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Posted by Ben Huber on Jun 27, 2014 in Fandom 
Spoiler-sensitive readers beware! George R.R. Martin has been teasing The Winds of Winter, the next book in the popular Song of Ice and Fire series (aka Game of Thrones) in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly. If you’re not caught up, don’t look at this next quote: “We have more deaths, and we have more betrayals. We have more marriages.” He also confirms what many fans long knew, that two large battles would be opening the book (one in the North and one in Mereen). He also touches on Dany and Tyrion meeting (“Well, Tyrion and Dany will intersect, in a way, but for much of the book they’re still apart”), and also that the Dothraki would be returning “in a big way.” There’re a few more details at EW, but those are the biggest tidbits. When’s the book coming out, you ask? Words are wind, my friend. Sometime. Someday. Read more…
Tags: A Song of Ice and Fire, Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin, The Winds of Winter
Posted by Ben Huber on Jun 2, 2014 in Fandom, Videogames 
Smash Bros. is a great game because Nintendo has such a huge catalog of iconic characters to pull from, but not many other companies could pull off a similar feat. YouTube user crazyhalo definitely thinks Valve could do it, as they have created a video that remakes the intro film from Super Smash Bros. Melee with all of Valve’s characters. Gordon Freeman, the Heavy, Dog, every Dota character, Chell, and more are featured in this. If you’ve played Melee, this video will probably bring up a lot of memories, as it’s a pitch-perfect reproduction. Check out the video below! Read more…
Tags: Dota 2, Half-Life, Portal 2, Super Smash Bros., Team Fortress, Valve
Posted by Bob Muir on May 13, 2014 in Anime, Fandom 
Hollywood has been trying to make a live-action adaptation of Akira for years. Despite wanting to adapt directly from the original manga — the anime film only adapts one out of six giant volumes of the manga and uses its own conclusion — it sounds like it will be a trainwreck, with the setting changed from Neo Tokyo to Neo Manhattan, general whitewashing of characters, and the presumed loss of all the social and political commentary that formed the subtext of the original work from these changes. That’s why this fan-made trailer is so refreshing! It presents what a proper live-action take on the manga should be, and for a fan-made work, it looks fantastic. I can only hope that if Hollywood’s version ever gets off the ground, it will take notes from this trailer. Read more…
Tags: Akira
Posted by Ben Huber on May 4, 2014 in Fandom 
Fans continue to impress us in all sorts of ways. YouTube user Cory Alexander put together a life-size prop of the Heavy’s minigun from Team Fortress 2. Not only is it the spitting image of the in-game gun, it also features sound effects, motors to make the barrel spin, and lights to simulate the bullets. He built it from spare parts as well as several 3D-printed parts for the more unique bits. It’ll also be used as part of a Heavy cosplay set to debut at Phoenix Comicon 2014. Impressive! Watch the full video showing it off below. Read more…
Tags: cosplay, Team Fortress
Posted by Ben Huber on Apr 20, 2014 in Fandom, Hobbies and Collections 
I know a lot of people were incredibly excited to hear that LEGO had greenlit the Ghostbusters Ecto-1 and minifigures, but now the creator behind that set has posted new one to CUUSOO: the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. To (half-) scale. Yes, if this gets enough votes, there’s a good chance LEGO will actually make this a set. The initial hurdle of getting the Ghostbuster rights is already complete, so it’d just be a financial and design decision. The model is 13 inches tall and features 1800 pieces. I imagine they’d have to cut down on pieces, but it’d still be doable. Let’s get those votes! (And check out some more images below!) Read more…
Tags: Ghostbusters, Lego
Posted by Ben Huber on Apr 19, 2014 in Fandom, Hobbies and Collections 
Well, go home everyone. You won’t be able to top Nona Neon’s amazing rendition of Gipsy Danger from Pacific Rim. She built her cosplay outfit over the course of six months, using EVA craft foam, recycled household items (like a vegetable strainer!), and an acrylic visor. And it looks amazing! She’s done some fantastic work, and apparently she’s fairly new to the cosplay scene, so it’s doubly impressive. It particularly love the detail on the chainsword, it looks pretty lethal! Check out some more images below, then see her Facebook page to watch what she makes next! Read more…
Tags: cosplay, gipsy danger, Pacific Rim
Posted by Bob Muir on Apr 16, 2014 in Fandom 
Let me step that headline back for a moment. Some fans mustered up their best Muppet impersonations and recorded their version of Jesus Christ Superstar, the 70s musical about everyone’s favorite son of God. In Muppet Christ Superstar, Kermit is Jesus, Gonzo is Judas, Miss Piggy is Mary Magdalene, Fozzie is Simon, Pepe is Pilate, and Rowlf is King Herod. I kind of can’t believe anyone would make this, but that’s what makes the Internet a wonderful place. My only issue is that even though most people would cast Kermit as Jesus, Rowlf should have been Jesus, since he’s basically Muppet Jesus. Read more…
Tags: Music, The Muppets
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 23, 2014 in Fandom 
A lot of us probably remember being inundated with edutainment commercials in the 90s. It seemed like parents were always being sold something to teach their kids something new, and Muzzy was a big one. The cartoon character was used to teach languages, and while I never actually saw any Muzzy tapes, I did see plenty of commercials. Nacho Punch put together a cute little video that features Muzzy… err… Khal Drogo teaching kids how to speak Dothraki. They even have a Hodor version! Man, they think of everything. Read more…
Tags: Game of Thrones
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 16, 2014 in Fandom, Hobbies and Collections 
LEGO Simpsons and The LEGO Movie combine in a LEGO video! How much LEGO can the internet possibly fit into one video? I don’t know, but this video is a big contender. Yes, this is a Simpsons couch gag… made from LEGO… also featuring characters from The LEGO Movie. It’s pretty clever, and is a good use of the Simpsons house set, too. I suppose this post is also a good place to mention that there will be a LEGO Simpsons episode in the near future — May 4th to be exact. And yes, the whole episode will be done in LEGO. So that should be pretty entertaining! But until then, this fan rendition will do nicely! Read more…
Tags: Lego, The LEGO Movie, The Simpsons
Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 13, 2014 in Fandom, Videogames 
Have you tried out Grand Theft Auto Online? It’s the multiplayer component of Grand Theft Auto V, and it lets you roll around Los Santos with friends, taking on missions with your custom characters and fighting other players. Ideally, you’d get a good mix of progression and mayhem. In practice, it’s very easy to have all your plans go awry due to other players being crazy — you know, the way most players don’t even finish a GTA game’s story and just use it as a sandbox to play around in. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it results in moments like those found in YouTube user Jameserton’s video below. I’m not a huge multiplayer gamer, so I’m okay with sticking to the singleplayer in game’s like this. But I can’t deny the chaotic experience makes for a funny video. Read more…
Tags: Grand Theft Auto
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 10, 2014 in Cinema, Fandom 
I know a few people who found Jurassic Park too scary when they were kids. My girlfriend was one of them! I, on the other hand, loved seeing dinosaurs on the big screen. Perhaps this little edit from We Are Camera Studio, a little studio in Thailand, will help her enjoy it a bit more. Rather than having velociraptors scampering through the kitchen scene, wouldn’t kittens be a bit more fun? Or at least, less terrifying! I was going to make a joke about dinosaurs actually having feathers, but that didn’t really work. I’m pretty sure fur wasn’t a typical dinosaur outfit. Check out the adorable video below! Read more…
Tags: Jurassic Park
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 9, 2014 in Fandom, Star Wars 
Tunisia! It’s a pretty cool place, but most fans know it as Tatooine, from Star Wars. A group of dedicated fans living in Tunisia want you to know more about the place, so they’ve put together a video parodying Pharrell William’s incredibly popular song Happy, featuring Star Wars cosplayers dancing in the sandy dunes and through the remaining sets. It’s pretty dorky, but you can tell everyone involved was having a blast, so their enthusiasm rubs off on you pretty quickly. Check out the video below and visit Star Wars Tunisia’s Facebook page here. Read more…
Tags: music videos
Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 4, 2014 in Fandom, Videogames 
To answer the question above, no, it’s not. But when you think about it, little about Sonic the Hedgehog makes sense. Hedgehogs aren’t known for being fast (or blue), the game world — while creative and distinctive — couldn’t possibly exist in reality, and putting animals in robots is a pretty poor evil scheme. Even though Yuji Naka, Naoto Oshima, and Hirokazu Yasuhara created Sonic to become Sega’s new mascot, this sketch by BEASTS, in which a group of underlings at Sega create Sonic after a particularly unproductive brainstorming session, seems somewhat plausible. After all, it’s not like Mario made much more sense either. Read more…
Tags: Sonic the Hedgehog
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 2, 2014 in Fandom, Videogames 
Twitch Plays Pokemon has been one of the biggest internet and IRL phenomenon going on right now. If you haven’t been following, thousands upon thousands of internet denizens have been inputting commands via chat into a computer streaming a copy of Pokemon Red. That means that all the commands go through, resulting in mistaken button presses, the player running into walls or backtracking, and various other setbacks. Every user had to contribute to make it to the end of the game. And after much consternation, difficulty, perseverance, and the creation of several memes and faux religious factions, Twitch Plays Pokemon has beat Red version. Now they’re going to tackle Gold or Silver. How will that go?! Read more…
Tags: Pokémon
Posted by Ben Huber on Feb 28, 2014 in Fandom 
I think we can all say that the Sochi Olympics were pretty intense this year, even without all the political drama the surrounded the affair. However, despite all these impressive acts of athleticism on display, I’d bet that you’d agree that adding Mario Kart items into the mix would’ve made them even more exciting. That’s what YouTube user Timtimfed (Michael Shanks) imagined, and he made it happen. His video of the “Speed Skating Double Dash Final” features exactly the items you’d expect to see. And of course, what would it be without the dry, calm commentary by the announcers? Check it out below. Read more…
Tags: Mario Kart, sports
Posted by Bob Muir on Feb 26, 2014 in Fandom, Videogames 
I wish more games got musical versions in the vein of rock operas, sort of like what The Protomen did with Mega Man. Brentalfloss, known for writing lyrics to videogame music, has used some Metroid themes to write a short rock opera of Samus going on a mission. What’s unique here, however, is Samus having a boyfriend, hence “Metroid: Fight for Love,” as though she was Batman on ABC Family. I’m not against Samus having a boyfriend, because a woman can be in love and still be bad-ass. But Samus has never struck me as someone who would “fight for love.” Still, the animation looks great for a fan-video, and Brentalfloss is talented as always (though he obviously doesn’t sing this one). And just to reiterate: more rock opera versions of videogames, no matter how campy they might be! Read more…
Tags: Metroid
Posted by Ben Huber on Jan 26, 2014 in Fandom 
A lot of people have wondered about how crazy Batman really appears to the rest of the world. An insane man dressing up in a bat costume to fight crime? Yeah, it’s more than a little silly, but that’s why we love it. YouTube user OneMinuteGalactica took various clips from the Batman trilogy and arranged them into a trailer that makes them resemble a Judd Apatow movie or any coming-of-age comedy. It’s really clever and just goes to show that editing is everything. You can make even a morbid, serious character like Batman appear goofy and awkward. Read more…
Tags: Batman
Posted by Ben Huber on Jan 6, 2014 in Fandom, Hobbies and Collections 
So, did everyone bust on the LEGOs over Christmas break? Because there are a ton of amazing creations popping up this week. Ok, it doesn’t quite apply here because this was uploaded a little bit ago but it didn’t catch my attention until now. This huge model made by LegoBrickbaron looks impressive in pictures, with its bright colors and insane attention to detail, but it looks even better on video. Why? Because it moves and has a bunch of little mechanical moving parts. Check out the entire video to see Batman battling the Joker, Robin struggling to hang on, and the Penguin unleashing his penguin horde. Read more…
Tags: Batman, Joker, Lego
Posted by Bob Muir on Jan 1, 2014 in Fandom, Videogames 
Pokemon are usually a bit more cuddly thanks to their cartoon style, but I love attempts to show what they’d look like in a realistic-looking world. Sam Yang tried reimagining Mewtwo, already one of the cooler pokemon, if he was actually made by scientists in our world. Not only is he more buff, but it seems that he needs some cybernetic enhancements just to function, as they’re sticking out of him in various places. Maybe he can’t live without the enhancements because the scientists weren’t talented enough to make a fully working clone of Mew? Whatever the reason, this is a version of pokemon I’d love to see in action. Read more…
Tags: Pokémon
Posted by Ben Huber on Dec 28, 2013 in Cinema, Fandom 
Alright, I know what you’re gonna say: another Kickstarter? But this one’s good. And with so many people using it, it really has become less of a novelty and more a legitimate pathway to funding your project. Kung Fury is an 80s-themed live-action movie by David Sandberg. It features vikings, Norse Gods, dinosaurs, guns, neon lights, and renegade time-travelling kung fu cops out to kill Hitler (the Kung Führer, of course). It looks suitably insane and has the look down pat. You can watch the trailer below made up of their existing footage, and then head over to their Kickstarter page to find out all the juicy details! Read more…
Tags: Kickstarter, Kung Fury
Posted by Ben Huber on Dec 27, 2013 in Cinema, Fandom 
Sigh. We’d all like to forget the Star Wars Christmas Special, wouldn’t we? What if other beloved movies had gotten something just as terrible? Well, Nerdist decided to subject us all to the hilarious pain of imagining what a Blade Runner Christmas Special might look like. Yes, it’s as silly and terrifying as you might guess. Santa, Jesus, and elves that “just do toys” are involved… although I’m not sure what the point was of the random Chuck Norris joke? Maybe I’m missing a deeper level of meta-commentary. Check out the video below. Don’t say I didn’t warn you! Read more…
Tags: Blade Runner
Posted by Ben Huber on Dec 21, 2013 in Fandom, Hobbies and Collections 
Sure, it’s not street-legal, but still! A crazy LEGO fan from Romania, Raul Oaida, along with a entrepreneur, Steve Sammartino, built a life-size LEGO car that actually can be driven. It’s powered by air and pneumatic LEGO parts, which is the most crazy part. It doesn’t go very fast, but it’s still quite the engineering feat, using 256 LEGO pistons. Overall, it uses just over 500,000 LEGO bricks total, and can reach speeds of 20-30km, according to their YouTube page. What an insane project! Maybe they could make a car that’s street-legal next? Read more…
Tags: Lego
Posted by Bob Muir on Dec 14, 2013 in Dr. Who, Fandom, Television 
Steven Moffat is in charge of both Doctor Who and Sherlock, two of the BBC’s biggest current exports (along with Downton Abbey). Unsurprisingly, there are many fans of both who have been dying for a crossover — Wholock, if you will. While Moffat thinks such a move would ruin Sherlock‘s setting (and I’m inclined to agree), that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be awesome to see. That’s why this fanmade crossover is so great. There are minor flaws here and there, but for the most part, the two series mesh pretty well thanks to some clever compositing. it’s pretty cool to see Sherlock enter the TARDIS after years of searching for information on the mysterious Doctor and go off on an adventure. It’s just a shame that in becoming a companion, Sherlock is leaving behind his own companion. Read more…
Tags: BBC, Doctor Who, Sherlock Holmes
Posted by Ben Huber on Nov 30, 2013 in Comic Books, Fandom 
What does into making a really good cosplay? A costume you’ve slaved over making? Finding the right tool or piece to bring it altogether? What about some make-up and latex prosthetics? If you’re going to make your lower jaw look like Judge Dredd’s lower jaw… then go all the way, like these guys did. It’s an amazing combination of latex and clever make-up that eerily replicates the distinctive shape of Dredd’s face. Combine that with a pitch-perfect helmet and the rest of the costume, and you’ve got one of the best Judge Dredd costume’s I’ve ever seen. I’ve included a video below of the process behind making it. Read more…
Tags: cosplay, Judge Dredd
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