Matt.weiland

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It was rumored back in February that Marvel had offered Angelina Jolie $20 million to direct Captain Marvel. Now the source of that rumor, OK! Magazine, is back with another Captain Marvel rumor which they once again buried in a different story. The story leads with the news about Theron and Jolie becoming friends after Brad Pitt introduced his wife to Theron, the partner (possibly fiancé?) of his friend Sean Penn.The magazine then casually mentions that Theron might be playing Carol Danvers. Way to bury the lede, guys.

Yahoo! quotes the OK! Magazine article, which doesn’t seem to be online yet:

“The girls realized that they have a very similar outlook on life and quickly bonded over everything from their adopted children to their prospective Hollywood projects.” The duo are even hoping to work together on Captain Marvel, the comic giant’s upcoming first female-led superhero film. The source said: “Marvel has been courting Angie to direct the project and Charlize is a clear fan favorite for the starring role. If Charlize were to get the part, Angie would almost certainly sign on to work with her new pal.”

In other words, the source thinks Theron is going to be cast just because she’s friends with one of the potential directors. Yeah, not how it works. On the other hand, Theron is an Oscar winner, a huge box office draw, reportedly great to work with, looks the part, and just came off another big (and financially successful) action role in Mad Max: Fury Road. Marvel would be damn lucky to have her. They don’t have to be in a huge hurry to sign anyone, however. Captain Marvel doesn’t open until Nov. 2, 2018.

(Via Yahoo! and The Mary Sue)

If there’s one thing we’ve proven beyond a shadow of a doubt in the thousands of years of human civilization, it’s that it is always funny when you take the WOM-BUM-BUM, tweedily-dee-dee, dee-DEE-dee-dee music from Curb Your Enthusiasm and insert it into a tense, dramatic moment from a different show. Always. Alwaysalwaysalways.

So, here it is inserted into the tense, dramatic ending from the most recent episode of Game of Thrones, as Jon Snow is sailing away from the carnage and quickly growing White Walker zombie army. My recommendation: Watch it, then spend the next hour or two picturing Larry David in Westeros. There is no scenario that doesn’t end with him getting gutted with a sword after bothering someone about their fruit stand or something.

(Via Vidme)

Our own Barry Petchesky reminded us out of nowhere today that we’re nearing the six-year anniversary of the worst tweet of all time, sent out by noted jorts enthusiast Kevin Smith.

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Chester “Chet Haze” Hanks, caucasian son of beloved caucasian Hollywood A-lister Tom Hanks, took to Instagram this weekend to vociferously share his feelings on Hating Ass Niggaz.

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The Washington Post has put together a chart illustrating the body counts of workers involved in construction for the last four Olympics and two World Cups, and compared them to the reported death toll for the 2022 Qatar World Cup.

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abc

“It’s time to play the music, it’s time to light the lights”…. As you probably know by now, ABC has commissioned a new show starring The Muppets, America’s favorite gaggle of weirdos. Despite a history of children’s films and family friendly entertainment, this new show is apparently aimed at adults… who, like myself, grew up on all things muppet and Jim Henson. While the new version may have some doubters, there’s ample reason to remain optimistic. Namely the 60 years of rich Muppet history created by Henson, his team, and those that have followed: a group of people who have demonstrated that these characters have an enduring appeal. In honor of that appeal, here are a few interesting facts about the Muppets that you may not know.

The Swedish Chef had his own cereal.

Post released this Muppet themed cereal in 1988, but it was discontinued a year later. It made a brief return in 1992 before disappearing from shelves forever. I am currently making an angry call to my father to ask why I never got to eat this.

“Rainbow Connection” was nominated for an Academy Award. 

“Rainbow Connection” was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song in 1979, but lost to Norma Rae‘s “It Goes Like It Goes,” a song no one remembers. It also reached No. 25 on the Billboard Top 100 charts in 1979, and was named No. 74 in AFI’s list of Top Movie Songs Ever. 

Most of the Muppets are left handed. 

Nothing sinister here: puppeteers used their dominant hand to run the puppet’s face. Most people are right-handed, so the left hand was usually running the Muppet’s operating rod.

The original Kermit is in the Smithsonian. 

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Jim Henson made the original Kermit from his mother’s old coat and used ping pong balls for eyes. In 2010, the puppet was put on permanent display at the Smithsonian Institute.

Kermit the Frog wrote a self-help book. 

Disney

Published in 2006, the book was ghost written by Jim Lewis, a frequent Muppet writer. It was reconfigured in 2012 by Little Brown Books for Young Readers to appeal to a younger audience.

Rowlf the Dog was the first Muppet to gain fame on the national stage. 

Rowlf was one of the original Muppets, and he was Jimmy Dean’s sidekick on The Jimmy Dean Show in the 1960s. When Henson passed away in 1990, Rowlf was put in semi-retirement out of respect, only appearing silently in Muppet Treasure Island and Muppets in Space. It wasn’t until 2011’s The Muppets that he spoke on screen again.

Jim Henson was almost Yoda. 

Disney

Henson ended up declining the part, and suggested fellow puppeteer and actor Frank Oz instead. However, he did still consult on the creation of the character.

Henson died before the $150 million deal to sell the Muppets to Disney could go through. 

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After years of discussion and inability to find suitable terms, Jim Henson suddenly passed away two weeks before the final deal was supposed to go through. It wasn’t until 2004 that the remaining estate reached an agreement and Disney was able to purchase the rights to the Muppets.

Miss Piggy has a tragic backstory. 

Disney

Frank Oz explained her history to The New York Times in 1979: “She grew up in a small town in Iowa; her father died when she was young, and her mother wasn’t that nice to her. She had to enter beauty contests to survive, as many single women do. She has a lot of vulnerability which she has to hide, because of her need to be a superstar.”

During The Muppet Show’s six year run, there wasn’t a single repeat celebrity guest.

Guest stars could request which Muppet they wanted to appear with: Miss Piggy was the most popular, followed by Animal. Some of the greatest Muppet Show guest stars were Steve Martin, John Cleese, Julie Andrews, and Alice Cooper.

Fozzy Bear was named after puppet builder Faz Fazakas.

Disney

It is a common misconception that he was named after Frank Oz. Fazakas designed the mechanism that allowed Fozzie’s ears to wiggle.

Jim Henson’s final performance as Kermit the Frog was on an episode of The Arsenio Hall Show.

The episode aired on May 4, 1990, and Henson would pass away from organ failure twelve days later. Henson is said to have created over 2000 Muppets over the course of his career, but Kermit would always be closest to his heart.

The marriage of two pop culture phenomenons can either be a gift or a curse, depending on your point of view. There’s no denying that Drake is one of the biggest music acts of this generation, and The Simpsons — despite its age — is still a cultural touchstone. So, what would they look like if they merged into one entity? Well, for one man, imagining that depiction was not enough. He had to get it tattooed on him.

Toronto tattoo artist Franz Stefanik has an interesting system in place at his tattoo shop. A vending machine at his shop dispenses his sketches, and whatever one you randomly receive is the tattoo you get. One of those sketches was Drake as Bart Simpson, but one man liked the sketch so much that he requested it even without getting it from the vending machine. Now he has to live with it. Bad tattoo or nah?

(Via Complex)

Yesterday, a Cook County, Illinois, judge ordered the release of a photo of two Chicago police officers holding hunting rifles while standing over a black suspect dressed in antlers. One of the officers, Timothy McDermott, was fired last year over the picture, which was taken sometime between 1999 and 2003; the other cop, Jerome Finnigan, was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2011 for his role in a cop-lead gang responsible for a series of robberies.

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Buster: Mom is becoming a little controlling.
Michael: What tipped you off? When she locked you out on the balcony again?
Buster: That was half my fault. I thought I saw a graham cracker out there.

Queen for a Day - 2x08

Oscar: God willing, he’ll fail boot camp.
Michael: Well, why wouldn’t he? He already failed day camp.

Sad Sack - 2x05

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Chris Pratt is a wonderful human being. He’s become a household name thanks to his time as Andy Dwyer on Parks and Recreation, a certified action hero and charitable good guy after starring in Guardians of the Galaxy, and he’s now riding a motorcycle with a pack of Velociraptors in Jurassic World. So what does one of our favorite people do in his spare time with his buddies? He sends them pictures of his own feces.

GQ interviewed Pratt for its June issue, and one of the best kernels concerns the secret to his friendship with Nick Offerman and Adam Scott. They send each other poop pics. Why? As Pratt explains: “Because we’re buddies and it makes us laugh.”

GQ: What makes a particular movement sendable?

Pratt: “If it’s shaped like a letter—that qualifies. Like, one time I had one that was three pieces that landed in the shape of an N—I was like, ‘Gotta send that to Nick—it’s his first initial!’ If it’s extra…the size. You know, some poops are unremarkable, and some you take pictures of and send them to Nick Offerman.”

GQ: How do you feel when you receive a new one?

Pratt: “Respect. That’s how we are. You know how we know we respect the poops? Because we’ll send them, not even a single square of toilet paper in the photo. We won’t desecrate the art by obscuring even a corner of it with a piece of toilet paper. Which means that we will get up and take the photo before we wipe our ass, just out of sheer respect for the piece.”

Or, as Dr. Ian Malcolm would say:

The magazine also asked Pratt about what it was like being in a relationship with another celebrity, his wife and fellow performer Anna Faris. Faris, whose show Mom is a big hit on CBS, gained fame via the Scary Movie films several years before Parks and Recreation‘s Andy catapulted Pratt to stardom.

Turns out, he’s keeping a sh*t list:

“I’ve had those moments,” he says, “where I was like the guy holding the purse at events and people just looked right through me. And, you know, actors come up and just blatantly hit on my wife in front of me and don’t even look at me. I’m like, ‘What the fuck, dude?’ I can think of exactly who they are, too, and I hope they fucking audition for Guardians of the Galaxy….Also, producers and studio people now who will come up to me and treat me the same way that they were treating Anna. They’re like, ‘I always knew…’ I’m like, ‘Is that right? That’s interesting, because you fucking stared right through me the last time….'”

Right. So, if the opportunity to meet Pratt ever presents itself, I’ll make sure to abide by three simple rules:

1. Do not, for the love of all things holy, hit on Faris in front of him.
2. Be honest with him. (i.e. He’s slightly ginger, and this bothers me.)
3. Show him a picture of my most recent glorious turd.

(Via GQ)

Shout! Factory/Best Brains

There have been many stories told and retold in the world of science fiction. Aliens invading. Animals being mutated into giant versions of themselves, destroying cities. Robots gaining sentience, destroying people. But there is one tale that stands above the rest… the story of a man, sent into space against his will and forced to watch terrible movies. It’s an epic tale that’s been retold countless times… well, actually three times, twice on television and once in a movie.

While there was nothing like Mystery Science Theater 3000 on television before (or since, really), the “plot” behind the non-movie segments of the show were actually inspired by the classic 1972 sci-fi flick Silent Running. Bruce Dern played an astronaut charged with maintaining a spaceship housing the last remaining plants on Earth. His only companions were three robot drones. Sound familiar?

MST3K aired its last original episode on Aug. 8, 1999, but not before the show ran on two different cable stations (Comedy Central and the Sci-Fi Channel) and produced a feature film (creatively titled Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie). While the cast and crew have moved on to other projects (such as Rifftrax, which provides MST3K-style audio commentary to play along with DVDs of Hollywood films, and Other Space, another lost-in-space comedy airing on Yahoo! Screen), the original episodes are still available on a variety of formats.

Here are four great episodes you can stream for free right now…

“Cave Dwellers” (Season 3, Episode 1)

Shout! Factory/Best Brains

The movie: Aside from being the Asylum (Sharknado, Snakes on a Train) of their era, Film Ventures International also repackaged internationally made genre films and distributed them in the U.S. Such was the case with “Cave Dwellers,” originally Ator l’invincibile 2 (also known as Ator 2: The Blade Master) in Italy. Released with a credits sequence that actually has nothing to do with the movie itself (in fact, the title Cave Dwellers doesn’t really fit, either), the film is essentially a Conan the Barbarian rip-off, but not one without a certain charm to it.

Episode notes:

• Contains the first utterance of the catchphrase “Oh, bite me… it’s fun!”
• Tom Servo is wearing a fez. Fezzes are cool.
• Among the fans of this episode is the one and only Miles O’Keefe (“How much Keefe is in this movie?”), who played Ator in the movie. He reportedly liked the episode so much after it aired that he called the Best Brains studio in Minnesota to tell them so.

“Soultaker” (Season 10, Episode 1)

Shout! Factory/Best Brains

The movie: This is the second film on MST3K to feature Martin Sheen’s younger brother Joe Estevez (the first being Werewolf). Estevez plays the title character, a supernatural creature tasked with collecting the souls of the recently (or, at the very least, soon-to-be) deceased. The film, which was written by and stars novelist Vivian Schilling, actually won a couple of awards, including the first Saturn Award for Best Genre Video Release in 1992. It’s not a particularly bad film, especially for the time, and it features Robert Z’Dar from Maniac Cop as the Angel of Death and that’s always a plus.

Episode Notes:

• This episode features guest appearances by Joel Hodgson (series creator and original host who left the show during Season 5) and Frank Conniff (who played TV’s Frank and left the show at the end of Season 6).
• Joe Estevez isn’t the only actor in this episode to make more than one MST3K appearance. Robert Z’Dar would also star in Future War, which popped up just three episodes later.
• The link above is a video from the official Shout! Factory YouTube account. Not only is it shown ad-free, but also includes annotations that provide explanations to all of the references made during the commentary.

“Manos: The Hands of Fate” (Season 4, Episode 24)

Shout! Factory/Best Brains

The movie: Oh God, this movie. A lot has been written about both this movie and this episode in particular. In “Manos,” a family on vacation ends up lost and seeks refuge at an inn somewhere in Texas. The inn is run by a weird satanic cult because of course it is. As the family figures out a way to escape, the cult (led by “The Master” and his harem of “wives”) decides what to do with them in between inexplicable cat fights.

Not shockingly, this film’s existence is the result of a bet. Harold P. Warren was a fertilizer salesman in El Paso, TX who bet a screenwriter friend that he could make a horror film all by himself. He went on to raise $19,000 — a significant sum of money in 1966 but not nearly enough to produce a film — and cast local theater troupe members in major roles. In order to drum up publicity for the film, he entered lead actress Diane Mahree in a local beauty pageant that would eventually lead to the Miss Texas competition, hoping to be able to promote the film as “starring Miss Texas.” Of course, he never actually bothered to inform Mahree of this until she was accepted into the pageant. She wound up being one of the finalists but didn’t win.

Above all, this movie is really, really bad.

Episode notes:

• The above link also leads to an annotated YouTube version of the episode, provided by Shout! Factory.
• This is one of the few MST3K films to also be riffed on by Rifftrax and  live, as well.
• MST3K is also known for riffing on shorts before certain films, especially when the films aren’t long enough to fill an entire episode. This episode features part two of “Hired!” a series of films produced by Chevrolet about hiring and management practices. It’s kind of ridiculous but, hey, there is some good advice in there.
• The Master’s weird, satyr-like assistant, Torgo, would go on to become a recurring character in the host segments of the show over the next few seasons. He would be played by head writer and eventual host Michael J. Nelson.
• Believe it or not (believe it!), a mobile game based on the film is available on iOS and Android.

“Mitchell” (Season 5, Episode 12)

Shout! Factory/Best Brains

The movie: Joe Don Baker. Buford Pusser from Walking Tall (the 1973 original). Both an enemy (The Living Daylights) and ally (Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies) of James Bond. Winona Ryder’s dad in Reality Bites. And, of course, his legendary role of Mitchell in “Mitchell.” Mitchell! He’s a cop! He doesn’t play by the rules! He’s also overweight and fairly unpleasant! Mitchell!

Mitchell suspects a notable union lawyer of murder, but the chief wants him off the case! So, he’s instead assigned to stake out a known criminal but, damn it, he won’t do things by the book! You’re a loose cannon, Mitchell! Get with the program! Eventually, Mitchell is double crossed and has to handle things the only way he knows how… with lead and fists! Pow! Mitchell!

“Mitchell” was released two years after Walking Tall with hopes it could build on the success of the previous film. It didn’t. It also features John Saxon, Martin Balsam and Linda Evans, none of which looked like they quite knew what they were doing there.

Episode notes:

• Again annotated with facts and reference explanations.
• This would be Joel Hodgson’s final episode as host and the introduction of Michael J. Nelson as, er, Mike Nelson, who would take his place. The reasons for Joel’s leaving were discussed in this 2014 feature from Wired.
• We still have no idea what the hell a Daktari stool is. One of these days we’ll probably Google it.
• The scene with Gypsy listening in on Dr. Forrester and TV’s Frank conversation is a reference to the lip-reading scene in 2001: A Space Odyssey. The same movie would be referenced in a later episode when Trace Beaulieu (Crow, Dr. Forrester) was leaving.
• This wasn’t the last time Baker was skewered by MST3K – his equally awful cop film, Final Justice, was also featured. Baker was reportedly not too pleased with either episodes.

There are plenty more episodes available for streaming or digital purchase, but these are a great start. Rifftrax also continues their tour with upcoming live riffs of The Room, Miami Connection and Sharknado 2. And, if Joel Hodgson is to be believed, we might actually see a reboot of the original show in the near future.

Clueless Gamer: Conan Reviews “The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt”

Clueless Gamer: Conan Reviews “The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt”

CBS

This story is from a couple of years ago, but, like Billy Zabka, it’s timeless. Zabka, of course, is best-known for playing the villain, Johnny Lawrence, in 1984’s Karate Kid and, more recently, as one of Barney Stinson’s friends in How I Met Your Mother. Most may not know this, but he also has an Oscar nomination for co-writing the 2003 Czech film Most.

Anyway, you may recall that, several years ago, Will Smith produced a remake of The Karate Kid with his son, Jaden Smith, in the lead role. For whatever reason, Zabka decided to attend the premiere of that movie (the “reason” probably being “he was invited”), and it was there he had the opportunity to speak with Will Smith, as he told USA Today last year:

It was fun because I was backstage at the afterparty and Will introduced us to Jaden and he said “I just want you to know we weren’t doing anything disrespectful, it’s an homage to the Karate Kid.” I said, “I get it man, I’m actually doing the same thing with the Fresh Prince of Bel Air.”

NO MERCY.

Columbia Pictures

Really, what could possibly be better than a Fresh Prince of Bel Air remake starring a 49-year-old Billy Zabka?

Also of note from that interview, it turns out that Zabka did a music video for a song called “Sweep the Leg” by the band No More Kings, which also starred Mr. Belding from Saved by the Bell and most of the cast of the original Karate Kid, including Ralph Macchio. It’s equally terrible and awesome.

Source: USA Today

For the past year, Rich Juzwiak and Caity Weaver have scoured New York in search of the city’s greatest restaurant. This spring, the authors expanded their quest into a global hunt: the search for the Best Restaurant in the World. Due to time and budget constraints, it was determined that the most efficient method to travel the world would be via the World Showcase in Walt Disney World’s Epcot theme park, where 11 distinct nations are represented by themed architecture, shops, costumes, and restaurants. The authors would spend four full days in Epcot, taking one meal in each of the 11 countries represented, plus surrendering a disastrous afternoon to a marathon drinking challenge. In between meals, they would explore the park itself.

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New Line Cinema

Ellen Albertini Dow, who appeared in more than 100 shows and movies in her long career, but is probably best known for her turn as the original rapping granny in Adam Sandler’s The Wedding Singer, died yesterday at 101 years old. Her agent “offered no details” on how she passed.

Before she covered “Rapper’s Delight,” Dow “worked with mimes Marcel Marceau and Jacques Lecoq in Paris and played the Borscht Belt as part of a comedy act before moving west to teach in the drama department at Los Angeles City College.” From there, she booked small, but memorable spots on practically every show in the 1980s and 1990s, including The Twilight Zone, The Golden Girls, Star Trek: The Next Generation, ER, and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch.

One of her final roles was in a 2013 episode of New Girl. Here she is singing with Nick Kroll, who probably had a lot of questions about rapping for Sandler. We all did. R.I.P.

(Via Deadline)

In a recent reddit AMA, the incredible Vince Gilligan, creator of the series Breaking Bad, mentioned that Los Pollos Hermanos, the fictional restaurant heavily featured in the series (and portrayed by the burger/burrito chain Twisters), may soon become a real restaurant.

Believe it or not… there is talk of a Pollos Hermanos becoming a real restaurant. This is not an idea that I generated personally. But it’s one that’s been presented to me, through the good folks at Sony, and the idea came to them from a businessman who has an interest in doing just that. Speaking for myself, I’d love to see that happen!

images via Breaking Bad Wiki

via reddit, Eater

lol I just made my day

Full disclosure: My entire experience with the television show Bones consists of half-watching reruns that run on TNT in the afternoon (working from home is weird). That said, if this excerpt from EW’s recap of last night’s episode is accurate, I may need to begin paying attention a little more closely.

TV personality Chili Reuben, of the hit show Gettin’ Spicy with Chili Reuben, is found murdered at a fitness boot camp. If you hear “Chili Reuben” and think “Guy Fieri doppelganger,” you are correct. Chili was the kind of celebrity chef whose job entailed going from diner to diner and eating a pizza slice on top of a burger.

CHILI REUBEN!

Eater provided this helpful bit of background.

Unfortunately, we don’t see much of Reuben in the episode since he’s been murdered. An investigation ensues. We learn that Reuben drives a vehicle he affectionately refers to as a “Spice Mobile,” that he enjoyed sleeping with waitresses while alive, and that he was a habitual drug user.

Now, to be fair, to my knowledge, Guy Fieri has never been accused of sleeping with diner/drive-in/dive waitresses or using drugs. And I really don’t see why you shouldn’t put a slice of pizza on top of a burger. (You put cheese on a burger, right? And tomato? Same thing. Kind of.) But if you don’t see the humor in a network television show doing an episode about the murder of a fake TV chef named Chili Reuben — again, CHILI REUBEN — who was obviously a fictionalized version of Guy Fieri, then man, I don’t know what to tell you.

Maeby: All Pop-Pop ever wanted was to see you with another man besides Daddy.
Lindsay: You’re right. You know what? I’m going to throw on a skirt, take off my underwear and make your Pop-Pop proud.

Good Grief - 2x04

Michael: You seem more villainous than usual, Mom. Are you sober?
Lucille: Michael, it’s 8 A.M.
Michael: So it’s not that.

The Cabin Show - 3x1

submission by Daniel Whatley

Any time that we receive a new video from Break’s Super-Fan Builds, my initial reaction is “There’s no way they’re going to outdo the last one.” From the Batmobile stroller to the Game of Thrones toilet, this amazing web series constantly proves me wrong, though, and the latest episode is just another reminder that Tim Baker and his team are AMAZING at what they do. An Avengers and Iron Man super-fan and super-mom named Natasha Vineyard was nominated by her friend to receive an amazing gift from Baker and Co., and the result is an incredible Hulk-Buster high chair for her daughter.

Not to nitpick, but I’d think a woman named Natasha would be a better target for something that is Black Widow-themed. Yes, I’m only saying that because I’m completely jealous that her daughter has this high chair, but I stand by my point. I also stand by my offer to receive a Big Trouble in Little China gift from Super-Fan Builds. You don’t need to tell me how generous I am.

WWE

In case you missed it on last night’s episode of WWE Raw, Booker T scissor-kicked his foot into his mouth with a comment during the Neville vs. Luke Harper King of the Ring tournament match. JBL mentioned that Neville could become the first high-flying King of the Ring, which led to this exchange about Owen Hart:

JBL: “Of course Owen was a high-flyer, but not like this.”
Booker T: “He couldn’t defy gravity.”

Some pertinent information: Owen Hart became King of the Ring in 1994, defeating Razor Ramon in the finals. He also fell to his death at the Over the Edge pay-per-view in 1999. Neville is known as “The Man That Gravity Forgot,” so the comment was 100 percent meant to put Neville over and not reference anybody’s plummeting death, but… yeah, whoops.

Booker apologized for the comment shortly after the show.

Booker could not be reached for comment on whether or not he thought Chris Benoit really murdered the competition at WrestleMania XX.

Hopscotch Features

Andrew Lesnie with Russell Crowe on the set of The Water Diviner

Andrew Lesnie’s 35 year career covered every genre of film that shot in his native Australia. His career moved to bigger-budget affairs after the success of Babe in 1995. He would go on to lens every Peter Jackson film for the last 15 years, including King Kong and The Lovely Bones, and of course every Lord of the Rings and Hobbit film.

His last work was on The Water Diviner, Russell Crowe’s directorial debut. Crowe broke the news on his Twitter last night:

Lesnie won an Oscar for The Fellowship of the Ring and a BAFTA for The Return of the King. Peter Jackson has yet to release an official statement, but according to Variety, the staff at WETA Digital are “saddened” by the news.

Richard & Tania Taylor, founders of the WETA Workshop, released a statement on their Facebook page:

Our memories of Andrew will always be of a wonderful and caring person who looked out for the technicians around him, was keen to have a good laugh and keep everyone jollied along even when things were at the most stressful for everyone. What an incredible man and we are very fortunate to have had the chance to work with him on so many wonderful projects.

Lesnie died of a heart attack on Monday (Australian time). He was 59 years old.

(Via The Film Experience)

Soon, Americans will able to purchase bags of “Doritos Roulette” in which one in every six chips is “melt-your-face hot.” Previously, regular consumption of Doritos had been considered risky enough.

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Gene Parmesan: Uh, I’ve got some bad news. I’m… Gene Parmesan. How you doing?

¡Amigos! - 2x03

Via Marvel / EW

Marvel has really proved they have a good handle on promoting their movies effectively. They harnessed the build up from Iron Man and other films to really push The Avengers into crazy territory, allowing them to slowly burn and get creative for things like Guardians of the Galaxy. It seemed like a hard sell on paper (I was one of those people who called it a gamble), but the whole thing panned out well.

It seems they’re hoping the same with Ant-Man, using a bit of creativity to promote the film down under with these ant-sized billboards. I’m not saying that Ant-Man is on the same level as Guardians of the Galaxy at this point in its promotion, but they’re holding it in line.

Folks over at Reddit are calling this some of the best marketing they’ve seen for a film, but I dunno if I’d go that far. Check out some more over here and below:

Via Imgur

Via Imgur

(Via Entertainment Weekly / Reddit)