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What makes a character so compelling that readers will forgive almost anything about the plot? How do you move beyond vague flaws and generic descriptions to create people who feel pulled from real life? In this solo episode, I share 15 actionable tips for writing deep characters, curated from past interviews on the podcast. In the intro, thoughts from London Book Fair [Instagram reel @jfpennauthor; Publishing Perspectives; Audible; Spotify]; Insights from a 7-figure author business [BookBub]. This show is supported by my Patrons. Join my Community and get articles, discounts, and extra audio and video tutorials on writing craft, author business, and AI tools, at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn This episode has been created from previous episodes of The Creative Penn Podcast, curated by Joanna Penn, as well as chapters from How to Write a Novel: From Idea to Book. Links to the individual episodes are included in the transcript below. In this episode: Master the ‘Believe, Care, Invest' trifecta, how to hook readers on the very first page Define the Dramatic Question: Who is your character when the chips are down? Absolute specificity. Why “she's controlling” isn't good enough Understand the Heroine's Journey, strength through connection, not solo action Use ‘Metaphor Families' to anchor dialogue and give every character a distinctive voice Find the Diagnostic Detail, the moments that prove a character is real Writing pain onto the page without writing memoir Write diverse characters as real people, not stereotypes or plot devices Give your protagonist a morally neutral ‘hero' status. Compelling beats likeable. Build vibrant side characters for series longevity and spin-off potential Use voice as a rhythmic tool Link character and plot until they're inseparable Why discovery writers can write out of order and still build deep character Find the sensory details that make characters live and breathe More help with how to write fiction here, or in my book, How to Write a Novel. Writing Characters: 15 Tips for Writing Deep Character in Your Fiction In today's episode, I'm sharing fifteen tips for writing deep characters, synthesised from some of the most insightful interviews on The Creative Penn Podcast over the past few years, combined with what I've learned across more than forty books of my own. I'll be referencing episodes with Matt Bird, Will Storr, Gail Carriger, Barbara Nickless, and Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer. I'll also draw on my own book, How to Write a Novel, which covers these fundamentals in detail. Whether you're writing your first novel or your fiftieth, whether you're a plotter or a discovery writer like me, these tips will help you create characters that readers believe in, care about, and invest in—and keep coming back for more. Let's get into it. 1. Master the ‘Believe, Care, Invest' Trifecta When I spoke with Matt Bird on episode 624, he laid out the three things you need to achieve on the very first page of your book or in the first ten minutes of a film. He calls it “Believe, Care, and Invest.” First, the reader must believe the character is a real person, somehow proving they are not a cardboard imitation of a human being, not just a generic type walking through a generic plot. Second, the reader must care about the character's circumstances. And third, the reader must invest in the character's ability to solve the story's central problem. Matt used The Hunger Games as his primary example, and it's brilliant. On the very first page, we believe Katniss's voice. Suzanne Collins writes in first person with a staccato rhythm—lots of periods, short declarative sentences—that immediately grounds us in a survivalist mentality. We care because Katniss is starving. She's protecting her little sister. And we invest because she is out there bow hunting, which Matt pointed out is one of the most badass things a character can do. She even kills a lynx two pages in and sells the pelt. We invest in her resourcefulness and grit before the plot has even begun. Matt was very clear that this has nothing to do with the character being “likable.” He said his subtitle, Writing a Hero Anyone Will Love, doesn't mean the character has to be a good person. He described “hero” as both gender-neutral and morally neutral. A hero can be totally evil or totally good. What matters is that we believe, care, and invest. He demonstrated this beautifully by breaking down the first ten minutes of WeCrashed, where the characters of Adam and Rebekah Neumann are absolutely not likable, but we are completely hooked. Adam steals his neighbour's Chinese food through a carefully orchestrated con involving an imaginary beer. It's not admirable behaviour, but the tradecraft involved, as Matt put it—using a term from spy movies—makes us invest in him. We see a character trying to solve the big problem of his life, which is that he's poor and wants to be rich, and we want to see if he can pull it off. Actionable step: Go to the first page of your current work in progress. Does it achieve all three? Does the reader believe this is a real person with a distinctive voice? Do they care about the character's circumstances? And do they invest in the character's ability to handle what's coming? If even one of those three is missing, that's your revision priority. 2. Define the Dramatic Question: Who Are They Really? Will Storr, author of The Science of Storytelling, came on episode 490 and gave one of the most powerful frameworks I've ever heard for character-driven fiction. He explained that the human brain evolved language primarily to swap social information—in other words, to gossip. We are wired to monitor other people, to ask the question: who is this person when the chips are down? That's what Will calls the Dramatic Question, and it's what he believes lies at the heart of all compelling storytelling. It's not a question about plot. It's a question about the character's soul. And every scene in your novel should force the character to answer it. His example of Lawrence of Arabia is unforgettable. The Dramatic Question for the entire film is: who are you, Lawrence? Are you ordinary or are you extraordinary? At the beginning, Lawrence is a cocky, rebellious young soldier who believes his rebelliousness makes him superior. Every iconic scene in that three-hour film tests that belief. Sometimes Lawrence acts as though he truly is extraordinary—leading the Arabs into battle, being hailed as a god—and sometimes the world strips him bare and he sees himself as ordinary. Because it's a tragedy, he never overcomes his flaw. He doubles down on his belief that he's extraordinary until he becomes monstrous, culminating in that iconic scene where he lifts a bloody dagger and sees his own reflection with horror. Will also used Jaws to demonstrate how this works in a pure action thriller. Brody's dramatic question is simple: are you going to be old Brody who is terrified of the water, or new Brody who can overcome that fear? Every scene where the shark appears is really asking that question. And the last moment of the film isn't the shark blowing up. It's Brody swimming back through the water, saying he used to be scared of the water and he can't imagine why. Actionable step: Write down the Dramatic Question for your protagonist in a single sentence. Is it “Are you ordinary or extraordinary?” or “Are you brave enough to love again?” or “Will you sacrifice your principles for survival?” If you can't answer this with specificity, your character might still be a sketch rather than a person. 3. Get rid of Vague Flaws, and use Absolute Specificity This was one of Will Storr's most important points. He said that vague thinking about characters is really the enemy. When he teaches workshops and asks writers to describe their character's flaw, most of them say something like “they're very controlling.” And Will's response is: that's not good enough. Everyone is controlling. How are they controlling? What's the specific mechanism? He gave the example of a profile he read of Theresa May during the UK's Brexit chaos. Someone who knew her said that Theresa May's problem was that she always thinks she's the only adult in every room she goes into. Will said that stopped him in his tracks because it's so precise. If you define a character with that level of specificity, you can take them and put them in any genre, any situation—a spaceship, a Victorian drawing room, a school playground—and you will know exactly how they're going to behave. The same applies to Arthur Miller's Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman, as Will described it: a man who believes absolutely in capitalistic success and the idea that when you die, you're going to be weighed on a scale, just as God weighs you for sin, but now you're weighed for success. That's not a vague flaw. That's a worldview you can drop into any story and watch it combust. Will made another counterintuitive point that I found really valuable: writers often think that piling on multiple traits will create a complex character, but the opposite is true. Starting with one highly specific flaw and running it through the demands of a relentless plot is what generates complexity. You end up with a far more nuanced, original character than if you'd started with a laundry list of vague attributes. Actionable step: Take your protagonist's flaw and pressure-test it. Is it specific enough that you could place this character in any situation and predict their behaviour? If you're stuck at “she's stubborn” or “he's insecure,” keep pushing. What kind of stubborn? What kind of insecure? Find the diagnostic sentence—the Theresa May level of precision. 4. Understand the Heroine's Journey: Strength Through Connection Gail Carriger came on episode 550 to discuss her nonfiction book, The Heroine's Journey, and it completely reframed how I think about some of my own fiction. Gail explained that the core difference between the Hero's Journey and the Heroine's Journey comes down to how strength and victory are defined. The Hero's Journey is about strength through solo action. The hero must be continually isolated to get stronger. He goes out of civilisation, faces strife alone, and achieves victory through physical prowess and self-actualisation. The Heroine's Journey is the opposite. The heroine achieves her goals by activating a network. She's a delegator, a general. She identifies where she can't do something alone, finds the people who can help, and portions out the work for mutual gain. Gail put it simply: the heroine is very good at asking for help, which our culture tends to devalue but which is actually a powerful form of strength. Crucially, Gail stressed that gender is irrelevant to which journey you're writing. Her go-to examples are striking: the recent Wonder Woman film is practically a beat-for-beat hero's journey—Gilgamesh on screen, as Gail described it. Meanwhile, Harry Potter, both the first book and the series as a whole, is a classic heroine's journey. Harry's power comes from his network—Dumbledore's Army, the Order of the Phoenix, his friendships with Ron and Hermione. He doesn't defeat Voldemort alone. He defeats Voldemort because of love and connection. This distinction has real practical consequences for writers. If you're writing a hero's journey and you hit writer's block, Gail said, the solution is usually to isolate your hero further and pile on more strife. But if you're writing a heroine's journey, the solution is probably to throw a new character into the scene—someone who has advice to offer or a skill the heroine lacks. The actual solutions to writer's block are different depending on which narrative you're writing. As I reflected on my own work, I realised that my ARKANE thriller protagonist, Morgan Sierra, follows a hero's journey—she's a solo operative, a lone wolf like Jack Reacher or James Bond. But my Mapwalker fantasy series follows a heroine's journey, with Sienna and her group of friends working together. I hadn't consciously chosen those paths; the stories led me there. But understanding the framework helps me write more intentionally now. Actionable step: Identify which journey your protagonist is on. Does your character gain strength by being alone (hero) or by building connections (heroine)? This will inform every plot decision you make, from how they face obstacles to how your story ends. 5. Use ‘Metaphor Families' to Anchor Dialogue and Voice One of the most practical techniques Matt Bird shared on episode 624 is the idea of assigning each character a “metaphor family”—a specific well of language that they draw from. This gives each character a distinctive voice that goes beyond accent or dialect. Matt explained how in The Wire, one of the most beloved TV shows of all time, every character has a different metaphor family. What struck him was that Omar, this iconic character, never utters a single curse word in the entire series. His metaphor family is pirate. He talks about parlays, uses language that feels like it belongs in Pirates of the Caribbean, and it creates this incredible ironic counterpoint against his urban setting. It tells us immediately that this is a character who sees himself in a tradition of people that doesn't match his immediate surroundings. Matt also referenced the UK version of The Office, where Gareth works at a paper company but aspires to the military. So all of his language is drawn from a military metaphor family. He doesn't talk about filing and photocopying; he talks about tactics and discipline and being on the front line. This tells us that the character has a life and dreams beyond the immediate scene—and it's the gap between aspiration and reality that makes him both funny and believable. He pointed out that a metaphor family sometimes comes from a character's background, but it's often more interesting when it comes from their aspirations. What does your character want to be? What world do they fantasise about inhabiting? That's where their language should come from. In Star Wars, Obi-Wan Kenobi is a spiritual hermit, but his metaphor family is military. He uses the language of generals and commanders, and that ironic counterpoint is part of what makes him feel so rich. Actionable step: Assign each of your main characters a metaphor family. It could be based on their job, their background, or—more interestingly—their secret aspirations. Then go through your dialogue and make sure each character is consistently drawing from that well of language. If two characters sound the same when you strip away the dialogue tags, this is the fix. 6. Find the Diagnostic Detail: The Diagonal Toast Avoid clichéd character tags—the random scar, the eye patch, the mysterious limp—unless they serve a deep narrative purpose. Matt Bird on episode 624 was very funny about this: he pointed out that Nick Fury, Odin, and eventually Thor all have eye patches in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Eye patches are done, he said. You cannot do eye patches anymore. Instead, look for what I'm calling the “diagonal toast” detail, after a scene Matt described from Captain Marvel. In the film, Captain Marvel is trying to determine whether Nick Fury is who he says he is. She asks him to prove he isn't a shapeshifting alien. Fury shares biographical details—his history, his mother—but then she pushes further and says, name one more thing you couldn't possibly have made up about yourself. And Fury says: if toast is cut diagonally, I can't eat it. Matt said that detail is gold for a writer because it feels pulled from a real life. You can pull it from your own life and gift it to your characters, and the reader can tell it's not manufactured. He gave another example from The Sopranos: Tony Soprano's mother won't answer the phone after dark. The show's creator, David Chase, confirmed on the DVD commentary that this came from his own mother, who genuinely would not answer the phone after dark and couldn't explain why. Matt's practical advice was to keep a journal. Write down the strange, specific things that people do or say. Mine your own life for those hyper-specific details. You just need one per book. In my own writing, I've used this approach. In my ARKANE thrillers, my character Morgan Sierra has always been Angelina Jolie in my mind—specifically Jolie in Lara Croft or Mr and Mrs Smith. And Blake Daniel in my crime thriller series was based on Jesse Williams from Grey's Anatomy. I paste pictures of actors into my Scrivener projects. It helps with visuals, but also with the sense of the character, their energy and physicality. But visual details only take you so far. It's the behavioural quirks—the diagonal toast moments—that make a character feel genuinely alive. That said, physical character tags can work brilliantly when they serve the story. As I discuss in How to Write a Novel, Robert Galbraith's Cormoran Strike is an amputee, and his pain and the physical challenges of his prosthesis are a key part of every story—it's not a cosmetic detail, it's woven into the action and the character's psychology. My character Blake Daniel always wears gloves to cover the scars on his hands, which provides an angle into his wounded past as well as a visual cue for the reader. And of course, Harry Potter's lightning-shaped scar isn't just a mark—it's a direct connection to his nemesis and the mythology of the entire series. The rule of thumb is: if the tag tells us something about the character's interior life or connects to the plot, it's earning its place. If it's just there to make the character visually distinctive, it's probably a crutch. Game of Thrones takes character tags further with the family houses, each with their own mottos and sigils. The Starks say “Winter is coming” and their sigil is a dire wolf. Those aren't just labels—they're worldview made visible. Actionable step: Start a “diagonal toast” notebook. Every time you notice something strange and specific about someone's behaviour—something that feels too real to be made up—write it down. Then gift it to a character who needs more texture. 7. Displace Your Own Trauma into the Work Barbara Nickless shared something deeply personal on episode 732 that fundamentally changed how I think about putting pain onto the page. While starting At First Light, the first book in her Dr. Evan Wilding series, she lost her son to epilepsy—something called SUDEP, Sudden Unexplained Death in Epilepsy. One day he was there, and the next day he was gone. Barbara said that writing helped her cope with the trauma, that doing a deep dive into Old English literature and the Viking Age for the book's research became a lifeline. But here's what's important: she didn't give Dr. Evan Wilding her exact trauma. Evan Wilding is four feet five inches, and Barbara described how he has to walk through a world that won't adjust to him. That's its own form of learning to cope when circumstances are beyond your control. She displaced her genuine grief into the character's different but parallel struggle. When I asked her about the difference between writing for therapy and writing for an audience, she drew on her experience teaching creative writing to veterans through a collaboration between the US Department of Defense and the National Endowment for the Arts. She said she's found that she can pour her heartache into her characters and process it through them, even when writing professionally, and that the genuine emotion is what touches readers. We've all been through our own losses and griefs, so seeing how a character copes can be deeply meaningful. I've always found that putting my own pain onto the page is the most direct way to connect with a reader's soul. My character Morgan Sierra's musings on religion and the supernatural are often my own. Her restlessness, her fascination with the darker edges of faith—those come from me. But her Krav Maga fighting skills and her ability to kill the bad guys are definitely her own. That gap between what's mine and what's hers is where the fiction lives. Barbara also said something on that episode that I wrote down and stuck on my wall. She said the act of producing itself is a balm to the soul. I've been thinking about that ever since. On my own wall, I have “Measure your life by what you create.” Different words, same truth. Actionable step: If you're carrying something heavy—grief, anger, fear, regret—consider how you might displace it into a character's different but emotionally parallel struggle. Don't copy your exact situation; transform it. The emotion will be genuine, and the reader will feel it. 8. Write Diverse Characters as Real People When I spoke with Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer on episode 673—Sarah is Choctaw and a historical fiction author honoured by the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian—she offered a perspective that every fiction writer needs to hear. The key message was to move away from stereotypes. Don't write your American Indian character as the “Wise Guide” who exists solely to dispense mystic wisdom to the white protagonist. Don't limit diverse characters to historical settings, as though they only exist in the past. Place them in normal, contemporary roles. Your spaceship captain, your forensic scientist, your small-town baker—any of them can be American Indian, or Nigerian, or Japanese, and their heritage should be a lived-in part of their identity, not the sole reason they exist in the story. I write international thrillers and dark fantasy, and my fiction is populated with characters from all over the world. I have a multi-cultural family and I've lived in many places and travelled widely, so I've met, worked with, and had relationships with people from different cultures. I find story ideas through travel, and if I set my books in a certain place, then the story is naturally populated with the people who live there. As I discuss in my book, How to Write a Novel, the world is a diverse place, so your fiction needs to be populated with all kinds of people. If I only populated my fiction with characters like me, they would be boring novels. There are many dimensions of difference—race, nationality, sex, age, body type, ability, religion, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, class, culture, education level—and even then, don't assume that similar types of people think the same way. Some authors worry they will make mistakes. We live in a time of outrage, and some authors have been criticised for writing outside their own experience. So is it too dangerous to try? Of course not. The media amplifies outliers, and most authors include diverse characters in every book without causing offence because they work hard to get it right. It's about awareness, research, and intent. Actionable step: Audit the cast of your current work in progress. Have you written a mono-cultural perspective for all of them? If so, consider who could bring a different background, perspective, or set of cultural specifics to the story. Not as a token addition, but as a real person with a real life. 9. Respect Tribal and Cultural Specificity Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer on episode 673 was emphatic about one thing: never treat diverse groups as monolithic. If you're writing a Native American character, you must research the specific nation. Choctaw is not Navajo, just as British is not French. Sarah described the distinct cultural markers of the Choctaw people—the diamond pattern you'll see on traditional shirts and dresses, which represents the diamondback rattlesnake. They have distinct dances and songs. She said that if she saw someone in traditional dress at a distance, she would know whether they were Choctaw based on what they were wearing. She encouraged writers who want to write specifically about a nation to get to know those people. Go to events, go to a powwow, learn about the individual culture. She noted that a big misconception is that American Indians exist only in the past—she stressed that they are still here, still living their cultures, and fiction should reflect that present reality. I took a similar approach when writing Destroyer of Worlds, which is set mostly in India. I read books about Hindu myth, watched documentaries about the sadhus, and had one of my Indian readers from Mumbai check my cultural references. For Risen Gods, set in New Zealand with a young Maori protagonist, I studied books about Maori mythology and fiction by Maori authors, and had a male Maori reader check for cultural issues. Research is simply an act of empathy. The practical takeaway is this: if you're going to include a character from a specific cultural background, do the work. Use specific cultural details rather than generic signifiers. Sarah talked about how even she fell into stereotypes when she was first writing, until her mother pointed them out. If someone from within a culture can fall into those traps, the rest of us certainly can. Do the research, try your best, ask for help, and apologise if you need to. Actionable step: If you're writing a character from a specific culture, identify three to five sensory or behavioural details that are particular to that culture—not the generic version, but the real, researched, lived-in version. Consider hiring a sensitivity reader from that community to check your work. 10. Give Your Protagonist a Morally Neutral ‘Hero' Status Matt Bird was clear about this on episode 624: the word “hero” simply means the protagonist, the person we follow through the story. It's a functional role, not a moral label. We don't have to like them. We don't even have to root for their goals in a moral sense. We just have to find them compelling enough to invest our attention in their problem-solving. Think of Succession, where every member of the Roy family is varying degrees of awful, and yet the show was utterly compelling. Or WeCrashed, where Adam Neumann is a narcissistic con artist, but we can't look away because he's trying to solve the enormous problem of building an empire from nothing, and the tradecraft he employs is fascinating. As I wrote in How to Write a Novel, readers must want to spend time with your characters. They don't have to be lovable or even likable—that will depend on your genre and story choices—but they have to be captivating enough that we want to spend time with them. A character who is trying to solve a massive problem will naturally draw investment from the audience, even if we wouldn't want to have tea with them. Will Storr extended this idea by pointing out that the audience will actually root for a character to solve their problem even if the audience doesn't actually want the character's goal to be achieved in the real world. We don't really want more billionaires, but we invested in Adam Neumann's rise because that was the problem the story posed, and our brains are wired to invest in problem-solving. This connects to something deeper: what does your character want, and why? As I explore in How to Write a Novel, desire operates on multiple levels. Take a character like Phil, who joins the military during wartime. On the surface, she wants to serve her country. But she also wants to escape her dead-end town and learn new skills. Deeper still, her father and grandfather served, and by joining up, she hopes to finally earn their respect. And perhaps deepest of all, her father died on a mission under mysterious circumstances, and she wants to find out what happened from the inside. That layering of motivation is what turns a flat character into a three-dimensional one. The audience doesn't need to be told all of this explicitly. It can emerge through action, dialogue, and the choices the character makes under pressure. But you, the writer, need to know it. You need to know what your character really wants deep down, because that desire—more than any external plot device—is what drives the story forward. And your antagonist needs the same depth. They also want something, often diametrically opposed to your protagonist, and they need a reason that makes sense to them. In my ARKANE thriller Tree of Life, my antagonist is the heiress of a Brazilian mining empire who wants to restore the Earth to its original state to atone for the destruction caused by her father's company. She's part of a radical ecological group who believe the only way to restore Nature is to end all human life. It's extreme, but in an era of climate change, it's a motivation readers can understand—even if they disagree with the solution. Actionable step: If you're struggling to make a morally grey character work, make sure their problem is big enough and their methods are specific and interesting enough that we invest in the how, even if we're ambivalent about the what. 11. Build Vibrant Side Characters Gail Carriger made a point on episode 550 that was equal parts craft advice and business strategy. In a Heroine's Journey model, side characters aren't just fodder to be killed off to motivate the hero. They form a network. And because you don't have to kill them—unlike in a hero's journey, where allies are often betrayed or removed so the hero can be further isolated—you can pick up those side characters and give them their own books. Gail said this creates a really voracious reader base. You write one series with vivid side characters, and then readers fall in love with those side characters and want their stories. So you write spin-offs. The romance genre does this brilliantly—think of the Bridgerton books, where each sibling gets their own novel. The side character in one book becomes the protagonist in the next. Barbara Nickless experienced this firsthand with her Dr. Evan Wilding series. She has River Wilding, Evan's adventurous brother, and Diana, the axe-throwing research assistant, and her editor has already expressed interest in a spin-off series with those characters. Barbara described creating characters she wants to spend time with, or characters who give her nightmares but also intrigue her. That's the dual test: are they interesting enough for you to write, and interesting enough for readers to demand more? As I wrote in How to Write a Novel, characters that span series can deepen the reader's relationship with them as you expand their backstory into new plots. Readers will remember the character more than the plot or the book title, and look forward to the next instalment because they want more time with those people. British crime author Angela Marsons described it as readers feeling like returning to her characters is like putting on a pair of old slippers. Actionable step: Look at your supporting cast. Is there a side character who is vivid enough to carry their own story? If not, what could you add—a specific hobby, a distinct voice, a compelling backstory—that would make readers want more of them? 12. Use Voice as a Rhythmic Tool Voice is one of the most important elements of novel writing, and Matt Bird helped me think about it in a technical, mechanical way that I found really useful. He pointed out that the ratio of periods to commas defines a character's internal reality. A staccato rhythm—lots of periods, short sentences—suggests a character who is certain, grounded, or perhaps survivalist and traumatised. Katniss in The Hunger Games has a period-heavy voice. She's in survival mode. She doesn't have time for complexity or qualification. A flowing, comma-heavy style suggests someone more academic, more nuanced, or possibly more scattered and manipulative. The character who qualifies everything, who adds sub-clauses and digressions, is a different kind of person from the character who speaks in declarations. This is something you can actually measure. Pull up a passage of your character's dialogue or internal monologue and count the periods versus the commas. If the rhythm doesn't match who the character is supposed to be, you've found a mismatch you can fix. Sentence length is the heartbeat of your character's persona. And voice extends beyond rhythm to the words themselves. As I discussed in the metaphor families tip, each character should draw from a distinctive well of language. But voice also encompasses their relationship to silence. Some characters talk around the thing they mean; others say it straight. Some are self-deprecating; others are blunt to the point of rudeness. All of these choices are character choices, not just style choices. I find it useful to read my dialogue aloud—and not just to check for naturalness, but to hear whether each character sounds distinct. If you could swap dialogue lines between two characters and nobody would notice, you have a voice problem. One practical test: cover the dialogue tags and see if you can tell who's speaking from the words alone. Actionable step: Choose a key passage from your protagonist's point of view and read it aloud. Does the rhythm match the character? A soldier under fire should not sound like a philosophy professor at a wine tasting. Adjust the ratio of periods to commas until the voice feels right. 13. Link Character and Plot Until They're Inseparable Will Storr made the case on episode 490 that the number one problem he sees in the writing he encounters—in workshops, in submissions, even in published books—is that the characters and the plots are unconnected. There's a story happening, and there are people in it, but the story isn't a product of who those people are. He said a story should be like life. In our lives, the plots are intimately connected to who we are as characters. The goals we pursue, the obstacles we face, the same problems that keep recurring—these are products of our personalities, our flaws, our specific ways of being in the world. His framework is that your plot should be designed specifically to plot against your character. You've got a character with a particular flaw; the plot exists to test that flaw over and over until the character either transforms or doubles down and explodes. Jaws is the perfect example. Brody is afraid of water. A shark shows up in the coastal town he's responsible for protecting. The entire plot is engineered to force him to confront the one thing he cannot face. Will pointed out that the whole plot of Jaws is structured around Brody's flaw. It begins with the shark arriving, the midpoint is when Brody finally gets the courage to go into the water, and the very final scene isn't the shark blowing up—it's Brody swimming back through the water. Even a film that's ninety-eight percent action is, at its core, structured around a character with a character flaw. This is the standard I aspire to in my own work, even in my action-heavy thrillers. The external plot should be a mirror of the internal struggle. When those two are aligned, the story becomes irresistible. Will also made an important point about series fiction, which is where most commercial authors live. I asked him how this works when your character can't be transformed at the end of every book because there has to be a next book. His answer was elegant: you don't cure them. Episodic TV characters like Fleabag or David Brent or Basil Fawlty never truly change—and the fact that they don't change is actually the source of the comedy. But every episode throws a new story event at them that tests and exposes their flaw. You just keep throwing story events at them again and again. That's a soap opera, a sitcom, and a book series. As I wrote in How to Write a Novel, character flaws are aspects of personality that affect the person so much that facing and overcoming them becomes central to the plot. In Jaws, the protagonist Brody is afraid of the water, but he has to overcome that flaw to destroy the killer shark and save the town. But remember, your characters should feel like real people, so never define them purely by their flaws. The character addicted to painkillers might also be a brilliant and successful female lawyer who gets up at four in the morning to work out at the gym, likes eighties music, and volunteers at the local dog shelter at weekends. Character wounds are different from flaws. They're formed from life experience and are part of your character's backstory—traumatic events that happened before the events of your novel but shape the character's reactions in the present. In my ARKANE thrillers, Morgan Sierra's husband Elian died in her arms during a military operation. This happened before the series begins, but her memories of it recur when she faces a firefight, and she struggles to find happiness again for fear of losing someone she loves once more. And then there's the perennial advice: show, don't tell. Most writers have heard this so many times that it's easy to nod and then promptly write scenes that tell rather than show. Basically, you need to reveal your character through action and dialogue, rather than explanation. In my thriller Day of the Vikings, Morgan Sierra fights a Neo-Viking in the halls of the British Museum and brings him down with Krav Maga. That fight scene isn't just about showing action. It opens up questions about her backstory, demonstrates character, and moves the plot forward. Telling would be something like: “Morgan was an expert in Krav Maga.” Showing is the reader discovering it through the scene itself. Actionable step: Look at the main plot events of your novel. For each major turning point, ask: does this scene specifically test my protagonist's flaw? If not, can you redesign the scene so that it does? The tighter the connection between character and plot, the more powerful the story. 14. The ‘Maestra' Approach: Write Out of Order If you're a discovery writer like me, you may feel like the deep character work I've been describing sounds more suited to plotters. But Barbara Nickless gave me a beautiful metaphor on episode 732 that reframes it entirely. Barbara described her evolving writing process as being like a maestra standing in front of an orchestra. Sometimes you bring in the horns—a certain theme—and sometimes you bring in the strings—a certain character—and sometimes you turn to the soloist. It's a more organic and jumping-around process than linear writing, and Barbara said she's only recently given herself permission to work this way. When I told her that I use Scrivener to write in scenes out of order and then drag and drop them into a structure later, she was genuinely intrigued. And this is how I've always worked. I'll see the story in my mind like a movie trailer—flashes of the big emotional scenes, the pivotal confrontations, the moments of revelation—and I write those first. I don't know how they hang together until quite late in the process. Then I'll move scenes around, print the whole thing out, and figure out the connective tissue. The point is that discovery writers can absolutely build deep characters. Sometimes writing the big emotional scenes first is how you discover who the character is before you fill in the rest. You don't need a twenty-page character worksheet or a 200-page outline like Jeffery Deaver. You need to be willing to follow the character into the unknown and trust that the structure will emerge. As Barbara said, she writes to know what she's thinking. That's the discovery writer's credo. And I would add: I write to know who my characters are. Actionable step: If you're stuck on your current chapter, skip it. Write the scene that's burning in your imagination, even if it's from the middle or the end. That scene might be the key to unlocking who your character really is. 15. Use Research to Help with Empathy Research shouldn't just be about factual accuracy—it's a tool for finding the sensory details that create empathy. Barbara Nickless described research as almost an excuse to explore things that fascinate her, and I feel exactly the same way. I would go so far as to say that writing is an excuse for me to explore the things that interest me. Barbara and I both travel for our stories. For her Dr. Evan Wilding books, she did deep research into Old English literature and the Viking Age. For my thriller End of Days, I transcribed hours of video from Appalachian snake-handling churches on YouTube to understand the worldview of the worshippers, because my antagonist was brought up in that tradition. I couldn't just make that up. I had to hear their language, feel their conviction, understand why they would hold venomous serpents as an act of faith. Barbara also mentioned getting to Israel and the West Bank for research, and I've been to both places too. Finding that one specific sensory detail—the smell of a particular location, the specific way an expert handles a tool, the sound of a particular kind of music—makes the character's life feel lived-in. It's the difference between a character who is described as living in a place and a character who inhabits it. As I wrote in How to Write a Novel, don't write what you know. Write what you want to learn about. I love research. It's part of why I'm an author in the first place. I take any excuse to dive into a world different from my own. Research using books, films, podcasts, and travel, and focus particularly on sources produced by people from the worldview you want to understand. Actionable step: For your next piece of character research, go beyond reading. Watch a documentary, visit a location, talk to someone who lives the experience. Find one sensory detail—a smell, a sound, a texture—that you couldn't have invented. That detail will make your character feel real. Bonus: Measure Your Life by What You Create In an age of AI and a tsunami of content, your ultimate brand protection is the quality of your human creation. Barbara Nickless said that the act of producing itself is a balm to the soul, and I believe that with every fibre of my being. Don't be afraid to take that step back, like I did with my deadlifting. Take the time to master these deeper craft skills. It might feel like you're slowing down or going backwards by not chasing the latest marketing trend, but it's the only way to step forward into a sustainable, high-quality career. Your characters are your signature. No AI can replicate the specificity of your lived experience, the emotional truth of your displaced trauma, or the sensory details you've gathered from a life of curiosity and travel. Those are yours. Pour them into your characters, and they will resonate for years to come. Actionable Takeaway: Identify the Dramatic Question for your current protagonist. Can you state it in a single sentence with the kind of specificity Will Storr described? Is it as clear as “Are you ordinary or extraordinary?” or “Are you the only adult in the room?” If you can't answer it with that kind of precision, your character might still be a sketch. Give them a diagonal toast moment today. Find the one hyper-specific detail that proves they are not an imitation of life. And then ask yourself: does your plot test your character's flaw in every major scene? If you can align those two things—a precisely defined character and a plot that exists to test them—you will have a story that readers cannot put down. References and Deep Dives The episodes I've referenced today are all available with full transcripts at TheCreativePenn.com: Episode 732 — Facing Fears, and Writing Unique Characters with Barbara Nickless Episode 673 — Writing Choctaw Characters and Diversity in Fiction with Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer Episode 624 — Writing Characters with Matt Bird Episode 550 — The Heroine's Journey with Gail Carriger Episode 490 — How Character Flaws Shape Story with Will Storr Books mentioned: The Secrets of Character: Writing a Hero Anyone Will Love by Matt Bird The Science of Storytelling by Will Storr The Heroine's Journey by Gail Carriger How to Write a Novel: From Idea to Book by Joanna Penn You can find all my books for authors at CreativePennBooks.com and my fiction and memoir at JFPennBooks.com Happy writing! How was this episode created? This episode was initiated created by NotebookLM based on YouTube videos of the episodes linked above from YouTube/TheCreativePenn, plus my text chapters on character from How to Write a Novel. NotebookLM created a blog post from the material and then I expanded it and fact checked it with Claude.ai 4.6 Opus, and then I used my voice clone at ElevenLabs to narrate it. The post Writing Characters: 15 Actionable Tips For Writing Deep Character first appeared on The Creative Penn.

Hi everyone, it's been a while but we are back with the big one Game Zone News & Updates and in this Episode one of the main games we talked about was Tomb Raider and Lara Croft, Legacy of Atlantis brings Lara Croft's first adventure comes to modern audiences, and Tomb Raider: Catalyst embarks on a new story across Northern India. Alix Wilton Regan will voice Lara Croft in the new games.

Heeey what's up everyone! We are back with another episode of The Just Talk Podcast with Episode 363. Here's the breakdown.In this episode, the boys talk about poop ONCE AGAIN and how it actually should be quick, Tommy goes back to work officially, Jan's Chief test, and many more, and of course, "What Have You Been Up To/Whadda Ya Got?"With that said, as always, we thank you all for the listens/downloads and your continuous support. WE APPRECIATE AND LOVE YOU ALL! We hope you enjoy this episode and until next time, we're going silent.Follow Us On IG@thejusttalkpodcastEmail Usthejusttalkpodcast00@gmail.comSubscribe To Us On YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCo40E9rCSueQjDxPl21u8Mg

In this issue of the Major Spoilers Podcast: Jujutsu Kaisen returns for Season 3, Scarlet Witch claims the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme, and Lara Croft dives into danger in Tomb Raider: Sacred Artifacts. Then we head back to Astro City for Shining Stars, exploring long-form superhero storytelling, legacy characters, and what makes Kurt Busiek's universe endure. Plus, a spirited discussion about why manga continues to outperform Western comics in today's market.   RSS Feed Show your thanks to Major Spoilers for this episode by becoming a Major Spoilers Patron at http://patreon.com/MajorSpoilers. It will help ensure the Major Spoilers Podcast continues far into the future! Join our Discord server and chat with fellow Spoilerites! (https://discord.gg/jWF9BbF) REVIEWS TOMB RAIDER: SACRED ARTIFACTS #2 Writer: Casey Gilly Artist: Antonio Di Caprio Publisher: Dark Horse Comics Release Date: February 25, 2026 Cover Price: $4.99 In order to keep a dangerous and familiar relic out of the wrong hands, Lara Croft must travel to Italy and meet the mysterious, masked adversary who stole it from her. But when Lara enlists the aid of her old friend Carter Bell, his own request for help will lead her on a detour—one that will plunge her into the depths of the city of Paris! rating:4.5/5 Purchase via our Amazon affiliate link SORCERER SUPREME #3 Writer: Steve Orlando Artist: Bernard Chang Publisher: Marvel Comics Cover Price: $3.99 Release Date: February 25, 2026 Wanda Maximoff has been many things, a mother, an Avenger and the Scarlet Witch. But in the wake of Victor Von Doom's fall, Wanda has claimed a new title: Sorcerer Supreme of Earth. The Vishanti, unwilling to validate Wanda's claim, have anointed their own Sorcerer Supreme: Agatha Harkness. After a fiery battle with her former mentor, Wanda wakes up in Limbo where nothing is as it seems. But if she's going to escape, she must first defeat its ruler... Maddie Pryor! rating:3.5/5 Purchase via our Amazon affiliate link JUJUTSU KAISEN Season 3 Ep 54 The third season of the Jujutsu Kaisen anime television series is based on the manga series Jujutsu Kaisen by Gege Akutami. An animated adaptation of the manga was originally announced in the 52nd issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump, which was published in November 2019. Following the conclusion of the second season, an unspecified anime sequel covering the "Culling Game" story arc from the manga was announced. In August 2025, it was announced that the sequel would be the series' third season, currently titled The Culling Game: Part 1 (死滅回游 前編, Shimetsu Kaiyū: Zenpen), which premiered with a one-hour special featuring the first two episodes of the season on January 9, 2026. Shōta Goshozono returns from the previous season to direct, with Hiroshi Seko and Yoshimasa Terui [ja] respectively returning as series composition writer and music composer. The season is adapting the manga's "Itadori's Extermination", "Perfect Preparation", and "Culling Game" story arcs. The plot follows the Jujutsu Sorcerers entering the Culling Game, with the main objective of fighting off Kenjaku and freeing Satoru Gojo from the Prison Realm. A compilation film of Shibuya Incident, which also featured the first two episodes of The Culling Game: Part 1, premiered in Japanese theaters on November 7, 2025 rating 4.5/5   ASTRO CITY VOL. 8: Shining Stars Writer: Kurt Busiek Artist: Brent Anderson Publisher: Image Comics Cover Price: $16.99 Starring the adventures of Astro City's most popular heroes, collecting ASTRO CITY: SAMARITAN #1, ASTRO CITY: ASTRA #1-2, ASTRO CITY: SILVER AGENT #1-2 and ASTRO CITY: BEAUTIE #1. Astra Furst, a third-generation super hero of Astro City, is graduating from college. It's a time of friends and family, new opportunities, changing relationships - and danger! Featuring the First Family, the creatures of Monstro City, a new hero team and more on a graduation night nobody's ever going to forget! Also in this volume: at last, the full story of the Silver Agent's fateful journey through time is revealed - including his origin, his greatest battles and his ultimate fate. Plus, Samaritan has his annual dinner with the Infidel, and Beautie, the life-size super-powered fashion-doll member of Honor Guard, doesn't know who she is. Now, she's determined to get answers. Purchase via our Amazon affiliate link At Major Spoilers, we strive to create original content that you find interesting and entertaining. Producing, writing, recording, editing, and researching requires significant resources. We pay writers, podcast hosts, and other staff members who work tirelessly to provide you with insights into the comic book, gaming, and pop culture industries. Help us keep Major Spoilers strong. Become a Patron (and our superhero) today. If you know someone who loves comics, share this post and episode with them! Share  

Con o sin aceitunas, con o sin pasas, con o sin pasaporte. El debate sobre las empanadasECDQEMSD podcast episodio 6247 Lleve su EmpanadaConducen: El Pirata y El Sr. Lagartija https://canaltrans.comNoticias Del Mundo: El gobierno de México dice que regresó la calma - No más bloqueos - Trump pide más lucha - NY se congela - El presidente de Perú - Kim Jong-un el Súper Líder - Esperando la fiesta - Qué Pokemon Day?Historias Desintegradas: Mi cuñada - Desorden en la cocina - La receta limeña - El lugar inadecuado - Escáner de relleno - Por debajo de la mesa - Def Jam: Fight for NY - El avatar del teporocho - Sin dreadlocks por favor - La Ley y el Orden, CSI y NCIS - La perra de inteligencia - El código falso - Lara Croft a la regadera y más...En Caso De Que El Mundo Se Desintegre - Podcast no tiene publicidad, sponsors ni organizaciones que aporten para mantenerlo al aire. Solo el sistema cooperativo de los que aportan a través de las suscripciones hacen posible que todo esto siga siendo una realidad. Gracias Dragones Dorados!!NO AI: ECDQEMSD Podcast no utiliza ninguna inteligencia artificial de manera directa para su realización. Diseño, guionado, música, edición y voces son de  nuestra completa intervención humana.

Lords: Kory https://kbones.fun/ Andy https://highcadence.online/ Topics: The Gametank https://gametank.zone/ https://www.crowdsupply.com/clydeware/gametank I swear to God, I'm going to talk about auctions and auctions in games, it's super interesting and I don't want to get preempted a third time. Esper says: "There's actually a game coming out in a week where you break into museums to heist real-life African artifacts with the goal of returning them to their rightful homes! It's called Relooted and looks pretty cool." https://store.steampowered.com/app/3255890/Relooted/ Winston figured out how to watch TV at 2AM Dragonfly Catcher, by Chiyo-ni https://mastodon.gamedev.place/@gingerbeardman/115933940306986226 I just lost a snapshot of my life in mp3 format. Microtopics: Multi-time lords. K-Bones dot fun. CachyOS. Scrubbing topics against the corrugated metal washboard of discussion. Leaning into the microphone and saying "topics." Helping Andy quit his day job tonight. What MAGfest used to stand for. Playing with SGI hardware in the Old-Ass Computer Room. Game consoles that output square video. Getting pixels into the framebuffer of the Fairchild Channel F. Seeing a fun puzzle to solve but not solving it because you already have way too many projects. Through-hole soldering. Replacing volatile memory with F-RAM. Preparing to have fun. Reaching the point in your life where you don't want to bother with the war game, you just want to paint the miniatures. What do you call it when you pair up with three people? Throupling up for the next 45 minutes. Who has time to both solder things and play video games? Why Robotron 2084 was more difficult in emulation than in the arcade. How to pronounce SNES. Shmups slowing down when there are more objects on the screen, and game designers incorporating that into the game design. The ZX Spectrum Next and the Mega 65. A game console that only 150 people own and they get super excited whenever a new game comes out for it. Game development like a caveman would do it. Whether more than one person can take the under. The rules of Monopoly as written vs. the folk rules. eBay auctions as an extremely boring game. First price vs. second price auctions. Visiting the real money auction house in Diablo and finding out just how little your time and effort is worth. The Gold Standard of the Hat Meta. An evolutionary branch of PVP that's distinct from Yomi. What to do when you want to play Avalon Hill's Dune. Fence Lara Croft's Stolen Treasures. Lara Croft's Stolen Antiquities Simulator. Winning a bunch of Saltybucks on Saltybet. Age-appropriate behavior. Speedrun watching TV at 2 AM. Live and Don't Learn. Explaining jet lag to a two year old. Watching MTV's Liquid Television block until 2:30 AM. Finally sitting your son down to have the Aeon Flux talk. Haiku that end "that's it, that's the haiku" even though that's too many syllables. Hiking in the wilderness and encountering or not encountering a dragonfly. People at risk of owning a Game Tank. Broadly appealing messages sent out to farm likes. The psychological cost of having 20,000 people following you. Choosing your Mastodon instance based on what domain name William Gibson thought was funny. The Mazzy Star song that's on the Batman Forever soundtrack. iPod shuffles always insisting you're not pregnant no matter how much you pee on them. Ephemeral preservation of a time in your life. A biological weapon that removes your ability to perceive music as music. You die young, or you live long enough to see Nine Inch Nails become dad rock. Music Inspired by the Soundtrack. Putting your MP3 collection on striped RAID arrays for the benefit of future archaeologists.

Trois histoires de femmes à un carrefour de leur vie durant la fashion week de Paris. Il y a Angèle, la maquilleuse française, Ada, top model soudanaise, et Maxine, cinéaste américaine venue en France fuir son divorce mais qui va être rattrapée par le cancer qu'on lui diagnostique. Toutes trois vont tisser des liens uniques dans les coulisses de la mode et se révolter contre l'injustice. Pour Angelina Jolie, ce projet n'est pas anodin : on se souvient que la star de "Lara Croft" ou de "Mr and Mrs Smith" a révélé s'être fait enlever les seins pour éviter un risque de cancer comme celui qui a emporté sa mère... Ecoutez Laissez-vous tenter - Première avec Stéphane Boudsocq du 18 février 2026.Hébergé par Audiomeans. Visitez audiomeans.fr/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

Met vandaag: Verslaggever Wessel de Jong over de energievoorziening in Oekraïne | Wat maakt de speech van Marco Rubio los in Europa? | De voorbereidingen van het Amerikaanse leger in Iran | Wereldwalvisdag: Wat heeft het verbod op de jacht van walvissen opgeleverd? | En Lara Croft viert haar dertigste verjaardag | Presentatie: Sheila Sitalsing.

The HOBI Gang is thawing out from winter and in the studio to talk the Olympics, bad AI commercials at the Super Bowl, ending moving franchises later than they should be, and continue to love the Pitt! Plus the gang discuss who would win between Indiana Jones and Lara Croft, a 30-year plan for Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, history of St. Valentine and they list their Top Five Favorite Games on Nintendo Consoles! This episode is sponsored by the Super Cincy Expo.

Welkom bij een nieuwe editie van Gamekings Daily. In deze gaming vodcast praten twee presentatoren van Gamekings over de laatste ontwikkelingen uit de wereld der videogames. De opening van deze week wordt verzorgd door Koos, die is aangeschoven bij JJ. De twee behandelen zoals altijd een aantal onderwerpen. Zo bespreken ze de eerste beelden van een multiplayer shooter van de nieuwe studio Bulkhead, genaamd Wardogs. Zou deze game kunnen gaan doen wat Battlefield 6 en dan met name REDSEC heeft laten liggen? Verder worden de eerste foto's van Sophie Turner als Lara Croft besproken. Die vielen namelijk niet bij iedereen in goede aarde. Wat is er aan de hand en is de gamer aan het zeuren of heeft hij/zij een punt? Deze topics zijn te zien en te horen in de Gamekings Daily van maandag 9 februari 2026.Gaat Wardogs Battlefield 6 flinke concurrentie geven?Tijdens het weekend werd bekendgemaakt dat Call of Duty Black Ops 7 meer spelers had dan Battlefield 6. Dat zal ongetwijfeld pijn doen bij EA. Iets is daar niet goed gegaan. Omdat de aantallen van Black Ops 7 ook niet je-van-het zijn, weet iedereen dat er ruimte is voor een nieuwe, goede tactical shooter. Gaat Wardogs dat gat vullen? Koos en JJ hebben er een discussie over.Gaat Naughty Dog echt een live service game maken?De twee praten verder over de mogelijke plannen van Naughty Dog om naast hun Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet ook een multiplayer game te maken die op alle platformen moet uitkomen. Een live service game met andere woorden. Dat ik een week dat de nieuwe online game van Guerrilla ook niet bepaald goed viel. Waar blijft Sony die nadruk leggen op dit soort games? Het spreekwoord van de ezel en de steen is hen toch ook bekend? Tot slot is er nieuws over de speelduur van Resident Evil Requiem. Bevalt die duur de twee heren?

Burnie and Ashley discuss driving in Scotland, traffic trains, sheep commuters, Disney changes, who owned Marvel, beaver dams, beaver tails, hippo fighting, Tim Burton, Planet of the Apes, Congo, Helena Bonham Carter, Phoebe Waller Bridge, Lara Croft, and Pee Wee Herman.

In the #MikeJonesMinuteCon we'll talk about Sophie Turner's plans for Lara Croft and Welcome to Hellmart! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Son tiempos revoltosos en Lucasfilm, hay nuevos sheriffs en el pueblo. Sophie Turner deslumbra como Lara Croft. Conciertos de Kimetsu No Yaiba en México. Regresa Speedy Gonzales con Jorge Gutierrez. Y más. Recuerda seguirnos en redes sociales: https://linktr.ee/lacuevadelnerd Para comentarios, escríbenos a contacto@lacuevadelnerd.com Visita http://lacuevadelnerd.com para más noticias y reseñas. No olvides suscribirte para recibir notificaciones de nuevos programas.

On this episode of the podcast we give our thoughts on the new look of Lara Croft, the Lego Pokemon announcements, and break down the Animal Crossing 3.0 update.

Matt and Eric sift through the OSCAR NOMS (where SINNERS broke records), THE BONE TEMPLE opens soft, ARYA STARK may return, Kratos cast in GOD OF WAR series, and more! 

It should come as no surprise to listeners that The Guys like to eat.  But in this episode they go beyond talking about eating, and actually munch on the air.  It's the first “live” Guys of a Certain Age taste test!   Thanks to Santa Coblentz, Robbie brought a box of Krispy Kreme donut-flavored Jelly Belly jelly beans to try.  And thanks to Jay's obsession with all things Oreo, The Guys experience a throwback of sorts to Oreo's Thanksgiving Dinner-Inspired flavor set.  At least one flavor they definitely wanted to throw back.   But before they began their on-air culinary experience, they did lead off with some Geeks of the Week.  Guess who's back?  Lara Croft, but this time in a series.  Stan Sebastian is also back - or he might be - but this time as a DC character.  And for those who want to go back to the Mos Eisley Cantina, Nashville may have your answer.  Listen hungry!

In this episode of B Movies and Beyond, Peter and Ryan are back from Holiday break to discuss childhood movies that scarred us for life. The new trailers for Avengers: Doomsday, They Will Kill You, The Mummy, and The Wrecking Crew. Plus the news of the Lara Croft series, God of War, and Batman updates. Movies reviewed are F1 (2025) and The Running Man (2025). Enjoy!

In this episode, we dive into the latest buzz in the world of film and TV! There have been four teasers for Avengers: Doomsday - but what do they all all mean? We've got word thaf Kathleen Kennedy is stepping down from Lucasfilm, Jackass is back, the live-action Tangled's leads have been cast, a first look image shows that Lara Croft has some new glasses, and God of War has found its Kratos. Tune in for all the hot takes and updates!

This week on The Nerdpocalypse Podcast, the guys return to discuss Martin Lawrence's return to stand-up, God of War tv series casting, first look at Sophie Turner as Lara Croft for the upcoming Tomb Raider series, McG is rebooting Baywatch, White House is mad about Star Trek having women in it, 50 Cent building a huge G-Unit Studio in Louisiana, big shakeups over at Lucasfilm, and much more!CHECKED OUTMartin Lawrence: Y'all Still Know What It IsTOPICS - Section 1God of War casting has begunKratos, SifFirst look at Sophie Turner as Lara Croft in the upcoming Tomb Raider seriesMcG to help reboot “Baywatch” seriesTOPICS - Section 2Now the White House is commenting on Star Trek because they are very serious50 Cent's Studio Plans $124 Million Investment In Louisiana ComplexBig shakeup over at Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedy is outWTF? by JayTeeDee from the “Edit That Out” PodcastMicah: https://tinyurl.com/fortdaniteTerrence:  https://tinyurl.com/thepeetapesJay: https://tinyurl.com/chignontuskTNP STUDIOS PREMIUM (www.TheNerdpocalypse.com/premium) $5 a month Access to premium slate of podcasts incl. The Airing of Grievances, No Time to Bleed, The Men with the Golden Tongues, Upstage Conversation, and full episodes of the Look Forward political podcast

I'm talking about posture. What did you think I meant? 0:00 - It's going to take a while to overcome my poor shower posture 3:25 - Netflix co-CEO continues to prove he's a clueless dipstick 11:07 - Looks like Lara Croft's outfit in the new Tomb Raider show is source-accurate. Does that mean the show will be good? No. Does it mean it will be bad? No. 17:08 - Resident Evil may have sympathetic zombies. Will our empathy encourage pacifist runs? 26:45 - ChatGPT is so useless it can't even copy it's own output correctly If you missed Saturday's live broadcast of Molehill Mountain, you can watch the video replay on YouTube.  Alternatively, you can catch audio versions of the show on iTunes. Molehill Mountain streams live at 7p PST every Saturday night! Credits: Molehill Mountain is hosted by Andrew Eisen.  Music in the show includes "To the Top" by Silent Partner.  It is in the public domain and free to use.  Molehill Mountain logo by Scott Hepting. Chat Transcript: 7:13 PM@addictedtochaos2​​Hello 7:33 PM@LeeShowrons​​Hey 7:34 PM@addictedtochaos2​​I keep getting commercial breaks, never done that during a livestream before. 8:02 PM@addictedtochaos2​​The commercial issues seem to be fixed. 8:03 PM@addictedtochaos2​​Likewise, I have been happy only once in my life, and that was 16 years ago. 8:08 PM@addictedtochaos2​​Yeah, I did too. 8:09 PM@addictedtochaos2​​Unhappy is my default setting.

Well Star Wars fans can continue to argue, because Kathleen Kennedy stepping down certainly wont stop them. But something to stop to listen to, is George RR Martin telling all to the Hollywood Reporter. Plus, Fallout Season 2 is not falling behind season 1, people just don't remember how TV works. Ubisoft decided to lay a big one on the gaming industry by cancelling another Prince of Persia game, and Netflix wants to keep WB movies on the big screen if the merger goes through. That and more on this weeks episode.

Harry Styles has new music out, ‘Skins meets Succession' show Industry is back for season four and Paul Mescal is playing Shakepeare in tear-jerker Hamnet – it's a good week for pop culture! Also on the show, we're debriefing on Amazon's first-look at Sophie Turner as Lara Croft, the ice hockey romance that's taken the internet by storm, Heated Rivalry, and Molly Mae's Adidas collab. Plus a fab Call Her Daddy ep with Jennette McCurdy (author of our book club pick Half His Age), a gripping podcast series from Alice Levine and our initial thoughts on s2 of Idris Elba's Hijack. Enjoy huns and don't forget to listen to our Brooklyn Beckham bonus episode from yesterday, where we deep-dive into his explosive statement on his relationship with Victoria and David! Tickets for our book club on 15 Feb at the Hoxton, Holborn are going quickly! Get yours via Ticket Tailor. Follow us on IG ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@straightuppod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and TikTok @straightuppodFind us on YouTube @straightupmediapodEmail at ⁠⁠hello@straightuppodcast.co.uk⁠Recs/reviewsHamnet, in cinemas nowHamnet feels elemental, but is it just grief porn? New YorkerHow accurate is Hamnet? The Times21 Questions to Fall in Love with Paul Mescal, GQ The Roofman, AmazonExplosive Lies podcastRiot Women, BBC iPlayerHeated Rivalry, NOW TV/ SkyUK viewers warm up for steamy ice hockey hit Heated Rivalry, BBC Jennette McCurdy: Half His Age, Call Her DaddyHeavy Is the Crown: George R.R. Martin on His Triumphs and Torments, The Hollywood ReporterA Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, NOW TVMolly Mae: Behind It All, Amazon Industry, BBC iPlayerIndustry's Marisa Abela and Myha'la on success, sisterhood and strap-ons, GlamourHow to Fail with Marisa Abela Marisa Abela: ‘Industry isn't afraid to do things that upset people', TimesHijack, Apple TV . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week Lucasfilm announced that Kathleen Kennedy is stepping down from her role as studio president, a position she has held since Disney's 2012 acquisition. Succeeding her are George Lucas' protégé and Ahsoka creator Dave Filoni, who will oversee the franchise's creative direction as co-president alongside former Lucasfilm General Manager Lynwen Brennan handling the business side of things. Kennedy still has an active hand as an executive producer of both Star War's next theatrical offerings: May's The Mandalorian & Grogu as well as 2027's Starfighter and will continue to produce other projects independently. Kennedy's tenure saw its fair share of highs and lows, especially contending with an often fickle fandom, but with multibillion dollar films under her belt her exit marks the end of an era.It was a surprisingly noteworthy MLK weekend box office– outside of Avatar: Fire & Ash's continuing reign, Marty Supreme became A24's top-performing film of all time with 80 million dollars domestically, surpassing Everything Everywhere All at Once, while Zootopia 2 became the highest-grossing animated film of all time globally with over 1.7 billion dollars, passing Inside Out 2. Meanwhile, Nia DaCosta's 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple opened below expectations with just 15 million dollars over the four-day weekend, falling well short of the 30-million-dollar debut of its predecessor and behind tracking projections of 20 million dollars. Despite the horror sequel's muted debut, it's been an unusually robust box office this January.Netflix has revised its $83 billion dollar deal for Warner Bros. Discovery to an all-cash transaction valued at $27.75 dollars per share, simplifying the structure to provide greater certainty of value for shareholders and accelerate the path to a shareholder vote by April. The amended deal, unanimously approved by both boards, maintains the same per-share valuation while WBD stockholders will still receive additional value from shares of Discovery Global following its spinoff, with Netflix financing the deal through cash on hand, credit facilities and committed financing. This update comes on the heels of Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos' renewed promise to keep WB studio films in theaters for at least 45 days before hitting streaming.Prime Video has released a first look photo of Sophie Turner as Lara Croft in the upcoming Tomb Raider series, which has begun production.Hans Zimmer, who has scored more than 500 movies and TV projects, will officially score the upcoming Harry Potter series for HBO Max in partnership with Bleeding Fingers Music, a composer collective that he co-founded.Sons of Anarchy star Ryan Hurst has been cast as main character Kratos in Amazon's upcoming God of War series, which is currently confirmed for two seasons and has begun pre-production. Teresa Palmer was also cast last week and will play Sif, Thor's wife and the goddess of family.Cate Blanchett has signed a deal to reprise her role as Viking warrior Valka in Universal Pictures' live-action How to Train Your Dragon 2.Warner Bros. has set Jorge R. Gutiérrez to direct an animated feature centering on the classic Looney Tunes character Speedy Gonzales, The Hollywood Reporter has exclusively learned.

Episode Summary In this blockbuster episode of Geek Freaks, Squeaks, Frank, and Thomas dive into the massive shakeup at Lucasfilm. We discuss the breaking news of Kathleen Kennedy stepping down and what the new leadership duo of Dave Filoni and Lin-Wen Brennan means for the future of Star Wars. We also roll out our "We're So Back vs. Stuck" segment, analyzing why Dune is the current heavyweight champion of cinema while franchises like Star Trek and Jurassic World are struggling. Plus, we react to Sophie Turner being cast as Lara Croft, give our first impressions of the new tone in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, and break down a mind-bending MCU time code theory. Timestamps and Topics 00:00:00 – Intro: The "We're So Back" vs. "Stuck" Era 00:01:08 – Dune: The undisputed heavyweight of event cinema 00:02:49 – Jurassic World: Is the franchise stuck in a loop? 00:03:42 – Tomb Raider: Sophie Turner cast as the new Lara Croft 00:04:36 – Star Trek: Why the final frontier feels stuck in neutral 00:06:24 – Alien and Predator: The massive resurgence of sci-fi horror 00:07:07 – Star Wars Breaking News: Kathleen Kennedy steps down; Dave Filoni and Lin-Wen Brennan take the lead 00:22:18 – A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: Initial reactions to the humor and tone of the new Westeros 00:42:43 – MCU Theory: Do the new teaser time codes link back to Avengers: Endgame? 00:58:10 – Network Updates: A final farewell to our sister show, Challenge Accepted 01:02:58 – Comic Book Quick Hits: Absolute Batman and Absolute Wonder Woman Key Takeaways New Star Wars Leadership: The shift to Dave Filoni (Creative) and Brennan (Business) mirrors the James Gunn/Peter Safran model at DC, signaling a fan-focused future for the franchise. Westeros Gets a New Voice: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (The Hedge Knight) moves away from the heavy political drama of House of the Dragon to introduce a refreshing, almost comedic tone. MCU Hidden Clues: Fans have identified time codes in recent Marvel teasers that appear to sync perfectly with the Ancient One's multiverse explanation in Endgame, suggesting a massive "reboot" or "multiverse" event is imminent. The Dune Standard: The crew agrees that Dune has replaced Avatar as the definitive "must-see" theatrical experience of the decade. Quotes "We have two Star Wars fans that are making Star Wars now. That feels good to me." — Speaker 3 "I think [Dune] is the undisputed heavyweight right now. The energy's right." — Speaker 1 "It's good to be in Westeros again... just the beautiful panning shots and the dirtiness of the fairground." — Speaker 3 Call to Action Love the show? Make sure to subscribe on your favorite platform and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify! It helps more geeks find us. Share this episode on social media using the hashtag #GeekFreaks. Links and Resources Head over to GeekFreaksPodcast.com for all the latest news and episode archives. GeekFreaksPodcast.com is the primary source for all news and topics discussed on this episode. Follow Us Stay up to date with the crew: Twitter/X: @GeekFreaksPod Instagram: @GeekFreaksPodcast Facebook: Geek Freaks Podcast Listener Questions We want to hear from you! Which franchise do you think is "so back," and which one is "stuck"? Send your questions or future episode topics to our social media handles or via our website! Apple Podcast Tags: Star Wars, Kathleen Kennedy, Dave Filoni, Lin-Wen Brennan, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Game of Thrones, MCU theories, Avengers Endgame, Sophie Turner, Lara Croft, Tomb Raider, Dune, Absolute Batman, Geek Freaks Podcast, Movie News, Marvel Rumors

This Week: Warhammer takes a firm stand against generative AI while Nintendo stock takes a surprise sharp downturn leaving us to wonder about the Switch 2's future. We also got our first look at Sophie Turner as the new Lara Croft in the upcoming Tomb Raider series, and say goodbye to two live-service games as EA officially pulls the plug on Anthem. Plus, Danny Peña is back! We chat what Nintendo’s stock drop is really about, our expectations for the new Tomb Raider show, and what we can learn from Anthem's downfall.

This week on The Gaming Duo, we go all-in on Capcom's explosive Resident Evil 9: Requiem showcase and what it means for the future of the franchise. From Leon's brutal new combat style and dynamic stealth gameplay to unsettling zombies with human personalities and a mysterious scar that could change everything, we break down the biggest reveals and ask: could this be the best Resident Evil yet?We also react to reports of a Resident Evil: Code Veronica remake, discuss major casting news with Ryan Hurst stepping into the role of Kratos for Amazon's God of War series and Sophie Turner becoming the new Lara Croft in Tomb Raider, and cover the surprising shutdown of Amazon's MMO New World. Plus, we break down the newly revealed Lego Ocarina of Time set.Discord Link: https://discord.gg/B7YYMvZtZ2

This week! It's the end of the three-digit episodes as we know it (and we're feeling fine). Lots of good games hit the PS Game Catalog, Meta closes some studios, Lara Croft is revealed, Ocarina of Time LEGO, Silent Hill f, Animal Crossing New Horizons Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, Big Hops, and much, much more. Join us, won't you? https://youtube.com/live/uMHdc3Bi76I Links of interest: Lots of good games added to the PS Game Catalog Meta closes 3 studios Sophie Turner as Lara Croft Ocarina of Time "Final Battle" set Yakuza 3 Dark Ties demo coming Sonic 35th anniversary trailer Silent Hill f Animal Crossing New Horizons Big Hops Greg Sewart's Extra Life Page Player One Podcast Discord Greg Streams on Twitch Joe Montana Football - Generation 16 #131 Add us in Apple Podcasts Check out Greg's web series Generation 16 - click here. And take a trip over to Phil's YouTube Channel to see some awesome retro game vids. Follow us on twitter at twitter.com/p1podcast. Thanks for listening! Don't forget to visit our new web site at www.playeronepodcast.com. Running time: 01:20:37

Lolawood, El George y Gazoo se fueron en brote esta semana analizando noticias de la semana y debatiendo los temas que te gustan. RESEÑA: The Rip NOTICIAS: Tenemos Kratos y Sif: https://deadline.com/2026/01/teresa-palmer-cast-prime-video-god-of-war-1236684477/ Y un primer vistazo de Lara Croft: https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/tomb-raider-sophie-turner-lara-croft-first-look-1236605699/ Ejecutivos de Warner dicen que Joker 2 fue muy avanzada para nosotros: https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/2084006-joker-2-folie-a-deux-box-office-flop-failure-bomb-why Jon Snow vuelve a revivir / Película o serie de la conquista de Aegon: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/george-rr-martin-interview-thrones-winds-dragon-knight-1236473519/ Y tambien Kylo Ren: https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/2084274-star-wars-next-kylo-ren-project-teased DEBATES: ¿Funcionará el Dunesday tan bien como Barbenheimer? https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/2084349-avengers-5-doomsday-dune-3-release-date-robert-downey-jr El legado de Kathleen Kennedy: https://www.starwars.com/news/lucasfilm-leadership

Avengers: Doomsday, Monarch S2 teaser,The Mummy, The Bride, One Piece, Ted, Kathleen Kennedy steps down, Lara Croft, Fallout, God of War, Speedy Gonzales, Star Wars, lots more

[MovieNewsPodcast] มาแล้ว Lara Croft คนใหม่

New #gameburst: Chloe Price returns in Life is Strange, Sophie Turner is Lara Croft, and Sony purges the PS Store. Plus, picks including Indiana Jones and The Outer Worlds 2. Pre-order James Batchelor's Pokemon history book now! Pre-order "The History of the Pokemon Games" by James Batchelor: Pen & Sword: https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/The-History-of-the-Pokemon-Games-Hardback/p/57238 Waterstones: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-history-of-the-pokemon-games/james-batchelor/9781036100988  

▶︎ Watch This week on Superhero Slate we've got our first look at Lara Croft, the God of War has been cast, Star Wars gets new leadership, and more! News God of War (4:35) Ryan Hurst (Sons of Anarchy; God of War) cast as Kratos Previously voiced Thor in the game series Tomb Raider (12:20) […]

The 2026 season of I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here has kicked off, and now we need to go through the surprising cast list. Plus, we discuss the production change that has left some viewers furious.And there has been an avalanche of rumours that Keith Urban has a new girlfriend, and she’s not only much younger than him but a famous name in her own right. Now we need to unpack these rumours and discuss how different Keith’s post-divorce moves have been compared to Nicole Kidman.Plus, the first photos of Sophie Turner as Lara Croft have been released, and there’s been a slight mixed reaction to the pics (which is to be expected with such an iconic franchise.) But there’s also another story involving a famous woman lurking behind this photo that we need to discuss.THE END BITSLove binge-watching TV? The Spill has launched Watch Party — spoiler-filled episode deep dives into the shows everyone’s talking about. Find the feed on Apple or Spotify. Support independent women's mediaWe’re giving away a Your Reformer Pilates bed (worth $3,400) Subscribe to enter Follow us on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook. And subscribe to our Youtube channel. Read all the latest entertainment news on Mamamia... here. Discover more Mamamia Podcasts here. Do you have feedback or a topic you want us to discuss on The Spill? Send us a voice message, or send us an email thespill@mamamia.com.au and we'll come back to you ASAP! CREDITS Hosts: Laura Brodnik and Ksenija Lukich Executive Producer: Monisha Iswaran Audio Producer: Tina MatolovBecome a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The gang talks a whole bunch of news, including the first look at Lara Croft, the casting of Kratos and more!

Ana Mena y Óscar Casas presentan Ídolos en Cuerpos especiales y se quedan más de la cuenta en el estudio del programa para enfrentarse en el que Eva Soriano ha bautizado como El Mejor Juego de la Historia. Arturo Paniagua repasa la trayectoria de Melon Diesel. Jorge Yorya habla de Sophie Turner como la nueva Lara Croft. Y Javi Sánchez presenta las novedades musicales más destacadas de la semana. En la mesa de debate se discute sobre boli u ordenador.

Nesse episódio, o primeiro de 2026, Bruno Carvalho, Edu Aurrai, Felipe Mesquita e Rodrigo Cunha falam sobre a escolha do intérprete de Kratos para o seriado de God of War; revelação do elenco e imagens da Lara Croft no seriado de Tomb Raider; a venda do GoG pela CD Projekt; e mais. Duração: 103 min Comentados: Imagem de Sophie Turner como a Lara Croft da série da Amazon COMPRE O MARS 2120, METROIDVANIA BRASILEIRO: PC (STEAM) PLAYSTATION 4, PLAYSTATION 5 XBOX ONE, XBOX SERIES S|X NINTENDO SWITCH Vídeos: Street Fighter 6 – Teaser Trailer de Alex FATAL FURY: CotW ｜ Season 2 Announcement Trailer Masters of Albion – Official Release Date Trailer – YouTube Resident Evil Showcase | 15 de Janeiro de 2026

This week on PREVIOUSLY ON…, Jason and Rosie break down several major entertainment headlines, including the announcement that Sons of Anarchy and The Walking Dead star Ryan Hurst has been cast as Kratos in Amazon’s upcoming God of War series. They also discuss Amazon’s greenlight of Fallout Shelter, a competition reality show based on the Fallout franchise, and The Pitt season 2 premiere pulling in 5.4 million viewers in just three days. Next, they dive into some huge Star Wars news: Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan are set to replace Kathleen Kennedy as the heads of Lucasfilm, with Filoni taking on the creative leadership role and Brennan overseeing business operations. Finally, they unpack Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos’ comments about committing to 45-day theatrical windows for Warner Bros. films, and react to the first official photos of Sophie Turner as Lara Croft from costume tests for Amazon’s upcoming Tomb Raider series. Follow Jason: IG & Bluesky Follow Rosie: IG & Letterboxd Follow X-Ray Vision on Instagram Join the X-Ray Vision DiscordSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Amazon's upcoming Tomb Raider reboot is even getting roasted by Gamestop, and it's kinda hilarious.Watch the podcast episodes on YouTube and all major podcast hosts including Spotify.CLOWNFISH TV is an independent, opinionated news and commentary podcast that covers Entertainment and Tech from a consumer's point of view. We talk about Gaming, Comics, Anime, TV, Movies, Animation and more. Hosted by Kneon and Geeky Sparkles.Get more news, views and reviews on Clownfish TV News - https://more.clownfishtv.com/On YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/ClownfishTVOn Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/4Tu83D1NcCmh7K1zHIedvgOn Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/clownfish-tv-audio-edition/id1726838629

MUSICHarry Styles is back with a new album after a three year hiatus and the ladies are READY. Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally, set for a March 6 release. Produced by his longtime collaborator Kid Harpoon, the album, which will mark Styles' fourth studio album and his first since 2022, will feature 12 new tracks.https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/harry-styles-album-kiss-all-the-time-disco-occassionally-1235499907/ Disturbed, Limp Bizkit and Bad Omens will headline the Inkcarceration festival, July 17th through the 19th in Mansfield, Ohio. Other acts on the bill include Papa Roach, Starset, Hollywood Undead, Sleep Theory, A Day to Remember, Motionless in White and Ice Nine Kills.Black Stone Cherry have teamed up with Tyler Connolly of Theory of a Deadman for a cover of Simple Minds' "Don't You (Forget About Me)." Check it out on YouTube. Lamb Of God will release their 10th studio album, titled "Into Oblivion," on March 13th. https://rocksound.tv/news/lamb-of-god-announce-new-album-into-oblivion Twenty One Pilots have shared the first trailer for More Than We Ever Imagined, the concert film that will be in theaters on February 26th. Watch it now on YouTube. Adam Lazzara, frontman of Taking Back Sunday, made a surprise guest appearance during Halsey's 'Back of Badlands' tour at Hammersmith Ballroom in New York City. https://tonedeaf.thebrag.com/watch-taking-back-sundays-adam-lazzara-join-halsey-on-stage-in-new-york/ NEW ALBUM RELEASES:· A$AP Rocky - Don't Be Dumb· Funeral Portrait - Live From Suffocate City· Richard Marx - After Hours TVPamela Anderson sat down with Andy Cohen and explained that she left the show and “went right to bed” after presenting the award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy to Rose Byrne because was avoiding Seth Rogen, who produced and starred in “Pam And Tommy,” (2022 miniseries about the fallout over a stolen sex tape she made in the mid-1990s with then-husband Tommy Lee.) https://www.huffpost.com/entry/pamela-anderson-seth-rogen-golden-globes-yucky_n_69693545e4b00edae2a40599 Can it be that I have entirely missed the point of "Baywatch"? Because a casting call just went out for the new reboot, and check this out: https://deadline.com/2026/01/baywatch-open-casting-call-fox-reboot-1236684357/ Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin has publicly expressed his disappointment with the creative process of House of the Dragon. https://collider.com/george-rr-martin-abysmal-relationship-with-house-of-the-dragon-showrunner-ryan-condal/ And speaking of GOT: Sophie Turner has been cast as Lara Croft in a new live-action television adaptation of the Tomb Raider franchise, developed by Prime Video. https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/tomb-raider-sophie-turner-lara-croft-first-look-1236605699/ Jay Leno remains committed to his wife, Mavis, who was diagnosed with advanced dementia in early 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h361wQC3E4M MOVING ON INTO MOVIE NEWS:IN THEATERS:28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (Ralph Fiennes)o This picks up immediately after the events of "28 Years Later", with Spike (Alfie Williams) befriends "Willow's" Erin Kellyman while trapped on the quarantined mainland among a group of Satanists like by Jack O'Connell. And back at the bone temple, Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) begins experimenting on an infected alpha . . . and becomes convinced he can find a cure.o 94% Tomatometer "Hamnet" expands nationwide. (PG-13) Trailer· Paul Mescal is William Shakespeare and Jessie Buckley is his wife Agnes in this movie about them grappling with the death of their young son Hamnet . . . which inspires him to write his famous tragedy "Hamlet".· 86% tomatometer / 93% Denise Richards and Charlie Sheen's daughters are feuding . . . over a man. https://people.com/lola-sheen-speaks-out-after-sister-sami-claims-shes-dating-her-ex-boyfriend-11885476· AND FINALLYAlmost everyone has a memory of a Disney movie that upset them as a child, also known as ‘PTSDisney': People online are sharing the most traumatizing Disney movie moments. https://www.buzzfeed.com/haein_jung/childhood-traumatizing-moments-from-disney-moviesHere are some highlights: 1. Mufasa's death in "The Lion King".2. Miguel singing to Mama Coco in "Coco".3. When Bambi realizes his mom didn't outrun the hunters.4. Jessie's flashback scene in "Toy Story 2".5. At the beginning of "Up" when Ellie passed away.6. When the dog is shot in "Old Yeller".7. The toy monkey scene in "Toy Story 3".8. When all the kids turned into donkeys in "Pinocchio".9. The Evil Queen's transformation in "Snow White".10. When the older brother dies in "Big Hero 6".AND THAT IS YOUR CRAP ON CELEBRITIES!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

• Opening musical parody, extended singing, parody station drops • "Time for a bath" spoken-word/rap monologue • Gas station checkout bit with donations and tiny purchases • Pop culture name-drops and exaggerated confidence imagery • AMT Friday Free Show intro • Guest Seth Petruzzel returns; callback to Halloween special at his house • Ongoing house build delays; living in a rental; stressful unsettled Christmas • Missing a "first real Christmas" with daughter; limited meaningful kid Christmases • Debate over earliest memories, neuroscience, and false memories • Stress text about childcare, construction, and overwhelm • "No Smile Seth" nickname from construction crew; tension with workers • Yard/seagrass service failures and staff turnover • Interior progress: drywall, paint; Seth paints entire house himself • DIY vs professional painters debate • Limestone flooring installed too early; damage from ongoing work • Admitted poor sequencing, rushed decisions, and contractor confusion • Money wasted on inefficiency; budget blown by ~$100k cash • Dark humor from stress; resentment toward dogs after barking wakes baby • Babysitter chaos; raised-hand gesture scares sitter; anger acknowledged without harm • Tracy working multiple jobs to cover costs; dojo staffing struggles • Teaching classes while overwhelmed; no-call/no-shows • Boat broken and unused; pods block driveway; storage and delay stress • Yelling over missed deadlines; workmanship defects; cabinet and floor damage • Cheap vs quality work discussion; timelines constantly pushed back • Contractors criticizing each other; electrician refuses unsafe wiring • HVAC ductwork never replaced; contractor ghosted after payment • Realization money was taken; lesson on hiring cheapest bids • New AC installed; marriage stressed but solid; stress seen as situational • Considering selling boat; joking about downgrading and paddleboards • Dock delays due to rain; feeling too deep to change course • No nearby family help; brother unavailable; childcare strain • Estrangement from father after emotional texts; anger over lack of involvement • Father's minimal apology; no-contact; canceled life-story emails • Grief over lost family history compared to mother's legacy notebooks • Daily micromanaging renovation; cleaning dust; weeks of painting • Acknowledging misdirected anger; dojo as emotional outlet • First daycare drop-off at age two; guilt, crying, camera-checking • Kid illnesses after daycare; stress symptoms, weight loss, graying hair • Picky eating; reliance on carbs; supplementing nutrition • Shift to processed kids foods; questioning processed meat risks • Deli ham vs cigarettes carcinogen debate; nitrates and long-term risk • Parenting tension between health anxiety and convenience • Colonoscopy and PSA results good; jokes about aging and pelvic floor • Nerve issues from past B6 toxicity; substance use reflections • Panic attack after mushroom mocktail; heightened sound sensitivity • Little Saints described; conclusion anxiety likely self-induced • Decision to stop dwelling; announcement of trying for second child • Curiosity about father–son bond; light emotional dad talk • Viral poop videos and construction bathroom chaos • Grocery store poop incident; biohazard cleanup and food waste debate • Lee & Rick's Oyster Bar shutdown and reopening; bug tolerance jokes • Extreme lack of germ aversion; belief exposure builds immunity • Childhood TV theme nostalgia; Silver Spoons, Today's Special, Eureka's Castle • Theme songs imprinting more than shows; modern shows less memorable • Tomb Raider Prime Video series announced; Lara Croft portrayal debate • Criticism of Gladiator; new Game of Thrones spinoff tone discussion • Attention span concerns; distracted concert crowds • Voicemail callouts; hoodie sale and mystery merch bags • Gym workouts at Crunch; dojo recruitment jokes • Apple Music UI complaints; updates removing useful features • Decision to move into voicemails due to show length • Merch strategy shift to preorder-only; storage cost regrets • Counterfeit jersey acceptance debate • Pro Bowl no longer in Orlando; family outing idea • Listener voicemail on weed-induced panic attack • Gross-out debate ranking bodily fluids • Team shout-outs; editor KC praised • BDM promotion, Appreciation Week, $5 shirt tease • Weekend sign-off ### Where to Find the Show – A Mediocre Time Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-mediocre-time/id334142682](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-mediocre-time/id334142682) Google Podcasts [https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkLnBvZGJlYW4uY29tL2FtZWRpb2NyZXRpbWUvcG9kY2FzdC54bWw](https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkLnBvZGJlYW4uY29tL2FtZWRpb2NyZXRpbWUvcG9kY2FzdC54bWw) Exclusive Content [https://tomanddan.com/registration](https://tomanddan.com/registration) Merch [https://tomanddan.myshopify.com/](https://tomanddan.myshopify.com/)

In this episode of the Decoding TV podcast, David and Patrick discuss what's going on in the world of TV, then dive into the latest episodes of The Pitt and Fallout.Are Tony Dokoupil's CBS News ratings disastrous or merely bad? What's the latest with Netflix's attempted takeover of American culture? And what our big takeaways from George R. R. Martin's recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter? Listen to hear us discuss all these topics and more.Homework for next week:The Pitt Season 2 Episode 3 (HBO Max)Fallout Season 2 Episode 6 (Prime Video)Shownotes:03:45 - TV NewsTony Dokoupil's ratings are badNetflix switches to all-cash bid amid trump accusations of Cultural Takeover (and Ted's response)First Look: Sophie Turner as Lara Croft and Ryan Hurst cast as KratosEuphoria Season 3 Trailer and Release Date (April 12)Prime Video's new Fallout shelter reality seriesMr. and Mrs. Smith Season 2 is back on trackGeorge RR Martin's interview with THR1:00:33 - The Pitt Season 2Episode 2 - 8:00 A.M.1:34:45 - Fallout Season 2Episode 5 - The WranglerLinks:Listen to Patrick's videogame podcast, Remap RadioSubscribe to Patrick's newsletter, CrossplaySubscribe to this podcast on YouTubeFollow this podcast on InstagramFollow this podcast on TiktokSubscribe to David's free newsletter, Decoding EverythingFollow David on InstagramFollow David on Tiktok Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Support us on Patreon here! Every Friday, the finest degenerate journalists on the internet serve up loud, irreverent, hilarious takes on gaming, drinking, pop culture, and everything in between. In this episode: Dom, Tiggy, and Bob touch on a variety of topics in the gaming and esports world, including: Marathon new footage looks good (or does it) Lara Croft and Kratos both have actors now Dom's theory on Highguard Your voicemails ...And more! 

En nuestro episodio 377 Christal Risol y El Watcher conversan sobre el "First Look" de Sophie Turner como "Lara Croft" en la adaptación que "Prime Video" está produciendo de "Tomb Raider" (1996), la noticia de que Ryan Hurst interpretará a "Kratos" en la adaptación que "Prime Video" está produciendo de "God of War" (2005) y su experiencia viendo el cuarto "Teaser Trailer" de "Avengers: Doomsday" (2026) enfocado en "The Wakandans" y "The Fantastic Four", la película "Wake Up Dead Man" (2025) y la mini-serie "11.22.63" (2016), basada en el libro escrito por Stephen King en el segmento "Wachin' con Wacho!", recomiendan el libro "The Baltimore Boys" (2015) escrito por Joël Dicker, la primera temporada de "Overcompensating" (2025) y las cuatro temporadas de "Machos Alfa" (2022) en el segmento "Loot Semanal" y hablan sobre todo lo relacionado a el estreno de la película "People We Meet on Vacation" (2026), basada en el libro escrito por Emily Henry.¡Se la diferencia en la vida de los niños de la Fundación de Niños de Puerto Rico! Aporta con tu donativo aquí: https://www.extra-life.org/participant/Cultura-Secuencial-2025¡Descubre la mejor manera de transmitir y grabar tu contenido! Comienza a usar "StreamYard" con nuestro "Referral Link" y obtén $10 de descuento: https://streamyard.com/pal/c/5302337768259584¡Subscríbete a nuestro canal de YouTube! Visita: https://www.youtube.com/culturasecuencial¡Síguenos y Suscríbete a nuestro canal de Twitch! Visita: https://www.twitch.tv/culturasecuencial¡Síguenos en Instagram! Visita: https://www.instagram.com/culturasecuencial¡Síguenos en Facebook! Visita: https://www.facebook.com/CulturaSecuencial

THIS WEEK: Rocksteady Studios and WB Games FINALLY fixed the issues with Batman: Arkham Knight for the Nintendo Switch 1/2. Thoughts on our first look at Sophie Turner as Lara Croft. SNK announces the DLC for Fatal Fury COTW season 2! And a review of Dragon Ball Kakarot Daima DLC Part 2. All this and more on this episode of the SELECT/START podcast.

Let Rocket Money help you reach your financial goals faster.Join at RocketMoney.com/KINDAFUNNY Go to Factormeals.com/kindafunny50off and use code kindafunny50offto get 50% off your first box, plus Free Breakfast for 1 Year. Come to our In Review Live Show in SF! January 28th!!!Get tickets at Kindafunny.com/SketchFest We finally have our live-action Kratos, our first look at Sophie Turner as Lara Croft, and what's going on with the Prince of Persia and Black Flag remakes? Thank you for the support! Run of Show - - Start - Ryan Hurst Cast As Kratos In Prime Video's ‘God of War' - Rosy Cordero @ Deadline - ‘Tomb Raider' First Look: Sophie Turner Becomes Lara Croft as Filming Starts on Prime Video's Reboot Series - Giana Levy @ Variety - Ubisoft Reuploads Assassin's Creed Black Flag Soundtracks as Remake Announcement Looms - Tom Henderson @ Insider Gaming - Ad - Meta Layoffs Hit Batman: Arkham Shadow Studio Camouflaj, Game Projects Canceled - Nathan Grayson @ Aftermath - Eidos Montreal is Developing an Unannounced ‘AAAA' Game in Unreal Engine 5 - Tom Henderson @ Insider Gaming - Life is Strange reveal is officially coming - @LifeIsStrange on twitter - Sonic - Wee News! - SuperChats & You‘re Wrong Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry Styles has announced his new album, we finally see Sophie Turner as Lara Croft and a Traitors Roundtable. Plus we Comment on the Comments. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On the latest PlayStation Access Podcast, the team are ushering in the new year by sharing their gaming resolutions for 2026. From platinum targets to trying new games, the team are setting themselves some big goals for the year.They also discuss 2026 titles they cannot wait for, compare themselves to Lara Croft (a foolhardy endeavour) and announce some cool NEW things: our 'gaming book club' (name tbc) and our PlayStation Access inbox for you to email us with your gaming stories!Please do get in touch at playstationaccessinbox@gmail.com with your fun gaming tales, or maybe send us some hints for this month's gaming book club title OR tell us about your gaming resolutions for 2026! We'll read out some of your emails on the next pod!PlayStation Access is the official YouTube channel of PlayStation UK - a vibrant, welcoming community celebrating all things PlayStation. Join us for weekly livestreams, list features and in-depth coverage on all your favourite games. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to Multiverse News, Your source for Information about all your favorite fictional universesAs has become par for the course these last few weeks, Marvel Studios released the third Avengers: Doomsday trailer, which focuses on the X-Men, Tuesday morning after an exclusive week run attached to theatrical showings of Avatar Fire and Ash. Sebastian Stan is in talks to join The Batman Part II opposite Robert Pattinson and Scarlett Johansson, making him the second Marvel Cinematic Universe alum to jump to Matt Reeves' Gotham. The Oscar-nominated Apprentice star, best known for playing Bucky Barnes aka the Winter Soldier in multiple Marvel films, would join returning cast members Colin Farrell, Jeffrey Wright and Andy Serkis ahead of spring production for an October 2027 release.Avatar: Fire and Ash crossed the 1 billion dollar mark at the global box office after 18 days in theaters, led by 40 million dollars domestically in its third weekend for a total of 306 million dollars and 777.1 million dollars internationally, making it Disney's third billion-dollar release of 2025. Meanwhile, Netflix's Stranger Things series finale generated between 25 to 28 million dollars from a limited two-day theatrical run across 600 theaters on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, with exhibitors selling concession vouchers rather than traditional tickets and keeping all revenue themselves as an olive branch between the streamer and theaters. Simu Liu has publicly endorsed his Copenhagen Test co-star Melissa Barrera to play Wonder Woman in James Gunn's DC Universe, praising her stunt training as Wonder Woman-esque and calling her a total badass who puts in the work. DC Studios boss James Gunn confirmed in July that Wonder Woman has not been cast yet and won't be discussed until the script is finished, with Supergirl screenwriter Ana Nogueira tapped to write the new Wonder Woman film.Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another dominated the Critics Choice Awards on Sunday night, winning Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay, while Timothée Chalamet won Best Actor for Marty Supreme and Jessie Buckley took Best Actress for Hamnet. Ryan Coogler's Sinners and Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein tied for the most wins with four awards each, with Jacob Elordi scoring a surprise Best Supporting Actor victory for his performance as the Creature in Frankenstein. On the television side, The Pitt won Best Drama while The Studio took Best Comedy, with Adolescence earning four awards including Best Limited Series.Horror director James Wan has expressed interest in directing Avatar 4 if James Cameron decides to step back from the franchise, telling Screen Rant he would love to take a crack at the billion-dollar series. Cameron has indicated he may scale back his hands-on involvement with future Avatar films to pursue other projects, potentially delegating more directorial duties to second unit directors or another filmmaker while remaining as producer.Paramount+ has renewed Mayor of Kingstown for a fifth and final season consisting of eight episodes, down from the usual ten episodes per season. The Taylor Sheridan crime drama starring Jeremy Renner and Edie Falco will conclude after its upcoming season, which follows the bloody Season 4 finale that aired in December 2025.Amazon Prime Video has announced the cast for its Tomb Raider series starring Sophie Turner as Lara Croft, with Sigourney Weaver joining as Evelyn Wallis, a mysterious woman seeking to exploit Lara's talents, and Jason Isaacs as Atlas DeMornay, Lara's uncle. The series, created and co-showrun by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, will also feature several characters from the video game franchise including Bill Paterson as butler Winston and Martin Bobb-Semple as tech support Zip.

In this episode of The Kristian Harloff Show, we dive deep into the wild "Conformity Gate" fan theory sweeping the Stranger Things fandom! Is Netflix secretly holding back one final episode for Season 5? Fans think the happy ending in "Chapter Eight: The Rightside Up" is all an illusion created by Vecna – forcing unnatural conformity on the characters, complete with creepy visual clues, plot holes, and ties to the show's themes. With speculation pointing to a surprise drop today (January 7, 2026), we break it all down!Plus:The final season of Stranger Things is crushing it on Netflix's all-time charts with over 105 million views already – and it's only been out a week! Sebastian Stan in talks to join The Batman: Part II alongside Robert Pattinson – what role could he be playing? Full cast reveal for the live-action Tomb Raider series on Prime Video, starring Sophie Turner as Lara Croft and Sigourney Weaver in a mysterious role. The Housemaid thriller is officially getting a sequel called The Housemaid's Secret, with Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried producing (and possibly returning?). What do you think about Conformity Gate – real or just wishful thinking? Drop your theories in the comments!#StrangerThings #StrangerThings5 #ConformityGate #StrangerThingsTheory #Netflix #TheBatmanPartII #SebastianStan #TombRaider #TombRaiderSeries #SophieTurner #TheHousemaid #TheHousemaidsSecret #KristianHarloff #MovieNews #TVNews SPONSORS: RAYCON: Go to https://www.buyraycon.com/kristian to get 20% off sitewide. Thanks to Raycon for sponsoring!