50 Hilarious April Fools Pranks For Kids & Parents (2024)

"This Is The Story Of Donald Trump": Harris Campaign Rolls Out "Law And Order" Parody At DNC

The Democratic National Convention kicked off in Chicago on Monday with a new ad that riffed on Donald Trump's criminal convictions, underscoring the sharp delineation between the former president and Vice President Kamala Harris, a former prosecutor. Harris previously served as San Francisco district attorney and California state attorney general before arriving in Washington, D.C. To serve in the Senate and later as President Joe Biden veep.

The ad, which played as an introduction to a speech by Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., parodied the television crime drama, "Law and Order."

"In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups: the police who investigate crime, and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders," a narrator said, the words overlaid by a similar track to the iconic series set in New York.

"This is the story of Donald Trump," the narrator continued, before alluding to several of the ex-president's high-profile legal quagmires. "His entire life, Trump has believed he's above the law. That no one would ever dare hold him accountable. He lies. He rips off workers. He sexually abuses women. He cheats in business. He cheated on his wife with a porn star, and paid her off so the American people wouldn't find out during an election."

"But in the criminal justice system, ordinary Americans have had the courage to find him accountable, time and time again. For the first time in history, we have a convicted felony running for president. And to take on this case, we need a president who has spent her life prosecuting perpetrators like Donald Trump."

"He tried overturning Georgia's free and fair election," the narrator added, followed by audio of Trump's now infamous 2020 phone call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, in which the former president said he wanted to "find 11,780 votes" to overturn his loss of the state in the election.

"He's tried to escape any responsibility for instigating the January 6 attack on our Capitol," the ad observed. "And if elected, Trump has promised to overturn laws that would keep him accountable and exact retribution on anyone he considers an enemy, even warning of a 'blood bath' if he doesn't get his way. So, we the people have a chance to render our own verdict on Donald Trump. We are the jury he most fears. When we vote this November, we vote for justice, accountability, and the rule of law that keeps America free."

Harris can be heard at the conclusion of the ad yelling to throngs of her supporters, "Do we believe in freedom?" The reference aligned closely with another freedom-related Harris campaign ad unveiled Monday, featuring Beyoncé's 2016 song "Freedom." Actor Jeffrey Wright narrates over patriotic images from D-Day, the Dust Bowl era, the Statue of Liberty, and an array of American families. "What kind of America do we want?" Wright asks. "One where we're divided, angry, depressed? C'mon! We're Americans! Fascism? We conquered it. The Moon? Landed on it. The future? Building it. Freedom? Nobody loves it more."

MSNBC host Rachel Maddow in May dedicated an entire segment of her show to unpacking for her viewers how Trump and his fervent base of supporters could pose imminent threat to democracy.

"What you're seeing here is actively and currently damaging the rule of law right now, because people are being intimidated and terrorized," Maddow said. "People who work in the legal system as these alleged crimes are adjudicated there are being harassed, threatened with firing, and intimidated and threatened. And it is happening in all the criminal cases that surround Trump."

"This is damage to the rule of law and it is here already," the MSNBC host added. "When participating in the adjudications of alleged crimes by a political figure and his followers bring you death threats — the rule of law has been bent, the rule of law has been broken."

The First Teaser For Steamboat Willie Horror Parody Screamboat Is Here

Today, in "Things likely to cause Bob Iger's blood pressure to trend upwards, just a little bit" news: The first trailer for one of several horror movie parodies based on Disney's 1928 classic Steamboat Willie has arrived on the internet. As reported by IndieWire, Steven LaMorte's Screamboat doesn't have much more to offer viewers, at least in this initial taste, but some wooden acting, a "creepy" rendition of "Turkey In The Straw," and a quick glimpse of a horror version of a very iconic silhouette, but… Maybe that's enough?

Because, let's be honest here: None but the most dedicated degenerates among us are going to actually watch this full film, which is one of several horror parodies that were put into production pretty much the exact second Steamboat Willie entered the public domain back on January 1, 2024. As with last year's very similar Winnie The Pooh: Blood And Honey, our experiences of Screamboat are likely going to start and stop within the 45 seconds it exists in an online video window, giving us a glimpse at a low-rent MadTV sketch blown out to feature length only because it cost very little money to do. (Oh, also, it stars David Howard Thornton, a.K.A. Art The Clown from the Terrifier movies, in case you were worried the movie wasn't ticking every micro-budget 2024 horror movie box.) As such, we kind of wish the trailer was a bit more lurid; looking around online today, we actually found a different "Screamboat" trailer, clearly made for an even smaller budget, that at least had the good grace to give us a few shots of a fucked-up Mickey Mouse killing people, which is all we really want to see.

In addition to the trailer, IndieWire also has a more in-depth interview (conducted by former A.V. Club staffer Alison Foreman) with LaMorte, who does seem to have at least been interested in making a competent low-budget horror flick, including making sure that his murderous Mickey Mouse was a full practical effect. The director, at least, sounds pretty honest about what he's doing: "I've always wanted to make a horror film on the Staten Island Ferry, ever since I was commuting to and from film school in New York. But I could either make a random movie about the ferry or I could do Steamboat Willie. Which one do you think people are going to want to go see?"

Screamboat arrives for public consumption in January 2025.

Michael Keaton's Beetlejuice Chugs Hot Sauce While Interviewing Himself In Hot Ones Parody: Watch

Michael Keaton is finding out how Beetlejuice would fare on Hot Ones.

On Aug. 26, the actor, 72, appeared in a parody of the popular interview series hosted by Sean Evans as Warner Bros. Promotes Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

In the skit, Keaton pulls double duty as himself interviewing his famous poltergeist character. The video opens with a moment of Keaton, in character as Beetlejuice, chugging a bottle of hot sauce. 

"Well, hi, first of all, welcome to the show," Keaton said in the clip, to which Beetlejuice answered, "How long is this gonna take? I gotta get to the spa."

When Keaton asked Beetlejuice about his influences over the years, he named the 19th-century French emperor Napoleon, Justin Bieber and the ancient Roman emperor Caligula. "Well, Napoleon was a pal. Bieber, of course, for obvious reasons," he said. "Caligula was a wild man, I gotta say that." 

Michael Keaton in 2024's Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

Parisa Taghizadeh/Warner Bros.

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Beetlejuice showed little interest in introspection when Keaton asked him if he has ever contemplated "the infinite nature of time," simply stating, "No."

When asked how he's enjoying the wings, the ghoul said they were "eerily reminiscent of a guy I ate in Seattle," as steam began pouring out of his ears and he farted out flames.

"I got a question for you: Who the hell are you?" Beetlejuice asked Keaton as the clip ended.

Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice in 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice'.

Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures

Keaton originated Beetlejuice in Tim Burton's 1988 movie Beetlejuice, which follows a deceased couple (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) as they begin to navigate the afterlife as ghosts and summon Beetlejuice for help getting rid of the living family that moved into their home.

The actor reprises the role in the sequel, which also brings back Winona Ryder and Catherine O'Hara. Justin Theroux, Willem Dafoe, Jenna Ortega and Monica Bellucci also appear in the movie.

"It's the most fun I've had on set in a long time," Keaton told PEOPLE of filming the movie back in February. "On one hand, you'd go, 'Well, of course it's the most fun. It looks like fun.' As you know, it doesn't always work like that."

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice will open the Venice Film Festival on Aug. 28 before it releases in theaters Sept. 6.

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