​How an Obscure 2nd Century Christian Heresy Influenced Snowpiercer

Snowpiercer is shaping up to be the sleeper success of 2014. But no one has yet commented on one of the film’s most unusual subtexts — its direct allusions to Gnosticism, the ancient Christian belief system that was damned by the Roman Church as heretical and virtually extinguished by the 5th century. Despite its obscurity,…

Humans Have Caused 322 Animal Extinctions in the Past 500 Years

Our species caused 322 animal extinctions over the past 500 years, with two-thirds of those occurring in the last two centuries, according to a paper published in a special issue of the journal Science this week. Top image: Black rhino. Last year, one if its subspecies, the Western Black Rhino, was officially declared extinct, the…

Your GIF Party Has Returned. Come On In!

It’s the end of the week! Hurry and send in your GIFs — along with whatever news about events you’re celebrating, plans you’re making, and projects you’re finishing up — before this GIF Party disappears back from whence it came.

Russia Has Lost Contact With Its Gecko Sex Satellite

What began as a pleasure cruise has turned into a crisis as Russia attempts to reestablish control of a scientific satellite carrying five geckos, which are part of an experiment to study the effects of zero-gravity on animal mating. Less than a week after the Foton-M4 satellite was launched into space for a 60-day mission,…

New Documentary Trailer Shows Nic Cage’s Weird Superman Lives In Action

Guys, you’ve got to see this new trailer for the upcoming documentary The Death of Superman Lives, about the legendary failed Man of Steel movie. It features so much new behind-the-scenes footage that reveals how close the movie got to being made — including test footage of Nic Cage flying. I remember pretty much losing…

The annual cost of U.S. forest fires has more than quintupled in the past two decades, with current govt spending levels at $3- $4 billion per year. The combination of warmer temperatures and dryer lands has been especially devastating in western states — and is expected to worsen as climate change induces more droughts.

How Will Fantastic Four Be Different from Other Comic Book Movies?

There are more comic book adaptations on the way: one movie, and two TV shows. Simon Kinberg talks the alternate 1980s in X-Men: Apocalypse. Dwayne Johnson teases Shazam yet again. Check out amazing Avengers 2 concept art. And American Horror Story adds a soap opera alum to its cast. Spoilers now! Top image: X-Men: Days…

Lois Lowry Explains How The Giver Movie Improves On Her Book

There’s a lot the upcoming Giver movie has changed from the book: The age of the characters, the expansion of the film into a thriller, the addition of a character who is no longer around in the book. But there’s one change Lois Lowry wishes she had thought of. In a panel at Comic-Con, Lowry…

Is This One of the Most Innovative Buildings of the Year?

You’re looking at a building that’s been shortlisted for a prize awarded to a building in the UK that has contributed most to the evolution of architecture. This is the Saw Swee Hock Student Center at the London School of Economics, designed by O’Donnell + Tuomey Architects. It’s been shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize…

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Is a Mix of Endearing and Infuriating

Two scenes from the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were screened for the throngs of people sitting in San Diego Comic Con’s Hall H Thursday, and they were surprisingly entertaining. Except that every attempt to enjoy them was ruined by a gross moment that ruined it all. The first scene took place 10 minutes into…

Firefly‘s Whole Cast Will Reunite for Firefly Online

Announced today at Comic-Con: All of the original Firefly stars will reprise their characters for the online game! And Alan Tudyk is playing multiple roles. Also showing up will be Michael Fairman as the crime lord Niska, who is apparently hiring. You can check the game out on the Firefly Online website.

Christopher Nolan Shows Us Interstellar‘s Mind-Warping Alien Planet

This afternoon at Comic-Con, Christopher Nolan and Matthew McConaughey dropped an exclusive look at a new trailer for their mysterious new film Interstellar. Some of the footage was the same as the UK trailer, below. But here’s what was new: we got a look at the destination for McConaughey’s Cooper and Anne Hathaway. We see…

Community Cast and Crew Reveal Season 6 Secrets

After a brief montage of Community seasons 1 to 5 highlights, the screens in Ballroom 20 flat line – but that’s when Yahoo brings it back to life. After announcing, “We have the technology, we have the capability to make the world’s first bionic show. Community will be that show. Better than it was before.”…

The First Hot Tub Time Machine 2 Trailer Looks Into The NSFW Future

Let’s face it, you’re either super-excited for sequel to the ridiculous time-travel comedy Hot Tub Time Machine, or you’re not. For those who are, you will not be disappointed with this red-band trailer for the sequel, where (most of) the original crew gets back in the hot tub… but ends up in the future. The…

A Closer Look at the Comet We’ll Be Meeting Soon

Last week, as the Rosetta spacecraft came within 8,700 miles of its destination comet, it sent back images of what appeared to be a whirling rubber ducky in space. Now, using the same data, researchers have created a 3D model of the object. And, well, it still sorta looks like a rubber ducky. To create…

Peter Dinklage And His Mullet Talk Trash In Strange Pixels Viral

We’re not really sure what to think of Adam Sandler’s classic videogame-inspired movie Pixels. But we do know that Peter Dinklage is in it and his hair looks great. And now Sony has released a strange viral with more Dinklage/mullet footage. Here’s the movie’s premise: When aliens misinterpret video-feeds of classic arcade games as a…

Batman’s New Cowl Is The Perfect Palette For Photoshop Horrors

Some of you looked upon Batman’s new cowl and saw merely the newest hat to keep Batman’s secret identity (sort of) hidden. But some of you saw something else: The perfect canvas upon which to sketch your dark visions of a descent into madness. WARNING: Nightmares ahead. https://gizmodo.com/batflecks-bat-cowl-from-batman-v-superman-dawn-of-jus-1610112524 kurtz433 Tomb: R.O.A.C.H. ᶘ ᵒᴥᵒᶅ Tomb: R.O.A.C.H.…

We Watched Big Hero 6‘s Adorable Robot Baymax Explain Puberty

The team from Disney’s Marvel Comics-inspired film Big Hero 6 gathered at Comic-Con today to explain the setting of “San Fransokyo,” how Japanese infomercials informed Baymax’s design, and why one character runs around in a kaiju suit. Plus, we got a peek at two clips from the film. In today’s Art of Big Hero 6…

Mayfly Birth Is The Stuff of Nightmares

This week, mayflies flooded the midwest in apocalyptic numbers. This video, which shows a clutch of bebe mayflies hatching from their eggs minutes after they were laid, helps explain why. The video comes by way of entomologist Gwen Pearson, who, in her latest piece, uses a photo, an animated GIF, and the above video to…

Benedict Cumberbatch Trolls Comic-Con With A Dr. Strange Joke

This morning at Comic-Con, the star-studded Hall H hosted a Dreamworks Animation panel, which showcased Home and The Penguins of Madagascar. We saw a ton of footage, but most importantly we’ve got video where Benedict Cumberbatch shares some feelings about Dr. Strange. Penguins of Madagascar There was a ton of footage from this Thanksgiving release.…