Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 1779

Visit Emilia Clarke on the GAME OF THRONES Set

HBO is spending big bucks on the last season of Game of Thrones, including filming a bunch of fake endings to keep anyone from spoiling the finale. But now you have a chance to get a sneak peek at what the show has in store by visiting the set in Belfast to take a tour with the Mother of Dragons herself, Emilia Clarke. And you can do it for as little as ten dollars–all while raising money for a great cause–thanks to the latest campaign from Omaze.

The newest charity contest will fly one lucky winner and a friend to Northern Ireland where they’ll be put up in a four-star hotel before they get to go behind the scenes of the show with Daenerys Targaryen. In addition to having lunch with Clarke they will “have exclusive access to see things like costumes, props, and more.” Although don’t get too hopeful you’ll also learn the ultimate secret about how the story will end, because it looks like not even a Khaleesi can get special access on set, no matter how charming–or desperate–she is.

Okay, if someone with roughly 17 titles doesn’t have the cache to freely wander the set we doubt any of us do, but this is still and awesome prize, and your donation will be going to a great cause. Because proceeds from this campaign will benefit the Royal College of Nursing Foundation, which offers support for nurses, midwives and health care assistants, and also “encourages young people to join the nursing profession, funds education and training opportunities, lends a hand to those struggling to meet the rising cost of living, and provides advice and support to get their lives back on track.”

You can enter here for as little as $10. And who knows what you might learn when you’re there. Maybe they just won’t let Emilia Clarke go where she wants because she’s a Targaryen and everyone on set is a loyal to House Lannister.

What item from the show would you most want to get an up-close look at? Bend the knee to our comments section and share your thoughts with us.

Featured Image: Omaze

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Did Ford Secretly Survive the WESTWORLD Finale?

Westworld ended season one with a bang–right to the head of Anthony Hopkins‘ Robert Ford when Dolores shot him and set off the robotic uprising. It was his ultimate sacrifice, a way to help free his creations so they could truly stand against their oppressors. Unless that wasn’t really him and Dolores unknowingly shot a robot since Ford faked his death. Because not only might he still be alive, he could still be totally in control of his park and protecting his hosts.



The “how” of Ford faking his death is easy, and not just because he has the ability to recreate a real person the way he did with Arnold and Bernard, but because we saw him doing it. Multiple times throughout the season we saw Ford had his own, secret, unique machine for making robots in his hidden underground diagnostic facility. It appeared in numerous episodes and scenes, Theresa and Bernard discussed it, and most importantly Ford was actively using it to make a new host, shown in various stages of completion. This is a classic case of “Chekhov’s Robot.” Forget just showing us the “gun” in Act 1, it appeared over and over again, so either it’s sloppy writing with no payoff, or it means something. And with Westworld everything means something.

Of course, that doesn’t guarantee Ford was making a host version of himself. We know he made secret versions of his family, including a little Bobby Ford. But everything else about him and his story points to the “why”? Why would he fake his death? It’s because Ford, who has both a God-complex and total contempt for humans, wants to free his creations, but they aren’t ready to go out on their own.

Everything that happened in the present day timeline of season one–Maeve gaining consciousness and successfully blackmailing the dumbest people alive, the Man in Black “finding” Wyatt and the maze, Bernard and Dolores learning the truth–happened because Ford made it happen. He needed Maeve’s uprising to cause a distraction when Dolores killed “him,” he needed the Man in Black to help Dolores find the center of the “maze” and achieve the Bicameral Mind, which involved revealing the truth about Bernard, Arnold, and how Arnold had Dolores kill him. Ford was a puppet master the entire time, masterfully manipulating everyone and everything to atone for the mistake Arnold warned him about 35 years ago. Everything he did was all designed with the ultimate endgame in mind: free the hosts.

Dolores and Bernard doubted that though. She said to Ford, “”We’re trapped in here. You’re never gonna let us leave,” and Bernard said, “You think you’ll never lose control of this place, of us, but you will. Arnold’s still trying to change us, to free us. You didn’t slip the reveries into the update did you? He did. He’s still fighting you.” The two beings who knew the most about Ford and was really happening didn’t believe him.

But they were both half-wrong. Ford does want them to be free, everything he did was designed to free them. The problem is he doesn’t think they are truly ready for that yet. Ford, who put back in the reveries, even said so. “Arnold didn’t know how to save you, but I do. You needed time. Time to understand your enemy, to become stronger than them. And I’m afraid in order to escape this place you will need to suffer more.”

To Ford, suffering is the only thing that leads to understanding, but their suffering is only just beginning. That’s what the coming war is–the last lesson they need to learn to be free.

We know Ford has total contempt for humans. He compared them and their wondrous creations to a peacock with beautiful feathers who “can barely fly,” and “live in the dirt, pecking insects out of the muck, consoling itself with its great beauty.” That’s why he doesn’t value human life and had no qualms about having Bernard kill Theresa when she posed a risk to his control of the park. His creations are superior to humans, and he will protect them. He is god, they are his children. Like Adam and Eve were given domain over the beasts of Eden, he will give his robots domain over mankind.

One major caveat though: he will still rule like a god that still reigns over humans. “The hosts are the ones who are free. Free, here, under my control,” Ford said. That control is why Maeve didn’t leave the park when she had the opportunity in the finale. It made no sense for her to go back for a “child” she knew wasn’t really her daughter. She didn’t leave because Ford programmed her to stay. She wasn’t ready for the real world, and he needed her to help unleash the other robots.

He can’t control them or protect them if he is dead, which is why he faked his death. He needed to “die” to truly free Dolores. She needed to kill her creator, like the Greek gods killed the Titans, and she needed to believe what she had done was real. And it was to her, because she didn’t know she shot a robot version of Ford.

That explains why the hosts, serving as waiters and not yet free, didn’t move to protect Ford even though they are programmed to. Think back to when Teddy grabbed the knife from the Man in Black in the bar. They didn’t move because on some level they knew it wasn’t really Ford.

Right before she shoots Ford, he says to the crowd, “I’m sad to say this will be my final story.” They thought he meant his latest narrative, the one with Teddy and Dolores on the beach. But he was talking about orchestrating this war, the one that will finally teach his creations the lessons they need to be free of humans and this park.

The same park he is still in his control. God gave Adam and Even Eden, but it still belonged to him, and Ford would never give his park to anyone.

What do you think? Is Ford really alive? Did Dolores only shoot a robot version of him? Or did he truly sacrifice himself to free her? Tell us what you think in the comments below.

Images: HBO

Play STAR WARS Holochess for Free on iOS (But Maybe Not with Wookiees)

For over forty years, the only strategy we’ve known for Star Wars holochess is to “let the Wookiee win.” Within the Star Wars universe, the game is known as Dejarik, and it has been played for centuries. Last year, fans who were willing to pay $200 for Star Wars: Jedi Challenges got to play Dejarik. But now, everyone who owns an Apple device can get in on the fun.

Via Mashable, Dejarik is now available in the iOS app store (look for Star Wars: Jedi Challenges), and it can be downloaded for iPhones and iPads. Players take control of a team of monsters positioned on a board in the game. When you move your monsters into attack formation, the battles play out in the holographic arena, as seen in this clip from A New Hope.



Dejarik has appeared numerous times in continuity, including in  Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, and even briefly during Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The creatures in the game are said to be based on monsters real and imaginary from across the galaxy, including the K’lor’slug, Grimtaash the Molator, the Monnok, and the Kintan strider among others.

For this incarnation of the game, Dejarik will be played on six different planets across 18 levels in all, with additional monsters who can be unlocked as the game progresses. If you happen to play with any Wookiees, you know the drill.

Are you excited to finally play the Star Wars holochess game? Let us know in the comment section below!

Image: Disney Electronic Content

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What KRYPTON’S Big Reveal Means

Warning: Major spoilers for episode five of Krypton. Put on a cape and fly away if you haven’t seen the episode yet.

The latest episode of Syfy’s Krypton has delivered the series’ most exciting revelation so far: Black Zero’s mysterious leader is Lyta-Zod’s son from the future. Okay, technically he doesn’t say he’s from the future, but considering how much older he is than Lyta, it’s safe to assume he’s dabbled in a bit of time travel.

So who exactly is Zod Junior? We know from the previous episode he has a complex history with Seg-El’s family, and that his mission is to “protect the future of Krypton.” A Zod…who comes from the future…who’s tangled with other members of the House of El…and whose identity was significant enough to be treated as a big reveal? Sounds like a major villain of the Superman franchise to me. General Zod, as played by Colin Salmon, is in the house!

Watch the reveal:

Of course, one of Superman‘s chief archenemies kicking it with the Man of Steel’s grandfather introduces some complications to Krypton‘s storyline. Firstly, it raises the question of whether all his talk about protecting Krypton’s future is not an allusion to eliminating Brainiac, but to preventing the existence of Superman. Since Zod has passed up multiple chances to kill Seg-El, he probably isn’t out to eliminate the El family right off the bat, but there are more ways to deal with the problem than straight-up murder. In the previous episode, he mentioned wanting Seg to join forces with him, which suggests he might want to steer the House of El away from what he sees as their excessive idealism and toward his more military, pragmatic mindset. A change in ideals could change the Els’ actions, which in turn could alter the planet’s future.

However, Zod could want to keep Seg alive for more personal reasons. Although Lyta is betrothed to Dev-Em and is likely scheduled to mix DNA with him in the Genesis Chamber at some point, she’s been doing a lot of unsanctioned DNA mixing with Seg, if you know what I mean. But the grandfather of Superman being General Zod’s father is totally bonkers, right?

On second thought, it’s not so farfetched. If Superman and Zod are related by blood, it would add an extra layer of poignancy to their ongoing feud. Imagine if the guy trying to kill you was also the last remaining link to the father you never knew. That’d throw a wrench into your plans for sure.

While this is mostly speculation, it’s pretty intriguing that Krypton is willing to hint at Superman and General Zod sharing a family line. Sometimes heroism and villainy really are a lot closer to each other than we realize.

What did you think of the big Zod reveal? Tell us below!

Images: Syfy

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MASK Movie Coming from F. Gary Gray

Hasbro set up a dynasty of its most beloved toy franchises–many of which came to them following their purchase of Kenner and Tonka in 1991–and following the runaway success of the Transformers movie series, and the G.I. Joe movies, they went lofty, saying they wished to set up a cinematic universe of all their properties. But beyond those two, what’s next? Several have been in the works, but the winner for next to come to screens is M.A.S.K., a toy and cartoon series from the mid-’80s, with F. Gary Gray coming in to direct, according to Deadline.

Gray will also produce the film with Hasbro for Paramount Pictures. The director is coming off the monster critical and commercial success of Straight Outta Compton and the just-commercial success of The Fate of the Furious, which took in over $1.2 billion worldwide. He’s also in pre-production on the Men in Black reboot starring Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson. Dude’s killing it right now, which makes him perfect to take on a not-quite-so-remembered toy line involving cars.

Which brings us to M.A.S.K. Began in 1985 as both a toy line and the all-too-important animated series made to promote said toys, M.A.S.K. stood for “Mobile Armored Strike Kommand.” Yes, with a K for branding purposes. The idea was a team of heroes who drove regular-looking vehicles that would “transform” into different, more awesome vehicles. Their enemies were the evil forces of V.E.N.O.M., an acronym for the unfathomably literal name of “Vicious Evil Network Of Mayhem.”

The above video is the truly amazing theme song from the cartoon series, which tells us in the first line that they’re working overtime, and then immediately saying they neutralize evil as soon as they arrive. Which is it, M.A.S.K.? The main character of the series was Matt Trakker, which is a name only the ’80s could produce.

Do you all remember M.A.S.K.? Are you excited about this?

Image: Hasbro/Kenner

Kyle Anderson is the Associate Editor for Nerdist. He’s written the animation retrospectives Batman: Reanimated, X-Men: Reanimated, Cowboy Rebop, and Samurai reJacked. Follow him on Twitter!

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They’ve Retconned Superman’s Origins After 80 Years

Warning: This post features spoilers for Action Comics #1,000!

Today marks the 80th anniversary of the Man of Steel. Superman made his first appearance in the pages of Action Comics #1, and this week, Action Comics #1,000 is in stores with stories by several different writers and artists. Former Marvel mainstay, Brian Michael Bendis, even contributed the first story of his new DC deal alongside artist Jim Lee. And in their tale, Bendis and Lee introduced a major new element to Superman’s origin story. Today’s Nerdist News is offering a few theories about what this means for Superman’s past and present.

Join host and the second-to-last daughter of Krypton, Jessica Chobot, as she introduces readers to Rogol Zaar. If you’ve seen one intergalactic warlord come to Metropolis to kick Superman’s ass then you’ve seen them all. Rogol Zaar even takes out Supergirl for good measure. But what separates Rogol Zaar from the pack is his wild claim that he is personally responsible for the destruction of Krypton.

That is a pretty bold change that goes against almost every previous incarnation of Superman. But is it really the truth? Or will DC pull a “from a certain point of view” twist to keep the continuity intact? Rogol Zaar could easily be lying, or perhaps he really believes that he personally ended Krypton. Either scenario could give him a psychological edge over Superman.

The established story is that Krypton’s destruction was a natural disaster, perhaps in part because the Kryptonian government didn’t act in time to save the people. Could Rogol Zaar have undone the efforts of Superman’s father, Jor-El, to stop the catastrophe? Or did Rogol Zaar go full Darth Vader and unleash a super weapon to kill the planet and everyone on it? We may soon find out, because Bendis’ Superman run officially begins with The Man of Steel #1 on Wednesday, May 30.

What do you think about Rogol Zaar as the destroyer of Krypton? Let’s discuss in the comment section below!

Images: DC Comics

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A Brief History of CARRIE: THE MUSICAL, The Disastrous Production That Inspired RIVERDALE

Riverdale is finally going full-blown musical with “A Night to Remember,” an episode that finds our favorite melodramatic teens working on a production of Carrie: The Musical. A musical based on a Stephen King novel sounds like the sort of fanciful thing the Riverdale writers might concoct, but it’s actually totally real. Carrie: The Musical debuted on Broadway in 1988 and closed after just 16 previews and five performances. It’s one of The Great White Way’s most notoriously chaotic productions ever, with a history so archly camp that it’s no wonder the Riverdale crew would be interested in bringing it back to life.

Here’s a brief run-down of the history behind Carrie: The Musical: who was involved, what went wrong, and why it’s perfect for Riverdale.

Who Thought This Was A Good Idea?

via GIPHY

After the success of King’s novel and Brian de Palma‘s cinematic adaptation, screenwriter Lawrence D. Cohen (who wrote the script for de Palma’s film) and composer Michael Gore set to work on a musical version of the material. Gore, who wrote the hit musical Fame, brought in his collaborator on that project, Dean Pitchford, to help with rewrites. The musical had its first workshop in 1984, but it took several years to scrabble together funding. It wouldn’t see the stage until 1988.

The Musical Was Riddled With Problems From The Get-Go

The show had a trial run in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, in February 1988 that was riddled with script and technical problems. The infamous pig blood scene was nearly impossible to sort out, as it caused the actress playing Carrie’s microphone to malfunction. Barbara Cook, who played Carrie’s hysterically evangelical mother Margaret, resigned on opening night after she was almost decapitated by a set piece. Several songs were removed and several others added during the 4-week engagement. By the time it was over, it was growing pretty clear that the writers and composers had a cold turkey on their hands.

When The Show Moved to Broadway, It Flopped, Epically

The crew brought Carrie: The Musical to Broadway for $8 million, an astronomical number for the time. Cook was replaced by actress Betty Buckley, who played Carrie’s teacher Miss Collins in de Palma’s film, but even that added trivia couldn’t boost the show’s miserable fate. The show opened for previews on April 28, 1988 to wildly mixed reactions: the curtain call was met with both boisterous applause and loud boos. The press wasn’t kind to the musical, and their scathing reviews ultimately sank the project. Though it was sold out every night, the financial backers pulled their money. Carrie: The Musical officially opened on May 12, 1988 and officially closed on May 15, after only five performances.

Despite Its Reputation, The Show Became A Cult Obsession

Carrie: The Musical‘s brief stay on Broadway and crazy production history made it the subject of obsession for theatre aficionados. It inspired a book—Ken Mandelbaum’s Not Since Carrie: Forty Years of Broadway Musical Flops—and bootlegs from the Stratford and New York performances made the rounds, which grew the show’s popularity. It became a staple in high school and college theatre clubs, inspired parodies, and a few of the songs (like “When There’s No One”) even became popular solo audition songs.

The ongoing interest in Carrie: The Musical led to an off-Broadway revival in 2012. A lot of the songs from the 1988 production were excised and replaced. This version was much more acclaimed, and an official cast recording was finally made available to the public. But for years, as April Wolfe noted on Twitter, “the only cast recording available until 2012 was done by a Norwegian middle school, which translates the songs [and] added one new one. It was the only way many people were able to find the music,” adding later that, it “was impossible to find the music anywhere like people burned every copy of the play book.”

Carrie: The Musical is Perfect For Riverdale

The camp status and cult iconry is part of what makes Carrie such a great fit for The CW‘s neon-noir teen series, which is already obsessed with its own over-the-top theatrics. The writers originally wanted to do Little Shop of Horrors for their big musical episode, but eventually landed on Carrie because its story better paralleled what the Riverdale kids are going through. “It felt as though the songwriters had written songs for the same set of characters,” Riverdale creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa told The New York Times. The episode will contrast the story of a persecuted Cheryl Blossom (Madelaine Petsch) against the famously bullied Carrie White, with side plots involving the growing tension between Betty (Lili Reinhart) and Veronica (Camila Mendes), which fits with the quarreling Carrie characters they’re playing.

Dream episode of #Riverdale coming up! “CARRIE: The Musical” is happening!!! pic.twitter.com/sn80HFLzfv

— RobertoAguirreSacasa (@WriterRAS) January 24, 2018

We can’t wait to see what the Riverdale crew is able to do with Carrie: The Musical. Will you be watching? Let us know in the comments!

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Featured Image: The CW

A LABYRINTH Stage Musical Is On Its Way

Although it didn’t make a splash when it was first released in 1986, Jim Henson’s fantasy film Labyrinth is now considered one of the most beloved films of the 1980s. Henson’s attempt at a modern Alice in Wonderland story particularly resonated with thousands of young girls who saw themselves in the film’s young heroine Sarah, played by a young Jennifer Connelly. Of course, there’s also the fact that the part of Jareth, the Goblin King is one of David Bowie’s most memorable characters of his entire movie career as well. All these things contributed to making Labyrinth endure.

And now the legacy of Labyrinth will carry on in a new way — in an interview with Forbes, Henson Company CEO Brian Henson, son of the late Jim Henson, revealed that there are early plans to bring Labyrinth to the stage as a musical. “We are working on a theatrical adaptation of the original movie for the stage,” said Henson, who also dropped the news that a movie sequel is also being developed. “Those are the two areas of excitement for the Labyrinth property that we have. We are working on both of those but I certainly don’t have a timeline for them.”

Although musical usually suggests a Broadway debut, much like Harry Potter, it is possible that Labyrinth could debut in London first. When asked where the show might potentially debut, Henson was quick to note it was “not necessarily Broadway; it could be for London’s West End, but it will be a stage show, a big theatrical version. It’s very exciting.” This all seems to be in the very early stages right now, but considering that the original film has five songs from Bowie, that’s at least something to start with. Nevertheless, a stage musical will need a lot more songs than that to succeed. Here’s hoping they can find an amazing composer that can match the original soundtrack’s style.

What are your hopes for a Labyrinth stage musical? And who would you like to see play the leads? Let us know your thoughts down below in the comments.

Images: Sony / Columbia Pictures

Quiz: What Animal Would Your HIS DARK MATERIALS Dæmon Be?

Alpha Book Club is in the middle of reading Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass, so we have dæmons on the mind. I mean, more than we usually do. In the His Dark Materials trilogy, dæmons are physical manifestations of a human’s soul. Every human has a dæmon; humans and dæmons are so connected that they must be physically near each other at all times and if one dies, so does the other. Dæmons manifest in the form of animals, and the book is full of rich, fascinating examples such as the protagonist Lyra Belacqua’s Pantalaimon, Mrs. Coulter’s golden monkey, and Lord Asriel’s snow leopard Stelmaria.

All of them have different personalities and traits. Have you ever wondered which dæmon you would be? If so, we have a quiz for you to take immediately:

For all things dæmons and The Golden Compass, tune into to watch Alpha Book Club live tonight, Wednesday, at 6PM PT on Alpha. Then keep watching every Wednesday at the same time for more live and lively book discussions; they read a different book every month.

So, which dæmon are you? We’re dying to know. Tell us in the comments, share your results with us on Twitter, and best yet, join us in the live chat on Alpha during Alpha Book Club to discuss all things dæmons.

Images: New Line Cinema, Scholastic

Amy Ratcliffe is an Associate Editor for Nerdist. According to this quiz, she’s a pine marten. Follow her on Twitter.

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Shuri Makes Banner Look So Stupid in This INFINITY WAR Clip

With ten years worth of Marvel characters to fit into Avengers: Infinity War, and already knowing there’s roughly enough confirmed for the movie to fill Bhagwan’s compound, it’s easy to assume not everyone will get their moment to shine, especially the newer characters. Not so! At least one character introduced this calendar year is going to show up one of the MCU’s heaviest heavyweights. While making an appearance on Good Morning America, actress Letitia Wright, who kicked all sorts of ass playing T’Challa’s sister Shuri in Black Panther, showed off a clip where Shuri makes Bruce “Seven PhDs” Banner look like a damn fool.

We saw the clip courtesy of io9. It’s a short clip (less than 30 seconds) starting just after four minutes into the video, but we get a lot out of it in terms of storyline. We see Vision (Paul Bettany) lying on the exam table. Obviously, the big ol’ Infinity Stone in his frigging head is going to be a major plot point of the movie, and in addition to Shuri and Banner (Mark Ruffalo), we also see Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman), and Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) in the background along with some Dora Milaje. We’ve pretty much figured out who is or is not going to be defending Earth from Wakanda, but this proves the timeline a little bit better.

And, boy what an idiot Dr. Banner is. He didn’t think of reprogramming the synapses to work collectively?!?! I mean what first year physics(???) student doesn’t know that? Psh, come on! Hulk is smarter than that.

Honestly, I’ll just take Shuri’s word that it was a simple thing to think about, but it proves how frigging intelligent she is. Science on Wakanda makes science everywhere else in the world look like the damn Neolithic.

If you hadn’t heard, Avengers: Infinity War hits theaters April 27.

Image: Marvel

Kyle Anderson is the Associate Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Twitter!

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