Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 1815

Watch THE LAST JEDI’s Rian Johnson Discuss the Gorilla Walker Design (Exclusive)

“Designing a new walker was kind of our white whale.” In an exclusive clip from a featurette included with the Star Wars: The Last Jedi home release, director Rian Johnson talks about creating the AT-M6 walker, a.k.a. the gorilla walker, with design supervisor Kevin Jenkins. Given how iconic The Empire Strikes Back‘s AT-AT walker is, it’s no wonder they were intimidated by creating something new and massive for the First Order to bring to the party on Crait. Watch:

The lumbering AT-M6 towers over the familiar AT-AT. To see it move is to wonder what it would be like to be crushed under its gigantic feet. Johnson says this walker projects a certain kind of power because of how it almost walks on its knuckles. The vehicle came to be known as the gorilla walker because of its stance, and Jenkins told StarWars.com he even molded the profile over an actual photo of a gorilla to nail the pose in the early design stages.

You can see the rest of this clip by bringing The Last Jedi home; digital release is on March 13 and Blu-ray release is on March 27.

Have you cleared an evening or two to watch all of the extra features included with The Last Jedi home release? Head to the comments and tell us what you’re hoping to learn.

Images: Disney/Lucasfilm

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

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9 Things We Learned About Disneyland Resort’s New PIXAR PIER

Disneyland will never be completed: the sentiment from Walt Disney applies to all Disney Parks—they’re always changing and adapting. Disney California Adventure (DCA), part of the Disneyland Resort, is an embodiment of growth. It’s been re-imagined since its opening in 2001, and the latest change is all about Pixar. On June 23, 2018, Paradise Pier will reopen as Pixar Pier with re-themed attractions, food stands, and merchandise.

Nerdist joined a small group of reporters for a sneak peek at the makeover and the reveal of new details. Here’s what we learned from Walt Disney Imagineering producer Jeffrey Shaver and Disney California Adventure general manager Gary Maggetti:

Lamplight Lounge

Taking the place of the beloved Cove Bar, Lamplight Lounge has a lot to live up to. The story for the new establishment says the owner of Lamplight was pals with Pixar animators. “This is the place Pixar animators would go and hang out after work. So this is not a Pixar bar, this is a place they’d hang out. You’ll see doodles and sketches Pixar artists have left there over the years,” Shaver said.

Maggetti told us the Lounge will have a single entrance (where the entrance to Ariel’s Grotto was) and will have a pub feel with small plates designed to share. Yes, they’re keeping the lobster nachos. The downstairs seating area will have the full menu, while the outdoor seating upstairs will have a subset of the menu.

Adorable Snowman Treats

Paradise Pier Ice Cream Company is becoming Adorable Snowman Treats, named after the sweet character in Monsters, Inc. known for making yellow snow cones he swears are lemon. Here you’ll be able to buy a lemon frozen dessert called “Don’t Worry, It’s Lemon,” a version of the lemon dessert dipped in white chocolate (a “snowcap”), a lemon soft serve parfait, and vanilla and chocolate soft serve.

This should be open around the end of April or beginning of May, ahead of Pixar Pier.

All the Incredibles

After you pass the frozen treat stand, you’ll head into the Incredibles Neighborhood, which Shaver says is “the biggest departure from what you know from the area because it’s very styled after the production design of the Incredibles. It’s very mid-century… it’s very Palm Springs.”

The big draw here is of course the Incredicoaster, the Pixar re-theming of California Screamin’. To transform the ride they’re adding show buildings at the beginning and end, updating the launch system and the loop with new technology, and closing in the scream shield tubes entirely to add characters and effects. The idea is the park guests are there for the inaugural launch day for the roller coaster, and the Incredibles family is in attendance. But Edna Mode and Jack-Jack are too short to ride, so they hang back…except Jack-Jack’s powers get out of hand. You can see some of the story concepts in the gallery below. Important note: one part of the ride features Mr. Incredible trying to tempt Jack-Jack with a chocolate chip cookie, and they’ll pipe the scent of the cookies into the tube.

The Incredibles composer Michael Giacchino is doing a new piece of music for the ride and all the voice actors from the film are reprising their roles.

Finally, Edna Mode will be present as a meet and greet character.

Jessie’s Critter Carousel

We finally know what’s replacing King Triton’s Carousel: Jessie’s Critter Carousel. The Toy Story theme is pulled from the “Woody’s Roundup” cartoon and features raccoon, goats, deer, and more (you can see a mock-up below). This attraction will open at a later date, not with Pixar Pier.

Themed Food Carts Galore

The food carts peppered throughout Paradise Pier are staying in place with fresh theming. You’ll be able to grab snacks from Poultry Palace, Senor Buzz Churros, or Angry Dogs. Maggetti hinted a cookie stand will be placed where the exit of California Screamin’ was.

Sweet, Sweet Merchandise

At the entrance to the pier, Knick’s Knacks will be the home for Pixar merchandise. And if you’re craving candy, Bing Bong’s Confectionary has you covered. The Inside Out influenced locale will feature familiar faces from the film, like Jangles the Clown and Rainbow Unicorn.

Pixar Promenade Games

Games are part of the boardwalk experience, so they’re staying put with most of them getting makeovers. Bullseye Stallion Stampede is based on Toy Story, so it doesn’t need to change. The other games will be transformed into Wall-E Space Spin, Heimlich Candy Corn Toss, and La Luna Star Catcher.

Still a Pier Vibe

By virtue of its name, Disney California Adventure has California ties. It’s why Pixar Pier will still connect to its Cali coast inspirations. “This is still your classic California seaside pier. We started this project with a trip down the seaboard to places like Santa Cruz beach boardwalk and Santa Barbara pier to make sure we capture a lot of those fun elements, but now it’s told in a Pixar way,” Shaver explained.

According to Maggetti, the Paradise Pier billboards will switch to “uniquely themed” Pixar designs that fit into the pier setting.

More to Come

We’re only a few months from opening, but additional news about Pixar Pier is still to come. For example, Maggetti told us an unannounced attraction is taking the place formerly occupied by the Maliboomer (an attraction that closed in 2010). It won’t be ready for the opening day of Pixar Pier but is coming soon.

And though it won’t be there in June, the Pixar lamp shown in concept art for the Pixar Pier welcome sign will be there eventually and will have animated features.

View more photos of Pixar Pier concept art and more from the Incredicoaster in the gallery below.

What part of Pixar Pier are you most looking to visiting? I’m going to be living in Lamplight Lounge. Head to the comments and tell us where you’ll be hanging out and/or come talk to me on Twitter.

Images: Disney, Amy Ratcliffe

Amy Ratcliffe is an Associate Editor for Nerdist. Follow her on Twitter and keep up with her Disney food adventures on Instagram.

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We Put Our FAR CRY 5 Skills to the Test IRL

Editor’s note: This post is sponsored by Ubisoft’s Far Cry 5

In Ubisoft’s hotly anticipated new video game Far Cry 5, the world is your incredibly destructive, explosive, and straight-up bonkers oyster. The game, which hits shelves everywhere on March 27, is an open-world, action/adventure first-person shooter that lets you do essentially anything you want. If you visit the game’s website, you can see that Far Cry 5‘s core design philosophy is “Anything can happen. Everything Will.” Basically, if you can dream it, you can explode it, which was largely my experience when I played a demo of the game at last year’s E3. Set in the fictional world of Hope County, Montana, it’s up to you (and a few friends) to help liberate the citizens of Hope County from a fanatical doomsday cult who is ruling over the people with an iron fist. But you won’t be going it alone; you’ll be able to enlist the aid of elite snipers like Grace Armstrong, canine compatriots like Boomer the dog, and many more.



With so much freedom waiting at our digital fingertips, we couldn’t help but wonder how we would fare with some of Far Cry 5‘s challenges in real life. Before we plunge headlong into the open-world awesomeness of the game, we decided to put our skills to the test in the real world. Nerdist partnered with Ubisoft and 511 Tactical to send Kyle Hill, Erika Ishii, and me to train under the guidance of Army veteran Rick Hogg (War HOGG Tactical) and take our skills to the next level. During our time under Rick’s tutelage, we learned how to improve our marskmanship, how to drive like Hollywood stunt performers, how to train a dog for use in high pressure situations, and much more. Just how did we do? Watch the video above and see our explosive results for yourself.

And please remember: do NOT try anything in the video above at home. We did so under the careful supervision of trained professionals.

Far Cry 5 is available on March 27, 2018 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows PC. Head to FarCry.com in order to learn more and pre-order today!

Images: Ubisoft

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Dan Casey is the senior editor of Nerdist and the author of books about Star Wars and the Avengers. Follow him on Twitter (@DanCasey).

THE SIMPSONS Originally Had a Different Ending for “Who Shot Mr. Burns”

As a kid who was obsessed with The Simpsons, “Who Shot Mr. Burns” was one of the most important television events of my life. I remember where my family ordered pizza from the night Part Two aired, how furious I was that it didn’t arrive before the episode started, and how blown away I was when the answer turned out to be Maggie. But it all could have been very different. One of the show’s writers shared the original pitch for the episode, and it had a very different ending from what we got.

In a story we saw at The A.V. Club, former show writer and producer Josh Weinstein shared the first page of the pitch he made with Bill Oakley for one of the show’s most famous stories. Although as you’ll see, it was another famous TV series that specifically got mentioned here.

Summary of our pitch for "Who Shot Mr. Burns" from the June '94 story conference notes.

Neat to see how this developed (we thought it could be Barney but on the very next page -so within minutes of discussing it- someone suggests Maggie) And Patty & Selma could've been suspects. pic.twitter.com/8O3mOdY7vr

— Josh Weinstein (@Joshstrangehill) March 11, 2018

The pitch for Part One isn’t all that far off from what we got, but instead of a big real estate project Mr. Burns ended up trying to block out the sun. But believe me, Barney, Patty, or Selma never seemed like real possibilities while we were all trying to solve the puzzle that summer (needless to say, they achieved their stated goal at the bottom of this page here). We all KNEW it was Homer or Smithers. (He pointed at “W” and “S” on the sundial!)

But it turns out Maggie wasn’t some last second idea that let them off the hook from “sacrificing” anyone, because she was brought up quickly as a candidate.

This is the summary after our pitch (you can see it's page 16 of a document that summarized all the writers' pitches.) Our actual pitch had more details & rough story but after a pitch, everyone jumps in with ideas & there are 5 more pages of people's suggestions including Maggie pic.twitter.com/WMfG6dP0HJ

— Josh Weinstein (@Joshstrangehill) March 12, 2018

Simpsons is still my all-time favorite television show, and this is why. They pulled off the ultimate parody with a surprising payoff that both made sense and exceeded all of our expectations. There’s a reason I was so obsessed with it, and why I spent that whole summer waiting for the conclusion.

The pizza was pretty good too.

What do you think of this original pitch? Is there any part of it you like better than what we got? Tell us why in the comments below.

Featured Image: 20th Century Fox

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THE WALKING DEAD Review: “Dead Or Alive Or”…Nihilism?

Warning: Spoilers are ahead for the season eight of  The Walking Dead . Keep reading at your own risk.

This week’s episode, “Dead Or Alive Or,” showed us the continued fallout from Negan’s attack on Alexandria. True to its title, the episode revolved around many of the characters feeling angry about the current state of events but unable to do anything to change it; alive but potentially staring death in face, trapped in a situation that feels abysmal and hopeless. We see two perspectives at war with each other in “Alive Or”: outright nihilism, versus the belief that there’s always some hope and goodness in people. We see this in the stories that play out with Gabriel, Carol, Maggie, and even Tara.

With Maggie, we see her belief in humanity prevail over cruelty–a perhaps surprising result, considering out of everyone in Rick’s group she has the most reason to be irreversibly angry. At the beginning of the episode, Maggie is clearly struggling under the weight of leadership; with the Hilltop running low on food, she faces the decision to starve the Savior prisoners or equally distribute the rations between the Hilltoppers and the Saviors. In the end, she makes the humane choice to not only feed the Saviors but give them time outside of their pen, under the watch of guards. It’s a move that notably stands at odds with Rick, who we saw just last episode reiterating to Negan that he was going to kill him, even knowing that goes against his Carl’s last wish. Maggie’s segment ends with her looking at the baby Grace and smiling to herself.

We see a similar strain of compassion with Carol. We’ve seen Carol slide from protective mother, to heartless killer, to emotionally traumatized pacifist. This latest iteration seems to be a combination of all three; Carol is still a hardened fighter here, but we see her show some measure of concern for the young Henry, who outright killed Gavin at the end of “Honor.” We see her go back and forth with Morgan about telling Henry the truth: that the man who killed his brother is one of the Saviors sitting in the cage, right in front of him. In the end Carol and Morgan wordless come to an agreement: they lie to Henry to give him some measure of peace, telling him it was Gavin who shot Benjamin. As with Maggie’s story, we see this glimmer of hope here that there are still kids to be taken care of, a future that could exist after all this that’s still worth preserving.

Even with Tara we see a sort of tentative return to believing that there’s still some good in people. The episode opens with her fully intending to kill Dwight, but by the end she appears to trust that Dwight will not give up their location to Negan. It’s a short, quick arc, but one that helps to further demonstrate that many of these characters are ready to try moving forward and hope for a better future.

This is all sharply contrasted to Gabriel’s plot. Gabriel’s segment begins sweetly enough; Doctor Carson and him manage to escape the Savior compound and attempt to make their way back to Rick and company. They have several run-ins that feel like a godsend–they find new car keys just as their car dies, and antibiotics just as Gabriel’s eyesight starts to go thanks to his infection. Gabriel sees as this as God’s guiding hand; Carson is more skeptical, but it’s undeniable that for a while they hit a patch of luck. And then suddenly it ends. The two are caught; Carson is killed, and we close out on Gabriel’s anguished face. Their escape didn’t matter. Nothing matters, and this universe’s order is once again restored.

It’s both a frustrating and, at this point, all-too-predictable end to that particular tale. The Walking Dead has trained us to expect misery at every corner; we’re reminded constantly that this world is terrible and dangerous, and can, at any point, tear you apart. I’m personally getting tired of the show’s use of death as a simple shock value. While some may argue that generating random deaths is what makes The Walking Dead so realistic, there’s also a limit to how many shock deaths an audience will tolerate. There’s a point where nihilism begins to interfere with the audience’s ability to actually connect to the story and characters. The fact of the matter is, as we begin to run low on characters we have longstanding, genuine connections to, the harder it is to stay invested.

I’m hoping the show doesn’t think that creating more plots like this is what is going to keep people engaged long term. What the show should do is lean back into the bright spots and touching character moments that characterized the earlier seasons, and that hooked audiences in the first place. Less sudden and senseless character deaths, more finding meaning in life even as the world itself is falling apart. While we see certain characters trying to find the humanity in their own situation, the show needs to make sure it doesn’t lose a hold of its own soul, too.

Did you like where Gabriel’s story went this episode? Sound off in the comments!

Images: AMC

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Elon Musk Takes Questions at SXSW

Why have space rockets gotten more expensive rather than less? Why don’t we have space hotels like in 2001: A Space Odyssey? How did Elon Musk not realize until just now that “money shot” also has an X-rated meaning? Why wouldn’t he let his friends invest in SpaceX initially? What Three Amigos song wraps up the panel?

Watch Musk talk at SXSW in the archived video below, as he covers tunnels, AI (more dangerous than nukes, and unregulated, which he says is insane), SpaceX, Tesla and more.

And here’s Musk crashing the Westworld panel:

Why isn’t anyone else doing what Musk is doing? “What’s your pain threshold?” he says. Asked what his greatest failure is, he talks about the first three SpaceX launches, and says if the fourth had failed they’d be dead. He had trouble getting the good engineers aboard, and he didn’t want the bad ones, so he became chief engineer by default. He jokes that business plans are always wrong, so he hasn’t has one for a while.

One popular misconception is that he’s an investor; he doesn’t invest in anything. Says he’s been on a tunnels kick for years and years, inspired by the parking lot that is the 405 freeway in Los Angeles, and wanted to start one that he could see from his office at SpaceX, so he could see the progress for himself. The first bore machine was nicknamed Godot, because for a long time it never came. Oh, and he nails the biggest problem with flying cars, but believes driverless vehicles will be common and safer by the end of next year.

What’s your favorite part of the Q&A? Did he get to your questions? Let’s discuss in comments below.

Image: SXSW

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Bloomingdale’s Is Launching an Exclusive Nintendo Collection

Geek fashion has seriously evolved over the years. While fandoms were once relegated to nothing but graphic-print tees, designers like Her Universe, Elhoffer Design, and Five Four have made it easier to literally wear your faves on your sleeve while also being fashionable and often even office appropriate. And now, in celebration of MAR10 Day, Bloomingdale’s is launching their very own, exclusive, limited line of Nintendo-themed products.

Starting as of yesterday, you can buy clothing, accessories, and even some home goods from Bloomingdale’s that are adorned with Mario, Yoshi, Peach, and Donkey Kong, as well as some Nintendo-inspired items. The collection, called Let’s Play, is made to appeal to gamers of all ages, so whether you’re looking for something you can wear to a party, or something cute that your kid can wear to school, this line will have you covered.

You can find this fun line both in-stores and online, but Bloomingdale’s is planning something extra special for those shoppers who visit the store to get their gaming garments. In Bloomingdale’s stores, you’ll not only find a colorful, fun display paying homage to Nintendo, but stores will be Instagram ready for you with full-sized characters from classic Nintendo games for you to snap pics with. Additionally, there will also be fun in-store events and some will even have Nintendos right there so you can indulge in some retro gaming when you need a break from shopping.

You can see a preview of some of the amazing pieces in Bloomingdale’s Nintendo-fueled spring line in the gallery below, and you can head to the Bloomingdale’s website to see the entire line of products that will hit stores on March 10th.

What items in the new Let’s Play line are your favorites? Tell us in the comments!

Image credits: Nintendo/Bloomingdale’s

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Is STAR TREK: INSURRECTION Improved By a “Ships-Only” Edit?

Two decades ago, the movie voyages of the Star Trek: The Next Generation crew continued with Star Trek: Insurrection, and the ensuing years have not been kind. While the cast members looked like they were having fun as their characters turned on a corrupt Starfleet admiral and his alien allies, the story plays out like a slightly bigger version of the TV series, and Insurrection is considered to be one of the more forgettable chapters in the franchise. But what if there were a way to make the film better? One fan recently released an extremely condensed cut of the film that features only the starships in action.



Via io9, the “Star Trek: Insurrection – Just the Ships” edit was created by Weekly Equation, and it does have a few areas of interest. This was the first Star Trek feature film to solely utilize CGI for the ships and the space battles. Some of the new designs, including the Son’a Collector ship and the Federation Scout ship, are very eye-catching. This was also one of the few opportunities for fans to see the Enterprise-E in action.

However, even though the film’s story was less than stellar, the climatic space sequences simply don’t play as well without context. Despite what some may believe, the characters are Star Trek‘s greatest assets, and aside from a brief glimpse of Data, the presence of the Enterprise’s crew is not felt in this footage. Without that human touch, it’s impossible to care about the action. Ironically, it makes the film better by making us appreciate the original cut more.

Do you think the “ships only” cut improves Star Trek: Insurrection? Let us know in the comment section below!

Images: Paramount

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Watch a Fast Car Smash a Fruit Stand in Super Slow Motion

Fruit Cart!: An expletive used by film buffs during any chase scene involving a foreign or ethnic locale, reflecting their certainty that a fruit cart will be overturned during the chase, and an angry peddler will run into the middle of the street to shake his face at the departing Porsche.

—Roger Ebert’s Glossary of Terms for the Cinema of the 1980s

As you can see the old “crash through a fruit stand” movie trope was already cliche over thirty years ago, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to keep it fresh, as The Slow Mo Guys have shown by having a stuntman crash through one at 40 miles-per-hour to see just how juicy the destruction can get in super slow-mo.

On their new YouTube series The Super Slow Show, Dan and Gavin set up a big fruit stand to capture what really happens when you drive a car through one. It’s a trope ripe for some fun, and the results are far more satiating than any example from Hollywood we can remember. Because it turns out in real life the damage–both to the car and the ground–is far worse than we realized.



Okay, note to self: no matter how much we have always wanted to, if we ever find ourselves in a high-speed car chase we should NOT try to hit any fruit stands we pass….even if it is really tempting to see if we could possibly send any piece of fruit further than the strawberry that traveled 365 feet here…

No, no. Because honestly we’d rather not get impaled by a banana through our windshield. Although somebody should definitely put that in a movie.

What other classic movie tropes would you like to see them take on next? Don’t be slow; tell us now in the comments below.

Featured Image: The Slow Mo Guys

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Giant POKÉMON Lapras Plushie Is the Ride of Your Dreams

How much do you love Pokémon? You may have all of the games, the collectibles, and even Pokémon Go on your phones, but your dedication to the franchise may not be complete until you’ve invited one of the pocket monsters to take up residence in your home. If you can’t find a real Pokémon, then you’ll just have to settle for this ridiculously large creation from Japan that’s part-plushie and part-furniture!

Via SoraNews24, this giant-sized plushie beast is the water/ice-type Lapras, which was most memorably seen during Ash’s travels in the Orange Archipelago islands. Premium Bandai has opened up pre-orders for this creation, which is officially called “The Lapras You’ll Absolutely Want to Ride.” It’s just under 4 feet tall and 6.6 feet wide, so you really can get on top of it and “ride.” Even the Lapras’ spikes are soft, and everything on it can be squeezed. We’ve got to admit, it does look like enticing!

Lapras have been known to travel in herds, but even Bandai is playfully warning that you’ll quickly run out of room if you order more than one of these creations. Perhaps the price will prove to be a better deterrent for anyone who wants multiple Lapras. Roughly $750 will bring this plushie home, and you can find more information here. Premium Bandai estimates it will begin shipping this item in July.

What do you think about this colossal Lapras plushie? Be the very best, like no one ever was in the comment section below!

Images: Premium Bandai/Pokémon Center Online

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