Why is it a must watch? Because this video brings together some of the funniest people on Earth, reuniting old and current SNL members in the perfect way–a presidential reunion! You’ll see the likes of Fred Armisen (Barack Obama), Maya Rudolph (Michelle Obama), Will Ferrell (George W. Bush), Darrell Hammond (Bill Clinton), Dana Carvey (Bush Sr.), Jim Carrey (Ronald Reagan), Dan Akroyd (Jimmy Carter), and Chevy Chase (Gerald Ford) perform the presidents they all became famous for portraying so spot on during their stay at SNL. They all offer advice to Obama on how to fix Washington and the problems they left behind. Fun fact: This (highly viral) video hit one million views in less than 24 hours; quite the feat if you ask me. Watcha doin’ still reading this? Watch ’till your stomach hurts!
How Jay Leno gets his audience
Finally we get a truthful look into how Jay Leno gets people to sit in on his late night show.
Music video: OK Go – “This Too Shall Pass”
“This Too Shall Pass” is the second single off OK Go’s third studio album Of the Blue Colour of the Sky. And the music video for it is INSANE. The entire video was shot in one take and it features the most intricate Rube Goldberg sequence you will ever see. You know what the Rube Goldberg sequence is–you just never heard the name before. Named for an inventor of the same name, the word “Rube Goldberg” is an adjective defined as accomplishing something simple through complex means. In the case of this video, an OK Go band member drives a toy truck into a line of dominos (at the beginning) to result in the four band members getting sprayed in the face by paint (at the end). A simple action reaches a reaction through a complex process. Get it? Now watch this video a couple times and try to fathom how truly insane it is.
So how’d they manage to do it? OK Go teamed up with creative engineers Synn Labs and built the elaborate contraption in a warehouse in LA. It took a 55-60 person team about a month and a half to construct, with much attention to detail. Though the video was shot with a single camera in one unbroken continuous shot, it took over two days to shoot because they couldn’t get it to work perfectly until about 60 shots had failed. They brought the concept of ‘trial and error’ to a whole new level. And it was important for OK Go lead singer Damian Kulash that this whole thing be done without computer manipulation: “Computers can do any of this. But the whole point is that we’re doing it, like it’s homemade, it’s real things knocking into each other and falling over. It’s a celebration of actual root level physics. Screw computers.” Interested in more behind-the-scenes scoop? There’s a bunch of videos waiting after the break…
[Via Wired]
Music video: Gorillaz – “Stylo” (Featuring Bobby Womack & Mos Def)
This is one of the most visually stunning and exciting music videos I have ever had the pleasure to watch.
“Stylo” is the first single off Gorillaz’s upcoming album Plastic Beach (drops March 9). It’s their first album since 2005’s Demon Days. Their latest music video combines a live action car chase, updated and refreshed CGI Gorillaz characters, and Bruce Willis to create a video that looks uh-mazing in HD (so make sure you switch HD ON before you watch). It really plays out like a feature film (Death Proof?) and keeps you engaged for all five minutes of it. And it doesn’t hurt that the song is good, too.
CLICK HERE to watch the music video in its entirety. What you see above is a trailer for the video. I cannot embed the video due to EMI’s restrictions. Enjoy.
Listen: Kid directs air traffic at JFK
OK this is scary. The Federal Aviation Administration is currently investigating how a small child made his way inside a traffic control tower at JFK airport and instructed pilots when it was safe to land their airplanes. National Air Traffic Controllers Association on the matter: “We do not condone this type of behavior in any way. It is not indicative of the highest professional standards that controllers set for themselves and exceed each and every day in the advancement of aviation safety.” It’s one thing to not condone these actions; it’s quite another to MAKE SURE SOMETHING LIKE THIS NEVER HAPPENS.
[Via CBS News]
Paper Surgery
“Paper Surgery,” by Stephen J. Shanabrook.
Check out the gallery below for more mind-melting imagery.
[Via stephenshanabrook; KanyeBlog]
What Buzz Lightyear would look like if he were human
Buzz Lightyear, designed by Raoni Nery.
Bizarre, I know. Guess I’ll just use this as an opportunity to remind you that Toy Story 3 opens June 18.
Gilligan’s Island is being remade for the big screen
Warner Bros. and Atlas Entertainment are bringing back the seven castaways of Gilligan’s Island, the highly popular and successfully syndicated show that originally aired on CBS for three seasons between 1964 and 1967. For you younglings, Variety does a fine job at summizing the premise of the show: “[It] centered on the wacky misadventures of seven castaways — two crew members, a millionaire couple, a professor, a movie star and a girl-next-door type — on an uncharted and uninhabited island in the Pacific.” Details about the movie’s plot are undisclosed since it has yet to be written. Sherwood Schwartz (original show producer and composer for “The Ballad of Gilligan’s Isle,” the iconic theme song) and son Lloyd Schwartz are the executive producers with Charles Roven (The Dark Knight, Scooby Doo, The International) and Richard Suckle (Scooby Doo, The International) as producers. Brad Copeland (Wild Hogs) will pen the script. Production could start as early as next year, but that all depends on when they find a director and when the script is finalized. Roven on the remake: “The characters are so good. We think it’s going to be a great story to transport these cultural icons to the modern day.”
Sherwood Schwartz said he envisions Michael Cera cast as the iconic lead character Gilligan. Do you think that’s a good choice? What about the others…
The ship set ground on the shore of this uncharted desert isle, with Gilligan, The Skipper too, the millionaire and his wife, the movie star, the professor and Mary Ann, Here on Gilligans Isle.
[Via Variety]
Trailer: The Karate Kid
Here’s the trailer for the remake of the original Karate Kid (1984). It stars Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan as his martial arts trainer. Harald Zwart is directing, Jaden’s dad Will Smith is producing with wife Jada Pinkett, James Lassiter, Ken Stovitz, and Jerry Weintraub (he launched the original franchise).
According to Variety, “While the new film will be set in that exotic locale, it will borrow elements of the original plot, wherein a bullied youth learns to stand up for himself with the help of an eccentric mentor.” The Karate Kid opens in theaters June 11. The trailer looks fun, but will it live up to the original or Parts II, III, and The Next Karate Kid?
[Via TrailerAddict; Variety]
Penguin shows off its vision for the iPad
John Makinson, CEO of book publisher Penguin, unveiled to a crowd this week his vision for the iPad and how be plans on pushing “books” and other content to it. I say “books” because these demos look more like applications to me. In fact, Makinson says, “for the time being at least we’ll be creating a lot of our digital content as applications for sales in app stores in HTML, rather than as ebooks. The definition of a book itself, as you can see, is up for grabs.” As demonstrated in the video above, Penguin plans on bringing children’s books with support for embeddable sound, touch interactivity, and accelerometer (shaking/tilting) implementation; interactive textbooks (human anatomy, shown here); an “online community for vampire lovers” (OK?); a travel companion with an itinerary and maps; and lastly a far-out “intergalactic GPS system” that uses the GPS chip and augmented reality to reveal star constellations when you point the device to the sky. That last one will likely remain a concept for a while. It’s good to see a company really looking ahead into the future of print/digital media. The iPad has the power to do these things; it’s up to the developers (here, book publishers) to make it happen. ‘Nother video of Makinson speaking to the crowd about his ideas after the break.
Watching these demos makes me wish I had a kid so I could buy him an iPad and watch him interact and learn in ways I never imagined were possible when I was a toddler.
[Via PaidContent; Gizmodo]
Trailer: Halo: Reach multiplayer
Check out this trailer for Halo: Reach multiplayer. It reveals a bunch of the new multiplayer modes. And don’t forget–if you purchased Halo 3: ODST you have an invite to participate in the Reach multiplayer beta which starts on May 3.
[Via IGN]
Zipper Interactive is back with SOCOM 4
One of the most beloved video game franchises is making its way back onto the PlayStation 3 this year. After creating MAG, a PS3 exclusive multiplayer-only shooter, Zipper Interactive is going back to its roots and bringing the masses the next installment of SOCOM. SOCOM: Confrontation, the first game in the series to hit the PS3, was developed by SlantSix and did not fare well with SOCOM players coming from the PS2 due to lag issues, among other problems. Original developer Zipper Interactive plans to bring a solid single player experience to SOCOM 4, in addition to the obligatory multiplayer game it’s well known for. Though not a ton of details were let loose by the devs, they made it clear that this go around the SOCOM experience will be inviting and very much accessible to newcomers of the franchise. IGN sat down with Zipper and got the scoop on the single player campaign. Besides revealing basics like support for up to 32 players and a promise for “an all new experience,” nothing else was spilled about the SOCOM 4 multiplayer aspect. Although I personally feel SOCOM never felt the same after SOCOM II on the PS2 (that online experience was incredible!), with the promise of a hardcore single player feature and the multiplayer experience we’ve come to know and love, I still have faith in Zipper Interactive to create a handsome, solid SOCOM game for its allegient fanbase. Initial screenshots in the gallery below.
[Via IGN]
