Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 1748

May 23, 2018

Sorry MCU, the Fox-Disney Deal Might Be In Trouble

Last year, the entertainment industry was rocked by the news that Disney made a deal with Fox to buy most of its entertainment assets including many of our favorite movies and TV shows. On one hand, the loss of a major studio to a merger will potentially mean fewer films and reduced competition in Hollywood. But getting the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, and Deadpool into the Marvel Cinematic Universe would be a pretty good consolation prize. Although the Fox and Disney deal has been widely expected to close next summer, Comcast still wants to play the spoiler. Today’s Nerdist News is all about the potential threat to the Disney and Fox merger.


Join host and corporate assassin, Jessica Chobot, as she gives us the details on Comcast’s spoiler bid to steal Fox right out from under Disney. Fox and Disney’s deal called for around $52 billion in a stock transaction. Comcast reportedly wants to up the bid to $60 billion, all in cash. This doesn’t mean that Comcast will automatically get Fox, but it does spell trouble for Disney.



Neither deal will go forward unless the Fox shareholders approve them. And while Disney’s status as the biggest studio in Hollywood will likely get its bid a lot of support, the promise of an extra $8 billion really could be a deciding factor. If Disney ups its offer for Fox, then that could trigger a bidding war for the studio’s assets. At that point, it will come down to which company has the deeper pockets and which one is willing to go the distance.



The other major x-factor is AT&T’s attempt to merge with Time Warner. The government is fighting that merger in court, and its outcome may determine the fate of Comcast’s bid. If AT&T prevails, Comcast will likely continue pursuing Fox. But if the government successfully shuts down the Time Warner merger, then Fox and Comcast probably won’t be joining forces any time soon.


This battle is just getting started, and for the sake of the MCU, we know which outcome we’d like to see. Getting the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, and Deadpool back was about more than just those characters. It would open up the door for all of their spinoff characters and expand Marvel’s potential film prospects. Want to see a Silver Surfer movie or an Alpha Flight spinoff in the MCU? There’s only one way that’s going to happen.


Who do you think will prevail in the war between Disney and Comcast? Share your predictions below!


Images: 20th Century Fox/Marvel Studios


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Published on May 23, 2018 14:43

WATCHMEN TV Pilot Casts Six Actors in Mystery Roles

Damon Lindelof‘s pilot for HBO’s Watchmen series is set to begin production soon, and with that comes the inevitable casting news. But if you’re looking for actors playing familiar roles like Rorschach, Doctor Manhattan, Nite-Owl and the rest, don’t hold your breath. According to a report yesterday, Lindelof made it clear that his television version of Watchmen would not be a direct adaptation of Alan Moore‘s seminal graphic novel, and will instead take place in the modern day, some 35 years after the events depicted in the book and Zack Snyder‘s 2009 film.



According to Deadline, it appears The Leftovers alum Regina King is returning to work with Lindelof once more, and she’s joined by Don Johnson, Tim Blake Nelson, Louis Gossett Jr., Adelaide Clemens, and Andrew Howard for the pilot episode. It isn’t clear if all of these specific actors will be series regulars, but given how many of them are well known, it wouldn’t be a stretch to think they are going to be recurring guest at the very list.


According to the original report, all of these characters are new for this show. Louis Gossett Jr. is said to be playing “Old Man,” and both words are capitalized, suggesting that’s a code name. Andrew Howard is said to be playing someone called “Red Scare,” and Adelaide Clemens could be “Pirate Jenny.” Both of those sound like superhero names to me. The original Watchmen dealt with the first two generations of American superheroes. Could we see the HBO series deal with a new third generation? It’s starting to seem likely. Lindelof has said his Watchmen is not a sequel to the original, but I guess it depends on how one defines sequel. (And for those who want a straight sequel, Doomsday Clock is still out there.)



Watchmen is gearing up to be one of the more interesting comic book adaptations to ever hit the small screen. Although judging from the comments made by Damon Lindelof, it will be interesting to see if it ultimately bears any resemblance to Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’classic  source material when all is said and done. But it definitely has our interest.


What do you think about Lindelof’s “out of the box” thinking for his Watchmen series? Be sure to chime in and let us know down in the comments.


Images: DC Comics / Warner Brothers


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Published on May 23, 2018 14:01

This Bizarre Device Muffles Your Phone Calls and Doubles As Bane Cosplay

Has this ever happened to you? You’re sitting at your desk in your office, trying to close an important sale, or perhaps you’re just trying to gossip about one of your co-workers. You face a couple of problems: you worry you’re being too loud, or you don’t want the people around you to hear what you’re saying. Typically, you’d have to get up and leave the room, but not anymore thanks to Bloxvox, a new product that just began its Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign (via CNET).



What is it? It’s a sort of pod you use with your microphone-enabled headphones, and when you place the mask over your mouth and speak into it, it muffles your voice, so those around you aren’t as bothered by your volume. And it still offers good sound quality for the person you’re on the phone with. It’s basically the phone call equivalent of screaming into a pillow. As seen in the video above, there’s definitely a noticeable difference in how loud the user seems, and if you use the included head strap, it’s hands-free.


It seems like the product works and like it could potentially be useful, but let’s stop avoiding the obvious: it’s a bit silly looking. Strapping what looks like a giant dog nose to your head, or even just holding it to your face, isn’t exactly the best look. If you want to reduce the volume of your phone calls while also making yourself look like a muzzled mutt, Bane, or Hannibal Lecter, then this is the product for you. That said, it seems effective, so who knows. Maybe it could become an indispensable office tool that’s as useful as it is strange.


What do you think of Bloxvox? Would you actually use one, or is it too weird for your liking? Let us know down in the comments!


Featured Image: Greg Umhoefer


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Published on May 23, 2018 13:49

Original SPIDER-MAN Movie Inspired This Marvelous Prom Proposal

While all of our hearts are aflutter now for the perfection that is Tom Holland as Spider-Man, let us not forget the man who helped make Spidey a cinematic icon: Tobey Maguire. If it wasn’t for the massive success of his Spider-Man trilogy in the early 2000s, we might not even have the Marvel Cinematic Universe we have today. So it’s nice to see that some teenagers out there remember and are still honoring one of the iconic moments from Tobey’s run as Peter Parker. Case in point: a recent high school prom proposal that went viral.



going to prom with the most MARVELous boy ♥ pic.twitter.com/5xXYtvvDCr


— jenna mcintosh (@Jenna_mcintosh9) May 17, 2018



We learned about this from a thread off of Twitter from a user by the name of Jenna McCintosh, who revealed that her young man decided to ask her to prom by recreating the famous upside down kiss between Spidey and Kirsten Dunst’s Mary Jane Watson from Sam Raimi’s classic first film. He did this by actually hanging upside down in a Spider-Man costume outside his garage. He also threw in a sign with a Marvel pun worthy of anyone’s dad. Or Stan Lee.



Here’s the kicker though: according to her own comments on the Twitter thread, the poor guy was hanging there for an entire five minutes from the moment he sent her a text telling her to come outside till the time she showed up. With all the blood rushing to his head from being upside down for so long, he could have passed out and hit his head falling out of that second story garage window. Given the effort, I’m sure glad she said yes. Although one person on her thread said “I thought it was Tom Holland” to which Spidey’s prom date answered “I wish it was Tom Holland.” Ouch.


The original post was from May 16, so we imagine that the prom in question already happened or will very soon. If the Spidey kid goes to the dance in full web slinger gear, he gets extra points from us. And if he does, we want photographic evidence. Just sayin.’


What do you think of this Marvel inspired prom proposal? Be sure to let us know what you think in the comments down below.


Images: Sony Pictures


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Published on May 23, 2018 13:25

Teddy Looks Ticked in Photos for the Next WESTWORLD

Last week’s Westworld gave us a whole lot of Shogun World–and a little bit of Dolores, Teddy, and (sigh) dead cows–but based on images from the next episode we’ll mostly be heading back to the Old West Sunday night, where all of the season’s major stories and players will be found.


The teaser for the next episode, the cryptically titled “Phase Space,” shows an even more compromised timeline where Dolores remembers the specifics of an old conversation with Arnold, along with a return to the “present day,” where the ever important Peter Abernathy finally seems to be in the hands of the humans.



But new images shared by HBO for the episode show an even more sprawling story than the teaser indicates. It will include the first follow-up to the reunion between the Man in Black and his daughter, whom he met in the park at the end of the fourth episode.



The rebooted Teddy also seems to not have had the total meltdown the technician warned Dolores about (at least not yet). These two images seem to be from the same scene in the Sweetwater saloon. Maybe a little ditty from Dolores could help ease the soon-to-be-dead Teddy’s confusion for now.





We aren’t totally done with Shogun World yet though (yay!), as Hiroyuki Sanada’s samurai (and Hector doppelganger) Musashi will still have more fighting to do.



At some point Maeve, new Professor X of Westworld, will leave behind Shogun World and make it back to her home park in the modern clothes she was wearing before she was captured. But based on this photo, that might not mean good things for her. Is this why there’s no sign of Hector, Lee, Sylvester, or Felix from the episode yet?



Also back this week are Bernard and Elsie, who based on the teaser seem to have found some sort of host-Cerebro for Bernard. (Seriously, is this show turning into an X-Men spin-off?) We’re not surprised to see them in deep, confused thought since that’s the default setting on Westworld.




Based on these images, a whole lot will happen in the upcmoing, which kicks off the second half of the season. But the most promising thing might be what we don’t see–dead cows.


What do you make of these photos? Host your thoughts in the comments section below.


Images: HBO


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Published on May 23, 2018 13:05

George R.R. Martin’s THE ICE DRAGON to Be Adapted by Warner Bros.

The closest we might ever get to seeing an ice dragon on Game of Thrones‘ is the Night King’s wight dragon Viserion, who despite having much in common with the legendary frozen beasts isn’t truly one. But soon we’ll get to see one of George R.R. Martin‘s frozen creatures on the big screen, just not in Westeros, because a story of his that predates A Song of Ice and Fire is getting its own animated adaptation.


Deadline reports Warner Bros. Animation Group will adapt the author’s 1980 children’s story The Ice Dragon, with Martin serving as a producer on the film. The story tells the tale of a young girl with a fondness for winter who befriends an ice dragon; she lives in a medieval fantasy world where warring factions fight each other on the backs of their fleet of fire-breathing dragons. Although it sounds reminiscent of the Seven Kingdoms, it takes place in a different universe, notably one with a consistent calendar where winter arrives roughly the same time each year.



The Ice Dragon got an updated re-release a few years ago, and even though it is not connected to Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, it proved helpful in trying to understand what we could expect when Viserion become the newest member of the White Walker army on Game of Thrones.


While an animated ice dragon might not seem as exciting as the big budget CGI dragons of HBO, the children’s story involves a massive number of regular (ha,”regular”) dragons, and might only be feasible to adapt as a cartoon. Not that we’re complaining, especially because we hope it will prove successful enough it inspires HBO to make its own animated Game of Thrones’ spin-off we desperately want.


Besides, we’ll take any and all forms of ice dragons we can get.


Are you familiar with the story? Do you think an animated adaptation will work? Fly into our comments and tell us what you think.


Featured Image: Tom Doherty Associates, Tor Teens/Luis Royo


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Published on May 23, 2018 12:29

May 22, 2018

STAR WARS: GALAXY’S EDGE Gets Opening Dates at Disney Parks (Kind Of)

Time passing too quickly usually annoys me. I scoff when I realize the end of the month is already here. Where did the days go? How did it happen? But I’m willing to fast forward through 2018 to get to the opening of Disney Parks’ Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. The Star Wars-themed land is coming to Disneyland (Anaheim, California) and Disney’s Hollywood Studios (Orlando, Florida), and now Disney has announced opening dates. Kind of. Via the Disney Parks Blog, they’ve released opening seasons.


Disneyland’s Galaxy’s Edge will open in summer 2019. Galaxy’s Edge at Hollywood Studios will launch in late fall 2019. So just over a year until park-goers can walk into Batuu, the Outer Rim setting for the themed area, and live a Star War.



I want to go right now.


In the past, Disney has used seasons for openings rather than specific dates so they have room to maneuver. The summer season is around June 20 to September 20. The fall season is around September 20 to December 21 (so late fall probably means somewhere in November). This gives them room to play around in case they need more time for construction or soft openings. It’s worth nothing parks on both coasts are opening two big expansions and transformations at the end of June 2018 (Toy Story Land at Hollywood Studio and Pixar Pier at Disney California Adventure), so maybe Disneyland’s Galaxy’s Edge will follow suit in 2019.


The completely immersive Galaxy’s Edge has a 14 acre footprint in both parks and will include two big-ticket attractions, one centered on the Millennium Falcon and one all about escaping the First Order. Learn everything we know about Galaxy’s Edge so far here.


Which park’s Galaxy’s Edge are you planning to visit first? Will you go as soon as you can or wait a while (maybe years) for crowds to calm down? Tell us in the comments.


Images: Disney Parks


Amy Ratcliffe is the Managing Editor for Nerdist. She likes Star Wars a little. Follow her on Twitter.


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Published on May 22, 2018 18:00

This Invisible Man Costume Has To Be Seen To Be Believed

Anybody who has been to any sort of convention where people dress up has seen some amazing costumes, but they’d still be blown away by this creation from Phoenix, Arizona costume maker Bill Freitag. It’s possible you’ve seen this one before (he appeared wearing it on Kelly And Michael in 2015), but that doesn’t make it any less awesome: His “invisible man” costume makes it look like a trench coat and suspenders are just hanging off a transparent frame, and the effect is as freaky as it is cool.



Just by looking at the videos, my guess is that Freitag isn’t actually an invisible person. Rather, I suspect the suspenders and jacket conceal a wire framing shaped into a human-like torso, and he is simply behind the “invisible” body (which the trench coat covers up well). Bear in mind that this is simply my guess as to what’s going on here, and Freitag might in fact be invisible.



In an interview, Freitag said that it took a few years between thinking of his Invisible Man costume and actually making it, and he says his wife is a critical part of the creation process:


“Ideas fill my head and I can’t clear my head until I can produce them. The Invisible Man was an idea bouncing around my head for three years. […] My wife and I are teammates. Once I figure something out, I depend on her to do the sewing aspect of the costume. One time, she was able to figure out how to cover a 22-foot Garfield for one of our floats. She always says that if she can figure out how to cover a giant Garfield, she can do anything.”


What do you think of the costume? Does it freak you out, or are you just impressed? Share your thoughts in the comments!


Featured image: Blao9/YouTube


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Published on May 22, 2018 15:30

Could JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM Be the Franchise’s Best Film?

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom had its world premiere and the first reactions are incredible. On today’s Nerdist News Talks Back we discussed if it could possibly be that good, along with the chances for a standalone Lando Calrissian Star Wars movie, and how Stranger Things‘ third season could go Back to the Future.


Joining host Jessica Chobot today was editor Kyle Anderson, producer Jason Nguyen, and Nerdist News writer Aliza Pearl, and with Solo coming to theaters this week they began in the galaxy far, far away after Donald Glover said he’d love to play Lando Calrissian again. Do we think this will happen? Should he get his own standalone film? He also said he’d love to do a high-end guy, “Frasier in Space” style story, so how much do we need that in our lives? And do we want to see Star Wars try other genres like horror or comedy instead of action-adventure?



Speaking of big summer blockbusters, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom had its world premiere in Madrid where it got a ten minute standing ovation and some stunning, rave responses. Could it really be that good? How does this change our expectations for it? Do some of the lukewarm responses show this is just the usual red carpet hype? And is there anything we could hear about the movie that would change our opinion going in?


Finally, Stranger Things’ Noah Schnapp said the show’s third season will blend season one’s playfulness with season two’s darker tone. What do we make of this description? Does it sound like a winning formula? Did we like season two or were we disappointed by it? How do we think they plan on paying homage to Back to the Future without using time travel? (Or will they?) And what do we expect from Eleven’s “beautiful story line” that Millie Bobby Brown talked about?



Don’t forget Nerdist News Talks Back airs every Monday through Thursday live on our YouTube and Alpha channels at 1PM PT, and we wrap up the week with our hour-long Nerdist News What the Friday at 1PM PT, exclusively at Alpha. So make sure you tune in with us, because no matter if Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom truly is awesome or not, it’s still going to have dinosaurs, and we always love talking about dinosaurs.


What did you think of today’s topics? Talk back to us about the show in the comments below.


Images: Universal Pictures, Netflix


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Published on May 22, 2018 15:30

Get Your First Official Look at DC’s SHAZAM!

After the seemingly unrelenting darkness of the DC Extended Universe‘s early years, director David F. Sandberg’s adaptation of Shazam! is going to take a much lighter approach. Asher Angel is playing Billy Batson, a young boy who is given the power to transform into the world’s mightiest mortal. Chuck star Zachary Levi is playing Billy’s superhero alter ego, but he looked decidedly unheroic earlier this year when pics of the Shazam costume were leaked from the set. But now, today’s Nerdist News takes in the first official look at Levi’s supersuit, courtesy of Levi himself.


Join host and alternate Mary Marvel, Jessica Chobot, as she pours over the details of Levi’s recent Instagram post. Levi just couldn’t resist posing in front of the Shazam! promo image at a licensing show in Las Vegas. Thankfully, the costume looks much better in this shot than in those unauthorized pictures–go figure.



What makes the costume work? Levi’s natural boyish charm goes a long way towards selling us on this Big meets superheroes movie. There’s a childlike aspect to the way he’s drinking a soda. But the outfit itself also seems to be more refined than the previous pics suggested. It’s not uncommon for directors to add enhancements to superhero costumes in post. That may be why the early peak made it seem like Shazam did his costume shopping at Party City.







This! This is what dreams are made of. Complete and total wish fulfillment, plus a beverage!

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Published on May 22, 2018 14:33

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