Above is the much talked about second trailer for Tron: Legacy.  The concessus I’ve gathered is that people trust the visuals, but are still weary of the story.  I have two words: JEFF BRIDGES.  It’s The Dude, people! Everything will be just fine.

People have also been talking about how young Jeff Bridges doesn’t necessarily break the uncanny valley, stinks of CG, and just fails as a character.  While I understand the arguments that the technique could use some finesse (especially around the mouth with audio syncing and the skin textures being far to perfect), I am 100% able to suspend my disbelief purely because of the awesome that riddles this trailer and the hope it brings.  From the Recognizers sheer mass and the obviously fantastic art direction to the glowing suits and kick ass Light-Jet revealed at the end.  There’s no doubt that this movie will be a fun ride into a newly imagined computer world.  I’ve even heard rumors Disneyland is looking to expand their theme parks with a Tron ride!

Now as my previous article states, I’ve been stoked as hell for the soundtrack.  Once I got wind that Daft Punk was at the helm, my nerd-boner went full staff, raising a flag of pure man-glee.  We got a sneak into the sound they are creating in the first trailer and a bit in this second trailer as well.  Then today, we are able to listen to 6 tracks off the album.

My first reaction, “Oh, No.”  I am finding the sound so lackluster and generic that I fear disappointment come November when the album is released.  The tracks do nothing to tell me that Daft Punk had ANY influence in them at all.  To me, Daft Punk are the type of artists that push sound to new levels.  They bring electronic production to the mainstream while still revolutionizing the genres.  By following the link below, you too can listen to the tracks and hear for yourself.  I, for one, am having doubts about this album being nothing more than a generic partner-disc to the film.

Here is the link to the tracks: 6 Tron: Legacy Tracks by Daft Punk

My only hope is that the rest of the album fleshes out Daft Punk’s sound; that interspersed tracks feature what they are known for and the audience has been dying for.  More beats, more tempo, 8 bit, sonic walls of pure electronic bliss.  This album has the potential to reach new audiences and create an entirely new soundtrack paradigm.  By listening to these small samples, I’m believing studio execs are controlling the wrists of our electronic robot gods.  My advice to those execs, is to take your hands off and let the artists do what they do best: revolutionize the film’s soundtrack and explode our eardrums with awesome.

Here is Challenge #2′s video.  The challenge, “Your Samsung Love Song” involved making a song that both captured the olympic energy and dealt with Samsung. We feel we were pretty much the only team to nail it (though David & Freddie KILL us with laughter everytime! They’re our besties).  We utilize the number one tool for communication, the mouth, to create every note in this video. PLEASE VOTE for Team Cool kids by heading on over to the Samsung USA facebook page, clicking the “Mobile Explorers” tab and entering the Samsung theater.  We need the votes for SURE on this one kids!

These infamous words spoken by our beloved Disney princess, Pocahontas, seem to be pertinent to Team Cool Kid’s upcoming adventure with Samsung as Mobile Explorers in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. Life has been pretty hectic and exciting the last few weeks, what with amazing “Real Cool Club” episodes, crazy shooting schedules, and this amazing competition. That was until last night when it all sank in.

I’m scared. Scared of the competition. Scared of what Samsung has in store for us. Scared of travelling to a city I should know better than I do. Scared of seeing what Lindsay’s REALLY like at 5am. Scared of failure.

That’s the biggy and one that plagues us all. It’s fear that controls peoples determination and actions in life. If I let fear control me, I wouldn’t be living in LA, wouldn’t have created The Real Cool Club, wouldn’t be sitting in LAX right now about to board a flight to Vancouver for the Winter Olympics.

I now realize that I cannot predict the outcome of this competition. I cannot know how my life will change over the next 20 days. I cannot forsee anything past this very moment. I can only sit back, have fun and be excited to embark on the adventure of a lifetime. Stay tuned to find out what lies “Just Around The Riverbend”.

I can’t believe I quoted Pocahontas for my blog. Yeah I want to punch my face too.

Team Cool Kids FTW!

So we can finally announce it:  Samsung has chosen Team Cool Kids to compete in their Mobile Explorers competition up in Vancouver, Canada during the 2010 Winter Olympics!  My partner, Lindsay Harbert, and I are STOKED to have been chosen as a finalist but our work is not yet complete. We need your help. Here is the video that got us into the competition:

The competition pits Team Cool Kids up against 4 other highly qualified teams in a series of Olympic challenges involving video making, blogging, twittering, and social networking.  The challenges have yet to be announced, but you can count on them being fun!  IT’S THE OLYMPICS!  Now what are we competing for? Well, $24k, a bunch of Samsung schwag, and the potential to do more Mobile Exploring with Samsung (wait, A JOB!? YES PLEASE!).

How do we win? Another good question.  We will be graded on the following criteria: best balance of communication skills, creativity, originality, personality and social media networking capabilities in addition to audience votes and views.  This is where you come in.  We will be posting videos and promoting them while we’re up there for the competition.  We hope that you can help us by checking out these videos as they come up, vote for us, and help us come home with the big grand prize!

The best way to stay up to date with us while we’re there is to follow us on twitter, facebook, youtube, and on the Samsung USA website.

• Twitters: @teamcoolkids, @ethannewberry, @lindsayharbert, @samsungtweets
• Facebooks: Ethan’s FB, Lindsay’s FB, Samsung’s FB
• Youtube: Ethan’s YouTube, Samsung’s YouTube
• Websites: EthanNewberry.com (you’re already here), Samsung.com/MobileExplorers

I’ve also attached the Samsung Official Press Release HERE.  If you know anyone in the press, blogs, or any other way we can help spread the word about Team Cool Kids in this competition, we would be much appreciative.  Here is the second video we made prepping for the competition:

So again, thank you so much for helping us get this far.  We have the best fans in the world.  Just a little more to go and let’s win this sucker!  Stay tuned for more information!

Help TEAM COOL KIDS get to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics!

Okay, So Lindsay Harbert, my Real Cool Club cohost, and I have been up to something secret. We’ve been putting together a video submission for Samsung’s Mobile Explorers contest.  They are sending 5 groups of 2 individuals to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics in February.  The duo has to be creative, fun, and be able to social network like the dickens.  Guess what? We fit the bill to a friggin’ T!  We already have a huuuge online presence (millions of YouTube hits, thousands of twitter followers, Facebook friends & fans, MySpace pals, etc), we know our way around technical equipment (hell, just watch the durn video!) and we’re pretty cute too.

Our video finally got posted on the Samsung website and we would LOVE to get you to 1) view it and 2) give it the ol’ 5 star rating! I don’t think the rating has any influence on who they decide to send, but regardless, it can’t hurt (and we’re really proud of the video!).  Lindsay and I (aka @TEAM COOL KIDS) are STOKED to be entered into the contest and we SERIOUSLY want to go to the olympics. I’ve been trying to figure out a way to afford to get up there for months, but this might just be our lucky break.

The video explains why we would make good mobile explorers, but what about why do we want to compete?  Well, it’s a once in a lifetime experience to go to the olympics. It’s rarely this close to home and would be the kind of experience that we can tell our grandchildren about down the road.  Meeting, interviewing, and telling stories about all the different athletes and how they got to where they are would be the most rewarding aspect of this trip for sure.  And it’s gonna be damn fun!

So 5 teams of 2 will be chosen to fly, all expenses paid, to Vancouver. They put us up in a “Samsung Suite” with tons of cool gear (cameras, laptops, cell phones, and more) which would be sick to play with and take to their limits.  The whole trip is a 20 day excursion to document the games.  This would leave both Lindsay and I totally broke as we wouldn’t be making money down here at all, so Samsung has sweetened the deal.  Out of the 5 times, I believe 1 team will be chosen as the grand prize winner of $24,000.  That’s $12,000 each, people! A nice little incentive to kick ass while we’d be up there.  Stay tuned, I’ll keep you up-to-date on what goes down with the contest. Lovesies you!