BDC Now: Aubrey Plaza Thinks Her Grumpy Cat Movie Is “The Most Insane Thing’’ She’s Ever Seen
The Lifetime Channel is making history by making the first movie based on a meme. It stars Aubrey Plaza as the voice of an ordinary but funny-looking house cat, and she thinks it’ll be great or… something. See what else she had to say on today’s BDC Now, and read more about an elephant escaping 14 lions and certain death, Daniel Tosh’s new feud with ESPN, a new way to jump off a cliff, and a man who is allegedly the worst person ever.
When a Meme Becomes a Movie
If you’re not familiar with Grumpy Cat, you best get acquainted. The Internet meme turned movie star is coming for your television later this month and there’s nothing you can do about it. Yes, that’s right. The Lifetime Channel put money into a movie centered around a cat that is famous for constantly looking annoyed. They even got Aubrey Plaza to sign on as the cat’s voice, and if we can glean anything from her appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live Wednesday, it’s that the actress is thrilled to be involved. She tells Kimmel that the film is “the most insane thing I’ve ever seen’’ and that it might best be enjoyed once viewers “have a couple glasses of wine.’’ It’s a ringing endorsement, really. We’re not sure how anyone could see this as anything but appointment television. And once we saw the trailer? Forget about it. We’ll be watching and so should you.
An Escape to Remember
Nature is unflinchingly brutal. It has no sympathy for the ill or the weak. But even in some of its darkest moments, nature can be remarkably inspiring. Take a look at this 1-year-old elephant at the Norman Carr Safaris Chinzombo Camp in Zambia. The New York Post reported that the young male had been separated from his herd, and now he was staring down an attack from 14 lionesses. This is the brutality we’re talking about – 14 lionesses versus one young elephant is a recipe for dead elephant. At least it was until the elephant figured out that the aggressive cats weren’t big fans of the water. Using that to his advantage, he shook the lionesses off his back and alternated between retreating and charging to scare off his attackers. A safari guide who witnessed the incident said in his 30 years as a guide he had never seen anything like it. It’s safe to say that he’ll never forget this encounter. We’re guessing the young elephant in the video won’t either.
Maybe Give That Segment Another Shot, ESPN
When a television network is as big as ESPN, things can slip under the radar. Comedian Daniel Tosh believes that one of those “under the radar’’ things is plagiarism, and he wasn’t afraid to say as much on his show earlier this week. Tosh’s beef came about after ESPN ran a segment eerily reminiscent of the comedian’s now-famous “Web Redemption’’ segments. The sports network approached singer Mark Donnelly about his hilariously failed attempt at singing the Canadian national anthem while skating, and asked him to “give it another shot.’’ That phrasing has become something of a catch phrase for Tosh, and when he heard those words, he knew there was only one answer: Revenge. He took ESPN’s Sports Science segment, turned it against its creator, and let the network have it. “Give it another shot’’ is a pretty common phrase, so we’re not sure Tosh can claim that it’s exclusively his, but we can appreciate a good takedown.
Angry Humans
Jumping off a cliff is pretty crazy on its own. Hopping in a slingshot and being catapulted off a cliff is certifiable. But that’s what a group called Flying Frenchies is doing and, to be honest, it looks pretty awesome. The trailer is less than 30 seconds long, but the description says there is a “full story coming soon’’ and that the “project involved 30 people for 3 months.’’ We look forward to seeing that, but we’re kind of hoping they strapped a parachute to a stuffed animal or two and had some real “angry bird style’’ fun.
Kill or Be Killed (Or Just Pay Up)
If Ryan Champion did what police say he did, he is the worst. The 36-year-old Kentucky man is accused of hiring a hit man to kill his sister and parents and then killing the hit man when he didn’t want to pay for the “services’’ he had ordered. Maybe worse than all of that is that Champion was there when the hit man did the job. His family was killed at his parents’ house and somehow he was the only one to escape unscathed. He claimed he “was able to turn the tables’’ on the shooter, but police aren’t exactly buying that. Champion is now facing the death penalty.
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