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Whenever there’s a real life health epidemic, we often collectively turn to fictional narratives as a way of understanding them – or maybe just coping . Back in the ’90s, when the Ebola virus terrorized worldwide populations with an extinction-level plague, audiences flocked to theaters to watch Dustin Hoffman and Rene Russo fight a fake version of the virus in Outbreak. Of course, more recently the The Hot Zone mini-series focused on the actual Ebola virus and the repercussions of it spreading.

But the current health epidemic currently panicking everyone is the Coronavirus. After first identifying it in China late last year, doctors have recorded 6,171 confirmed cases of the virus, leading to 132 deaths. Meanwhile, only three known cases were identified in the United States as of right now. And as populations steel themselves for another epidemic, they once again turn to fiction for ways to identify, comprehend, and maybe be entertained by a simulation of that impending danger. According to The Hollywood Reporter (via Slashfilm), Steven Soderbergh‘s 2011 film Contagion entered the top 10 on the iTunes movie rental chart on Tuesday January 8th at the number 10 spot, alongside recent hits like Joker, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Parasite.

In Soderbergh’s film, Gwyneth Paltrow plays an American who develops aggressive flu-like symptoms after a business trip to Hong Kong. But she and the rest of the world quickly discover that it’s some kind of super virus, as it spreads like wildfire across the country. By the end of the film, some 2.5 million North Americans die before scientists can develop a vaccine. Soderbergh conceived the movie with screenwriter Scott Z. Burns (The Report)  in the wake of 2000s epidemic scares like SARS and the Bird Flu. Paltrow leads an all-star cast featuring Marion Cotillard, Bryan Cranston, Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, and Kate Winslet. Unlike her Marvel films, Paltrow probably remembers making this one, since (spoiler alert) she not only dies but gets graphically dissected during an autopsy.

The original report indicates that “Google searches regarding Contagion’s availability via streaming began spiking late last week. By Monday, it rested at No. 13 on the iTunes chart before landing at No. 10 the next day.” I don’t know about you, but if I were truly scared about deadly viruses, the last thing on Earth I would watch is a Doomsday scenario movie about an extinction-level health crisis. But perhaps living vicariously through characters in a fictional scenario — especially one heavily researched and broadly fact-driven as the events in Soderbergh’s film — might offer some insights into how best to prevent or avoid catching something in real life. (Some of its presented stats, such as the number of times we touch our faces per day, are not only based in truth but genuinely surprising.)

But as realistic as Contagion may seem, it’s best to remember that its story is a work of fiction, and should not be used as a guidebook for protecting oneself from a true epidemic like the Coronavirus. Of course, why people would look to that movie — or any Hollywood virus movie — for tips in an outbreak remains baffling. But even if pure, morbid curiosity drives the recent increase in the film’s rentals, watching widespread disease and death portrayed on a global scale, there’s something reassuring about keeping those health risks quarantined in the realm of the imagination.

Featured Image: Warner Brothers 

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Weeks after Disney issued cease and desist orders for dozens of pieces of unlicensed merchandise inspired by The Mandalorian’s adorable breakout character “The Child,” Sideshow Collectibles premiered a life-size version for pre-sale on Wednesday, promptly crashing the company’s website as orders flowed in. Sideshow restored its site to functionality shortly thereafter, offering squeeing fans the opportunity to obtain their own photorealistic version of Baby Yoda for the very first time.

Despite showrunners’ insistence that The Child absolutely is not an infant version of the Star Wars saga’s oldest, wisest and perhaps most grammatically-challenged Jedi, “Baby Yoda” instantly captured the hearts of fans after premiering in Chapter 2 of Lucasfilm’s flagship series for Disney+. He became a fan favorite overnight whose exploits social media users pored over, deconstructed and of course memed immediately into oblivion as the story of The Mandalorian Season One evolved.

Merchandising titan Disney failed to develop a series of toys and collectibles available for immediate consumption upon the character’s arrival, an inexplicable choice except possibly as some sort of deep-cut homage to the absence of action figures when George Lucas released the original Star Wars in 1977. Sideshow’s figure follows a handful of plush toys and other lightweight trinkets with a complicated and detailed replica of the animatronic puppet used by filmmakers to bring the character to life.

Sideshow assembled the 16.5” figure from fabric, plastic and resin, creating not only The Child’s trademark tan coat and diminutive frame, but the irresistible swell of his eyes and nuanced hues of green that pigment his skin. We’re not sure if the fact that he’s life-sized is adorable or creepy, but at best he’ll be the most unique garden gnome in your front yard, and at worst stare at you every night from a dusty shelf while you rewatch him in action on The Mandalorian. The retail price for The Child is $350.

The Mandalorian‘s release kicked off the launch of Disney’s streaming service, Disney+, not only with exclusive Star Wars content fans couldn’t find elsewhere, but a glossy, highly-polished adventure that felt authentic to the worlds created in the films. Disney felt so confident about its success that the company announced plans for a second season at the same time as the premiere of its predecessor.

Critics and fans loved analyzing the various influences, inspirations and Easter eggs in Season One’s eight episodes, but Baby Yoda became such a phenomenon so quickly that discussion of the character’s future became a dominant topic of conversation during press coverage for J.J. Abrams’ The Rise of Skywalker, which took place decades after the events of The Mandalorian and had almost nothing to do with the show.

Disney premiered a plush version of The Child on the company’s website in late 2019 which predictably sold out almost immediately. Disney currently also sells several other Baby Yoda-branded items like espadrilles, tote bags and iPhone cases – a first wave of products before the company’s storied merchandising undoubtedly goes into overdrive. In which case, if a photorealistic version of this character isn’t your collectible of choice, what Baby Yoda item would you most like to acquire? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

Photos courtesy Sideshow Collectibles.

The post Life-Size BABY YODA Debuts From Sideshow Collectibles appeared first on Nerdist.

Having been overlooked many times before his business picked up, Tyler Perry understands how it feels to be left out. This is why he likes to bring on people who demonstrate more drive than any résumé can show, according to CNBC.

“There’ve been many times that people will come in and audition and they weren’t the best talent but they had a hunger and a zeal to get it right, to do it. And that hunger, what I found 9 times out of 10, that hunger is enough to catapult them to greatness in what they’re doing,” Perry told LinkedIn’s This is Working on Friday. “And I’m always looking for the underdog.”

Perry recently made news when he offered Darrell Hall, an ex-felon a job working at Tyler Perry Studios. Hall was sentenced to life in prison back in the 1990s for possession of two grams of cocaine. After more than 20 years behind bars, he was released last month due to Fulton County’s brand new Conviction Integrity Unit. He served more than 13 years before the new program—a project that re-examines past convictions that are believed to be excessive based on the circumstances involved.

“I’m working with people who have Ph.D.’s and former inmates. We’re all side by side doing what we need to do and I think it’s very important to have that kind of experience,” Perry says.

Perry feels that there is no job that he can’t do at his company and that it’s important for him to learn the responsibilities of every position he is hiring for. “I think it’s important to learn everyone’s job so that you know who you’re dealing with, how you’re dealing with them and how to get the best out of them,” he says.

Perry says he looks for people who are built like him, who “everybody counted out” and were told that they’re not going to make it, and that mentality makes it easier for him to work with a diverse group of people.

“I realized that there was a different way to reach each [person], and I just realized I had to be malleable in my training style, in my teaching style of whomever I’m speaking to, just be malleable in it enough to get us to a place where we’re all pushing in the same direction.”

Source: Goodboy Picture Company / Getty

The amount of unread emails I have is embarrassing. If you could see the little figure that pops up over my email icon, notifying me of how many messages I haven’t opened, you would think that I’m very neglectful of my correspondence, but that isn’t the case. It’s all the spam! It’s all of the emails lettings me know that this place is having a sale and this theater is running this play and this charity needs donations urgently, and this credit card offer is about to expire. Ugh. I get these messages, flooding my inbox, and think, “When did I even give this company my email address??”

The issue with all of the spam emails is threefold. First, if there are too many, it makes it hard for you to even pick out your important emails amongst the sea of spam ones, making it so easy to miss critical messages from, say, your boss or bank. Second, opening some of them can make you vulnerable to viruses, but the subject lines seem so legitimate that, you may make the mistake of clicking “Open.” And third, many are totally legitimate, but promoting deals and sales that you really shouldn’t be looking at. You know you don’t need to buy that month pass to that fancy salon or a new rug, just because the company is running a special.

It seems like some companies must be listening when you simply say your email address out loud to a friend, because you really don’t know how they got your information. It feels like every day, I wake up, open my inbox, and find that five new companies got a hold of my contact information. It’s infuriating. But if you’re going to keep spammers out of your inbox, you need to be oh high alert, like this.

via GIPHY

Don’t exchange it for free merchandise

You’re at a mall or bar, and some perky college students representing a new brand approach you, offering you a free thermos, box of chocolate, jewelry, or other product, in exchange for you simply filling out a little card that asks for some information like your email address. Don’t do it. The years of spam email isn’t worth the free Kombucha.