Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 2269

BACK TO THE FUTURE PART III and WESTWORLD Combine in ‘Back to the Westworld’

Have you ever watched Back to the Future Part III or Westworld and thought to yourself, this is nice, but I’m not confused enough? Well then good news, little logical doggies! Now you can help yourselves to a whole heapin’ helpin’ of questions about which timeline is which and who’s a robot and what does it mean to be human and is this a holdup or a science experiment with this mash-up between a classic film and—dare we say—a classic television show in the making.

The mash-up is aptly titled “Back to the Westworld,” and galloped our way via Break. It exists thanks to Todd Spence, who’s a comedy writer, and, according to the work shown on his Twitter feed, quite a talented painter and sketch artist too.

The mash-up ties together Robert Zemeckis’s final installment in the Back to the Future trilogy and Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy’s HBO adaptation of Michael Crichton’s original Westworld pretty darn well. This is either not much of a surprise considering Back to the Future Part III takes Doc and Marty to 1885 and Nolan told EW that the hosts are supposed to be from the mid to late 19th century…or a total surprise considering the film is a lighthearted comedy whereas the television show is, well, there are a lot of bullets and people painted in gold, if you know what we’re saying.

While the edit does a really nice job of cutting the two worlds together, in terms of movie-television mash-ups of late, the award for most seamless combination still probably has to go to that Harry Potter–Stranger Things mash-up that Comedy Central UK posted earlier this week. But maybe it’s too soon to judge. We all know that no mash-up’s future has been written yet.

What do you think about this Back to the Future Part III–Westworld mash-up? Jump on the comment train below before it disappears into another dimension!

Images: Universal Pictures

We have trouble keeping the Westworld timelines straight too.

Dana Carvey and Jimmy Fallon’s Micro Impression-off Was a Big Hit

You probably never wondered what it would sound like to sit at the Thanksgiving Day table with Tony Montana, but it shouldn’t surprise you that comedian Dana Carvey was the one to answer that unasked question, in a totally ridiculous but hilarious format he calls micro impressions.

We first saw this segment from Carvey’s Tonight Show visit at Entertainment Weekly, where he and host Jimmy Fallon did a series of short, quick impressions of celebrities in unusual or unlikely scenarios, like Liam Neeson working as a cashier at a grocery story, Donald Trump putting on ChapStick, or what it might be like if Sir Michael Caine was in kindergarten. While the stars impersonated here weren’t exactly the toughest to mimic, all of these were really good, with the only dud in the bunch being Carvey’s first impression of Fallon seeing a UFO. I mean, is it even possible to do an accurate Fallon impression without saying the word “great” six or seven times per minute?

Our favorite, though, was probably the most micro (microest?) of them all, and that was Sean Connery responding to whether or not he would like to vacation in Spain. What are the odds that exact scenario has actually happened to Sean Connery? 99%?

Oh, and do all impressionists have to do push-ups when they bomb one? That seems particularly harsh. No wonder they stuck with the easy ones.

Can you come up with an absurd micro impression premise for Carvey to try next? Tell us your best idea in the comments section below.

Images: NBC

Daryl Faces a Choice in New THE WALKING DEAD Preview

Much to the relief of several Walking Dead fans, Norman Reedus‘ Daryl Dixon did not meet his demise in the seventh season premiere. But that doesn’t mean that Daryl’s not in trouble! To keep Rick and the rest of the Alexandria survivors in line, Negan has taken Daryl hostage. And as we can see in the latest preview scene, Negan and the Saviors may have bigger plans for Daryl.

In this brief clip, Daryl isn’t the only prisoner of war to be grabbed by Negan’s men. It also appears that the prisoners have been given standard uniforms and forced to compete in some kind of game with captive walkers in the compound. You can see in Daryl’s eyes that he wants to fight back, but he’s kept in line by his old nemesis, Dwight. According to Dwight, Daryl has three choices: he can be like the helpless prisoners in the game, he can become a walker, or he can follow Dwight’s example and submit to Negan’s rule.

You may recall a preview before the season started that featured Dwight wearing Daryl’s clothes and riding his bike. That scene might be coming up in this episode, as we now know how Dwight acquired all of those items from Daryl. The real question now is whether Daryl will eventually give in or at least pretend to join the Saviors. Have you noticed the scars on Dwight’s face? If the show is anything like the comic, the story behind those burns may play out this season. And if Daryl rides with the Saviors, he could be in danger of receiving a similar brand.

The Walking Dead season 7 continues this Sunday, November 6 at 9pm on AMC.

What do you think will become of Daryl? Share your theories below!

Image: AMC

While you count the hours to the next episode, let us explain the last one:

Luc Besson Has Revealed a New VALERIAN Poster and Teaser Date

Next summer, The Fifth Element director Luc Besson is taking a deep dive back into sci-fi with Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. The early footage of the film dazzled the crowd at Comic-Con, but fans won’t have to wait long to see more. Besson has revealed that the new teaser for Valerian will drop next week, while showing off a new poster for the movie.

That art style is fitting because the film is based upon the French comic book series Valérian and Laureline by Pierre Christin and artist Jean-Claude Mézières. The comic was first published in 1967, and its influence has been felt in the Star Wars films and other sci-fi projects that followed it.

American comic book fans may not be familiar with this title, so here’s a quick primer for the movie. Dane DeHaan is playing Valerian in the film, with Cara Delevingne as his partner, Laureline. Think of them as intergalactic troubleshooters. Essentially, it’s their job to keep the peace in the universe. Their latest mission will bring them to Alpha, an incredible city that is made up of 17 million humans and aliens from across all corners of the galaxy. Alpha may be the ultimate symbol of interstellar unity, but someone wants to destroy what its residents have created. That’s why Valerian and Laureline have been called in to save it.

Besson has assembled an impressive supporting cast for this film, including Clive Owen, John Goodman, Ethan Hawke, and Rihanna. Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets will be released on July 21, 2017.

Are you excited to see Besson’s latest film? Let us know in the comment section below!

Image: EuropaCorp

Here’s what we learned from Besson and his stars at Comic-Con:

Blizzard Just Announced Exciting New OVERWATCH Modes

With BlizzCon 2016 in full swing right now, we’ve been getting a ton of updates about fan-favorites like Overwatch, Hearthstone, World of Warcraft and more. If you thought the Mean Streets of Gadgetzan Hearthstone expansion was exciting, prepare yourself because we’ve got more news to share. In addition to officially confirming  Sombra as a playable character in Overwatch, Blizzard revealed an all-new Arcade mode, which offers five new ways to play the game.

If you’re familiar with the Weekly Brawl mode, Arcade mode will be replacing that. In Arcade mode, players will get a number of gameplay types, including: Mystery Duel, Mystery Heroes, No Limits, Elimination and all of the game’s existing brawls. So in a sense, it is absorbing and enhancing the Weekly Brawl mode. Players will be able to earn rewards (up to three loot boxes a week) with any of the modes.

During the keynote, Overwatch‘s Game Director Jeff Kaplan gave a detailed explanation of the five modes that are on the way. First up is the 1v1 Mystery Duel. During this mode, both players are given the same randomly selected hero. The mode is best of nine rounds (with the same character), and according to Kaplan will serve as an even playing field for players to test their strength. With only two players in the duel, it will be set in the new “Eco-Point Antarctica” map–which is Mei’s home base.

In Elimination, six players will duke it out in a 3v3 mode. This one is best of five rounds, and will restrict your team composition until the next round. But as the name of the mode suggests, once you’re eliminated, you’re gone until the next round kicks off. Mercy will definitely be handy in this situation.

If you’re looking for no restrictions (and to live out your dream of playing with a team full of Meis), look no further than No Limits. It’s basically the same as Quick Play, so no real change here. The complete opposite answer to your average Quick Play mode is Mystery Heroes. In this 6v6 brawl, you’ll duke it out as a randomly assigned hero. There are regular rules here, so the only thing really different is which character you’re able to play as.

Are you still playing Overwatch? Which mode are you excited to try out? Let us know in the comments!

Images: Blizzard

Were we right to predict Overwatch would be the shooter of your dreams?

Google DeepMind Wants Its AI to Dominate STARCRAFT II

Back in March of this year, Google DeepMind had its AI system, AlphaGo, “sit down” with international Go champion Lee Sedol in a 5-game Go match with a purse of a cool $1 million. Despite Go being far more difficult than say, chess, to program for (due in part to number of possible moves), it destroyed Sedol 4-1. Now, the same company that took down the best in what many consider to be the most difficult board game in the world, is turning its sights on Starcraft II.

The company made the announcement at this year’s BlizzCon 2016 in Anaheim, California, and in an associated press release, says that it has established a “collaboration with Blizzard Entertainment to open up StarCraft II to AI and Machine Learning researchers around the world.”

For anybody paying attention to Google DeepMind, or one of its central driving forces, Demis Hassabis, the leap to 3-D video games has been expected for some time. The company has already trained its AI on rudimentary video games such as Breakout and Space Invaders (prior to beating Sedol), and it’s quite stunning to watch how quickly the AI becomes superhuman at its task.

With Starcraft II, DeepMind’s AI is going to face a far more difficult challenge than Breakout or even Go. The AI system is going to have to do things like play simultaneously with other players (as opposed to turn-based board games), explore unknown territories (no perfect information for the AI), and develop complex long-term planning (resource collection, usage, etc.). A sample of one layer of the AI’s API—the way the AI interacts with Starcraft II—is shown in the video above. Note how it deconstructs its environment on the left-hand side of the screen.

And even though Google DeepMind’s press release says that the company is “still a long way from being able to challenge a professional human [Starcraft II] player,” it’s difficult to imagine that the company couldn’t, eventually, duplicate its Go results. This becomes really interesting to think about in the context of Google DeepMind’s longer-term goals, mentioned in their press release:

“StarCraft is an interesting testing environment for current AI research because it provides a useful bridge to the messiness of the real-world. The skills required for an agent to progress through the environment and play StarCraft well could ultimately transfer to real-world tasks.”

Make no mistake about Google DeepMind’s AI. Video games are just the training grounds. Solving real-world challenges is the ultimate goal. “DeepMind is on a scientific mission to push the boundaries of AI,” the company said, “developing programs that can learn to solve any complex problem without needing to be told how.” Fellow humanoids, this is strong AI. This is general AI. The real machine-learning, and machine-doing, is just getting started.

What do you think about Google DeepMind taking on Starcraft II? Give us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Images: Google DeepMind 

Xbox One Backwards Compatibility Now Supports Over 200 Games

The list of Xbox One backwards compatible titles is growing substantially as we hea toward the holiday season. This month, Microsoft has added Limbo to the bunch. If you’re keeping count at home, that’s well over 200 Xbox 360 games that you can now play on your Xbox One. Wondering if your favorite has made the cut yet? Take a gander at the massive list of games that are now backwards compatible (via Major Nelson):

Download (PDF, 561KB)

For those that may have lapsed for a generation of gaming, backwards compatibility sure makes for a great way of catching up on franchises you have heard people fawn over for years. For one, all of the previous Gears of War games are playable on the Xbox One, and you’d be a fool not to play them before jumping into the latest in the series, Gears of War 4. And if you’re looking for something to hold you over until Red Dead Redemption 2 and Mass Effect: Andromeda finally hit the shelves, how about replaying Red Dead Redemption and Mass Effect?

Some other great experiences you should check out include the original Bayonetta (it’s wacky and glorious), the classic Sonic games, Fallout: New Vegas, and The Orange Box, which includes both Portal and Half-Life 2. Just as a reminder, if you own the Xbox 360 discs of compatible titles, all you have to do is insert it into the console. It’s as simple as that.

Are you making use of this nifty feature? Which games have you or will you be playing with the Xbox One backwards compatibility feature? Are there any other games you’re hoping get the BC treatment? Drop your thoughts into the comments section below.

Images: EA, Rockstar, Platinum Games, Play Dead, Epic Games, Valve

Unused Original GHOSTBUSTERS Art Had The Team Traveling to the Gates of Hell

The ending to the original 1984 Ghostbusters is one of the most famous in Hollywood’s history. It features a memorable quartet of unusual heroes, two humans turned into giant monster dogs, a skyscraper-sized evil marshmallow man, and a god from another dimension, all coming to blows high above the most famous city in the world, New York. But would it have been even better if that scene had taken place at a location even more famous—or rather infamous—like at the literal gates of Hell? Because that’s apparently where the fellas wound up in an early draft of the script. These many years later, we have an idea of what that might have looked like.

This unused concept art for the movie, which we found at Slashfilm, was created by longtime artist Bernie Wrightson, who was commissioned to design some ideas of what the gates of Hell might look like, as well as the road leading up to them. We wouldn’t change anything about that original movie (well, maybe that scene of Ray in bed with the ghost), but we can’t deny this would have been pretty incredible to see on the big screen. There is a natural menace and unease to these illustrations.

There had long been talk about the Ghostbusters visiting Hell, possibly even for a third film that was never made with the original cast, so this idea didn’t die with the first movie, and we can see why. While always dealing with the supernatural, the films never addressed the nature of the afterlife, of whether there is a Heaven and a Hell, or of what happens normally to human spirits—why some haunt the living and some don’t. So sending the Ghosbusters to Hell would have opened up a lot of opportunities to go further with the story. At the very least it would have been more interesting than an evil painting.

In addition to his unused Hell art, we also get to see some of Wrightson’s designs for the librarian ghost, which made it into the film, and a peek at some very different designs for the terror dogs.

Those first terror dogs don’t scream terror so much as Looney Tunes, but that second one is pretty damn terrifying.

The video above and the focus on Wrightson’s work is part of a Kickstarter from artist and owner of Nakatomi, Tim Doyle, who is trying to fund the release of a “limited edition fine-art portfolio of Bernie Wrightson’s illustrations from Cycle of the Werewolf written by Stephen King.” You can learn more about it, and Wrightson’s illustrious career as an artist, in this accompanying video.

The Kickstarter’s goal of $12,000 has already been met and more, with over 380 backers committing almost $70,000 already. If you’d like to join there is still a week left to go in the campaign. The original Ghostbusters never did go to Hell, which is too bad because it would have been a great storyline to explore, and now we know it would have looked really cool too.

What do you think of this concept art? Do you think this would have made for a better or worse story? Don’t be afraid of our comments section below, tell us what you think.

Featured Image: Columbia Pictures

Images: Bernie Wrightson/Tim Doyle

Marvel’s CHAMPIONS Series Gets A New Trailer and More Comics News

Welcome comics fangirls and fanboys to your weekend edition of Comics Relief! To start things off this week, Marvel has released a trailer for their new Millennial heroes, The Champions. Read on for all the details!

Marvel releases trailer for new Champions Series

Marvel Comics is really pushing Champions, their newest team book with a really old name (it was the name of a Marvel team briefly in the ’70s). In this latest version, it’s all younger heroes who are breaking away from their paternal figures in the Avengers and forging their own paths, unlike, say, the Young Avengers.

Now the publisher has released a new trailer for The Champions, from creators Mark Waid and Humberto Ramos, featuring the team. Well, most of them…team member Cyclops barely gets a reference, and not by name. Make of that what you will. You can watch The Champions trailer above.

Is Marvel blocking Uncanny X-Men‘s Chris Claremont from writing for them?

Speaking of Cyclops and the X-Men, In 1975, a young writer named Chris Claremont took the X-Men to new heights of popularity, and stayed with the team all the way through 1991. His X-Men #1 with Jim Lee stands as the biggest selling comic of all time. Not long after, he left Marvel, only to come back in the late ’90s. He’s since had a long running exclusive contract with Marvel, which forbids him from working for any rival US comic book publisher, a contract that, according to a new interview with Bleeding Cool, is still in effect.

But Claremont hasn’t had a comic from Marvel since his Nightcrawler solo series ended sometime in 2014. So what’s the deal? It seems Marvel is happy to pay him a hefty paycheck and keep him “in house” but not actually write anything. Is his style just too old school for them? How on Earth is Claremont not writing a Storm series, a character no one has written as well since he wrote her back in the day? [Bleeding Cool]

DC teams up with operation gratitude, sending comics to soldiers

Jason Inman, Host of the DC All-Access web show, is asking comic fans everywhere to donate their comics to soldiers abroad. Inman announced in a recent video he would once again work with Operation Gratitude, a charity organization dedicated to delivering care packages to members of the armed forces, first responders, and the children of deployed soldiers, both overseas and in the states.

Together, Inman and Operation Gratitude are hoping to send 20,000 comics to soldiers overseas, which is double the amount they managed to donate last year. DC Co-Publisher Dan DiDio has already announced that DC Comics would be contributing 5,000 comics to the drive. To find out more details and how to donate yourself, be sure to click on the following link: [CBR]

Publisher Double Take, home of Night Of The Living Dead comics, folds

It wasn’t that long ago that former Marvel co-publisher Bill Jemas started a new comic book label called Double Take, which was a division of video game company Take Two. Almost entirely, they published several zombie series spinning out of Night of the Living Dead, which is a public domain title.

Double Take had a very unique way of publishing, as they bundled monthly packs of 10 titles all at once, bypassing the typical way of releasing comics. The shut down ostensibly happened very recently and suddenly, as the publisher announced four new titles, and at the recent New York Comic Con, they had a huge giveaway of 10,000 free graphic novels. In any event, it’s always sad to see another comic publisher fold. [Comics Beat]

Is San Francisco getting a new convention to replace WonderCon?

For years, Comic-Con International’s premiere Bay Area con was WonderCon, up until 2012, when it moved to Southern California. Although the move was supposed to be temporary, it’s turned out to be a permanent one instead. Now CCI might be creating a new Con for the Bay Area, although when it’s actually coming is still a mystery. CCI’s David Glanzer confirmed that they are returning to the Bay Area, although with a smaller event first, a symposium called “SAM, Storytelling Across Media.”

“Our hope is that we can return to the Bay Area if not with WonderCon than perhaps with another convention. SAM, Storytelling Across Media, is our first foray in that direction. We hope the turnout will be good and we hope the community will support our efforts. My fingers are crossed for a great symposium!” Here’s hoping the Bay Area gets a new comic-con on the level of WonderCon sometime soon.  [Comics Beat]

IDW to release Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Artisan Editions

Although publisher IDW has been making a big splash with their oversized Artist Editions recently, those particular collections might be a little bit out of many a fans’ price ranges. Next summer though, the publisher will be releasing something similar, but somewhat more affordable. These new “Artisan Editions” will still be oversized editions, but of one particular issue instead of a whole run. And the first one out of the gate will be Eastman and Laird’s original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 from 1984.

According to the official description, this new Artist’s Editions are “scanned directly from the original art, mimicking the experience of the original hand drawn page, and also collecting all the layouts (also hand drawn) by the creators of what has been called this generation’s Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck.” The first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Artisan Edition Hardcover by by Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird will be available on May 30, 2017 for a price tag of $50. [Bleeding Cool]

Comixology Has Doctor Strange Sale to tie-in to the film’s release

And finally, for all of those you out there who just got turned on to the adventures of Marvel’s Sorcerer Supreme Doctor Strange thanks to a little movie coming out this weekend, and want to read more of his comic book adventures, comiXology has got you covered. From the recent Jason Aaron series, to classic Stan Lee/Steve Ditko comics from the ’60s, comiXology has some of the best Strange stories for a killer price. You can check out the sale right here. [Comics Alliance]

Images: Marvel Comics / DC Comics / IDW / Double Take / Comic-Con International 

Cosplay Friday #188 – Spider-Man, Captain Fett, and More by NorCal Cap

It seems to me one of the most challenging parts about cosplay is deciding who or what to dress as. You know when you’d get assigned a paper in school and the teacher told you to write about anything you wanted? It’s like that—too many options. One way to narrow it down is to pull costume inspiration from one medium. Tim Hurles, a.k.a. NorCal Cap, mostly sticks to characters from Marvel comics.

He cosplays a straightforward Captain America, but he also has this terrific Star Wars mash-up that combines Cap with Boba Fett:

You can’t go wrong with a take on the classic Spider-Man:

Hop, skip, or use your web shooters to swing on down to the gallery below to see more costumes from Tim and to see how his family joins in on the fun. You’ll find a little Captain America, Spider-Gwen, and more. If you’d like to keep up with Tim’s future costumes and get some helpful tutorial information, follow him on Facebook and Instagram.

Do you cosplay or take pictures of cosplayers? Then I would like to see your work so we can talk about highlighting you in a future Cosplay Friday gallery. If you’re interested, please go ahead and email me at alratcliffe@yahoo.com with hi-res photos you’d like me to feature. Be sure to provide credits for the cosplayers or photographers for each image because giving credit is good manners–bonus points if you include links to relevant Facebook pages or websites. Though I wish I knew all the geek things in the world, I definitely don’t, so please let me know who or what is being cosplayed–I can usually figure it out, but I’ll take all the help I can get.

Images: Courtesy of Tim Hurles