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(03/30/21 1:10pm)
Actor and comedian Monty Geer was relatively not as well-known when he was trying to make it big in the TV industry. That was until he landed a role on MTV’s drama/comedy Awkward. The show lasted five seasons and won a People’s Choice Award for Favorite Cable TV Comedy. Geer played lanky, tall geek Cole Higgins, a recurring character on the show’s last two seasons. Since the show’s ending in 2016, the actor has been doing small projects here and there along with his own stand-up act in LA. Geer took the time to speak with me about his past career and the hard work and perseverance that got him where he is today.
(03/29/21 8:43pm)
The one-year anniversary of theaters closing has come and gone, and yet things have not gone back to normal. Many theaters have reopened their doors, but studios including Disney, Universal, and Sony have been reluctant to release their major blockbusters in the hopes of being able to have a normal theatrical release after the pandemic subsides.
(03/29/21 8:39pm)
The opinions and views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the opinion of Byte or Byte’s editorial board.
(03/29/21 8:35pm)
It’s been an exciting and anxious time for fans of young artist AJ Mitchell. In 2015, Mitchell was discovered via social media while living in his hometown of Belleville, Illinois. He released his first single, “Used to Be” in 2017, after writing it at the age of 13. He has collaborated with musicians like Meghan Trainor, Cheat Codes, Ava Max, and Ella Henderson. Mitchell is a candid, free musician, taking inspiration from his life and shaping it into worthwhile lyrics. I got the chance to speak with Mitchell about his writing tactics, inspirations, and upcoming album Skyview, set to release soon.
(03/29/21 8:31pm)
The opinions and views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the opinion of Byte or Byte’s editorial board.
(03/29/21 8:28pm)
Ever since Disney purchased 20th Century Fox, one question swirling around has been how Marvel will implement the Fantastic Four, Deadpool, and the X-Men into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Information about the Fantastic Four was revealed at the Disney executive meeting in December 2020, revealing that they hired Jon Watts, director of Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and Spider-Man: No Way Home, to helm the project. News on the state of Deadpool has also been announced, revealing both the writers and that the third film will still hold an R rating. However, news on the state of the X-Men has remained silent, until now.
(03/29/21 4:00am)
Warning: This review may contain spoilers for this episode and previous episodes of ‘My Hero Academia’
(03/29/21 3:00pm)
By Kellyn Harrison
Warning: This review may contain spoilers for this episode and previous episodes of 'My Hero Academia'
My Hero Academia was recommended to me in December by a friend because they knew my appreciation for action anime series. As someone new to the anime world, I dived into the series, unaware of how much it would impact my standards for future viewing experiences. The series plays with your heart by presenting us with lovable characters, while giving us an extremely well-developed twist on what is sometimes an overused hero cliche.
Instead of just a group of people holding superpowers, 80 percent of the population is born with a quirk (Note: a quirk is a hero’s superpower), and a “quirkless” fanboy named Izuku Midoriya (Hero name: Deku) meets his role model hero, only to take over the infamous role of his predecessor, the No. 1 hero All Might. All Might, being the “symbol of peace” or someone people could rely on to keep evil away. Or specifically to Deku and many of his classmates in Class 1-A, someone who would influence and encourage the next generation of heroes to not only keep civilians safe, but restore society’s crumbling trust in heroes.
An ‘Icy’ start after a ‘Fire’ ending
What sets the story apart from others is how the series sets the bar high in the first season and continues to get better the farther you go along. In the previous seasons, we not only followed Deku's journey in building upon his power, but also his classmates and the villains he meets along the way. Viewers are treated to many stories other than just Deku’s that are crafted extremely well and fully tie into the class’s overall relationship development. For example, we follow along on Deku’s journey in defeating All for One (All Mights’s rival), All Might’s journey in making amends with no longer being a fighting “symbol of peace,” Deku’s classmate’s, Shoto Todoroki, journey in establishing a name for himself in the shadow of his No. 2 hero father Endeavor, etc. A deeper dive into the
Todoroki family’s background is what fans expect to see within this season due to season four ending with Endeavor officially becoming the No. 1 hero after All Might retired. Furthermore, after he told Shoto, he wanted to be a better father and presence in his life after years of emotional abuse.
However, it was slightly disappointing how this episode didn’t continue what we saw in the last episode of season four, “His Start,” by immediately picking up at the end of Endeavor’s fight with Nomu or with Endeavor in the hospital following the fight. The only reference we get to the fight is when Class 1-A discusses it amongst each other at the beginning of class and when Todoroki walks into the classroom to Deku checking in on him. The only taste of story development fans get is after the credits when Endeavor is shown in the hospital contemplating what happened at the end of his fight when Dabi approached Keigo Takami - “Hawks”- and him. Plus, when we see Hawks, the new No. 2 hero, secretly meet with Dabi. The rest of the episode is tailored to reminding the fans of Class 1-A and what their quirks are. After an “emergency drill” is announced, the students are sent to the practice field to defeat the “villains” and save the “civilian in danger.” All of which being UA High School’s “Big Three” students: Tamaki Amajiki, Nejire Hado, and Mirio Togata. The training drill’s sole purpose is to give fans some character development by showing how much the students have grown as heroes since their last training exercise in season two when the students were sent to summer training camp—the proof in character development, showing how beneficial the episode was despite its lack of story progression.
Even heroes need a break
Despite the relatively slow start, the episode held many entertaining and humorous scenes that provided relief to the heavy atmosphere we ended on in season four. These are still kids trying to uphold a relatively fun and normal lifestyle amongst the chaos and pressure the world places on them. We see the spikey-haired trio (Eijiro Kirishima, Katsuki Bakugo, and Denki Kaminari) come in last minute to save the day after hijacking a car using Kirishima’s electrifying quirk. Togata is constantly causing trouble for the students tasked with saving him, among other scenes. The fun and chaotic vibe of the training scene furthers the already strong appreciation we have for the lovable characters and our hope in their collective growth as a class.
Despite the hype leading up to the new season, this episode wasn’t much in terms of story progression. It made me even more nervous and excited for the episodes to come because the manga has hit the My Hero community very hard lately as new chapters come out. But overall, the episode’s influence on overall story development was slow and relatively disappointing because of the viewer’s need for more information on the events following Endeavor’s fight with Nomu. Especially his encounter with Dabi. However, the character development and humorous scenes we are treated within the training scene made up for the stagnation. This episode reminded us that despite having their hero licenses, the students are still kids who need a break from the heaviness around them. Possibly also being a reminder for us, for the episode provides us a break, as well.
Sources: Comic Book
Images: IMDB, IMDB
Featured Image: Crunchy Roll
(03/29/21 2:00pm)
by Conner TigheActor and comedian Monty Geer was relatively not as well-known when he was trying to make it big in the TV industry. That was until he landed a role on MTV’s drama/comedy Awkward. The show lasted five seasons and won a People’s Choice Award for Favorite Cable TV Comedy. Geer played lanky, tall geek Cole Higgins, a recurring character on the show’s last two seasons. Since the show’s ending in 2016, the actor has been doing small projects here and there along with his own stand-up act in LA. Geer took the time to speak with me about his past career and the hard work and perseverance that got him where he is today.Conner Tighe: Did you want to be an actor when you were little?Monty Geer: Yeah, I’ve loved acting from a young age. I’m from a small town called Snohomish in Washington state. It’s just lots of farms and stuff. Acting wasn’t an option at all. Like everyone I talked to, they would say, “How do you do that? That’s not a real thing.” So, when I was a little kid, I made videos a lot with my friends. They were like sketches, basically. The only industry was this improv team in Seattle an hour away, and I auditioned for them when I was like 14 or 15, but everyone on the team was like 45, and here I am as this 14-year-old auditioning. So, I didn’t get that. When I was 16, I started going to New York to go to the New York Film Academy during my summers when I was in high school. After high school, I moved to New York to pursue it full-time. So, it’s definitely something I’ve always wanted to do, but it was a hard time figuring out how to do it for most of my life.CT: Who has strongly influenced your life?MG: Definitely lots of other actors for sure, like Seth Rogen. I love how he writes and directs his own stuff or Will Ferrell. When I was a kid, at night I would watch the 1975 SNL tapes and stuff with John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd. I lived off of that. My uncle was always the funniest person in my life. He made me pursue comedy because he was so funny, and he died this year because of COVID-19, so that was pretty rough. He was definitely the biggest influence for me, as a child, to even pursue the enjoyment of comedy.CT: How did you get into stand-up comedy?
(03/28/21 9:30pm)
by Mason Kupiainen
The one-year anniversary of theaters closing has come and gone, and yet things have not gone back to normal. Many theaters have reopened their doors, but studios including Disney, Universal, and Sony have been reluctant to release their major blockbusters in the hopes of being able to have a normal theatrical release after the pandemic subsides.
Two major theater markets, Los Angeles and New York, have been closed since the lockdown began, leading most of the dominant studios to hesitate dropping their major films. When theaters began opening in August of 2020, a few big releases were dropped, to quite disappointing numbers. Warner Brothers released their sizable tent-pole film, Tenet, without LA or New York theaters opening, and the film was still only able to gather $363 million at the worldwide box office. The New Mutants and Unhinged were also released both of which only reaped disappointing box office numbers.
The beginning of the end
However, there may be light at the end of this long, dark seemingly never ending tunnel — LA and New York theaters have begun reopening. Mix this with vaccines rolling out to the majority of the population and many states beginning to loosen their COVID restrictions, it is possible theaters may be able to spark life once again. Theaters reopening are not the final piece to the puzzle for theaters reverting back to normal, but it is a major step forward. There are many more factors to come that will, hopefully, continue to steamroll the process.
Nonetheless, the reopening of LA and New York is a great sign. They both are the biggest theater going markets in the United States, so their exclusion from the box office the past couple of months hurt the industry immensely. Hopefully if all goes to plan, we’ll continue to see the markets open up and a revival of the box office, along with encouraging the rest of the industry to come back to life.
Disney and Sony
Universal, Paramount, and Warner Brothers have been the leading studios dropping their blockbuster and more high-profile films in recent months. This is due in part to agreements they have with theater chains. Warner Brothers started their day and date release of dropping films in theaters, along with HBO Max (which has officially been signed to end in 2022). Universal has also been releasing major films in theaters, with the agreement to release their films onto streaming two weeks after their theatrical release.
Despite the other studios releasing their films, two significant studios have been more hesitant about releasing their films, Disney and Sony. Sony has taken a drastic approach by bumping their films by great lengths at a time, with the intent of holding out until theaters have fully recovered. Disney up to this point, has taken a similar approach, tossing a few films here and there that are not that good or significant. With Raya and the Last Dragon, they tried an experiment by releasing it both in theaters and on Disney+ on the same day, and they will take this approach with Cruella and Black Widow. It’s bizarre that they would take this approach since Mulan and Raya were both failures, but perhaps a Marvel film could be the winning ticket that would make this model work. If this model does succeed by catching on with audiences, that could be a major blow for the theaters.
Regal
In August 2020, both AMC and Regal opened their doors in areas where they were allowed. However, just two months later, in October, Regal closed their doors once again due to poor attendance, with the hopes of conserving their resources for another reopening once things start to look better. That time may have finally come with the announcement that Regal is planning to restart operations on April 2. Having another major theater chain up-and-running will help stimulate the box office and its growth. This could also help studios to feel better about releasing their films, since they’ll have another major chain with their doors open to continue drawing audiences.
Films to come
Of course, theaters and studios can’t recover without films. More importantly, good films. Many of the major blockbusters that have been released since theaters reopening, have not been well-received. Tenet received a 70% on Rotten Tomatoes, while Wonder Woman 1984 holds a 59%. While Tenet’s score is fairly positive, it frustrated many audience members with its sound mixing and confusing plot. Others like The New Mutants, Tom & Jerry, and The Little Things also failed to be positively received, which could potentially be a factor for low box office numbers. With films like Godzilla vs. Kong, Black Widow, F9, A Quiet Place Part II, and Mortal Kombat garnering attention and hype, they could possibly be the films that help push audiences to rush out to theaters. Many of these films are having a hybrid release that may keep audiences staying home. If they are able to entice audiences to get off their couches and show them the joys of going out to a theater, it could draw audiences to come back again the following week.
Sources: Box Office Mojo, Bounding into Comics, Business Insider, CinemaBlend, Collider, Deadline, Engadget, Fortune, IndieWire, Rotten Tomatoes, Screen Rant, The Blue and Gray Press, The New York Times, The Verge, Variety
Featured Image: Variety
(03/28/21 9:00pm)
by Annie BastianThe opinions and views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the opinion of Byte or Byte’s editorial board. One of the best feelings in the world in finding new music through an artist that you already love. Recently I was listening to songs by the artist eaJ, also known as Jae from the K-pop band Day6, when I came across a collaboration he had done with an artist I had never heard of called Seori, a South Korean R&B artist. Naturally I clicked on the video to listen to it, and it took approximately 30 seconds for me to completely fall in love with her voice. The song “It just is” captured Seori’s dream-like voice that makes you connect to both the song and the emotions that come with realizing you are in love, even if you do not speak Korean. I was hooked and I needed to hear more of her voice.
(03/26/21 5:22pm)
Graham breaks down new developments for Nintendo properties - the disappearance of Mario games and merchandise from stores and an upcoming horror movie based on Animal Crossing Checkpoint is Byte’s video news series, reporting on recent events in the world of entertainment, tech, and pop culture. Whether its video games, film, television, or music, we’ve got you covered!Anchors: Graham HardingExecutive Producer: Aaron DwyerVideo Editing: Mason Kupianen Audio Editing: Shwetha SundarrajanGraphics: Taylor SheridanMusic: Jack McGinnis
(03/26/21 2:00pm)
by Conner TigheIt’s been an exciting and anxious time for fans of young artist AJ Mitchell. In 2015, Mitchell was discovered via social media while living in his hometown of Belleville, Illinois. He released his first single, “Used to Be” in 2017, after writing it at the age of 13. He has collaborated with musicians like Meghan Trainor, Cheat Codes, Ava Max, and Ella Henderson. Mitchell is a candid, free musician, taking inspiration from his life and shaping it into worthwhile lyrics. I got the chance to speak with Mitchell about his writing tactics, inspirations, and upcoming album Skyview, set to release soon.Conner Tighe: What was your inspiration behind "Camera's On?"AJ Mitchell: It came to me about three years ago, which is when I originally wrote the song. Basically, I was inspired to write that because I was in this situation where I was surrounded by people where it just seemed like a fake environment. It seemed like people were wearing smiles, people were saying “I love you” when they didn’t mean it, so I felt like a weird dynamic which I’ve never experienced before. That was when I first came out to LA. So, I wrote the song about how as soon as the camera’s on, everyone switches up. The “never with you” part is the music side and my family and friends and the people that make it worth it, and that’s what the songs about.Image from FacebookCT: What do you find most difficult when writing music?AM: The music part is easiest for me. I write songs every day, like I love it. I mean, I could write three songs in a day. But the most difficult part for all of it, I would have to say, is the emotional part. I’m promoting the songs and going on social media, doing all that stuff because honestly, I’m not great at social media. I try to give the fans what they want, but when it comes down to promoting the music, I’m like, “I don’t know what to do. I’m just going to take a video from a song and post it up.”CT: What was your childhood like?AM: I would say my childhood growing up was very free for me to explore, adventure, and live my life the way I wanted to as a kid. I was from a really small town. There wasn’t much to do at all other than write music all day because I was bored, and I just wanted to play on the piano and learn and practice. It was fun for me. Or I’d be outside with my friends, riding our bikes around town, exploring abandoned buildings, sneaking into this college down the street so we could play basketball. We were super adventurous kids, and I just wanted to have fun. I was the type of kid where if I was bored, I wanted to do something. I wanted to go on adventures. I wanted to go in the woods. I wanted to have a thrill with my friends.CT: Who were your musical inspirations growing up?AM: When I was growing up, my first inspiration was my dad. He was writing songs and practicing the piano, and when I saw that, I wanted to do it myself. He was one of my first inspirations. Then after that, I loved The Beatles, Lil Wayne, Eminem, Bruno Mars, Coldplay, Adele, Whitney Houston, Etta James. Honestly, I drew inspiration from everywhere. I wouldn’t say there’s one artist that’s my favorite. I’m that type of person that doesn’t have a favorite anything, because I love so many different things.CT: How did writing songs at such a young age impact your life?AM: I loved it. I was writing songs all the time. I only knew a couple of piano chords, but with those chords, I was writing songs all the time.CT: Where do you get your inspiration from when writing music?AM: I get my inspiration from life, I think, just life experiences. Honestly, the inspiration can come from anywhere. If I’m walking down the street with a friend and we’re just having a real conversation about real life, and something pops up, and I’m like, “Honestly, that’s beautiful. This would be such a beautiful topic to write about.” And I’ll take it to the studio, and I’ll write the song. That happened one day with the song “Growing Pains,” which is going to be on my album Skyview. I had a wild night out, and the next morning I woke up like, “Oh, I’m growing through growing pains,” so I know I’m going to do that again. You know what I mean? And that’s how everything works out. I’m inspired by real-life situations, and it’s either with my relationships or life lessons that I’ve learned that I want to share with other people. I like my music to be motivational or happy.CT: Is there a past performance that comes to mind where you were extremely nervous?
(03/26/21 8:04pm)
Welcome back to another episode of the Coven! On this special Women's History Month episode, join us as we discuss how the pandemic has affected working women, the childcare crisis, and the burdens of being a woman in the STEM field. Tune in for all this and more on another episode of the Coven!
(03/25/21 7:06pm)
Ball State Daily · The Coven S7E10: Inequality in the Workforce
Welcome back to another episode of the Coven! On this special Women's History Month episode, join us as we discuss how the pandemic has affected working women, the childcare crisis, and the burdens of being a woman in the STEM field. Tune in for all this and more on another episode of the Coven!
Hosts: Shwetha Sundarrajan & Rachel Smith
Edited by: Shwetha Sundarrajan
Graphic by: Taylor Sheridan
(03/24/21 11:07pm)
Welcome back to another mini-episode of Input 2! In this episode, join us as we discuss how the pandemic has affected the movie industry. Tune in to hear how the pandemic affected movie releases, how people consume content, and the effect it has had on TV and movie production. Find out all this and more on this week's minisode of Input 2!
(03/24/21 10:55pm)
Ball State Daily · Input 2 Minisode: The show must go on
Welcome back to another mini-episode of Input 2! In this episode, join us as we discuss how the pandemic has affected the movie industry. Tune in to hear how the pandemic affected movie releases, how people consume content, and the effect it has had on TV and movie production. Find out all this and more on this week's minisode of Input 2!
Hosts: Dylan Walter
Edited by: Dylan Walter
Graphic by: Emily Hanes
(03/24/21 4:00pm)
Ball State Daily · Remixed Minisode: 2021 Grammy Awards
Welcome back to another mini-episode of Remixed! In this minisode, join us as we discuss the 2021 Grammy awards! Who was nominated, who won, and what kind of controversies surrounded this year's awards? Tune in to find out and more on this week's minisode!
Hosts: Sam Shipe
Edited by: Sam Shipe
Graphic by: Emily Hanes
(03/23/21 4:00am)
On Nov. 17, 2017, Warner Bros. released Justice League, the first live-action film to star the titular DC Comics superhero team. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the same film that director Zack Snyder was originally making. Earlier that year, he stepped down from the project after his daughter, Autumn, passed away. In his place, the studio hired Avengers director Joss Whedon to finish it. What resulted was a heavily reshot and rewritten mess of a film, not exactly the winner Warner Bros. was hoping for. Even now, it’s been implied that the studio knew what a disaster the theatrical cut really was.
(03/22/21 4:00am)
Justin Bieber released his latest album, Justice, this past Friday and if you hyped this up like his last album, let me save you the trouble. Justice doesn’t achieve the same lasting effect as Changes. Like his last album, there’s a heavy inspiration from faith and Martin Luther King Jr. If this sounds strange, it is. It’s so out of place and is the first piece of audio you’ll hear on track one, “2 Much.” The singer is already receiving mixed feedback on the album, with some not appreciating MLK’s addition while others see it as a timely thing.
