Today at Flavorpill, we were a little freaked over these photos of a fictional drug addict for the Israel Anti-Drug Authority ad campaign. We were relieved that Jay-Z and Beyonce didn’t actually pay $1 million for a private hospital floor. We tried to imagine a time when states like Texas were nicknamed“Beef Head” and wondered what Missouri did to earn the moniker “Puke.” We thought the similarities between Michael Cera and Hitler’s mom were uncanny. We were surprised that bagpipes were invented in Persia, not Scotland. We said goodbye to the Obama administration’s second chief of staff, Bill Daley. We were fascinated by this time-lapse video of snowflakes grown in a laboratory. We bet this year’s BroNYCon sparkled with glitter like nothing we’ve ever seen before. We listened to a new track from The Shins. We were totally grossed out by these pics of three-year-old french fries and vowed never to eat them ever again. We heard what a Randy Newman version of the We Need to Talk About Kevin theme song might sound like. And finally, we loved this beautiful Hobbit animation from the same artist who worked on Tom and Jerry.
Any time you have the gumption to pose a list of the ten definitive anything, you’re going to get some pushback. But because Flavorwire has the greatest readers in the world (/blatant sucking up), our post last week of The Most Definitive Music Cues in Film History prompted very little venom, and several excellent additions (including a few that had been on our first, wildly overambitious draft). The concept, once again, is that certain films use pop music cues so well that the movie and the song get inextricably bound together in your head; when you think of the movie, you hear the song, and when you hear the song, your see the film in your mind’s eye. We’ve picked our ten faves from the addendums offered by you, the reader, after the jump; feel free to add more of your favorites in the comments. Read More »
Quick, think of your favorite character from film or TV. Got it? Now imagine someone else wearing that character’s clothes and saying that character’s words. Unless you’re thinking of James Bond, Doctor Who, or another notoriously replaceable face, it’s probably hard to picture a different actor playing the part. Alas, before there were “lights, camera, action” on all our favorite productions, there were auditions, and that role was up for grabs. Check out some silly successful, failed, and even fake audition tapes, featuring some very familiar faces, after the jump.
We’ve been hearing a lot of buzz recently about Jesse Plemons (ahem, Landry Clarke from Friday Night Lights) and his real-life band, Cowboy and Indian. Some of our favorite Landry scenes in FNL were related to his Christian speed-metal band Crucifictorious, but Cowboy and Indian may be, if anything, its polar opposite. Watching Landry croon bluegrass melodies on guitar and sip whiskey under a warm light in his recently released vido got us thinking about all the characters with bands who actually have bands in real life — and which ones are better. Click through for our roundup of bands from TV and film whose members are — for better or worse — actually musicians, and tell us if you agree with our verdicts in the comments!
In case you haven’t heard, today is National Punch a Hipster Day. According to Facebook, almost 10,000 people attending — which sounds like bad news for 20-somethings on bikes wearing feather headdresses. Since we don’t condone violence and hope to dissuade you from wandering through Williamsburg or Silver Lake brandishing brass knuckles, we thought we’d draw your attention to ten famous hipsters who might make better targets. You know, if you have to punch anyone. Which you don’t. OK?
We’re as addicted to end-of-year list-making as your average bloggers. But after a while, we get sick of seeing the same names over and over again. Hey, did you hear about that Kanye album? How about The Social Network — pretty great, huh? That’s why Flavorpill is launching a new yearly tradition: The Underrated Awards, honoring our favorite people and things from the cultural universe that we feel have been criminally under-appreciated. Our third installment covers the film world, from movies that never achieved the buzz (or box office receipts) they deserved to actors whose performances went overlooked in favor of their co-stars’.
Freelance illustrator Derek Eads is a self-taught artist known for his collaborations with Jessica Martins under the name Assorted Hearts. While his pop culture obsessions include Conan O’Brien, Michael Cera, Samuel L. Jackson, and Nic Cage, if you visit his studio at Society6, you’ll notice that there’s a preponderance of Bill Murray-inspired artwork. Not that we’re complaining. Click through to check out some of our favorites of Eads’ affordable prints.
1. Weezer’s new album Hurley, which includes guest appearances by Ryan Adams and Michael Cera, is now streaming on MySpace.
2. The Man Booker Prize shortlist has been announced, with Tom McCarthy’s novel C as bookies’ favorite to win. [via Independent]
3. Terry Gilliam’s The Man Who Killed Don Quixote has run out of funding, but he refuses to give up the project: “Robert Duvall is Quixote, Ewan McGregor is also there, and we are looking for new financing right now.” [via Variety]
4. Pavement is looking for someone to play guitar with them on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon on September 23, and it could be you. [via Pitchfork]
5. The first cast photo from the US version of Skins leaves us feeling underwhelmed about the remake. How about you? [via Digital Spy]
