I swear I was having this exact conversation during Game of Thrones last week.

“We should name one of our kids Tyrion. That’s a badass name”

“No, but I’d maybe name a girl Arya.”

Turns out that sentiment is replicating itself all over the country, and a whole bunch of people are now actually naming their little girls Arya. It’s the name rising in popularity the fastest for girls, jumping from #413 to #298 in one year alone.

Will our kids be growing up running around with a bunch of Robbs, Cerseis, Tywins, Theons and Aryas someday? Perhaps, and that would be freaking awesome.

[via Nerd Approved]

Paul regularly updates Unreality with news about Justice League and any of the happening/not happening Batman iterations, so I won’t be delving into any of that with this post. I will say I’m enjoying all the “Tom Hiddleston should be The Joker” petitions flying around the internet because A: I’m not on board with it (you can’t just plug the guy into all the comic book villain roles like he’s some kind of Ikea hex key, for Odin’s sake), and naysaying can be a good time, and B: there’s some really fun photoshoppery going on (though I much prefer this idea).

I have been following a few other movie rumors that I thought might just pique your interest, though, so why not add some grist to the metaphorical mill?

Note: I’m certainly not going to touch on every rumor revolving around every nerdy reboot idea, so I really would love to hear your thoughts on any films or franchises I don’t (or do) list.  Sound off in the comments! Continue Reading »

(pictured: how big the Unreality team is going to get at some point)

I just wanted to make an official announcement post to say that applications for the open writer position are now closed. There was a WAY larger response than I thought there would be, so it’s going to take some time to sort through them all. I promise I’m reading every single one.

The bad news is that not everyone will get a spot because I can’t really add 50 writers to the roster. The good news is that I am going to open up more than one slot, and maybe bring on two or three new writers instead.

If you’re not picked, don’t be sad. If you pitched yourself well, you’re going in my “later” file. Our writers lead busy lives and have to come and go sometimes. When that happens I always turn to old applicants I liked but couldn’t fit in at the time. So if you don’t land a spot now, you could theoretically hear from me weeks or months from now if a position opens up.

Anyway, thanks to everyone for applying, and I’m truly blown away by your talent and love for the site. Really made my week.

Simple pitch today:

Do you like TV, movies, video games and/or comics?

Do you like Unreality and read it regularly?

Do you like writing with minimal amounts of typos?

Well, we may have a slot for you here. At the moment, I’m looking for one more writer to join our talented roster (seen above). It would be as little as one weekly column, list or article, or maybe two, if you were feeling frisky.

To apply, send a sample post to me at paultassi@gmail.com. If you’ve applied some time in the past, feel free to do so again. The sample article (attached as a Word document preferably) should be one that we could publish here, as it will give me a taste of what to expect from you in the future.

So yeah, send me some samples and I’ll get back to you as soon as I’m able.

Thanks!

I thought this was a leftover April Fool’s joke at first, but it seems that AMC is actually considering making a Breaking Bad spin-off show starring sleaze lawyer extraordinaire, Saul Goodman. It might even be a half hour comedy. What?

Vince Gilligan via Deadline:

“I like the idea of a lawyer show in which the main lawyer will do anything it takes to stay out of a court of law. He’ll settle on the courthouse steps, whatever it takes to stay out of the courtroom. That would be fun — I would like that.”

So….does this mean that Saul will indeed survive to the end of Breaking Bad? Or could this be a prequel. Either way, is this a good idea?

I mean, I’m all for continuing the Breaking Bad universe perhaps, but this seems like an odd way to do it. And would Vince Gilligan make this his next full-fledged project? I feel like his talents would be better used elsewhere.

I found out on Twitter.

Of course I did. It’s how I find out about any breaking death now whether it’s Osama Bin Laden or a classroom full of kindergartners.

This was a different type of death, less impactful, less sad, some may say. An old man dies. It happens all the time.

But this was different, this was Roger Ebert.

This was my hero.

Doing what I do, there are only so many role models you can have. If you work in media, there are plenty to choose from, actors, directors, screenwriters and so on. But writing about media? There’s one man who has inspired us all.
Continue Reading »

There’s been much speculation about whether or not the central trio of the original Star Wars would return in some capacity for episode VII. Would JJ Abrams use them or write his own story without them? Well, we’ve been hearing whispers about who’s in and who’s out, but George Lucas himself recently spilled the beans in an interview:

“We had already signed Mark and Carrie and Harrison—or we were pretty much in final stages of negotiation. So I called them to say, ‘Look, this is what’s going on.’?” He pauses. “Maybe I’m not supposed to say that. I think they want to announce that with some big whoop-de-do, but we were negotiating with them.” Then he adds: “I won’t say whether the negotiations were successful or not.”

I don’t know what he’s rambling about near the end there, but this sounds like a done deal to me. The question now is how prominent they’ll be in the films. The idea is that perhaps the films will focus on their children, already established in Expanded Universe Lore, and the trio could show up as parents. They’re likely a bit too old to be the stars of the show, though I suppose if they got whipped into shape, it could be possible? What do you think?

What about Chewie, seen above? Well, if he somehow made it into the prequels, I’m sure he’ll be around for the sequel.

Well, the verdict is in and Captain Kirk was right, old blowhards are already calling last night’s Oscars one of the worst ever. That seems a bit harsh to me, though I suppose I’m young enough to appreciate Seth MacFarlane’s brand of humor, but then again so was the audience. Unless I’m mistaken, I heard quite a chorus of laughter from the first line onward about Tommy Lee Jones.

The “badness” I do agree existed was the ham-handed tribute to “the music of film.” That apparently involved two very separated performances of James Bond songs, two out of place nods to Chicago (though less odd when you learn the producers were intimately involved in the making of the film) and disorienting moments like the Titanic theme playing just before a commercial break or the Jaws theme being used to play winners off. That last bit was probably the tackiest item of the evening, and note none of these were Seth MacFarlane’s fault.

But I suppose what people will really want to debate will be the awards themselves. The full list is here, if you’re curious, and there were few surprises. I would say the frontrunner won in 5 of the 6 major categories leaving for few shocking moments. The only one that caught me off guard was Christoph Waltz’s second supporting actor win for playing the “light side” version of the same character he did in Inglorious Basterds. That’s not an insult, and he did a damn fine job, but I just didn’t think they’d give him an award for such similar performance.

I don’t have a problem with Argo winning Best Picture. I may have preferred Life of Pi, but the director nod to Ang Lee was enough there, and it’s nice to see Ben Affleck honored who is now 3/3 in making great films, the last of which now gave him an Oscar to boot. His speech was rambling, strange and very emotional, and it’s always fun for us little people to see stars be…human. Jennifer Lawrence, seen above, was also a good example of that, tripping as she walked up to accept her trophy and genuinely seeming humbled by winning. Alas, the only true crime I thought took place during the evening was the worst Pixar movie since Cars 2, Brave, winning best animated feature over Disney rival, Wreck-It Ralph, one of the best animated films in years. The game would appear to be rigged.

Well, what did you think? Worst Oscars ever or just more hysteria from those who want Bill Crystal to host every year and Barbara Streisand to sing every ten minutes?

Here’s how I imagine the conversation went between Republican Tracy Arnold and his fellow legislators as he proposed a bill to ban human-animal hybrids last week.

Arnold: I’d like to call for a vote on my latest bill

Speaker: Tracy, we’re still in the middle of the child poverty act and–

Arnold: Mr. Speaker, the specter of human-animal hybrids looms. There will be no children left in poverty if their brains are all transplanted into bird lizards.

Speaker: We also have an education bill, medicaid reform–

Arnold: Have you seen these creatures? If you had, you would not be so flip.

Speaker: Tracy, I’ve told you that you can’t just draft a bill based on whatever movie you’ve just watched. This is the “Protect Our Cities from Giant Transforming Robots” bill all over again. And let’s not forget the “Stop Masked Animal or Insect-Themed Vigilantes Act.”

Arnold: That was my mistake. I now know that spiders are arachnids, not insects.

Speaker: Goddamnit.

Arnold: You won’t be laughing when the bird lizard women are flying around your house.

HB 819, The Protection of the Human Person Act:

“Embryos that contain human and nonhuman cells, nuclei or chromosomes.
Embryos that were created by fertilizing a human egg with animal sperm, or vice versa.
A nonhuman life form “engineered” with a human brain.”

Well I just got word that the Oscar nominations have been announced, and boy are they….something! I’m actually just reading through them now as I’m writing this, and so far, there don’t seem to be a terribly large amount of surprises. Though I am surprised I’ve never heard of two of the best picture nominees.

My mind is racing to think of what exactly got snubbed this year, but I do understand that “shit that I liked” does not necessarily equate to “shit that deserves to be Academy Award nominated.” As in, no Dark Knight Rises or Avengers to be found almost anywhere. All I have to say is that Wreck-It Ralph had better win best animated feature.

I know I’m late on my “best films of 2012″ list I do every year, but I didn’t want to make the same mistake last year where I didn’t see my true #1 (The Artist) until after I wrote the list. Therefore, once I see Zero Dark Thirty this weekend, I’ll be ready. And now I suppose I have to see “Amour” and “Beasts of the Southern Wild” too, but that may take a while as I don’t remember those being released anywhere within a 100 mile radius of me.

Check out all the nominees below, and I’d love to hear your thoughts. Continue Reading »

Hey guys, I started a fundraiser with a couple of my friends called Gamers For Sandy Hook. We are raising funds for the Sandy Hook PTA in light of the tragic shooting that claimed the lives of 20 children and 6 adults. The money will help the families affected shoulder funeral, medical costs and the like. Basically, anything to alleviate their grief and hardship. A memorial for the victims is also planned if enough funds were raised. Since we ,the organizers, are all avid video game players, we decided to create a video game themed charity.

At the moment, we have Elias Toufexis, popularly known as Adam Jensen from Deus Ex: Human Revolution, on board. He has endorsed us through a video message and he will provide us with signed merchandise as giveaways to random donors. Mark Meer, the voice of Commander Shepard, will have a Skype date with the person who donates the highest amount of donations. We’ve recently spoken to Sam Hulick, composer of the ME series, and he has expressed his support for our fundraiser. We will be announcing what that entails very soon! We are also happy to have Kate Drummond, voice of Anna Grimsdottir from Splinter Cell: Blacklist, participating in our project so we will announce more of that soon as well.

For more information, check us out at our website, Twitter, and Facebook pages.