Entertainment
New Sci-Fi Thriller Is Like A Choose Your Own Adventure Where All Options Are Selected
By Chris Sawin
| Published
Norm’s Diner. Los Angeles. 10:10 pm. A bearded man (Sam Rockwell), covered head-to-toe in a clear pancho and tangled with tubes, wires, motherboards, and a bomb detonator, stomps into the diner. He takes bites from a few unsuspecting people’s entrees before exclaiming, “I’m from the future, and everything is about to go horribly, horribly wrong!”
Claiming to have returned to this precise diner at this exact moment 117 times previously, this man from the future is looking for volunteers. Half of humanity perishes in the future, while the other half becomes hopelessly obsessed with their phones and social media. A.I. has finally taken over the world, and this man knows the secret to saving it, and it all has to be done on this very night.
“Like a choose-your-own-adventure book where all the options have been selected.”
With more than a little convincing, seven volunteers go on a mission to save humanity’s future. Some will knowingly not make it until the end of the night, but Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die dives into the backstory of a few of these diner patrons who no longer have anything to lose.
Mark (Michael Pena) and Janet (Zazie Beetz) are a romantic couple and both teachers, on the rocks. Mark is a substitute teacher who lands a job at the same school where Janet teaches. The problem is that teachers at this school keep disappearing while the students never get off their phones. Mark questions this and accidentally touches one of the students’ phones, which doesn’t end well for anyone.
Susan (Juno Temple) is the mother of a high school student named Darren (Riccardo Drayton). Darren dies unexpectedly after falling victim to a mass shooting, and Ingrid’s life loses all meaning. She’s introduced to a store that clones mass shooting victims, but the clone’s flaws keep their nearly flawless physical appearance from feeling authentic.
Ingrid (Haley Lu Richardson) has lived her whole life with an allergy to wifi and cell phones. Doctors said it wasn’t a real disease, but she gets nosebleeds and can’t function properly whenever she’s around technology or basically goes anywhere outside of the house. Ingrid met a pizza delivery driver named Tim (Tom Taylor), who didn’t believe in using cell phones or having any attachment to technology. The two moved in together and lived a frugal yet content life until one day, when a VR headset was left on their doorstep for Tim. Tim becomes so obsessed with virtual reality that he prefers it to this one, even though the so-called love of his life isn’t in it.
“A.I. is inescapable, and humanity’s only choice is to try to cater to its good side.”
Gore Verbinski has never shied away from going super weird in his previous films, but Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die takes the bizarre cake. The film is defined as a sci-fi action-adventure comedy, but its humor is perhaps the most unusual aspect. The film’s grasp of how social media and A.I. have a death grip on society is terrifying, given how much we rely on and are addicted to them today. There’s a dark, erratic tone to the film’s comedy that is amusing because it comes off as almost genuine. The biggest takeaway is that A.I. is inescapable, and humanity’s only choice is to try to cater to its good side.
Sam Rockwell has the commanding presence of a man who partially gives a shit. He intends to save everyone he can, but the people in this diner are expendable. If it doesn’t work out, he’s the only one who can hit the reset button and start over. So some of his actions may seem cruel on the surface, but he also knows everyone at this point almost as well as they know themselves. Rockwell is as scene-stealing as ever here, but half of his charm is how he bounces off the rest of the talented and mesmerizing ensemble.
It’s also interesting to witness how every volunteer reacts to the upcoming apocalypse. Mark and Janet are filled with panic, an Uber driver named Scott (Asim Chaudhry) doubts that this “Man from the Future” and anything he says is actually true, a scoutmaster named Bob (Daniel Barnett) volunteers solely with the intention of being a hero, Ingrid has a strange sense of acceptance, and Susan is cooperative but has an ulterior motive.
Even the characters that die along the way are a form of loss. Sam Rockwell’s “Man from the Future” is shoehorned into this representation of hope. He wants to save humanity, but he also wants to get to the point where he doesn’t have to repeat this night again for the 118th time and beyond. He watches everyone die, and everything crumbles around him. This is purgatory for him; he is basically Bill Murray in Groundhog Day. He is a symbol of hope, but also broken in his own way. Panic, doubt, heroism, acceptance, conniving, loss, and hope; it’s like the seven stages of grief but somehow more futile.
“Worth seeing for its exceptional performances, its catawampus narrative, and its hopelessly hopeless take on a dystopian future.”
The story takes wildly peculiar turns, even for a film where the future is determined, but how it gets there is a question mark. There is a CGI creature buried within the second half of the film that has an absolutely gonzo design and also puts full-frontal nudity to insane use. The movie’s nonlinear storytelling is all over the place, but where the film takes the audience isn’t entirely unexpected. Visually, Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die is a bananas smorgasbord and a shotgun blast to the face of craziness. But narratively, it feels like the film is deeper or more unique than it actually is.
Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die is like a choose-your-own-adventure book where all the options have been selected, and all the different scenarios are playing out at once in the same timeline. The film is worth seeing for its exceptional performances, its catawampus narrative, and its hopelessly hopeless take on a dystopian future. The lack of actual laughs and the inability to fully satisfy what it introduces are what hinder Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die from being a pure, unhinged masterpiece.
GOOD LUCK, HAVE FUN, DON’T DIE REVIEW SCORE
Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die is now playing in theaters.
Entertainment
NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for May 2, 2026
Today’s Connections: Sports Edition will require some knowledge of popular U.S. sports and pop culture.
As we’ve shared in previous hints stories, this is a version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans.
Like the original Connections, the game is all about finding the “common threads between words.” And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier — so we’ve served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.
If you just want to be told today’s puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for the latest Connections solution. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.
What is Connections: Sports Edition?
The NYT‘s latest daily word game has launched in association with The Athletic, the New York Times property that provides the publication’s sports coverage. The sports Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.
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Each puzzle features 16 words, and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there’s only one correct answer.
If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake — players get up to four mistakes before the game ends.
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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.
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Here’s a hint for today’s Connections: Sports Edition categories
Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:
Here are today’s Connections: Sports Edition categories
Need a little extra help? Today’s connections fall into the following categories:
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Yellow: A Pittsburgh Athlete
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Green: Seen on an MLB Scorebug
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Blue: Teams in the PWHL Playoffs
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Purple: Horse Racing Triple Crowns
Looking for Wordle today? Here’s the answer to today’s Wordle.
Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today’s puzzle before we reveal the solutions.
Drumroll, please!
The solution to today’s Connections: Sports Edition #585 is…
What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?
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A Pittsburgh Athlete: PANTHER, PENGUIN, PIRATE, STEELER
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Seen on an MLB Scorebug: COUNT, INNING, OUTS, SCORE
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Teams in the PWHL Playoffs: CHARGE, FLEET, FROST, VICTORIE
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Horse Racing Triple Crowns: AFFIRMED, CITATION, JUSTIFY, WHIRLAWAY
Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be new sports Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.
Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to today’s Connections.
Entertainment
NYT Pips hints, answers for May 2, 2026
Welcome to your guide to Pips, the latest game in the New York Times catalogue.
Released in August 2025, Pips puts a unique spin on dominoes, creating a fun single-player experience that could become your next daily gaming habit.
Currently, if you’re stuck, the game only offers to reveal the entire puzzle, forcing you to move on to the next difficulty level and start over. However, we have you covered! Below are piecemeal answers that will serve as hints so that you can find your way through each difficulty level.
How to play Pips
If you’ve ever played dominoes, you’ll have a passing familiarity with how Pips is played. As we’ve shared in our previous hints stories for Pips, the tiles, like dominoes, are placed vertically or horizontally and connect with each other. The main difference between a traditional game of dominoes and Pips is the color-coded conditions you have to address. The touching tiles don’t necessarily have to match.
The conditions you have to meet are specific to the color-coded spaces. For example, if it provides a single number, every side of a tile in that space must add up to the number provided. It is possible — and common — for only half a tile to be within a color-coded space.
Here are common examples you’ll run into across the difficulty levels:
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Number: All the pips in this space must add up to the number.
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Equal: Every domino half in this space must be the same number of pips.
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Not Equal: Every domino half in this space must have a completely different number of pips.
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Less than: Every domino half in this space must add up to less than the number.
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Greater than: Every domino half in this space must add up to more than the number.
If an area does not have any color coding, it means there are no conditions on the portions of dominoes within those spaces.
Easy difficulty hints, answers for May 2 Pips
Equal (6): Everything in this space must be equal to 6. The answer is 0-6, placed horizontally; 6-3, placed horizontally.
Equal (3): Everything in this space must be equal to 3. The answer is 6-3, placed horizontally; 3-4, placed horizontally.
Equal (4): Everything in this space must be equal to 4. The answer is 3-4, placed horizontally; 4-4, placed horizontally.
Less Than (6): Everything in this space must be less than 6. The answer is 1-1, placed vertically.
Medium difficulty hints, answers for May 2 Pips
Less Than (2): Everything in this space must be less than 2. The answer is 0-3, placed vertically.
Equal (5): Everything in this space must be equal to 5. The answer is 5-5, placed horizontally.
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Greater Than (4): Everything in this space must be greater than 4. The answer is 5-4, placed horizontally
Equal (4): Everything in this space must be equal to 4. The answer is 5-4, placed horizontally; 4-4, placed vertically.
Equal (2): Everything in this space must be equal to 2. The answer is 2-2, placed horizontally; 2-6, placed vertically.
Equal (6): Everything in this space must be equal to 6. The answer is 2-6, placed vertically; 5-6, placed vertically.
Number (5): Everything in this space must add up to 5. The answer is 5-6, placed vertically.
Hard difficulty hints, answers for May 2 Pips
Number (6): Everything in this space must add up to 6. The answer is 4-5, placed vertically; 2-5, placed vertically.
Number (6): Everything in this space must add up to 6. The answer is 6-3, placed vertically.
Number (15): Everything in this space must add up to 15. The answer is 3-5, placed horizontally.
Number (7): Everything in this space must add up to 7. The answer is 3-4, placed horizontally; 6-3, placed vertically.
Equal (6): Everything in this space must be equal to 6. The answer is 6-6, placed horizontally.
Number (2): Everything in this space must add up to 2. The answer is 2-1, placed vertically.
Number (2): Everything in this space must add up to 2. The answer is 2-1, placed vertically; 1-3, placed horizontally.
Equal (3): Everything in this space must be equal to 3. The answer is 3-5, placed horizontally; 3-3, placed horizontally; 3-4, placed horizontally; 1-3, placed horizontally; 0-3, placed horizontally.
Greater Than (3): Everything in this space must be greater than 3. The answer is 0-6, placed horizontally.
Equal (0): Everything in this space must be equal to 0. The answer is 0-6, placed horizontally; 0-3, placed horizontally; 0-1, placed horizontally.
Less Than (3): Everything in this space must be less than 3. The answer is 0-1, placed horizontally.
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Entertainment
New rules for the Oscars: AI actors are out of the race
The Academy won’t be handing over the golden statuette to robots anytime soon.
In new rules announced May 1, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has ruled that AI performances are not eligible for an Oscar. Filmmakers can still utilize AI tools in their submitted works, but only human actors and human-authored screenplays will be considered for the body’s highest honors.
The move aligns with AI agreements won during the 2023 Writers’ Guild of America (WGA) and SAG-AFTRA strikes and addresses growing tension over the presence of generative AI tools across artistic industries.
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For example, a recent trailer for the upcoming historical adventure film As Deep as the Grave, featuring an entirely AI-generated recreation of the late Val Kilmer, caused widespread furor among fans who recoiled at the on-screen digital likeness. Prior to his death, Kilmer created an AI version of his speaking voice with UK tech company Sonantic. Other celebrities, like Matthew McConaughey and Michael Caine, have worked with AI company ElevenLabs to clone their voices, as well.
But while some celebs are getting ahead of their AI counterparts, others are fighting back against nonconsensual deepfakes writ large. Pop star Taylor Swift recently filed for trademark of her voice and image — including the phrase “Hey, it’s Taylor.” — amid a surge of synthetic AI likenesses of her proliferating across the internet, including ones used in data phishing scams.
The Academy announced additional rule changes for international film and acting categories, generating buzz online after several contentious Oscar campaign races in recent years. For non-English films, a country can now have multiple nominated entries instead of the previous limit of one. Similarly, actors can receive multiple nominations in the same category if their performances rank in the top five.
Topics
Artificial Intelligence
Oscars
NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for May 2, 2026
NHL roundup: Sabres win playoff series for first time in 19 years
