Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 2380

Tired of Hearing About POKÉMON? The PokeGone Chrome Extension Will Help

With the recent release of Pokémon Go and the upcoming release of Pokémon Sun and Moon, our Pokémon tag is blowing up right now. We’ve written stories about Pokémon jewelry, a fictional Pokémon Go Uber, astronauts not being able to play Pokémon Go in outer space… it’s everywhere, and we’re obsessed. We’re even hosting our own Pokémon Go Meet-Up this weekend in Los Angeles.

Believe it or not, though, there are those among us who don’t share our enthusiasm for the nostalgia-tickling augmented reality mobile game, or the franchise as a whole. For those people who are tired of reading about Pokémon every second of every day, with whom we obviously disagree but respectfully so, there’s PokeGone.

The Chrome browser extension bears the following description: “Sick and tired of hearing about Pokemon? PokeGone will take care of that! This extension will stop your eyes from seeing grown adults raving on about Pokemon – simple as [that]. Remove all traces of Pokemon from the internet with one simple extension!”

This sounds like an insufferable hellscape for us, but its existence at least means that some people aren’t down with the barrage of Pokémon-related news that has been so prevalent over the past few days. We just don’t have the heart to download the extension and try it for ourselves, but the Huffington Post says that it works pretty well.

We’ll take their word for it, but install the extension from here if you want to try it yourself. Now excuse us: It looks like there’s a Haunter near the men’s restroom.

For the rest of us who can’t get enough Pokemon news, check out the secrets of the game’s code:

Featured image: Jamie Farrelly

Ding-Donger #106: DOUG!

Danger’s been in Honolulu, Anguilla, and Halifax. Needless to say, he’s got some stories. Trump’s new running mate, cheap people, his White Flight co-writer’s Emmy nom, and Snapchat all get discussed. However, it’s the story of Doug in Anguilla at the end that you need to hear the most. Open up and let the hitchhiker in. He’s got stuff to tell you. Unofficially sponsored by the new Ghostbusters movie, written by genius comedy writer Katie Dippold.

Follow @braunger on Twitter!

DC/Vertigo Brings Back THE LOST BOYS This October

If you grew up in the ’80s and ’90s and have a deep love for all things vampiric, chances are that love began with the 1987 teen horror flick The Lost Boys. The Joel Schumacher-directed movie starred Jason Patric and Corey Haim as teenage brothers who move to the sleepy (but run by badass biker-vampires) California town of Santa Carla (in reality, a barely disguised Santa Cruz) with their newly single mom, played by Dianne Weist. Now the folks at DC Comics’ Vertigo imprint are finally giving fans the sequel to The Lost Boys they deserve, in comic book format.

According to Variety, the new comic mini-series will feature the surviving characters from the film, and is being crafted by writer Tim Seeley (Nightwing) and artists Scott Godlewski (The Dark & Bloody) and Patricia Mulvihill (Hellblazer), with covers by Starman artist Tony Harris. The creative team promises to deliver “a gruesome and stylish return to the bloody boardwalks and big hair of 1987.”

The movie was a surprise hit when it came out in the summer of ’87, and a 13-year old me may have snuck in a few times to see it while paying for a ticket to see Innerspace. The VHS became one of Warner Brothers highest selling tapes for years, and yet no official sequel was ever made, despite years of rumors (and no, I’m not counting the cheap straight-to-DVD sequels that came out about ten years ago, that only featured Corey Feldman and Jamison Newlander from the original cast. Let’s just not talk about those).

Anywho, you can see Harris’ cover for the first issue below:

According to the official description, in this new miniseries:

“Santa Carla, California, is on edge. The eccentric coastal town and haven for the undead was finally returning to ‘normal’ after its last supernatural scuffle left the local vampire coven’s leader dead and gave newcomers Michael and Sam Emerson a housewarming both violent and bizarre. Now the brothers must once again team up with militant vampire hunters Edgar and Allan Frog as a new gang of ruthless, stunning, life-sucking nightcrawlers known as the Blood Belles emerges from the aftermath to collect Michael’s love interest and their lost sister, Star (played by Jami Gertz in the film).”

In a statement, writer Tim Seeley said, “I saw The Lost Boys at a formative time in my life, when a VHS, a VCR and a summer afternoon were a perfect escape into a crazy world of biker vampires with mullets and monster-fighting hippy grandpas. The Lost Boys was one of my entry points into the horror genre, and I’ve been fascinated ever since. Getting the chance to write a sequel to the film, featuring the original characters, and getting to work with Scott, Patricia and Tony is truly a high point in my comic book-making career.”

The first issue of The Lost Boys hits on October the 12th, just in time for the Halloween season. You can check out preview pages from issue #1 in our gallery below:

Are you excited for a return to the vampire infested beaches of Santa Carla? Let us know your thoughts down below in the comments.

Images: Warner Brothers / DC Comics – Vertigo

A Live-Action WOODY WOODPECKER Movie is Coming, But Not to the U.S.

Guess who? Anyone who has ever visited Universal Studios knows that Woody Woodpecker is always represented in merchandise some way or another–though he’s not seen as a costumed character as often as he used to be. So it’s no stretch to imagine some corporate suit attending the park on his or her free VIP pass, being reminded that the company actually owns this character, and wondering, “Hey, with every property any kid ever remembers being turned into movies again, why aren’t we monetizing this guy?”

What’s weird is the decision to gear said attempt at monetization primarily towards Brazil. Maybe because of the rainforest, they think Brazilians will have a unique affinity for a character who’s anti-deforestation? As initially reported by Brazilian entertainment site Tommo, the live-action/CG blend (a la Alvin and the Chipmunks and Yogi Bear) will “show a turf war between the playful and mischievous woodpecker and the swindler Lance Walters (frequent Star Wars videogame voice actor Timothy Omundson) and his girlfriend Brittany (Thaila Ayala).” Walters, named after Woody creator Walter Lantz, wants to build his dream home, but runs afoul of Woody, presumably when he tries to obtain lumber from the trees where the red-headed woodpecker lives. The shoot has been taking place in Squamish, British Columbia, and star Ayala is big in Brazil.

This wouldn’t be the first time something like this has happened — a Top Cat animated feature was previously made for the Mexican market, and as Cartoon Brew points out, “many classic American cartoon characters (with the exception of Disney’s) are better recognized abroad where their cartoons are aired regularly on television.” Woody is known in Brazil as Pica-Pau, which has kind of a cute ring to it.

The film is directed by Alex Zamm, known mostly for direct-to-video sequels like Inspector Gadget 2 and Jingle All the Way 2 that featured none of the original talent. In addition to Zamm and his usual writing partner William Robertson, the script is also credited to sitcom vets Paul A. Kaplan and Mark Torgove (Spin City, The George Lopez Show). Cartoon Brew had previously reported that Illumination Entertainment were planning a larger-budget Woody film with frequent Mike Judge collaborators John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky, and they still may be…perhaps Universal wants to test the waters with a relatively inexpensive, low-risk production first to see who remembers.

If it works out, there’s a whole Walter Lantz Productions library ready to be mined. While the company lost the rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit back to Disney, there have to be people out there who remember Chilly Willy, Inspector Willoughby, and Andy Panda besides me.

Are you a Woody fan, glad to see the character return in any form? Or is this more of a “Hu-hu-hu-HA huh?” Tell us what fits your bill in comments below.

Image: Universal

THE DARK TOWER Movie Will Be Without Two Key Characters

After years in the cinematic wasteland, Stephen King‘s The Dark Tower is finally coming to theaters next year. Idris Elba is playing the Gunslinger, Roland Deschain; while Matthew McConaughey will portray Roland’s nemesis, the Man in Black. However, two of the main characters from King’s novels won’t be making the leap to the live-action—at least not yet.

In the cover story for the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly, King and director Nikolaj Arcel confirmed that fan favorite characters, Eddie Dean and Susannah won’t be in the film, explaining why they weren’t included in any casting announcements. Without spoiling anything major, let’s just say that Eddie and Susannah are very important to Roland, and to each other. Or to put it in Doctor Who terminology, this is like putting the Doctor on the big screen without his companions.

However, both Arcel and King seem to be committed to introducing Eddie and Susannah in any potential sequels that may happen—though there’s no guarantee such a thing will happen. (It has to be a hit first!)

“They’re certainly out there,” explained Arcel while speaking to EW. “I think the entire story deserves to be told and should be told. I would certainly be disappointed in myself or my collaborators if we didn’t bring them in. They’re such a huge part of the story.” King added that “I’m fine with it…I know exactly where Akiva [Goldsman] always planned to bring them in and that’s cool with me.”

EW also noted that former Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul is very eager to play Eddie, if given the chance.

Dear @StephenKing,

How goes it my friend? So, about these Dark Tower rumors. What are your thoughts? Could you put in a good word for me?

Ap

— Aaron Paul (@aaronpaul_8) March 9, 2016

A few months ago, King hinted that the movie would actually be a sequel to The Dark Tower novels. In the EW feature, Arcel confirmed that revelation. “The hardcore fans of The Dark Tower series will know that this is actually a sequel to the books in a way. It has a lot of the same elements, a lot of the same characters, but it is a different journey.”

The Dark Tower will be released on Friday, February 17, 2017.

Dark Tower fans, how do you feel about the temporary exclusion of Eddie and Susannah? Let us know in the comment section below!

Image: Columbia Pictures/Entertainment Weekly

Rare Tolkien Poem About an Early Galadriel is Getting Republished

As Sam’s old gaffer would say, “It’s the job that’s never started as takes longest to finish.” And it’s the poems that are unpublished that take longest to read.

“The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun”—a rare Tolkien poem that was published in 1945 in the literary journal The Welsh Review and has been out of print ever since—is officially getting republished this November, according to The Guardian. The poem comes from the “darker side of JRR Tolkien’s imagination” and hints at an early version of The Lord of the Rings‘ Galadriel. Written in the medieval lay tradition, “The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun” tells the story of a couple that desperately want a child. Aotrou, in his search, beseeches a witch “who span dark spells with spider-craft, / and as she span she softly laughed.” She grants his wish, but later the Corrigan (a Breton term for a fairy) appears to him as a beautiful woman and tells Aotrou he must marry her or die.

HarperCollins, who will publish the poem alongside other Tolkien poems on November 3, said: “The sequence shows the Corrigan’s increasingly powerful presence, as she takes an ever more active role in the lives of Aotrou and Itroun … She would finally emerge, changed in motive and character but still recognizable, in The Lord of the Rings as the beautiful and terrible Lady of the Golden Wood, the Elven queen Galadriel.”

Tolkien scholar Verlyn Flieger is editing and introducing the new edition, which she called “dark, powerful, compelling, a significant departure from the Tolkien we think we know.” It will also include a preface by Christopher Tolkien.

The upcoming arrival of “The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun” follows the discovery of two 79-year-old Tolkien poems that were found in Oxfordshire back in February. Again and again we are reminded of Tolkien’s inimitable prowess as writer and, this time, we even get to enrich our understanding of the greatest story ever told: The Lord of the Rings.

Is Galadriel anyone else’s favorite elven LOTR character? Let us know in the comments.

Image: Incantata courtesy of DeviantArt

Celebrate 50 Years of STAR TREK With Golden Anniversary Beer

Believe it or not, alcoholic beverages are a pretty huge part of Star Trek lore. The crew of the Enterprise is always flaunting Federation laws by drinking illegal Romulan ale on board their ship, and Scotty is often seen getting plastered in his quarters drinking something called Saurian brandy. Then there’s Klingon bloodwine, the Cardassian Sunrise, and all those other drinks that Quark serves at his bar on Deep Space Nine for all those Starfleet lushes. In short, it’s clear that in Gene Roddenberry’s future, humanity has given up on racism, sexism and war, but not on drinking.

Now thanks to the folks at That’s Nerdalicious, we’ve learned that for Star Trek’s 50th anniversary, Shmaltz brewing is appropriately celebrating the beloved franchise with two collector’s edition beers dubbed “Golden Anniversary Ale: The Trouble With Tribbles” and “Golden Anniversary Ale: Voyage To The Northeast Quadrant”.

“Star Trek Golden Anniversary Ale: The Trouble With Tribbles” will debut at the premiere of Star Trek Beyond, at the IMAX Embarcadero Marina Park on July 20, and Comic-Con at the San Diego Convention Center on July 21 – 24. It will also available at the “Star Trek Las Vegas” convention at the Rio Hotel & Casino from August 3 – 7, 2016. The in the fall, Shmaltz will bring Voyage to the Northeast Quadrant to the Mission New York Convention at the Javits Center from September 2 – 4, 2016.

Below are the official descriptions of each of the new Star Trek 50th Anniversary beers debuting from Shmaltz this year:

In the classic episode “The Trouble with Tribbles,” the Enterprise is called to protect a shipment of a genetically engineered four-lobe grain that is a hybrid of wheat and rye, called quadrotriticale. Since the year 2269 is still about 250 years in the future, Quadritriticale has yet to be conceived. Thus, Shmaltz brews with triticale for Golden Anniversary Ale: The Trouble With Tribbles. Light Carastan malt gives some residual sweetness in the form of very light toffee. A dose of Munich adds a slight bready quality, and wheat malt lends to a slight crisp character. Mashing at a moderate temperature gives this beer a medium body. In keeping with the intergalactic theme, hopping is comprised of Comet, Polaris, Aurora and Admiral (Kirk) hops. This beer is only loosely filtered to clarity, in order to preserve the ambiguity of good and evil.

Shmaltz’s second offering for Star Trek 50, Voyage To The Northeast Quadrant, harnesses a crisp, clean malt character showcased by the use of light Munich malts and brewer’s maze. The aroma is accented by fresh citrus fruits such as lemon and lime with subtle notes of white wine. The crisp malts and fruity aromas are elevated by maintaining a mild bitterness allowing each selected ingredient to offer its individual qualities without being overshadowed by any single ingredient. With 5 malts, 5 hops and 5% ABV, Voyage To The Northeast Quadrant is the perfect brew for any beer lover to toast the 50th Anniversary of such an iconic piece of popular culture.

Are you eager to pull a Scotty and try these new Star Trek inspired beers? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Images: CBS Studios / Shmaltz Brewing

POKÉMON GO Is More Popular Than Porn Right Now

If you’ve been online at any point in the past week, you’ve probably come to realize that Pokémon Go is in the midst of a full-fledged internet takeover. It’s the top app in the iOS App Store, and just yesterday, it was revealed that people are using Pokémon Go more than they are social media apps like WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat.

But it turns out it was more loved than any of us realized, as by certain metrics, Pokémon Go is more popular than one of the main pillars of the internet: porn.

This weekend, video game industry analyst ZhugeEX discovered that according to Google Trends, people are searching for Pokémon Go more than they are for pornography. Take a look at the data for yourself here, or check out the screenshot below:

Pokémon Go was first released in the U.S. and other territories on July 6. Since about 6:30 p.m. EST on July 10, users have been Googling the game with a greater frequency than they have more flesh-bearing topics. We assumed that being able to catch Pokémon in the real world would be a smashing success, but we had no way of knowing that it would be this big, enough to overtake our sex drives for internet supremacy.

For the record, these two popular online topics have been combined into one, based on a growing subreddit that we won’t link to here so your moms don’t get upset with us. Still, players are making Digletts and Krabbys pop up in suggestively funny places and it’s a grand ol’ hilarious time, so feel free to seek that out if you don’t mind wading through some less savory images.

And of course, there’s always the (SFW enough to be on YouTube) trailer of the Pokémon porn parody Strokémon:

Are you surprised by the shift? Chime in below!

Featured Image: The Pokémon Company, Google

The Evolution of the GHOSTBUSTERS Infographic Unites the Teams Across the Decades

This week, the Ghostbusters reboot will storm into theaters and fans can finally see for themselves how the new take on the old shtick is going to play on the big screen. Either way, the original 1984 Ghostbusters remains an all-time classic that has earned a massive fan-following. To mark the release of the new Ghostbusters, HalloweenCostumes.com has released a new infographic that tracks the evolution of the costumes that the characters wore onscreen.

The first stop on the tour of costumes past and present is the first Ghostbusters, which introduced audiences to Egon Spengler, Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Winston Zeddemore; as portrayed by Harold Ramis, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Ernie Hudson, respectively. These costumes remain a very popular cosplay to this day.

While the Extreme Ghostbusters animated series is ignored by the infographic, The Real Ghostbusters animated series gets some love for the way that it got creative with the Ghostbuster’s physical appearance and gave each Ghostbuster an individual color to his uniform. None of the cartoon Ghostbusters resemble their live-action counterparts over likeness issues with the actors, but they still captured the core personality of the group.

Ghostbusters II was the last ride for the original team (not counting the fantastic Ghostbusters video game from 2009). This time, their uniforms were navy blue, and the tone of the story was closer to the animated series. It took Hollywood 27 years to get around to making the next incarnation, which features an all-female team: Jillian Holtzmann, Erin Gilbert, Abby Yates, and Patty Tolan, as portrayed by Kate McKinnon, Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, and Leslie Jones. The new team has a lot of orange stripes in their uniforms, and they appear to be more streamlined than the earlier Ghostbusters costumes.

Which Ghostbusters costumes are your favorites? Let us know in the comment section below!

Image: Halloween Costumes

Schlock & Awe: THE WICKER MAN Makes Hippies Seem Real Scary

On July 1, British film director Robin Hardy passed away at the age of 86. He didn’t have a huge filmography, but the one movie of his I’ve seen (and most people have seen) is one that will live on forever. His 1973 film The Wicker Man, written by Anthony Shaffer, is one of the best horror movies of all time, for its slow-build suspense far more than outright scares. It also has the distinction in my life of being the very first film I ever got on my brand new Netflix account, back when it was only discs. It still terrifies me.

I’m gonna age myself, but when I was a senior in college—that’d be about 2005 or 2006—I signed up for my first Netflix account. It was like opening up a treasure chest full of cinema history. For the first dozen or so movies I added to my queue, I chose horror movies I’d never seen but saw on, of all things, a Bravo TV special series called The 100 Scariest Movie Moments. The one that most intrigued me was The Wicker Man. It looked very unlike any of the usual Italian gorefests, Universal Monster movies, or mid-90s thrillers that graced the list. It seemed eerie on a level to which I was unaccustomed. As the years have gone on, my love of gore has gone down, but my fascination and fear of cults have only increased.

The story begins with a murder mystery and ends with a horrifying reveal. The uptight, very conservative and religiously devout Sergeant Howie (Edward Woodward) heads to the remote island of Summerisle to investigate the disappearance of a young girl named Rowan Morrison. He’s immediately very “professional” and not very nice to the townsfolk whom he quickly believes is trying to cover up the disappearance, and possibly even committed murder of the girl. The people of Summerisle are a decidedly non-Christian people; in fact, they’re a joyously pagan community, all preparing for their May Day ceremony. Their chief export is apples, and the apple harvest has not been very good for the last several years.

Steadily, as Howie stays on the island, he starts to be made more and more uncomfortable with the open sexuality of the community, all copulating happily and running naked in the night. The librarian (Ingrid Pitt) openly lies to him about there even being a Rowan Morrison, and even Rowan’s mother starts being shady when the questions come in. He stays at a hotel and the landlord’s comely daughter (Britt Ekland) attempts to woo him to join in the celebration, but saving himself for marriage is not only a thing he chooses to do, it’s a thing he must do for his religious sanctity. But the longer he stays, the more people seem to be waiting for him for some reason, expecting him, and laugh off his open derision of their whole livelihood.

His looking down on them all comes to a head when he meets with the island’s patriarch, Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee), who seems to Howie as a wealthy, lecherous, satanic figure, despite his politeness and demeanor. Howie in his heart wants to do good by this little girl and uncover the conspiracy, but at every turn he openly shows his disdain for these people who do not live the way he does, and that’s to his detriment. As the May Day ceremonies begin, and everyone dons a costume and begins to march and chant, Howie believes he’s getting close to finding Rowan, and indeed does, running with her to where his boat was. But he was deceived to the end, believing his values and beliefs would save him. But it’s not Rowan who’s the sacrifice…it’s somebody much more worthy of bringing back their apples.

What makes the movie truly unsettling is the idea that everyone on the entire island is in on this conspiracy, that not even the mystery that brought Howie there is genuine and he’s been duped from the start. The friendly cultists you can’t escape is something that’s been done many times before, in movies like Rosemary’s Baby, and was a major influence on Edgar Wright’s Hot Fuzz. But it’s here, with Hardy’s stark direction and the smiling, grinning faces of the townspeople. And you wonder every time you watch The Wicker Man, maybe this time Howie will just join in the festivities, but he never does. His fate is always the same.

The final act of the movie is scarier, I’d say, than any horror movie ever made, and not because of any jump scares or monsters, but from the growing realization that it’s all gonna happen and there’s not a single soul around to help him. As Howie is brought toward the massive titular idol/prison, and he pleads to his Christian God for salvation and later last rites, slowly burning to death in a pyre along with goats and chickens, the entirety of the island sings its happy songs as the sun sets on the celebration and life. “The Lord’s My Shepherd,” Howie sings, while the laughing faces of an entire community spell his doom. It’s chilling and cautionary, whether you were raised particularly religious or not.

The legacy of The Wicker Man was tainted by the laughably bad Nicolas Cage version, remade by Neil LaBute, but if you watch the original, you’ll see a movie that’s as potent, as disheartening, and as endlessly fascinating now as it was in 1973. There’s a reason Christopher Lee called it the best film he’d ever done and agreed to do it for almost no money. The performances are wonderful, the implications are troubling, and the finale is literal fire. Seek it out, on the quick side.

Images: British Lion Pictures

Kyle Anderson is the Associate Editor for Nerdist. He writes the weekly look at weird or obscure films in Schlock & Awe. Follow him on Twitter!