Jeff Bridges's Iron Man photos
Nov 24Apparently Jeff Bridges is a shutterbug – a good one too, judging from this collection of photos he took on and off the set of Iron Man. I’ve heard acting is a lot of sitting around and waiting, so actors come up with ways to kill time. Video games, knitting… The Duderino takes photos.
Personally, I’ve given a lot of respect to Jon Favreau for knowing the material. I’ve even given Downey Jr. props for his refreshing attitude towards “comic book material.” What I didn’t know what that Jeff Bridges deserves a little as well, given this quote from the collection;
Another reason I wanted to do this movie was I’d get to shave my head. I always wanted to do that. Jon said I didn’t have to, but then Obadiah Stane, in the comic book, was bald, so…
The Dude abides, honestly.
"George Lucas ruined my life."
Nov 24The Mail is running excerpts of Carrie Fisher’s new autobiography, which is sharp. Raaaaazor sharp. And like every good nerd, I’m skipping to the bits about Star Wars. I was rather hoping she really meant that George Lucas ruined her life and was mad about it, but it’s mostly a haw-haw, teasing proclamation. Too bad.
I’m adding bold to my favorites;
George Lucas ruined my life. And I mean that in the nicest possible way.
Even now, many years later, people are still asking me if I knew Star Wars was going to be that big a hit. Yes, of course I knew. We all knew.
The only one who didn’t was the director, George Lucas. We kept it from him because we wanted to see what his face looked like when it changed expression.
Not only was he virtually expressionless in those days, but he also hardly talked at all. His only two directions in the first film were ‘faster’ and ‘more intense’.
Shortly after I arrived, he gave me this unbelievably idiotic hairstyle. He said in his little voice: ‘Well, what do you think of it?’
I was terrified I was going to be fired for being too fat, so I said: ‘I love it.’ Yeah, right.
When I got this great job to end all jobs, which truly I never thought I would get because there were all these other beautiful girls who were up for the part – Amy Irving, Jodie Foster, Teri Nunn – they told me I had to lose 10lb.
I weighed about 105lb at the time but carried about 50 of those in my face.
So you know what a good idea would be? Give me a hairstyle that further widens my already wide face.
Remember the white dress I wore all through that film? George came up to me the first day of filming, took one look at the dress and said: ‘You can’t wear a bra under that dress.’
‘OK, I’ll bite,’ I said. ‘Why?’ And he said: ‘Because … there’s no underwear in space.’
He said it with such conviction. Like he had been to space and looked around and he didn’t see any bras or panties anywhere.
He explained. ‘You go into space and you become weightless. Then your body expands but your bra doesn’t, so you get strangled by your own underwear.’
I think that this would make for a fantastic obituary. I tell my younger friends that no matter how I go, I want it reported that I drowned in moonlight, strangled by my own bra.
Instead of a bra, what do you think I wore for support, intergalactically? Gaffer tape.
I used to think there should have been a contest at the end of the day for who in the crew would get to help remove the tape.
George is a sadist. But despite having to wear a metal bikini, being chained to a giant slug (Jabba the Hutt) and often being about to die, I kept coming back for more.
Why, you might ask. Well, George is a visionary, right? The man has transported audiences the world over and has provided Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford and myself with enough fan mail – and even a small, merry band of stalkers – to keep us entertained for the rest of our lives.
And don’t forget, George was the man who made me into a little doll. A doll that one of my exes could stick pins into whenever he was annoyed with me (I found it in a drawer).
He also made me into a shampoo bottle where people could twist off my head and pour liquid out of my neck. Paging Dr Freud!
And then there was a soap with the slogan: ‘Lather up with Leia and you’ll feel like a Princess yourself.’
The nice people at Burger King made me into a watch. And I’m a little stumpy Lego thing. And now there’s even a stamp, which is totally cool.
Among George’s many possessions, he owns my likeness, so that every time I look in the mirror I have to send him a couple of bucks. That’s partly why he’s so rich.
Grok The Vote: Voting Day Line-ups. WWND?
Nov 03Honestly, on voting day, what will ninjas do? Something to seriously consider. Here are my thoughts;
1) You’ll, never, ever know they are there. The less cunning ones would be easier to spot, having perhaps disguised themselves as bamboo salesmen or traveling minstrels from feudal Japan, but more than likely those one will have been weeded out well in advance of any polling, advanced or otherwise.
2) Careful spotters may notice tell-tale residual smoke from a ninja’s exit or in some cases, a few bodies, but being patriotic, these will almost always be voters who have already cast their ballot. If the deceased have not voted, there is clearly an evil ninja afoot how much be hunted and killed. The family of the avenged voter will get to cast the decease’s vote – if there is no family, the crowd will cast their vote by a show of hands. Also, all evil ninjas should be reported to election observers of all parties running.
3) Lee Van Cleef died in 1989, and therefore should not appear on any voter registries.
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Grok The Vote: Voting Day Line-ups. WWND?
Nov 03With the very real possibility of standing in lines for a couple of hours tomorrow (November 4th. Tuesday. Check local listings for showtimes), the question is begged; what would nerds do?
1) Reading – skip your comics pile, even the TPBs, as you’ll go through them too quickly. Your best bet is a paperback (fits in a pocket or purse – are they searching backpacks still?) and a couple of nerd friendly mags, like Geek Monthly, Royal Flush, Wired, Rue Morgue, MAKE, etc. Whatever you take, make sure it’s something you know you’ll like to read. Take that book and try the first few pages – pick again if you have trouble getting into it.
2) Mobile gaming – As with reading, the trick here is quantity without taking up space. One system – PSP, DS, what-have-you – one game. If there ever was a better time to finish every single piece of Katamari Damacy or Prof. Layton and the Curious Village, it probably involves time spent in a hospital. Games with a multiplayer component are good too, on the off chance someone else brings a console as well. But don’t choose MP over solid singleplay!
3) MP3 – Imagine trying to entertain yourself in the 2000 elections! All those CDs to juggle! Music is good, but podcasting is better, and Old Time Radio (which these days means almost anything that was made for radio up til the 80s) even better. Scour those torrents for BBC Radio comedies (Ectoplasm, Undone, Stephen Fry’s Complete and Utter History of Classical Music, anything by Terry Pratchett, etc.) or forgotten gold, like Rod Sterling’s Zero Hour radio plays from the 70s.
4) Quote-off – If you’re standing in line with friends, try communicating directly. Classic rules cover guessing the quotes given by the other guy, but a possible variation is re-doing a scene. Points lost/given when lines are missed or otherwise bobbled. And if you’ve really got the nuts for it, why not ham it up and entertain the crowd?
5) iPhone – Nuff said. It’s magical access to the internets, but remember; battery life. So, use sparringly (like, to check returns or contesting/confirming a line in your quote-off game.)
6) Layers.
DO NOT:
1) Snack it up – Save the food for post-voting-tacos, and go easy on the water (think sips when thirsty.) Avoid energy drinks and pop – you’re just begging to need to leave the line to go pee, and depending on the crowd, that may not fly. If you’re lucky, the crowd will be civilized about it, but just in case…
2) Don’t Talk Politics – It’s a bit fuzzy, but in general, anything that might be considered campaigning at polling stations is a no-no of various degrees of naughtiness, depending on where you are. And even if it’s not, who wants to get into a fist fight on voting day?
3) Wear costumes – Or more importantly, DO wear a costume, cuz that’d be AWESOME, but leave your blaster at home, trooper. If you have to ask why, perhaps just don’t dress up.
4) Not vote – Seriously, I make some room for people who can’t vote, because despite early polls and all the help offered by other voters, I’ll allow that circumstances can sometimes be a bitch. But not wanting or can’t be bothered to vote – fine. Hand in your opinion for the next two years (when you’ll get them back on probation for the mid-term elections.)
Alright – go get’em, and good luck tomorrow campers!
