Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 1938

Why Do We Keep Watching the Punishingly Cruel BLACK MIRROR?

With Black Mirror‘s fourth season meant to drop at some point later in the year on Netflix (it could be there right now! Hiding behind a stand-up special on the main menu! Who knows!), Evan Puschak aka The Nerdwriter has a new video exploring the question of why we keep watching the frequently oppressive show.

The central question is why we reward a show with our attention when it hands us a deeper pit of despair in return. Normally with tragedy you’d at least get a sense of closure, but Charlie Brooker’s series almost always offers a middle finger where the catharsis is supposed to be.

Puschak does a stellar job of concisely outlining the ancient rules of tragedy by using a modern example we all know and obsess over, and does equally well digging through the corpses that make Black Mirror compelling beyond its abuse.

I absolutely love this video. Not just because it’s sharp and incisive, but because it offers a framework for how we might think and assess one of the more enigmatic shows of our generation. We tend to name-check The Twilight Zone when talking about Black Mirror, but the comparison feels like putting on a wet bathing suit, like comparing the school bully to the librarian. And I think The Nerdwriter puts a finger on why that parallel (in spite of the science fiction family bond) has always felt a bit wobbly beyond the harsh nihilism of the newer show. The Twilight Zone went into some dark places, too, but its spoonful of moral sugar always helped the medicine go down in a way that reminded you that it’s only a show. Black Mirror isn’t interested in alienating us from its potential reality.

Life’s hard, and rarely comes with lessons, and most of us will just keep on watching.

But, seriously, if you’re trying to get a friend hooked on the show, ease them in by skipping the pig episode and get back to it later. Trust me.

Images: Netflix

Wallow in More Dystopia

Are we heading towards a Blade Runner-style future?
Black Mirror might make sequels for past episodes.
A dystopia where nanobots paralyze people for convenience.

Can PACIFIC RIM UPRISING Outdo the Original?

Do bigger Kaijus and more powerful Jaegers mean Pacific Rim Uprising can surpass the original movie? We broke down the film’s first trailer to find the answer on today’s Nerdist News Talks Back, along with all the latest on the future of The Fast and the Furious, and if there’s anything to the Kea-news of a third Bill and Ted movie.

Geek and Sundry‘s Amy Vorpahl stepped into the host’s chair today to drift with Nerdist News writer Joan Ford, Bizarre States’ Andrew Bowser, and Mothership producer Derek Johnson. They started by breaking down the first trailer for Pacific Rim Uprising and what they thought of it. What’s happened to the world since the first movie? How will this film stand apart from the original? And are there any surprise returns they’re keeping from us?

They then decided to rock out, since there is so much news about Dwayne Johnson right now, including his “feud” with fellow Fast and Furious costar Tyrese. Are we more excited for the delayed 9th film in the franchise, or for that Rock/Jason Statham spin-off we’re getting before it? Will that change if The Nice Guys’ Shane Black directs the latter? And after all the craziness of the franchise, do we think their final frontier will be going to space?

Finally, we tried to answer if there really is anything to Keanu Reeves‘ comments about making Bill and Ted a trilogy, with the tentatively titled Bill and Ted Face the Music. The film would explore how the Wyld Stallyns never actually recorded that world-changing song. Are we amped up for this, or are we still scarred from the Dumb and Dumber To disaster? And speaking of Keanu, what do we make about screenwriter Zac Penn’s comments about working on some kind of story in the world of The Matrix? Do we want to see that machine get going again?

As always Nerdist News Talks Back was live at 1:00 p.m. PST on our YouTube and Alpha channels, just like it is every weekday. Tune in with us during the show, not only because you can get in on the conversation, but because we never know when a monster will come through the breach and we’ll need you to drift with us to stop the Apocalypse.

But we still want you to talk back to us about today’s topics, by sharing your thought in the comments section below.

Need More Talks Back?

Here we are chuckling alongside Harrison Ford at Ryan Gosling.
Could the Venom movie be on that genre-bending tip?
And finally, some thoughts on Justice League.

Featured Image: Legendary

Bill and Ted Image: Orion Pictures

Bellatrix, Effie Trinket, and More Nearly Perfect Cosplay by F. Lovett

When you’ve been cosplaying for five years, you tend to build a varied and impressive portfolio. F. Lovett Cosplay has done that with her takes on a variety of characters from pop culture. One of her looks that especially jumps out at me is her Bellatrix Lestrange costume. She looks like she walked out of a Harry Potter movie. I’m a little scared.

Bellatrix Lestrange (Harry Potter)

Lovett has tackled a couple of Effie Trinket’s costumes from The Hunger Games as well, and I have to say, she’s made Effie’s District 13 ensemble look quite stylish.

Effie Trinket (The Hunger Games)

Make a trip to the gallery below to see more of Lovett’s hard work. You’ll find more Bellatrix and Effie, a wicked Rita Repulsa ensemble inspired by the recent Power Rangers film, Emily from Corpse Bride, and Rogue from X-Men.

Do you cosplay or take photographs of cosplayers? If so, I want to see your work so we can talk about highlighting your creations in a future Cosplay Friday gallery. If you’re interested, please get in touch with me at alratcliffe@yahoo.com and send photos you’d like me to feature — the more high-res the photos, the better. Be sure to provide credits for the cosplayers or photographers for each image because giving credit is good manners–bonus points if you include links to relevant Facebook pages or websites. I don’t know all about every nerdy franchise, so please let me know who or what is being cosplayed.

Images: Camera Geek and Lucas Marinho Photography, courtesy of F. Lovett

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

More Fantastic Cosplay and Where to Find It

A battle-ready Thor: Ragnarok costume.
A fierce Wonder Woman Amazon cosplay group.
A fishy Breath of the Wild Mipha cosplay.

Emily (Corpse Bride)

Bellatrix Lestrange (Harry Potter)

Effie Trinket (The Hunger Games)

Rita Repulsa (Power Rangers)

Rogue (X-Men: Evolution)

Marvel’s RUNAWAYS Pits the Kids Against Their Supervillain Parents in First Teaser

What if your parents were evil? Not just like, annoying, but full-on supervillain. What would you do? That was the central question behind Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona’s Runaways comic book series. Taking place in a corner of the Marvel Universe that was rarely explored, it brought together an unlikely group of teens who were only united by their opposition to their parents. And next month, the Runaways are joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe with a new series on Hulu. At New York Comic Con, the first trailer was finally revealed and it covers some key moments in the team’s origin story.

As you may have surmised from the trailer, the kids don’t exactly like each other, since they were only brought together by their parents. They may have been friends at one point, but they’ve clearly grown apart. Unfortunately for Alex, Nico, Karolina, Gert, Chase, and Molly, their parents are secretly the villains known as the Pride and in these clips, the kids unintentionally discover their parents’ true nature after witnessing a human sacrifice.

The new footage offers up our first glimpse at Old Lace, the genetically engineered dinosaur who is loyal and bonded to Gert, while also teasing Karolina’s alien heritage and Nico’s latent magical abilities. In the comics, Molly was a much younger girl who was also a super strong mutant. She’ll probably be an Inhuman in this incarnation, but her powers will remain intact. As for Alex, his superpower is his mind, and he’s the one who may be able to bring down the Pride with a little help from his friends.

The first season of Runaways will premiere on Tuesday, November 21 on Hulu.

What did you think about the first trailer for Runaways? Try not to die in the comment section below!

Need More Runaways?

Here’s everything you need to know about the characters.
Here’s what we learned from the cast earlier this year.
And finally, did you know they’re getting a new comic book series?

Images: Hulu/Marvel TV

SPONGEBOB’s New Halloween Song is a Spooky Stop Motion Jam (Exclusive)

We were already planning on spending this October’s Friday the 13th in the deep, dark depths of the terrifying town of Bikini Bottom (what? we scare easy and we love Patrick, okay?), and that was before we learned it would feature a chorus of singing pirate ghosts. If we had any doubts we were going to the right place on that spookiest of days, a new song from the upcoming SpongeBob Squarepants Halloween special scared us straight.

This exclusive clip from Nickelodeon‘s upcoming stop motion special SpongeBob SquarePants: The Legend of Boo-Kini Bottom, features the delightful “The Scare Song.” It accompanies SpongeBob and Patrick on a creepy theme park ride, as the Flying Dutchman’s crew of pirate ghosts try to convince the pair why they should be frightened. Although it seems to work more on Patrick than it does on SpongeBob, who smiles and giggles his way through the whole thing.

We can’t blame him for that though, because this reminds us of those classic holiday-special songs we grew up with and has us smiling, too.

“The Scare Song” was written by the show’s Mr. Lawrence, who not only voices Plankton on the series, he also wrote this Halloween special. We’ve told you before about how much work went into creating this 3D-rendition of Bikini Bottom, and in addition to giving us a sneak peek/listen to one of the new songs, this clip highlights just how gorgeous the whole thing looks.

So yeah, maybe spending Friday the 13th with SpongeBob isn’t the scariest choice we could make, but it sure is a fun one. Even if it will involve a bunch of pirate ghosts.

SpongeBob SquarePants: The Legend of Boo-Kini Bottom debuts on Nickelodeon on October 13 at 7 p.m. ET.

What Halloween song did this one remind you of? Wade into our comments section below to let us know.

More Spoopy Spongebob?

Watch the trailer for Spongebob’s stop motion Halloween special.
7 non-scary stop motion flicks to enjoy this Halloween.
Is The Nightmare Before Christmas a Halloween movie?

Images: Nickelodeon

Welcome to Nerdoween! Throughout the month of October, we’ll be celebrating everything spooky, macabre, and just plain weird. Nerdoween 2017 is presented by Alpha, our interactive membership service, which offers you exclusive content from Nerdist and Geek & Sundry, as well as a 10% discount on all of our merch.

Read the First 6 Pages of DOOMSDAY CLOCK

There’s been much speculation about Geoff Johns and Gary Frank’s long awaited Watchmen-adjacent book, Doomsday Clock. From the first moment we saw Batman pick up the Comedian’s iconic smiley face button in the last page of DC Rebirth #1, we knew some seriously strange stuff was going to happen in the DCU. The publisher stayed tight-lipped until last night when we found out ourselves in a top secret venue sequestered away behind Owlman’s iconic flood doors in deepest darkest Manhattan, where we were treated to a sneak peak at the highly anticipated and controversial Doomsday Clock #1.

DC described the culture clash comic as “a story for our time that brings the greatest heroes and villains from the DC Universe together with the mysterious forces from the Watchmen Universe.” Geoff Johns stated that it’s “the best work I’ve ever done,” and from the sneak peak of we saw of the first issue we have to say that we’re so excited to see what comes next! Even though we can’t share all of Doomsday Clock’s secrets, we’re thrilled to show you the first six pages of the book that DC released in a special black and white zine just for NYCC!

For those of you yet to read Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons, and John Higgins seminal story, Watchmen revolves around a group of outlawed superheroes in an alternate timeline where caped crusaders are a recognized part of the cultural landscape. The book is widely regarded as one of the best comic books of all time, and many fans were shocked when DC announced they’d bring these characters into the main DCU, mixing this cult classic with their modern roster.

For Geoff Johns, this was an exciting opportunity to work with characters who’d defined his comic book fandom. He’s openly and wildly passionate about the chance to work with these seminal creations. “Thematically, and metaphorically, there was no better choice than to use Dr. Manhattan. If you’re going to have a conflict between optimism and pessimism, a battle between the very forces of hope and despair, you need to have someone who personifies the cynicism that’s leaked into our hearts and also has the ability to affect the entire DCU,” Johns enthused. The ashcan sets up the world of Doomsday Clock, establishing a distinct time and place. It’s November 1992, seven years after the events of the original book. The world is in disarray, the actions of Watchmen’s big bad Ozymandias–aka Adrian Veight–still being felt around the globe. Old Ozy isn’t the only character that we meet in this dystopian teaser. We also see the return of the face (or mask) of Rorschach. Moore and Gibbons’ iconic anti-hero was thought to be dead… so what can this last page reveal really mean? Well, you’ll have to wait until the first issue is released on November 22nd to find out! But to keep you going until then, you can enjoy the FULL NYCC EXCLUSIVE ashcan in our gallery below.

How do you feel now that we’ve gotten our first glimpse at the world of Doomsday Clock? Still frustrated that DC is messing with these critical characters? Happy that someone is breaking down the mythology of Watchmen for modern audiences? Just super happy to see Batman actually doing some detecting? Let us know in the comments!

Images: DC Entertainment

More news from the world of comics!

We dissect the success of The Gifted vs. Inhumans ‘ failings!
From NYCC, check out the poster for CW Seed’s new Constantine animated series !
Our list of the best Batman animated episodes!

DUCKTALES, Baymax, and More Disney Characters Explore The Haunted Mansion

The Haunted Mansion has been a Disney Parks favorite since the first ride opened inDisneyland’s New Orleans Square back in 1969. In the years that followed, the “grim grinning ghosts” have become iconic parts of the Disney canon (although many fans pretend that the movie with Eddie Murphy never happened).

Now we’ve learned that the 999 Happy Haunts are set to appear in a series of stop-motion animated on-air promos set in Disneyland’s version of the Haunted Mansion debuting on Disney XD beginning Saturday, October 7. The first one features the lovable Baymax from Big Hero 6, and you can check it out down below:

The spots feature the Hatbox Ghost, a character who debuted in the original Haunted Mansion, but was quickly pulled from the ride due to technical issues. The Hatbox Ghost showed up on Haunted Mansion merchandise for years regardless, and he became something of an urban legend. Finally, a couple of years back, the animatronic debuted with updated technology, and he’s become a fan favorite ever sense. In the second clip below, you can see him interacting with Huey, Dewey, Louie, and Webby from Ducktales.

The last of the three spots feature the characters from Star vs. The Forces of Evil, which is set inside the mansion instead of outside in the graveyard, which you can watch here.

Are these spots a test for a new Haunted Mansion stop motion movie or Halloween special of some sort? We can only hope. A few years back, Disney announced Guillermo del Toro was planning a movie based on the mansion, but it never came to fruition. If we can’t get a Guillermo del Toro movie, a Nightmare Before Christmas-style stop motion film would be just as welcome. As long as they find a way to include the attraction’s iconic music, we’re all in!

Do these new TV spots have you hoping for more Haunted Mansion material coming from Disney? Let us know in the comments below.

Want more from Disneyland?

A preview of Disney’s Star Wars Land!
36 easter eggs from the Guardians of the Galaxy ride.
Disney wants to add humanoid robots to its theme parks…

Images: Disney XD

Everything You Missed In the PACIFIC RIM UPRISING Trailer

New York Comic Con got off to a great start Friday morning with the debut of the first trailer from Pacific Rim Uprising. There were giant Kaiju like you wouldn’t believe, upgraded Jaeger teams, and all the John Boyega you could handle. It’s easy to get lost in the action and spectacle, but the new trailer had several intriguing details that may fill in some of the gaps between the first movie and its sequel. Today’s Nerdist News is all about everything you may have missed in the first look at Pacific Rim Uprising!

Join host and LA’s most drift compatible pilot, Jessica Chobot, as she takes us through the breach. First, let’s check out the new Jaeger models. The only thing that we love more than giant monsters are the giant robots that were constructed to fight giant monsters. It looks like the Jaegers have become very streamlined in the decade since the events of the first film. They’re no longer the bulky monstrosities of the past, and they’ve received some major upgrades in the weapons department.

One of the more surprising shots in the trailer featured a young girl as the solo pilot of her own Jaeger, which is a major departure from the previous stated limitations. The fact that she’s wearing civilian clothing makes us believe that this may be a DIY Jaeger that was built out of discarded parts from previous models. The official Jaegers have much bigger cockpits than they did in the last movie, and it could mean that the pilots can now operate their robots remotely. But that’s just speculation for now.

The trailer doesn’t really address how and why the Jaeger tech has evolved so quickly in the last decade. But there is one shot of two Jaegers in battle that seems to suggest an answer. With the Kaiju threat seemingly over, it would make sense if humanity used Jaegers to fight each other in the future. Perhaps the reemergence of the Kaiju is just the thing that people needed to come back together and unite against their common enemy.

There may be even more to this film than we’ve been led to believe. Last night, we caught up to director Steven S. DeKnight, and he hinted that this movie might be the start of a Pacific Rim cinematic universe! Pacific Rim Uprising will be unleashed on theaters on March 23, 2018. And we are so ready to go back to the drift.

What did you think about the first trailer from Pacific Rim Uprising? Let us know in the comment section below!

Rise Up Here for More Pac Rim:

Here are more details about the latest trailer.
Did you hear Rinko Kikuchi is coming back to the franchise?
And here’s the first teaser!

Images: Legendary Pictures

Editor’s note: Nerdist Industries is a subsidiary of Legendary Digital Networks.

A Bladed Yo-Yo in Slow-Mo is Oddly Zen, Incredibly Dangerous

The sound of spinning razor blades slicing through a hot dog in slow motion is a lot like a couple of people giving each other very tender kisses. But don’t take that disgusting statement on faith. Watch the video below of a bladed yo-yo absolutely shredding tubes of both meat and toothpaste and find yourself suddenly transported to a very zen place surrounded by the sounds of people sucking face.

The ninja star on a string — that’s basically what this is, no? — was created by YouTuber and autodidactically trained tinkerer Giaco Whatever, who’s based in Italy. As expected from a guy whose last name is “Whatever” (on YouTube anyway), the reason Giaco made the yo-yo with blades is ’cause he could. Literally, he says that at the beginning of the video.

If you’re wondering how you can possibly throw a bladed yo-yo without needing some Deadpool-esque hand regrowth capabilities, the solution Whatever came up with is an ingenious little wooden throwing device, which kind of works like a ChuckIt! tennis ball launcher. But instead of launching a ball, you’re launching rotary death on a string. Also the launcher looks like a little monster, which makes the whole build exactly 5,000 times cooler.

This is actually part of the next video!

A post shared by Giaco (@giacowhatever) on Oct 3, 2017 at 5:08am PDT

This isn’t the first time Whatever has wowed us with his ability to build awesome yet extremely dangerous inventions. He’s also responsible for that bladed drone that “Fruit Ninjas” things with frightening ease as well as that nerf gun that shoots out nerf darts at 2.3 times the speed of sound. 

Speaking of the speed of sound, do you agree that this bladed yo-yo whacking its way through a hot dog in slow-mo sounds like tender kisses? What defenseless tube of household paste would you want to aim this bladed bad boy at? Give us yo-yo thoughts in the comments below!

Images: YouTube / Giaco Whatever

More Weird Weaponry

A fully functional Kingsman umbrella.
Molten metal squirt gun is as awesome as it sounds.
Could a portal gun accidentally end all life on Earth?

Why AOL Instant Messenger Was So Important for Like 5 Years

AOL Instant Messenger will shut down forever on December 15, but that news isn’t shocking. What’s shocking is that it was still around. But just because AIM had long ago been swept into the dustbin of the internet, to spend a digital eternity taking pictures with Tom from MySpace and listening to pirated music on Napster, doesn’t mean its importance should be forgotten. Because for a brief period of time it was the most important form of communication in every teenager’s life, far more than our parents or children will ever understand.

All good things come to an end. On Dec 15, we'll bid farewell to AIM. Thank you to all our users! #AIMemories https://t.co/b6cjR2tSuU pic.twitter.com/V09Fl7EPMx

— AIM (@aim) October 6, 2017

In the mid ’90s, when the internet really became a thing everyone knew and cared about using, most people connected to it through America Online. (They wore us down by sending everyone a free CD. Every day. For years. A scheme that was incredibly effective.) But this was before everyone had cellphones, let alone smartphones, or they could connect to the web from just a browser, so the only other ways to talk to people was to either call them on the phone, or go walk to their house like some kind of athlete.

Instant Messenger changed all of that in 1997. Suddenly you could talk to all of your friends at once. You could make plans for the weekend, discuss what happened at school, and awkwardly flirt with your crush, simultaneously, all from the comfort of your desk. It’s impossible to overstate how ubiquitous AIM was in the lives of teenagers and college students from the late ’90s to the early ’00s, but having a heart-to-heart talk from seven p.m. until four in the morning with someone you only kind of knew was a common occurrence.

RIP AIM
AOL Instant Messenger

We go way back. You were there with me in the beginning of my internet days.

You’ll never be forgotten. pic.twitter.com/lVvj5VLUS0

— Josh