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David Ayer will write and executive produce the upcoming racing series Lollipop alongside partner Chris Long and their Cedar Park Studios. The series will invite audiences to actively participate in a narrative written by Ayer as they compete in a virtual racing circuit linked to the plot. The next-generation storytelling experience will combine elements of episodic streaming, gaming and professional sports.

“With Lollipop, we’re inviting audiences to engage with a story like never before, and Ayer’s deep knowledge of technology and global automotive culture makes him the perfect choice to craft an emotive, action-packed narrative in the professional racing space,” says Steven Ilous, founder and CEO of Feature, the mini studio behind the project.

The show will feature 10 episodes and 10 races set in some of the world’s most alluring destinations, highlighting local cultures as an integral component of both the narrative and competition. The races will take...

Back in August, it looked like Paramount's Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters 2 was finally on the right track, when French filmmaker Bruno Aveillan signed on to direct the gestating sequel. The news came nearly a year after original Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters filmmaker Tommy Wirkola backed out of the sequel. Today, Deadline reports that this beleaguered project has hit yet another stumbling block, with Paramount reportedly canceling the theatrical sequel altogether, in favor of turning the project into a TV series.

The studio is reportedly formulating a new plan to craft this story into a cable TV series produced by Paramount Television and Gary Sanchez Productions, which produced the original Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters. Nothing is set in stone yet, but the news comes just a few weeks after Paramount teamed up with Amazon Studios for a Jack Ryan TV series. The last entry in the movie franchise, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit,...

Shortly after Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters hit theaters in January 2013, Paramount Pictures announced a sequel was happening. While the action-thriller starring Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton only made $55.7 million domestically, it did much better overseas, with its foreign gross of $170.6 million giving the movie a $226.3 million worldwide total, from just a $50 million budget. After spending the last two years in development, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters 2 is finally moving forward, with French filmmaker Bruno Aveillan taking over for original director Tommy Wirkola. While it isn't known when production will begin, we do have a look at some new artwork that shows how the film may have looked had Bruno Aveillan not won the job.

The artwork comes from Steven Ilous, a visual effects artist turned director, who reveals on his official website that he was in contention to direct Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters 2 earlier this year, before Bruno Aveillan landed the job.

"Polis" is a sci-fi thriller that is set in the distant future. The story follows a young man with telepathic powers who is searching for his mother. The government is also looking for her because she poses a threat to "reveal a utopian society’s horrifying secrets." They want to stop her, and they are using her son's telepathic brain to try and find her.

The short film was directed by Steven Ilous, and it won the Defy Media and New Regency Prototype competition. This gives him and the rest of the creative team the opportunity to develop their short film into a full-length feature film.

When you watch the film, you'll see why it won. It has great production value, and what seems to be a great story from a solid story concept. The design work is also extremely cool looking.

A 19-month-old filmmaking competition has finally selected its champion. Defy Media and New Regency have selected a sci-fi short film called Polis as the winner of their 'Prototype' contest.

Polis, directed by Steven Ilous and written by Daniel Perea, is set inside a futuristic city in which a young, telepathic hero must wield his power to search for his mother. Ilous' previous credits include the two Matrix sequels, and that experience is relevant to Polis, in which dazzling special effects are the biggest draw. The five-and-a-half minute short, which was made on a $20,000 budget, can be viewed Defy Media's Escapist Movies channel:

By winning first place in Prototype, the Polis team earns a feature film development deal with New Regency. “We were overwhelmed by the degree of talent that we found through the ‘Prototype’ competition and it was a challenge to select just one winner,” said Pam Abdy, New Regency’s president of production,...

"The Future Is Coming"

Check out this incredibly cool teaser trailer for an indie sci-fi film called 2088, which takes place in a crazy looking futuristic Los Angeles. The project is being directed by Steven Ilous and produced by the VFX house Smi Entertainment.

The teaser isn't very long but it's long enough to give you a solid idea of the tone and visuals that the movie is going for, and it's pretty awesome. I love the designs that I'm seeing! The footage from the film says it's from Lapd's Non-Human Crimes Division, which I imagine the story will center around. Here's a description from the the site, but it doesn't give any story details...

The challenge: To produce, direct and write a transmedia sci-fi/drama property that will entice audiences from all around the world, allowing people to experience this story through multi-platform touch points.

You can sign me up,...

"The Future is Coming." Now, what do we have here? I love coming across anything original in the science fiction genre, and a teaser trailer has recently debuted online for a film called 2088. The project is directed by up-and-comer Steven Ilous, of the VFX house Smi Entertainment. What first started as a "transmedia sci-fi/drama" concept has developed into a feature film, and their first hint as to what's going on is revealed in this short video. It looks to be a futuristic year 2088 world with robots that go on the haywire, potentially shot found footage with an opening tag that says it's from the Lapd's "Non-Human Crimes Division". Watch the first teaser trailer for Steven Ilous' sci-fi project 2088, from Vimeo (found via Twitch): The only current plot description/setup (albeit very vague) comes from the film's page on Smi: "To produce, direct and write a transmedia sci-fi...

The Future Is Teased In Our First Look At Indie Sci-Fi 2088. Over on the site for his company Smi-Entertainment Steven Ilous' Sci-fi feature film is proposed as thus : The challenge: To produce, direct and write a transmedia sci-fi/drama property that will entice audiences from all around the world, allowing people to experience this story through multi-platform touch points.Say now, that sounds like something. Just as cool is the teaser trailer. And while all you can do is watch this time out, what a minute it is! Mood is established readily; we get a solid look at the future world design from cars to bots, to the cityscape. All in all a very strong package, a near perfect little visual enticement. Enough to ask Mr. Ilous to hurry it up and please finish the film!   ...

Get a taste of the Edm DJ/producer's new clip before it airs in its entirety Thursday on MTV Clubland.

By Akshay Bhansali

Wolfgang Gartner

Photo: Michael Tullberg/Getty Images

Christmas has come early this year, electronic dance music fans. Not only has Edm DJ/producer Wolfgang Gartner released his new studio effort, Weekend in America, this week — which features Eve, Omarion, and Cam'ron and Jim Jones on a collection of already-released singles like "Ménage à Trois," "818" and "Forever" (featuring will.i.am) — but he's also got a new video he's set to release for a single that's already a fan favorite. And MTV News has the exclusive teaser for the video.

Writer/director/special-effects star Steven Ilous — part of the special-effects design crew that brought you the game-changing graphics displayed in "The Matrix Reloaded" and "The Matrix Revolutions" — helmed the new video for "Space Junk," a clip that shows the "before,...