Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 1900

Nerdist Podcast: Hari Kondabolu

Hari Kondabolu (comedian, The Problem with Apu) chats with Chris and Jonah about the importance of diversity in entertainment, how stereotypical characters impact viewers lives and what it was like for him to critique something that he loves. Hari also talks about realizing he wanted to be a comedian, how he got into stand up and the making of his documentary The Problem with Apu airing Sunday 11/19 at 10pm on TruTv!

Image: Jason Kempin / Stringer

First INCREDIBLES 2 Teaser Shows Off Jack-Jack’s Powers

The Parr family has the kind of concerns other families would find unusual. Like, for example, being worried about their baby not displaying super powers. As it turns out, they had no reason to lose any sleep. As we saw in The Incredibles, which came out 13 years ago (I know, it’s bananas), little Jack-Jack has abilities. Plural. The upcoming sequel will see Bob and Helen, a.k.a. Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl, finally realizing their baby is able to turn into fire, shoot lasers from his eyes, and more…and that he isn’t super capable of controlling any of those powers. The first teaser for the Pixar film captures Mr. Incredible’s excitement and dismay over the news.

At D23 Expo in July, writer and direct Brad Bird said Incredibles 2 focuses on the family dealing with the human parts of being heroes. Bob may be taking on more of a stay-at-home dad role while Elastigirl is at the forefront of the action, which is why it looks like Bob is the first family member to discover Jack-Jack’s skills. I can’t wait to see how Violet and Dash react.

Also, could you imagine trying to change a diaper when the kid could turn into literal fire?

I can’t believe we have to wait until June of next year for this movie. Too. Long. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. What are your thoughts on this first teaser? How many things do you think Jack-Jack will wreck as his powers develop? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Images: Disney/Pixar

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

Stay animated with more Pixar stories!

Pixar Pier is coming to Disney Parks.
Our review of Coco.
Real-life locations that inspire Pixar films.

The Todd Glass Show #323: A Family Show! (Part 2)

Its part 2 with the Todd Glass family!

Like The Todd Glass Show on Facebook, follow @ToddGlass, Eric Ohlsen, John Brand Wagner, and Lyricist Joe on Twitter, buy his album Thin Pig and buy his book The Todd Glass Situation!

THE PROBLEM WITH APU’s Creator Told Us Why He Needed to Make the Film

The Problem With Apu is a new documentary about the negative stereotypes created by The Simpsons‘ character, and on today’s Nerdist News Talks Back the film’s star and creator Hari Kondabolu joined us to talk about why he needed to make the movie. But we also asked him about the latest looks at The Last Jedi, and some of the first teases of The Incredibles 2 and M. Night Shyamalan’s Glass.

Host Jessica Chobot and producer Jason Nguyen welcomed Hari Kondabolu on to the show today, but before getting to his documentary they talked about the new promos for The Last Jedi. Are they getting us more excited for the film, or have we seen too much footage from the movie at this point? And what do we make of it being the longest running Star Wars film ever?

Also what do we think of our first-ish look at The Incredibles 2? What about those images of the cast of Glass? Are we excited for the films? How much did we like the originals?

Tomorrow. ESPN @CollegeGameDay. pic.twitter.com/AdNYukEqR0

— Walt Disney Studios (@DisneyStudios) November 17, 2017

But then it was time to get the full story behind why The Problem With Apu, which deals with the problems the way the non-Indian Hank Azaria-voiced character represents South Asian Americans, was something he had to make. Apu might have been created during a different time, but does that just mean things behind the camera still need to catch up to the progress being made in front of it? How does he deal with people who miss the entire point of his criticism about the character? How long into The Simpsons nearly three decade run did he realize Apu was a real problem?

Did that realization change the way he views the entire show? Did anything he heard from the people he interviewed for the documentary surprise him? Is there any way The Simpsons could fix the damage they’ve done? Could Apu help solve some of the problems he created? Listen to Kondabolu’s thoughts above.

Get in on the conversation with us every weekday when Nerdist News Talks Back airs live at 1:00 p.m. PT on our YouTube and Alpha channels. On Monday’s show we’ll be breaking down everything from Justice League. Hopefully there won’t be too many problems with it.

But we want to hear from you today, including what you think of the character Apu, so talk back to us in the comments below.

Featured Image: TruTV

Kit Harington is Ready to Explode in HBO’s GUNPOWDER Trailer

“Remember, remember, the fifth of November.” While American fans are more likely to recall that nursery rhyme from V For Vendetta, it was inspired by the infamous Gunpowder plot of 1605, an event that is still celebrated as Guy Fawkes Night in the United Kingdom. Later this year, Game of Thrones star Kit Harington is headlining Gunpowder, a three-episode miniseries that will depict the story behind the plot. HBO has released a new trailer for Gunpowder, which introduces both Harington’s character and Guy Fawkes himself, as portrayed by Tom Cullen.

Harington is playing Robert Catesby, the man who was the driving force behind the plan to assassinate King James I and the entire House of Lords. And he very nearly pulled it off. From Catesby’s perspective, he was perfectly justified in the attempt, because the King was persecuting Catholics. But his dream of establishing a Catholic monarchy died once the plot was discovered. The trailer even seems to depict the scene where Catesby makes his stand.

As for poor Guy Fawkes, he actually played a less important role in the plot, but it’s his name that has become synonymous with it even several hundred years after the fact. If you watch the miniseries, you’ll understand why.

Gunpowder also stars Peter Mullan, Mark Gatiss, and Liv Tyler, with Derek Riddell as King James. HBO is planning to premiere the first episode of Gunpowder on Monday, December 18.

What did you think about the new trailer for Gunpowder? Let’s discuss in the comment section below!

Images: HBO

Need a GAME OF THRONES fix?

Game of Thrones VFX reel brings the Army of the Dead to life.
See what the crew shot on the show’s first day of season 7.
Watch The Hound, Jorah, Tormund, and Beric throw down with dueling banjos!

GODZILLA Anime Sequel Will Re-introduce MechaGodzilla

The Godzilla anime trilogy officially kicked off this week in Japan with the release of Godzilla: Kaiju Wakusei, which will be called Godzilla: Monster Planet when the film makes its way to North America. Netflix has yet to schedule a date for its Monster Planet premiere, but Japanese fans won’t have to wait long for the sequel. Toho Animation has revealed that the second Godzilla anime film is coming next year, and it’s bringing a new version of Big G’s classic foe: MechaGodzilla!

Via Anime News Network, Godzilla: Kessen Kidō Zōshoku Toshi (which roughly translates to Godzilla: The City Mechanized for the Final Battle) will be released in Japan in May 2018. And if the accompanying poster is any indication, the mechanical city that will battle Godzilla is the new MechaGodzilla.

MechaGodzilla has been challenging Godzilla for over forty years, through various films and incarnations. The first MechaGodzilla was an alien creation that was meant to destroy Godzilla, while subsequent iterations of this giant robot duplicate were created by man to be Godzilla’s ultimate adversary. This will likely carry over to the new anime incarnation of the artificial creature as well.

Godzilla: Monster Planet is already major departure from the live-action films. In this story, the majority of the human race fled Earth as Godzilla and other giant monsters overran the planet. After failing to locate a new home in space, survivors of Earth returned home only to find that Godzilla and the other kaiju have made the planet their own.

Netflix is expected to debut Godzilla: Monster Planet in North America before the end of the year. Presumably the sequel will also come to Netflix in 2018.

Are you excited to see MechaGodzilla return? Let us know in the comment section below!

Images: Toho/Toho Animation

Let them read…More posts!

Watch the trailer for Godzilla: Monster Planet
The 6 scariest sea monsters in pop culture
Bringing together Godzilla and Hello Kitty

What JUSTICE LEAGUE’s Post-Credits Scenes Mean For The DCEU

Warning: This post contains spoilers about the Justice League post-credits scenes. Check back with us after you’ve seen the movie!

Justice League has finally Boomtubed into movie theaters across the country, and now fans have a better idea of what the future of the DC Extended Universe looks like. Part of that comes from the two additional scenes placed during the mid-credits and post-credits. The influence of the MCU was definitely felt during those sequences, and Joss Whedon, the director of the Justice League reshoots, may have had a hand in those. Today’s Nerdist News is examining both scenes and explaining what they may mean for the DCEU.

Join host and Mother Box collector, Jessica Chobot, as she talks about perhaps the most lighthearted scene in a DC movie since the Christopher Reeve Superman movies. In a sequence straight out of the comics, Superman and the Flash decide to have a footrace to determine which one is faster. That’s a very Silver Age idea, and it’s the kind of human touch that’s been missing from most of the previous DC films since Man of Steel. And perhaps that race was an indication that the DC movies are going in a lighter direction as a course correction.

But the scene that’s really going to get people talking is the one at the very end. Lex Luthor has made his escape and returned to his life of luxury. But he’s not alone. Joe Manganiello made his DCEU debut as Deathstroke in that sequence, and Luthor openly spoke about forming “a League of their own.” That’s got us hoping to see an Injustice League in the inevitable sequel. Obviously the Joker would have to be there, and Circe seems like a good choice to be Wonder Woman‘s foil on that team. The other members would have to be rivals for Aquaman, the Flash, and Cyborg.

DC has a long history of bringing its bad guys together into supergroups. If “Injustice League” is too on-the-nose, then perhaps the group could go by the Secret Society name that has also been used in the comics. Even though Legion of Doom is more closely associated with the Super-Friends animated series, it’s still a pretty awesome name as well. Whatever name they go by, DC’s villains are still a largely untapped asset in this cinematic universe. Hopefully this is where that changes.

Are you excited about the future of the DCEU after seeing these post-credits scenes? Let us know in the comment section below!

Need More Justice League?

Here’s how JL influenced Fantastic Four and Avengers.
Here’s why the film is DCEU’s first fun one.
And finally, why Ezra Miller is the real star of the film.

Images: Warner Bros. Pictures. 

THE ARCHIES Meet CHVRCHES in Our Rockin’ Preview (Exclusive)

Everyone’s favorite teen dream band are back in December’s The Archies #3! Yep, Betty, Veronica, and the boys are back, embarking on their first tour, and trying to keep it together in Alex Segura, Matt Rosenberg, and Joe Eisma’s ongoing series. In this issue they’re joined by Scottish synth-pop superstars CHVRCHES! We got a sneak peak at the new issue and are of course sharing it with you RIGHT HERE! Check out our exclusive preview pages in our gallery below, and enjoy the fact that since CHVRCHES are now canon Archie Comics characters we might actually see them in Riverdale any day now!

As these pages show, The Archies are jammin’ in the recording studio when they’re joined by the indie pop trio, who’re hopefully gonna help the up-and-comers sort their lives out and get it together before they truly hit the big time!

As with any CHVRCHES-centric comic, this brilliant book comes with a lovely Jamie McKelvie variant cover which you can check out in our gallery below. It’s pretty fun to see CHVRCHES brought to life by not one but two comics artists in the same book!

Archie Comics described the third installment in their soon-to-be-released solicits:

“As The Archies face a rocky start to their first-ever tour, they find unexpected drama among the members! Can Betty and Archie reconcile their artistic differences? Can real-life indie pop trio CHVRCHES provide the guidance they need to weather the storm?”

We sure hope so as this is a fun, fresh addition to the seven decades-plus of Archie canon. Also, for fans of Riverdale this is a must read as the IRL Archies’ classic track “Jingle Jangle” (yep, there was an actual Archie-inspired pop band in the ’60s) is where the moniker for the TV show’s outrageous new party drug came from. We’ve always got those easter eggs covered!

Are you stoked to see The Archies back in action? Can’t wait to see CHVRCHES in the world of Archie? Hoping for a CHVRCHES x Josie and The Pussycats crossover soon? Let us know in the comments!

Images: Archie Comics

Would You Be Able to Survive the Apocalypse?

As nerds, the apocalypse and, more specifically, the post-apocalypse are topics near and dear to our hearts, ones which have been explored in everything from Fallout to Mad Max: Fury Road to Barb Wire (which I mention because it takes place in 2017). However, the looming spectre of the apocalypse has become all too real lately. Turning on the news can paint a dire picture of the world around us. With catastrophic weather systems devastating the globe, deeply discomfiting robots just waiting to rise up and tear us limb from limb, and constant threats of thermonuclear war pouring out 140-to-280 characters at a time, the end of days can feel like an inevitability at times. Naturally, we can’t help but wonder how we would actually fare in an end-of-the-world scenario.

Since we don’t have access to nuclear weapons, we settled for the next best thing: sending our intrepid reporter Jason Nguyen to Wasteland Weekend in California’s Mojave Desert where, for one weekend each year, thousands of people come together to live like they are in a burnt-out, post-apocalyptic hellscape. It’s equal parts cosplay extravaganza, insane auto show, and live-action role-playing experiment — like Burning Man by way of Fury Road.

While in the desert, Jason quickly adapted to the new lawless existence in which he found himself, shedding his civilian identity and becoming the Bone Lord, a nightmarish warlord who wears the bones of his enemies as a fashion accessory. Encountering souped-up battle-cars to recruiting members for his own war clan to surviving a run-in with Immortan Joe and his War Boys, Jason didn’t just get a taste of the post-apocalypse; he got an all-you-can-eat buffet full of shiny, chrome delights.

Have you been to Wasteland Weekend? Share your stories with us in the comments below!

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

DRAGONBALL Z Fan Film Perfectly Recreates the Android Saga

It’s not every day you see a fan film eclipse its big budget studio counterpart, but that looks to be the case with Dragonball Z: Light of Hope. The 35-minute short film from Robot Underground does more with the Dragonball Z franchise than 2009’s live-action Dragonball: Evolution could ever hope to accomplish.

Light of Hope, which we found over at io9, puts the spotlight on the future timeline of the anime’s Android Saga. This story arc saw Androids 17 and 18 reign supreme, having defeated the majority of the Z Fighters minus young Trunks, his mentor Gohan, and mother Bulma. After unsuccessfully defeating Androids 17 and 18 in the future, Bulma devises a plan to build a time machine to send Trunks to the past and stop the villains before their rise to power. Thankfully, you won’t miss Goku and the others, because this fan film is actually good!

One immediate takeaway after watching the film is the level of care taken in selecting the movie’s soundtrack. The music decreases during quiet moments between Trunks and survivors of the Androids’ path of destruction, and then picks back up to increase the drama ahead of a confrontation. Considering this is a fan film, the special effects aren’t bad either. Trunks’ attempt to power up features energy radiating off his body, and the creators emulated the quick teleporting-style movements that the fighters use to dodge attacks. Not to mention the awesomely recreated video game fight sequences.

Whoever did the costume design for Light of Hope deserves a raise. Robot Underground nailed the look of each character, from Trunks and Bulma’s hair color to Gohan’s familiar orange sparring shirt. Take a look for yourself below.

Bulma

 

Gohan

 

Android 17 & Android 18

What are your thoughts on Dragonball Z: Light of Hope? Did it capture the spirit of the original anime? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Images: Robot Underground

Tim Adams is a freelance writer who loves comics and the TV and movies that feature them. Follow him on Twitter!

More from the world of anime!

Thor: Ragnarok becomes a Chibi Anime in this Japanese promo
J.J. Abrams is developing a
The food of Studio Ghibli as seen in real life!