Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 2321
September 12, 2016
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD Minus VFX Will Still Blow You Away
Mad Max: Fury Road was easily one of the best films of 2015, and one of the most stunning displays of stunt performances and practical effects in movie history. And because so much of the film was done practically, the above no-VFX behind-the-scenes video—aptly entitled Crash & Smash—is guaranteed to make your Immortan Joe-like skeletal jaw drop.
The video, which was recently posted by the YouTube channel Esports TV and comes via /Film, is, like George Miller‘s finished masterpiece itself, a nonstop thrill ride full of raucous explosions, flame throwers, car crashes, motorcycle jumps, and polecat acrobatics that are the absolute antithesis of keeping your hands and feet inside of the vehicle at all times.
Guy Norris, the film’s supervising stunt coordinator, told Rolling Stone that making the film felt like going to war, as he “oversaw a small army of stunt people – up to 150 at a time – during more than 300 sequences…” This makes total sense in light of the stunts highlighted in Crash & Smash, which include: a giant monster truck getting insane air, cars exploding near Furiosa’s tanker, War Boys leaping onto porcupine vehicles, and, of course, gigantic explosions that would definitely wake up any nearby Mad Max-cosplay naptime babies.
Aside from showing you why you should be hugely impressed with the effort and risk that went into the making of Mad Max: Fury Road, this no-VFX video is also guaranteed to make you do one other thing: want to watch the movie again. And if you need a stab of adrenaline until you can make that happen, you can always watch Colin Furze (real-life War Boy perhaps?) recreate the Doof Warrior’s flame-throwing guitar.
What do you think about Mad Max: Fury Road sans visual effects? Were you more impressed by the War Boys or the war toys? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Here are the movies you should be excited about this fall!
Images: Warner Bros
Synth Legends Tangerine Dream Cover The STRANGER THINGS Theme
We have reached that point in popular culture where we are witnessing the snake eating its own tail… and it’s actually kind of a beautiful thing. I’m talking about the latest fan tribute to Netflix phenomenon Stranger Things. We’ve seen fans all over the globe do artistic tributes in response to the series, with everything from ’80s style video games, to adorable pugs dressed up as the characters. But thanks to HitFix, we’ve learned that the fans doing the latest tribute are actually some of the very artists that inspired the musical aesthetic of the series in the first place: electronic music legends Tangerine Dream.
For those of you out there who are unfamiliar, Tangerine Dream are a musical trio who describe themselves as a German “electronic music collective”, who were originally formed back in the late ’60s. They became well known for providing synth scores for ’80s films like Risky Business, Legend, Near Dark, and Firestarter, the latter of these which was a big influence on the character Eleven on Stranger Things. Their synth scores were definitely an influence on the group S.U.R.V.I.V.E.’s soundtrack for the series.
In fact, in a recent interview with Salon, S.U.R.V.I.V.E.’s Kyle Dixon talked about his Tangerine Dream influence, saying “we listen to a lot of Tangerine Dream and they did a ton of soundtracks. There’s a few key soundtracks by them that definitely influenced us in a lot of ways, like Thief and Sorcerer.” In response, Tangerine Dream put up not one, but three different homage tracks to the Duffer Brothers‘ series up on Soundcloud.
The first two are clearly riffs on the main them,and were given the titles “;-)” and “
Say Oui to This STAR WARS-Inspired Cafe in Paris
Paris is known for being a city of enticing food and rich culture. Its winding streets and arrondissements are overflowing with charm and hidden treasures. The Odyssey is one such gem. Brought to our attention by The Dorky Diva, Odyssey is a creperie with Star Wars-inspired decor. Located in the Latin Quarter not too far from Notre Dame, the sci-fi themed cafe has nods to the interior of the Death Star with its pill walls and menu with its many sweet and savory crepes translated into Aurebesh. Crepes have Star Wars names but also titles that tie into other franchises–such as Caprica (Battlestar Galactica), Gallifrey (Doctor Who), and Vulcan (Star Trek).
A photo posted by michaelcassady (@michaelcassady) on May 3, 2016 at 1:17pm PDT
I can’t believe I was only blocks from this establishment when I was in Paris and had no idea it was there. They don’t hide their connection to the galaxy far, far away–stormtrooper head stickers adorn window:
A photo posted by Daniel Matsuura Mearim (@dmearim) on Oct 1, 2015 at 5:55am PDT
As you can see from the below video, Odyssey isn’t a gigantic establishment. They accept reservations for lunch and dinner, so if your heart is set on dining to the music of John Williams and eating crepes, it would be a smart idea to book ahead.
A video posted by Anemie MissCrafty (@missanemie) on Feb 27, 2016 at 2:29pm PST
Odyssey is located at 6 Rue Dante. You can follow them on Instagram and Facebook.
Is this cafe on your list for the next time you go to Paris? Have you already been? Let me know in the comments.
Featured Image: Savanna Kiefer
Watch Michael Phelps Lip Sync Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” Like a Pro
Some champions don’t stop when they get the gold. They need more awards, even if it’s in a different field entirely. Michael Phelps lip synced Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” to a crowd the other day and got a standing ovation, reminding us that anything is possible for athletes. Other people pushed themselves over the weekend, too, like Michel Gondry, who created a music video for The White Stripes just because. Plus, Bruce Springsteen announced a book tour, Trent Reznor and Mogwai are teaming up to score a documentary, Norah Jones dropped a jazz hit, and Bon Iver finally announced new tour dates.
Michael Phelps always wants to win the gold and the hearts of his fans, doesn’t he? The Olympic swimmer competed in Spike’s Lip Sync Battle show, but for a special edition that saw “all-stars” taking the stage. In what may become an iconic moment in his career, Phelps tackled Eminem‘s hit “Lose Yourself.” He dawns a hoodie, stares deep into a mirror, and then gives the gruff, motivational, intense performance the song asks of anyone who sings (or lip syncs) it. It looks like he had fun, too. About time. [Consequence of Sound]
There’s magic built inside of Michel Gondry. There must be. There’s no other way to explain the director’s ability to create such imaginative, fun, creative footage for films, music videos, and advertisements alike. Out of nowhere, Gondry released a new music video he did for, of all bands, The White Stripes. The video was created for “City Lights”, the recently unearthed track from Jack White’s new Acoustic Recordings 1998-2016 album. In it, he films a steamy shower door and some evolution of drawn lyrics all in a single take. It’s classic Gondry and, as usual, it’s endearing as heck. Watch it above. [Consequence of Sound]
The boss has more work to do. Bruce Springsteen announced a series of “special appearances” he will make this fall to support his upcoming autobiography, Born to Run. The book comes out on September 27, but he plans on celebrating its release a bit before then. The book tour kicks off in, of course, New Jersey and sees him carry on to New York City, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Boston, and more. It’s short (there’s only nine dates total!) but likely worth the trek for superfans. Best of all, the book will come with a compilation album called Chapter and Verse which features five unreleased tracks. How do you do it, Bruce? [Rolling Stone]
David Fincher isn’t the only director who can get Trent Reznor to score a film. The Nine Inch Nails frontman returns to the scoreboard alongside Mogwai and Oscar-winning composer Gustavo Santaolalla for a new film. The documentary, called Before the Flood, sees none other than Leonardo DiCaprio behind the director’s lens. As a group, the musicians composed “a blend of music with a cohesive vision, resulting in the score for Before the Flood, along with an album to be released in October.” It will be an interesting project, to say the least, and one that’s likely to receive an Oscar nomination as well. Here’s to a moving film about climate change. Hopefully it will spark the change we need to see, not just to hear. [Consequence of Sound]
Photo by Nina Corcoran
In about two weeks, Bon Iver will share their third LP, 22, A Million. The album is anticipated, to put it lightly, but many fans have been wondering when they can hear songs that aren’t new. In other words, they want a tour to hear old cuts and new tracks. Their prayers have been answered. Bon Iver announced an upcoming tour that kicks off after the album’s September 30th release. The tour sees the band traveling through Europe with a slew of California dates tacked in. There’s a large number of gaps in the band’s tour schedule which makes it easy to assume this isn’t the full list of performances. For now, this is certainly good enough. See the whole list here. [Consequence of Sound]
See you back here on Wednesday for another Music Dispatch!
Image: Lip Sync Battle/Spike
NOCTURNAL ANIMALS is a Sexy, Savvy, Subversive Thriller (TIFF Review)
“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past,” wrote F. Scott Fitzgerald in final line of The Great Gatsby. It’s a sentiment that Tom Ford clearly bore in mind with his second feature film, Nocturnal Animals, which made its North American premiere on Sunday night at the Toronto International Film Festival to a packed house. His follow-up to 2009’s A Single Man—an adaptation of Austin Wright’s novel Tony and Susan—is a haunting, feverish vision of two people who cannot escape their past. It functions as both a sexy, stylish thriller and a psychological portrait of people at an emotional crossroads. Most of all, it will keep you enraptured as Ford’s gorgeously shot, fractured narrative unfolds before you and will leave your heart pounding long after the credits roll.
The film tells the story of Susan Morrow (Amy Adams), a celebrated LA art gallery owner and socialite who seemingly has it all. Except she can’t sleep at night, she’s becoming disillusioned with her work, and there’s a widening emotional chasm between her and her second husband Hutton (Armie Hammer). When he leaves on a last-minute “business trip,” Susan delves into a mysterious manuscript that arrives on her doorstep, a novel entitled Nocturnal Animals penned by her estranged ex-husband Edward Sheffield (Jake Gyllenhaal). What Susan reads in the manuscript disturbs her, yet she cannot put it down. It consumes her every waking thought and sends her careening down the corridors of memory as Ford weaves together three distinct narratives, oscillating wildly between them: one that follows Susan in present-day as she spirals further into depression; one that exhumes the corpse of Susan and Edward’s courtship, married life, and its dissolution; and one that follows the characters in the manuscript.
The manuscript follows Tony Hastings (also Gyllenhaal), a teacher making a late-night drive with his wife (Isla Fisher) and daughter (Ellie Bamber) to their summer home. Except their summer vacation quickly turns into a nightmare when a trio of brutal men (led by a terrifying Aaron Taylor-Johnson) kidnap Tony’s wife and daughter. They say that you should write what you know, and it slowly becomes clear that Susan’s ex-husband knows quite a bit. As memories and fiction bleed together, we get a fascinating insight into the frustrations, emotional turmoils, and traumas that have colored both Susan and Edward’s lives. Saying too much more here would do a disservice to the film as it is best discovered one fractured remembrance or breathless novel excerpt at a time.
Ultimately, what makes Nocturnal Animals such a pleasure to watch are the tremendous performances from its cast. Jake Gyllenhaal delivers a dynamic, engaging performance as both a struggling writer and an emotionally devastated father. Amy Adams, who is already earning Oscar buzz for her turn in Denis Villeneuve’s terrific Arrival, should not be overlooked for her sterling work in this film, which shows off her considerable range. The supporting cast includes supremely memorable turns by the likes of Michael Sheen, Jena Malone, and Laura Linney (in a devastating cameo as Susan’s mother). Yet perhaps most spectacular of all is Michael Shannon, a mustachioed, deliciously sardonic police detective who joins Tony on his quest for justice.
With Nocturnal Animals, Ford demonstrates he is by no means a one-trick pony, but rather a deft director worthy of attention. Aided and abetted sumptuous cinematography of Seamus McGarvey, the surgically precise editing of Joan Sobel, and a murderer’s row of acting talent, Ford’s sophomore effort is bursting with confidence, which it uses to subvert our expectations. To some, a film that confident may seem smug and make the film come off as too self-satisfied; to others, it may feel hollow, an exercise in style over substance or a series of statements ending in ellipses rather than answers. However, to those that are attuned to Ford’s wavelength, it will feel tremendously satisfying. This isn’t a cookie-cutter thriller, but rather a rumination on the vicious cycles in which we can trap ourselves. It is a visceral autopsy of a lifetime of fears, regrets, and dreams deferred that dares you to look away. And just like Susan Morrow cannot help but turn the page, so must we watch every second.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 burritos
Image: Focus Features
Dan Casey is the senior editor of Nerdist and the author of books about Star Wars and the Avengers. Follow him on Twitter (@Osteoferocious).
For our complete Toronto International Film Festival coverage, click here.
13 movies you need to watch this fall and winter!
The DARKWING DUCK Creator is Wrong About DUCKTALES Shared Universe
Over the weekend, Darkwing Duck creator Tad Stones inadvertently caused some controversy for the 25th anniversary of one of our favorite Disney TV shows. According to Stones, our beloved Ducktales spinoff wasn’t actually a spinoff at all! Instead, it was an “alternate Duckiverse.” Is it possible for a creator to be wrong about their own show? Yes, it is, and we’re making the case on today’s Nerdist News!
While regular Nerdist News host Jessica Chobot is busy dealing with a Beagle Boys and Negaduck team-up, science editor and Gyro Gearloose’s former assistant, Kyle Hill is here to explain how Darkwing Duck has always been firmly tied to Ducktales…because science! And also by using footage from the show that backs up our conclusions. That always helps.
For starters, we have to call out Stones for getting Gizmoduck’s name wrong. Yes, he was originally called Roboduck when he was developed for Ducktales, but “Blathering Blatherskite!” If anyone should remember Gizmoduck’s correct name, it should be Stones! More importantly, when Launchpad McQuack introduced Darkwing Duck to Gizmoduck, he openly mentioned their shared history in Duckburg. For all of you non-Disney fans, Duckburg is home to Uncle Scrooge McDuck and Disney’s most famous Ducks: Donald, Daisy, Huey, Dewey, and Louie. And who do we see on a “Welcome to Duckburg” billboard in an episode of Darkwing Duck? Why, none other than Scrooge himself!
Finally, we’ve got a much older document from Stones himself that should put to rest the idea that Darkwing Duck isn’t a direct spinoff of Ducktales. Try retconning that!
What do you think about the Darkwing Duck and Ducktales connection? Life is like a hurricane, so leave a comment below before it becomes a duck-blur!
Neill Blomkamp Teases His Next Film (No, It’s Not ALIEN 5)
While we’re eagerly awaiting Neill Blomkamp‘s next film, it’s become clear that his proposed Alien 5 with Sigourney Weaver isn’t happening anytime soon; Ridley Scott’s Alien: Covenant put the brakes on that movie. But now it appears that Blomkamp is ready to move on to another project, and he’s dropped the first hint online!
Via /Film, Blomkamp revealed this grotesque and intriguing image on his Instagram account.
Working on new things. Currently not alien
A photo posted by Brownsnout (@neillblomkamp) on Sep 7, 2016 at 9:43am PDT
What is it from? We have no idea. It’s not the easiest face to look at, is it? If we had to guess, we’d say that this person is very badly mutated and it looks like he has multiple mouths. There’s also no way to tell if this is a main character or simply a face in the crowd. Without context, it’s hard to draw many conclusions from it. But it seems safe to say that Blomkamp’s next project will remain firmly in the sci-fi realm.
If anything, Blomkamp’s track record with District 9, Elysium, and Chappie suggests two things: First, there’s likely to be a role in this movie for Sharlto Copley, since he has starred in all three of Blomkamp’s previous films. Second, we’d say that there is an excellent chance that Blomkamp will continue to use sci-fi as the vehicle for allegory. Blomkamp has previously used that genre as a lens to explore racism, class warfare, and other challenging themes. And he’s done so with great effect.
What do you think Blomkamp’s next project will be about? Share your theory in the comment section below!
We talked to Sigourney Weaver about the ALIEN delay:
Image: TEDx Talks
Hot Toys’ New SUICIDE SQUAD Figure Is the Totally Made-up “Joker as Batman”
I feel you, Suicide Squad fans, because I am one of you. I have seen the movie twice in theaters (2D and 3D), and I thoroughly enjoyed it both times, despite the fact that I am a professional film critic and therefore apparently not supposed to enjoy such things (I miss the memos about what we’re supposed to agree on all the time). And I love the merchandise. But once you’ve bought all the Mattel figures and their variants in order to build both versions of Killer Croc, and briefly looked at those Harley Quinn panty sets for sale in Gamestop before your wife said “No way in hell,” and even have the Jared Leto T-shirt that managed to get sold at Walmart, what’s left?
For Hot Toys, the answer is “make stuff up that’s cool anyway.” And yes, when they previewed this Joker (Batman Imposter Version) at Comic-Con, we knew we needed it, and they did have us wondering if it would be a thing in the movie:
When we saw the movie, we knew that the answer was no–but could it have been in those alleged hours of Joker footage that didn’t make the final cut? Hot Toys has confirmed that no, they went to their toy designers and “let their imagination run wild, and the result was an intriguing alternative vision.” Of Jared Leto’s Joker in a customized Ben Affleck Batsuit. (As an editor I want to quibble about the spelling of “imposter” versus “impostor,” but it turns out both are correct. Chaos reigns.)
Given how much smaller in frame Leto’s Joker is from Affleck’s Batman, this figure would seem to imply that the Batsuit itself is laden with padding, otherwise it would hang really loosely. Not that this is canon or anything. Hell, maybe the Joker puts on an inner suit of body armor before pulling the custom Batfleck gear over his torso and legs. You can make up any backstory you want with a variant like this. Like, maybe this is what Joker wears in the bedroom, given the way Harley Quinn seems to have wandering fantasies. It seems beside the point for the regular Batsuit’s main purposes: intimidating people (Joker’s already scary enough) and concealing a secret identity (yeah, that grin and teeth are real secret, Mistah J).
This figure is a limited-edition made available initially in Japan, but probably also available on Sideshowtoy.com and other online retailers before too long. Now, can we get Harley as Wonder Woman next? Would you buy that? Let us know in comments below, and check out the Bat-Joker gallery of images.
Images: Hot Toys
Will a Hero Fall in DETECTIVE COMICS #940? (Exclusive Preview)
In the wake of DC Rebirth, there’s a new team in Gotham City. Within the pages of Detective Comics, Batman and Batwoman have assembled three younger heroes: Red Robin, Spoiler, and Orphan, in addition to Clayface, one of Batman’s former enemies. Together, they’re a formidable force, but they’re already facing their greatest challenge.
Batwoman’s father, Jacob Kane, has been revealed as the man behind Colony, a rogue military operation that modeled itself after Batman and his allies. According to Kane, the League of Shadows has infiltrated Gotham, and only his army of Batmen can fight them. But failing that, Kane has authorized a drone strike on hundreds of potential suspects. Red Robin (a.k.a. Tim Drake) came up with an inventive solution: he reprogrammed the drones to target him instead of innocent civilians. But that’s a pretty tall order! As you can see in our exclusive preview for Detective Comics #940, even Batman doesn’t think that Red Robin can survive on his own.
You can see the rest of our exclusive preview in our gallery below. DC is hinting that this issue “will change Batman’s world forever—and in a way you’d never expect! Whether they win or lose, they’ve already lost…” The cover certainly implies a dark fate for Red Robin, but knowing DC, it’s probably a swerve for something else entirely.
One other thing to keep in mind: Kane wasn’t necessarily wrong. The League of Shadows is in Gotham, and they will probably be the next major threat in this book. The writer for this issue is James Tynion IV, who is joined by artist Eddy Barrows, inker Eber Ferreira, and colorist Adriano Lucas. Detective Comics #940 will be released on Wednesday, September 14.
Which hero will fall in this issue? Share your theories in the comment section below!
Image: DC Comics
MOONLIGHT Will Brighten Your Soul (TIFF Review)
With this week’s Toronto International Film Festival serving as the unofficial kickoff to awards season, issues of diversity will once again be on everyone’s mind. But here’s one thing that is often missed by the #OscarsSoWhite campaign: It’s not just that the Academy overlooks so many artists of color, but the prestige films that they do eventually, perhaps begrudgingly recognize are almost exclusively understood through the white experience.
It was only a few years ago that white savior movies like The Help and The Blind Side were the Academy’s idea of a good racial film. Even 12 Years a Slave, which was brutally honest about slavery, only understood blackness through suffering. The film shouldn’t be criticized for this–it’s historically accurate and still painfully relevant. But it’s about time the world gets to see a racial movie that is uninterested in whiteness at all.
Enter Moonlight. The intimate and majestic second feature by Barry Jenkins (Medicine for Melancholy) tells an intersectional tale of race and sexuality in an American South rarely depicted on film. But what distinguishes it from other prestige films–racial or otherwise–is that it doesn’t filter its moving story through its politics. Moonlight rejects the awards-season prerequisite of social context, instead choosing to tell its redemptive story of mothers, sons, friends, and lovers by immersing you in their inner worlds. It proves a uniquely captivating experience. Watching it among a rapturous crowd here in Toronto, I have rarely felt an audience so attuned to a film’s wavelength.
The coming-of-age story is told in three distinct parts, each covering a few days in the life of a boy named Chiron. With a drug-addict mother and absent father, Chiron is a child of the streets, but not hardened to its realities. He is bullied at each stage of his life, first by some troubled classmates and then eventually by himself. The other boys torment him but they don’t quite know why, and neither does he. Everyone can see there is something different about him. In the first section, he is befriend by Juan (Mahershala Ali), a benevolent drug dealer who provides him protection and acts as a surrogate father. But he can’t serve as the role model Chiron so desperately needs. The connections between Juan and the boy’s mother (a stellar Naomie Harris) run deep, and the first act builds to a climax of Shakespearean depth.
The next two sections of this emotional triptych revolve around Chiron’s high school relationship with another boy at school who is different in the same ways, although he hides it better. I can’t in good conscience spill the plot details of these sections, but they involve a touching act of love, a betraying moment of violence, and a redemption so subtle that it would be nearly invisible, if not for the careful groundwork Jenkins has laid. It’s an artistic achievement of the highest caliber, aided by revelatory performances from the cast.
Trevante Rhodes, who plays Chiron as an adult in the film’s final third, deserves special recognition for physically transforming before our very eyes. When he is introduced, he looks nothing like his younger analogs. Once a skinny teenager, Chiron is now a criminal hardened in both form and function; he sports an imposing, muscled body and threatening demeanor constructed to separate him from his younger self. But when Chiron reconnects with an old friend, he subtly but unmistakably transforms into the boy he buried deep inside. Actors who are celebrated merely for gaining or losing weight for a role seem like amateurs in comparison.
Even with Jenkins’ gaze focused squarely on his characters’ inner lives, he crafts a memorable environment around them. Filming in his hometown of Miami, he captures the colorful sights and sounds of a town rarely depicted outside of a Michael Bay film. His camera explores the city and its characters in perfect alignment with its characters. It spins and shakes in Chiron’s disorienting childhood. When we return to him as a repressed adult, it often lays still, as if frozen in fear.
But the heart of this film beats loud and strong. Tracing the emotional maturity of a damaged man through its trio of pivotal moments, Moonlight paints a portrait of masculine identity as tender and inclusive, and although it is far too humanistic to be considered political, it also feels deeply right for our era. With repressed men of all races increasingly finding reason to lash out, Moonlight asks us to put down our arms and open our hearts. It’s a movie that could win Oscars, although given the Academy’s historical and recent failures, it probably deserves an even higher honor.
Rating: 4.5 burritos out of 5
Featured image: A24
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