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https://www.thenerdelement.com/2023/07/20/paramount-activation-the-lodge/
Originally created as part of the streaming platform’s Mountain of Entertainment campaign, Paramount+ is thrilled to be bringing a new iteration of The Lodge to SDCC goers this summer. Immersing attendees in an ultimate ‘mountain lodge’ experience, The Lodge will walk guests through a variety of photo moments and themed decor inspired by some of the summer’s biggest titles, including Good Burger, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, Yellowjackets, Spongebob Squarepants and more. Themed refreshments will be served, allowing you to munch on sliders and fries straight from the Good Burger counter and sip cocktails crafted at the 1923 speakeasy
“Scenes from The Lodge, an off-site activation from Paramount+. Well worth lining up for. You receive two free drink tickets and one free Good Burger ticket (meat or vegetarian slider), plus there are plenty of photo ops and activities from Paramount+. If you are attending SDCC this year stop by and check out Paramount+ Lodge!
Paramount+: The Lodge Experience at San Diego Comic-Con
July 19th
Doors Open & Exclusive Look Begins at 4:00pm
Happy Does – 340 Fifth Ave, San Diego, CA 92101
The post Paramount+ Activation, “The Lodge” appeared first on The Nerd Element.
Originally created as part of the streaming platform’s Mountain of Entertainment campaign, Paramount+ is thrilled to be bringing a new iteration of The Lodge to SDCC goers this summer. Immersing attendees in an ultimate ‘mountain lodge’ experience, The Lodge will walk guests through a variety of photo moments and themed decor inspired by some of the summer’s biggest titles, including Good Burger, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, Yellowjackets, Spongebob Squarepants and more. Themed refreshments will be served, allowing you to munch on sliders and fries straight from the Good Burger counter and sip cocktails crafted at the 1923 speakeasy
“Scenes from The Lodge, an off-site activation from Paramount+. Well worth lining up for. You receive two free drink tickets and one free Good Burger ticket (meat or vegetarian slider), plus there are plenty of photo ops and activities from Paramount+. If you are attending SDCC this year stop by and check out Paramount+ Lodge!
Paramount+: The Lodge Experience at San Diego Comic-Con
July 19th
Doors Open & Exclusive Look Begins at 4:00pm
Happy Does – 340 Fifth Ave, San Diego, CA 92101
The post Paramount+ Activation, “The Lodge” appeared first on The Nerd Element.
Barbie is already the kind of smash hit studio executives dream of when approving a big budget film with an internationally renowned IP. Greta Gerwig’s critically-acclaimed movie now owns the record for biggest debut weekend by a female director. It nearly doubled its expected opening box office in mere days. More impressive is that it already exceeded its $145 million production costs in domestic sales alone. And yet, reviews and tickets sold don’t paint the complete picture of the movie’s accomplishments. Because despite its outsized budget, critical acclaim, packed theaters, all-out-marketing, and branded subject matter, a movie about an iconic toy is also primed to become a modern day The Rocky Horror Picture Show-style cult classic.
There’s no universally agreed upon definition of what qualifies a movie as a “cult classic.” Some have tried, but it’s a distinction with enough exceptions to render a uniform designation almost meaningless. Certain parameters tend to apply to most of them, though. They often have either been box office flops, critically panned, or simply downright ignored when they arrived in theaters. Before you can become a cult movie you typically have to possess almost no cultural cache. Only by being outside the mainstream can a small, extremely devoted audience then elevate your standing. It’s why big successful movies like Star Wars or Star Trek aren’t usually considered cult classics despite swaths of cult-like fans.
None of which applies to an historic, pricey, instantly successful box office blockbuster like Barbie. Especially not one featuring some of the biggest stars in the world and made by Mattel, an international conglomerate. And definitely not when the film, though undeniably subversive and original, is still ultimately a love letter to the iconic toy. There is nothing niche or overlooked about Barbie. It’s a movie that serves as a defense of a problematic toy and has a marketing budget that dwarfs most films. It could not possibly be more in the mainstream.
And yet, anyone who has been to a theater (in good faith) to see it already knows the energy around the movie is entirely different from most blockbuster films. It’s not merely that people are showing up to see it in costumes. People do that for MCU films, too. Women also did it for Sex in the City and Magic Mike. It’s that long lines of pink-clad moviegoers, spanning generations and greeting one another with enthusiastic “Hi, Barbies!,” feels reminiscent of the communities that form around cult classics. Spiritually Barbie isn’t a successor to other event releases, like a Batman movie. The way it’s connecting with women is akin to the kind of connection fans have with The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
No one could have predicted that. I thought Barbie would be a big success even before I saw it. But I knew something was different when I went to my early screening. The audience consisted of press and public alike, and it was very easy to identify my colleagues in the crowd. Most of the non-press arrivals wore pink dresses, pink shorts, pink shoes, pink shirts, pink headbands, pink skirts, and any other article of pink clothing they could find. This was even more true the next night when I returned for my Oppenheimer screening. A second early Barbie showing taking place in the next theater saw so many women show up in pink it felt like it was a mandatory dress code to get in.
Even better was the pure excitement they arrived with. They weren’t there simply to see a movie in costume or even just to enjoy themselves for a couple hours. They were there in celebration. Whether it was to celebrate a toy they love, feminism, femininity, or one another, Barbie is offering something that was clearly desperately needed and wanted. It’s not just a film, it’s a communal event . And the fact it’s really good and giving its audience everything it hoped for is only feeding the energy that surrounds it.
That energy will only grow with time because something magical is going on with this film. It’s impossible to completely capture why, but it’s undeniable. As excited Barbie enthusiasts see it again and again, the community the film has already created will inevitably branch out from costumes and shared greetings. Eventually showings will include singalongs and interaction with the screen. They’ll resemble the joyous midnight showings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Eventually (sooner than later) people will get up perform “I’m Just Ken” in aisles like they do with “Time Warp.” They’ll dance during Barbie’s big disco sequence and yell “Hi, Barbie” every single time a character does. Others will stand and recite America Ferrera’s great monologue when Gloria lets loose. And we’re all going to end up scream-singing the Indigo Girls’ “Closer to Fine” each time it plays. Same with Rob Thomas’ “Push.” Eventually we’ll all end up liking that song so much we’ll become part of the joke. We’ll even cheer guys who bring guitars into the theater because they’ll obviously be in on the fun, too.
Something incredible is going on with this film. It’s engendering a feeling and connection no one can intentionally plan for or make happen because no one can consciously make a cult classic. Does that mean we have to completely reconsider what a cult classic is and can be? And does a Mattel-approved film becoming one ruin the very concept? Who cares! I promise you no one who loves Barbie does. Instead they’re already picking out their next pink outfit, Barbie or Ken costume, or striped Allan shirt for their next viewing. They only care about seeing it again with enjoying it alongside others who feel the same way.
That’s the best thing about loving a cult classic, a concept that transcends genres and can’t be fully defined because it’s more of an idea than something tangible. You don’t have to care what others think. The mainstream opinion—good, bad, or indifferent—doesn’t matter. All that matters is the feeling it evokes. All that matters is the experience of being a part of a movie that means something special to you and a community you’ve become a part of, the way The Rocky Horror Picture Show means so much to so many. So enjoy Barbie now as much as you can at sold-out screenings any time of day. That will make it even more fun someday when we’re watching it at midnight in a packed theater of people in pink.
Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.
The post BARBIE Is Destined to Become a Modern Day ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW Cult Classic appeared first on Nerdist.
Star Trek fans just received a surprise gift. Paramount+ dropped the seventh episode of season two of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds early, after a Comic-Con premiere. And this wasn’t just any episode either. In “Those Old Scientists,” we saw the 2D animated lead characters of Star Trek: Lower Decks, Ensigns Brad Boimler and Beckett Mariner, not only go back in time to meet the Enterprise crew, but also move from animation into live-action. And played by their actual voice actors, Jack Quaid and Tawny Newsome, respectively. Luckily, they both look pretty close to their animated counterparts in real life. Here’s how the first epic (but also low-key) crossover between live-action and animated Star Trek shook out.
How Did the Lower Decks Characters End Up in the Strange New Worlds Timeline?
This crossover episode actually began in the animated world of the late 24th century, on board the U.S.S. Cerritos. For the uninitiated, that’s the main starship on Lower Decks. The ship arrives at Krometh B, where an ancient time travel portal was first discovered by the Enterprise 120 years prior. They task the away team with checking if the portal is still functioning, simply because there’s no record of it working for over a century. Ensign Tendi, an Orion, insists however that her people actually discovered the portal, not the Enterprise. Despite what any historical records might say.
The portal has not worked in over a century. However, Boimler is excited to interact with anything discovered by the crew of the original Enterprise. Well, original Federation Enterprise, as he later points out. (This will matter later). While analyzing the portal, he realizes that there are traces of a rare alloy called Heronium. Boimler’s fumbling around then results in the machine activating, sending him back in time to the 23rd century. Right into the era of Strange New Worlds. And right away, he meets the Enterprise away team of Spock, Una, and La’an. They’ve just arrived on the planet too.
What Happened In This Lower Decks and Strange New Worlds Crossover Episode?
Now onboard the Enterprise NCC-1701, time-tossed Boimler, who worships the heroes of Starfleet history, is star-struck in meeting them. Especially Captain Pike and Number One. Boimler constantly almost breaks the temporal Prime Directive. Accidentally, he gives way too much information about the future to people in the past. Boimler nevertheless befriends Enterprise crew members, and tries to set up a surprise birthday party for Captain Pike. Orion scientists, who actually discovered the portal, then beam it onto their ship. Boimler helps to provide information for Pike’s crew to get it back. But when they attempt to send him back to his proper time, things go awry yet again. Boimler’s friend Beckett Mariner then appears in the past too.
With two future people on board his ship, Pike doesn’t know quite what to do with them. Mariner fangirls over meeting Uhura. But Boimler worries they will both become stranded in the past. In a moment of bonding with Pike, Boimler realizes they both idolize Captain Archer of the NX-01 Enterprise (famously of Star Trek: Enterprise). Then it hits him. Starfleet actually plated the first Enterprise with a Heronium alloy. The exact metal needed to make the portal work and send them back home. And since tradition demands that one piece of an old ship needs to be incorporated into the namesake version, some Heronium alloy exists on board the current Enterprise. And with that discovery, Boimler and Mariner can use the portal to go home. But not before Spock gives them a “Live long a prosper” salute. One final moment for Brad Boimler to geek out about.
Is It Likely That the Lower Decks Characters Will Return Again to Strange New Worlds?
Time travel happens pretty much all the time in the Star Trek universe. Someone sneezes and they are in another century it seems. So while there’s nothing suggesting that the Cerritos crewmembers will ever encounter Pike and company again, there’s nothing really stopping them from having another encounter either. After all, there are other crewmembers of the Cerritos who still could appear in live-action. Of course, the Enterprise from Strange New Worlds could also travel forward in time, arriving in the 24th century, becoming animated themselves on Lower Decks.
Other crossovers that involve time travel could see the Enterprise crew meet a live-action version of the crew of the Protostar from Star Trek: Prodigy. Or, the Enterprise encounters the crew of a future namesake, the Enterprise-G. That was the starship under the command of Captain Seven of Nine seen in the Picard series finale, and which has Jean Luc Picard and Beverly Crusher’s son Jack as a crewmember. Fans are clamoring for a spin-off series from Picard called Star Trek: Legacy, but in the meantime, it sure would be fun to see the NCC-1701 come across the NCC-1701-G out in space. In the Star Trek universe, anything can happen as long as portals, wormholes, or a warp-speed slingshot around a star are part of Trek lore.
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