Though there is a lot of excitement that the cherished Japanese manga and anime movie "Ghost in the Shell" is receiving the live-action, big Hollywood studio treatment, many still believe there's some major whitewashing going on with the project. Scarlett Johansson is playing the main character, Major Kusanagi, who in this version is notably just called "The Major."

But in a recent profile in Marie Claire, Johansson tried to downplay the controversy and defend herself against accusations of whitewashing. She also played up the feminist aspect of the movie, which puts a woman at the front of a high-budget sci-fi franchise.

"I certainly would never presume to play another race of a person," she told the magazine. "Diversity is important in Hollywood, and I would never want to feel like I was playing a character that was offensive. Also, having a franchise with a female protagonist driving it is such a rare opportunity. Certainly, I feel the enormous pressure of that — the weight of such a big property on my shoulders."

Paramount has been on the defense since its casting choice of Johansson on the project. Things didn't get any better when reports surfaced that the movie tested effects to make some of the actors in the movie look more Asian.

Johansson is the latest to come out and push aside the whitewashing controversy. Over the summer a producer on the film said that their adaptation of the anime is an "international story."

"Ghost in the Shell" opens in theaters on March 31.

SEE ALSO: How Kathryn Hahn became a modern Hollywood comedy hero

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

Seth Meyers appeared on his friend and former "Saturday Night Live" colleague Jimmy Fallon's "Tonight Show" on Wednesday and contended that it was he who compelled Donald Trump to run for president, ultimately resulting in Trump's electoral victory.

Meyers made the claim while discussing Fallon's much-criticized interview with Trump in September.

Fallon was critiqued for asking softball questions of Trump that made the Republican presidential nominee appear likable, topping it all off with a playful messing up of the candidate's mysteriously coiffed hair.

"I was insulted by the reaction," Meyers said. "I know after that happened, you took some heat. People said you are the reason he won. And I'm so insulted about that, because I am the reason he won."

The "Late Night" host, who has been a very vocal critic of Trump, said his and President Barack Obama's mocking comments at the 2011 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner regarding Trump's potential for a presidential run stoked the businessman's decision to throw his hat in the ring. At the time, those jokes seemed to set off Trump.

"I made fun of him in 2011," Meyers said. "That's the night he decided to run. I kicked the hornet's nest — you just rubbed the hornet's head. It's not the outcome I wanted, but that's history. I got a man elected president. I want my points."

Meyers wasn't the first to suggest he had a role in Trump's presidential bid; the 2011 dinner was a major part of a New York Times article from March examining Trump's decision to run.

Watch Meyers discuss Trump starting at about 4:30 below:

SEE ALSO: Stephen Colbert says Trump's war with Nordstrom is 'insane'

DON'T MISS: 'South Park' creators say the show is backing off from Trump: 'Satire has become reality'

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NOW WATCH: 'It's a lie': Jake Tapper calls out Trump during a fiery interview with Kellyanne Conway

There's a new trailer out for the film "The Circle," an adaptation of the Dave Eggers novel that explores the dark side of Silicon Valley and the tech behemoths that dominate it.

The movie stars Emma Watson as Mae Holland, who goes to work for a powerhouse tech company called The Circle, a sprawling giant in the mold of Google or Facebook.

Holland is initially in awe of the perks and vibe typical of many tech companies in the Valley, but she discovers a darker side as she becomes more involved with the company, particularly its founder, played by Tom Hanks. But no spoilers!

Here's the trailer for the film, which will come out April 28.

SEE ALSO: Jeff Bezos says he dances into the office if he gets to work on the Echo, and has one in every room of his house

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NOW WATCH: Merriam-Webster can’t stop trolling the Trump administration on Twitter

Chad Stahelski is going through his usual press rounds for his new movie, "John Wick: Chapter 2," when one topic stops him in his tracks: the death of his friend Brandon Lee.

"Wow, that's a heavy one," he said when asked about the subject, collecting his thoughts.

Before the first “John Wick” movie in 2014 made him a sought-after action director, Stahelski was a veteran stuntman and one of his first jobs was on the movie “The Crow,” in which he was a stunt double for Lee, the star of the movie.

Stahelski was a friend of Lee’s at the time of filming. Then a twentysomething instructor at the Inosanto Martial Arts Academy in Marina Del Rey, California, Stahelski bonded quickly with Lee, the son of martial arts superstar Bruce Lee.

"I remember we would work out on Saturdays at the gym, try to film our own stuff with old VHS cameras afterward, and then read graphic novels," Stahelski told Business Insider. "Cut to a year later, Brandon comes in and says he's going to be in 'The Crow.'"

Lee had been building his credits in TV and action movies, but "The Crow," an adaptation of a cult-favorite graphic novel about a murdered man who comes back to life to avenge his dead fiancee, was going to make him a superstar.

But then it all went very wrong. During filming of "The Crow" in March of 1993, Lee was accidentally shot on set during a scene in which a gun was fired at him. The gun was loaded with a blank round, but there was still a dummy bullet left in the barrel, so when it was fired at Lee, it came out of the gun with nearly the same force as if it were a live bullet. The bullet hit Lee in the abdomen, mortally wounding him. He was only 28 years old.

Stahelski was on set the day Lee died.

"When you see something like that happen and you're close to it, it's surreal," he said. "It's impactful."

Stahelski went on to become one of the top flight stuntmen and second unit directors in Hollywood, working on everything from “The Matrix” movies to “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” and “Captain America: Civil War.” But he never forgot what happened to his friend — which has become one of the most infamous on-set accidents in the history of the movie business — and Stahelski admits he's become a taskmaster about safety on set.

“You think about the absolute stupidity behind the reason why it happened and it makes you angry at the amateur bull----,” Stahelski said of looking back on Lee’s death. “It was all because everyone gets yes’d and no one wants to hurt anyone’s feelings. So I decided very, very early on that there can be no political correctness when you’re dealing with safety. It’s just ‘F--- you, that’s wrong, I’m doing it my way.’”

While "John Wick: Chapter 2," along with the first movie (which Stahelski codirected with his fellow stuntman David Leitch), may be thrilling and is shot in a way to showcase how much of the stunts star Keanu Reeves really does himself, there is a precision to it so everyone on set is safe.

That's even more challenging now given that these movies are shot in less time and have smaller budgets than studio action movies used to command (Stahelski said the "John Wick" sequel had around 40% more in budget than the $20 million original).

No better example is the opening of “John Wick: Chapter 2,” in which we see Reeves as Wick retrieving the Mustang that was stolen from him in the first movie. But Stahelski didn’t settle for Wick coming in guns blazing to get it back. Instead the scene involves a twisted metal-on-metal battle between bad guys in taxis and Wick in his recovered Mustang and ends with all vehicles demolished.

“The note to our second unit director and stunt coordinator was, ‘These are the cars we got, don’t come back with anything,’” said Stahelski, who notes that the four Mustangs and numerous taxi cabs for the scene were all smashed beyond repair at some point in the remarkably short three-day shoot of the scene.

The scene doesn’t just feature Reeves doing much of the driving (Stahelski said the crew had his driver-side door ripped off so it was clear to audiences that it was really him driving), but also when Reeves is out of his car, he has to dive away from oncoming cars that suddenly rush into frame.

But the fear of anyone getting injured was always in the back of Stahelski’s mind.

“My stunt coordinator and second unit director on this film are friends of mine and I micromanage them, I'm not going to lie to you, I'm a complete dick sometimes,” Stahelski said. “It annoys them, but they know I'll say to them 'Sorry, I didn't mean it,' and they get it. They haven’t lived through the same things I’ve lived through.”

Stahelski has no problem being the bad guy when it comes to everyone’s safety on set. Along with witnessing Lee’s death, he said he’s had to deal with three other “tragic moments” on set in his career.

So even though he has notebooks filled with ideas for unique action sequences he wants to put on the screen, like for his remake of “Highlander” that’s he’s currently developing and the inevitable “John Wick 3,” Stahelski will never compromise people’s lives for the sake of pulling off his dreams.

“Losing a friend like Brandon was heartbreaking, but you also know that he and his fiancee were four or five weeks out of their wedding when the accident happened, you look at what they had, and you feel even worse,” Stahelski said. “You don’t ever want to feel that again, because at the end of the day, it’s just a f---ing movie.”

“John Wick: Chapter 2” opens in theaters on Friday.

SEE ALSO: The "John Wick" sequel is an orgy of violence that fans of the original will love

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NOW WATCH: This prank promoting the new 'Rings' movie is genuinely frightening

"Seinfeld" was one of the highest-rated shows on television during its nine-season run on NBC and has generated more than $3 billion in syndication, but there was a huge possibility before its run that it would've never aired.

"It was probably the lowest-testing pilot in the history of NBC," Kevin Reilly, who was a development executive at NBC in the 1980s and later became the network's president, said of the early feedback on "Seinfeld."

A pilot episode of a series is a standalone episode (usually the first episode, if it ever gets more than one) that is used to sell the show to networks.

"'These are losers,'" Reilly quoted the comments from early tests. "'It's not funny.' 'We know who Jerry Seinfeld is. He should not do this show.'"

Reilly met with other major TV players of the time for a panel discussion in Beverly Hills on Tuesday about NBC's "Must See TV" era, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The primetime TV block included "Seinfeld," "Wings," "Mad About You," "Frasier," "Friends," and later "Will & Grace."

Despite the terrible early feedback, the NBC brass liked the show. But they had to pull some financial strings to give it a series order. 

"We loved it," former NBC entertainment president Warren Littlefield said. "We picked up all this other crap and finally we were running out of options and time and there was a late-night meeting with finance and [then-NBC scheduling executive Preston Beckman]."

"Seinfeld" was originally commissioned by NBC's late-night and specials department, so one of legendary comedian Bob Hope's specials was spiked in order to make "Seinfeld" happen.

"Bob still thinks he made that special," Beckman joked.

NBC scrounged up enough money to offer "Seinfeld" a very small four-episode order to begin with.

"Jerry was quiet and always respectful and said, 'Just one question: In the history of television, has anything ever worked with a four-episode order?'" Littlefield recalled. "I said, 'I don't know.' And he said, 'Okay, we'll do it,' and that began the marriage."

"Seinfeld" aired on NBC from 1989 to 1998. In its early seasons, the show ranked No. 46 on TV for ratings. But by its sixth season, it had climbed into one of the top two highest-rated shows on TV and maintained that through its final season. The finale was watched by 76.3 million people.

SEE ALSO: Inside Jerry Seinfeld's $100 million decision to jump to Netflix

DON'T MISS: How Trump's right-hand man — accused of anti-Semitism — made millions off 'Seinfeld'

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NOW WATCH: Jerry Seinfeld got real with President Obama about being famous

Video games are great at lots of things: immersion, delight, even storytelling every now and again. But when it comes to turning those successes into film or television adaptations, something goes terribly wrong. 

The most recent example came in late December 2016, with Michael Fassbender starring in a movie adaptation of the "Assassin's Creed" franchise. Critics ravaged the film. "I suppose you could say the film made me slightly more likely to play one of the games, but only because I’d do just about anything before I saw this movie again," wrote Slate senior editor Jonathan L. Fischer.

It has an 18% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Netflix is promising something different with a just-announced animated series based on the classic game series "Castlevania." Here's how Netflix describes the show:

"Inspired by the classic video game series, 'Castlevania' is a dark medieval fantasy following the last surviving member of the disgraced Belmont clan, trying to save Eastern Europe from extinction at the hand of Vlad Dracula Tepe himself. The animated series is from Frederator Studios, a Wow! Unlimited Media company, written by best-selling author and comic book icon Warren Ellis and executive produced by Warren Ellis, Kevin Kolde, Fred Seibert and Adi Shankar."

The show's producer, Adi Shankar, says it's based on the third game in the series, "Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse." Here's what that game looks like, for reference:

He also has a message for the folks who think this show is destined to be another bad video game adaptation: "I’m personally guaranteeing that this is going to be the best f-----g video game adaptation ever made to date," he told Collider. "I’ve seen it, and it’s f-----g amazing."

Shankar got more specific in a post on Facebook:

Here's hoping he's right! 

To Shankar's credit, his past work includes the excellent "Dredd" film, and the show's writer is acclaimed graphic novel author Warren Ellis. Additionally, the production company is Frederator Studios — better known as "the folks behind 'Adventure Time,'" among other things. But it's a bold claim to make regardless given past precedent.

From the sound of things, we'll find out for ourselves sooner than later; season one is scheduled to arrive sometime this year, on Netflix of course.

SEE ALSO: Here are all the confirmed original shows coming to Netflix in 2017

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NOW WATCH: This is our best look yet at Bill Nye's new Netflix show

Valentine’s Day is upon us, and whether you’re planning a fancy night out at your favorite restaurant or flopping onto the couch with single friends, let’s face it, at some point you will be watching Netflix.

Nothing breaks the mood more than a dull movie, so we’ve put together a collection of romantic movies on the streaming giant that will keep the night on a high note.

From studio rom-coms like “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” and “Serendipity” to lesser-known titles like “The Duke of Burgundy” and “Medicine for Melancholy,” there’s a lot of passion going on in this list.

Here are 20 romantic movies on Netflix you need to check out:

Note: Numerous Netflix titles drop off the streaming service monthly so the availability of titles below may change.

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“The Princess Bride”

Rob Reiner’s classic that looks at “truuuueeee loooovvvveeee” never gets old. And we challenge you to look away from young Cary Elwes and Robin Wright.

“Moonrise Kingdom”

Two young lovers run away from a New England town leading to a search party to track them down. But from the mind of director Wes Anderson, that means a highly stylized search party.

“Under the Tuscan Sun”

Diane Lane plays a recently divorced woman who on a whim buys a villa in Tuscany. Prepare for incredible shots of the Italian countryside and follow her character's entertaining quest to find love.

Actor and athlete Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson posted a statement on his Facebook page condemning the Under Armour CEO's praise for Trump.

"His words were divisive and lacking in perspective," Johnson wrote. "Inadvertently creating a situation where the personal political opinions of Under Armour’s partners and its employees were overshadowed by the comments of its CEO."

Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank said "to have such a pro-business president is something that is a real asset for the country" when asked about Trump in an interview on CNBC Tuesday. Under Armour later released a statement saying Plank's remarks applied only to business matters such as job creation, and that the company is concerned with "policy not politics."

Angry customers called for a boycott of the brand on social media, and athletes with endorsement contract with Under Armour such as Steph Curry and Misty Copeland have already stated their disagreement with Plank's remarks. Both also restated their commitment to Under Armour's brand, as Johnson did in his statement.

"I feel an obligation to stand with this diverse team, the American and global workers, who are the beating heart and soul of Under Armour and the reason I chose to partner with them," he wrote.

Johnson has a long-term partnership contract with Under Armour that was signed in 2015 to create a range of co-branded apparel, footwear, and accessories.

See Johnson's full statement here:

SEE ALSO: UNDER ARMOUR CEO: Trump is 'a real asset for the country'

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NOW WATCH: A whiskey expert explains the difference between rye, bourbon, and scotch

The music business has lost billions of dollars over the past few years, but Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is bullish about its future.

One big reason: the wider use of voice-activated home devices, like Amazon's Echo.

"At this point in the marriage of voice-activation technology with music, I can tell you it’s already working," Bezos said in a new interview with Billboard. 

"The next gigantic growth area for the music industry is the home."

Bezos said voice-controlled devices like the Echo and its Alexa technology make the music-playing experience simple and "friction-free," allowing more people to listen to music more frequently.

“If you make things easier, people do more of it," he said.

To illustrate Bezos' point, Amazon Music's VP Steve Boom explained how voice-activated devices could shorten the time it typically takes to play music on personal devices from five minutes to just five seconds.

For example, in the past, if you wanted to listen to U2 from the '80s, you had to manually search for U2 albums and then individually look for the albums released in the '80s. That took a lot of time. Now, with voice-activated devices, you simply have to ask, "Hey, can you play me U2 songs from the '80s?" and within seconds, it automatically curates songs for you.

"When you have nothing to look at, it’s liberating...and when you talk to Alexa, you ask for music in ways that would be difficult to do in a visual app," Boom said.

Boom even claimed people are listening to "more music than ever" because of this, adding that it would lead to a renaissance period for the music industry.

"We’re at the cusp of what I would call the Golden Age of the music industry," he said.

Although Bezos or Boom didn't share any actual data on usage, they may have a point if devices like Echo end up becoming a more mainstream product. According to a recent survey, playing music was picked as the second most popular feature on the Echo.

SEE ALSO: The inside story of how Amazon created Echo, the next billion-dollar business no one saw coming

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NOW WATCH: Here’s everything we know about the iPhone 8

Netflix dominates its streaming and TV rivals on Saturdays, according to new research by SymphonyAM, a startup that tracks cross-platform entertainment viewing.

SymphonyAM looked at how Netflix and other streaming services stacked up against the major broadcast TV networks on each day of the week, based on percentage of total viewership in Q4.

The researchers found that the big hits drove viewership at the broadcast networks, allowing them to win every day except Saturday, which Netflix claimed. Netflix releases full seasons of shows at once, sometimes on Friday. Amazon and Hulu saw relatively stable viewership percentage throughout the week.

Here's a summary of the top network on each day, and what share of the viewership they got:

• Monday: CBS at 24% ("Big Bang Theory," which has been moved to Thursdays)
• Tuesday: NBC at 23% ("The Voice" and "This Is Us")
• Wednesday: ABC at 22% ("Modern Family" and "Black-ish")
• Thursday: ABC at 23% ("Grey's Anatomy," "How to Get Away with Murder," "Scandal")
• Friday: CBS at 23%
• Saturday: Netflix at 26%
• Sunday: ABC at 22%

And here's the full chart from SymphonyAM:

"Overall, the significant uptick for Netflix and marginal upticks for Hulu and Amazon suggest a higher propensity for [streaming video] viewership on the weekend," SymphonyAM SVP John Sollecito wrote. 

Binge-watching, anyone? Netflix has said it will release a whopping 1,000 hours of original shows and movies in 2017 (and spend $6 billion to do so).

For more on SymphonyAM's observation methodology, which has drawn both praise and criticism, see our overview.

SEE ALSO: Here are all the confirmed original shows coming to Netflix in 2017

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David Lynch's iconic series about a small town populated with bizarre people and some demonic entities has finally returned with a new season on Showtime. The 2-episode premiere will air on May 21, 2017 with much of the original cast making an appearance. Here's everything we know so far about the new season of "Twin Peaks." WARNING: SOME SPOILERS AHEAD

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Though horror fans were bummed to hear earlier this week that plans to revive the "Friday the 13th" franchise have been scrapped indefinitely, on Thursday we got word that the reboot of another horror classic is thriving.

Legendary "Halloween" director John Carpenter announced on his Facebook page that the next movie in the franchise, which he will be an executive producer on (it's his first involvement in a "Halloween" movie since 1998's "Halloween H20: 20 Years Later"), has signed director David Gordon Green and actor/screenwriter Danny McBride to the movie.

Both will take on the screenwriting duty with Green also directing the movie, which will hit theaters on October 19, 2018.

Carpenter teased that he may even do the score for the movie. Along with creating the classic horror movie back in 1978, he was responsible for its iconic score.

Here's Carpenter's Facebook post:

Green is best known of late for his comedic work, like "Pineapple Express" and directing numerous episodes of "Eastbound & Down" and "Vice Principals." But before that he was known for his more dramatic independent movies, and he even dabbled now and again with thrillers like "Undertow" and "Joe."

McBride is even more engrained than Green in the comedic world, but as his production company Rough House Pictures — which he started with Green and director Jody Hill ("Observe and Report," "Eastbound & Down," "Vice Principals") — has shown, their brand of comedy is certainly on the darker side.

And just to add more horror clout, the project is also being produced by Blumhouse Productions, which is currently riding high with its latest box-office hit, M. Night Shyamalan's "Split." The company also has the anticipated Jordan Peele-directed thriller "Get Out" opening February 24.

Along with Blumhouse, the "Halloween" movie is being produced by Trancas International Films, Rough House Pictures, and Miramax.

SEE ALSO: The inside story of one of the most infamous and tragic Hollywood on-set deaths

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

The National Basketball Association (NBA) announced on its website on Thursday that it is taking a stake in a new eSports league.

The NBA said it has partnered with video game company Take-Two Interactive — the publisher of popular "NBA 2K" basketball game series — to become the first one of the four major professional sports leagues in the US to operate an eSports league.

The "NBA 2K eLeague," as the gaming competition will be known, will start in 2018.

The teams in the basketball gaming league will be managed by actual NBA franchises. It will start with eight to twelve teams and eventually the NBA expects all 30 to be represented in the gaming league.

The gaming league will mimic the actual NBA. Gamers will be recruited through virtual try-outs leading to a draft during which teams will choose five players each. From there the teams will follow an 82-game schedule leading to playoffs and a championship.

No distribution partners were announced for this league but eSports is a growing part of YouTube and Facebook's video strategies. In 2015 the dedicated video game streaming service Twitch said it had over 100 million users a month. A report from the gaming market intelligence firm Newzoo expects 427 million viewers of eSports in 2019.

As in other eSports leagues, there will be a cash prize for the winner, although it is likely to be smaller than other competitive gaming leagues. The current NBA eSports tournaments organized by 2K Sports have prizes of around $250,000. The cash prize for the 2016 world championship of the fantasy battle game "League of Legends" was over $5 million.

Moving into eSports opens up a new revenue stream for the NBA, which had revenues over $5 billion for the 2014/15 season. According to the Newzoo report, revenues for eSports grew 51% in 2016 to $493 million. It expects the industry to break the $1 billion mark in 2019.

Some NBA teams are already active in the eSports space. The Philadelphia 76ers acquired two eSports teams in September 2016, but these were active only in the "League of Legends" game.

Competitive gaming has become a hot topic among former basketball stars. Former NBA player Magic Johnson along with the Golden State Warriors team also invested in a team last year. Recently retired NBA star Kobe Bryant was said to be mulling an investment in eSports through his $100 million investment fund.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver, whose virtual avatar will present the winner of the league with the trophy, said in a statement: "We believe we have a unique opportunity to develop something truly special for our fans and the young and growing eSports community."

SEE ALSO: The Dallas Cowboys could be the first NFL team to move into the $890 million e-sports industry

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NOW WATCH: Watch Budweiser’s Super Bowl ad — it makes a strong statement on immigration

Stop worrying, guardians: the highly-anticipated sequel to the 2014 blockbuster "Destiny" is still planned to release in 2017. More specifically, it's planned for launch in "fall" 2017.

That's according to Activision, the game's publisher, which held an investor Q&A following this week's quarterly report. Activision COO Thomas Tippl reconfirmed, "The release of a full 'Destiny' sequel later this year, designed to thrill our existing loyal fan base, and bring many new players into the fold." 

Though Tippl didn't mention as much specifically, the much-anticipated sequel is anticipated to launch on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and — finally — PC. Notably, the first "Destiny" never arrived on PC.

Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg offered a few more details later in the call.

"If you're one of the millions of players who really invested in 'Destiny 1,' and put a lot of hours and passion into that game, you're gonna love this game and there's a lot more of what you love here.

For anyone who either hasn't yet tried 'Destiny' or who hasn't played it in awhile, we think we've made a game with the sequel that's gonna have a lot for them to love too.

The cornerstone of that is a great cinematic story, that's been a real focus, with a great cast of memorable, relatable characters, coupled with some very nice ways to make the game more accessible to casual players. Without losing anything that our core players love, we've made it more accessible to someone who just wants to have a great, more casual first-person action experience."

Beyond those scant details, we also know that the folks tasked with creating "Destiny 2" are the same folks who crafted "Destiny's" critically-acclaimed "The Taken King" expansion. If you liked the first game's add-on content, get ready for a lot more. "We plan to support the release of the sequel with a great content plan post-launch, setting the stage for growth with this year's sequel and the content season that will follow," Tippl said.

Both Hirshberg and Tippl mentioned a "big reveal" planned for "Destiny 2" later this year, so stay tuned for much more info on the game in the coming months.

SEE ALSO: There are 50 exotic weapons in 'Destiny' right now — and we've ranked them all

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NOW WATCH: You can be the star in your own ‘Destiny' trailer

"Late Night" host Seth Meyers dedicated his latest "A Closer Look" segment to pointing out ways that he believes President Donald Trump abuses his powers and took issue with Trump's silence on last month's shooting at a mosque in Quebec, Canada.

"This has been an especially revealing week when it comes to how Donald Trump uses presidential power," Meyers said on Thursday's episode. "In just the past few days, he has used his status as president to slam a private company, threaten a local lawmaker, and attack the courts and the free press."

While Trump's uses of his presidential powers have bothered Meyers, it's the president's decision not to use his voice that the host also criticized. Trump has stayed quiet about the attack on the Canadian Mosque that resulted in the deaths of six people. It's especially problematic for Meyers after Trump accused the media of failing to report on several terrorist attacks, a claim many journalists sought to disprove.

"There is really one terrorist incident that really has been ignored," Meyers said, "not by the media, but by Trump himself: a shooting at a mosque in Quebec by a right-wing terrorist. Trump has not issued a single public comment on that incident."

When White House adviser Kellyanne Conway was asked by CNN's Jake Tapper about Trump's silence on the attack, she replied, "He doesn't tweet about everything."

"Oh, he doesn't tweet about everything?" Meyers said. "Because it sure feels like he does."

The host then shared a list of many, many things that Trump has tweeted about, including Meryl Streep, Arnold Schwarzenegger, "Hamilton," people who drink Diet Coke, etc.

"You tweet about everything!" the host yelled. "At this point if I forget to pick up milk, there's a part of me that's afraid I'm going to come home to an angry Trump tweet about that."

Watch the latest "A Closer Look" below:

SEE ALSO: Seth Meyers: 'I am the reason' Trump became president

DON'T MISS: Stephen Colbert says Trump's war with Nordstrom is 'insane'

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NOW WATCH: 'It's a lie': Jake Tapper calls out Trump during a fiery interview with Kellyanne Conway

Just a few days after announcing her interest in portraying White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon on “SNL” via Twitter, Rosie O’Donnell further confirmed her interest (or a possible appearance in this weekend’s episode) in a huge way.

O'Donnell just changed her default picture on Twitter to an image of herself as Steve Bannon. The hairline, the wig, the make-up — everything is spot-on.

If she actually does replace the grim reaper as Bannon on “SNL” over the weekend, it’ll likely be another long weekend at the White House after Michelle McCarthy’s Sean Spicer impression reportedly irked the administration. There's no official word on whether she'll replace the grim reaper's role as Bannon on "SNL" this weekend, but we'll wait on Saturary night for a surprise cameo.  

SEE ALSO: The inside story of one of the most infamous and tragic Hollywood on-set deaths

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NOW WATCH: Everything you need to know about 'American Gods' — a TV show that could be bigger than 'Game of Thrones'

"Saturday Night Live" is having its best ratings in decades thanks in part to Alec Baldwin's acclaimed impression of President Donald Trump, but the actor admitted it's not all that enjoyable to do. 

"Playing him is not a lot of fun because he’s tense, he’s angry, he’s pissed off, and that’s not always fun to play," Baldwin told "Extra" correspondent Hilaria Baldwin, who is Alec's wife, on the set of "SNL" where he's preparing to host this weekend for the record-breaking 17th time. 

Baldwin is surprised by Trump's repeated tweets about the show and other things he believes a president shouldn't focus on.

"[When] he won I thought he would have settled down and relaxed," he said.

Baldwin also addressed the comments made by White House press secretary Sean Spicer that Baldwin's impression of Trump is "mean."

“What is he supposed to say?" Baldwin said. "All those guys are working for Trump. They work for the president, and they are going to say what they need to say to fit in... That’s symbolic of where we’re at — we repeat back everything that Trump says.”

Watch the complete "Extra" interview with Baldwin below:

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Chris Evans had the chance to fight pretend Nazis as Captain America on the big screen. Now Evans in real life has called out ex-KKK leader David Duke on Twitter. 

Evans stepped into the political conversation after Duke, a white nationalist and Holocaust denier, tweeted his support of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who was recently confirmed. To Evans, that alone is a warning sign.

About two hours later, Duke fired back, calling Evans a “typical dumb actor.”  

That encouraged Evans to further call Duke out on his beliefs. 

 Evans ended the Twitter war when he said, “We can’t let hatred be the loudest voice.“  

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There's just something about Batman that gets audiences excited.

Whether he's in comic-book form, a playful 1960s TV character, or the focus of a brooding feature-length blockbuster, the Dark Knight is a character we just can't get enough of — even in Lego form.

That was evident when one of the highlights from the 2014 "The Lego Movie" was the appearance of the Lego Batman, a self-centered hero who did everything on his own terms and was voiced perfectly by Will Arnett. He was so popular, in fact, that once the movie came out it was obvious Warner Bros. should make a spin-off movie dedicated to Batman.

Tasked with pulling that off was Chris McKay. Known within the animation world for directing episodes of the Adult Swim show "Robot Chicken," as well as working on the visual effects and editing side of the show's "Star Wars" movies, McKay was also the editor and codirector on Phil Lord and Christopher Miller's "The Lego Movie." McKay was even in charge of the movie's animation and rendering when Lord and Miller had to go and direct "22 Jump Street."

Warner Bros. was very bullish on getting another Lego movie out the door following the success of "The Lego Movie," and McKay worked closely with Lord and Miller in developing "The Lego Movie" sequel and a Batman spin-off. However, when the trio went in and pitched their ideas for both projects at the studio in the early summer of 2014, it was evident the release plan needed to be tweaked. The ambitious "Lego Movie" sequel with its big musical numbers needed more time. That led to the idea for the Batman movie to be released first. But it needed a director.

"At one point Chris and Phil were going to direct 'The Lego Bagman Movie,'" McKay recently told Business Insider, but they were about to embark on making the young Han Solo "Star Wars" movie. "Everyone turned and looked at me and I said, 'Are you guys asking me to direct "The Lego Batman Movie"? I have a Catwoman tattoo, so, yeah, I'm in.'"

McKay dove right into storyboarding and developing a script with screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith in August of 2014, as the February 2017 release date loomed large.

"As far as turning around a feature animated movie with all these moving parts, two and a half years is a very, very short amount of time," McKay said.

But he was familiar with tight deadlines. Back in his "Robot Chicken" days, his team worked at a breakneck speed to pull off 12-minute episodes every week, often only having six days for the animation portion of production. However, there were other things McKay needed to factor in to make a Lego movie.

McKay said he always had to be mindful that the movie is for young kids (very different in tone than the adult-focused comedy on "Robot Chicken"), but there also had to be elements sprinkled in for the adults to laugh at, as well as for the "Batman" super-fans. Then there was the challenge of connecting every live-action Batman movie (and TV show).

"This premise where Batman has been around for 78 years in Gotham City and all the timelines are all in our movie in some way, I was constantly monitoring that it was all working," McKay said.

In the movie, we follow Batman on his latest crime-fighting adventure, but things become more complex when he suddenly is responsible with raising a boy he adopted and his greatest nemesis, the Joker, turns himself in. 

McKay compared directing "The Lego Batman Movie" to how directors like Ridley Scott and Steven Spielberg operate as producers, overseeing everything and making sure the department heads are on task. "There's no 'We edited something today and it's in animation tomorrow and then in lighting and it's done.' I was constantly running around trying to figure out how to use all the teams to their potential at the same time."

And as this all went on, jokes for the movie were constantly being added or tweaked, causing Arnett to be on call with his Batman voice at all times.

"Will was literally shooting a movie in Wales and I would call him up and get him to go into someplace private on set where he's shooting so he could record new lines," McKay said.

This was vital when he needed Arnett to give him a few lines for the rap Batman does at the end of the movie.

"It was like 10 at night in Wales and he had just got off a day of shooting outside and it had been raining all day and he went and put a coat over his head with a microphone and did some of the rap."

But all that work looks to have paid off. Currently with a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, "The Lego Batman Movie" is getting Arnett's Batman compared to some of the best who ever put on the cape and mask.

And with the great supporting cast — including Michael Cera as Robin, Rosario Dawson as Batgirl, Zach Galifianakis as the Joker, Channing Tatum as Superman, Jonah Hill as Green Lantern, Adam Devine as The Flash, and Conan O'Brien as The Riddler — McKay hopes all this talent can be utilized in a bigger capacity in future movies.

"I did cast some of these actors with an eye to make other movies in this world, like Justice League or Super Friends, because I really love these actors and it would be fun to play off each other and go on some adventures," McKay said.

But for now he's thinking of more immediate projects for himself, like that vacant director chair over at the Warner Bros. feature-length "The Flash" feature.

"I love the live-action superhero movies," McKay said. "I would love to do 'The Flash.' I'm always trying to get meetings to see what's coming up because I would love to do any of their DC Comics live-action movies."

The way McKay sees it, he was at the right place at the right time for "The Lego Batman Movie." Why couldn't lightning strike twice?

"The Lego Batman Movie" opens in theaters on Friday.

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Shia LaBeouf's Donald Trump protest has been shut down.

The protest's host, the Museum of the Moving Image in New York City, has shut off the camera that live-streamed LaBeouf's protest, called "He Will Not Divide Us," due to concerns that the protest had become a "flashpoint for violence."

"The Museum of the Moving Image has closed HEWILLNOTDIVIDE.US, a participatory internet streaming performance by LaBeouf, Rönkkö & Turner," the museum said in a statement to press.

"The installation created a serious and ongoing public safety hazard for the Museum, its visitors, staff, local residents, and businesses," it continued. "The installation had become a flashpoint for violence and was disrupted from its original intent."

Additionally, LaBeouf tweeted an image on Friday stating, "The museum has abandoned us."

The "Transformers" star was arrested in the protest's first week for allegedly getting into a fight with a man, pulling on his scarf, and scratching him. There had been other reports of violence at the site, as well.

Originally planned to last four years, the length of Trump's presidential term, LaBeouf's protest lasted about three weeks. He began live-streaming it on January 20.

Read the Museum of the Moving Image's full statement on closing down LaBeouf's protest below:

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