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Pick Your Valentine: Operation Void Edge or Modern Warfare Battle Royale!
Happy Friday! This week’s Moot Points video focuses on two HUGE games right now: Rainbow Six Siege, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.
We look into Rainbow Six Siege’s upcoming Operation Void Edge, breaking down what we know, what we think we know, and what we will know very soon.
Next, we explore the upcoming battle royale game mode that we think will be coming to Modern Warfare very soon. WE’RE HYPED! Are you hyped?!
The Daily Moot: Pokimane Scholarship, Modern Warfare Battle Royale
1. Pokimane Esports Scholarship
Popular streamer Pokimane just donated $50,000 to the University of California, Irvine for the foundation of the Pokimane Scholarship for esports. UCI is one of the top esports colleges in the world, having won the League of Legends National Collegiate Championship in 2018. Pokimane’s donation is the first ever esports endowment for the school, which was the first public university to create an official esports program. This is a really awesome way for Pokimane to give back to the gaming community, hopefully we can see more esports personalities follow in her footsteps.
2. Modern Warfare Battle Royale
It looks like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare will be getting a Battle Royale mode in the near future. According to some recent leaks, the new game mode will be called “Warzone” and will feature solos, duos, and trios. Much to the delight of fans, Warzone is expected to include an Apex Legends-style ping system, as well as a revive system. Vehicles will also be prominent in the new game mode, with one leaked image showing ATVs, SUVs, helicopters, cargo trucks, and tactical rovers. Of course, these are all just leaks and anything could change by the time Warzone actually comes out. Are you excited for a new Call of Duty Battle Royale?
3. Half-Life: Alyx Release Date
The release date for Half-Life: Alyx has finally been confirmed! Half-Life: Alyx is easily one of the most anticipated games of the year, and it marks Valve’s first return to the fan-favorite franchise in over a decade. Earlier this year, Valve promised that the game would come out sometime in March, but amid all the recent delays fans were understandable wary of the guarantee. It turns out Valve was telling the truth; Half-Life: Alyx will launch on March 23.
4. Untitled Goose Game Wins GOTY
Untitled Goose Game just won Game of the Year at the 23rd Annual DICE Awards. The passion project indie game managed to come out on top of a stacked field, which included games like Death Stranding, Control, and Outer Wilds. Untitled Goose Game seemed to come out of nowhere last year but it really took the world by storm. Players flocked to wreak havoc on a small English village, using their goose powers in clever and creative ways. While all of the nominees are great games in their own right, it’s pretty cool to see a small indie game like Untitled Goose Game win a major award like this.
P.S. Check out the latest edition of Ryan's Always Right below! This week's featured game is Undertale.
The Daily Moot: Rainbow Six Siege: Operation Void Edge
1. Rainbow Six Siege: Operation Void Edge
Ubisoft just put out an awesome new trailer revealing the two upcoming Operators for Rainbow Six Siege, Iana and Oryx. Iana comes from a long line of engineers and is currently holed up at a space station. Oryx is a muscle-bound juggernaut who was Kaid’s second-in-command at the Fortress. Unfortunately today’s trailer is just a small teaser, but we can expect to get more details on Saturday at the Rainbow Six Siege Invitational. Check out the trailer below!
2. PUBG Team Deathmatch
In a world where every shooting game seems to be adding a Battle Royale mode, PUBG is now doing the opposite. As part of its 6.2 update, PUBG is adding an 8v8 Team Deathmatch mode to the game. The new mode is first-person only, and features 8 different Spawn Kits (loadouts) to choose from. PUBG’s Team Deathmatch is now live on the Test Servers; give it a shot and let us know what you think!
3. Epic CEO Condemns Loot Boxes
During his keynote speech at this year’s DICE Summit, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeny condemned the implementation of loot boxes and pay-to-win monetization strategies. He emphasized that the industry needs to regain the trust of their audience and move away from a “customer adversarial model.” It’s great to hear one of the most powerful names in gaming criticize pay-to-win systems; maybe this will be the catalyst the industry needs in order to re-emphasize focus on game quality rather than on cheap, exploitative monetization strategies.
4. Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie
It’s been an awfully long wait but the Sonic the Hedgehog movie is finally here! It’s safe to say that this version of Sonic looks much, much better than his original animation design. Critics so far have been lukewarm towards the film, with many praising Jim Carrey’s performance as Dr. Robotnik. Although the movie officially launches tomorrow, many theaters are beginning to show the film today, so check your local showtimes if you want to be one of the first to see it.
5. Pokemon Sword and Shield Crashes
Trainers around the world have been experiencing game crashes on Pokemon Sword and Shield while trying to access online features. It appears that the issue is being caused by modders who have been introducing hacked Pokemon into the Poke-ecosystem. This has mostly been an problem for the Surprise Trade feature, which has made innocent players unwittingly receive hacked Pokemon. The issue doesn’t seem to be a major concern because it isn’t affecting save data, but players are understandably frustrated by the game crashes considering it’s completely out of their control.
Happy Valentine's Day! (New Cosmetics!)
Happy (almost) Valentine’s Day!
This year we’re celebrating Valentine’s Day in style with three beautiful new cosmetics. You can unlock the first new cosmetic, a gradient color called “Secret Admirer,” right now FOR FREE!
To claim your Valentine’s Day cosmetics just Check-In in the Goals tab. You can access the goals tab by tapping the Trophy cup at the top right of the home page.
OR you can just visit the link below:
We have also added all of last year's Valentine's Day cosmetics to the Moot Coin Shop. These items will remain available through Saturday, February 15th.
Happy Mootentine's Day everyone!
🚨 NOTE: The Shop will stay the same for three days with the ultra-rare Valentine's Day items so everyone has a chance to purchase! 🚨
Moot v2.26.0 Update!
Happy Update Day, Moot community! Our hope is that today’s update will improve your content viewing experience. Let’s get into it!
1) View all content in one place!
When we first launched Moot we had a simple goal in mind: create a place where gamers like us could connect and discuss. We developed the Lounge and Board system so our users could view specific types of content as they wanted.
Well, we’re going to try something different now.
We would like to introduce you to the “Posts” board. Now, all posts (except LFG posts!) will be combined into one Board called “Posts.” We hope this will make it easier than ever to view content.
Only want to see one type of content, like memes? No problem! Just tap the ‘memes’ tag toward the top of the screen and POOF all other content will vanish, leaving you with only the dankest of memes.
2) New post filters!
We’re introducing post filtering options that match the comment filtering options we introduced last week. You can now filter posts by “Hot,” “New,” or “Top.” While filtering by Top, you’ll have some options for time range as well.
And that’s all! We realize this is a massive change, which means we are hoping for some massive feedback from you lovely folks. How’d we do? Is this update awesome or is it the worst thing since stale bread? Let us know!
The Daily Moot: Activision/Blizzard Hates Their Fans, Stardew Valley Sequel?
1. Activision/Blizzard Drops GeForce Now
GeForce Now is probably the best cloud gaming platform on the market, and one of its key selling points is its incredible library of games. Unfortunately, all games from Activision and Blizzard have been pulled from the service, including Call of Duty, Overwatch, and Diablo 3. There aren’t many details on why Activision/Blizzard has decided to drop GeForce Now, but it’s likely that it just comes down to money. While it’s of course important for publishers to get paid what they deserve, this just seems like yet another instance of Activision/Blizzard doing a disservice to their fans. As far as GeForce Now is concerned, you can still enjoy any of the 1,500+ non-Activision/Blizzard games that the platform provides.
2. Stardew Valley Sequel
The developer of Stardew Valley, Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone, is working on two new games, including what appears to be a Stardew Valley sequel. Although it won’t be a farming sim, the game will take place within the world of Stardew Valley. Concerning his new projects, Barone said that he is “approaching this game with the goal to surpass the quality of every aspect compared to Stardew Valley.” Stardew Valley is easily one of the most successful and well-liked indie games of all time. If Barone is able to achieve what he’s set out to do, we could very well be getting another masterpiece that greatly affects the video game landscape as a whole. Unfortunately, it sounds like we’ll have to wait awhile; as he still has to put in the “1000's more hours of work necessary to finish it.”
3. Borderlands 3 Increasing Level Cap
Borderlands 3 is getting its first-ever level cap increase. The maximum level will now be 53 instead of 50. While this may not seem like much, Borderland 3’s lead designer explained that they are taking a conservative approach because the skill trees are extremely powerful and Gearbox wants to ensure that the game doesn’t become unbalanced. Along with the level cap increase, the update will also include a limited-time Broken Hearts Day event where players can earn some free guns and skins. The February update goes live tomorrow.
4. The Division 2 Expansion
The Division 2 is getting a massive expansion called Warlords of New York. Taking place in a former Dark Zone in South Manhattan, the expansion is designed to tie up loose ends from The Division 1, including the conclusion of Aaron Keener’s storyline. Warlords of New York will also increase the level cap from 30 to 40, and will also introduce many quality-of-life improvements and an RPG overhaul. The expansion will cost $30, and is set to come out on March 3.
5. Metro Exodus Sam’s Story
Metro Exodus’ second major expansion "Sam’s Story" is now live! In the new expansion, players control a former marine who is trapped in the post-apocalyptic Soviet territories and is struggling to return home to the United States. Check out the official launch trailer below.
The Daily Moot: Nintendo Suing Gamers?
1. Nintendo Going After Leakers
Nintendo is sicking the chain chomps on video game leakers. After Portuguese website FNintendo accidentally leaked images of Pokemon Sword and Shield back in 2019, Nintendo has completely cut ties with the company after 14 years of collaboration. It’s not just major publications that Nintendo is going after; they have also begun taking legal action towards leakers on online platforms like 4Chan and Discord. While it’s completely understandable that a company would want to protect their intellectual property, it seems unlikely that threats of lawsuits will stop leakers anytime soon.
2. Big Changes Coming to Anthem
BioWare has announced their plans to completely revamp Anthem. It’s no secret that the game has been a commercial and critical flop, much like The Division 2 which it was set to compete against. BioWare says they are scrapping the upcoming season and updates, and instead are going to put all their efforts into redesigning the experience and reinventing the core gameplay loop. Whether or not their efforts will be successful remains to be seen, but BioWare is certainly optimistic as games such as No Man’s Sky have proven that huge comebacks are possible.
3. The Last of Us Part 2 PS4 Themes
The Last of Us Part 2 just released some new concept art along with a dynamic theme for the PlayStation 4. The theme is available for free from the PlayStation Store, and it transitions from day to night depending on your PS4’s clock. In order to unlock the theme, players in the Americas should use code 4FMP-BBNM-J5L3, while players elsewhere should use code 9DEK-PKNG-N445. The codes expire today, so if you want the new theme be sure to act fast!
4. Animal Crossing Chrome Extension
A fan-made extension for Google Chrome now lets you play music from any Animal Crossing game through your browser. Called the Animal Crossing Music Chrome Extension, the add-on changes the songs based on your local time and weather. The new extension could be the perfect thing to tide you over until Animal Crossing: New Horizons launches next month.
5. Outriders Trailer
Set in a dark and desolate sci-fi world, Outriders is a 1-3 player co-op shooter from Square Enix and People Can Fly. There aren’t a lot of specific details about the game yet, but they just released their first official “gameplay” trailer. Not sure why they’re calling it a “gameplay trailer” because it’s pretty much all cinematics and no gameplay. That said, the game does look interesting. Check out the trailer below.
P.S. Check out Rue's latest Tried and True review of Temtem!
The Daily Moot: Modern Warfare Season 2
1. Modern Warfare Season 2
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Season 2 starts tomorrow! Fan-favorite map Rust is finally coming back to CoD, along with plenty of other updates. Season 2 will introduce two new guns, an AR called the GRAU 5.56 and an SMG called the Striker 45. There will also be new and revamped game modes, including what appears to be a vehicle-based Ground War. Check out the official trailer below!
2. Steam Concurrent User Record
Steam just broke their all-time record for the most concurrent users with over 19.1 million players. The previous record of 18.8 million users was achieved just one week ago, suggesting that Steam is experiencing a surge in popularity right now. Prior to last week, the record of 18.5 million was held for over 2 years. CS:GO has been the biggest recipient of the surge, breaking their own concurrent user record with nearly 1 million players. The reason for the uptick in popularity isn’t clear, but some have suggested that it’s a consequence of the coronavirus which is leading people to stay indoors and play games for entertainment.
3. Parasite Wins Best Picture
The Academy Awards were last night, and Parasite won Best Picture in a huge upset. Parasite is a South Korean black comedy film from critically acclaimed director Bong Joo-Ho. This is the first time in Oscars history that a foreign language film has won Best Picture. Parasite also took home the awards for Best Original Screenplay, Best International Feature Film, and Best Director.
4. Broomstick League
Do you like Harry Potter? How about Rocket League? Well, you're in luck because Blue Isle Studios has developed a Rocket League-inspired Quidditch game that is being released next month. Fly around on your broomstick and warp the arena with your spells as you attempt to outscore your opponents in 1v1, 2v2, or 3v3 matches. As gimmicky as it sounds, the game actually looks pretty fun. Broomstick League will hit early access on March 5; check out the trailer below.
The Daily Moot: EA is Bad Again, Delays Galore, and More!
1. EA Raising Prices
EA just raised prices on their Steam games for players outside of the United States. While some of the price increases are fairly small, other games nearly doubled in price. This has understandably angered fans internationally, and many critics are suggesting that EA is trying to manipulate the prices to make sales seem like a better deal. Some of the games that saw price increases include Dragon Age: Origins, Sim City 4, and Dead Space 2. This is far form the first time EA has slighted consumers in a blatant cash grab. Is it time for another EA boycott?
2. The Outer Worlds Switch Delay
The Outer Worlds Switch port is the latest game affected by the coronavirus. Originally expected to release on March 5, the game has been delayed indefinitely in order to ensure the health and safety of the Virtuos team working on the project. The Outer Worlds is nowhere near the first gaming victim of the virus outbreak, with other Nintendo projects like the Animal Crossing Switch console also suffering delays, as well as professional gaming leagues such as LCK and Overwatch League.
3. Resident Evil Tribute
Daymare: 1998, a Resident Evil tribute, now has an official release date. The game was originally created as Resident Evil 2 Reborn, but Capcom thwarted those plans when they decided to make an official Resident Evil 2 remake of their own. Undeterred, Daymare developers decided to change the name but keep the game. It’s still essentially Resident Evil 2, but with different names and a couple of fresh ideas. Daymare: 1998 will be released on April 28, and will be competing directly with the Resident Evil 3 remake which launches on April 3.
4. Activision Remasters
During their Q4 earnings report, Activision announced that they are planning to release several new remastered games this year. Following the success of remasters like Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, and Modern Warfare, it’s not hard to see why. Fans love replaying the nostalgic games with modern technology, and they're certainly easier to develop in comparison to creating an entirely new game. Which games would you like to see remastered?
P.S. Check out Ryan's latest First Impressions review! This week's featured game is Ticket to Ride.
Apex Season 4, Geforce Now, and Warcraft Refunds!
Happy Friday! Let's recap the biggest stories in gaming for the week, shall we?! 🙌
This week, Apex Legends Season 4 released, Nvidia launched Geforce Now, and Blizzard began to offer refunds for Warcraft 3 Reforged. We break down all these stories for you in this lovely little video. Let us know what you think down below!
Battle Royale Game Rating Event WINNERS!
Last week we announced the Battle Royale Game Rating Event! We designed this event so we could hear from you about all of the battle royales currently available. We also encouraged you to read each other's reviews so you may find new games to play and love.
Now the event is over, the winners have been selected and rewarded, and all that's left is to relax and game.
That's right, if you won this event you already have received your prize!
These winners received the 'BR Pathfinder' title for submitting an excellent game review during this event.
Cow Boy Billy
NS Buck on Xbox
My name is name
And these 100 winners received the 'BR Mania' title for voting on game reviews during this event.
Master of Luck
Cow Boy Billy
assissin brotha hood
Steel Shots Gaming
Pancake wit da syrup
To view your titles and equip your new one, just follow these easy steps!
1) navigate to your profile
2) tap the 3 dots and select 'edit'
3) browse your list of titles. If you see BR Pathfinder or BR Mania, you're a winner!
The Daily Moot: Fortnite Harley Quinn, Ubisoft's Big Plans, and More!
1. Fortnite x Birds of Prey
The latest crossover has come to Fortnite! In collaboration with the upcoming Harley Quinn movie “Birds of Prey,” Fortnite is releasing a series of Harley Quinn and Suicide Squad skins. The first Harley bundle will be available later today, and will include the Lil Monster XoXo Harley skin as well as the Harley Hitter and Punchline pickaxes. What are your thoughts on the new skins? Birds of Prey hits theaters tomorrow.
2. Ubisoft’s Big Plans
Ubisoft just revealed that they have some big plans for later this year. During the end of 2020 and the start of 2021, Ubisoft is planning to release 5 AAA games. This news comes after several games were shelved or delayed by Ubisoft, including Watch Dogs Legion and Rainbow Six: Quarantine. There’s no word yet on the exact titles we can expect, but it is very likely that we’ll see some of these delayed games finally get their launch.
3. Overwatch League Stats Lab
Ben Trautman, the stats man for the Overwatch League, just released a new tool called the Overwatch League Stats Lab. The Stats Lab contains an insane amount of information on pro players, allowing you to dig into the smallest details of what makes pros so good. Although Trautman tried to make the tool as user-friendly as possible, he also released a series of tutorial videos to help you find exactly what you’re searching for.
4. The Witcher Season 2
The Witcher Season 2 will apparently feature an all-new original character who did not appear in the video games or books. The new character will be named Violet and will be played by Doolittle actress Carmel Laniado. In addition to the new character, series showrunner Lauren Hissrich also mentioned that the second season will be much more linear than the first. Filming for The Witcher Season 2 is expected to start this month, and will premiere on Netflix in 2021.
5. Gears of War Boss Leaves for Blizzard
It’s no secret that things at Blizzard haven’t been going too well lately. From Diablo Immortal to Warcraft 3 Reforged, it’s clear that they’ve gotten out of touch with their fanbase. In an effort to change their ways, Blizzard has hired Rod Ferguson, the head of Microsoft’s The Coalition Studio and the director for Gears of War. At Blizzard, Ferguson will be tasked with overseeing the Diablo franchise. It’s unclear how much his hiring will affect the upcoming Diablo 4, which was announced last year and is already in development.
The Daily Moot: Is Rockstar in Trouble?
1. Dan Houser Leaving Rockstar
Dan Houser, co-founder of Rockstar Games and head writer of Bully, Red Dead Redemption, and Grand Theft Auto, is leaving Rockstar. It’s not clear why Houser is leaving the studio, but it seems to be on good terms. Rockstar put out a statement thanking Houser, saying they are “extremely grateful for his contributions.” Dan Houser’s brother and fellow co-founder Sam Houser will still remain as President of the company. Rockstar is easily one of the most successful and critically acclaimed gaming studios, in large part because of Houser's writing on franchises like GTA and Red Dead Redemption. Let’s hope Dan Houser’s absence won’t result in a drop in quality.
2. Super Smash Bros. Fire Emblem
It’s no secret that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has a lot of Fire Emblem characters. In total, there are 8 playable characters from the series and another 3 non-playable assist trophy characters. This has led to criticism from fans, which Nintendo has now addressed. Shockingly, it turns out that Masahiro Sakurai, director of Super Smash Bros., agrees with fans. In his statement Sakurai said, “There are too many Fire Emblem characters. But when something’s decided, I move ahead with it.” In other words, the decision to add the characters is determined by Nintendo and is out of the director’s hands. No word on whether or not anything will change in the future, but it seems unlikely.
3. First-Party PlayStation Studio Closes
PlayStation has officially closed Manchester VR, their first-party PlayStation Studio. Manchester VR was established to create exclusive virtual reality games for the PlayStation, but it’s now been shut down before ever releasing a game. Sony explained their decision was part of an effort to “improve efficiency and operational effectiveness.” Manchester VR is the third UK-based PlayStation studio to be closed in the PS4 generation.
4. The Mandalorian Season 2
The Mandalorian Season 2 has been confirmed by Disney during their recent quarterly earnings call. Although they didn’t provide an exact release date, they did mention that The Mandalorian Season 2 will launch in October of this year. Disney also promised more Baby Yoda merchandise and consumer products, including a $350 life-size statue. While efforts on a third season are still unclear, Disney boss Robert Iger suggested that Mandalorian spinoffs are a definite possibility. Maybe Baby Yoda will get his own show?
Moot v2.25.0 Update!
Howdy, partners! You may have noticed over the weekend that we released a NEW Moot update, v2.25.0! This update overhauled our comment sections to put you in complete control of your comment consumption.
1. Continuous comment scrolling!
We've removed pages from comment sections. Now, comments will automatically load as you scroll down. This should help prevent you from losing track of the conversation as you're arguing over whether Fortnite is still relevant. (Is it?)
2. Comment filtering!
New comment filtering options allow you to sort Comments by TOP, OLD, or NEW. Comments are set to TOP by default, but be sure to check out the NEW option from time to time. You never know what you'll miss if you don't look!
And that's all for update 2.25.0! We're looking to improve all aspects of the Moot user experience in 2020. What should we work on next? Do you like our improvement to comments? Let us know how we can Moot better FOR YOU!
*NOTE: There was an Android bug in v.2.25.0 that prevented users from loading gifs through giphy. t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶h̶a̶s̶ ̶b̶e̶e̶n̶ ̶f̶i̶x̶e̶d̶. We believe we have fixed this!*
The Daily Moot: Death of the Google Stadia?
1. Nvidia GeForce Now
Nvidia has officially launched GeForce Now, their new cloud gaming service. With GeForce Now, gamers can play essentially any game on any PC, even if the PC lacks the necessary specs. This means that as long as you have a stable internet connection, you could play the latest ray-tracing AAA titles on your dilapidated, decade-old laptop. As a cloud gaming service, GeForce Now is a direct competitor to the Google Stadia, but Nvidia’s version has a lot of awesome benefits. For example, GeForce Now automatically connects to your Steam library, which means that unlike the Stadia, you don’t have to buy a second copy of games you already own. Oh, and GeForce Now is also available for free. Could this be the death of the Google Stadia?
2. PlayStation 5 Pricing
It seems that the next-gen console war is turning into a bit of a waiting game. Sony just revealed that their pricing of the upcoming PlayStation 5 will be largely determined by the Xbox Series X price. In other words, Sony is keeping their plans a secret until Microsoft reveals how much the new Xbox will cost. Sony’s Chief Financial Officer Hiroki Totoki also mentioned that Sony will almost certainly be taking a loss on the consoles, which is unsurprising considering the impressive specs that have been released. Sony also launched the official PlayStation 5 website today, which means we could be close to the official reveal of the new console. Which side are you on in the console war?
3. Blizzard Finally Addresses Warcraft 3 Reforged
After the debacle that has been the Warcraft 3 Reforged launch, Blizzard has finally decided to address the situation. Blizzard “apologized” to fans who were unhappy with the game, and have now decided to offer full refunds to all players regardless of playtime. Blizzard also outlined some of their plans for the game, but it’s unlikely that the minor improvements will be enough to win over their disgruntled players.
4. Saints Row 4 Coming to Switch
Saints Row 4: Re-elected is headed to the Nintendo Switch. The port will come with 25 pieces of DLC, including the two main story expansions Enter the Dominatrix and How The Saints Save Christmas. Although the game was originally released in 2013, there will be many quality of life improvements for the Switch port, particularly for the drop-in drop-out co-op that Saints Row is known for. Saints Row 4: Re-elected is expected to launch on the Switch on March 27.
The Daily Moot: Apex Season 4, Super Mario Bros. Movie, and More!
1. Apex Assimilation Final Trailer
Apex Legends just released one final hype trailer in anticipation for Season 4! With a little mix of backstory and gameplay (as well as some shameless battle pass promotion), the new trailer gives us our first glance at Revenant’s abilities and voice lines. Check out the trailer below; Season 4 Assimilation starts tomorrow!
2. Super Mario Bros. Movie
A new Super Mario Bros. movie is in the works! Unlike the original Super Mario Bros. movie which came out in 1993 and was live-action, the new movie will be animated. That’s probably a good idea, considering the original was poorly received by critics and fans alike. Although Super Mario Bros. is the only movie currently in production by Nintendo, Mario creator Miyamoto suggested that many more games will likely make their way to the theaters. Unfortunately we’re gonna have to wait a while before that happens; the Super Mario Bros. movie isn’t expected to come out until 2022.
3. Wizards of the Coast RPG
Wizards of the Coast, best known for Magic: the Gathering, just announced that a new sci-fi RPG is in development. The currently untitled game will be produced by Wizard’s of the Coast’s new gaming studio Archetype Entertainment. They haven’t released a lot of details yet, but we do know that the game will be a “story-driven epic,” and will have a heavy emphasis on player choice.
4. Warcraft 3 Reforged Breaks Metacritic
Warcraft 3 Reforged is pretty bad to say the least. How bad exactly? Well, Warcraft 3 Reforged just officially became the lowest-rated game on Metacritic. With more than 20,000 negative reviews, the game currently has a user score of 0.5 out of 100. It's safe to say that Blizzard really blew it with this one.
The Daily Moot: FF7 Trailer, Trials of Osiris, Apex Mobile, and More!
1. Final Fantasy 7 Remake Trailer
Final Fantasy 7 Remake just released a new trailer today! While it’s being billed as a theme song reveal, the trailer packs much, much more. It confirms that while some elements of the game will be a true remake, there are also new twists in the story. Oh, and it also features a crossdressing Cloud. Check out the trailer below and let us know what you think!
2. Destiny 2 Trials of Osiris
Dataminers have uncovered a ton of information about the upcoming season of Destiny 2 and all signs are pointing towards the return of the competitive PvP mode Trials of Osiris. According to the dataminers, the upcoming “Season of the Worthy” starts on March 9, and will launch after a series of events beginning with an Empyrean Foundation Event. It seems the dataminers’ predictions were spot on; Bungie just revealed that the “Empyrean Foundation rebuild effort” will launch next week.
3. Apex Legends Mobile
It looks like Apex Legends may be coming to mobile after all. In May of last year, shortly after the release of the game, Respawn mentioned their desire to bring Apex Legends to mobile. It’s been nearly a year since then, and a quiet one at that, but now EA finally confirmed their commitment to mobile during yesterday's Q3 earnings report. There’s no word yet on any sort of timeline, but we should learn some more information during their Q4 earnings report in May.
4. Animal Crossing Switch
Nintendo just unveiled its new Animal Crossing-themed Switch and it’s one of the best-looking Switch skins yet. Animal Crossing: New Horizons is easily one of the most anticipated games of the year, and players who are buying the Switch specifically to play the new game will undoubtedly enjoy the themed console. The Animal Crossing-themed Switch will release on March 13, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons will launch one week later on March 20.
5. Alien Hominid Returns
A new Alien Hominid game is in the works! The Behemoth, perhaps best known for Castle Crashers, just announced Alien Hominid Invasion, a throwback to the original flash game from 2004. Alien Hominid Invasion is the 5th game from the studio, and will be available for demo at PAX East next month. Check out the announcement video below!
P.S. Check out the latest edition of Ryan's Always Right below! This week's featured game is The Talos Principle.
Activision x Google Streaming Deal Plus the Death of a Legend!
Activision and Google have just announced a massive exclusivity deal that guarantees all of Activision’s streaming events, including the Call of Duty League and the Overwatch League, will take place on YouTube! If that’s not enough, we also update you on the Apex Legends situation building up to Season 4. Finally, the greatest pirate in all the lands makes an appearance (or multiple)!
Participate in the Treasure Hunt associated with this video to earn awesome rewards! Click the post below to get your sea legs!
🚨 Check out our YouTube channel for more sweet content! 🚨
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The Daily Moot: Revenant is VIOLENT, Say Goodbye to Overwatch Heroes
1. Apex Legends Revenant Trailer
Apex Legends just released their latest trailer for the upcoming release of Revenant and Season 4 and it is VIOLENT. “Revenant was the greatest hitman the Mercenary Syndicate ever had. But when his programming eventually failed, he saw what Hammond Robotics had turned him into: a walking nightmare of steel and vestigial flesh.” What could his abilities be? Check out the trailer below and let us know what you think!
2. Overwatch Benching Heroes
There are some huge changes coming to Overwatch for Season 21. In order to switch up the meta, Competitive Play will have different hero pools every week. This means only certain heroes will be available to play each week and the rest will be disabled. The new hero pools will only affect Competitive Play and will not impact Arcade or Quick Play matches. In his statement, director Jeff Kaplan explained that the Hero Pools system is merely a test for Season 21, and it may go through several changes or be scrapped altogether depending on reception.
3. GTA Giving $2M to Every Player
December 2019 was the most popular month in GTA Online’s history, which is absolutely insane for a game that came out nearly 7 years ago. To celebrate, Rockstar is giving away $2M of in-game currency to every single player just for logging in. Log in between now and February 5 to receive the first $1M, and log in between February 6 and February 12 to receive the second $1M. Rockstar is also giving away freebies for Red Dead Online on the same schedule so be sure to log in and claim those as well.
4. Joker Comes to Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat 11 just got a new addition to its roster, adding Batman’s Joker to the fray. Reviews so far have been stellar, with many players considering Mortal Kombat 11’s Joker to be the best Joker in any fighting game yet. He’s incredibly strong and will likely get nerfed in the future, so be sure to give him a shot soon.
5. Dead Cells DLC
After 16 free updates since its release in 2016, Dead Cells is getting its first-ever paid DLC. Called Bad Seed, the DLC will introduce new creatures, companions, biomes, and weapons, including the game’s first double-slot weapon. The DLC is designed to spice up the early game for new players and those who have already played through the core game. Bad Seed is set to launch on February 11 and will cost $5.
Battle Royale Game Rating Event!
Welcome to a new Game Rating Event on Moot! We want to know which battle royales are your favorites, plus we want to help you find new games you might enjoy! You might notice several of the battle royale games for you to review in this event are not YET on Moot as their own lounge; if we see enough positive feedback for any of these games, we’ll create a lounge for them!
- Today THROUGH 2/05/2020
- Winners announced 2/06/2020
HOW TO ENTER:
- Submit a Game Review for ANY of the eligible battle royale games listed below during the event!
- Vote on Game Reviews for ANY of the eligible battle royales listed below during the event!
- Up to 3 winners per eligible game will receive the unique “BR Pathfinder” title for Game Reviews they submit during the event. These winners will be determined by upvotes although we reserve the right to hand-select winners if necessary.
- 100 Users who vote on Game Reviews for ANY of the eligible battle royale games listed below will be randomly selected to receive the unique “BR Mania” title!
Here is the list of battle royale games for you to review during this event! Have fun and thank you for participating. We cannot wait to read your reviews and find out what battle royale games the Moot community loves most!
2. Apex Legends:
4. CS:GO Danger Zone:
6. Super Animal Royale:
7. Ghost Recon Wildlands: Mercenaries:
8. Battlerite Royale:
9. Forza Horizon 4: The Eliminator:
11. Dying Light: Bad Blood:
12. Rapture Rejects:
13. Last Tide:
14. Realm Royale:
15. Cuisine Royale:
16. BattleField V: Firestorm:
17. Ring of Elysium:
18. The Darwin Project:
20. Call of Duty: Black ops 4 - Blackout
The Daily Moot: Warcraft 3 is BAD, Resident Evil Updates, and More!
1. Warcraft 3 is Back and it’s BAD
Warcraft 3: Reforged is officially live! Fans have been eagerly awaiting the return of Warcraft, but first impressions of the remake have not been kind. Reviews have been universally scathing, with criticism towards rampant bugs, broken features, janky animations, and bad graphics. Players across the board are condemning Warcraft 3: Reforged as a catastrophe of a game and have already begun requesting refunds. Not a good look for Blizzard.
2. Resident Evil Resistance Not Canon
According to Resident Evil 3 Remake producer Peter Fabiano, Resident Evil Resistance will not be canon. While this may disappoint fans who were hoping for the story’s continuation, there will still be many familiar faces in the new game. Although the game may not be canon, it shares a thematic connection with the rest of the Resident Evil series, particularly with Resident Evil 3 Remake. Both games are set to launch on April 3.
3. PlayStation Plus February Games
Sony just revealed the list of games for February’s PlayStation Plus lineup. Starting February 4, Bioshock: The Collection, The Sims 4, and Firewall Zero Hour will all be available for free for all players with a PlayStation Plus membership. Download the games before March 2 and they will be available in your library forever as long as you remain a PlayStation Plus subscriber.
4. The Art of The Last of Us 2
The Last of Us 2 is one of the most highly anticipated games of the year and now you can get an inside peek behind the making of the game. The Art of the Last of Us 2 is a 200-page book featuring extensive insights into the making of the game. A deluxe edition was made available for pre-order today, and includes a gallery-quality lithograph, slipcase, and exclusive cover in addition to the book.
5. Stadia Pro Freebies
Stadia Pro will be getting 2 free new games next month. On February 1, Gylt and Metro Exodus will be added to the Stadia Pro free game library. Rise of the Tomb Raider and Samurai Showdown will both be removed from the free game library at the same time, so be sure to claim those games by January 31 in order to keep them.
The Daily Moot: Streamers Ditching Twitch, Xbox vs PS5, and More!
1. Streamers Ditching Twitch
Streamers seem to be having a mass exodus from Twitch and it’s not hard to see why. Although Twitch remains the biggest live-streaming service for gaming, competitors are offering huge contracts to streamers in an attempt to poach them. Shroud, Disguised Toast, and Valkyrae are just a handful of the streamers who have left Twitch. Here’s the crazy part: they all went to different services: Mixer, Facebook Gaming, and YouTube, respectively. As the competing platforms all vie for the biggest names in streaming, the result is some insane contracts with top stars like Shroud and Ninja raking in up to $30M with their deals. Sounds like it’s a good time to be a streamer.
2. Xbox Boss Says Frame Rate > Resolution
Xbox boss Phil Spencer has reinforced Xbox’s commitment to maximizing frame rates even if it means a decrease in resolution. Although he’s made similar comments in the past, Spencer said of the upcoming Xbox Series X, “The feel of the games [is] definitely something that we wanted to have more focus on, not just throwing more pixels on screen.” While high-resolution gaming certainly seems to be the focus for most companies (PlayStation announced 8k compatibility with the upcoming PS5), it appears Xbox is taking the complete opposite approach. Which do YOU think is more important: frame rate or resolution?
3. Pokemon Home Details Revealed
Pokemon Home is coming next month and we finally have some more details about the new service. Pokemon Home is an app designed to connect and manage all of your Pokemon needs across games and platforms. An evolution of Pokemon Bank, the new app will allow players to trade, move, and store Pokemon of different games all in one place. Pokemon Home will be available on Switch and Mobile, and will be a subscription-based service starting at $3/month or $16/year.
4. Dying Light: Bad Blood Free
After revealing that Dying Light 2 has been delayed indefinitely, developer Techland has decided to give Dying Light: Bad Blood to all players for free as an apology. Bad Blood is a battle royale version of Dying Light, where players survive against zombies and each other to become the last person (or team) standing. Although Techland is giving the game to all Dying Light players on all platforms, Bad Blood is only available on PC. You can claim your free copy from Dying Light’s official dockets website.
5. Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge
Mortal Kombat is getting an all-new animated movie called Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge. The upcoming film will mark the video game’s first foray into full-length R-rated animated films. The movie features many fan favorite Mortal Kombat characters who have to battle to the death in a tournament to save Earth. Check out the trailer below and let us know what you think!
P.S. Our very own Rue just made an awesome new review for you! Check it out below and be sure to follow him for more!
Q&A Event Winners! 🏆
AAAYOOOOO! Happy Tuesday folks. The Q&A Event has officially wrapped up and we are set to announce the winners of the gaming console of their choice! 🎮
SEE RANDOMLY CHOSEN WINNERS BELOW:
Didn't win? Don't worry! ALL PARTICIPANTS are going home with 500 Moot Coins! 🎉
*NOTE* Winners will be contacted by this account, Team Moot, by the end of the week. All Coins for the event will be sent out by the end of this week as well.
See the original post here:
Bored? Then check out some HOT new content on Moot! 👇
The Daily Moot (Apex's New Character Murdered!)
1. Apex's New Character Has Been Murdered
Just days after his announcement, Apex's new character Forge has been killed off. Apex Legends just released its latest "Stories from the Outlands" video which features Forge getting murdered during a live interview. His assassin? None other than Revenant. Does this mean that Revenant will be the new Season 4 legend instead of Forge or is Respawn just throwing us for a loop? Check out the trailer below and let us know what you think.
2. Do In-Game Punishments Violate Your Rights?
After his in-game appeal was denied, gamer Amro Elansari recently sued Jagex for muting his Runescape account. The player alleged that Jagex had engaged in discrimination against him, and that the mute violated his First Amendment rights to freedom of speech. While it was an interesting approach, the lawsuit was quickly dismissed with a US Federal Court determining, “The First Amendment and its constitutional free speech guarantees restrict government actors, not private entities.” In other words, Jagex can do whatever it wants with its own game because it’s a private entity. So no, as much as it may feel unjust, getting muted does not violate your civil rights.
3. Activision Signs Exclusive Deal with YouTube
Activision Blizzard has signed a partnership deal with Google which will put all of their streaming content exclusively on YouTube. This means that pro leagues such as Overwatch League and Call of Duty League will only be available on YouTube, and will no longer appear on other streaming services such as Twitch. Although Twitch is still the dominant force in the game streaming market, competitors such as YouTube and Mixer have been making huge strides and closing the gap through deals like this.
4. New Star Wars Game
According to a leak from Cinelix, a new Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic game is currently in development. While rumors of a Knights of the Old Republic remake have been circulating for years, the new game will instead be a sequel to the first. BioWare created the much-loved original but it’s unclear whether or not they will have any hand in the upcoming game. There's not a lot of info yet, but expect more details to be revealed later this year at E3.
5. Chinese Professional LoL Suspended
China’s League of Legends Professional League has been suspended indefinitely due to the Coronavirus outbreak. The LPL’s official Twitter released a statement saying that matches would be suspended until they can "ensure the safety and health of players and fans." It’s unclear yet how this will affect teams and players who undoubtedly want to reach global competition at MSI later this year.
6. Hearthstone VR
Blizzard has apparently created a Hearthstone VR prototype, enabling players to play the card game in virtual reality. It’s not just the cards and board but the entire tavern, so you can really warm your toes by the hearth! Some of the features of the prototype allowed players to walk around the tavern, throw cards, and flip tables. Unfortunately, as fun as it may sound, it is unlikely that the VR version will ever see production.
The Daily Moot (Legends of Runeterra, Fortnite Season 2, and More!)
1. Legends of Runeterra
Legends of Runeterra is now live! Riot Games is finally putting the “s” in Games with the official launch of Legends of Runeterra, their new digital CCG. Unlike Teamfight Tactics, Legends of Runeterra has its own client and is being treated as a unique game completely independent of League of Legends. That said, there’s still a lot of League influence with many popular champions making an appearance. Check out the new game and join in on the discussion over on our new Legends of Runeterra lounge!
2. Fortnite Chapter 2 Season 2
Fortnite Chapter 2 Season 2 has finally been announced! After an extremely long Season 1, players will no doubt be excited for the arrival of Season 2 and the changes it will bring. There’s no word yet on what exactly we can expect in the upcoming season, but we’ll likely get some more news in the coming weeks. Chapter 2 Season 2 begins February 20.
3. Rocket League Closing Online Multiplayer
Rocket League is closing its online multiplayer for certain PC players. Starting in March, developer Psyonix will stop providing support for Linux and Mac users. This means all online content will be disabled, including things such as online matchmaking, friends lists, and shops. Psyonix recommends players who will be affected to download the Windows version of the game before March in order to continue playing with full functionality.
4. Steam Lunar New Year Sale
The Steam Lunar New Year Sale is here, offering huge discounts on thousands of games. Some of the highlights include 66% off Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, 75% off Vermintide 2, and 90% off Phoning Home. Even if you’re not looking to expand your gaming library, Steam is giving out Year of the Rat tokens every day to all users. You can spend these tokens in the Lunar New Year Night Market, which offers Steam enhancements such as animated profile backgrounds, chat room effects, and chat stickers.
5. Plague Inc. Resurgence
Plague Inc. has experience a huge surge in popularity in China amid the current Coronavirus outbreak. The game, which first launched in 2012, is now the top paid app in China's iOS store. Showing a display of a dark sense of humor among Chinese gamers, Plague Inc. is a strategy game where players try to eliminate humanity with a gradually mutating pathogen.
P.S. Check out Ryan's review of Legends of Runeterra and see what all the hype is about!
Fortnite Bans, Apex Legends Season 4, and 100T's New Compound!
Can you get BANNED for jumping in Fortnite now? Is the new Apex Legends character OVERPOWERED? Will Dylan leave his friends BEHIND?
Watch this week’s episode of Moot Points to find out the answers to these questions AND MORE!
Check out our YouTube channel for more sweet content!
👉 http://bit.ly/Moot-Tube 👈
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The Daily Moot (New Apex Legends Character, GTA Update, and More!)
1. New Apex Legends Character
Apex Legends just revealed its upcoming new character named Forge! A five-time Hyper Fighting Federation champion, Forge is a brawler with a huge robotic left arm. Although his abilities are still unknown, Respawn described the new character as having “a mean left hook,” so you can expect his robotic arm to play a significant role. Forge will launch alongside the start of Season 4 which begins on February 4.
2. GTA Online New Car
GTA Online goes off-roading this week, with the release of the all-new Nagasaki Outlaw. The latest addition to the Casino Cars, the Nagasaki Outlaw is an off-road buggy with a protective roadcage, encouraging players to use the vehicle for some next-level exploring. Test it out in Overtime Rumble, where you can get double rewards for a limited time. If you were hoping for something more race-ready, the Progen Emerus supercar is available through the Lucky Wheel Podium this week.
3. New Hearthstone Heroes
Hearthstone Battlegrounds just got two new heroes in a recent update. The first is Tirion Fordring whose ability costs 1 mana and gives minions with no minion type +1/+1. The second new hero is Millhouse Manastor, whose ability is a passive where your minions cost 2 Gold, refresh costs 2 Gold, and you start with 2 Gold. Try out the new heroes and see if you can come out victorious in the Battlegrounds!
4. Vermintide 2 Update
Vermintide 2 just got a huge update today, releasing the first chapter of Curse of Drachenfels. In the first chapter, players will be returning to Castle Drachenfels to investigate the disappearance of Grey Mountain villagers. The remaining 2 chapters will be released later on in Season 2, and all 3 chapters will be completely free. The update also introduced a new in-game store called Lohner’s Emporium of Wonders which sells cosmetics in exchange for in-game currency. Currently the store only offers hats and hero skins, but expect more cosmetics to be added over time.
5. Dishonored Tabletop Edition
Courtesy of Modiphius Entertainment, Dishonored is the latest video game to be turned into a tabletop RPG. Unlike the Dishonored video game where players assume the role of an assassin, the tabletop version will let players choose other careers such as workers or explorers. The game will launch with a 300-page book, introducing the Empires of the Isles and the Void and providing a four-act campaign set in Dunwall. The Dishonored Roleplaying Game is expected to launch this summer.
The Daily Moot (1/22/20)
1. 100 Thieves Crazy New Compound
100 Thieves officially opened their new Los Angeles headquarters and esports facility today! Dubbed the 100 Thieves Cash App Compound, the 15,000 sq ft building is said to be the largest esports facility in America. The compound is designed to be a place where all facets of 100 Thieves can come together, including esports, content creation, and apparel and merchandise. To facilitate this, the building includes things such as esport training facilities, streaming rooms, and other dedicated areas for 100 Thieves affiliates to work independently or with each other. Could this be the future of streaming and gaming-related entertainment?
2. Half-Life Goes Free-to-play
In anticipation for the release of Half-Life: Alyx, every single Half-Life game is now free to play until the new game launches! This gives gamers plenty of time to catch up on the story before jumping into Alyx later this year. Half-Life, Half-Life 2, and Half-Life 2: Episode One and Two are all available for free on Steam from now until the launch of Alyx on April 1 (assuming it doesn’t get delayed of course).
3. Hearthstone Galakrond’s Awakening
Hearthstone’s latest solo adventure, Galakrond’s Awakening, is now live! The adventure features two separate story campaigns, one for the League of Explorers and another for the League of E.V.I.L. Each chapter of the adventure features unique rewards, including new cards that are only available through the campaigns. The first chapter of the E.V.I.L. campaign is now available and is free for all players.
4. The Witcher Breaks More Records
As part of their Q4 earnings report, Netflix announced that The Witcher is its most successful first-season show ever. To date, The Witcher has had over 76 million households tune in. The Witcher seems to be one of those rare occasions where a video game inspired movie/TV show actually turns out well and has mass appeal. Maybe it helps that the games were originally based off books. At any rate, everything The Witcher is at an all time high now. We’ll have to see if CD Projekt Red can pull it off again and create another global phenomenon with Cyberpunk 2077.
5. Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Disney just dropped an all-new trailer for Star Wars: The Clone Wars! Originally on Cartoon Network and later on Netflix, The Clone Wars has now been resurrected by Disney+. It’s been nearly 6 years since the show’s last episode so expect the new producers to have some big surprises in store. The 7th and final season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars premieres on February 21. Check out the trailer below:
The Daily Moot (1/21/20)
1. Ubisoft Making Big Changes
Ubisoft’s recent releases, such as The Division 2 and Ghost Recon: Breakpoint, have been commercial and critical disappointments. This has led to the delay of Rainbow Six: Quarantine, Gods and Monsters, and Watch Dogs Legion, as well as the cancellation of other projects. The studio is now looking to switch things up, announcing a restructuring of their editorial team in an effort to increase the diversity in their game lineup. Most notable among these changes is the rehiring of Splinter Cell Creative Director, Maxime Beland. While this has fans excited for a Splinter Cell resurrection, there’s no info yet about a new game. Instead, Beland’s role seems to be focused on the overall vision of the company and we will likely see some big changes represented in Ubisoft’s future games.
2. The Elder Scrolls 6
The Elder Scrolls 6 could be on the horizon as Bethesda has begun a mass hiring spree. According to the job listings, Bethesda is looking for programmers who are ready to push "the bleeding-edge of RPG development for the PC and consoles." This news had led fans to believe that Bethesda’s upcoming sci-fi game Starfield is finally wrapping up production, meaning that The Elder Scrolls 6 will finally become the studio’s main focus.
3. Dying Light 2 Delayed
Delay, delay, delay. This time it’s Dying Light 2 getting hit with the delay hammer, albeit the details are a bit different. Unlike previously delayed games which claimed they needed more time for polish and fine-tuning, Techland is being vague with their reasoning, saying, “We will have more details to share in the coming months, and will get back to you as soon as we have more information.” Pretty sure they already have the “information” and just don’t want to share with us. At any rate, it sounds like Dying Light 2 is having some pretty serious development issues and won’t be launching any time soon.
4. Cyberpunk 2077 Funko Pops
It’s official: Cyberpunk 2077 Funko Pops will be here sooner than the actual game. According to an announcement at the London Toy Fair, Cyberpunk 2077 Funko Pops will be available on April 16, 2020. This is the same date that the game was originally supposed to release. Of course, its launch day has now been pushed back to September, meaning that the action figures will be here a full 5 months sooner than the game. How do you feel about buying merch for a game that hasn’t come out yet?
5. MHW: Iceborn Road Map
Monster Hunter World: Iceborn just released its 2020 road map, with detailed information on what’s to come between now and April. One major update is the PC version will be synced with console, and both versions will have the exact same content. This means that PC players will be getting new content such as the Volcanic Region and Tundra Region, as well as all the monsters that reside there. Check out the road map below:
PS: We just added a bunch of classic games for you to review in the Game Reviews section! Check them out by sorting under "Recently Registered" and let your voice be heard!


text:
Rated 3.0 out of 5.0 by EltonC Hotel was OK - didn't enjoy the location
Older style HI Express - no complaints really with the hotel, just wouldn't return due to the location on a busy road overlooking a gas-works. "Star City" wasn't my thing. OK if you enjoy eating at chain restaurants though (.... Nandos / Bella Itallia and the like).
May 21, 2013
Rated 3.0 out of 5.0 by 53Gordon Staff were friendly and helpful we left unhappy.
The staff were the best part of our stay and were friendly and helpful.
Several factors spoilt our stay.
The entrance to the hotel is not clear. We missed the entrance twice.
Our room was situated on the 1st floor immediately below the recycling bins. Not a problem except bar staff emptied bottles late at night and early in the morning, waking us on both occassions.
The Fire Alarm went off very late one evening. We were told this was because someone used a shower without closing the door ???
The biggest gripe was the lack of bath towels. Only one was provided and despite being provided with a second after complaint only one was again provided on the second day.
May 1, 2013
Rated 4.0 out of 5.0 by mark49 Free Wifi a Plus
Its what it says on the tin just lift wasn't working and third floor room, WIFI free was a plus
May 1, 2013
Rated 5.0 out of 5.0 by Curlywurly09 Best Holiday Inn Express we have stayed in.
The hotel was spotless. Bright and airy and very welcoming. The rooms were spotless, nothing was too much trouble. Would definitely stay again.
April 29, 2013
Rated 4.0 out of 5.0 by iga59 Value for money
Good location, friendly welcome and comfortable, fresh rooms. What else do you need for an overnight stay when travelling? Would happliy recommend this hotel
April 19, 2013
Rated 4.0 out of 5.0 by Tom133 A good stay with a couple of pitfalls
We stayed at the Holiday Inn Star City in March 2013.
The hotel is situated very well, directly opposite (and within walking distance of) Star City, and has great road links to Birmingham city centre.
The staff at the hotel were friendly, and check-in was brief and welcoming.
We were informed that the lift in the hotel was out of order (rare that a hotel only has 1 lift), and our room was situated 3 floors up...this was the main qualm of the stay.
We had booked a twin room but when we got to the room it was instead a double...and after walking all the way to the room, we didn't fancy walking back down again to try and rectify the situation so made-do.
Breakfast was faultless considering it was covered in the price of the room which was already one of the most competitive rates available.
Overall a 4/5 from me...would happily stay again if I was in the area...just hope that the lift is working on our next visit! :-)
April 17, 2013
Rated 3.0 out of 5.0 by Whistleblower OK... but feels dated/not up to HI Express standards
OK... but out-dated feel to rooms & dining area.
April 12, 2013
Rated 4.0 out of 5.0 by Indie great offer through O2 priority moments
I chose this hotel because as an O2 customer there was a limited time offer of 'buy one night get another night free'.
Ordinarily I don't think I would have paid the price.
The room was clean, the staff were pleasant, the breakfast was average. I would stay again should the rate be lower or on an offer again.
April 8, 2013

domain: travel


text:
FOODIES with a sweet tooth rushed to the SMX Convention Hall in SM Aura Premier to luxuriate on hundreds of sinful sweet treasures concocted by 90 sterling bakers in the country.
This year, Inquirer’s Big Desserts 5 launched on Monday, June 3, had summoned all dessert fanaticos over a spectrum of stunning sweets.
According to Inquirer Lifestyle Editor Thelma Sioson San Juan, Big Desserts was just a story/listing of food writer Vangie Baga-Reyes turned banner event through Inquirer CEO Sandy Romualdez and SM Vice President Millie Dizon.
“Every great dessert deserves just one more bite. After four books, and with an endless number of desserts still out there waiting to be enjoyed, there had to be another edition. And so here comes our fifth edition of Inquirer Lifestyle ‘Best Desserts’, Reyes stated in the book “Best Desserts 5”.
The 131-page “most-read bestselling guide to sweets” featured 120-plus delightful entries of renowned chefs from Pampanga, Metro Manila, Cebu, Bacolod and as far as Zamboanga.
Coming from Porac, Pampanga is Chona Ayson of Homemade Treasures, the creator of Amparo. Ayson flaunted her eight-inch frozen four-layered caramel almond torte with crispy meringue and rich caramel custard, slathered in caramel almond icing and sprinkled with almonds.
Actress Maricar Reyes’ Chocolate Cakes and celebrity stylist Liz Uy’s Mood Chocolate Chip Cookie also made it to the elite list of exhibitors.
Other featured creations are Itlog na Maalat Cheesecake by Chef Felinio Afable, Tocini del Cielo of Betsy David, Eton Mess of Chef Daniel Patterson, Pralines of Chef Tweet Obsequio and Coconut Charcoal Ice Cream by Chef Eng Kew Khor.
Big Desserts, a “sweet nationwide success”, has become the barometer of people’s evolving tastes on desserts. (

domain: food


text:
Despite Pakistan’s weak performance in test series against South Africa, Pakistan batsman Shoaib Malik expressed confidence in his team’s ability to win world cup.
“Yes, we have the ability to win the World Cup hands-down, but abilities don’t win you anything, performances do. Our capabilities include having top ODI bowlers and batsmen in our line-up and personally I’m looking forward to a memorable World Cup 2019,” Malik is quoted as saying by Sky Sports.
While talking about his career he said “My decision to retire is not necessarily connected to my fitness levels, though that is one of the inputs that I will take into account,” he said. “The main point is that I want to be valuable to my country till the last game I play. I also need to catch up with my work-life balance and spend time with my family.” “At this time, I have no plans to change my mind,” said Malik, “but as we all know 2020 is also a big year for my favourite format, T20 when we will have another World T20 – so you just never know!”
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17 November, 2019

domain: sports


text:
Former Troop Member Responds To Boy Scouts' Acceptance Of Openly Gay Youths
Last week, the Boy Scouts of America voted to end its ban on openly gay youths, while re-enforcing its prohibition on gay adult leaders. Some say the decision could lead to litigation and even defections from the organization.
KPBS Morning Edition's Deb Welsh spoke with high school senior Chance Kawar, an Eagle Scout and former member of La Mesa's Troop 51 about the vote. Oh, and by the way, he's also gay.
Kawar: I think that the committee made the choice to do something brave and I think it shows a positive step in the right direction.
Q: Do you see it as a compromise?
Kawar: You know, I do. I think they were looking for a way to kind of make the issue go away and they saw this as a way to include youth but not really settling the problem of whether its OK to be gay and be a Scout.
Q: Because the organization is faith-based, do you expect there might be some kind of a backlash?
Kawar: Perhaps, but I do know that many religions believe that God loves and is accepting of all his children regardless of whether they're gay or straight or anything else. So I hope that religious organizations can kind of see through the politics of this issue and just do the right thing. Because we know that people do better when they're in Scouts and it's such an incredible organizations, has a lot to offer to young boys.
Q: Are you still affiliated with the Scouts, Chance?
Kawar: I was told I was not able to attend meetings by my Scoutmaster this past February after I published an article in the Union Tribune which I revealed my sexual orientation.
Q: And that's the way it stands now?
Kawar: Unfortunately, I think he felt the need to carry out national policy, which because I'm an adult, still stands after the vote.
The Boy Scout's policy change was endorsed by more than 60 percent of the organization's 1,400 voting members.
It goes into effect January 1.

domain: news


On the auspicious occasion of Eid, roadside fruit-sellers in Guwahati’s Jalukbari had to come across an unfortunate incident.
Fire gutted small fruit shops situated on the roadside in the area.
The sellers have accused the police of arson. In the light of the incident, there has been an outrage among the sellers.
“The shops were burnt down overnight without issuing us a prior notice”, alleged the sellers.
The fruit-sellers have also condemned this incident, which the police had carried out on a day such as Eid. According to reports, fruits worth more than lakhs along with belongings of the shop were taken away.


text:
One hundred years ago in mid-November, the guns went silent as an armistice ended four years of grueling, total warfare. It was a cruel conflict that devastated Europe, and in the wake of the destruction, modern society came into being. Looking back, the First World War was a watershed that unleashed a series of forces that continue to shape today’s world, including popular entertainment and the global soccer scene.
It is tempting to believe that more trivial activities like sports and games came to a halt during such a time, but soccer was a balm that brought people together, offering morsels of normalcy on the battlefield, creating new sources of civic pride on the home front, and unifying across cultures in prisoner-of-war camps. Crucially, the war years accelerated the game’s popularization, democratization, and globalization, and sowed the seeds for its future dominance.
“Soccer was everywhere,” says Arnaud Waquet, a professor at the University of Lille who specializes in the transformation of modern sport during the war and postwar years. Waquet points out that, contrary to popular belief, soccer didn’t stop when the soldiers marched off into battle in August 1914.
“It was the most surprising thing,” he says of reading soldiers’ letters and newspapers during the war. “I discovered that soccer was everywhere: in the trenches, beyond the line, in villages, in cities, in cities close to the front but also where there was some British influence, such as ports where the British arrived in Rouen or St. Lazare.”
The wartime years introduced millions of people to the game, thanks to the vast intermingling of nationalities and classes. It changed who played, where they did so, and the status of the game in everyday life, starting with soccer’s modern-day home, Britain.
Soccer originated in the elite British public schools—what Americans know as private schools—of the mid-nineteenth century, but quickly diffused and popularized across the home countries of England, Scotland, and Wales. An English professional league, the Football League, was created in 1888 and soccer worked its way into everyday life, as A.E. Housman’s 1896 poem “A Shropshire Lad: Is My Team Ploughing” illustrates.
When the world went to war in 1914, many sports ceased their activities, including the country’s rugby league. Professional soccer did not.
“The Football League was business, and it did not immediately suspend its matches,” says historian Jean Williams. “This gave soccer, as opposed to other sports, an image of not being quite patriotic, therefore putting the profit motive ahead of national service.”
It’s a perception that still rears its head from time to time in modern-day Britain, according to Williams, despite English support for the Three Lions during international competition. Instead, soccer’s image was saved to some extent when women began playing the game, fusing their participation with a sense of patriotic duty.
Working class women across Britain left domestic service work as maids, housekeepers, and cooks for new opportunities, especially in munitions factories, as millions of men marched off to war. The jobs were better-paid and provided some leisure time, which had been scarce when they were employed as servants. Many women used this free time to play soccer—and the public paid to attend their games.
“What’s significant about women’s soccer is that it used the same business technologies as existed for men’s professional soccer,” Williams says. “But the monies raised went to help wounded soldiers and soldiers with mental health issues.”
This gave their efforts a golden halo of helping to contribute to the welfare of the nation’s wounded.
“It was an element of civic pride,” Williams says. “Ordinary working class men who had lots of ways of spending their money thought it significant to support women’s soccer, week in and week out, by paying to be spectators of women’s soccer.”
As a result, women’s teams in wartime Britain enjoyed enormous support. One of the most famous, Dick Kerr’s Ladies, played their first match in front of some 10,000 paying spectators on Christmas Day 1917 to raise funds for wounded soldiers.
“These were paying spectators, mainly local men, who would have gone to male professional soccer matches,” Williams says.
The attention and place given to soccer as a result helped to shift daily habits and crowned a new king on the British sports scene. Before the war, cricket had been the national game. But during wartime, soccer began to supplant it.
“There was a real moment of respect between the genders and it expressed itself through soccer,” she says. “Because of that respect, both supporting and playing soccer, along the way helping the soldiers on the front, that was the moment in which (soccer) became the national game.”
Away from the British Isles, their citizens helped popularize the game. The Christmas 1914 match, which saw British and German soldiers put down their weapons and play soccer to honor the holiday, is well known. Less widely appreciated is just how much soccer spread throughout the theater of war.
The game had been introduced during the late nineteenth century by British soldiers, engineers, commercial agents, missionaries, and administrators, and it was played across the empire and in areas of British economic interest, from Australia and Canada to Argentina and Brazil. Meanwhile, middle class and social elites across continental Europe, in countries like France, Germany, and Russia played soccer in emulation of the British, who they viewed as the height of modernity for their technical and engineering prowess.
But the wartime experience transformed soccer into a sport of the masses, as men from all classes and across enemy lines learned to play the game. On the battlefields, British soldiers helped spread the game’s gospel during off-duty hours as entertainment and ways to retain a tie to daily life back home—something unexpected by military authorities.
“Many of the ranking officers assumed that when young men went off to war, they’d want to rest (when not fighting),” Williams says. “Part of the democratization by the soldiers was that they wanted normality. What did they do during their leisure time at home? They kicked a ball about.”
The Belgians, who played the game more widely than the French thanks to their close geographic proximity and economic and military ties with Britain, helped as well. But it wasn’t just the Allied forces who helped acculturate people to the game. Equally important, according to Waquet, were the prisoner-of-war camp experiences in German-occupied Europe.
“The British asked to play soccer in prisoner-of-war camps,” he says. Their captors agreed as it was an easy way to communicate with non-German speakers. And in the process, they got hooked.
“There’s a strong practice of soccer in Germany thanks to the British,” Waquet explains. “And there’s a really strong diffusion (of soccer) among American soldiers in the prisoner-of-war camps in Germany.”
Soccer was also played within hospitals, as a way of helping wounded bodies regain strength and mobility, but the sport had other, more practical aspects for commanders, doctors, and administrators. It taught players how to think quickly on their feet and to react as conditions on the field changed.
Such qualities were a stark contrast to those found in the physical culture training—the early form of gymnastics popularized in the early-nineteenth century German turnverein movement—that most continental European armies of the era relied upon to train and strengthen their soldiers. The calisthenics and exercises that comprised physical education were based upon men following the orders given by commanders, ideal for molding private citizen conscripts into soldiers who obeyed on the battlefield.
The new century’s mechanized warfare, however, required something more. After 1914, it was necessary for soldiers to adapt to rapidly changing conditions, especially when their commanders were killed in the line of service.
“There was a deep cultural transformation of how soccer was a really good tool,” Waquet says of how the war changed minds about how best to train and prepare men for combat duty. “The way to build the man of the 20th century was to give him the way to be (functional) by himself and be more technical.”
Soccer was thus seized upon by Allied and Central Power military commands as exemplar training and rehabilitation exercise for their troops. It was the first time that there was mass acculturation vis-à-vis sport, as Waquet pointed out, but it wasn’t just Europeans who engaged in the game.
Soldiers from across the French and British empires witnessed their colleagues’ matches as they congregated along the cold and damp battlefields of the Western Front in northern France and other theaters of war. They learned the game and brought it home with them after the war, from Morocco and Senegal to present-day Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and points in between. And, thanks to the service of millions of men in the Central Powers armed forces—including those who staffed German prisoner-of-war camps—the game was also popularized across the European Continent.
Following the November 1918 armistice and subsequent demobilization, soccer made its way to the far corners of the world and quickly became the most popular team sport. It ceased to be played mainly by the aristocracy or elites, and instead became a game of the everyday citizen. Factory and mine owners organized teams in an effort to create a sense of community among their workers and families, especially in regions that experienced high rates of immigration, such as northern France, where Poles, Italians, and Spaniards settled to rebuild an industrial heartland destroyed by four years of war and German occupation.
Moreover, the demographic makeup of the people who watched—and paid to attend—games changed in many countries, such as in recent FIFA World Cup winner France.
“If you look to the soccer spectator before the First World War, you find it’s more the aristocrat,” Waquet says. “That’s just a small part of society, and that’s why the crowd wasn’t really important (before 1914).”
The war changed that, as attendance figures show. Before the war, the main soccer contest was the “Trophée de France,” which attracted two to three thousand spectators, according to Waquet. The creation of the Coupe de France during the war led to crowds of an estimated 30,000 to 45,000 people, and the 1924 Paris Olympic soccer tournament drew some 40,000 fans for the gold medal match.
The boom translated into a growth of soccer in other ways. France’s football federation was created in 1919 to govern the sport throughout French territory, while Frenchman Jules Rimet helped create the first FIFA World Cup in 1930.
Soccer’s postwar effects rippled across the sport in other ways. The golden era of women’s soccer in Britain continued, with 55,000 paying spectators cramming into Everton’s Goodison Park in 1920 to watch a game—and an additional 15,000 were reportedly barred from entering the stadium due to lack of space.
In these years, according to Williams, “Women’s soccer had never been so popular.”
It was a popularity that had parallels elsewhere in Australia, Canada, the United States, and notably in France where the first organized match between two Parisian women’s sides was played in September 1917. In 1920, England and France played their first ladies’ internationals—and created the world’s first viral soccer moment when the two captains kissed on the cheek in a gesture of friendship before kickoff.
“It was a global media moment,” Williams says. “That image went around the world.”
Despite the crowds and support for women’s soccer—or perhaps because of it—England banned women from playing in major stadiums in 1921, effectively limiting where and when they were able to play.
For some, the ban was motivated by perceptions of what women should, and should not, do, wear, or act in public. For example, unlike most every other sport, women’s soccer uniforms were very similar to men’s: shirt, shorts, socks, and shoes. In contrast, many other female sports uniforms of the era involved bloomers or skirts, articles of clothing that still signified a certain illustration of femininity. Moreover, soccer was played outside, in the public sphere, whereas basketball, netball, and volleyball were all played indoors and thus perceived as closer to the private, domestic sphere that prewar notions held of a woman’s place in society.
Then there was the way the sport was played. “There’s always been a challenge for women” Williams explained of how sports where the ball is handled, as in basketball or volleyball, have long been viewed by many societies as acceptable for women, whereas kicking a ball was not. “I’ve never been able to figure out why kicking is seen to be more violent than handling,” she says.
But there were other likely motivations behind the ban on women’s soccer, and that was its wartime and immediate postwar popularity among paying spectators.
“It was an economic imperative to protect the revenues for the Football League,” Williams explained of how the Football Association was influenced to implement the ban.
Despite England’s ban—a move mirrored in other countries in the first half of the twentieth century, such as Brazil (1941)—the 1910s remain a watershed era for the game all around.
(Top photo by Shaun Brooks/Action Plus via Getty Images)

domain: history


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So cool, there is some actual battles as involved due to certain problems as I thought. On this episode, our hero starts a school to teach the citizens.
Other than the briefing, the action was pretty much okay but I wonder if there's going to be more because it's a fantasy series? Also it's quite nice how our protagonist along with his maid deal with the situations or problems so far. But near the ending on this episode, it was kinda sad and touching. Besides that, I'm getting hooked with the series so far and I don't have any complaints because characters overall are plain interesting (besides setting and story). I'll be definitely looking forward to the next, as usual.
Conclusion: Nice dramatic action scenes and an interesting plot.

domain: entertainment


Funny Cow is a unique and heartfelt character study of a woman with a funny bone for a backbone. She finds an escape from the hardships of her life in the world of stand up comedy. It’s a dark but hilarious journey into the dark heart of British comedy with a powerful central performance from Maxine Peake.
We here at Screen Mayhem were very privileged to speak with first time producer Kevin Proctor about the development and realisation of the project. We talked about the history of British comedy, the rigours of being a film producer, and putting together such a stellar cast.
How did you get involved with Funny Cow?
I got involved with Funny Cow because of my relationship with Tony Pitts (screenwriter), who I met a while ago, in 2010. Tony and I formed a very brotherly bond and when he said he had this project he wanted me to read, I said I would love to read it. I read it and immediately knew that this is the film that I would want to go and see. I wanted this to be my debut as a producer because it made me laugh, it was the most original script I’d ever read and it was a film I’d never seen before.Absolutely. The role of a producer tends to differ from project to project, what was your role within Funny Cow?
Funny Cow was hard to make. When you have a film as bold and defining as Funny Cow it’s very hard to walk into a room of financiers and put your finger on what it is. As I say, it’s the most interesting script I’d ever read, so as a producer it was my job to ensure that the project wasn’t diluted, it wasn’t changed, Tony’s voice remained the same throughout. It was about putting the best people in the best places. So as a producer what I did was take the script and then ran with it and went headlong into making, as far as I’m concerned, something that is inspiring, heartwarming, hilarious, life affirming. And as a producer it’s my job to make sure that that is transposed onto the screen. I’m a very creative producer.
Did you, prior to the film, have any experience of what The Guardian referred to, in its review of Funny Cow, as “The dark days of British Standup”?
Yes! I’m from a town in the Midlands and every weekend we would go to the working men’s clubs and the social clubs and there would be an act. There would be a ventriloquist or a singer, a dancer or a magician and you would sit round with all your family and you’d watch it. Again going back to when I first read the script; it was something I’d never seen before. It’s never been put on screen – a story about the working men’s clubs, and a story about a strong female in this world. It just makes you understand that, once again, this story needed to be told. It’s a picture postcard of a dying aspect of our culture, of our history. We don’t have the working men’s clubs anymore which is a shame. So yes, my experience of these environments was first hand. The carpets, the tables, the desperation when the act fails. It all sticks with you.
Were there any of these clubs that you were able to find and film in or was it mainly studio work?
We shot entirely on location. There was no studio work in Funny Cow. We shot in actual working men’s clubs in Bradford, Leeds and Saltaire. So every location that you see in Funny Cow has been dressed. Funny Cow’s childhood home was in fact a home that was about to be rented out and was empty. So they allowed us to go in there and completely recreate it as a 50s home. I’d actually like to say that the whole of Bradford and Yorkshire were enormously helpful in terms of shooting on location. It’s very hard to do a period film these days because sadly society changes and we knock down old buildings and old relics and we replace them with new, cheaper indescribable things. So, it was all on location. These working men’s clubs did exist and they still do exist and we shot in them.
That authenticity really shows within the film. The film has a certain amount of nostalgia for the working men’s clubs and the comics within, but it’s never rose tinted. Being a comedian at the time is portrayed as being a very difficult and fairly dispiriting thing at times. Was there the fear of breaking the hearts of some old comedy fans?
Rather interestingly Bobby Ball has gotten in contact recently and said how authentic it was to him. When I make a film, when I look at a script, I don’t look at it in terms of how much money is this film going to make? Is this going to please everybody? If a script makes me laugh, is original, and I know I want to go and see it, then that for me is the litmus test. So, Tony wrote a very honest film and I think that what we’ve portrayed is the truth. Not only the truth of the time, it’s also the truth of the characters.
You’ve got some fantastic cameos by comedians like Vic Reeves, Kevin Eldon and Diane Morgan, just naming a few. What strikes me about them is that they were largely alternative comedians or came up in the alternative circuit. Did you find a certain amount of sympathy with them and the dark portrayal of comedy as a career path?
We had John Bishop as well. John was in there. My background always has been comedy. You talked about alternative comedy there. The very first obsession I had was with The Comic Strip and so I grew up with alternative comedy. When comedians are discussing and talking about comedy and how it’s changed, and how it’s moved on, it’s a very broad understanding of what was acceptable in the seventies and what changed during the 80s. Comedy has had many movements and I feel we captured that movement of the 70s as pitch perfectly as we could.
The comedians who are relevant these days have a completely different agenda and style to what we’ve captured on camera. The important thing to note about comedy is how it has changed. To see how politicised it did become in the 80s and then how alternative it became. And then in the 90s how it actually became a career. You could sell out a stadium. You could go to an arena. The story that we told resonated because those comedians that you mentioned were wholeheartedly aware of the forefathers of comedy who brought it into the mainstream. It went from the clubs onto the television, and from that we moved into comedians hosting gameshows like Bullseye… Jim Bowen. That’s when comedy started to infiltrate television. Then of course alternative comedy took over and it became a very different landscape. There was no more room for what we considered the dinosaurs of comedy. But it’s very important to remember that without their input we wouldn’t have the broad landscape we have now.
Absolutely and it’s really interesting to recast the familiar modern faces of comedy in the context of struggling to get attention in these clubs. It’s also really interesting that you’ve shown comedy to be fuelled by the audience. Because you have Alun Armstrong’s character trying to do the innocent stuff and the stuff he finds funny and it dies. He has to do the racist, broader stuff to get people onboard. What Funny Cow then does is she gets up and offers something the audience didn’t know they wanted which is a female sassy comedian. So she breaks through to them in a way that Armstrong’s character never did.
Yes, and I feel that comedy is always subjective. Because you’re always telling stories. Tony didn’t just sit down and write jokes that were of the time. He really thought hard about those jokes. It wasn’t just a case of “let’s stick in some stereotypes because we’re in the 70s.” Joke tellers were story tellers and they took the culture… There’s a very wonderful interview we did with Corinne Bailey Rae behind the scenes, where she calls herself a product of the embracing of cultures. Because cultures were starting to mix at this time. My parents are Irish so I am essentially an immigrant. So instead of pointing a finger and saying “That’s different” comedians were embracing the culture and utilising it in their acts. It’s inclusion. It’s not ostracising, and there’s a very distinct difference between ostracising with jokes and inclusion with jokes. And If you look at that joke at the very end that Funny Cow tells – who is the joke about? Who is the brunt of that joke? That’s a very clever joke because you’re giving the stereotypes, you’re creating a laugh, but nobody in that room is looking round and pointing at anyone who’s different, going “Yeah, yeah it’s about you. You’re less than me.” They’re not. It’s all about inclusion. And I think that’s an interesting dynamic that we captured in Funny Cow. Because you cannot do a film, absolutely cannot do a film, set in the 70s and not have a reference to the jokes that were being told then. The authenticity would be lost.
Coming on to Maxine Peake, she is perfect in the lead role. At what stage was she considered?
Maxine read the script and she had to be involved. It completely resonated with her. She met with Tony and said “I have to do this.” She had the same feeling I had. It’s the originality of it. I’ve not seen this before. And it was capturing a part of our history that had never really been fully explored. So of course she is perfect for it because she is Funny Cow and Tony specifically wrote the script for her. And again, it just made perfect sense for her to continue on this project whilst we stitched it together and made this film with very little assistance. I’ll put it that way.
Peake demonstrates that she is capable of being very funny but always in the context of this very disturbing environment of abuse and alcoholism and various other vices. Were you ever concerned about managing the tone of the film?
Well, Peake’s character never cries in the film. The scene which I adore is the scene where she laughs in the face of danger, where Bob assaults her and she breaks into hysterical laughing. It’s a poignant scene and I did say if this film encourages one person to leave an abusive relationship, or if it encourages one person to follow their dream then the job’s done. For me, the story and the originality and the resonance of the film is more important to me than making a film that has a happy ending, where you go home and you forget about the film. I wanted to make a film where people said “That’s changed my perception of everything. That’s really affected me, in a way that you don’t get anymore.” As well as capturing those heart-warming moments, it’s life affirming as well. The character of Funny Cow is life-affirming in every aspect of her journey. She becomes the person that she knows she is. She doesn’t change. There are some moments where we feel she could have taken an easier path but she doesn’t change. She doesn’t cry, she laughs in the face of danger and as far as I’m concerned she’s a hero. She’s as strong as Francis McDormand. She’s as strong as any of the contenders for this year’s [Academy] award. The tone of the film never once crossed my mind. All I knew was that it was heart-warming, life affirming and it made me laugh. It was hilarious. I read it three times and I laughed and cried. And immediately after reading it I phoned Tony and said, “I have to do this.”
She’s also supported by this solid troupe of character actors like Stephen Graham, Paddy Considine and Alun Armstrong, again just naming a few. How was it getting these guys involved?
Again, it all comes down to the script. Stephen read the script, Paddy read the script, Alun read the script and they all had to be involved. They all wanted to be involved. For us the key thing about this is that these cast members, the talent that you’ve described, would not do a film unless they were 100% in love with the story and what it was saying. That’s how we got them. It was absolutely down to the script. It was not down to anything else. They read it and they loved it. They all agreed in equal measure: heart-warming, hilarious, life affirming. That’s when you know that you have a film that is going to appeal to a wide variety of audience members.
Funny Cow is your first producing credit on a theatrically released film, but you’ve had a long and very illustrious line of production assistant and secretary credits in film and TV. Did working on films like Hot Fuzz, Eastern Promises, Adulthood and Inception amidst many, many others, help prepare you for the rigours of being a full on producer?
Yes. It gives you a complete understanding of what makes a film work. I’m very proud that I started off making tea for Peter Kay, many years ago in 2004. That was my first credited role. If you are going to succeed in this industry and if you are going to make films that are different, you really do need to know every single aspect of production. I moved from co-ordinating, to production management, to line producing, to producing. I would not have been able to make this film the way that it was made if I had walked in from a weekend course or after reading a book on producing. This business is hard, in fact it’s more than hard, it’s exhausting. Funny Cow took five years to be made and in those five years there’s a lot of rejection, a lot of pain, but that is why Tony and I have created our bond and it’s stronger. Now we have Studio POW, my company, which is moving forward, and the key to Studio POW is the creativity, putting the script first. You can do as many budgets as you want and you can do as many schedules as you want, but if you haven’t got the right script you will not get your defining, original career.
So Studio POW is now moving forward with Cordelia, which I’m shooting with Adrian Shergold (director of Funny Cow). After Cordelia we are shooting Disco Pier, which is Tony’s next film. Again, these scripts are original, they are stories that I have never seen before. It’s very tempting to do a film that will do well on DVD or is essentially a tried and tested template, but if you take a script and you give it to an actor and they say they’ve never read anything like this before, then you know that your creative radar is correct. And we are in a creative industry, so creativity comes first.
Fabulous, and is Cordelia going to be your next producing credit.
Yes, we start shooting in seven weeks at Twickenham Studios so it’s ready to go!
And can you tell us anything about it?
Yes. Cordelia is a studio film, so we are building sets at Twickenham. It is different to Funny Cow. It’s a psychological thriller that Adrian Shergold has written and is directing. I read it on the set of Funny Cow and immediately sensed the originality of the story. Something I’d never seen before. I was quite humbled that Adrian gave it to me. Because these kinds of projects are very rare and it was a very personal project to him. It’s the trust that you build up, and I think once creative people such as writers, directors and actors, find a producer that is very understanding of their needs and their creativity… Because as a producer you are there to protect the talent. You’re not there to exploit anybody and you’re not there to push things through. You’re there to make the film in the best medium possible. Which is why we’re building the sets and shooting on film as well. Kodak have gotten involved and we’re shooting on 16mm film. Studio POW is building a very diverse database of films that are for a very wide audience. There will be no pigeonholing, each script is always different and, as I say, the creativity of the project always comes first.
That’s brilliant, and Cordelia sounds really interesting. My final question would be the question that should be on everybody’s lips: where and how can everyone see Funny Cow?
Funny Cow will be nation-wide on April the 20th. Thankfully eOne have run with this project and they are giving it a broad release. Just to note, my heartfelt thanks to eOne for taking this project and giving it the platform that it deserves. It’s important to note that eOne came onboard at script stage. So they were with us from the start and due to their admiration of the project, they left us alone. We made the film we wanted to make, and I think that’s why it stands out as being such an original and diverse film. Because we were allowed to do what we wanted to do.
Absolutely and that really shows. Kevin Proctor, thank you so much for speaking with me.
No, I’m really happy. Thank you so much!
Funny Cow is in cinemas nationwide on Friday the 20th of April. Read Screen Mayhem’s review here.


text:
The Big Sky country of Montana offers rivers to raft (or fly fish), Glacier National Park, and the entrance to Yellowstone
Two Rivers Run through It - I was probably underwater for only 45 seconds, but it felt like five minutes. Partly this was because I was unable to breathe, and partly because I was unsure if the violently churning water would ever stop battering my body against the rocks and spit me out of the 18-foot-deep sinkhole at the bottom of Tumbleweed rapids...
Tracking wolves through the Yellowstone winter - We're going to follow that bald eagle up the river," said Leslie Quinn as we watched the magnificent bird flap past. Leslie threw into gear his bright yellow Bombadier—a vintage 1960s snowcoach shaped like a gumdrop reclining on tank treads—and crunched up the snow-packed road into the heart of the world's oldest national park...
Snowmobiling the Continental Divide - The only thought that registered I flew off the edge of the snowcliff was that the little bush over which I was sailing was actually the tiptop of a 40-foot spruce tree. Luckily, the drop to the snowbank on the other side was only about five feet. As I plowed into it I gunned my engine, shot right through the bank in a huge plume of powder, and went roaring off along the ridge line that marks the Continental Divide...

domain: geography