCHED IN CURDLED BLOOD, DEANNA’S HUSBAND WAS LYING DEAD IN THE GRASS AND THE BEWILDERED MORGAN ENDED HIS SOLITUDE AFTER LOTS OF WANDERING AROUND. Since then, the situation settled a bit. Everybody calmed down, accepted their destiny or continued to make plans and look for traitors or followers on every corner. Rick, Daryl, Michonne and the rest are far from the most popular members of Alexandria’s ever growing community. They’re outsiders, usurpers who only brought trouble.

On the other hand, Rick thinks that the citizens of Alexandria are spoiled, isolated and unable to survive in the new world. They have spent their time behind walls and haven’t felt even a tiny bit of the anguish and trouble that his group encountered on their way from Atlanta...

The Alexandrian’s confirm that without fail every time they encounter a bunch of walkers. They're befuddled, they scream for help, panic and look for a safe place. If the situation were differend, they'd be fodder for the zombie apocalypse.

They managed to survive by sheer accident.

AMIDST THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE, SASHA DRIVES WITH ALL FOUR BLINKERS ON. JUST SAYIN’…

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FROM THE BEGINNING It’s nice to see familiar faces again. They're relatively unchanged, so that we can conclude that in the mean time not much has happened (except some benign mutiny attempts etc.). The group functions like a precise clock. Rick leads, Glenn and Abraham manage and Michonne and Daryl are the silent executors. Carol is a sneak, still playing the desperate housewife.

There are some new faces, too… but let’s wait and see first if they’ll survive the first few episodes.

By the way, where’s Carl?

A QUARRY EX MACHINE A bit out of nowhere (hence the title) we have a quarry full of walkers. The landscape served as a funnel and directed all the zombies towards the old rock quarry, which is by now pretty much full. That’s a bit of a thin explanation why Alexandria hasn’t had too many problems with walkers so far, but – other than with other TV-shows – this is a tiny bit where we have to suspend disbelief.

IMAGE: Courtesy of Fox Norway

and MORE...

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#1 Glenn is a good guy. Totally. Unspoiled, benevolent, noble, is not a pussy, has a hot girlfriend… and I’m 90 % sure he’ll die this season? #2 Amidst the zombie apocalypse, Sasha drives with all four blinkers on.

Just sayin’…

The group takes it upon itself to direct several thousand walkers away from their settlement. With the well known fatalism and determination, the protagonists do that while the episode, via flashbacks, informs us about everything important that we’ve missed since last season ended (the burial of the bodies, the anguish of Father Gabriel, Rick’s disturbed relationship with Jessie, who’s husband he has killed, by the way, Deanna’s nervous half-breakdown, the return of the new-old group, etc.)

At the end, in true TWD style, just when you think everything will go without much of a problem (a death here and there), someone gets the great idea to take a big dump on their efforts, sound the bullhorn and invite all the zombies to Alexandria's doorstep.

Who?! Why?!

Cliffhanger! See you in a week…

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IMAGE: Courtesy of Fox.com

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LAST SEASON WE MET THE PENGUIN, RIDDLER, CATWOMAN AND OTHER CREATURE OF THE NIGHT WHICH HIDE IN THE SHADOWS OF GOTHAM CITY – BUT IT WAS SEASON TWO THAT BROUGHT US VILLAINS WE TRULY LOVE.

Jerome was the Joker. Jerome was not the Joker.

Have the showrunners let us believe that on purpose? Very probably. Was that a great move on their part? Absolutely.

If you survived season 1 of Gotham and decided to travel further with it, though in the beginning it was a bit slow, sleepy and lukewarm, this fall brings you a prize for your patience – Gotham City starts looking like a place that needs Batman. To be frank, Batman wouldn’t be out of place even now, but considering all the efforts by young James Gordon, this city can make it a few more years and wait for little Bruce Wayne to grow into the Dark Knight costume.

Fish Mooney, the seductive and cruel mistress of the underground of the city no one wants to live in anymore, is definitely part of the show’s past.

Though Mrs. Smith, who played the role, was more than impressive in it, it seems that killing her character off at the end of season 1 was one of the best decisions the writers could have made.

Though funny and layered, this character drew too much energy just for herself and it seemed there wasn’t enough space to develop other villains.

Take for instance the perfectly deviant Edward Nygma, whose every appearance in season 2 so far has been a great promise of the madness to come. On the other hand

has Oswald Cobblepot, the future Penguin, as everyone already knows, given his maximum?

One would say no, though it’s not bad to have him less onscreen in the first few episodes of season 2, just so the audience starts missing him.

Just so this doesn’t turn out to be a story about villains, one should point out: Morena Baccarin is the new jewel of Gotham City. The beautiful and unbelievably talented actress plays the caring Leslie Thompkins, who is full of understanding, and the new love of James Gordon (the brilliant Ben McKenzie). Detective Gordon has many reasons to lick his wounds this season, but also to push forward with ire and head-first through the moldy walls of Gotham. It seems that the team behind the show was willing to listen to the fans’ objections on Gordon’s character in season 1 and now we have something that is much more of

what we expect fro this detective, who one day has to be Batman’s ally in the law enforcement ranks.

Thumbs up for the production team that was able to learn from their own mistakes and a warm recommendation for you to enjoy the panorama-view of Gotham City, if you haven’t already started it.

and MORE...

A FEMALE JOKER IS A POSSIBILITY! Asked about Jerome’s death in episode 3 of season 2, showrunner Bruno Heller said he doesn’t rule out the possibility for Barbara Kean herself to become the Joker one day. In the end, it’s clear, that the Joker will be someone who’s inspired by Jerome’s “work”, and since he and Barbara were co-workers in the management of the madness we witnessed... anything goes.

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WARM UP THE WINTER Y ou’ve waited for the sequel to the Millennium trilogy, and you got it. Has David Lagercrantz done a job worthy of Stieg Larsson’s work? The opinions differ, but one thing is sure: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and the sequels are not the only Scandinavian thriller novels that will speed up your circulation while it’s raining or snowing outside. Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland are obviously fruitful land for great thrillers – no matter if it’s just one book or a whole series.

Here are five authors we think you should definitely check out!

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HENNING MANKELL

Born: February 3, 1948, Stockholm, Sweden Died: October 5, 2015, Gothenburg, Sweden Henning Georg Mankell was a Swedish crime writer, children's author, and dramatist, best known for a series of mystery novels starring his most noted creation, Inspector Kurt Wallander. He was also a social critic and activist.

Book to start with: Faceless Killers

JO NESBØ

CAMILLA LACKBERG

Born: March 29, 1960, Oslo, Norway Jo Nesbø is a Norwegian author and musician. As of March 2014 more than 3 million copies of his novels have been sold in Norway, and his work has been translated into over 40 languages, selling 23 million copies.

Book to start with: The Bat

Born: August 30, 1974, Fjällbacka, Sweden Jean Edith Camilla Läckberg Eriksson is a Swedish crime writer. Her work has been translated into 33 languages. Already being hailed by many as the Swedish Agatha Christie.

Book to start with: The Ice Princess

ASA LARSSON

Born: June 28, 1966, Uppsala, Sweden Åsa Larsson is a Swedish crime-writer.

Although born in Uppsala, she was raised in Kiruna in the far north. Prior to becoming a full-time writer, Larsson was a tax lawyer, a profession she shares with the heroine of her novels, Rebecka Martinsson.

Book to start with: The Savage Altar

PETER HØEG

Born: May 17, 1957, Copenhagen, Denmark Peter Høeg is a Danish writer of fiction. He was sensation when he was published in the U.S. His strong female protagonist, Smilla Jaspersen–half Danish, half Greenlander— charmed readers. It was most likely the first Danish mystery author that Americans read.

Book to start with: Smilla’s Sense of Snow

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#BackAndFourth by: Miljan T.

IMAGE: Courtesy of Viasat

mailjan_t@popculture.dk

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THE FUTURE IS NOW

30 ANNIVERSARY OF BACK TO THE FUTURE TH

THERE IS PROBABLY NO ONE – AT LEAST NO ONE WHO LIKES SCIENCE-FICTION – WHO HASN’T SEEN BACK TO THE FUTURE. THERE’S PROBABLY NO ONE WHO HASN’T HEARD OF BACK TO THE FUTURE. CAN YOU IMAGINE THE LAST 30 YEARS WITHOUT THOSE MOVIES? YOU SEE, IT COULD HAVE EASILY HAPPENED THAT THEY NEVER GOT MADE. THE TRILOGY IS NOW ONE OF THE BEST KNOWN IN MOVIE HISTORY, BUT IN THE BEGINNING, NOT MANY PEOPLE BELIEVED IN IT. OR THE FIRST MOVIE. OR THE IDEA OF SUCH A MOVIE ITSELF.

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he first years in the film industry brought nothing but trouble for director Robert Zemeckis. His movies I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1979) and Used Cars (1980) flopped, as well as 1941 (1979) by Steven Spielberg, where Zemeckis worked on the script. He needed a hit. With colleague Bob Gale he started writing a script for Columbia Pictures in September 1980, about time travel. When the script was finished in

February 1981, Columbia wasn’t interested anymore – the story way “fine and sweet” but lacked sex, and remember, that was a time when the whole “sex sells” boom in movies got rolling.

Zemeckis also wanted to change the script – instead of the refrigerator, which was originally planned to be the time-machine, he wanted something more impressive, more appealing to the youngsters… a sports car, the DeLorean DMC-12.

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ut alas, even with the script changes, over 40 studios rejected the movie, despite Spielberg’s support. Then 1982 the tide turned – Spielberg had a huge hit with E. T. and opened his own production company – Amblin Entertainment. Zemeckis knocked on his door in 1984 with the Back to the Future script in hand and Spielberg greenlighted it immediately. Zemeckis started filming enthusiastically in November that same year, with the release scheduled for the following summer, but the production came to a halt only five weeks into shooting. Michael J. Fox, the face that first comes to mind when you think of time travel, was the first choice to play Marty McFly, but had to decline because of scheduling conflicts with his TV-show Family Ties.

Since the production had to go on, young Eric Stoltz was cast, who despite his terrific acting abilities (which have been proven by his great career) didn’t portray Marty in a way Zemeckis or Spielberg had imagined. The humor Zemeckis saw in Fox was simply missing in Stoltz’ performance. When it was finally decided that they would have to let Stoltz go, again they approached Fox. An agreement was made, and a schedule was planned out so that he can make both the movie and the show, though that meant – as Fox would later say in many interviews – that in the following weeks he wouldn’t sleep much. Luckily, that didn’t affect his performance in the movie – or the show, for that matter. The second problem was the composer – Zemeckis chose the until then not very experienced Alan Silvestri, which Spielberg opposed until he heard the first pieces Silvestri wrote for the movie. After that, he didn’t object anymore. And since with the involvement of Fox the tone of the movie changed to a more comedic one, the music had to be adjusted, too. Can you imagine Back to the Future without that iconic brass theme?

Everything that followed is movie history.

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oday, 30 years later, everyone who has worked on the franchise agrees that they didn’t expect it to be that big. The movie is as fresh today as it was three decades ago, and even the special effects don’t look too shabby (just remember that Geroge Lucas has “renovated” the effects in the original Star Wars

movies 20 years after their release, while something similar isn’t needed here) – one of the reasons for that is that there aren’t that many special effects, at least not in the first movie. The main story revolves around timeless themes of friendship, love, family, and one of the best ingredients is the fantastic chemistry between the actors – the non-preten-

THE SECOND MOVIE IS ONE OF THE BEST EXAMPLES OF PRODUCT PLACEMENT IN SUCH A BIG SCALE – FROM JAWS 19 TO THE PEPSI PERFECT BOTTLE

CAN YOU IMAGINE BACK TO THE FUTURE WITHOUT THAT ICONIC BRASS THEME?

tious humor and warmth between Christopher Lloyd (Doc Emmett Brown) and Michael J. Fox (Marty McFly), as well as the uneasy sexual tension between Fox and Lea Thompson (Lorraine McFly) – after all, they’re mother and son, though in that moment the same age. But Zemeckis treats all that with an ease

Marty and Doc arrive in Back to the Future II. In the last months of 2014, fans shared screenshots from the movie on social networks, giving everyone friendly reminders how we’re supposed to dress in a few months. And not only that, the second movie is one of the best examples of product placement in such a big scale – from Jaws 19 to the Pepsi perfect bottle, and don’t forget the “hoverboard” by Mattel (best known for Barbie), the Nike-shoes with power laces or the Pizza Hut mini-pizzas, which you put into a “hydrator” for a short time and

then they’re big and juicy.

Many of that still doesn’t exist (but remember how in 1990 you yourself imagined 2015 will be), although Nike’s designer Tinker Hatfield, who designed the shoes for the sequel, announced that this year Nike will bring the shoes out on the market… and we’re still waiting. The producers of the movie had audiences fooled when they made a commercial for the hoverboard, but they soon debunked it as a joke. Pepsi has announced it will put out a limited edition of the Pepsi perfect bottle – only 6500 bottles.

and nostalgia atmosphere so that nothing is awkward and even today we can watch the movie with the same feel, without feeling that it’s alienating or old.

In addition to the 30th anniversary of the first movie, 2015 is very significant to the franchise because it’s the year in the future where

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#BackAndFourth

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AND THEN THERE WAS THE BACK TO THE FUTURE IN CONCERT. IT PREMIERED ON SATURDAY, MAY 30, 2015 AT THE LUCERNE CULTURE AND CONGRESS CENTRE, SWITZERLAND

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he 30th anniversary has been (and is still being) celebrated in various ways – several books this year, new merchandise in the official online shop, to “Secret Cinema” showings of the movie.

The UK company plans movie experiences where you not only see a movie, you live it. For example, when UK fans went to see Back to the Future they did so in a full recreation of Hill Valley. Dozens of working stores, the school, the clock tower and 74 actors made the movie itself almost a secondary thing. And then there was the Back to the Future in Concert. It premiered on Saturday, May 30, 2015 at the Lucerne Culture and Congress Centre, Switzerland before being taken on a tour of major concert venues around the world in celebration of the 30th anniversary. Audiences attending the performances were shown a special screening of Back to the Future with a live orchestral accompaniment. The original score was adapted for live concert performance and played in sync with the picture, with an additional 15 minutes of new score composed exclusively by Alan Silvestri featuring throughout parts of the movie which weren’t originally accompanied by any music. The world premiere was performed by the 21st Century

Symphony Orchestra (which kind of invented the whole thing, with live performances to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Pirates of the Caribbean or Stark Trek) conducted by David Newman. Alan Silvestri was in attendance and joined the orchestra on stage following a standing ovation and sustained applause after the end credits. I was fortunate to be there at the world premiere (even got a picture with Alan Silvestri!) and I can only tell you – whenever you get the chance to see a movie in concert like that, you must not skip it. I guarantee you’ll pinch yourself the whole time, not believing something like that is even possible.

On October 21st Universal released the whole trilogy (in some markets only the first or first two movies) to the cinemas, as both a celebration of the first movie and the day when Marty and Doc arrive in the future in the second movie.

AS OF OCTOBER 21ST, THE BACK TO THE FUTURE MOVIES ARE ENTIRELY ABOUT THE PAST.

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KISS ME TENDER T

IMAGE: Courtesy of Viasat, IMDB

hey say a kiss is the most beautiful meeting of two persons in the world. When it's recorded on film, it gets contours of perfection. It becomes something you can't see in real life, only in movies. How many movies did the ladies only watch, excitedly waiting for „that meeting“ between him and her... Recorded for eternity in countless movies – from silent movies up till today, from shy kisses, only a graze, a stolen kiss, soft, sinful, redemptive, forgiving, passionate… and those “real” kisses we call “movie kisses”.

The first onscreen-kiss in movie history was the one recorded in 1896 in the short The Kiss, with a runtime under 30 seconds, starring John Rice and May Irwin. This was quite a revolution in the art of film and though it has been over a century since this short was recorded, the “strongest seal of love”, as Shakespeare defined the act of kissing, hasn’t lost anything of its magic and it still fascinates human-

kind – the greatest movie directors of our time still compete in the art of filming the most beautiful and exciting movie kiss, despite the fact that it seems that the cinematography of the 21st century, as well as the global culture as a whole, have removed the kiss from its throne in romantic and erotic communication. We bring you our top 10 of the most beautiful movie kisses.

1. GONE WITH THE WIND 2. BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S “You need kissing, badly”, said Rhett Butler to Scarlett O’Hara in the legendary movie from 1939. “You should be kissed and often, and by someone who knows how.”

Later in the movie, when he asked her to marry him, Rhett proved to be exactly that someone.

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Truman Capote, whose novella was adapted in the now legendary 1961 movie, didn’t quite like the result, because it wasn’t intended to be a love story. The audiences on the other side were and remain delighted, especially with the last scene, where Holly and Paul (Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard) make a rainy day in New York City seem more romantic than a purple sunset.

3. TITANIC Director James Cameron originally wanted someone like Audrey Hepburn to be the female lead in Titanic, while Leonardo DiCaprio almost rejected the role which marked his career so far. The sinking of the ship remained in the background of the love story of Jack and Rose, though DiCaprio later on commented on how filming the kissing scenes with Kate Winslet felt like “kissing a cousin”. On the big screen, it didn’t look like that at all.

5. LADY AND THE TRAMP She was a real lady and he was a rampant and rebellious stray, which you just had to love. When these two cute dogs met in the middle of a long spaghetti, we knew right then it’s love for the ages.

4. ROMAN HOLIDAY The great Audrey Hepburn proved again to be the mistress of film kisses – in the cult movie Roman Holiday. Aside from the Oscar she got for her role, she also got a few unforgettable onscreen kisses from co-star Gregory Peck.

6. BASIC INSTINCT Basic instinct could prove that not only the old generation of moviemakers and actors, from a time before explicit sex scenes had made their way onto the big screen, dominates the art of making celluloid kisses. Sharon Stone and Michael Douglas have shown us all the passion of the movie kiss in their fierce embrace.

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7. THE NOTEBOOK

IMAGE: Courtesy of Viasat, IMDB

Noah (Ryan Gosling) and Allie (Rachel McAdams) stand next to a river while it’s pouring and start a fight about letters. Alle, sad and angry, tells him that it’s too late for them. Noah answers that their story isn’t over and kisses her passionately.

8. CRUEL INTENTIONS The meeting between Annette (Reese Witherspoon) and Sebastian (Ryan Philippe) at the top of a staircase ends with a kiss sparkling with emotion and importance. She had told him, staring into his eyes, that she’s impressed by him, to which he answered with a romantic kiss, telling her how madly in love he is with her.

9. SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE 10. BRIEF ENCOUNTER This Academy Award Winner for Best Picture from 1998 isn’t historically the most accurate movie, but it was interesting to see (and imagine) how Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet because of his love for the daughter of a merchant. At the end, the lovers had to part ways, but not before Gwyneth Paltrow and Joseph Fiennes had their passionate kiss.

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That a kiss is in fact the most beautiful encounter in the world has been proven by the great onscreen-lovers Sophia Loren and Richard Burton. With their long and passionate kiss they enchanted the world and marked their careers.

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