Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 2344

HBO Reveals Intriguing New WESTWORLD Photos

This fall, the future of sin is in at Westworld, HBO’s much anticipated modernization of Michael Crichton‘s classic sci-fi film. The premise of the Westworld series is essentially the same as the movie’s, but with a much darker spin by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy. Westworld itself is a futuristic theme park populated by androids who have no idea that they’re being used by their human masters for whatever they desire.

Westworld boasts one of the most ridiculously talented TV casts that we’ve seen in a long time, with Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris, and Evan Rachel Wood headlining a lineup that includes James Marsden, Thandie Newton, Jeffrey Wright, Tessa Thompson, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Jimmi Simpson, and Rodrigo Santoro.

Thus far, HBO has been pretty secretive about the details of the series. However, the network has released several photos of the Westworld cast; which offers a new glimpse of the show’s major characters.

For example, meet William, as portrayed by Jimmi Simpson. He hasn’t been featured in many of the press materials, but William may be one of the key characters this season. Apparently, William is a first-time visitor to Westworld who will get to experience some of the theme park’s more decadent offerings. He’ll also be around as the park’s androids start to realize what they really are and their true status as slaves.

You can check out the rest of the photographs in the gallery below, which also includes a brief description of what we know about each character so far. Westworld will premiere on Sunday, October 2.

What do you think about the new Westworld pics? And which characters do you find intriguing? Let us know in the comment section below!

Images: HBO

iPhone 7 Mockup Reveals Big Changes Including (Gasp!) No Headphone Jack!

Unbox Therapy, the YouTube channel with five million subscribers and a penchant for helping products get “naked,” has gotten their hands on an iPhone 7 mockup that’s likely to be identical to the real phone that’s (probably) going to be released on September 16th. And, to paraphrase the timeless words of a Mr. Ray Arnold from Jurassic Park, “hold onto your [cans],” ’cause this phone doesn’t have a headphone jack, Jack.

The Unbox Therapy video, which comes via Forbes, showcases an iPhone 7 mockup created by BeSound, a Chinese manufacturer of canceling Lightning Connector headphones. It looks exactly like the outgoing iPhone 6s, but the devil—and the reason to shell out hundreds of dollars—is in the details.

If the mockup is accurate, the iPhone 7 (which may be called the “plus” or the “pro”) will offer several big changes, including a switch from a single-lens camera to a dual-lens camera. This is stellar news for shutterbugs because a dual-lens system will likely mean that the phone’s camera will have one wide-angle lens and one lens for magnified zoom. This would mean no more relying on digital zoom for objects at different distances, and improved low-light performance.

Lew, the Unbox Therapy host, also points out that iPhone 7 will “get a little bit spicy” toward its bottom, where “docking contact points,” as he refers to them, may mean a hook-up for a myriad of cool gadgets like camera attachments or keyboards, or maybe even wireless charging.

And, of course, the pièce de résistance—or rather the lack of a pièce de résistance—no headphone jack. And if you’re asking yourself why this is such a big deal, here’s why: not only would a lack of a headphone jack mean a shift toward ubiquitous wireless headphones as well as making those expensive cans you just bought that do plug in through a jack totally moot, it may also mean Apple further pushing out third-party hardware developers in favor of its own proprietary tech. According to Digital Trends, Apple may already have wireless headphones dubbed “Airpods” in the works.

And finally, there’s that beautiful blue color, which, it’s been rumored, will sadly not be an option—we’ll probably be getting a dark gray instead.

What do you think about this iPhone 7 mockup? Are you ready to go wireless? Are you doubly excited for a dual-lens camera? Is the probable lack of a blue color option leaving you… blue? Let us know in the comments below!

Images: YouTube/Unbox Therapy

Decoding All the New SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING Rumors

Earlier this week, comic book movie fans were rocked by the rumor that Zendaya’s leading role in Spider-Man: Homecoming may be one of Marvel’s most iconic female characters. But there may be more to the story than we previously believed, and even a third villain in the movie! Naturally, we’re breaking down the latest rumors, so face it tiger, you just hit the jackpot in today’s Nerdist News!

There are some spoilers ahead, so proceed with caution.

Is Zendaya going to be playing Mary Jane Watson opposite Tom Holland‘s Peter Parker? We like that idea, but as Nerdist News host and Daily Bugle reporter Jessica Chobot notes, the Spider-Man: Homecoming footage that we saw at Comic-Con doesn’t quite fit the rumor. In terms of her personality, Zendaya’s “Michelle” was about as far from MJ as you can get. That said, director Jon Watts could be playing the long game by giving Michelle a character arc in this film and in the probable sequels that will bring her much closer to her comic book counterpart. So, don’t count her out as MJ just yet!

While there’s no indication yet that Gwen Stacy will be part of the MCU’s Spider-Man reboot, Angourie Rice has apparently been cast as Betty Brandt, one of Peter Parker’s first love interests in the comics. Laura Harrier has already been confirmed as Liz Allen, the girl that Peter initially had a crush on during his high school days.

As for the villains, the latest word is that Fargo season 2 standout, Bokeem Woodbine is going to play the Shocker. With Michael Keaton (probably) playing the Vulture and Michael Chernus as the Tinkerer, this movie could be crowded with three villains unless Shocker only has a small role in the story.

What do you think about the latest casting rumors for Spider-Man: Homecoming? Spin a web, any size, and let’s discuss in the comments below!

THE TICK Pilot is a Grower But Not Yet a Show-er (Review)

Editor’s Note: Minor plot spoilers for The Tick below!

Let’s just get this out of the way: making fun of something doesn’t mean you dislike it. In fact, imitation—some have said—is the sincerest form of flattery. And in that sense, Amazon Studios’ new live-action version of The Tick is the greatest homage to the genre. There is a bounty of absurdity in a world where superheroes exist and try to take on those painted as “the bad guys.” Though existing in a slightly darker (read: more grounded) universe, there are still flickering, glimmering moments of The Tick‘s past versions, from comic book to cartoon series to its live-action pan flash. But this is not a series bit so hard by the nostalgia bug that it’s drugged up on that brand of toxic venom—though that may make it a tougher sell for some.

Though it has yet to truly find the balance between pithy one-off comments of the live-action iteration and the absurdist charm of the cartoon version, The Tick has a lot to enjoy. Peter Serafinowicz may not have the bravado of Patrick Warburton, but what his version of the superbug lacks in absurdity, he makes up for in earnestness and a few winking jokes—something the first series’ lacked. Much of this is found in the story’s emotional heart, Arthur (Griffin Newman).

Where Warburton (and his cartoon counterpart, Townsend Coleman) would dive headfirst into The Tick’s arrogance, Serafinowicz uses a far lighter, more sincere hand. And his origin story feels engineered for primo Marvel/DC cinematic universe skewering in the future (Oh, look: the good guys murdered someone quite needlessly—woops!). In this way, The Tick feels like a grower rather than a shower. Serafinowicz brings a chalky (or maybe that’s just British?) indifference to his Tick’s understanding of the situation at hand where others have previously hulked up on winks and nods and the meta-absurdity of it all. (So if you’re looking for the comic book SLAM KAPOW ethos, look elsewhere.)

Set in New York City (with some seriously dark and gritty visual vibes), The Tick‘s main character isn’t actually The Tick at all: it’s actually his to-be sidekick and future Moth Man, Arthur (who has a last name this time! It’s Everest). Set up with the sort of origin story that’d make for a great supervillain, Arthur watches his father get crushed by The Flag 5 superteam’s falling plane and is left with a couple prescriptions and a seriously concerned older sister, Dot (Valorie Curry). Probably doesn’t help that he’s got a case of the Carries (as in Mathison from Homeland. I see you, crazy conspiracy wall).

But while Arthur has found a desire to simply fit into the world, The Tick means to disrupt all that, insisting on fate and heroism-to-be and the fanciful notion that yes, one person can stop the bad guys. It’s the sort of endearing cheese that makes superheroes into the revered figures they are, and funnels The Tick‘s comedic energies in a much different direction than its previous iterations.

This isn’t a bad thing, it is just very different. This new version of The Tick will appeal to many people from its first moments. Does it still need to impress upon us a sort of freshness that’ll prove why this is a necessary reboot right now? Absolutely, but that doesn’t make it bad. In fact, its attempt to break out as its own thing in this way will likely lead us to that conclusion through the journey of the series itself, rather than the end of the pilot.

Let’s just, y’know, maybe amp up the absurdity a little bit? It’s OK to be silly– it just means you really love the thing you’re joshing on.

3 out of 5 spoon-fed burritos:

Are you going to tune into The Tick pilot? (You can, y’know, right here!) Let us know your thoughts about it in the comments below!

Images: Amazon Studios

Alicia Lutes is the Managing Editor of Nerdist and creator/co-host of Fangirling (coming soon!) — find her on Twitter (if you want).

Watch St. Vincent Play the National Anthem for an NFL Commercial

We already bow down to St. Vincent, but now it’s time to salute her. The guitar goddess may appear on your TV screens during the Olympics to play an awesome cover of the National Anthem. If you don’t have a TV set, you can watch it below along with footage from Frank Ocean’s new visual album, Bjork’s upcoming Canadian appearances, Raury’s collaboration with Donnie Trumpet, and the brand new Crystal Castles album.

Out of all the companies paying for ads during the Olympics, the NFL may have the best one. Don’t get us wrong; it’s no motherly tear-jerker. It’s one called “Football Is Family” that features none other than Annie Clark aka St. Vincent. In the clip, Clark talks about her love of the Dallas Cowboys, her dreams of playing for the team, and her fandom. Best of all, she whips out a cover of the National Anthem. The rendition is noisy, crunchy, and sees her prolonging notes like the true champ she is. All hail. [Pitchfork]

Three weeks later and Frank Ocean finally made due on his new album promise… kind of. The R&B singer returned to his live webcast on boysdontcry.co Thursday night to continue building a staircase. Then, shortly after, a visual album called Endless appeared on Apple Music. The exclusive video album sees new music by the musician as swell as contributions from Jonny Greenwood, James Blake, Jazmine Sullivan, Sampha, Arca, Alex G, and more. It’s a laundry list of names on a record of sweet strings and soul. If you’re wondering about Boys Don’t Cry, that’s on the way… possibly as soon as this weekend. [Rolling Stone]

Image Credit: Bjork/One Little Indian

Red Bull Music Academy is taking hold of Montreal from September 24 on through October 28. The music programming unveiled quite a list of cool performers and acts, one of which is too excited to sit still about. Bjork will debut a new video film for “Family” as well as other immersive screenings based around her most recent LP, the excellent Vulnicura. If you don’t get your fix from that, she’s performing two DJ sets as well. It’s an exciting look into her world, one that was relatively closed off on that album given it was a highly emotional break-up experience for her. Will we cry? Maybe, but who’s judging? [Consequence of Sound]

Young musicians have enough energy to make anything possible. Raury is one of them. The singer and rapper rubs elbows with huge names although his career is still relatively new. On his newest song, “Like A Star,” he joins up with Donnie Trumpet for some smooth, swirling production. The song chases after a female with adoration, and Raury woos her with hopeful words. It’s airy and bright, the perfect type of song to kick off your weekend. Check it out above. [Consequence of Sound]

Back in October of 2014, Crystal Castles said farewell to its biggest and arguably most iconic member: Alice Glass. Ever since then, the Toronto group have been working on their next album, and at long last, it has arrived. The follow-up to 2012’s (III) is named Amnesty (I). As of today, it’s available to stream in full via Spotify. Singer Edith Frances filled in for Glass, and based on the first listen, she does a decent job, altering the style of the avant-electronic act in her own way. We see you, girl, and we dig it. [Consequence of Sound]

See you back here on Monday for another Music Dispatch!

Image: Dallas Cowboys/NFL

This Image Search Finds Photos Using Your Bad Drawings

Unless you have a drawing tablet, you’re probably not that great at freehand drawing on a computer. But that’s OK because now you can harness the power of your “art” to find better images for you.

Splash is a new experimental project from photo sharing website 500px, and the setup is simple: Make a basic drawing, and see what sorts of similar images you can find that have been uploaded by 500px users. We tried it with the Nerdist logo (above) before realizing that there probably aren’t too many photos of that on 500px, which seems to be used mainly by photographers and artists.

So, to really test the service, we replicated their sunset example and it worked pretty well. We were met with a wall of photos that were very similar in terms of color and composition:

You can search in five different categories: landscapes, people, animals, travel, and city, so while Splash may not be useful in situations like our logo example, it seems to have value. For instance, as Splash points out in one of their examples, painting the image black, placing a white circle somewhere specific in the frame, and searching under “people” looks to be a good way to find portaits that are of a certain composition.

That’s just one example of the potential of Splash, and we’re sure that you can find more. Reddit seems to be having fun with it, and of course, because it’s the internet, somebody found boobs.

Image via 500px

Mel Brooks, Rhea & Cameron, Billy West, and a Fond Farewell: The Week In Podcasts

For my last recap of the week in podcasts at the Nerdist Podcast Network, I’d like to…

Wait. Back up. “Last?”

Yeah, this is it. After six years on Team Nerdist (from almost the very beginning, before there was a Nerdist Industries — this was my first post, from 2010), I’m leaving the family today. I’m not going to make a big deal out of it, but I did want to mention it so I could thank Chris Hardwick for everything — he is and always will be the best — and wish my podcast network colleagues Katie, Aristotle, and Kyle and the hosts all that is good and then just slink out the back door before anyone notices. And so I’ll do that and…

Oh, right, the week in podcasts. Gotta take care of that first.

Mel Brooks was on Maltin on Movies and it was exactly what you’d want it to be, because Mel is amazing and Leonard and Jessie ask all the right questions, and it’s a great look into one of the greatest comic minds of all time. That is not an exaggeration, but you know that. Go listen.

The Jonah Keri Podcast welcomed Rhea Butcher and Cameron Esposito to talk about their new SeeSo series Take My Wife and Cleveland sports and comedy, and then had Sarah Tiana on to talk about the Barves… er, Braves and comedy and stuff. All very funny and sportsy and comedy-y. That’s not a word.

Billy West returned for his third appearance on the Nerdist Podcast with plenty of voices and sound effects, plus talk about his new podcast, appropriately titled The Billy West Podcast, his time with Howard Stern, and life in general. He is so good.

And what else? On the guest front, black-ish creator Kenya Barris returned to get weird on You Made it Weird; Noted singin’, cookin’ comic Henry Phillips was this week’s Boy of Summer on The JV Club, and Henry returned Friday for another appearance on The Todd Glass Show; Scott McCloud understood comics (okay, that’s an obvious one, sorry) and talked about his latest book The Sculptor on Nerdist Comics Panel; Screenwriter Jessica Sharzer talked shop on The Writers Panel; Moshe led a panel on Brexit on Hound Tall, featuring the L.A. Times’ Michael Hiltzik and Greg Proops, Lynn Ferguson and Matt Kirshen; The Bachelor in Paradise analysis got hot and heavy with Supernatural‘s Rob Benedict joining Arden and former Bachelorette contestants Christian and Alex on Will You Accept This Rose?; Andre Gower and Ryan Lambert, all grown up now, talked The Monster Squad and more on Pop My Culture; Director Gil Kenan (Monster House, Poltergeist) analyzed Alexi’s love life on Love, Alexi; and the voice of Kubo, Art Parkinson, dropped facts on Razzle on Today We Learned.

And Jackie and Laurie offered one last New York show on The Jackie and Laurie Show; Bowser had a Backyard Bulletin on Bizarre States; Kevin and Steve compared mustaches on Chewin’ It; The Elfmans were still in moving mode on Kicking and Screaming; Liquid metal news got the gang thinking T-1000 on Half Hour Happy Hour; and Tom soloed with a talk about being tested on Pro You after another Live Experience episode.

There is much, much more at the Nerdist Podcast Network homepage. Okay, then, that’s it for me. You’ll find me from here on out over at AllAccess.com, the radio and music industry site, where I’ve been blathering on about the media and stuff for almost 20 years — it’s free with registration, and you might find it interesting, I dunno. Look for my column “The Letter” in the News-Talk-Sports section or in the Columns section. I also cover podcasting there, so that might be of interest as well. You can follow me on Twitter — @pmsimon, same handle for Instagram and Facebook — and for goofy news stories meant for radio hosts to use for material, try @talktopics on Twitter, ’cause I do that, too. And more projects to come, whatever that means.

Thanks to everyone at Nerdist and Legendary for everything, thanks to Chris Hardwick again because I can’t thank him enough, thanks to the podcast hosts for being awesome, thanks to Katie, Aristotle, Kyle, and Scout for being Katie, Aristotle, Kyle, and Scout, thanks to all my colleagues at Nerdist.com and Legendary Digital Networks, and thanks to you, Nerdist community, for the last six years of amazingness. I don’t know if that’s a word, either, but let’s just say it is, okay? See you around. Be good, everyone.

WAR DOGS, or ‘A Couple of Pot Heads Decide to Be Gun Runners’ (Review)

The tired old adage goes “truth is stranger than fiction,” but in the case of Todd Phillips‘ War Dogs, the truth is more interesting than fiction, too. Based on a lengthy and fascinating Rolling Stone article by Guy Lawson from 2011, the movie distills an interesting and complex case of a couple of young guys from Florida who became major international arms dealers—dealing to the U.S. government during the George W. Bush administration—into a pseudo-flashy crime dramedy where the only stakes seem to be whether or not they get as much money as they hope to.

War Dogs stars Miles Teller as David Packouz, a weed-smoking massage therapist who dreams of making it big. He sinks his whole life savings into super high-end sheets that he unsuccessfully attempts to sell to nursing homes and basically hits an impasse, even though he has a very good looking and super understanding girlfriend (Ana de Armas), a staple stock character in this kind of movie. He eventually reunites with his childhood friend, a good-for-nothing con artist named Efrain Diveroli (Jonah Hill) who tells David all about his new business venture of selling artillery to people, eventually finding a website where the government contracts third parties to supply arms under the table to war-torn areas, specifically Iraq and Afghanistan. Naturally, David jumps in, even though he has to hide it from Girlfriend. (The character’s name is Iz, but I’m just going to call her Girlfriend because that’s all she is to the story.)

But even though the movie makes it seem very easy and that the money rolls in pretty quickly, the constant narration by Teller lets us know that it isn’t actually very easy. Their first big score entailed them having to go to Jordan and physically drive a truckload of Beretta handguns into Baghdad in order to keep from being put on the U.S. Army shit list. Later, they get a major contract that requires David to spend a great deal of time overseeing an operation in Albania, putting his relationship with Girlfriend and Baby Daughter under a huge strain, while the increasingly paranoid Efrain tries to screw over everybody, regardless of the consequences.

This movie is trying so hard to be The Wolf of Wall Street but without any of the panache that story had. It’s another “coupla douches get rich doing illegal stuff” story, but it doesn’t work, weirdly because it’s afraid to make Teller’s character reprehensible in the least. He’ll profit from back-alley arms deals, but he’s still a good guy at heart, and he really wants to be there for Girlfriend even though he lies to her all the time. By contrast, Hill’s character is as disgusting and reprehensible as they come, to the point that you’re surprised Teller was ever involved with him in the first place. The filmmakers went out of their way to make him physically grotesque also, even though the real Diveroli looked a lot more like Miles Teller than the real Packouz did.

I also noticed a strange pattern emerge because of this movie. It was produced by Warner Bros. and Ratpac, the same companies behind Suicide Squad, and I couldn’t help but notice a lot of the same issues. While War Dogs isn’t as frenetically disjointed as Squad, it still feels like a Band-Aid was placed over structural problems, here in the form of the narration which tries to be edgy and funny like Wolf or Goodfellas or Fight Club but ends up being just a series of explaining the plot in lieu of showing it. Further, the film is packed with wall-to-wall pop music, most of the cues being incredibly obvious (“Fortunate Son” is used when the Army comes in during a tense moment, the same as was done in Suicide Squad) and then suddenly becoming part of the scene, on a radio or something, which draws attention to them further. I feel like Warners has a “we’ll fix it in post” problem that goes way beyond comic books. (For the record, I enjoyed watching Squad a lot more than Dogs.)

War Dogs isn’t awful. There’s a couple of good chuckles and a couple other quite tense moments. The film looks quite good and most of the scenes during their first big desert gun-run work very well. But overall this movie feels like an attempt by director Phillips, usually a director of broad comedy, to do a ripped-from-the-headlines story about how corrupt the government can be, and one can’t help but draw comparisons to Adam McKay’s The Big Short. But it lacks any of the skewering social commentary of that film and instead tries to make us sympathetic for a pair of idiots who made a lot of money and then got arrested.

2.5 out of 5 Hollow-Pointed Burritos

Image: Warner Bros

Kyle Anderson is the Associate Editor for Nerdist. You can find more of his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Twitter!

MARVEL COMICS Reveals New Cosplay Variant Covers

Over the past few years, Marvel Comics have been really pushing the whole variant cover thing, offering up popular alternate options like artist Skottie Young’s adorable “Lil’ Marvel” covers, as well as retro action figure packaging style covers from artist John Tyler Christopher. (Last year, the first issue of Marvel’s Star Wars #1 had something like 100 different variant covers, for example.) But perhaps the most sought after of Marvel’s recent variant covers are their cosplay variant series, which gives back to the fans who have basically been doing free promotion for their characters at conventions all over the country. Now the publisher has revealed several images that will make up their next wave of cosplay variant covers, which are all due to hit comic book shops in September.

The new series of covers feature fans dressed up as some iconic Marvel characters like Galactus and the Punisher, but mostly show how much fans love some of Marvel’s lesser known characters just as much. There are costumes here for characters like Squirrel Girl, Silk, Hellcat, and Miles Morales, the new Spider-Man. And maybe I’m wrong, but I actually think the Mockingbird costume is much better than what the character wears on the Agents of SHIELD television series.

“The response to our first set of Cosplay Variants was so incredible, we simply had to do a second wave,” said Axel Alonso, Marvel Editor-in-Chief, in a press release. “And, of course, we were able to find a great crop of cosplayers with some truly fantastic costumes. We’re thrilled to shine a spotlight on an ever-growing community that continues to show love for us and our characters.”

Around 15 different series will get these cosplay variant covers, starting in September and running throughout the rest of the fall. You can check out 13 of the covers in our gallery below.

Which of these cosplay variants is your favorite, and which character do you think should get the cosplay cover treatment next? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Image: Marvel Comics

A New York Farm Created an Amazing Mario-Themed Corn Maze

Since 2005, Stoughton Farm in Newark Valley, NY has created impressive, gigantic designs with their annual corn maze, and they’ve honored everything from renewable energy to helicopters to anti-bullying awareness. This year, however, they’ve outdone themselves with a fantastic Nintendo-themed maze, which features Mario, Luigi, Peach, Toad, and Yoshi’s disembodied heads.

As you might imagine, creating art at this scale is quite a feat, one that requires a lot of patience and careful planning. “We lay it out into grids and then go in and take the corn out where the pathways should be. We do it when you can still see over the corn, before it gets too tall,” Tim Stoughton said to ABC News. “It’s a lot of math. It’s laying it out in grids and seeing where you are.”

Unless you count their 2012 Sleepy Hollow maze, this year’s Mario maze is their first foray into agricultural pop culture art.

“My wife, Deb, decides the theme,” Stoughton said. “She just liked the idea of the Mario brothers because everybody pretty much knows what they are and it’d be fun for the kids to see.”

The level of collaboration between the couple and the fact that Stoughton referred to is as “the Mario brothers” makes their 2007 maze, which honored their 50th wedding anniversary, all the more adorable.

If you’re able to make it down to Newark Valley, the maze will be operational from September 17 to October 31, so find the hours of operation and more information at the Stoughton Farm website. Also, I think we should be commended for not making a single maize/maze joke in this article.

Featured image: Stoughton Farm