Val Kilmer -- star of Batman Forever, The Doors, and Tombstone -- died at age 65 on April 1, 2025, The New York Times reports and Variety has confirmed.The actor had battled cancer for years -- losing his ability to speak due to throat cancer -- but his cause of death was reportedly pneumonia, according to his daughter, Mercedes Kilmer.A Los Angeles native, the actor was born on December 31, 1959. Kilmer, a Juilliard-trained stage actor, starred on Broadway in Slab Boys opposite Sean Penn and Kevin Bacon before his big screen breakthrough in the comedy Top Secret! in 1984. Kilmer followed that with another comedy, Real Genius, before finding broader mainstream success as Tom Cruise's rival "Ice Man" in 1986's Top Gun. (In one of his final screen appearances, Kilmer reprised the role for Top Gun: Maverick.) He also played the charismatic swordsman Madmartigan in director Ron Howard's fantasy film Willow.Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer in Tombstone.Kilmer's stardom reached its zenith in the early to mid-1990s when he won many accolades for playing two dissolute historical figures: rock star Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone's The Doors and outlaw John "Doc" Holliday in Tombstone.By the mid-'90s, Kilmer starred in two Warner Bros. films that added to his career luster. He succeeded Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne in Batman Forever, but would only play the Caped Crusader that one time. (Kilmer famously clashed with its director, Joel Schumacher, who nevertheless sang the actor's praises as Batman.) Kilmer then played a key member of Robert DeNiro's bank robbery crew in the Michael Mann crime classic Heat. He also played the ghost of Elvis Presley in the Quentin Tarantino-scripted True Romance.Val Kilmer in Batman Forever.Kilmer's star began to wane in the latter 1990s as some of his films underperformed and his reputation for being difficult on set spread. In those years, Kilmer starred in films such as Thunderheart, The Saint, The Real McCoy, The Island of Doctor Moreau, The Prince of Egypt, The Ghost and the Darkness, and At First Sight.He worked throughout the 2000s mostly in smaller indie films (The Salton Sea, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) or supporting roles in much larger movies (Oliver Stone's Alexander, Deja Vu). He portrayed porn star John Holmes in Wonderland and starred opposite Nicolas Cage in Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans.In the latter 2000s. Kilmer often returned to his stage roots with his one-man show about Mark Twain.PlayKilmer endured many financial, professional and health hardships in the latter half of his career, including a diagnosis of throat cancer that robbed him of his voice. Kilmer would act in a few direct-to-video films after that where another actor would dub his character's voice.In 2021, Kilmer's personal life and career were chronicled in the documentary Val, wherein the actor opened up about his private demons and the professional behavior that may have derailed what could have been a longer and more successful career as a leading man.Crediting Tom Cruise for fighting to include him, Kilmer's last major film appearance was in 2022's Top Gun: Maverick.Val Kilmer is survived by his children Mercedes and Jack.

David Fincher and Brad Pitt are reportedly re-teaming to revive a Once Upon a Time in Hollywood sequel script written by original director Quentin Tarantino.Details on what could eventually be a groundbreaking entry in Tarantinos resume come from The Playlist, which says the Se7en duo is propping up the unexpected film to come to Netflix, continuing Finchers long-lasting relationship with the streaming giant. Should everything proceed according to plan, the currently untitled Once Upon a Time in Hollywood sequel would see Pitt return as stunt-double star Cliff Booth.How such a script came into Finchers possession is its own wild story. The Tarantino screenplay is said to be an evolved version of a story previously known as The Movie Critic, a project previously lined up to be the Pulp Fiction masterminds final film before it was suddenly shelved last year. Tarantino was seemingly uninterested in letting the idea fade to black and is getting Fincher to bring it to life.The Playlists sources say Netflix paid $20 million to acquire the screenplay with an expected $200 million budget and plans to shoot in California in July just three months from now. No additional casting details have been confirmed just yet, but Leonardo DiCaprio is not expected to return as Rick Dalton. Fincher and Pitt are putting aside all other projects to focus on this new Once Upon a Time in Hollywood sequel.Deadline later corroborated The Playlist's findings that a Once Upon a Time in Hollywood sequel is in development. Its sources say Pitt received Tarantino's blessing to present the script to Fincher, resulting in the wildly surprising project that is now in the works.Quentin Tarantino's Most Notable Abandoned (Or Delayed) Projects Once Upon a Time in Hollywood premiered in 2019 and is largely viewed as yet another outstanding entry in the Tarantino pantheon. That said, what could eventually be known as Once Upon a Time in Hollywood 2 has a lot to live up to. The original project came with an unambiguous ending that tied up its story with a brutal bow. However, much of its world has been explored elsewhere.In 2021, Tarantino released a novelization covering the movies events while expanding upon its take on a 1960s California. It brought a few interesting revelations about Cliff Booths past to the conversation, including an answer to whether or not the dog lover really did kill his wife as teased in the movie. Its a book that will no doubt carry more meaning when the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood sequel finally sees the light of day, though its unclear just how important to the story it will be.For more on Tarantinos catalog of hit films, you can check out how the director feels about Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and how we feel it stacks up against his other work. You can also read our original 7.8/10 review for the film.Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).

Apr 02, 2025Ravie LakshmananThreat Detection / MalwareCybersecurity researchers have discovered an updated version of a malware loader called Hijack Loader that implements new features to evade detection and establish persistence on compromised systems."Hijack Loader released a new module that implements call stack spoofing to hide the origin of function calls (e.g., API and system calls)," Zscaler ThreatLabz researcher Muhammed Irfan V A said in an analysis. "Hijack Loader added a new module to perform anti-VM checks to detect malware analysis environments and sandboxes."Hijack Loader, first discovered in 2023, offers the ability to deliver second-stage payloads such as information stealer malware. It also comes with a variety of modules to bypass security software and inject malicious code. Hijack Loader is tracked by the broader cybersecurity community under the names DOILoader, GHOSTPULSE, IDAT Loader, and SHADOWLADDER.In October 2024, HarfangLab and Elastic Security Labs detailed Hijack Loader campaigns that leveraged legitimate code-signing certificates as well as the infamous ClickFix strategy for distributing the malware.The latest iteration of the loader comes with a number of improvements over its predecessor, the most notable being the addition of call stack spoofing as an evasion tactic to conceal the origin of API and system calls, a method recently also embraced by another malware loader known as CoffeeLoader."This technique uses a chain of EBP pointers to traverse the stack and conceal the presence of a malicious call in the stack by replacing actual stack frames with fabricated ones," Zscaler said.As with previous versions, the Hijack Loader leverages the Heaven's Gate technique to execute 64-bit direct syscalls for process injection. Other changes include a revision to the list of blocklisted processes to include "avastsvc.exe," a component of Avast Antivirus, to delay execution by five seconds.The malware also incorporates two new modules, namely ANTIVM for detecting virtual machines and modTask for setting up persistence via scheduled tasks.The findings show that Hijack Loader continues to be actively maintained by its operators with an intent to complicate analysis and detection.SHELBY Malware Uses GitHub for Command-and-ControlThe development comes as Elastic Security Labs detailed a new malware family dubbed SHELBY that uses GitHub for command-and-control (C2), data exfiltration, and remote control. The activity is being tracked as REF8685.The attack chain involves the use of a phishing email as a starting point to distribute a ZIP archive containing a .NET binary that's used to execute a DLL loader tracked as SHELBYLOADER ("HTTPService.dll") via DLL side-loading. The email messages were delivered to an Iraq-based telecommunications firm through a highly targeted phishing email sent from within the targeted organization.The loader subsequently initiates communications with GitHub for C2 to extract a specific 48-byte value from a file named "License.txt" in the attackers-controlled repository. The value is then used to generate an AES decryption key and decipher the main backdoor payload ("HTTPApi.dll") and load it into memory without leaving detectable artifacts on disk."SHELBYLOADER utilizes sandbox detection techniques to identify virtualized or monitored environments," Elastic said. "Once executed, it sends the results back to C2. These results are packaged as log files, detailing whether each detection method successfully identified a sandbox environment."The SHELBYC2 backdoor, for its part, parses commands listed in another file named "Command.txt" to download/upload files from/to a GitHub repository, load a .NET binary reflectively, and run PowerShell commands. What's notable here is the C2 communication occurs through commits to the private repository by making use of a Personal Access Token (PAT)."The way the malware is set up means that anyone with the PAT (Personal Access Token) can theoretically fetch commands sent by the attacker and access command outputs from any victim machine," the company said. "This is because the PAT token is embedded in the binary and can be used by anyone who obtains it."Emmenhtal Spreads SmokeLoader via 7-Zip FilesPhishing emails bearing payment-themed lures have also been observed delivering a malware loader family codenamed Emmenhtal loader (aka PEAKLIGHT), which acts as a conduit to deploy another malware known as SmokeLoader."One notable technique observed in this SmokeLoader sample is the use of .NET Reactor, a commercial .NET protection tool used for obfuscation and packing," GDATA said."While SmokeLoader has historically leveraged packers like Themida, Enigma Protector, and custom crypters, the use of .NET Reactor aligns with trends seen in other malware families, particularly stealers and loaders, due to its strong anti-analysis mechanisms."Found this article interesting? Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn to read more exclusive content we post.SHARE

One of Hollywoods biggest stars of the 1990s an actor whose range encompassed everything from broad comedy to dark thrillers to the Dark Knight himself has died.According toThe New York Times, Val Kilmer passed away on Tuesday in Los Angeles. The paper also noted the cause was pneumonia, said his daughter, Mercedes Kilmer. Mr. Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 and later recovered, she said. Kilmer was only 65 years old.Born on New Years Eve 1959 in Los Angeles, Kilmer attended the Julliard School, where he studied drama as one of the youngest students in the programs history. While he was mostly known in his heyday as a leading man with a rock stars charisma and good looks, his breakthrough came in an exceedingly silly comedy, playing the lead in 1984sTop Secret!, the Zucker brothers and Jim Abrahams follow-up to their hit spoofAirplane!Where that movie mocked disaster pictures,Top Secret!was a genial send-up of Elvis Presley movies, with Kilmer cast asan Elvis-esque American pop star named Nick Rivers who gets mixed up in some Cold War intrigue.READ MORE: Every Batman Actor, Ranked From Worst to BestKilmer followed that with the sci-fi comedyReal Genius.One year after that, his career hit another early height when he played Tom Cruises ultimate frenemy Iceman inTop Gun. Kilmerplayed the cool-under-pressure star student who perpetually butts heads with Cruises appropriately nicknamed Maverick. Naturally, by the end of the film they become best bros.In 1991, Kilmer landed the role of rock legend Jim Morrison in Oliver Stones biopicThe Doors.Although the film was not warmly received by critics and was not a huge financial hit, Kilmer was uncanny as the Doors charismatic frontman.Four years later (and the same year he also played a key supporting role inHeat, one of the 90s best action films), Kilmer replaced Michael Keaton as the star of the enormously successful Batman movie franchise. His oneouting as the Caped Crusader, 1995sBatman Forever, was not as well-reviewed asBatman orBatman Returns, and Kilmer did not return for the sequel, butthe movie was a huge hit anyway, grossing over $335 million in theaters. Whatever else the movies flaws, and no matter how much his relatively low-key performance might have been overshadowed by his bombastic co-stars Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones, Kilmer made a compelling Batman.Schumacher and Kilmer did not get along during the making ofBatman Forever,with Schumacher later calling Kilmer psychotic whilealso conceding he made a terrific Batman. The actor was oftenthe subject ofrumors that he was hard to work with. (His Wikipedia page includes a section called Reputation that just lists his various feuds with co-stars and directors.) But when Kilmerwas on his game he made somevery memorable films, including titles likeTombstone,The Prince of Egypt,Pollock,Wonderland,Spartan,Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,andMacGruber,where he played the title characters arch-nemesis. (I am slightly afraid towrite Kilmers characters name, but youll here it in this clip.)After working steadily into the 2010s, Kilmers health took a turn. For several years, hebattled throat cancer, and although heultimately recovered, two tracheotomies made it extremely difficult forhim to speak.Despite his health struggles,Kilmer did reprise his role as Iceman in a surprisingly moving scenefrom 2022sTop Gun: Maverickthat nodded to Kilmers off-screen struggles.Although Kilmers career and now his life were cut short by multiple illnesses, he leaves behind an incredible body of work. Most actors would do anythingjust to play one role likeTop Secret!s Nick Rivers,orTop Guns Iceman, orWillows Madmartigan,or Jim Morrison,orTombstones Doc Holliday, orKiss Kiss Bang Bangs Perry, and on and on and on. Kilmer played all of them and so many more.The Best and Worst Reviewed Movies By 25 Top DirectorsHere are the highest and lowest rated films on Rotten Tomatoes by 25 of the biggest directors working today.

Development will form second phase of life sciences and advanced manufacturing innovation hubSource: Scott BrownriggPlans by Scott Brownrigg for a new technology and research building at Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire have been approved by Vale of White Horse District Council.The 70,000 sq ft scheme, named Tech Foundry West, forms the second phase of a wider development intended to accommodate a growing cluster of science and technology occupiers at the site.The new building will sit on the north-western corner of the campus, adjacent to Tech Edge 1 and 2, the first phase of the development which is currently under construction. The scheme is being delivered speculatively and deliver flexible accommodation for advanced manufacturing, laboratory and office tenants.A sawtooth roof articulates the nine separate units with photovoltaic panels on the southwest-facing slopes. Brise soleil on the south-facing glazed elevations and polycarbonate cladding to the north aim to manage solar gain and improve daylighting.Source: Scott BrownriggLandscape proposals include new tree planting and planters inspired by leaf cell structures, as well as a pedestrian nature trail intended to support wellbeing and biodiversity on site.Construction on Tech Foundry West has now commenced, with completion expected in early 2026.

Using assets from BlenderKit, Sketchfab, imeshh and 3dsky, Gturmanidze created this video with gorgeous lighting, color and camera motion.Source

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"It's just a question of when, not if".Not everyone got to experience the joy of the GameCube generation, but a new rumour has renewed hopes this past Nintendo platform might finally make a return.According to podcaster 'Nate the Hate', who previously revealed Game Boy and Nintendo 64 updates for the Switch Online, GameCube games could be on the way to Nintendo's subscription service within possibly the "first launch year" of the Switch 2's life.Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Under the permit, the company will be required to maintain a minimum fleet of 800 taxis after three years. GrabCab plans to use low-emission hybrid cars and electric vehicles.