Stellan Skarsgaard & Dave Bautista Interview: Dune

The latest adaptation of Frank Herbert's Dune is making its way to the screen on October 22 when the film premieres in theaters and on HBO Max. The film features an incredible cast and epic science fiction story with warring factions, alien races, and political scheming. Including in this cast are Stellan Skarsgård as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, the leader of House Harkonnen and enemy of Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac), and his nephew, Glossu Rabban played by Dave Bautista. Screen Rant spoke to Skarsgård and Bautista about bringing Dune to life. Screen Rant: I'm curious what the biggest hook was for you in stepping into this world. Was it something about the character, was it a new challenge, or was it just a chance to work with director Denis Villeneuve? Dave Bautista: For me, it was Denis. I really pursued this, because I was tracking Dune. I kept asking my agent, "When auditions would become available? When are they going to release these roles?"  But I never hit up Denis personally, because I didn't want to be that guy. I didn't want to try to capitalize on our friendship, so I just waited and waited and waited - and finally, I got a phone call from him, and he offered me the role. I almost broke down; I was so emotional about it. Still, it's like, "Wow, this is crazy that I'm even here." Stellan Skarsgård: For me, it was Denis as well. I admired him for so many years as a director and knew he would be wonderful to work with. Because I knew that he also was a very nice person. I don't want to work with geniuses that are assholes.  But then I read the script, and there was barely anything in it. I mean, there [were] a few small scenes and stuff, but I didn't care, I wanted to do it anyway. But then I got fascinated by the idea of creating this monster and trying to make him feel human physically. He moved me, not in a prosthetic way, but in a very direct physical way. You could feel that, in all that fat, there was a lot of muscles underneath and all that stuff; the sensuality in how he moves.  I'm really happy I did it because working with Denis is an experience any actor would think was absolutely fantastic.   This is obviously such a huge franchise, and there's another huge franchise that I'm a big fan of that Stellan is a part of. I don't know if you've heard, but ABBA released some new music. What do you need from me personally to make Mamma Mia! 3 happen?  Stellan Skarsgård: I wish I could say. It took 10 years between Mamma Mia! and Mamma Mia! 2 - if it's going to take another 10 years, then I'll be dead. I'm worried we might not get there. But if they call, I will say yes immediately, because the experience of doing those two films was fantastic. Dave Bautista: It's not going to be ten years. I guarantee you that people are on the phone; they've been anticipating this. And there is such a search for good entertainment, with all the new outlets that are constantly in search of media. I think there have been phone calls made, and Stellan will get a phone call when he gets home. Stellan Skarsgård: Yeah, and hopefully you'll be in it, Dave. We talked about that. I want to dance with David on an island in Greece.
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Radeon RX 6600 Vs. RX 6600 XT: Best AMD Budget Card To Buy

The Radeon RX 6600 and RX 6600 XT are two of AMD's most affordable PC gaming GPUs, but which one is ultimately worth buying? While top-of-the-line graphics cards are a lot of fun to talk about, the reality is that most people aren't buying them. The vast majority of gamers are relying on low and mid-range cards to power their rigs. They may not be capable of the best graphics or highest frame rates, but budget GPUs are getting better every year. Along with affordable options from Nvidia, AMD also understands the need for these types of GPUs. AMD launched the Radeon RX 6600 XT in July 2021. At the time, AMD was hailing it as its cheapest GPU launched during the year. A few months later in October, however, AMD one-upped itself with the even lower-priced RX 6600. Both graphics cards are compelling options for budget-minded gamers, but which is the best overall choice? Here's what you need to know. As the nearly identical names imply, the RX 6600 and RX 6600 XT are very similar graphics cards. Both are powered by the same Navi 23 chipset, albeit with a couple of tweaks mentioned below. Each card also has the same 32MB infinity cache and 8GB of GDDR6 RAM. At the end of the day, both cards should be able to run most games at 1080p with very high graphics enabled (and even max graphics in some cases). Looking a bit deeper, there are some clear advantages of the more expensive RX 6600 XT. The Navi 23 chip may be the same across both cards, but the RX 6600 XT delivers 32 compute units compared to the 28 of the RX 6600. It also has better clock speeds across the board, with the RX 6600 XT kicking out a 2359MHz game frequency and up to 2589MHz boost frequency. The RX 6600 clocks in at 2044MHz and up to 2491MHz, respectively. Gamers are also treated to faster RAM with the RX 6600 XT. It's capable of 16Gbps speeds and has a memory bandwidth of up to 256 GB/s, compared to 14Gbps and up to 224 GB/s on the RX 6600. What does all of this mean for real-world use? In general, AMD says to expect a difference between 10 and 15 percent for the two cards. Running in 1080p at max settings, AMD shows the RX 6600 XT achieving 83fps in Cyberpunk 2077 while the RX 6600 gets 70fps. Forza Horizon 4 pulls in 137fps on the RX 6600 XT, but moving to the RX 6600, it goes down to 120fps. In a newer title like Resident Evil Village, the RX 6600 XT has 176fps compared to 145fps for the RX 6600. And, of course, there's the price. At normal retail pricing, the RX 6600 XT costs $379 and the RX 6600 is a bit cheaper at $329. Based on the retail cost, it probably makes sense for most gamers to spend a little bit more for the RX 6600 XT. It has a more powerful chip, faster RAM, and delivers a better gaming experience across the board. On the off chance someone finds a unit in stock and priced as it should be, the RX 6600 XT is a fantastic little card. Source: AMD
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Marvel Never Asked Richard Madden To Go Blond (Or Change His Accent)

Marvel never asked actor Richard Madden to dye his hair blond or change his accent for his role in Eternals. Madden plays Ikaris, who has traditionally had blonde hair in his comic-book incarnation. Created by Jack Kirby in 1976, Ikaris is an Eternal, created by the Celestials thousands of years ago, gifted with superhuman abilities that are meant to protect and guide humanity. Ikaris' earliest appearance shows him with longish blonde locks and he is fitted with a blue-and-red costume with three circular-shaped designs on his chest. Eternals is directed by Academy Award Winner Chloé Zhao and stars Madden, Gemma Chan, Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Kumail Nanjiani, Lia McHugh, Lauren Ridloff, Ma Dong-seok, Bryan Tyree Henry, and Barry Keoghan. The film takes place in the MCU's Phase Four series of films, which ushers in a new era for the franchise universe, introducing a bevy of new characters, which began with last month's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Eternals will be the first live-action realization of the characters in the MCU. During the Eternals set visit in January 2020, Screen Rant and other venues were on-hand to talk to the filmmakers about the film, including producer Nate Moore, who gave some insight into the appearance of Ikaris in the film. In the live-action Eternals film, Ikaris is featured as a short-cropped brunette and sports a blue-and-gold costume, which similarly replicates the comics uniform minus the red trim. When asked if there was ever a time that they considered making actor Richard Madden go blond for the role in order to look more comics-accurate, Moore said that not only did they not ask him to dye his hair, but they also had him keep his accent, saying, "We did not ask him to go blonde. So he gets to keep essentially his natural hair and the Scottish accent which he was very excited about." Madden previously cut his teeth on projects like HBO's Game of Thrones, Bodyguard, and Rocketman. Also joining Madden in the film is fellow Game of Thrones star Kit Harington, who played Jon Snow on the show and is playing Dane Whitman in Eternals, a character who eventually becomes The Black Knight. Snow was the "half brother" of Madden's Robb Stark, so the two actors have a strong history together on the mega-popular show. It's unclear if either of them will share screentime in Eternals, but it's a reunion nonetheless from a casting perspective. Many comic-to-film adaptations change up appearances of characters and Ikaris is just another link in that chain. Ultimately, the blond hair feels less consequential to the character than the origin, powers, and performance, so it's easy to overlook that aspect that's lost in translation. Jack Kirby created a massive backstory for these characters, which is far more important than getting every color and hue lifted off the page and put on screen. With such a diverse and talented cast, Eternals is already primed to make a big splash at the box office and is sure to make these longtime comic characters household names, just as Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor did years ago.
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Kurt Busiek To Write New Arrowsmith, Astro City Comics For Image

Kurt Busiek is returning to Image Comics and bringing along his fan-favorite series Astro City and Arrowsmith. Fans can expect a new Arrowsmith miniseries beginning in January 2022 and an Astro City one-shot in March 2022 that introduces the new status quo of the upcoming series. Image also teased that the creator would be bringing more new comics such as Free Agents and another story in The Autumnlands series, as well as re-releasing some of his other popular titles. Busiek is well-known in the comic book industry not only for his creator-owned projects but also for his work at the Big Two, including Avengers, The Marvels, Superman, and JLA. Arguably his biggest creator-owned series is Astro City, a superhero comic book that began back in 1995 at Image Comics before going through several other publishers, including Image's partner studio Wildstorm before eventually ending up in the hands of DC Comics and Vertigo. The series paid tribute to many iconic superheroes, notably including homages to characters like Superman (The Samaritan) and the Fantastic Four (Furst Family) while also exploring struggles superheroes could face in the real world. Then there was his fantasy title Arrowsmith, which began as a miniseries back in 2003 under the Cliffhanger imprint of Wildstorm.  The title took place during World War II with not just guns but also magic. The official Image Comics press release expanded on a bunch of announcements related to Busiek's return to the publisher. First off, his Arrowsmith comic book returns with a six-issue miniseries called Arrowsmith: Behind Enemy Lines. It will begin in January 2022 and the original series, Arrowsmith: So Smart In Their Fine Uniforms, will be collected in hardcover for February 2022. The artist for the new miniseries will be Carlos Pacheco (Avengers Forever, Fantastic Four, Final Crisis).  In the new miniseries, Fletcher Arrowsmith will be behind enemy lines and a secret history will be unveiled. “Stepping back into this universe at long last, and writing these characters again feels like coming home, and visiting with old friends—admittedly, old friends we do dangerous, stressful things to in the name of adventure," Busiek said. "And the art, by Carlos, Rafael, and Jose, is just astounding. Arrowsmith fans have been very patient, but have never been shy about letting us know they want more—and I can’t wait for them to see both the new series and the re-mastered original in the kind of hardcover edition we think it deserves.” To kick off Astro City's return, Busiek will be joined by longtime Astro City collaborators Brent Anderson (Return of the Jedi), Alex Ross (Captain America/Iron Man), and Alex Sinclair (Harley Quinn), in a one-shot that will set up the new status quo for the upcoming series, meaning new characters and dangers will be revealed. Fans will also get to enjoyed brand-new collected editions that will allow them and newcomers to get ahold of the entire backlog of Astro City comics. “Alex, Brent, and I have been planning this for a long time—we’re introducing a teen-hero team, The Jayhawks (and more), in the special, and setting off a mystery as important to Astro City as what happened to the Silver Agent or the story of the Broken Man. Alex has designed a cornucopia of new characters, and Brent is going to town on the artwork. It’ll be a very fun ride—and yes, longtime readers, we will get to the story of the N-Forcer, I promise!" Kurt Busiek fans rejoice as there will be plenty of old and new titles of his to look forward to next year. In addition to the return of Arrowsmith in January 2022 and Astro City in March 2022, along with the back issues of those titles being bound in collected editions, several of his other titles will be re-released from Image Comics, with new ones on the horizon as well. SOURCE: Image Comics
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We're One Step Closer To Uncovering Secrets Of Ancient 'Centaur' Comets

Comets are a frequent and gorgeous occurrence in outer space, and a study recently outlined plans for how scientists could watch them be created in real-time. As it's been proven time and time again, the mysteries of space are continually fascinating. Planets in our Solar System have many stories to tell, faraway galaxies hold countless other secrets, and there's a constant drive in the science community to uncover as many of these as possible. Thanks to constantly advancing technology, each day brings us closer to answering previously unsolvable questions. In 2021 alone, there have been numerous milestones in the space exploration world. Perseverance collected the first Martian rock sample that'll be returned to Earth, InSight created the first interior map of Mars, and Ingenuity became the first helicopter to fly on an alien planet. In that context, it's almost unfathomable to think what we'll be able to achieve in 5, 10, or 50 years down the road. Thanks to a new study from the University of Chicago, researchers have now outlined plans for astronomers to follow the creation of a comet from start to finish. More specifically, the study describes how we could document comet creation that takes place in Jupiter's orbit. As described by the author of the paper, Darryl Seligman, "This would be an amazing opportunity to see a pristine comet 'turn on' for the first time." Comets and asteroids come from many places in our Solar System. There's a well-known asteroid belt near Mars, along with the Kuiper belt just beyond Neptune's orbit. One destination that's less understood is an area between Jupiter and Neptune. Between the two planets is a group of 'centaurs' — large chunks of ice that are from the Solar System's earliest days. Every now and then, these centaurs are pulled into Jupiter's orbit, shot off towards Earth, and transform into stunning comets hurtling through space. While this whole process remains relatively unknown, Seligman believes there's an easy way to document it. In short, humans could send a spacecraft to Jupiter and have it stay there in its orbit. Then, once a centaur enters orbit and eventually leaves, the spacecraft could also leave Jupiter and fly alongside the centaur to watch its entire journey. That may sound like a farfetched idea, but as the study explains, all of the required technology already exists. NASA's Juno orbiter is orbiting Jupiter at this very moment, and a Japanese spacecraft returned samples from an asteroid late last year. The timing also lines up. It only takes about five years to get a spacecraft from Earth to Jupiter's orbit. Scientists have already confirmed another centaur will enter Jupiter's orbit in 2063. On top of that, there's reason to believe another 10 centaurs could also enter orbit within the next 40 years. Along with the mission being technically possible, Seligman also uses the study to double down on why it's so important to act on. As he puts it, "It would yield a treasure trove of information about how comets move and why, how the solar system formed, and even how Earth-like planets form." It's unclear if/when a mission like this would actually happen, but here's to hoping someone at NASA (or another organization) is listening to what Seligman is saying. Source: Phys.org
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