Categoría: INTERNET

While Chris Pine’s Kirk gets a firm slap on the wrist for screwing with the system, William Shatner’s Kirk gets a commendation for «original thinking.» In «Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,» plucky young Vulcan Starfleet cadet Saavik (Kirstie Alley, forever changing the course of her career) asks Kirk how he won the Kobayashi Maru scenario, to which he responds, «I changed the conditions of the test. … I don’t like to lose,» perfectly encapsulating everything about what makes him great.

Today, the Kobayashi Maru scenario is a permanent point of reference for situations with no good outcome. Not only is it mentioned in Neil Marshall’s 2002 cult horror classic, «Dog Soldiers» («It’s the Kobayashi Maru test. They fixed it so we can’t f***in’ win.»), but «Doctor Strange» writer C. Robert Cargill also used it on the podcast «Double Toasted» in 2016, calling casting the Ancient One «Marvel’s Kobayashi Maru.» Ultimately, as long as there are no-win scenarios, the Kobayashi Maru scenario will always be remembered.

National Lampoon’s «Vacation» movies have always been known for their raucous action and boisterous comedy. The first entry in the franchise received an MPAA rating of R and features lots of nudity and sexual content. Whether it is characters who are shown undressing, sexual encounters, or inappropriate conversations, «National Lampoon’s Vacation» is not a film that young children should watch.

The sequel, «National Lampoon’s European Vacation,» is much the same. While it received the less restrictive rating of PG-13, thanks to the film coming out just a year after the new rating was introduced, the 1985 release doesn’t exactly hold back. Featuring many of the same actors — including Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo — the movie follows the Griswold family as they embark on a trip to Europe, taking in France, the U.K., Italy, and Germany.

Along the way, the family gets into the same sort of hijinks they did the first time around. That means viewers get to see everything from topless dancing women to Russ (Jason Lively) having an encounter with a young woman who happily unbuttons her shirt for him.

What are Greta Gerwig’s thoughts on the challenge of a (literally) faithful adaptation of Narnia? They can be summed up in one word: magical. The director told Time, «I’m trying to make it magical. I want to make it feel like magic. C.S. Lewis said that the goal of writing fantasy – you know, something from his imagination – he’d say, let’s say you wrote about an enchanted forest. The goal would be that then, every time you walk into a forest after you read it, you say to yourself, ‘Maybe this is an enchanted forest.’»

Gerwig is likely referencing the book «On Stories: And Other Essays on Literature,» in which Lewis refers to the longing of a child for fairy stories thusly, «Fairy land arouses a longing for he knows not what. It stirs and troubles him (to his life-long enrichment) with the dim sense of something beyond his reach and, far from dulling or emptying the actual world, gives it a new dimension of depth. He does not despise real woods because he has read of enchanted woods: the reading makes all real woods a little enchanted.»

Along with a generally magical feel, Gerwig appears uniquely suited to bring a faith-based focus to Lewis’ Christianity-infused novels. In November of 2023, Netflix’s Film Chief, Scott Stuber, said (via Variety) in relation to Gerwig being an excellent candidate to helm the first Narnia films,»[Gerwig] grew up in a Christian background. The C.S. Lewis books are very much based in Christianity.»

Stuber isn’t wrong on that last account. Lewis’ books are dripping in faith-based imagery — an essential element that must remain prominent if an adaptation is going to truly be «rooted in faith.»

Throughout its four decades in existence, WrestleMania has hosted countless celebrity guests. Ozzy Osbourne, Mike Tyson, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Maria Menounos, and more have stopped by WWE’s equivalent of the Super Bowl. One would imagine that, in the spirit of tradition, celebrity appearances will occur throughout the two nights of WrestleMania XL, but few would be as fitting as Sylvester Stallone. After all, the actor is no stranger to professional wrestling and its stars. For instance, he famously worked with Hulk Hogan on 1982’s «Rocky III.» In 2005, Stallone took part in the multi-time WrestleMania headliner’s WWE Hall of Fame induction.

Additionally, it’s worth noting that WrestleMania XL will take place at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Though it’s true that Stallone was born in New York City, he’s undeniably synonymous with the City of Brotherly Love and has been since the 1970s, thanks to his iconic portrayal of Rocky Balboa, who makes a name for himself in the boxing ring while repping his hometown of Philadelphia. Thus, it’s a no-brainer to try and bring in the man behind the Italian Stallion for an appearance at the Philly wrestling supershow.

We’ll have to wait and see if Sylvester Stallone appears at WrestleMania XL when the highly-anticipated event unfolds on April 6 and 7.

The documents assert that using Barry Tubb’s image in «Top Gun: Maverick» was an intentional choice. His image definitely appears on-screen even though the lawsuit alleges Tubb was not informed that would happen, with Paramount not seeking permission or compensating the actor for the usage of this particular picture.

Additionally, Tubb claims that when he initially entered into a contract to appear in the first «Top Gun,» there was no way of knowing that his image could be used nearly 40 years later for a sequel. It continues, «This is to indicate that no sequel was contemplated by either PLAINTIFF or PARAMOUNT when the contract between them was entered into on June 5, 1985.» The assertion appears to be that Paramount had no right to use such an image without everyone in the photo agreeing to it, which Tubb says he did not.

The paperwork states that Tubb is seeking actual, punitive, and exemplary damages for the use of the image in «Top Gun: Maverick.» It remains to be seen how this will all play out and whether it’ll make it to trial. However, Tubb appears busy with other projects, too, as the documents state he’ll appear in a film coming out this year called «Daisy.»

Bruce Willis’ family followed up in February 2023 with an official statement via the Association for Frontotemporal Dementia. «Since we announced Bruce’s diagnosis of aphasia in spring 2022, Bruce’s condition has progressed, and we now have a more specific diagnosis: frontotemporal dementia,» it said. «While this is painful, it is a relief to finally have a clear diagnosis.»

Emma Heming Willis and the rest of the family noted that while people are unfamiliar with frontotemporal dementia, it’s common among people under 60 years old … and there’s no treatment as of this writing. «As Bruce’s condition advances, we hope that any media attention can be focused on shining a light on this disease that needs far more awareness and research.»

This revelation brought tragic details to the forefront, including the fact that while Willis was filming one of his final movies — «Midnight in the Switchgrass» — he was verbally abused by now-disgraced producer and director Randall Emmett. This was because the actor’s condition was already setting in, and he was often unaware of where he was. Those who worked on the film said that during scenes shot in a diner, Willis believed he was in an actual dining establishment and refused coffee refills.

When the network outage happened, Netflix’s «Leave the World Behind» began trending on social media. Simultaneously, Google search results for the Sam Email-directed picture increased, with queries like «Leave the world behind hidden messages» and «Leave the world behind conspiracy [R]eddit» charting. It isn’t surprising that «Leave the World Behind» became the cinematic poster child for the incident; the film, which debuted in late 2023, became one of Netflix’s most-watched original offerings. 

«Leave the World Behind» follows two families dealing with the breakdown of modern technology (including cell phone outages), leaving them helpless as they try to make sense of the unconnected world around them. The Mahershala Ali and Julia Roberts vehicle ends with the characters concluding that a rival nation is threatening the United States, with limiting access to technology a key part of the destabilization plan. For users affected by the network outage, it made sense that they would correlate their experiences to one of 2023’s most popular films. «Leave the World Behind» notably divided critics and fans, with the film sparking conversations about cyberattacks and our increasing reliance on technology for communication. 

People were particularly curious about the film’s ending, hidden messages, and conspiracies. «Leave the World Behind» was produced by Higher Ground Productions, a company backed by former United States of America President Barack Obama, leaving many on X (formerly known as Twitter) to suggest he is warning viewers of impending doom through the movie. 

Still, there are other stages of AI to pay attention to as well. «In the realm of science fiction, the drama of AI is almost always depicted in moving up the three levels from tool to autonomous agent to full sentience,» Nag said. «The drama comes both from how this brings increased danger as AI diverges in its goals from ours, but also in how we understand ourselves by watching deeper reconstructions of what makes us human.»

What exactly do these levels mean and what phase of AI are we at currently? Well, really, we’re at the start of it — in the «tool» zone. The tool level, Nag explained, means an AI that may be capable, but still controlled by humans — like Paul Bettany’s J.A.R.V.I.S. in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. An autonomous agent is an AI that has an extent of freedom but still operates within certain parameters — think Data (Brent Spiner) in «Star Trek: The Next Generation.» Full sentience is essentially what J.A.R.V.I.S. attains after becoming Vision, operating outside of original programming to be as contradictory and surprising as the human experience. 

That last level is what would apply to a Skynet-style scenario, but as Nag pointed out, AI poses far more immediate concerns. «In reality, the initial danger of AI won’t come from the last stage of AI (sentience), but from the first (tool),» Nag said, giving an example of a Hong Kong financial worker who was tricked into paying out $25.6 million with an elaborate deepfake conference call hoax. «This is the danger that will define the next few years, not anthropomorphized supervillain AI (yet).»

When Denis Villeneuve took on the daring effort to bring Frank Herbert’s novel to life, it was under the condition that he wasn’t going to do it as a single sitting. Speaking to Vanity Fair in 2020, the director explained, «I would not agree to make this adaptation of the book with one single movie. The world is too complex. It’s a world that takes its power in details.» He’s not wrong.

With the gap between it and «Dune: Part One» similar to that between «The Fellowship of the Ring» and «The Two Towers» in the «Lord of the Rings» trilogy, «Dune: Part Two» not only makes it easier for audiences to get up to speed but also strengthens the experience of watching the pair of epic pictures together. Just like Peter Jackson’s mammoth Middle-earth endeavor, Villeneuve’s «Dune» duology will be flawless back-to-back viewing in the future.

«Dune: Part Two» should also tide us over until the director gets around to his proposed third film, «Dune: Messiah,» if at all. Speaking at an event held at a movie theater in South Korea (via TongTongCulture), Villeneuve said, «I don’t know exactly when I will go back to Arrakis. I might make a detour before just to go away from the sand. For my mental sanity, I might do something in between, but my dream would be to go a last time on this planet that I love.» One bit of spice at a time.

«Starship Trooper» director Paul Verhoeven went on to explain his fascination with how differently nudity and violence are received in American cinema. As many artists have noted, it’s much easier to get audiences on board with extreme and graphic violence than it is to make them comfortable with accepting the human body.

«It is strange, but of course, Americans get more upset about nudity than ultra-violence,» the director mused. «I am constantly amazed about that. I mean, I haven’t seen any sex scenes in American film that are anything other than completely boring. A bare breast is more difficult to get through the censors than a body riddled with bullets,» Verhoeven concluded.

As for what this particular «Starship Troopers» scene was meant to represent, it was yet another critique of the overtly fascistic nature of the original story. Verhoeven was very critical of the book that his film is based on and wanted to skewer some of its right-wing messaging and propaganda throughout the adaptation.

«The idea I wanted to express was that these so-called advanced people are without libido,» the filmmaker explained. «Here they are talking about war and their careers and not looking at each other at all! It is sublimated because they are fascists.» It’s likely safe to assume that in a modern world where fascism is on the rise, many more viewers will recognize his point today than they did over 25 years ago when the film was first released.

The comments for the AI Disney prince slideshow are filled with people getting thirsty over the various fake men. Some of the princes who get particular attention from fans include Flynn Rider from «Tangled,» where it seems like they finally got his nose right, and John Smith from «Pocahontas,» who looks like Chris Hemsworth and Brad Pitt combined but somehow even more beautiful. But one thing people want to see above all else involves these handsome princes paired up with their equally attractive princess counterparts. 

TikToker @dreamy_ia also has a video using AI to create realistic Disney princesses. Just like the princes, the Disney princesses are practically perfect in every way, without a blemish in sight. In fact, it almost seems like AI may have pulled from some of the real live-action castings when designing the realistic princesses, as Belle from «Beauty and the Beast» looks fairly similar to Emma Watson.

In both slideshows, the princes and princesses are utterly breathtaking. It makes sense many of the princesses were willing to marry their respective princes without knowing that much about them because … well, just look at them. Why would Cinderella waste time learning about Prince Henry’s interests when he looks like that?

But wait, there’s more! The «Evil Queen is Mother Gothel» theory is a good one, and the TikTok video has resonated with Disney fans to the tune of three million likes and over 10,000 comments. Interestingly, though, a good number of those comments counteract the theory with another popular one: Mother Gothel is actually Meg from «Hercules.»

Another TikTok video (this one racking up over seven million views) by @super_carlin_brothers lays out the equally popular theory that there is a clear through-line between the ancient Greek Herculean love interest Meg and Rapunzel’s wicked captor.

The theory starts by highlighting the significant time gap between the ancient and medieval stories (a matter of a couple of thousand years). This is easily dispensed with via the golden magical flower granting Mother «Meg» Gothel immortality over the centuries.

From there, the theory returns to geography, pointing out that the spot on earth where baby Hercules arrives from heaven looks similar, once again, to the spot where Mother Gothel finds her youth-giving botanical.

As far as the heroic (though morally gray) Meg becoming such an evil character, the theory elaborates that if Hercules died first after giving up his immortality, out of desperation, Meg would have searched out the spot where he arrived on Earth. There, she would have found the flower and sung her song — which includes lines like «Make the clock reverse» and «bring back what once was mine.» That same song also references the capital «F» Fates, who are a key element of «Hercules.» The theorist even connects Rapunzel’s sacrifice for Flynn with Meg’s selling her soul to Hades to save Hercule’s life. Oh yeah, and both Gothel and Meg use the phrase, «Ya big lug.»

In the lead-up to the release of 2024’s «Road House,» Doug Liman said he would boycott the premiere of the movie he directed at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas. Liman penned a column for Deadline where he explained his reasons, writing that he originally signed up with MGM to make a theatrical movie. When MGM was bought by Amazon Studios, Liman claimed that the executives told him to focus on making a good movie and that they would determine how to distribute it, since they had committed to putting big movies in theaters. 

«We made ‘Road House’ a ‘smash hit’ — Amazon’s words not mine,» Liman wrote. «‘Road House’ tested higher than my biggest box office hit, ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith.’ It tested higher than ‘Bourne Identity,’ which spawned four sequels.» Amazon, though, has stuck to its streaming-only plan. Liman expressed his disappointment at the studio for not considering a theatrical release, explaining how he tried to convince them otherwise for the benefit of the industry. «If we don’t put tentpole movies in movie theaters, there won’t be movie theaters in the future,» he wrote.

Sources also said that Liman and others were given an option to make the movie for $60 million, which would make it eligible for theatrical release, or $85 million for a straight-to-streaming deal. Reportedly, the filmmakers took the $85 million option.