Turkey Day must be the saddest day for vegans. Did you enjoy your Tofurky®, Kids? As I fight this next-level-droopy cocktail of Tryptophan, heavy starches, Benadryl and dinner cognac, let me present the fortieth installation of the Pop Culture Roundup. We’re finally over that hill! Forty is the new twenty! I must first say that I’m thankful for MERKA and the photo of Uncle Samtipede (above) at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Classic. Speaking of the Macy’s Parade (which will NEVER go out of style), they debuted four new balloons. Newly represented was street artist sensation, KAWS, making his mainstream entré with the Original Fake Companion balloon; along with Hello Kitty, Papa Smurf and Elf on the Shelf.
TRAILERS, TEASERS and FEATURETTES
I love this featurette from the Korean monster movie, The Host 2. This clip inspires me to pick up the 2006 original and see what it’s all about. We love modern-day giant creature movies like Starship Troopers, Cloverfield and Super 8, so The Host is in our wheelhouse. A monster emerges from Seoul’s Han River and focuses its attention on attacking people. One victim’s loving family does what it can to rescue her from its clutches.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (TV Spot 7)
Killing Them Softly (Trailer #2)
Alter Egos (Clip), at a time when superheroes have lost government funding and public support, a superhero meets a girl who can help him overcome his own emotional crisis.
Chinese Zodiac (International Trailer), starring Jackie Chan. A man searches the world for a set of mystic artifacts – 12 bronze heads of the animals from the Chinese zodiac.
Doc of the Dead (Teaser Trailer), the definitive zombie culture documentary, from the makers of THE PEOPLE vs. GEORGE LUCAS. Featuring Simon Pegg and George A. Romero.
Epic (Official Trailer), an Amanda Seyfried and Beyoncé animated movie. A teenager finds herself transported to a deep forest setting where a battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil is taking place. She bands together with a rag-tag group characters in order to save their world — and ours.
Evil Dead (2013) Poster
Jack the Giant Slayer (Official Trailer), tells the story of an ancient war that is reignited when a young farmhand unwittingly opens a gateway between our world and a fearsome race of giants. Unleashed on the Earth for the first time in centuries, the giants strive to reclaim the land they once lost, forcing the young man, Jack (Nicholas Hoult) into the battle of his life to stop them. Fighting for a kingdom, its people, and the love of a brave princess, he comes face to face with the unstoppable warriors he thought only existed in legend–and gets the chance to become a legend himself. Also starring Eleanor Tomlinson, Stanley Tucci, Ian McShane, Bill Nighy and Ewan McGregor. Directed by Bryan Singer.
Lincoln, SoundWorks Collection – The Sound of Lincoln
Movie 43 (Red Band Featurette), watch this exclusive NSFW featurette on the star-studded comedy directed by Peter Farrelly.
Now You See Me (Official Trailer), FBI agents track a team of illusionists who pull off bank heists during their performances and reward their audiences with the money. Directed by Louis Leterrier and starring Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo and Michael Caine.
Guillermo del Toro discusses Pacific Rim and his studio Mirada.
Zero Dark Thirty (January 2013) Poster 3 and 4
MASHUPS and SUPERCUTS
This is a fan made compilation of all The Hobbit: Unexpected Journey trailers and TV spots, including: Announcement trailer, Announcement trailer (G), Trailer 1, TV Spot 1 – 7, UK 1 minute TV spot, Japanese 1 minute TV Spot. Shots and sequences have been re-ordered into the possible running order of the final film.
Adventure Time x Jay Z, Bacon Pancakes vs. Empire State of Mind
Breaking Bad Thanksgiving, Jesse and Walter with a Thanksgiving cooking show. Not an awful Pinkman impression.
Grand Theft Auto IV gets the Hill Valley treatment with this Back to the Future mod, DeLorean. And Grand Theft Auto: RISE, a live action short film directed by Gevorg Karensky and based on the Grand Theft Auto video game series created by Rockstar Games.
ODDS and ENDS
Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome (Episodes 3 and 4)
Animatronics FX Showreels of creature creator Gustav Hoegen. You will notice the animatronics for David and an Engineer from Prometheus. Hoegen’s specialty are animatronic effects, prosthetic makeup effects for television and film. His credits and some footage shown in this video include: Prometheus, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Clash of the Titans, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Doctor Who and more.
A commercial spot for the video game Assassin’s Creed III from Adult Swim. Part puppetry, part stop motion, all fun. The spot was directed by Cat Solen.
The Skyfall Title Sequence Opening Credits by Daniel Kleinman if you still haven’t seen the masterpiece. The powers-that-be keep wiping it.
Heroes of Science Action Figures by Australia’s Russell Gawthorpe. Where’s my man, Neil deGrasse Tyson? Too pop? I would buy the fuck outta NdGT action figure.
These little guys took between 40 minutes and 2 hours each, totalling around 50 hours of work.
I like action figures. I have a small collection of them. I’ve noticed that you can buy Albert Einstein figures, Nikola Tesla bobble-heads and The Simpsons even brought out a Stephen Hawking figure based on his appearance in an episode. However, I thought it’d be really cool if there was an entire series of them, based on all of the people who’ve contributed to our understanding of the world and the universe it sits in.
The figures are all based on Star Trek: TNG and Star Trek: DS9 figures (primarily Odo from DS9, and Picard as Dixon Hill from TNG), and have been heavily modified in Photoshop using Liquify and a great deal of digital painting. Unfortunately, the figures aren’t real. I wish they were.
That’s this week’s word, Fanpeeps. Hope you had a marvelous Thanksgiving. See you next time. Same Slice Time, Same Slice Channel. Church.
–@teemunny
