Throbbing Hive with Wits' John Moe: Fun with Summer Blockbusters
June 23, 2015
Every Tuesday at 7:30am Wits host John Moe stops into the Morning Show to share the latest news in Technology.
This week, John Moe stopped by The Current's Morning Show to talk to Jill Riley and Sean McPherson about a meme related to Jurassic Park and a home video of Steven Spielberg's reactions to the Academy Award nominations (or lack thereof) for his 1975 film, 'Jaws'.
1. New meme: actual zookeepers are copying the Chris Pratt pose
There's a moment in the film Jurassic World where actor Chris Pratt has three velociraptors in front of him and he's got his arms spread out wide as if to tame or control them. Now zookeepers around the world are staging re-creations of this shot, using such critters as chickens, otters and guinea pigs instead of velociraptors.
As for the name of this meme? "Let's go with Pratting," John says.
"What's interesting about this gesture is that in my experience, this gesture works," John adds, describing its effectiveness with goats, children, rock fans, even Wits audiences. "If you really need to move people, walk toward them, arms gently going up and down, extended out from you — it really works."
2. Jaws is 40 and being rereleased. Here's Spielberg getting passed for Oscar nominations that year
Back in the 1970s, there was a video collective called Top Value Television (its members included Christopher Guest, Bill Murray and Harold Ramis, among others), and the group would get hold of the then-new technology of home-video equipment to make short films. One of the things they filmed was a young Steven Spielberg finding out about the Academy Award nominations — or lack thereof — for his 1975 film, Jaws. The video includes the moment when Spielberg learns he didn't get nominated for Best Director, and he's crestfallen.
"What's really interesting to see in this video is this is Hollywood before the publicists ran everything," John says. "There is no way a publicist would allow any kind of camera in there to film Spielberg during this moment."
John Moe hosts Wits at the Fitzgerald Theater. Check out video, photos and archived audio from previous shows and buy tickets for the current season at the Wits page. He also hosts the Home Dunk podcast from Infinite Guest.