Hasta La Gadget!

There’s been a great disturbance in The Force. The two filmmakers directing the upcoming “Star Wars” film about Han Solo are off the project four months into filming.

Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who directed “21 Jump Street” and its sequel as well as “The Lego Movie,” are no longer helming the highly anticipated “Star Wars” film. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said in a statement:

“Phil Lord and Christopher Miller are talented filmmakers who have assembled an incredible cast and crew, but it’s become clear that we had different creative visions on this film, and we’ve decided to part ways. A new director will be announced soon.” 

The two directors responded to the decision on Tuesday.

“Unfortunately, our vision and process weren’t aligned with our partners on this project,” they stated. “We normally aren’t fans of the phrase ‘creative differences’ but for once this cliché is true.”

The filmmakers were fired after clashing with Kennedy as well as the film’s executive producer and co-writer Lawrence Kasdan, among others, Variety reported. 

“Kathy, her team and Larry Kasdan have been doing it their way for a very long time. They know how the cheese is made and that’s how they want it made,” an unnamed source told the website. “It became a very polarizing set.”

One clash was over the nature of Han Solo’s character, per The Hollywood Reporter. 

“People need to understand that Han Solo is not a comedic personality,” a source was quoted as saying. “He’s sarcastic and selfish.” 

Production will be shut down for several weeks as the new director steps in and gets up to speed. 

Ron Howard and Joe Johnston are the top contenders to replace Lord and Miller. Howard, who won an Academy Award for 2001′s “A Beautiful Mind,” is the leading candidate, Deadline reported.

The film stars Alden Ehrenreich as Han Solo, Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian and Joonas Suotamo as Chewbacca. Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson and Thandie Newton also have unspecified roles in the movie.

Disney said the still-untitled film is set for release on May 25, 2018.  

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PayPal has always tried to make it easier to move money around without actually moving money around. But, despite those conveniences, there are still some processes that are either too involved, impossible, or simply take too long. For example, getting your own money from PayPal into your bank account can take a whole day, which is almost unreasonable when you … Continue reading

The Supreme Court made an important ruling on the First Amendment Monday that could help the NFL’s Washington Redskins keep its controversial name. To better understand the case, “The Daily Show” sent senior correspondent Ronny Chieng to investigate the other group that fought ― and won ― the trademark battle to keep using its “racially insensitive” name: The Slants.

During Tuesday’s episode, Chieng sat down with the rock band, which is made up of four Asian-American musicians, to find out why they took their fight all the way to the Supreme Court after the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office denied their trademark application.

“The court said that we’re too Asian to use the name,” Simon Tam, the band’s frontman, told Chieng.

It said that anyone can register “The Slants” as long as they’re not Asian,” Tam added.

Confused, Chieng asked, “You’re saying that if you were white, you could register ‘The Slants?’”

“Yes,” Tam replied. “They said our race provides the context for it being a racial slur.”

“So, by protecting you guys against racial discrimination, they’ve actually discriminated against you racially,” Chieng said. “How the hell does that make any sense?”

Chieng grilled The Slants further by asking why they didn’t just go with a band name that’s more offensive to Asian people.

“The Slants aren’t even that offensive a name,” Chieng complained. “If you want to make a statement, why don’t you go all the way?”

The senior correspondent then offered a few colorful suggestions, including “Ching and Chong Sing-A-Longs” and “Pork Bun and Roses.”

Watch Chieng’s full list of offensive band names in the segment above.

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When a Georgia deputy suddenly collapsed while on duty, the six inmates he had been supervising could have made a run for it. But they chose instead to save the officer’s life.

The group of inmates were out on a work detail last Monday in a remote area of Polk County when their supervising officer, who has not been identified, suddenly fell face-first on the ground, WXIA-TV reports.

Polk County Sheriff Johnny Moats said the inmates could have easily taken the officer’s gun at that point and escaped in his van.

“They could have done anything they wanted,” Moats told Time. “They were out there by themselves with this one officer. If they would have left him there, it could have been hours before anyone came across him.”

Instead, the inmates rushed to revive the deputy. The group opened the officer’s shirt and removed his bulletproof vest to keep him cool. The humidity that morning had reportedly reached 100 percent.

The inmates also used the officer’s phone to call 911. Emergency medical services soon arrived on the scene.

The inmates have been credited with helping to save the officer’s life. The deputy, who’s believed to have collapsed due to the humidity and a previous medical condition, has reportedly recovered and is now back at work,

“They stayed right there with him,” Moats told Time. “If he didn’t have any help, I don’t know what would have happened to him.” 

The sheriff’s office said the incident was especially meaningful given that Georgia prison guards Christopher Monica and Curtis Billue were killed on June 13, allegedly by two inmates escaping a prison bus.  

“As we watched the horrific manhunt this week of the two inmates that killed two correctional officers, we all know that Monday could have ended differently for our officer,” wrote the sheriff’s office in a since-removed Facebook post. 

But the inmates involved in the officer’s rescue, all of whom all serving sentences for minor criminal offences, said there was never any question of the path of action they would take. 

“When that happened, in my opinion, it wasn’t about who is in jail and who wasn’t,” inmate Greg WIlliams told WXIA. “It was about a man going down, and we had to help him.”

As a token of gratitude, the officer’s family prepared lunch and desserts for the inmates last week, WSB-TV reported. 

“The inmates did a really good job. I’m extremely proud of them,” Moats said.

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The writing has been on the wall for months now, so it should really surprise no one that Uber’s controversial CEO is stepping down. Of course, that doesn’t mean he’s completely out of picture, as he still serves on the company’s board. It, however, also doesn’t translate to an immediate recovery for the embattled ride hailing service, whose woes, not … Continue reading