Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 2006

Crunchyroll Plans Its Own Original Anime Series

Over the last decade, Crunchyroll has established itself as one of the preeminent anime streaming services, with over one million subscribers and numerous animated programs from around the world. Now, Crunchyroll has revealed its plans to become more than just a distributor of content. The company plans to begin making its own anime series in the near future.

Via ComicBook.com, Crunchyroll has announced its new partnership with NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan to create and co-develop new anime series. There were no specifics given other than the goal to create shows that will appeal to international fans. Anime fans may be more familiar with NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan’s previous name, Geneon Entertainment. That company is best known for many popular shows, including Berserk, Seven Mortal Sins, and Drifters.

The easy comparison to make is that Crunchyroll is following the Netflix and Amazon Prime models to become an even bigger player in the online streaming business. That’s entirely possible, but it would be a massive undertaking to immediately produce several new shows. If we had to guess, we suspect that the Crunchyroll original anime series are at least a few years away from debuting.

As for the shows themselves, Crunchyroll and NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan could create new concepts and characters, or license manga series for their collaboration. But given their stated goal of finding shows with “international appeal,” the source material may not be limited to manga.

In the meantime, Crunchyroll will continue to add new titles to its service, with popular shows like Black Clover slated to debut this fall.

Are you excited to see Crunchyroll become an anime producer? Let’s discuss in the comment section below!

Images: Pierrot/NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan

ESPN Gives Ric Flair a 30 FOR 30 Documentary

ESPN’s 30 for 30 series has covered some of the most interesting and controversial topics in the world of sports, from the Lakers/Celtics rivalry to the Buffalo Bills four consecutive Super Bowl losses. Now, for the first time, it will cover the world of sports entertainment with the documentary “Nature Boy,” covering the career of one of the greatest ever wrestlers, Ric Flair.

Directed by Rory Karpf (“I Hate Christian Laettner”), “Nature Boy” will look at the early days of Richard Fliehr, who wanted nothing more than to make it big in the world of pro-wrestling. 16 world championships and two hall of fame rings later, he did just that and then some.

“I grew up a huge wrestling fan in the 1980s and I was captivated by Ric Flair,” said Karpf, “It’s been a personally rewarding experience to tell the story of arguably the greatest wrestler of all time. Ric’s story transcends the wrestling business and my hope is that it will appeal to wrestling and non-wrestling fans alike.”

Along with two interviews with Flair shot within a 16-month period, Karpf also talks to wrestling legends such as Hulk Hogan, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, the Undertaker, Ricky Steamboat, Sting, and Road Warrior Animal, all who had stories to tell about what it was like to step into the ring with “the Man.”

“Nature Boy” will premiere November 7th on ESPN.

So what do you think? Will you be watching “Nature Boy”? What other wrestlers would you like to see featured in this series? Let me know on Twitter or lock on the Figure Four in the comments below.

Image: WWE

Animal Planet Announces THE DOG BOWL with Older Dogs Needing Adoption

It’s been a difficult few months (or year), so let us here at Nerdist provide you with a little bit of brain bleach: Animal Planet is hosting the very first Dog Bowl in addition to the Puppy Bowl, all in the name of highlighting the importance of adopting sweet older dogs as well as cute puppies. Cue the “awwws” in 3 … 2 … 1 …

The network known for its annual Super Bowl counter programming Puppy Bowl (and its less-popular offshoot Kitten Bowl because in the age-old debate of dogs vs. cats, there is always a clear, obvious winner) will premiere Puppy Bowl Presents: The Dog Bowl in early 2018. This newly added furry football competition is created for adult dogs living in rescues and shelters, because they are frequently passed over for their younger brothers and sisters when it comes to adoption. It’s so sad because everyone knows that older, adult dogs are really the best dogs. Who doesn’t want a chill older pooch to hang with while all the younger, rambunctious youth dogs drive their owners crazy with their nonstop energy? Lazy people looking for the perfect pet best friend, this special is tailor made for you.

As a companion to Puppy Bowl, The Dog Bowl will air during Animal Planet’s Road to Puppy Bowl leading up to the network’s premiere of Puppy Bowl XIV. This one-hour special will feature all adoptable adult dogs in need of their forever homes and will be hosted by award-winning animal advocate Jill Rappaport.

When it comes to drafting all the players who will be featured in Puppy Bowl Presents: The Dog Bowl, Animal Planet is working with shelters and rescue organizations all over the U.S. to fill the rosters of players. There will be two teams of adult dogs “going nose to nose for touchdowns, furry fumbles and ultimately the win,” which sounds too cute for words, you guys.

And the best part? This special isn’t just exploiting the cuteness of these good boys (and girls) for ratings, because all the players will be winners in the end as they find their “forever homes.” Watching cool older dogs play on TV, knowing they’re going to find their forever homes, is honestly exactly what the world needs right now.

“Puppy Bowl‘s goal is to promote animal adoption so as many animals as possible can find their forever homes,” Patrice Andrews, General Manager of Animal Planet, says in a release.

As much fun as watching Puppy Bowl Presents: The Dog Bowl will be, the true purpose of the Puppy Bowl (finding homes for animals needing adoption) is something we can all get behind. And the newest piece of Puppy Bowl programming brings much needed attention to the fact that puppies in rescue organizations and shelters get adopted much more than older, adult dogs, which is almost too sad for words. There are millions of adult dogs who live in shelters for longer periods of time than puppies as they wait to be adopted … and that’s too heartbreaking to think about. So watch the Dog Bowl, adopt an older dog and bring some good into this world, people. Consider that an order.

Image: Animal Planet

Did Ron Howard Add Darth Vader to the Han Solo Spin-off?

One of the most memorable moments of Rogue One came at the end of the movie, when Darth Vader unleashed the full power of the Dark side…and it was a glorious depiction of Vader at the height of his villainy. But that may not be our only glimpse of the Dark Lord of the Sith. Today’s Nerdist News is examining some compelling evidence that Han Solo‘s future father-in-law may be joining the next Star Wars anthology film…

Join host and Kashyyyk’s top travel blogger, Jessica Chobot, as she explains how Darth Vader’s most recent performer, Spencer Wilding, inadvertently dropped a potential spoiler about his next gig. Via ScreenRant, Wilding was forced to cancel his appearance at Fandom Fest because “he will be filming the newest film in the Star Wars Universe.” It doesn’t take a Wookiepedia to figure out which movie it is! The Last Jedi has already been finished, and Episode IX hasn’t really started yet. The Han Solo film is the only possibility.

Beyond that, who can say? It’s entirely possible that Wilding will portray some other tall and dangerous alien in the movie. But Vader seems like a pretty safe bet. The real question is how Vader can be used in Han Solo’s backstory when there were never really any hints in the original trilogy that they had encountered each other before. But that clearly didn’t stop George Lucas from retconning C3PO into Anakin Skywalker’s creation!

Our guess is that Vader may make a cameo appearance that Han witnesses from afar, or they will have an encounter that proves to be more memorable to Han than to Vader. Remember, Han was pretty quick to draw on Vader in The Empire Strikes Back, for all of the good that it did him. Maybe he had additional reasons to shoot first.

What do you think about Darth Vader’s potential role in the Han Solo movie? Let’s discuss in the comment section below!

Lupita Nyong’o Secretly Danced Her Way Through SDCC as the Pink Ranger

That’s it, from now on we’re just going to assume that every anonymous cosplayer at Comic-Con is really a celebrity, because it turns out Adam Savage wasn’t the only one who went incognito in San Diego. Star Wars‘ Lupita Nyong’o was also there, anonymously dancing her away across the expo floor as the Power Rangers‘ Pink Ranger.

Nyong’o shared a video on Twitter of her busting a move at last week’s SDCC, where she was dressed as the Pink Ranger, but with a white mask to hide her real identity. So yeah, if you were there and saw some mighty morphin’ dancing you were actually watching Maz Kanata herself and an Academy Award winner grooving for no reason other than it was fun.

Did you see me at Comic Con?! #SDCC2017 pic.twitter.com/9Vnx4ss96d

— Lupita Nyong'o (@Lupita_Nyongo) July 26, 2017

We doubt at 1,000 years old Maz Kanata can move anywhere near that well, but now we are thinking about a Star Wars standalone prequel. The Young Maz Kanata movie would explore her time as a dancer at the hottest club on Coruscant, a place Yoda liked to frequent. It was there the two met, her a struggling artist, him a young padawan….

….We have some problems.

But Lupita Nyong’o is not one of them. Our only complaint about this is we missed an opportunity in San Diego to dance with her.

We won’t make that mistake again. At next year’s Comic-Con we’re going to ask to take pictures and dance with every anonymous cosplayer we meet. And each time we’ll just whisper, “I love your work,” just to be safe.

Were you at SDCC? Did you see the dancing Pink Ranger? If you weren’t, do you think you would have known it was her under that mask? Dance into our comments below to tell us your thoughts.

Images: Lupita Nyong’o/Twitter

RICK AND MORTY’s Season 3 Episode Titles and What They Might Mean

Guys: Rick and Morty is coming back so soon. The second episode of the third season premieres on July 30, and we can’t wait. We’re getting so impatient, in fact, that instead of waiting to actually find out what the upcoming episodes will be about, we decided to flex our speculation muscles and try to predict what the Sanchez clan will get up to, or at least get a general feel for it.

We know the titles of the first six episodes of the season (and have confirmed them with Adult Swim), so based mainly on that, let’s imagine what might happen in Season 3:

1. “The Rickshank Rickdemption”

This one’s easy, since we’ve all seen it already. The Galactic Federation has taken over Earth, Rick takes the federation on a trip through his (false) memories, he does some simple math to render the federation’s currency worthless and make them leave Earth, Beth chooses Rick over Jerry, and perhaps most importantly, Rick rants to Morty that finding McDonald’s Szechuan Sauce is the new primary motivation of his life. Oh, and in the post-credits scene, Birdperson has come back as a cyborg named Phoenix Person.

2. “Rickmancing the Stone”

This is the episode that airs on the 30th, and guess what? We’ve already seen it, so get ready for some SPOILERS. As the family comes to terms with the divorce, Summer wants to distract herself with a random adventure with Rick, so he obliges. Of course, that’s where it goes nuts: They go off on a Mad Max-like adventure, Morty gets a Thunderdome champion arm, Summer falls for a cannibal leader, and a whole bunch of stuff. Read our more in-depth summary of the episode here.

3. “Pickle Rick”

IT’S PICKLE RICK! This isn’t an episode we’ve seen yet, so this is our first bit of actual predicting. Then again, we’ve already laughed our fannies off at Pickle Rick the character, so we can’t wait for this episode. That’s even considering the fact that Pickle Rick can’t move without Morty turning him over, but we’ve also seen images of Pickle Rick in action fighting rats and it looks like he’s made some sort of Frankensteinian body for himself, so who knows what happens. Maybe he turned himself into Pickle Rick in some food-related effort to get closer to his dream of having Szechuan Sauce again? He’s seen running away from some suited agents, so whatever mess he’s gotten into, it’s a big one.

4. “Vindicators 3: The Return of Worldender”

We saw Rick and Morty teaming up with some sort of superhero team in the Season 3 trailer, in which they’re also “called to assemble by the Vindicators” via a glowing crystal in Rick’s garage, so it seems like a reasonable leap to say that this team is the Vindicators, and perhaps the giant monster swinging on a meat hook that’s also in the trailer is Worldender.

5. “The Whirly Dirly Conspiracy”

In some circles, “whirly dirly” refers to a type of kissing, so hear us out with this really reaching bit of conjecture: Somehow, DNA from Rick and Morty finds its way into the wrong hands (via a kiss, perhaps), which results in the green, snot-looking clones of our two heroes. A lot of powerful people want to see Rick dead, so one of them discovering the ability to clone them and send these green facsimiles after them isn’t too outlandish, especially considering how off the wall this show often gets.

6. “Rest and Ricklaxation”

This might be the Jerry-heavy episode teased in the trailer, in which Rick and his soon-to-be-former son-in-law spend some time together; perhaps Rick feels bad for a depressed Jerry and takes pity on him with a fun day out, which includes an intense roller coaster ride. We also see Jerry in some peril on a strange planet, so it would seem that their adventure goes wrong.

That’s our best guess at what the first six episodes of Rick and Morty‘s third season hold. Do you think our guesses are even close? What do you think is going to happen? Speculate along with us in the comments below!

Featured image: Adult Swim

Why Everyone Loves RICK AND MORTY

WUBBA LUBBA DUB DUB! If you’re a human (or birdperson) who lives on Earth, then you love Rick and Morty. And if you don’t, correct that immediately, Jerry. Here to discuss Rick and Morty, Doctor Who, and Stranger Things are Associate Editor Kyle Anderson, Science Editor Kyle Hill, and Nerdist News Writer Aliza Pearl.

Pickle Rick and regular Morty dominated Comic-Con this weekend, but why exactly? The show is set to begin its third season on Sunday, and its influence has never been greater. Our own Kyle Hill hosted a panel at Comic-Con on the science of Rick and Morty with creators Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon, who were incredibly grateful for their fans. Part of the reason that Rick and Morty reaches so many people is that the show caters to fans of both irreverent comedy and actual science by melding the two, to the point that they’re inseparable. In the video above, Kyle explains Rick and Morty‘s influence better than I can, so go ahead and listen.

Another huge deal at Comic-Con was the new star of Doctor Who, Jodie Whittaker, the first female Doctor in the show’s 50+ year history. While many fans suspected (or at least hoped) that the new Doctor would be a woman, few expected it to be Whittaker. Though unexpected, she’s a great choice to fill the role and a great actress, having worked on Broadchurch and Black Mirror. Though we’re upset that Peter Capaldi won’t be traveling through time anymore, we’re more than excited to see what Whittaker will bring to the show.

Next up: Stranger Things. The trailer for Season 2, revealed at Comic-Con, was excellent, featuring a sweet remix of Michael Jackson’s Thriller and the return of last year’s best group of kids on TV. Filled to the brim with ’80s references, the trailer showed a post-Demogorgon world both hopeful and menacing. The upside down is turning right side up through Will’s creepy hallucinations, but at least the kids can still go trick-or-treating.

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: Adult Swim, BBC, Netflix

Nerdist Podcast: Aidy Bryant

Aidy Bryant (SNL, The Big Sick) chats with Chris about moving from Chicago to NY, the debate on the best pizza and what her SNL audition was like. She also talks about what it was like to go from Second City to suddenly being on TV, dating someone who also works in comedy and doing a voice in Danger & Eggs!

Image: Jamie McCarthy / Getty

A DAY is a GROUNDHOG DAY in Every Parent’s Personal Hell (Fantasia Review)

It took Phil Connors somewhere between 10 and 10,000 years to be a good enough man for Rita Hanson in Groundhog Day, depending on which mythology you trust. He got to master the piano, buy some wrestling tickets, and kidnap a furry holiday mascot because some trickster god of resetting time demanded the weatherman and segment producer get together for an all-timer happy ending. Even with a brief detour into suicide attempts, Groundhog Day is still a far sunnier version of the endless loop concept than what Jun-young (Kim Myung-min) endures in Cho Sun-ho’s emotionally annihilating, unassumingly titled A Day.

Jun-young is a gifted doctor returning from addressing the UN on his efforts to bring aid to war zones. His plane lands, he gives a brief press conference, then speeds down the streets of Seoul only to stumble upon a horrific car accident. After helping the driver, he realizes that the little girl, bloodied in the street, that people are crowding around is his daughter Eun-jung (Jo Eun-hyung). Then he wakes up. And it starts all over again.

He’s stuck in the infinite loop of a parent’s worst nightmare, unable to save his little girl from a painful death. In the depths of despair, he discovers he’s not the only one stuck repeating the day.

A Day is a prime example of elevating a gimmick to art. Far from falling victim to the faulty and repetitive trap that the hook leaves the story vulnerable to, Cho and company utilize an airtight cycle of despair and clever editing to keep the same horrendous few hours looking fresh and distressing. New information is revealed in smart, entertaining ways that satisfy nearly all the nagging questions that naturally occur when you’re fussing with timey wimey stuff. Why can’t Jun-young just drive faster? Why can’t he simply distract the cab driver (Yoo Jae-myung) who runs over his daughter? Or hire him to be somewhere else? Why can’t he tell his daughter to meet him somewhere else?

All the simple logic that would have cut this movie short with a happy ending are given clean, understandable answers that leave Jun-young’s predicament harrowing and messy. A Day leaves zero room for the cynical viewer to say, “Well, I just would have done X…” The movie traps you alongside its main character inside a claustrophobic two-hour window that suggests there may be no exit door out of anguish. He has to keep trying, but there’s no guarantee that the cycle can be stopped or that his daughter can be saved. A Day dares to ask: what if Jun-young is doomed to a Sisyphean hell of seeing his little girl fly over the hood of a speeding cab forever?

Like the best films that traffic in repeated days, Cho’s film also leaves nagging threads and details that gnaw at Jun-young and his eventual companion in the tragic sequence–a little boy choking on candy at the airport, a press conference he has to give or ignore, and others too good to spoil. These loose ends offer the air of complication we recognize in real life, and they often bolster the theme of the good doctor rushing to save everyone except the very person closest to him. Jun-young is a neglectful father, but A Day isn’t simple enough to torture him for skipping his daughter’s birthday to address the UN. This isn’t Liar Liar, where everything can be so easily wrapped in a bow with a goofy life lesson. A Day adds layers and revelations that ultimately complicate our view of Jun-young and offer a poignant, darkly ironic reasoning for his failures as a father which leads ultimately poetic conclusion.

It luxuriates in the cruel taste of fate, and eventually adds an element of revenge that demands the digging of a billion graves. Death on repeat, unless Jun-young and his companion can fix everything without locking new horrors into permanence.

A Day goes for the heart and the throat with the standard sensibilities of Korean drama, using Jun-young’s relationship with his impish, potentially-doomed daughter like a bludgeon. Korean filmmakers remain the world champions of emotional manipulation that you can’t get mad at, which is why whenever you see a viral video labeled “Commercial will bring you to tears!!!” it’s usually an ad for a South Korean bank. On that front, Cho is at the top of the game.

You know A Day is manipulating you, you know that its using age-old techniques and broad characterizations and soap opera tactics to draw out the waterworks, but there you are, wailing and sniffling in the dark theater anyway, thanking the movie for slapping you over the head with familial love and devotion. It all works obscenely well, torturing you alongside its main characters, not with Saw-like, absurd horror nonsense, but with something as commonplace as a car accident. Something you could get a phone call about at any time. A Day utilizes that justifiable fear to drag Jun-young through hell and through a corridor toward redemption, whether he makes it or not.

It’s normal to want the protagonist to win, but it’s rare to want so deeply in your bones for the hero to succeed. A Day earns every inch of that.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 infinite burritos

Images: Film Line See

Jordan Klepper’s New Show Could Be THE COLBERT REPORT Replacement We’ve Been Waiting For

Comedy Central‘s coveted 11:30 spot officially has a new show and a new host, with Deadline reporting that The Opposition with Jordan Klepper will fill the sacred spot following The Daily Show starting September 25th. But we’re not excited because the funny former Daily Show correspondent will get to lead his own series, we’re excited because as host Klepper won’t be playing it straight. Instead he’ll be playing an Alex Jones-style conspiracy nut.

And that means Klepper’s show might finally fill the void left by The Colbert Report.

Comedy Central’s first attempt to fill the 11:30 slot left vacant by Stephen Colbert’s departure for CBS with the now defunct The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore. Wilmore is brilliant, funny, and knowledgeable about the state of politics today, but his show never caught traction. In retrospect he wasn’t really set up for success, because his show was covering much of the same ground as Trevor Noah’s Daily Show. They were both comedians making light of the world by pointing out the hypocrisy of politicians and media alike, and they both did so sincerely as themselves. What did The Nightly Show offer viewers that was all that different from what they had just watched?

Compare that to the legendary late night one-two punch that Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert had. Stewart’s show was a satirical newscast where the Stewart we saw was just him as himself, and that made what he said sincere. But Colbert wasn’t just mocking politicians, he was satirizing modern ego-driven “news” show that are so prevalent today.

While the two shows were related, what you got from Stewart’s show was different from what you got from The Colbert Report. The complemented each other, and as a result they made each other greater in comparison. Watching the two back-to-back was like having your dinner and then your dessert. But Wilmore’s show was like having a second dinner. Yeah, it was well made, but you don’t always want seconds.

Klepper’s show, which Comedy Central says will “satirize the hyperbolic, conspiracy-laden noise machine that is the alternative-media landscape on both the right and left” won’t be a second Daily Show. It’s going to be character driven, like The Colbert Report, and that will allow it to come at the topics of the day from a totally different angle, as well as open up a whole new source of material. This sounds more like dessert.

Whether or not it works remains to be seen, because obviously not every performer is as talented as Stephen Colbert. Klepper has been a great correspondent on The Daily Show, but this is a tall order for anyone. That ability to carry 22 minutes a night as a compelling character is what made the loss of Colbert so tough in the first place. It’s impossible to think of someone replacing him, and trying to do so would be futile.

But that’s not what is happening here. They aren’t casting a new “Colbert,” they are using the Colbert model of having a character host and letting Klepper create his own kind. Bill O’Reilly, the inspiration for Colbert’s host, is a very different source for a host than Alex Jones.

The Daily Show has done what many thought was impossible and survived the departure of Jon Stewart. New host Noah is his own man, but the show still feels the same, and that’s why its important place in the worlds of comedy and politics is secure. But The Daily Show was even better when it had the absurdity of the Colbert Report following it.

That’s why it’s long overdue that Comedy Central stopped just trying to fill its 11:30 time slot and finally tried to replace the show that defined it.

But what do you make of this news? Are you excited about Kleppers new show, or do you think trying to replace The Colbert Report won’t work? Talk about it with us in the comments below.

Images: Comedy Central