Just a day after being named the new director of the untitled Han Solo movie, director Ron Howard found himself in the position of having to talk about it while attending the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity on Friday.

The Hollywood Reporter writes that while speaking to an audience at the festival about creativity in media, Howard told moderator Martin Sorrell, the founder and CEO of British ad company WPP, that the chance to come on and direct the latest "Star Wars" anthology movie was "a little opportunity that came my way." 

Howard was chosen to take on the project after its original directors, Chris Miller and Phil Lord ("The Lego Movie"), were fired by Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy over creative differences. 

"It's gratifying to lend my voice to the 'Star Wars' universe now," Howard told the audience. Mirroring what he had tweeted when official word came out that he would be directing the movie on Thursday:

Though Howard told the audience the story of when he and his wife stood in line, twice, for hours to watch the original "Star Wars" movie in 1977, his link to the saga goes back farther than that. 

Howard was the star of George Lucas' second feature film, the 1973 hit "American Graffiti," and recalled Lucas bringing up the early idea for "Star Wars." According to Howard, when Lucas told him the story, Howard thought it was "crazy."

The decision to hire Howard may seem like a random one for fans, but if Lucas had his way the Oscar-winner would already have had a "Star Wars" credit. Back when Lucas was deciding if the "Star Wars" prequels were to be made, he originally didn't want to direct them. Howard was one of the directors he reached out to direct the first of the prequels, "The Phantom Menace."

"He told me he had talked to Robert Zemeckis, Steven Spielberg, and me," Howard said while talking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast in 2015. "I was the third one he spoke to. They all said the same thing: 'George, you should do it!' I don’t think anybody wanted to follow-up that act at the time. It was an honor, but it would’ve been too daunting."

The Han Solo movie will start back up production on July 10.

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NOW WATCH: HBO just released a new 'Game of Thrones' trailer — the dragons are back

In October 2015, DJ Khaled's eighth album, "I Changed a Lot," debuted at No. 12 on the Billboard album chart, moving an unremarkable 19,000 copies in its first week. 

It was the lowest-selling album of Khaled's career.

The LP's tepid performance suggested that the once-ubiquitous Miami DJ — who boasted several platinum-selling hip-hop posse cuts ("We Takin' Over,""All I Do Is Win,""I'm on One") between 2007 and 2011 — had steadily lost his tastemaker's touch in popular culture. 

Everything changed in December 2015, when Khaled got lost on a jet ski in the Atlantic Ocean and took to Snapchat to document his journey to safety. Khaled's footage of the event went viral.

Now, with over six million followers on Snapchat, Khaled's daily presence on the app and other social media has proven to be a colossally rejuvenating marketing tool for the 41-year-old producer.

In July 2016, buoyed by his millions of new followers and revived visibility, Khaled rode a wave of popularity to his first number-one album, "Major Key."

On the strength of his biggest single to date, "I'm the One," his new tenth album "Grateful" (out this Friday) is looking like it will be the blockbuster event of his career.

Here are four ways DJ Khaled has recaptured the charts and revitalized his career:

SEE ALSO: The biggest hit song the year you were born

He has turned Snapchat and social media into a powerful marketing force.

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By rapidly accumulating over 15 million followers across Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram, DJ Khaled has been able to resurrect a career that appeared somewhat lifeless just two years ago. 

Deemed the "King of Snapchat" by Coca-Cola Senior VP for Content Emmanuel Seuge, Khaled has used the app to share self-help advice dotted with his many catchphrases ("Major Key," "We the Best," "Bless Up"), promote various consumer products, and tease behind-the-scenes studio updates.

"Being authentic always wins," Khaled told CNBC last week of his social-media presence. "When people see somebody that is just real, they love it. It ain't no act. It ain't no fake."

He's gone after the biggest names in the industry with "persistence."

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Since his first album "Listennn..." was released in 2006, Khaled has routinely attracted hip-hop stars like Lil Wayne, Kanye West, and Drake. But to get the upper-upper-echelon artists — namely JAY-Z, Beyoncé, and Rihanna — he's had to put in years of effort and networking.

I spoke to Khaled briefly last year and asked him to elaborate on how he bought a condo and stayed in New York for a year just to get a verse from JAY-Z on his 2015 single "They Don't Love You Know More."

"Yeah. I stayed in New York for a year to pull that off. Persistence and passion and dedication," he told Business Insider of the effort. "It's something I wanted to do for myself and the culture and the fans. It's JAY-Z. All his verses are forever."

Jay would go on to feature with rapper Future on Khaled's 2016 single "I Got the Keys" and with his wife, Beyoncé, on Khaled's 2017 single "Shining."

He's moved away from making traditional hip-hop and forged inventive pop hits.

Known for most of his career for facilitating conventional hip-hop group tracks, Khaled has moved more toward the mainstream this year by assembling a diverse collection of artists for innovative pop singles that sound like nothing he's made before. 

Khaled's single "I'm the One," featuring Chance the Rapper, Lil Wayne, Quavo, and Justin Bieber, became his first ever No. 1 single in May.

His most recent single "Wild Thoughts" pairs him with pop superstar Rihanna for the first time ever and features R&B singer Bryson Tiller and a guitar sample from Carlos Santana.

Any documentary filmmaker would like to delve into the trial between Hulk Hogan and Gawker: a high-profile case filled with sex, betrayal, and outlandish courtroom testimony.

But director Brian Knappenberger also saw something more troubling beneath the surface. The case was also a fight against the freedom of the press. Regardless of what you may think of Gawker's content, ruling against the site in this case could open the floodgates for silencing other media whenever it runs a negative story on a person with influence.

It was a scary thought to Knappenberger. And then it became a reality.

Currently on Netflix, Knappenberger's latest documentary, "Nobody Speak: Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and Trials of a Free Press," is a fascinating look at the story behind the Hogan win against Gawker for posting a sex tape of the former pro wrestler. The $140.1 million verdict in favor of Hogan led to Gawker closing its doors and its publisher Nick Denton going into personal bankruptcy.

But two months after the verdict, it was revealed that Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel was responsible for financing Hogan's case against Gawker. It was also revealed that the major motivation for Thiel to do that was less because he was sympathetic to what Hogan was going through and more that he wanted Denton and Gawker to feel his wrath after the site ran a story in 2007 outing him as being gay.

"This notion of a nine-year grudge and this epic tale of revenge was so spectacular," Knappenberger told Business Insider at this year's Sundance Film Festival. "That's when I really started work on the movie."

Knappenberger — who previously made the movies "The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz," on internet activist Aaron Swartz, and "We Are Legion," about the hacker group Anonymous — got in touch with Denton and Gawker editor-in-chief (who also posted the Hogan sex tape video) A.J. Daulerio to be in the film as well as Hogan's lawyer David R. Houston.

They all took some convincing to come on camera and talk for the movie, according to Knappenberger, but at the end of the day they agreed because they all wanted to tell their sides of the story.

"The Gawker guys were angry," he said. "They wanted to talk, and David Houston wanted to tell his story."

There was also a time that Knappenberger thought he would get Hogan to participate, but ultimately Hogan declined.

"They didn't want him to say something that would hurt the settlement," Knappenberger said of Hogan. "But even if we got him now I would add him in the film."

In many ways, "Nobody Speak" portrays Hogan in a sympathetic manner, basically as the pawn in Thiel's mission to destroy Gawker (Knappenberger said he also tried to get Thiel to be in the movie, but Thiel declined Knappenberger's numerous requests). And the movie shows how other people with money and influence can and do silence the media.

Knappenberger also showcases what happened to the Las Vegas Review-Journal at the end of 2015. The paper's staff was suddenly told that the paper had been sold, though they were never told who the new publisher was. A group of reporters found that the son-in-law of Las Vegas casino titan Sheldon Adelson was a major player in the purchase of the paper. According to the movie, Adelson had a vendetta with the paper's columnist John L. Smith, who wrote unflattering things about him in a 2005 book. Smith was even ordered after the paper was bought that he was never to write about Adelson in any of his pieces. 

For Knappenberger, there's no other way to look at it: The suppression of the media by billionaires is happening. But it was the election of Donald Trump as president that influenced the movie the most.

"It went from cautionary to holy f---," Knappenberger said. "Things that seemed lighter before now seemed serious."

Knappenberger said the making of "Nobody Speak" was a fast process that constantly changed, but it's the ending that has become the most nerve-wracking, as he's gone through numerous versions to paint a most up-to-date picture of Trump's dislike toward the media.

"What we've seen is disturbing," he said of Trump. "Calling reports scum, calling them vile, slime, it's just a regular feature in his speeches. The blacklisting of the press... This is a clear intimidation of the press. I think all of that is scary."

Knappenberger said he doesn't see the press lying down and playing dead, but he hopes the new administration will be a wake-up call to the media to be on their game.

"The press should be adversarial, should be confrontational, should be questioning those in power, that's the role of the press," he said.

And that's why Knappenberger believes the loss of Gawker is such a huge blow for journalism. As one former Gawker editor says in the movie, "If you're not pissing off a billionaire, what's the point?"

"Yeah, they insulted people, but why is there not a place for that in this media environment?" Knappenberger said. "This is free speech. We protect hate speech. We protect a lot that one side or the other doesn't like. Thiel's response that Gawker is a 'singular, sociopathic bully' is absurd. That is only true if you live in a world without Facebook or Twitter."

When speaking to Knappenberger before the movie's world premiere at Sundance, the director wasn't too nervous about Thiel or Adelson's representatives showing up with legal papers. "We're ready for it," he said (none were ever given). But he added, the bigger issue is getting people to understand that the loss of the free press is "the most important thing facing our country."

"Lots of other films at Sundance have legitimate causes and important things and I wouldn't say this is more important than those causes," he said, "it's just that you can't do anything about those causes unless you have this first. Free speech, First Amendment rights. Without that, there's no democracy."

SEE ALSO: Al Gore has a triumphant new documentary about climate change and Trump that you need to see

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NOW WATCH: HBO released an incredible, action-packed trailer for 'Game of Thrones' season 7

"Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare" — the best game in the long-running series — launched 10 years ago. 

If your trigger finger hasn't felt the same since, get ready. It's about to make a comeback.

On June 27, Activision is rereleasing "Modern Warfare," this time for the PlayStation 4. The game, which will cost $40 will head to the Xbox One and PC some point after; Activision, isn't saying exactly when just yet. 

That's good news for fans. "Modern Warfare" cemented "Call of Duty" as a must-play series, and the title went on to sell tens of millions of copies.

But this isn't the exactly same game that came out 10 years ago. For one thing, the older version of the game was designed for last-generation consoles, like the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360. For another — in case you didn't already guess from the image above — Activision has remastered the game for this new release.

And, in addition to the classic single-player campaign mode, the new game includes 16 multiplayer maps.

This revamped version of "Modern Warfare" has already been available, but only for folks who had purchased last year's "Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare." Now, Activision is releasing the game as a standalone purchase.

But you'd rather see the game in action, right? That's fair! Lucky for you we've got the latest trailer right here:

SEE ALSO: The new 'Assassin's Creed' looks like the series' best entry in years

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You’ve probably heard of Demi Lovato. The former Disney star turned international pop star (“Camp Rock” aired nine years ago this month) has a huge audience of devoted fans, but not many people know that she’s also used that fan base to create a successful game that's brought in $18 million in revenue since its launch in 2015.

Lovato's game resides inside Episode, an interactive storytelling app in which people can view over 60,000 animated stories. The app invites viewers to become characters in a number of original stories, celebrity-inspired episodes, and popular Hollywood franchises. Episode users drive each narrative in their own personalized direction.

“What drew me to the app in the first place was I wanted to create a game," Lovato recently told Business Insider. "And so we had looked at different ways we could create my game that I had in mind and we ended up partnering with Episode — and Episode is really great. I love what they do and we've had a great relationship ever since."

Since her story launched in 2015, in addition to the $18 million in revenue, it's gotten 446 million episode views and 27 million unique visitors. Those numbers highlight that Lovato truly knows her fans, and she knows exactly how to connect with them. In Lovato's Episode story, "Path to Fame," players get an honest look at balancing fame with friends, family, and life in general. It also helps people understand what the life of a famous musician is like, and integrates Lovato’s style and music throughout. 

“Some of the things that have changed over that period [since Demi’s partnership with Episode started] are more people, broader audiences," Michael Dawson, Episode's cocreator and head of studios, told Business Insider. "Even back in 2014, there was a demographic of people in their teens and early 20s who were basically using their phones to do almost everything, and that group just continues to grow and grow.”

Dawson also pointed out some surprising statistics Episode found after surveying its audience: 12% say they take their phone into the shower, and 14% say they use their phone 12 hours or more a day. According to Episode's data, girls ages 13-17 say they check their phone every few seconds. Dawson and his team found that Lovato is quite popular among their users, which is how they got the idea to create a story starring her. 

“My fans have reacted very, very well, and they're very excited about it,” Lovato said. “For the storyline for Episode, they came up with ideas, and I also came up with ideas. Sometimes I'd be going through stuff and I'd send all these ideas and they'd turn them into games, which is so cool. I was very hands-on in the process and every time they came up with ideas for storylines I would make sure that I really loved it and wanted to make sure that it was my vision. It was very different from anything I've ever done. It was a challenge and it was so fun.” 

Lovato is devoted to her fans in many other ways. She openly discusses her personal experiences with mental illness, bullying, body confidence, and her sobriety. These topics are often evident in her music. Lovato said that of all her songs, she feels that her fans connect with "Warrior" most. As Lovato's career has taken off in ways she admitted she couldn't imagine back when she was doing "Camp Rock," she's kept millions of devoted fans from her Disney days and gained millions of new ones, and all view her as a role model.

Lovato engages with her fans on social media and opens up to them on a deeply personal level, whether it’s in a tweet or an Instagram post. Lovato says her fans are some of the most active on Instagram these days (she has 59.2 million followers on the platform).

Asked if there are days when she just doesn’t feel like sharing things with her fans, Lovato told Business Insider, “Yeah, there are some days where it’s really hard and I don’t want to share what I’m thinking or feeling, but I have to do it because I have a responsibility to my fans, they're really important to me.”  

With Episode, Lovato has tapped into her young fan base’s desire for visual storytelling — and offered up her highly public life — in a new way.

The final season of "Path to Fame" premieres on the Episode app June 24. You can download Episode from the App Store or Google Play.

SEE ALSO: The biggest hit song the year you were born

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This week, Drake unveiled a laid-back summer track at a fashion show, and DJ Khaled released a Calvin Harris-produced jam featuring Travis Scott and Jeremih. 

Music is easier than ever to get and harder than ever to sort online, so we've picked the best songs out this week that you can stream right here:

SEE ALSO: How DJ Khaled revived his career and became a pop superstar with his marketing genius

Drake — "Signs"

Drake premiered his latest song "Signs" at Louis Vitton's runway show at Paris Fashion Week on Wednesday. The low-key dancehall track (produced by frequent Drake collaborator Noah "40" Shebib) sounds like an alternate take on Drake's multi-platinum hit "One Dance." 

Listen to the song at the 4:30 mark in the video below: 

Parcels — "Overnight" (feat. Daft Punk)

Daft Punk lends a funk guitar riff that's highly reminiscent of their 2013 hit "Get Lucky" to up-and-coming Australian band Parcels' latest single.

Vince Staples — "Yeah Right" (feat. Kendrick Lamar)

English producer Sophie and Australian electronic sensation Flume lace California rappers Vince Staples and Kendrick Lamar with a thundering, bass-heavy industrial beat on "Yeah Right" from Staples' excellent new LP, "Big Fish Theory."

Last week, Apple finally hired a head of video programming — actually two— in a moment that Hollywood had been waiting for since Netflix and Amazon crashed into Los Angeles with billions of dollars to spend on TV shows and movies.

By hiring veteran Sony Pictures Television execs Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg, who were responsible for hits like “Breaking Bad” and “The Crown,” Apple sent a signal that it’s looking to become a major player in the market. The pair of execs will be Apple’s equivalent of Netflix’s Ted Sarandos, or Amazon’s Roy Price, and oversee “all aspects of video programming,” reporting to Apple services boss Eddy Cue.

These hires help clarify a video strategy that was murky to people both inside and outside of Apple.

Up until now, Apple had been taking a bunch of meetings, and had a few TV-quality projects in development, including its “Shark Tank”-style show “Planet of the Apps,” which debuted this month on Apple Music. But in conversations with half a dozen people who worked for Apple or on Apple productions, there was a lack of clarity about who was spearheading Apple's overall video efforts.

Cue, along with music industry legend Jimmy Iovine, VP of content and media apps Robert Kondrk, and Apple Music content boss Larry Jackson, were all involved in ways that varied between projects. And Apple’s participation in the production of the shows varied as well, with the company sometimes being almost completely hands-off, while at other times taking a more active role in a show's creation.

Put plainly: Apple’s first forays into TV didn’t feel like part of a cohesive strategy to disrupt the industry. What we’ve seen over the past few months have been a handful of TV projects tied to Apple Music, some of which have been delayed or re-shot, and the first of which was walloped by critics.

Apple wasn’t trying to become Netflix, yet.

“The idea that Apple is chasing Netflix, that’s the wrong way to think about it,” a former Apple Music manager told Business Insider when describing its video efforts and the upcoming “Carpool Karaoke” in particular. “They are not. No one gives a sh-- … I think what is happening is that Jimmy [Iovine] sees a way to, not just within music, connect to the brand promise of Apple.”

Iovine, the Interscope Records cofounder who became involved in Apple when it purchased Beats for $3 billion in 2014, has been preaching the marriage of technology and pop culture for years, the former Apple manager said. Video was one piece of that.

But by hiring Sony veterans Erlicht and Van Amburg, Apple has taken a step in a more expansive direction, and looks to be marshaling for a video effort that transcends music.

The Apple way or the highway

Apple’s TV saga didn’t start with Iovine or Apple Music; it's been a hot topic in tech and entertainment for the better part of a decade.

For years, Apple has tried intermittently to get together its own TV bundle, particularly a so-called “skinny bundle" which would give customers a small number of marquee channels for a lower price. But Apple’s plans never quite came together. One reason multiple Apple insiders cited was Apple’s tendency to negotiate in a way TV execs didn’t like.

“Eddy [Cue] is extremely smart,“ a former Apple Music staffer said, but Cue is “very aggressive” in negotiations with people outside Apple. “In that area [video], Eddy negotiates like they need Apple. Not everybody is on board that they need Apple.” With the music industry, Apple had a lot more leverage than with TV, this person explained.

“They were trying TV stuff, but things would always fall through with networks,” another former Apple Music employee said. This person said that everyone in Apple Music had a great deal of respect for Cue, and that he was a smart guy, but that he could be overbearing in negotiations (“like a dictator” was the exact phrasing).

With the entrance of Iovine in 2014, another exec was added into the TV mix. But though Iovine has deep connections in the entertainment industry and has been the catalyst for some Apple TV-style projects, he’s not a TV producer. He comes from music. Until last week, Apple didn't have a TV big-shot to guide its programming strategy.

Still, Iovine has been a shot of energy in getting projects done.

“Jimmy is not a normal person, he is extraordinary,” one former Apple Music employee said. “A typical Silicon Valley person would underestimate him,” but Iovine moves seamlessly in the world of entertainment, something Apple has lacked.

Iovine sparked the conversations that led to “Planet of the Apps” and “Carpool Karaoke,” Apple Music’s first two big shows, he told Bloomberg in a recent interview. That spark and finesse in Los Angeles is probably something Apple is looking to get more of with Erlicht and Van Amburg.

Where is ‘Vital Signs?’

One big question mark around Apple’s TV-style efforts on Apple Music has been the whereabouts of “Vital Signs,” helmed by Dr. Dre, who, like Iovine, came into Apple’s orbit with the acquisition of Beats in 2014. “Vital Signs” was meant to be Apple’s first scripted show, in the form of a six-part semi-autobiographical series about Dre’s life.

“Vital Signs” began shooting back in February, 2016, a person who worked on the production told Business Insider. But it still hasn’t arrived, or gotten a firm release date from Apple.

“American Gods” and “Deadwood” star Ian McShane, who is in the series, talked about the show recently on "Late Night with Seth Meyers."

“Dre was great, this was an Apple project, by him,” McShane said. “It’s about his sort of story … There’s three of us … We play parts of Dre’s imagination who actually come to life at various points in this … Sam Rockwell plays ego, who’s very funny, and Michael K. Williams, the charismatic Omar the gay assassin from ‘The Wire,’ plays negativity, and I play vengeance.”

At the time “Vital Signs” was shot, there didn’t seem to be much Apple involvement on the ground, according to sources close to the production.

“From my experience, and what I saw on-set and in-office, Apple was almost completely hands-off,” a person on the “Vital Signs” production told Business Insider. “My guess would be that Apple was a bit green around the ears in terms of film production and may not have realized the importance of a studio or financial backer in their position to be invested with eyes and ears on the ground, especially when they have final approval on the product,” that person continued.

Even beyond Apple input, Dre wasn’t satisfied with the product. Multiple sources said that there were reshoots on “Vital Signs” after the initial filming. A source close to the production characterized the reshoots as part of Dre's creative process, and "Vital Signs" as his passion project.

Ian McShane said during his Seth Meyers appearance that “Vital Signs” will be out in August, but Apple hasn’t said anything, and other Apple insiders aren’t clear about a time frame. It’s also good to note that Dr. Dre fans had to wait over a decade for him to release his last album, and when it arrived it wasn’t called “Detox.”

Apple doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to get “Vital Signs” out the door until it’s happy with it, and that may continue to an even greater extent in the era of Erlicht and Van Amburg, since it’s not their project.

More delays

“Vital Signs” isn’t the only Apple Music series to have had timeline hiccups.

“Carpool Karaoke,” Apple’s spinoff of the popular sketch on the “Late Late Show with James Corden,” was delayed four months, though Apple did not specify why.

Late last month, Eddy Cue announced that the show would be airing on Apple Music starting August 8. This announcement came after a premiere party in March, and then a launch party in April, were both cancelled.

Enter the critics

The Apple Music show that has already arrived, “Planet of the Apps,” has not exactly been greeted with fanfare.

You can think of “Planet of the Apps” as a “Shark Tank” for app developers. App makers get help from celebrity mentors like Jessica Alba and Will.i.am, and then pitch venture capital firm Lightspeed Venture Partners, hoping they’ll invest some of the $10 million Lightspeed promised to the show.

Variety’s critic slammed the show’s first episode as a “bland, tepid, barely competent knock-off of ‘Shark Tank.’” My colleague Avery Hartmans followed suit.

Apple appears to have been more involved with “Planet of the Apps” than with other projects, which makes sense given the topic. Apple’s VP of content and media apps, Robert Kondrk, is not listed as an executive producer on the show, but essentially played that role. Apple also collaborated on building the set, which involves an escalator from which contestants pitch their app ideas.

But Apple was still hands-off in some ways. Gwyneth Paltrow, one of the celebrity judges, told The Hollywood Reporter that Apple wasn’t that involved in the creative process. "They were pretty hands off," Paltrow said, though she did add that Apple execs were more involved with how the show would be distributed. The 10-episode series is available on Apple Music, for subscribers only, with a new episode debuting at 9 p.m. PST every Tuesday (from June 6).

The poor critical reception for the first “Planet of the Apps” episode means that Erlicht and Van Amburg’s hiring comes at an opportune time, since they bring firm hands with proven TV programming chops to Apple.

And with that in place, along with Apple’s pile of over $250 billion in cash, Apple has the opportunity to make compelling video that might not be possible other places.

One former Apple Music staffer mentioned “808: The Movie,” which shows the impact of Roland’s TR-808 drum machine, as a special moment that’s happened already, without Erlicht and Van Amburg.

“That’s a really remarkable piece of work,” the former staffer said. “It only could be created at a place like Apple.”

If you know anything more about Apple’s original TV plans, tip the author at nmcalone@businessinsider.com.

SEE ALSO: 'Game of Thrones' fans picked their favorite villains, heroes, seasons — and which deaths were most satisfying

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NOW WATCH: RICHARD GREENFIELD: I am bullish on Twitter and would be shocked if it wasn't bought within two years

One of the jurors in Bill Cosby's trial said that he did not find the accusation of rape convincing because the accuser had worn a bare midriff and had no "stained garment" to show.

Last December, famed comedian Bill Cosby was charged with three counts of aggravated indecent assault in relation to allegations that he drugged and molested Canadian basketball player Andrea Constand in 2004.

On June 17, the judge in Cosby's case declared a mistrial after the 12-person jury spent six days and more than 50 hours trying to decide whether Cosby was guilty or innocent of sexual assault. Once the case went public, more than 60 women have come forward with similar accusations of sexual assault against the comedian.

"She was well-coached," the juror, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Inquirer and The Daily News. "Let’s face it: She went up to his house with a bare midriff and incense and bath salts. What the heck?"

The juror then added that Cosby had already "paid dearly" with his ruined reputation and should not be made to go through another trial. That said, he still refused to say whether he wanted to find Cosby guilty or innocent.

The juror also said that, at one point, 10 out of the 12 jurors believed Cosby was guilty before three jurors changed their minds and the judge had to announce a mistrial. Throughout the deliberations, jurors had difficulty with legal terms such as "reckless" and "severely impaired," with the juror adding that the language describing the counts of assault was "too legal."

Even though Cosby's defense lawyer spent just six minutes to say that the relationship was consensual, the juror still said that he found Cosby more convincing than the prosecution, which spent five days laying out extensive evidence from the police, legal experts and Constand herself. 

He said that Constand should have only seen Cosby at his home if "she was dressed properly and left the incense in the store" and was influenced to go to push forward on the trial years later by her mother.

"No stained garment, no smoking gun, nothing," he said, adding that you could draw little from evidence from decades ago.

He further added that the accusations of 60 women who have since come forward with similar accusations had played no role in his deliberations — he thought many of them made up their claims to get attention.

“This is ridiculous, unbelievable,” he said. “I think more than half jumped on the bandwagon."

While the courthouse said that he was proud of having done his civic duty, he does not plan on paying attention if there is a second trial.

"They should’ve left it closed," he said.

SEE ALSO: Bill Cosby's jury again asks the definition of 'reasonable doubt' after being deadlocked for 5 days

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NOW WATCH: 'Do you even understand what you're asking?': Putin and Megyn Kelly have a heated exchange over Trump-Russia ties

When Disney River Country opened in 1976, visitors flocked to Orange County, Florida, to ride the winding slides and traverse the wooden bridges. The park closed down 25 years later. After leaving the park empty and abandoned for 15 years, Disney finally drained and filled River Country's 330,000-gallon pool in 2016.

A Cleveland-based photographer who works under the pseudonym Seph Lawless documented the abandoned park. For more photos by Lawless, check out his Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts.

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What is eSports? History & Rise of Video Game Tournaments

Years ago, eSports was a community of video gamers who would gather at conventions to play Counter Strike, Call of Duty, or League of Legends.

These multiplayer video game competitions would determine League of Legends champions, the greatest shooters in Call of Duty, the cream of the crop of Street Fighter players, the elite Dota 2 competitors, and more.

But today, as the history of eSports continue to unfold, media giants such as ESPN and Turner are broadcasting eSports tournaments and competitions. And in 2014, Amazon acquired Twitch, the live streaming video platform that has been and continues to be the leader in online gaming broadcasts. And YouTube also wanted to jump on the live streaming gaming community with the creation of YouTube Gaming.

eSports Market Growth Booming

To put in perspective how big eSports is becoming, a Google search for "lol" does not produce "laughing out loud" as the top result. Instead, it points to League of Legends, one of the most popular competitive games in existence. The game has spawned a worldwide community called the League of Legends Championship Series, more commonly known as LCS or LOL eSports.

What started as friends gathering in each other's homes to host LAN parties and play into the night has become an official network of pro gaming tournaments and leagues with legitimate teams, some of which are even sponsored and have international reach. Organizations such as Denial, AHQ, and MLG have multiple eSports leagues.

And to really understand the scope of all this, consider that the prize pool for the latest Dota 2 tournament was more than $20 million.

Websites even exist for eSports live scores to let people track the competitions in real time if they are unable to watch. There are even fantasy eSports leagues similar to fantasy football, along with the large and growing scene of eSports betting and gambling.

So it's understandable why traditional media companies would want to capitalize on this growing trend just before it floods into the mainstream. Approximately 300 million people worldwide tune in to eSports today, and that number is growing rapidly. By 2020, that number will be closer to 500 million.

eSports Industry Analysis - The Future of the Competitive Gaming Market

Financial institutions are starting to take notice. Goldman Sachs valued eSports at $500 million in 2016 and expects the market will grow at 22% annually compounded over the next three years into a more than $1 billion opportunity.

And industry statistics are already backing this valuation and demonstrating the potential for massive earnings. To illustrate the market value, market growth, and potential earnings for eSports, consider Swedish media company Modern Times Group's $87 million acquisition of Turtle Entertainment, the holding company for ESL. YouTube has made its biggest eSports investment to date by signing a multiyear broadcasting deal with Faceit to stream the latter's Esports Championship Series. And the NBA will launch its own eSports league in 2018.

Of course, as with any growing phenomenon, the question becomes: How do advertisers capitalize? This is especially tricky for eSports because of its audience demographics, which is young, passionate, male-dominated, and digital-first. They live online and on social media, are avid ad-blockers, and don't watch traditional TV or respond to conventional advertising.

So what will the future of eSports look like? How high can it climb? Could it reach the mainstream popularity of baseball or football? How will advertisers be able to reach an audience that does its best to shield itself from advertising?

Robert Elder, research analyst for BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled an unparalleled report on the eSports ecosystem that dissects the growing market for competitive gaming. This comprehensive, industry-defining report contains more than 30 charts and figures that forecast audience growth, average revenue per user, and revenue growth.

Companies and organizations mentioned in the report include: NFL, NBA, English Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, NHL, Paris Saint-Germain, Ligue 1, Ligue de Football, Twitch, Amazon, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, ESPN, Electronic Arts, EA Sports, Valve, Riot Games, Activision Blizzard, ESL, Turtle Entertainment, Dreamhack, Modern Times Group, Turner Broadcasting, TBS Network, Vivendi, Canal Plus, Dailymotion, Disney, BAMTech, Intel, Coca Cola, Red Bull, HTC, Mikonet

Here are some eSports industry facts and statistics from the report:

• eSports is a still nascent industry filled with commercial opportunity.
• There are a variety of revenue streams that companies can tap into.
• The market is presently undervalued and has significant room to grow.
• The dynamism of this market distinguishes it from traditional sports.
• The audience is high-value and global, and its numbers are rising.
• Brands can prosper in eSports by following the appropriate game plan.
• Game publishers approach their Esport ecosystems in different ways.  
• Successful esport games are comprised of the same basic ingredients.
• Digital streaming platforms are spearheading the popularity of eSports.
• Legacy media are investing into eSports, and seeing encouraging results.
• Traditional sports franchises have a clear opportunity to seize in eSports.
• Virtual and augmented reality firms also stand to benefit from eSports.  

In full, the report illuminates the business of eSports from four angles:

• The gaming nucleus of eSports, including an overview of popular esport genres and games; the influence of game publishers, and the spectrum of strategies they adopt toward their respective esport scenes; the role of eSports event producers and the tournaments they operate.
• The eSports audience profile, its size, global reach, and demographic, psychographic, and behavioral attributes; the underlying factors driving its growth; why they are an attractive target for brands and broadcasters; and the significant audience and commercial crossover with traditional sports.
• eSports media broadcasters, including digital avant-garde like Twitch and YouTube, newer digital entrants like Facebook and traditional media outlets like Turner’s TBS Network, ESPN, and Canal Plus; their strategies and successes in this space; and the virtual reality opportunity.
• eSports market economics, with a market sizing, growth forecasts, and regional analyses; an evaluation of the eSports spectacle and its revenue generators, some of which are idiosyncratic to this industry; strategic planning for brand marketers, with case studies; and an exploration of the infinite dynamism and immense potential of the eSports economy.

Interested in getting the full report? Here are two ways to access it:

1. Subscribe to an All-Access pass to BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report and over 100 other expertly researched reports. As an added bonus, you'll also gain access to all future reports and daily newsletters to ensure you stay ahead of the curve and benefit personally and professionally. >> START A MEMBERSHIP
2. Purchase & download the full report from our research store. >> BUY THE REPORT

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Because of a lawsuit over e-book prices that was settled years ago, you may have credits that can be applied to purchases on Amazon waiting in your Amazon account. 

To check if you have credits, simply click this link.

But even if you have credits from the settlement, you have to use them by Saturday — today— or they'll expire. 

Last March, the Supreme Court declined to hear a long-running case about Apple price-fixing e-books, making an earlier $400 million settlement final.

For the past year, Apple's been paying it out. You might have credits for free e-books waiting in your inbox — but, as a reminder, they expire on Saturday. 

Here's how it works:

• You're eligible if you bought an e-book from a large publishing company between April 1, 2010, and May 21, 2012.
• Those books could have been purchased not just from Apple's iBooks, but Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Kobo.
• Those credits will be automatically applied to the account where you bought the e-books unless you requested a paper check years ago.
• If you're eligible, you'll receive a $6.93 credit for any New York Times bestseller and $1.57 for any other e-book from a large publisher.

The law firm that's handling the payouts has a lot more information along with a FAQ. Make sure you check your old email address, too.

If you're wondering why Apple is paying for Amazon credits, it's a long and fascinating story. But essentially, the complaint was that Apple Senior Vice President Eddy Cue strong-armed major publishers into a pricing agreement that ended up causing e-book prices to spike overnight.

The judgment was handed down in 2013, and Apple started sending iTunes credits to customers in 2014.

Once again, you can check if you got any Amazon credits here.

Here's one of the emails that's going out to eligible customers:

According to Amazon, here is how you apply those credits to a purchase:

Eligible customers do not need to do anything to receive these credits. If you are eligible, we have already calculated your credit for you and added it to your Amazon account. As long as you have credit remaining we will automatically apply it to your purchase of qualifying items through Amazon.com, an Amazon device or an Amazon app. The credit applied to your purchase will appear in your order summary as a gift card during checkout and in your account history. Eligible customers should have received a notification email from Amazon on June 21, 2016. This credit will expire at 11:59 p.m. HST on June 24, 2017.

SEE ALSO: How Steve Jobs, Rupert Murdoch, and Stephen King worked to fix the prices of e-books

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NOW WATCH: You may have Amazon credits waiting for you — here's how to check

Although Olympic medals are not made out of the pure, precious metals, they are extremely valuable. That is why we wonder how athletes keep them safe. Dara Torres, five-time Olympic swimmer and 12-time Olympic medalist, told us where she keeps her medals. 

Torres has teamed up with SHOW MORE OF YOU from Celgene and Otezla — a campaign that is shining light on the psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis. To learn more about psoriatic disease, visit the campaign's website. Following is a transcript of the video.

When I introduce myself, I don't like to brag and say, "Oh, I won these many medals."
But, I actually have four golds, four silver, and four bronze medals, from five different Olympic games. 

I am Dara Torres. I am 5 time Olympic swimmer and I am here because I have teamed with Celgene and Otezla for the Show More Of You campaign.

OK, so where do I keep my medals?
Well, I use to keep them under my bed, especially when I lived here in New York, because
I didn’t have a safe in New York and it was just an easy place to leave them.

When my mom asked where I was keeping them, I told her that and she was not a happy camper.

 So my mom made put it in a safety deposit box at the bank. But then, I go to an appearance — maybe leave on a flight at seven at night — I go to the bank after four and they are closed. I am like, “Uh! I can’t get my medal.” So, I am like, “Uh! That’s not a good idea.”

So, now that I leave in a house in a nice neighborhood, I put them in a safe as easy access
and they are very much protected.

But it is funny, because when my mom was on me about trying to keep them in a safe place, at that point in time, I had given her one of my gold medals — because I just wanted her to know how much I appreciated and thanked everything that she had done for me. So one Christmas I did that.

When I came back to visit her, I walk into her house and there’s the medal — the golden medal — in glass —plexiglass case, with a light shinning on them.
I am like, “Wait. Mom, what happened to, like, protecting the medal, so no one steals it?”
So, she may say one thing but definitely does another thing.

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Elon Musk may be the CEO of two different companies, but he still makes time to game.

As the head of Tesla Motors, Musk is leading the rebirth of all-electric vehicles. At SpaceX, his steering a company whose mission is to "revolutionize space technology, with the ultimate goal of enabling people to live on other planets." And that's not to mention that he oversees SolarCity, a company focused on making solar energy commonplace that Tesla bought last year.

But when he's not busy transforming transportation, space travel, and energy use, Musk plays video games. Well, he does lots of other things, but video games are one of those things.

As it turns out, Musk has excellent taste in games. Here are some of his favorites, which we gleaned from a Reddit AMA and Musk's Twitter account:

SEE ALSO: After weeks of bugging him on Twitter, Elon Musk finally told me his 'dark secret'

"Overwatch"

"Overwatch" isn't just a good game — it's the best game that came out in 2016, folks. Musk was quick to get hip to the game. His first tweet about it was last June, a month after the game launched.

Showing how he's a man of taste, Musk has been playing the PC version of the game. Not only is that the prettiest version of "Overwatch," but a PC would give him the most control over the game's performance. And if we know anything about Musk, it's that he has a thing for being in control. 

BONUS: The main character he uses in the game is Soldier 76, which I'd personally call a bit on the boring side. Soldier 76 is a good character, no doubt, but as a main? Come on, Elon. You're more sophisticated than that.

"BioShock"

On paper, "BioShock" isn't anything special. It's a first-person shooter set in an underwater city that has fallen into disrepair. 

In reality, "BioShock" is a genre-pushing, narrative-driven shooting game that raises questions about our basic concepts of how video games work. If I said any more, I'd ruin the game. 

That said, it's not a huge surprise that Musk is a fan: The game is an Ayn Rand-inspired exploration of objectivism, capitalism, and power. It's also a tremendously stylish, innovative game.

The "Mass Effect" series

Moving to a subject that's near and dear to Musk's heart, the "Mass Effect" series focuses on space travel, interstellar diplomacy, and the future of the human race. The second game in the series is "one of the best games ever," Musk has said.

He's not only there. Many video fans agree that "Mass Effect 2" ranks among the best games ever made. Presumably he was pumped when "Mass Effect Andromeda" launched in March!

"Westworld" isn't known for its subtly. The HBO series is filled with detailed sets from the Old West amusement park, and the sleek, modern facility below it. 

Robert McLachlan, a cinematographer who's worked on "Westworld," "Game of Thrones," and "Ray Donovan," recently talked with Business Insider about working on HBO's epic (and epically confusing) sci-fi western. He's no stranger to shows of that size, having shot the infamous Red Wedding episode on "Game of Thrones."

McLachlan went into detail about what it's like to work on a show like "Westworld" that's on such a grand scale — especially when you don't necessarily know what the hell is happening — and how peak TV has benefitted cinematographers like himself.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Carrie Wittmer: “Westworld” basically takes place in two different worlds: the park and the facility underneath it. They both have very different looks, but manage to look like they’re part of the same show—how did you accomplish that?

Robert McLachlan: The thing we realized with Westworld that we had to keep in mind — and remind directors who were coming in, who were excited and who had always wanted to work on a western — is that we weren't making a western, we're making a science-fiction show. And in terms of keeping the look consistent, I did a few subtle things between the two worlds just to create more contrast.

For instance, we used more filtration on the camera and we used dust and smoke when we're in the Western world, because we're trying to make it feel as authentic as possible. I did everything I could to make the lighting, whether it was by candle or torchlight or what have you, feel as natural and period as possible — because everything in that world supposedly was. Whereas in the diagnostic center in the underground facility, a lot of the look of it was really built into the sets with a lot of glass, hard edge, artificial lighting and so forth.

So it goes back to responding to what you have before the camera and letting it speak to you. Because obviously those sets demanded to look a certain way, and a saloon that's only lit by some daylight coming in off the street could also only really look one way. And if you try to light or use a lot of artificial light in it in a theatrical way, it was gonna end up feeling kind of bogus.

Wittmer: Did you have any idea what was going on in "Westworld?"

McLachlan: I think ... we [the crew] had some suspicions about Bernard possibly being a host, but the truth is, they kept that secret more than any other show that I've ever worked on. On "Game of Thrones," it's secretive. Everybody has to sign NDAs up the wazu and not talk about it. But having said that, everybody on the ["Game of Thrones"] crew has also read all ten scripts before we start shooting. So it makes it a lot easier for them to do their job, quite frankly. Whereas on "Westworld," we didn't even know that we were shooting stories that took place on different time planes. They were amazingly good at keeping that secret. We were cautioned that there were gonna be times where we would be asked to shoot something that made absolutely no sense to us, "but please just do it anyway!" 

Wittmer: What were the biggest challenges of shooting this very complicated and secretive show?

McLachlan: On "Westworld," because we didn't know who or how something was going to pay off, you didn't know that maybe something you were shooting right now was actually a pivotal and critical moment. And it's not that different in any other TV. Certainly in the network episodic pattern, they would overwrite the scripts and the sad part was you would know that you're knocking yourself out on a scene that may not make it into the final cut because the script was gonna run long. There's no alternative, but to put every ounce of effort and creativity and professionalism into every single scene and every single shot, because you just can't let your guard down, becuase you don't know what it is necessarily that will become important.

Wittmer: TV has changed a lot over the years. How has it changed for cinematographers like you? 

McLachlan: I've been alternating between "Game of Thrones" and "Ray Donovan," which has played beautifully for five years now with the exception that I did "Westworld" instead of season six of "Ray Donovan." It's just a dream job for a cinematographer. I started to look at "Ray Donovan" for Showtime as LA noir, "Westworld" as sci-fi Western noir, and "Game of Thrones" as Medieval fantasy noir. This is the kind of stuff that lets you stretch your wings a bit and take a fair bit of creative license and drama with the lighting. It's just been incredibly gratifying. I think I'm the luckiest cinematographer alive to get to work on all three of these shows.

SEE ALSO: The 'Wonder Woman' cinematographer explains how he pulled off its most miraculous scene

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In 2000, a bizarre and controversial film called "Battle Royale" was released. In the film, dozens of Japanese high-school students are placed on an island, given weapons, and forced to kill one another until one person remains.

That person is crowned the winner.

If that sounds a lot like the plot of "The Hunger Games," it's because it's not far off. Though the plots are similar, "Battle Royale" is a far more brutal film. There is no prevailing heroine, no odds overcome. "Battle Royale" is a bleak, suspenseful, violent movie.

A new game with a bizarre name, "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" aims to re-create the tension and brutality of "Battle Royale." And unbelievably, it succeeds.

"PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" is available only on PC so far (it's coming to Xbox One later this year). It has only one game mode, and no single-player campaign. It's not even fully complete — the game is available in "early access" through the online game platform Steam, which means it isn't finished but you can buy it early and start playing now.

As it turns out, over 4 million people have already done that after just four months of availability. At $30 apiece, that's quite a bit of revenue for an unfinished game — somewhere in the ballpark of $100 million, according to the folks at Bluehole Games. 

It's the second-most-watched game on Twitch, the world's largest game-streaming platform, just behind "League of Legends" — the actual most popular game in the world. And that makes a lot of sense: Even if you don't play "Battlegrounds," it's a ton of fun to watch. It essentially plays out like watching a horror movie, with viewers shouting at their screens as the streaming player ambles around the game's abandoned island in a bid for survival.

And this is just the beginning for "Battlegrounds."

The game's creator — "Playerunknown" himself, Brendan Greene — showed up during Microsoft's Xbox press briefing at the annual E3 video game trade show last week. "Battlegrounds," he said, is coming exclusively to the Xbox One later this year. We expect it'll also show up on the PlayStation 4 not so long after that, perhaps halfway through 2018. 

All of which is to say one thing: If you're not already aboard the "Battlegrounds" hype train, take note! This game is exploding in popularity for a good reason — check out the latest trailer right here for an idea why.

SEE ALSO: Forget 'Call of Duty' — this insane new game is going to blow your mind

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Love him or hate him, director Michael Bay has spent the last two decades completely dominating the box office.

Though he’s a punching bag for critics, Bay’s movies — from the action-comedy “Bad Boys” to the thrilling “Armageddon” — have grossed over $2.1 billion at the United States box office in his career. Only Steven Spielberg has brought in more coin.

The divide between critics and audiences is most obvious with Bay’s “Transformers” movies. Though the highest-ranking of any of the movies on Rotten Tomatoes only has a 57% score ("Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen"), the franchise, entirely directed by Bay, has taken in over $3 billion worldwide. 

With Bay’s latest, “Transformers: The Last Knight” (currently in theaters), marking the final time he’ll helm a movie in the franchise (or so he says), we thought this would be a good time to look back on his profitable, yet underappreciated, career.

Here are all of the movies of Michael Bay, ranked from worst to best:

SEE ALSO: The "Wonder Woman" cinematographer explains how he pulled off its most miraculous scene

13. “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” (2009)

Though most felt Bay and star Shia LaBeouf did an impressive job kicking off the franchise with 2007’s “Transformers,” the sequel didn’t give audiences hope that the movies would get any better. With a 19% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the sequel started the critical bashing of the franchise that continues to this day.

“Revenge of the Fallen” is best known for it marking the last time Megan Fox would appear in the movies. She was fired for saying in an interview that working with Bay is a “nightmare” and for comparing him to Hitler. 

12. “Pearl Harbor” (2001)

Having just come off of the blockbuster “Armageddon,” Bay could do no wrong in the eyes of Hollywood. And with that power he went and made a three-hour movie about Pearl Harbor. The problem was, it was awful.

Starring Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett, and Kate Beckinsale, this epic may be cool to look at, but the story it tells is a complete bore.

11. “Transformers: Age of Extinction” (2014)

The beginning of the Mark Wahlberg era of the franchise, the film has little to enjoy and clocks in at a mind-numbing 2 hours and 45 minutes. But audiences didn’t seem to care — the movie took in over $1 billion worldwide. 

As “Wonder Woman” continues to be a box-office juggernaut, more people are celebrating the moments that stand out from the movie, and one favorite is the “No Man’s Land” scene.

It’s the moment when Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) reveals herself as Wonder Woman. Pinned down in the frontlines of World War I, she climbs out of a trench to single-handedly take on an entire platoon of German soldiers. Standing in the middle of “No Man’s Land,” a battlefield given the name because no man has been able to cross it before, Wonder Woman takes on all the enemy firepower, allowing Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) and the other allied forces to sneak across the terrain and take out the German forces.

As we said at the time of the movie’s release: “If you aren't sucked into the movie by this point, you should really check to make sure you have a pulse.”

While in a piece for the LA Times, Meredith Woerner echoed the sentiments of a number of viewers when she said she cried while watching the scene:

“It felt like I was discovering something I didn’t even know I had always wanted... witnessing a woman hold the field, and the camera, for that long blew open an arguably monotonous genre. We didn’t need a computer-generated tree or a sassy raccoon to change the superhero game; what we needed was a woman.”

Director Patty Jenkins has not just made a movie that is a powerful addition to the superhero craze, but with the “No Man’s Land” scene — which she had to fight to get in the movie— she’s created a moment in cinematic history that young girls can use for inspiration to be strong-willed and driven in the real world.

But a lot of those goosebumps (and tears) you got from watching the scene are also courtesy of the movie’s cinematographer, Matthew Jensen. 

Jensen is no stranger to lensing CGI-fueled projects, having shot “Game of Thrones” and “Fantastic Four” (2015). He could tell when he got to London in September of 2015 to start his 12 weeks of prep work before shooting began that there was a lot riding on the “No Man’s Land” scene.

“I remember the first week we were sitting down and taking a look at the really early previsuals of the sequence and trying to make sense of it,” Jensen recently told Business Insider. “Every week of prep we made suggestions and changes because we knew it would be such an enormous undertaking.”

Jensen said it was exciting to be in a room with Jenkins and visual effects supervisor Bill Westenhofer and get into how they would reveal Wonder Woman. This entailed talking about how other superheros have been revealed in past movies and how they could do it differently. This led to the idea of having Wonder Woman climb a ladder out of the trench to reveal her full costume. They felt the shot would be “emotionally impactful,” as Jensen put it, if done right.

The anxiety going into shooting any big scene, according to Jensen, is: Can you pull off what was talked about in prep?

“You’re with a whole bunch of people throwing out ideas, so you’re getting a rush from that, but it’s always tempered by this palpable sense of dread,” Jensen said. “I think, ‘Oh my God, how am I going to pull this off?’”

Added to Jensen’s trepidation was the fact that he couldn’t use his regular crew because the production was in London. So he had to work with a local crew. Shooting began in November of 2015, but luckily the “No Man’s Land” scene wasn’t going to be shot until February, so he had some time for everyone to get acclimated with one another.

“I wouldn’t have wanted to tackle that scene early in production,” Jensen said.

The “No Man’s Land” scene was shot over two weeks on an outdoor set in London that was 300 yards in size and extremely muddy. This led to a change of the major shot in the scene.

Jensen and his crew set up wire rigs above the muddy set to hold the camera still and also give it smooth movement. In the frigid winter weather, Gadot went up the ladder for her Wonder Woman reveal numerous times as Jensen tried to get the shot right. Gadot would then go back down into the trench and be covered with coats and blankets as the camera and wire rig would take 15 minutes to reset.

“It was daunting trying to get that right,” Jensen said.

Gadot did the ladder shot close to 15 times before they finally wrapped on it. Looking back, Jensen said the wire rig wasn’t “precise enough” for what they wanted to accomplish.

So they ended up shooting Gadot on a green screen for her head-to-toe reveal as Wonder Woman as she got to the top of the ladder.

“It didn’t have the emotional impact we wanted,” Jensen said of the shots from the set. “The terrain was so tricky and getting off the ladder was tricky. It didn’t have the power we wanted it to have.”

Jensen admits that he prefers to do as much as he can in-camera, without digital effects, but in this case he has no regrets about going the CGI route.

“It was 100 percent the way to go and I’m very happy with the results we got,” Jensen said. “Sometimes it’s better to bend reality.”

In November 2016, he saw Jenkins' cut, and though the CGI and color correction weren't finished, he got goosebumps watching the scene, especially the buildup of Wonder Woman’s climb up the ladder, for which he included insert shots of her shield, boots, and lasso. But he was still nervous going into the world premiere of the movie.

“I was sitting next to my wife and I nearly squeezed the blood out of her hand throughout the whole premiere,” Jensen said. “Only in the last couple of weeks have I come to terms that people like it.”

But it's still hard for Jensen to fathom how much the “No Man’s Land” scene has affected audiences. Particularly the idea that fans and fellow DPs will be closely examining his work for years to come.

“It’s just dawning on me as you’re saying it right now,” Jensen said. “To think my work will be studied, I’ve never thought that. I thought at best I would be making movies that would be critically well-received but nobody would see them. It’s extraordinary.”

SEE ALSO: Alison Brie says she looks for acting work that 'terrifies' her

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The Scorpion King wasn't just a big screen action hero played by The Rock, he was an Egyptian king. Patrick McGovern, the author of "Ancient Brews: Rediscovered and Re-Created," reveals what he found when he entered the king's tomb. Following is a complete transcript of the video.

You want to focus on the Scorpion King, one of the first kings of Egypt. Going back to 3150 BC. Dynasty Zero. We don’t even have the First Dynasty yet.

I’m Pat McGovern. I’m from the University of Pennsylvania Museum. I am the scientific director of the Biomolecular Archaeology Project.

Scorpion was a king in southern Egypt that was buried in a very spectacular way. And he was buried with all the things you might expect. Not just this life, but intended for the after life. So he had jars of beer, the clothes that he would need in the afterlife, but also wine. Which was not produced in Egypt, because they did not have the grapevine. It had to be imported from the Jordan Valley and vicinity. And he had 700 jars of wine, about 4500 liters.

And we did the analysis of this and were able to show that it included lots of Levantine spices, like savory, thyme, coriander. And also figs. That’s the only example that we know of figged wine.

 It really illustrates how the royalty and the upper class were very much attracted to special fermented beverages. So if you couldn’t get it locally, you would import it.   You know it’s sort of like today when we want to show off to our friends.

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Though Paramount is not done making Transformers movies, it seems audiences have had enough with watching the legendary Hasbro toys on the big screen.

"Transformers: The Last Knight," the fifth movie in the franchise, took in a dismal $69.1 million on over 4,000 screens since it opened last Wednesday, according to Variety.

That's the lowest opening ever for the franchise.

Whether audiences have had enough with the incessant CGI explosions of director Michael Bay (who has helmed all the movies up to this point) or their long running times with little attention to storyline, "The Last Knight" looks like everyone's breaking point.

The movie only took in $15.6 million on its opening day. That's also the lowest opening day ever for the franchise, which started 10 years ago.

And critics, who have never been kind to Bay or the franchise, really dug into "The Last Knight," as the movie only got a 15% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. That's the lowest score for any Transformers movie.

And the franchise still isn't over. Its spinoff movie focused on fan favorite Bumblebee is coming out next year.

But all wasn't bad at the movies this weekend. "Wonder Woman" continues to wow audiences. Taking in $25.2 million over the weekend, the latest release from the DC Comics Extended Universe has now surpassed $300 million domestically (over $650 million globally).

Indie titles "The Big Sick" and "The Beguiled" also had some impressive opening weekends.

"The Beguiled," Sofia Coppola's latest movie (released by Focus Features), followed up its successful Cannes Film Festival world premiere, in which Coppola won the best director prize, by taking in $241,000 over the weekend. It had a pre-screen average of $60,000 at the four screens it played. The movie will open in wide release next week.

But "The Big Sick" was the big winner. Proving Amazon's $12 million purchase at this year's Sundance Film Festival was worth every penny, the movie — which Judd Apatow produced and "Silicon Valley's" Kumali Nanjiani starred in — had a $435,000 opening with a $87,000 per-screen average on the five screens it was released on (Lionsgate handled the film's theatrical release). That's the best opening screen average for 2017, beating the $42,000 by Disney's "Beauty and the Beast."

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Best known for her comedic work in movies and TV — and her recurring role as Trudy Campbell on “Mad Men” — Alison Brie is on the cusp of taking her career up a notch. And she’s getting there by taking on some edgy material.

On Friday, you’ll see her as the lead in the fictional origin story of how the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling got off the ground in the 1980s with the new Netflix series “GLOW.” Then a week later she and Aubrey Plaza star as horny nuns in the indie comedy “The Little Hours,” in which they seduce an attractive man-servant (played by Brie’s husband Dave Franco) who has mysteriously shown up at their 14th-century convent.

Brie recently talked to Business Insider about shedding her girl-next-door persona; how many times Franco put her through watching “The Room” in preparation for “The Disaster Artist,” an upcoming movie about the making of the bad-movie classic (directed by Dave’s brother James Franco); and her excitement about playing Meryl Streep’s daughter in the the upcoming Steven Spielberg movie “The Papers.”

Jason Guerrasio: "The Little Hours" marks the first time you and Dave have starred in a movie together. Were you guys interested in working together on a project?

Alison Brie: We were. I sort of unofficially signed on first. I've known ["The Little Hours" director] Jeff [Baena] for a couple of years.

Guerrasio: Since you did "Joshy"?

Brie: Yes. And I've known Aubrey for years just because we were both at NBC at the same time and knew each other socially. And then I worked with Jeff very briefly on "Joshy" and developed a friendship. Jeff invited me out for coffee and said he had an idea he wanted to talk to me about and pitched me this movie. And Jeff is so smart and he basically studied this time period and this topic and just as he described to me these stories from "The Decameron" and adapting them into a film. Us playing nuns in the 14th century and that Aubrey would be one of the nuns and possibly Molly Shannon — the whole idea just got me very excited. It's so unique and the majority of movies getting made today are remakes or stories that have been done before. I feel almost everything you see has a quick log line of "it's this meets this" and this was not like that at all.

Guerrasio: But was it also exciting that it was edgier than the nice girl-type roles you usually get?

Brie: Definitely. I'm always looking for that. I feel that's always the goal, to try to do work that is different from material that I have done before where characters are different or some aspect of it is different or exciting in some way. And with "The Little Hours," another big part of it was — I mean, hearing that it's going to shoot in Italy didn't hurt at all — but that it was also unscripted. Jeff had a detailed 20-page outline for what the plot of the movie would be and what would happen in each scene but there was no script so there was this feeling of it being an experimental film. That we would go to Italy with this group of people that we know and love to perform with and we would make it up together as we went along. That, to me, seemed like an amazing adventure. It kind of scared me and I'm always intrigued by things that scare me. I like to run at stuff that terrifies me.

Guerrasio: I wondered about how you pulled it off, particularly the sexuality of it. I mean, you're there with your significant other and he's taking part in some racy scenes. I know it's all performance, but did those scenes ever get weird or uncomfortable for you?

Brie: No. It really didn't. Jeff had told me the premise of the movie before Dave had signed on to do the movie, so I knew that it was about this guy who shows up and all the women seduce him. And I said, "Who are you thinking of for the guy?" Because I'm thinking, God, I hope it's someone that I respond to. And when he said Dave I was relived. And I sort of helped convince Dave a little bit to do the movie.

Guerrasio: That's funny.

Brie: I just felt, how much fun would it be to go to Italy together on this strange adventure with this movie? Also, both of us are professional and we watch each other do romantic scenes all the time. If anything, it was more comfortable because I knew all these people so well.

Guerrasio: This won't be the last time you and Dave will be in a movie together. You'll both be in "The Disaster Artist," so how many times has Dave put you through watching "The Room"?

Brie: [Laughs] Um, I think only one time.

Guerrasio: Wow. I figured at least a couple of times.

Brie: Dave signed on to do "The Disaster Artist" very early on to work with James. This was still when they were putting the movie together. So I didn't think I was going to be involved at all. I was around while Dave was doing his research, but we never watched the movie together. Then we listened to the book on tape of "The Disaster Artist" together. So from listening to that he said, "You have to see the movie now that you know the backstory," so we bought a copy of "The Room" at Amoeba and we put it on and two minutes in I was like, "I have to have a drink, I can't watch this totally sober." But the crazy thing about that movie is it's so genuine.

Guerrasio: I’ve heard people who are fans of the movie like Jonah Hill and Paul Rudd, and I'm sure James feels the same way. They don't love it because they think it's bad — they appreciate the work that's gone into it and want to champion it.

Brie: Yeah. And it's really an endearing and inspiring story about two friends trying to make it into the entertainment industry.

Guerrasio: I talked to your trainer Jason Walsh. He said you did all your own stunts for "GLOW."

Brie: I did.

Guerrasio: Did you suffer any injuries from doing all the wrestling moves?

Brie: No. Not at all. I hate to disappoint you —

Guerrasio: No, it confirms that what Jason said is true: You are a badass.

Brie: [Laughs] It definitely does. No, I think the work I did with Jason definitely helped to keep me safe. Because we certainly got banged up. I had visible bruises, you can see them on my legs and butt in episodes of the show, but we had a great wrestling trainer for the show, Chavo Guerrero Jr. He comes from a long line of wrestlers, so he was incredible with us and very patient and made us all fall in love with wrestling. And our stunt coordinator, Shauna Duggins, whose main priority really was our safety and breaking down these moves so we would be able to do them for 10-12 hours at a time. And obviously there were tricks. If the camera doesn't show all the way to the mat, there would be a pad there that we would land on. And a bigger move, like a suplex, we would limit the amount of takes. We would say, "We got five suplexes in us today, so tell us when you got the shot."

Guerrasio: You also recently have been cast in Spielberg's "The Papers," about how the Pentagon Papers were released. Can you get into who you will be playing?

Brie: I’m playing Lally Weymouth, Katharine Graham's daughter. So Meryl Streep is playing Katharine and I'm playing her daughter.

Guerrasio: Have you had a chance to meet up with Meryl yet?

Brie: I met her very briefly on set when she finished shooting a scene and she could not have been lovelier. I'm over the moon, I couldn't be more excited about that movie. I could burst into tears right now just talking about it. It's a dream come true.

Guerrasio: You are really at a point now where your profile is rising. What's the next elevation? Would you go the superhero route if called upon?

Brie: I hope that's the case. I would love to. I think especially after working on "GLOW," where we all felt like we were superheroes, in a way it has satisfied my desire to do something like that. But in some ways it's only whet my appetite. But I guess I feel very lucky that I've been able to work on such different projects recently. All different time periods and genres. So that looking forward is the goal. I love working in comedy. I would want to continue doing that, but I would also like to do more dramatic roles. Since wrapping "Mad Men" I have missed that a little so I'm excited to work on "The Papers" at that capacity. Just continuing to work with great people.

Guerrasio: Is there a superhero character you would drop everything to play?

Brie: Oh gosh, no. I'm open for any. Just call me and offer. [Laughs]  

"GLOW" is available on Netflix Friday. "The Little Hours" opens in theaters June 30.

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