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We went on the road ... to Nuernberg! Because there last week, the Spielwarenmesse - the biggest international trade fair of the toy industry - finally took place after a long forced break 🥳!

A little round up with all our impressions and highlights from booths with brands like Iron Studios, NECA, Pure Arts, Noble Collection, Beast Kingdom, Sideshow, Hot Toys, Blizzard, Weta, Archon Studio and many more is now up on our YouTube channel:
https://youtu.be/3OQlcM6h4gs

Tune in and stray with us across the Spielwarenmesse 2023 😆!

Was your post owl already there today? Did you get the new role-playing game of the Harry Potter universe? Although Hogwarts Legacy will not officially be released for the current-gen consoles until February 10th 2023, the sorcerer's apprentices who have ordered the Deluxe or Collector's Edition can already dive into the world of Hogwarts from today (thanks to early access).

If you would like to play the game on the last-gen consoles, you will unfortunately have to wait a little longer 🙁. Because the game will not be released for the PS4 and Xbox One until April 4th 2023 - the version for the switch will not be released until July.

Who is already busy leveling and looting?

Most recently, the horror film »Infinity Pool«, directed by Brandon Cronenberg (yes, that's the son of the great Cronenberg!), premiered at the 39th Sundance Film Festival. After »Antiviral« and »Possessor« we are already dealing with the third feature film by Brandon Cronenberg. It is no exaggeration to say that he has long since established himself as a director. This can be easily seen from the actors involved: Alexander Skarsgård and Mia Goth were recruited for his new work.

»Infinity Pool« is set on the fictional vacation island of La Tolqa. The author James Foster and his wife Em are there to treat themselves to a true luxury vacation. Gorgeous beaches, first-class delicacies and other amenities make the island heaven on earth. At least when you stay within the areas designated for tourists. Stupidly, the couple is tempted to leave the "safe-space". A tragic accident occurs and the two have to learn that La Tolqa has its own ideas of law and order...

»Infinity Pool« will be shown at the Berlinale in February. The film is scheduled for theatrical release in Germany on April 20th. Here's a little appetizer:
https://youtu.be/PVnIMvVEkrA

Since it's so damn cold outside, we will 🔥 fire up 🔥 y'all 1/6 collectors:
We just launched our ⚡ HOT TOYS SALE ⚡, but only this February and of course only while supply lasts 🤑!

Everything that you wanted, I have done!
You asked the child be taken - I took him.
You cowarded before me - I was frighning.
I have reordered time.
I have turned the world upside down.
And I have done it all for you ...!
~Jareth, the Goblin King

Until today, this wonderful world full of monsters, creatures, mythical beasts and of course goblins which was so pasionately created by Jim Henson, Elliot Scott and Brian Froud makes the hearts of all children of the 80's and lovers of fantasy movies beat faster.

Besides the lovely sets and the almost alive puppets if was especially David Bowie with his enigmatic appearance and mysterious presence who gave the extra portion magic to this world - not the least by this great music!

We all remember the showdown between Sarah and Jareth towards the end of the movie, after Sarah desperately was chasing after her little brother Toby to rescue him ... in this surreal maze of probably endless winding stairs and criss-crossed lyring steps.


The talented and passionate artists of WETA WORKSHOP captured this significant, illusionary scene of the movie and freezed if forever for the joy of every LABYRINTH fan. The details of this impressive statue are remarkable, from the sculpting and the depth of the stairs and arches to the finish of the three figures Toby, Sarah and Jareth. The likeness of the actors Jennifer Connelly and David Bowie are done really well and especially when looking at the paintjob of the Goblin King, you can recognize the extreme love of detail. Little Toby in his red-white romper can either be placed on one of the stairs or (with a hidden magnet) be hung defy gravity upside down - just like in the movie!

This wonderful collectible is limited to 500 pieces. We hope that WETA will keep on expanding the line of the LABYRINTH collectibles, but we are already very grateful for this centerpiece and therefore made it - totally lost in nostalgia - our product of the month February 2023!

TV show adaptations of videogames aren't always miserable as we can see nowadays with »The Last of Us«. Because of its high quality, the show delights the gaming crowd and tv show addicts alike. So we aren't that surprised by AMAZON's decision to engage more into the realm of adaptations and with that buying the franchise of »Tomb Raider«. Besides an own tv show they also want to put out movies and games. We already assumed that there won't be an continuation of the 2018 movie reboot with Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft. Now with Amazon as the right holder it seems almost impossible. What do you think: Who will be the next Lara Croft? ;)

We don't have any information on the cast of this new show. But we know that Phoebe Waller-Bridge (this year starring with Harrison Ford in »Indiana Jones 5«) will be the showrunner for the series. This seems to be an first step into the right direction. If Lara wants to play in the same league as Joel and Ellie there needs to be some script updates for sure. As most players havn't played »Tomb Raider« for the story ...

The famous slashers of the late 70's and 80's can't be killed and keep coming back. Most recently, Michael Myers received a fresh cell treatment (with a good start and two rather weak sequels). Leatherface was revived several times and the Ghostface mask also found its willing psychopaths as new wearers. We haven't heard from another mask wearer for quite some time. We're talking about Jason Voorhees, the Man in the hockey mask and the FRIDAY THE 13TH series. The last film was released back in 2009.

But as Bloody Disgusting has now reported, there is movement in the franchise again! »Friday the 13th« creator Sean S. Cunningham is responsible for the production of a reboot. Jeremy Weiss (The Teacher) is slated to direct; Jeff Locker is set to write the script. And as is common in the genre, it shouldn't just stay with one film. The reboot of the horror classic would actually be the 13th film in the series!

But the production currently has stalled because of a legal battle between Sean S. Cunningham and original writer Victor Miller. Cunningham, Weiss and Locker already have a plan B up their sleeves. Should further disputes block the reboot, a content-related continuation of the first part from 1980 is planned.

So we don't plan our next vacation in Camp Crystal Lake until 2024. If the wait is getting to be too long, you're sure to find solace in our Friday the 13th collectibles:
https://www.space-figuren.de/products_all.php?filter%5B2%5D%5B0%5D=74&language=en

The Mandalorian, Avatar and The Witcher are of course just three of many highlights in the first episode of 🚀 ABGESPACED 🚀 in the new year 😅! Our guest and co-host Steffen (@sgink_labs) is nerd-talkin' with Sven about this 'n that and explains you which bizarre way lead him to the toy photography ...

So what are you waiting for? Dig out the space suit quickly, put on your moon boots and jump on board - we're taking off 🌌!
https://youtu.be/JxAbu6IrpYw

Horror fans and gaming enthusiasts are looking forward to tomorrow. Because then we will finally get the remake of »Dead Space«!

For many fans the 2008 released work is still considered as one of the best survival-horrorgames that are available. The third-person-shooter set in space and mostly on a space station convinced with a really atmospheric and anxiety inducing orchestration. The player worked through a seemingly never ending maelstrom of digital terror. While being confronted with scary body-horror abominations we made our way through a dark stream of blood and guts.

Now we get the remake of this massive title. If we can trust the first impressions then our expectations can get possibly fulfilled. It seems like the developers have done their homework. An opinion that was supported by the outputs of renowned gaming journalists who already test-played it.

You can get a good impression by the following video:
https://youtu.be/4Tls3Wx_M4A

The remake of »Dead Space« will be released on January 27, 2023, for PS5, XBOX and PC (Steam). If you want to prepare yourself you can already preload the game. So you don't lose any time when the orgy of splatter begins 😉!

The countdown to the 95th Academy Awards is on! Yesterday, the nominations in all categories were announced.

EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE tops the list this year with a whopping 11 nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Michelle Yeoh for Best Actress, Ke Huy Quan for Best Supporting Actor, Jamie Lee Curtis and Stephanie Hsu as Best Supporting Actress, Best Costume Design, Best Film Music, Best Film Song and Best Editing. The movie was also one of our top highlights of the last year and we are keeping our fingers crossed for it.

THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN and the German contribution ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT follow with 9 nominations. Here, too, we are curious whether one or more of the golden boys will find the way to Germany. Netflix has also been waiting for a long time to bring an Oscar to the streaming house after last year Apple did it.

The ELVIS biopic by Baz Luhrmann was nominated 8 times (incl. Austin Butler for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role), Spielberg's autobiographical film THE FABELMANS has 7 nominations, TÁR and TOP GUN: MAVERICK made it to 6 nominations.

All of those named can hope for the "Best Picture" award. Furthermore in the race are WOMEN TALKING, AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER and TRIANGLE OF SADNESS.

Marvel has 5 nominations for BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER, including Angela Bassett for Best Supporting Actress. DC gets 3 nominations for THE BATMAN (Best Visual Effects, Best Sound, Best Make-up & Best Hairstyling).

Honestly, we were a little surprised that James Cameron did not get the nomination for "Best Directing" for AVATAR 2. To see ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT as a German movie going into the race with even NINE nominations is really exciting for us!

We will then find out which films bring in the most trophies on March 12. You can find all the nominees in the following overview:
https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2023

 

The cinema year 2023 promises us a lot - above all, the return of many beloved heroes and themes. Here are the movies the S.P.A.C.E crew is most looking forward to:

SVEN
If the new GHOSTBUSTERS movie (“Firehouse”?) really will start this year, it will of course be this one 😁. Otherwise, ANT-MAN 3 (»Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania«) will win the race for me for the time being - and at least Bill Murray will be seen there as a consolation 😅!

TOBI
Since I've been playing D&D for the last 1-2 years now and the trailer of the movie made me really curious, I'm really looking forward to DUNGEONS & DRAGONS (»Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves«) 🐉!

ANDREA
I'm most excited about the 3rd part of the GUARDIANS (»Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3«) this year - finally new adventures of the biggest idiots in the galaxy 😁🦝!

DANIEL
My most anticipated movie of the year is the new EVIL DEAD (»Evil Dead Rise«). In the last year we had a couple of successfull horror movies which convinced us with there high quality and insane violence. I'm thinking about »Terrifier 2« and »The Sadness«. I hope that the renewed dance with the devils will hit a similar spot 🤘!

MICK
DUNE ended in 2021 when things got really exciting. Since then, I can hardly wait for Denis Villeneuve to finally continue the epic with »Dune: Part Two«. In November the time has finally come 🥳!

Which film are you looking forward to in 2023?

Paramount just dropped a new trailer on DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES - and this is really funny!
https://youtu.be/HGvv-Hhft3U

Goofy and self-ironic to the max - but apparently also with really cool visual effects and of course a lot of action, the flick will hit theaters globally at end of March 🥳🍿. Let's hope that not all gags have already been blown out in the trailer. We're really looking forward to the movie - you, too?

Movies that deal with filmmaking and the studios have always had our attention. From DAY FOR NIGHT to LIVING IN OBLIVION to ONCE UPON A TIME...IN HOLLYWOOD, we've always enjoyed it when the film takes up the topic itself.

Now we can add another chapter to this illustrious line, because as from today, BABYLON by Damien Chazelle (La La Land, Whiplash) is in cinemas and takes us back to the Hollywood of the roaring 20's with Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt to the time when the sound film replaced the silent film.

Anyone who thinks of Kenneth Anger's book »Hollywood Babylon« when hearing the film title is probably not even on the wrong track.

For the movie buffs among us, the picture frenzy is a must, even if a running time of 3 hours and 9 minutes demands a lot of staying power from us.

After the release of »M3GAN« we are currently getting our next horror hype of 2023. The movie is called »Skinamarink«, the feature film debut of Kyle Edward Ball. With an astonishing budget of only 15.000 $ the experimental horror movie deals with the topic of childhood fears.

About the story: A four-year-old boy and his six-year-old sister wake up in the middle of the night. It seems like their parents aren't there and even stranger than that: all doors and windows of the house are gone! The viewer will witness how they handle that strange and surreal situation.

We already mentioned that experimental character: »Skinamarink« works with very unusal and static camera shots while being at the same time totally grainy. These features are surely a downer for many movie buffs. If you can handle that kind of style, then maybe »Skinamarink« can be a worthy title this year. A little hint: This seems like the type of movie that you need to watch alone!

Since the 13th of January »Skinamarink« can be seen in American and Canadian movie theaters. Later that year it is planned to be released on Shudder. With that kind of hype we are sure that it won't take too long until we get a German and European release, too. Here is a little apetizer:
https://youtu.be/APQqilSTxz0

Once again our good friend Patrick (@wonderbunk) has contributed to our POSTCARD COLLECTION. This time he has sent the mighty Witcher Geralt of Rivia himself on a quest to find his Blood Origins. But take a look yourself and check out what he has found in the dark woods of Novigrad.

Just like before, Patrick showed his technical and artistic skills for the creation of this highly atmospheric work. On the cover of our current postcard we have a depiction of 12" Geralt by McFarlane Toys, based on his appearance in »The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt«. A real cool figure - and an absolutely great postcard! Get your free copy, only in January in each of our packages.

WE ALL are going to Mandalore, from March 1st! This is the way 😉:

https://youtu.be/Znsa4Deavgg

»The Last of Us« has launched on HBO Max or WOW/SKY today. The nine-part series is broadcast on a weekly basis. A new episode will be added every night from Sunday to Monday.

Unfortunately, adaptations of video games have disappointed all too often - but HBO seems to have done everything right here, because the first reviews are full of praise and some reviewers are already talking about the best game adaptation to date. The IMDb score is also a whopping 9.6 out of 10. That really makes you want to watch the series!

A second season based on the second game is planned. After that it should be over, because that's the end of the story. So no artificial inflation and lengthening like »The Walking Dead«...

We think that this is just the right approach and we're looking forward to the end of the day now so that we can watch the first episode right away 😃!

Last week, IRON STUDIOS revealed some of their new licenses. As connaisseurs of collectibles we have to give you a short overview on their upcoming projects!

The line-up gives the impression that they want to continue the legacy of their very various assortment. These are the new additions:
- RoboCop
- The Godfather
- The Witcher (Netflix)
- Stranger Things
- Disney 100 - 100 Years of Wonder

At the moment there isn't more information available. We will of course monitor any developments and inform you as soon as any products will be shown.

On social media we found at least a little hint: At their DISNEY posting IRON STUDIOS used the hastag #lionking. As there weren't any more detailed specifications on the other postings, we assume that there is a big chance that they are actually working on some Lion King collectibles 🦁.

By the way: The slogan "100 Years of Wonder" is related to Disney's 100th anniversary. On October 23th 1923, »The Walt Disney Company« was founded. We are eager to learn what kind of surprises the manufacturers want to drop for that birthday. Besides our Brazilians there are some other well known manufacturers that work with the franchises of Disney, like for example Beast Kingdom or Sideshow. One thing is for sure: Fans of Mickey, Simba & Co. should already clear some space for potentially new collectibles 😉!

What do you think about the new licenses of IRON STUDIOS? Which Disney character definately needs a new collectible?

With »M3GAN« and its theatrical release we have the first horror highlight of the year. No question that »Avatar: The Way of Water« will lead box office charts for the next time. In the US, »M3GAN« was ranked on the second place after the first weekend. We can assume that the same will happen in Germany/Europe.

About the story: Eight year old Cady has an aunt who is an expert in the research of robotics. As a gift the young girl gets an AI-driven doll named M3GAN. This doll should help Cady getting through the day and support her especially with some emotional issues, after the loss of her beloved parents. If you've seen some of the »Chucky« movies you can guess what will happen soon. Creepy dolls with consciousness can give you quite a rid 😉.

M3GAN with her Uncanny Valley charms seems to hit a sweet spot with the audience. In a time where AI tools like ChatGPT or Midjourney are available to the public this doesn't surprise. Witnessing the results of the mentioned tools we can guess, that it won't take too long before we can acutally purchase a realistic doll with integrated artificial intelligence.

This can be one reason for the hype that movie already created on TikTok and social media. And this has some unwanted consequences: screenwriter Akeela Cooper revealed in an interview that the original cut contained more blood and violence. This was reduced considering the attention the movie got by the young audience. Not the kind of information horror fans like to hear. The uncut version will be awaited for release on an later occasion.

What do you think about »M3GAN« and the questionable TikTok-cut?

Last night, the 80th GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS ceremony was held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills to recognize and honor the year's top American and foreign film and television productions and artists.

As always when we talk about these kinds of occasions, there are award winners that we are happy about and others that we would definitely have given a prize, but didn't win (including films like AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER, series like BETTER CALL SAUL and WEDNESDAY, performers like BOB ODENKIRK and DIEGO LUNA, actresses like ANYA TAYLOR-JOY and MARGOT ROBBIE to name a few).

The film with the most nominations was THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN. It was nominated eight times and won three times, winning Best Comedy, MARTIN MCDONAGH winning Best Screenplay and COLIN FARRELL winning Best Actor. THE FABELMANS by STEVEN SPIELBERG won the race for best drama and also received an award for best director.

One of our favorites was EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE, which received a total of six nominations and two Best Actor Awards. They went to MICHELLE YEOH (Best Actress, Comedy) and KE HUY QUAN (Best Supporting Actor). ANGELA BASSETT won Best Supporting Actress for BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER. In the drama category, votes went to CATE BLANCHETT for TÁR and to AUSTIN BUTLER for ELVIS.

GUILLERMO DEL TORO's PINOCCHIO received the Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature.

In the category Best Foreign Language Film, the German entry IM WESTEN NICHTS NEUES was also in the running, but the prize went to Argentina for ARGENTINA, 1985.

It was also pleasing that "Naatu Naatu" from RRR was awarded the best film song which will certainly bring the film more international attention.

HOUSE OF THE DRAGON won the drama series. KEVIN COSTNER for YELLOWSTONE and ZENDAYA for EUPHORIA were honored for their leading roles.

Best Comedy series was ABBOTT ELEMENTARY. The series received five nominations and three coveted awards. QUINTA BRUNSON won Best Actress and TYLER JAMES WILLIAMS won Supporting Actor.

THE WHITE LOTUS received the award for the best miniseries. Among the miniseries, anthology series or television films, EVAN PETERS was awarded for his leading role in DAHMER.

We haven't seen all of the award-winning films and series yet, but winners and nominations piqued our interest and brought a few titles onto our watchlists. All award winners and nominations can be found here:
https://www.goldenglobes.com/winners-nominees

What about you? Did your favorites win the race or did they get nothing?