Pixar’s Good Dinosaur Originally Modeled Its Dinos After Amish Farmers?

Earlier this year, news broke that the long whispered-about dinosaur feature from Pixar would be stripped down and reworked top-to-bottom. And now the new direction for The Good Dinosaur has finally been revealed, along with some strange, past ideas. The LA Times has an update on The Good Dinosaur from new director Peter Sohn (who…

Here’s How You Can Get Meningitis From A Snail

Giant African snails have showed up in the news over the past few years. They’ve been castigated for destroying the environment and giving people meningitis. It turns out that they are being unfairly maligned! Kind of! Giant African snails are hand-sized snails that have been favored, for a time, as pets by irresponsible jerks. We…

WSJ: Nielsen Will Start Tracking How Much People Watch Netflix

According to the Wall Street Journal, Nielsen will begin tracking how much TV people are watching through Netflix and Amazon next month. The goal is to give networks a sense for how much streaming services cut into regular TV watching. Spoiler: People who use Netflix and Amazon watch less regular TV. According to a Nielsen…

On Agents Of SHIELD, Revenge Is A Dish That Only Tastes Good To Psychos

Last night’s Agents of SHIELD was chock full of backstory, and we learned a ton about a handful of the show’s villains and psychopaths. But the over-arching theme seemed to be revenge, and the ugly things that people do to get revenge for ancient injuries. Spoilers ahead… “The Things We Bury” was a flashback-heavy episode,…

Cory Doctorow Is Here To Take Questions About Copyright And Creativity

What does creative success look like online today? Cory Doctorow is here to answer your questions about the state of copyright, the tangled possibilities of creative work on the internet, and just what the future might hold for them both. Doctorow’s new book Information Doesn’t Want To Be Free: Laws For The Internet Age takes…

The Undead Heroine Of This Webcomic Western Must Cause The Apocalypse

Two of our favorite webcomic creators, Anthony Clark of Nedroid and KC Green of Gunshow, have teamed up to bring us a hilariously absurd, apocalyptic fantasy western. It all starts when a gunslinger is raised from the dead and told she has to bring about the end of the world, and only gets stranger from…

The First Live-Action Cinderella Trailer Is Here And It’s Pure Magic

The first trailer for Disney’s live-action Cinderella movie is here, and it looks just about perfect. Our resident Disney-phile Meredith “Killer” Woerner dubbed it “everything a live-action Disney movie should be,” and I can’t disagree with her. Also, Robb Stark? MOST CHARMING PRINCE CHARMING EVER. Helena Bonham Carter makes a perfect Fairy Godmother, and Cate…

What In The Hell Caused This Enormous Flash Over Russia?

An ominous dash-cam video has captured an extraordinarily bright orange flash in Russia’s Sverdlovsk region in the Urals. Though the event was witnessed by many onlookers, there’s still no explanation for what appears to be a rather massive blast. The event happened this past Friday, November 14th. The video evidence: According to E1.ru, officials said…

What Are You Reading?

What’s on your reading list these days, and what did you just cross off it? Whether you’re currently working your way through some brand new fiction, a long-awaited classic, or even a stack of assigned textbooks, we want to hear about it. Tell us in the comments about the books you’re currently reading or just…

Tywin Lannister Clears Up A Game Of Thrones Season 5 Mystery

We’ve known that actor Charles Dance, best known as the magnificent bastard at the head of the Lannister family, would be appearing in season 5 of Game of Thrones, despite his character’s recent… difficulties. In a recent interview Dance finally explained the deal, and it’s not what you’re thinking. While we all assumed Dance would…

Which Big Names Is X-Men: Apocalypse Considering for Jean Grey?

The big bad of Captain America 3 could be someone we’ve already met. Who’s playing a key figure in Batman v. Superman? Take our first look at Pixar’s Inside Out. Natalie Dormer explains how she thinks Margaery Tyrell should die on Game of Thrones. And could another Flash/Arrow crossover happen soon? Spoilers now! Top image:…

PBS has announced its new series, continuing to devote Wednesdays to nature, science, and technology. Joining the existing line-up are the Earth A New Wild hosted by Dr. M. Sanjayan; the Ken Burns-producer Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies; and First Peoples, a look at how early humans evolved. [Variety]

Forever Won Tuesday Night TV With a Single Line

Forever’s promos are like performance art at this point. While this episode technically had to do with changing jazz history, it was mostly about parents being awful at connecting with their kids. Spoilers… This week’s case is all about a jazz composition called “6 A.M.” and the murder that accompany it. Ostensibly the reason for…

A Rare Look Inside a Magnificent South African Wildlife Reserve

Jason G. Goldman is currently in South Africa, getting up close and personal with the animals there. He visited the Nambiti Private Game Reserve, where he snapped all these beautiful photos of the lions there. Read all about it, and learn the lions’ names, below. https://gizmodo.com/photo-safari-lions-1660494576

If Chris Pratt’s the Star of Cowboy Ninja Viking, It’s Perfect Casting

We’ve blown far past the point where any Chris Pratt casting seems out of left field. He could say yes to anything now, and we’d all shrug and go “Okay. I’d see it.” So if Collider‘s sources are right that he’s going to be the lead in Cowboy Ninja Viking, that sounds pretty much perfect.…

Honest Trailers Finds That, In Retrospect, The Little Mermaid Is Creepy

While the crew at Screen Junkies hits all the points many, many people have found objectionable over the years, they also found a few new ones. Like: Why are some sea creatures full characters and others beasts of burden? And: “Les Poissons” is actually the scariest song in the movie. They have to take everything…

Ron Solo Thinks You Should Let The Hagrid Win

We’ve featured the amazing mash-ups of James Hance previously, but holy hell has he outdone himself with this piece, where he puts Rupert Grint and Robbie Coltrane, as their Harry Potter characters Ron Weasley and Hagrid, as the two most famous scoundrels of the Star Wars universe. Then there’s this: Unfortunately, these are the only…

This Terrifying Simulation Shows A Year In The Life Of Earth’s CO2

NASA scientists have produced an ultra-high resolution computer model showing the ebbs and flows of carbon dioxide over the course of an entire year. It’s both stunning and undeniably frightening. This is the first hi-res simulation to show in such fine detail how carbon dioxide actually moves through the atmosphere. Watching it, you can see…

An Unexpectedly Moving Scene From Last Night’s The Originals

I had some severe doubts about the latest bizarre plot twist on The Originals, but the show actually pulled out a surprising twist that made it actually quite powerful. Every once in a while, Joseph Morgan brings out a gentle, mournful side to Klaus and it’s hard not to be affected. See for yourself. Spoilers…

We Made a Slight Miscalculation

Look, I’m sorry that you’re upset. But sometimes we materialize before we really have a chance to think about what molecular format is going to make the most sense for the timeline we’re visiting. Honestly, I don’t think any of the natives are even going to notice. Alejandro “Burda” Burdisio is an illustrator and concept…