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A lot can change in a few years. When development on “We Happy Few” began in 2014, Compulsion Games was a small indie studio with an ambitious idea. Four years later (with just months to go before the adventure game’s Aug. 10 release on PC and consoles), it’s in the process of becoming a first-party developer under Microsoft — one of five surprising acquisitions that the hardware maker announced at E3 2018.

The purchase represents a huge vote of confidence for Compulsion and its unique vision for games. In an interview with Variety, the developers couldn’t comment on how or when the talks with Microsoft began, but narrative director Alex Epstein said the deal closed “ridiculously last minute.”

“It’s nice to be acknowledged by something like that. We’ve been doing weird things for so long, and that’s what we love to do. [Microsoft] apparently loves that, too!” added art director Whitney Clayton.

Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival – it takes place this year between July 18 and August 6 and has always been about more than just the films. They offer plenty of panel discussions and master classes every year, and last year’s edition introduced the Frontières International Co-Production Market, uniting North American, European, and Australasian talent and funders in an initiative focused specifically on fostering genre film productions and relationships. Noteworthy projects from the inaugural edition included new works from seasoned filmmakers such as Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator) and Bruce McDonald (Pontypool), as well as up-and-coming talent like Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead (Resolution), Paul Campion (The Devil’s Rock), Jason Eisener (Hobo With a Shotgun), and Jorge Michel Grau (We Are What We Are). At the Fantasia Industry Rendez-Vous – a sort of three-day industry cocktail party – professional introductions were made, and many of the projects found co-producers and/or international sales agents.

The team behind Montreal's acclaimed Fantasia International Film Festival have announced the official selections for the second edition of their Frontières International Co-Production Market – hailed as the first and only international co-production market to connect North America with Europe in an environment focused specifically on genre film production. Frontières is part of the Fantasia Industry Rendez-Vous, which supports the sales efforts of features in the festival’s 2013 programming. International producers and sales agents, distributors, broadcasters, talent agents and festival programmers will attend the Rendez-Vous from July 25-28 2013, the mid-point of the 3-week run of the Fantasia Festival. The twelve-project slate includes some beloved genre names, as well as some debut directors and up-and-comers. Here's the list: Casting The Runes (Canada/Germany/USA) Director: Joe Dante (The Hole, Gremlins, The Howling) Starring Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead, Star Trek Into Darkness) The Colour Out of Space (France) Director: Richard Stanley (Dust Devil,...

Montreal's Fantasia International Film Festival, widely acclaimed as one of the largest and most influential genre film festivals in the world, is proud to announce the official selections of the second edition of its Frontières International Co-Production Market.

Frontières is the first and only international co-production market to connect North America with Europe, in an environment focused specifically on genre film production. It was just announced last week that Frontières will become a circuit in-between Fantasia, in July, and the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival, in April. This initiative was made possible by funding from the Media Mundus program of the European Commission. Frontières was the only new initiative to be funded by the program this year.

The projects to be presented in the market feature an exciting array of filmmakers, from gifted newcomers to world-renowned maestros, coupled with numerous established international producers. The second edition of the Frontières International...

For the unfamiliar, Montreal is a city which hosts at least one film festival each and every month of the year. Of the dozens of fests, Fantasia Film Festival is without a doubt our favourite, and is widely acclaimed as one of the largest and most influential genre film festivals in the world. They’ve just announced the official selection of the second edition of its Frontières International Co-Production Market, and the slate is looking good. Frontières is the first and only international co-production market to connect North America with Europe, in an environment focused specifically on genre film production. The projects to be presented in the market feature an exciting array of filmmakers, from gifted newcomers to world-renowned maestros, coupled with numerous established international producers. The selection of the second edition of the Frontières International Co-Production Market will consist of the following 12 projects:

Casting the Runes (Canada / Germany / USA)

Director: Joe Dante (The Hole,...

This past weekend, co-writer/director Boris Rodriguez's Eddie: The Sleepwalking Cannibal arrived in limited theaters courtesy of Doppleganger Releasing.

The offbeat horror comedy follows a former up-and-coming painter named Lars (Thure Lindhardt) who finds himself back at the easel after relocating to teach at a remote, snowbound art school where he befriends a mute flesh-eater by the name of Eddie (Dylan Scott Smith) whose nocturnal feasts of flesh reignites the artist's faltering career.

Dread Central recently chatted with Rodriguez about his unusual cannibal story as well as his next project which happens to feature scientifically-mutated killer monkeys that go on a rampage against a group of teenagers at a summer camp (for real). Check out our exclusive interview with Rodriguez below and make sure to check out Eddie: The Sleepwalking Cannibal now that's in theaters and on VOD platforms everywhere.

Dread Central: First of all- I really enjoyed the...

Eddie The Sleepwalking Cannibal

Directed by Boris Rodriguez

Written by Alex Epstein, Jonathan Rannells, Boris Rodriguez

Canada/Denmark, 2012

In 2009, a Brazilian television show host drew worldwide media attention for his nefarious approach to producing Canal Livre, which was, ironically, an immensely popular crime and punishment programme. Wallace Souza, the accused, was suspected of hiring hitmen to kill five people for the purpose of cultivating hands-on and first-to-the-scene graphic footage, generating interest in the show and boosting ratings.

Detractors have denounced his actions as immoral (an understatement, to be sure), but his inquest posits a more equivocal proposition. Yes, killing is wrong (we’ve all been taught that; presumably, Mr. Souza as well), but was what he did worth it? To become the most famous face on Brazilian television, to have the most popular show on air, to be both rich and respected, for however long he was, Mr. Souza certainly...

Eddie The Sleepwalking Cannibal

Directed by Boris Rodriguez

Written by Alex Epstein, Jonathan Rannells, Boris Rodriguez

Canada/Denmark, 2012

In 2009, a Brazilian television show host drew worldwide media attention for his nefarious approach to producing Canal Livre, which was, ironically, an immensely popular crime and punishment programme. Wallace Souza, the accused, was suspected of hiring hitmen to kill five people for the purpose of cultivating hands-on and first-to-the-scene graphic footage, generating interest in the show and boosting ratings.

Detractors have denounced his actions as immoral (an understatement, to be sure), but his inquest posits a more equivocal proposition. Yes, killing is wrong (we’ve all been taught that; presumably, Mr. Souza as well), but was what he did worth it? To become the most famous face on Brazilian television, to have the most popular show on air, to be both rich and respected, for however long he was, Mr. Souza certainly...

Apprentice star Jim Eastwood has been described as a "bulls**tter" by former candidate Alex Epstein. Epstein, a contestant on the 2010 series of the show, claimed that he had worked with plenty of businessmen like Eastwood, who he said was all words and no action. "It's a funny one, Jim. We all respond to people differently. In many ways, Jim has the gift of the gab. Definitely. However, he comes across as a bit of a bulls**tter, if I'm honest with you," Epstein told Digital Spy. "I meet people like him all the time. They have a very good way with words and a very good patter, but it's a bit too (more)...

"If I was an apple pie, the apples inside would be orange." Not our words, but the words of Apprentice legend Alex Epstein. This series has been lacking in bold grandiose statements as magical as that one, so we decided to give Alex a call to find out what he thinks of this year's rag-tag rabble of candidates. Edna Agbarha

"I think it was the right decision to fire her. Well, I'm not sure actually. Perhaps she had more to show. I think we could maybe have seen more from Edna. I hadn't seen anything amazing from her and she didn't stand out at all, but maybe she just needed more time to have her chance to shine." Jim Eastwood

"It's a funny one, Jim. We all respond to people differently. In many ways Jim has the gift of the gab. Definitely. However, he comes across as a bit of a bulls**tter,...

There's been a lot of talk around here recently about real geek girls and actresses who pretend to be geek girls. Well, I recently had the good fortune to spend some time getting to know a young woman that is both a talented actress and an honest-to-goodness geek. They might be a rare breed, but they do exist.

Meaghan Rath stars in Syfy's hit reimagining of Being Human, the British series about roommates who happen to be a ghost, a vampire and a werewolf. As Sally the spirit, Rath has proven to be, literally and figuratively, the soul of the show. At Comicpalooza, Texas' largest comic-con, in our interview and the panel I hosted with her, Rath revealed herself to be an authentic fangirl, giving all the right answers to all the telling questions.

Arriving sans handler or retinue, Rath was incredibly laid back, more an excited convention-goer than one...

Stella English has won ‘The Apprentice’.

The 30-year-old blonde – who was formerly head of business management at a Japanese investment bank – was chosen over fellow candidate Chris Bates, 24, by multi-millionaire tycoon Lord Alan Sugar following a task which required the finalists to design an original alcoholic beverage.

Stella – who welcomed back former competitors Joanna Riley, Paloma Vivanco, Christopher Farrell and Melissa Cohen to her team – created a bourbon-based drink with a spicy twist named Urbon.

Lord Sugar’s right hand man Nick Hewer noted the London-based businesswoman did a great job of keeping her team together without any fights.

He said: “Stella led her little team. There’s been no fighting or snowboating and that is a valuable quality to have; to be able to lead a willing team.”

Meanwhile, Chris and his team Jamie Lester, Liz Locke, Alex Epstein and Shibby Robati faced problems when they decided to market...

Alex Epstein failed to lead his team to victory when creating and pitching for a new surface cleaner. We caught up with him to find out why he didn't scrub up well enough for Lord Sugar. You don't often see someone defend their product when they've been brought back into the boardroom, and acting like there's a chance Lord Sugar will choose to sack someone from the other team instead.

The Apprentice saw its audience share drop on Wednesday evening due to the The Pride of Britain Awards, overnight data has revealed. Alex Epstein's exit from the show averaged 6.42m (24%) for BBC One in the 9pm hour, down 880k week-on-week. The programme was hit by coverage of The Pride Of Britain Awards 2010, which pulled in 6.23m (24.7%) on ITV1 between 8pm and 10pm, while 105k (0.4%) watched in HD. Prior to the awards, special tribute programme Farewell Jack appealed to 6.9m (30.7%) from 7.30pm and 120k (0.5%) in HD. Earlier, The One Show grabbed 4.48m (20.4%) on BBC One from 7.30pm, before new series Wallace & Gromit's World Of Inventions continued to 3.63m (16.2%), down by more than 2m week-on-week.

Jimmy's Food Factory and Nigel Slater's Simple Suppers cooked up respective audiences of 3.25m (more)...

Fired candidate Alex Epstein has defended his flop Apprentice brand Germ-o-Nator. The self-styled retail guru, who was axed from the reality show last night, claimed that his team's cleaning product was not an all-out disaster, despite strong criticism from Lord Alan Sugar. "I think the Germ-o-Nator is actually quite a cool idea," said Epstein. "Some of the best campaigns and ads at the moment tap into nostalgia and for me 'Hasta La Vista Gravy' would have been one of those viral ads that when you went into work people would say it to you in the office. "'Hasta la vista gravy!' It is very catchy and that's what we wanted from our campaign. (more)...

Fired candidate Alex Epstein has claimed that you need to backstab and be tactical to win The Apprentice. Epstein, who was axed by Lord Sugar last night, argued that he was always going to struggle to land the end of series prize because he was a "bit too nice". "That is the thing with something like this. If you are going to go on and win you need to have some sort of strategy," he told Digital Spy. "You are not going to win this without doing some backstabbing along the way. I probably played it a little bit too nice. If I'd played it more strategically, I may have lasted longer. But I have no regrets. I'm quite happy to have stepped out at this point." Speaking (more)...

Alex Epstein was unsurprisingly fired from ‘The Apprentice’ last night.

The unemployed head of communications found himself in the boardroom for the second time on last night’s show. He was sacked by a surly Lord Alan Sugar, after failing to achieve results as project manager in a task which saw the teams create and market a new brand of cleaning product.

However, in the taxi ride home, the Manchester-based businessman insisted that the multi-millionaire businessman did him “a big favour”, as he wouldn’t have worked well as Lord Sugar’s apprentice.

He told Bang Showbiz: “Lord Sugar didn’t like it that I argued with him. He doesn’t like anyone arguing with him. What I realised then and there was that if I worked for Lord Sugar we wouldn’t really get on, and we definitely wouldn’t see eye to eye. If anything, he’s done me a big favour.

Alex Epstein was fired from 'The Apprentice' last night (10.11.10). The unemployed head of communications - who was in the firing line for the second time - was given the boot by Lord Alan Sugar after failing to achieve results as project manager in a task which saw the teams create and market a new brand of cleaning product. However, the Manchester-based businessman believes the multi-millionaire businessman did him ''a big favour'', as Alex wouldn't have worked well as Lord Sugar's apprentice. He exclusively told Bang Showbiz: ''Lord Sugar didn't like it that I argued with him. He doesn't like anyone arguing with him. ..

Alex Epstein has become the sixth fired Apprentice candidate after a disastrous advertising task. Multi-millionaire Lord Alan Sugar challenged the business hopefuls to create, brand and come up with a radio and TV ad campaign for a new cleaning product on this week's show. Leading Team Apollo, Epstein was blamed for the group's Germ-o-Nator concept and dodgy TV promo. Christopher Farrell's Team Synergy won the task for their Octoklean brand, but Sugar warned the winners that they only just snuck through by the skin of their teeth. "Put it this way, I wouldn't say you'd won... it is just technically you haven't lost," he said. Epstein immediately ran into trouble with Sugar, challenging the business leader's decision to award the victory to the other team. "I'm not consulting you over the reason that they have (more)...

Apprentice candidate Laura Moore lashes out at her rivals during tonight's ad campaign task. Moore, 22, fumes when she is ignored in the cleaning product challenge and her ideas are snubbed. Her 'Helping Hand' concept is described as the "worst idea ever" by Stuart Baggs and Apollo's Pm Alex Epstein turns down Moore's offer to pitch their product. "Not only have they come up with the biggest pile of crap I've ever heard for a really important (more)...

The Apprentice hopefuls are flummoxed by this week's TV ad challenge, where they are tasked by Lord Alan Sugar to come up with a household cleaner. Both teams must name their product, package it and sell it to a leading ad agency. Alex Epstein takes on the Pm role in Team Apollo after his struggles last week, while Christopher Farrell heads up Team Synergy. However, neither Pm is able to come up with an idea that pleases their group and both struggle to keep their fellow candidates happy. Chris Bates suggests the product name 'Germ-o-Nator', but he's shot down by Epstein who claims that the (more)...

Paloma Vivanco was fired from 'The Apprentice' last night (03.11.10). The London-based marketing manager talked her way into a firing from Lord Alan Sugar after failing to deliver as project manager, and then turning the blame on fellow contestants Sandeesh Samrao and Alex Epstein. Self-made multi-millionaire Lord Sugar criticised the 30-year-old businesswoman for launching a personal attack on unemployed head of communications Alex, in which she referred to him as ''an irritant''. Delivering his verdict, he said: ''Paloma, I don't like your last outburst and from my 40 years in business and my personal instinct, I don't like what I've seen across the table ..

Londoner Paloma Vivanco became the fifth Apprentice candidate fired by Lord Alan Sugar tonight after she was accused of arrogance in the boardroom. The 29-year-old project managed the losing Team Apollo in a fashion retail challenge at Manchester's Trafford Centre and was ultimately held responsible for the group's failure. Liz Locke led the winning Team Synergy, who picked up £3,760.37 of sales and earned a day out at the Royal Windsor Racecourse. Vivanco blamed her teammate Alex Epstein for their failure, arguing that the self-styled "retail guru" had let them down with his promotional blunders. She also brought Sandeesh Samrao back to the boardroom, which confused Sugar as she had earlier sung Samrao's praises. When she found herself back in the boardroom, Samrao blasted her leader, seething: "Generally she'll take (more)...

Alex Epstein and Paloma Vivanco clash on this week's episode of The Apprentice. The pair run into trouble on Team Apollo when Vivanco is made project manager for a fashion sales task in Manchester. Lord Alan Sugar asks the two teams to select collections from two young fashion designers and then sell them from retail units at the Trafford Centre. Former Manchester resident Epstein tries to take the lead on the challenge, but when his promo suggestion ends up backfiring on the team, he ends up in trouble with his leader. Observing from the sidelines, Stuart Baggs warns Epstein: "What she's done is highlighted the fact that you've made a mistake so (more)...

In the first of two snippets from this week's episode of The Apprentice, we find two team members at each other's throats. Is it any surprise to learn Melissa is one of the culprits? Remarkably, during this week's bakery task, an argument over Gcse maths erupts between Melissa and Penfold off of Dangermouse (or Alex Epstein, as he's also known).

Dan Harris has become the first candidate to be fired on series six of The Apprentice.

The 34 year old Sales Director was seen putting himself forward as team leader for the sausage task on tonight’s show. It was a colossally bad move, because in between yelling at his colleagues, bullying his teammates and making the cheapest, most unappetising bangers ever, Dan only managed to bring in £14 of revenue for the boys group.

In the boardroom it was revealed that Synergy (the boys) made a profit of £305.90 from their budget bangers but the girls’ Team Apollo, pipped them to the post and earned £321.16 with their gourmet sizzlers.

Dan, from Oxfordshire, returned to the boardroom, with Stuart ‘The Brand’ Baggs, from the Isle of Man, and Alex Epstein, from Manchester and Lord Sugar blasted his managerial style.

The Amstrad boss told him: “You didn’t run them very well. The point is that the sub-team,...

Sales director Dan Harris was the first candidate to be fired on The Apprentice earlier tonight. Lord Alan Sugar lost patience with the father-of-two after he led the boys' team to defeat in a sausage selling challenge. The boys' Team Synergy made a profit of £305.90 selling their budget bangers in West London, but were edged out in the boardroom showdown by the girls' Team Apollo, who earned £321.16 with their gourmet sausage sales. Harris passionately defended his performance as leader in the task, insisting that he was a "very accomplished salesperson", despite bringing in less than £20 himself. He brought telecommunications entrepreneur Stuart Baggs and unemployed Alex Epstein back into the boardroom. Epstein was criticised for taking a back seat on the challenge and his faults in the sausage production. Defending (more)...

The Just for Laughs Film Festival, in collaboration with Scene™, has just announced the jury members who will be selecting winners of the short film prizes for its 13th edition taking place in Montreal, from July 16 to 26. This year’s jury will be made up of 5 members of the entertainment industry, including David Greenbaum (Vice President of Production and Development, Miramax Films), Alex Epstein (writer, Bon Cop / Bad Cop), Melissa Auf de Maur (music artist from the band Hole and Smashing Pumpkins), Denis Côté (filmmaker, Carcasses) and Tendo Nagenda (Vice President of Production, Mandate Pictures). This year’s films will be competing for 2 Awards: 1 prize of $2000 for Best Short Film and 1 prize of $1000 for Best Quebec Short Film. With a record number of films being presented this year, the jurors will have the challenging task of making enlightened choices but will also surely fall prey to some serious laughing fits.

What it's been like here recently...

Just way too much stuff to go through, and we've been very busy with the print announcement and rushing to get things ready for the Previews catalog, and I have dozens of tabs open to blog about and consolidate. Wheeee!

So this will be more of a high-speed link dump from the last few days. Onward:

The cast and crew of Battlestar Galactica at the United Nations - "We are all Cylons. We are all Colonials." Alex Epstein's take on the last episode of BSG: Seriously? That's What You Got? My favorite comment on the finale, from Sabrina: "There can be no more spoilers for BSG, because they spoiled it themselves."

Don't forget tonight's Family Guy/Star Trek The Next Generation crossover.

Non-comics link of the day: John Mellencamp on The State of the Music Business:

Over the last few years, we have...

TORONTO -- The Showtime series Queer As Folk will challenge Da Vinci's Inquest, Canada's most popular drama, for the best drama writing prize at the Canadian Screenwriting Awards in April, the Writers Guild of Canada said Monday. Also joining Da Vinci's Inquest's Chris Haddock and Queer As Folk's Shawn Postoff in the best drama category are Alex Epstein (Naked Josh), Jason Sherman (Regenesis), Wayne Grigsby (Snakes and Ladders) and George F. Walker (This Is Wonderland). Queer As Folk is produced in Toronto and also airs on Showcase Television here. In the best comedy competition, CTV's Corner Gas, which is co-written by series star Brent Butt, will face off against The Newsroom, a CBC comedy from Ken Finkleman.