An inaccurate report on the conspiratorial website InfoWars led more than 100,000 individuals this week to sign an online petition calling for Comedy Central to fire a comedian who tweeted a tasteless joke about Barron Trump, President Donald Trump's 10-year-old son.

The problem? The New York City-based comedian doesn't and has never worked for Comedy Central.

Jenni Runyan, a spokesperson for the comedy channel, confirmed to Business Insider that the comedian, Stephen Spinola, "has never been employed by Comedy Central."

The controversy started on Monday when InfoWars writer Paul Joseph Watson, a prominent conspiracy theorist, wrongly identified Spinola as a Comedy Central writer in a story about the comedian's tweet. A spokesperson for InfoWars did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In the now-deleted tweet, Spinola joked that Trump's 10-year-old son "looks like a very handsome date-rapist-to-be." In a follow-up post, he doubled down.

Spinola told Business Insider he suspected that after "Saturday Night Live" writer Katie Rich was suspended for a tweet on Trump's youngest child that conservatives went searching for jokes other comedians had made. At the time, his bio said he was a "Comedy Central content contributor" because the channel had featured some of his work on a show.

But Spinola has never worked for the channel in any official capacity. He has since deleted the tweets, acknowledging it was insensitive to joke about Trump's child.

"I knew the tweets were wrong," he told Business Insider. "They are just dumb. They weren't something I would say onstage or something I stand by."

The apology, however, has not quelled the anger on the internet directed at him. In addition to having thousands call for him to be fired from a network at which he is not employed, others have flooded him with messages online.

"On Monday, I woke up to over 800 Twitter notifications. People were saying stuff on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube," he said.

Spinola said he was initially amused but grew concerned when he started receiving cryptic death threats through social media and directly on his phone.

"It was funny at first," he said of the attacks, "but then someone sent me an old address of mine and my grandmother's name asking how she was, insinuating they would hurt her."

Though he said his grandmother had died years ago, Spinola said the constant flow of threats had him worried someone would take action against another loved one.

"I had to delete every reference to my girlfriend online," he said. "Any trace that I have to my girlfriend."

"I'm just hoping nobody is crazy enough to go through with any of the threats," Spinola added. "Any time I hear a door close outside my home now, I look out through my blinds."

The comedian said he found the whole incident surreal, and repeatedly underscored that he didn't aim to "hurt Barron Trump's feelings."

"I'm not political at all," Spinola told Business Insider. "I tweet about what's trending to get more followers, and I was making observations on Inauguration Day about what people looked like."

"As a comedian, I make a lot of jokes that are not great," he later added. "A lot of comedians make a lot of jokes that are not great. I made a mistake by attacking a 10-year-old boy."

But Spinola did say he found it odd that people were defending Barron Trump by "doing things 1,000 times worse."

"Shows how dangerous fake news can actually be," he said.

The White House on Tuesday issued a statement requesting privacy for Barron.

SEE ALSO: The 'Deploraball' bash laid bare the fractious tension between the 'new right' and the 'alt right'

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NOW WATCH: Here are all the musicians who declined to perform at Trump's inauguration so far

HBO's new documentary "Becoming Warren Buffett" offers never-before-seen access into the day-to-day life of the billionaire. It's the latest film from director Peter Kunhardt and premieres January 30, 2017 on HBO.

According to HBO, "'Becoming Warren Buffett' tells the improbable story of how an ambitious, numbers-obsessed boy from Nebraska became one of the richest, most-respected men in the world. The definitive documentary on Buffett, this candid portrait sheds new light on a man who has helped shape the way Americans view capitalism and, more recently, philanthropy."

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Super Bowl 51 is set to air on Fox on February 5 and, as usual, the big game's broadcast will be stuffed to the brim with big-money ads, reportedly costing $5 million for a 30-second slot.

Unlike last year, as Marketing Land pointed out, many brands are keeping unusually quiet so far about their Super Bowl activity. But we are now starting to see more teasers as the Super Bowl draws closer.

We'll be keeping you up to date with all the latest commercials, teasers, and other Super Bowl ads news.

Scroll down to see what we know so far about the Super Bowl ads (we've organized all the news in alphabetical order, by brand.)

84 Lumber

Construction-supply company 84 Lumber has splashed out an estimated $15 million on a 90-second ad — its debut Super Bowl spot, AdAge reported. The ad, created by Brunner, will air in the second quarter, before half-time and aims to recruit new employees. 

However, the first cut of the ad has had to be scrapped after Fox rejected it for being "too political," Campaign first reported. The creative had featured a wall blocking people looking for work in the US.

Here's a recent 84 Lumber ad, celebrating its 60th year:

Audi

The automaker is returning to the Super Bowl for the ninth time, with an ad created by agency Venables Bell & Partners, according to Adweek.

Last year's spot featured David Bowie's "Starman":

Avocados from Mexico

Avocados from Mexico told Business Insider in December it was coming back to the Super Bowl in 2017. It's the third year in a row the brand has advertised in the big game.

This year's ad will be focused on promoting the fact that avocados are healthy, something the company was not explicitly permitted to do so in the past due to old FDA rules.

The brand released a teaser spot on January 23:

Sweets brand Cadbury has signed a three-year sponsorship deal with the English Premier League, starting with the 2017/18 season.

The sponsorship of the sport by a sweets brand angered obesity campaigners.

"If the sponsorship meant that a host of kids would be encouraged to exercise and kick footballs to kingdom come, but didn't come near a bar of chocolate, the forum might regard it as money well spent," National Obesity Forum spokesperson Tam Fry told the BBC.

It's not the first time Cadbury has sponsored a sport. It was one of the sponsors of the 2012 London Olympics, which also drew criticism from anti-obesity campaigns.

The Mondelez-owned brand will join the Premier League's portfolio of sponsors, which includes Tag Heuer and Carling.

As part of the partnership, Cadbury and the Premier League will create a tailored version of the existing Mondelez community project Health for Life, which promotes healthy lifestyles in primary schools around the UK.

"For over a hundred years Cadbury has been about bringing little moments of joy to people’s lives, something that fits well with the joy created by Premier League football every day," Cadbury brand director Francesco Vitrano described the partnership.

The deal includes giving Cadbury access to key player events such as the Golden Boot and Golden Glove awards, which the brand hopes to leverage in-stores, on packaging and in the community, according to the statement released by Mondelez.

It's not clear what kind of sponsor Cadbury will be. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

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NOW WATCH: A Harvard psychologist reveals the best way to fake it till you make it

"Fresh Off the Boat" star Constance Wu isn't celebrating Casey Affleck's best actor Oscar nomination for "Manchester by the Sea."

Affleck has been embroiled in controversy after news that he had been sued twice for alleged sexual harassment by two women who worked on his indie mockumentary film, "I'm Still Here."

On Tuesday, Wu called out the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organization that awards the Oscars, for favoring a "good acting performance" over "human integrity," and the message Affleck's nom sent to men.

The allegations against Affleck took on a new life after critics wondered why Oscar hopeful Nate Parker, who wrote and directed "Birth of a Nation," was being vilified for a 1999 rape allegation and the "Manchester by the Sea" star seemed to be getting a free pass by media and activists.

In an interview with Variety last October, Affleck addressed the controversy surrounding the sexual harassment suits.

“People say whatever they want,” he said about the charges. “Sometimes it doesn’t matter how you respond... I guess people think if you’re well-known, it’s perfectly fine to say anything you want. I don’t know why that is. But it shouldn’t be, because everybody has families and lives."

SEE ALSO: The 2017 Oscar nominees shattered records for diversity

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NOW WATCH: Studios spend a staggering amount of money trying to get their films nominated at the Oscars

According to Variety, Fox just ordered an X-men pilot from “Burn Notice” writer Matt Nix. 

20th TV and Marvel television will produce the pilot with Bryan Singer — director and producer of the X-Men movie franchise — as executive producer. 

The untitled series follows human parents with mutant children on the run from the government. In their struggle for survival, they join an underground mutant resistance. 

The network is joining The CW in building its collection of superhero TV shows. The project is expected to exist in the same universe as FX’s “Legion,” from “Fargo” writer/creator Noah Hawley and starring Aubrey Plaza, which premieres on FX February 8. 

SEE ALSO: Trevor Noah: Here's how you know Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway is lying

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NOW WATCH: Everything we know so far about the next season of 'Game of Thrones'

The trailer for Netflix's new obstacle-course show, "Ultimate Beastmaster," is out, and we couldn't be more excited.

Executive produced by Sylvester Stallone, the new show has the vibe of NBC's "American Ninja Warrior" but with a much more insane course and an international flavor.

Hundreds of athletes from six different countries all compete on the course until one is finally crowned the winner.

I mean, the entrance into this course is a beast's mouth! How cool is that?

Each hour-long episode of the 10-episode series will feature 12 competitors, two from each country, who will take on the obstacle course known as “The Beast.” At the end of each episode, a "Beastmaster" will be crowned and in the final episode of the season, the nine individual winners from each episode will compete against each other for the chance to become the Ultimate Beastmaster.

And to give the show an even more global feel (something Netflix is trying to do with all of its content, given its reach), it has hosts that represent each country. For the US, it's Terry Crews ("Brooklyn Nine-Nine," "The Ridiculous Six") and Charissa Thompson ("Extra," Fox Sports).

Here are the other hosts:

Brazil: Anderson Silva (former UFC Middleweight Champion), Rafinha Bastos (Comedian, Journalist and TV Personality)

South Korea: Seo Kyung Suk (Actor, Comedian and TV Host), Park Kyeong Rim (Actress, Comedian and TV Host)

Mexico: Ines Sainz (Journalist, Sportscaster & TV Host), Luis Ernesto Franco (Actor and Producer)

Germany: Hans Sarpei (Former Soccer Player, TV Personality), Luke Mockridge (Comedian)

Japan: Sayaka Akimoto (Actress), Yuji Kondo (Sports Anchor)

Watch the trailer below. The show goes live on Netflix February 24.

SEE ALSO: The 22 most exciting new shows of 2017 you have to see

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Seth Meyers wants President Donald Trump to give up on his renewed claims that election fraud cost him the popular vote.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters on Tuesday that "studies" have shown Trump that millions of illegal votes were cast during the November presidential election, but didn't offer any actual evidence to prove that assertion. Trump suggests that three to five million fraudulent votes were cast. On Wednesday, Trump followed that up by announcing there will be an investigation into his claims.

"Hey! Why do you keep lying about this? There is zero evidence for this claim," Meyers said to Trump in a segment titled "Hey!" on Tuesday's "Late Night." "Also why would you say 'three to five million people'? We already know from the inauguration that you have no idea what a million people looks like. Just accept you're bad at guesstimating."

Meyers was further vexed by Trump's insistence on keeping the unfounded claims alive months after winning the election.

"Winners don't complain about the final score," the host said. "You know who does? Degenerate gamblers. But I guess if you knew anything about gamblers, your casinos would still be open."

He ended the segment by telling Trump, "The election is over and you’re the president. So let me just say what dozens of women have already said to you: 'Hey, let go of it!'"

Watch the video below:

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DON'T MISS: Seth Meyers: Why Trump's 'alternative facts' could turn into a much bigger problem

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NOW WATCH: Watch reporters grill the White House press secretary over Trump's false claims that millions voted illegally

TMZ reports that actress Mary Tyler Moore is in grave condition at a Connecticut hospital, where her family is gathered to "say goodbye," according to the outlet.

She has reportedly suffered from diabetes and underwent brain surgery in 2011.

Moore became a TV icon after starring in the groundbreaking 1970s series, "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." She previously starred on "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and "Rhoda."

More coming as this story develops...

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NOW WATCH: How to use Meitu — the Chinese selfie-enhancing app that the Internet is obsessed with

ESPN is scaling back its big push into the world of eSports. 

The first casualty in this scaling back is the annual "Heroes of the Dorm" tournament, where teams from American colleges compete in the game "Heroes of the Storm." The first two years of the tournament were broadcast on ESPN2, which drew relatively low viewership numbers and elicited passionate reactions from regular ESPN viewers.

But in its third year, the tournament will become a Facebook exclusive. 

"For the first time ever, 'Heroes of the Dorm' will be broadcast via Facebook Live on the 'Heroes of the Storm' Esports Facebook page, beginning with the regular season and continuing all the way through the Heroic Four and National Championship," a press release from Blizzard Entertainment, the game's creator, says.

While that expands the potential viewership of the tournament, it also marks a major step away from eSports from the largest sports broadcaster in the world.

ESPN pushed hard into eSports with its support of the "Heroes of the Dorm" tournament, which it broadcast for two years, in addition to starting a dedicated eSports section on ESPN's website. With the transition to Facebook, ESPN is making a strong statement about the tournament's success with viewers and its continuing dedication — or lack thereof — to covering eSports.

If you're interested in following this year's season, your best bet is to head to the official "Heroes of the Storm" Facebook page. Rather than solely broadcasting the finals, Blizzard is broadcasting the entire season over Facebook Live.

SEE ALSO: The world’s biggest sports network can't ignore eSports anymore — here's why

DON'T MISS: ESPN has a master plan to make you care about eSports

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NOW WATCH: New film takes you inside the cut-throat world of professional eSports

I should get this out of the way: "Casting JonBenet," which just premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, will not give you any insight into the 20-year mystery of who killed 6-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey.

In fact, there is not a single image of JonBenet or her family in the movie. And that's the most fascinating part of this documentary/fiction hybrid.

With true crime being the current craze in Hollywood, the idea of making a movie about one of the most publicized child murders of all time seems obvious. However, director Kitty Green, in her feature directing debut, radically pulls the rug from under the audience by turning the attention away from the case and putting it back on ourselves.

In an inventive mix of documentary and fiction, Green shoots the casting of a fake movie about the JonBenet murder in which she hires actors who live in the region of Colorado where the Ramseys lived. Some of them even know the family. "Casting JonBenet" is then made up of auditions and reenactments of key events like the police news conference after the murder and JonBenet's parents, John and Patsy, being interviewed by police. We watch a handful of actors portraying the main figures of the case in these moments — yes, even young girls as JonBenet.

But then Green gets her actors to open up on camera about their own views of the case. Many of them voice their reasons for thinking JonBenet's parents were behind the murder. Others give insight on why they think certain aspects of the case could be plausible. One of the most comedic personalities in the movie is a man cast to play the police chief who turns out to be a sex educator in real life. However, Green has a reason for this casting as the person eventually opens up about why the theory that JonBenet was the victim of sexual abuse before her death could be valid.

The movie is really a study on our own obsessions about the case rather than a search for answers (which many other movies and TV programs have done over the years), and how we use our own past to come to judgments.

Almost everyone in "Casting JonBenet" opens up about their own hardships and uses those to relate to the Ramseys (or vilify them). Essentially, Green is asking her audience to look inward before casting stones.

Now, there will certainly be those who will think what Green has done is disrespectful to the Ramseys and is just using a well-known case to create a story she wants to tell, and that's valid.

But what I see is a unique take on how we react to a media sensation like an unsolved murder or a missing plane by using our own personal truths, because that's basically all we have.

"Casting JonBenet" will be available on Netflix later this year.

SEE ALSO: The 30 best movie endings of all time, ranked

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NOW WATCH: The new 'Power Rangers' trailer finally shows off the Dinozords and they look incredible

Syfy's big hit, "The Magicians," returns with its much-anticipated second season Wednesday at 9 p.m.

The series, which is based on the best-selling novels by Lev Grossman, follows a group of 20-something (and highly attractive) magicians who find that their first year of graduate magical studies at the top-secret Brakebills College is fraught with danger. 

Season one ended in a bloody battle with the Beast in which the young students risked life and limb, specifically Penny (Arjun Gupta), who lost his hands in the fight. The premiere picks up right after the battle with Quentin (Jason Ralph) running for help.

"That’s what’s fun about the opening scene," Ralph recently told Business Insider. "Quentin is in the same place as the audience, because we don’t know if these people are alive or dead. And if he’s gonna be able to save them. It is the perfect way to begin it. We’re presented with the the kookiness that is Fillory and the frustrating absurdity of the people that live there."

Help comes in the form of a deceptive Fillory woman, whose line greatly summarizes what the friends (and the viewers) can expect from the storybook land on the second season: "Be careful of strangers. We only look whimsical."

"So much of this story is about undercutting expectation in a lot of ways," Ralph said. "He finally gets to the place where everything is supposed to be perfect, and everything is supposed to make sense and have purpose. The place where the hero’s journey exists, where fate is allowed to have a role in your life. And he gets there, and it doesn’t. It’s maybe even more gray than the world that he came from, but it’s more personal. He's betrayed."

As for feeling betrayed, that's how the friends feel about Quentin's childhood friend, Julia (Stella Maeve), who's magically gifted, as well, but wasn't admitted into Brakebills.

On the first season, Julia's journey brought her to a secretive magical group that finally made her feel like she belonged. But that all turned on her when her mentor was possessed by a trickster god who killed the group members and raped Julia violently. In turn, Julia made a deal with the Beast on the finale in order to track down and kill her demonic assaulter.

For the powerful penultimate episode in which Julia gets raped, "The Magicians" partnered with the Rape Foundation's Stuart House. The organization experienced a 70% increase in calls to its hotline as a result of the finale episode, Maeve told Business Insider. But the actress doesn't want viewers to think revenge is Julia's primary motivation going into season two.

"It’s so much more layered and multifaceted than that," she said. "There’s so much more underneath that. It’s derivative of her trying to deal with her own sadness. And trying to get back to herself. And trying to figure all the ways to rebuild her life. Who is Julia now that she experienced this? You get to see Quentin guide Julia and help Julia with this mission, on this journey throughout the second season. You get to see a real friendship and a real love and a real bond of a support system. Of course, all of it’s unconventional and a little kooky."

As a result of their experiences, the stars say the crew's magical skills definitely move up a level on the upcoming season.

"Season one was about them learning magic. It was a lot of firsts. And it wasn’t innate to them," Ralph said. "This season, it’s now a part of their bones. You can feel the thousands and thousands of spells underneath your fingernails. You get to the point where you can think things into fruition. It becomes more innate."

But magic has its limits and fans can expect that death will be one of them on the upcoming season.

"So much of Quentin’s arc this season is about grieving and loss and having the gumption to let things go," Ralph teased, in terms of important relationships and his relationship to magic and to fantasy and to Fillory.

Watch the season-two trailer for "The Magicians" below:

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NOW WATCH: Don't be afraid to cancel cable — here's how to watch all of your favorite shows for less than $42 a month

When Jerry Seinfeld decided that he wanted to take his popular web series, "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee," from Crackle and find a new home, he knew exactly what he wanted and Netflix checked all his boxes.

"When I first started thinking about 'Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee,' the entire Netflix business model consisted of mailing out DVDs in envelopes. I love that we are now joining together, both at very different points,” Seinfeld said in a statement on the deal.

The Netflix deal, which includes not only the previously produced nine seasons of the show and a new 10th season, but also two new stand-up specials — all to be released later this year — reportedly paid Seinfeld $100 million. But the money wasn't a driving factor for him, individuals with knowledge of the situation told Business Insider under the condition of anonymity.

Having made more than $3 billion from the syndication of his hit '90s sitcom "Seinfeld," the actor and comedian doesn't need to work. He had other pressing reasons for jumping from Crackle.

Seinfeld's search for a new home for "Comedians," which features him joining famous friends for a cup of coffee and a drive while sharing stories, began in earnest in mid-2016 as his contract was due to expire with Crackle, the Sony Pictures Television-owned streaming video service. His wanderlust greatly increased last June after Steve Mosko, who had been instrumental on the NBC hit "Seinfeld," left his position as Sony TV chairman amid reported infighting in the company.

A Crackle insider told Business Insider that once Mosko left, "Jerry was pretty much out the door."

Seinfeld likes to be in control of all aspects of his projects and becomes very personally invested in their success. He calls his celebrity guests to book them for the unconventional interview show himself. So one of Seinfeld's biggest gripes was Crackle's advertising model and the demands placed on him by Acura, the exclusive sponsor of "Comedians."

Acura, for example, could demand one of its cars be featured on a specific episode set to stream on a date that matched its marketing plan, and Seinfeld didn't like giving up that creative and production control. So while shopping the show, he overwhelmingly targeted companies that had subscription revenue models that didn't depend on advertising. In addition to Netflix and Hulu, Seinfeld approached HBO. The premium cable network considered the offer, "kicked the tires" as one insider from HBO put it, but things didn't proceed to any "meaningful discussion."

Another major point in the deal with Netflix was the addition of stand-up specials. Crackle knew that was important to Seinfeld and was open to developing comedy specials with him. But that part of the deal also made better sense for Netflix, which was already in the stand-up game and had recently dedicated itself to building up its comedy stable. Seinfeld joins A-list talent like Amy Schumer, Chris Rock, and Dave Chappelle at the streaming giant. That appealed to him.

“I am also very excited to be working with [Chief Content Officer] Ted Sarandos at Netflix," Seinfeld also said in the deal statement, "a guy and a place that not only have the same enthusiasm for the art of stand-up comedy as I do, but the most amazing technology platform to deliver it in a way that has never existed before. I am really quite charged up to be moving there."

When Crackle found out that Seinfeld was definitely leaving, it was a blow to the company. "Comedians in Cars" is its most well-known series, its most viral, and provided more than 100 million streams as of last year for the company. Critics wondered if Seinfeld's departure would also impact Crackle's ability to sign big names in the future.

But Seinfeld got a lot out of the partnership, too. In the beginning, he just wanted the freedom to create the show he wanted. He didn't even want to market it in its first season, according to an individual from Sony TV. Both were things a burgeoning Crackle could give him.

It also took a lot of "blood and sweat" on Crackle's behalf to get mainstream recognition for the show, according to a source. It began streaming on Crackle in 2012. Although it received Emmy nominations in 2013 and 2014, they were in special-class categories. It wasn't until last year (and after eight seasons) that the show broke through to a mainstream Emmy nod for variety series after Crackle smartly decided to switch categories.

As Seinfeld's contract was set to expire, Crackle considered what "Comedians" brought to it aside from name recognition, and the business sense of keeping the show around. The series was also available on Seinfeld's "Comedians" website, for example, so Crackle wasn't benefiting from those views. The other truth, one individual disclosed, is that streams of the show on Crackle had begun to decline in later seasons. Another insider said that "Comedians" fans tended to watch just one episode, so Crackle didn't benefit largely from binge-viewing or viewers staying on to watch its other programming.

And what about Crackle's future business objectives? "Comedians" fans steer older than Crackle's younger target demographic (read: gamers) and tended to watch on their desktops over gaming consoles or mobile devices. Also, the short format of "Comedians" was really part of a bygone era for Crackle. In recent years, its focus had turned to more traditional TV lengths for original comedies and dramas.

"I think 'Comedians' is a great program that did break through for us," Crackle General Manager Eric Berger told Business Insider when we asked about the show during the recent Television Critics Association press tour, before its split from Crackle had been announced. "But it’s opened the door for a slate of other great programming that we have right now. So we view it in a portfolio, and a lot more is to come."

Currently, Crackle's original slate has grown to include the Emmy-nominated stop-motion comedy "SuperMansion," with Bryan Cranston and Keegan-Michael Key among its voice actors; tech drama "Startup," starring Martin Freeman and Adam Brody; "The Art of More," a drama set in the world of art trading, with Dennis Quaid and Kate Bosworth; and the upcoming drama "Snatch," adapted from the heist movie of the same name and featuring "Harry Potter" star Rupert Grint.

"We've got a terrific slate of content, a big group of very big celebrities that are coming to work for us, and we’re building show brands, we’re building audience, we’re building a Crackle brand," Berger said of the company's larger goals beyond being primarily known as the home of Seinfeld and "Comedians."

Still, it's never good to have headlines about a big name departing for a competitor, and we're told Crackle and Sony TV are well aware of that. It remains to be seen what impact, if any, Seinfeld's departure will have on Crackle in the coming year.

A representative for Seinfeld declined to comment for this article, while a Netflix rep didn't immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

SEE ALSO: Crackle boss argues there's no such thing as too much TV

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Facebook has hired Hugo Barra, the most prominent global executive at Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi and a former Google exec, to lead its virtual reality business.

After the news of Barra's departure from Xiaomi after three-and-a-half years at the company broke earlier this week, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the hire in a Facebook post on Wednesday night.

"Hugo shares my belief that virtual and augmented reality will be the next major computing platform. They'll enable us to experience completely new things," he wrote.

The 32-year-old Facebook founder has previously spoken about virtual reality as an important part of the company's future business, especially as the technology becomes less expensive and its uses clearer. Facebook acquired Oculus in 2014, believing it to be the next major computing platform, a part of the business Barra will oversee.

Earlier this week, Barra said he was stepping down as Xiaomi's vice president after three-and-a-half-years, citing health concerns and a new job. "This journey has been nothing short of spectacular in every way," he wrote in a Facebook post on Monday.

"But what I've realized is that the last few years of living in such a singular environment have taken a huge toll on my life and started affecting my health. My friends, what I consider to be my home, and my life are back in Silicon Valley."

At Xiaomi, Barra oversaw international expansion. Founded in 2010, the firm at first grew rapidly thanks to its low-cost, desirable smartphones, that sometimes bore a suspicious resemblance to Apple's designs (although Barra rejected any accusations of copying or "theft"). But the company is like Apple in other ways too — from its charismatic founder Lei Jun to its famously devoted fanbase.

Once the world's most valuable technology startup with a $45 billion valuation, its growth has slowed more recently, as it lost market share and failed to hit sales targets. CEO Lei Jun said at the start of 2017 that the company has grown "too fast," causing problems. The company pulled back from several overseas markets, including Singapore and Brazil, in 2016. It is increasing its offline retail presence and aims to develop artificial intelligence and internet finance as growth areas.

The company's smartphones are not yet available in most Western markets, where Barra — who formerly worked at Google on Android — was its most recognizable spokesperson.

Before Xiaomi, Barra worked at Google as VP of Android Product Management.

Here's the full Facebook post from Mark Zuckerberg announcing the hire:

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It took nearly a decade, cost over $30 million, and nearly killed Martin Sheen.

"Apocalypse Now" is celebrated as one of the best films ever made, but it was a nearly-murderous project. 

And now, nearly 40 years after the film's release, a small group of folks are attempting to turn the film into a video game.

A fledgling group of "game developers, motion picture professionals and interactive creatives" is banding together under the name Erebus LLC (a reference to the boat's name in the film) to create the game.

They have an ambitious idea (a horror/survival game set in the world of "Apocalypse Now"); they have passion; and they have rights to the story and name.

But first, they have to raise $900,000.

Despite having Francis Ford Coppola's blessing, as well as rights to the project, the team has been unable to secure funding. "We want your help because the traditional game publisher system won't let this happen," the Kickstarter for the game reads.

Thus far, the project has three main leads: an executive producer (Lawrence Liberty), a writer (Rob Auten), and a director (Montgomery Markland). Francis Ford Coppola is also listed as a member of the creative team, but he sounds more like an advisor than anything else.

If everything sounds good to you so far, that's because the devil is in the details. 

First and foremost, game budgets in the $900,000 range are unworkable. That's an incredibly small amount of money to produce a video game in 2017. Frankly, it's an incredibly small amount of money to produce a video game in 2010. Even small, independent games cost well over $1 million to make — and from the description of the game on the Kickstarter, it doesn't sound like the producers of "Apocalypse Now" are creating a tiny indie game.

Here's just some of that description:

"The game is an interactive recreation of Willard’s journey, as seen through a survival horror lens in which players with limited resources face unspeakable terrors. By choosing how to react to these situations, each player molds a unique version of Willard within the loose confines of the film story. You are Willard and your actions will determine his fate. Your mission begins in Saigon, where Willard is holed up in a dingy hotel. Audio and visual distortion evoke Willard’s emotions and past experiences. The game provides you subjective access to a character who is already nearly insane."

While it's entirely possible that this is planned as a low-tech, non-visually stunning game, the stretch goals don't paint it as such. For instance: If the project meets a stretch goal of $3 million, the game will get ported to virtual reality "for the most immersive experience possible." And if we're talking VR and immersion, we're talking about 3D modeling — and 3D modeling makes development that much more expensive. In so many words, it stands to reason that the game isn't a retro-style 8-bit game.

More worrying is the lack of a prototype. A video posted to the Kickstarter page has the project's creators talking through their plan — none of the game is shown.

A "prototype teaser" is said to be "coming soon." Without it, I'm personally reticent to back the game adaptation of "Apocalypse Now."

According to the project page, if it reaches $900,000, the game will be made for PC only — it'll only head to the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 if the project's funding reaches $2.5 million or more (pending "platform exclusivity agreements").

The Kickstarter has 29 days until completion; if it doesn't reach its $900,000 goal, the project will be considered a failure and anyone who pledged money won't be charged.

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Shia LaBeouf was arrested at his "He Will Not Divide Us" protest and art piece against President Donald Trump in New York City, TMZ reports.

The arrest happened after LaBeouf allegedly physically attacked a man who got in front of the camera live-streaming the protest and said something that the actor apparently didn't like. According to TMZ, LaBeouf allegedly grabbed and scratched the man.

Police officers have been posted at the protest, which is outside the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, and quickly moved in on the situation to arrest LaBeouf, according to TMZ.

"How are we going to make this s--t okay to be a Nazi out here?" LaBeouf said in a video that shows him being handcuffed by NYPD. "That's bulls--t, bro, it's not okay. He will not divide us."

It's unclear what exactly prompted the arrest, but two separate videos show LaBeouf having confrontations with people at the protest. In one, a man stands alongside LaBeouf and says, "Hitler did nothing wrong," and LaBeouf shoves him.

LaBeouf's anti-Trump protest invites anyone to stand in the space and repeat, "He will not divide us." The live-stream plans to run constantly for four years.

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A movie theater in London's Soho neighborhood that was set to screen the film "Vaxxed," a documentary produced by Andrew Wakefield, the man who's been linked to jump-starting mass, unfounded hysteria over vaccinations, has been pulled as a result of public outcry.

Wakefield attended one of President Trump's inaugural balls last week, where he broadcast a video of himself calling for a "huge shakeup" of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Trump himself mistakenly suggested that vaccines were harmful in 2012; he met with Wakefield this summer.

In 1998, Wakefield infamously presented a paper — since retracted — claiming that a combination vaccine for measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) could be linked to the onset of autism.

In the fallout from his error-riddled presentation, his so-called findings were discredited in close to every way possible: The paper was retracted. Wakefield was stripped of his medical license, found guilty of "abusing a position of trust as a medical practitioner," and found guilty of "dishonesty" in his studies.

You wouldn't have known it from looking at TicketTailor.com, however, where the tickets (which were listed as sold out as of the time of this piece's publication) were being sold. Here's how they described the film, called "Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe":

In his ongoing effort to advocate for children's health, Wakefield directs this documentary examining the evidence behind an appalling cover-up committed by the government agency charged with protecting the health of American citizens.

The website also stated that guests "will have the privilege of attending a panel discussion with several well-known experts in the field, including Andrew Wakefield."

A link on the site with the text "Join the discussion" leads to a Facebook page with more than 2,300 members called "Bring Vaxxed to the UK." On January 24, one of the group's members posted that a "private screening" of the film was to be shown on February 14 (Valentine's Day) at London's Curzon Cinema. The film was never listed anywhere on Curzon's website. On Thursday, January 26, Curzon provided the following statement to Tom Whipple at the London newspaper The Times saying the screening had been cancelled:

The screening is not part of the Curzon programme; rather it is a private hire hosted by the filmmakers themselves. Part of our business is to provide an entirely impartial, democratic event space in which anyone can hire our screens for events and film screenings. All private hires are unaffiliated with the Curzon brand or any of our venues and we consider such events to be an entirely separate concern from that of our public-facing activity.

The presentation of "Vaxxed" is an example of this distinction being unclear and we now unwittingly find ourselves at the heart of the discussion around it, to a degree where we must take a stance on the material.

In light of the responses we have received from members of the public, we have decided to cancel the private hire contract and pull the film from our venue. We do not wish to profit from a film that has demonstrably caused great distress.

Business Insider reached out to the contact information listed on TicketTailor's site but did not immediately receive a response.

Last year, the documentary was pulled from the line-up of New York's Tribeca Film Festival after numerous requests from scientists and film-makers demanding its removal. The requests included a public complaint from documentarian Penny Lane, who received the Tribeca Film Institute's Documentary Fund (not the same entity as the film festival) in 2012. Lane wrote a scathing public letter to Tribeca on Facebook which read in part, "Dear Tribeca Film Festival, I love you but you made a very serious mistake."

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Shia LaBeouf was arrested outside of the Museum of the Moving Image. The event took place at his participatory performance, which is planned to continue throughout Donald Trump's presidency.

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It's been a very busy first few days in the presidency of Donald Trump. He's signed executive orders on health care and abortions, and stated that construction on his long-planned wall along the Mexico border will begin within "months."

But "Late Night" host Seth Meyers on his "A Closer Look" segment on Wednesday also looked at the reports from within the White House that Trump's behavior has caused "concern" among those around him. Trump staffers have reportedly commented that he's "lazy," gets bored easily, and "watches too much TV." 

“Hey, I hear you, I deal with the same issue with my son,” Meyers said. “He’s nine months old, and we’re trying to observe a no-screens rule, but sometimes he gets cranky and the only thing that works is 'Dora the Explorer.' So, been there.”

Another report states that behind-the-scenes Trump is resentful that the media hasn't given him the recognition he thinks he deserves for his surprise victory over Hillary Clinton. He's upset that the public perspective doesn't align with his sense of accomplishment at this point in his presidency.

"You’ve been president for five days, and it seems like most of that time has been spent signing giant documents and then showing people that you’ve signed them," Meyers said. "It’s like how you read a book to kids.”

While aides have reportedly urged Trump to focus on the pressing duties of his office, he has "doubled down," as Meyers puts it, on false claims that millions of people voted fraudulently in the 2016 presidential election, delivering Hillary Clinton the popular vote.

Watch the entire segment below:

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Scientology wasn't very happy that Leah Remini had been booked on TBS's "Conan," according to its host Conan O'Brien.

In recent years, Remini has become one of the most outspoken public figures on the church. Having grown up as a Scientologist, she left the church in 2013. Since then, she has written a book, done several high-profile interviews, and now has a show on A&E, "Scientology and the Aftermath," all sharing stories of alleged abuses, harassment, and dirty business policies of the church.

Remini appeared on TBS's "Conan" on Wednesday to promote her eye-opening show and O'Brien explained how surprised he was to get a statement from Scientology trashing his guest.

"We were contacted by the Church of Scientology," the host said. "Today, they sent us a statement. They're obviously not happy you're on the show and they said in their statement that Leah Remini is doing this because she wants the fame, she wants the money, and she wants the attention. I was thinking today that it was very strange. I don't think I've ever had a document sent to me like that before and I've been doing this over 24 years."

Anyone who has watched Remini's show would know that the church has been making these claims about her for a while. Remini said she has a simple answer to Scientology's pushback.

"Yes, I do want to bring attention," the former "King of Queens" star said. "I am blessed to have had a successful series. Most actors work their whole careers in hopes that that happens once in their career. So I'm good. I don't need to work, I want to work, but I do want to bring attention to these abuses. That is true."

Remini had previously demanded that Scientology pay her $1.5 million in damages for trying to kill the A&E show and ruin her reputation in Hollywood. Recently, A+E Networks President and CEO Nancy Dubuc said that Scientology has been harassing her on social media about the show.

Scientology didn't immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

Watch Remini's "Conan" interview below:

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