Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 2125

Elon Musk Founds New Company, Neuralink, to Turn Us All Into Cyborgs

At this year’s World Government Summit in Dubai, Elon Musk discussed what he perceived to be the most probable future for humanity; one in which people find themselves feeling “useless” due to A.I. taking an ever-increasing share of the labor market. But for man leading the companies that are now making re-landing orbital class rockets just something you do on a Tuesday and soon producing decently long-range, (kind of) affordable fully electric cars, getting phased out by robots is not an acceptable option. That’s where his new company, Neuralink comes in. It aims to help our transition into cyborgs.

News of Neuraneulink’s establishment, which has been registered as a “medical company,” was originally reported by the Wall Street Journal. According to the WSJ, “people familiar with the matter… [and those] who have had discussions with the company [Neuralink],” say that Musk, who’s already the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, has indeed “taken an active role setting up the California-based company.”

Considering the fact that Musk discussed his idea for a “neural lace” at Code Conference 2016, referring to it as essentially the only way to avoid becoming “house cats” for A.I., plus the man’s penchant for starting companies wherever he sees a critical need (The Boring Company could save us all from traffic hell), it’s no wonder Musk is putting his money and insane drive toward making cyborgs a reality.

@BelovedRevol Making progress. Maybe something to announce in a few months. Have played all prior Deus Ex. Not this one yet.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 28, 2016

But the actual neural lace is the moonshot idea; the longer-term, more groundbreaking goal like SpaceX’s trip to Mars or Tesla’s production of a vast fleet of electric self-driving vehicles. In the near-term, it seems the goals of the company are far less sci-fi, and deal with technologically treating neurological disorders like depression or epilepsy with brain-machine interfaces. Sources haven’t apparently given out much detail about what Neuralink may produce in the next few years, but it seems that near-term products may include brain implants built with more basic neurostimulators (a.k.a. “brain pacemakers”), like those used to treat Parkinson’s disease.

Along with SpaceX and Tesla, and now Neuralink, Musk also co-founded OpenAI, a non-profit that aims to “advance digital intelligence in the way that is most likely to benefit humanity as a whole…” It seems now the best way to do that is to place it inside our heads.

What do you think about the establishment of Neuralink? Do you have your cyborg name picked out? (“Lo-Cuteness of Borg” is taken.)

Images: Paramount Pictures

The CHiPS Cast Tries to Decode IRL Police Codes

Anyone who’s watched a crime procedural play out on TV or in film, or has been sucked into the all-consuming rabbit hole of monitoring local police scanners knows that law enforcement officers speak a secret language. Rather than yelling “we got a double homicide” or “there’s a cat stuck in a tree” over the radio, they use numerical codes to quickly and discreetly inform their colleagues about the situation that’s unfolding. So naturally we decided to test the mettle of the cast of the CHiPS reboot to see if they could decipher some real-life police codes. While at a recent press day in Los Angeles, our intrepid reporter Clarke Wolfe sat down with Kristen Bell, Dax Shepard, and Michael Pena to put them through our very own version of police academy.

While the cast technically had the right to remain silent, that would have made for an incredibly uncomfortable and, frankly, boring interview, so we’re grateful they didn’t exercise their Miranda rights. In addition to starring in the film, Dax Shepard directed it, so we spoke with him about how that becomes an awesome excuse to hang out with all of your cool, famous friends. And before you go around crying “nepotism,” just take a long, hard look in the mirror and tell me that you wouldn’t do the same thing. Dax Shepard’s friends just happen to be better suited to being in a movie than Mike from your kickball team or Jean from accounting.

CHiPS is in theaters now.

Image: Warner Bros.

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

STARCRAFT: REMASTERED is So Much Less Pixelated in 4K

“Has this ever happened to you,” we ask in our best infomercial voice: You revisit a game from ten or twenty years ago that you used to love, and despite the hours you put into it, it just hasn’t aged well? A lot of older titles are definitely playable, but especially with PC games, the graphics are a lot more pixelated than you remember. That’s a disenchanting experience, but the StarCraft franchise is keeping its flagship title alive with a remastered version that’s being released this summer (via Kotaku).

Blizzard announced on Monday that the original 1998 StarCraft game, as well as its Brood War expansion, are being rebooted with improved graphics as StarCraft: Remastered. The new version of the classic real-time strategy game has a number of enhancements: The graphics are now in 4K, the audio has been improved, and the game works on the Blizzard App, which will allow players to easily find online matches against players that meet their criteria. The Blizzard App is the client that the PC versions of Overwatch and Hearthstone are played on, so Blizzard devotees can integrate the game into their current ecosystem.

As for the gameplay, that’s staying the exact same, save for a few alterations that Blizzard president Mike Morhaime promised wouldn’t compromise “the original balance of the game,” says Kotaku. The single-player campaign will feature some new narrative interludes, and players will be able to zoom in and out of the field of play.

What do you think of StarCraft: Remastered? Will you embrace the updated graphics and gameplay enhancements, or are you an old school enthusiast that will accept nothing other than the original?

Images: Blizzard

You won’t find these Blizzard action figures anywhere else

7 Things You Might Have Missed in the JUSTICE LEAGUE Trailer

Later this year, it’s going to be time to unite the seven! Over the weekend, a new trailer for Zack Snyder‘s Justice League movie was unleashed online, and it certainly looks a lot brighter and funnier than anything else we’ve seen in the DC Extended Universe. Naturally, we’ve watched the new footage many times while hunting for clues about what we can expect to see in the film. In today’s Nerdist News, we’re sharing our intel and pointing the seven most significant moments from the Justice League trailer.

Join host and keeper of the Mother Box, Jessica Chobot, as she breaks down the latest trailer for your viewing enjoyment. Starting at the top, we’re in love with anything that can make Aquaman as cool as he is here. Somehow, Snyder has not only found a way to make Jason Momoa‘s underwater hero into the MVP of the trailer, he’s also stealing the signature “fastball special” from Wolverine. That’s got to be against the superhero code, but Aquaman doesn’t care. Next thing you know, he will be saying that he’s the best he is at what he does, and what he does isn’t very nice.

Fans may have noticed former Doctor Manhattan, Billy Crudup in the trailer as Barry Allen’s father, Henry; but we’re reasonably certain that any Watchmen connections will be downplayed. This movie isn’t ready to go there. Also, there’s a surprising amount of Mother Boxes in this film. Mera’s got one, Cyborg has one, and even Cyborg’s dad has one!

Additionally, we spotted a glimpse of Batman‘s new vehicle, “the Nightcrawler,” as well as some big trouble at a nuclear power plant, and more terraforming…again. Between Zod and Steppenwolf, that seems to be the go-to alien threat. But the most important thing about this trailer is what isn’t in it: Superman. We can’t subscribe to the idea that Superman won’t be in this film, but we commend Warner Bros. for hanging onto that inevitable plot twist like HBO hung into Jon Snow. We’ve got a theory about that, and it may lead to a very dark turn from Superman before the end of the movie.

What do you think about the new Justice League trailer? Let’s discuss in the comment section below!

Images: Warner Bros.

RiffTrax to Skewer DOCTOR WHO’s ‘The Five Doctors’ in Cinemas

Like gin and tonic, chocolate and peanut butter, ham and pineapple, some things just go perfectly together. More fun, though, is when two things come together that you didn’t even know you wanted and afterwards are upset it never happened before. This August, two such great tastes will taste great together on the big screen when Fathom Events presents a RiffTrax live event, riffing the 1983 Doctor Who special, “The Five Doctors,” the show’s 20th anniversary episode which—as the name says—teamed up all five Doctors to that point. Or, rather, three Doctors, clips of a fourth, and a replacement guy in a wig.

Written by longtime Who writer Terrance Dicks, “The Five Doctors” had to work as both a story on its own and a celebration of 20 years of time and space. It saw then-current Fifth Doctor Peter Davison and his companions have to foil a plot by someone pulling previous versions of the Doctor out of time in an attempt to kill him. This meant Third Doctor Jon Pertwee and Second Doctor Patrick Troughton returned to face Cybermen and Yeti and things, but Tom Baker wanted nothing to do with it and so was relegated to a cameo made of scenes from the abandoned story “Shada,” and William Hartnell had already passed away and so had to be replaced by a guest actor named Richard Hurndall. There’s PLENTY to make fun of, and I even love it.

And who better to riff on “The Five Doctors” than the three RiffTrax kings themselves, Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett? They’ve been riffing as a team since they were the crew of Mystery Science Theater 3000‘s Syfy years, and they’re still the go-to voices in film and television skewering. The trio has already thrown shade at both of the 1960s Peter Cushing Dalek movies, but now they’re going for the real canonical deal.

RiffTrax Live: Doctor Who — “The Five Doctors” will be performed live Thursday, August 17, 2017, at 8:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. CT (and tape-delayed to 7:00 p.m. MT/8:00 p.m. PT.) and shown in cinemas all over the U.S. as part of Fathom Events, and will be rebroadcast Thursday, August 24, 2017, 7:30 p.m. local time. I for one am way psyched.

Tickets will go on sale April 13 (funnily enough, the day before the new Mystery Science Theater 3000 season drops) at this link. Will you join in on the Time Lord hilarity? Let us know below!

Harley Quinn Joins Ash, Pinhead in New LIVING DEAD DOLLS Series

If you’re anything like me, you love your favorite monsters served with a side of cute. A spoonful of sugar makes the toxic ooze go down, right? Well, if you love spooky creatures and famous villains presented in their most adorable form, then the good folks at Mezco Toyz have got you covered.

Since 1998, Mezco’s Living Dead Dolls series has been making all things Gothic and spooky into 10-inch dolls which come in their own pint sized coffins. Although most of the Living Dead Dolls are original creations, over the past few years they have taken on some of the biggest characters in the horror genre and given them a pint-sized makeover.

Some of the latest horror icons that have just gone up for pre-sale on Mezcotoys.com are little versions of Alex from Stanley Kubrick‘s classic A Clockwork Orange, the mall loving zombies from George Romero‘s original Dawn of the Dead, the deadite-possessed Ash from Evil Dead 2, and Pinhead from the Hellraiser films (including a glow-in-the-dark variant version).

The regular Living Dead Dolls series continues with wave 33, which gives fans spooky versions of turn of the century France with Moulin Rouge Morgue. And still available is Living Dead Dolls wave 32, which presents the spooky tykes as vintage Halloween trick or treaters, from back when kid’s costumes were disturbing as all get out.

But maybe the coolest new toy being offered up by Mezco is a wee version of DC Comics’ adorable loon Harley Quinn, in her original jester outfit from Batman: The Animated Series. The character celebrates her 25th anniversary this year, and having a cute little version of the deranged Dr. Harleen Quinzel would be the perfect way to celebrate. And yes, she even comes with her own giant mallet. You can see images of each of these new dolls in our gallery below. And to pre-order them, be sure to head on over to Mezco.toyz.com.

Do you have a particular favorite among these pint-sized monsters? Be sure to let us know down below in the comments.

Images: Mezco Toyz

What about Batman’s new costume, though?

OMG, Would You Look at These New AMERICAN GODS Posters

How many marketing campaigns can you think of that completely embody the acronym/slang word OMG? Even if you can think of some, I bet they aren’t more on freaking point than these new posters for Starz’s American Gods. Showrunner Bryan Fuller shared these images from TV adaptation of the Neil Gaiman novel; based on these shots and the footage I’ve seen so far–which, admittedly isn’t a ton–I have hopes that the visuals and story are going to mix the darkness, because oh boy, is there darkness, with a touch of light irreverence.

For example, look at the lil’ bunny pictured with Kristin Chenoweth‘s Easter. The Old God isn’t about the modern interpretation of Easter we all know with chocolate, eggs, and fluffy bunny decor, but she benefits from the worship all the same.

Besides showing off the terrific fashion design for the show, the portraits of the characters feature touches book readers will recognize. Orlando Jones‘ Mr. Nancy has a spider perched on his shoulder with a web in the background. Peter Stormare’s Czernobog has his iconic hammer, dripping blood of course. And Ian McShane‘s Mr. Wednesday? Ravens, duh.

Even if you’re not familiar with the book or the basics (and the basics are essentially that the Old Gods have been brought to America by believers, and now they’re struggling against New Gods like Media and Technical Boy, and a battle is imminent ), take a close look at every pixel of the posters for character clues. You can see all of them in the gallery below.

Based on the new posters, which characters are you most excited to see come to life in the series when it premieres on April 30? Tell me in the comments.

Images: Starz

We talked with the cast of American Gods about their characters

Miracle of Sound’s HORIZON: ZERO DAWN Original Song Is a “Force of Nature”

Earlier this year, Sony thrust players into the new world of Horizon: Zero Dawn; an unexpectedly compelling open world game that has quickly won over fans and started a new franchise. Horizon: Zero Dawn has also served as the inspiration for Miracle of Sound‘s latest song, which adopts the point of view of the game’s main character, Aloy.

Miracle of Sound, a.k.a. Gavin Dunne, has released “Force of Nature,” an original song based on Aloy’s journey through a time where machines and robots roam the Earth like untamed creatures. Several of the lyrics touch upon Aloy’s personal story, as she shuns the need to redeem herself in the eyes of her tribe while seeking answers to her origin in the great unknown. To further reinforce Aloy’s POV, Dunne was joined by a guest vocalist, Sarah Murray, on this song.

“This song was really fun to make,” wrote Dunn on his YouTube page. “I was expecting to enjoy this game but what I wasn’t expecting was to find my favorite game since Witcher 3. I LOVED it. Aloy’s personal journey really spoke to me & I could relate to a lot of what she felt in the story, so it was a pleasure to write.”

For more of Dunne’s music, you can visit Dunne’s Bandcamp page, which has seven albums of his Miracle of Sound music, a heavy metal album, instrumental albums and other recordings. Dunne also regularly updates his Miracle of Sound YouTube channel with new songs based on video games, movies, and TV series. As for Murray, she also has a YouTube channel, and we’re eager to hear more of her terrific voice!

What did you think about Miracle of Sound’s Horizon: Zero Dawn song? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!

Image: Sony Interactive Entertainment

A German Kids TV Show Got a True Klingon Introduction

In theory, educational children’s programming is designed to help kids expand their knowledge and learn more about the world around them. But what if it’s time to go past the boundaries of this world and beyond the Neutral Zone? Because there’s only one kid’s TV show that’s hardcore enough to run in the original Klingon language.

Via io9, we’ve learned that the popular German educational series, Die Sendung mit der Maus–or The Show with the Mouse in English–recently ran an opening sequence accompanied by Star Trek‘s unforgettable Klingon language, as read by famed Klingon teacher Lieven L. Litaer. And you really have to see this to believe it.

Click the image below to play:

According to the original report, this isn’t entirely out of the ordinary for this show. It often begins with an introduction in German about the episode’s topics, before repeating the intro in another language. That helps German children familiarize themselves with languages from other cultures and to reach the children of foreign workers living within the country. We’re pretty sure that Germany doesn’t yet have a treaty with the Klingon Empire…yet. But they’re clearly ready to open diplomatic relations.

Personally, we think that there isn’t enough Klingon children’s programming on TV. Without that added instruction, how are today’s kids going to discover the glory of Sto’Vo’Kor or learn the best way to hunt wild targs? Still, we think that Die Sendung mit der Maus is taking a step in the right direction.

What do you think about the Klingon intro video? Reply in Klingon, if you can! Although we will also accept English and other Earth-based languages in the comment section below.

Image: WDR

THE WALKING DEAD Recap: Less Cowardly Mansplaining Is “Something They Need”

Editor’s note: This post contains spoilers for the latest episode of The Walking Dead! Proceed with caution, survivors. For reals, if you haven’t yet watched this week’s episode, “Something They Need”, we highly suggest you do so before proceeding. Okay? We good? Let’s go.

Never send a man to do a woman’s job. That’s the lesson this week, as we saw how to convert people to your cause in the zombie apocalypse, and how not to.

But first, a nice bit of misdirection. It’s become a trope in contemporary horror that any time a character is introduced who’s a creepy perv to one of the female protagonists, it’s a build-up to her violently killing him at the climax. So it truly felt out-of-nowhere when Sasha’s would-be sexual assailant in her Sanctuary cell, David (a.k.a. “Rapey Davey,” per Negan), bought it from a neck stab by Negan. “Rape is against the rules here”? Somehow I suspect Negan has inconsistently applied that particular rule. Or maybe because he’s a popular bad guy with fans, the showrunners want to make it clear to moms who buy their kids Negan merchandise that they’re not cashing in on a rapist-protector. And speaking of merchandise, Negan without his jacket, showing off the pistol tattoo on his forearm, is bound to be a new toy variant sooner than later.

So, cowardly mansplaining part one occurred when Eugene tried to win Sasha over by confessing his fear. And honestly? If you or I were in his shoes, we might feel the same way. One way or another, people in this world end up killing others, and you might as well be protected by the folks who are best at it. Except that because this is a TV show based on a comic, we expect our protagonists to be more heroic than that. Like Sasha, who wasn’t buying any of it.

Cowardly mansplaining part two happened back at Hilltop, with Gregory not exactly confessing his cowardice, exactly, but demonstrating, in full, why “How many walkers have you killed?” is a pertinent question for potential group members. He couldn’t kill Maggie, or a walker, but she seemed tentatively ready to hear him out, if naturally skeptical.

Here’s how you know Rick is a smart leader: he sent a woman to negotiate with Oceanside. Namely Tara, who had been there before, and would probably have more sway with them even though her returning broke a pretty big promise. And Tara was arguably no more persuasive with Natania than Eugen with Sasha, or Gregory with Maggie, but she didn’t have to be: she exposed Natania’s own cowardice, enough to get some cooperation from some of the residents. (Rick and company setting off explosions, laying down sniper fire, and pointing machine guns at them probably helped, just a little.)

And that was a pivot to good womansplaining, as Sasha effectively turned the tables when she convinced Eugene she needed a lethal weapon to take her own life. What he gave her was unexpected (to her, not by us; the concept of poison was totally foreshadowed in a prior episode), but now she’s going to have to be extra creative in finding a way to weaponize it. And somehow, I fear, her former friend with the mullet is going to end up being put out of his misery with it.

 

Undead Afterthoughts:

–How does Eugene know the pillow’s non-hypoallergenic? Did he sniff it till he sneezed?

–Anybody else notice the jet trail in the sky when Maggie went to kill that walker? The folks in post-production didn’t.

–Gregory, dude, you don’t wash the gore off your face before hitting up the liquor cabinet? What if some drips in your drink?

–The waterlogged sea zombies felt like a tribute to Creepshow.

–Speaking of…it’d probably be way too on-the-nose for them to covered in coral, and have Rick yell, “CORAL!” but you know you were thinking it. You are now, anyway.

–Next week’s the big season finale, so who do you think dies? My tentative money is on Eugene.

What are your thoughts leading into the season-ender? Let us know in comments below.

Images: AMC