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August 9, 2017
Why Jaime Lannister Sunk So Deep and His Chances of Surviving
Following one of the most stunning battles ever filmed, featuring thousands of Dothraki on horseback and a dragon attack, Game of Thrones‘ fans have one very important question: why was the river so deep at the shore?
Yes we like to nitpick, but in fairness Jaime Lannister‘s deep plunge into the depths of the Blackwater seemed weird since Bronn tackled him right along the coast. However it turns out that might not be as strange or impossible as it seems. Unlike Jaime’s chances of surviving it on his own.
Reddit user Fhaarkas made this graphic using the description of another large river in Westeros to explain how Jaime might have sunk so far down .
[MAIN SPOILERS] An illustration of S07E04 ending from gameofthrones
Jaime went into the Blackwater Rush just outside of King’s Landing, not the Mander River in the Reach, but the description of the Mander could tell us something about the Blackwater. That’s because the Blackwater is also deep, just like Blackwater Bay which was deep enough that Stannis’s large warships could sail down it right to King’s Landing.
Do we think every River in Westeros goes from a couple inches deep to a million in just a few feet? Probably not, but it’s not impossible some of them do.
Which gets to a question that actually matters: can Jaime survive the plunge?
In an interview with The New York Times Nikolaj Coster-Waldau talked about the difficulties of filming the sequence, especially while submerged, and what Jaime was wearing.
“It seems impossible to survive that. Luckily, he’s not wearing the Kingsguard armor, which is made of brass.”
Brass is heavier than steel, which is likely what Jaime’s current suit of armor is made of. That should help, as well as the fact he didn’t seem to be wearing a full suit (which can weigh close to 100 pounds) because even the strongest warriors need help getting in and out of them. Brienne, calmly sitting by a fire, required her squire Pod to help her be free of hers.
But even if his partial suit only weighs 50 pounds a one-handed man under water who can’t see doesn’t seem to have much of a chance of making it out on his own. So when Jaime survives (sorry, “if” he survives, as though the show would have him go out like this right now), it will be because someone saves him, and his lighter, incomplete steel armor might make that possible.
We imagine the first question his rescuer ask will be how he sunk so low just five feet from shore. And that’s a totally fair, not nitpicky question. Sorta.
What do you think about Jaime’s seemingly way-too-deep plunge? Will he make it out? Swim into our comments below and let us know.
Game of Thrones Images: HBO
Meet Janet: The Scissor-Carrying, Jerk-Smacking Superhero We Deserve
Not all heroes wear capes. Sometimes they carry scissors. That’s the case with Janet: a hero only to herself. The green and mildly terrifying (in the very best way) hero was created by Luca for a “make a new superhero” brief at art day camp. Luca’s mom, Amanda Mancino, shared the incredible drawing, and I have to say, I’m ready for The CW to work with them to make a series all about Janet.
My child went to art day-camp today. One project was to make a new superhero. This is what my child made. pic.twitter.com/SvKUoAJJUT
— Amanda Mancino (@Manda_like_wine) August 7, 2017
Janet’s ability is that she “cuts people in half with giant scissors.” You can see how they’re dripping blood in the above image. And that twig? Luca said it’s a twig Janet smacks down jerks with. What I would give to have a jerk-smacking twig!
"a twig that she smacks the jerks down with"
— Amanda Mancino (@Manda_like_wine) August 8, 2017
Luca, you are the coolest.
Twitter lost their minds over the drawing for obvious reasons and responded with art of Janet and and even some quick cosplay. Hey, sometimes we need a green-skinned, scissor-wielding hero to unite us and remind us the internet can be a weird and wonderful place. Some highlights, starting with a piece by Jade Bacalso.
Tell your child that they have a big fan! I made some fanart of Janet. I hope they like it! I hope they continue to create cool things pic.twitter.com/h8y0N6V422
— Jade Bacalso (@domofudge) August 8, 2017
Mike Smith boarded the Janet costume train in a hot minute, but I have a hunch this won’t be the last Janet cosplay we see.
We were gonna give Rosie a bath, but #JANET cosplay seemed like a more productive activity. @Manda_like_wine pic.twitter.com/mOcKbFAjau
— Mike Smith (@MikeAASmith) August 9, 2017
Tom Gran’s nailing it with his art.
Janet is my fav pic.twitter.com/QkxA9MqteK
— Tom Gran (@tommgran) August 8, 2017
I need this Janet story by Anna Lore yesterday.
Janet, Hero To Only Herself, Stood Beneath a Blood Red Sky, Planning her Next Move on the Jerks pic.twitter.com/xqVRYHsTI7
— Anna Lore (@anna_train) August 9, 2017
Finally, Francis Kneebone’s Janet is here to haunt your dreams.
This post made my day – I always draw with my kids – they will totally love the original better tomorrow morning as they should. pic.twitter.com/PqbZtONjBO
— Francis Kneebone (@FrancisKneebone) August 9, 2017
See additional Janet fan art in this Twitter Moments collection.
Are you inspired to draw your own take on Janet? Please tag us if you share it on Twitter: @nerdist and @amy_geek. Head to the comments and place your bets on whether Janet will appear in a comic drawn by Luca soon.
Featured Image: Amanda Mancino/Twitter
The Coen Brothers Are Creating a Western Anthology Series at Netflix
Not too many filmmakers these days are keeping the Hollywood tradition of the Western alive. If it’s not Quentin Tarantino doing revisionist history, or random Ti West movies that feel way more like comedies than Westerns, then you’re sort of out in the weeds. But even though they’ve only made one traditional Western, 2010’s True Grit, Joel and Ethan Coen have made a number of movies that definitely feel like Westerns, from the more obvious No Country for Old Men to neo-noirs like Blood Simple and Fargo. So the fact that the Coens are going to make a Western anthology series for Netflix feels like the perfect, perfect choice.
The news broke on Wednesday morning that Annapurna Television would be producing a six-episode anthology western series called The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, starring O Brother, Where Art Thou‘s Tim Blake Nelson as the titular Buster Scruggs. Given that this is being billed as an anthology, I’d imagine Buster Scruggs will be a framing story, not unlike the Crypt Keeper, or maybe even a character who wanders through various, unrelated stories set in the Old West. The Coen Bros will write and direct the anthology as well as serve as executive producers. Their statement about the Netflix project is–and I’m not joking–“We are streaming motherf***ers!”
It’s exciting to see what the Coen Brothers can do with six complete stories to tell under the banner of a single series. The dialogue alone in True Grit makes me particularly interested to hear how people talk in Buster Scruggs. We’d imagine with the success of Noah Hawley’s episodic take on their material–Fargo, naturally–Joel and Ethan saw how well their darkly comedic tone can translate to TV, and being on Netflix means they can have all the swearing and violence they want. Win/Win/Win. (That third win is us. We win.)
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs will come to the streaming service in 2018.
For more about Westerns, read reviews of The Hateful Eight and In a Valley of Violence, for more about the Coens, read our Top 7 Coen Bros Movies, and for more about Netflix, read what we’d like to see from their Millarworld acquisition.
Images: Paramount Pictures, Working Title
Kyle Anderson is the Associate Editor for Nerdist. He writes the weekly look at weird or obscure films in Schlock & Awe. Follow him on Twitter!
Nerdist Comics Panel #112: David F. Walker and Shea Fontana
Heath Corson (Detective Chimp, Justice League Action) and Ben Blacker (Star Wars: Join The Resistance) are joined by David F. Walker (Powerman & Iron Fist, Occupy Avengers) and Shea Fontana (Wonder Woman, DC Super Hero Girls) to talk about working with Marvel and DC, writing ahead of schedule, writing for different media, and more.
Recorded at Emerald City Comic Con, March 3, 2017.
Follow @BenBlacker and @HeathCorson on Twitter!
August 8, 2017
Karl Urban May Join Netflix’s MEGA CITY ONE
Since Netflix owns every property on the planet, it makes sense that it would develop a TV show based on Judge Dredd. Karl Urban, star of the 2012 Dredd is in talks to join the Netflix adaptation Mega City One, which would make it his second foray into the world of 2000 A.D. comics. Today on Nerdist News Talks Back host Jessica Chobot is joined by Senior Editor Dan Casey and Nerdist News Writers Aliza Pearl and Joan Ford to talk about Deadpool 2, Mega City One, and David Letterman.
We’re less than a year away from Deadpool 2, which means it’s time for the hype-train to start leaving the station. First, we had the reveal of Zazie Beetz’s Domino, and now we’ve seen Josh Brolin’s Cable, two of Deadpool’s most important allies–and sometimes enemies. Cable looks exactly like his comic counterpart, sporting the graying hair and copious amounts of weaponry, while Domino seems to have swapped out the face paint for a birthmark or skin discoloration over her eye. Both actors seem incredibly suited to their respective roles, and we can’t wait to see how they interact with Ryan Reynolds come June.
A post shared by RobertLiefeld (@robliefeld) on Aug 7, 2017 at 8:37am PDT
Some people just know how to work a red carpet. #Domino #DeadPool2 pic.twitter.com/llCc8JfKT6
— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) July 31, 2017
Moving from one over-the-top action hero to another, Judge Dredd is coming back, and Karl Urban may be, too. According to io9, Urban is in talks to join Netflix’s Mega City One. The show will not necessarily be a direct sequel to Dredd, but we hope there will at least be some reference or indirect connection. Or maybe we’ll just get Adam Savage.
And finally, another man who’s been known to protect America’s cities using his own bare hands, David Letterman. As reported by our friends at The Hollywood Reporter, Letterman will host a Netflix-based talk show. Only 6 episodes, the show will go deeper into one-on-one interviews than most late night talk shows, and Letterman will be leaving the studio to conduct reporting and investigation outside the confines of a TV set.
You can watch and interact live with Nerdist News Talks Back every weekday at 1:00pm PST on YouTube and Alpha, and catch up with the archives just after the show!
Image: Lionsgate, CBS, Norman Chan
THE IT CROWD Easter Egg Hidden in New OVERWATCH Summer Games Skin
After weeks of feverish speculation over what would be included and how Lucioball would be changed, Blizzard has officially released its Overwatch Summer Games 2017 event on Tuesday and a cavalcade of unlockable character skins along with it. The event, which runs until August 28, adds more than 50 new seasonal items, returning gear from last year’s Summer Games event, and even more reasons to enjoy the great indoors this August. Without a doubt, one of the best new skins for the online multiplayer shooter is Grillmaster: 76, a BBQ-ready, dad-tacular variant skin for everyone’s favorite surly DPS character Soldier: 76.
Wearing a socks-and-sandals combo guaranteed to embarrass any child, a blue apron reading “Raise the Steaks,” some knockoff Oakleys, an assault rifle reading “A Salt Rifle,” a tactical spice array, and an assortment of grilling tools, Grillmaster: 76 looks ready to meat your expectations. However, there’s one detail in particular that should not go overlooked because it contains a hilarious in-joke for anyone who was a fan of the British cult classic comedy The IT Crowd, a sitcom about an understaffed and overworked IT department in London.
The easter egg, which was spotted by eagle-eyed redditor xSociety, can be found on the side of the item model for Soldier: 76’s Biotic Field, a small canister–here rendered as a can of soda–that deploys an area-of-effect healing boost to the player and any nearby allies. If one looks closely at the barcode, they’ll see a familiar number: 0118 999 881 999 119 7253. That number is a reference to a fake commercial from The IT Crowd for a new “easy to remember” emergency services number, which is particularly clever given that this item also has healing properties.
(via Imgur)
Here’s the clip from The IT Crowd that it’s referencing:
After running into a hail of enemy gunfire, you’ll likely need to call emergency services yourself, which is my euphemism for frantically and passive-aggressively mashing the “X” key to let the nearest Mercy, Ana, Lucio, or Zenyatta know that I need healing. You should try it sometime. They love it. But since they likely won’t respond to your desperate cries for help, press the E button and drop this summery new version of Soldier: 76’s trusty Biotic Field and get these jokers off your point already!
What do you think of Soldier: 76’s new skin? What other easter eggs have you spotted in Overwatch? Let us know in the comments below.
Images: Blizzard
Guillermo del Toro Makes a Spooky Signature Tequila with Patrón
There are artists in every field who have the ability to make us crave every new thing they create. If their name is on it, we know it’s probably something worth investigating. Right at the top of the list for us is filmmaker, author, scary-dream-weaver Guillermo del Toro, whose films, novels, artwork, and general macabre mentality has given us hours and hours of creepy fairy tale wonderment. And that’s why we’re especially intrigued by his recent partnership with Patrón Tequila.
This partnership is something special since del Toro is from Jalisco, Mexico, which also happens to be the birthplace of tequila. Much like how real champagne can only be named as such if its produced in the Champagne region of France, real tequila only comes from Jalisco. The video above is practically a love letter to del Toro’s distinct style (you can’t convince me otherwise that isn’t his actual work desk) and the processes that go into their new set of spirits made from blue agave.
The aptly named Patrón x Guillermo del Toro is actually two beautifully crafted bottles of Patrón spirits that look like a skeleton inside an equally gorgeous box adorned with artwork inspired by del Toro’s unique vision. The bottle of extra añejo tequila is described as having notes of dry fruit, nuts, and vanilla with a sweet, fruity, and honeyed taste. The dark color and flavor is attributed to its five years of aging in oak barrels. The head of the skeleton holds a “first of its kind” orange liqueur made from a blend of aged tequila that’s they suggest should be enjoyed by mixing it with the tequila from the set’s torso. (Never thought I’d type that sort of sentence!)
Should you be in the market to responsibly enjoy Patrón x Guillermo del Toro , you can pre-order it through Patrón’s site for (yikes!) $475. However, should Guillermo del Toro or someone from Patrón read this article, I’d like to make it very clear that I’d be more than happy to barter over that price and will gladly take any and all free samples.
What do you think of Patrón x Guillermo del Toro? Let’s discuss in the comments below!
Images: Patrón
Breaking Down the First Look at DEADPOOL 2’s Cable!
2017 has been a busy year for Josh Brolin in the realm of comic book movies. Brolin simply wasn’t content to only play Thanos, the biggest and baddest villain of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Brolin also lined up a major part in Deadpool 2 as the time traveling mutant cyborg, Nathan Christopher Charles Summers. But comic book fans know him better as Cable. Earlier this week, Ryan Reynolds revealed the first look at Brolin in costume as Cable, and today’s Nerdist News is all about the hidden clues within those images!
There are potential spoilers ahead for Deadpool 2. This strikes us as a movie where spoilers aren’t going to be a huge issue, but your flux capacitor may vary. Either way, you’ve been warned!
We all have that one, grumpy, heavily armed Uncle from the future. #PremiumCABLE #JoshBrolin pic.twitter.com/JV3yBIIPQH
— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) August 7, 2017
Join host and Earth’s ambassador to the Technarchy, Jessica Chobot, as she runs down the details on Cable’s outfit. It’s not 100% Rob Liefeld, but no mortal man could pull off over-sized shoulder pads and more pouches than we can count. But this seems to capture the spirit of Cable, and Liefeld has voiced his support for this version of his character, and what’s not to love? Brolin is as close to a physical match for Cable as anyone could ever hope to see on film. His arms aren’t ridiculously large like a superhero, but those “guns” put many other arms to shame. Yeah… we definitely think that Brolin looks the part.
But let’s get a little deeper, shall we? In the comics, Cable is the son of Cyclops and Madelyne Pryor, a clone of Jean Grey who was created by Mr. Sinister. Nathan Summers was also a flesh and blood mutant before Apocalypse infected him with the Technarchy’s techno-organic virus. To save his son, Cyclops had to let Nathan go to the future, where he spent decades fighting Apocalypse and his heirs. By the time that Cable traveled back to the present, he was even older than his father!
How much of that is going to be in the movie—all of it or none? We expect Deadpool 2 to have a lot of fun mocking Cable’s origin story. However, Brolin’s costume suggests that Cable’s cybernetic parts may actually be robotic, rather than flesh that was transformed into metal. That’s certainly a less complicated way of getting that across. But there’s also an intriguing detail that was immediately noticed by fans: Cable’s teddy bear, which was attached to his belt.
Now, is Cable unable to let go of his toy from the past? Or is the bear secretly Deadpool’s favorite stuffed animal? We can’t rule that last reason out, but we’re pretty sure the bear means one thing: Cable is in the present to save Hope Summers, the young girl who may be the mutant messiah.
As you can see, Hope takes after her foster dad. In the Marvel Universe, Cable took baby Hope into the future and raised her as his own daughter. But we suspect that she’ll only be a baby, if she shows up in Deadpool 2. Still, she would be a very intriguing character to include in any sequels, including the long-rumored X-Force film.
What do you think about the first look at Josh Brolin as Cable? Let’s discuss in the comment section below!
THE X-FILES Season 11 Will Tell Mostly Standalone Stories
Editor’s Note: this post contains spoilers about the season 10 finale of The X-Files. The truth is in here!
Last year, The X-Files returned to Fox for a very limited season of six episodes. Unfortunately, many fans were less than pleased by the new mythology episodes and the cliffhanger ending that has been unresolved for over a year. In response, Fox is making a fairly radical shift for the upcoming eleventh season. Aside from the season premiere and the finale, every X-Files episode will be a stand-alone story.
Via Entertainment Weekly, Fox’s David Madden confirmed that eight of the ten new X-Files episodes will feature “Mulder and Scully plunging into new adventures.” He also went on to tease the season premiere, which will pick up immediately after the events of the previous season’s finale. “You’ll be launched into a very urgent adventure that has a lot to do with William — Mulder and Scully’s kid. so the search for William will be a significant thread through the show. You will see the Cigarette Smoking Man [William B. Davis]. You may see The Lone Gunmen somewhere along the line. There will be other characters from the previous mythology that will be reprised.”
Now, we have to point out that it was not the mythology that made last season’s X-Files episodes so unsatisfying. (It was the writing.) Even during the original run of the series, Chris Carter and his team seemed to have difficulty keeping their own mythology straight, as each season added layers and layers of conspiracy with little resolution. Season 10’s big revelation was that Mulder came to believe that most of the alien presence on the show had been “a conspiracy of men.” But that twist flew in the face of events from the original series that even Mulder never witnessed.
The revival of this series didn’t significantly change with the times or add new takes on the classic tropes of the series, But there’s nothing wrong with The X-Files that better writing can’t cure. Perhaps adding some new voices to the writers’ room would help with that. For now, we’ll just hope that the new season of The X-Files can rediscover some of the magic that it had during its original run.
How do you feel about The X-Files‘ standalone plans for season 11? Declassify your thoughts in the comment section below!
Images: Fox
How THE GIFTED Will and Won’t Connect to X-MEN
Marvel is taking over the world, one television show/movie/comic book at a time. In addition to ABC, Netflix, Freeform, and Hulu, the next network set to debut a Marvel series is FOX with The Gifted, a new drama set in the X-Men universe. The Gifted stars Stephen Moyer (True Blood) as Reed Strucker, a father working for the anti-mutant leaning government who discovers his two teenage children are mutants themselves, completely blowing up his entire world view. Forced to go on the run, Reed and his family enlist the protection of an underground mutant network and become a part of the growing resistance fighting for mutant lives and freedom.
But with an already established and extensive X-Men movie universe, how is Marvel going to connect The Gifted with the mythology and characters fans already know? As Marvel TV boss Jeph Loeb always says, “it’s all connected.”
“The general feeling is the show lives in the spirit of who the X-Men are and certainly acknowledges it along the way,” Loeb said at the 2017 Summer TCA press tour. “If you’re trying to make a direct connection between the X-Men films and the television series, if you’re an X-Men fan and you go the comic store every Wednesday, you know there are other books that live within this world. It is a very large spread, huge number of characters that are mutants and live within this world. We’ll meet more characters as time goes by that fit within that world.”
Executive producer Matt Nix revealed that along with Blink (Jamie Chung) and Polaris (Emma Dumont) who are both in the pilot, popular X-Men character Dreamer (played by Elena Satine) will be introduced in episode 2.
“Some of the connections are not connections to the movies, they are connections to the larger mythology in the universe of the X-Men,” Nix said. “So watch and see.”
Unlike how little Agents of SHIELD references the Avengers by name, both Nix and Loeb promise that the X-Men are going to play a huge role on The Gifted, even if those classic characters won’t show up. In fact, when the pilot picks up the X-Men have disappeared from the world, and every mutant will be worried about where they’ve gone.
“In our world, one of the things we’ll be unpacking is the specific relationship of this group of characters to the X-Men,” Nix said. “The X-Men are gone and that’s not a dodge. It’s a thing in the show and we’re going to be exploring it. It’s a huge deal in the world and it’s one of the central mysteries of the show. There’s a historical mythology. There’s not going to be a situation where the television show is driving the movies or the movies are driving the television show because the mythology we’re telling specifically avoids that.”
One of the differences between the X-Men movies and The Gifted TV show is how each deals with mutant powers. In the movies, there are training montages to show mutants learning how to use and deal with their powers. On the show, that will be a much longer and more difficult journey.
“We get to see characters as they develop their powers,” Nix said. “Blink for example has a very tactile relationship with her powers. It’s very difficult for her. That’s something that’s going to evolve. Powers are constantly evolving and there’s a profound relationship between the characters and their powers.”
And Chung knew all about Blink from the X-Men movies. “Blink was very essential to Days of Future Past,” she said. “Fan Bingbing just flicked her wrist and opened portals. That’s not our character at all. She opens portals out of fear, not if she’s trying to save someone.”
But how will The Gifted connect to the comic books? Nix revealed he did not base the TV show off of any specific comic book runs. However, “there are elements that are inspired by various runs,” he said.
“What we started with was what would be an exciting way to set a show in the X-Men universe that’s appropriate for what television does well where we can focus on this longer form storytelling,” Nix said. “We really get to explore the relationship of mutants to the larger world and really explore society. I looked at some obscure ones like District X … but we didn’t take any characters from it. It was one of my favorite ones so we just started from there.”
Are you excited to see a live-action X-Men TV show? Which characters do you hope will show up on The Gifted? Tweet me at @SydneyBucksbaum and let’s discuss!
Images: FOX
The Gifted premieres Monday, Oct. 2 at 9 p.m. on FOX.
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