• WandaVision and Agatha All Along Earn Marvel Studios Its First Three Emmy Awards

    WandaVision has earned Marvel Studios its first three Emmy Awards for narrative (half-hour) production design, fantasy/sci-fi costumes, and original music and lyrics category for 'Agatha All Along.'

    As reported by Variety, Marvel Studios' first TV show has been a huge success and was nominated for 23 Emmys overall in 2021, which makes it the most for a limited series and the second-most for any series.

    These three victories were awarded at this weekend's Creative Arts Emmy Awards, and WandaVision still has a chance to win at the Primetime ceremony on Sunday, September 19, in the Outstanding Lead Actress In a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie (Elizabeth Olsen), Outstanding Supporting Actress In a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie (Kathryn Hahn), and Outstanding Lead Actor In a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie (Paul Bettany) categories.

    The Falcon and the Winter Soldier also scored five Emmy nominations, including for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series (Don Cheadle), Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Season or a Movie, and Outstanding Sound Editing Series (One Hour). It has yet to win.

    While these are the first Emmy wins for Marvel Studios, Marvel Television did win an Emmy for Netflix's Jessica Jones in 2016's Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music category.

    Loki did not quite make the deadline for this year's Emmy Awards, but it will most likely earn some nominations, and possibly victories, next year. Speaking of next year, Marvel Studios has a stacked line-up of shows coming to Disney+ that include Hawkeye, She-Hulk, Secret Invasion, and much more.

    Disney+ also saw more Emmy wins with The Mandalorian, which brought home seven awards that include a second consecutive victory for the show's composer Ludwig Goransson.

    For more on WandaVision, check out our review of the series, why Kevin Fiege said Agatha Harkness' return "can't come soon enough," why Doctor Strange was written out of WandaVision, and how the show changed the MCU forever.

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    Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

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    Marvel’s Shang-Chi Holds Off Malignant for Its Second Weekend Box Office Win

    Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings has held off James Wan's Malignant for its second weekend box office win with a domestic haul of $35.8 million.

    As reported by Variety, Shang-Chi saw a 53% decline from its Labor Day opening weekend earnings of $71.4 million domestically. That decrease was much better than Black Widow's roughly 70% fall in its second weekend.

    Globally, Shang-Chi has officially crossed the $250 million mark and has a worldwide total of $257.6 million. Domestically, it has earned $145.6 million, making it the fourth-highest grossing film of 2021, and inches it ever closer to Black Widow's $182 million.

    Malignant was the only new, big-name contender for Shang-Chi, but it only managed to earn $5.57 million domestically, which is a far cry from its $40 million budget. However, it is important to note that Shang-Chi is not available on Disney+, while Malignant is also available to stream on HBO Max at no extra cost.

    Malignant failed to even beat Free Guy's $5.8 million, placing it at third place for the weekend. Rounding out the top five were Candyman's $4.8 million and Jungle Cruise's $2.4 million.

    Shang-Chi's success has reportedly caused Disney to make a decision to release Marvel's Eternals exclusively in theaters when it arrives on November 5, 2021.

    For more on Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, check out our review of the film, the full story of MCU's Mandarin, and how the film's star Simu Liu has used his own stock phots to shut down doubters.

    Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

    Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

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    Daily Deals: PS5 Compatible Storage On Sale at Amazon & Best Buy

    The storage savings are upon us today. If you've got a PC or a PS5, this Sunday has brought with it a ton of savings on Western Digital NVMe drives. This is the cutting edge in terms of storage tech, and will make your games load so fast you'll barely have time to finish your drink before it appears. Just be sure you get the right kind for your needs, as PCI Gen 4 is the only type that works on a PS5. Of course we've got some other deals as well, including a few great game discounts, clothing sales at Amazon and more!

    Daily Deals for September 12th, 2021

    Buy a $50 Apple Gift Card, Get $5 Amazon Credit

    Promotional credit will be listed at last step of checkout

    Amazon is offering a free $5 credit when you purchase a $50 Apple gift card. The credit will be applied to your account once you receive the Apple gift card. The Apple gift card can be used to redeem pretty much anything on Apple's site, including products, accessories, apps, games, music, movies, TV shows, and more. Spend it on in-app content, books, subscriptions and even iCloud storage to secure files from all your Apple devices.

    Buy a $100 Uber Eats Gift Card, Get $10 Credit

    Promotional credit will be listed at last step of checkout

    COVID rates are significantly decreasing and people are starting to be able to eat out at restaurants, but being overcautious isn't a bad thing. If you're still confining yourself to your home and ordering in, you might want to take advantage of this deal. Simply buy an Uber Eats Gift Card valued at $100 or more and get a $10 Amazon credit.

    Preorder the Middle Earth 6-Film Ultimate Collector's Edition (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital)

    This impressive Middle Earth Collector's Edition includes both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit Trilogies over a whopping 31 discs. That's because there are separate 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray discs for both the Theatrical Editions and the Extended Editions. You also get digital HD copies for free, and they are compatible with MoviesAnywhere so you can merge it into your digital library. As far as extras go, you get a Special Features Blu-ray disc, a 64-page booklet, and 7 travel poster art cards. All the discs are stored in collectible foil sleeves.

    Video Game Deals

    More Daily Deals for September 12th

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    A Glimpse of the Updated USG Ishimura Is the Last Dead Space Remake Update of 2021

    While EA Motive has shared a brand-new look at Dead Space Remake's USG Ishimura, it also revealed that this would be the last update for 2021.

    Motive shared the news on Reddit in a post that explained a bit more about what the team is focusing on and how it is taking fans' feedback to heart.

    "Everything we showed was a work in progress which means that we’ll be working on things like Isaac’s suit, the aesthetic and ambiance of the Ishimura," EA Motive's CM_Ythisens wrote. "We’re doing work to ensure it has the right level of wear and tear. For example, here is an early work in progress clip showing some of the ways that the team is going to be giving that worn look to the Ishimura."

    They continued to say that the team is going to "be heads down now working on the game, taking some time to review all the thoughts, theories, and suggestions you’ve all shared with us. We look forward to showing you how you’ve helped shape the game next year when we’re further in development!"

    The behind-the-scenes look (which you can see here) of the Dead Space Remake is all about the USG Ishimura and how the team is making the ship and main location of the Dead Space Remake into the terrifying place it will end up being. As an added bonus, we get a look at an idle animation of Isaac Clarke!

    This final update follows a dev livestream where EA Motive discussed combat, graphics, story tweaks, and unveiled that Gunner Wright would be back to voice Clarke.

    The Dead Space Remake is a fully next-gen rework of the 2008 horror classic and, while there is no official release date or window, we do know that it will be released on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

    Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

    Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

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    Scenes From a Marriage Review

    Scenes From a Marriage premieres on HBO on Sept. 12.

    I have a distinct distaste for remakes whose goal is “like the original, but in English this time.” Of course, there are great American remakes of foreign films that put a unique spin on the source material, but too often, Hollywood is happy to plop the same plotline into a U.S. setting, recast its roles with dazzling domestic stars, and call it a day. Now, not even a seminal 1973 Swedish mini-series is safe from this kind of uninspired treatment, as HBO Max has translated Ingmar Bergman’s Scenes From a Marriage into a five-part mini-series that boasts Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain in the leads. Though that pairing is promising, these heavy hitters can’t save this show from feeling like a shallow retread.

    Scenes From a Marriage centers on a contemporary “successful” married couple in the Boston area. They seem to have it all: great jobs, a big house, a darling daughter, affluence, and a monogamous relationship nearing the decade mark. However, while husband Jonathan (Isaac) monologues about how defying traditional gender norms positively impacts their happiness, his high-powered executive wife Mira (Chastain) twitches like she’s trying to stealthily escape her skin. Something is off. And as smart as Jonathan the college professor is, he will be blindsided when she reveals she’s not happy.

    Like the original mini-series, each episode focuses on a chapter of this marriage falling apart. The plotline hews closely to the original, involving disagreements about parenting, a loss of passion, and infidelity, as well as screaming matches and domestic violence. Co-writers Amy Herzog and Hagai Levi (who also directs) even name their episodes after those from Bergman’s show (“Innocence and Panic, “The Vale of Tears, “The Illiterates”). The key difference in this remake is that the roles are gender-swapped. This time around, it is the wife who gets caught up in her professional ambitions and extramarital interests, while the husband is the primary caregiver shocked to learn his contributions have been deemed insufficient by his partner. While Jonathan blathers on about how gender roles have evolved, the show itself treats this switcheroo as little more than a gimmick. Because the show focuses so intently on their household (few other characters will appear on screen), any assertions about gender feel anecdotal at best. When Mira defends one her shocking choices with “Men do this all the time,” it feels a crass misuse of feminist talking points on double standards.

    Perhaps if this show were a ’70-set period piece, Levi’s shallow exploration of gender dynamics in heterosexual marriage might have played better. However, since Bergman’s mini-series, a plethora of filmmakers who were inspired by him have mined this battle-of-the-sexes terrain, creating emotionally charged and intellectual films like Robert Benton’s Kramer vs. Kramer, Woody Allen’s Husbands and Wives, Richard Linklater’s Before Midnight, Mike Nichols’ Closer, and Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story. Walking in the footsteps of a master, Levi fails to define his own path. He offers a barrage of bickering scenes that feel like cliches because they’ve become staples in the wake of Bergman’s work. So, this Scenes From a Marriage feels less revolutionary and more like a hollow revival.

    Perhaps “revival” is a better way to think of this remake. Levi has not mined the original to make some bold new point about marriage, monogamy, or heartbreak. However, he has offered a stage for two of the greatest actors working today to face off in love and war. Reunited for the first time since J.C. Chandor’s A Most Violent Year, Isaac and Chastain are mesmerizing together. Both have dizzying screen presences that bring life to dialogue that feels well worn. Beyond that, they have a natural ease with each other. When the resentments bubble up, it hits harder because the intimacy established feels authentic.

    Playing a man repressed by his need to project pleasantness, Isaac delivers a performance that is subtly heartbreaking. His soft tone is always in apology mode. His body quakes in a moment of repressed disappointment. His trembling smile sends shockwaves. In this crouched position of coddling, even the way he packs a suitcase feels tragic. Every quiet scene of desperation builds to a storm, where Isaac will grow from crackling jabs to booming resentments. Meanwhile, Chastain begins with this nervous frenzy, like a caged animal desperate to flee. Her Mira evolves, finding a new confidence that comes off initially cold before blooming to radiant but reckless. Together, their scenes of tenderness are as electrifying as those of catastrophic conflict. Plus, they get an early assist from celebrated actors, Nicole Beharie and Corey Stoll, who play a couple whose tensions explode over an awkward dinner party. Truly, Beharie is so ruthlessly riveting in this sequence that she might well score Emmy or Golden Globe notice for Best Supporting Actress. However, these are great performances despite a lackluster script that offers no memorable dialogue or distinctive moments of pleasure or pain.

    Isaac and Chastain are mesmerizing together. 

    Levi doesn’t have a strong stamp on this material. The words still sound like Bergman’s. The cinematography, made up of gentle drifting and clingy close-ups, offers nothing inspired. A color palette coated in warm golds is pretty, but becomes banal across this tumultuous tale of love and loss. Even the powerful performances can’t keep it from feeling redundant and overlong. Notably, Bergman trimmed down his mini-series into a feature-length film (which is also available on HBO Max). Perhaps Levi should have taken a cue from that recut, then his marriage story wouldn’t be such a slog.

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