Comic Con picks up steam

It’s Comic Con Friday, so things in San Diego are picking up steam. Tonight: Spaceballs. Right now: Coyote vs Acme. As a lifelong Looney Tunes fan, I am just so, so happy this movie was saved from David Zaslav’s weird anti-toon agenda, and that it is being supported so well by its new distributors, Ketchup Entertainment and VVS Films. They had a panel in Hall H today, with Will Forte, Paul Scheer, PJ Byrne, and a guy dressed in a Wile E. Coyote furry suit.

A new trailer also dropped, and this movie continues to look like a no-brainer:

John Cena is exactly the right guy to play the evil Acme CEO, because he has just the right level of commitment to the bit. He’s on the right side of smarmy and totally selling the idea that he is threatening Tweety Bird. I also love that the trailer is set to Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy”. Classical enthusiasts will say that “Ode to Joy” is some basic, entry-level sh-t, but Looney Tunes has always been one of the most accessible places for the average person to encounter classical music, and that DOES matter. And editing the anvils dropping gag to the beat of Beethoven? C’mon, that’s just classic Looney Tunes stuff right there.

Another panel that happened today was for the Blade Runner spin-off series, Blade Runner 2099, starring Hunter Schafer, Jamie Campbell Bower, and Michelle Yeoh. It’s set fifty years after Blade Runner 2049, so we continue to follow how Ridley Scott’s sci-fi dystopia unfolds. Honestly, the Blade Runner future looks more and more possible every day.

When it comes to dressing for a sci-fi series at Comic Con, Hunter Schafer understood the assignment. Really good to see her moving on from Euphoria. Here’s hoping she stays booked and busy and futuristic. It’s a great look on her.

---

What else happened today…

Gen Z is old enough to now be licensed medical professionals. This is one arena where I really think we all need to get out of their way and let the youths fix some stuff in our broken healthcare system. Like remember Dr. Kwon telling Langdon to develop work-life balance on The Pitt? Or Javadi’s second life as a medical influencer? Those storylines aren’t coming out of nowhere, they’re grounded in the reality of a new generation entering medicine. I’m excited to see what they bring to it, just as I am hitting middle age and am increasing my number of annual screenings. (Popsugar)

Daisy Edgar-Jones in a GREAT dress. Is it kooky? A little! But she looks great in it. (Go Fug Yourself) 

“Does Brad Pitt’s estrangement from his kids hurt his celebrity brand?” – No. Sadly. It doesn’t hurt Tom Cruise, either, but in Cruise’s case, regarding Suri, I think we all lowkey think she’s better off outside Scientology, so we don’t poke at it too hard. In Pitt’s case, he has effectively branded Angelina Jolie with the “parental alienation” label—which is not a recognized diagnosis—and he skates by without reputational harm. No matter that his kids are one by one legally dropping his name and living lives wholly separate from him, it has not stuck to Pitt’s Movie Star persona one whit. But I will always remind you! Brad Pitt’s kids want nothing to do with him!!! (Celebitchy) 

I do not want to worry about AI when I am eating out! Food is the last place I want to encounter AI! I most especially would not trust a restaurant using AI to generate images of their food because that’s just straight up false advertising. Right? I want to see what the food ACTUALLY looks like, not what you WANT it to look like.

In a larger sense, I do think it is interesting that there is such a widespread revulsion to AI, across so many different sectors and facets of life. Because this technology is here, and it’s not going away, but the way it is currently being forced into daily life probably won’t last, because no one f-cking wants it. Eventually, we’re going to have to figure out the ways and places that our lives can intersect with AI meaningfully and usefully. Restaurant ads and fake food photos aren’t it. (Eater)

(Note from Emily: Lainey linked to Hannah Sung's piece on BTS yesterday in this space, but it was behind a paywall. We've updated the link in yesterday's What Else, and here it is again! Enjoy.)