The long-awaited mystery thriller “Gone Girl” finally hits theaters this weekend, but a brand new project involving the film’s major players is racking up its own major buzz.

“Gone Girl” director David Fincher — who’s also the master behind flicks like “The Social Network,” “Fight Club,” and “Seven” — recently confirmed that he will be directing the entire first season of HBO’s upcoming series “Utopia.”

As if that news weren’t awesome enough, it has now been revealed that “Gone Girl” author Gillian Flynn is joining the project as a writer, and she’ll be penning every episode in the first season.

Flynn told Buzzfeed that after working with Fincher on “Gone Girl,” the decision to collaborate with him again was a no-brainer.

“I’d pretty much signed off on ‘Gone Girl,’ and I got the message from David — it was a text — ‘Hey, got this TV thing. It’ll take up the next year of your life. Are you in?’” Flynn said. “I was like, ‘of course I’m in. You don’t even have to tell me what it is. I’m in.’”

“Utopia” is slated to begin production in 2015, and the premise sounds just as gripping as “Gone Girl.” It’s a conspiracy thriller follows a group of people who find themselves in possession of the manuscript to a sequel of a cult graphic novel. The show is based on a UK series of the same name.

“Gone Girl” has received glowing reviews, so we can only imagine that ...

Power duo Lena Dunham and Jack Antonoff have been going strong for two years, but don’t expect to see them walking down the aisle anytime soon…at least not until the U.S. takes some major legal action.

The “Girls” actress revealed to SiriusXM radio host Howard Stern that although things are getting serious between her and her rocker beau — they recently moved in together and she even referred to him as her “life partner” — they’re holding out on marriage for now. The reason? Dunham says they want to wait until her younger sister Grace can legally wed as well.

“We’re not against marriage, but I wanna wait until it’s something… my sister’s gay and it just doesn’t feel good to me to do something she can’t do,” Dunham explained. “She can do it in some places but not all places.”

Related: The 35 Lena Dunham-est Quotes From ‘Not That Kind Of Girl’

In the past, celeb couples Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie and Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard have made the same vow, but both couples have since officially wed.

So far, only 19 states have adopted same-sex marriage options, which means it could be a long time before we see Dunham swap out her amazing pink gown for a white one.

In the past, Antonoff has also admitted that he and Dunham have discussed marriage and that they already act like an old married couple (aww!). So no matter how long it takes for ...

Move over, Jay Pharaoh — there’s a new master impersonator taking Hollywood by storm, and he just so happens to be an A-list leading man himself.

During an appearance on “The Queen Latifah Show” to promote his new film “The Equalizer,” Denzel Washington shared a couple of jaw-dropping, music-related anecdotes that totally make us see him in a new light. If you didn’t think Denzel was the coolest dude before (which you definitely should have), you’ll be shocked by these epic stories.

First up, Washington revealed that he grew up with Ludacris’ dad, Wayne Bridges. The childhood buds even played at a school talent show together with “wigs and two dollar guitars,” and decided they were going to be the next Beatles.

Latifah tried to put Washington on the spot and get him to rap, but after that didn’t work, Washington came back with an even better treat: A spot-on impression of Jay Z. He launched into a story about being in a recording studio with Lenny Kravitz, who was working on new music with Jay at the time.

Jay Z said to Denzel, “Yeah, D, I’ma play this for you, D,” Washington said, nailing Hov’s smooth voice and signature laugh.

As if that wasn’t amazing enough, it turns out the song that Jay played for Washington was his 2003 hit with Pharrell, “Change Clothes.”

“It was ‘Change Clothes.’ He’s like, so what’d you think, D?’” Washington remembers. “I was like, ‘Play that again!’ He was ...

The long-held stereotypes about living in California are absolutely, undeniably true — it’s always sunny, the people are beautiful, the beaches are even better, and there’s avocado on literally everything. What’s not to love?!

But the one thing people never tell you about living in the Golden State is that it comes with the agony of constantly living in fear of earthquakes. It’s bad enough when one ‘quake shakes you awake from your precious sleep, but a new threat has emerged that’s putting that terror on a whole new level: There’s now a SWARM of earthquakes hitting California. As in, MULTIPLE earthquakes.

Giphy

More than 600 small earthquakes have struck central California’s Mammoth Lakes region in a mere 36 hours. The quakes, which started Thursday, have ranged in magnitude from 1.0 (“ehh, can’t even feel it”) to 3.8 (“WTF was that?!”).

Experts say it’s one of the largest earthquake swarms in the past decade, which frankly sounds terrifying. But residents of the area are reportedly totally lax about this sitch — after all, they live in a region known as the Long Valley Caldera, a volcanic region that gets minor earthquakes on the reg.

The U.S. Geological Survey isn’t completely alarmed, either. It reports that “despite the several felt earthquakes, this is still rather modest activity compared with the much more energetic swarms occurring in the 1980s and 1990s. We do not see any evidence for anomalous ground deformation associated with the swarm at this time.”

That’s all ...

After losing his mother earlier this week, Robert Downey Jr. decided a “generic” obituary wouldn’t be enough to honor her by. So the actor took to Facebook yesterday to pen an honest, emotional tribute to Elsie Ann Downey, who died on Monday at the age of 80.

Downey Jr. began the post by explaining that the loss has been weighing heavily on him amidst publicity for his latest movie.

“As promotion for ‘The Judge’ kicks off this weekend, I feel the need to run the risk of over sharing,” he began. “My mom passed away early this week. I wanna say something about her life, and a generic “obit” won’t suffice.”

He went on to share intimate details about his mother’s life, including anecdotes about her struggling career as a theater actress and her short-lived marriage to Downey Jr.’s father, filmmaker Robert Downey Sr.

Facebook

The “Iron Man” star also revealed that his mother suffered from her own harsh struggles with addiction. After she eventually got clean, she inspired him to do the same.

“While I strived to have the kind of success that eluded her, my own addiction repeatedly forbade it,” Downey Jr. wrote. “In the summer of 2004, I was in bad shape. She called me out of the blue, and I admitted everything. I don’t remember what she said, but I haven’t drank or used since.”

During his mother’s final years, Downey Jr. said that she was a constant presence in his children’s life, cherishing her role as a ...

Standing at 7-foot-4 and weighing in at more than 500 pounds, professional wrestler-turned-actor Andre the Giant had one hefty appetite. But even more impressive was his seemingly unquenchable thirst, which is the stuff of legend.

Earlier this week, Cary Elwes — Andre’s costar in the classic flick “The Princess Bride” — opened up with the Daily Beast about the giant’s excessive (for most humans) drinking and just how much he could stomach. According to Elwes, when it came time for him to undergo surgery, Andre even opted for alcohol instead of anesthesia.

Giphy

“He was due to have an operation right after the shoot, and his doctor didn’t know what kind of pain medication to give him because of his size, so the only way that he could deal with the pain was to drink alcohol,” Elwes told The Daily Beast. “It didn’t affect him at all. He didn’t flub a line or miss a day. The guy could handle his liquor, let me tell ya.”

Related: 10 Crazy Facts You Didn’t Know About Andre The Giant

Elwes (who has a new book out about the making of “The Princess Bride”) starred as the hero Westley in the beloved 1987 film, which costarred Andre as “Fezzik,” the hulking behemoth with a heart of gold. According to Elwes, it was damn near impossible to keep up with Andre’s imbibing, which was a staple of his image until his death in 1993.

Stories of Andre’s drinking ...

GoPro cameras are typically used to capture action-packed adventures, like mountain biking and skydiving (and tornado selfies and volcano dives). But this might be one of the most dramatic uses of a GoPro ever.

Tourist Alexander Hennessey was riding a bicycle in Buenos Aires, Argentina, when a motorcyclist pulled up next to him, demanded his backpack and flashed a gun.

YouTube

The armed robber kept shouting “mochila,” which means “backpack” in Spanish. Hennessey (who isn’t fluent in the language, shouting, “I don’t know what you’re saying, man!”) tried to plead with him, calling him “amigo” repeatedly before ditching his bike and fleeing.

Fortunately, Hennessey caught up with some friends and rode with them to safety, saying, “I’ve got that entire thing on my GoPro right now. I was recording that whole thing.”

Related: Here’s What It Looks Like When A Bald Eagle Steals A GoPro

Hennessey is currently on a mission to visit all 195 countries to earn his “Global Degree.” According to Global Degree’s Facebook page, the footage was given to police, and the thief was arrested later that day.

Watch the intense attempted robbery unfold below:

Madeline Roth

In a super exciting development for preteen boys, frustrated virgins and dirty old men everywhere, video game designers in Japan have created a virtual reality groping simulator that comes with squeezable breasts. The game is called — brace yourself for the astounding creativity here — “Boobie Squeezing Simulator,” and the only objective is to go around copping feels.

YouTube

(Here’s the full video, if you must watch it.)

Using an Oculus Rift virtual reality headset, the user simply has to squeeze the set of cushiony boobs in front of him. Then, the sensors on it sync up to the game onscreen, so you can see the little anime character flinch. Uh…what?!

If this kind of stuff is the future of technology, we’ve got a lot of explaining to do. First and foremost, the game better come with a warning that this kind of shiz doesn’t fly on the streets. Pretty sure you’ll be slapped with a fist and/or a lawsuit if you go around trying to play this game IRL.

Guys, just ask a real girl on a real date (and treat her with real respect). Oh, and NEVER let her see this gross thing hooked up to your TV, or else your hands aren’t going anywhere.

Tumblr

Madeline Roth

Competitive eater Takeru Kobayashi holds six Guinness Records, including the world record for most hot dogs eaten in 10 minutes (a whopping 110 dogs — yep, that’s 11 per minute).

YouTube

But even Kobayashi is no match for the animal kingdom’s fierce competitor. Weighing in at probably under a pound, and sporting a fluffy coat fit for kings, this tiny hamster is a lean, mean, eating machine in his own right.

YouTube

So what happens when you pit these two meat lovers against each other? You get a minute of positively intense competition that will make you second-guess hamsters’ lowly place on the food chain… and will probably also make you crave a hot dog for lunch. Check out the video to watch Kobayashi and his hamster rival face off in the grueling contest — you’ll be surprised to see what happens.

Madeline Roth

Facing the end of his life, TV anchorman Dave Benton is determined to keep doing good work — and his optimism is inspiring viewers everywhere.

Benton, who has reported for the Champaign, Illinois TV station WCIA since 2005, went on the air on Sept. 11 to share a heartbreaking message with viewers.

“Basically, my cancer is back and it’s too big for surgery and radiation,” Benton revealed. “Doctors have told me that I may have four to six months to live.”

Benton shared that he plans to try a new treatment to slow down the cancer’s growth. But for now, the self-proclaimed born-again Christian says he believes he is “in God’s hands,” and is focused on treating the rest of his life as a gift.

“The goal here is to have a few more days and to make them the best that they can be in the life that I have,” Benton said.

The 51-year-old anchor also expressed his gratitude to his viewers, who he says have been supporting him for so long. “It’s not just really only about me,” he said, echoing the same sentiment online later with this tweet:

Benton, who has a wife, a daughter, and a son, is celebrating his nine-year anniversary at the news station this year, and says he is “dedicated to continue good work.”

“I want to know that there’ll be a moment where I will stop and say, ‘I hope I did good work to our viewers. I served them and I did things well,’” Benton ...