Latest news with #RevengeoftheNerds
The Sun
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
80s movie star with very famous family is unrecognisable as he rides a motorcycle in LA – can you guess who he is?
HE shot to fame in the 80s in a cult classic comedy about a group of American nerds. And in the early noughties he had a mainstream resurgence playing Lizzie McGuire's dad in the hit kids' TV show. 6 6 Now the acting legend is 71 and enjoys spending his time riding his motorcycle in sun-soaked Los Angeles. New pictures show him in his black biking leathers with fellow enthusiasts at The Rock Store, in Santa Monica hills. It's none other than Robert Carradine, part of the famous Carradine family acting dynasty. Robert has aged gracefully and is embracing his mid-length white hair and matching beard. In a nod to his Revenge of the Nerds past, he wore a pair of black thick-rimmed glasses as he straddled his pride and joy. The star's breakout role, which told the story of a bunch of geeky students who sought revenge on their bullies, spawned three film sequels as well as a reality show, King of the Nerds, hosted by Robert and his original Nerds co-star Curtis Armstrong. The idea of rebooting the franchise for a reality TV audience belonged to Robert's ex-wife, Edie. Robert told The Pop Dose in 2013: "She said, 'Remember five years ago when we tried to launch a reality show?' I said, 'Yeah.' She said, 'I think maybe we should try to do it again.' "So I gave a call to Curtis (Armstrong) and said, 'Are you up for this?' And he said, 'Yeah, absolutely!' So I called my agent, Gordon MacDonald, and it turns out he was friends with Jimmy Fox of Electus, which is one of the production-studio components to the show. "And they got very excited about a meeting, so we took the meeting, and afterward I found out from Jimmy, who's their head of production, that he called my agent and said, 'Please don't let the guys go anywhere else. Just give me two weeks, okay? We love the idea!'" Contestants lived together in a house dubbed 'Nerdvana' and competed in a series of geeky challenges like giant chess and flying live-action helipads to win $100,000. There were also cameo appearances from famous names like George Takei, Kevin Smith, Simon Garfunkel and John Oates. Robert stumbled into the acting world after initially wanting to be a race car driver. On his half-brother David's insistence, he auditioned for the John Wayne western The Cowboy as a nervous 17-year-old and got the part, admitting it didn't require much fakery. The siblings then worked together on Martin Scorcese's Mean Streets in which Robert's serial killer murdered David's character. In the early noughties, a decade before his reality show was aired, Robert became a familiar face on the Disney Channel opposite Hilary Duff. He called his casting in Lizzie McGuire a "godsend". "I didn't really think that they were going to go for somebody of my style and type as Lizzie's father," he told Culture Brats. "And then I found out after the fact that they'd written this guy to be kind of loose and devil-may-care, which I am. [Laughs.] And that seemed to fit the Lizzie McGuire mode." Robert's dad John was an acclaimed character actor who racked up 351 acting credits in his 82 years, including Count Dracula in House of Frankenstein and Preacher Casy in John Ford's The Grapes of Wrath. His brother Keith also has a long list of famous roles to his name ranging from 70s films The Duellists and Pretty Baby, to modern TV shows Deadwood, Dexter and The Big Bang Theory. 6 6 6 Robert Carradine's best-known acting roles Robert Carradine, a member of the famed Carradine acting dynasty, has held a number of memorable roles. He is perhaps best recognised for his portrayal of Lewis Skolnick, the nerdy yet endearing protagonist of the cult comedy franchise Revenge of the Nerds (1984) and its sequels, which became iconic in the 1980s. Robert also appeared in the gritty Western The Cowboys (1972), alongside John Wayne, showcasing his versatility as a young actor. Another standout role was his performance in Mean Streets (1973), directed by Martin Scorsese, where he starred alongside Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro. He played Sam McGuire, the lovable and slightly goofy father in Disney Channel's hit series Lizzie McGuire (2001–2004). Robert reprised the role in The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003), where the McGuire family embarks on a memorable trip to Rome. He also featured in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004), taking on the role of a member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad.
Boston Globe
16-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Trump vs. Harvard: Kimmel, Colbert, and more late-night hosts reacts to funding feud
Advertisement Kimmel, who's been 'My money's on Harvard,' Kimmel said. 'I grew up in the '80s — I've seen 'Revenge of the Nerds.' I know who wins these things.' 'We finally found a force more powerful than Trump's hatred: Harvard's love of sending rejection letters,' said Chieng. 'But, look, I don't usually root for Harvard, because they're Harvard. They've got everything. It's like rooting for Jeff Bezos to win the lottery.' Colbert said Harvard has withstood the test of time — a lot of time. 'They've been around for way longer than this country,' he said. 'In fact, Harvard was founded in 1636. Of course, back then the only majors they offered were Latin Grammar, Intro to Leechcraft, and Witch Kindling.' Advertisement Colbert also took a moment to acknowledge that Tuesday — April 15 — was the day Americans pay their taxes (or at least they're supposed to). 'Folks, as I mentioned before, it's Tax Day or, as billionaires call it, 'What?'' said Colbert. Mark Shanahan can be reached at
The Guardian
16-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Stephen Colbert: ‘We're not on our way to a dictatorship, we're on the ship'
Late-night hosts looked at Donald Trump's recent dictatorial behaviour, including his attempt to bully Harvard into following his demands. On The Late Show, Stephen Colbert spoke about the alleged 'administrative error' that saw Kilmar Ábrego García snatched off the streets by Ice and sent to a prison in El Salvador despite no proof of criminal activity. The supreme court ordered Trump to facilitate his return but the administration has defied the ruling. 'These are court orders not court suggestions!' Colbert said. He said that they 'made that mistake on purpose' and Trump has since been 'publicly mulling the idea of sending American citizens to rot' in the same prison. 'We're not on our way to a dictatorship, we're on the ship,' he said before adding that 'regardless of your politics, those aren't your politics'. He wondered what can be done and asked if there was a 'break-glass-if-constitution-stops-working mechanism' before talking about a law that does allow marshals to intervene if the president refuses to comply. The past week has also seen Trump attempting to 'Maga-fy higher education' by imposing demands on institutions. But Harvard has become the first university to refuse. 'Now you're just like the rest of us because you just got rejected by Harvard,' Colbert joked. The administration wants DEI programs shut down, plagiarism checks made on all staff and foreign students reported for conduct violations. 'Dorm RAs were already drunk on power,' he said. But the head of Harvard 'clapped back to insane dictatorial demands', which has led to $2.2bn of federal funding being withheld. Colbert added that Harvard has been around since 1636 so it will probably continue to survive. He said back then the only available classes were 'Latin grammar, intro to leechcraft and witch kindling'. On Jimmy Kimmel Live, the host spoke about the return of Joe Biden, who appeared energised at a bipartisan event to help protect social security. 'Man oh man did he come out swinging,' he said. Kimmel also spoke about Trump's battle with Harvard, joking that it was 'home to liberal elite alumni' – such as Ted Cruz. He joked that Trump was definitely the best person to get involved in the inner workings of a higher education institution after starting his own 'fraudulent university'. Kimmel said 'my money's on Harvard' as 'I've seen Revenge of the Nerds'. Trump's hatred of DEI has led to him calling for 'merit-based hiring', which Kimmel said can be seen in his cabinet, joking about hires such as Pete Hegseth and Linda McMahon. He also said that having a 'reality star and Pizza Hut spokesperson' as president was perhaps not the best example either. Kimmel also called out the 'orangenosers kissing his butt in ways we've never seen before' with a new badge being worn by his loyalists that shows Trump's face in gold. With the economy still in a worrying place and tariffs that haven't really come into full effect yet, Kimmel expressed concern that Americans having less access to coffee will have a terrifying impact. 'Can you imagine the mental health crisis?' he said before saying there will be an uptick in 'workplace stabbings'.
Washington Post
11-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
How AI can make us feel more human
In 1984, when I was in sixth grade, I managed to sneak into an R-rated movie called 'Revenge of the Nerds.' (It probably helped that I was almost 6 feet tall.) The movie played on familiar stereotypes about jocks and nerds, culminating in a delightful comeuppance where the nerd fraternity bests the jocks who have been picking on them.
Telegraph
21-02-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
The Democrat establishment is wilting before the Doge insurgency
Senator Elizabeth Warren, the architect of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – one of the most unaccountable agencies in the federal apparatus – is indignant that it is in the crosshairs of the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge). She has dismissed Doge and its leadership as 'an unelected billionaire and an unknown number of his unqualified flunkies'. Washington's entrenched class predictably recoils at the notion of accountability. The District of Columbia, after all, hums along in large part thanks to 2.3 million unelected federal employees whose decisions impact nearly every facet of American life. Whether these bureaucrats qualify as 'unqualified flunkies' is a matter of perspective. But the exposure of how tax dollars are being spent doesn't inspire confidence. Particularly galling to the Washington swamp is the fact that at least six of Doge's employees are whizz kids, ranging in age from 19 to 24 and now meddling with their fiefdom. In most contexts, ambitious young people who are capable of rigorous data analysis might be regarded as prodigies – or even, affectionately, as nerds. Yet here, they are derided – perhaps because they pose a genuine threat to business as usual. Washington today is reminiscent of the campus of Adams College, the fictional battleground of the lowbrow 1980s slapstick comedy 'Revenge of the Nerds'. That film, heralded by Rotten Tomatoes as a 'minor classic', provides an apt metaphor for the current clash between Doge and the administrative state. In the movie, the entrenched campus aristocracy – the Alpha Betas – becomes so incensed at the success of a few outcast freshmen, led by a computer science major, that they resort to bullying and sabotage to maintain their grip on power. The entrenched federal bureaucracy is a perfect stand-in for the Alpha Betas. For decades, it has faced no opposition to its wasteful ways. And, like the privileged bullies of Revenge of the Nerds, it is now resorting to smear campaigns to defend its turf. As the title suggests, the nerds eventually win in the movie. Whether Doge can pull off a similar upset remains to be seen. Under the civil service system, many entrenched federal bureaucrats are effectively immune from firing. Although they are charged with implementing the policies of elected leaders in an impartial manner, in reality many bureaucrats operate under the assumption that, because presidents are transitory, they – the permanent government – should be allowed to get their way. Not every federal worker fits this mould; some, no doubt, are principled professionals who take their responsibilities seriously. But those ones are likely to be the least concerned about efforts to reform the system. In 2023, Congress passed a few dozen bills. Unelected bureaucrats, meanwhile, finalised 3,018 new regulations, according to the Ethics and Public Policy Center's Administrative State Accountability Project. This vast discrepancy underscores the reality that policymaking in modern America often bypasses the legislative process entirely. Furthermore, the political leanings of the bureaucracy are no secret. The political action committee for the American Federation of Government Employees, the nation's largest federal employee union, directed 94% of its political contributions to Democrats in the last election – a pattern consistent with previous cycles. Meanwhile, a recent survey found that 42% of federal government managers admitted they would actively work against the policies of a second Trump administration. And that's only those who would admit as such to a pollster. Yet, curiously, any effort to impose oversight on this unelected class is hysterically denounced as an assault on democracy. Elon Musk addressed this paradox in the Oval Office. 'If you have rule of the bureaucrat and the bureaucracy is in charge, then what meaning does democracy actually have?' Musk asked. 'If the people cannot vote and have their will decided by their elected representatives in the form of the president, the Senate, and the House, then we don't live in a democracy, we live in a bureaucracy.' Ultimately, the most significant governmental reforms will require congressional buy-in – no small feat for a body that has spent decades indulging in deficit spending. Yet president Trump has already initiated executive actions to rein in spending. One such move was restructuring the White House's US Digital Services office into the US Doge Service, granting Musk and his hand-picked staffers the designation of special government employees, and with it, the authority to act. This is significant since, historically, blue-ribbon commissions have produced voluminous reports on Washington's fiscal dysfunction, only for those reports to gather dust while career bureaucrats smirk and unions shield their own. But this time, something is different. The ruling class is melting down. The bureaucratic and political establishment, accustomed to wielding power unchecked, did not anticipate an insurgency of nerds with calculators and spreadsheets. Whether this unlikely band of government reformers can tame the unwieldy Leviathan is uncertain. But they have already forced it into the light.
