In what was certainly an unprecedented year, as the coronavirus upended various industries and lives, women set a new record in 2020 for directing more top-grossing films than ever before.According to a new San Diego State University study from the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film (via Variety), women represented 16% of directors leading the 100 highest-grossing films in 2020. This is an increase from 12% in 2019 and 4% in 2018.The center's director, Dr. Martha Lauzen, who has overseen the study for the last two decades, celebrated the consecutive increase in women directors over the past two years while saying more work needs to be done as "80% of the top films" are still led by men.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Pokemon Masters, the mobile spin-off game from DeNA, has gotten a New Year's update packed with new sync pairs, limited-time special events, and more in-game rewards.To start, the game is offering special New Years versions of two sync pairs, Lillie & Ribombee and Lance & Gyarados. Both of the sync pairs can reach the 6-Star EX rating, which was introduced in a recent update that unlocked the EX ratings for some other existing sync pairs. Plus they're sporting new outfits.An in-game story called Season's Greetings is now available. It features Lillie and Lance and will grant you some rewards as you make your way through the story. Both of the new sync pairs and the Season's Greetings story are available through January 13 at 9:59 PM PT.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Rhys Darby (Jumanji, What We Do in the Shadows) has been cast in the lead role of Thor: Ragnarok director's upcoming HBO Max comedy series, Our Flag Means Death. The casting announcement, first reported by Deadline, marks the latest collaboration between Darby and Waititi who go all the way back to the hilarious, musical landmark 2007 HBO series Flight of the Conchords.As the show's title suggests, Our Flag Means Death is a period comedy about pirates--more specifically, loosely based on the life and misadventures of a real-life man named Stede Bonnet, who in the 18th century was known as The Gentleman Pirate. Bonnet was a wealthy aristocrat on the island of Barbados, who gave up his privileged life to become a pirate. Waititi will produce Our Flag Means Death alongside showrunner David Jenkins, and direct the pilot episode. No release date has yet been set for the series.This is far from the only project Waititi has in the pipeline. Additionally, the director is making for Netflix two animated Charlie and the Chocolate Factory series based on the classic Roald Dahl book and Reservation Dogs, an upcoming FX series about Native American teens fighting and also committing crime in rural Oklahoma. Darby and Waititi will also be collaborating in another Waititi project, the upcoming sports comedy Next Goal Wins, which Waititi is co-writing and directing.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Nintendo is holding another crossover event in Tetris 99 this weekend. The online puzzler's 19th Maximus Cup competition kicks off this Thursday, January 7, and this time, the prize is a theme based on the recent Kirby spin-off, Kirby Fighters 2.Like previous Maximus Cups, this weekend's event is a point-based competition. You'll earn points depending on how well you place each round, and if you can amass 100 points by the end of the event, you'll unlock the aforementioned Kirby Fighters 2 theme.The Maximus Cup runs until 10:59 PM PT on January 11 (1:59 AM ET on January 12). You'll need to have a Nintendo Switch Online subscription to participate in the event. Individual memberships cost $4 for one month, $8 for three months, and $20 for one year, while an annual Family Plan costs $35 and covers up to eight Nintendo Accounts.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

A big part of the Pokemon Go experience is customizing your trainer avatar with different hats, accessories, and clothes. Now, you can take that customization to the designer level with items inspired by the North Face x Gucci collection.Starting January 4, Trainers will be able to find hats, t-shirts, and backpacks based on this high fashion athlesiure collection via geo-drop at 100 PokeStops around the world, including at Gucci pins. These are pop-up Gucci shops where the real-life versions of these avatar items can be purchased, in case you want to match your stylish Pokemon Go avatar in your daily life. But just because these are pop-up shops, you can't just pop in. If you want to snag IRL North Face x Gucci, you will need to find the closest pin to your location and make an appointment.Pokemon Go's Unova event is going on now, so you won't be all dressed up with nowhere to go. Considering Niantic is looking to add player avatars into the game as Trainer NPCs in the Kanto event, it might not be a bad idea to add some designer flair to your Trainer's look.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The last day to get Twitch drops from Escape From Tarkov’s New Year event on Twitch is fast-approaching. The event, which began on December 28, will conclude on Friday, January 8. On that day, all Twitch streams for Escape From Tarkov will have drops activated. However, if you’re looking to get Twitch drops from Escape From Tarkov right now, you’ll need to seek out specific streamers with active drops.In this guide, we’ll show you how to link your Escape From Tarkov account to Twitch, how to enable Twitch drops, and which streamers to watch to start earning rewards.How to link your Tarkov and Twitch accountsIf you don’t already own a copy of the game, head to our Escape From Tarkov preorder guide and learn the difference between each edition. When you’re ready to make your purchase, you can do so on the game’s official website. If you purchase one of the lower-tier editions, you can still purchase a more advanced version for a discounted price later and receive all the associated bonus items.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Actor Clancy Brown has been cast in a major role for the new Dexter TV show that's coming to Showtime. It has been announced that Brown will play the primary villain in the revival series.According to Variety, Brown will play the character Kurt Caldwell, who is the main antagonist of the new Dexter show. "Caldwell is described as the unofficial mayor of the small town of Iron Lake. He's realized the American dream by going from driving big rigs, just like his father did, to now owning several trucks and the local truck stop," reads Variety's description. "Powerful, generous, loved by everyone--he's a true man of the people. If he's got your back, consider yourself blessed. But should you cross Kurt, or hurt anyone that he cares for, God help you."The Caldwell character has big shoes to fill as a villain in the Dexter universe, as John Lithgow's character from the original show, the Trinity killer, was a high point for the series.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Star Wars is opening a new era for storytelling with the arrival of the "High Republic" series, a trans-media setting that will span new books, graphic novels, and a Disney+ series. Here's everything you need to know about this new Star Wars setting.What is the "High Republic" era?The High Republic era is a golden age in the Star Wars universe, described as a time of peace and prosperity set roughly 200 years before Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. It's said to be an "era of ambition, of culture, of inclusion, of Great Works."While many familiar Star Wars tropes are present in the High Republic era, they're slightly different than you may recognize. As opposed to the prequel era, when the Republic had grown corrupt and paralyzed by bureaucracy, the High Republic is led by a well-respected and benevolent chancellor and the public feels that their voices are heard. The Jedi Order is less dogmatic and stilted, and Jedi Knights are seen as honorable peacekeepers. Even the sci-fi technology, like starfighters and transport vessels, are described as clean and sleek--a far cry from the dingy, broken-down aesthetic of many later movies.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The latest event in Apex Legends, Fight Night, is now live. The new limited-time event adds a Pathfinder-themed town takeover to Olympus, a brand-new mode, over two dozen legendary and epic cosmetics, and makes several quality of life adjustments to the in-match meta. Of note, there's a particularly interesting adjustment to how ring closure works.In order to address the chaotic nature of the last few fights in a match, developer Respawn is tweaking how the ring closes for rounds five and six. Ring 5 is now a bit bigger, expanded from a 1500 unit radius to a 2000 unit radius, though it still closes at the same rate. And Ring 6 is now the final ring of every match, closing over the course of 100 seconds.This change completely removes Rings 7 and 8, which were traditionally only seen in a handful of matches anyway because most squads were killed off and a winner decided by Rings 5 or 6. But when multiple teams did manage to survive that long, those final rings were always a cluster of character abilities and shotgun/submachine gun fire--any squad with a surviving Caustic and his ultimate ability at the ready was practically guaranteed to take the win.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The newest Operator for Call of Duty: Warzone and Black Ops Cold War has arrived, and he brings a hammer. The new Operator, Wyatt "Bulldozer" Jomes, is an American Marine who was born in 1955. He's aligned with the NATO faction and his blood type is O+, in case you were wondering.You can purchase Bulldozer through an eight-item bundle that also includes various items and extras, the most notable of which is a giant sledgehammer. The "Heavy Handed" legendary blueprint is the combat sledgehammer that features a rubber grip and the words "knock knock" written on sides of the business end of the hammer itself.As you might have guessed, the hammer is the centerpiece of Bulldozer's finishing move, which is called "Hammer Uppercut." You can see it in action through the video below.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The recurring Crucible event in Destiny 2, Iron Banner, has returned once again. That makes this another chance for some high-level competition where your Power level matters, but it also makes for an opportunity to continue making progress on Slaying Dragons.Obtained from Lord Saladin, this season-long quest involves grinding away at various Crucible objectives in Iron Banner matches, so you're only able to work on it during the weeks where Iron Banner is active. As of the weekly reset on January 5, Iron Banner is available for the second time this season. Read on for a complete look at what to expect from each of the six steps that comprise the Slaying Dragons quest.Completing each one will earn you an additional piece of Season 12's Iron Banner armor--updated versions of the Iron Will set capable of using new mods. Certain objectives are also retroactive, allowing you to make progress on subsequent steps even before you reach them.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Co-developer Treyarch is moving its Call of Duty playlist update notifications for Black Ops Cold War to Thursdays, the studio announced on Twitter. The next one lands on January 7.The playlist updates for the latest Call of Duty games--particularly Modern Warfare and Warzone--are sent out relatively spontaneously, though they land on various Tuesdays throughout the year. From now on, however, playlist updates will start trickling out on Thursdays. The next update for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War arrives this Thursday and features Raid and Crossroads Strike 24/7, Gunfight Blueprints, and Dirty Bomb Duos.Treyarch only mentioned Black Ops Cold War. However, it's likely that this change in when playlist updates are sent out extends to Call of Duty: Warzone as well.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Fight Night, a new limited-time event, is now live in Apex Legends, adding a new town takeover and making welcome quality-of-life changes to the game. As a collection event, Fight Night also introduces a ton of new epic and legendary cosmetics to purchase from Apex Legends' in-game store. We've compiled images of them below.It's a pretty excellent roundup of cosmetics this time around. In terms of legendary skins, the collection includes seven new character skins and five new weapon skins. In keeping in line with the theme of the event, everything is getting a shiny, Olympus-looking makeover.Every item in the Fight Night collection can be bought with Apex Coins or crafted with Crafting Materials.Gallery For the most part, everyone looks fly as hell...again, for the most part. Respawn still can't quite nail down a good legendary look for Bangalore--it's honestly the hair, we don't know why the team keeps trying to straighten Bangalore's awesome curls. Those looks don't work for her.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

There's just nothing like a Persona soundtrack. Lead composer Shoji Meguro and others such as Atsushi Kitajoh from Atlus' sound team have churned out so many hits that stand out as fantastic songs, but are also able to perfectly communicate the emotions that you feel in the moments they're played. And with each entry, Atlus finds new ways to incorporate different music genres into their soundtracks, making each game carry a distinct vibe and sound. Now, a good chunk of that work is available on Spotify.While many fans are familiar with the bangers and jams from the more popular mainline games (let's say, Persona 5, Persona 4, and Persona 3), there is more to dig into beyond the big hits. For this particular article, I want to highlight a few standouts from other Persona entries that may not have the same spotlight, but absolutely deserve that level of recognition.Keep in mind, there's nothing wrong with not being familiar with every entry in the series. It's okay! There's no shame in that! I just want to spread the good word, and maybe let folks know about other songs that might become their new favorite Persona tracks. It's also worth noting that music from Persona 5 Royal, Persona 3 and 5 Dancing, and the original Persona are not on Spotify at the moment. You can find a playlist at the bottom of this article that includes the songs mentioned here (and a few more).Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The third season of Cobra Kai has arrived on Netflix and if you haven't watched it yet, you're wasting time. After all, viewers were left on that high school karate riot of a cliffhanger after Season 2. How could you not want to know what happens next?If, somehow, you have yet to watch the new episodes, stop reading now. The rest of this story is going to be dealing with some pretty heavy spoilers for Season 3. Consider this your final warning.The third season of the series includes quite a few bombshells, from the deep dive into Sensei Kreese's (Martin Kove) origin story to the reappearance of Ali (Elisabeth Shue), the high school love interest of both Johnny (William Zabka) and Daniel (Ralph Macchio). Still, even with those moments--and so many more--there is likely no more satisfying plot development than Johnny and Daniel uniting for a common cause by the end of the season.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com