Corey

Wow, it’s been 20 years since South Park debuted. My first introduction to them was on the Kevin & Bean Christmas Album where they had Cartman signing Oh Holy Night… I had no idea what it was about, but the bit had me crying from laughing. Now, they’re celebrating their 20th anniversary and released this video.

They’ve Been There For 20 Years – South Park Releases Video

(Infinite Monkey Business/Demitrios Haldes)

And if you want it back, you'll have to pay. Leave $50,000 in unmarked, non-sequential $100 bills by the potty at naptime. And if you go to Mommy or the police, you'll never see the nose again.

-via Tastefully Offensive

When you bake a birthday cake for someone celebrating a substantial number of years, say more than 12, the easiest way to do it is to put one candle on top, or use those candles that come in the shape of numbers. Or you can put all the candles on and have someone stand by with a fire extinguisher for a good laugh. But these folks went all out. Redditor OyVeyzMeir posted the cake from a friend’s 40th birthday in which firetrucks were standing by for the expected conflagration.

Remember the Ice Bucket Challenge of 2014? It was a viral sensation, designed to raise awareness of ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) and donations to the ALS Association. Seeing people dump buckets of ice over their heads was fun, but awareness campaigns often don’t lead to significant donations. This one did, to the tune of $115 million in a six week period! The association assigned funds raised by the Ice Bucket Challenge to Project MinE, an effort to sequence the genes of 15,000 people, which required the participation of scientists all over the world. That research has identified a new gene that contributes to ALS.

According to a paper published today in Nature Genetics, researchers part of Project MinE’s global gene sequencing effort, funded by The ALS Association through ALS Ice Bucket Challenge donations, have identified a new ALS gene, NEK1, which now ranks among the most common genes that contribute to the disease, providing scientists with another potential target for therapy development. This was the largest-ever study of familial (inherited) ALS, involved contributions from over 80 researchers in 11 countries, and was led by John Landers, Ph.D., of University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, Mass. and Jan Veldink, Ph.D., of University Medical Center Utrecht, in The Netherlands.

The ALS Association’s latest awareness campaign is called Every Drop Adds Up, which is a salute to the success of the Ice Bucket Challenge. -via reddit

(Image credit: Bill Gates)

Paramount Pictures has released a trailer for its upcoming holiday release, Office Christmas Party. And though it features dependable comedy talent like Jason Bateman, Jennifer Aniston, Kate McKinnon and T.J. Miller, it seems just a little too early to think about Christmas. The shops wait until August 15th to put up their holiday displays, don’t they? Or has it crept even earlier?

Office Christmas Party opens on December 9th.

Is It Too Early To Think About Christmas In The Office Christmas Party Trailer?

(Video Link)

Perhaps, as Scott Beale at Laughing Squid suggests, it's a blooper. But I'm skeptical. The weatherman is just getting to the point. It's not like he's getting paid by the word. If only other people communicated as succinctly as Keith Monahan of KARK-TV news in Arkansas does!

It actually happened. The Kickstarter not only resurrected the show, but there was o much support (and cash!) for the beloved puppets-makin’-fun-of-cheesy-movies that Netflix has acquired the new series. But that may not be all.

Read more...

IT’S FUCKING MONDAY. DID YOU KNOW NINTENDO’S MARKET VALUE MORE THAN DOUBLED SINCE LAUNCHING POKEMON GO?

WORDS OF WISDOM OF THE FUCKING DAY:

THE GRUMPIER YOU ARE, THE MORE ASSHOLES YOU MEET.

PERSON OF THE FUCKING DAY:

MOTHERFUCKER SPENT 33 YEARS BUILDING A PALACE MADE FROM STONE HE PICKED UP ON HIS MAIL ROUTE. more>>

EDUCATE YOUR IGNORANT ASS:

ALL ABOUT THE GODDAMN COUPS. more>>

FUCKING MIND-BLOWING BOOK OF THE DAY:

COOK GOOD SHIT FAST. more>>

USEFUL SHIT OF THE GODDAMN DAY:

STEP INTO A NEW FUCKING REALITY. more>>

WEBSITE OF THE FUCKING DAY:

COMPARE HELLA FRUITS. more>>

AWESOME-AS-SHIT VIDEO OF THE DAY:

WHY AND HOW TO SAY YOU’RE FUCKING SORRY. more>>

SWEET-ASS PICTURE OF THE DAY:

MOTHERFUCKING GREECE. more>>

IT’S FUCKING TUESDAY. DID YOU KNOW THE STUFFING BETWEEN THE WAFERS OF A KIT KAT IS MADE FROM OTHER CRUSHED UP KIT KATS?

WORDS OF WISDOM OF THE FUCKING DAY:

BE WILLING TO WALK ALONE. MANY WHO START WITH YOU WON’T FINISH WITH YOU.

PERSON OF THE FUCKING DAY:

DUMBASS SAID “THEY COULDN’T HIT AN ELEPHANT AT THIS DISTANCE” RIGHT BEFORE GETTING SNIPED IN THE DOME. more>>

EDUCATE YOUR IGNORANT ASS:

HOW TO FIND YOUR GODDAMN PASSION. more>>

FUCKING MIND-BLOWING BOOK OF THE DAY:

FIND WHAT SHIT YOU WERE BORN FOR. more>>

USEFUL SHIT OF THE GODDAMN DAY:

STAY CHARGED WHILE YOU CATCH THOSE FUCKING POKEMON. more>>

WEBSITE OF THE FUCKING DAY:

NEVER FORGET A FUCKING COUPON. more>>

AWESOME-AS-SHIT VIDEO OF THE DAY:

HOW THE HELL DID HITLER RISE TO POWER? more>>

SWEET-ASS PICTURE OF THE DAY:

WILSON PEAK IN MOTHERFUCKING COLORADO. more>>

More than a few of you probably spent your time last weekend binge-watching Netflix’s latest series Stranger Things. Matt and Ross Duffer‘s sci-fi show was embraced so quickly by the streaming service’s customers that a season two is already confirmed. The Duffer Brothers have shared a few details about what to expect from the next season of their hit show.

Below, learn more about Stranger Things season two.

Executive producers Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen told us season two would follow the same characters and introduce critical new ones. Season one ended with, as Levy said, “questions that merit future stories and future investigation,” especially regarding one key character’s surprising change in motivation.

Speaking with Variety, Ross Duffer said there’s plenty they know about this world they’ve yet to show viewers:

There’s a lot there we don’t know or understand. Even with ‘The Upside Down,’ we have a 30-page document that is pretty intricate in terms of what it all means, and where this monster actually came from, and why aren’t there more monsters — we have all this stuff that we just didn’t have time for, or we didn’t feel like we needed to get into in season one, because of the main tension of Will. We have that whole other world that we haven’t fully explored in this season, and that was very purposeful.

The co-writer/director added we’ll see more of what was written in that 30-page document in season two:

We leave these dangling threads at the end. If people respond to this show and we get to continue this story — we had those initial discussions of where we might go with it. If there was going to be a season two, we would reveal more of that 30-page document, but we’d still want to keep it from the point of view of our original characters

Matt Duffer told IGN the next chapter of Stranger Things is more of a sequel than a second season, which is a slightly vague but still telling tidbit:

We don’t answer all the questions by the end of the season — there are definitely some dangling threads. The hope is that it feels satisfying but that we left room and that if people respond to it we can go back into this world. But if we do get to go back, it’s not a second season as much as a sequel.

Key mysteries are resolved in season one of Stranger Things, but anyone that watched the first eight episodes knows the finale ends with two major scenes setting up what’s to come. There are a few unanswered questions left, and since season one of Stranger Things is exceptional entertainment from start to finish, probably more than a few people are excited about receiving the Duffer Brothers’ answers to those questions.

The post Netflix’s ‘Stranger Things’ Season Two Will Be a Sequel appeared first on /Film.

Warner Bros. is pulling out all the stops in Comic-Con Saturday, debuting the first trailer for their King King reboot.

Joe Quesada promised a trailer from a new Marvel TV shows and delivered.

Hamilton has been all the rage from the Broadway stages of New York City. The historical musical from Lin-Manuel Miranda is the hottest ticket in town, and even people who haven’t had a chance to see the show are in love with its unique soundtrack. Now the man who created the musical will retell the story of Alexander Hamilton again, but this time, he’s going to get hammered.

Drunk History has recruited Lin-Manuel Miranda as one of the guests for the fourth season of the show that features comedians telling the stories of certain events in history, but after they’ve had too many alcoholic beverages. As you’ve probably surmised, Miranda will be telling the story of the rivalry between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. But he’s not the only awesome guest star that Drunk History season four will have for inebriated entertainment. Hit the jump for more.

Along with the news of Lin-Manuel Miranda on Drunk History this fall, THR reports the Comic-Con panel brought plenty more guest star announcements from the show’s creator Derek Waters. This year the roster will include Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong, Steve Berg, Rachel Bilson, Michael Cera, Josh Charles, Kat Dennings, Ben Folds, Dave Grohl, Tony Hale, Ed Helms, Thomas Middleditch, Elizabeth Olsen, Aubrey Plaza, Ronda Rousey, Liev Schreiber, Alia Shawkat, Duncan Trussell and more.

That’s a hell of a line-up. In addition, some specifics on certain installments have been revealed with Paget Brewster telling the story of friendship that blossomed between Eleanor Roosevelt (played by Busy Phillips) and Soviet soldier Lyudmila Pavlichenko (Mae Whitman) during their fight for women’s rights. In addition, Allan McLeod (You’re the Worst) will recall the heated debate as to whether British actor William Macready (Jack McBrayer) or American actor Edwin Forrest (David Koechner) was the better talent.

The caliber of talent on this show never ceases to amaze me, which just goes to show you how much fun people have on the show when they decide to make it. For some, this is probably the only way they absorb a history lesson, and with Lin-Manuel Miranda making an appearance this season, perhaps some more viewers will start tuning in to see the drunken historical shenanigans that unfold. The fourth season of Drunk History is coming with another 10 episodes beginning on September 27 at 10:30pm ET/PT this fall.

The post Lin-Manuel Miranda to Tell the Story of Alexander Hamilton on ‘Drunk History’ appeared first on /Film.

Bad Santa 2 was in on-again, off-again development for so many years that I kind of assumed it’d never happen. But the long-awaited comedy sequel got a shot in the arm last fall when Broad Green Pictures came on board, and now we’re just a few months away from finding out what Willie Soke has been up to for the past 13 years.

Billy Bob Thornton returns as Willie Soke, still a halfway decent thief and a truly terrible mall Santa. Willie’s former partner Marcus (Tony Cox) and Willie’s young buddy Thurman Merman (Brett Kelly) are also back from the first film. New to the cast this time are Kathy Bates as Willie’s tough-as-nails mother, Sunny Soke, and Christina Hendricks as Willie’s latest mark, Diane. Watch the first Bad Santa 2 teaser below. 

In Bad Santa 2, Willie and Sunny, who’s just as mean and foul-mouthed as her son, try to scam a charity headed by Diane. Although Diane looks prim and proper on the outside, she apparently “has a thing for shady lowlifes in a Santa costume,” so Willie should be just her type. Ryan Hansen (Veronica Mars) is Diane’s husband, who runs the organization with her. Jeff Skwron, Jenny Zigrino, and Cristina Rosato also star.

Mark Waters (Mean Girls) is directing Bad Santa 2 from a script by Shauna Cross (Whip It) and Doug Ellin (Entourage). The first film was directed by Terry Zwigoff from a script by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa. The new team has their work cut out for them — it still seems like a minor Christmas miracle that the first Bad Santa was able to combine bitter, sour, salty, and sweet so well, and that exact formula could be tough to replicate.

Bad Santa 2 opens November 23. That’s Thanksgiving weekend, for all you misanthropes who’d rather spend the holiday getting soused with Willie than sharing hugs and pumpkin pie with your families.

The post ‘Bad Santa 2’ Teaser: Willie Soke Suits Up for Another Christmas Season appeared first on /Film.

They’re 20 years older, but apparently they haven’t lost their lust for life. Sony Pictures has unveiled the new T2: Trainspotting teaser, which brings back director Danny Boyle and stars Ewan Mcgregor (Renton), Ewen Bremner (Spud), Jonny Lee Miller (Sick Boy), and Begbie (Robert Carlyle). It’s just the briefest of looks at the madness that’s sure to come, but it’s still kind of a thrill to see the guys back together again. 

The music, of course, is Iggy Pop’s “Lust for Life.” And the scene itself is a nod to moment from the original Trainspotting, which you can see below. One of the weird things about looking at the original train scene now is that since ’90s fashion is back in again, the clothes don’t really look that dated — there are guys dressed just like this walking around Brooklyn’s trendier neighborhoods at this exact moment.

Since Tommy (Kevin McKidd) didn’t survive the original Trainspotting, Begbie subs in for him in the new version of the train scene. The gang looks older and more clean-cut. In fact, half of these guys look like they could be hip dads picking up their kids from the local elementary school. But since this is still a Trainspotting movie, we’re guessing they’ll find themselves in crazy trouble again before too long.

Not much has been revealed about the plot of the new film, which was written by John Hodge and which Carlyle has called “one of the best scripts I’ve fucking read.” It will not be a strict adaptation of Porno, the book sequel written by Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh. But the 20-year gap will definitely be a huge part of the story, as explained by Carlyle:

People who came to see the original film when they were in their early twenties are very different people now. And the way John Hodge has put this thing down, obviously with the help of Danny Boyle, is to make it about how the characters’ lives have moved on… or have they?

T2: Trainspotting arrives February 2017.

The post New ‘T2: Trainspotting’ Teaser Recreates a Classic Scene appeared first on /Film.

Something’s coming… Get your first look at Sherlock, Season 4...

A photo posted by Steelberg (@iamsteelberg) on Jul 21, 2016 at 2:05am PDT

Well, it's another summer and that means another San Diego Comic Con where comics and comic movie news are rolled out to garner more fan excitement. So, this year, we get our first teaser for Luke Cage's Netflix TV series that's coming out at the end of September. Not too far off from now, but if you've yet to see the Luke Cage trailer, I've included it below. To be honest, I was a

Last month, rumors leaked that the creators of the 2006 film Idiocracy were teaming up with actor Terry Crews to make anti-Trump TV commercials. But now those rumors have been put to rest, and Crews has given us a hint about why. It seems that Mike Judge, the director of Idiocracy, might be afraid of offending fans of Donald Trump.

Read more...

What if we  built our roads out of solar panels? The US is criss-crossed with multi-lane interstate highways that are never shaded. If we could collect the power of the sunlight that strikes them, we’d be able to run our homes with it, and possibly even power our cars! A company called Solar Roadways has partnered with the Missouri Department of Transportation to pave a stretch of Route 66 with such panels.

In brief, Solar Roadways is a business that manufactures solar panels of incredible strength. (2) This is possible because their solar panels are made using a special kind of tempered glass that is not just capable of withstanding the weight of semi-trucks rolling over them but also capable of providing the same level of traction as more common materials such as asphalt, which is an interesting contrast to the mental image of smoothness that comes up whenever glass is mentioned as a material. As a result, Solar Roadways can use its solar panels to create paved surfaces, with common examples ranging from roads to parking lots.

The benefits range far beyond just power production. You can read about the project and what it might mean for us at Money, Inc.

Then again, considering that some places are replacing their paved roads with gravel, you have to wonder whether such an enormous and expensive project will ever come about.

(Image: Google Maps/Michigan Live)

It seemed like a good idea at the time. After all, floating down a stream in an inner tube can be fun. You just need to arrange for someone to pick you up at a certain point and deliver you back to your starting point where you parked your car.

But these three women in Muskegon County, Michigan didn't know that because they had never tubed before. When they arrived at a launch site on the Muskegon River, someone told them that there was no need to arrange for pickup downstream because the river ran in a circle. If they stayed in the water, they'd just float back to starting point.

Alas, hydrology did not cooperate. The Muskegon River does not flow in a circle. Firefighters rescued them 20 hours later after they spent a night floating 3 miles downstream. Michigan Live interviewed Fire Chief Bob Grabinski about the incident:

Muskegon Township firefighters launched their 16-foot jet propulsion river rescue boat from the Holton Duck Lake Road launch ramp and found the women about a quarter-mile downriver, he said. Dalton Township firefighters also responded with their boat in case it was needed.

Other than a few bug bites and scratches, the women were fine, Grabinski said. He estimated they had traveled roughly 3 miles.

"In their words, they're never going tubing again," he said. "My words are know the river or take someone with you who knows it and have a plan."

-via American Digest

(Video Link)

A fun-size human appeared just outside the polar bear enclosure at the St. Louis Zoo in Missouri. It was the perfect snack. So the polar bear dove into the water and tried to snatch him. Alas, the glass got in the way. Keep trying! 

-via Telegraph

Decades before Times Square became the family and tourist friendly destination it is today it was a cesspool of depravity and crime.

And while kooks like the Elmo mascot are still making the place feel a bit scummy it's now so clean you can eat near it.

But back in the 70s and 80s Times Square was full of peep shows, porno theaters and prostitutes, and the police turned a blind eye to much of the depraved action going down on the block.

Or maybe they were just too busy busting other types of criminals, because by 1984 over 2,000 crimes were being committed in the one-block radius of Times Square every year.

And if that weren't bad enough, the Square was also full of another group of people who really got on everyone's nerves- Hare Krishnas.

See 27 Pictures Of Times Square At Its Lowest here (NSFW)

What ability will makes a special person stand out above the crowd in the modern world? Restraint! The ability to know when enough is enough is a real rarity. Restraint Man is the hero we need, if not the hero we deserve. This is the latest from Chris Hallbeck at Maximumble.

Hello, Danny.

Every year around the Fourth of July the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission puts on a graphic demonstration of why you should be really careful when setting off fireworks. The video of the demo arrived a little late this year, but if you’re a fan of horror movies, it was still totally worth the wait.

Read more...

Jurassic World 2 (which would be a bizarre name if Universal ran with it) has been on the cards for a while, but we now have something seemingly concrete about its imminent nature.

According to Jurassic Outpost and ReelNewsHawaii, they’ve collaborated to confirm a production start date for the sequel. They claim to have learned that the film will kick into gear February 27th, 2017 in Hawaii. They do say that they aren’t certain if this is the filming date or when sets are being built, but those things can’t be more than a few weeks apart.

I’m quite intrigued to see where the story goes from here. ‘Dinosaurs run around a park and eating people’ can only have so many legs. They surely will move on from there. (Surely?)

Jurassic World 2 Will Roar Into Production Early Next Year Says Report

If you binge watched Stranger Things this past weekend, then you spent your time wisely. The series’ creators, Matt and Ross Duffer, transported Netflix’s subscribers back to the 1980s, where kids and government conspiracies run amok. The siblings wrote and directed most of the eight episodes, which, as executive producers Shawn Levy (Real Steel) and Dan Cohen (The Spectacular Now) told us, they approached as an “eight-hour movie.”

Levy directed chapter three (“Holly, Jolly”) and four (“The Body”) of Stranger Things. When I spoke with the director and Cohen, I hadn’t seen all of season one yet, so we mainly covered their collaboration with the Duffer brothers and Netflix, the show’s references, and what to expect from the future of Stranger Things.

Below, read our interview with Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen.

I’m sure you saw it already, but Stephen King tweeted some kind words about the show.

Dan Cohen: That tweet…I mean he is the influence of all influences, alongside [Steven] Spielberg. That tweet went out an hour or two before the premiere Monday night and the brothers couldn’t have loved that more, and certainly started the whole wave of press off nicely. So it was pretty awesome.

When did you first meet the brothers? When did this all get started?

Dan Cohen: I’ve known the brothers and their work for a while. They had written this script they ended up directing, and it was a really good first movie called Hidden. That was a few years back. But the end of 2014 is when we read this pilot and sat with them and started talking about this project and how to bring it to the world. It was really through that and their ideas of how to make it into a show. When you get to meet these guys, they have such humility and a great understanding of the genre and what they want to do, and a deep love and respect for what they are doing, and it’s contagious. You just want to work with them and see them through that journey. It started then. And we took it out to town and then we brought it to Netflix in, I’d say, early March of 2015. They jumped into it and we were off to the races.

Mentioning their love for the genre, it’s obvious watching the show, but it doesn’t only come across as a throwback. 

Dan Cohen: Absolutely. I think what’s important is, obviously, there are influences you can spot and a love for that world and period. And the music is a glorious symphony, yet it still feels emotional and conducive to the storytelling. But we didn’t want it to just be a novelty. We wanted it to be, and I quite think it is, a standalone story that just works for having to take place in Indiana in 1983. Independent of those influences, I think the guys did an amazing job crafting a very smart way in of an ordinary group of people dealing with extraordinary circumstances.

The kids are great. How long did it take to put that group together? What about Millie Bobby Brown made her stand out? 

Dan Cohen: The search for the kids in general, and including especially Millie, was a long and exhaustive one. Carmen Cuba, who worked with the Duffers before, and has worked with Netflix, and also casted The Girlfriend Experience, has an amazing eye for talent. The Duffers had to really push themselves to make sure that these kids felt like kids and could act, and that it would feel effortlessly organic to 12-year-old friends.

With Millie, she’s an incredible actress and has such a real onscreen persona that is very unique and rare. And so much of her character isn’t done through dialect but, in fact, emotion and what’s going on within her. That is not an easy thing to find. And yet, as you’ve seen in watching the show, Eleven is an integral piece of the show that really ties many storylines together. To have a character that is so specific and kind of a fulcrum of the show and, yet, is not giving monologs, that’s a unique piece of casting. We are so lucky to have had her. The Duffers and Carmen just nailed it in casting. She’s a terrific young actress, and she really nailed it.

[Spoilers ahead for episode 3.]

In the third episode, “Holly Jolly”, when she snaps that man’s neck, you still feel empathy for her, especially because of her reaction.

Shawn Levy: I literally joined you right as you were describing one of my favorite moments when Eleven breaks that fucker’s neck.

[Laughs.] Do you recall any notable tidbits about filming that scene?

Shawn Levy: First of all, nice to meet you over the phone. It was Millie’s idea to do that gesture with her head to break that dude’s neck.

[End spoilers.]

When you all first met with Netflix, how did the pitch go? What did you all do to sell them on the show?

Dan Cohen: They are the dream house. Shawn and myself and the Duffers definitely went back and forth intensely to make sure this went as well as it possibly could. But it was a warm meeting. They had obviously read the script. The brothers had created sort of a mock trailer that was quite fantastic and had an outline, and they had just seen their movie. It was a warm room. And Shawn is an incredible salesman in the room. But I think that we were able to just highlight where we wanted to go.

And to Netflix’s credit, they were asking great questions and were very passionate about it from just a first meeting, not yet officially being in business kind of level. Even though we wanted to go with them undoubtedly, when we jumped in with them we knew they were coming from the right place with it.

Shawn Levy: The way these things work, especially in a pitch like this where the network has already read the pilot, you spend your time talking about where you think the characters will go, what you think the style of the show is. We declared some pretty bold ground rules, starting with the fact that we didn’t anyone to direct it except the Duffers or me. We really, really wanted to approach it like an eight-hour movie.

They were the very first choice. They were our very first pitch. And they bought the entire season within 24 hours. We never had to pitch a second buyer.

Continue Reading ‘Stranger Things’ Shawn Levy & Dan Cohen Interview >>

The post Interview: ‘Stranger Things’ Producers on Influences, Marketing, the Possibility of Future Seasons and More appeared first on /Film.