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How 'Master of None' came up with the perfect pickup line for dating apps

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master of none tinder dating apps aziz ansari netflix

Spoilers below if you haven't watched episode four, "First Date," on the second season of "Master of None."

"Master of None" dedicated an entire episode of its new second season to dating apps, something the show's producers felt couldn't be avoided.

"There was a real key change even in betweens seasons one and two — and certainly I think in New York," "Master of None" cocreator Alan Yang recently told Business insider of the popularity of dating apps.

On season two, Aziz Ansari's character Dev is still single after breaking up with Rachel (Noël Wells) on the season-one finale and after spending several months in Italy. Upon returning to New York City, Ansari dives into the culture of dating apps on episode four. (The development is also not a big surprise given that Ansari cowrote a book about dating in the digital era, "Modern Romance.") The episode astutely alternates between several of Dev's awkward dates.

"It used to be if you were on the apps, you kind of had to explain why you were on them," Yang said. "And now, it's so much the norm that you have to explain why you're not on them, why you're opting out. It's like a dramatic thing."

Run down by the series of dates and their strange outcomes, Dev suddenly gets a new match notification and reluctantly responds with the perfect pickup line.

"We took one of our friends out to lunch, because we knew he was dating  and we knew he had been on the apps a lot," Yang said. "And he told us his opening line when he texts. He said, 'I write, "I'm going to Whole Foods. Need me to pick you up anything?"' And we were like man, that's an amazing first line. It's funny, but not too funny. It's interesting, but not trying too hard, kind of playful."

master of none dating aps netflixAnyone who uses dating apps knows that it's really difficult to come up with that very first message with a match. It could mean the difference between getting you a date or deafening silence. Inspired by their friend, Yang and his team tried to come up with a line for Dev that would be as good as the one his friend used. But the perfect line alluded them. Thankfully, they didn't have to come up with their own.

"We couldn't beat that line," Yang said. "And we just asked him, 'Hey, can we use that line?' And he was like, 'Yeah, I retired that line. I don't use it anymore, so you can use it.' So we put it into the show and that's Dev's opening line."

SEE ALSO: 'Master of None' creator talks about its critical look at Hollywood: 'We don't have any axes to grind'

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NOW WATCH: Netflix and Marvel just dropped the first 'The Defenders' trailer — and it looks amazing


RANKED: The 11 best movies of 2017 so far

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Fate of the Furious Universal final

As we delve deeper into the summer-movie season, it seems like a good time to look back on the year so far in movies and highlight the most memorable ones. 

Box-office performance doesn't always dictate if a movie is good. Some of the titles below didn't make a huge killing at the multiplex, but there's a good chance that you'll be talking about them long after this year is over. And the early part of 2017 has had some surprising bright spots.

From studio giants like "The Fate of the Furious" and "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2," to indies including "Colossal" and "T2: Trainspotting," here are the 11 best movies of the year... so far:

SEE ALSO: 35 movies coming out this summer that you need to see

11. “Colossal”

Writer-director Nacho Vigalondo's unique mix of comedy, social commentary, and sci-fi is given its biggest exposure yet thanks to the casting of stars Anne Hathaway and Jason Sudeikis for his latest movie. "Colossal" explores the dangers of alcoholism as Vigalondo puts Hathaway front and center playing a party girl who suddenly realizes she's controlling a giant that's destroying Seoul. Sudeikis is her old friend who is also her evil enabler. If you're seeking something different from a movie, this is it.



10. “T2: Trainspotting”

I know what you're thinking: Why the hell would anyone make a sequel to "Trainspotting"? But give this a chance if you haven't yet. Director Danny Boyle along with Ewan McGregor and the rest of the original cast from the landmark first movie deliver an impressive sequel that offers a new story but still celebrates the things we loved about the first one.



9. “The Lego Batman Movie”

Filled with the clever fun that made 2014's "The Lego Movie" a hit, this one has the added bonus of throwing in great Batman jokes as well. 



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We just got our first major look at 'Destiny 2' — here's what we learned

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LOS ANGELES - On Thursday morning, in front of a packed crowd of journalists and YouTube personalities at Hawthorne Airport in Los Angeles, Bungie finally gave fans their first real look at "Destiny 2," the sequel to the popular sci-sci shooter that's scheduled to launch in September.

Bungie, the company behind the original "Halo" games, released the first "Destiny" game in September 2014, but several expansions and major updates over the last three years radically changed how players experienced that game. Now that "Destiny" has received its final update, Bungie is focusing all its efforts on the full-game sequel, set to launch on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles, as well as PC for the first time, on September 8.

Late last month, Bungie sent me a package filled with clues about "Destiny 2," which served as a lead-up to Thursday's big gameplay unveiling. But now we finally have the first real details about the game, how it will look, and more importantly, how it will play:

  • The event started off with a cinematic showing Zavala, one of the quest-givers in the first "Destiny" game, talks about what it means to be a Guardian. You watch him fight, die, and come back to life. He visits outposts, and greets characters from the first game. It's essentially showing the events that led up to everything in "Destiny 1."
  • Luke Smith takes the stage after the cinematic. "'Destiny 2' is going to be a new experience for everyone," He says. "It's an opportunity to start fresh."
  • There are three things Bungie focused on for "Destiny 2": a world that pulls you in (having a story you can relate to, having characters you want to hang out with, and enemies you want to face); amazing things to do, no matter your mood, for both solo players and people who like multiplayer, including 4v4 multiplayer; and cooperative experiences (public events, strikes, and raids).
  • Smoth says 50% of "Destiny" players didn't experience a raid. "That's not good enough for 'Destiny 2,'" he says.
  • The vision for "Destiny 2" boils down to a simple statement: "It's a world I want to be in," Smith says.
  • Another cinematic: The three main quest-givers in "Destiny" help defend the Tower, your main hub in "Destiny 1," as it's attacked by hundreds of massive enemy ships.
  • A first look at gameplay! The last city of humanity is under attack, and you and two other players are defending the Tower from incoming enemies, which are dropping to the tower like comets. It's incredibly hectic. And for the first time, you and other Guardians are fighting alongside non-playable characters (NPCs) like Zavala, who are also defending the city.
  • We see new Super abilities in the game: You summon a flaming sword, while another summons a shield made of void energy.
  • In "Destiny 2,"Smith says "We're defeated in our backyard. The last safe city is gone." The new enemy in "Destiny 2," a warlord named Gaull, believes the Traveler, the enigmatic being that gives Guardians their powers, should have given those powers to he and the Red Legion, his band of followers.
  • There's new worlds to explore, new Nightfall strikes, all-new weapons, all-new armor, and an all-new raid. (The new armor looks amazing.)
  • Each character also has new Supers: The Dawnblade, a flaming sword that shoots fire projectiles; the Sentinel, a titan that can summon a shield and throw it a la Captain America; and the Arcstrider, where you wield a lightning-powered staff and swing it around like an acrobat.
  • A new campaign, called The Red War: You'll experience new missions and cinematics.
  • Strikes are back: Cooperative missions you can play with friends or people you haven't met yet, through matchmaking. 
  • The Crucible is also back for competitive multiplayer. Bungie has made some major changes to the Crucible in "Destiny 2": It's now 4v4 across all game modes (it was previously 6v6), and a HUD will tell you more about your opponents (what weapons they have, if their Super is ready, etc.). There are new maps and new modes. "We believe this is the best PvP offering 'Destiny' has ever seen," says Bungie's Steve Cotton.
  • The new raid will be shown off "later." Raids are the greatest challenges a Guardian can face, but Bungie is keeping details under wraps for now.
  • Bungie also focused more on the ability to explore the world. "There's so much more to do as you explore; now, you can launch all the new activities in the world without ever going to orbit," Cotton says. "There's adventures, treasure maps to follow, lost sectors to discover. Just choose a landing zone and the rest is up to you. You'll meet new characters in the world and they'll send you on side quests and adventures; they'll take you to new places, and each has a new reward that will make your Guardian stronger."
  • "Destiny 2" has a new map to guide your way. It's now easier to see where and when public events will happen.
  • Four brand-new worlds: You can explore Earth, Titan, Io, and Nessus. Titan is a massive ocean-like planet with monolithic structures; Nessus has been taken over by a machine-like race called the Vex, which has its own unique structures and flora; and Io is a sulphuric planet off Venus with lots of vegetation. All the worlds feel completely different and varied, compared to "Destiny 1."
  • "We want to remove as many barriers as possible between your gun and the enemy's face," Luke Smith says.

 

This story is developing...

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Facebook lands deal to stream 20 MLB games live this season — here's what we know (FB)

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baseball umpire

Facebook just announced that it has reached a deal with Major League Baseball to broadcast 20 games live on Facebook this season, part of the tech giant's big push into premium video.

These games will be streamed weekly in a national telecast on Friday nights, accessible to Facebook users in the US. The first game will air tomorrow — Rockies at Reds, at 7:10 p.m. ET. According to Facebook, this broadcast will be a "feed from a participating team's local broadcast rightsholder." In other words, this isn't an exclusive deal where the games will only run on Facebook.

“Baseball games are uniquely engaging community experiences, as the chatter and rituals in the stands are often as meaningful to fans as the action on the diamond," Dan Reed, Facebook’s Head of Global Sports Partnerships, said in a statement. "By distributing a live game per week on Facebook, Major League Baseball can re-imagine this social experience on a national scale." 

Facebook isn't the only tech company going after sports. 

Amazon recently snagged the rights to stream 10 of the NFL's games. Amazon paid a staggering $50 million for the deal, according to The Wall Street Journal. That figure is five times the $10 million Twitter reportedly paid the NFL for the same rights in 2016.

Verizon will pay a reported $21 million for the rights to stream one NFL game exclusively, outstripping the $15 million Yahoo paid in a similar deal in 2015.

TV on Facebook

This MLB partnership is another example of Facebook kicking its premium video aspirations into high gear. Multiple sources have told Business Insider that Facebook wants to debut a slate of TV-like shows in mid-June.

The social network has been looking for shows in two distinct tiers: a marquee tier for a few longer, big-budget shows that would feel at home on TV, and a lower tier for shorter, less expensive shows of about five to 10 minutes that would refresh every 24 hours.

The new video initiative means Facebook would play a much more hands-on role in controlling the content that appears on its social network — and it comes as companies like Amazon, YouTube, and Snap are locked in an arms race to secure premium video programming. 

One show Facebook has greenlit is a virtual-reality dating show from Conde Nast Entertainment in which people go on first dates in VR before they meet in real life, according to one person who asked not to be named because the discussions are private. At Conde Nast's recent NewFront presentation, the company confirmed that it had a new video project with Facebook, but didn't give details.  

Facebook released a standalone video app for the Apple TV and other set-top boxes in March that is one place users could watch these MLB games, as well as its upcoming original shows.

SEE ALSO: Twitter is adding a slew of new shows in its quest to be a hub for live video

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Danny McBride talks about the 'surreal' moment in his career and acting in the new 'Alien'

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Danny McBride

Danny McBride is best known for his foul-mouthed, egomaniac Kenny Powers, the character he played for four seasons on the HBO series "Eastbound & Down." But there's a lot more to McBride than raunchy one-liners and an incredible head of hair. And audiences are going to realize that very soon.

First, McBride will show his action-hero chops in Ridley Scott's "Alien: Covenant" (opening Friday), in which he plays Tennessee, the pilot of the colony ship Covenant. He gives an impressive dramatic performance on top of kicking some alien butt. Then through his production company Rough House Pictures, he's directing episodes of HBO's "Vice Principals" (season two premieres later this year) and currently writing the screenplay for a "Halloween" reboot he's making with director David Gordon Green ("Pineapple Express") and producer Jason Blum ("Get Out," "Split").

McBride talked to Business Insider about his evolving career and why we will never see a Kenny Powers movie.

Jason Guerrasio: Did getting cast in "Alien: Covenant" start with Ridley reaching out to you?

Danny McBride: Yeah. I got a call that Ridley wanted to meet. At the time my agent was a little coy about it and didn't really say what it was in reference to. So being a humongous fan of Ridley's since I can remember, being able to sit down with him was a no-brainer. So we just started talking about the directors we like and then he suddenly pulled this giant book with sketches of giant spaceships and I just lost my sh--. I just had to pull everything in and act like I was totally cool with it, but I wasn't, I was screaming inside. I just couldn't believe it, I was like, he's talking to me about "Alien"! I was just excited that it sounded like he was going to make another "Alien" and then I was like, "Oh, you're considering me for it?" So he cast me in it. It's surreal. Never in a million years would I ever imagine ever showing up in a Ridley Scott movie, especially a Ridley Scott "Alien" movie.

Guerrasio: Did you say to him you didn't want to be the comic relief in the movie or was that not a concern of yours?

McBride: That conversation didn't come up and and he immediately came to me with the role before I saw the script. I just assumed he's going to give me a script and watch it be basically a Kenny Powers character, but then when I actually saw the script and what he wanted me to do, I was excited. It's not like I didn't know that I could work in a movie like that, but the idea that someone like Ridley Scott believed that I could, that was awesome.

Danny McBride 20th Century FoxGuerrasio: Did the Tennessee role change through making it?

McBride: What you see on-screen is very similar to what was on the page. The script was just so well-written. This is one of the few films I've been on that the final cut really reflects the script. It's not like there's a bunch of stuff left on the cutting-room floor, they just really knew what they were doing.

Guerrasio: Was the hat your idea?

McBride: The hat was Ridley's idea. He talked about that very early on and he wanted it to be an homage to some of the things in "Dr. Strangelove."

Guerrasio: Seriously?

McBride: It was crazy because the hat had a professional wrangler on the set. The person would sit there on set and made sure the hat was folded properly.

Guerrasio: You've been on big films before, but this must have been an experience to live through just because of its scope.

McBride: I went to film school and making movies has been a real passion of mine. I've been really fortunate that the acting career has been able to give me a front-row seat for all sorts of productions and directors and people I've admired, so every movie I act in I'm always excited by how things unfold. But a movie like this with this level of set design and spaceships and visual effects, you just look back and take it all in. I mean, that cargo mover I'm on at one point in the movie, when I came to the set they built that ship for real and had it on a 50-foot gimbal that went up and down and shook, it was awesome. I was strapped into that thing for a week and it was like you were riding an amusement-park ride all day long. [Laughs] I mean, the production design of the Covenant bridge, it was insane and it just screams Ridley Scott and the original "Alien."

Alien Covenant 20th Century FoxGuerrasio: And they even built an alien to chase you guys so you weren't just acting across from a tennis ball that would become a monster in postproduction. There was something really chasing you.

McBride: For sure. In fact, they had a 6'5" contortionist with an alien costume on doing crazy alien crawls and sh--. It was fun. They would say, "Here comes the alien," and you would look up and yeah, it was there. It struck fear in your heart. [Laughs]

Guerrasio: Can any of that trickle down to what you, David Gordon Green, and Jody Hill do on the shows and movies you make with your production company Rough House Pictures?

McBride: It always trickles down. You would be a fool not to take the things you see and how you see guys like Ridley Scott working and apply that to what you do in your life. I think how much fun I had on something like "Alien" and being on the set where people are getting killed and you see Ridley getting excited over the gore, watching that I just thought to myself David is going to love getting dark like this for "Halloween."

Guerrasio: You originally wanted to get into this business as a writer-director. You finally have a directing credit on an episode of "Vice Principals" from last season. What finally led to you doing that?

McBride: Acting happened accidentally for me. We started out making low-budget independent films and we didn't have access to incredible actors so we settled on our friends sometimes and that got me into this. I was in LA quite a long time writing at night and waiting tables and doing PA jobs and doing camerawork and after "The Foot Fist Way" came out I started getting offers to act so it was a no-brainer to follow that path and see what happened. As the years went on, the acting took over and didn't allow time to direct things. Then on "Eastbound" I loved that collaboration with David and Jody so much that I never wanted to direct an episode. Kenny Powers is in every frame of that show and I just thought it was always better to have another voice of reason on the set and not make it some one man-driven thing. But when it came to do "Vice Principals," both those guys said, "You should direct some of this," so I had a blast doing it. I direct an episode in the second season and it definitely has sparked my interest back in directing and maybe pause on the acting and really get into it. So I'm trying to direct a feature next year and we'll see what happens.

Guerrasio: Something you've written?

McBride: Yeah.

Guerrasio: Is "Halloween" where your head is at right now?

McBride: Yeah, we're on that full-time. We're trying to shoot this fall so we're jamming away to continue this saga of Michael Myers.

Halloween Compass International PicturesGuerrasio: Would it be correct to say this is a continuation of "Halloween" and "Halloween II"?

McBride: Around that era, yeah. Definitely a continuation and a little bit of a reinvention, but it's like we're really trying to take it back to what John Carpenter originally started with and what was so horrifying about it. I've always loved those films and it's been awesome to watch, because we're writing, we're devouring all the sequels and all the versions of "Halloween," and at the end of the day you're dealing with a masked man who killed people and it's crazy to see all the different versions of what people tried to do or what might have been lost from the original in the hopes of creating more story. So we're just trying to learn from that and I feel what happened with Michael Myers, unfortunately, is in those later sequels he almost became a Frankenstein's monster. He became this superhuman — nothing could really kill him. And that doesn't make him scary anymore. For us, we look at it and it's much scarier to just have that man who is hiding in the shadows as you're taking the trash out in the backyard as opposed to a guy who could be shot a bunch of times and still keeps coming back to life. So David and I are really trying to get it back to that grounded, original, scary version of Michael Myers.

Guerrasio: What is John Carpenter's involvement right now?

McBride: David and I had our pitch of what we wanted it to be and we wrote Jason Blum to also pitch it to John because that was important to David and I. Both of us were just as wary as any other filmgoer of all the reimagining of all these classic films we grew up on. We as fans weren't going to do this unless we really thought that we had a cool way to take this and give something to "Halloween" fans to be excited about. And so we had to make sure there was that but we also wanted to make sure it was something that John Carpenter liked as well because he's the master, he's the creator of this. So if it's an idea he thinks is sh-- then we wouldn't have any interest in spending any time on it.

So we went to him and that was incredibly nerve-wracking and as soon as we got to this office I was just thinking, "Damn, what the fuck? What kind of nerve do we have? We're walking into John Carpenter's office to tell him what we want to do with Michael Myers, this is crazy." And we sat down with him and he was f---ing cool and funny and smart and we pitched him our take and he dug it, he was into it, and that's cool. He understood why we were an interesting choice for this. He was just talking about how close he thinks horror and comedy work. Both require pacing and knowing when to release tension and when to build it and it's really about orchestrating an audience's reaction whether it's to make them laugh or make them scream and sh-- their pants. It's all in the engineering of the pace, and it was cool to see that he got that and didn't think we were being brought on to make the franchise funny, because that really isn't me and David's ambition for this at all.

Guerrasio: Do you really think he will do the score?

McBride: In the meeting he said he would, yeah. So we hope that we don't let him down and deliver a piece of sh-- that he wouldn't want to score. [Laughs] In the room he definitely said that that would be fun so we'll see if his enthusiasm maintains after we hand in the final product.

Guerrasio: So you're planning to start shooting in the fall?

McBride: Aiming to shoot this fall. They want to release it on the 40th anniversary of "Halloween," which is next Halloween, so we're trying to zero in on that. 

Kenny Powers HBOGuerrasio: I have to ask you about Kenny Powers. Is he completely out of your system or would you and Jody consider a movie version of "Eastbound & Down"?

McBride: You know, I don't think we would do a movie. I always get weirded out when I see a TV show that then has a movie. I don't know, it's just odd. I think part of why "Eastbound" worked is the idea that it was a 30-minute format and that requires an acceleration of the storytelling. I think part of the comedy is that you could get so much jammed into 30 minutes. I think if we were ever to go back into it, it would definitely be another season. But we just had a blast doing that show and feel comfortable where we left it. So having stopped working on that, we've been able to do other things like "Halloween" and "Vice Principals" so I think those opportunities are a little more exciting than going back to something we've already done.

Guerrasio: With what Rough House is doing and being in an "Alien" movie, life has to be really good right now.

McBride: I love it because we're having fun and finding people who are willing to let us have fun and that's always been the goal for us. We were guys from North Carolina and Virginia — far, far away from Hollywood — who have always loved to do what we're doing right now. It's awesome to be answering questions about "Alien" and then looking at note cards for "Halloween." It's pretty surreal.

SEE ALSO: Kevin Bacon gets real about nudity and being a male sex object: "It's not the worst thing"

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'I didn’t just materialize out of nowhere like the Terminator': Arnold Schwarzenegger destroys the idea of the 'self-made man' in his speech to grads

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Arnold Schwarzenegger University of Houston Commencement

It's a classic story of a self-made man.

Austrian immigrant Arnold Schwarzenegger hustled his bodybuilding stardom into a lucrative movie career, from which he launched a successful bid to become the governor of California, making millions along the way.

However, that's a narrative that Schwarzenegger himself dismantled at his recent commencement speech to graduates at the University of Houston.

In fact, he told them to dismiss the idea of the self-made man entirely.

"I always tell people that you can call me anything that you want," he told the graduates. "You can call me Arnold. You can call me Schwarzenegger. You can call me 'the Austrian Oak.' You can call me Schwarzy. You can call me Arnie. But don't ever, ever call me the self‑made man."

He told the graduating class that while they should be proud of their diplomas, they shouldn't make the mistake of thinking they achieved their dreams without any help.

"It took a lot of help," he said. "None of us can make it alone. None of us."

Schwarzenegger went on to break down some of the help he had received over the course of his long and varied career. He said that to pose as a self-made man would "discount every single person that has helped me get here today, that gave me advice, that made an effort, that lifted me up when I fell."

"I didn't just materialize out of nowhere like the Terminator through a fireball in the streets of Los Angeles, and then all of a sudden I was there," he said. "No. I would have never made it in my life without the help."

Other members of the bodybuilding community had supported him in his quest to become Mr. Universe. Then, the creators of "Conan the Barbarian," the film that would give him his breakout role and propel his career in show business, had to take a chance on casting him, he said.

"There's 280 people that work on a movie that make you look great on that screen, so how can I say I'm a self‑made man?" he said.

Schwarzenegger added that supporters were the reason he was able to successfully campaign to become the governor of California. What's more, he credited legislators with helping him pass some of his lasting environmental reforms.

"And I have to say that it is important to acknowledge that, because people make it always sound that you did all this yourself," he said. "I didn't. I did it with a lot of help. Yes, I was determined. Yes, I never listened to the naysayers. Yes, I had a great vision. Yes, I had the fire in the belly and all of those things, but I didn't do it without the help."

Watch the full speech below:

SEE ALSO: 'Can you please look away while I deliver the rest of the speech?': Will Ferrell tells new grads how to get past their fear of failure

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Here are all the jaw-dropping looks from the Cannes Film Festival red carpet

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emily ratajkowski

The big stars are in the South of France looking their most glamorous for this year's Cannes Film Festival and getting their photos shared across the world.

Following her eye-catching red dress at last year's Cannes, model Bella Hadid returned to the festival to grace the legendary red carpet. But fellow model Emily Ratajkowski also showed up and was turning everyone's head. Then there are the movie stars like Robin Wright, Susan Sarandon, Michelle Williams, and Uma Thurman.

But the person having the best time has to be festival jury member Will Smith. When he's not arguing about Netflix with jury president Pedro Almodóvar, he's having an incredible time walking the carpet and waving to the fans.

Here are photos of all the stars looking fabulous at this year's Cannes:

  

SEE ALSO: RANKED: The 11 best movies of the year so far

Here's Elle Fanning at the festival's opening night for the movie "Ismael's Ghosts." She stars in the anticipated Cannes title "The Beguiled."



"Ismael's Ghosts" stars Marion Cotillard.



Noamie Harris was also there. She's coming off her Oscar best supporting actress nomination for "Moonlight."



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A woman who spent 2 months as an undercover inmate is now a guard at her old jail

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sheri 60 days in

Sheri Ray spent two months as an inmate in Southern Indiana's Clark County Jail.

Now, she finds herself on the other side of the bars — as a corrections officer, working alongside the very people who locked her up last year.

Ray's journey is being tracked on the A&E web series "60 Days In: From Inmate to Officer," premiering Thursday night.

The show is a spinoff of the documentary series "60 Days In," in which Ray and seven other law-abiding citizens voluntarily spent two months in Jeffersonville's Clark County Jail. Cameras followed the volunteers, who were given false identities, booked under fake charges, and were then left on their own in hostile jail environments, with instructions to gather as much insider information as possible to report back to jail staff.

Ray, who worked in corrections for six years before participating in the show's second season, said Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel offered her a job shortly after the season.

"It seemed like the normal thing to do. Nobody would be better fitted to come in there than me at that point," Ray told Business Insider.

The newly minted officer quickly began making an impact, often leveraging the skills she learned as an inmate to her advantage.

60 days in hoochOn her first day doing rounds, she noticed a group of inmates standing in their cell conspicuously, as if they were trying to obstruct the security cameras mounted on the walls. She alerted a fellow officer, and they soon discovered the inmates were concealing a container of hooch, an illegal, alcoholic concoction made from fermented fruit and sugar.

"The only reason I noticed it and he didn't is because I could tell the way the inmates were standing. It's a certain angle that the inmates trained me to stand when I was an inmate so that the cameras couldn't see," Ray told Business Insider.

On the other end of the spectrum, Ray said her time behind bars has led her to reevaluate the way corrections officers treat inmates.

"We're always trained in corrections that if you show any kindness, or if you show any empathy towards an inmate, they'll consider you weak and they’ll take advantage of you, and it's really not the case," Ray said. "Doing humane things, like getting them a towel, or making sure if their bathroom's funny you get right on it, doing little things that you would want done if you were in there. They remember that and they look out for you and they have a lot of respect for you."

"It was really weird to see those dynamics, because it went against everything you were trained."

60 days in sheriRay brings that empathy to one of the most difficult parts of her job: the process known as intake. During intake, officers receive new inmates, fingerprint them, search their belongings, question them, and place them in a holding cell for hours before they are assigned to a particular zone within the jail.

"It's that moment when the doors clink, and you're like, 'Oh, wow. My freedom's gone, I've never been here, I don’t know what's going on, I don't know even what the next step is, what happens from here,'" Ray said. "It's scary. I don't care who you are — it's scary."

But Ray has found a way to make it less stressful for inmates.

"I can relate to what they're going through. And instead of just moving them through and processing them through fast, I can say 'Hey, slow down, this is the worst part, this is what you're going to go through,'" she said. "That's one thing that officers don’t do enough — take two minutes out and explain to them what the process is."

"It's the fear of the unknown that gets human beings worked up. So tell them what to expect, and treat them with a little bit of dignity."

The eight-episode series "60 Days In: From Inmate to Officer" will be available to view on A&E's website Thursday night.

Watch the first episode below:

SEE ALSO: A man who went undercover in an Atlanta jail for 2 months learned something unexpected about gang life

DON'T MISS: These are the strange homemade drugs inmates do behind bars

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here's all the food The Rock eats in a single day


How Roger Ailes went from a small-town TV producer to one of the most controversial media powerhouses in America

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Roger Ailes

The former CEO and chairman of Fox News passed away unexpectedly on Thursday.

He led a long and controversial career in conservative politics and media, and built the most-watched cable news network in America.

Here's how it all happened.

SEE ALSO: Former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes dead at 77

Roger Ailes died on May 18 at the age of 77. He spent more than two decades at the helm of Fox News before leaving in the midst of controversy.

Source: Business Insider



Ailes was born in the small factory town of Warren, Ohio, in 1940. Growing up, he had an abusive father and suffered from hemophilia.

Source: The New Yorker



After high school, Ailes enrolled at Ohio University, where he studied journalism and worked at his college radio station.

Source: The New Yorker



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The 10 most talked-about new TV shows right now

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After TV networks decided what will stay and what will go, the carnage is now over. That means fans can breathe and focus on what survived for another year and the new shows.

To find out which new shows have most captured fans' attention, Business Insider partnered with Amobee Brand Intelligencea company that provides marketing insight and measures real-time content consumption across the internet. Amobee analyzed the digital engagement around the newly announced shows in order to find out which ones were attracting the most chatter.

The reboots and revivals had the most tongues wagging. The trend of bringing back series has been in full force for the last few years. This season, "American Idol," "Roseanne," and "Will & Grace" will be joining those ranks.

Another popular theme: shows that belong to a franchise, such as ABC's new Marvel's show, "Inhumans," and CBS's "Big Bang Theory" spin-off, "Young Sheldon."

Here are the 10 most talked-about new shows right now:

SEE ALSO: 43 TV shows that have been canceled

DON'T MISS: Here are all your favorite TV shows that are coming back for another season

10. "The Good Doctor" (ABC)

Fresh off finishing his run with "Bates Motel," Freddie Highmore stars on "The Good Dootor" as a young surgeon with autism and savant syndrome whose social skills and medical talents are tested at a new hospital.

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9. Untitled "Grey's Anatomy" spin-off (ABC)

ABC is copying NBC's "Chicago" franchise model by ordering a spin-off of "Grey's Anatomy" set in a firehouse. 



8. "Wisdom of the Crowd" (CBS)

"Wisdom of the Crowd" features "Entourage" star Jeremy Piven as a tech inventor who crowdsources an app that solves his daughter's murder and can revolutionize crime solving.

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See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The Rock opens up about his possible presidential run — and he already has an amazing slogan

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Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is the biggest movie star in the world right now, so it's obvious he's looking for new challenges. Could entering politics be one?

Following a GQ cover story in which the "Baywatch" star said it's a "real possibility" that he could one day run for president of the United States, the response has been overwhelmingly positive on the internet. 

"The groundswell has been amazing and I have to tell you I’m so incredibly flattered," Johnson told Jimmy Fallon on "The Tonight Show" Thursday. "There’s a national poll that came out this week that brought together Republicans and Democrats in saying that I would beat Donald Trump if we had an election today to become president. I really have been blown away."

That's right. In a poll looking at a hypothetical election between the two now, Johnson had 42 percent support over Trump's 37 percent.  

But, honestly, with Trump's job approval rating at a historic low, it seems possible Don Johnson could beat out Trump in a poll right now.

However, if you're looking for more hints that The Rock is beginning to seriously consider a presidential run, his comments to Fallon about why people are looking to him as a possible candidate certainly sound like those of a politician.

"A lot of people want to see a different leadership today — no, I’m sorry, not different, but a better leadership today," Johnson said. "I think more poise, less noise. And I think over the years I’ve become a guy people relate to. I get up early at a ridiculous hour, I go to work, spend time with the troops, take care of my family, I love taking care of people, and I think that kind of thing resonates with people today."

If he does intend to run, he's off to a promising start. "More poise, less noise": I could see that on a hat in 2020.

Watch The Rock's full comments to Fallon below:

 

SEE ALSO: RANKED: The 11 best movies of 2017 so far

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Judge Judy's friend of 40 years explains what she's really like

Stephen Colbert won in another debate about the existence of God with Ricky Gervais

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Ricky Gervais came on Thursday night’s "The Late Show," and the comedian once again debated religion with host Stephen Colbert. Gervais is an atheist, and Coblert is a devout Catholic. The last time Gervais was on the show, they debate the existence of God.

“I smoked you,” Colbert said Thursday of their previous heady conversation.

“And where did it get us? Nowhere,” Gervais said. “I’m going to hell because I don’t believe in him.”

“No,” Colbert said. “I’m going to hell because I do believe in it. Just because you believe in hell doesn’t mean you won’t go there. You probably will, because I’m a sinner.”

Then the conversation shifted to Gervais’s time in Iceland. Colbert mentioned that people in Iceland believe in elves, which appeals to him because he loves “The Lord of the Rings.” But Gervais is not a fan of J.R.R. Tolkien because he’s not a fan of “nonsense.”

“It’s fantasy,” Colbert said. “What’s wrong with nonsense? Does everything have to be true to you?”

“Okay, I’m a Catholic,” Gervais said.

“Welcome aboard,” said Colbert, who seemingly won the religious debate again.

“If nonsense is okay, I’m in,” Gervais said. “And I can drink as much red wine as I want. I’m absolutely off my [bleep] on the blood of Christ.”

You can watch the segment below:

 

SEE ALSO: RANKED: The 11 best movies of 2017 so far

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NOW WATCH: Here's all the food The Rock eats in a single day

Harry Styles gets emotional 'in a cool way' for James Corden's 'Carpool Karaoke'

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Harry Styles wrapped up his four-day residency on CBS's "Late Late Show" by starring in the latest edition of its popular lip-syncing segment "Carpool Karaoke" on Thursday night.

The segment caps off a week of the former "One Direction" member performing songs from his newly released self-titled solo album and appearing in sketches on the late-night show.

Styles opened up the "Carpool Karaoke" segment by celebrating his newfound independence.

"I feel like I have more control over the buttons," Styles told host James Corden.

"I don't know if you're speaking on a different level, if you saying you have more control over the buttons is something deeper," the host responded, presumably referring to Styles' breakout from his boy band.

The segment features the duo rocking out to Styles' solo single "Sign of the Times" and the songs "Sweet Creature" and "Kiwi" off "Harry Styles."

They also covered pop hits like" Outkast's "Hey Ya" and Lionel Richie and Diana Ross' "Endless Love," which led Corden to suggest that they reenact rom-com scenes from "Notting Hill" and "Titanic." That involved some amusing intimate moments between them.

"In a cool way," Styles said, breaking up the seriousness of the moment.

Watch the full "Carpool Karaoke" with Harry Styles below:

SEE ALSO: Harry Styles demands to be taken seriously on his debut solo album — and he will be

DON'T MISS: Beyoncé is the one singer James Corden's 'Carpool Karaoke' desperately wants

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Watch the intense trailer for Christopher Nolan's new WWII film featuring One Direction's Harry Styles

It sounds like the new 'Destiny' is very similar to the old 'Destiny' — here's what critics are saying

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Nearly three years ago, a new gaming franchise launched with an ambitious plan: To evolve the first-person shooter genre into something new, something bigger.

destiny art

Whether or not the plan was a success is a matter of ongoing debate, but one thing isn't: Millions of people loved the first "Destiny," played it incessantly for years, and are very excited for the upcoming sequel.

"Destiny 2" is scheduled for launch on September 8, for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC — months from now! But press got an early look at the game on Thursday in California. We've rounded up the highlights of what we've heard thus far.

SEE ALSO: We just got our first major look at 'Destiny 2' — here's what we learned

If you liked the first "Destiny," you're probably gonna like "Destiny 2."

Though previewers had a wide variety of opinions on "Destiny 2," every piece I read shared the same sentiment: "Destiny 2" isn't re-inventing the game. 

As Kotaku's Kirk Hamilton puts it

"From a design standpoint, everything I played could have been in a 'Destiny' expansion. Watching it run on at the usual 30fps on PS4, it’s basically just more 'Destiny.' Sure, the [user interface] has been tweaked, and there are a few new abilities. But generally speaking, this demo walks, talks, and quacks like 'Destiny.'"

That's not a huge surprise, but it's either exciting or disappointing depending on how you felt about the first game. 

Eurogamer's Wesley Yin-Poole expressed the same reaction to his time with the game:

"After two hours playing 'Destiny 2' at its reveal event in Los Angeles yesterday, I can confidently say this: Bungie's sequel is a lot of fun to play, but it does feel very familiar."



The characters are more believable, but the focus is still on gameplay over narrative.

One of the biggest complaints about the first "Destiny" wasn't with the gameplay, but with the rote, cliché characters and story. Though it sounds like there aren't huge changes in this respect, Bungie's apparently making moves toward more memorable characters in "Destiny 2." 

One of the game's early campaign missions was available to play at Thursday's event, but it appears to focus on a character that's only meaningful to you if you played the first game.

Here's how Eurogamer describes it:

"I got to play the game's opening mission, called Homecoming, which begins as the Cabal attack the Tower. I enjoyed this mission a lot - there's loads going on, with a lot of spectacular skybox action to gawp at, plenty of explosions, shooting and the odd quiet moment during which tension builds.

The highlight of the mission was fighting alongside Zavala, one of the main characters from the Vanguard in the Tower in 'Destiny 1,' now thrust into action in 'Destiny 2.' Zavala, his back against cover, pops a Titan bubble, which you must hide inside during a Cabal missile barrage. As someone who spent a lot of time interacting with Zavala as a somewhat docile NPC in 'Destiny 1,' it was a thrill to shoot aliens with him. But I can't imagine this set piece will have a similar impact on 'Destiny' newcomers."

Kotaku's Kirk Hamilton was less impressed by his interaction with the sequel's revamped approach to storytelling. "You’re not exactly fighting alongside any of these characters, he said. "Zavala stands still like a robot and basically acts as a Titan bubble generator. Ikora appears and then leaves, all scripted. After Amanda picked me up, I landed on a ship and fought some more Cabal before wandering into a room occupied by the new big bad guy."



The gameplay itself is still top-notch, it sounds like.

If the game's developer, Bungie Studios, is known for one thing, it's excellent gameplay. This is the studio behind the "Halo" franchise — notorious for having perfected first-person shooters on game consoles, starting with the original Xbox. For all the complaints there were about the first "Destiny," few critics found faults with the gameplay.

In the case of "Destiny 2," it sounds like the shooting is as good as ever. Here's how Engadget's Sean Buckley described it:

"Much like the games in the original 'Halo' trilogy, 'Destiny 2' borrows the most iconic elements of its predecessor, but tries to up the ante. The new game still has the same solid gunplay and excellent controls that defined the original, for instance, but gives more control over their Guardian's loadout — letting them equip multiple weapons of the same type simultaneously. Fighting through waves of enemies still charges a super move, but now each character type has a new, more powerful attack that spawns an ephemeral sword, shield or staff for high-powered melee attacks. Somehow, these minor changes to the original 'Destiny' paradigm make the new game feel like a larger epic."



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

2 former Navy SEAL commanders explain what Hollywood gets wrong about the SEALs

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leif babin jocko willink

There are movies, TV shows, and video games about the US Navy SEALs, and nearly all of them portray the SEALs as real-life superheroes.

This image may help draw people to Jocko Willink and Leif Babin, the former SEAL commanders behind the leadership consulting firm Echelon Front, but they're always quick to dispel the notion.

"We're not Terminators," Willink said at their two-day "Muster" conference in New York in May. Willink led Task Unit Bruiser, the most highly decorated special operations unit of the Iraq War, and Babin was his second-command as a senior platoon leader. The Muster conference was an extensive look at the principles explored in their New York Times bestseller "Extreme Ownership."

Willink explained that most civilians tend to think that SEALs, and troops in general, take orders and follow them like robots.

The reality is that SEALs may be highly trained, elite warriors, they're still human beings with human emotions. They are putting their lives and the lives of their friends on the line with every mission they take, and in a situation like that you don't quietly follow orders you disagree with.

navy seals musterBabin added that, "I've never seen a movie or show that's accurately captured what it's like to be in a firefight." While the superhero versions of the SEALs always seem to quickly figure out a way to pinpoint the enemy and take them out, Babin said reality is that battle is chaotic and it takes intense discipline to even figure out where the attack is coming from, let alone how to respond.

To successfully complete missions, Willink and Babin explained, SEAL commanders must create a culture where each troop takes ownership of his role in the mission and can make quick decisions when things get hectic.

Willink shared a hypothetical example of this in action:

He sets a mission for Babin and his men to secure a building and move to its roof to provide cover for another team. Babin's team gets to the roof only to see there are no protective walls, making them easy targets.

If Willink led his team poorly and Babin was just following orders, Babin would order his men to get on their bellies and would then radio Willink to see what they should do next. If Willink led his team well and Babin fully understood the mission objectives, Babin would immediately move his team off the roof and take them instead to the top floor to secure an adequate position, and then he would notify Willink of the change of plans and why they were made.

Real leadership — whether on the battlefield or in the office — is not equal to being a dictator, or assuming your troops can pull off any mission without proper guidance Willink explained. In a previous interview with Business Insider he told us, "We work with great guys, but they're humans. They're human beings. They have attitudes, they have intelligence, they have free will. And they will question your planning. They will question your ideas. And you have to not just tell them what to do. More importantly, you have to lead them. You have to explain to them this is why we're going to do this operation this way."

SEE ALSO: I woke up at 3 a.m. to spend 12 hours learning what it takes to be a leader from former Navy SEALs

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NOW WATCH: This is the method Navy SEALs use for focusing on long term goals


A music producer who works with Eminem and Nas shows us how to make a hit hip-hop beat in 20 minutes

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Statik Selektah 9780

Statik Selektah has produced records for some of the biggest names in hip-hop, including Nas, 50 Cent, Eminem, and 2 Chainz. He is also the mastermind behind “Detroit vs. Everybody” with Big Sean.

Business Insider visited Statik's Brooklyn studio along with Faith Newman, the senior vice president of A&R and catalog development for Reservoir, a music publisher and songwriting incubator that represents Statik. She is best known for discovering Nas. She also helped develop acts like The Fugees and LL Cool J and was Def Jam’s first female executive.

Statik produced the beat for Joey Badass and J.Cole’s collaboration “Legendary” on Badass's album "All-Amerikkkan Badass," released earlier this year, and Newman provided guidance on the album.

We got an up-close look with Statik and Faith in the studio at how you create a hit hip-hop record — and we found out it isn't what you think:

SEE ALSO: Oscar winner Brie Larson talks about the roles she instantly rejects

Statik Selektah is a record producer, DJ, and radio host.

You can catch his radio show on Sirius XM Radio’s Shade 45 every Thursday from 8 p.m. to midnight EST. On the show, he features unknown artists. One of those who's been featured in the past? Chance the Rapper. The show's been running for 12 years. 



Statik’s studio in Bushwick, Brooklyn, is very cozy — New York code for small. But he’s made it his own over the years, complete with a refrigerator full of Monster energy drinks and shelves containing records of all genres.



Statik's studio is dotted with tokens of his Boston roots.



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Sales of test kits skyrocketed after Charlie Sheen confirmed he was HIV-positive

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They're calling it the “Sheen Effect."

The week actor Charlie Sheen went on NBC's "Today" show Tuesday to confirm rumors that he was HIV-positive, sales of at-home test kits for the virus rose 95%.

That's according to a new study from researchers at the University of Southern California and San Diego State University, which also found that the kits continued to sell at higher rates than expected for a month after the announcement.

While they can't say for sure that Sheen's disclosure caused the rise in sales of the test kits, the bump they observed was record-setting.

"In total, there were 8,225 more sales than expected around Sheen’s disclosure, surpassing World AIDS Day by a factor of about 7," the researchers write in their paper.

In November 2015, Sheen appeared on NBC's "Today" show to disclose his positive status.

"I'm here to admit that I am HIV-positive," he said.

Sheen's physician, UCLA assistant professor of clinical medicine Robert Huizenga, also appeared on the show at the time, generating some confusion when he said that Sheen's HIV was "undetectable" in his blood — a proclamation that led some to believe the actor had been "cured." In reality, Sheen's HIV had simply been reduced to an undetectable level thanks to treatment with a powerful three-drug cocktail known as antiretroviral therapy (ART).

As far as current reports are concerned, Sheen does not have AIDS, a condition that can develop when the HIV virus has dramatically suppressed the immune system to the point where someone is highly susceptible to infections and rare types of cancer.

Sheen maintained at the time that he told all of his partners of his HIV status, adding that many threatened to blackmail him for a sum totaling "into the millions."

The actor said in 2015 he learned he had HIV in 2011 after suffering from extreme migraines and "sweating the bed." Thinking he might have a brain tumor, he was hospitalized. But after numerous tests, doctors confirmed he had HIV. One of the reasons HIV can go long periods before being diagnosed is that its earliest symptoms can mirror those of the flu — many people experience a fever, muscle aches, sore throat, and swollen glands.

The only way to know for sure whether you have HIV is to get tested.

While there are plenty of places to get tested for free, fear, stigma, and other socioeconomic barriers can prevent many from doing so. Today, one in eight of the 1.2 million Americans living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) does not know they are positive.

For their study, the researchers analyzed two years of sales data for HIV test kit OraQuick, the only fast-acting at-home kit available in the US. They then compared those sales data against data from the same time period in years before and after.

What they found was astounding: Not only had sales increased 95% the week of Sheen's disclosure, they also stayed relatively high for the four following weeks.

It's well-known that celebrities influence our behavior. Yet when it comes to health, it's often not for the better. From splurging $200 on a breakfast smoothie infused with something called "moon dust" (looking at you, Gwyneth Paltrow) to subsisting on 14 jars of baby food in an attempt to lose weight (sorry, Reese Witherspoon), celebrities' decisions about health can frequently be misguided at best.

So it's promising to see public figures potentially affecting health in a positive direction, the researchers write.

"Our new findings reinforce how celebrity can impact health decision-making," they write, "and make an even stronger case that Sheen’s disclosure promoted HIV prevention, thanks to the availability of rapid in-home HIV testing."

SEE ALSO: Charlie Sheen confirms he's HIV-positive on 'Today' show, says he has paid 'millions' to silence blackmailers

NOW READ: A revolutionary new way to treat HIV could be on its way

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NOW WATCH: Charlie Sheen: 'I'm here to admit that I am HIV-positive'

Matthew Perry reveals the 'Friends' storyline he had to kill

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Matthew Perry revealed there was at least one storyline on "Friends" that he killed.

On Thursday's episode of Bravo's "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen," Perry played one of the show's recurring games, "Plead the Fifth." In it, Cohen asks his guests three questions and only allows them to pass (or "plead the fifth") one one question out of the three.

Perry — who's promoting the New York City run of his play "The End of Longing" — had already used his one pass on the game's first question, in which Cohen asked him to play a round of "Marry, Shag, Kill" using his female "Friends" costars.

The second question: If Perry knew what costar David Schwimmer meant by his offhand comment that there was sex between "Friends" stars during the recent televised reunion, which Perry was unable to attend.

"I don't know who he was referring to," Perry said. "No, I think there was no sex between any of them or I was really missing something."

For Cohen's third and final question, he asked Perry if there was a "Friends" storyline that either "jumped the shark" or that he wouldn't allow to happen.

"There was a storyline on 'Friends' where Chandler went to a male strip joint, because he really liked the sandwiches," Perry said. "And I called up and said, 'Let's not do this one.'"

And he was successful in killing that storyline, so fans never saw Chandler eating sandwiches with scantily clad men.

Watch the video below:

SEE ALSO: 'Friends' star Matthew Perry says he once beat up Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

DON'T MISS: How the 'Friends' cast nabbed their insane salaries of $1 million per episode

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NOW WATCH: Meet the star of 'American Gods' — your next TV obsession

'Alien: Covenant' has major thrills but is ultimately frustrating

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Warning: Mild spoilers for the movie below.

Director Ridley Scott kept us in suspense with his last "Alien" movie, 2012's "Prometheus," with an ending that saw sole survivor Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Repace) flying away from the distant moon she and her crew thought would have answers about the creators of humanity, only to find a species that wanted to destroy them.

With the bodiless android David (Michael Fassbender) as her guide, Shaw set out to find why the beings she calls "Engineers" want to end the human race.

"Alien: Convenant" (opening in theaters May 19) picks up the story 10 years later. No one has heard from Shaw and we are now following the crew of Covenant as they travel to a remote planet to colonize it. But after getting a faint broadcast from what may be a human on a planet that seems to be perfect to colonize and is conveniently closer than the one they were originally planning to go to, they change course.

And if you've ever seen any of the "Alien" movies, you know anything too good to be true is just that.

Michael Fassbender plays the android on Covenant, Walter, and accompanies Daniels (Katherine Waterston), Oram (Billy Crudup), and Faris (Amy Seimetz) as they land on the planet in search of the "ghost" who sent the transmission. Like in "Prometheus" (well, pretty much every "Alien" movie), someone does something stupid to begin the domino effect that leads to an alien bursting out of someone's body and terrorizing the rest of the crew.

Scott has pretty much mastered the execution of building suspense in the sci-fi thriller genre, and the first half-hour of "Alien: Covenant" is some of the best work in the franchise.

AlienConvenant320thCentiryFoxBut the movie hits a speed bump when David (Fassbender) comes out of nowhere to save the group on the planet from aliens. Yes, we get some needed answers about what was left unexplained at the end of "Prometheus," but I have to admit, they're kind of a letdown.

And then there are the strange interactions between David and Walter that fill up a lot of the middle of the movie. That's right — Fassbender talking to Fassbender (in fact, at one point they kiss).

David has always taken his fascination with the human race a little too far, as we saw in "Prometheus," and this movie shows he's moved from an obsession with how humans operate to having a god complex and doing some creature building of his own. (You can thank David for the legendary pods from the first "Alien" movie.)

Back up on the Covenant, Danny McBride's Tennessee character is the movie's secret weapon. Showing some impressive dramatic chops and heroic moves, Tennessee is the character you assume will be the first to die, and you will be pleasantly shocked how things turn out for him.

There are a few surprising moments in the movie that are best not to mention for ultimate viewing enjoyment, but if you were hoping for some finality to this prequel portion of the "Alien" franchise, you don't get that here. Seeing as how Scott has a few more "Alien" movies coming down the pike, with this one you get some great thrills, but you're pretty much strung along, which is extremely frustrating.

Alien Covenant Prologue 20th Century Fox finalOne major tip: Before going to see the movie, definitely check out the teaser videos 20th Century Fox has released on the web in the last few months. The "Last Supper" and "The Crossing" prologues will really bring some clarity to a few plot points in the movie.

Though the thrills in "Alien: Covenant" live up to the franchise, and Waterston gives a worthy, badass performance in the vein of Sigourney Weaver in the early movies, it would have been nice to see Scott stray from beats similar to the "Prometheus" plot (not to mention other "Alien" movies).

I guess there's always the next "Alien" movie.

 

SEE ALSO: 24 TV shows that were just canceled

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NOW WATCH: Judge Judy's friend of 40 years explains what she's really like

A new movie exposes the 'ridiculous' case against the one bank charged after the 2008 crisis

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Following the 2008 mortgage crisis, which led to a $700 billion government bailout, the biggest financial institutions in the country were given a light tap on the wrist in fines and penalties. None were brought to criminal court.

But that wasn't the case for a small, family-owned bank tucked inside Chinatown in New York City.

In 2012, Abacus Federal Savings Bank was indicted on charges of fraud in relation to hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of mortgages that had been sold to Fannie Mae from 2005 to 2010. It's the only bank to be indicted in connection to the 2008 crisis.

The case of Abacus, a reliable institution for thousands of Chinese immigrants that is run by Thomas Sung, who's considered the George Bailey of Chinatown, was a shock for many in the community, while for the rest of the country the news seemed to tell a story of a dishonest bank that was finally getting its comeuppance.

But as we see in the new documentary "Abacus: Small Enough to Jail" by Steve James ("Hoop Dreams," "Life Itself"), the bank's surprising decision to fight the charges from the New York County District Attorney's Office led to a David-versus-Goliath court battle that revealed how thin the case against Abacus really was. James spent the length of the three-month trial following the Sung family and trying to clear their name (the charges were dismissed in 2015).

"The point of view of this film is clear from the start — it's kind of clear from the title," James told Business Insider. "We think this was a miscarriage of justice."

ABACUS PBSJames learned of the case through his producer Mark Mitten, who knew the Sungs. The filmmaker had an initial meeting with Sung and his daughters, Jill and Vera — who are executives at the bank — and Heather, who actually worked at the New York DA's office when the bank was charged (she left shortly after). Then James knew he wanted to tell their story. But he didn't want it to be one-sided, which started the long road to get people from the DA's office to talk on camera.

"We didn't get them to talk for the film until after the trial, though we tried throughout," said James, who felt it was crucial to have the other perspective in the movie, even if he didn't agree with it. "There are not two equal sides of the story, but that aside, it doesn't relieve us of the responsibility to really articulate the case against the Sungs, because my feeling is by really laying out the case against them you also not just hear the case — you see how weak the case against them was."

Because James wasn't allowed to film in the courtroom during the trial, he had to come up with another way not just to show what happened inside but also to make it compelling.

"We actually hired a courtroom artist to go in several days and make some baseline illustrations," James said. "Then we embellished them. There's angles in those sequences that no courtroom artist could ever get."

Showing over-the-shoulder sketches and detailed reactions of the Sungs matched the compelling testimony. Especially the DA's star witness, former Abacus loan manager Ken Yu (who was fired after bank executives learned he was committing fraud), practically admitting how he pulled off his illegal acts behind the backs of everyone at Abacus while on the stand. Yu became the figure who ultimately unraveled the prosecutors' case.

Another hurdle was simply telling a story set in the financial world that would keep audiences interested — always a challenge. James recalls a day when he and the crew were shooting in an empty courtroom and an officer with them asked which case they were doing the movie on.

"I told him Abacus, and after I explained he said, 'Oh, that's a paper trial,'" James recalled. "That was translation for a boring trial. It's not sexy. And that was the challenge. This wasn't one of the big banks being put on trial, but we felt a duty to tell the story and the ridiculousness of the DA's case."

"Abacus: Small Enough to Jail" opens in select theaters Friday.

SEE ALSO: Robert De Niro talks about how he got inside the head of Bernie Madoff for his new movie

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