Nintendo's doing better than it has in years.

The Japanese game company's newest console, the Switch, is surpassing even the loftiest sales expectations from analysts. Between April 1 and June 30, the company moved just shy of 2 million Switch consoles — bringing the grand total of worldwide sales up to 4.7 million units, and putting Nintendo on track to sell 10 million Switch consoles in its first year of availability.

The updated Switch sales numbers come from Nintendo's most recent quarterly earning report, which the company released overnight.

All those Switch sales — in addition to two massive hit games in "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" and "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe" — have led to a major increase in revenue: 154.07 billion yen ($1.37 billion) between April 1 and June 30, 2017. That's a huge change over the same quarter last year, to the tune of nearly 150%.

But that sales number could be even higher for the Switch, and there's one major issue getting in the way: People can't buy one easily. 

Since the Nintendo Switch launched in early March 2017, it's been sold out everywhere. A quick search of Amazon or, more appropriately, GameStop highlights the problem — there are none available (unless you want to pay a premium for one from a re-seller).

No wait list, or way to reserve one, or any solution other than "Keep trying." And that supply issue is limiting Nintendo's ability to sell the Switch.

For its part, Nintendo says it's attempting to increase production of the Switch. "What we are doing, as quickly as we can, is scaling up the production to make more available into the marketplace," Nintendo America president Reggie Fils-Aimé told IGN in June. "To get to the point where every consumer who wants a Nintendo Switch can find a Nintendo Switch." 

It's not clear when Nintendo will catch up with demand — in the case of the Nintendo Wii, for instance, shortages were persistent for years after launch. What is clear is that demand for the Switch is only going to increase as the year barrels toward the holiday season; not only is a huge new "Super Mario" game planned for launch in October, but the holiday sales season will naturally drive up demand for the Switch as a gift. 

Whether Nintendo can meet that demand remains to be seen.

SEE ALSO: It looks like Nintendo's making a miniature, inexpensive version of the original Nintendo 64 console

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NOW WATCH: Nintendo dropped another trailer for 'Super Mario Odyssey' — and it looks amazing

Director David Leitch knows a little something about pulling off action on the big screen.

For over two decades, he and Chad Stahelski have done stunts for the biggest stars on some of the biggest films, through their company 87Eleven. Recently, the two have moved on to directing, and have used their stuntman talents to create impressive action movies.

The two codirected the cult hit “John Wick” in 2014, instantly making them attractive names for numerous projects floating around Hollywood that needed a realistic action feel.

One of those was an adaptation of a recently published graphic novel, titled "The Coldest City." A pulpy Cold War spy thriller, it follows British MI6 agent Lorraine Broughton, who is tasked with traveling to Berlin days before the wall comes down, to retrieve a list identifying undercover agents before it's put in the wrong hands.

Charlize Theron was looking for unique female protagonist roles, so she bought the rights. The Oscar winner then looked for a director, and brought in Leitch and Stahelski for a meeting.

Learning that most of the directors were pitching Theron serious noir-tone story ideas (think 2011's "Tinker Tailor Solider Spy"), the duo came in with some "John Wick" flair.

They got the job, but suddenly Leitch and Stahelski were stuck with a major decision. The start date for "The Coldest City" project, now titled “Atomic Blonde,” conflicted with the start for “John Wick: Chapter 2.” The two decided to split up directing duties to complete both projects. Stahelski did “John Wick 2,” while Leitch took on “Atomic Blonde.” It was an easy decision for Leitch, who had become obsessed with the Theron project.

"How do you make this sexy and cool and commercial and infuse my action sensibilities to turn the spy genre on its head?" Leitch told Business Insider. It was the challenge he couldn't pass on.

Leitch's pitch for Theron showed a slick action movie, but he also gave a musical presentation that highlighted '80s classics from the likes of David Bowie and Queen. When fused together these showed his vision for the project.

"After pitching it to Charlize, we were off to the races," Leitch said.

And Leitch quickly learned that Theron wanted to give the movie an ultra-violent realness by doing most of her own stunts. Especially the fight sequences. He loved the idea, but in Leitch’s experience with actors, he’s learned talk is cheap.

“Not to name names, but some will see [doing their own stunts] as part of their job, and they'll come in and have the work ethic, but not the ability. And some will have the ability but not the work ethic," Leitch said. "You have to have a passion to step in the gym for three hours, four times a week, and get your butt kicked."

So, to see what Theron was made of, Leitch put her through his stunt team's introduction course.

"We call it 'The Evaluation.' We put her through basic choreography drills, and you see her aptitude for memorization, and ability to mimic motion, and she was scoring off the charts," Leitch said.

Watch Theron's fight training for the movie:

A trained dancer in her youth, Theron took to the exercises, regardless the difficulty level. Soon, Leitch and one of the movie's producers, Kelly McCormick (who is also his wife), began talking about trying to pull off an elaborate fight sequence in "Atomic Blonde" that they had been discussing for years.

"I'm getting the remote videos from L.A. on how she's doing every day, and I made a call back to my stunt team and I'm like, 'Guys, I think we can do this 'oner' we've always talked about,'" Leitch said.

With only a $30 million budget (around the same he had for "John Wick"), Leitch was looking for ways to have the movie's fight sequences stand out with the limited resources. Due to Theron's abilities, he decided that the movie's major eight-minute fight scene — which takes place in the stairwell of a crummy Berlin apartment building at the end of the movie  — would all be done in one continuous shot.

"When I pitched it to her we were already a couple of weeks into shooting and I walked into the makeup trailer and I was like, 'I didn't want to tell you this before because I didn't want to freak you out, but that stairwell fight, I'm planning to make it all one shot.' And she's like, 'Ah, what?'" Leitch recalled. "I said, 'There will be some tricks and some movie magic, but it's going to be hard work and a lot of long takes.' And she was like, 'Has it been done before?' And I said, 'Not like this.' And she said, 'Let's do it.'"

As Leitch notes, there are some hidden cuts in the sequence (as happens with most "ones"), but the fight (which took two weeks to shoot) is what the movie will be remembered for. It showcases the talents of Leitch and his stunt team, as well as the abilities of Theron, who has wowed audiences recently with her out-of-the-box movie choices.

For someone who has worked with dedicated action stars like Keanu Reeves and Hugh Jackman, Leitch puts Theron in that rare class of actors who can realistically do almost anything a stunt person can.

"Her attitude was amazing and her excitement to come in every day and train and mix it up with the stunt team, and push herself, there's few that I've worked with that have that drive," Leitch said.

"Atomic Blonde" opens in theaters July 28.

Watch some of the single-shot fight scene in the trailer below:

SEE ALSO: Christopher Nolan explains the biggest challenge in making his latest movie "Dunkirk" into an "intimate epic"

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"Pokémon Go" has quietly made it easier for players to catch some of the legendary Pokémon that it recently introduced to the game. 

Last night, developer Niantic modified the base capture rate for legendary birds Articuno and Lugia, as well as the yet-to-be-released Zapdos and Moltres. Players will now have a 3% chance of capturing one of the legendary birds with an ordinary PokéBall, as opposed to the original 2%. 

The legendaries, which made their first appearance at the disastrous "Pokémon Go" Fest in Chicago last weekend, can be caught during collaborative raid battles. Niantic threw the giant "Pokémon Go" Fest in the first place to celebrate the introduction of these legendary birds, but considering how the event was a total bust, Niantic is now going out of its way to ensure fans are happy. And many players were not happy with the impossibly low catch rates for Lugia and Articuno, the first legendary birds made available.

Reddit user Jonqora on The Silph Road broke down how this slight increase can be maximized to greatest effect by players. 

SEE ALSO: Here are the best Pokémon for defeating powerful Legendaries in 'Pokémon Go'

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NOW WATCH: Mount Everest is not the tallest mountain in the world

Apple's head designer Jony Ive took inspiration from the enemy army from "Star Wars" when he designed the iconic white earbuds that come with every iPhone and iPod. 

Ive had the white, plastic look of the original Stormtroopers in mind when he first designed the earbuds, according to the Wall Street Journal.

From the story, emphasis added:

"When J.J. Abrams was working on Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Ive mentioned that he “would love to see a lightsaber that is rougher, spitting sparks,” Abrams says. The director, who says he and Ive were already fans of each other’s work when they met at a dinner four years ago, applied Ive’s suggestion to character Kylo Ren’s weapon. “His lightsaber was as imperfect and unpredictable as the character,” says Abrams. (The inspiration is mutual: Ive told Abrams that he had the look of the original Stormtroopers in mind when he designed Apple’s earbuds.)"

You can see the resemblance:

Of course, Apple's earbud design has been updated a few times over the years. And recently, Apple released a pair of wireless white earbuds called AirPods, which have been so successful they have been back-ordered on Apple's website since they were released last December.

So next time you see someone walking around with Apple's earbuds — perhaps the next time you go outside — just imagine them listening to tiny Stormtroopers in their ears. 

The WSJ feature on Apple's new $5 billion campus has some insight from Ive and his friends about his personal interests as well as the pressure he felt "carrying Apple forward" after the late CEO Steve Jobs' death. 

The Journal also got some of the first photos inside Apple Park. Read the entire story at WSJ. 

SEE ALSO: Watch Apple build its brand-new campus in 18 seconds

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"This is real work for us," said David Baszucki, the CEO of video game platform Roblox, on stage at the Roblox Developers Conference this past Saturday. 

Baszucki had just finished telling a crowd of 185-plus developers that Roblox was on track to pay out $30 million to the developers making games on the platform — a crowd that generally ranged from 17 up to 22 years old, plus a few parental chaperones.

If you're older than, say, 15, there's a healthy chance you've never heard of Roblox, despite the fact that it has 56 million monthly active players. That's a smidge more than the 55 million last reported by Minecraft, the phenomenon on which Microsoft spent $2.5 billion.

And it's a serious business: Of that $30 million payout, $3 million will go to one developer, with two more claiming $2 million. Some teenagers are even paying for their private college educations thanks to their success in building games for Roblox. 

Which goes back to Baszucki. He was there to make the case to these young developers that, no matter where their burgeoning careers took them, Roblox would be the best home for their talents. The game is growing like crazy, with expectations that the player base will double over the next year, as it did over the preceding 12 months. 

"We would expect your earnings to double" as well in that scenario, Baszucki told the crowd.

This speaks to the greatest challenge for Roblox moving forward: How to keep these young developers happy, in a world where programmers, designers, and system engineers are spoiled for choice.

Making money

To Baszucki's point, Roblox is a serious business. It's over a decade old, profitable, and with a brand-new $92 million round of venture capital funding in the bank. 

Roblox's platform is open; anyone with the requisite skills can make a game for it. Currently, there are almost 2 million Roblox developers on the platform — only top members of the community were invited to the Roblox Developers Conference. 

That openness is reflected in the tremendous variety of games offered, including popular games like cops-and-robbers game "Jailbreak;" "Roblox High School," a high school role playing game; "Work At a Pizza Place," which is pretty much what it sounds like; and "Pokémon Brick Bronze," a multiplayer homage to the Nintendo franchise. 

Players use a virtual currency called Robux to buy items in games. In "Jailbreak," for example, you can buy a stereo for your in-game car, or a VIP pass with unique privileges. Roblox sells Robux for real money. When users spend their Robux in a game, the game's developer gets a cut. 

Baszucki ultimately doesn't see Roblox as a game platform. He sees it as a "platform for social co-experience." In other words, games are certainly part of what Roblox is about. Really, though, it's finding success as a way for kids to hang out online. That broader scope makes Roblox a better destination for more developers, he says.

"The gaming market is big," Baszucki tells Business Insider. "The social co-experience market could be bigger."

The big challenge

Most successful Roblox developers start when they're young, experiment with creation as they get older, and eventually end up making full games on the platform. That's why Roblox is rapidly working to expand its platform, and give developers a wider array of tools, so the company has tools to help them at every stage. 

"I hopefully see it as a smooth, linear path," says Baszucki.

Baszucki says that Roblox has some key technical advantages, often underrated by the rest of the world: First, because Roblox is available for PC, tablet, smartphone, and Xbox, it's easy for a developer to code their game once and reach a massive cross-device audience.

Second, because Roblox also has a robust system for letting friends play games with each other and chat, Roblox is slowly evolving into a social network in its own right. That makes players more likely to stick around, in turn increasing the opportunity for developers. In the not-so-distant future, Baszucki says, the social networking aspect could be made smarter, so as to automatically filter trolls from online games.

"There's enormously fun things we can do with the player graph, and enormously functional things, too," says Baszucki. 

Some of what Roblox is doing is outside the technical realm. For example, Roblox Stars is a still-very-early program that would essentially let the company act as the talent agent for select top developers. The idea is to help developers put their Roblox games front-and-center, alongside cross-media franchises like Pokémon. 

"We're not famous, our developers are famous," says Baszucki.

Serious business

Earlier this year, Roblox hired Grace Francisco as its first-ever VP of developer relations. Previously, Francisco was at Atlassian, makers of the ubiquitous Jira bug-tracking tool, among other staples of the daily lives of software developers. 

A few months in, Francisco says that she's continually impressed by the Roblox community developers she works with in her new role. They may be young, she says, but they're as fiercely devoted to their projects and 'professional' as any developer she's ever worked with. 

"They really aren't kids," Francisco says. "They're entrepreneurial developers and builders." 

The next step for Roblox, from Francisco's perspective, is providing these developers with the additional tools and support they need to succeed. Roblox developers are starting to optimize their older PC games for the smartphone; that's something Roblox can help more with. Some are building tools for player analytics on their own, because Roblox doesn't offer the right service. That's something else Roblox can help with.

SEE ALSO: A video game you've never heard of has turned three teens into multimillionaires — and it's just getting started

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NOW WATCH: Billionaire Minecraft founder Markus Persson proves money doesn’t buy happiness

Melisandre didn't end her story in season six on a good note.

Jon Snow banishes her from Winterfell, after Davos gets her to admit that she burned Shireen at the stake in a sacrifice to the Lord of Light. But she returns to Dragonstone (where she used to chill with her buddy Stannis) in last week's episode, "Stormborn," to tell Daenerys Targaryen about the Azor Ahai prophecy.

In the scene, Melisandre tells Daenerys the prophecy and speaks in High Valyrian. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, actress Carice Van Houten revealed how difficult it is to speak the fictional language: 

"F—ing. Difficult. Especially when you've just had a baby six weeks earlier, and you're just like, 'Holy s—t, wait a minute ... Lines! What language is this? How the hell am I supposed to remember anything?,'" Van Houten said.

"Your brain is like f—ing gouda cheese. It's tricky! It was really tricky. But I love it. It's fun because the other actors can't understand you. It's really between you and the other person. You do feel like you're talking in a secret language, which is cool. Apart from the fact that I find it difficult to learn, because there's no reference to any other language, I'm always very impressed that the language exists at all."

For how difficult it is to speak, Van Houten sure makes it look easy. And so does her costar, Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen). 

SEE ALSO: 'Game of Thrones:' Who is alive (and dead) in all the major houses

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NOW WATCH: Marvel just dropped the first trailer for 'Black Panther'

Charlize Theron has strived of late to take on roles that redefine the action genre.

From her crowd-pleasing role as the defiant Imperator Furiosa in "Mad Max: Fury Road," to now playing the butt-kicking spy Lorraine Broughton in "Atomic Blonde" (opening Friday), the Oscar winner has quickly become one of the leading voices in pushing Hollywood to think outside the box about parts it gives actresses.

But being strong-willed is nothing new for the Theron. In a revealing New York Times profile, Theron opened up about one of the most traumatic moments in her life: when her mother killed her father in self-defense.

It's a story Theron rarely brings up while doing press, for obvious reasons. But for the Times, Theron did go into some detail about the event, and how her family rebounded from it.

"I survived that, and I’m proud of that," Theron said. "I’ve worked hard for that, too. And I am not scared of that. I am not fearful of the darkness. If anything, I am intrigued by it, because I think it explains human nature and people better."

The shooting occurred when Theron was 15 and living in her native South Africa. One night, when her verbally abusive alcoholic father came home with his brother after drinking heavily, he threatened her mother with a gun. He began shooting and Theron's mother grabbed her gun and shot back, killing Theron's father and wounding his brother. Police later determined it was self-defense. 

For teenage Theron, the aftermath was worse than the incident, due to her family life being in complete turmoil.

“That was my entire childhood,” Theron said. “My trauma was all of that.” 

Once she got into acting in the 1990s, and got out of the cookie-cutter roles that focused on her looks, she began to take on challenging roles that featured her playing complex women. Though she doesn't link all those roles back to what she went through as a teen, she also adds, "“I mean, you’d be an idiot not to put it together...."

An obvious connection is her Oscar-winning role as serial killer Aileen Wuornos in 2003's "Monster," who claimed her killings were due to being raped when she was a prostitute.

"People like Aileen Wuornos that people just want to label and, like, shove under a rug," Theron said. "Nobody wants to examine that human. Nobody wants to look at that person and say, ‘But why did this happen?’ I’m fascinated by the why. Because in many ways, I am here today because of the why."   

SEE ALSO: Al Gore explains our chances against climate change, and his fateful meeting with Donald Trump

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NOW WATCH: Here’s the first trailer for 'Inhumans' — the Marvel movie that was turned into a TV show

Trent Reznor, the genius behind Nine Inch Nails, once hoped that people would choose to pay for music if they knew the money was going directly to the artist.

That notion was shattered by an experience he had when he put his own money on the line on a record he made with New York rapper Saul Williams in 2007.

“I wanted to test out a simple scenario,” Reznor explained in an interview with Vulture. “It went something like this: To my database of people, we sent out a message saying, ‘Here’s a collaborative album I’ve worked on for X amount of time with Saul. Click on this box if you want the full album, not copy-protected, free. I know you can steal it anywhere you want anyway. All I want in return is your email address. Or, click on the box next to it: five dollars; it goes directly to Saul. You can have it for free or you can pay. I’m calling your bluff. Are you going to do the right thing?’”

Out of around 30,000 downloads, less than 20% did the “right thing.” Reznor thought that number would be higher, and said it “took the wind out of my sails as far as thinking of direct-to-customer as a sustainable business for a musician.” He covered the losses. 

It wasn’t all bad, however. It gave Reznor insight into how the music industry, and the way people consume, was changing. Reznor, who was heavily involved in Beats Music, and then Apple Music after the $3 billion acquisition, is convinced that the all-you-can-eat streaming model is the the way to go.

“You’re not making money from albums," he said. "Instead they’re a vessel for making people aware of you. That’s what led me to thinking that a singular subscription service clearly is the only way this problem is going to be solved. If we can convert as many music fans as possible to the value of that, in a post-ownership world, it would be the best way to go.”

And in that world, Reznor said he favors EPs of full-length albums.

“From my impression of how people listen to music now, being a bit more bite-sized fits into people’s lifestyles better. You put an album out now and it’s reviewed, judged, and forgotten in a weekend. If you’re lucky,” he said.

It’s well worth reading the rest of Reznor’s wide-ranging interview over at Vulture.

SEE ALSO: There's one hauntingly beautiful song from 'Game of Thrones' that people love more than the main theme

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NOW WATCH: Elon Musk showed off the elevator that will bring cars into tunnels under busy LA traffic

In a changing world, few things have remained as constant as the British royal family.

People all over the world follow Queen Elizabeth II and her large family of kids and grandkids for their dose of inspiration, fashion, and even scandals throughout the years. Acting as a bellwether, the royal family is also a way of tracking the changing times.

Here is what everybody's favorite royals were doing on the year you were born:

SEE ALSO: Here's what the royal family actually does every day

DON'T MISS: Queen Elizabeth has been in power so long, 4 out of 5 UK residents weren't alive when she ascended the throne

1950: Queen Elizabeth II was a young princess in line to take over the throne after her father, King George VI.

Source: Britroyals.com

1951: Queen Elizabeth II had married Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark and given birth to two children, Charles and Anne.

Source: Britroyals.com

1952: After several years of ill health, King George VI died in February 1952. Princess Elizabeth was on a royal tour of Kenya when she found out.

Source: Britroyals.com

"Rick and Morty," the cartoon brainchild of famed television writer and creator Dan Harmon, is returning July 30 for its third season.

If you're looking for something else to watch while you wait for season three to premiere, you might want to check out some other notable animated series.

Some of the most captivating, humorous, and insightful television series to ever be created are animated, and we put together a list of the best of them.

These are the 17 best animated television series of all time:

"Archer"

"Archer" offers a deadpan, goofy, spy comedy for James Bond fans who love a good cartoon.

"Courage the Cowardly Dog"

Courage's desire to protect his beloved owner Muriel, who has a propensity for attracting supernatural beings, forces Courage to deal with some of the strangest supernatural creatures you've ever seen (e.g., Banana People, and a sentient toe).

"Steven Universe"

Steven Universe learns how to harness his powers with the help of the Gems, three powerful women who guide him through becoming a superhero in this humorous, light-hearted, and adventure-filled series. 

Often it's George Clooney in front of the camera when working with the Coen brothers, but for their latest collaboration, "Suburbicon," Clooney is taking the directing reins. 

The dark comedy stars Matt Damon as a suburban dad who finds himself having to face off with the underbelly of what's considered a tranquil town. The film is a twisted mix of drama and comedy, which the Coens are known for, and was written by the brothers, along with Clooney and his longtime writing partner Grant Heslov.  

The movie also stars Julianne Moore and Oscar Isaac.

Trailers for Coen brother movies are often misleading, but at the least it looks like Damon is going to give one outlandish performance.  

Check out the trailer below. The movie opens November 3.

SEE ALSO: Al Gore explains our chances against climate change, and his fateful meeting with Donald Trump

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NOW WATCH: Marvel just dropped the first trailer for 'Black Panther'

Late last Friday night, the internet lit up with excited proclamations that Nintendo's hot new throwback console — the SNES Classic Edition — was available for pre-order on Walmart's website. 

This was huge news: The SNES Classic Edition is a limited-edition, miniature version of the original SNES with 21 built-in games. It costs just $80. To say that people are excited about the system is a pretty massive understatement. When the pre-orders sold out soon after, no one was surprised.

The surprise came on Saturday morning, when some customers who pre-ordered the console were sent cancellation emails. Uh oh.

Bizarrely, not every customer who pre-ordered the console was sent a cancellation email. It wasn't clear why some were canceled and some were not, and both Walmart and Nintendo weren't giving answers.

On Wednesday night, the answer came: All Walmart pre-orders of the SNES Classic Edition were being cancelled. An email from the senior director for customer care at Walmart, Deserie Dulaney, went out to all customers who pre-ordered on Wednesday evening. It stated directly that the pre-order available was a "glitch," and that no customers were charged for their orders.

Of note, there's no new date for pre-orders of the SNES Classic Edition — it's not even clear if there will be pre-orders at all before the console's planned release on September 29.

This whole situation speaks to the bigger problem Nintendo faces with the SNES Classic Edition: The nostalgia-laced, inexpensive console is sure to be high in demand from the moment it goes on sale. 

And Nintendo isn't known for its ability to keep up with demand for its products. The Nintendo Switch, for instance, is still hard to find in stores despite having launched back in early March. And the NES Classic Edition — a miniature version of the original NES game console — became instantly rare when it launched in late 2016; a few months later, and Nintendo discontinued the console permanently.

In the case of the SNES Classic Edition, the console is only planned for production through the end of 2017. To put a finer point on it: From the moment the SNES Classic Edition launches, it's a collector's item. And it's not just any collector's item, but one that millions of people have historic ties to — many of the people buying the console in September are the same people who grew up playing the original Super Nintendo.

Whether the console will become available for pre-order ahead of launch remains to be seen. When asked for comment, a Nintendo rep told us via email, "We have nothing to announce on this topic."

SEE ALSO: Nintendo promises that its $80 mini Super Nintendo won't be impossible to find

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NOW WATCH: Nintendo dropped another trailer for 'Super Mario Odyssey' — and it looks amazing

It's easy to be star struck the first time you see or meet a celebrity. And it's hard to know what to say to make introducing yourself go smoothly.

Ryan Seacrest, host of "American Idol" and "LIVE with Kelly and Ryan," has to meet and impress celebrities all the time. He's mastered what to say or not say to nail a first impression. And as someone who gets frequently asked for selfies, Seacrest knows which lines from fans work on him.  

We caught up with Seacrest at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Seacrest revealed one thing that always works on celebrities: compliments.

There's also one thing you should never, ever say. Check out the video to find out how to botch a first impression with your idol.

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In Angelina Jolie's new cover story in Vanity Fair, she describes her intense method of casting children in her latest film, "First They Killed My Father" — and it's sparking outrage.

"First They Killed My Father" is based on Loung Ung's memoir by the same name, which details Ung's experience as a young child in Cambodia as the Khmer Rouge seized power in 1975 and during the genocide that followed. Jolie traveled to Cambodia seeking children she thought would be great for the lead role of young Ung.

Jolie sought out impoverished children to play the part of Ung, specifically those she deemed had experienced hardship. Then Jolie, along with her casting director, played games with them that have come across as cruel and unnecessary to many.

Here's the relevant paragraph from the Vanity Fair piece:

"To cast the children in the film, Jolie looked at orphanages, circuses, and slum schools, specifically seeking children who had experienced hardship. In order to find their lead, to play young Loung Ung, the casting directors set up a game, rather disturbing in its realism: they put money on the table and asked the child to think of something she needed the money for, and then to snatch it away. The director would pretend to catch the child, and the child would have to come up with a lie. 'Srey Moch [the girl ultimately chosen for the part] was the only child that stared at the money for a very, very long time,' Jolie says. 'When she was forced to give it back, she became overwhelmed with emotion. All these different things came flooding back.' Jolie then tears up. 'When she was asked later what the money was for, she said her grandfather had died, and they didn’t have enough money for a nice funeral.'"

The article goes on to explain Jolie's methods as a way of garnering raw emotion from the children, but to many the method comes off as excessive and mean-spirited.

Here are a few reactions from Twitter:

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NOW WATCH: Here's what Nickelodeon slime is made of — according to 'Double Dare' host Marc Summers

After a turn as a dramatic film director with 2014's "Rosewater," former "The Daily Show" host Jon Stewart is returning to stand-up comedy for the first time in over 20 years with two new stand-up specials for HBO.

Stewart's last stand-up special, “Jon Stewart: Unleavened,” aired on HBO in 1996. Stewart's new specials for HBO were announced on Wednesday at the Television Critic's Association (TCA) summer press tour. 

“I’m really thrilled to be able to return to stand-up on HBO,” Stewart said. "They’ve always set the standard for great stand-up specials. Plus, I can finally use up the last of the Saddam Hussein jokes left over from my first special.”

Stewart's two-special deal comes as quite a surprise for two reasons: HBO has considerably cut the number of stand-up specials it produces over the years, and just a few months ago, HBO shelved Stewart's shortform animated series.

HBO used to release stand-up comedy specials frequently, but that has dwindled over the years. According to The Hollywood Reporter, HBO's programming president Casey Bloys explained why, comparing Netflix's big spending on stand-up comedy specials to Comedy Central's in the early 2000s.

"As a category, stand-up specials account for less than 1 percent of usage on [HBO] Go and Now. It's hard for me to pay exorbitant prices," Bloys said. "When prices come down, or when it makes sense again, it's relatively easy to get back in. We'll wait it out."

SEE ALSO: Charlize Theron opens up about her traumatic childhood when her mother shot and killed her abusive father

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Andrew Zimmern, the host of "Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern" on the Travel Channel, is spending his new season traveling around the US searching for interesting foods to try. He has a special way to serve an American barbecue staple: steak. Following is a transcript of the video.

The big mistake people make is eating their grilled beef hot.

I prefer room temperature or cool. When the meat rests and starts to get cool, all of that fat goes back into the muscles and becomes much more tender.

If you were coming to my house for dinner tonight and you said, “Please grill me steak.” I would grill the steak and take it off the grill about 45 minutes before we eat it. And I would let it rest, and it would ultimately be at room temperature. And I think it has its best beef flavor that way, when some of those fats are actually in the muscles themselves.

Sometimes I will cook my grilled steak black and blue and eat it the next day. I’ll actually put it back in the fridge, and then I let it come to room temperature. I cut out the tenderloin. I cut out the strip loin. I slice them really thin, spread them out. A little bit of sea salt. A little bit of olive oil. Serve it with some lemon and a big arugula salad. I’d rather eat steak that way almost more than any other way.

When I go into a steakhouse and order a steak, I’ll order the cut of my choice, and I’ll order it black and blue. And I’ll ask them to bring it with my first course and I’ll just let it sit there.

I know, I’m such a food nerd. How? I mean I’m horrible. I’m just — I am just horrible.

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The "Grand Theft Auto" video game series is ridiculously popular. The last game in the series, "Grand Theft Auto V," moved more than 70 million units as of November 2016— it originally launched in September 2013. Most entire game franchises never reach that kind of ridiculous number of units sold, let alone standalone games.

Given that, it's not exactly surprising to see that the company behind "Grand Theft Auto" is working on the next entry in the series. It's an expectation, even.

Our first confirmation of just such a project in development comes from the resume of Tim Neff, an actor-for-hire who appears to have done some motion capture work on the next "Grand Theft Auto" game. His resume even outright refers to the game as "Grand Theft Auto 6" — presumably the game will use the traditional Roman numerals it has in the past ("Grand Theft Auto VI").

Neff also lists motion capture work for another game produced by Rockstar Games: "Red Dead Redemption 2," an upcoming sequel that's officially announced as in-production. Of note: Rockstar Games hasn't officially announced a new "Grand Theft Auto" game, nor did the company respond to request for comment.

Neff is a professional actor who's appeared in a variety of television shows and films. His current video game motion capture work appears to be limited to the two Rockstar projects. 

Other than the name "Grand Theft Auto 6" showing up on Neff's resume, the project has never been officially announced or given a name. As such, there's no information about it other than what we can safely guess based on past games. It's likely to be an open world-style game, for instance, and it's likely to be set in the modern era; it's also likely to be set in a major city, like New York or Los Angeles (albeit slightly fictionalized — Los Angeles became "San Andreas" in "Grand Theft Auto V," for instance). 

Of course, it's entirely possible that the resume listing was fabricated; Neff and Rockstar didn't respond to request for comment.

SEE ALSO: 'Grand Theft Auto' has never looked this good

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Steven Soderbergh has always enjoyed messing with Hollywood conventions, and this latest mischief might be his best yet.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the auteur — who enjoys using his father's name for some of his cinematography credits (Peter Andrews), and his mother's for editing (Mary Ann Bernard) — may have came up with a new one for the screenwriting credit for his upcoming movie, "Logan Lucky."

The movie, which opens August 18 and marks Soderbergh's first time directing a feature after a four-year retirement, has the name Rebecca Blunt as the screenwriting credit. This is her first credit of any kind, according to IMDb.

But THR has suspicions, and says Blunt might not exist, suggesting either Soderbergh, his wife Jules Asner, or former E! "Talk Soup" host John Henson really wrote the script.  

Honestly, each theory is as ridiculously fantastic as the next, and it becomes more plausible that a "Rebecca Blunt" doesn't exist when you do a little digging. For a screenwriter who has written a script that caught Soderbergh's attention, and has critics raving (the movie has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes), she has no representation at all (according to IMDb Pro). Typically, buzz about the script and her talents would have already swirled around Hollywood, and she would have nabbed an agent or manager by now. 

According to the THR story, Blunt never visited the set, though cast members Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, and Daniel Craig are said to have had email exchanges with her from the UK, where they believed she lives.

One source believes Asner, a former E! News host and author of a 2008 novel titled "Whacked," penned the script. Another told the trade it's Soderbergh himself, though it's unclear why he would he use a pseudonym for the screenwriting credit, when he used his name for the cinematography and editor credits on "Logan Lucky." Yet another believes it's Henson, as he's a friend of Asner's and, according to THR, worked on a screenplay with Soderbergh years ago that's similar to "Logan Lucky."

Entertainment Weekly recently interviewed Soderbergh and brought up the THR story.

“Well, that’s going to be news to Rebecca Blunt,” he said. “When people make a statement like that they should be very careful, especially when it’s a woman screenwriter who is having her first screenplay produced.” 

He went on to add: “Why are you going after her? She’s interviewed in the press kit. I happen to know that she’s working on something and that she’s on a deadline. She doesn’t want to do any press until after the movie opens. Isn’t she allowed to do that?”

So that brings us to the press kit. Yes, Blunt is mentioned and quoted in the press notes. According to the notes, Blunt is a friend of Asner, who passed the script to Soderbergh. Though the THR story references she might live in the UK, the notes say she grew up in West Virginia and now lives in New York City. 

"Logan Lucky" is set around two brothers, played by Channing Tatum and Adam Driver, who live in West Virginia and plot to pull a heist across the line in North Carolina at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The notes also say Blunt is friends with Tatum.

“Chan’s from a small southern town, I believe he won a football scholarship to play in Florida but ended up blowing out his knee before the season started, so he became a stripper," Blunt is quoted in the notes. "I thought of 'Logan Lucky' as, ‘What if Chan hadn’t become a male stripper and had gone back home?’ I ran into Chan and his partner Reid [Carolin] at a bowling alley and mentioned the the idea to them — at the time I called it 'Hillbilly Heist' — and Chan said, ‘That sounds great!’ I don’t know if he even remembers saying that and I never imagined all of this would really happen.”

In the press notes biography for Blunt, along with stating she was raised in Logan, West Virginia, and now lives in New York City, it also includes this gem: that in researching on the internet the explosive device the characters used in the movie to rob the speedway, she was informed her TSA PRE status was permanently revoked.

Soderbergh has admitted on numerous occassions that he has embellished certain things about his movies in the past while promoting them, so it's possible this is all a hoax. And that's what many will think until the real Rebecca Blunt stands up. 

Business Insider contacted the movie's distributor, Bleecker Street, and the representation for John Henson but did not get an immediate response (representation for Jules Asner could not be found).   

SEE ALSO: Steven Soderbergh makes a much better "Ocean's Eleven" with Channing Tatum and Adam Driver in "Logan Lucky"

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Hundreds of Wall Streeters packed a Manhattan venue this week to play poker and raise money for an education nonprofit.

The crowd included a who's-who of financiers, politicians, athletes and show biz folks, including Kase Capital's Whitney Tilson, one of the event's chairs; Greenlight's David Einhorn; Avenue Capital's Marc Lasry; New York Senator Jeff Klein; and Brian Koppelman, executive producer of Showtime's "Billions."

There were also pro poker players, like Vanessa Selbst, the highest earning female poker player of all time.

The July 26 event, called the Take ‘Em to School Poker Tournament & Casino Night, raised money for Education Reform Now. It's an annual event with familiar faces, and we've covered it before.

Different hedge funds sponsored the poker tables, including Mudrick Capital Management.

Take a look inside.

The event was held at Gotham Hall in Manhattan.

You could play blackjack on the side.

There were several tables to choose from.

There's never a bad time to sit back and watch a good action movie. 

The nonexistent (or besides-the-point) plot, the constant explosions, the muscular heroes doing what needs doing: What better way to take time out from the daily grind?

And with the release of the Charlize Theron's "Atomic Blonde" this weekend, we're really in the mood for more butt-kicking fun.

Thankfully, Netflix has a great collection of action movies right now, including the first "Star Wars" standalone movie, "Rogue One," and the classic "Hellboy."

Here are 17 action movies we highly recommend that you can stream on Netflix:

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“Armageddon” (1998)

Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck go to space to save the world from a hurtling asteroid. With "Bad Boys" and "The Rock" already under his belt, director Michael Bay became the top action director going into the 2000s with this film.

"Captain America: Civil War" (2016)

The blockbuster features one of the greatest comic-book battles (though everyone is pulling their punches) and a pretty intense fight at the end between Cap, Iron Man, and Bucky.  

"Doctor Strange" (2016)

If trippy mystical action is more your thing, this is the movie for you. The origin story of Dr. Stephen Strange has some unique action sequences, topped by some A+ CGI.