The Still Playing with Toys relaunch is in full stride as more and more elements of the website are going live. Make sure that you're registered in the forums in order to post comments on blogs, news items, and to talk to your fellow man... and did we mention contests? Oh yeah, contests! Tons of new and cool stuff on the horizon, so don't miss the boat - register and get active today!

As always, a special thanks and a tip of our Trademark Still Playing with Toys Baseball Cap to Fritz for always coming through for us...

Universal just unleashed a new trailer for the Back to the Future 25th Anniversary release that I'm proud to have been a part of the team on... who knew that the kid that begged his parents to go to Pizza Hut so that he could get a pair of some of the goofiest looking "future" sunglasses known to man would some day get to put a small stamp on things himself? I sure didn't. Anyhoo...



And don't forget, you can keep me fed by pre-ordering with a click on the box art above!

-Troy

Not sure where this trailer came from, it's an extended version of the Comic-Con trailer with the international box art so my guess is that it's an international trailer but... blink and you'll miss it... you'll see a quick glimpse of MU-TH-UR Mode and the unbelievable menus...



-Troy

For those who missed out, there was a huge presence of the Alien Anthology Blu-ray set at this year's San Diego Comic-Con. A large Fox Home Entertainment booth was setup on the exhibit hall floor, with four hybrid Nostromo/Weyland-Yutani cryotubes that showed you a surround sound trailer, and friendly Nostromo crew members handing you a t-shirt, a facehugger, and a smile upon exiting.

Here's a great shaky cam video from a fan of the experience:



I wasn't able to catch what the trailer being shown inside the tube was but it sounds like a small portion of our MU-TH-UR Mode was shown off along side glimpses of the features and bonus content.

Don't forget (because I certainly won't), the set releases on October 25th, and you can pre-order it by clicking here.

-Troy

For the last three years of my life, I've been keeping a secret. It's been like working on a Christmas present three years in advance and wanting to tell everyone about it but knowing that you have to keep it a secret in order to not ruin the surprise.

So you can imagine how elated I am to finally be able to exhale the deep breath that I've been holding in and show you this:

Via Blu-ray.com and The HD Room:



Fox Home Entertainment has finally let the cat out of the bag via IGN and officially announced Alien Anthology is coming to Blu-ray Disc on October 26 (Oct 25 in the UK and Nov 3 in Australia), the same day Universal is debuting the Back to the Future Trilogy on Blu-ray. Combine that double purchase with the Alien Anthology SRP of $139.99 and our wallets hurt already!

The six-disc set will include all four Alien films and over 60 hours of bonus features accessible via Fox's new MU-TH-UR Mode, an interactive feature providing an index of every bonus feature across the entire set. Those bons features will include about 12,000 images and material from the 1990s LaserDisc release, the "Legacy" release and the Quadrilogy set.

The fifth and sixth discs will include 5 hours of material accessible via Pods from the documentaries. The Pods will also be available to view from their own index page.

A chunk of the bonus features will be entirely new including "screen tests of Sigourney Weaver prior to filming the original Alien, unseen deleted scenes, the previously unseen original cut of "Wreckage and Rage: The Making of Alien3" and more."

There's so much that I want to say and so many people involved in this set that it'll take a good three years to tell all the stories, but right now - I'm at a loss for words. It's finally announced, it's finally releasing, and we're finally almost done. I can't believe what a ride it's been and am unbelievably humbled that Charles de Lauzirika and team trusted me with just a small part of this comprehensive and incredible set.

Hit the READ MORE button below for the full breakdown and to see more artwork, or hit the box art above to pre-order your set now!

-Troy

Some time ago, people that have been around these parts know that we had worked on pitching Universal on a new Back to the Future comic. Unfortunately, nothing really ever came of that despite the good direction I thought we would have been taking things in.

Fast-forward several years later and in the midst of some big changes in my day to day life, an old friend called and offered me the chance to work on the new Back to the Future Blu-ray set. How do you say no?

Long story short, Mr. Adam Vadnais and I were the men behind the curtain at Herzog & Company for producer Laurent Bouzereau on several of the BD-exclusive features that were announced today for release October 26, 2010.

Here are links to the announcement over on BTTF.com (Stephen Clark is the man behind the Trivia Track once again), SlashFilm, and of course Blu-ray.com.or you can hit READ MORE right below this for all the details you can shake a stick at.

See you in the future!

-Troy

Reviews are starting to come in and the overall consensus is that, if you haven't picked up Johnny Bravo Season One on DVD yet, you're missing out bub! Hit that photo of the DVD above to order your copy, stat - before people find out that you've been procrastinating!

Here's another review from ToonZone - whom, on a lot of these shows, I use as my target audience...

From ToonZone:

"Warner Home Video and Cartoon Network have provided a very well-appointed set. Johnny Bravo: Season One comes with the first 13 episodes, three of which have commentary tracks. There is also a short featurette on the development of the show; the complete pencil tests for the first two shorts; and MacFarlane's demo tapes for the songs on "The Sensitive Male!" (...) All in all, it's a superior and well-crafted collection that gives casual watchers what they want but will also please collectors."

And just because we now have the ability to post YouTube videos, here's a fun commercial currently airing on the Cartoon Networks...



-Troy

UPDATE: Here's a few more reviews --

From DVD Verdict:
"For this package, Cartoon Network has put together a good set of extras. Three episodes come with commentary from Van Partible and various cast and crew members discussing how the shows were written and animated. These are excellent, full of details and stories. There's also a featurette, "Bringing Up Johnny Bravo" (12:29), containing interviews with various creative personnel behind the show, that is worth seeing. Though MacFarlane himself doesn't appear on any commentaries or extras, he did provide his original demos for his Schoolhouse Rock parody episode, which contain some minor variations from the finished version. Finally, the set is rounded out with some "Pencil Tests" (15:01) that were used as rough animation guides for directors to make changes."

From AV Maniacs:
"Even as an original fan of the show, I learned a lot from Bringing Up Johnny Bravo, and found the commentaries insightful and less obtrusive than some, not being a real fan of commentaries to begin with. As they should be, they were light and non-pretentious. American fans should be happy to finally have this available domestically and new fans can appreciate the show this time around. Johnny Bravo will appeal to new and old cartoon fans alike. Season one is all that... and a bag of chips."

Hey there folks arriving from GeekWeek.com where I was recently interviewed by Tim Simmons for his column "Behind the Behind the Scenes: Johnny Bravo"... we're glad to have you here! Take a look around, feel free to stop over on the message boards to introduce yourself and chat with the crew, and most importantly: don't put your feet on the coffee table. It's imported.

-Troy

I had the privilege of producing the bonus content at Trailer Park for the very first in the Cartoon Network Hall of Fame series, Johnny Bravo. It was a fantastic experience, and loved every minute of it. Hopefully we did fans proud! Hit the picture of the DVD above to order now, it's well worth the price of admission... but as LeVar once wisely said, you don't have to take my word for it. Here's a few reviews:

From Digital Chumps:
"This twelve and a half minute feature explore the origins of Bravo. Van Partible, John McIntyre, Butch Hartman, and Jeff Bennett all contribute some memories in their interviews. Plenty of clips from episodes are shown too, along with some vintage art. This is a very entertaining feature."

From WF DVD Report:
"The documentary is a very nice touch and the commentaries (of which there are three) are just the icing on the top. (...) My only concern with these extras being as plentiful as they are (for a Cartoon Network release, at least) is that we’ll end up with a Samurai Jack situation where they become fewer and fewer and also of less quality as time goes on. Still, as is, it’s a solid collection and one I Highly Recommend for fans of the show. "

And just because I love you guys, here's a couple shots from Behind the Behind the Scenes:




- Troy

Ladies and gentlemen, it is with pride that today on June 15, 2010 - we unveil the new look of Still Playing with Toys and the stillplayingwithtoys.com website! A new look is absolutely fitting as Still Playing with Toys has metamorphosed from a small independent comic book label to so much more. Films, Books, Comics -- Still Playing with Toys is now the over-arching label for everything we're working on.

And the biggest thing you'll notice is our brand-new logo designed by the extremely talented Raleigh Stewart. The SPT acronym forms some sort of a creature which we're going to be letting YOU name... stay tuned for more on how you can name the creature logo and what you'll win if your name is chosen.

Lots is in the pipeline here at Still Playing with Toys. A couple new graphic novels, a new feature film heading into production next year, and of course we'll keep you up to date on all the DVD/BD content Troy has been working on previously through Trailer Park and now Herzog & Company -- the stillplayingwithtoys.com site is now your hub for anything and everything (plus some).

A special thanks to long-time SPT friend, Fritz for all his help and guidance through the remodel. You'll notice a few hiccups here and there and a few remnants of the old site design that will be converting soon (including a redesign of troybenjamin.com to integrate it into the site as well as a new look for the blog and Troy's Place).

Thanks to the die hard SPTers who have been patient and stuck with us through all the downtime, things are about to heat up...