Vince Gilligan's Breaking Bad is the best TV show I've ever seen. Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction is currently listed at number 7 on IMDb's list of the Best Movies of All Time. Both are incredible works of art that may be the purest distillation of their creators' voices, but other than that, I have to confess that I haven't really thought about the two of them having any real relationship with each other. At least, not until seeing Jorge Luengo Ruiz's video that shows off the similarities between the two.

I certainly don't think Gilligan ripped off Tarantino with this show (it's impossible to judge a show that ran for 60-something hours against a two-hour movie anyway), and I could probably go through the entirety of Breaking Bad and find enough footage to cut together a video like this about a few other filmmakers as well (those Western-inspired shots out in the desert had Sergio Leone written all over them). But it's cool to see the influence Tarantino's film had on Gilligan's visual style. Watch for yourselves below:

Via: Uproxx

Deadline reports that Ari Sandel, who won an Oscar for a short film called West Bank Story and later directed the delightful Mae Whitman in The Duff, has won the directing gig for Monster High, a live action film Universal Pictures hopes will start a franchise.

Monster High is based on the Mattel toy line that centers on the high school shenanigans of the teenage children of famous movie monsters including Dracula, The Mummy, The Wolfman, and more. It's apparently a huge money-maker for the toy company, and considering they already have direct-to-DVD movies (among tons of other merchandise), I suppose it was inevitable that a live-action film would be on the way soon. At least Sandel has experience with high school drama.

Universal is the same studio desperately trying to get a live action cinematic universe about those classic movie monsters off the ground, so it'll be interesting to see if Monster High is marketed as taking place in the same universe and if the same cast members from the monster movie remakes are used as the parents in this teen-centric tale. Stephanie Savage and Josh Schwartz are writing the screenplay, but no director or release date has been set yet. Alex Kurtzman's The Mummy arrives in theaters on March 24th, 2017.

David Cronenberg’s The Fly was one of the few films that I saw growing up that really messed me up. It was the most horrifically disgusting horror/sci-fi films that I had seen, and even to this day it’s still hard for me to watch. The Fly had some of the greatest and most effective make-up and practical effects that have ever been put on film. 

I recently posted a piece of poster art for The Fly, and that’s what inspired me to put together this latest Fun Facts list. There's a lot of stuff that I wasn't aware of, and I hope that maybe there's something here that you didn't know before, either. 

A lot of the information below comes from Imdb and Anything Horror, and I’ve added some commentary, photos, and videos as well.

• The famous tagline, "Be afraid. Be very afraid", originated in this film. It was spoken by Geena Davis, who played Veronica Quaife.

• Mel Brooks was a producer on the movie, but he didn’t want people to know he was a part of it because, he thought people wouldn't take it seriously. When people did find out, he decided to make the most of it by handing out deely boppers at the premiere.
• Director Martin Scorsese asked to meet Cronenberg after seeing some of his early films. Scorsese said he looked like a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon. This apparently inspired Cronenberg to give himself a cameo as a doctor in the movie.

• In a 1987 interview, Vincent Price, who starred in the original 1958 film, said that Goldblum wrote him a letter saying, "I hope you like it as much as I liked yours." Price was touched by the letter, and he wrote a reply and went to see the film, which he described as "wonderful right up to a certain point...it went a little too far."
• Davis says that the only time she felt "grossed out" by the amount of gore used in the film was during the scene where Seth's ear falls off and she holds him. She claims that her reaction to holding her face up to Goldblum's was not acting, but that she was legitimately disgusted by it.
• The first name mentioned during the end credits is Chris Walas, the creator and designer of the fly. He ended up winning an Oscar for Best Makeup, which was well deserved. The make-up and designs in the film were incredible and absolutely disgusting. Walas claims that this was probably because his name was listed first.

• 20th Century Fox didn’t want to cast Goldblum in the film because the project supervisor thought that he wasn’t a bankable star. On top of that, Walas felt that his face would be hard to work with for the make-up effects. Luckily Cronenberg had final say in who was cast. Goldblum and Davis were in a real-life relationship during the development of the film. Cronenberg didn’t want to cast her at first because he didn’t want to work with a real-life couple. He ended up casting her, though, after she had an awesome first audition. 
• The inspiration for the design of the telepods came from the shape of the cylinder in director Cronenberg's vintage Ducati motorcycle.
• Seth Brundlefly's "vomit drop" was, in reality, made from honey, eggs, and milk.

• Tim Burton was originally supposed to direct the film.
• In the movie, Veronica tells Seth (Goldblum) that "Something went wrong." Ellie Sattler tells Ian Malcolm (Goldblum) the same thing in Jurassic Park. Seth and Ian also both wear the same set of clothes every day.
• Michael Keaton was offered the role of Seth Brundle at one point, but he turned it down. That would have been interesting to see!
• It took almost five hours to apply the most extensive makeup stages on Goldblum. He was often wearing as much as five pounds of prosthetic makeup in his more grotesque scenes.
• “An early treatment for a sequel, written by Tim Lucas, involved Veronica Quaife dealing with the evils of the Bartok company. Brundle's consciousness had somehow survived within the Telepod computer, and the Bartok scientists had enslaved him and were using him to develop the system for cloning purposes. Brundle becomes able to communicate with Veronica through the computer, and he eventually takes control of the Bartok complex's security systems to gruesomely attack the villains. Eventually, Veronica frees Brundle by conspiring with him to reintegrate a non-contaminated version of his original body. Cronenberg endorsed the concept at the time. Geena Davis was open to doing a sequel (and only pulled out of "The Fly II" because her character was to be killed off in the opening scene), while Goldblum was not (although he was okay with the cameo), and this treatment reflects that. However, a later treatment written by Jim and Ken Wheat was used as the basis for the final script, written by Frank Darabont. Mick Garris also wrote a treatment, with elements incorporated into the final film.”
• “Several versions of a happier ending were shot but ultimately never used. Two were filmed in which Veronica has another dream of her unborn child, this time as a baby with beautiful butterfly wings. She wakes up in both and is revealed to still be pregnant in one while her pregnancy is left open in the other. Another two versions featured her having an unseen nightmare and being comforted by Stathis, who in one version states the baby is his and in the other that it is dead. Jeff Goldblum admits to being angry about the filmed 'Stathis' endings, as he felt Veronica ending up with Stathis undermined the tragedy of the film. Eventually it was decided that, although some of the filmmakers - including producer Stuart Cornfeld - liked the alternate ending, it was more appropriate to end with Seth's death as, according to Cornfeld, ‘Once your hero is dead your movie is over.’” 

Below you’ll find the original trailer for the film, a behind-the-scenes featurette, and a collection of deleted scenes.

I had hoped I was experiencing some kind of fever dream when I heard the news that Live Free or Die Hard director Len Wiseman would be directing Die Hard 6, a prequel/sequel that features bookending segments in which Bruce Willis reprises his iconic role of John McClane and centers on events in 1979 that led him to become "a die hard kind of guy."

This is such a terrible idea on so many levels, but the most important aspect here is that the original Die Hard IS THE FREAKING ORIGIN STORY of John McClane. We don't need to see what happened to him before that! He was just a normal guy. The events that took place in Nakatomi Plaza were what caused him to become "a die hard kind of guy," not anything that happened before that. He's out of his element in the original movie, and that's what makes it great. He's not a badass cop who's dealt with situations like that before, he's an average Joe caught in a terrible spot and has to do whatever he can to save his wife, his marriage, and a bunch of hostages.

It's no surprise that 20th Century Fox would wildly misunderstand the appeal of the character, because they've made a bunch of unnecessary sequels that have essentially turned McClane into a superhero. I'm not the slightest bit surprised that they'd want a sequel. Die Hard is a recognizable property, and that's the bread and butter of the studio system right now. But I expected more from Bruce Willis, who, in a new interview, reveals he too doesn't understand the character. He told ET:

“It’s a very good idea, a really tricky idea, and I’m very happy about it,” Willis shared. “It’s a really cool idea, because it’s the origin story. It’s gonna happen at the beginning of this. We’re going to bounce back and forth.”

"A very good idea"? I mean, really? There is nothing good about this idea. Not a single thing. That quote sounds like something someone might say if he were, oh, I don't know, maybe...endorsing a project about which he knew he could make millions of dollars for a minimal amount of work. This entire franchise has become a sad joke, and at this point, I'm just morbidly curious to see if this will be worse than the steaming pile of horsesh*t that was A Good Day to Die Hard.

OK, OK — this will be the last Back to the Future-related thing I write today, I swear. There's just been so much BTTF stuff to write about since today is Back to the Future Day.

I wanted to share this piece of art with you guys. It's from artist Rob Loukotka, and it's the latest in his "Desk" series, taking a look at "The Desk of Dr. Brown" and featuring a ton of cool Back to the Future easter eggs. Loukotka previously created pieces highlighting the desks of Tony Stark and Indiana Jones, and this is one of his best pieces yet. Click the images to enlarge. You can purchase the print (or the variant below) right here if you're interested.

October 21st, 2015 has finally arrived! Our future, as foretold in 1985. I knew I’d continue my Famous Desks poster series with Doc Brown, and the fact that TODAY is Back to the Future day couldn’t be more fitting.

The Desk of Dr. Brown is now available, as a 36 x 12″ screen printed poster. It features 40ish items from the entire Back to the Future trilogy! Specifically items that Doc Brown has made or used in the films.

Today, literally, is the exact day (Oct 21 2015) that Marty and Doc Brown travel to. I knew I HAD to have this poster ready for you guys by today, so here we are! It was super fun to draw, and I can’t think of another time in history in which my poster release will be more perfectly timed.

Yesterday the PlayStation Blog confirmed that the release of EA Games upcoming Star Wars Battlefront will include the playable champions of Han Solo, Leia Organa, and Emperor Palpatine... View Full Post on GameTyrant

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Earlier this month, Marvel announced that they would be adding Ant-Man and The Wasp to their Phase 3 lineup. This will be a sequel to Ant-Man, and the studio is now in negotiations with Ant-Man director Peyton Reed to return and direct it. 

There were a lot of reservations from fans when Marvel brought in Reed to replace Edgar Wright as the director on the project, but he ended up doing a great job! I enjoyed Ant-Man immensely, and I have no problems with him coming back to direct the sequel. 

There's no word on what the sequel will actually be about, but Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly will return to reprise their roles as Scott Lang, a.k.a. Ant-Man, and Hope Van Dyne, a.k.a. The Wasp. Together they will embark on some kind of crazy adventure that may or may not include Janet Van Dyne. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has already said in the past that they do have stories planned with her in them.

Ant-Man and The Wasp is scheduled to be released on July 6th, 2018. There's no doubt that we'll learn more about the film as we draw closer to that date. Marvel still has yet to bring in a screenwriter for the project, but it would be great if Adam McKay and Rudd teamed back up to take a crack at it.

Source: THR

RealD has revealed the official collectible 3D glasses for Star Wars: The Force Awakens that fans will have the opportunity to own. There are no details yet on how you can get your hands on a pair of these, but that information will eventually come. The design for the glasses are incredibly cool, and they were inspired by the new Stormtrooper design, Kylo Ren's mask, the Chrome Stormtrooper Captain Phasma, and the droid BB-8. Hopefully, they hand these out at some of the screenings! 

Zack Snyder recently presented the late Batman comic book writer Bill Finger with a star on the Walk of Fame. While there, Comic Book Resources had a chance to talk to talk to the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice director about his highly anticipated film. During the interview, he talked about the new Batman suit design, casting Ben Affleck in the role, Frank Miller's influence, and the kind of humor that we'll see in the movie. In regards to the suit, Snyder said:

"I had a really strong idea about what I wanted to do -- I really wanted to do sort of a fabric-based Batman; not what's become the more normal, armored Batman. That's how we evolved it." 

I love the look of the suit. I've always wanted to see that fabric look on the big screen, and now we've got it. Snyder went on to talk about deciding who should wear the suit: 

"I definitely wanted an older Batman. I wanted a war-weary Batman. That's why, in a lot of ways, Ben was really perfect for me -- we kind of aged him a little bit. It worked really great. I'm really excited about the Batman we created."

So far, everything I've seen of Affleck has been great. I've looking forward to seeing more of his performance and hearing what he sounds like as the Dark Knight. The conversation then turned to Frank Miller's influence on the film.

"There are so many great artists who have drawn Batman. So many great comics that have been created -- it's countless. I was talking to Frank about it: 'Dark Knight Returns' was such a big influence on me, that I wanted to to honor him through imagery in the movie. You could still make 'Dark Knight Returns' into a movie, if you want. That's what I'm saying, as far as how much we used and how much we didn't use. The visual elements, there are some that I homage, but I don't think the movie [is an adaptation]." 

We've seen some of that imagery in the trailer for the film, and I'm sure we'll see even more. The director was finally asked if the dark and gritty movie will have any humor in it, and this was his response: 

"All people have to go on are the first two trailers. They're going to see more when we show more. You'll learn more."

I'm sure they've interjected some humor into the movie. It's such a dark setting, and it can't be moody all the time... can it? I guess we'll find out eventually. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice will be released in theaters on March 25th, 2016.

Artist Mike S. Miller came up with this incredible poster design for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. As you can see, it was inspired by the original poster art for Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. It features Kylo Ren in a lightsaber battle with Finn. I’m really curious to see how that fight’s going to turn out, but if you look back at the history of Star Wars, I imagine the fight won’t end until one of their hands is cut off. 

Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the two talented individuals who are currently working on the standalone Han Solo film, are developing a new time traveling TV series called In Time. 

The pilot episode is is being written by Julius Sharpe (Family Guy, The Cleveland Show), and the story revolves around “three friends who try to balance the adventure of time travel with the mundane concerns of their present day lives.”

Lord and Miller have impressed audiences with The LEGO Movie, the 21 Jump Street franchise, Cloudy With the Chance of Meatballs, and their current TV series, Last Man On Earth. They really know how to effectively bring on the laughs and tell a good story, and In Time sounds like it has the potential to be an enjoyable new series.

They also have an animated pilot in development called Son Of Zorn, which stars Jason Sudeikis. In Time will most likely premiere on Fox, which is where Lord and Miller have a deal set up.

Source: Deadline

The Real Ghostbusters is one of those classic '80s cartoon series that I watched all the time. I also owned a lot of the action figures which I wish I still had. Earlier this month we learned that on top of the live-action Ghostbusters reboot film, Sony Pictures is also developing an animated movie based on the popular franchise. While we wait to see how that turns out, we have a fun video for you to watch that shows us what The Real Ghostbusters series intro would look in CG animation. The video was created by Zim Animation, and even though it's not perfect, it's still a lot of fun to watch! Oh, and in case you missed it, you can also watch the unaired pilot episode of The Real Ghostbusters here.  

Via: /Film

Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg have made a great onscreen duo in the past in the action comedy The Other Guys. In their new film Daddy's Home, Ferrell plays a mild-mannered radio executive who is trying so hard to become the best stepdad to his wife’s two children. Things become really complicated when Wahlberg enters the picture as the kids' freewheeling and freeloading real father. Ferrell is threatened by him and the two start to compete for the affection of the kids.

Paramount Pictures has released a new amusing trailer for the movie today, and it looks like it could actually be a solid comedy that the whole family can enjoy. The film was directed by Sean Anders, and the film also stars Linda Cardellini, Thomas Haden Church, and Hannibal Buress. Daddy's Home is set to be released on December 25th.

I don't know about you, but I watched that new trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens a ridiculous amount of times trying to find new things. We did our own analysis and breakdown of the trailer that you can check out here, but it's always good to get more than one point of view and opinion on things like this. So here's a trailer breakdown from Mr. Sunday Movies, which points out some Easter Eggs, references and other things that you may have missed. Check it out! You never know, you might just learn something new. 

The 1999 film Cruel Intentions is the subject of a new series being developed at NBC. The movie starred Ryan Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Selma Blair, and since its release it has gained a decent-sized cult following. 

Deadline is reporting that the new series will serve as a sequel to the film, and it is set 20 years after the events of the first film. It will focus on Bash Casey, who happens to be the son of Ryan Phillippe and Reese Witherspoon’s characters. Here are the full details:

Cruel Intentions follows the rags-to-riches story of 16-year-old Bash Casey, the son of the late Sebastian Valmont (played by Phillippe) and Annette Hargrove (Witherspoon). Upon finding his late father’s journal, Bash learns of the family legacy he didn’t know existed. In search of answers, he trades his small-town Kansas upbringing for a scholarship to the prestigious Brighton Preparatory Academy in San Francisco and soon finds himself in a world of sex, money, power, and corruption he never could have imagined.

The screenwriter of the original film, Roger Kumble, will be back to write the script and develop the series alongside Lindsey Rosin and Jordan Ross, who are the creators of stage show The Unauthorized Musical Parody Of Cruel Intentions. Kumble will also direct the pilot episode. There’s no word yet on whether or not Witherspoon or Gellar’s characters will be involved in the series, but I seriously doubt it. I'm sure their characters will be a part show, but they'll probably be re-cast. 

If you're a fan of the first film, are you excited for this new series that is being developed?

The use of virtual reality is becoming more and more popular, particularly with it's cheap availability through things like Google Cardboard... View Full Post on GameTyrant

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Do you remember Jon Favreau's TV series Dinner For Five? I freakin' loved this show. Every week, Favreau brought together four actors, directors, screenwriters, and other talented individuals to sit around a table shoot the shit and eat dinner while they casually discuss the craft of acting, the entertainment business, movies, and more.

In one episode hosted by Kevin Smith that aired in 2005, the guests included Jason Lee, Stan Lee, Mark Hamill, and J.J. Abrams. I completely forgot about this episode, and it's currently making the internet rounds. Why? Because in this episode Hamill shares a story about how he pitched George Lucas the idea of Luke Skywalker turning to the Dark Side in Return of the Jedi. He went on to explain how he honestly thought that Luke was headed to the dark side after the events of The Empire Strikes Back. He also added it would have been "more fun to play" and that he had ideas for how Luke's Dark Side persona would be. 

There's a lot of internet speculation going around right now that the reason why Luke Skywalker hasn't been present in any of the marketing material for the film is because he did turn bad. I seriously doubt there is any truth to that, but a lot of fans seem convinced. I personally think they just don't want to reveal the awesomeness of Skywalker yet.

I've included the episode below for you to watch, and you can skip to the 11:50 mark to hear Hamill talk about pitching evil Luke to Lucas and Abrams is just listening intently. I'm sure it never crossed Abrams' mind that he would be directing a Star Wars film ten years later. 

Parks and Recreation star Aziz Ansari has love on the brain. He wrote a book about it recently, and his most recent stand-up special concentrated almost exclusively on the concept of modern dating. That infatuation extends to his new Netflix show, Master of None, in which Ansari plays Dev, a 30-something actor in New York City trying to balance work and love. If you're a fan of the actor/comedian, you'll almost certainly like this:

I'm excited to see what Aziz can do outside of his flamboyant Parks and Rec character, and it seems like this character is much closer to his real-life persona. I'm a big fan of his, so I hope this show turns out to be great. Master of None debuts on November 6th.

Save your "THEY SAVE THIS S*** BUT CANCEL YOUNG JUSTICE?!" rage, everyone knows how you feel. Everyone including the current writing staff of Teen Titans Go! accepts and understands that you think their show is the lesser product when measured up against the original Teen Titans series. They even poke fun at it in a recent episode when Control Freak claims responsibility for the Titans reboot...

I've spoken on this topic at length in a prior post, and still maintain that while TTG isn't the better of the two series, it's the series that serves its purpose for the amount of media we already have in the market.

Cool to see they are taking it in stride!

I'm not a fan of Ryan Murphy's TV shows, but he certainly knows how to produce content that gets people talking. American Horror Story: Hotel is airing on FX right now, but he has a new series lined up that's hitting the network this February. American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson is Murphy's take on the famous murder trial, and if you were alive and paying attention to what was going on back in 1995, you undoubtedly have you own feelings about whether or not Simpson killed his wife (Nicole Brown Simpson) and a man named Ronald Goldman.

The network has just released two new teaser trailers for the upcoming show, and from John Travolta's creepy delivery, it seems as if this show is going to have a tinge of over-the-top campiness to it even though it's dealing with a very real, well-publicized case. Take a look below:

American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson, the first installment of the new limited series from prolific producer Ryan Murphy, will debut on FX in early 2016 with an all-star cast portraying the key figures in the infamous O.J. Simpson murder trial. The cast includes Cuba Gooding Jr. as O.J. Simpson, John Travolta as defense attorney Robert Shapiro, David Schwimmer as defense attorney Robert Kardashian, Sarah Paulson as prosecutor Marcia Clark, Courtney B. Vance as defense attorney Johnnie Cochran, and Bruce Greenwood as Los Angeles County District Attorney Gil Garcetti.

Based on the book The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson by Jeffrey Toobin, the limited series is a look at the O.J. Simpson trial told from the perspective of the lawyers. It explores the chaotic behind-the-scenes dealings and maneuvering on both sides of the court, and how a combination of prosecution overconfidence, defense shrewdness, and the LAPD’s history with the city’s African-American community gave a jury what it needed: reasonable doubt.