Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 2074

World’s First Drone Jump is a Heavy Dose of Sky Suspense

Humanity’s obsession with leaping from the skies and back to Earth with a parachute and a prayer (or an Automatic Activation Device), has taken many forms: skydiving out of hot air balloon swings, skydiving out of a plane without any parachute whatsoever. But now, for the first time ever, love of high-altitude adrenaline rushes has been combined with that other aerial obsession, drones, for the world’s first “drone jump.”

The jump was planned and executed by Aerones, a Latvian high-power drone development company, which is apparently looking to make large, powerful drones in order to disrupt sectors including, but not limited to, rescue, construction, transportation, and sports photography. To prove that their drones are capable of lifting a serious amount of weight — currently up to 200 kilograms (440 pounds) — they had one lift skydiver Ingus Augstkalns to a height of about 330 meters (roughly 1082 feet). Once at that height, Augstkalns released from his handlebars (he was wearing gloves, because, presumably, that palm-sweat action was insane) and skydived back to Earth.

The jump took place in Māļi, a rural area of Amata, Latvia, and took Aerones and Augstkalns six months to plan. They decided to have Augstkalns latch himself onto the drone at the top of a 120 meter-tall (roughly 393 feet) communications tower owned and operated by the Latvian State Radio and Television Center (LVRTC). Presumably, they chose to have Augstkalns grab onto the drone at this height because, no one wanted a malfunction at a height where a chute couldn’t open in time.

As for what to look forward to in the future, Aerones seems set on proving that their drones can do everything from tow wakeboarders to rescue hikers. Here it is fighting fires:

Here it is being used as a helicopter hat:

No wait, that’s Inspector Gadget.

What do you think about this drone jump? Go Go Gadget Comments below!

Images: YouTube / Aerones

Ozzy Osbourne’s Vocals Mash Up Shockingly Well With Earth, Wind & Fire

Regardless of how happy a person he may be in his personal life, Ozzy Osbourne isn’t a figure we typically associate with happiness or joy. He’s “The Prince Of Darkness,” and he once bit a bat’s head off on stage. Them’s the facts, but what’s also true is that his vocals, those of “the Godfather of Heavy Metal,” sound unexpectedly great when placed atop the instrumental of what may be the most optimistic-sounding song of all time: “September” by Earth, Wind & Fire (via NPR).

A new mash-up from DJ Cummerbund pairs that song with Osbourne’s “Crazy Train,” and the effect is pretty neat. His vocals sound perfectly natural in the rock-oriented environment of “Crazy Train,” but what we may have overlooked is that there’s a real cleanliness and purity to them that allows them to thrive in the happy disco environment created by “September.” This isn’t one of those mash-ups that’s a real stretch, where the producer matched the tempo of two incompatible songs and threw them together: This combination really works, and there’s nothing unnatural-sounding about it.

If you’re still thirsty for mash-ups, we’ve heard a few other strong ones in our day. For instance, Limp Bizkit sounds right at home on the Seinfeld theme song, while the vocals from Smash Mouth’s “All Star” almost work too well when mixed with Linkin Park. What other wild mash-ups have you come across during your journeys on the crazy, crazy interwebs? Share your favorite ones in the comments below!

Featured image: Epic Records

Marvel’s Big SECRET EMPIRE Twist May Not Surprise You Too Much [Spoiler]

Even if you’re not up on every current Marvel comic, you’ve doubtless heard the big storyline news of the past year or so, as it’s exactly the sort of thing that gets picked up by broader news outlets out-of-context: Captain America is a Nazi! And not just that: he has always been a Nazi! The twist you did NOT SEE coming!

Now, those of us who’ve followed comics at any point in our lives knew to chill. I remember in the ’90s honest-to-goodness believing Conor Hawke was now the permanent Green Arrow, Kyle Rayner is Green Lantern forever, and Aquaman is a broody, beardy guy with a hook hand. Sure, I had trouble letting go of Hal Jordan and Ollie Queen (less so clean-shaven Aquaman, as I liked the new version better from the getgo; Zack Snyder clearly agreed), but I accepted the new guys, and eventually made peace with them as a necessary story progression. DC undoing all of that was the beginning of knowledge in many ways. And Sam Wilson was never going to replace Steve Rogers completely.

But Marvel pushed the issue, even as Axel Alonso backpedaled a bit. This wasn’t a double or a clone, but the real Cap, and he had always been part of Hydra. (Though with actual white supremacists becoming a visible global political faction, Marvel is now hedging on the notion that Hydra were ever Nazis, because wearing similar uniforms and fighting alongside the Axis in World War II is apparently something that can be done by coincidence).

Via io9, however, we have the big reveal of Secret Empire #2, and it’s this:

Obviously we don’t know how this will play out, but this man calling himself Steve Rogers is a good guy who saves an innocent woman from the Serpent Society. And assuming he is who he says he is, that means that at best, always-evil Cap is the equivalent of Evil Kirk in a  Star Trek transporter accident. At worst, Marvel was totally lying and he’s not Cap at all (not that they should be sued for that; lying in the concealment of spoilers can at times be considered justifiable). At the most obvious, talk-show hosts who freaked out when it was revealed Batman was going to die should have learned their lesson already: very little in comics is ever permanent.

What do you think this means? Multiple Steves? Alternate timeline Steves? A genuine Hydra Cap from another universe? It would be irresponsible not to speculate irresponsibly, so please have at it in comments.

Images: Marvel, LEGO

We speculate all day long about Avengers 4

Funko is Releasing an Impressive Line of DARK TOWER Pops

There is a huge amount of hype for The Dark Tower film heading our way on August 4 of this year. But no major motion picture release is complete without a solid line of accompanying merchandise, right? To make sure that every fan of the Stephen King series can properly display their love of The Dark Tower series, Funko is releasing a new line of Pop figures just in time for the film!

The Dark Tower pops feature two version of the Gunslinger (played by Idris Elba in the film), and one of The Man in Black (played by Matthew McConaughey). You can get yourself a Gunslinger to best suit your mood. There’s one with his guns out and at the ready:

Or if that one feels a bit too aggressive, you can find one of the Gunslinger in a more posed stance:

However, you will have to plan your Funko buying accordingly, as the posed Gunslinger figure shown above is a Barnes & Noble exclusive. So if you haven’t read the books yet, you can pick up your copy of The Gunslinger right alongside of your Gunslinger Barnes & Noble exclusive Funko!

Of course if you want to represent your evil side with your Funko Pop collection, then you’ll probably need to check out the Pop for The Man in Black. Not only does he look evil and ominous (as much as a Funko Pop can, anyway), but he’s also featured holding one of the mystical seeing balls.

It’s the perfect collection for any fan of the Dark Tower series, or anyone wanting to expand their Funko collection to include the big blockbusters coming our way this summer. And though we’ve got to wait until August for the film to hit the big screen, these Pops will hit stores in July.

What do you think of the Dark Tower Funkos? What other characters from the series or the film would you like to see represented? Tell us in the comments!

Jeff Goldblum, Uh, Uh, Uh, Was Almost The, Uh, Voice of Apple’s Siri

“Life, uh, finds a way,” Dr. Ian Malcolm famously told us in Steven Spielberg’s 1993 dinosaur-filled masterpiece Jurassic Park. Apparently the second half of that quote is “to break your goddamn heart” because during an appearance on the Today Show in Australia, Jeff Goldblum revealed that he was nearly the voice of Siri. We first learned of the news via Esquire UK, and now all I want to do is hurl my iPhone into the goddamn ocean.

“Steve Jobs called me up a few decades ago to be the voice of Apple,” Goldblum revealed during his appearance. “That was early on, and I did not know it was Steve Jobs.”

Sadly, the universe in which Jeff Goldblum’s dulcet tones tell you the temperature outside and set three alarms so you can sleep through the first two is not the one in which we live. We live in the one where Susan Bennett’s voice is the one helping us with our mundane tasks and all too frequently misunderstanding what the hell I’m telling her in an effort not to crash my car. No offense to Ms. Bennett, but I’m sure she understands where I’m coming from here.

At least we’ll always have the video of Jeff Goldblum’s 1999 iMac ad which has been slowed down to such an insane degree that His Jazziness sounds like he is 19 margaritas deep.

Would you buy an iPhone if Jeff Goldblum had been the voice of Siri? Who else would you rather have than the default voice? Let us know in the comments below.

Image: Universal

Dan Casey is the senior editor of Nerdist and the author of books about Star Wars and the Avengers. Follow him on Twitter (@Osteoferocious).

What is THE LAST JEDI’s “Shocking Reveal?”

This month may mark the 40th anniversary of Star Wars, but we’re looking ahead to December’s premiere of The Last Jedi, the eighth episode in the ever-expanding saga. As if the first trailer didn’t already have us excited for Episode VIII, a new The Last Jedi ad out of Japan is reportedly hyping up the biggest reveal yet. Today’s Nerdist News is searching your feelings, you know it to be true!

There are potential spoilers ahead for The Last Jedi! For now, it’s all rumors and speculation. But if these theories turn out to be right, then you may want to avoid them.

Join host, and the second to last Jedi, Jessica Chobot, as she examines a report from StarWarsNews.net that features a translation from a Japanese Star Wars promotional leaflet that offers this claim: “The most shocking truth in Star Wars history will soon be revealed!”

“The most shocking truth?” Because after The Empire Strikes Back‘s Darth Vader reveal, that’s a pretty high bar. Even the Skywalker twins revelation couldn’t come close to that. So what could The Last Jedi possibly have to compete with those secrets?

Of course, the obvious answer is the truth about Rey’s parents…but perhaps that’s a little too obvious. For a secret that could shake the Star Wars universe to its core, it would have to be along the lines of Luke Skywalker secretly running the First Order, or something completely unforeseen about Supreme Leader Snoke. It’s entirely possible that the team at Lucasfilm have planned a particularly juicy secret to expose, and we’re going to enjoy speculating about it for the next seven months.

What do you think will be the shocking reveal from The Last Jedi? Let’s discuss in the comment section below!

KING KONG Musical Coming to Broadway in 2018

There have been a lot — and I mean a lot — of famous movies made into Broadway musicals over the years, and their success rate has not been particularly great. For every hit like Lion King or Hairspray, the Great White Way is littered with the corpses of failures like Saturday Night Fever, Shrek, and maybe most famously, Stephen King’s Carrie. (Which, by the way, is no where near as bad as people claim).

Now, one of the least likely movies to ever get a stage adaptation is going to be getting one as well, as we’ve just learned, via Entertainment Weekly, that King Kong is coming to the Broadway stage as a musical.

King Kong is stet to debut on Broadway in the fall of 2018, at the Broadway Theatre, in a show written by author Jack Thorne, who has brought other well known film properties to the stage before, as he wrote both Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which is also coming to Broadway in 2018, as well as the recent critically acclaimed stage version of the Swedish vampire film Let the Right One In.

King Kong will be directed and choreographed by Drew McOnie (Strictly Ballroom The Musical), and scored and composed by Grammy nominee Marius de Vries, who himself has some experience in the world of film, having worked on movie musicals like La La Land and Moulin Rouge. Eddie Perfect (Beetlejuice) will write songs. And as for King Kong, the big guy will be designed by Sonny Tilders, using animatronics and puppetry.

The show’s producer Roy Furman said in a statement “King Kong is a quintessential New York story, and I’m proud to be involved in this historic production. Our team is creating a theatrical experience that we hope will astound audiences while delighting them with its heartfelt storytelling.”

Regardless of quality, this is the kind of show that casual New York tourist audiences love to see, but critics love to hate. And judging from the need for animatronics and puppetry, this could be the next Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark — a big, unwieldy, effects heavy show that has to keep the house full every single night simply to pay for itself. Nevertheless, if they pull it off it could be something that has never been seen before on Broadway. Our fingers are crossed for the Big Guy. May he bring some of his recent Kong: Skull Island mojo with him to the stage.

What do you think of a King Kong musical? Would you make the trek out to New York city to see the ol’ gorilla? Let us know your thoughts down below in the comments.

Images: Warner Brothers / Paramount Pictures

The Non-Existent JRPG That Everyone is Nostalgic For

We all love the classics, and this past weekend the internet paid homage to one of the great pillars of JRPG history: Arc Symphony for the Playstation.

If you don’t remember it, you’re in good company, since only a handful of people do. The nostalgia-fest started with a tweet from Damian Sommer, a member of the design group Gloam Collective: “Was just reorganizing my game library when I came across this gem. Anyone remember this game?”

Was just reorganizing my games library when I found this gem. Anyone else remember this game? pic.twitter.com/h2MVOY7SdG

— Damian Sommer (@DamianSommer) May 14, 2017

The tweet contained a photo of what looked like an old Playstation 1 game from the early 1990’s that mimicked the cover style of Final Fantasy. Some commenters praised the game as an underappreciated influence on the JRPG genre, but there were many who didn’t recognize it as a game at all.

Reddit users began scouring the web for screenshots and fan sites, but it quickly became clear that Arc Symphony was either the most elusive game ever released, or a large group of people were remembering something that didn’t exist.

The latter is true.

Arc Symphony never existed, despite what game designers and fans of the game suggested on social media. Its game developer, Aether Interactive, isn’t online. There are only the Twitter mentions and a single fan site for the game, which suspiciously resembles the terribly ancient internet sites of long ago.

Here’s what the Arc Symphony fan site has to say:

One of the most important games of the last generation, Arc Symphony was first released on a 24 megabit cartridge to massive acclaim. Ever since, you can find it on CD, on newsstands, and (I hear) there’s even a movie in the works.

If you’ve ever played it, you’d know why Arc Symphony is so important. It’s one of the most engaging stories to come out of Japan: on the Arc Symphony, a great airship protecting its denizens from the Great Flood below, Satoshi Davis, a young member of the King’s Guard has his world turned upside down.

With his best friend Dallas Flamestrike and an actual, true ensemble cast, Satoshi’s tale has captured the attention of anyone who plays it. It’s truly a hidden gem provided by the good folks at Aether Interactive.

Reddit’s very own clan of mystery solvers, the Game Detectives, concluded that all the buildup and talk on social media had to be a part of an amazingly well-planned marketing ploy for an upcoming game.

Once the game was outed to be a fake, it became clear that the signs were there all along. Arc Symphony was supposedly sold at this weekend’s Toronto Comics and Art Festival, and the majority of those praising the non-existent game are members of the Toronto indie developer community. In fact, all of the links on the fan site lead straight to the itch.io pages of Canadian developers who were tweeting about the game to begin with. Talk about hiding in plain sight.

A timer on the Arc Symphony fan site was set to go off earlier today at noon EST, and it revealed that Arc Symphony is now a real game that can make real memories with fans. It turns out that the game isn’t a JRPG at all, but instead an entertaining Twine game on developer Sophia Park’s itch.io page.

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Alex Tisdale is a writer and illustrator who runs on coffee and pop culture. You can find him covered in ink and rambling on his   website   or on   Twitter.

Chlorosulfonic Acid Eats Through Tangerines Like Xenomorph Blood

The best defense is a good offense, as the old adage goes, or you can just have acid blood, like the xenomorphs (yes, little “x”) from the Alien franchise do. But the xeno’s acid blood, which is so dangerous “you don’t dare kill” the thing it runs through, is totally fictional. Chlorosulfonic acid, on the other hand, is real and quite destructive. (Side note: don’t get it on your other hand!)

Chemistry Flicks, a YouTube channel that’s dedicated to finding out what happens “when every day [sic] objects are exposed to some of the world’s most dangerous chemicals…” has poured superacids on everything from phones to dog toys. But this video of chlorosulfonic acid absolutely annihilating a tangerine looks especially like xenomorph blood eating its way through… anything.

Xenomorph blood from Alien. Image: 20th Century Fox

Chlorosulfonic acid, for those who aren’t up to speed on their super dangerous inorganic compounds, is a superacid — because it has a greater acidity than 100% pure sulfuric acid — used in the creation of detergents, and as a chemical intermediate. Chlorosulfonic “reacts violently” with water, yielding sulfuric acid (the chemical used in cleaning agents and drain cleaners) and hydrogen chloride gas, dangerous by itself. The result: straight-up facehugger blood, man! Definitely something you don’t want anywhere near your starfreighter and its many hulls.

What do you think about chlorosulfonic acid and its likeness to xenomorph acid blood? What else would you want to see melted like a backstabbing Ash? Let us know in the comments below!

Images: YouTube / Chemistry Flicks

How acidic is xenomorph blood?

Daft Punk’s TRON Score Livens Up STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE in New Fan Edit

TRON: Legacy may not exactly be one of the best worst movies of the past few years, but it’s got one of the best soundtracks. It’s not that Disney’s 2010 follow up to the 1982 original is all that bad really–it has some very cool visuals, and some interesting moments–but it is simply not worthy of the truly transcendent musical score it received from electronic music legends Daft Punk.

via GIPHY

Having grown up with the original TRON film, the duo poured their hearts and souls into this project. What resulted is one of the best scores for a modern big budget movie in recent memory, and one that I listen to quite often (hoping that something like it might someday score a live-action Batman Beyond film).

Now we’ve learned via Reddit that a fan and Vimeo user named Patrick Collins has taken this excellent score from a sub-par film and coupled it with… another sub-par film with an excellent score, namely 1979’s original Star Trek: The Motion Picture. While the first Star Trek movie is beautiful to look at, it’s extremely long and slow, and quite frankly pretty boring. Collins created a 22-minute edit of the film with the late Jerry Goldsmith’s score taken out, and Daft Punk’s TRON: Legacy score in its place. The result: Star Trek: Legacy.

You can see the entire Star Trek: Legacy fan edit film down below:

Star Trek: Legacy from Patrick Collins on Vimeo.

Not to knock on the brilliant Goldsmith’s original Star Trek film score, but the Daft Punk soundtrack from TRON: Legacy gives the film a sense of urgency it simply didn’t have before. As a lifelong Trekker I hate to say this, but while 22 minutes is a lot shorter than its two-hour runtime, this is actually an improvement.

What do you all out there think of this fan mash-up? Are both films best left alone, or do you find this to be an improvement? Chime in with your thoughts down below.

Images: Paramount Pictures, Walt Disney Studios

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