Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 2059

Rocket and Groot Get Even More Adorable in New MONDO Figure

Three years ago, Rocket Raccoon and Groot were the biggest question marks about the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie. Who wants to watch  a superhero sci-fi movie with a talking raccoon and a giant walking tree? Quite a few people, it turned out, turning Groot and Rocket into the film’s breakout characters. And now they’re finally getting a Mondo figure as an homage.

The company has announced a new limited edition Rocket and Groot vinyl figure celebrating their unique bond. It’s based upon the artwork that Mike Mitchell created for his Just Like Us art series, and even the name of this figure is adorable. It’s the “Rocket and Groot: Treehugger.”As you can see from the pic, you also get a Baby Groot in a pot figure to go along with Rocket and regular-sized Groot. All three figures were designed by Mitchell in conjunction with Willem-Paul Van Overbruggen and Unbox Industries. Mondo has set a $65 price for this figure and you can order it right now! But make it quick, because you’ve only got until Monday, June 5 to get an order in before it gets pulled from the site. To find out more or place an order, just hop over to Mondo’s official page.

What do you think about the new Rocket and Groot Vinyl figure? Share your thoughts in the comment section below. Bonus points if you find a new way to say “I Am Groot!”

Images: Mondo / Marvel 

And for more details about Vol. 3, check out this episode of Nerdist News:

Did a GAME OF THRONES Behind-the-Scenes Picture Spoil Season 7?

In just a few weeks, the seventh season of Game of Thrones will be upon us! It’s been a long wait to see the new episodes, and an even longer wait to see the Stark family come back together. Amazingly, many of the Stark kids haven’t even shared a scene since the first season. However, there’s another dangling thread from season 1 that has reappeared in the newest behind-the-scenes pics. Today’s Nerdist News is going to explain why the return of a knife may spell doom for a major character.

There are potential spoilers ahead for Game of Thrones season 7! This could be a big one, so you should definitely consider this a warning before moving forward.

If you’re still with us, then it’s time to join host and the new “dancing master” from Braavos, Jessica Chobot, as she points out Arya’s new dagger…which isn’t new at all. The catspaw dagger with a dragonbone handle appears to be the same one that was used in the assassination attempt on Bran Stark all the way back in the first season. The last time we saw it onscreen, Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish identified it as a dagger that he lost to Tyrion Lannister in a bet.

So, how did Arya end up with the infamous dagger? There’s really only one person whom she could have gotten it from: Littlefinger. But would Littlefinger really just give that dagger to Arya as a gift? Or is everyone’s favorite killer going to get a bit stabby with her family’s greatest enemy? We’d never bet against Arya! And there would be some poetic justice if Littlefinger meets his demise at the pointy end of his own dagger.

What do you think about the return of Littlefinger’s dagger? Let’s discuss in the comment section below!

DMX and Disturbed Make The MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS Trailer Extra Strange

Not all heroes wear capes — some of them wear the badge of internet meme-ery, and fly in the face of simply accepting what is given to us as fans of movies and having a sillygood fun time. And one such instance came across our collective desk this morning when the Murder on the Orient Express trailer dropped. The remake of the iconic Agatha Christie novel has been long-awaited and features a seriously impressive cast and director …and a possibly/maybe head scratch-inducing soundtrack to play the whole thing out.

Don’t believe us? Skip to 1:48 and press play:

Why yes, that is an Imagine Dragons song titled “Believer” playing at the end, and while some of you out there may be some serious Dragon stans (no judgement/live your life!), even y’all have to admit there’s a bit of cognitive dissonance about setting such an iconic crime story and setting against so a hard a musical backdrop. It’s chuckle-inducing, admit it.

Well, it’s like I said before: not all heroes wear capes, and this particular hero—brought to our attention by Birth. Movies. Death.—has dressed up the end of the trailer (and that unexpected musical accompaniment) with several other, increasingly hilarious, unexpected song choices. DMX, Disturbed, and Eminem make guest appearances and IT IS BEAUTIFUL AND HILARIOUS and so, so deeply weird.

This is a bit of ribbing done with love (meaning you can love this and STILL be excited for the film, OK?):

Bless you, TeamQuabs.

What do you think of the video? Did you know all the songs? Which was your favorite? Let us know in the comments.

Images: 20th Century Fox

Ubisoft’s VR STAR TREK Game Gives You Your Own Starship

If you’ve ever dreamed of sitting in the captain’s chair (or at the helm, or in engineering, or the tactical console) on your own Starship, Star Trek: Bridge Crew is the closest you can get without joining Starfleet Academy. Kotaku has high praises for the VR experience from Ubisoft as well as a thorough look at the gameplay. Yes, it looks like a ton of fun.

Available for Oculus Rift, PlayStation VR, and HTC Vive, one to four players have different responsibilities while running missions. The helm drives the ship, and those abilities change based on the power provided by the engineer. The tactical officer scans objects in space, and the helm has to bring the ship close enough to do so. Naturally, the captain runs the dynamic operation with all information at his or her fingertips.

Everything here looks exciting, and you can imagine the graphics only getting better in years to come. Plus, the cooperative play obviously adds an extra strategic challenge that’s a different animal from the usual guns-blazing co-op style (although you may also find yourself with a nihilist among your ranks).

Bone up on your crew lingo and Starfleet formalities, and get geekily immersed.

From the official game site:

“In Star Trek: Bridge Crew, the Federation dispatches you and your crew to command the new vessel U.S.S. Aegis as part of a critical initiative. Your mission: explore a largely uncharted sector of space known as The Trench, in hopes of locating a suitable new home world for the decimated Vulcan populace. The Trench contains stunning beauty and undiscovered wonders, but also strange anomalies and dangers yet unknown. The Klingon Empire is also active in the region, and their purpose is undoubtedly a threat to the Federation’s plans. It’s up to you and your crew to chart the sector to determine the Klingons’ aims, and to secure a peaceful Federation presence.”

Are you ready to get beamed in? Let us know in the comments below.

Images: Ubisoft

NEW MUTANTS Adds 13 REASONS WHY Star Henry Zaga As Sunspot

Director Josh Boone has added yet another cast member to his upcoming Marvel Comics adaptation The New Mutants. According to the Variety, joining the cast as Roberta da Costa, a.k.a. Sunspot, will be 13 Reasons Why star Henry Zaga. He joins Anya Taylor-Joy as Illyana Rasputin, better known as Magick, and Game of Thrones actress Maisie Williams as Rahne Sinclair, also known as Wolfsbane. Other recent additions to the cast are Charlie Heaton of Stranger Things as Cannonball, and Daredevil’s Rosario Dawson as mutant doctor Cecilia Reyes. The part of Sunspot was played previously by Adan Canto in X-Men: Days of Future Past. 

In the comics, Roberto da Costa was a young Brazilian mutant, who had the ability to absorb and channel solar power. He was a founding member of Xavier’s third generation of students, which he named the New Mutants. Unlike the X-Men, this class was meant to learn to hone their abilities, and not use them to fight villains. Sunspot was a main player for the vast majority of The New Mutants 100 issue run, and eventually played a fairly big part in the New Mutants spin-off title, X-Force. Most recently, he and his New Mutants teammate Cannonball jumped ship and joined the Avengers.

This casting choice doesn’t come without controversy however. Although Zaga is of Brazilian heritage like his character, traditionally in the comics, Roberto has been portrayed as having a much darker complexion. In the images above and below, you can see how the character of Sunspot has usually been portrayed to look like in the comics. Some fans are already calling this a white-washing. Of course, you could say that Fox wanted an actor who somewhat resembled Adan Canto from Days of Future Past so that it matches up, but since when does Fox care about continuity like that in the X-Men films?

According to Fox’s official description of the movie, New Mutants will resemble a horror film more than a traditional superhero movie. Below is the official synopsis:

“Mutants are at their most dangerous, both to themselves and others, when their powers are new, especially because mutation reveals itself during the teenage years. Held in a secret facility against their will, five new mutants have to battle the dangers of their powers, as well as the sins of their pasts. They aren’t out to save the world – they’re just trying to stay alive.”

Five mutants means only one more member of the team needs to be cast — Dani Moonstar, better known as Mirage. Earlier reports had the alien mutant Warlock as part of the group, but it looks like he might be dropped from the line-up. His unique, alien look might have made the sr The movie is said to be a an adaptation of “The Demon Bear Saga”, one of the most popular storylines in the New Mutants canon from its original run. The movie is said to start shooting this April for a July 2018 release date.

What do you think of this latest casting addition to Fox’s latest X-Men spin-off film? Let us know your thoughts down below in the comments.

Images: Marvel Comics / Netflix

The Dan Cave unravels the Dark Phoenix Saga

4 Things We Need From the SIN CITY TV Show

With the announcement of a brand new Sin City show coming from TWC-Dimension, guided by The Walking Dead showrunner Glen Mazarra and Underworld’s Len Wiseman directing, we’re already plotting on all the ways this adaptation stand out from the other comic book shows currently cluttering up TV schedules.

Sin City is one of the most lauded and controversial books that’s ever hit the shelves of your local comic shop, written and drawn by Frank Miller and published by Dark Horse Comics. An uber-violent take on the well-worn noir genre that flung Miller’s now notorious style into the spotlight, it became an instant cult classic and landed itself in the annals of so called seminal comics.

Whether or not you’ve picked up a copy of Sin City, we’re here to tell you what the show can do to make sure it lives up to the potential of its source material, leaving behind some of the more dated aspects whilst still telling a radical and relevant story.

1) Strong Women

Frank Miller loves strong women–he created the first female Robin, Carrie Kelley, in his legendary book, The Dark Knight Returns–and Basin City is full of them. Though the book’s representation of women often veers into the exploitative, there are still a wealth of amazing characters that the show could explore and expand upon. If Sin City decided to focus on one of its many female characters, it could set itself apart as a comic book ensemble show that has a primary female protagonist, potentially even a woman of color. This choice would also subvert the overdone tropes of noir and its homage driven sibling, neo-noir, that often focus on down-and-out men who’re usually one more drink away from some kind of terrible tragedy. Turning the femme fatale archetype on its head is something Frank Miller always claimed he was doing with his representation of women in Sin City, and if the show followed that concept in a more nuanced way it could really be the start of something special.

2) Inclusive Casting

From the outset of Sin City, you realise that Basin City is filled with all kinds of people. Though on rereading Miller’s magnum opus the representations of race may seem sloppy or fetishized, it does mean the show has a diverse roster to pull from. There’s no excuse for Sin City–or any other property in 2017–to be anything other than wholly inclusive. Firstly, these characters exist within the books, which is one of the earliest complaints many “fans” make in regards to inclusive casting. Secondly, Frank Miller takes influence from so many cultural touchstones–the clearly manga-influenced art to Pam Grier’s obvious impact on his blaxploitation tinged heroines–that Sin City itself would likely not exist without people of color and their creative output. This show has the chance to subvert its exploitative past and truly pay respect to its inspirations by focusing on a core cast of people of color.

3) That Iconic Style

Most fans tuning into a Sin City based show are going to be desperate to lay their eyes on that now synonymous black and white with its vibrant spot colors. The 2005 film adaptation did a great job creating something that looked truly unique, and was at the time one of the best looking comic book films ever made. Miller and Rodriguez’s heavily greenscreened, over-stylized black and white aesthetic has not only aged relatively poorly but it requires an incredibly labor-intensive process, which led–amongst other things–to the sequel not being released until a decade later. Whatever route the production team decide to go this time around, they’ll really need to lean heavily into the comics’ stark monochrome with those beautiful splashes of color to get fans stoked for this new incarnation.

4) Fantastic Storytelling

When it comes to storytelling, the Sin City books are pretty decompressed. Though essentially a set of anthology comics which tell stories of different inhabitants in Basin City, a single character’s tale might be spread over several issues or even a couple different collections. While Miller’s effectiveness in the original comics is very much reliant on visual storytelling and the classic noir structure of minimal dialogue with an expository voiceover, the show would do well to move away from this. In the age of television like Game of Thrones, Mad Men, How to Get Away With Murder, and Riverdale, there’s a space for expansive, surprising shows that also focus on in depth exploratory storytelling whilst feeling urgent, engaging, and enjoyable. If done right, it’s here that Sin City could truly thrive.

Who do you wanna see (dis)gracing the streets of Basin City? Which iconic scenes would you love to see brought to life? Or is Sin City old news? Fire away in our comments!

Images: Frank Miller/Dark Horse Comics

You better be watching these awesome shows…

Talking ORIENT EXPRESS and BABY DRIVER Trailers and WONDER WOMAN Box Office

Be your choice of transportation a getaway car, an international passenger train, or an invisible jet, you’ll want rev it up to top speeds to get yourself over to the movie theaters this summer. Today’s Nerdist News Talks Back covers three upcoming features spanning a wide variety of genres: action, adventure, fantasy, mystery, superheroism, and easy listening among them. Join host Jessica Chobot, Nerdist Associate Editor Kyle Anderson, and Nerdist Music Editor Matthew Grosinger as they dive into Murder on the Orient Express, Wonder Woman, and Baby Driver.

First up is Kenneth Branagh‘s heavily mustachioed adaptation of the 1934 Agatha Christie novel Murder on the Orient Express, for which we got our first trailer this morning. The seminal story definitely lends to cinematic interpretation, but is Branagh’s star-studded vision the sort of interpretation we want to see? Beyond that question, Orient Express is hardly the only Christie novel wanting for life on screen. Which other of her books are we most hoping might get film adaptations? And of course, the biggest question of all: WHODUNNIT?

via GIPHY

Next up, it seems that Wonder Woman‘s popularity isn’t expected to be limited to the critic community. The film is tracking to do gangbusters at the box office, with projections approaching $95 million for its opening weekend alone (via Collider). Not too shabby, Diana. And what’s more, success of this level could very well mean a sequel for the Themyscira princess. Beyond her adventures in the forthcoming Justice League, what would we want to see in Diana’s future screen endeavors? Any specific adventures… or villains?!

Finally, yet another trailer to get excited about: Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver. Not only are we fans of the Shaun of the Dead and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World director’s visual style, but of his taste in music… and both strengths seem to be operating at peak efficiency in this new trailer. The only hiccup: the title. In fact, we’ve got a few ideas of what other kinds of movies a title like “Baby Driver” might refer to…

Are you pumped for Murder on the Orient Express, Wonder Woman, and Baby Driver? Let us know!

Images: 20th Century Fox

Look at This Frickin’ GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY Tattoo Sleeve

It’s been almost a month since Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 was released, and I’m still thinking about Baby Groot, Mary Poppins, and the tape to cover the death button. Tessa, of Mama’s Geeky, also has serious feels about Guardians, so serious that she has a tattoo sleeve to showcase her fandom to the world. She’s been reading comics featuring the characters for as long as she can remember, and once she saw the first Guardians of the Galaxy and Baby Groot, she knew it was time for a tattoo featuring the little sprout.

The tattoo is still a work in progress — Yondu and Nebula coming soon — but for now, Tessa is 16 hours in. It all started with Baby Groot, and based on him, she decided to use the versions of the characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Tessa’s been working with Nic Terramiggi of Olde Anchor Tattoo. She wanted Star-Lord to be the focus of the top half of the tattoo, with Yondu front and center on the bottom. She told Nerdist, “As I told [Nic] about my idea, he immediately came up with some great filler to go between the characters. The purple and pink colors, the swirls, all the ships — those were all his ideas. Even the Earth behind Peter was his idea. When we add Yondu, we are including his arrow, but also Ego in planet form behind him as a nod to them both being fathers to Peter. I told Nic which characters I wanted, gave him some photos as reference pieces and he sketched it all together.”

“The rest is history! I think the fact that I have full confidence in Nic and told him to just go for it, really helped it come together well.”

You can see more of Nic’s work on Instagram, and if you’re interested in checking out his tattoo shop, you can visit them on Facebook.

Head the gallery below to see more a sketch of the upcoming Yondu addition and Tessa at the world premiere of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 with James Gunn and Kevin Feige.

If you have nerdy ink on your skin or you’re a tattoo artist that applies pop culture, STEM, music, or other nerd-inspired ink (tl;dr: I want to see basically all of the tattoos) on a regular basis, then please hit me up because I’d like to highlight you in a future Inked Wednesday gallery. I’m especially interested if you have a sleeve or other large tattoo. You can get in touch with me via email at alratcliffe@yahoo.com. Send me photos of the tattoos you’d like me to feature (the higher resolution, the better) and don’t forget to let me know the name of your tattoo artist if you have it, as well the name of the shop he or she works out of. If you are the tattoo artist, give me links to your portfolios and/or Instagram accounts so I can share them with our readers.

Images: Tessa

How long could star-lord survive in space unprotected?

Funko is Making the Cutest STAR WARS Darth Vader TIE Fighter Toy of All Time

Oh, pop culture, you send us such confusing signals sometimes.

Barely six months ago—when Rogue One was in theaters—everyone was all hyped that Darth Vader was badass again. The lightsaber in the dark! The choking! The lava castle! The sadistic mockery of magical strangulation!

Yeah, that was then. This is Wednesday, where we got a look at a brand new Star Wars Funko Pop that makes us go “D’awwwww! Look at da iddy-biddy Sith Lord with his widdle hands and adorable annoyed face!”

Obviously, we know a mask can’t actually make different faces, and that the style here is exaggeration. But it looks for all the world like the leader of the Imperial Fleet looks upset that he locked his keys inside the car. That said, cool Death Star base. And what an extremely tiny Death Star it must be. Somebody in the Pop universe evidently made a Spinal Tap-style measurement confusion interpreting Galen Erso’s blueprints. Being a Pop, said individual is probably acting extremely big-headed nonetheless.

 

Darth Vader in his TIE Fighter will be a Target exclusive sometime next month, augmenting the amply stocked Funko sections most stores have now. Seriously, if you want not just Funko Pops, but shirts and other merchandise covered in pictures of Funko Pops, you might wanna make like an X-Wing pilot and…

…stay on Target.

YEEEEEEEAHHHHHHHH!

I mean, like, “Who are you” to say no to this collectible? Be careful not to choke on your ambition! Kidding aside, we want this toy very much. How about you? Tell us in comments.

Images: Funko, Lucasfilm, CBS

The First Ever Record Label Cinematic Universe is Very ’80s (Exclusive)

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has accounted for biggest paradigm shift in the way we consume films in the last 20 years. Duh, right? But hindsight is 20/20. If you think about the way audiences have grown into binge-watching habits, Marvel making viewing experiences interconnected and less disposable before the onslaught of streaming content was a brilliant move. In other words, if you build it, they will come.

That is exactly what Franki Chan over at LA’s IHEARTCOMIX is hoping to do with the world of music videos at his brand new label IHC 1NFINITY. Over the course of the last year or so, IHC has worked with a swatch of electro-pop musicians to tell one overarching story via several music videos that, much like Stranger Things, tip hats to John Carpenter, The Goonies, Indiana Jones, Terminator, It, and countless seminal films from that period. Although Chan says that he wants the interconnected stories to have a “timeless” feel, he acknowledges the powerful nostalgia that each new music video bears.

Although artists like My Chemical Romance and R. Kelly — is he still trapped in that godforsaken closet? — have opened up their music videos to recurring characters and story arcs, no record label has involved several members of its roster with the goal of telling distinct stories in a connected way quite like this. The idea began in earnest in 2014 with Australian singer Chela’s music video for “Handful of Gold,” in which Chan, Chela, and co-director Jesus Rivera,began forming some of the recurring characters that would go on to highlight the strange, post-apocalyptic, horrifying world that 1NFINITY would build in music videos with singer Gavin Turek, producer Pictureplane, and now j-pop inflected DJ Mark Redito.

With each new music video, we uncover the horrors of the evil N.O.M.A.D.I.C. mega corporation, and how all of their products are slowly ripping the known universe to shreds. Their energy drink, Hyper Real, literally causes a guy’s face to melt off, Raiders-Of-The-Lost-Ark style.

Once a physical record label that packaged and distributed albums in the mid-2000s, IHC has shifted their focus in a way that makes you wonder if they are onto something bigger, signifying yet another shift in the ever evolving music industry. To get some more answers about the ambitions behind a music video cinematic universe and where it could go from here, we caught up with Chan and Rivera to pick their brains a bit.

Nerdist: What inspired the idea of a cinematic universe for music videos? 

Franki Chan: The idea of the shared music video universe was inspired by Marvel’s cinematic universe and other continuity based shows like the X-Files or LOST. I’ve been a huge comic fan my whole life and the idea that characters and story can overlap has always been one of my favorite parts of the medium.

When we decided to start a new record label, it was important to me to come up with a concept that was different and spoke to our interests and audience. I’d already run the gamut of a traditional record label and didn’t enjoy the basic brick & mortar sales experience. I wanted something that was fun and simple, less strings, more creativity. We settled on digital singles and came up with the shared universe concept as our way of working collaboratively with the artists and creating a universe of our own.

Jesus Rivera: Basically, our ideas were getting too big for our britches and we decided that it would be more fun and timeless to stretch a narrative across multiple music videos so that we could tell one big giant story. Regardless of artistic integrity and quality, most music videos have a short expiration date and sadly fall into the vast vortex that is the interwebs.

N: Do you think cinematic universes could be viable in the music industry?

FC: I doubt it, at least to the extent that we are attempting. More than likely you will see thought out mini-universes and concepts throughout a single artist campaign. These things have been attempted by a bunch of folks like My Chemical Romance or Aerosmith or even as recently as The Weeknd or PUP, but most fall short of telling a cohesive story (except PUP, worth the watch).

As mediums blend and artists are empowered to experiment (from any side of the aisle) I do think it’s inevitable to see larger developed ideas. Whether utilizing social media to enrich the depth of a story (like Rick & Morty) or creating a fully realized comic book world to accompany an album (like Lights), the best part about now are the possibilities.

We are in a unique place in that ours is cross-artists, but that opens it’s own can of worms as music videos also have to serve as a marketing vehicle for a song, so we need to strike a balance and it requires the artist to play as much in our sandbox as we are working to promote them. That only appeals to some and takes a lot work to manage. We are doing our best to keep all of our continuity ducks in a row, but it could end up being more like LOST in the end, we’ll see!

N: How did you decide which artists you wanted to work with for this?

FC: I sign artists I love and that IHC are working with. Each has their own story, but usually starts with me discovering them in some way and then I track them down and beg them to be a part of the label. I look for artists with strong personalities that define their own lanes and make great tunes. It’s important we get along and that each have a unique voice and share our vision. We really view a new artist as a member of the family, so it’s often more than a financial decision in making sure they are the right fit and a strong representative of the IHC brand.

N: How did you decide on the visual aesthetic which pulls a lot from ’70s-’80s?

FC: These are the kinds of films we’re into and grew up with. That era is a big influence for us, both on the horror and the teen comedy side. Throughout the history of IHEARTCOMIX that look and mindset has seeped into almost everything we do, so it made sense to bring it to a reality with this concept. It’s been a ton of fun to reimagine that aesthetic in a modern context and also attempt to recreate the effects to the best of our ability.

JR: Personally, I am a junkie for the warm blanket that is cult cinema. The 1970’s & 80’s were the dawn of the psychotronic cable TV era. It’s part of my visual vernacular now. It has and in some way will always affect my filmmaking and artistic sensibilities.

N: Where do you envision this project going long term?

FC: My wish is that the 1NFINITY universe can develop it’s own fanbase over time and evolve into something greater. Worst case, we make a bunch of cool music videos and attempt something new. Best case it becomes it’s own series, feature or merch line. You never know!

We are still in the early days and the concept needs to be proven. We are at video #4, I want to get to video #10 and see what we’ve done. People will either get it or they won’t. Breaking the idea publicly is the most challenging part, so we are def looking at what Marvel did marketing wise and making things like this doc to help explain the idea.

N: Do you envision a live element attached to this idea?

JR: ’1NFINITY on Ice’ with giant mascot heads could be cool.

Images: IHEARTCOMIX