In the "Futurama" episode "A Fishful of Dollars", Fry (Billy West) remembers that he had 93 cents in his savings account when he was cryogenically frozen in 1999. After a thousand years of .25% interest, however, that amount had grown into a fortune of 4.3 billion dollars. Thankfully, inflation hasn't kept pace, and Fry is suddenly one of the wealthiest people on the planet. As anyone with abrupt access to a massive fortune might, Fry immediately begins to squander his riches on frivolous things. He buys the Mona Lisa merely so he may use it as a clay pigeon for skeet shooting. He tries to recreate a slobby, 20th-century apartment just as he remembered it. Most notably, he buys an ancient can of anchovies at auction, a valuable commodity indeed, given that anchovies went extinct many years before. The anchovies, still sealed, are guaranteed to be edible.
Unbeknownst to Fry, however, the anchovies are...
Unbeknownst to Fry, however, the anchovies are...
- 5/9/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
In the "Futurama" episode "The Problem with Popplers", the Planet Express crew lands on a distant, uncharted planet hoping to find a fast food joint; the ship had run out of supplies and Bender (John Dimaggio) was only able to make a meal with baking soda and capers. They land on a Class-m planet which, as Leela (Katey Sagal) explains, should at least provide roddenberry bushes. What they find instead are craters stuffed with brown, crunchy, edible meat nuggets ... that are utterly delicious. Snarfing ensues.
No one has set foot on this planet before so the Planet Express crew packs up the morsels and takes them back to Earth to sell on street corners. It's not long before they attract the attention of fast food proprietor Fishy Joe (Maurice Lamarche), and turn the nuggets — nicknamed Popplers — into a global phenomenon.
Naturally, there is something unusual about the Popplers. While Leela eats,...
No one has set foot on this planet before so the Planet Express crew packs up the morsels and takes them back to Earth to sell on street corners. It's not long before they attract the attention of fast food proprietor Fishy Joe (Maurice Lamarche), and turn the nuggets — nicknamed Popplers — into a global phenomenon.
Naturally, there is something unusual about the Popplers. While Leela eats,...
- 4/12/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
In the "Futurama" episode "Attack of the Killer App", the Planet Express crew becomes rabidly enamored of a new piece of consumer electronics, the eyePhone, an eyeball-mounted social media browsing widget released by the evil MomCorp. The episode's writer, Patric Verrone, was careful to lampoon the fervor that accompanied Apple's iPhones in real life, pointing out that any scarcity is manufactured, and that consumers tend to be a little too cavalier with the object's inexplicably high price. A store employee tells Fry (Billy West) that the eyePhone costs $500, and also that "you have no choice of carrier, the battery can't hold a charge, and the reception isn't very —" Fry interrupts him by screaming "Shut up and take my money!"
That line of dialogue has become a well-worn meme across the barren alkali flats of the internet. Whenever a new film is announced, or a new product is introduced into the market,...
That line of dialogue has become a well-worn meme across the barren alkali flats of the internet. Whenever a new film is announced, or a new product is introduced into the market,...
- 1/16/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Lrrr, the ruler of the planet Omicron Persei VIII, first appeared on "Futurama" in the season 1 episode "When Aliens Attack" and was voiced by the inimitable Maurice Lamarche. Lrrr, a vicious and violent conqueror, had become obsessed with 1990s-era Earth TV, as it had taken a thousand years for those TV signals to reach his planet. As far as Lrrr was concerned, "Friends" reruns were brand new. Lrrr was also closely following a series called "Single Female Lawyer," which was the "Futurama" version of "Ally McBeal." It seems the season finale of "Single Female Lawyer" was knocked off the air a millennium ago, and Lrrr has come to Earth -- with a massive fleet of warships -- to discover how the episode ends. It will be up to the show's clownish heroes to "swede" a season finale on the fly.
Lrrr has appeared in 13 episodes of "Futurama" to date and...
Lrrr has appeared in 13 episodes of "Futurama" to date and...
- 12/31/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
After 18 years at the top of the Writers Guild of America West, executive director David Young is departing. And the chief negotiator who led the union in its latest round of negotiations amid a historic strike — Ellen Stutzman — will take his place.
The WGA West board of directors announced the leadership transition to members on Friday. “Our membership owes David a great debt. His organizing experience and strategic acumen were essential to building the Guild into the fighting organization it is today,” the group stated in it message. Young will remain at the union through the remainder of his contract, but Stutzman’s promotion is effective immediately.
Young, who joined the union in 2004 as an organizing director and stepped into the executive director role a year later, led the union through a momentous period, including the 100-day strike in 2007-8 that tackled what was then called “new media” and the...
The WGA West board of directors announced the leadership transition to members on Friday. “Our membership owes David a great debt. His organizing experience and strategic acumen were essential to building the Guild into the fighting organization it is today,” the group stated in it message. Young will remain at the union through the remainder of his contract, but Stutzman’s promotion is effective immediately.
Young, who joined the union in 2004 as an organizing director and stepped into the executive director role a year later, led the union through a momentous period, including the 100-day strike in 2007-8 that tackled what was then called “new media” and the...
- 11/4/2023
- by Katie Kilkenny
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The eighth episode of the latest season of "Futurama" was called "Zapp Gets Canceled," and it finally put the show's most horrendous, inappropriate, and lascivious character, Zapp Brannigan (Billy West), on trial for his life of horrible behavior. He is emblazoned with a bright red "C" (for "canceled") and forced to attend a sensitivity training workshop. Zapp, as thick as two planks, doesn't quite absorb the training, feeling that his arrogant, crass, offensive, racist, misogynistic behavior is perfectly acceptable. Because "Futurama" is a pretty cynical show, Zapp is ultimately proven right. His brashness eventually proves to be useful in a crisis situation, and he is reinstated, un-canceled after all. I suppose the un-canceling of Zapp Brannigan is appropriate, coming from a show that, itself, has been un-canceled several times over.
The writers of "Futurama" are smart cookies, and series co-creator David X. Cohen has bragged in the past that his...
The writers of "Futurama" are smart cookies, and series co-creator David X. Cohen has bragged in the past that his...
- 10/7/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
The first episode of David X. Cohen's and Matt Groening's animated sci-fi sitcom "Futurama," called "Space Pilot 3000," saw the directionless twentysomething Fry (Billy West) wandering into a cryogenics lab, delivering a pizza just minutes before midnight. No one is there. He checks the order slip and sees that the pizza was ordered by "I.C. Wiener." He is despondent and annoyed. The year 2000 is about to begin, and he opens a beer, depressed to be ringing in the millennium alone and at a dead end in life. Then he trips. Fry lands in a cryogenic tube, and he is immediately flash-frozen. He will remain frozen for nearly 1000 years.
When he awakens, it is still New Year's Eve, only in 2999. The future is a strange and wondrous place. There are space aliens living on Earth, wandering through the streets of vast, towering metropoles. Sentient robots walk among us ... and are alcoholics.
When he awakens, it is still New Year's Eve, only in 2999. The future is a strange and wondrous place. There are space aliens living on Earth, wandering through the streets of vast, towering metropoles. Sentient robots walk among us ... and are alcoholics.
- 9/24/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Apple may have entered the virtual reality arena earlier today with the unveiling of a new platform and headset, launched with the help of Disney boss Bob Iger, but in the real world it spent the day being targeted by writers.
The WGA decided to leaflet outside Apple’s HQ as well as in various cities including LA, New York and Washington, DC.
In LA, a slew of writers went from protesting outside of Television City to The Grove, where Apple has one of its stores and handed out information about the strike to consumers interested in new iPhones and laptops.
WGA leadership, including former presidents Patric Verrone and David Goodman, as well as Secretary Treasurer Betsy Thomas, lead a march to leaflet at the Apple Store at the Grove #WritersStrike pic.twitter.com/xnnJC0qkxc
— Deadline Hollywood (@Deadline) June 5, 2023
Former WGA West President David Goodman told Deadline that it...
The WGA decided to leaflet outside Apple’s HQ as well as in various cities including LA, New York and Washington, DC.
In LA, a slew of writers went from protesting outside of Television City to The Grove, where Apple has one of its stores and handed out information about the strike to consumers interested in new iPhones and laptops.
WGA leadership, including former presidents Patric Verrone and David Goodman, as well as Secretary Treasurer Betsy Thomas, lead a march to leaflet at the Apple Store at the Grove #WritersStrike pic.twitter.com/xnnJC0qkxc
— Deadline Hollywood (@Deadline) June 5, 2023
Former WGA West President David Goodman told Deadline that it...
- 6/6/2023
- by Katie Campione, Peter White and Sean Piccoli
- Deadline Film + TV
On May 12, Variety partnered with Reddit’s Television subreddit to host an Ask Me Anything discussion about the ongoing writers strike. Variety co-editor-in-chief Cynthia Littleton — who has covered the television industry for 25 years and wrote the book “TV on Strike: Why Hollywood Went to War Over the Internet” about the 2007 strike — fielded many smart questions from Redditors, touching on topics like AI, who gets paid during the strike, and how long it could last. Below are key selections from the discussion, lightly-edited for clarity.
From user milkyginger: How are smaller writers paying their bills? Have they taken up other jobs or does the guild help them out?
The guild does have a healthy strike fund and it can and will directly help members who are in dire straits. But long-term, the loss of paychecks will be felt by WGA members who tend to live in expensive-town places like LA and NY.
From user milkyginger: How are smaller writers paying their bills? Have they taken up other jobs or does the guild help them out?
The guild does have a healthy strike fund and it can and will directly help members who are in dire straits. But long-term, the loss of paychecks will be felt by WGA members who tend to live in expensive-town places like LA and NY.
- 5/15/2023
- by Cynthia Littleton
- Variety Film + TV
It’s deja vu all over again for Patric Verrone, the former WGA West president who led the guild during the 2007-08 writers strike.
Verrone, who spoke to Variety while picketing outside Fox Studios in West Los Angeles, sees a number of parallels to the dynamic that led to the work stoppage in November 2007 but also a number of important differences. He is a member of the negotiating committee that has been wrangling this latest three-year contract with executives at the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
“I would say the chief similarity is that in 2007, and in 2023, the management didn’t believe us, when we said we were going to strike and that our demands were genuine, and that we had the full support of our membership,” Verrone said. “There was skepticism on the part of the companies that this would actually happen.”
The biggest difference from the...
Verrone, who spoke to Variety while picketing outside Fox Studios in West Los Angeles, sees a number of parallels to the dynamic that led to the work stoppage in November 2007 but also a number of important differences. He is a member of the negotiating committee that has been wrangling this latest three-year contract with executives at the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
“I would say the chief similarity is that in 2007, and in 2023, the management didn’t believe us, when we said we were going to strike and that our demands were genuine, and that we had the full support of our membership,” Verrone said. “There was skepticism on the part of the companies that this would actually happen.”
The biggest difference from the...
- 5/5/2023
- by Cynthia Littleton
- Variety Film + TV
Updated with latest: Day 3 of the Writers Guild of America strike against Hollywood studios dealt with a few L.A. rain showers but continued strong turnout at 10 Los Angeles locations as well as at Silvercup Studios and Seret Studios in New York City.
Much of the conversation in L.A. was about Wednesday night’s WGA West meeting at the Shrine Auditorium, where guild leaders discussed the state of the strike and saw support from other Hollywood unions and guilds. It came as a similar meeting held by the WGA East in New York.
Related: WGA’s Patric Verrone: Resolve Of Writers Is Stronger Than During 2007-2008 Strike
Related: WGA’s David Goodman Slams Latest Studio Response, Says Paramount’s Bob Bakish Sounds “Scared”
Another notable theme Thursday: trucks looking to drive onto at least four separate studios were turned away after seeing protesters holding picket signs. One featured...
Much of the conversation in L.A. was about Wednesday night’s WGA West meeting at the Shrine Auditorium, where guild leaders discussed the state of the strike and saw support from other Hollywood unions and guilds. It came as a similar meeting held by the WGA East in New York.
Related: WGA’s Patric Verrone: Resolve Of Writers Is Stronger Than During 2007-2008 Strike
Related: WGA’s David Goodman Slams Latest Studio Response, Says Paramount’s Bob Bakish Sounds “Scared”
Another notable theme Thursday: trucks looking to drive onto at least four separate studios were turned away after seeing protesters holding picket signs. One featured...
- 5/4/2023
- by Dominic Patten, Katie Campione, Rosy Cordero, Scott Shilstone and Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Patric Verrone knows a thing or two about negotiations between the writers and studios.
As President of the WGA West from 2005-09, he was in charge during the last writers strike in 2007 and 2008.
He tells Deadline that the resolve of membership is “even stronger” than last time out.
“I think the biggest similarity [with 07-08] is that the studios weren’t convinced that we were going to strike, and I think they are similarly now wondering how long we’re gonna last,” he said. “The resolve of the membership then and now, however, is even stronger.”
Verrone said Wednesday night’s WGA meeting highlighted this. “I’ve been in this membership for 37 years. I was President during the last strike. I’ve never seen the kind of outpouring of support from the Hollywood labor movement as we saw last night,” he said. “More than anything what makes the nature of a union...
As President of the WGA West from 2005-09, he was in charge during the last writers strike in 2007 and 2008.
He tells Deadline that the resolve of membership is “even stronger” than last time out.
“I think the biggest similarity [with 07-08] is that the studios weren’t convinced that we were going to strike, and I think they are similarly now wondering how long we’re gonna last,” he said. “The resolve of the membership then and now, however, is even stronger.”
Verrone said Wednesday night’s WGA meeting highlighted this. “I’ve been in this membership for 37 years. I was President during the last strike. I’ve never seen the kind of outpouring of support from the Hollywood labor movement as we saw last night,” he said. “More than anything what makes the nature of a union...
- 5/4/2023
- by Katie Campione and Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s original screenplay for award-season juggernaut Everything Everywhere All at Once and Sarah Polley’s adapted screenplay for Women Talking scored the marquee awards Sunday at the WGA Awards.
The WGA, which handed out its trophies for the year’s best writing in dual ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York City, also gave Apple TV+’s Severance wins for Drama Series and New Series, and FX’s The Bear for Comedy Series. HBO’s The White Lotus won for Limited Series, and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver won for Comedy Variety Talk Series.
Everything Everywhere completed its sweep of the major guild awards with the win, which comes after triumphs at PGAs, DGAs and the SAG Awards, as well as Saturday in the category at the Spirit Awards. It has 11 Oscar nominations including Original Screenplay.
Related: Charlie Kaufman Slams Industry Suits At WGA...
The WGA, which handed out its trophies for the year’s best writing in dual ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York City, also gave Apple TV+’s Severance wins for Drama Series and New Series, and FX’s The Bear for Comedy Series. HBO’s The White Lotus won for Limited Series, and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver won for Comedy Variety Talk Series.
Everything Everywhere completed its sweep of the major guild awards with the win, which comes after triumphs at PGAs, DGAs and the SAG Awards, as well as Saturday in the category at the Spirit Awards. It has 11 Oscar nominations including Original Screenplay.
Related: Charlie Kaufman Slams Industry Suits At WGA...
- 3/6/2023
- by Erik Pedersen and Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
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