Every Halloween Jimmy Kimmel tells parents to prank their children by telling them that mommy and daddy ate all their candy. You’d think that some kids might catch on to this annual, cruel joke. Some do! But for the most part, the joke lands and it lands hard. Turns out children are wired to completely freak out and cry in sadness and anger when they’re told that all of their Halloween candy is gone. Parents and Jimmy Kimmel Live audiences (myself included!) can’t help but belly-laugh at the mere sight of these ridiculous reactions. It’s schadenfreude at its finest, and it never fails to completely and utterly entertain.
Are you a fan of the Internet pranks that truly terrify people in the name of good marketing? Well, today’s your lucky day. I’ve got a juicy one here for you, and it comes from Paramount, the studio behind the Paranormal Activity franchise. To boost awareness for The Ghost Dimension, the sixth and final film in the franchise, PA producer Oren Peli has dropped this highly entertaining prank video that follows unsuspecting house hunters entering the original haunted house featured in the 2007 original film. Peli shared the clip on his Facebook page with the caption, “Can you blame me for selling my house?” Fun fact: Peli, who wrote and directed the first one, shot it in this very San Diego-based home that he owned at the time. Now watch as the open house hauntings make those who enter quake in fear and scream bloody murder.
Arnold Schwarzenegger gets in character for charity leading up to his the release of his new movie Terminator: Genisys. After being transformed in the makeup chair to become his iconic film character The Terminator, Ah-nold takes to Hollywood Boulevard where he interacts with unsuspecting bystanders and even a Terminator street impersonator. The former Governor also visits Madame Tussauds wax museum to prank visitors like a pro. It’s all funny stuff, and it’s for a good cause. He’s promoting his charity After-School All-Stars that benefits after-school programs for kids. Omaze is hosting donations, and you can enter to win a ticket to the Genisys premiere in Los Angeles. Way to go, Schwarzenegger; hearty laughs for a good cause!
In case you missed this viral gem, veteran actor Dennis Quaid was caught on camera freaking out on a production set and naturally it was uploaded to YouTube for the world to see. In under a week it racked up over 2.1 million views. Why? Because it’s laced with all kinds of absurd obscenity of which the likes we haven’t seen spout from an actor’s lips since Christian Bale’s infamous meltdown. If you haven’t seen the Quaid clip yet, go on and watch it above. (Warning: This is being labeled NSFW due to language.)
After lingering on the Internet for days, murmurs about it being a prank were confirmed today when Funny or Die claimed complete responsibility for the ruse. And instead of simply making an announcement, they released “The Full Video” version of the faux-freak out which can be screened after the break. Turns out all of Quaid’s name-calling was quite literal, including poor old Dopey the Dick.
At nearly 36 million views this viral video marketing ploy has proven to be a raging success for Sony Pictures as the studio ramps anticipation for its remake of Carrie starring Chloë Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore. Set at a simple coffee shop in the West Village in NYC, a well executed choreographed stunt involving the construction of a fake wall, a pulley system, remote controlled tables and chairs, spring-loaded pictures and books, and some fine actors scares the hell out of unsuspecting customers. The clip begs the questions, what if telekinesis was real? How would you react? The reactions here, in a word, are priceless.
Google’s at it again, ready to trump all Internet April Fools gags with their latest creation: a new version of Google Maps made specifically for Nintendo’s original home console, the 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System. The search giant claims to have developed an advanced cartridge that is compatible with Ninty’s Japanese Famicom video game console; it features a dial up modem that allows the cartridge to be connected to the Internet. Once connected, Google “runs more than a hundred thousand servers to overcome the NES’ technical limitations.” Yeah, they put some effort into this one. The result? 8-bit maps are generated on-screen by Google’s cloud services in real time. Google reminds potential buyers of this unfortunately fictitious product that if the cartridge fails to load, try blowing into it to fix bugs. Just like in regular Google Maps, you can search for specific places and route a course by typing or using your voice. The company says that the 8-bit version of Google Maps will “soon be available” in Google Store. For now, however, you can actually try it out by going to Google Maps in your trusty browser and clicking the new Quest icon. The entire map of the world will go 8-bit, as will Street View. Google has made sure to include detailed icons for major landmarks (Eiffel Tower, Sydney Opera House, Alcatraz, Buckingham Palace, Egyptian Pyramids) as well as plant bizarre Easter eggs like an alien at Area 51 and a dragon at the center of Earth.
Watch the official announcement in the video embedded above, then test out the “trial version” at Google Maps today.
During his monologue on Halloween night, Jimmy Kimmel issued a fun challenge for parents: to say that they ate all of their children’s Halloween candy, record their reactions, and upload it to YouTube. Kimmel stitched together a bunch of the most entertaining videos and the compilation sits above. It’s funny; almost every clip involves a young child hearing the devastating news and immediately drooping their heads in tears of sadness and frustration. You’ll want to make it to the end because the final clip involving two brothers might just be the best thing I’ve watched in a while. Enjoy!
You might think that a Starbucks exists on every corner of every street in the universe, but you know what’s just not true. So the company has decided to formally introduce Starbucks Mobile Pour to combat the problem of not being able to find a Starbucks location when you really need your fix. The new service puts baristas on scooters so that they can hand deliver your coffee order to you no matter your location. You can download the Mobile Pour app on your smartphone and it will pinpoint your location, allow you to select your coffee order, and keep on your merry way until a barista politely informs you on the street that your coffee has arrived. The first phase of the initiative involves sending out two scooter baristas per every square mile to ensure speedy service in seven of the largest cities around the country. Eventually they plan on bringing the service to malls where baristas will don rollerblades to quickly make their way to shoppers. See how Mobile Pour works at the source link below.
Professor Matt Weathers, who teaches a Nature of Math course at Biola University, played an intricately planned trick on his students to celebrate Halloween. Using the magic of pre-recorded video projections mixed with live action, Professor Weathers pulled off the coolest in-class experiment I’ve ever seen. Teacher of the year award goes to Weathers! Look after the break to watch what he did for last year’s Halloween class, and head over to his YouTube channel (coolest teacher ever?) to watch a tutorial and discover the magic behind trick.
Funny or Die approached artist Jewel and asked her if she’d like to have a hand in their latest prank. Like a good sport she said yes. Here’s the setup: Jewel gets disguised as a mild mannered businesswoman and gets encouraged to sing some of her most popular tunes at a local karaoke bar. Her audience is dumbfounded by this amazing voice coming out of a Plain Jane. Not a single person realizes that behind all the prosthetics is the actual Jewel. After some time Karen (Jewel’s alter-ego) leaves the stage and Jewel comes back as herself to perform more songs. To our amazement most of the bar hoppers still don’t realize this is Karen and make the connection. Watch it all go down in the video above.
The folks at Improv Everywhere are really make the world a better place. Their most recent stunt brought Princess Leia, Darth Vader, and a small army of Storm Troopers onto a NYC subway car. Watch the “mission” unfold in the video above.
