Nerd News | Ant Man viral marketing + Han Solo, Spider-Man, Fast & Furious 8 and Independence Day updates

I love a good bit of viral marketing. And this video and "news article" that popped up on Mashable yesterday—with nary an Ant-Man mention—is an example of great viral marketing.

Everyday hero or thief? Cyber criminal to address 2012 arrest

In 10 days, the doors of San Quentin prison will release one of its most memorable inmates.

Scott Lang, former systems engineer at VistaCorp, was arrested three years ago for stealing nearly $4 million from his employer and for a subsequent property damage rampage, which, among other things, claimed the prized Bentley of VistaCorp’s CEO.

Lang was given five years in San Quentin, but is being released two years early next week.

Since his arrest, Lang has remained adamant about his innocence. According to an official statement, he was only out to expose and correct corrupt activity within the upper echelons of VistaCorp; Lang believed the San Francisco cyber security conglomerate was knowingly overcharging its customers. Lang believed the San Francisco cyber security conglomerate was knowingly overcharging its customers.

The details of the heist at least superficially support Lang's claims. After allegedly reporting the scandal to the police and VistaCorp Human Resources, Lang took matters into his own hands, breaking into the CEO's house and using an encrypted hardline to siphon funds from VistaCorp servers. Surprisingly, though, instead of pocketing the whole $4 million, Lang used the money to "refund" numerous VistaCorp customers, only leaving himself a small severance package.

Shortly after Lang was taken into custody, the SEC launched an investigation of the Bay Area mega-corporation that yielded nothing of legal consequence, leaving the court to believe that Lang's story was purely a misguided and egocentric brand of vigilantism. Lang's outspoken legal camp criticized the investigation, stating it was "cursory at best" and failed to uncover "missing evidence," but ultimately failed to secure an appeal.

Also working against Lang's thin credibility was an extensive criminal rap sheet predating his brief VistaCorp tenure.

Now, three years later, the self-proclaimed whistle-blower has agreed to an exclusive interview with WHiH's Christine Everhart to air next week.

Is Lang a hero or a thief? Tune in next week for exclusive WHiH coverage!

Disclaimer: WHiH World News is a property of VistaCorp.

I love that they've brought Christine Everheart back, too. Good on you, Marvel.

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Also of note:

• The duo behind The Lego Movie and 21 Jump Street will direct a stand-alone young Han Solo movie (set for 2018 release).¹
• Your new Spider-Man is ... Tom Holland.
• The long-awaited Independence Day sequel, Independence Day: Resurgence, will open next year.¹
• Jason Statham will reprise his role as Deckard Shaw in Fast and Furious 8. (Like we didn't all see that coming.)

¹ Thanks, Colt!