Corey

The A.V. Club has an exclusive look at Greg Sestero’s book The Disaster Artist, his account of playing Mark in The Room.

At the Human Rights Campaign’s recent “Equality Rocks” show in New York City, Florence + the Machine powerhouse Florence Welch, joined by buddy and producer-to-Solange Dev Hynes, covered the best pop single in recent memory — at least until “Blurred Lines” became a thing, though it is kinda rape-y, or at least substantially douche-y — Icona Pop‘s Charli XCX-penned “I Love It.” Their cover isn’t exactly faithful to the bombastic, party-ready source material, but two of our favorite music in the music-making world do something together, it’s always a good idea to give it the time of day:

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Tags: Charli XCX, Dev Hynes, Florence + the Machine, Icona Pop

One of the more memorable tracks from J. Cole‘s new album Born Sinner is “Let Nas Down.” Nas has now responded to the track with his own remix, affirming that... read more at survivingthegoldenage.com (in post J. Cole featuring Nas “Let Nas Down (REMIX)” from surviving the golden age. More by this artist at )

Normally i am not particularly fond of Snoop & Dre Remixes, but this one’s all butter.Smooth like sliding downhill on a chill summer evening. (in post At First I Was Overly Skeptical, But This “Nuthin’ But A G Thang” Remix Works! from CHROMEMUSIC. More by this artist at )

Sometimes the best solution is also the easiest. When it comes to making movies, however, nothing tends to be easy.

Then again, there have been a few instances where the solution – while still not anywhere close to easy – was at least simple. Cheap, even. Check out the following big budget effects that you could theoretically recreate in your own basement.

7. Glow Stick Juice = Predator Blood

According to the science, the two chemicals in glow sticks are called bis oxalate and dibutyl phthalate. You crack that bastard, mix the two, and BAM – alien blood for your shitty sci-fi film. For Predator, they took the substance and mixed it with some good ol’ K-Y Jelly to make it better to have sex with, or perhaps just slow it down.

This is just one more reason the Predator alien kind of sucks at his job. He’s a bulky, invisible hunter and yet his blood can be seen from space. It’s the opposite of what his evolution should have produced.

6. Forced Perspective In The Lord Of The Rings

Obviously Peter Jackson wasn’t the first person to utilize forced perspective in films – but it’s his amazing method that certainly makes this one of the best moments for that ridiculously simple process of putting one actor closer to the camera than another.

For Lord Of The Rings, they found new and exciting ways to pull this off – like constructing a rig to move the pieces of the set around with the camera, achieving a moving forced perspective shot like none other. For a film packed with elaborate effects shot, this very simply setup happened to be the most effective.

5. Spider Makeup in Spider-Man

Casting for spiders is just not something you think about. For the original Sam Raimi Spider-Man, the challenge was to find just the right arachnid to look the part for when Peter Parker is first bit on his school trip. To find what they wanted, spider guy Steven Kutcher put on an “Olympic” tryout of eight-legged creatures for Raimi – showing off their various talents and looks.

After landing on the brown spider Steatoda grossa, it was only a matter of knocking the spider out, putting it in a tiny harness, and then painting it the red and black design in the film with a non-toxic paint. No really – they painted a spider, because CGI would be silly.

4. Air Cannon Super Throw in Superman Returns

With a production budget of almost $300M you’d assume that they spared absolutely no expense in making this movie. After all, they grew corn and constructed a farm for it. They had a whole showcase of CGI effects. So when it came down for Superman to throw a ball really fast – the gag being a game of fetch with his dog – you’d assume they would just CGI that and have a sandwich.

And yet, oddly enough, they went for a science project instead. What happened was that Superman actor Brandon Routh ended up standing in front of what can only be described as a mutagen-enhanced potato gun that shot a ball into the sky at the exact same time he’d mimic the throw – making it appear as if he had super strength. It’s an awesome effect, and one that oddly enough anyone could achieve with a solid trip to the hardware store.

3. Reverse House Drop in The Wizard Of Oz

You see this a lot. Pulp Fiction supposedly ran the adrenaline scene backwards as the needle was pulled away, The Evil Dead made smoke disappear into the trees, Brazil pulled newspapers off of Robert De Niro and reversed it to look like they were sticking. It’s when you film the scene one way and simply reverse it to create your effect – my favorite being from The Wizard Of Oz.

When Dorothy’s house assassinates the Wicked Witch Of The East, we see what is possibly a POV shot of the house coming down from the sky and landing right on the camera. The effect – something that could cause a serious headache to try to construct – was simply done by paining the studio floor like the sky and dropping the model from the camera. Because when CGI isn’t an option, you tend to get creative as hell.

2. Star Trek Used Mirrors For Skydiving

J.J. Abrams is only juuuust still holding on to that boyish wonder that made him get into filmmaking in the first place. Come the fan stink for Star Wars and he’ll settle in – until then, he has shown a tremendous liking to doing things practically if possible. The first of the Star Trek alternate universe films really reflected that, and by “reflected” I mean that whatever I’m too lazy to make a pun about mirrors. He used mirrors.

For the skydiving scene that was riddled with effects shots – they found it extremely taxing to stick the actors up on a green screen and hang them asses upside down. Instead they simply had them stand on a big mirror and shoot downward, giving the same effect without having to change a thing in post. Off-camera fans and shaking the tripod completed the look, making this truly a Star Trek-worthy effect.

1. Jurassic Park Created A T-Rex’s Steps With A Guitar String

The story of the concentric rings formed by the oncoming T-Rex contains every aspect needed to make it the perfect simplistic solution in an otherwise complicated shoot. For starters, it was thought up on the fly by Spielberg, then handed down to special effects producer Michael Lantieri who, after a bunch of research, found himself at a total loss on how to do it.

So in the true spirit of MacGyver filmmaking, Lantieri only found his solution at the very last minute, plucking on a guitar at home the night before the shoot. It was this that created the perfect circles he was looking for, and so on the day of shooting it was only a matter of sticking a string under the car.

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The proposed sequel to Dumb and Dumber — the real sequel, made by Bobby and Peter Farrelly and starring Jeff Daniels and Jim Carrey — has been an on-again off-again thing for a little while. But now, after being dumped by New Line and Warner Bros. and picked up by Universal, the film is set to go.

Last night, Jimmy Fallon had Jeff Daniels as a guest on Late Night, and asked about the sequel. The actor said he and Carrey are set, as are the Farrellys, and while he is a bit cautious (“I’ll believe it’s happening when I’m actually there staring at Jim Carrey”) he admits that Dumb and Dumber To is scheduled to shoot in September for a 2014 release.

Daniels said last night,

It’ll be the 20th anniversary of the first one next year when it’s released. I’ve seen the script. It’s hysterical. We’re middle-aged. We’re not pretending we aren’t. We’re middle-aged and we’re still that stupid.

The actor has also called the script “painfully funny,” and explained Carrey’s role in making the film happen:

Jim has been against all sequels, and you know, understandably so. But he turned 50 and that will mellow you out, and suddenly he’s going, ‘Let’s have some fun. … Come on,’ and we’re going, ‘Great,’ and so the Farrellys said, ‘This isn’t a money grab. Let’s really write a great second movie that takes the original and then blows it up even further, and so I think they did that,”

Here’s the video clip of Daniels’ talk with Fallon (from Hulu, so those outside the US may not be able to watch):

• ‘Dumb and Dumber To’ Details Revealed: Peter Farrelly Claims Script Is “A Little Masterpiece”
• ‘Dumb and Dumber To’ Dropped by Warner Bros.
• ‘Dumb and Dumber’ Sequel Gets a Title, Farrelly Brothers Offer Update
• Sequel Bits: ‘Skyfall’, ‘Prometheus’, ‘Dumb and Dumber 2′, ‘Men in Black 3′, ‘Blade II’, Sam Raimi’s ‘Spider-Man’
• Universal Is Dumb Enough To Make ‘Dumb and Dumber To’
• Peter Farrelly Still Ready to Make ‘Dumb and Dumber To’

Jay-Z’s twelfth studio album, Magna Carta Holy Grail, is now available to Samsung Galaxy users. For everyone else, Life + Times has shared a stream of the lead single, “Holy Grail”. The star-studded affair was co-written by The-Dream,… (in post Listen to Jay-Z’s “Holy Grail”, featuring Justin Timberlake and lyrics by Nirvana from Consequence of Sound. More by this artist at )

Though a new album has yet to be announced—even as the countdown ticking on the group's website suggests that's imminent—Pearl Jam just revealed a 24-stop North American fall tour. The first leg starts in Pittsburgh and ends at Voodoo Festival in New Orleans, where the band has already been confirmed as headliners. The second leg goes from Dallas to Seattle. A full list of dates is below, and tickets go on sale Saturday, July 27.

Oct. 11— Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania— Consol Energy Center
Oct. 12— Buffalo, New York— First Niagara Center
Oct. 15— Worcester, Massachusetts— DCU Center
Oct. 18-19— Brooklyn, New York— Barclays Center
Oct. 21-22— Philadelphia, Pennsylvania— Wells Fargo Center
Oct. 25— Hartford, Connecticut— XL Center
Oct. 27— Baltimore, Maryland— 1st Mariner Arena
Oct. 29— Charlottesville, Virginia— John Paul Jones Arena
Oct. 30— Charlotte, North Carolina— Time Warner Cable Arena
Nov. 1-3— New Orleans, Louisiana—Voodoo ...

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In keeping with every Community-related story—in which any bit of good news is quickly tempered by not-so-great news—Vulture is reporting that the show’s fifth season featuring lots more Dan Harmon will also feature a lot less Donald Glover. Hints that Glover might not be committed to a full-blown return next year began surfacing in June, after the site suggested Glover wanted to devote more time to rapping as Childish Gambino to a crowd of people yelling, “Hey, how come you’re not on Community?” Now it looks as though that may be the reality, as Vulture says Glover will likely only appear in five of the upcoming 13 episodes—a compromise that will allow Sony to save money by not having to pay Glover for every episode. Indeed, with the cost cutting from that and not having to cover Chevy Chase’s salary anymore, Community could ...

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This year’s installment of Solid Sound Festival — Wilco’s recurring summer music festival in Massachusetts — began last night. For the first night, Wilco headlined with a set of 27 covers. Below, check out the band’s renditions of “Get Lucky” by Daft Punk and “Cut Your Hair” by Pavement. In case you missed it, check out our recent Progress Report interview with Jeff Tweedy.

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Calvin and Hobbes

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"Before the Doosan Bears at Jamsil on July 5th, rhythmic gymnast Shin Soo-ji threw out the first pitch."

Welcome

Simpsons

It’s been a month since the release of Arrested Development’s fourth season, and the add-ons keep coming. You can now download the official Fakeblock app from iTunes or for Android. Right now, the home screen features a subtle wood panel, the perfect aesthetic for such a forward-thinking slice of digital genius sure to change the world. Use it for the cutting-edge privacy technology that drove massive VC investment. Or, you know, as a digital woodblock that gives out that perfect sound. No word yet on when the mallet or grain options will be rolling out.

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When "Low" by Cracker came out in 1993, the concept of a streaming service was years away. Making money and reaching an audience were somewhat synonymous, with the exception of kids recording radio plays onto cassette tapes. Now, when all you need is an e-mail address to access millions of songs spanning several decades, the profits are dwindling. 

Cracker's lead singer and songwriter, David Lowery, has posted his most recent statements from various media on The Trichordist, reporting a mere $16.89 profit from more than 1 million Pandora plays. He said that amount is less than he makes from selling a T-shirt. 

Lowery went on to specify that the $16.89 was his 40 percent cut as a songwriter, and he actually made a little more (but not much) in performer royalties. The artist also encouraged other songwriters to post their royalty statements in order to "show the ...

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After years of shrugging off their “schlocky,” if very profitable films like Night At The Museum and Herbie: Fully Loaded, Thomas Lennon and Ben Garant presented Hell Baby to Sundance by proudly declaring that, this time, they got to make a movie they wanted. And while that’s exciting for The State and Reno 911 fans in theory, in practice, the movie they wanted is another horror spoof in an increasingly long line of them, the story of a couple (Rob Corddry and Leslie Bibb) who battle evil spirits with the help of Lennon and Garant’s horny Vatican priests, a-sent-a by-a the Pope-a. In due course, possessed “bitches be trippin’,” and demonic babies be getting punched, and so on and so Scary Movie. Still, maybe seeing so many comedy pals (like Keegan-Michael Key, Michael Ian Black, Paul Scheer, and Rob Huebel) all in one place is enough to overlook ...

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IT’S FUCKING FRIDAY. DID YOU KNOW THE ANUS IS THE FIRST BODY PART TO FORM IN THE WOMB?

LIFE PRO TIP OF THE FUCKING DAY: 

IF YOU REALLY WANT TO DO SOMETHING, STOP BEING A BITCH AND DO IT.

PERSON OF THE FUCKING DAY:

MOTHERFUCKER HAS A DAMN HIGH IQ. more»

EDUCATE YOUR IGNORANT ASS:

WHAT THE FUCK IS BODY FAT PERCENTAGE? more»

FUCKING MIND-BLOWING BOOK OF THE DAY:

INNOVATE LIKE A BADASS. more»

USEFUL SHIT OF THE GODDAMN DAY:

KEEP YOUR SHIT SHARP. more»

WEBSITE OF THE FUCKING DAY:

GET YOUR GODDAMN HISTORY ON. more»

AWESOME-AS-SHIT VIDEO OF THE DAY: 

SOME POEMS ARE SHORT AS SHIT. more»

SWEET-ASS PICTURE OF THE DAY:

1946 LA, YOU SON OF A BITCH. more»

The Brewers Barrel Man mascot.  The recent bobblehead giveaway is available at ebay.

Gadsden tee at Clean Sheet.



Cerberus by Natalie Hall.



The Cubs are giving away lucha libre masks July 30. Via.



The White Rabbit by Kristin Tercek.





Funko Dr. Teeth and Mahna Mahna in stock.

Walter White's "I am the one who knocks" monologue has become definitive of his Breaking Bad character. The menacing confidence behind Bryan Cranston's stern delivery makes for a chilling scene. So who better to take a whack at that same monologue than Gilbert Gottfried? Well, he did, and somebody (roughly) matched it up with the actual footage. It's a different angle than Samuel L. Jackson chose, and it's not for charity, either. But it's pretty funny. 

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Did you miss Tuesday's debut of "Countdown to UFC 162: Silva vs. Weidman" on FUEL TV? You can now watch the full episode here.

“Evolution of the Fittest” aka “It’s Over 9000!!” by JBaz From crying babe to the most powerful warrior in the universe! Dragon Ball Z

IT’S FUCKING SATURDAY. DID YOU KNOW HOGWARTS’ SCHOOL MOTTO IS “NEVER TICKLE A SLEEPING DRAGON?"

LIFE PRO TIP OF THE FUCKING DAY: 

IF YOU CANNOT DAZZLE THEM WITH BRILLIANCE, BAFFLE THEM WITH BULLSHIT.

PERSON OF THE FUCKING DAY:

MOTHERFUCKER LEFT BEHIND A DIARY WITH 37.5 MILLION WORDS. more»

EDUCATE YOUR IGNORANT ASS:

DO NOT MISUSE YOUR FUCKING WORDS. more»

FUCKING MIND-BLOWING BOOK OF THE DAY:

BAKE SOME DELICIOUS-ASS SHIT. more»

USEFUL SHIT OF THE GODDAMN DAY:

SIT BY THE FIRE WITH YOUR PIPE AND YOUR GODDAMN GREAT DANE. more»

WEBSITE OF THE FUCKING DAY:

INSIGHTS ON MAKING IDEAS FUCKING HAPPEN. more»

AWESOME-AS-SHIT VIDEO OF THE DAY: 

GET FUCKING RIPPED (WITH SCIENCE). more»

SWEET-ASS PICTURE OF THE DAY:

GODDAMN NARWHALS. more»

The best

Selfie while tackled by Security

As any good, hard drinking dive bar patron knows, there’s only one game worth playing on those bar top Megatouch machines: Erotic Photo Hunt. Full of bleak pictures of ‘80s-styled Eastern European models, the game is not only fun, but inspires all manner of questions from players. What kind of photo shoots birthed the pics, for instance? Any do these girls know that they’re spread eagle in bars around the country?

Thankfully, former A.V. Club Philadelphia editor Emily Guendelsberger took it upon herself to talk to Megatouch’s head Photoshopper for the Philadelphia City Paper. Jim Hartman is the company’s head writer and content manager, meaning he’s in charge of the weird games and pics on the Megatouch machine. He’s also spent years, as Guendelsberger puts it, “clone-stamping semi-nude women with giant hair.”

In the piece, which is more than worth reading, Hartman muses ...

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