Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 1871
December 19, 2017
Can This Taiwanese Electric Car Company Defeat Tesla?
Competition drives innovation, but when it comes to innovating driving, it’s all-out war. While Elon Musk made waves with his Steve Jobs-esque “One More Thing” reveal of the next-generation Tesla Roadster last month, the speedy sports car is far from the only high-end electric supercar coming to a highway near you. Taiwanese startup XING Mobility is looking to dethrone Tesla as the reigning king of eco-friendly electric vehicles with a high-end supercar of their own. Dubbed the “Miss R,” XING’s prototype vehicle is designed to blur the lines between rally car and sports car, boasting some seriously impressive states.
The vehicle can reportedly go from 0-100 KPH in 2.0 seconds and reach 200 KPH in 5.1 seconds, which will give the Tesla Roadster a serious run for its money. Its modular, LEGO-style battery pack houses 42 lithium-ion cells, which are immersed in 3m™ novec™ 7200 engineered fluid, which I assume is kind of like a Bacta tank for batteries. While the Miss R’s 155 miles per charge is still a far cry from the Tesla Roadster’s reported 620 miles per charge, it is a an auspicious debut from the Taipei automaker.
Unlike the Tesla Roadster, though, XING is designing the car with the intention of high-speed performance both on a racing track and off-road, so you can cruise the countryside in style no matter where you go. Although the Miss R is currently just a prototype, the company promises to have the vehicle production ready by next year. Of course, as we all know, the only way to really beat Tesla at their own game is to launch the Miss R in to space as soon as humanly possible.
But wait, there’s more! That’s not the only story on today’s episode of Muskwatch. Hosts Kyle Hill and Dan Casey will also be breaking down the mysterious, cigar-shaped asteroid that recently appeared in our solar system, as well as Elon Musk’s reaction to Boston Dynamics’ backflipping robot, Bill Gates’ plans to make a smart city in Arizona, and much more.
Muskwatch airs on Nerdist.com and YouTube every Tuesday, but you can hack the planet and watch it two full days earlier on Sunday if you’re an Alpha subscriber. Find out how you can get 30 days free (and be 48 hours smarter than your dumb friends) right here.
What do you think of this week’s top stories? What else would you like to see us discuss on Muskwatch? Let us know in the comments below!
WHAT ELSE IS ELON MUSK UP TO?
SpaceX and Uber are teaming up to make flying cars
This human-controlled robot is like IRL Pacific Rim
SpaceX wants to make a helpful version of Skynet
THE LAST JEDI’s Kelly Marie Tran Eavesdropped on STAR WARS Fans Discussing the Film
We fell in love with Kelly Marie Tran even before we saw The Last Jedi, after we caught glimpse of her crying with joy at the film’s premiere. But if anyone thought her excitement over being a part of the Star Wars world start to wane the more people saw the movie, this story of ran eavesdropping on some Star Wars fans as they discussed the latest entry shows she’s just only begun to enjoy her new-found fame. It’s making us love her even more.
In a story we first came across at Screencrush, Tran posted a video of herself at a pub where some people who had just seen The Last Jedi came in and sat down next to her. They clearly didn’t realize who she was, proceeding to discuss the movie in “minute detail,” including how much they loved Rose.
A post shared by Kelly Marie Tran (@kellymarietran) on Dec 18, 2017 at 8:13am PST
Since this was the first time she had heard any fan reaction, Tran didn’t interject right away, instead opting to eavesdrop on the group and freak out over all the positive things they were saying about both the movie and her character. In the above touching Instagram post, she explained why it meant so much to her.
She’s just the best, especially because she then took the time to introduce herself and take a photo with everyone.
We do not deserve Kelly Marie Tran. She is pure light and love. https://t.co/SOXMk3EWZS pic.twitter.com/aEHUZ7eLDH
— Joy Piedmont (@InquiringJoy) December 18, 2017
Obviously Kelly Marie Tran appreciates getting to play Rose Tico, but not as much as we appreciate her.
Would you want someone from The Last Jedi eavesdropping in on your discussion about it? We want to listen in to your thoughts in the comments below.
Featured Image: Lucasfilm
December 18, 2017
New G.I. JOE, MICRONAUTS, and DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS Movies Are on the Way
Two years ago, Paramount announced grand plans to make a shared universe based upon Hasbro’s G.I. Joe, Micronauts, Rom, M.A.S.K., and Visionaries toys. Now, the studio is finally going forward with two of those films, and adding a Dungeons & Dragons movie to the mix for good measure.
Via The Hollywood Reporter, Paramount has set G.I. Joe for March 27, 2020, presumably rebooting the film series that began in 2009. Micronauts will follow follow on October 16, 2020, before Dungeons & Dragons drops on July 23, 2021. The inclusion of D&D is a surprise because the film adaptation had previously been set up at Warner Bros. Pictures after a long and costly lawsuit to settle the rights. If it’s now at Paramount, then it may mean that WB’s take on the property won’t be moving forward.
Hasbro does own D&D’s parent company, Wizards of the Coast, so it’s possible that the new film will be incorporated into the Hasbro Cinematic Universe. Although D&D‘s worlds and characters are so vast that it could easily be its own franchise without any crossovers to the other Hasbro properties. It would also be harder to tie D&D to the Earthbound stories of G.I. Joe and M.A.S.K., but a crossover with Visionaries is more conceivable.
There is also a fourth Hasbro movie on Paramount’s schedule for October 1, 2021. So far, it’s just listed as “Untitled Hasbro event film.” Perhaps the studio is simply leaving its options open to pick the project for that date. But it could also be a Hasbro Cinematic Universe team up movie that brings characters from the various franchises into a single story.
Are you excited by the new round of Hasbro movies? Roll out in the comment section below!
Images: Paramount Pictures/Wizards of the Coast
A ROGUE ONE Easter Egg Foreshadowed a THE LAST JEDI Plot Point
Warning: This post contains major spoilers for Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
The Last Jedi might be Episode VIII in the Skywalker family saga, but it’s not the eighth film in the franchise. Because while fans of the galaxy far, far away were waiting for the next chapter in the story of Rey and Kylo Ren, in-between Lucasfilm released its first standalone film Rogue One. But it turns out that even though it was a prequel to the original trilogy, it contained a subtle hint about a major plot development in The Last Jedi.
In The Last Jedi, the First Order employs new technology that allows them to track the Resistance through hyperspace, which threatens to destroy the good guys entirely since they can’t flee into anonymity with their few remaining ships (which, by the way, are severely low on fuel). But while this cutting-edge tech has never before been seen in the Star Wars canon, it turns out it was first developed by the Empire way back before the events of A New Hope. How do we know this? Well, this subtle hint in Rogue One.
Y'ALL pic.twitter.com/tWysfnOzbX
— Des (@kyleauxren) December 17, 2017
Now that’s a first-class Easter Egg, one that Lucasfilm’s Pablo Hidalgo has already confirmed.
— Pablo Hidalgo (@pablohidalgo) December 18, 2017
Does this mean we should start looking at Rogue One for some clues into what to expect from Episode IX? And will the standalone Solo movie also drop some big-game hints?
Did you pick up on this connection? What other callbacks to past films did you notice? Which one was your favorite? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below
Images: Lucasfilm
RICK AND MORTY’s Plumbus Gets an iPhone-Style Upgrade and Commercial
To make it in this multiverse as a tech mogul, you need to ensure you’re constantly innovating. The one constant among the infinitum of realities is that your current gadget will be obsolete soon enough, so you’ll need to keep inventing, improving to guarantee that your product is the flashiest thing out there. This even applies to the most useful household wonder-gadgets from Rick and Morty. Introducing… Plumbus X!
This wonderfully disturbing (and disturbingly wonderful) video by YouTuber Nimrod Zaguri was brought to our attention via a recent post on The Awesomer and we just need to know what store to wait in front of in order to be the first to have it.
It takes the inscrutable item from Rick and Morty and gives it an Apple-esque commercial as if Plumbuses get upgraded and re-released as often as iPhones do in our dimension.
The fan-made video gives the Plumbus all the upgrades you’d expect for the next generation of tech and animates it in a way that’s… well… just truly unsettling to watch. Owners of this new version can look forward to a Dingle Bop that’s 30 percent larger and—for the first time ever—experience a truly portable Floob without that pesky Grodus getting in the way. It’s also the thinnest version yet without sacrificing the quality of the Grombo or Chumble. What a time to be alive, right!?
No word on when the Plumbus X hits stores and that’s probably because it’s not a real thing. Still, we’ve still got our fingers crossed we’ll see a weirdly shaped present on Christmas morning.
What do you think of the Plumbus X? Should Rick and Morty incorporate Nimrod Zaguri’s design into the show somehow? Let’s discuss in the comments below!
Image: Nimrod Zaguri
The Dark Side of STAR WARS’ Latest Craze: Porgmania
The Last Jedi has only just come to theaters, but we have one or two Star Wars fans here in the Nerdist office who are already madly in love with the galaxy’s cutest little newcomers: the porgs. And by “one or two,” I mean almost everybody. And by “madly in love,” I mean “obsessed in an very unhealthy way.” That’s why it’s not easy right now for Andrew Bowser, the one employee here who isn’t infatuated with the adorable fuzzballs. But we’re pretty sure he’ll learn to love them.
Oh, yes, he will learn.
Our latest Nerdist Presents video shows what it’s been like around here lately for Andrew, who doesn’t quite get the whole porgmania thing that we are all about. Although you’d think by now Andrew would know it’s easier to get on board with this stuff instead of doing his own thing. Don’t get us wrong, we definitely love and appreciate everyone’s individual views, so long as they are the exact same one the rest of us have.
And what’s not to love about porgs! They’re cute, they’re funny, and they have that little screech that will haunt your nightmares unless you give yourself over to them completely and forever. That’s why we’re sure you all love them as much as we do.
And if you don’t, you’ll learn. Oh, you’ll learn.
Are you obsessed with porgs, or do you not understand what all the hype is about? Hit the hyperdrive on your thoughts and share them with us in our comments section below.
The Jackie and Laurie Show #103: A Beating Heart Wants A Spot
This week on the Jackie and Laurie Show they discuss chatting vs. heckling, the horrors of getting to a show too early, and there is never a good time to start comedy.
Comic of the Week: Cat Alvarado @thecatalvarado
Pre-Order Laurie’s new book Dead People Suck!
Follow @jackiekashian and @anylaurie16 on Twitter!
Follow the show! @JackieandLaurie
How THE LAST JEDI Lets Go of the Past
Warning: spoilers for The Last Jedi follow. Jump into hyperspace and away from this post if you haven’t seen the film yet.
“It’s time to let old things die.” Kylo Ren doesn’t get many things right, but with this quote, he nails the theme of The Last Jedi. When we return to theaters in 2019 to see the next Star Wars movie in the saga, we won’t see the big three from the original trilogy. Han Solo and Luke Skywalker are gone (though the latter could appear as a Force Ghost), and General Leia’s Carrie Fisher is no longer with us. The Jedi aren’t exactly removed from the picture, but I believe the organization will be different from what we’ve known in the first six films. Episode VIII writer and director Rian Johnson used familiar beats from Star Wars—the Jedi and Sith and the light and the dark—but he also cleared the slate for a nobody from Jakku to continue the story started by the Skywalker bloodline.
The second lesson Luke imparts unto Rey concerned the Jedi’s legacy of failure. Luke cites how the Jedi’s hubris allowed Darth Sidious to rise to power. Luke recognizes his own failures with Ben Solo, too, a mistake that led to Ben serving Supreme Leader Snoke. But failure the story can recover from. Yoda points out how failure is the greatest teacher. The real problem has been arrogance. It led to the demise of the Jedi, Palpatine, and Snoke. Luke believes that buying into his own “legendary” status contributed to his misjudging of Ben.
Rey is the opposite of a legend. Her parents aren’t Skywalkers or Kenobis. Kylo uses this reveal to talk down to her, telling her she has no place in the story. But she’s at the heart of what happens next. Making Rey like any random person plucked out of the galaxy opens the door. The Force isn’t only for those with an impressive lineage. You don’t have to come from privilege of any kind to be a pivotal person in the tale. Everyone is important, everyone can save the day—even the kid sweeping the fathier stalls on Canto Bight.
By moving the story past those strongly tied to the original trilogy, Rey, Finn, Poe, and Rose have options ahead of them that aren’t weighed down by fan expectations. And with the death of Snoke and Rey’s parentage reveal, they’re not weighed down by hundreds of pages of Reddit theories either. They’re unfettered, and thank goodness, because the Resistance has dwindled so much it’s hard to hold onto the spark of hope. We need their unburdened energy.
The Resistance still has to (hopefully) defeat the First Order, so while the “wars” part of the title will likely still be accurate in Episode IX, it’s clear the existing tactics may be upended. We’ve only known the Star Wars universe during times of violence. The galaxy keeps repeating its mistakes. When Rose tells Finn, “That’s how we’re going to win. Not fighting what we hate. Saving what we love,” she’s not just talking about saving his life. She’s presenting a fresh perspective for the future, which plays out in Luke’s Force projection on Crait.
Luke could have hopped into the X-wing we saw off the coast of Ahch-To, performed some repairs, and plotted a course to the salt planet. History tells us that’s what Luke would do. The last time his friends were in danger in The Empire Strikes Back, he did just that. He acted impulsively then, just like Anakin acted when he went to Tatooine to save his mother in Attack of the Clones. But instead of confronting Kylo Ren in a violent battle that would have left one of them dead and the Resistance at risk, Luke chose a peaceful method that bought the handful of surviving Resistance rebels time to escape. He didn’t fight what he hates; he saved what he loves—which takes courage.
It’s not like the kind of dashing heroics Poe Dameron engages in at the beginning of the film, when his actions result in the destruction of a Dreadnought and the entire Resistance bomber fleet. Luke’s actions are more like Vice Admiral Holdo staying on the run from the Supremacy to preserve the light. She saved what she loves, and like Luke, she’s a hero. And hopefully this approach will continue.
Moving forward, we must unlearn what we have learned. If conflict has torn the galaxy apart for this many decades, the attitude must change. Like Kylo says, it’s time to let old things die. It’s time to find a new way, and The Last Jedi makes that possible.
Images: Lucasfilm, Disney
Amy Ratcliffe is an Associate Editor for Nerdist. She likes Star Wars a little. Follow her on Twitter.
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First OCEAN’S 8 Teaser Sets Sandra Bullock’s Plan in Motion
Next year, Sandra Bullock will take the reins of her own Oceans Eleven movie, leading some of our favorite big name actresses (and musicians-turned-actresses) in director Gary Ross‘ addition to the ever-growing heist movie franchise, Ocean’s 8. Bullock is headlining the cast as Debbie Ocean, estranged sister to George Clooney’s character Danny Ocean. And in the first teaser from the film, we get a glimpse of Debbie’s new team as she pulls off a heist of her own.
The teaser briefly puts the spotlight on every member of Debbie’s team: Lou (Cate Blanchett), Rose (Helena Bonham Carter), Daphne (Anne Hathaway), Nine Ball (Rihanna), Amita (Mindy Kaling), Tammy (Sarah Paulson), and Constance (Awkwafina). Together, they’re going to try to rob the annual Met Gala in New York. The video also appears to reveal what’s happened to Danny since the last time he appeared on screen.
How can Danny Ocean be dead? That totally ruins our idea for a team up movie with the ladies and the men in Ocean’s 23. Somehow, this seems like the appropriate time to revisit Amy Poehler and Tina Fey‘s Gravity joke from the Golden Globes: “George Clooney would rather float away into space and die than spend one more minute with a woman his own age.” Fortunately, the cast of this movie can more than hold their own, and we’re eager to see them light up the screen together.
The first full trailer for Ocean’s 8 will drop later this week, and the film will hit theaters on June 8, 2018.
What did you think about the new Ocean’s 8 teaser? Steal our hearts in the comment section below!
Images: Warner Bros. Pictures
Will STAR WARS: EPISODE IX Begin Long After THE LAST JEDI?
Warning: There are major spoilers ahead for Star Wars: The Last Jedi .
Star Wars: The Last Jedi broke from tradition by picking up immediately where The Force Awakens left off, and that’s not the only thing that it broke! Director Rian Johnson and his creative collaborators took some pretty extreme chances that may completely change the shape of the franchise heading into Star Wars: Episode IX. Today’s Nerdist News is examining Jedi sacred texts to see if Episode IX will feature a significant time jump to chart the future of the new trilogy.
Join host and the galaxy’s top porg chef, Jessica Chobot, as she runs down the reasons why Episode IX can’t simply begin right where The Last Jedi leaves off. For starters, the Resistance is pretty much gone at this point, aside from the people who safely made it onto the Millennium Falcon. As General Leia herself might say, that’s a whole lot of dead heroes. (R.I.P. Admiral Ackbar! You’ve gone to that eternal trap in the sky.)
Aside from the Resistance needing to rebuild and regroup, the story needs some space between the deaths of Han Solo and Luke Skywalker before dealing with the fact that Carrie Fisher‘s demise means that Leia has been lost as well. We suspect that Poe Dameron‘s failures in this movie may have finally taught him the necessary lessons to take on a more active leadership role in Leia’s absence.
As for Rey, she may now be the Last Jedi… until she isn’t. Luke’s sacrifice seemed like a passing of the Jedi torch to Rey, but the ending of the film suggests that Rey isn’t the only Force-user left who still believes in following Luke’s example. Given a few years, Rey might have a few apprentices of her own while fully embracing her new Jedi Order.
Finally, we’ll need a time jump to see the final evolution of Kylo Ren. The man formerly known as Ben Solo may not have been able to kill his mother, but her death means that the last piece of his lingering humanity is gone. Now that Kylo Ren has seized control of the First Order, he could achieve his dream of surpassing Darth Vader‘s legacy. He may even declare himself to be the new Emperor. And if Rey’s powers expand after a few years of training, you can bet that Kylo Ren will be more powerful as well when he meets his rival in battle for the last time.
How do you feel about Episode IX‘s potential time jump? Let us know in the comment section below!
Images: Lucasfilm
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