Chris Hemsworth showed up in good spirits and for that he got soaked.

Hemsworth was game for a round of Water War with Jimmy Fallon and all it entailed. A simple card game might not make for good TV, but being able to pour water on someone’s head (or in Fallon’s case, Hemsworth’s crotch) certainly will.

Was this whole thing set up just so that the audience (and the YouTube viewers) could see Hemsworth in a wet white shirt? Maybe. Regardless, he hams it up for the camera and is a fantastic sport for the whole thing, from first flip to the final annihilation with a super soaker. He knows the audience will go nuts for it.

Almost everything about air travel is terrible, but the worst part is usually being seated next to the passenger from hell.

After an Expedia poll revealed the characteristics of the worst kind of people who fly, Jimmy Kimmel wanted to show his audience what those traits looked like. Instead of listing them or acting them out himself, Kimmel brought on Sir Patrick Stewart to personify them.

It used to be impossible to imagine Stewart as that asshole sitting next to (or behind) us, but now we can see it. We can see it perfectly.

Naturally, Stewart delighted in playing the worst kinds of jerks, and while it was completely exaggerated, it suggested that Stewart had seen or sat near all of those people on an airplane before. Unfortunately, Stewart's bit won't make dealing with the real thing on our next flight any easier.

No one is reading this story for my prose, so here they are. Obvious NSFW warning for boobs.

My name is Rae Votta, and I am in love with my selfie stick.

Selfie sticks, also known as monopods, were one of the hottest gifts of the 2014 holidays, unbeknownst to me. Dads were acquiring them in droves and immediately posting adorable photos. Everyone was writing mocking tweets and essays about their omnipresence. They’ve even already faced persecution in South Korea for their unregulated electromagnetic waves. And I unwrapped one on Christmas Eve.

They’re not new by any means; they dotted the landscape at last year’s VidCon, and conceptually, the monopod dates back as far as the 1920s. But here’s a little secret: Once you get a modern selfie stick, your life changes.

You may be scoffing at them now, wondering what sort of vain and dorky person wants to put their phone on a Bluetooth-enabled rod to snap pictures, but the moment you’ve got one in your hands, you understand. Don’t pretend you don’t take pictures of yourself. Don’t pretend you don’t take several shots at once to try and get the right angle. Aren’t we all sick of pedestrian limits of our own arm span? With a selfie stick, you can expand your creative world.

My selfie stick was a gift from a close friend who knows me too well and knows that I’ve been on a quest to improve my vlogging skills since I started covering the YouTube community for the Daily Dot. He followed my own gift guide and got me the most basic tool I’d need to increase my abilities. The moment I set up the Wi-Fi and attached my iPhone, I immediately snapped 17 shots in quick succession. We were at Universal Citywalk, bastion of tourists, and I started wandering around taking shots, switching to video and getting cool steadicam-style spinning moments. My friend may have rolled his eyes at me a bunch, but our walk back to the metro became a content adventure, instead of just a dull downhill trot.

Then I went to Hawaii, and took my selfie stick to the beach to capture perfect, nonchalant holiday snaps. Travel is the natural habitat of the selfie stick, combining the need to document your jealousy-inducing adventures with a lack of trust in the people around you whom you can hand your phone over to for a snap. The selfie stick solves this very real problem, and it’s fun to boot. Every time I saw another vacationer pulling out their own selfie stick I gave a nod, a moment of solidarity among innovators. No longer did I have to disrupt my friend’s nap to get her to take a picture of me fit for Instagram. I leapt into the ocean and shot a twirling video, then sent it to the friend who gave me the gift of a selfie stick life.

“Now I know how Dr. Frankenstein felt,” he replied.

To be sure, there are a few downsides to the current selfie stick design. First, the stick can only get so compact. If I want to take my selfie stick out for an adventure, I need to plan a particular purse to take, because otherwise it pokes out and looks like I brought some kind of fishing rod with me. For guys I assume this is even more problematic. (Is that a selfie stick in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?)

Second, some people are too lazy and leave the stick in their photos. I cannot stress enough that the whole point of a selfie stick is not to look like you’re using a selfie stick. You’re supposed to craft an effortless photo or a super-implausible one, but either way the actual stick should not feature in the photo. All it takes is some slight repositioning.

Finally, yes, you look like a tourist. Currently, holding one out and posing for a photo in a public place is like screaming, “I am wearing a money belt with my passport and 100 dollars strapped to my stomach!” However, once the selfie stick tipping point is reached and everyone is using one, you won’t be able to differentiate the out-of-towners from your neighbors. There’s really no way to look inconspicuous with a selfie stick in hand, but to that worry I say embrace your newfound self-portrait glory. Revel in the fact that you’re Facebook photos are going to be way better than that of your stick-less peers.

Sure, I’ve slowed down a little on my selfie stick use post-vacation. I haven’t taken it out for concerts or visits to friends’ houses, but it’s only a matter of time. I, for one, can’t wait until the bright future when selfie sticks are embedded in our arms à la Inspector Gadget for ease of use. There is no turning back from the selfie stick, and once it touches your camera, you too will see the light. Selfies aren’t going anywhere, and the next logical step is ways to make our selfies better. For now, that comes in the form of a retractable pole that you’ll wonder how you ever lived without. Viva la selfie stick.

Photos via Rae Votta (C) used with permission | Ravi/Flickr (CC BY SA 2.0) | Remix by Jason Reed

With some county courts in Florida declining to marry any couples rather than accept a ruling in favor of same-sex marriage—a decision that sparked a wave of anti-gay protests—The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart mocked the state as a “mugshot factory” full of moral hypocrites.

Nobody living in a place notorious for local news items about people setting cars on fire over McDonald’s desserts and assaulting pet store employees with exotic reptiles, Stewart argued, can reasonably claim that the recognition of homosexuals’ civil rights is a threat to civilization. And yes, he has the “Florida Man” montage you’ve always dreamed of.   

Screengrab via Comedy Central  

Remember when Spike Lee launched that $1.25 million Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign way back in July 2013 for an as-of-that-time unnamed new and hot joint with the tagline, “Human beings who are addicted to Blood. Funny, Sexy and Bloody. A new kind of love story (and not a remake of Blacula).”?

Remember all the heated debates it sparked about whether or not it was kosher for multi-millionaires from traditional Hollywood to try to leverage their audiences and newfound funding mechanisms to make potentially risque projects outside the familiar, but sometimes unfriendly confines of the traditional entertainment landscape?

And remember how Lee ended up raising more than $1.4 million for the campaign, with at least $290,000 of that sum coming from 29 individuals who put up $10K a piece to go out to dinner with the Academy Award-nominated director and sit courtside with him at a Knicks game?

Well, the crowdfunded flick has now been released. And it’s on Vimeo On Demand before it’s in theaters.

Da Sweet Blood Of Jesus dropped on the video-sharing website’s pay-to-rent-and-own platform on January 13, 2014, where it’s currently available for a $9.99 24-hour streaming rental or a $14.99 digital download.

“I’m hyped on my partnership with Vimeo to get my new joint ‘Da Sweet Blood of Jesus’ out to the world in a new way,” Lee said in the release. “This is the future of film distribution. Please join us.”

Gravitas Ventures acquired the North American distribution rights to Lee’s over-the-top horror film back in November 2014. At that time the distributor let loose its plans to release the movie theatrically on February 13, 2015 (just in times for Valentine’s Day!) and on-demand. But there was no indication the on-demand release would pre-empt Da Sweet Blood Of Jesus‘ big screen debut.

“Spike Lee is one of the most iconic filmmakers of our time and we couldn’t be more thrilled to work with him on this unprecedented release,” said Vimeo Audience Networks General Manager Greg Clayman, in the release. “We are huge fans of Spike and were drawn to the film’s independent spirit. Having built an audience and raised over a million dollars on Kickstarter, we are beyond excited to bring the film to fans directly one month ahead of the theatrical release.”

Da Sweet Blood Of Jesus is inspired by Bill Gunn’s cult horror classic Ganja & Hess. The sanguine story first screened at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival and obviously stuck with Lee, who first saw it as a New York University film student. Similar to its inspiration, Lee’s joint focuses on an unhealthy obsession for blood developed by an intellectual in the upper echelons of academia. Here’s the official synopsis:

When Dr. Hess Green (Stephen Tyrone Williams) is introduced to a mysteriously cursed artifact by an art curator, Lafayette Hightower (Elvis Nolasco), he is uncontrollably drawn into a newfound thirst for blood that overwhelms his soul. He, however, is not a vampire. Lafayette quickly succumbs to the ravenous nature of the infliction but leaves Hess a transformed man. Soon Lafayette’s wife, Ganja Hightower (Zaraah Abrahams), comes looking for her husband and becomes involved in a dangerous romance with Hess that questions the very nature of love, addiction, sex, and status in our seemingly sophisticated society.”

Lee filmed the “at times scene for scene and shot for shot” remake of Ganja & Hess in 16 days back in Fall 2013 in Brooklyn and Martha’s Vineyard with a cast of the aforementioned, relatively unknown actors. And here he is introducing it to the online video masses:

Though you might not be a fan of her music, Taylor Swift’s commitment to her fans is undeniable. In 2014 alone the 1989 artist took to Instagram to leave touching personal notes on admirers’ photos, sang unforgettable duets with leukemia patients, and even made a surprise appearance at a fan’s bridal shower. But just when you think the season of Swiftmas is over, the pop star has one final trick up her sleeve for a fan named Rebekah Bortnicker.

The Swiftie took to Tumblr on Monday to showcase her “Swiftmas” gifts which arrived after a little later than expected. According to a card that was enclosed in the package, Taylor was so in awe of the video Bortnicker made, which cast Swift and her celebrity BFFs in a spoof of the Friends opening credits, that she had to send out a thank-you.

In the “Swift-Ex” box Rebekah found some Polaroids, a necklace, an original work of art by the singer, a wallet, and a check for $1,989. “Rebekah, Now you’re $1,989 closer to paying off those student loans,” Swift wrote.

Though she was at a loss for words while she was opening the gifts, Bortnicker was more composed on her Tumblr, where she wrote a lovely thank-you note to the singer for her generosity.

Taylor, you are the most amazing person. I can’t believe you did this for me, I can’t believe this is my life right now. Thank you, I could say it a million times and it wouldn’t be enough. I love you. (once I can actually comprehend this I’m going to try and write something more meaningful lol). 

So just remember Swiftes, always be on your best behavior, because Taylor sees you when you're sleeping, and she knows when you're awake. 

H/T People | Photo via jazills/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia—back Wednesday night for its 10th season—has enjoyed almost a decade on the bubble of top 10 lists. On the air for the entire decade between The Wire and HD-fashioned nostalgia for The Wire, the underdog sitcom about terrible people doing profane, bro-y things trucks along with the consistency of a street corner falafel. 

All the while, television has been too good for it to warrant a sustained spotlight. To borrow a line from Duck Phillips, nobody wants to write a prose poem to a potato chip in the era of ravenous bloggers and their dissection of the hidden intentions found in True Detective, Mad Men, and Lost.

But it's still crawling like a lightly racist and homophobic cockroach, here to down beers and make casual rape jokes. The show defaults to progressive notions (gay marriage, a woman's right to choose, interracial relationships, immigration) but does so with mildly alienating blunt force. The ever-lasting parallel is Seinfeldbut about crack: sociopaths that scheme about petty things like winning a radio contest where the reward is the chance to shoot a puck at a Flyers game. 

Yet the series is distinctly weird, critically endorsed, and delightfully lived-in. As such, its appeal floats with the smartest American high school kids. Having spent the past month burning through the series on Netflix, without previously tuning in, the bottom line is that I can't stop laughing at it. 

If you're like me and haven't made time to search for whatever the hell FXX is, cue up these 10 episodes on Netflix and try not to lose it.

1) 'The D.E.N.N.I.S. System'

"I would have gone in and bought a box of Magnum condoms, thus demonstrating that I have a monster dong." 
— Danny DeVito as Frank Reynolds

In this one, Dennis, the gang's default leader, outlines his six-step method of seduction. It involves emotional abuse and manipulation, but it's basically a send-up of pick-up artistry as his hyperstylized methods don't alter much from the work of real-life Tinder scumbags. 

2) 'Frank's Pretty Woman'

"Look, we're going to rehabilitate the dog. We don't want it to attack other dogs. Now, we would like for it to attack people."

3) 'Charlie Wants an Abortion'

"What's that?" 
"That's the list of doctors I'm going to kill."
"There's two already crossed out." 
"Yeah, I know."

4) 'The Gang Sells Out'

"Of course we sing; we're a gang."

The gang has to find a job, and this leads our heroes toward a short stint at a TGI Friday's-esque restaurant wherein they overdo it on free drinks and unlimited dips. Meanwhile Frank reunites his '50s street gang, the Yellow Jacket Boys.

5) 'The Gang Gets Extreme: Home Makeover Edition'

"Wake up, my brown friend; it's time to change your life."

The gang concocts a home invasion and kidnaps a Mexican family with the noble intention of giving their home an Extreme Makeover: Home Edition-inspired sprucing up. Everything goes terribly wrong. 

6) 'The Gang Wrestles for the Troops'

"The eagle's born out of thunder / He flies through the night / Don't you mess with his eggs now / ...or you'll see us fight!"
— Birds of War theme song

7) 'Mac and Dennis Break Up'

"Whether or not Mac ends up living here, you need to stop eating cat food."

Once again, Charlie and Frank are left alone long enough to hatch chaos. In this case, it's rescuing a cat stuck in Dee's wall by… dropping several more cats into the wall. 

8) 'A Very Sunny Christmas'

"You have to earn what you get. This principal is what made me a multi-millionaire.”
“No, no, stealing millions of dollars from your ex-business partner is what made you a millionaire."

9) 'The Gang Reignites the Rivalry'

"We totally poisoned your asses!"

This episode could have been the most post-frat house, escapist fantasy bullshit ever: 30-year-old men hook up with coeds and party. Instead, it perfectly captures the time in a person's life when they realize that they're entirely disconnected from what is youthfully hip. But there's no chamber of reflection; instead, the gang wins a drinking competition by poisoning their more able-bodied rivals.

10) 'The Nightman Cometh'

"She also transcribed my work into a format you might consider a little bit more legible."

Charlie writes a nonsensical musical during this season 4 finale. It's elaborate, catchy, and achieves peak Sunny. When you think of the all-time greatest individual sitcom episodes—"Marge vs. the Monorail," "The Soup Nazi," "A Benihana Christmas"—this has to be a conversation starter.

Photo via Joey L/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Twin YouTubers Austin and Aaron Rhodes decided to kick off 2015 by getting something important off their chest in front of their more than 56,000 subscribers. The Rhodes twins took to their channel to come out, while at the same time informing the last person in their family who didn't know: their father.

He goes on to talk about how his job has made him more accepting and ends the phone call repeating that he loves them both.

This is far from the first time YouTubers have used their channels to make formal announcements about their sexuality. Last year, YouTube megastar Connor Franta released a coming-out video to much fanfare. It's great to see an up-and-coming pair like the Rhodes twins, who only started on the platform six months ago, feel so comfortable sharing private moments so early in their YouTube journey.

H/T HuffingtonPost | Screengrab via The Rhodes Bros / YouTube

Broad City might just be the gift that keeps on giving. First, Comedy Central released every hilarious episode from season 1 on its new app, no television service-provider required. Now the show is spiking your iPhone keyboard with a ridiculously fun new app. And it’s free.

The app, available on the iTunes store, features Ilana and Abbi-centric emojis, stickers, and GIFs for all your texting needs. Not only are the keyboard features hilarious, they are absurdly easy to access.

After downloading the free app, you simply go to general settings, then keyboards, and add the “Broad City keyboard” from the list of options. Be sure to turn on full access. Then, text away! If that sounds hard to follow there’s an in-app tutorial.

A friend sent a text over to alert me about the app and within minutes I was squealing with glee as my thumbs discovered the joy of this little gift from our favorite stoner besties.

Photo via Comedy Central

Two weeks into January and people’s commitment to their New Year’s resolution are already wearing thin. Going to the gym and staying fit can be a drag in the dead of winter, so sometimes it helps to have a friend around. You know, someone to spot you during a chest press, hold you accountable for all your reps, or just cruise you while you’re working out alone at 3 am.

Luckily for redditor jnitsuj, a man by the name of John Travolta was there to do one or all of those things. According to his post, the famous  and allegedly closeted actor came up to introduce himself to the handsome, sweaty man since they happened to be the only two souls at the gym at such an absurd hour.

John approached him and asked if he was married, if he had kids, what he did in his spare time, and then started talking about his private jets. He said they talked for a while.

Based on the background and the color scheme, the gym in question looks to be a Planet Fitness. Which begs the question, why isn't John Travolta a member of a nicer gym like Equinox? Because he's clearly not spending the money on hair transplants. 

H/T Gawker | Photo via Bombardler Aerospace/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Everything is not awesome. Everything is not cool.

The list of Oscar nominations are out, and among all of the congratulatory tweets and Dick Poop jokes, we have the snubs. Lots of people will be talking about the acting and directing snubs for Selma, but a world-building film is notably missing from the list: The Lego Movie.

Someone, however, had an even better idea. The Lego Movie didn’t get nominated, but it’s TheLego Movie. Surely someone could put those Lego to use, right?

Screengrab via Warner Bros. Pictures/YouTube

Singing rap songs as Broadway tunes is now GOOP-approved.

Performing a song in a different genre is a tried-and-true method of making something feel fresh, and when it comes to performing them on The Tonight Show, it’s no different. Having already “played” piano with Anne Hathaway and Ariana Grande, Jimmy Fallon teams up with Gwyneth Paltrow, who sang on Glee in recent years, for another edition of making new showstoppers.

She’s got plenty of F-bombs to drop, but her anaconda still doesn’t want anything, and we’re not sure what exactly she’s trying to do with that deep voice drop. But she seems to be having fun with it, so we’ll give her that.

Three prominent YouTubers are heading to the White House to question the leader of the free world.

President Barack Obama will sit down for a Q&A with popular video bloggers Hank Green, Bethany Mota, and GloZell Green to answer questions about his administration's agenda. The Q&A will be broadcast live on Jan. 22, two days after the president's sixth State of the Union address.

Between the three of them, Green, Green, and Mota have more than 13.7 million subscribers. Hank Green's portion of that figure only includes his Vlogbrothers channel, which he shares with his brother, the author John Green.

John Green has asked President Obama a question before, but that was during one of the administration's first-ever Google+ Hangouts. In the Google blog post announcing the Q&A, News Lab Director Steve Grove noted that YouTube and Google are “doing something we've never done before.”

“Does this terrify me? Yes,” he wrote on Tumblr. “But it’s also not the kind of thing you say ‘no’ to.”

From the looks of the promotional video, all of the YouTubers already have some idea of what they want to ask Obama. They're closely attuned to their viewers and understand the issues that concern them. Their audience skews young, making them exactly the people President Obama wants to reach as he considers his agenda for his last two years in office.

In an effort to be as prepared as possible, Green asked Twitter for more suggestions and a bigger perspective on the experience.

Screengrab via YouTube Spotlight/YouTube

It features cameos by Portlandia's Fred Armisen, Sarah Silverman's dog, either Mark Zuckerberg or the dude who played Mark Zuckerberg, Ellen Page in handsome flannel, Tami Taylor, Natasha Lyonne, frequent collaborator Miranda July, and pretty much everyone else in the universe who is rad and has good taste in music except us.

Sleater-Kinney's new album is out on Jan. 20, but NPR's First Listen has the whole thing available for your repeated streaming pleasure right now. If you didn't already click that link, what are you doing? Get the hell out of here and go listen to it.

Screenshot via Sub Pop/YouTube

With Sunday’s Golden Globes behind us and the Oscars fast approaching in February, we’re officially in the throws of award season. This morning the nominations for the 87th Academy Awards were announced, and despite the appalling lack of diversity among this years nominees and some glaring snubs, there are still some strong films in contention for Oscar gold.

While most of the nominees are still in theaters, some are available to watch from the comfort of your own couch. So sit back, grab your bowl of popcorn, and get ready to dive into this years Oscar nominees. Stream these contenders and decide for yourself  who you think is truly worth of taking home the gold on Feb. 22. 

Begin Again

Nominated for: Best Original Song (Lost Stars)

Available to stream on: Amazon, iTunes

The Boxtrolls

Nominated for: Best Animated Feature

Available to stream on: Amazon, iTunes

Boyhood

Nominated for: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Ethan Hawke), Best Supporting Actress (Patricia Arquette), Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing

Available to stream on: Amazon, iTunes

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Nominated for: Best Visual Effects

Available to stream on: Amazon, iTunes

Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1

Nominated for: Best Documentary Short

Available to stream on: Amazon, HBO

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Nominated for: Best Visual Effects

Available to stream on: Amazon, iTunes

Finding Vivian Maier

Nominated for: Best Documentary Feature

Available to stream on: Amazon, iTunes

Gone Girl

Nominated for: Best Actress (Rosamund Pike)

Available to stream on: Amazon, iTunes

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Nominated for: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Original Screenplay, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Original Score, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Production Design

Available to stream on: Amazon, iTunes, HBOGO

Guardians of the Galaxy

Available to stream on: Amazon, iTunes

How to Train Your Dragon 2

Nominated for: Best Animated Feature

Available to stream on: Amazon, iTunes

Ida

Available to stream on: Amazon, iTunes, Netflix

The LEGO Movie

Available to stream on: Amazon, iTunes, HBOGO

The Judge

Available to stream on: Amazon, iTunes

Last Days in Vietnam

Available to stream on: Amazon, iTunes

Maleficent

Available to stream on: Amazon, iTunes

Virunga

Available to stream on: Netflix

X-Men: Days of Future Past

Nominated for: Best Visual Effects

Available to stream on: Amazon, iTunes

 H/T: Time | Photo via daverugby83/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

A hilarious new video from sketch-comedy group Lavo Lyfe tackles a familiar late night foe: drunk texting.

If you've ever received a “sup?” or sent a “hey” while you were out drinking with pals and staring at your phone, the video will have you rolling on the floor with laughter. "Too real," you'll tell yourself.

The video parodies the ASPCA’s famously depressing advertisements. It's set to the same music, Sarah McLachlan's “Angel,” but its sweeping slow shots feature no kittens or puppies. Instead, drunk girls cling to their phones and their drinks as they weep, hoping against hope to receive a text back.

The hilariously earnest representative for the #TextHerBack campaign urges viewers to respond to all those late-night texts: “You can save a girl from two slices of pepperoni pizza and a side of ranch.”

Mel Owens and Eva McEnrue, the brains behind that Craigslist ad for fall boyfriends, wrote the sketch, and they plan to release more next month. Keep an eye on the Lavo Lyfe YouTube channel for more laugh-til-you-cry videos.

Screengrab via Lavo Lyfe/YouTube

As Roger Ebert pointed out in his unwritten rules of the Oscars, the Academy rarely gives out awards for subtlety. "It never hurts to ask yourself," he wrote, "Who did the 'most' acting? Most editing? Most noticeable cinematography or music?" 

In the costume category, this is truer than ever. The award invariably goes to the film with the most impressive and noticeable costumes, whether this means creating a selection of historically accurate crinolines or outfitting an army of elves.

Two ingredients are required for an Oscar nomination in costume design. First, it's helpful to be a familiar face who has been nominated several times before. Secondly, you need to have worked on a historical drama (preferably starring Keira Knightley), a sci-fi/fantasy epic, or a musical—the three genres that produce the most showy and memorable costumes. 

Judging by these two criteria, this year's nominees are comfortably predictable.

• The Grand Budapest Hotel is a highly stylized late-20th century drama with costumes by Milena Canonero, who has won three Oscars among her nine nominations so far.
• Into the Woodsis a fantasy musical, with costumes by industry superstar Colleen Atwood. She has three Oscars already, and this is her 11th nomination.
• Mr. Turner is a historical drama with costumes by Jacqueline Durran. She has been nominated three times for historical romances starring Keira Knightley, winning one for Anna Karenina.
• Maleficent is a fantasy movie with one of the most memorable costumes of the year, Angelina Jolie's gothic horned outfit as the title character. This was designed by Anna B. Sheppard (three nominations) and Jane Clive, the only Oscar newbie on this list.
• Inherent Vice is set in the 1970s, with costumes by the incredibly prolific Mark Bridges, who has been nominated twice before and won an Oscar for The Artist in 2012.

Basically, the closer a film looks to real life in the present day, the less likely it is to be nominated for an Oscar. Even the gritty Hunger Games: Mockingjay failed to make it onto the list, although its absence may partly be due to its relatively unknown designers Kurt & Bart.  

When Sandy Powell (10 nominations; three wins) accepted her most recent Oscar for The Young Victoria in 2010, she dedicated the award to designers who work on contemporary films rather than "movies about dead monarchs or glittery musicals." It was a strong hint that the Academy should start thinking outside the box when nominating costume designers, but that hint was ignored.

Powell was nominated again the next year for Hugo, sharing a list with four other historical movies, including Madonna's disastrous biopic of Wallis Simpson, W.E. This, by the way, was the same year that Drive and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo came out. Both are arguably Oscar Movies, and both are excellent examples of smart and visually interesting costume design in a contemporary setting. Sadly, even Ryan Gosling's iconic scorpion jacket—still an Ebay favorite three years later—was not enough to make a dent.

The Costume Designer's Guild solved this problem by dividing its nominees into Contemporary, Fantasy, and Historical categories, so films like Gone Girl, Interstellar, and Skyfall were no longer overshadowed by the Star Treks and Great Gatsbys of the world. Since the Oscars don't have the option of separating genre nominations, it's up to the Academy voters to shake things up. And so far, we're not seeing much sign of that.

Photo via notseweasy/Tumblr

Kevin Hart may finally be getting his revenge for being forced to ride a giant roller coaster.

Hart and Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon go all in on a game of Slapjack, which basically functions as your regular game of Blackjack except the winner gets to slap the loser with a giant rubber hand. 

We can nitpick on the style of Blackjack they’re playing all day, but that doesn’t really matter—nor, I suspect, does anyone even care about the game. Let's just see some slaps!

BY DAN WILKINSON

Buried on YouTube, there’s a veritable treasure trove of 68 videos that effectively rewrite TV history. Each video delivers a classic TV theme, rewritten with a more oblique take on the stories (e.g., an alcoholic Bart Simpson and How I Met Your Mother meeting a violent end). It’s the work of musician Erik Helwig, whose labor of love was creating new songs for TV shows—including some he’s never even seen before—and tweaking our collective nostalgia at the same time.

The videos all begin with the iconic HBO logo, a hallmark of unmissable late-night viewing. Erik explained: “It seemed like a funny/stupid consistency thing. Also, it would be a sign to anyone looking for the real theme that something might be wrong.”

It was his latest project, though, that caught the attention of Reddit and Gawker, where it was described as “smart, and genuinely funny, and probably too weird to go viral, anyway.” It’s rare that such an interesting idea could stay hidden on the Internet for so long; finally, someone was allowed to create and develop their ideas in peace. Helwig explains that the themes themselves were honed in isolation: “I just kept doing it no matter what. It was basically a theme per day for all that time.”

It all started in March of last year when Helwig and his girlfriend were watching HBO’s Girls, and he came up with his version of the intro off the top of his head. Though the inspiration came from altogether different place—Adult Swim’s animated talk show Space Ghost Coast to Coast—Helwig said the ultimate goal was “to create parodies that make it clear you've never actually watched/experienced the show, where it sounds like you're being a snarky prick but you're messing up all the details so clearly something is amiss.”

But what started out as a joke songs soon became music in their own right. After doing a song every day, everything had become a blur until his girlfriend heard his latest song—the theme for Are You Afraid of the Dark?. “She told me that I could use it as a real song. I said I could change the lyrics and stuff, but she said I didn’t need to change a thing. I … realized I’d crossed a boundary into more legit territory. I couldn’t figure out whether it was a joke anymore? Or was it a real thing? I’d got lost in my own project, which was a neat feeling.”

Letting the outside world in hasn’t been all positive though, with some commenters not getting the joke and at least one disputing his skewed view on The Simpsons, a world in which Bart and Marge are married and Bart is an alcoholic. “One guy was legit mad and figured that I just messed up the details that far. Which is pretty absurd in itself that someone could spend hours making something like that and then just completely ruin everything by mistake!”

Even though some comments may not be the most positive, Helwig takes them all in. Some even put in requests or suggestions for new tracks, “and I don't think they actually think I'm going to do it … and then BAM, it's up there kind of like a personalized little weird gift.”

For the man who's spent a year in TV isolation, it’s good to see he’s embraced the best lessons the very sitcoms he parodies have to offer.

Screengrab via Friends/Netflix