Katharine Trendacosta

We Demand a Prequel to This Short Film About a Girl and Her Robot

“Gear” is a short film written and directed by Kevin Adams and Joe Ksander. It’s about a girl named Mazzy, who is hiding from the authorities, and her robot friend, Three. The short opens up so many questions we demand more. The film tells a very tiny part of Mazzy and Three’s story—a part which…

A Teenage Princess Leia Will Appear on Star Wars Rebels This Month

While Clone Wars saw appearances from Star Wars movie characters all the time, Rebels has been a bit less connected to the plot and characters from the original trilogy. Which is why it’s always a big event when one shows up. This month, we’re going to get to see a young Leia. TV Insider reports…

Cheeky Cartoonist Reveals the Secret Double Lives of Iconic Characters

We all know that there are archetypes in fiction that seem to pop up again and again. But sometimes, characters seem a little too similar to something else for it to be entirely coincidence. Thus, Alex Solis’ “Icons Unmasked” series, which shows us what lurks beneath. Below are a selection of favorites, but you can…

No One Should Remake The Prisoner, Especially Not Ridley Scott

According to Deadline, Ridley Scott is in early negotiations to direct a movie-adaptation of the 60s TV show The Prisoner. This is a bad idea since A) Ridley Scott doesn’t have time for this, he has approximately four billion other projects already on his slate and B) The Prisoner needs to be left alone. We…

Watch Tom Hiddleston Lose His Composure in the New High-Rise Trailer

The first trailer for Ben Wheatley’s High-Rise was a fake ad for the titular building itself, focusing on the luxury it provides. This one is all about Tom Hiddleston’s Dr. Robert Laing and how living in the building goes for him. Based on the trailer, the answer is “not well.” Now, we know that the…

Google Fixed a Bug Where “Russia” Automatically Translated to “Mordor”

Google has some good news! Earlier this week, Ukranian media noticed a slight glitch wherein Google Translate was giving “Mordor” as a translation for “Russian Federation.” The good news is that they’ve fixed the problem. Along with the Tolkien problem, “Russians” was coming up as “occupiers” and “Lavrov,” the last name of Russia’s Foreign Minister,…

The New York Public Library Just Uploaded Over 187,000 Free Images For All To Use

While it’s easy to forget just how many things are actually in the public domain, the New York Public Library is very much into making sure that its collection is as available as possible. Which is why over 187,000 public domain images were put online today. All of the public domain works—that is, ones no…

The Copyright Office Wants You to Explain Why the DMCA Is So Bad

The DMCA takedown and counter-takedown procedures has been a mess for a while now. And it didn’t look like anyone who could fix it cared to. Which made it a surprise when the Copyright Office asked for public comment on the issue on New Year’s Eve. If you think DMCA takedowns are bullshit—and they often…

The Campaign to Preserve Science Fiction Legend Forrest Ackerman’s Home

Besides being a renown literary agent and publisher, Forrest Ackerman was also an avid collector of science fiction, fantasy, and horror memorabilia. His Los Feliz home acted as a private museum for his collection, but now his neighbors are fighting to keep his last home from being torn down. Ackerman was the literary agent to…

How Hollywood Can Use the Law to Force You to Upgrade Your TV

So your mom bought you a copy of Mad Max: Fury Road on Ultra HD Blu-ray for Christmas and you want to play it on your old ass non-4K TV? A line of devices from HDfury makes it possible. Or at least, it used to. On New Year’s Eve, Warner Brothers filed a complaint against…

The Expanse Concept Art Takes You Deep Into the Machines That Keep the Solar System Running

In addition to being the combination space opera/political thriller we’ve been waiting ages for, The Expanse is also home to some gorgeous spaceship and space station porn. And now that we’ve got a look at some of the concept art for the show, we’re awed all over again. These all come courtesy of North Front…

The First Firestorm Finally Is Coming Back to The Flash, But…

If you were waiting for the return of the first Firestorm to The Flash, I have some bad news. Technically, that’s not Firestorm pictured above, it’s someone else… someone sinister. You can tell because this Ronnie Raymond is sporting a black jacket, widely accepted as the most evil of jacket colors. Rumor—and set photos—had it…

A Pair of Conjoined Porcelain Dolls Make a Connection Through Music

“Valse à quatre mains” (“Waltz with four hands”) is a short animated film by a group from Supamonks Studio, which is gorgeous in its music and imagery. The attention to detail is amazing—just look at the cracks in the hair of the violinist! [via Watermelon Animation] Contact the author at [email protected].

Segway Is Taking a Stand on Hoverboards (They Hate Them)

In September, Segway filed a lawsuit against Inventix for the not-Hoverboard, claiming a violation of their patents. On December 23, Segway filed two more suits, adding Razor and Swagway to the list. As before, Segway, its parent company Ninebot, and DEKA (which licenses its technology to the other two), are the plaintiffs. Only now, they’re…

These Nerdy Moments Remade In the Style of Classic Paintings Are Beautiful

Amateur photographer Pekka Jonsson uses a very tight budget to remake the old iconography of martyrs and saints into something much, much geekier. Pekka walked us through the process: I am an amateur photographer, so everything is always done on a very tight budget, impressively close to none. These pictures are done in my cellar…

It Is Time to Celebrate the GIFs

It’s is time for the GIFs to get their just desserts. This party is just for them. Contact the author at [email protected].

They Use Every Part of the Creature

When the giant sea beasts beach themselves, everyone scavenges whatever they can—meat, teeth, skin. And the remaining carcass becomes shelter. This is “Empty Chest” by Mateusz Ozminski (artozi on deviantArt), who made this particular bit of art for as a thirty minute sketch for the Daily Spitpaint Facebook group. Contact the author at [email protected].

Syfy’s renewed The Expanse, the TV show based on a series of novels by James S.A. Corey, for a second season. The first four episodes have already aired, and The Expanse is already one of our favorite new shows. Watch it here.

A Not-So-Brief History of George Lucas Talking Shit About Disney’s Star Wars

There’s suddenly a storm of outburts about a week-old interview that George Lucas had with Charlie Rose. It’s the one where he compared selling Lucasfilm to Disney as selling his children to “white slavers.” This was a stupid thing to say, but not really a new note for Lucas to hit. There’s been tension in…

In a Very Short Short, a Raccoon Steals a Mysterious Artifact

In “Jack and the Mysterious Lost Orb,” Jack, who appears to be a relative of Rocket Raccoon, steals a glowing ball. Which of course leads to him being chased by the object’s guardian, a giant shadow monster. With “Jack and the Mysterious Orb,” Pierre-Marie Adnet, Coralie Bruschi, Mylène Cominotti, Marion Coudert, and Valentin Lucas remind…