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September 2, 2017
Watch Michael Rooker Snore Through a Critical GUARDIANS 2 Scene
Against all expectations, Michael Rooker‘s Yondu emerged as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2‘s beating heart thanks to his performance, a handful of instantly iconic lines (“I’m Mary Poppins Y’all!”), and an emotional arc that brings the story full circle. The film is arguably among Rooker’s best work to date, but even Rooker wasn’t immune to fatigue or flubs on the set. Director James Gunn has released a new behind-the-scenes clip from one of Yondu’s most pivotal scenes.
(Click the images to get the videos started.)
According to Gunn, Rooker’s snoring was not a joke, and he added that “this was going on constantly while we were trying to shoot this scene, and it is completely real.” As you can see in the clip, Chris Pratt manages to complete most of Star-Lord’s eulogy for his surrogate father before Rooker’s snores cut off his lines. Judging by the way that Pratt and the rest of the cast barely react to the sounds coming from Rooker, it seems safe to suggest that he had been out for a while.
Rooker may have slept through the emotional funeral for his character, but he got one of the best sendoffs that any Marvel Studios film has given to date. While it’s not entirely out of the question for Rooker to reprise his role, we suspect that Yondu’s future appearances will be limited to flashbacks and hallucinations.
Gunn also posted a video of Rooker in full Yondu makeup as he and Dave Bautista played ping pong on the set. As it turns out Drax is also the Destroyer of table tennis.
Images: Marvel Studios
Not Done Saving the Galaxy?
You almost don’t want to eat this miniature Groot bread.
More hilarious Guardians 2 bloopers (twoopers, if you will).
How will the Guardians join Infinity War?
Nerdist Podcast: Dominic Monaghan (TWCH)
“You All Everybody!” It’s time to crank up some Drive Shaft, because former Lost star Dominic Monaghan is Talking with Chris Hardwick! Last Sunday, Dominic joined our founder, Chris Hardwick, for another episode of his late night AMC talk show. But this is our special extended edition of Chris’ conversation with Dominic, and there’s nothing held back here!
With everything on the table for Dominic, Chris had a chance to talk about his signature role as Charlie on Lost, and why his exit from that series came at the perfect time to make an impact. They also speculated what Lost would have been like in the age of social media, after Dominic explained why he doesn’t want a cell phone and how some early advice from Chris led to his twitter addiction. They also touched upon toxicity in fandom, and its more violent counterpart among sports fans.
Dominic also shared a few stories from his years working on The Lord of the Rings trilogy, including one fan’s quest to collect the nine members of the Fellowship, as well as a healthy headbutt from one of his co-stars to mark his birthday. Dominic also told Chris his favorite memory from that era, as well as his desire to film “The Scouring of the Shire” from Return of the King.
Additionally, Chris raved about Dominic’s role in the horror film, Pet, and his most recent movie, Atomica. Additionally, they spoke about their mutual love of video games and what kind of a Doctor that Dominic would be if he had been cast Doctor Who‘s newest star.
Make sure to watch Talking with Chris Hardwick Sunday nights at 11pm on AMC or on amc.com/talking! The extended audio will premiere as a podcast here every Friday after a new episode makes its AMC debut.
September 1, 2017
Should We Take Those Leonardo DiCaprio as the Joker Rumors Seriously?
A new report says Warner Bros. brought Martin Scorsese on as executive producer of its Joker origin film because they hope he can get Leonardo DiCaprio to play the lead role. Seriously? Seriously. But would that be a laughable casting choice? That’s what we tried to figure out on today’s Nerdist News Talks Back, along with the breaking down the Deadpool 2 teaser-teaser, and the “end” of Harry Potter 19 years in the making.
On today’s show host Jessica Chobot and her own henchman, Bizarre States‘s Andrew Bowser, and Nerdist News writers Aliza Pearl and Jon Ford, tried figuring out what the hell these Leonardo DiCaprio as the Joker reports are about. They asked important questions like “wait, what?” and “really?” But would Leo ever actually take on the role, and if he did would he be any good in it? They also took some time to laugh about how angry Jared Leto reportedly is about the whole thing, as well as Gotham’s own Ross-Rachel story: is Batfleck coming or going?
Then they broke the fourth wall to talk about the new Deadpool 2 teaser…for the teaser. Because that’s a thing we have to deal with now. But more importantly, they also discussed what they expect from the movie, especially since the original has proven to be so influential.
And finally, Friday, September 1st, 2017 (a.k.a. the day we filmed this), is the date of the epilogue in the Harry Potter franchise, when Harry and Ginny sent their youngest son Albus Severus off to Hogwarts for the first time. And while that might have been the last scene in the novels and films, it wasn’t the end of J.K. Rowling’s wizarding world. But are four more Fantastic Beasts sequels enough to scratch our Potter itch (they probably have a potion for that), or do you wish you had a magic wand to make another spin-off happen?
And since today also marks where the play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child starts, did you read the “eighth book,” or did the mixed reviews keep you away from it?
Remember, if you want to chime in with your comments and questions during the show, tune in live weekdays at 1:00p.m. PST on Nerdist’s YouTube and Alpha channels. That way you can help us wrap our heads around the fact that any kid born in the last 19 years has only known a world without Voldemort.
And soon all newborns might only know one where Leonardo DiCaprio played the Joker.
What do you think about today’s topics? We want to hear from you in the comments below.
Images: Warner Bros.
GAME OF THRONES Fan Art with Ice Queen Dany, Jonerys, and More
Halt! This here post is dark and full of spoilers for Game of Thrones season seven.
The Long Night is about to begin for Game of Thrones fans. HBO hasn’t announced the premiere date for the final season of the series, but we’re going to have wait through at least one winter to get there (probably more). But you know what? It’s okay. We’re resourceful human beings. We’re keeping ourselves tied to Westeros however we can, and today, we’re doing so by drooling over fan art.
Jon and Daenerys (Jonerys), the Night King using a decaying Viserion to take down the Wall, Drogon lighting everyone on fire–season seven was packed with fan art fodder. Let’s start with an illustration by Tata Che that spans the seasons. You’re going to want to look at the full piece in detail at her Facebook page.
A post shared by Tata Che (@tata_che_art) on Aug 2, 2017 at 10:44am PDT
Speaking of Jonerys, I give you Exhibit A by Hikaru Yagi:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BYN5CTVH7OA/
Exhibit B by Xia Taptara:
A post shared by XIA Taptara 黃曉聲 (@xiataptara01) on May 14, 2017 at 6:34pm PDT
Exhibit C by Lea Litvak:
https://lealitvak.tumblr.com/post/164765106773/modern-got-au
My boy Davos Seaworth by Marci Brinker.
A post shared by Marci Brinker (@marcibrinker) on Aug 25, 2017 at 6:44am PDT
Pardon me while I fan myself after looking at this Jaime Lannister art by Tomek Pilarz.
A post shared by Tomasz Pilarz (@tepesart) on Aug 22, 2017 at 10:07am PDT
Queen Cersei look intimidating as hell by Erdie Jeaño Bunda.
A post shared by Erdie Jeaño Bunda (@erdjie) on Jul 6, 2016 at 2:28am PDT
A twist on the Night King by Carina Zanner.
https://coffeeandflowers-art.tumblr.com/post/164782034605
This version of the Night King by Limbasan-San is scarier version than the one on the show.
https://limbasan-san.tumblr.com/post/164756955372/night-king-game-of-thrones-fanart-pencils-on
I hope this Arya and Gendry scene drawn by Avian Anderson happens next season.
http://doodlebuggy.tumblr.com/post/164708575576/i-wanted-an-arya-gendry-reunion-dang-it-since-we
And I’ll leave you with this possible terrifying ending to the show by Enya Mahuta.
A post shared by Enya Mahuta (@enyamahuta) on Aug 20, 2017 at 3:56pm PDT
Do you create any sort of pop culture-inspired art? If so, I want to see it. Whether you focus on a specific fandom or pull inspiration from multiple stories and mediums, I’d like to highlight what you do. If you’re interested in being featured in a future edition of Fan Art Friday, get in touch with me at alratcliffe@yahoo.com with examples of your work. If you’re not an artist, feel free to email me with recommendations for Fan Art Friday!
Want to see more fan art?
Art of the one and only Pickle Rick.
Stay hungry with art of Disneyland food.
Justice League meets A League of Their Own in this mash-up.
Featured Image: Tata Che
GAME OF THRONES’ 7th Season Comes Alive in Beautiful Death Posters
Game of Thrones‘ seventh season might not have felt as deadly as past years, and yet it started with a mass poisoning, had a huge naval attack, featured thousands of people being burned alive by dragonflame, and oh yeah, the Night King killed Viserion. That’s a lot of deaths. But it’s not that we need to see people (and dragons) get killed, it’s just that without all of that carnage we wouldn’t have another season of artist Robert Ball’s stunning Beautiful Death series.
We’ve covered Ball’s fantastic pieces before, where he highlights certain deaths from individual episodes, and this year’s were as good as ever. He once again managed to make acts of the macabre into masterpieces of mayhem. As always, a big part of what makes these so good (beyond how great they look) are the incredible details, like how “Walder Frey’s” throat is slit in the poster for the season’s first episode, and “his” reflection in the ice is a wolf.
Dragonstone: Season 7, Episode 1
We didn’t think we could enjoy Arya’s House Frey toast anymore than we did, but we were wrong.
Of course, this season was the first time the biggest death wasn’t a person, but a creature. Watching the Night King bring down Viserion with his magical ice javelin wasn’t easy, but Ball’s piece commemorating it is a lot more enjoyable to look at.
Beyond the Wall: Season 7, Episode 6
At least something good came out of the Night King getting a dragon.
You can find the rest of his season seven works in our gallery below. If you want to work your way through the entire series (trust us, you do) all of his past pieces are on the Beautiful Death website.
Because death doesn’t always have to be so ugly.
Which poster from this season is your favorite? What about from past years? Draw up your thoughts in our comments below.
WANT MORE GAME OF THRONES?
What role might Bran play in Game of Thrones‘ endgame
How might Jon Snow compare to past Targaryen kings?
How Dany’s House of the Undying vision prepares us for Thrones‘ future
Images: Beautiful Death/Robert Ball
Could a Leonardo DiCaprio JOKER Movie Save the DCEU?
Why so serious? Last month, it was revealed that Warner Bros. is considering a stand-alone Joker movie from The Hangover director Todd Phillips and cinematic icon, Martin Scorsese. Now it seems that WB may have additional motivation to get Scorsese on board, if they really want to recruit Leonardo DiCaprio to play the Joker in his solo film. Today’s Nerdist News is sending a message to the Caped Crusaders about why a DiCaprio Joker movie could save the DC Extended Universe!
Join host and the Joker of Flashpont, Jessica Chobot, as she dives into The Hollywood Reporter‘s scoop on the multiple cinematic Jokers. First, it has to be said that even the original report states that DiCaprio hasn’t been approached and Scorsese hasn’t officially joined the Joker stand-alone solo film. But the project is very real, and the studio’s interest in Leo isn’t that hard to believe at all.
DiCaprio has firmly established himself as one of the best actors in Hollywood, and he doesn’t typically go for franchise films. It’s thought that Scorsese has the best chance of landing DiCaprio, but the studio appears to be willing to hire another actor of his caliber for the role. In other words, they want a serious actor for their serious Joker movie.
But what about the Joker that they already have? THR’s latest report suggests that Jared Leto was less than pleased with some other actor take the part of a lifetime away from him. That may be why the Joker & Harley Quinn movie got such a fast track announcement last week. That should smooth over any hurt feelings it may have also helped the DCEU simply adding a new movie to the lineup that wasn’t there to begin with.
There is the potential that casual comic book movie fans will be confused by two Jokers on the big screen, but it’s not without precedent! In 2016, during the lead up to DC Rebirth, Geoff Johns established that there are three Jokers in the DC Universe. We still haven’t gotten an explanation for that one, but if multiple Jokers can co-exist on the page, shouldn’t their big screen counterparts do the same?
Are you excited about the possibility of DiCaprio starring in The Joker? Make us laugh in the comment section below.
More news from the DCEU!
9 of The Joker’s best origin stories in the comics.
Why a Batman Beyond movie needs Michael Keaton.
Wonder Woman epilogue scene teases a Justice League connection.
Enter Porg Paradise with Our STAR WARS FORCE FRIDAY Round-Up
Hello weary travelers! The magnificence of Force Friday has descended upon us again, and this time it brings with it a tidal wave of cute creatures. Yes, we mean the porgs! Ahch-To’s native critters—penguin-like birds who will seemingly play a large part in this year’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Will they be the new Ewoks? Well, we LOVE Ewoks, so we can only hope that’s the case! As always, these toy reveals are plentiful and also hint at plot beats and character connections. If we’re to glean anything from the plethora of porgs on offer, it’s definitely that they’ll be teaming up with Chewbacca in some form or another, as was already hinted at in The Last Jedi BTS stills we’ve seen.
So without further ado here are all the Porg products you can take home this Force Friday weekend!
Of course, Funko are on top of all your cute critter needs with these Star Wars: The Last Jedi plushes, featuring TWO porgs for your plushie pleasure.
The first of five porg POP!s, this little cutie is ready for action on your collectables shelf.
This limited edition porg seems to be homaging that infamous Jaws poster—deep cut crossover there, Funko. We dig it. This is a chase variant so you’ll have to head into your local Hot Topic to grab it!
Target is pulling out the big guns with this exclusive porg who looks like he’s just about done with the First Order’s ish.
One of the two exclusive Hot Topic flocked porgs, this guy is cute, cuddly, and ready to save the galaxy!
As we mentioned earlier, there’s a smattering of Chewie/Porg team-up toys and this FYE exclusive flocked POP! is just one of them.
Funko is also offering this Chewie/Porg wobbler for your vinyl collection!
Yahoo! movies had an early image of this rather rad Chewie die cast figure with, YOU GUESSED IT, PORGS!! This will be available exclusively at Disney store on October 27th.
Need a porg pen? To plan the downfall of the First Order? No worries! Funko has, of course, got one of those too!
For those of you who want to snuggle up to the porgs day and night, Disney Store have you covered with these Porgtastic PJs.
Disneyland obviously got in on the action with some rad Force Friday merch, including this classic porg sweater. Which you can grab online at Disney Store.
The most magical place on Earth also came through with this insanely cute porg mug. That you also can smuggle home from the online store.
And for Disney regulars, you can even get a Disney Magicband starring Chewie and the porgs.
If you get hot and bothered in the queues at Walt’s World, don’t worry! Just sip from this rad Chewie and the porgs water bottle! They’re here to save the Galaxy! And YOU from dehydration! You can pre order-it now!
If porg plushies are more up your alley, we’ve got you! This slightly disheveled looking guy makes noises and moves when you cuddle him.
This classic porg plushie makes noises and looks hella cute whilst also looking at you intensely with his soulless eyes.
This plushie / blanket combo from Northwest is one of our favorite Force Friday finds, with the most incredible ’90s poster art of Chewie and his brand new bird buds!
Even your pets can get in on the action with these porgs from Petco. The rope-legged chew toy looks like he already knows his grisly fate, and the porg plush and dog blanket looks cozy enough for any self-respecting canine Star Wars fan.
If you want to learn more about Chewie and his porg pals, you can pre-order this uber cute picture book by Kevin Shinick and Fiona Hsieh.
And, of course, what would Force Friday be without some good ol’ LEGO? Yup! That’s a v cute LEGO porg. IRL. Seriously. But to own him you’ll have to buy the EPIC Ultimate Collectors Edition Millennium Falcon!
For the more discerning amongst us there are these porg cufflinks and porg tie! Cos why the porg not?
PHEW! Well, that’s the best of our porg products for now. Which of these will you be picking up this Force Friday? What do you think Chewie is really up to with these creepily cute creatures? Let us know in the comments!
Want More Force Friday II News?
Build your own droid!
Check out this Largest-Ever Millennium Falcon LEGO set.
Even more LEGO Star Wars stuff.
And finally, All of Funko’s Star Wars toys.
Images: Disney, Lucasfilm, Target, Hot Topic, Yahoo Movies, Petco, Funko
RICK AND MORTY’s Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland Take Us Inside “Rest and Ricklaxation”
Last weekend’s episode of Rick and Morty finally got around to the classic sci-fi trope of literally splitting the heroes into good and bad halves. Except it wasn’t quite as simple to define Toxic Rick and Morty as “bad,” since Toxic Rick cared more about Morty’s life than his counterpart and—freed from his insecurities and his conscience—Morty became his own kind of monster before he was forced to take back his toxins. Now, the creative team behind the series is explaining their choices in “Rest and Ricklaxation.”
For this clip, series creators Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland were joined by writers Mike McMahan and Ryan Ridley as they each shared their thoughts on the episode. “What are the toxins? They’re the emotions,” said Ridley. “The things you don’t like about yourself. If you remove the toxins, that doesn’t leave you as a better you. It leaves you as a weird, different bad version of you.”
One of the reasons that this went so badly for Rick and Morty is that they had internally defined what was toxic about themselves and the alien machine acted accordingly. That’s why neither the toxic Rick and Morty nor their counterparts were truly complete without each other. But that doesn’t mean that it wasn’t hilarious watching them try to destroy themselves.
There won’t be a new episode of Rick and Morty this weekend, but there will be a marathon of the six episodes from season 3 starting at 11:00pm EST/PST on Sunday, September 3.
What did you think about the inside look at “Rest and Ricklaxation”? Burp your responses in the comment section below!
Need More *burp* Rick and Morty? Of Course You Do!
Here are 8 things you may have missed in the episode.
Did you know Funko is making a Pickle Rick?
Here’s that crazy song from the fifth episode in full.
Images: Adult Swim
Our 10 Favorite Songs from THE SIMPSONS
We’ve approached the end of an era and The Simpsons may never sound the same ever again. Alright, that’s probably a bit overly dramatic but we’re still floored by the news this week from Variety that legendary composer Alf Clausen has been let go from The Simpsons after 27 years. The two-time Emmy winner used a 35-piece orchestra for over 560 episodes to compose countless pieces for the show from the very beginning. So, in honor of such an illustrious musical career, here are some of our favorite Simpsons songs that Clausen composed.
“Who Needs the Kwik-E-Mart?”
“Who Needs the Kwik-E-Mart?” was an impromptu musical number in the season five episode “Homer and Apu.” The upbeat song (and Apu’s somber reprise) would be at home in any big Broadway production. Thankfully, we have it in syndication forever.
“We Put the Spring in Springfield”
As far as we know, this song from the 1996 episode “Bart After Dark” is the finest musical number not so subtly about erections ever performed by Homer and the staff of a burlesque house. Not much has been seen of La Maison Derrière since that episode but props to The Simpsons creators for being bold enough to have a business in Springfield basically called “The Ass House.”
“Kamp Krusty Theme Song”
May we never forget the musical oath every camper learns when they stay at Kamp Krusty. The theme song is surprisingly sweet: the campers lovingly accepting the many flaws the Kamp (for whatever reason) proudly has. It’s always been our dream to retire and build a house on the shores of Big Snake Lake and in the shadow of Mt. Avalanche.
The Planet Of The Apes Musical
Fans of The Simpsons can’t hear Falco’s “Rock Me Amadeus” without turning it into “Dr. Zaius” and following it up by belting out an emphatic “I hate every ape I see. From Chimpan A to Chimpan Z.” Should our dreams come true and this musical ever happen IRL–Clausen and his orchestra definitely need to score it.
“Can I Borrow A Feeling?”
The soft rock saxophone Clausen used in “Can I Borrow A Feeling?” perfectly complemented Kirk Van Houten’s sad-sack personality and his desperate attempt win back his wife’s affection with an awkward love song.
“We Do (The Stonecutters’ Song)”
This tune sung by the shadowy Illuminati-esque secret society explains every bit of their dark dealings in a snappy 45 seconds. Of the many, many songs composed for the show, this is certainly one of Clausen’s finest.
“See My Vest”
The episode “Two Dozen and One Greyhounds” was a Disney one-two punch, simultaneously a retelling of 101 Dalmatians and a music parody of Beauty and the Beast. Clausen and his orchestra’s ability to properly match the scope of Disney music in this episode is part of the reason the song is so memorable. That and the fact the lyrics by Michael Scully give us a glimpse into Mr. Burns’ completely messed up fashion sense.
“The Land of Chocolate”
Homer’s dream of a literal land of chocolate is a visually stunning parody of the 1936 short cartoon “Somewhere in Dreamland” but the innocent pixie-like music is what really pulls us into Homer’s insane love of an impossible idea.
“The Garbage Man”
Proper parody is tricky business. Doing things right means being respectful to the source material while still making it your own. With music composed by Clausen and lyrics by Ian Maxtone-Graham, the “The Garbage Man” song is a lesson in great parody taking on the classic “The Candy Man” from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Additionally, it gives us something to sing every time we take out the trash.
“Monorail”
Claiming that there’s just a single best song in the long history of music of The Simpsons is a stunningly foolish claim to make. Well, it would be if Lyle Lanley’s Monorail song didn’t exist. We’re confident that this is the song that most people remember and love from The Simpsons. The song is a semi0parody of selections from the The Music Man and is burned into our memories for all time. Clausen composed the music and Conan O’Brien provided the lyrics for his episode, “Marge vs. the Monorail.”
What’s your favorite Alf Clausen song? Let’s discuss in the comments below!
Image: Fox
STAR WARS: JEDI CHALLENGES Lets You Become an Augmented Reality Jedi
This November, be on the lookout for signs of disruption in the spacetime continuum, because if you buy Lenovo’s new Star Wars: Jedi Challenges kit, your 12-year-old self may travel through time to kill you and take it from your cold, dead hands. Retailing for $199.99, the smartphone-powered augmented reality device will let you fulfill your dreams of becoming a lightsaber-wielding Jedi without the dangers of cutting off a limb or fighting your asthmatic father.
Announced at Star Wars Celebration earlier this year, the Lenovo device will let you do everything from command troops in virtual combat to dueling some of Star Wars‘ most fearsome foes to playing Dejarik and beyond. While not available as part of Force Friday II—the massive event which has unleashed a cavalcade of awesome new Star Wars toys—pre-orders are now open for the AR playset. But rather than just telling you what’s making the Kessel Run to stores this fall, we wanted to show you, so we sent our resident scruffy-looking nerf herder, Jesse Gill, to a press event in Los Angeles where he strapped on Lenovo’s AR goggles and put his skills to the test against the worst son in any galaxy, Kylo Ren.
The system is comprised of three components: a lightsaber controller, a tracking beacon, and Lenovo’s Mirage AR headset. These three devices run in conjunction with Lenovo’s Jedi Challenges mobile app, which runs on an iPhone or Android device that plugs into the headset. The beacon rests on the floor and communicates with the headset to create positional tracking that will allow your lightsaber controller to accurately interact with the augmented version of the galaxy far, far away in which you will immerse yourself. And since this is augmented reality—meaning that you will see the world of Star Wars overlaid on top of our own world—you really will be immersing yourself.
The version we played came with three different modes in which to take your skills from Padawan to Radawan. (Please note: Radawan is not an official ranking…yet.) In “Lightsaber Battles,” players can fight holographic versions of Kylo Ren, Darth Vader, and other Star Wars villains, dodging and parrying their blows in an attempt to seize the high ground. In “Strategic Combat,” you take on the role of battlefield commander, building outposts and marshaling Rebel forces to defeat the Empire in a large-scale ground assault. Last, but not least is “Holochess,” the three-dimensional strategy game that Chewbacca seems preternaturally gifted at playing. You’ll need every bit of wit and wile in your grey matter to outsmart your opponents and make your tiny alien pieces march to victory. Whether or not you let the Wookiee win is up to you.
What do you think of Star Wars: Jedi Challenges? What other AR experiences would you like to see? Let us know in the comments below.
Want More Star Wars?
Here are 9 things we just learned about Phasma.
Look at all the Force Friday II swag out there!
Luke Skywalker has a dark new look — and we’re talking about it.
Images: Lucasfilm/Lenovo
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