How many hipster icons does it take to direct a one-minute commercial for Stella Atrois? Two, apparently. Directors Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola have teamed up for a new Stella ad campaign (conceived by advertising firm Mother) that combines Anderson's retro cool aesthetic with Coppola's retro cool aesthetic. The results? Retro cool. "We were really happy to have Wes and Roman on board," Mother's very own Don Draper, Gustavo Sousa, said in a statement. "We wanted to set this brand and this film in a 1960s French film world and there's a lot of that influence in Wes' work. Also, Roman is a gadgets fanatic, so it was truly the best combination of talent to direct this commercial." Click ahead to watch. If you squint really hard, the lead almost looks like Jason Schwartzman.
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It has always been one of those classic cultural nuggets that wonky film geeks like to trot out at parties: "Did you know Eric Stoltz was originally supposed to play Marty McFly in Back to the Future instead of Michael J. Fox?" Well yes, you probably did. Now, though, in conjunction with the release of the 25th Anniversary DVD/Blu-ray collection of Back to the Future (due in stores on Oct. 26, which would count as the 24th anniversary), you can actually see Stoltz-as-McFly walking through the streets of Hill Valley. The results are...disconcerting? Bizarre? Like seeing a dog walk on its hind legs? Decide for yourself by watching the clip after the jump.
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Despite the threat of a 15-yard penalty for excessive celebration, NFL players have always found ways to express their excitement in the wake of scoring a touchdown. To wit: Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco made such a career out of his celebratory exploits that he wound up on Dancing with the Stars. Still, even Ochocinco never did the Carlton Dance. That honor went to Detroit Lions cornerback Alphonso Smith, who became only the second (or third depending on what you believe) NFL star to parody Alfonso Ribeiro's classic dance moves from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air during the Lions 44-6 blowout win over the St. Louis Rams on Sunday. Click ahead to see whether Alphonso was able to out-hoof Alfonso.
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YouTube user "wblakenship" stumbled upon J.J. Abrams' Super 8 set in Weirton, WV, and immediately set to recording the sci-fi shenaningans. From what we can see in the footage, the movie's got a passel of old, gas guzzling American cars and a bunch of army dudes ready to throw down. And whatever the big bad of the movie is -- alien? monster? bitter, vengeful William Shatner? -- it's scary enough to face down a tank.
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These days, movies about the future warn of unprecedented surveillance technology, cloning, genetic engineering, and other scary stuff, but back in simpler times, the only thing that anyone expected out of the future was jetpacks. And maybe laser guns, extra-terrestrial life, and flying cars. Now, after everyone has pretty much given up on those lofty goals, one company is manufacturing and selling jetpacks to consumers. Well, rich consumers. More information and video demonstration after the jump.
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Cementing his reputation as one of the most likable actors ever, Johnny Depp showed up unannounced in full Jack Sparrow costume after receiving a letter from a nine-year-old girl at a British school near the set of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. The letter asked for help staging a mutiny against the teachers, but Depp advised her against that since there were cops outside watching him. The letter did not ask for a lesson in dental hygiene, but the kids got one anyway. Bonus! The video is after the jump -- prepare for your heart to melt.
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Aaron Sorkin's dislike of bloggers goes all the way back to when Al Gore invented the Internet. Or, failing that, to the "Lemon Lyman" episode of The West Wing, when Josh finds out that he has a fan site, posts a comment on there, and gets immediately flammed (something similar happened to Sorkin on Television Without Pity). So consider this clip from The Social Network -- where Rooney Mara's character Erica dresses down Mark Zuckerberg and every other blogger ever -- par for Sorkin's course.
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In what appears to be a direct protest of George Lucas's announcement that the six Star Wars films will be released in 3-D, Jeremy Messersmith and Eric Power (some people just have the coolest names) created a song and music video, respectively, retelling the entire Original Trilogy using construction-paper animation. Yes: Construction- paper animation. I know what you're thinking, and I was hesitant to watch the two-minute video as well, but seriously, I'm a bit moved the whole thing. The Force is strong with these guys. One can only hope they give the same treatment to the prequels -- it could only improve them.
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Based on the latest campaign ad for Christine O'Donnell, absolutely. You might know the Republican nominee for a U.S. Senate seat in Delaware, because of her affiliation with the Tea Party movement and her endorsement from Sarah Palin. (Naturally.) Or maybe you know O'Donnell because of her anti-masturbation thoughts and the fact that she once said she "dabbled" in witchcraft. It's that last "issue" that her newest campaign commercial attempts to tackle, with the grace of a farmhouse falling on the Wicked Witch of the East. Potential Delaware voters: Please pay no attention to the witch behind the curtain.
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Despite the fact that Mark Zuckerberg doesn't really take a beating in The Social Network -- unless being portrayed as a single-minded business genius who is smarter than everyone in the room is a "beating" -- his image rehabilitation tour is currently in full-swing. After giving Oprah Winfrey and Newark schools a check for $100 million last week, the Facebook CEO made his cartoon debut on The Simpsons last night...and promptly told everyone that school was for idiots.
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David Cronenberg, eat your heart out. Richard Curtis, the writer who brought us romantic comedies like Notting Hill and Love Actually, just upped the ante for exploding human beings with a new short film made for the 10:10 environmental campaign called No Pressure. In a nutshell: those refusing to go green, including school children, football players and Gillian Anderson, are blown up by environmentalists. Yep. The movie (which really is hilarious) has been pulled from the 10:10 website and plans to distribute it in cinemas have been canceled. Check out the film and the rest of the story after the jump.
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What an exciting time to be alive. After years of Planet Terror and Death Proof being available on separate, skimpy DVDs, the complete theatrical version of Grindhouse is being released on Blu-ray this Tuesday. That's a full three hours and 11 minutes of zombies, machine-gun leg strippers, homicidal stunt men, and the funniest trailers this side of Kentucky Fried Movie. And in true grindhouse fashion, this is a double-feature post: the trailer for Death Race 2 is after the jump.
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After priming the pump with a series of "viral videos," the scaremeisters of Paranormal Activity 2 have gifted us with not only a brand spanking-new trailer but also a 30 second clip of the spooky shenanigans in store this October. I found it scary, but I'm a notorious scaredy-cat -- after watching The Blair Witch Project, I slept with the lights on for a solid week. You may be made of sterner stuff than me.
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Even if it weren't all Social Network all the time this weekend, Next Media Animation's foregone contribution to the Facebook-movie mythology would be worthy of dissemination here. With this in mind, I'll just shut up now and let you bask in the crappy CGI glow of Justin Timberlake and Mark Zuckerberg (their characterizations, not mine) frolicking on the beach at sunset -- and so much more.
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I actually can't tell what this stunt has to do with Steve-O's recent sobriety, though he definitely tries to relate the two. I suppose as long as his head's on fire, he's not doing drugs? Whatever. In anticipation of Jackass 3-D, Steve-O sets his head ablaze in front of a live audience and then has a friend spit even more flammable fluid on him. It is every bit as thrilling as it sounds. He also has a few NSFW words for James Cameron. Watch it all after the jump!
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