Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 2090

SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING Funkos are Swinging Into Stores

♫ Spider-Man, Spider-Man / Funko’s Exclusive Spider-Man!♫

Are your spidey senses tingling? They should be, because the wide webbed world of everyone’s favorite thwip!per is getting turned into plastic and vinyl for all your collective and or desk tchotchkes purposes. That’s right: Spider-Man: Homecoming exclusives from Funko are hitting stores this summer!

A recent blog posting by Funko announced these new exclusives that’ll hit various stores just in time for peak Spidey excitement. As Funko often does, each of the six items will be offered at different stores (Target, Walmart, Gamestop, Best Buy, and Hot Topic) allowing for at least a little bit of excitement in playing out your J. Jonah Jameson dreams of hunting the wall-crawler down and bringing him to justice on the shelves of your collections. 

What we’re excited for (other than the spot-on side part in Funko-fied Tom Holland‘s hair) is whether or not the Vulture’s described “Green Glow” actually, y’know, glows in the dark. And don’t think we’d miss the chance to point out just how cool the slightly squinted/raised eyebrow eye shutters(?) on the Stark Industries Spidey-suit is in the two-pack coming to Target.

Odd how something as subtle as an implied raised eyebrow can sum up the entirety of a character’s personality so well. We need this Spidey figure in our lives NOW!

Take a look at the gallery below for all the Spider-Man: Homecoming Funko exclusives and let us know which one is your favorite in the comments section!

Images: Funko

Need more Spidey in your life? Try “That Spidey Life” on for size:

See the Cool (And Creepy) AVATAR Animatronic From Disney World’s Latest Attraction

Despite being the biggest movie of all time at the box office, it’s not an unfair assessment to say that James Cameron’s sci-fi blockbuster Avatar didn’t quite leave the same long lasting pop culture footprint that similar sci-fi/fantasy franchises like Star Wars or Harry Potter left behind. However, with four sequels coming up over the next decade, it’s fair to say that Avatar is poised to make a huge comeback into our cultural consciousness, and very soon. Get used to seeing those blue cat people again at conventions, folks.

The first step in this will definitely be Walt Disney World’s upcoming Avatar themed expansion of their Animal Kingdom park, called Pandora: The World of Avatar. Among the new attractions in Pandora will be Flight of Passage, a new 3D ride which allows you to fly a banshee over Pandora as one of the native Na’vi. The banshees of course were those cool looking dragon-like creatures that the natives rode on, the ones that even the biggest Avatar haters out there secretly wanted to fly around on.

As fans of the movie might remember, for normal humans to exist on the planet Pandora and breathe the air, their DNA must be combined with one of the native Na’vi to create a sort of half human/half alien clone of themselves that one can mentally link with. It’s sort of a creepy concept when you think about it, but it’s a crucial part of the overall mythology that James Cameron created, and therefore, a big part of the conceit of the ride as well.

As part of Flight of Passage, as you are waiting in line for the ride, you can see one of the avatars being grown in a giant incubator. Now Inside the Magic have given us our first look at the Na’vi animatronic which fans get to see while in queue, and it is so lifelike its super creepy (although wearing shorts in an incubation tube? Really? Yeah, yeah I know. It’s a family park).

You can check out a detailed video of the Avatar animatronic down below.

Are you thinking of making the trip to Orlando to check our the world of Pandora? Be sure to let us know down below in the comments.

Images: Twentieth Century Fox

Gorgeous Slo-Mo Video Shows the Lightning in a Life Saver Candy

It turns out that light is pretty easy to make. In fact, it’s so easy that it occurs naturally in certain organisms, via what is called bioluminescence. However, it’s even more effortless than that if you have a hammer, a piece of hard candy, and an incredibly sensitive high-speed camera. Destin Sandlin, of YouTube channel Smarter Every Day, demonstrated just that in a recent video.

As Sandlin explains in the clip above, the phenomenon is called triboluminescence, defined as the mechanical creation of light, usually through rubbing or shearing or cleaving off a piece of a crystalline structure. It occurs when the chemical bonds holding some material together are suddenly shattered, releasing energy in the form of photons.

The process only requires a hard Life Saver candy and some way to apply a lot of force to it, so it ought to be easy and safe enough for you to try it yourself at home. All you have to do is get yourself in a dark room with the candy and a hammer, take a crack at the candy, and you should see a spark of blue light upon impact. You can even chew the candy in the mirror!

The effect is of course much cooler when filmed with a high-speed camera — you can marvel at the sparks of light being created as the candy splinters apart. Sandlin even brought in guns just for fun and, as you may have expected, the increased force created by the bullets led to a lot more visible light. We can only go as far as recommending you try this with a hammer. If you want to see what kind of triboluminescence can happen when ammunition is involved, watch the video above.

Have you ever tried this for yourself? What other methods could you use to spark a Life Saver in this way? Is there another type of candy that works better? Let us know what you think in the comments below!

Featured image: Smarter Every Day 2/YouTube

McDonald’s Made Something Called a Frork, Because Why Not

Since the dawn of recorded history, humanity has always documented the important dates that drove us forward as a species. Monday, May 1st, 2017 will now be one of those days, because McDonald’s has gifted mankind with the Frork: the fusion of a french fry and a fork that will clearly usher in a new age of condiment consumption.

It may be a joke, but the Frork is very real. Via NBC News, McDonald’s has released a new infomercial-style promo for the Frork, which uses a real infomercial pitchman, Anthony Sullivan, as he enthusiastically makes the case for the Frork as a substitute eating utensil. However, the best use of the Frork is probably limited to cleaning up after topping spills.

The Frork was created primarily as an excuse to promote the new Signature Crafted Recipes line-up at McDonald’s. However, the promotional team may have done their job too well, as the Frork is all anyone can talk about in the Nerdist offices today. Perhaps it will even lead to a new era of food and utensil hybrids that are specifically designed to help us consume other food items. What’s next, Chicken McNugget chopsticks? (And would they be called Chixstixs? The mind, it reels.)

Fans and hungry customers will get their chance to buy Frorks on May 5th, when the Signature Crafted Recipes selections go on sale. But the Frorks will only be available in a limited supply, although we expect that to change if they turn out to be a popular request.

What do you think about the Frork? And what other food and utensil hybrids should McDonald’s create in the future? Unleash your imaginations in the comment section below!

Image: McDonald’s

Elon Musk’s Latest TED Interview is Brimming with Massive Tech Announcements

At this year’s TED2017 conference in Vancouver, BC, the central theme was “The Future You.” And TED folk and viewers at home received no better glimpse at our future selves — or at least our future society — than when the nonprofit’s head curator, Chris Anderson, sat down with SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk for an interview about what to expect over the next decade in technology. And if things play out the way Musk predicts, we’re going to have a lot more batteries, a lot more rockets, and at least one not-sad real-life Tony Stark.

Although it can sometimes take months for the juiciest of TED talks to be delivered online (there are a lot of talks and their releases are spaced out), Musk’s interview, which ran for a relatively lengthy 40 minutes, dropped online only days after it took place. Musk himself tweeted the interview dubbing it “My boring TED Talk.”

My boring TED talkhttps://t.co/QNgolyJXMr

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 1, 2017

But that boring label is only a tongue-in-cheek reference to Musk’s latest endeavor, The Boring Company. Toward the beginning of the interview, Musk described his tunneling boring intentions as well as how much boring progress he’s made, noting that the goal of boring is to ultimately develop a network of multilayered tunnels beneath, presumably, as many major cities as possible. Musk noted that not only can we “alleviate any arbitrary level of urban congestion with a 3D tunnel network,” but that tunneling itself can be improved in efficiency by at least a factor of 10. (The target is to be able to tunnel faster than a snail, who’s named Gary after Gary in Spongebob Squarepants.)

In the brief yet fascinating boring clip (above), Tesla vehicles are shown being maneuvered onto skates, then lowered down several stories into a network of tunnels, where the cars zip along like slot cars at upwards of 120MPH. But cars, according to Musk, won’t only be without a pilot while on skates. Back on regular roads, full autonomy will take over.

At around minute 14 in the video, Tesla’s fully autonomous vehicle system is shown in action, with zero driver inputs. It’s something that’s been done before, of course, but what’s unique about Tesla’s system is that it will rely on cameras alone, rather than on a combination of cameras, GPS, and a LIDAR system. Musk claims that once vision is “solved,” autonomous vehicles that rely purely on cameras will be 10 times better than human drivers. As far as actually having fully autonomous vehicles (that can also be employed as self-driving taxis by their owners), that’s apparently only two years away.

Along with tunnels and autonomy, Musk also discussed one of his, and Tesla’s, core goals: accelerating the advent of sustainable energy and sustainable transportation. In that vein, Musk revealed a teaser photo of Tesla’s upcoming electric semi truck, which is set to be unveiled in September. From the darkened glimpse of the semi’s truck front, it’s apparently the child of Darth Vader and a Mack. It can also — using electricity alone — supposedly pull a diesel-powered semi up a hill, and handle like a sports car thanks to its flat torque curve.

Tesla’s fully electric semi truck. Image: Tesla

In terms of producing the electricity used to power the semi, as well as the rest of Tesla’s fleet — including the upcoming Model 3 — that’s where the company’s solar panels, batteries, and gigafactory enter the equation. Musk seemingly wants to install a Tesla solar roof, which Musk states will be an economic “no-brainer” compared to a regular roof, on as many homes around the world as possible. And that gigafactory, which will literally be the biggest building in the world when it’s finished and produce more lithium-ion batteries than the rest of the world’s factories combined, may not be the only one of its kind soon. Musk hinted at up to four more gigafactories being announced later this year, probably in countries outside the U.S.

Tesla’s gigafactory in Nevada. Image: Tesla

SpaceX and the “not inevitable” march toward Mars was also discussed, and Musk took great pains here to note that there is no law of physics that says we must leave Earth and explore other planets. “People are mistaken,” Musk said, “when they think that technology automatically improves…it only improves if a lot of people work very hard to make it better.” At SpaceX, this hard work has resulted in the reuse of an orbital-class rocket, and a plan to take humans to Mars within the next eight to 10 years. (Musk notes that SpaceX’s internal targets are “more aggressive.”)

Musk discussed numerous other points, including his current political role, but there wasn’t any discussion of Neuralink or the possibility of all of us becoming cyborgs to fend off dangerous AI. As far as Musk’s vision for “The Future You,” he ultimately expressed more of a warning than anything else: “If the future does not include being out there among the stars, and being a multi-planet species, I find that incredibly depressing if that’s not the future we’re going to have.”

What do you think about these timelines and new technologies coming from Musk and his companies? Are you now inspired to do more to change the world? Let us know your thoughts below!

Images: TED

Doug the Pug Becomes MOANA and Takes to the Ocean

What to do when you’re a pug that longs to escape the constraints of sleepy island life and explore the great unknown of the ocean? The answer is easy if you’re Doug the Pug: you dig into your costume closet and dress as both Moana and Maui from Disney’s Moana. This delightful combination came to my attention thanks to The Huffington Post, and I have to say, Doug the Pug’s Moana-inspired looks are the best things I’ve seen this month. I know it’s early in May, but I have a hunch this will stick with me.

But before we obsess over its unending cuteness, watch the video first:

The expression on Doug’s face at about eight seconds in kills me. I know he doesn’t fully understand the importance of the Heart of Te Fiti, but he looks so happy about wearing it. Maybe he’s just blissed out because he’s enjoying a day by the ocean. It’s not a surprise. If you flip through Doug the Pug’s adventures on Instagram (and you need to treat yourself and do so if you haven’t already), you’ll see he’s no stranger to water. Maybe he feels like the sea is calling to him. You don’t know.

Though I think the Moana costume with its long and flowing locks and red tube top suit Doug well, he also rocks it as the demigod Maui. He keeps the same wig, but changes up the outfit and puts on a grass skirt and a fish hook necklace. I am utterly charmed–even more so than when Doug the Pug tackled Stranger Things.

If you had a pug into wearing clothes, what sort of costumes would you make for him or her? Tell us in the comments!

Featured Image: Doug the Pug – Moana

Want more Moana? Here’s our interview with Lin-Manuel Miranda!

THOR: RAGNAROK Spoilers, Leia vs. Snoke Rumors, and That AMERICAN GODS Premiere

Welcome to Nerdist News Talks Back, our daily show where Jessica Chobot and a panel of guests discuss the latest in pop culture news. Today, we welcome Nerdist’s Managing Editor Alicia Lutes (Fangirling!) and Science Editor Kyle Hill (Because Science) to break down some rumors, spoilers, and of course, everything that’s going on with The Rock. (Why? Because he’s great, duh.)

First up, are General Leia and Supreme Leader Snoke headed for a face-off at the beginning of Star Wars: The Last Jedi? The rumor mill is in full swing for Episode VIII, but our favorite might be the theory that Hayden Christiansen and Yoda show up as Force Ghosts. Plus, we ask the age-old question: is Snoke a tall boy or a smol boy?

Next, we break down the new Thor: Ragnarok LEGO sets that might contain spoilers for the film. Given the nature of our jobs (covering topics like this), do we mind getting spoiled for big movies? If you don’t mind mild spoilers, make sure you check out today’s Nerdist News, which dives even deeper into some Ragnarok clues.

If TV’s more your bag, we’ve got you covered with all our thoughts about that bonkers American Gods premiere. Let us know what you thought of the episode in the comments below!

Lastly, our most important segment: The Rock Talk, a.k.a. when we break down the latest and greatest in Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson news. Come for the updates, stay for the dramatic reading of his Instagram posts.

Stay tuned for more Nerdist News Talks Back, every weekday at 1pm PST on Nerdist.

 

Slowmo Video of Ink Injected Into Water Is Beyond Beautiful

We’ve featured things from Macro Room before, but they’ve sincerely outdone themselves in their latest INK-redible video!

The team at Macro Room never disappoints with their ultra detailed, incredibly close-up shots but everything becomes even more astounding when combined with some well-timed slow motion video. Injecting various inks into water would be beautiful enough but it’s amazing how things appear when some props are introduced to mess with perspective.

Bombarding tiny planets with plumes of color and zipping a comet through the ink clouds results in a practical effect that rivals the beauty of many CGI scenes. In fact, to us, it might even be more beautiful because it’s something that’s ultimately so simple and real. The planets are then swapped out for a 3D-printed cityscape where the ink injected down is reminiscent of weather rolling in or an Independence Day–like explosion.

Oddly, when they swap in flowers toward the end, it feels like they’ve done something out of order because it seems nothing could rival the comet’s path of swirly destruction and yet, we’re even more delighted at how the ink behaves. The petals sifting through the ink and–unless we’re missing some digital trickery–taking on some of the ink’s pigment.

As far as we’re concerned, Macro Room are experts in their field and we cannot wait for more of their videos. They’ve already cut things in half and melted others down but what are some other objects/actions you’d love to see in macro? Let’s discuss in the comments below!

Images: Macro Room

The Most WTF Moments of the AMERICAN GODS Premiere, Explained

Massive spoilers for the premiere episode of American Gods follow!

It’s strange, watching a TV show adapted from a book and seeing the images you envisioned so clearly in your head coming to life just as you pictured them. It’s even stranger in the case of American Gods, because those images are of things like, say, a woman consuming a man with her vagina.

For newcomers to the series who’ve never encountered Neil Gaiman’s supernatural world before, that kind of thing is bound to be downright confusing. That’s why we’re here to break down the biggest, mind-trippiest scenes from tonight’s episode, “The Bone Orchard,” into digestible little pieces, so you can get the most out of those trippy, gorgeously weird visuals that showrunner Bryan Fuller loves so dang much.

Coming To America

via GIPHY

The first moments of the series begin not with our protagonist, Shadow Moon, but instead with an origin story for God we’ll later meet: Odin, who was brought here (and then promptly abandoned) by the first Norse explorers to set foot on American soil. It might seem like a complete non-sequitur, but these “Coming To America” segments will serve a useful purpose as the series goes on, introducing us to the people who once believed in the Old Gods. Plus, tonally they’re a near-perfect match to the world-building essays that make up much of American Gods’ 465 pages, even if they don’t contain exactly the same stories within.

Shadow’s Dreams

In any other show, Shadow would be a regular dude grieving the loss of his wife Laura, adapting to life outside prison, and screaming over Illinois state parks to cope. But this is not a regular show, so Shadow also has psychedelic dreams of saying goodbye to Laura, a forest floor littered with bones, a World Tree (which, given the company he keeps, might be Yggdrasil), and a giant fire-eyed buffalo. Anybody else shipping the Buffalo with the Nightmare Stag from Hannibal? No, just me?

Anyway, in the book the Buffalo is a physical representation of the land and isn’t tied to any particular religion, although the American Bison is sacred in several Native American cultures. Oh, and, fun fact! According to showrunner Bryan Fuller, it’s also voiced by Ian McShane.

Mr. Wednesday

Hey, did you know that the English names for the days of the week have their origins in the names of Norse gods? Also, did you notice how stormy it got outside the plane when Mr. Wednesday first proposed that Shadow work for him, and how he seems to know things about Shadow that not even he himself knows? And remember what I said earlier about Coming To America segments being important windows into how the Gods first came to this country? Cool, cool, I’ll trust you to work out the connection for yourself.

Regardless of who he is, Mr. Wednesday is now Shadow’s boss, which means that Shadow has officially agreed to these terms: “You drive me where I need driving to. You take care of things generally on my behalf. In an emergency and only in an emergency, you kick the asses of whose asses require kicking. And in the unlikely event of my death, you will hold my vigil.” Of course, the deal is sealed with mead, an alcoholic kind of honey-wine that was produced in ancient cultures all over the world, and has even made a recent comeback in popularity. Also, in my opinion it tastes way better than Shadow was acting like it did.

Bilquis

via GIPHY

By far the biggest shocker of the episode is the scene involving Bilquis, a gorgeous love goddess (and also the Queen of Sheba) who’s not what she “once was,” but who still manages to go on an online date that ends… well, pretty great for her, I guess? While the worship scene itself is lifted straight off the pages, her circumstances are a little different now — in the book she’s a roadside sex worker and the dude, um, worshipping her is an uncouth, unlikeable jerk. This guy, however (Mad Men‘s Freddy Rumsen!), is sweet to Bilquis even before she works her magic, which makes it even more upsetting to see him swallowed whole. Presumably she needs to do this to survive, so odds are that we’ll see her engage in this behavior again as the season goes on.

The Coin Trick

While sealing their compact at the Crocodile Bar, Wednesday and Shadow encounter an Irishman named Mad Sweeney who’s extremely adept at plucking coins out of thin air, literally. Despite what he tells Shadow, Sweeney’s not exactly a leprechaun: his name is borrowed from that of Suibhne mac Colmain, a warrior king in medieval Irish folklore who’s driven mad by a saint’s curse and made to wander the world. Which is why he shows up unexpectedly in a roadside tavern in Illinois, probably.

Oh, and yes, you didn’t imagine that — when Shadow dropped the coin that Mad Sweeney gave him onto Laura’s grave, it burrowed itself into the ground of its own accord. That’s definitely going to come into play in later episodes, so don’t forget about it!

Technical Boy

via GIPHY

Finally, the episode ends on a pretty intense note; Shadow is abducted by a VR helmet containing the vape-obsessed living Instagram account that is the Technical Boy. As you probably guessed from his entire vibe, he’s basically a living manifestation of the internet —and in a surprising departure from the book, his minions almost succeed in lynching Shadow before he’s rescued by a mysterious act of spontaneous violence. Damn. I figured the show wouldn’t ignore the fact that its leading man is black, but I didn’t they’d go that in on imagery lifted from the worst aspects of American history in its very first episode. Still, at the very least it’s highly effective in reminding you that this country isn’t a great place for everybody, whether you’re a god or not.

Is there anything else from “The Bone Orchard” that confused you? What are you looking forward to learning more about next episode? Drop us some knowledge in the comments below.

Images: Starz

CHRIS GETHARD: CAREER SUICIDE Urges Us to Laugh at the Darkness (Tribeca Review)

Comedy nerds probably know Chris Gethard from appearances on Inside Amy Schumer and Broad City, or as a part of the excellent ensemble of Mike Birbiglia‘s improv group dramedy Don’t Think Twice, or perhaps from his quirky talk show The Chris Gethard Show. But more mainstream fans are about to get up close and really personal with the “that guy” whose been tearing up the comedy scene since the 2000s. Following its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, Chris Gethard: Career Suicide will hit HBO on May 6th, allowing audiences across the nation access to a daring and darkly hilarious one-man show.

Recorded at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center last February, Chris Gethard: Career Suicide brings his lauded stage show to the screen with an intimate staging from director Kimberly Senior. There are no props. The stage is small and empty save for a footstep-dulling throw rug, and it’s surrounded on three sides by audience members. Those in the first rows lounge in comfy couches and overstuffed arm chairs, lit well enough to clearly make out their expressions of shock, sympathy and spontaneous bursts of laughter as Gethard shares his struggles with depression, anxiety, alcoholism, and suicidal thoughts with an easy charm and a sharp edge of humor.

In jeans and a simple striped t-shirt, the bespectacled performer opens his arms to his audience and bares his soul, confessing with a nearly cracked voice, “Sometimes people just break,” then teasing, “welcome to a comedy show!” It’s this heady mix of vulnerability and self-aware wit that defines Career Suicide, making it mesmerizing and heartwarming. Early on, Gethard recounts the weird night where, on a whim, he tried to die. It involves an opportune car accident, a lot of Carmela Soprano impressions, and a less-than-valiant rescuer. Trusting his audience with an introductory story knitted with inner-conflict and complicated emotions, Gethard assures that we are with him on this ride. From there, he winds us through his attempts to seek help, troubles finding the right meds, reliance on the music of Morrissey, a lost summer of MDMA and Adderall, and a tumultuous night of blackouts and being Batman. It’s at times ludicrous, at times tragic. But his openness and peace with his path makes the journey accessible, every minute of it understandable if not always personally relatable.

Whether Gethard was playfully kvetching about his wife’s bad habit of leaving cabinet doors open, or impersonating Seth Meyers while recounting a formative phone call, or inhaling sharply at the memory of his mother’s face when he confessed his suicidal thoughts, I was riveted. Watching this show didn’t feel like watching a performance, a play, or a stand-up set. Instead, it felt like those special nights were you really get to know someone. Maybe it was that nine-hour first date that led you to your marriage. Maybe it was a late night on a dirt road, driving under the stars, talking with a long-time friend while the rest of the world slept. Maybe it was an unexpected adventure with a stranger, where confessions were made that could only be said to someone you’d never see again. But each one left a mark, forming not only your bond, but also how you look at the world.

This kind of openness is so rare and dazzling I’ve only experienced it twice before. The first was reading Shelley Winter‘s memoir, Shelley: Also Known As Shirley, where the brassy actress not only shared spirited anecdotes about her old roommate Marilyn Monroe, but also recounted a back-alley abortion, and the abusive relationship that spurred her to escape her husband, and fight for custody of their daughter. The second was Gene Wilder‘s memoir, Kiss Me Like A Stranger, which unraveled stories of the joys of movie making, the love he had for Gilda Radner, and the pain of losing her to cancer. For that one, I recommend the audio book, because Wilder reads it himself, gently whispering his story into your ear so it feels as if he’s a friend, who wants you to see him, warts and all.

Gethard wants the same. And with mental illness still so stigmatized in modern American society, his confessions could well be, well…career suicide. But I’m hopeful they won’t be. For one thing, Judd Apatow produced this show, and so Gethard’s got a pretty big name at his back. But for another, he’s such a superb storyteller that it’s impossible to listen and not be in awe, both by his resilience and the incredible ability he has to take some of the darkest moments of his life, and find a way to laugh at them. More than that, he lets us laugh at them and with him, as opposed to at him. He manages to joke about bleak depression, watery ejaculate, and desperately bad decisions, without ever making himself or mental illness the punchline.

Over 90 minutes, Chris Gethard: Career Suicide emerges to become more than a comedy show, though it is a uniquely hilarious one. It becomes more than a confession, though it is a rousingly cathartic one. Above these, this special becomes a rallying cry for those struggling with mental illness and those who love them, to seek help and offer it. Because around every dark corner, there’s a chance for light, and the perfect Morrissey soundtrack.

5 out 5 burritos

Images: HBO

Kristy Puchko is a freelance entertainment reporter and film critic. You can find more of her reviews here. Follow her on Twitter!