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STRANGER THINGS’ Joe Keery and Gaten Matarazzo Answer Your Internet Questions

One of the best parts of Stranger Things 2 was the unlikely friendship of Steve and Dustin, who came together to both fight demodogs and bond over the perfect hair treatment. But after watching actors Joe Keery and Gaten Matarazzo answer questions about the show together, we don’t just want to see more of their characters together in season three, we want the two of them to get their own reality show.

In this video from Wired, the two answered the most searched questions online about Stranger Things and themselves. The queries ranged from the totally normal, like “Is Stranger Things based on a true story?” and “Is Stranger Things inspired by IT (the movie)?” But they also included total nonsense, like “Is Joe Keery pregnant?” and “Is Gaten Matarazzo ending?” But it doesn’t matter how reasonable or inane the questions were, what matters is the two of them together are utterly delightful and we could watch hours of them hanging out.

Is Gaten Matarazzo also the show’s historian? He had a ton of great insights into the show and its influences. Good thing he’s “now.”

Obviously these two have amazing chemistry together and everything they touch turns to gold, so they should not be limited to what happens in Hawkins, Indiana. They need their own show where they can just be their charming selves. But what would work best? A cooking show? A talk show? I vote for their own travel show. They’d get to meet new people and spread their cheer around the globe. And no one would have to worry about young Gaten being away from home. We know Steve’s a great babysitter.

What would you like to see these two do together next? We want you to answer that question in our comments below.

Image: Wired

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Comic Book Club: Plaid Klaus and Sheilah Villari

Plaid Klaus (“Void Trip”) and Sheilah Villari (Managing Editor, Geek.com) join the show to help give thanks, as well as discuss The Punisher and Justice League!


Check out the website at comicbookclublive.com to find out how to watch the show live! And follow the show on Twitter: @comicbooklive, @azalben, @jtsizzle, and @realpetelepage

RICK AND MORTY Explores Mr. Poopybutthole’s Life Story in New Video

Rick and Morty‘s fantastic third season was only missing one element all year: Mr. Poopybutthole. Yes, we did get a bit of time with everyone’s favorite character: He showed up during the season’s very last moments, just like he did at the end of season two, to warn us to expect a long wait for the show’s return. That wasn’t what we wanted to hear, but the good news was finding out he’s doing so much better since Beth shot him. While we were busy wasting our lives between seasons, he got married and had a baby. And in a new short video from Adult Swim just in time for Thanksgiving, he’s showing us just how much he has to be thankful for.

In this new short, “The Poop in My Pants,” we get to take a walk down memory lane with Mr. Poopybutthole as he reflects on going back to school to get his G-E-E-E-D, meeting his wife, moving into a new home, experiencing some heartache, and welcoming his first child into the world.

There are some great Easter eggs in here, like how Mr. Poopybutthole and his wife had their toxic selves removed (just like Rick and Morty did), and that his proposal was identical to the one he made to Morty (which we saw in “Morty’s Mindblowers”). We’re treating everything we see here as canon, including the fact that he’s Jewish.

This short video might be the most sincere moment in Rick and Morty history; that last shot of Mr. Poopybutthole walking without his cane actually got me choked up. It’s been such a long journey for him, you know? All because Beth didn’t have any bad memories of our dear friend.

Is this the most heart-warming moment in the show’s history? Tell us what other scenes are just as sweet?

Images: Adult Swim

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Ranking Every Live-Action BATMAN Movie Ever

We know how much everyone loved and agreed with our definitive ranking of all the MCU movies, so on today’s Nerdist News Talks Back we put together the ultimate list of live-action Batman films. But before everyone had a chance to get mad at each other we broke down all the latest Star Wars tidbits from The Last Jedi.

Host Jessica Chobot was joined by Nerdist editors Dan Casey and Rachel Heine today, along with Nerdist News writer Joan Ford, to discuss the latest tidbits from the galaxy far, far away. They started with the latest commercial for The Last Jedi which features Rey and a very worried Luke. What could be the “something else” she sees between the Light and Dark? Why does it have Luke so freaked out?

But while that commercial was raising even more questions, some other new sneak peeks might offer possible insights into what we might see when the movie hits theaters next month. So what do we make of the the crystal fox (called a vulptex) and its chance to be a literal light in the darkness for the good guys? Can we completely trust Laura Dern’s Admiral Holdo, the new leader of the Resistance? Could she be the new “Lando?” And is there anything to learn about Benicio Del Toro’s character from that brief look at him that popped up in a new foreign-language trailer?

Then, because of this past weekend’s release of Justice League, it was time to calmly come to an easy consensus about where every live-action Batman movie ever ranks. Yup, it was a very simple and agreeable conversation that should put this conversation to end forever.

……Okay maybe it wasn’t quite that easy. And maybe some feelings were hurt and no one is speaking to each other in the office now. But at least no one in the entire universe will agree with this ranking! So it was totally worth it. So who came out on top? Who resides at the bottom? Which film was higher than we might have guessed? And which one is overrated?

Remember Nerdist News Talks Back airs live every weekday at 1:00 p.m. PT on our YouTube and Alpha channels. Viewers who tune in with us can get in on the conversation about the biggest topics in pop culture every day.

It’s also the easiest way to tell us why our Batman rankings are all wrong and we should feel badly about ourselves. It might sound weird, but we really enjoy when that happens.

But we still want to hear your thoughts on today’s show. What do you make of Rey’s “something else?” And which Batman movie stands above the rest? Tell us what you think in the comments below.

Images: Warner Bros., Lucasfilm

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FCC Set to Vote on Repealing Net Neutrality Rules Next Month

Ajit Pai, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), announced today that he wants to “repeal the heavy-handed Internet regulations imposed by the Obama Administration and to return to the light-touch framework under which the Internet developed and thrived before 2015.” In other words, Pai wants to get rid of broadband internet’s federal classification as a “common carrier” under Title II of the Communications Act, effectively eliminating the net neutrality rules that currently protect consumers and small businesses from discriminatory service practices by enormous telecommunications companies.

Today, I’m proposing to repeal the heavy-handed Internet regulations imposed by the Obama Administration and to return to the light-touch framework under which the Internet developed and thrived before 2015. In @WSJopinion: https://t.co/uDIiKr6YHF

— Ajit Pai (@AjitPaiFCC) November 21, 2017

The Verge reported on Pai’s plan to repeal broadband internet’s status as a common carrier, which is set for a vote amongst FCC members on December 14. Pai, who was originally appointed to the FCC by President Obama, then elevated to FCC Chairman by President Trump, told Reuters that should the commission–which is made up of five members, currently comprised of three Republicans and two Democrats–vote to repeal broadband internet’s classification as a common carrier (basically a necessary utility) then the FCC would “no longer be in the business of micromanaging business models and preemptively prohibiting services and applications and products that could be pro-competitive.” Pai has dubbed his effort to repeal broadband internet’s protected status as “Restoring Internet Freedom.”

The Chairman proposes to repeal utility-style regulations that resulted in a drop in investment & less innovation in broadband infrastructure.

— The FCC (@FCC) November 21, 2017

Broadband internet earned its common carrier classification in 2015, when the FCC passed the Open Internet Order, which aimed to keep the internet “open for commerce, innovation, and speech,” by putting into effect a regulatory framework that would, and now does, serve as the backbone of the federal net neutrality rules that keep ISPs in check.

Without broadband internet’s common carrier classification, ISPs will have the freedom–this is the “freedom” Pai is referencing–to throttle the speed of their service to customers as they see fit, block content providers and consumers entirely, price gouge, and further violate people’s privacy. What this could look like in practice would be something like Time Warner (which is currently in the process of being bought by AT&T for $108.7 billion pending an Antitrust lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice) giving a delivery speed advantage to the content of its own subsidiary, HBO, while slowing the delivery speed of a competitor like Netflix.

Netflix supports strong #NetNeutrality. We oppose the FCC’s proposal to roll back these core protections.

— Netflix US (@netflix) November 21, 2017

That’s only the tip of the iceberg, however. Without broadband internet’s common carrier classification, ISPs could force certain content providers to pay more for better delivery speeds, effectively creating “fast lanes” for those who can afford it. Broadband internet’s classification as a common carrier was also supposed to protect consumers against ISPs tracking their online behavior without their permission, although the rules regarding that aspect of the internet’s common carrier status were already dismantled back in March of this year, when Congress voted to overturn the yet-to-take-effect privacy regulations assembled by the FCC.

The amount of people, companies, and nonprofit organizations who are against repealing broadband’s common carrier classification is overwhelming, and undoubtedly dwarfs those in favor of Pai’s restoration of “internet freedom.” Internet companies including Twitch, YouTube, Etsy, Amazon, Reddit, Spotify, Airbnb, Vimeo, Mozilla, Kickstarter, Yelp, Netflix, Twitter, and Tumblr all joined in on the “Net Neutrality Day of Action,” supporting broadband internet’s common carrier status. Nonprofits such as the ACLU and The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) also support protecting broadband internet’s common carrier status. Plus there have been  who’ve already commented on Pai’s plans, mostly in opposition. (If you need a case for the support of net neutrality and common carrier status in a nutshell, John Oliver did a great job covering the issue.)

It should also be noted that there is plenty of speculation that Pai expects his move to “restore internet freedom” to elicit a legislative response from Congress, which would appear to work against reclassification of the internet in hopes of maintaining net neutrality, while in reality, only serving to defang the FCC by limiting its ability to police ISPs’ discriminatory behavior. The same Congress that passed the Congressional Review Act (CRA) that gave ISPs the power to use consumers’ private data without their permission would more than likely be happy to pass more legislation further limiting the FCC’s power and increasing ISPs autonomy.

Why so worried about this net neutrality thing, when the big corporations always know what’s best for us? They won’t let us see anything too upsetting.

— Stephen King (@StephenKing) November 21, 2017

As mentioned, the FCC is scheduled to vote on repealing broadband internet’s common carrier status on December 14. The vote is expected to pass. If you’d like to contact your congressional representatives in the hopes of protecting net neutrality, here are a few resources that you can use: Battle for the Net, Electronic Frontier Foundation, the ACLU.

What do you think about this effort to “restore internet freedom?” Is there any way behemoth ISPs would ever do a decent job of regulating themselves? Give us your thoughts in the comments below!

Images: Credo Action

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Everything We Know About INCREDIBLES 2 So Far

In 2004, Pixar showed everyone just how great a Fantastic Four movie could be when The Incredibles took movie theaters by storm. Next summer, the Parr family is back in Incredibles 2, and now fans have gotten to see the sequel’s teaser footage from D23. Today’s Nerdist News is all about everything that you may have missed in the footage showing the return of Mr. Incredible and his incredibly powerful infant son, Jack-Jack.

Join host and Edna Mode’s former associate, Jessica Chobot, as she tugs on the cape of Pixar’s next superhero adventure. The biggest surprise out of this teaser isn’t that Jack-Jack has powers, it’s the fact that his father had no idea that his youngest child was following in his footsteps. Jack-Jack revealed his abilities when Syndrome attempted to kidnap him. But because that confrontation took place high in the air, the family may not have seen the way it played out.

This also suggests that the Parr family isn’t aware of what went down in the animated short, Jack-Jack Attack, which is where the youngest Parr terrorized his babysitter with an even wider array of abilities. As we learned in that short, the first film, and the latest teaser, it appears that Jack-Jack has more powers than anyone else in the family. Between his steel skin, teleportation, flying powers, laser beam eyes, and the rest of his abilities, Jack-Jack is practically a one kid superhero team.

You may have also noticed that Mr. Incredible was playing Mr. Mom to Jack-Jack in the brief tease. That’s because the sequel’s story will reportedly put Mrs. Incredible in the spotlight. We don’t know how or why yet, but it would be fun to see Helen Parr recruited into a superhero team. Now that Syndrome is gone, we figure that the superheroes are going to get a comeback.

Are you excited about the return of the Incredibles? Dash to the comment section and let us know what you’re thinking!

Images: Disney-Pixar

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HARRY POTTER Kitchenware for Hogwarts Houses Apparates to Williams Sonoma

Even a witch like Molly Weasely needs appliances to help her prepare dinner, but just because we Muggles can’t wave a wand to get some assistance making cookies and cakes this holiday season, doesn’t mean we can’t still make our kitchen a little more magical—all while representing where the Sorting Hat placed us—with this new line of Hogwarts house-themed kitchenware.

We came across this gorgeous collection at Parents.com, and they come from Williams Sonoma, the fancy home goods store you might better know as the place that hands out fantastic free samples of hot chocolate. But if you’re a big Harry Potter fan who is looking for the perfect item for either yourself or a loved one this year, you’ll now know it as the place where you got your Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, or Gryffindor spatula and apron.

All the items come in the color of their respective houses. The silicone spatulas each feature the Harry Potter title and a snitch on one side, with the house emblem on the other. They are each $12.95 in non-wizard currency.

The cotton twill aprons come in both children and adult sizes, and all of them have a double tool pocket on the front with the house emblem. The kid’s apron is $24.95, and the adult ones are $39.95, and if you’d like to add a personal touch you can get them monogrammed or have a name added for an extra $9.50.

So yeah, we Muggles might have to cook the old-fashioned way, but at least now we have a way to bring a little bit of the world of Harry Potter into our kitchen. Which is a much better option than inviting Ron over. Who can afford to cook that much food?

Which houses items do you want? Tell us which one you’d sort your kitchen into in the comments below.

Images: Warner Bros, William Sonoma

James Gunn Shares GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 Script and Answers Fans Questions

With Marvel‘s insane level of secrecy we’re always eager to gobble up any little morsel they might give us about how they make their movies, but today they threw us the equivalent of a giant porterhouse steak by letting Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn share the script for Vol. 2 online. And if that wasn’t enough, he answered fans questions and shared some insight into how he cooked the whole thing from start to finish.

As promised, the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 script is now online. Read it here for free: https://t.co/xXGha4EhMH

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) November 21, 2017

Gunn shared on Twitter today the totally free-to-read script, which he wrote, and since he knew that would only lead to a bunch of the same questions, he addressed issues he knew would come up when people compared it to the movie they saw.

This was the last script of nine he turned in to the studio (and that doesn’t include the “dozens” he wrote for himself), and it was the one used during filming. However it doesn’t perfectly match the final movie both because of on-set improvisation from the cast and because some lines were cut. But this one script doesn’t even capture just how much time he spent working on it. And that work began the day the first film hit theaters.

6 I took a lot of notes on what would happen in Vol. 2 before ever starting Vol. 1. I actually started writing the treatment/story on the day the first film came out (Aug 1 2014) and the script was pretty much finished in October of 2015 a couple months before shooting.

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) November 21, 2017

Of course the Guardians movies don’t exist in a vacuum, since they are a part of the larger MCU, but that doesn’t sound like it posed nearly the kind of problems or worries you might expect.

7 The studio suggested no changes to make it more amendable to Avengers 3 or 4. I did, however, give Markus & McFeely and the Russo Brothers the script in October 2015 so they knew where the Guardians ended up while they were writing.

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) November 21, 2017

And while it wouldn’t be a Marvel movie without an end credits scene or two, this movie had way more than most with a whopping five, and Gunn talked about how only one of them wasn’t in the original script.

10 All of the post-credits scenes were included all the way back in the treatment – I didn't discuss therm with Marvel beforehand, but they liked them. EXCEPT the Stakar/Ravagers scene, which I wrote after we had completed primary filming.

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) November 21, 2017

But what about that Adam Warlock tease, the one Gunn had to fight to have included? Was that a sign of what to expect from the next film? Actually it might not have been, because it turns out the character isn’t guaranteed to appear in Vol. 3 like we would have bet. And spoiler alert: he’s definitely not going to be fighting the Avengers any time soon.

12 And despite so many people thinking Adam will show up in Vol 3 that is something that we have never confirmed. Who knows how long it will take him to bake in that cocoon. That said, I love Adam. But the time must be right.

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) November 21, 2017

He also explained how the soundtracks that are such a huge part of the movies are a big part of the writing process right from the start.

14 The songs are all chosen in the treatment phase – sometimes before I write the scene and sometimes after.

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) November 21, 2017

If it doesn't affect plot, I'd keep it out.

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) November 21, 2017

In addition to talking about the actual film, Gunn also shared some insights into the actual script writing process and how pages translate to screen.

The movie is two hours and fifteen minutes. I space out action to make it easier and more fun to read. The various Marvel screenplays have very little in common with each other.

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) November 21, 2017

13 There are MANY things I do in the script that I would probably not do if I wasn't directing. I write a fair amount of camera moves & I write in the songs.

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) November 21, 2017

For you aspiring screenwriters out there, don’t use this script as an exact guide for how to format yours. That’s because Gunn included camera movements that he would not have out there had someone else been set to direct the movie instead.

It's generally a camera direction. When you're not directing the film, it's probably wise to avoid.

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) November 21, 2017

It's semi-rare on big budget films, especially when there's only one writer. It's common on lower budget films.

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) November 21, 2017

You’ll want to check out his entire feed to get even more great insight into both the writing and filming of the movie, but don’t expect to see the script for the original movie anytime soon, because he said there are no plans to release it.

That’s a bummer, but we shouldn’t complain. Marvel serving us this much should hold us over until they finally satiate our desire for the Infinity War trailer.

We hope. We’re starving to get that.

What questions do you have for James Gunn about the script? What about how he filmed it? Tell us in the comments below what you would like to hear him answer.

Image: Marvel

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Wonder Woman Slides Into Battle as a JUSTICE LEAGUE PVC Statue (Exclusive)

So, what was your favorite part of the Justice League movie? If you’re most of the population, the answer is obvious: Diana of Themyscira. And that particular woman of wonders–a Wonder Woman, you might even say, though nobody onscreen in a DC movie actually has yet–is coming to dynamic action in a PVC statue from Diamond Select Toys, and we have an exclusive look at the figure.

Wonder Woman is doing that last-minute battle slide thing where you expect her to duck under somebody’s swinging blade while cutting them off at the ankles, but were she standing, she’d stand about nine inches tall (as is the statue is about seven inches high), which makes her perfect for display alongside similarly scaled figures like Kotobukiya superheroes and Mego-style retro-action.

The sculpt is by Rocco Tartamella, who has previously given us outstanding likenesses of the Marvel Netflix characters. In addition to Wonder Woman, he has also rendered the entire team. And yes, that includes Superman, whom we’re no longer pretending “may or may not” be in the movie (Tartamella has even captured the slightly strange CG upper lip look on Kal-El). You can see all the figures below.

All six hit stores in spring 2018, and will retail for around $45, or approximately the same price as seeing the movie twice in 3D Imax in a major metropolitan area.

Will they “get to Steppen” into your collection? Let us know in comments.

Images: Diamond Select

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Jason Momoa’s AQUAMAN Originally Had Much More JUSTICE LEAGUE Screen Time

Regardless of what you think of the recently released Justice League film, one thing is for sure — of the new characters introduced, Aquaman as played by Jason Momoa was easily one of the breakout characters. His take on the King of Atlantis, a mix of ’90 long-haired loner Arthur Curry from the comics, together with Jeff Spicoli from Fast Times at Ridgemont High, was unique and quite lovable. And originally, Justice League had a lot more Aquaman in it.

Thanks to Entertainment Weekly, we’ve learned that quite a lot of Aquaman’s scenes from Justice League ended up on the cutting room floor, including an appearance from his chief Atlantean advisor Vulko, portrayed by Willem Dafoe. In fact, we never really get a good look at Atlantis in the finished product, just what seems to be an outpost near the city. None of that is super clear, actually. Here’s what Momoa had to say about so many of his scenes and subplots vanishing from the final film:

“The challenging part is [the Justice League story] is only about a weekend in Author Curry’s life. [Fans] might be like, ‘Why is he that grumpy? Why’s he hiding up there?’ We had it all planned out. A lot of things got cut. But it’s not my movie. It’s a huge movie introducing three new characters, and for myself and The Flash and Cyborg, there was a lot that was there we just couldn’t get in. It could have been two movies. We had some stuff with William Dafoe. The whole Atlantean part, about me being this reluctant king. There was no need for it because you’re going to see it in Aquaman. It’s not an Aquaman movie, it’s a Justice League movie.”

It’s tough to say what exactly got lost from Aquaman’s scenes at this point, without a released script or deleted scenes available. But it’s likely they included more of his backstory as the son of the Queen of Atlantis and a human lighthouse keeper. The film only touches on Arthur’s origins in his one scene with Mera (Amber Heard), which appears to be their first meeting. I think a lot of the Aquaman scenes were confusing for non-fans of DC Comics.

James Wan has completed principal photography on Aquaman, which will be out this time next year, and no doubt that film will answer all our Arthur Curry questions. Personally, I hope that movie succeeds just like Wonder Woman did. And then maybe, the DCEU can be saved after all.

What did you think of Jason Momoa’s Aqua-bro? Are you excited to see more of him in his own movie? Let us know down below in the comments.

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Images: Warner Brothers / DC Comics