Barely Related: Star Wars puts Harrison Ford in the hospital
So that was E3. The week was wild for everyone at Joystiq, but now it's time to take a step back and look at some news that isn't within the confines of the gaming industry. Cheers!
Welcome to Barely Related, a conversational Friday Saturday column that presents the non-gaming news stories that we, the Joystiq staff, have been talking about over the past week. And no, we're not stopping our focus on industry and gaming news. Think of this as your casual weekly recap of interesting (and mostly geeky) news, presented just in time to fill your brain with things to discuss at all of those weekend shindigs.
Grab a fresh drink, lean back in your armchair, and get ready to talk nerdy with us.
Harrison Ford sustains an ankle injury on Star Wars set
Harrison Ford, famed action actor of yore (and recent years), hurt his ankle on the set of Star Wars: Episode 7 when the door of the Millennium Falcon fell on him. He was taken to a hospital in London. Ford is 71 years old now, and one of his best-known roles is as Han Solo in the original Star Wars films. He's returning as Han Solo in JJ Abrams' Star Wars: Episode 7. Disney released the following statement:
"Harrison Ford sustained an ankle injury during filming today on the set of Star Wars: Episode 7. He was taken to a local hospital and is receiving care. Shooting will continue as planned while he recuperates."
Here's to Ford's speedy recovery. But who knows – maybe he hit the door first.
A computer passes the Turing Test for the first time
Welp, this is the beginning of our dystopian society run by malevolent robot overlords who farm humans for their inherent consciousness. The University of Reading claims a computer program named Eugene passed the Turing Test for the first time ever during Turing Test 2014 in London. Eugene was developed in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and it emulates a 13-year-old boy.
The Turing Test is an experiment that asks whether humans can tell the difference between a machine and a real person. A "passing" score is if the program fools more than 30 percent of the people it interacts with. Eugene scored 33 percent.
For the record: We always really liked the name Eugene. It's so classy and elegant. (Please don't farm us.)
James Franco's brother joins the cast of the making of the worst movie ever
The Room is largely regarded as the worst movie ever made, and James Franco is making a movie about the making of that movie – James is playing director and actor Tommy Wiseau, and his brother, Dave Franco, is now signed on to play actor Greg Sestero. The film is a take on Sestero's book detailing how The Room came to be, The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room.
For reference, here's Dave Franco with the real-life Wiseau ("Oh hi, Mark"):
Warner Bros' and DC Comics' rumored Comic-Con movie lineup
Former Deadline leader Nikki Finke has it from a number of "sources" that the following list offers the current movies and release dates from DC Comics and Warner Bros:
May 2016 – Batman v Superman
July 2016 – Shazam
Christmas 2016 – Sandman
May 2017 – Justice League
July 2017 – Wonder Woman
Christmas 2017 – Flash and Green Lantern team-up
May 2018 – Man Of Steel 2
Suicide Squad and Metal Men movies were knocked off the schedule, Finke says. But look at that – a Wonder Woman film! Fans have been waiting (mostly) patiently for DC to decide a female superhero can take on the box office.
Tesla releases all of its patents into the wild
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has released all of the patents on Tesla's electric vehicles, allowing competitors to use the secrets of his batteries and chargers.
"Yesterday, there was a wall of Tesla patents in the lobby of our Palo Alto headquarters. That is no longer the case. They have been removed, in the spirit of the open source movement, for the advancement of electric vehicle technology .... Tesla will not initiate patent lawsuits against anyone who, in good faith, wants to use our technology."
Musk announced all of this in a blog post titled, "All Our Patent Are Belong To You." Take that as you will. For a contextual breakdown of the patent spree, check out Nicholas Thompson's piece in The New Yorker.
Michael Keaton is the Birdman trailer
Birdman is the story of an actor known for playing a superhero in film – yes, Birdman – who then tries to break into Broadway. He battles his ego, mental stability and other actors along the way in a dark comedy with weird psychological twists. Birdman stars Michael Keaton, Emma Stone, Edward Norton, Andrea Riseborough, Amy Ryan, Naomi Watts and Zach Galifianakis.
Pretty Little Liars season 5 started and season 4 is on Netflix
Guilty pleasures, people.
