This one is a doozy. To help promote the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency (i.e. an independent agency that keeps Wall Street accountable, so we don’t have a financial collapse again) the folks at Funny or Die have created a video of epic proportions.

Directed by Ron Howard, the video stars all of the SNL Presidents – Chevy Chase as Gerald Ford, Dan Aykroyd as Jimmy Carter, Jim Carrey as Ronald Reagan (substituting for the late, great Phil Hartman), Dana Carvey as George H.W. Bush, Darrell Hammond as Bill Clinton, Will Ferrell as George W. Bush, and Fred Armisen & Maya Rudolph as the Obamas.

Take a look, laugh a little, and then call your Senators at 866-544-7573 and tell them to support the creation of the CFPA!

BREAKING NEWS!

Well before Quentin Tarantino got the idea that he should act in his films, Alfred Hitchcock regularly jumped in front of the camera in memorable cameo appearances in 37 of his 50 films. Below is a clip reel of almost all of those appearances, minus a few omissions from his earlier career that presumably were hard to find on DVD.

Read more about his cameos here.

A very funny Trek parody of the newest feature film. Make sure to stick around to the end!

Another reminder that you should NEVER be mean to your camera ops & editors. They will find a way to enact vengeance.

A new version of the celebrity choir number “We Are The World” was recently recorded for the 25th anniversary, with all the proceeds benefitting relief in Haiti. As somebody who worked a few long hours to assist in its distribution, I can tell you that it’s a very worthy cause and I encourage all to donate.

However — a bunch of the original artists were not present during the new song’s recording (not  counting the Ghost of Michael Jackson). To help remedy that, Huey Lewis decided to record his own version of the song…alone.

Back in the early days of film and television, you’d see people driving in front of what was obviously a big mural or projection, and it was, admittedly, somewhat laughable.

Well today, computers have become the preferred method of not just creating a larger-than-life backdrop for the main characters, but even the simplest of exterior shots. Most TV shows take place in New York, but are filmed in Los Angeles or Vancouver. So to help create the most realistic of scenes, Virtual Backlots are created — seamlessly combining real props and set pieces (stairs, cars, etc) and digital footage to create a realistic shot.

One particular company, Stargate Studios, posted a reel of their work, which includes scenes from “Grey’s Anatomy” (Seattle), “Monk” (San Francisco), “Ugly Betty” (New York), “Heroes” (New York, Tokyo, etc.), “Saving Grace” (The Grand Canyon), “24″ (The Capitol), and a bunch of other scenes I didn’t recognize.

So next time you think “Wow, I can’t believe they went there to film that scene!” — know that they didn’t.

Remember when you used to laugh at chopsticks instructions, because the Chinese-English translation never really made sense?

Well, this is the same, except better. It’s some (presumably) bootleg DVD of the FOX show “House”. Yet its description makes lots of sense — or at least as much sense as the over-the-top medical drama does.

via Buzzfeed