'California Typewriter' is Far More Than an Ode to a Vintage Gadget

Sometimes, you just need to take a step back and reflect. That's the message behind California Typewriter, the debut documentary from Doug Nichol. The film dives into the dynamic between humans and machines, exploring how we used to interact with technology and how it's changed over the years.

The film features appearances from celebrities like Tom Hanks, John Mayer, and Sam Shepard. While there's certainly an homage to typewriters, there's a greater question that Nichol poses: how do we react to things disappearing in our lives? For some, they look to the future. Others get stuck in the past, living a life of nostalgia. Both ways can lead down fulfilling paths, and sometimes there's beauty in cherishing where you are in life.

"If you walk away with a message from it, take a moment to reflect," Nichol says. "Life isn’t all about efficiency. We’re in a rush for things to be faster and faster, but that can bring problems. Part of the fun of life is to do something for yourself. It’s like riding a bicycle versus riding a motorcycle. They’ll both get you there, but one of them is a more enjoyable journey."

Nichol's first typewriter during the project was an Underwood 5, which he bought on eBay. Throughout the course of the film, he amassed a collection of 85 typewriters. His favorite of the bunch? An Erica 10.

"It was made in Germany in the 50s and it’s so beautiful," Nichol explains. "It’s got a little button you push and the top opens like the trunk of a car. I picked this up for 25 bucks and you cannot get the mechanics and efficiency of it nowadays."

And while Nichol admits he's in line whenever a new iPhone comes out, he hopes people will take solace in admiring a job well done. Even if it means getting your hands a little dirty.

"Work is fun. I think a lot of people maybe don’t realize that work brings fulfillment," he says. "Maybe things will be faster and more efficient, but what’s the cost of that to society? It's about finding that right balance."

California Typewriter is in theaters now. Check out the trailer below:

SNL's "Papyrus" Sketch Is Pure Magic

Saturday Night Live kicked off its 42nd season Saturday, and boy, did it deliver the goods. Ryan Gosling served as host and delivered a handful of memorable sketches, though one struck me as particularly delightful. I won't spoil the details, but Gosling as an obsessive graphic designer (or at least someone with an appreciation for graphic design) is terrific.

Perhaps it's because my company just underwent a rebrand and I got a glimpse of all the craziness that goes into design work. Perhaps it's the idea that someone could be so passionate about a movie poster that's nearly a decade old. Or perhaps it's just a really funny sketch. Whatever it is, it's a winner. Enjoy!

Moonlight Wins Best Picture After La La Land Is Announced As Best Picture

WATCH: Moment where crew/cast of 'La La Land' realizes a mistake had been made and 'Moonlight' actually won Best Picture. #Oscars pic.twitter.com/WCCopwsJ66

— Good Morning America (@GMA) February 27, 2017

Well, I guess this is why people watch the Oscars. Taking a page out of the Miss Universe pageant, Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway announced the winner of Best Picture for the 2017 Oscars. The card said "La La Land," so Dunaway made the proclamation that it had won.

As they celebrated onstage, the La La Land folks realized they had actually not won, and Moonlight, in fact, took home this year's Best Picture. In an incredibly gracious display, they invited the Moonlight team up onstage and presented them with the award. Beatty, who took an awfully long time to read the card, came up to the microphone to explain why: the card had actually said "Emma Stone, La La Land." The pair had the card from the previous award for Best Actress. It was mass confusion, and made the end of the award ceremony a little more entertaining than in years past. This is also the second time in less than a year that a major award has been announced incorrectly. We can do better than this, America.

Green Day Performing in Toronto for World Cup of Hockey

Fresh off dropping a single that sounds like a return to the good ol' days, Green Day just announced they're playing in Toronto on September 23 for the World Cup of Hockey. Tickets for the event go on sale September 8 at 10 a.m. local time for $25.

It's a busy time for Green Day, whose album Revolution Radio comes out October 7. It'll be their 12th(!) studio album, and if "Bang Bang" is any indication, it's gonna be great. Frontman Billie Joe Armstrong is also set to appear in the film Ordinary World, which is set for an October 14 release. He plays an aging rocker whose modern-day family collides with his punk rock past. I'm sure that was a stretch for him as an actor. The film also stars Fred Armisen, Judy Greer and Selma Blair.

For now, let's just enjoy "Bang Bang" over a long weekend. We've certainly earned it.

The Best Viral Video You've Ever Seen, Probably

Birbiglia, Keegan-Michael Key">The Viral Video: The Most Popular Short Film Ever (By Mike Birbiglia) from Funny Or Die

Mike Birbiglia's film Don't Think Twice just saw a nationwide release, and, predictably, the studio has asked him to make a viral video to help promote the movie. Unfortunately, the cast all have different thoughts on what will stick...can anyone come up with a winning idea? 

Little Mermaid's "Kiss the Girl" Sounds Radically Different in a Minor Key

Music is wonderful in how it can stir up emotions deep inside of us. It's similarly terrific in the way that you can slightly change it and it sounds completely different, for better or worse. I personally think this version of "Kiss the Girl" by Chase Holfelder, who moved The Little Mermaid into a minor key, is quite the jam. 

Instead of a catchy pop song that has everyone throwing their hands up and singing "sha la la" till the cows come home, we get something that sounds like an R&B track you'd hear at the club. It's pretty delightful. Enjoy! 

Seth Rogen Pranks Shoppers to Promote "Sausage Party"

Seth Rogen's new movie Sausage Party hit theaters this weekend, and to help celebrate, he went into a Los Angeles grocery store and set up animatronic produce. If you ever wanted your melons to talk, or your sausage to swear at you, well, you're in luck. Especially if you're a hipster. Turns out talking food doesn't like them very much.

RIP, Anton Yelchin

I first saw Anton Yelchin in the movie Charlie Bartlett, which introduced me not to just a terrific actor, but also to a delightfully catchy song by the Eels that played while the end credits rolled. Yelchin died early Sunday morning at the age of 27, when his car rolled backwards and pinned him against a mailbox pillar and a security gate at his Studio City home. It seems like a freak accident and is yet another reminder of the frailty of life, so go out there and live it to the fullest.

Yelchin also starred in movies like Alpha Dog and Terminator Salvation, but he was most well known for his role as Chekov in the Star Trek movies directed by JJ Abrams. Here's a compilation of some of Chekov's best moments, demonstrating why Yelchin truly was a pleasure to watch on the big screen.

Matthew McConaughey Makes a Lot of Weird Noises

Owenergy Studios, the good people who brought us the "Owen Wilson Says Wow" supercut, is back at it again with another tremendous compilation. This time it's Matthew McConaughey, who's busy making crazy noises in all of his movies. Acting at its finest. Enjoy!

Jordan Schlansky Reviews Darth Vader Helmet

As a big Star Wars fan, Jordan Schlansky probably got quite a bit of enjoyment out of May the Fourth Day. Especially so when you consider what he got–a replica of Darth Vader's helmet from The Empire Strikes Back. Naturally, Conan is there to make fun of him every step of the way. Enjoy!

Seth Rogen and Adam Goldberg Release Trailer for Sausage Party Film

In their first animated foray together, Seth Rogen and Adam Goldberg are once again teaming up to bring us Sausage Party, an animated movie that parents will surely bring their young children to, not realizing it's full of lewdness and profanity. As is typical in Rogen/Goldberg ventures (like This is the End and Neighbors), a good chunk of the humor appears to be in cursing and being disgusting, as we take a look at life through the eyes of food. All they want is to be purchased, but they soon find out home life isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Frankly, I don't think this trailer looks very good, but hey, I've enjoyed some of the movies Rogen and his usual crew of supporting cast (James Franco, Craig Robinson, Jonah Hill, Danny McBride, etc.) have done, plus you have other people like Bill Hader, Nick Kroll and Salma Hayek in here, plus Kristen Wiig, who's shown potential to be funny in anything that's not Saturday Night Live related. We'll see how this one fares as far as critical acclaim goes, but you can bet there will be plenty of people seeing the film in theaters.

The Lonely Island Release Redband Trailer For Their New Movie

The Lonely Island have never been strangers to comedy. With three albums under their belt, they're giving the big screen another try. In their first feature film since 2007's Hot Rod, TLI just released the redband trailer for Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping. It is...well, it's what you'd expect from the trio. Which is to say, it looks stupid, yet delightful. Enjoy!

Your Oscar Cheat Sheet

Did you not watch any of the Oscars but still want to be involved in the water cooler talk tomorrow? We've got you covered. Here are six of the major awards, along with their respective winners. Oh, and watch/read Chris Rock's monologue, it's pretty fantastic. 

Best Picture: Spotlight

Best Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant (definitely a lifetime achievement award, but well deserved. He also spoke about global warming during his acceptance speech)

Best Actress: Brie Larson, Room (and her rapport with Jacob Tremblay is fantastic)

Best Supporting Actor: Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies

Best Supporting Actress: Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl

Best Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu, The Revenant

Apparently Alan Rickman Appeared In A Simpsons Episode While A David Bowie Song Played

2016 has started off on a rocky note for celebrities, as both David Bowie and Alan Rickman passed away before we were even halfway through January. And now, an old Simpsons episode is making the rounds because both of the Brits were featured in there.

The episode, from The Simpsons' 24th season, is called "Love is a Many-Splintered Thing" and features Bart, Homer, and some other randoms watching a British film. Benedict Cumberbatch says some stuff, Alan Rickman briefly comments on it, and "All the Young Dudes," written by David Bowie, is playing in the background. FOX's Animation Domination is calling it a tribute, but really, this is just a clip from an old episode resurfacing. So maybe don't refer to it as a tribute if you're just using it to promote newer episodes, okay FOX?

"Inside Out" Without The Inside Voices Is Really Just A Movie About Hockey

Inside Out: Outside Edition from Jordan Hanzon on Vimeo.

Pixar's Inside Out is a delightful return to form for the company. The movie follows Riley, an 11-year old girl whose family moves from Minnesota to San Francisco. While most people would find that an upgrade, Riley does not. She misses her friends, her hockey team, and soon, her insides, controlled by five emotions–Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger and Disgust–start going crazy.

Those five emotions make up the bulk of the actual movie. But film student Jordan Hanzon wasn't a fan of the emotions (or maybe he just got a request to do this). He created a cut of the film that's roughly 15 minutes long, and only consists of the "outside" scenes of Riley and her family. The movie is a bit more darker, and a lot more about hockey. Check it out and enjoy.

Bad Lip Reading Returns With Star Wars

You may have heard that the new Star Wars movie comes out tomorrow. Star Wars: The Force Awakens has been taking social media by storm, with people donning lightsabers in their profile pictures, and others freaking out over the idea of spoilers.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), it looks like there's already been one spoiler released, in the form of a Bad Lip Reading video. We'll see if the actual film ends up like this, but for all of our sakes, I sure hope it does.

The Muppets Perform "My Name Is" By Eminem

Ah, I do love a good mashup. And what better than one of the best rappers (Eminem) pairing with one of the best puppet-based shows (The Muppets). Scooter plays the part of Em in this one, while Kermit gets to spout off a couple of Dr. Dre lines. These kinds of mashups are always much easier to do with animated or puppet shows, but hey, that doesn't make it any less entertaining. Enjoy!

Jimmy Fallon and Jennifer Lawrence Do a QVC Parody With Them Dancing

Everyone's favorite quirky actress, Jennifer Lawrence, was on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon the other day to help promote one of the Hunger Games movies, probably. But also to remind us that she's just a funny gal.

She pairs with Jimmy Fallon to do a little spoof of those home shopping shows you might find on QVC, and it involves a lot of dancing. GOOD TIMES.

Idris Elba Plays James Bond

Idris Elba has been tabbed to be the next James Bond. And because people are stupid, there's been quite the uproar from some folks, including the author of the books.

Just to show us that this wouldn't, in fact, be nuts, Vulture has gone ahead and made a fake trailer, splicing in Elba. Outside of a pretty corny Photoshopped head at the end, this looks wonderful. Maybe this will end people's criticisms. Though...it's the Internet, so...probably not.

Funny Or Die Tries To Answer The Real Reason Women Don't Direct More Action Movies

The Real Reason Women Don't Direct More Action Movies from Funny Or Die

I'm not sure if this short from Funny or Die answers the questions it's posing, but hey, why not give it a try. It features Max Greenfield (Schmidt from New Girl), Will Hines and Ryan Stanger as three...somethings really wanting a movie to go "boom," and a host of female directors, producers and writers, like Becca Scheuer, Suzi Yoonessi, Brianne Trosie, and Eleanor Winkler.