Nerd News

The e-commerce giant is making more money than expected from AWS but it's also spending a lot, and will continue to do so in the near term, its chief executive said.

The maker of Claude has received multiple pre-emptive offers at valuations in the $850 billion to $900 billion range, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Elon Musk took the stand for the second day for his attempt to legally dismantle OpenAI.

Meta is losing billions on Reality Labs each quarter, and its AI expenditures are only going to increase its spending.

Microsoft gets to offer OpenAI's tech to its cloud customers and doesn't have to pay for it. "We fully plan to exploit it," Nadella said.

Despite the lingering perception that no one really uses Copilot, Microsoft said on Wednesday that the number of users and engagement is growing.

Google Cloud topped $20B in quarterly revenue for the first time, fueled by surging demand for AI. But capacity constraints mean it could have grown even faster.

Here’s an interesting fact about Firehouse Subs: the company’s President is named Mike Hancock. What? You don’t think that’s especially noteworthy? Hold on. Here’s another interesting fact: Firehouse Subs just debuted a “new and improved” Steak & Cheese Melt to its menu nationwide. Still not that intrigued? Here comes the payoff. An even more interesting fact: next week the restaurant chain is giving away a free Steak & Cheese Melt to every Mike/Michael/Mikey/Miguel/Michelle/Michele/Michaela in America.

And the most interesting fact of them all: I, Mikey Walsh, am known by four of those names.

Firehouse Subs

Firehouse Subs has announced that on Wednesday, May 6, any customer with a name in the “Mike family” can stop by for a free, no-strings-attached medium Steak & Cheese Melt at participating U.S. locations.

The chain is calling it the “best steak sub” they’ve ever made. The protein-packed submarine sandwich (42 grams in a mediu) features flame-seared USDA Choice prime rib, provolone, brown sugar caramelized onions, and red and green bell peppers on a top-cut roll.

The Firehouse Subs giveaway’s official press release cites no specific reason for why it’s singling out Mikes for free subs rather than say the Chrises or Daniels of America. It does, however, include a statement from Mike Hancock. “We’re proud of this sub – the prime rib, the caramelized onions, the top-cut roll,” said Mike. “Once people try it, we think it earns its place among the best steak subs out there. Sharing it with every Mike in America felt like a great way to kick things off.”

The company also shared this video which shows it’s very much in on the joke.

I like the way you think, Mike. I also like that some people call me Michael, some call me Mike, some call me Mikey, and my friend Joe calls me Miguel. (Great foresight 22 years ago, Joey Joe Joe!)

Do I, as a valued member of the Mike community plan to take advantage of this free Firehouse Subs offer? Let’s just say if anyone wants to call me by yet another “Mike” variation before May 6 I strongly encourage that.

The post Every ‘Mike’ in America Can Get a Free Steak & Cheese Melt From Firehouse Subs appeared first on Nerdist.

Did you find 1995’s Casper movie—a story about a dead child ghost helping a young girl cope with her mother’s death—too uplifting? Okay, a little weird, but good news. Disney is reportedly ready to give you a slightly darker take on the classic character. It’s developing a new, modern live-action Casper series from executive producer Steven Spielberg. And it’s said to be more like Netflix’s Wednesday than the beloved Christina Ricci/Bill Pullman film.Universal Pictures

Deadline reports Disney+ won a bidding war for a new Casper the Friendly Ghost series. It comes from Disney+ Goosebumps‘ Rob Letterman and Hilary Winston. The two will write the show with Letterman directing. The duo will also serve as executive producers alongside Steven Spielberg. He filled the same role on the 1995 film. After years of mergers and buy-outs, the rights issues means the Disney+ show will also be a co-production between DreamWorks Animation TV and Universal Studio Group’s UCP. Universal Pictures distributed the Ricci/Pullman film, which Spielberg’s Amblin Films co-produced.

RELATED ARTICLE

Steven Spielberg Says Trailers Shouldn’t Show Act 3 Footage (And He’s Right!)

According to Deadline‘s Nellie Andreeva, while the series is very early in its development, it’s expected to be a “modern update.” It will have a “dark edge” reminiscent of Wednesday starring Jenna Ortega. (The report also notes the show will use CGI. So sorry real ghosts hoping to audition! You’re out of luck!)

Universal Pictures

Considering Tim Burton’s take on The Addams Family has been a ratings bonanza for Netflix, it’s easy to understand why Disney+ might want to take a similar approach to Casper. However, unlike The Addams Family, which has always been weird, Casper is quite famously a friendly ghost. Even a “darker” version might not be that dark.

RELATED ARTICLE

WEDNESDAY Season 3 Production Arrives in Paris

Of course, as we noted at the start of this post, the 1995 Casper is based on some pretty dark ideas! That underlying tension and sadness obviously worked. Kids who grew up with that film (in a way Casper never did) still love it.

Geez, sorry. That “growing up” joke was pretty dark. If you liked it, though, something tells us you’re definitely going to watch this new Disney+ Casper show.

The post ‘Dark’ Live-Action CASPER Series in the Works From Steven Spielberg appeared first on Nerdist.

Google added 25M paid subscriptions in Q1, reaching 350M total, as YouTube and Google One grow.

Surprise! Fusion startup Zap Energy says it will be developing fission reactors alongside its fusion devices.

Doom is coming to the MCU! The fan favorite villain Doctor Doom will be making his long awaited arrival when Avengers: Doomsday premieres this December. But with the expansive scope of the Multiverse Saga, some fans may need a refresher before going into this epic crossover. Fortunately, Dan Casey is here to break down all the essential storylines since Avengers: Endgame you need to remember on today’s Nerdist video!

The post Every Marvel Story to Revisit Before Avengers: Doomsday appeared first on Nerdist.

Biological changes and loneliness aren’t the only problems Peter Parker will have to deal with in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Since no one in the world, including Happy Hogan, remembers him after No Way Home, Peter no longer has access to Stark Industries technology. That means no nano suit or cutting edge weaponry. Fortunately, as the film’s screenplay shows, he won’t be completely out of luck. He knows how to build his own useful superhero tools.

Marvel Studios/Sony Pictures

The first three annotated pages of the Spider-Man: Brand New Day script shared by Entertainment Weekly reveal just how important Peter Parker’s mysterious physical change will be to the film’s plot. That’s a matter for biologists, though. What about the concerns of engineers on both Earth-616 and our own? The screenplay also covers that. It reveals how Spider-Man will get by without the late Tony Stark’s tech. He’ll use his own modified devices to help with his suit, crimefighting, and his loneliness.

“No more Stark money or gadgets,” reads a handwritten note on page one of the script. “All of his tech needs to have been made by Peter.” That homemade tech will include E.V., which the script says is Peter’s AI Assistant. While the script shows the program running numbers after he asks it to “check the calibration” on his “targeting matrix,” she also fills another role in his life. Another annotation says that “sadly” E.V. is “the closest thing Peter has to a friend.”

Aww.

Peter also came up with a way to maintain and patch up his new, homemade super suit. (It’s made with “real fabric, seams, wrinkles” and inspired by his encounter with the other two Spider-Mans in No Way Home.) For that Holland’s Peter built his own “fabricator.” Another notation calls the device a “3D printer on steroids,” the kind of machine “that could be made by a kid genius w/limited funds.”

It’s very fortunate for Spider-Man that Peter Parker is a kid genius. Because when you no longer have access to Stark Industries super tech you have to get by on your own. Your own super tech.

The post BRAND NEW DAY Script Reveals How Peter Survives Without Stark Tech appeared first on Nerdist.

The AI agent-tool startup founded by former Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal has raised $100 million, led by Sequoia, months after raising a previous $100 million.

Disney Lorcana prepares to enter its next set rotation with Wilds Unknown, a set that adds new deck synergies based around popular Pixar characters. Due for a wide release on May 15, it won’t likely radically shift the metagame as much as July’s planned rotation, which drops several older sets from active use. However, it does feature big changes to the types of products released for individual Lorcana sets as well as a novel new design feature (one that most Magic fans should be familiar with) that could gradually become a bigger part of Lorcana over time.

RELATED ARTICLE

DISNEY LORCANA WINTERSPELL Is a Balanced Set That’s Tons of Fun (Review)

The selling point of Wilds Unknown is the introduction of three new Disney properties, all of which were produced and animated by Pixar. Characters from Toy Story appear in the new set, along with characters from Brave and The Incredibles. While the Brave characters don’t bring any new mechanics or specific theming to the table, characters from The Incredibles and Toy Story synergize with their respective franchises thanks to two new classifications—Super and Toy. Many of the major characters from the set have abilities that specifically interact with one of these characterizations. Woody – Jungle Guide, for instance, grants all other Toy cards +1 defense, while Mr Incredible – Super Strong allows a player to draw a card whenever a Super challenges another character.

One of my first takeaways when looking through Wilds Unknown is that this set seems to use classifications (Lorcana’s equivalent to typal decks) a lot more aggressively compared to earlier Lorcana sets. Lorcana has always had space for certain themed decks (Princesses, of course, were a part of Lorcana since the beginning). But these decks didn’t really start to synergize with each other until several sets were released. However, players can build a semi-decent Toy deck right out of the gate, or a Super deck pretty easily. We haven’t seen this much intra-set synergy since Lorcana introduced the Madrigal family from Encanto in Ursula’s Return. Perhaps coincidentally, Wilds Unknown also introduces a ton of new Madrigal cards, allowing for some fresh new card combos in those decks.

Ravensburger

What I really like about the new Toys and Supers classifications is that players have options when building decks. Players can opt for an Amber/Sapphire combo if they want to team up Woody with Sid, who can banish Toy cards in exchange for lore. Or, players can opt for an Amber/Emerald deck combination to pair Woody up with his best friend Buzz Lightyear. Likewise, the Incredibles feature heavily in Steel, Ruby, and Amethyst, giving players multiple options from which to build decks themed around a single franchise.

While Brave doesn’t haven’t the same level of synergies as its fellow Pixar franchises, it features one of the most potent card combos in the game. The legendary Merida card Merida – Formidable Archer, automatically deals 2 extra damage whenever an action card damages an opposing character. To guarantee at least one interaction, Merida can pull the Three Arrows card from the discard when she enters play. Three Arrows deals 2 damage to an opposing character, and then 1 damage to either the same character or a different one. When coupled with Merida’s ability, Three Arrows super-charges into a seven damage action, which can wipe out most cards very quickly.

The other novel new design feature in Wilds Unknown is the introduction of a cycle of cards across all six colors. Card cycles are very common in Magic: The Gathering and feature cards of a similar theme or mechanic. In Wilds Unknown, there are a total of 12 Traveler cards, two of each color. Each Traveler card (which includes a Sensational Six member, along with three princesses and three villains) has an ability that only activates when the card quests after another character card has been played. Although the design of these cards don’t seem particularly special, cycle cards are a rich design space in Magic: The Gathering and other card games and I’m excited to see how they’re incorporated more within Lorcana.

Ravensburger

Publisher Ravensburger has also beefed up the product releases for Wilds Unknown, adding several new products to their release slate. In addition to the standard Illumineer’s Trove and booster packs (both of which were provided for review by the publisher) Ravensburger is also now publishing Prerelease Packs and two-player starter deck sets. The Prerelease set comes with six booster packs, plus one of six promo cards and a set of dice. While I personally would have liked to see a Build and Battle box-style set similar to Pokemon, the Prerelease Packs are long overdue and provide an easy way for fans to get hyped for the new set’s release. Pre-release parties may also help bolster player count numbers in stores and potentially set players up to attend local weekly events at stores as well.  This product is good for the overall health of the game.

The other new product release are two-player starter decks, which replace the single deck starter decks that have been a standby of every other deck of the franchise. I’m a big believer in pre-constructed decks as a must-have for starter decks and I think that two-person starter decks are far better than a single deck. After all, players can easily bring a friend aboard with an extra deck (Lorcana needs two players to play under almost every circumstance) and there’s no need to try to find the “perfect deck” to match a player’s playstyle when there’s only a single product. We weren’t provided with the new decks to review, but I’m confident that the new decks are an easy entry point for Lorcana. The player decks, by and large, have always hit well in my household.

RELATED ARTICLE

How to Start Playing the DISNEY LORCANA Trading Card Game

I think Wilds Unknown is one of the more focused Lorcana sets we’ve had in quite some time. The new franchises are given all the shine in the deck, but there are still a couple of other franchises mixed in for good measure. What’s more – those franchises are supported immediately with some unique decks that could be impactful (or at least fun to play) right out of the gate. While I can’t speak to whether Wilds Unknown will be super impactful for the metagame, especially as Lorcana is about to rotate sets, the shift to sets that more heavily rely on a few set themes is good for the health of the game.

Not only does it provide more than aesthetic differences between sets, it also ensures that each set has several easy starting places for players looking to build their own decks. Players won’t have to go outside of Wilds Unknown to build a Toy deck, or a Supers deck, or even decks built around the Seven Dwarves. Hopefully, these decks can be supplemented in future sets, quickly allowing them to make an impact in competitive play.

Wilds Unknown is a strong set that marks a big shift for Lorcana. By focusing on new decks instead of continuously building up a handful of competitive decks, it makes it easier for new players to break into the game. Although there’s a potential handoff should these new typal decks ever become too powerful, I like the idea of good decks that can be built from a single set. What will be interesting is whether Lorcana’s designer continue to grow typal decks in sets, or if Wilds Unknown is a unique flash in the pan meant to kickstart the Pixar era of Disney Lorcana.

The post DISNEY LORCANA’s WILDS UNKNOWN Set Puts Pixar Characters in Play (Review) appeared first on Nerdist.

The Boys season five’s fifth episode is quite the doozy. We get a wild and bloody scene in Hollywood and some seriously weird behavior from Terror the bulldog. But, the episode also focused a fair amount of attention on Firecracker, Homelander’s confidante and media guru who spreads whatever messages he wants her to. Firecracker continues to battle some serious inner conflict with Homelander’s “revelation” that he’s God and her own belief system she’s held since childhood. And, in the end, her devotion to the snake of a supe ended with her demise. We spoke to Valorie Curry about her character’s final bow and if she thinks Firecracker got the ending she deserved. 

Nerdist: When did you find out that Firecracker was going to die this season and what was your initial reaction to that news?

Valorie Curry: To be honest, [Showrunner Eric] Kripke was pretty clear from the beginning that she was going to die at some point. I think I knew it was going to be season five. And that’s because he wanted to explore the idea, the meme that “the leopards won’t eat my face.” And it was going around a lot at the time. Yes, the leopards are going to eat your face eventually! So she was always going to end in some way and probably by [Homelander’s] hand. 

RELATED ARTICLE

This Major Death in THE BOYS Is Grim Yet Well-Deserved

I was surprised she lasted until episode five because she was looking pretty rough by the end of season four. But it was really great to get to end her story based on this arc that was really about her conflict and her personal convictions rather than it being poisoning through the medication she’s taking or something. Do you know what I mean? It came out of character and I think it was really apt for her and I was grateful for that.

It was kind of a full circle moment. Earlier this season, when Homelander first started introducing this concept of being this Messiah-like figure, you see that very deep discomfort in her. Yet she still sticks with what he’s doing and commits to it. What do you think that Firecracker went along with this outside of not wanting to die, which still happened anyway?

Curry: I think her reaction to his revelation is twofold. The first level is panic because she realizes he’s absolutely insane. Her vision of him has fallen apart…She really did believe that he was the embodiment of everything she idealized, everything good. And she has come to know that he’s dangerous, he is violent, he is mercurial, he’s stupid, and now he’s insane. And she has hitched her wagon to somebody who is all of those things, but now crazy is the straw that breaks the camel’s back. She is being asked to, in many ways, do what she’s always done, which is just say what people want to hear. She’s become so much of a performance rather than a person because she will say anything to appeal to the people in the room.

Prime Video

It’s hard to even know who she is anymore. And it just pushes her to her limit in terms of that. It’s sort of a test for herself like, “Can I say this and have it not actually touch who I am?” And she finds out she can’t. Also she has no choice at this point. She’s dying either way. Or maybe she’s not dying, but it’s like she’s too inside of it. There’s no getting out. She has to do this, or at least she feels that way, but she’s not going to get out unscathed on a personal level. When it comes to that scene with him, that final scene, she’s so broken. She’s given up whatever humanity she has left.

It was a really tense stand-off. I think it gives a little bit more conflicting emotion than most people would think because anyone with the Seven is not good overall. But then you think about this loss of agency and how she’s used to being in spaces where you have deep devotion and dedication to something, and if that isn’t what you wanted it to be, then it is hard to walk away. 

Curry: Yes, to be devoted to someone who then asks you to betray yourself in order to show your devotion. I mean, I think you’ve kind of hit that on the head.

So I’ll ask this question and I think it’s probably going to have a complicated answer. Do you think that Firecracker ultimately got the ending that she earned and deserved?

Curry: Well, you know what? I’m going to answer for Firecracker because I don’t know that I can answer from my perspective. It’s my job as an actor not to judge my character, but obviously this one, you have to judge. Firecracker is terrible! But one of the things that I was really staying grounded in with this arc is that it’s not just this sort of personal betrayal. It’s not just that she’s being asked to betray her father figure.

Jasper Savage/Prime Video

It’s that if her belief in Christianity and Jesus is truly a deeply held belief, asking her to do this is asking her to deny Christ, and that is Hell. And if you still have any glimmer of that religion, that doctrine inside of you, that fear of Hell is there and it’s not going away. And so I think there is perhaps an argument that she’s a martyr to her cause, you know what I mean? In the end, she does deny him and she dies anyway. But I think she could probably spin that as she was a martyr to the cause.

She would totally do that. I would want to know how she’d spin and report on her own death. If Firecracker had lived and we had more time in the series, do you think that she would’ve ever gotten to the point where she could come into an alliance with Annie and find some kind of compromise? They’ve always had such a deeply contentious relationship.

Curry: I wish that that was something that we could have touched back on, that Annie relationship. I don’t know. I think maybe if there had been more time. One of the things that is so stressful for these characters is there’s so much urgency. You’ve got to make the choice and figure out who you’re with quickly. Everything is happening very quickly and the stakes are so high. I think there is a world in which, given more time, she might have, but ultimately she was just trying to survive.

Where we see her by her end in season five, she would very happily be out of Vought. I think she would live underground and maybe she’s changing her name and she’s giving alligator tours on a swamp. I think she would very happily get as far away from this as possible and live very quietly and never endanger herself in this way again.

The post THE BOYS’ Valorie Curry on Firecracker’s Conflict and Consequences appeared first on Nerdist.

Google recreates Cher's closet from "Clueless" with AI.

Google TV just got more Gemini features, including the ability to transform photos and videos with tools Nano Banana and Veo.

On Wednesday, Pursuit announced a $22 million seed round led by Mike Rosengarten, the co-founder of OpenGov with out big-name VCs participating.

Daveed Diggs is a breath of fresh air in every project he’s in, whether it is rocking the stage in Hamilton or braving a dystopian world in Snowpiercer. Now, we get to see Diggs on the small screen in The Boys as Oh-Father, a hyper religious supe who is all about supporting Homelander’s fascist America… or is he? We spoke to Diggs about Oh-Father’s true motivations and where his story is heading in The Boys season five. 

RELATED ARTICLE

Who Is Daveed Diggs’ Character Oh-Father in THE BOYS?

Oh-Father has really blessed The Boys season five with all of his religious chaos. This character is really taking aim at real world figures like some mega church pastors and televangelists who pretend like they’re this beacon of righteousness, but that’s not true. We know that there’s money and fame to be found from Oh-Father going down this pathway with Homelander and Ashley, but do you think he has any other ulterior motives that make him want to be aligned with them?

Daveed Diggs: I think Oh-Father’s an opportunist and a hustler, and he’s really good at a pivot, too. And his way with words has sort of served him really well his whole life. He’s not afraid to jump into the deep end of something. He is very much like, “Well, if this serves me now, I’m going to do this now. And also if it stops serving me at some point, I will get out of this. ” And so he’s got a good hustler’s mentality about all of it. 

I think he’s very smart. And so he sees a lot of potential where this could go, but he also, maybe to his detriment at some point, somewhere deep down believes in people in some way… It all gets complicated for him for sure.

Interesting. Does he legitimately practice what he preaches or is he just running a scheme altogether? 

Diggs: I think it’s both. I think the main tenet of his belief is “I am the messenger of God. As such, I have to be fly out here. If I’m doing bad, then what does that say about God?” And so that equivalency is what allows him to make almost any choice as long as it serves him and the church. The church got to look a certain way. I can’t be out here not flying private. That’s not God-like. God is the ultimate player and then me. So those are the choices that belief, and I think he does believe it, allows him to do the mental gymnastics necessary to do a lot of the preaching he does.

Prime Video

Absolutely. I know the TV show has mostly veered away from the comics in a lot of ways, but Oh-Father is a comic character. You had that foundation to work off of, but how did you partner together with Eric Kripke to formulate Oh-Father’s personality and bring him to live action in a different sense?

Diggs: Yeah, our Oh-Father’s pretty different from the comic book one. But working with Kripke was great because he gave me all the kinds of books that they were reading in the writer’s room about the dissolution of church and state and all of the kinds of political things they were thinking about getting into with this supe. And I also watched a lot of televangelists and evangelical pastors. It was the virtuosity that I really was able to key into.

We believe somebody who’s great at what they do. And Oh-Father is great at what he does. I think it was a really useful hook for me. And in those talks with Kripke and with all the directors, it allowed us to make these broad choices that I hope still play well in this world. The Boys is, for as insane as it is, also really grounded.

For sure, and you can feel Oh-Father’s power and influence when he’s onscreen! So you came into this established TV dynamic with all these actors who have been working together for years. But you seem to fit in perfectly. What was your experience like working with the cast, especially with Colbie Minifie and Antony Starr?

Diggs: They’re so wonderful. Colbie from day one was like, “What do you need?” Coming in on the fifth season of a show, it’s hard because you’re the new kid in school and it’s already senior year. But they also have been doing it for so long. It’s a hard show to make, man. Their hours are very, very long. All of the crew and everybody, it’s very difficult to pull off all these stunts and everything. The shots are so precise and it’s hard work. And so for them to, as soon as I show up, be like, “What do you need? Let us know. Don’t overextend yourself in these ways. Here are all the tricks of the trade… We play backgammon. Do you know how to play?” 

Everyone was so inviting and getting to spend so much time with Colbie was such a joy. I think she’s so brilliant and Antony, too. I mean, such geniuses. I was a fan before, and so I really lucked out with getting to hang with them.

Let’s see what other deeds Oh-Father gets into as The Boys season five progresses.

The post Daveed Diggs Teases Oh-Father’s Agenda in THE BOYS appeared first on Nerdist.