Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 2381

Inked Wednesday #96 – Groot, HARRY POTTER Mandrake, and More

“I am Groot.” The tree-like member of the Guardians of the Galaxy made quite an impression when the movie debuted in 2014. He was kind, gentle, and amusing in his grown form, and the cutest thing in the history of all things as a tiny sapling. He didn’t need an extensive vocabulary to make his intentions and thoughts known—and all that emotion is captured in this ink belonging to Jacon McAlister. His tattoo artist Galen did a killer job at making Groot’s eyes just as expressive as they were in Guardians of the Galaxy.

Groot (Guardians of the Galaxy) | Source: Jacob McAlister, inked by Galen at Studio Thirteen

Drop down to the gallery below to see more nerdy ink. You’ll find a tattoo based on Skottie Young art from the I Hate Fairyland comic, a Supernatural protection symbol, and Boba Fett from Star Wars.

Want to see your permanent body art featured in Inked Wednesday? Excellent because I’d love to include it in a future gallery. Send me pictures of your tattoos inspired by pop culture, science, history, etc. You can leave links to photos of your ink in the comments, tag or mention me on Instagram (no direct messages, please), or send pics to me on Twitter. Finally, you can email me at alratcliffe at yahoo dot com. Please let me know the name of your tattoo artist so I can include credit for him or her because credit is cool and because maybe your ink will inspire someone to visit your tattoo artist.

Here’s Your First Look at Bill Skarsgård in Stephen King’s IT

If clowns were considered nightmare fuel before, a new but somewhat familiar face has just been added to the canister. Entertainment Weekly premiered the first look at Bill Skarsgård’s Pennywise in the upcoming two-part feature film adaptation of Stephen King’s classic novel It. Directed by Mama helmer Andrés Muschietti, part one is expected to hit theaters on September 8, 2017.

Skarsgård also shared some insight into his take on the character telling EW, “It truly enjoys the shape of the clown Pennywise, and enjoys the game and the hunt. What’s funny to this evil entity might not be funny to everyone else. But he thinks it’s funny.” The young actor sang the praises of Tim Curry’s onscreen portrayal that came before him in the TV miniseries from the ’90s saying, “Tim Curry’s performance was truly great, but it’s important for me to do something different because of that. I’ll never be able to make a Tim Curry performance as good as Tim Curry.”

One way that we know Skarsgård’s portrayal will be different is the actor’s age adding an extra layer of discomfort to the idea of a young man hunting young children. When Will Poulter was announced to play the role in Cary Fukunaga’s now-scrapped interpretation, we at Nerdist loved the choice of going young for the role, something that the producers clearly wanted to stick with by casting the 25-year-old actor. “There’s a childishness to the character, because he’s so closely linked to the kids. The clown is the manifestation of children’s imaginations, so there’s something child-like about that.”

For now, all we can do is wait and see what is to come from the theatrical release next year, but judging by the response the photo is getting online, fans are more than intrigued. What are your thoughts on the look of Skarsgård’s Pennywise? Tell us in the comments!

Featured Image Credit: Entertainment Weekly

MR. ROBOT Season 2 Premiere Recap: Unmask

Editor’s note: This post contains spoilers for the season 2 premiere of USA’s show Mr. Robot. Read at your own risk.

I think we can all agree that USA’s tech-thriller Mr. Robot was one of the most surprising shows of 2015 (as well as one of the best shows of 2015 period). Many fans didn’t know what to expect of the show, and the beauty is that feeling of not knowing where the plot was headed was not only sustained, but heightened throughout the remainder of the season. As we fell further into the rabbit hole that is the twisted reality of our unreliable, psychologically disturbed protagonist Elliot (Rami Malek), we felt almost as detached from the real world as he was. The show broke the fourth wall in impressive ways, and left us with more questions than answers.

While the season one finale left an awful lot unresolved (like the knock, which isn’t addressed in the season 2 premiere), we did get one answer: “Mr. Robot” (Christian Slater) isn’t real. Rather, he’s a dissociated personality of sorts resembling Elliot’s father, who actually died in 1995. And Darlene (Carly Chaikin), one of the Underground Hackers of FSociety, is actually Elliot’s sister. With Angela (Portia Doubleday), the siblings took on E Corp (a.k.a. Evil Corp) as a form of vengeance for the company’s hand in their parents’ deaths. At the end of the explosive season 2 finale, we saw Elliot come completely unhinged as the world around him began to riot. The hack happened, disgraced exec Tyrell Wellick (Martin Wallström) disappeared, and Elliot has lost his memory.

But where does that leave Elliot for the two-part premiere of the show’s second season? Not in a good place, that’s where–though he’s halfway decent at pretending nothing is wrong. At the top of the episode, we see Tyrell and Elliot executing the hack that devastated E Corp. Before the scene ends, Elliot reaches into the popcorn machine (which as far as we know, still has a gun in it). Did Elliot end up killing Tyrell after the hack? Who knows, but the nugget is worth holding onto for now.

Tyrell’s whereabouts and his memory loss have vexed Elliot during the finale and continued to be a central issue for him during the premiere. As a way to keep his problematic alter ego at bay, Elliot moved in with his mother, and stays on a tight schedule. In short, he has breakfast, lunch, and dinner with his new friend Leon (Joey Bada$$)–who is obsessed with Seinfeld, and talks about it non-stop, giving the anti-social Elliot the relief of not having to talk. We’re already pretty big fans of Leon and hope to see him throughout the season.

But as jam-packed as his daily regimen is, that doesn’t stop Mr. Robot from whispering sweet words of revolution into Elliot’s delusional ears. The part of his brain inhabited by his father wants Elliot to get back to work, while the sane(ish) side is trying to find out what happened during his blackout. Throughout the premiere, we see the duo fight. When Elliot begs to know what happened to Wellick, Mr. Robot pulled out a gun and shot him. Apparently it’s something that happens all the time, as indicated by Elliot’s journal note: “He shot me again, but this time I didn’t panic.” The shocking hallucination happens several times, with Elliot eventually bandaging his imaginary wound.

But Elliot can only push Mr. Robot out of his mind for so long until he cracks–which is exactly what happened. Despite documenting every waking hour of every day, Elliot came to the realization that his alter ego is able to work while he’s asleep. This frightening revelation came about after a stranger mentions a conversation Elliot didn’t remember having with him. After Mr. Robot admitted to working behind the scenes, Elliot erupted in laughter and told him to shoot him again. The moment was insane in the membrane and another testament to Malek’s superb acting skills. Seriously, that laugh was terrifying.

Of course, Elliot isn’t the only one with issues. His former boss Gideon paid a visit to his home and told him that the FBI is on his case because they think he was responsible for the hack. He wants Elliot’s help, and went so far as to threaten to reveal what he knows about the troubled hacker to the feds if he doesn’t comply. Fortunately for Elliot (but unfortunately for Gideon) he isn’t able to follow through with the threat because a strange man murdered him towards the end of the episode.

As for Darlene, she’s still in charge of FSociety but is finding it hard to keep the rabid followers in check; they removed a metal bull’s genitals for pete’s sake. The crew hacked their way into an E Corp executive’s smart apartment (via screwing with her technology, forcing her to vacate to her other apartment). Darlene clearly isn’t handling the pressure well, but was able to wipe away her tears before inspiring her troops to keep fighting the good fight. We also know that she hasn’t seen her brother in a while, which probably explains the tears.

We also caught up with Angela, who is still working at the hellish job that Colby hired her to do. Her co-workers hate her, but that didn’t stop her from being the ruthless business woman we saw hints of towards the latter half of season one. Despite crumbling in private (repeating over and over to herself that she has value), Angela puts on the tough gal act pretty well. We saw it in full force when she met with the lawyer working on the E Corp case. Despite the woman’s dislike of Angela’s new profession, she tells her that she likes her job and is planning on staying there.

Tyrell’s wife Joanna, as per usual, was up to some seriously twisted stuff. In between S&M sexcapades, she takes care of her new baby. We’re not quite sure what’s going on on her end, but she received a strange box, and call from an unknown caller. Our guess is that she has a bigger hand in everything going on, or Tyrell is trying to get to her. Speaking of Tyrell, our only knowledge of him came at the end of the episode when he called Elliot. Of course, we don’t know if that was actually him, or if it’s another delusion.

E Corp is also falling apart, with disgruntled bank visitors unable to access their own money, and more issues now under their belt. After the company’s servers went down, they took FSociety’s bait and sent an executive to a park with $5.9 million in ransom money. But the hackers made it clear that things won’t be so easy; the group’s instructions involved the man putting on an FSociety mask, emptying out the money, and lighting it all on fire.

The season is already off to a great start. We can’t wait to see where it’s headed!

What did you think of this week’s episode? Do you have any new theories? Let us know in the comments below, join the conversation on Facebook, or reach out to me on Twitter: @Samantha_Sofka!

Images: USA

Comic Book Club: Nick Nadel

Meet a guy who’s written for some of your favorite things and is also the host of the Movies My Friends Have Never Seen podcast on the latest meeting of the Club:

Nick Nadel (IFC, TruTV) joins the show to talk about his experiences working at Wizard Magazine! Plus reviews of The Walking Dead #156, Han Solo #2, Renato Jones #3, and Moon Knight #4.

Check out the website at comicbookclublive.com to find out how to watch the show live! And follow the show on Twitter: @comicbooklive, @azalben, @jtsizzle, and @realpetelepage

A Hero Goes on Trial in CIVIL WAR II #3 (Review)

There are massive spoilers ahead for Marvel’s Civil War II #3! And we’re gonna talk about all of the issue’s major twists, so don’t say that you weren’t warned!

Assuming that you were fortunate enough to avoid the early spoiler about Civil War II #3, there are two big questions to ask about this issue. Does it stay true to the characters? And does it work as a story? Most of Marvel’s writers tend to approach Hawkeye as a hero who wouldn’t kill. But not Brian Michael Bendis. He’s written a Hawkeye who was willing to kill Norman Osborn during Dark Reign, and now he’s depicted Clint Barton as the man who murdered the Hulk.

And that’s really what it is. The script and the artwork don’t really offer much in the way of ambiguity. Hawkeye claimed that Bruce Banner‘s eyes had a flash of green and that he was about to Hulk out, but it’s not really supported by the comic itself. Either way, Banner is dead and the bulk of the issue depicts Hawkeye on trial for murder. Unfortunately, Hawkeye is far from the only hero to behave out of character throughout the issue. Captain Marvel and Iron Man continue to throw ridiculous shade on each other, and even Banner has an oddly suicidal flashback in which he literally asks Hawkeye to kill him if he ever Hulked out again. None of these turns feel earned or genuine, so the only conclusion is that Bendis has not been faithful to the characters entrusted to his care. He simply places them in the story and forces them into their predetermined roles whether it works or not.

Which brings us to the story. The issue plays around with its structure and depicts the incident with Banner in flashback which is interspersed with testimony from Carol Danvers and Tony Stark, among others. The build up almost worked, but Banner’s death is so abrupt that it’s more jarring than shocking. It’s a powerful visual from artist David Marquez, and he goes out of his way to give the issue any visual flourish that it has. The script really didn’t make it easy for Marquez, as he had to draw page after page of Marvel’s heroes just standing (or flying) around at home as they watched the new trial of the century. Once the issue moved past who killed the Hulk and why, it was actually pretty boring. And that’s not a great way to usher in the era of $4.99 Marvel comics.

Marquez does get a brief assist from artist Olivier Coipel for the flashback between Banner and Hawkeye, which gave the issue a foreboding undertone that the rest of the issue seemed to lack. Again, this is not the fault of Marquez. His artwork is easily the biggest draw for the book, aside from the shock value of seeing one of Marvel’s biggest icons get murdered by another hero. Bendis wanted to get people talking about Civil War II, and he succeeded on that front. The death of the Hulk is going to get a lot of play in the media. But after three issues of the regular miniseries and two prelude issues, Civil War II’s story has yet to match the high quality of the artwork.

RATING: 2 OUT OF 5 BURRITOS

What did you think about Civil War II # 3? Render a verdict in the comment section below!

7 WTF-Worthy Controversial Comic Book Moments

Images: Marvel Comics

Sigourney Weaver Wants New “Ending” for Ripley in ALIENS Sequel

For almost 40 years, Sigourney Weaver has been associated with her signature role, Ellen Ripley in the first four Alien movies. And if Weaver has her way, she’ll be back at least one more time to give Ripley the ending that she deserves.

While speaking with Entertainment Weekly about Neill Blomkamp‘s stalled script for Alien 5, Weaver said “it’s a great story and it’s satisfying to me to give this woman an ending.” She added that it does retcon away the events of Alien 3 and Alien: Resurrection: “It’s just as if…the path forks and one direction goes off to three and four and another direction goes off to Neill’s movie…In this case, it picks up, it follows directly the circumstances of Jim Cameron’s Aliens.”

Alien 3 did give Ripley an ending, but it was a pretty bleak conclusion for a woman who had overcome the Xenomorphs twice before to cast herself into a furnace to prevent the birth of a Xenomorph Queen. Alien: Resurrection seemed like it was more interested in bringing the Ripley clone together with Winona Ryder’s Annalee Call, potentially for new adventures in sequels that never materialized.

So, what would a good ending for Ripley look like after those two films? It would be a let down if Ripley simply sacrificed herself again, so perhaps this time Ripley would get what she wanted in the second movie: a chance to have a surrogate family with Newt and an opportunity to live free of the Xenomorphs. Maybe they’d even make it to Earth in this incarnation.

Alien 5 has been put on hold for Ridley Scott’s Alien: Covenant, but Weaver reiterated her desire to return to the project as soon as possible.

What ending would you like to see Ripley get in a future Alien film? Let us know in the comment section below!

Image: 20th Century Fox

Check Out the Full MARVEL NOW! Fall Catalog, Plus CIVIL WAR II News

San Diego Comic-Con may not kick off until next week — and our Camp Conival along wiht it — but there is lots of news in today’s Comics Relief. Today’s edition kicks off with the release of the full Marvel NOW! catalog for the fall. Read on for all the details…

Full Marvel Now! Catalog Revealed

This week, thanks to the release of the Marvel NOW! catalog previewing comics coming this fall, we’ve learned of several new series arriving soon post Civil War II. Among these books is Jessica Jones returning in a new ongoing series, as well as a new series starring the mad Titan, Thanos (you can read our full stories on those books here and here). Now the entire Marvel NOW! catalog is officially online, so you can check out all the previews for the books coming out soon, including one which features Miles Morales and Spider-Gwen making out (squee!) by heading over to the following link: [Newsarama]

Not seen anywhere among those listings? The X-Men. Is Marvel writing them out of the comics? We investigated on Nerdist News.

Hawkman and Adam Strange Unite in New Series

Both Hawkman and Adam Strange were part of the now-cancelled Justice League United series, but we haven’t seen much of these two classic DC icons since then. That’s all changing in October, when DC launches Hawkman and Adam Strange: Out of Time, a new six-issue limited series by writer Marc Andreyko and interior/cover artist Aaron Lopresti.

According to the official description, the series finds Adam Strange “residing on Earth and out of the hero game, trying to live a ‘normal’ life, until he’s literally pulled back into adventure again as a seemingly normal Zeta beam transmission returns him to the planet Rann, where he hopes to be reunited with his beloved Alanna. But instead, he finds the once great city of Ranagar in ruins with millions dead. Sensing something is amiss, Strange enlists the aid of Thanagarian policeman Katar Hol, aka Hawkman, who is also trying anything possible to avert war.”

Based on the art, the “something amiss” seems to be the classic JLA bad guy, Despero. Hawkman and Adam Strange: Out of Time debuts on October 5. [Newsarama]

Marvel Kills Off (SPOILER) In Civil War II

They said that Civil War II would have a big, classic Marvel hero as its casualty, and it turns out the hero dies is none other than Dr. Bruce Banner, the Incredible Hulk, as many guessed it would be. Most shocking is who killed him — none other than his Avengers teammate Clint Barton, a.k.a. Hawkeye. Banner gave Barton a special arrow designed just to take him out in case he ever got out of control, but the thing is, Barton used it before Banner could Hulk out, which results in the second Civil War. For more info on this latest Marvel death, read our full story at this link: [Nerdist]

Comics Crack the $1 Billion Sales Mark

To all those who say that comics are dying off, and the emergence of comics-based TV and film have had no effect on comics sales…statistics released this week say otherwise. Sales of comics and graphic novels have broken through the $1 billion threshold, according to calculations by ICv2 and Comichron. This includes $350 million in sales through retail book channels, $90 million in digital, and $20 million in newsstand sales, with the rest coming through the direct market.

Apparently graphic novels account for $535 million in sales and serial comics for $405 million. ICv2 attributed the growth spurt in sales to “increased attention to comics properties from the media and an expanding audience, as more women and children come to the medium”. So take that, all you doomsayers of the comics industry. [CBR]

Deadman Returns In New Gothic Romance

Boston Brand, DC’s Deadman, is returning in a new miniseries debuting this October titled Deadman: Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love. The comic will see Deadman paired with an all-new new character called the Darkness (no relation to the Top Cow character). This three-issue miniseries “set in the style of gothic romance comics of the 1960s and 1970s” will be written by Sarah Vaughn, with art by Lan Medina and covers by Stefanie Hans.

In a statement, writer Sarah Vaughn said, “I’ve been reading romance novels and comics since I was kid, and it is a genre I am positively passionate about. I can’t tell you how excited I am to be able to tell a modern gothic horror story with classic DC roots.”

The first issue of the mini-series hits in October,while the other two issues will ship every other month, in December then February. [Bleeding Cool]

The DC Trinity Fights Doomsday with Snickers

In your DC Comics that hit this week, you might notice a little something extra, a few additional pages of story starring the DC Trinity as they take on Doomsday. But the story is actually an ad for Snickers, part of the candy bar brand’s “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry” campaign. You’ve seen the TV ads in this campaign no doubt several times by now, featuring the likes of Betty White and Danny Trejo, but now they’re enlisting even bigger pop culture icons.

This brief comic ad follows the same template, with a character turning into a totally different persona because they’re hungry — something only a Snickers bar can fix, of course. The artwork looks to be from Ivan Reis, who has drawn what looks to be the best version of Wonder Woman’s Rebirth costume so far. To see the whole ad, click on the following link: [CBR]

Wonder Woman Movie has Real Comics Pedigree

Speaking of Diana, Warner Bros has released the full synopsis for the Wonder Woman movie of 2017. Why run this in Comics Relief? Because the two final credited writers for the film are comics writing legend Geoff Johns and Allan Heinberg. Geoff Johns has consulted on movies in the past, but this is his first real screenplay credit for a movie.

Allan Heinberg, a TV writer who created the Young Avengers for Marvel, also wrote a brief run on Wonder Woman called “Who Is Wonder Woman?”. While I would have loved a female writer on this script, Heinberg is an openly gay man, and aside from women, the LGBT audience is Wonder Woman’s biggest fanbase and have a special love for the character. Here’s hoping with two experienced comic writers steering the ship, Diana’s big screen outing is worth the wait. [Comics Beat]

Images: Marvel Comics / DC Comics 

After 45 Years, the D.B. Cooper Skyjacking Case Has Been Closed By the FBI

D.B. Cooper pulled off the only unsolved air piracy in the history of American aviation. It was so successful, in fact, that nobody even knows his real name: D.B. Cooper is just a label that was given to him by the media because they could never figure out who he is. Since 1971, it has seemed like this case would never be solved, and today, it was confirmed that it probably never will be—at least in any official capacity: The FBI announced that they have finally closed the case because after 45 years of coming up short (via Reuters), they feel like their resources would be better used dealing with other matters.

For those who don’t know the story, it’s a fascinating one: On November 24, 1971, a man who identified himself as Dan Cooper boarded a flight at the Portland International Airport en route to Seattle, a 30-minute voyage. Once the plane was in the air, the skyjacker handed a note to a flight attendant and discretely told the woman that he had a bomb.

Then, he demanded $200,000 (roughly $1.18 million today) and four parachutes. The plane landed in Seattle, Cooper’s demands were met, and the plane took off again on a course towards Mexico City, per Cooper’s request. At some point around 8 p.m., Cooper was found to be no longer on the plane, and it’s not clear whether or not he survived the jump.

Really, not much at all is clear about this case, which is why it’s puzzled authorities for nearly half a century, and why the FBI decided to throw in the towel and move on to more solvable mysteries. Interestingly, the announcement comes just after the conclusion of a two-night special about Cooper on the History Channel, D.B. Cooper: Case Closed?. Watch a trailer for the program below.

Featured Image: U.S. Federal Government

Big Paper #20: I Ain’t ‘Fraid of No Ghosts

About Big Paper, the new Nerdist comic strip!

Abandoned as an infant, Everett, a living and breathing cartoon dinosaur, was adopted by a loving human couple. Within a reality where cartoons live and work among us, Everett navigates what it is to be 8-years-old along with his two cohorts: a cartoon turtle and child actor called Mel, and a brooding instigator and human girl named Keaton. They reside in a place where geek and pop culture have physically manifested itself, from the Incredible Hulk studying in your acting class to having the great Pumpkin King over for dinner.

About Michael McCusker:

Michael McCusker is an actor, improviser, and artist originally from Boston, MA. At an early age, he fell in love with the theater and live comedy. Michael discovered the North End’s Improv Asylum in 2005 and has been performing regularly since. Upon graduating from Bentley University in 2007, he moved westward to Los Angeles where he continued his improv education with IO West, Second City, UCB, and The Groundlings. Michael has since been featured in a string of commercials, music videos, online sketch, and some of those sweet, unaired pilots for major networks!

Thanks for taking the time to read Big Paper. If you dig the art, please check out his online portfolio, or grab something for yourself in his Society6 store.

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New strips of Big Paper debut every Wednesday, right here on Nerdist!

Cash Withdrawal #20: Russian Matriculation

Cash has a session with Steve Mazan

Follow @CashLevy on Twitter!