Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 2139

This Guy Turned His Alexa Into a Creepy Talking Skull

A few months ago, we covered a wonderful Alexa hack: turning a Big Mouth Billy Bass into a home assistant. That’s great, but what if you wanted to take away Billy’s flesh, and also turn him into a human head? Well, you’d be left with a creepy talking skull, and that’s exactly what Mike McGurrin made with his Alexa hack

Brought to our attention via Mashable, The Yorick Project—presumably named after the soul-shepherding League of Legends character—is a spooky mod of a Halloween decoration that props its head up when you say “Alexa,” tilts its head around while processing your input, and moves its jaw up and down while talking to you. It’s like if a creepy animatronic skeleton from a horror movie theme park ride answered your screams of terror. This is far less scary, though, since instead of telling you it’s time to die, it lets you know what the weather’s gonna be like tomorrow.

If you’re feeling adventurous and want to try making one of these yourself, McGurrin documented his process in great detail on hackster.io. The main components are the skull, an Alexa, and a Raspberry Pi, and the page also includes all the code you’ll need to get this up and running. McGurrin’s setup is nice, but honestly, we’d love to see this head attached to a full skeleton, or perhaps dressed up like a skeleton butler or something. What we have here is a talking skeleton head, so let us know how you think this would be used best.

Featured Image: ViennaMike

More of Don Draper’s MAD MEN Pitches We Wish Got Used

Today has been unusual for me, and that’s because I’ve been thinking a lot about ketchup. Heinz ketchup to be specific. And all it took for that to happen was for the company to use an ad campaign it originally rejected five decades ago, when it said no to Don Draper‘s pitch.

In news we first came across at Adweek, today the company announced that they will be using the minimalist “Pass the Heinz” advertisements that Don Draper, Stan Rizzo, and Pete Campbell pitched in season six of AMC‘s Mad Men. Heinz is even crediting both the fictional Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce and the very real creative agency DAVID for the campaign. They say you’ll be able to see the ads in New York City “through traditional print ads and outdoor billboards.”

If you don’t remember the episode or the meeting, you can watch it again here.

The main problem the Heinz executives had at the time, mainly that their own product was nowhere to be found in the ad, is what the current regime finds so appealing, describing it as “clever” and “modern,” and complimenting it because it “doesn’t require paragraphs of copy to convey what Heinz brings to the table.”

Yeah, plus Mad Men was the best and we miss it, so we’re thrilled for any chance we get to talk about it, even if it takes ketchup to make that happen. Jon Hamm didn’t mention to us that he had landed a new client when he visited us at SXSW this weekend (though he had plenty to say about Baby Driver, so stay tuned for that), but his Don Draper, despite lacking in personally redeeming traits like responsibility or fidelity, and even though he was a little short on ethics and morality, could craft a damn good ad!

This seems like such a smart and fun idea by Heinz, it has us wondering something that seems obvious now: why haven’t other companies done this?

It’s so simple it’s crazy this hasn’t happened before. The ad has already been created by Matthew Weiner and his writers, so they don’t have to worry about taking pitches. Mad Men is one of the greatest shows ever with a built-in audience who will gobble up a cross promotion like a kid eating some fries. And in the modern world of native ads, viral marketing, and brand awareness, this is a way to achieve all of those in a natural way.

So here are just a few of our other favorite Don Draper created ads that could–and should–be made into a reality.

Hilton Hotels

Old Connie Hilton might have wanted the moon, but here we are in 2017 and we still don’t even have a B&B on the moon, let alone a hotel, so he was a little early with his demands. Too bad, because this was an effective and beautifully designed ad campaign.

The Kodak Carousel

Lost in probably the single most famous pitch in the show’s history, the moving, emotional heavy wrap up to season one that brilliantly blurred the lines between Don Draper the ad exec and Don Draper the man, was the fact it was a great campaign. Nostalgia sells. We know because you guys can’t get enough stories about awesome things from the ’90s. Kodak could make a killing selling these, even as retro machines, by using an ad campaign that would make us nostalgic for Mad Men. INCEPTION-STYLE ADVERTISING.

Hershey’s Bar

Okay, maaaaaybe not the best ending to a meeting. Generally you want to avoid telling stories about growing up in a whorehouse in a business setting, unless the business is an actual whorehouse. (It was still an amazing moment for viewers). But besides that Mrs. Lincoln, the pitch was great. Who doesn’t like to think of happier times and chocolate? Now maybe Hershey’s isn’t eager to have people thinking about the other half of Don’s meeting, but it’s fine. It’s not quite the problem Jaguar would have to overcome.

Ugh.

GIF: Tumblr/Lynchoid

Yup.

Of course, in the most meta-Mad-Men-marketing idea ever, the biggest missed opportunity by a company is by one that didn’t immediately start using a Don Draper ad as soon as it appeared on the show. Especially since they actually did create it themselves years ago.

Coca-Cola’s “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke”

If Coca-Cola started airing this commercial again you could feel nostalgia for a commercial you are remembering while being nostalgic over a show that constantly made use of nostalgia, including with this very commercial.

….I think I just talked myself into buying a Coke. Or of re-watching Mad Men. And I’m still thinking about ketchup.

That’s how good Don Draper was!

What other Mad Men campaigns would you like to see really used by a company? Sell us your best pitch in the comments below.

Featured Image: AMC

Body Images: Heinz/DAVID/Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce

Disney Shared a Video That Reveals a Bunch of Easter Eggs

Disney has been making movies for nearly a century now, and over that stretch, it’s been known to hide a fun secret or two in its cartoons. Fans have had a ton of fun pointing them out over the years, and now it’s Disney’s turn, since they just shared a video that reveals easter eggs some of us may not have known about yet (via The Huffington Post).

The video (above) starts with Mulan and hops movie to movie from there, with some sort of visual unifying factor to make the connection. For instance, the dog from that movie also makes a super quick appearance in Tarzan. Then—as you probably know if you’ve watched any other video or read any list of Disney easter eggs—the teacups from Tarzan are the same ones in Beauty and the Beast.

Fans may not have had the chance to scour the newer Disney films for bonus goodies yet, so this video highlights a few of those. For example, The Little Mermaid‘s (not the weird, new live-action version) Flounder makes a brief appearance during a Moana musical sequence, while it turns out that a couple young elephants in Zootopia are dressed like Frozen’s Anna and Elsa.

We won’t give them all away for you, so check out the video for yourself above, and let us know what your favorite all-time Disney easter eggs are. This isn’t Disney’s first easter egg video, so check out more of them in this YouTube playlist.

Featured Image: Disney

Nintendo Will Share a ZELDA: BREATH OF THE WILD Making-Of Video Tomorrow

As we decided in our review a few days ago, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is pretty much a perfect game. It’s one of the best-reviewed games of all time, so great that we really want to see how the sausage was made. Thankfully, Nintendo is giving us that chance tomorrow morning, since the company announced on Twitter that it will post the first video of a three-part series that takes us behind the scenes of how the game was made (via Polygon).

The tweet (below) also included a 30-second trailer for the documentary, which shows game footage interspersed with clips of Nintendo employees discussing concept art, musicians working on the game’s music, and people involved with the game talking about how it came to be.

Tomorrow at 6 AM PT, we’ll be debuting a three-part series called The Making of The Legend of #Zelda: Breath of the Wild! pic.twitter.com/bTDROEZ8i0

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) March 13, 2017

Leading up to and also after Breath of the Wild‘s release, Nintendo has been supremely forthcoming about how the game was made, having shown off the NES-like prototype, speaking about how the passing of former Nintendo president Satoru Iwata influenced the game’s direction, and giving a 90-minute presentation about the title at the Game Developers Conference.

We’re not really sure how long this series will be or how it’s going to be presented, but we’ll keep you in the loop about it. In the meantime, let us know what questions you have that you want this documentary series to answer.

Should you buy a Switch, though?

Featured image: Nintendo

New DOCTOR WHO Trailer Says It’s Time for Heroes

Friends, we’re about a month away from 12 straight weeks of Doctor Who…can you believe such craziness?! It started to feel like the show might never come back, and that the adventures of Peter Capaldi‘s Twelfth Doctor with Bill (Pearl Mackie) and Nardole (Matt Lucas) might have just been a dream I was having in between fevers. But no! A new series we shall have, and the BBC have graced us with a new minute-long trailer to go along with it. There’s a lot to unpack, but the major thrust is we’re gonna need some heroes.

As with the last trailer, they seem to be teeing up the fact that Bill is just a fun-loving character, one without the weight of the world (or galaxy) on her shoulders. This will be a nice change coming off of both Clara and Amy (and Rory), who were fun but had some heavy stuff to contend with. My hope is that Bill has depth but that she also lacks the baggage of the previous companions. Get to the ‘splorin!

We can also put together some of the episodes’ settings and monsters. We already knew the Daleks would be back (because they always are), and we were told recently that the Cybermen and Missy would be back for the two-part finale. (Read my complete history of Cybermen here!) We also see a glimpse of the new class of Ice Warrior that Mark Gatiss told us about, and we can assume that the shot earlier in the trailer of Bill and the Doctor in spacesuits, saying they’re on Mars, is from this episode, since the Ice Warriors come from Mars, don’t ya know.

In addition to those, we see what looks like it could be a Weeping Angel made of wood (which would be immeasurably scary) as well as several shots of mangle-faced, eyeless monks. Not sure what those are all about, but they look creepy. We also see a water monster, and robots that look not dissimilar from the Kindness Robots from Series 6’s “The Girl Who Waited,” one of my faves of that year. Toward the end of the trailer, Nardole gets tossed what appears to be the Third or Fourth Doctor’s sonic screwdriver, which would be, to quote the kids of today, “hella dope.”

Guess we’ll find out what all of these mean very soon, when Doctor Who premieres (finally!) on Saturday, April 15!

Are you jazzed for Series 10? What do you think will happen? Share those thoughts, plus any other Easter eggs you notice, in the comments below!

Images: BBC

Kyle Anderson is the associate editor and the resident Whovian for Nerdist. Follow him on Twitter!

Decoding KONG: SKULL ISLAND’s Post-Credits Scene

There was only one king of the jungle at the box office last weekend, and his name is King Kong! Kong: Skull Island hit theaters like a proverbial giant ape, and catapulted over Logan to reach the number 1 slot. But this movie was more than just a monster smash, it’s a gateway to the future. The much hyped post-credits scene did not disappoint, and we’re here to breakdown what it means. King Kong ain’t got nothing on us in today’s Nerdist News.

There are massive spoilers ahead for Kong: Skull Island and the future of the MonsterVerse. Like seriously, see the film before you watch this video or read the rest of this post. You’ve been warned!

Join host, and everyone’s favorite monster hunter, Jessica Chobot, as she walks us through those critical moments in Kong: Skull Island that set up at least the next few MonsterVerse films. Of course, there was the prerequisite hint of Godzilla, which is leading to the much-anticipated rematch in Godzilla vs. King Kong. But what really has us excited is the foreshadowing for Ghidorah, Mothra, and Rodan. They are some of Godzilla’s greatest adversaries, and this may indicate that Big G’ is gonna have a pretty full fight slate in the years ahead.

Thankfully, Kong: Skull Island may have provided a way to explain how King Kong can match Godzilla in size. He’s still a growing boy! But the real question now is when will the battle take place? We’re hoping for an epic ’80s encounter!

What time period do you want to see in Godzilla vs. King Kong? Let out a mighty roar and share your thoughts in the comment section below!

Editor’s note: Nerdist Industries is a subsidiary of Legendary Digital Networks.

 

Patrick Swayze’s GHOST Collides with GHOST IN THE SHELL in New Mash-Up

Later this month, the iconic anime and manga, Ghost in the Shell is getting a live-action American adaption with Scarlett Johansson as the Major. But what if Ghost in the Shell had more romance? And what if it had a little bit more ghost? As in Patrick Swayze‘s Sam Wheat, from the 1990 film, Ghost.

Matt Caron has created a new mashup trailer that puts together some of the audio and music from Ghost in the Shell with footage from Ghost, which has the side effect of adding even more suspense to the tragic supernatural romance. Johansson’s character doesn’t even appear, nor does any footage from Ghost in the Shell. But the mashup trailer does put forth an intriguing notion: what if Sam was killed just to transform him into a controllable poltergeist? The trailers for Ghost in the Shell have hinted that the Major’s life wasn’t saved—rather, it was stolen by the forces that transformed her into a cyborg. It’s also oddly hilarious to hear “Unchained Melody” come in at the end of the trailer as the logos from both films merge into one.

Caron also posted a side-by-side comparison of the new edit and a trailer from Ghost in the Shell. It’s interesting to see how the shots line up from these two films, even though they have very little in common.

What did you think about the Ghost and Ghost in the Shell mashup? Make a penny move with your mind, or just let us know what you’re thinking in the comment section below!

Image: Paramount Pictures

Do Cats Really Hate Water? SIMON’S CAT Purrrfectly Explains Things

Our feline friends are a complicated bunch. While cat enthusiasts will shower their four-legged friends with all the love and adoration they’re capable of, they’re also quick to tell you the times their pets show their wild sides. The moments that reveal that, deep down, cats are still wild hunters meant to be tearing through the wilderness and ruling their own pride of adorable kittens.  A recent Simon’s Cat video set out to explain some of these instincts. Especially their behavior as it pertains to water.

The appropriately titled “Do Cats Really Hate Water?” was brought to our attention via an article on Laughing Squid, and answers some questions about some common cat habits. With the help of cat expert Nicky Trevorrow from cats.org.uk, it’s explained that cats tend to gravitate toward faucets due to an instinct that moving water–like streams and rivers–is safer to drink. Combined with the adorable cartoons from British animator Simon Tofield, it makes for one of the better educational videos we’ve seen in quite a while.

Trevorrow also offers some tips to keep your cats happier when it comes to their food and water. As it turns out, cats favor metal or ceramic bowls over plastic (which can alter the taste of water) and do better with wide dishes in order to keep their whiskers from hitting the sides. What’s eye-opening for us is the fact that cats prefer some distance between their food and water sources due to how they’d act in the wild. Being the hunters they are, cats normally wouldn’t drink near the latest meal they happened to kill.

What are your favorite Simon’s Cat animations? Any other feline facts people should know? Let’s discuss in the comments right meow!

Image: Simon’s Cat

Samuel L. Jackson Re-enacts All His Greatest Roles, With James Corden

There are very few actors, if any, who can match the cinematic résumé of Samuel L. Jackson. Since his film debut in 1972, Jackson has appeared in over 120 movies…and he’s not done yet! This weekend, Jackson is starring in Kong: Skull Island, and James Corden used Jackson’s guest spot on The Late Late Show as an excuse to revisit some of Jackson’s most famous roles alongside the man himself.

Over the course of an 11 minute sketch, Jackson reprised several of his greatest parts alongside Corden, who filled in for Jackson’s iconic co-stars. Of course, all of Jackson’s Tarantino films were accounted for, including Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Django Unchained, and The Hateful Eight. The Star Wars prequel trilogy was also touched upon, but the Marvel Cinematic Universe was only represented by a single team shot of the Avengers.

A few of the included scenes were genuine surprises, including Jackson’s starring turn in Soul Men, and his much smaller role in Goodfellas. But the biggest highlight for us was Jackson’s inspirational moment from Deep Blue Sea, the movie where his character was abruptly eaten by a super-intelligent shark while he was in mid-speech. For that one, Cordon essentially “left-sharked” Jackson. Some of the other films referenced here included Unbreakable, A Time to Kill, Jurassic Park, and Jackson’s live-action recreation of a scene from The Incredibles. Somehow, Loaded Weapon 1 didn’t quite make the cut!

What did you think about this humorous look back at Jackson’s cinema history? Say “what” again, and then share your thoughts in the comment section below!

Image: CBS

Ava DuVernay Gives a Behind-the-Scenes Look at A WRINKLE IN TIME

Disney’s big budget adaptation of one of the most beloved children’s books of all time, Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle In Time, has just wrapped principal photography. And to celebrate, director Ava DuVernay, best known for Selma, has taken to Twitter  (via Deadline) to share some of the first pics from the set with eager fans of the beloved 1963 science-fantasy young adult novel.

WRINKLE IN TIME. In theaters. April 6, 2018. pic.twitter.com/8CQ9o1BAgR

— Ava DuVernay (@ava) March 12, 2017

The book centers around a young girl named Meg Murray (Storm Reid), whose father, a government scientist, has gone missing after working on a mysterious project known as tesseract (no, not that tesseract, Avengers fans). Together with her child prodigy younger brother Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe) and their friend, they are helped by three mysterious women who take the kids to furthest reaches of space to help find their missing dad.

The novel was one of the first children’s books to tackle such concepts as quantum theory and multiple dimensions, and might even be one of the first known kid’s books to use the term “space time continuum,” and was filled with tons of then cutting-edge ideas. The above image shared by DuVernay should be of particular interest to fans of the book, as it appears to feature the kids arrival on the planet Ixchel, and their first meeting with its bizarre inhabitants.

DuVernay’s adaptation of the novel features quite the formidable cast, including Chris Pine, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Moonlight’s Andre Holland, Zach Galifianakis, and Michael Peña, among others. Reese Witherspoon, Oprah Winfrey and Mindy Kaling round out the principle cast as the otherworldly Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Which, and Mrs. Who, respectively.

A Wrinkle In Time has been adapted before, first as a theatrical play, an opera, and a graphic novel. Most recently it was filmed as a television movie back in 2003. But none have had the budget and care that’s gone into the recently wrapped version, which is set to hit theaters in April of 2018. You can see more photos shared by DuVernay from the set down below, most of which are of the Murray family at home, before their intergalactic journey begins.

That’s a wrap on @RWitherspoon! She blew me away everyday with her tremendous talent. But more than that, w/ her kindness. Thanks, Reese! pic.twitter.com/BPCsvoOdKJ

— Ava DuVernay (@ava) March 12, 2017

That’s a wrap on @Oprah for WRINKLE! Gosh, we had fun. My great friend. Her role as MRS. WHICH is literally out of this world. Thanks, OW. pic.twitter.com/dk1KuGyw1F

— Ava DuVernay (@ava) March 12, 2017

That’s a wrap on @MindyKaling! She was the very first WRINKLE casting idea I had. So grateful she said yes! Thanks, Mindy! Love to you! pic.twitter.com/RoCIQukc2G

— Ava DuVernay (@ava) March 12, 2017

Principal photography for WRINKLE IN TIME wrapped last night! An epic adventure. I loved each and every minute. xo! pic.twitter.com/D3z5J6KBIz

— Ava DuVernay (@ava) March 12, 2017

That’s a wrap on @RowanBlanchard! She joined us for a few days and made a big impression. She’s a real artist with a voice. Thanks, Rowan. pic.twitter.com/rr00XTiV5c

— Ava DuVernay (@ava) March 12, 2017

Thanks to the truly beautiful crew of WRINKLE IN TIME and our studio for standing with me every step of the way. Extraordinary experience. pic.twitter.com/1Zyxg39fgO

— Ava DuVernay (@ava) March 12, 2017

What do you think of this latest adaptation of the classic novel? Do you think this version will finally do the book justice? Let us know what you think down below in the comments.

Images: Walt Disney Company / Farrar, Straus & Giroux