Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 2204

DOWNWARD DOG’s Cast and Crew Discuss Finding the Louis C.K. of Dogs

As if a dark comedy series that is literally centered around a dog didn’t already sounds like the most heart-wrenchingly sweet thing ever, get ready to melt even more. It turns out that the sweet old pup named Ned, who plays Martin on ABC’s new series Downward Dog, is actually a rescue dog!

“He’s from PAWS Chicago,” series star Allison Tolman revealed to the room of reporters at the 2017 Winter Television Critics Association press tour. PAWS Chicago is the city’s largest “No Kill” humane organization, focused on implementing solutions to end the killing of homeless dogs and cats, and it’s the reason why Ned was discovered.

“[Co-creator/executive producer/voice of Martin] Samm [Hodges] and I definitely wanted a mutt,” co-creator/executive producer Michael Killen said about the process of finding Ned. “We definitely wanted a dog that didn’t have a specific breed. We were presented with a bunch of dogs with this really great trainer that we work with. And there is just something so human about him. It’s his eyes.”

While Ned couldn’t join the Downward Dog panel due to the fact that he’d get too stressed out in front of the room full of journalists, the cast and showrunners couldn’t stop singing the dog’s praises. Martin is an old, somber soul that some have even compared to Louis C.K.

“There is something about his anxiety and neuroses that I would say is similar,” Hodges said before ultimately denying that they modeled Martin’s personality off the comedian. “And obviously we love Louis and think this is great.”

Cast member Kirby Howell-Baptiste added, “But Louis C.K. is also not the only downtrodden man.”

While the room laughed, Tolman explained that Martin, “is more flippant. He’s more self-centered.”

On a more serious note, cast member Lucas Neff elaborated, “He has an enormous ego which I think is a big separation [from Louis C.K.]. He has a grandiose self-identity.”

Downward Dog marks leading lady Tolman’s first series regular gig since her critically-acclaimed run on Fargo. So what was it about this series that made her sign on?

“The first wave of things was me deciding that I wanted to be a leading lady,” Tolman said. “I didn’t want to take the secondary role. I wanted to wait to find my own show. I wanted to do my own show. I went through a lot of offers like that, that were like ensemble or the best friend. Really good projects and good offers. But ultimately I felt like I wanted to hold out and I wanted to do my show and I wanted to be a part of something that was my baby.”

When Downward Dog came along, it was the meat of the script that really drew Tolman in.

“I felt like Fargo was a really dramatic show that was funny and I feel like our show is a funny show that is dramatic,” Tolman said. “I feel like they meet each other in a weird way. Our show is like this little indie movie. It’s not a joke a page, it’s not a joke a minute. It’s sweet and somber and sad and funny and bittersweet. Tonally it just felt like I wanted to do something that shook things up in the same way that Fargo was able to do. It was a natural progression for me.”

Are you as in love with Ned/Martin as we are? Tweet me your thoughts and opinions at @SydneyBucksbaum!

Images: ABC

Downward Dog has been slated for a summer premiere on ABC.

THE WINDS OF WINTER Watch: Everything We Know About GAME OF THRONES Next Novel

BREAKING NEWS: The Winds of Winter still ain’t here!

Release the Hound! Ring the Seven Bells! Sound the Horn of Joramun: George R.R. Martin has something to say about the latest installment of your favorite book series—but you’re probably not going to like it.

Since 2011, fans have waited oh-so-impatiently for the release of the sixth book of George R.R. Martin’s fantasy epic, A Song of Ice and Fire (better known to TV lovers as that teeny, tiny little show Game of Thrones). And each and every single year, they are disappointed and let down by the news that no, Virginia, there is no new book coming through. When the HBO iteration premiered in 2011, most people assumed it would leave Georgieboy plenty of time to get the last two purported books—The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring—done ahead of the series. Especially because George himself had admitted as early as 2014 that he was feeling the heat to finish the story.

Oh, what sweet summer children we were back then.

Now, don’t get it twisted: winter is HERE on Game of Thrones the TV version (ahem cough cough cough siiiigh), but as of yet, there’s nary a dream of an officially confirmed release date for TWOW, even if Amazon France alleged it to be March 9, 2017 on their site. Which, naturally, got us all PRETTY EXCITED. Because, when you’ve been receiving chapters of the book from the author himself since as early as 2011 (and you can see more about the chapters here, here, here, and here), well, you can understand why audiences would be a bit, erm, antsy to finish reading the whole dang thing.

A Storm of Chapters

Think about it—we’ve seen a lot of this book already! Back in December 2011, a Theon Greyjoy chapter was presented in a special UK iteration of A Dance with Dragons that will end up in TWOW. (Read it here.) Another Iron Island-centric bit fronted by Victarion was also read aloud during a conversation at TIFF in 2012 (it starts at 30 minutes in):

Though it’s not all northerners getting attention: the short-shrifted Dornish got in on the game in January 2012 that was originally intended for book five with not one but two chapters featuring Arianne Martell. You can read an archived version of the first one here, and the other on GRRM’s site.

Our men of the dragon—namely Tyrion Lannister and Ser Barristan Selmy—also have chapters available on the World of Ice and Fire app (which you can pick up via iTunes or Google Play)! First read at a convention in October 2013, the Barristan chapter also came out as a preview chapter in the US paperback edition of ADWD and a fan even narrated it in a video:

As for our Northern women—Arya and Sansa Stark—their current monikers, Mercy and Alayne, also have chapters you can read online. This Arya chapter was originally intended to be a part of “A Feast for Crows” and has shifted between books before being slotted for “Winds of Winter.” It has been archived online and is also available in the app.

A Feast of Promises

Of course, it’s not just the written teases that are terrible—it’s the promises George has doled out over the years that have also made this wait feel longer than the longest Winter on record at the Citadel. Back in 2014, GRRM insisted the book was coming in 2015. And then again in 2015 he insisted that 2016 was the year …only to come back around and say “just kidding!” on his blog. And now, in 2017, we’ve got another LiveJournal-centric update in the comments:

“Not done yet, but I’ve made progress. But not as much as I hoped a year ago, when I thought to be done by now. I think it will be out this year. (But hey, I thought the same thing last year).”

To which we say:

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i mean ok sure don’t stop believin’ George.

 

In short? Don’t hold your breath. Will we get a new chapter? My money’s on yes, if for nothing else than a peace offering for a lack of winter winds in 2017—but maybe all this disbelief about his progress will make him sour on the thought like a Dornish red gone bad.

But what do you think? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Image Credit: HBO

Alicia Lutes is the Managing Editor of Nerdist, creator/host of Fangirling, and the resident Khaleesi of all things Game of Thrones at Nerdist. Find her on Twitter!

Nerdist Podcast: Mark Hamill Returns

Mark Hamill returns to the Nerdist Podcast! He and Chris talk about becoming a collector, where he would go to find toys, comic books and more and and what they each like to collect. They also discuss why Luke Skywalker was so relatable, collecting Star Wars memorabilia, and Mark’s new show Pop Culture Quest on Comic-Con HQ!

Editor’s Note: This episode was recorded before Carrie Fisher’s untimely death. Rest in Peace, General Leia.

Image: Frazer Harrison / Getty

How Does David Bowie’s BLACKSTAR Sound a Year after His Death?

To my shame, I must confess that I wasn’t able to bring myself to listen to Blackstar until preparing for this week’s Audio Rewind. All year long I kept waiting for the perfect moment to finally experience Bowie‘s parting gift; to relish in the last Bowie album that we on this earth would ever receive. The moment never came, though, and I think it didn’t come because I didn’t want it to; listening meant letting go. Or, perhaps, I was prescient and knew I’d need something to look forward to amidst 2016’s ceaseless onslaught of shit. Whatever the case, I finally listened to it, and I am happy to announce that I am of the same opinion as Nerdist music editor, Matt Grosinger, who placed Blackstar atop his Best of 2016 list.

The arrival of Blackstar, Bowie’s twenty-fifth and final studio LP, coincided with his 69th birthday, and it preceded his death by just two days. Considering the proximity of these events, many suggested that the record’s morbid lyrics served as the musician’s farewell; the sequence seemed premeditated, acutely aware of impending death. Recent news partially undermines that notion, though. The new documentary, David Bowie: The Last Five Years, which debuted on BBC this past weekend, revealed that Bowie found out his cancer was terminal just three months before his death. In Blackstar, then, perhaps Bowie was simply exploring the idea of his own death—cancer of any kind will do that, after all—rather than confronting it as a foregone reality.

“People are so desperate for Blackstar to be this parting gift that Bowie made for the world when he knew he was dying but I think it’s simplistic to think that,” said Francis Whatley, who directed both the documentary and Bowie’s Off-Broadway musical, Lazarus. “There is more ambiguity there than people want to acknowledge. I don’t think he knew he was going to die.” Much of the creative energy poured into his final full-length, then, must have been laced with hope, and that makes his death all the sadder.

According to Johan Renck, the director of Bowie’s “Lazarus” video, the musician found out that he was going to die during the video’s filming. The fugal epic is told from the perspective of a man in heaven, and the foreboding, accompanying visual places the musician in a hospital bed, blindfolded, fitfully dancing in gaunt relief… There’s no need to make the linkage between singer and song any more explicit than that.

In retrospect, the death of David Bowie seems a portent to what would ultimately manifest as 2016. The premature deaths of many more of our beloved artists. Gratuitous political upheaval. But the record itself served as a bright spot amidst the agonizing din. It was a gift that kept on giving, too. The cover art transforms when exposed to the sun, for instance, and there are reportedly still surprises yet to be found.

And, of course, there is the music itself, which will live on in perpetuity. In typical fashion, Bowie drew inspiration from a broad mélange of artists, both contemporary and well-worn. The saxophone, Starman’s first instrument, played a prominent role throughout the album. His love for the sax even served as impetus for recruiting the then-little-known, Donny McCaslin-led jazz combo to be the album’s backing band. IDM duo, Boards of Canada, the abrasive hip-hop group, Death Grips, and Kendrick Lamar‘s brilliant To Pimp A Butterfly were also all noted as influences.

With the help of producer Tony Visconti, Bowie managed to weave these influences into a sound that’s both logical and evocative of his oeuvre at large. Bowie is inimitable when it comes to identifying a musical zeitgeist, inserting himself, and creating something that is both relevant and unassailably his own.

The best example of this mastery is in Blackstar‘s ten-minute title track. Bowie seemingly invokes all of the tools from his songwriting arsenal on this piece, from the drum ‘n’ bass style percussion (reminiscent of the spacey, pell-mell rhythms on Earthling) to the stark yet seamless textural changes (see: “Space Oddity,” the Eno albums vs. the rest of his canon, “Let’s Dance” in a listening session crowded with Bowie’s art rock), he explored it all and mixed and matched at will. From the jazzy low end, “Blackstar” progresses through an instrumental acid-house section and a saxophone solo before finally landing in a low-tempo blues passage. Astoundingly, these transitions never feel stilted or awkward. You could go as far as to say that the song feels like it could have only been done one way: this way. And that’s the mark of his genius.

Most poignant in the song, though, are the words that immediately follow the switch to blues pace. “Something happened on the day he died,” croons Bowie. “Spirit rose and meter stepped aside / Somebody else took his place and bravely cried / I’m a blackstar.” Again, there is no need to make the presage to Bowie’s real life any more obvious than it already is.

Even with the just-arriving music from Lazarus, it’s Blackstar that will forever be Bowie’s swan song—whether it was intended or not. It might seem natural to yell blasphemy at the notion that anyone could ever step in and take Bowie’s place in our stratosphere, and of course no one will ever replace David Bowie, but we should eagerly await the day when someone worthy can step up, take the reins, and justly declare themselves a fellow blackstar. The world will be a better place for it, as it is for having been home to Ziggy Stardust for 69 years.

Image: RCA Records

Toy Leak Reveals GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 Villain

We just got a major MCU reveal thanks to a promo shot for Funko’s upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 Pint Sized Heroes line. Hidden amongst images of adorable-ized Star Lords, Gamoras, and Groots we also caught a glimpse of one yet to be introduced character. Luckily confused fans were able to turn to Twitter for answers as to who she might be. Ultimate Guardians toy guide, director James Gunn, quickly chimed in to confirm that this is vol. 2’s villain, Ayesha.

Fans can be forgiven for not immediately recognizing the toy as Ayesha, since she seems to have gone through a major redesign on her journey to the big screen. On the page she’s typically dressed in a 80’s-era red leotard. The toy is adorned in a sleek, militaristic uniform with a gold and blue color scheme that’s slightly reminiscent of the the Nova Corps.

Unsurprisingly, this reimagining of Ayesha doesn’t stop at her looks since it appears that the character is also going to have a lot of her backstory left in the dust. In the comics she started life as genetically engineered superhero, created by the same scientists who built Adam Warlock. She was known by a number of different names including “Her” and “Kismit” until coming under the control of super villain Crucible. It was only then that she took up the mantle of Ayesha. But in a Facebook post written shortly after the Guardians panel at San Diego Comic-Con, Gunn explained that the movie’s Ayesha would be “the golden high priestess of a genetically-perfect people called the Sovereign. She’s not a woman to be screwed with – she, and her entire world, are extraordinarily deadly.” He even goes on to say that the character in the comic and the character on screen will be so different that the only thing they may have in common is a name.

How do you feel about Gunn tinkering with Ayesha’s origins? Let us know in the comments.

The Writers Panel #307: Charlie Day and Glenn Howerton

The It’s Always Sunny in Philadephia writers and co-stars discuss their now-airing 12th season, changing the face of TV comedy, how their show is written, and more. Co-hosted by Sunny super-fan Jenny Klein (Supernatural; Jessica Jones).

Follow @BenBlacker and Like the show on Facebook!

Wanna See a Unicycle-Riding, Bagpipe-Playing, Snow-Shoveling Darth Vader?

The holidays are officially behind us, and we’re starting to head into the coldest months of winter. It’s easy to fall into a funk or full-on depression this time of the year, so one brave person set out to change that. Armed with only a unicycle, a Darth Vader costume, and flaming bagpipes (you know, standard Monday gear), this guy has instantly made 2017 look a lot brighter than 2016… and not just because of the actual fire emanating from his pipes.

The Laughing Squid first broke this important news story, and let us all know that the mysterious bagpiper is a Portland resident (because of course he’s from Portland) named Brian Kidd. Kidd goes by The Unipiper on Youtube, and it turns out he’s been playing flaming bagpipes on unicycles in costume for quite a while now. He’s got videos where he’s dressed as King Arthur from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Link from Zelda, Harry Potter (chasing a dude dressed as a Golden Snitch, naturally), and Captain Jack Sparrow. Another Star Wars-themed video saw him ditch his unicycle and instead balance on a ball while dressed as BB-8.

Kidd’s Dark Side antics have brought a big flash of light into what is arguably the worst part of winter, even though it does make me feel worse about the amount of complaining and struggling I do trying to shovel my driveway the old-fashioned way. However, it seems that his neighbors have become used to Kidd’s flaming bagpiping, unicycling ways. About six seconds into the video, you see a minivan just drive casually on by, presumably thinking, “Darth Vader shoveling snow on a unicycle with flaming bagpipes? What else is new…”

Don’t be that minivan, friends. Enjoy and marvel at The Unipiper’s delightful and mysterious ways! Tell us your favorite Unipiper video, and who you’d like to see him dress up as next in the comments!

Feature Image: The Unipiper/YouTube

Queen’s Greatest Hits Got Turned into 8-bit Video Game Music

There are many reasons Queen is universally recognized as having reached supreme levels of excellence: Freddie Mercury’s otherworldly vocal power and the fleshed-out and epic rock instrumentation are two of the most predominant. What this fan project does, though, is strip Queen’s legendary music of both of those qualities, and yet, That Gamer’s 8-bit cover of the band’s first Greatest Hits album still sounds as Queen-y as the Queen we love (via BoingBoing).

In 1982, Queen released Hot Space, which is considered a wild departure of an album in that it incorporates a lot of electronic influences, or at least a lot more than they had previously been known for. 8-bit Queen could be what the band may have sounded like were they to have gone way further off the electronic deep end, and while that may not have been a smart move by the band, it sure is a lot of fun to explore as a fan project on YouTube.

This project shows the potential of how amazing it could have been if Queen had provided the score to an ’80s video game, as the 8-bit version of “Bohemian Rhapsody” could soundtrack an Undertale-styled cinematic, introductory cut scene, and staying with Undertale, “Another One Bites The Dust” could work great as a Sans song.

Listen to the project for yourself above, and find the tracklist below:

“Bohemian Rhapsody” (at the start of the video)
“Another One Bites The Dust” (starting at 5:31)
“Killer Queen” (8:23)
“Fat Bottomed Girls” (11:19)
“Bicycle Race” (14:37)
“You’re My Best Friend” (17:35)
“Don’t Stop Me Now” (20:28)
“Save Me” (24:00)
“Crazy Little Thing Called Love” (27:46)
“Somebody To Love” (30:32)
“Now I’m Here” (35:27)
“Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy” (39:32)
“Play The Game” (42:24)
“Flash” (45:34)
“Seven Seas Of Rhye” (48:11)
“We Will Rock You” (50:49)
“We Are The Champions” (52:50)

Featured image: Random8BitCovers

This Guy Makes Sweaters Based on Locations, Then Visits Those Places

There has never been a better time in which to exist than right now, at least as far as the options you have for taking photos of yourself is concerned. You can pull out your phone and snap a quick pick virtually anywhere, and you can even make yourself look like a dog or flower princess with a few quick presses. Then there are people like Sam Barsky, who is absolutely running the game with an approach that’s distinctively old-school, although we’ve never seen anything like it (via Dangerous Minds).

For his photos, Barsky creates what we suppose could be described as real-life, wearable geo-filters: He knits a sweater that depicts a real-world locations, then goes to that location and takes a photo of himself wearing the sweater at that place. As you can see above, he knitted up a Stonehenge sweater, then went over to Wiltshire, England and did his thing. He’s also taken this project to the Golden Gate Bridge:

Times Square:

…and others, put what is perhaps most interesting about this endeavor is that Barsky has knitted sweaters for a lot of mundane places. His Facebook page shows he’s made some so locations like some power lines, what looks like a rest stop that has decorative stone toadstools, a place with llamas, a front yard that has pumpkins in it, and at least a couple different roads.

We don’t pretend to understand the inner workings of this man’s brain, but we do appreciate him immensely. Check out more of his sweaters here or on his Facebook page.

Featured image: DesmondThePotato

TWIN PEAKS Stars Won’t Tell You Anything About Showtime’s Reboot and It’s All David Lynch’s Fault

Do you want to know what happens when you disobey David Lynch? Well, neither did the actors from Showtime’s Twin Peaks revival who were brave enough to join a Television Critics Association 2017 winter press tour panel about the 18 new hours of the cult classic show set to debut on May 21.

When asked what lingering questions Kyle MacLachlan might’ve had after the season two finale (which aired in 1991) and whether they were answered in the new season, the man also known as FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper demurred. “I can tell you very little about [them],” he said.

But he didn’t think there would ever be any new episodes, so he hadn’t really imagined where Dale Cooper would be after season two. “It was left at the end of season two and that was where I left it, never expecting to return,” he said—but he also recognized “just how fantastic that character of Dale Cooper was, is, and am so grateful to have had that experience playing him. So the idea of a return for me was a gift, not only to be able to work with David again within that world but to be able to return to that character.”

Madchen Amick, a.k.a. diner waitress Shelly, was as skeptical as most people when it came to reboot rumors. “I didn’t think it was ever coming,” she said, adding, “and very adamantly when people asked me [about them] I was like, ‘No, absolutely not. I don’t think we’ll be able to do it again.'”

Kimmy Robertson, a.k.a. receptionist Lucy Moran, wouldn’t even reveal where she shot her scenes, but she did say how special it was working with Lynch. “For me, doing any other job with any other director was definitely not as cool, not as fun, and not as magic and not as happy and not as natural, so I missed that for 25 years,” she said, teasing, “getting to be on the set doing whatever it was I was doing was really fun. My knees got weak and they had to hold me up on the set of wherever I was.”

While Amick (unsurprisingly) didn’t reveal anything about Shelly’s storyline, she did say she didn’t expect where it went. “I can say I was surprised,” she said. “I had ideas where Shelly had gone or done and I was surprised by her journey.”

Twin Peaks newcomers Laura Dern and Robert Forster had worked with Lynch before, so they knew what to expect when it came to his unconventional filmmaking style. “The opportunity of working with David—and I think I speak for all of us—every day is magical, hilarious, you’re seeing something you’ve never seen before, you’re asked to be boundary-less in a way you’re not asked on any other television or film set,” Dern said.

Forster told a story about how Lynch kept telling him to do a scene in Mulholland Drive slower and slower, to a point where he began to doubt the direction. It wasn’t until he actually watched the finished film that he realized he was in someone’s dream. “So when David Lynch tells you get on that panel but don’t tell them anything, do exactly what David Lynch tells you to do,” he said.

For the most part they obeyed. The teensiest little slips? That MacLachlan and Dern worked together, that Forster is seemingly playing Cooper’s new partner in crime-solving, and that Dern is playing a new character. Well, maybe. When asked if she was playing Diane, “I am playing my own character,” she responded. But she’s not entirely sure. “Maybe I don’t even know who I’m playing! That’s also possible when you’re working with David Lynch.”

Twin Peaks returns with a two-hour premiere on Sunday, May 21 on Showtime.

What do you want to see in the Twin Peaks revival? Share your thoughts in the comments below!