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WIRE Buzz: Rick and Morty crunches on Super Bowl ad; Under the Skin preys on TV adaptation; more
In his first-ever Super Bowl ad, Rick Sanchez — the multiverse's greatest mind and biggest cynic — enters a dystopian and Pringles-induced nightmare...Wait what?!
Yep, you heard right. The hit Adult Swim series that is Rick and Morty has entered a new level of sci-fi insanity in a fun little skit where Rick (co-creator Justin Roiland) and his granddaughter Summer (Spencer Grammer) are beseiged by an army of Pringle-bots disguised as Morty Smith. The 30-second spot recalls such classic episodes as "M. Night Shaym-Aliens!," "Total Rickall," and "The Rickshank Rickdemption."
“With alternate universes taking a front seat in pop culture with television and movies, we love how ahead of trend Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland were when developing the concept for the show,” said Gareth Maguire, senior director of marketing for Pringles. “The Pringles brand aims to do the same with flavor development and product innovations. As a result, when identifying a partner for our ad campaign this year, their forward-thinking attitude combined with the show’s popularity and younger audience made this partnership a natural fit.”
Enjoy the full spot below:
“Rick and Morty is the biggest comedy show around, so of course we were extremely excited about their first trip to the Big Game,” added Jill King, senior vice president, marketing and partnerships, Adult Swim. “With Pringles’ fun personality and devoted audience, there’s no better partner for Rick and Morty’s big debut. There are a lot of Rick and Morty fans out there, and they’re all going to go crazy when they see it, but it’s going to be so fun sharing it with an even wider audience, who we are confident will love it too!”
The Pringles spot will air during the Super Bowl this Sunday, Feb. 2. The second half of Rick and Morty's fourth season is expected to debut on Adult Swim later this year.
Under the Skin, director Jonathan Glazer's atmospheric alien monster film from 2013, is about to get the small screen treatment, according to Deadline.
The project's U.S. distributor, A24, is currently embroiled in a battle for the television rights with the movie's original financier, Silver Reel. It is unclear how the latter is able to put up capital for the skirmish since the company basically filed for bankruptcy last year. Nevertheless, Silver Reel is said to have been avidly pursuing a TV adaptation for several years, although Glazer and producer James Wilson were a little more hesitant.
Directed and co-written by Glazer, Under the Skin follows an extra-terrestrial who dresses like a woman (Scarlett Johansson plays the being's human form) and preys on unsuspecting men in Scotland. While considered a box office failure, the film was stil praised by critics and has received a cult-like status in the years since its initial release almost seven years ago.
Michel Faber wrote the 2000 novel of the same name that inspired by the screenplay by Glazer and Walter Campbell.
A graphic novel made Newbery Medal history this week by becoming the first comic book in history to win the coveted top prize for children's literature. The book in question is Jerry Craft's New Kid, which tells the story of a cartoon-loving seventh grader who must deal with major change in his life when his parents enroll him in a prestigious private school.
While New Kid (also illustrated by Craft) isn't technically a genre project, its Newbery victory could open the door for genre comics aimed at kids to be recognized in the future.
"I’d love for New Kid to be a book that African-American kids proudly claim as their own, while other kids see it as a book that always embraces them without ever being condescending. And it’s very important for me to make them laugh," Craft said last winter.
The writer/artist took to Twitter this morning to celebrate the book's big win.
