Austin Abrams learned firsthand that going the extra mile for a movie can have consequences.

While filming the upcoming film Resident Evil, Abrams, 29, had a near-death experience, according to director Zach Cregger, when a “body-sized blood bag” almost took him out.

“It’s in the trailer momentarily, but [Austin is] running down the street, and there’s zombies on the roof of the buildings on either side, and they’re all leaping at him,” Cregger, 45, told reporters during a Q&A, SlashFilm reported on Thursday, July 23, of the explosive scene.

He explained that in the movie, Abrams’ Bryan, a medical courier, must fight for his life when a zombie apocalypse breaks out around him.

While the film is based on the video game by the same name, Cregger said he wanted the scenes to feel as realistic as possible.

“We had to basically design this thing where he’s just running and bodies are just falling and detonating all around him. And I knew I didn’t want to do it with VFX because I feel like it would just look like VFX,” he recalled, referring to visual effects that are usually computer-generated. “So, I was like, ‘How do we do this where all these explosions are real?’”

Cregger noted he was able to avoid VFX by using choreography, staging and dropping 150 pound “blood bags” from cranes as Abrams ran take after take.

The director, however, said tragedy almost struck when one of the bags came extremely close to falling on the actor’s head.

“It would’ve killed him. If he had been one step to the right, he would’ve died,” Cregger revealed. “[The shot is] in the movie, so it’s f***ing worth it. I was pretty stunned.”

Cregger confessed that the blood bag situation wasn’t the only time Abrams was in danger on set.

In fact, he said that Abrams actually “split his head open in an elevator shaft” after a separate accident.

Thank You!

You have successfully subscribed.

Advertisement

Cregger admitted that despite the obstacles along the way, the movie really came together and reminded him what he loves about the industry.

“That’s what’s so great about making movies is you have this scene, you have this amazing idea in your head, and then you just have all these people help you realize that idea and immortalize it on the screen,” he shared. “And there’s a real sense of teamwork and accomplishment. I’m very proud of this movie. I feel like I grew a lot making it, just as a filmmaker.”

Resident Evil hits theaters on Friday, September 18.

By Joshua Tyler & Chris Snellgrove | Published 52 seconds ago

There are plenty of post-apocalyptic movies out there, but most of them share the same problem: by the end, you feel just as hopelessly miserable as the characters onscreen. Far too many directors think the key to this genre is simply to give us scene after scene of bleak despair.

What audiences really want is a movie that uses a fictional future apocalypse as a lens to help us understand our present day.  In 2013, one sci-fi movie tried to do exactly that, and it enlisted the biggest movie star in Hollywood history to make it happen. 

It was directed by a man who is currently the hottest filmmaker in Hollywood, responsible for much of two of the industry’s most recent, big-money hits. The elements were there to make this an all-time great sci-fi movie, and nothing like that happened at all.

This is why Oblivion failed.

A Tom Cruise Movie Starring Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise stars in Oblivion as Jack Harper, a technician repairman of drones on Earth who begins to question his mission when he encounters a spaceship crash that throws his world upside down. It’s 2077, and Earth has been devastated by a war with an alien enemy known as the Scavs. Humanity won the war, but the planet was left mostly uninhabitable. Most survivors have relocated to Saturn’s moon Titan, while Jack Harper and his communications partner Victoria, played by Andrea Riseborough, remain stationed on Earth to maintain the drones protecting massive machines that harvest the planet’s remaining resources.

Jack’s memory has been wiped for security reasons, but he is troubled by recurring dreams of a woman he does not know. While investigating a crashed spacecraft, Jack discovers that the woman from his dreams is Julia, played by Olga Kurylenko, an astronaut who has been in suspended animation since before the war. Her arrival causes Jack to question everything he has been told about the Scavs, the mission, and his own identity.

When he made Oblivion, director Joseph Kosinski was coming off the modest success of Tron: Legacy, a movie that nearly everyone agreed worked only because of his visionary directing. He used the goodwill he’d built up there to get funding for a movie based on a concept he’d written out as a pseudo-graphic novel, called Oblivion. 

The work was a preview/pitch booklet with text and concept art. Kosinski had it handed out to attendees at the San Diego Comic-Con. That booklet ended up in the hands of Tom Cruise and got his attention. Cruise called Kosinski, and with Tom Cruise on board, getting funding became easy. 

Karl Gajdusek developed that pitch into a screenplay for the big screen, and then Michael Arndt was tasked with revising some of Kosinski’s and Gajdusek’s writing, using the pseudonym of “Michael deBruyn” as his writing credit for the film. William Monahan also got involved at some point, making his own changes to the script. If you’ve followed along with our Why It Failed series before, you should know that this much writing and rewriting is already a bad sign.

Disney stepped up to make the movie, inspired by Kosinski’s Tron: Legacy success, but then bailed when they wanted something closer to a PG version, even though the material worked better as a harder PG-13 post-apocalyptic action film. Universal, which had already been interested, ended up taking it on.

Olga Kurylenko came in alongside Jessica Chastain, Olivia Wilde, and Noomi Rapace to read for the role of Jack’s wife and crew member Julia. Chastain originally won the part and was contracted to start production until she was cast in 2012’s Zero Dark Thirty about the mission to capture and kill Osama bin Laden. Cruise let her out of her contract to do the historically important film, and Kurylenko was cast as Julia in place of Chastain.

The production’s biggest creative decision was that Kosinski did not want the movie to look like a standard green-screen sci-fi film. Coming off Tron: Legacy, he wanted Oblivion to feel more physical, more photographic, and more daylight-driven. He said the visual idea was “beauty in the desolation,” influenced by sci-fi artists Peter Elson and Chris Foss, whose work showed colorful daylight futures rather than only grim wastelands. 

Oblivion’s most famous and successful production trick was the Sky Tower. Instead of surrounding the movie’s glass house set with green screen, Kosinski built the set with real glass and surrounded it with a massive 270-degree projected sky. Pixomondo filmed sky footage from Haleakalā in Hawaii, then projected that imagery around the Baton Rouge set. The projection was not just background; it became the main light source for the actors and reflective surfaces. 

Because of that, Oblivion looks fantastic. Watching Cruise’s drone repairman blast through the wrecked-up wasteland of a post-alien-invasion New York City on a futuristic dirt bike, past the strewn carcasses of container ships and submarines, is spectacular. When he floats through the ruined world in his bubble ship, the special effects are crisp and clean and blend seamlessly with the frame. They’re so good you don’t notice them. 

The entire film reminds you of those IMAX movies you saw as a kid, where a helicopter-mounted camera sweeps around the rim of an active volcano or dives into the Grand Canyon. It’s amazing. 

Why Oblivion Failed

Oblivion looks like a huge hit. It wasn’t. 

It opened at number one in North America, then faded fast, finishing with about $89 million domestic and $286 million worldwide. That made it respectable, especially overseas, where Cruise still had serious drawing power. But respectable was the ceiling. 

Oblivion earned enough to avoid embarrassment, but not enough to be remembered. The movie was forgotten almost the second it left theaters.

Critics were mixed. Reviewers kept circling around the same complaint: Oblivion looked like a major event, but underneath all that polished design it felt assembled from better science fiction movies.

I’m not sure that’s fair. The big twists in the plot may have been done before, but they’re executed in a totally unique way. Oblivion has interesting ideas, interesting ideas worth exploring. 

In the end, that was not enough. Oblivion was caught in the worst possible middle ground. It was too expensive and polished to feel like a scrappy original discovery, but too familiar to feel like the next great science fiction event. 

The trailers sold mystery, Tom Cruise, and beautiful ruined-Earth imagery, but they never gave audiences a simple emotional hook beyond “Tom Cruise in another futuristic movie.”  That mattered because Oblivion arrived only eight years after War of the Worlds and two years after Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, with Cruise still viewed by many casual moviegoers more as a brand than a character actor. 

The movie also arrived when people were kind of burnt out on last man on Earth stories. They’d already seen WALL-E, Moon, The Matrix, and others. 

Oblivion was good-looking, competent, and easy to admire, but it did not give people enough reason to insist everyone else see it.

Overshadowed By Edge Of Tomorrow

A year later, Tom Cruise would release another mid-level, ambitious sci-fi movie called Edge of Tomorrow. Unlike Oblivion, that film gained massive critical acclaim and immediate cult status. 

Edge of Tomorrow love was, and is, so strong that it completely overshadowed people’s memory of Oblivion, and now, while everyone still talks about Edge of Tomorrow, it’s as if Oblivion never existed. That’s a shame, because Oblivion was a good, big-screen experience. The look of the movie is like nothing else you’ve ever seen, and while it’s still worth watching at home on television, there was something special about the way it looked, projected on a screen in a darkened theater.

Oblivion is a worthwhile sci-fi movie. If it were released today, it might get the credit it deserved, but back then, when moviegoers didn’t know how good they had it, Oblivion was easy to relegate to, well, oblivion.

Courtney Stodden is speaking out after a troubling incident at the Los Angeles-area home they share with husband Jared Safier prompted a 911 response earlier this month. 

After days of speculation surrounding the late-night dispute, the reality star says life has settled down and that they are moving forward. 

While acknowledging the emotional weight of the situation, Stodden also reflected on how childhood trauma continues to shape their life and relationships.

4

Courtney Stodden has broken their silence following the domestic incident that drew police to their home earlier this month, assuring fans that they are in a much better place now. 

Speaking to the Daily Mail, the 31-year-old revealed that they and their husband Jared Safier have been working through the aftermath and that the situation does not reflect where they are today.

“I’m okay and taking things one day at a time,” Stodden said, before adding, “Everything is fine. It was just one difficult moment.”

The media personality also explained that their past continues to affect them emotionally. Recall that Stodden tied the knot with “The Green Mile” actor Doug Hutchison in 2011 when they were 16 and he was 50. 

However, the marriage ended in divorce in 2020. According to Stodden, those experiences left lasting scars. “The effects of childhood trauma can echo through adulthood,” they said. 

Stodden And Safier Turn To Therapy After 911 Call

4

The update comes weeks after law enforcement sources told TMZ that the police were called to Courtney Stodden and her husband’s Los Angeles-area home after the couple reportedly became involved in a heated late-night verbal argument that prompted a 911 welfare check. 

According to reports, LAPD officers responded to the residence around 1:45 a.m. on July 9, where they spoke with both Stodden and Safier before determining the situation had not turned physical.

Authorities reportedly kept the peace, and no arrests were made or criminal charges filed. The incident was described as stemming from a verbal dispute, though the cause of the disagreement remains unclear. 

Courtney Stodden Shared Emotional Messages In The Wake Of The Incident

Shortly afterward, Stodden shared a series of cryptic posts on their Instagram Stories touching on marriage, mental health, and reaching a breaking point, fueling further speculation.

One post featured a photo of an empty bed alongside the words, “Your husband should be your safe place, not somebody else you have to fight. Love was never meant to feel like a constant battle, your person should be your peace, not your pain.”

They also reposted a message from the account @deep.mind.collective discussing reactive abuse. 

The post read, “They push. And push. And push. Until you finally snap. Then they step back. Hands raised. Eyes wide. ‘See? You’re the crazy one.’ And just like that – you become the villain in your own story.”

Advertisement

The message concluded by describing the cycle as “reactive abuse,” adding, “A trap so twisted, you don’t even know you’re in it – until you’re the one screaming.”

Jason Alexander Apologizes To Stodden Over Resurfaced Sketch

4

A few days after Courtney Stodden’s 911 call brought renewed attention to their marriage to Safier, another painful chapter from the model’s life quickly resurfaced. 

Stodden shared a still from a 2012 “Funny or Die” parody of daytime talk shows, revealing they were just 17 when the sketch was filmed. 

In the video, Jason Alexander, then 52, played a TV host who repeatedly rubbed a cellphone across Stodden’s chest while joking there was “no signal” in their head but “plenty of signal” in their breasts. 

The sketch ended with Alexander’s character saying he’d like Stodden to return after turning 18 so he could take them “behind the couch” and “have his way” with them. 

Advertisement

After the clip reignited backlash, the “Seinfeld” star admitted he now saw it differently, telling Variety, “Looking back at the comedy sketch in which Ms. Stodden and I participated in 2012, I completely agree that it was inappropriate and I truly regret it.”

He then added that he was “deeply sorry for any harm or distress” it caused. 

Courtney Stodden Urged Alexander To Turn Regret Into Action

4

Although Stodden appreciated Alexander’s apology, they made it clear that words alone wouldn’t be enough to close the chapter. 

Speaking to Variety, Stodden said accountability should lead to meaningful action. “I haven’t heard a lot of adults take accountability. I am very taken aback by his statement, and I think it’s a really important step in the right direction,” they remarked. 

Stodden then challenged Alexander to support California’s AB 1267, a bill that would ban child marriage by setting the minimum marriage age at 18 without exceptions, and to donate to Unchained At Last, a nonprofit working to end forced and child marriage. 

Advertisement

They stressed that their goal wasn’t to punish Alexander but to protect other young people from similar experiences, saying they hoped his apology “leads to action” that would create lasting change rather than remaining “just words.”

Devout Big Brother superfan and Unlocked cohost Jerry O’Connell has a lot of opinions about Rome Seymour and Lyric Medeiros’ romance following the pickleball coach’s recent eviction.

“These two were together for hours, and they were already dropping love bombs,” O’Connell, 52, exclusively tells Us ahead of the new episode of Big Brother: Unlocked on Friday, July 24. “This guy was dropping an L-bomb. I think 12 hours into their relationship.”

In addition to Rome and Lyric quickly developing strong feelings for each other, O’Connell was enthralled by the couple’s intimate conversations — and cuddles — that took place on the Have-Not bed, which is a circular wooden plank that rotates. (Each week multiple Big Brother houseguests become have-nots where they must endure tougher living arrangements including eating slop, taking cold showers and sleeping in a room that lacks traditional beds.)

“He said on a wooden rotating bed, ‘I want to make babies with you.’ … I mean, that is the power of the Big Brother house,” O’Connell quips. “That is why Big Brother is the best unscripted show on TV … other shows aren’t saying, ‘I want to make babies with you’ on a wooden rotating bed.”

Rome was ultimately evicted by his fellow houseguests — which included his own girlfriend — on Thursday, July 23. While O’Connell can’t fathom how Rome and Lyric got so close in two weeks, the TV host confesses that he was “very bummed” to see Rome leave.

“I really thought Rome, who for your readers if they don’t know, was sort of this alpha guy who was sort of gathering a few troops,” he says of Rome’s gameplay. “He was a newbie. He wasn’t one of the icons from Survivor. I really felt he was the only one who could really go for the king and queen, being Dee [Valladares] and [Rick] Devens from Survivor. He just had a showman. I think that rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.”

The actor adds that being part of the season’s first showmance also didn’t help lower Rome’s threat level.

While O’Connell is always tuned in to Big Brother every summer, this season is extra special as he was named a cohost to the series’ companion show, Unlocked. O’Connell joins former winners Taylor Hale and Derrick Levasseur to discuss season 28 and give the audience sneak peaks of what’s in store for the houseguests.

Thank You!

You have successfully subscribed.

Advertisement

O’Connell shares that the Friday episode of Unlocked will feature “some super exclusive secret content” that involves the players.

“I am the one who personally [breaks] the news. I am brave enough to go into the Big Brother house and I extract. I’m like Odysseus in the Odyssey. I extract information out of the Big Brother house,” he teases. “It is huge news. It will affect the rest of the season.”

Big Brother: Unlocked airs on CBS on Fridays at 8 p.m. ET while Big Brother proper airs on CBS Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at 8 p.m. ET.

By Charlene Badasie
| Published 20 seconds ago

Edge of Tomorrow is one of the best sci-fi action films of the 2010s, blending explosive alien warfare with a clever time loop premise that keeps raising the stakes. Directed by Doug Liman and based on Hiroshi Sakurazaka’s Japanese light novel All You Need Is Kill, the 2014 film stars Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt, with Bill Paxton and Brendan Gleeson in supporting roles.

A Spokesman Turned Soldier Stuck In A Time Loop

Edge of Tomorrow is set in a future where Earth is invaded by an alien race called Mimics. The story follows Major William Cage (Tom Cruise), a military spokesman with no combat experience, who finds himself thrust into the front lines of a futuristic war against the aliens.

The Mimics are highly intelligent and quickly overpower human forces in devastating attacks.

Cage, unprepared for actual combat, is killed within minutes during a military operation.

However, instead of dying, he wakes up and finds himself back at the beginning of the day, reliving the events leading up to his death. Cage soon realizes that he is caught in a time loop, destined to repeat the same day over and over again, setting the stage for Edge of Tomorrow.

Meeting The Angel Of Verdun

At the beginning of each time loop, Cage realizes he has gained new combat skills and knowledge of the Mimics’ strategies. During one of the loops, Cage meets Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt), a skilled soldier known as the “Angel of Verdun.” Rita had previously experienced a similar time loop during a battle and emerged victorious, becoming a symbol of hope for humanity.

Recognizing Cage’s unique situation, she decides to help him harness his newfound abilities to find and destroy the Mimic hive mind, known as the Omega, which controls the alien forces. As Cage and Rita work together, they face various challenges and setbacks, each time refining their strategy to get closer to the heart of the Mimic threat.

A Critical Hit And A Modern Classic

Edge of Tomorrow expertly blends sci-fi with war film themes, creating a compelling and unique storyline. There are also moments of humor and camaraderie between the characters, which provide some much-needed levity. The evolving relationship between Cage and Rita becomes a central focus as they attempt to break the cycle and save humanity from the Mimic invasion.

Edge of Tomorrow received widespread critical acclaim for its inventive concept and strong performances. Critics praised the film’s unique take on the time loop trope, impressive visual effects, and the chemistry between Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt. The humor infused into the narrative and the well-executed action sequences were also highlights.

While the film performed moderately well at the box office, earning $381 million against its reported production budget of $178 million, Edge of Tomorrow gained a dedicated fan base over time, especially after its home entertainment release. Word of mouth and positive reviews contributed to its popularity, and it eventually became a cult favorite within the science fiction genre.

The film’s original title, All You Need Is Kill, which it shared with the source material, was changed to Edge of Tomorrow for the theatrical release. Later, the home entertainment release was titled Live Die Repeat: Edge of Tomorrow to emphasize the time loop aspect.

As of this writing, Edge of Tomorrow can be rented or purchased on-demand through YouTube, Apple TV+, Amazon Prime Video, and Fandango.

Xzibit has opened up about how he has managed to keep his beloved feline companion, Thunder Cat, alive for the past 20 years.

The former “Pimp My Ride” host insisted the biggest secret is simply the love and care he gives his pet, adding that she mostly sticks to a dry food diet while receiving ongoing treatment for age-related health issues.

On the home front, Xzibit revealed back in April that despite earning a five-figure monthly income, he was buried under roughly $1.3 million in tax debt as his divorce from estranged wife Krista continued.

Xzibit has gone viral across social media after sharing how he has managed to keep Thunder Cat alive for the past 20 years.

The rapper, whose real name is Alvin Joiner, has had his beloved feline companion since his days on “Pimp My Ride,” seemingly proving that the bond they share is worth emulating. He didn’t hold back from revealing his secret to fellow cat lovers.

“I had no idea you guys liked cats that much, but Thunder Cat has been in my life for a long time. She’s seen it all,” he said in a video posted earlier this week. “Everybody’s asking how I kept her alive for, you know, this long. Well, first of all, I love my cat. I take care of her, and I look out for her.”

Xzibit Credits Vets For Thunder Cat’s Longevity

3

Keeping a cat healthy into her twenties takes serious dedication, especially when it comes to diet and medical care. Xzibit acknowledged that Thunder Cat primarily sticks to a dry food diet, although he occasionally rewards her with junk food for good behavior.

After surviving a thyroid condition that caused significant weight loss, Thunder Cat later developed kidney problems. Xzibit credited her veterinarians, who regularly administer IV fluids to help manage her kidney health.

“People have loved my cat as much as I have for a long time, so people send me sh-t all the time associated with my cat,” he continued. “The fact that this is going crazy is beyond me. But this is the kind of sh-t I get.”

Thunder Cat’s Viral Popularity Stuns Xzibit

The viral spotlight surrounding Thunder Cat has left the “Get Your Walk On” rapper pleasantly surprised.

Fans have been sending him cat-themed gifts for years, including custom-painted portraits and a sweatshirt emblazoned with Thunder Cat’s face, which Xzibit confirmed he has worn.

The elderly feline has become so popular that Xzibit created an Instagram account for her, and within days, she had amassed tens of thousands of followers.

“People love Thunder Cat. I love Thunder Cat,” Xzibit said with a smile while showing off some of the fan art. “I’m glad you guys like her as much as I do.”

Xzibit Revealed $1.3 Million Tax Debt

3

On the personal front, the hip-hop veteran has endured a difficult few years, particularly amid his ongoing divorce from estranged wife Krista.

Back in April, he revealed that although he earns a comfortable five-figure monthly income, he is buried under more than $1 million in back taxes, placing his finances under scrutiny during the divorce proceedings.

According to TMZ, court records showed he earns approximately $66,500 per month, but that income is overshadowed by roughly $1.3 million in tax debt.

At the time, records indicated he owed more than $400,000 to the state of California and another $900,000 to the IRS. Court filings also listed more than $1.4 million in personal liabilities, roughly $2 million in business-related debt, and baseline monthly living expenses exceeding $23,000.

Inside Xzibit And Krista’s Divorce Dispute

3

Xzibit sought to end the temporary spousal support payments he had been making to Krista following their 2021 separation after seven years of marriage.

He argued that much of the income he earned in 2025 came from touring and promoting a new album and was unlikely to continue at the same level.

Krista’s monthly income was listed at just over $12,500, while Xzibit continued paying approximately $5,000 per month in child support. He argued that, given his financial situation, he should not be required to make additional support payments once the divorce is finalized.

The estranged couple shares joint custody of their son, Gatlyn, whom they welcomed in 2010. In April, they were both restored to the status of single persons before the case was adjourned.

Xzibit’s filing came after Krista sought to increase her spousal support to more than $21,000 per month and child support to over $9,000. According to TMZ, she argued that she had been forced to evacuate their home because she could no longer afford the $10,000 monthly rent and other lifestyle expenses, including designer clothing.

She also requested that Xzibit cover approximately $300,000 in attorney fees.

Fantasy is such an expansive, storied, and prolific genre that there exists a myriad of subgenres under its umbrella, but it can all be broadly categorized into two boxes. Low fantasy is set in the real world, or a highly realistic historical setting, and magic in it tends to intrude upon an otherwise quite normal world. High fantasy, on the other hand, is all about vast fictional worlds where magic is a regular part of everyday living. Both low and high fantasies can have exceptionally written magic systems (the set of rules that dictates how magic works in a story), but it’s more common to find these sorts of legendary systems in high fantasy.

For proof, one needn’t look any further than classics like A Wizard of Earthsea and modern gems like Shadow and Bone, groundbreaking books that display some of the most fascinating worldbuilding the fantasy genre has ever seen on the printed page. Many elements define whether a book’s worldbuilding is widely considered great, including a good magic system. As long as it makes sense, is well-integrated into the fictional world’s culture, and serves the tone and characters of the story well, a high fantasy book’s magic system can be counted among the best.

‘Shadow and Bone’ (2012)

Image via Henry Holt and Company

Young adult fantasy has given bookworms several of the most compelling magic systems in the genre’s history, and Leigh Bardugo‘s magic system for Shadow and Bone is right up there as one of the best. The first installment in the trilogy of the same name, this YA gem was Bardugo’s debut novel, and what an introduction it was. Wonderfully plotted and elevated by some exceptional worldbuilding, it may not be particularly juicy or substantial fantasy, but it’s more than entertaining enough for those who tend to enjoy the genre’s YA variety.

For all its minor flaws, however, Shadow and Bone is one of the modern fantasy books with the best magic systems. Known as the Small Science, this magic is practiced by users called Grisha, who are able to manipulate matter on a molecular level. It’s a hard and logical system whose tangible limitations make it drive the plot and character development forward in all sorts of meaningful ways.

‘Blood of Elves’ (1994)

Image via superNOWA/Andrzej Sapkowski

Polish fantasy writer Andrzej Sapkowski was the mind behind the Witcher series of books. They were well-known in Poland from the start, but it wouldn’t be until CD Projekt Red’s video game adaptations saw the light of day that the series was launched into proper international prominence. Though Blood of Elves (which was first translated into English in 2008, 14 years after its original publication) was predated by the short story books Sword of Destiny and The Last Wish, this is the first novel in the series—and what an introduction it is, considering that it’s among the best dark fantasy books of all time.

Sword of Destiny and The Last Wish were technically the introduction to the magic system of the Witcher universe, but it’s Blood of Elves that turns it into a far more structured, logical, and rigorous system. Ideal for those who love hard magic systems (those that have much stricter mechanics), Blood of Elves shows magic as both an art and a science that requires immense discipline, sacrifice, and rigorous study. It’s a fascinatingly complex and layered approach to high fantasy.

‘The Way of Kings’ (2010)

Image via Tor Books

There are few fantasy authors working today who are more prolific than Brandon Sanderson. But far from just being immensely productive, Sanderson is also an exceptional master of speculative fiction, particularly skilled at crafting some of the coolest and most memorable magic systems in the history of fantasy. There is, for instance, The Stormlight Archive, one of the most essential fantasy book series of the 21st century. The series contains several distinct but interconnected magic systems which lovers of hard magic should immediately fall in love with.

There’s the Surgebinding that allows users to manipulate ten fundamental forces of nature; there’s the magitech of Fabrials; and your darker and more unpredictable alternatives, Voidbinding and the Old Magic. Sanderson crafts this tapestry of magic systems with admirable rigor and perfectly logical rules, making the sky-high stakes clear and tying magic to character growth. The Way of Kings is a phenomenal introduction to The Stormlight Archive and one of those rare books with better worldbuilding than Harry Potter, largely thanks to how its different magic systems shape the entire world of the series.

‘A Wizard of Earthsea’ (1968)

Image via Parnassus Press

Throughout the 20th-century history of speculative fiction, rarely have there ever been any authors more important or revolutionary than Ursula K. Le Guin. Anyone interested in getting started on her work may as well jump right into her best-known book series: the high fantasy masterpieces of The Earthsea Cycle, starting with A Wizard of Earthsea. Regarded as one of the most influential children’s fantasy classics in history, it’s one of those classic fantasy books that are still a must-read in 2026.

It’s a book that works on several levels: as a coming-of-age story, as a traditional fantasy epic, and as a phenomenal way to introduce younger readers to high fantasy. It’s one of the most prominent examples of soft magic, where at no point does Le Guin treat the magic system of A Wizard of Earthsea like a scientific textbook. Rather, magic is largely psychological and heavily influenced by Taoist philosophy, where wizards’ task is to maintain the fundamental balance of the universe. Names in Earthsea carry literal magic power, a system tied deeply to the protagonist’s coming-of-age journey.

‘The Name of the Wind’ (2007)

Image via DAW Books

Though Patrick Rothfuss has kept fans waiting 15 years (and counting) for the third and final chapter in his Kingkiller Chronicles, one fact remains unchanged: The Name of the Wind is one of the most foundational works of literary high fantasy of the 2000s, one of those fantasy books better than most movies out there. It’s a phenomenal introduction to the story of Kvothe, elevated by some of the most beautiful and rhythmic prose that the fantasy genre has seen in years. Epic in scale yet deeply intimate in its character-driven scope, it’s a masterpiece whose fame is well-earned.

A big source of The Name of the Wind‘s charm is its magic system, a brilliant blend of hard and soft elements that boasts some of the most enrapturing worldbuilding that fantasy fans can find in a 21st-century novel. Sympathy is a hyper-logical hard magic that’s as fascinating to learn about as it is fun to watch in action, while Naming (clearly inspired by Le Guin’s Earthsea) is a wonderfully poetic soft magic. This perfectly-balanced blend adds volumes to the sheer depth of The Name of the Wind‘s lore and philosophy, making it one of the most layered works of high fantasy in recent memory.

‘The Eye of the World’ (1990)

Image via Tor Books/ Orbit

Advertisement

Robert Jordan‘s The Wheel of Time series was originally planned as a trilogy, but ended up spanning a whopping 14 volumes in the end. The result? Some of the most legendary works of high fantasy since J. R. R. Tolkien, including the series’ masterful opening chapter, The Eye of the World. Every Wheel of Time novel could technically be counted among the fantasy books with the best worldbuilding, but Eye of the World is particularly worthy of praise for how masterfully it introduces the reader to this world, these characters, and this groundbreaking magic system.

Before The Eye of the World, fantasy books’ magic systems were largely governed by a kind of Tolkienesque mysticism. The One Power introduced here was the genre’s first significant shift toward more rule-based magic systems, and for that alone, it’s one of the most revolutionary magic systems in the history of high fantasy. In fact, it was Jordan and The Eye of the World that really pioneered the idea of magic being a system, and not just a vague element inherent to the fantasy genre. It’s historic, and it’s still incredibly entertaining to read.

‘Gardens of the Moon’ (1999)

Image via Tor Fantasy

Advertisement

You can never go wrong with the classics, and it doesn’t get much more classic than Canadian author Steven Erikson‘s massive epic fantasy series Malazan Book of the Fallen. Several of the most perfectly written fantasy books of all time are contained within Malazan, and though Gardens of the Moon may or may not be one of the best in the series (depending on which fan you ask), it sure was a phenomenal introduction to it. And as a phenomenal introduction to Malazan, it fittingly serves as an impressive introduction to the world’s magic system.

In the world of Malazan, magic flows from Warrens, self-contained parallel universes each tied to a certain element or concept. A series of 10 epic books consisting of well over 3 million words naturally requires a fittingly complex magic system, and the Warrens system present in Gardens of the Moon is nothing if not complex. There is tremendous tension, mystery, and even cosmic horror in the magic of Gardens of the Moon, helping establish the riveting world that fuels Malazan.

‘Mistborn: The Final Empire’ (2006)

Image via Tor Books

Advertisement

As if any more proof were needed that there’s no fantasy author working today quite like Brandon Sanderson, there’s also the Mistborn series, an essential part of Sanderson’s overarching Cosmere shared universe. Mistborn: The Final Empire is the beginning of the first trilogy of the series, known as Era One, and it’s easily one of the best fantasy novels of the last two decades. The book’s character writing is relatively shallow, but the true star of the show here is the worldbuilding, which may very well be the best of Sanderson’s whole bibliography.

It was actually Sanderson himself who coined the distinction between hard and soft magic systems, and the magic system found in The Final Empire may well be the best hard magic system ever printed on a page, whether it’s high or low fantasy we’re talking about. If Era One of Mistborn is one of the best book trilogies of all time, it’s largely because The Final Empire‘s Allomancy is such a fascinating concept through and through. Tightly constructed, mathematically symmetrical, and largely dictated by the socioeconomic class divide, it’s one of the most complex and engrossing magic systems fantasy has ever seen.

‘Love Island USA’ Season 8 stars KC Chandler, and Tierra Davis have had a rollercoaster journey since entering the villa. From heated recouplings to making their relationship official, the pair quickly became one of the season’s most talked-about couples. KC and Tierra were dumped just before the Season 8 finale alongside Kenzie and Dylan. Now, the couple is breaking their silence by creating a space where they can share their story in their own words.

RELATED: Too Far? Social Media Reacts After Disney Channel References ‘Love Island USA’ Star KC Chandler In ‘K.C. Undercover’ Post (VIDEO)

KC Chandler & Tierra Davis Break The Internet With New Photos

Without saying a word, KC Chandler and Tierra Davis broke the internet after popping out with a new boo’d-up photoshoot since leaving the villa. Tierra stunned in a white dress while KC wore a white shirt as they posed in front of a vintage blue classic car, giving off timeless Los Angeles love story vibes beneath the palm trees. The couple captioned the post, “Still We Rise.” The caption also appeared to reference KC’s “Still I Rise” tattoo, which sparked plenty of reactions and jokes from both fans and fellow Islanders during their time in the villa. The two even shared behind-the-scenes footage on TikTok as they enjoyed the photoshoot together.

KC And Tierra  Reflect On Life After ‘Love Island USA’

After reaching over 20,000 subscribers, KC Chandler and Tierra Davis launched their couples podcast, KC & Titi. The couple discussed their relationship outside the villa, life after the show, and what they envision for their future. Since leaving Fiji, KC and Tierra said they’ve been nearly inseparable. All while adjusting to newfound fame and reconnecting with loved ones. The pair also shared they’re still processing everything that came with their ‘Love Island USA’  experience. Before entering the villa, Tierra worked multiple jobs, including as a nanny caring for children with autism. KC previously worked as a CNA while hosting a local run club and giving back to his community.

After nearly a month in Fiji, the couple admitted their lives have changed in ways they never expected. With their growing platform also came criticism, online hate, and intense public scrutiny. They launched their podcast to create a safe space where they can share their story without being taken out of context. During the conversation, KC and Tierra discussed villa tension, depression, and racist and hateful comments from critics online.

Reflecting on the heated Casa Amor recoupling, KC discussed choosing Tierra instead of rekindling his previous connection with Aniya Harvey. He admitted the aftermath took a toll on his mental health. Several villa girls confronted him after the emotional fire pit ceremony.

“After the whole fire pit stuff and everything, it was very hostile in there. I’m not going to lie. I kind of got down on myself, and my mental health was really bad. Titi literally helped me through all of that. It got to the point where I didn’t want to get out of bed,” KC recalled.

Following the fire pit spice ceremony, KC and Tierra received a wave of hate online. Tierra became emotional while discussing the racist and hateful comments they received after leaving the villa. She admitted it hurt seeing fellow Black people share edited memes comparing her to a gorilla and KC in a dress. Tierra also said it was disappointing seeing brands seemingly join the online bullying. The couple believes many genuine moments between them never aired on television. They feel viewers never fully saw how their connection naturally developed throughout the experience. When describing their relationship in three words, KC said, “funny, passionate, and stable.” Tierra described their relationship as “healthy, genuine, and goofy.” Despite the negativity, they said they’re grateful for the overwhelming love and support from viewers. They said seeing positive videos helped them keep going through difficult moments.

Social Media Reacts 

Folks gathered across social media as they reacted to KC and Tierra’s podcast in The Shade Room Teens comment section. Some supported the couple and said they’re rooting for them. Others said KC and Tierra still need to take accountability for their actions in the villa. Meanwhile, others felt the hate comments only proved the couple’s point.

Instagram user @playgirlkaddy wrote, “Look at all the black women in here hating on a real black beautiful relationship 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥& btw still I rise is to empower black ppl originally said my Maya Angelo👏🏾 my season 8 winners”

Instagram user @tip_tippy added, “Hate it or love it, they look greattt together!!” 

While Instagram user @golden1k wrote, “nobody gaf what y’all don’t respect, STILL THEY RISE ❤️ “

Instagram user @katriceee_  wrote. “They about to play into the narrative like they’re just victims from everything !! ÷ literally everybody is getting hate which is not warranted but to sit here and act like y’all were perfect when it’s in 4k is ridiculous!”

Instagram user @narissa.0 added, “I’m sorry but everyone of those cast members were getting hated on and still is i don’t agree with racism but let’s be honest here kc was a fan favorite until he made those disrespectful comments titi came in hot”

While Instagram user @yasssmin wrote, ““No y’all prove everyday why they right!”

Instagram user @iam.naay wrote, “KC wasn’t wrong! And it was nothing he said that the core 4 didn’t say!! People are mad he didn’t choose who they wanted him to choose and that’s that!”

Instagram user @oceanstbq added. It’s a tv show… no need to be hating on them like that. Theres bigger problems in the world.”

While Instagram user @prettyass_si added,”The fact that they said Love Island producers chose not to air their deepest conversations again just shows they knew how strong they were as a couple. Instead, they shifted the narrative to make them seem less likable and easier for viewers to turn against”

RELATED: Ciara Miller, Tefi Pessoa & Marsai Martin React After ‘Love Island USA’ Viewers Disagree With Their Takes On KC & Aniya’s Connection

Being on a reality show can change your life in many ways. Blake Robertson, who starred in season 4 of the hit Netflix dating reality show, “The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On,” said his time on the show completely changed the course of his life.

During an exclusive interview with The Blast, Blake opened up about why the intense dating experiment helped him realize he was in the wrong relationship, the surprising bond he formed with Ashley Wilson, his partner in the trial marriage, and why he believes the experience ultimately saved him from spending more time with the wrong partner, his then-girlfriend Hayley Hendrich. He also shared some behind the scenes information that didn’t make it to the TV screen, how the experience changed his view on his relationship, and if we would ever do another reality show if the opportunity popped up. 

5

While Blake signed up for “The Ultimatum” hoping to strengthen his relationship with his girlfriend Hayley, he said the Netflix experiment had the opposite effect. Instead, an unexpected connection and the show’s intense environment helped him to come to a major realization that shifted his life.

When asked what surprised him the most about the experience, Blake said it was “just how deep you get as fast as you get going.” 

“I kind of said it when we were at the cabin with Ashley’s family. It was almost like summer camp in a weird way where Ashley and I were able to get extremely close, extremely fast,” Blake told The Blast exclusively. “I was very much shocked by that. And it really is like a pressure cooker where you get to figure out the most about your relationship in a short amount of time.” 

That’s something he said he was “grateful” for because the experience “saved me ultimately a lot of time.” 

“My relationship with Hayley could have went on for several more years,” he added. 

While viewers saw everything from laughter to screaming on the show, there were a lot of things viewers didn’t get to see, including one of the hardest parts of filming. 

“I think for me, the hardest part about the experience was dealing with the insecurity from the partner you showed up there with,” he said. “I think seeing Hayley and Killian both kind of go crazy on Ashley and I, and just really having to cater to their experience on the show.”

The Connection Blake & Ashley Formed During The Trial Marriage Was ‘Different’ Than The One He Had With Hayley

5

Partnering up with Ashley for the trial marriage was an eye opener for Blake. The two bonded and formed a connection that was different than the one he had with Hayley. 

“That to me was definitely a game changer in a weird way. I was like, okay, this is totally different,” he said.

“And when I got back with Hayley and we just continued to argue and argue and argue, I was like I love Hayley because there are so many amazing qualities about her that obviously I enjoy, but Ashley was different, so I think that was kind of the main thing between the two of them that had me like what is going on here.” 

Many People Felt Blake Was ‘Non-Emotional’ On ‘The Ultimatum’

5

Blame it on the Dysport or the editing, but Blake said he’s heard from a lot of people that he just wasn’t emotional enough on the show. He wants to clear that up once and for all (and no, we weren’t kidding about the Dysport.) 

“I definitely don’t appreciate watching it back with Hayley saying, ‘Oh hey, Blake, I created you. You are my creation. I would pay money to see you get emotional.’ You can see me laughing and having the time of my life,” he said. “Stabbed full of Dysport at that point, so I can’t make any facial expressions. My head was frozen.” 

Blake said he is “an emotional person” and the way people assumed he wasn’t was a bit shocking to him. 

“I love people. I love people’s stories,” he said. “I love to laugh and have fun, so hearing Hayley say that, I mean, we’ve had some of the deepest conversations that I’ve had with anyone.”

This One Thing Really Killed The Vibe Of The Experience For Four People

5

When asked what he would change if he could go back and start the experience again but with the knowledge he has now, Blake said he would absolutely change the “phone situation.” (For those who haven’t watched, participants on the show were allowed to have their phones and early on in the experience, the original couples were texting each other often, which started some tense situations.)

“The phone situation killed everything. Who knows what would have happened. I mean, Ashley and I definitely had a lot of fun behind the scenes, but the phone situation just completely stalled everything,” Blake told The Blast. “I think who knows what would have happened with Ashley and I. We might have left together if the whole phone thing didn’t happen.”

Blake shared that he was up in the middle of the night on calls with Hayley and other times, Hayley was “blowing up” his phone. 

“I gotta take accountability for when Ashley asked me, ‘Hey Blake, did you go to the movies alone?’ I lied. I did not go to the movies alone. Hayley was blowing up my phone and trying to get me to meet up with her,” he said. “With some of these podcasts coming out, Hayley is trying to act like she was the therapist in Killian and Ashley’s relationship when that was not the case at all. She was blowing up my phone left and right.”

One Misconception About Blake On ‘The Ultimatum’ Has To Do With ChatGPT

5

While being on a reality show can lead to many misconceptions, there’s one humorous one that Blake wants to clear up – his use of ChatGPT. He said the “unemotional ChatGPT thing was hilarious.” 

“That was a creation of Hayley. Hayley had me prefacing everything. I was walking on absolute eggshells trying to keep her happy at all times,” he said. “So I think for me just being able to not feel that way anymore, you can even see it in the reunion. Everyone that commented was like, ‘Blake, we’ve never seen you laugh so hard, smile and enjoy life.’ That’s truly who I am as a human being.” 

Blake said that getting out of a relationship where he had to “compete for somebody’s love” and being able to meet someone who he “just naturally” clicked with, was a better experience for him. 

When asked if he would ever consider doing another reality show after his experience on “The Ultimatum,” he shared he would “definitely be open” to another experience.

Stay tuned for a follow up story with more information about “The Ultimatum” season 4 from Blake Robertson.