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How interns turn into on-camera stars at one digital video powerhouse

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Clevver defy BI

When Lily Marston first started at Defy Media, she was an unpaid intern still working three days a week at a hamburger joint.

“I never planned being on-air,” Marston told Business Insider in a recent interview. “I would never have auditioned.”

But in the fast-changing world of YouTube and digital video, the walls between different elements of video production have a greater porousness than traditional TV.

For Marston, that internship turned into a producer gig for Defy’s Clevver sub-brand, and then into an on-camera role after the audience responded enthusiastically to a few guest appearances she had.

And Marston’s career path speaks to a broader trend in digital media shops, which rely on rapid experimentation and audience feedback to build brands that millions connect with. In Defy’s case, accidental stars can flourish in its brands like Smosh, Screen Junkies (including Honest Trailers), Clevver, and so on.

Everyday stars

Early digital video powerhouses like Defy were built on the back of YouTube, which has led to the popularity of a certain kind of star. Clevver’s Joslyn Davis described that type as ordinary people with passion and relatability. Even though Davis and her fellow hosts tackle topics like style and beauty, they do so from a more everyday perspective.

“We shop at Target,” Davis said. And that’s important. Even if Davis and her cohort are testing out luxurious products or experiences on camera, they are having an aspirational journey the audience can connect with.

The emphasis on relatability also allows places like Defy to discover talent floating around the office. The producers will throw someone into a video, maybe even an intern, and if the audience reacts well, they could get a bigger part.

“We slowly sprinkle people in,” Davis said. Marston is a clear example of this.

joslyn erin clevver

Backdoor pilots

Defy takes a similar approach to trying out new show concepts.

A favorite tactic is what Clevver’s Erin Robinson referred to as a “backdoor pilot,” where Defy will debut a new concept on an existing show.

If it can gain enough momentum, then it might break off into its own entity, like Defy's “Beauty Trippin” broke off from existing show “Beauty Break.” While Defy tries out a lot of new concepts, the company generally likes to tie them to an existing brand to get it out in front of an audience to test.

“What we’ve struggled with is [having] too many ideas,” at points, Davis said. The ones they end up trying are the “safe risks,” Robinson added. She gave an example of a recent series called “It Got Real,” which documented the process of her own uterine fibroid surgery. Even though it was outside the main realm of the brand, people like seeing medical issues on screen, she said. The episodes ended up getting over three million views in a week.

In trying new things, it helps that Defy's stalwart franchises, from Smosh to Screen Junkies, can stretch. “The brands are very extensible,” CEO Keith Richman said in an interview.

As Defy evolves, the company will also find out how resilient its brands are to some of their stars naturally moving on. Defy experienced this earlier this summer, when Anthony Padilla, half of the duo that started Defy’s best-known brand, Smosh, left.

Richman likened Padilla's departure to cast members leaving “Saturday Night Live” in an interview with Business Insider at the time.

"About four years ago, we came together as a company and said, 'what are steps we need to take to make the brand live way beyond the people that founded it?" Richman said.

One step was to streamline the development process. “We worked hard to organize development [over the last few years],” Davis said, though there were still “a lot of growing pains,” she admitted.

smosh ian hecox anthony padilla

Reaching maturity

Tech giants like YouTube, Facebook, Netflix, and Snapchat are pouring millions into video, and trying to pry the attention of consumers away from TV.

With money and time, the market for digital video will continue to mature. Defy and media companies like it will likely push their development process toward more standardization, more organization. The question will be whether Defy will be able to maintain its nimbleness in the face of this.

For Defy CMO Andy Tu, the answer is "yes." Sure, there will be more specialization as time goes on, he said. But the experimentation and collaboration between departments will continue.

Still, if streaming video continues its ascent, and companies like Defy become a part of the established mainstream, they could find themselves outmaneuvered by scrappy upstarts. It's a dynamic that is familiar to anyone in industries being made and remade by technology.

“We all wanted to do traditional media but it was full of dinosaurs and impossible to get those jobs,” Robinson said, referring to the fact that TV hosts seem to stay in their posts forever.

So they built their own company. Defy has to hope that by experimentation and constant feedback from its audience, it can avoid becoming full of dinosaurs itself.  

SEE ALSO: Amazon will pay you $10 just to watch one of its videos on your TV (if you haven't already)

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NOW WATCH: This man played Barney the dinosaur for 10 years — here's what it was like


Laurene Powell Jobs is taking majority ownership of The Atlantic

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Laurene Powell Jobs

Laurene Powell Jobs, through her company Emerson Collective, will take majority ownership of The Atlantic, the company announced Friday.

The majority ownership gives Emerson Collective access to the magazine's digital properties, live events business, and consulting services, according to the press release.

The deal doesn't, however, extend to subsidiary properties of Atlantic Media, "like National Journal, Quartz and Government Executive," according to Axios.

Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple cofounder Steve Jobs, spearheaded the deal. She discussed her enthusiasm for the project in a statement:

“What a privilege it is to partner with David Bradley and become a steward of The Atlantic, one of the country's most important and enduring journalistic institutions. The Atlantic was co-founded 160 years ago by a group of abolitionists including Ralph Waldo Emerson, who is a primary inspiration for our own work at Emerson Collective. Emerson and his partners, including Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and Harriet Beecher Stowe, created a magazine whose mission was to bring about equality for all people; to illuminate and defend the American idea; to celebrate American culture and literature; and to cover our marvelous, and sometimes messy, democratic experiment.”

Powell Jobs has investments in other media companies like Ozy, Axios, and The California Sunday Magazine.

Atlantic Media Chairman David G. Bradley will continue to run the operation, along with his leadership team. The Atlantic's president (Bob Cohn) and editor-in-chief (Jeffrey Goldberg) will continue on in their current roles.

Peter Lattman, managing director of media at Emerson Collective, will join The Atlantic as Vice Chairman while continuing in his position at Emerson.

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NOW WATCH: This man played Barney the dinosaur for 10 years — here's what it was like

How much work it will take to digitally remove Henry Cavill's mustache for 'Justice League,' according to visual effects artists

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On Monday, Variety reported that Henry Cavill's mustache would have to be digitally removed in post-production for $25 million worth of "Justice League" reshoots  — instantly making Cavill and his mustache the butt of many jokes.

But it's not particularly funny for the visual effects team that has to deal with it. In fact, it's probably going to take a lot of work, according to VFX artists interviewed by Business Insider.

Cavill is contractually obligated to keep the mustache he grew out for his "Mission: Impossible 6" role while filming. Unfortunately, the reshoots for "Justice League" happened to coincide with Cavill's "Mission: Impossible" shooting schedule. So Cavill and his "Justice League" coworkers had a problem.

The solution: remove Cavill's mustache with some movie magic.

This has sparked a lot of laughs, especially on Twitter. Here's a sampling of some 'Mustache Superman' tweets:

Cavill even responded to the "Justice League" mustache controversy with an Instagram post making fun of his facial hair:

Dear followers, it is time to finally set the record straight in this moustache fiasco. Pictured above, is not a set on MI6 but is in fact the latest in a series of weapons being designed by Warner Bros and Paramount Studios to combat the entity known as "Henry Cavill's Moustache". There has been no discussion over whether to shave or not to shave for the JL reshoots, simply a relentless campaign to put an end to the seemingly inexorable conquest of this despotic 'stache. It is not a question of IF I should shave - it is a question of how can we possibly be victorious against such a beast without bringing our own doom raining down upon us. #MI6 #JusticeLeague #HenryCavillsMoustache #HopeIsAllWeHaveLeft #MoustacheImpossible

A post shared by Henry Cavill (@henrycavill) on Jul 26, 2017 at 10:19am PDT on

The mustache controversy may be amusing to the denizens of Twitter, and Cavill himself, but how much of a pain was it for the studio?

To understand the scope of the work involved in digitally removing Cavill's mustache in post-production, we contacted prominent visual effects company The Mill. Anne Trotman, Lead 2D Artist, and Dave Fleet, the Head of 3D at The Mill, answered our most pressing mustache removal questions. 

How common is it for a mustache to be removed in post-production?

As it turns out, having facial hair removed in post-production is far more common than you might think.

"Yes! It's very common to be asked, particularly on beauty projects. Sometimes celebrities might be shooting a commercial, but need to keep their facial hair for a film, so can't shave on set. Also for different global markets these days some clients need alt versions," Trotman explained. 

The difficulty of removing a mustache depends on the techniques needed.

Trotman said that from a 2D perspective, the mustache removal process wouldn't be too hard: "We are using grading techniques as it's not that imposing. If it was on a man, we paint a clean top lip and track that onto the face."

However, Trotman pointed out that the degree of work involved in removing a mustache really depends on how much the actor is moving in a scene. If an actor is moving his head around, as opposed to just looking into a camera, 2D and 3D techniques may need to be employed. 

"If the head moves in perspective, this would need to be achieved with 3D and 2D techniques. If the talent is facing the camera straight-on, we can use 2D techniques," Trotman clarified.

Fleet explained that from a 3D perspective, depending on how much facial hair needs to be removed, the breadth of work involved can be difficult, and could potentially include digitally rebuilding an actor's face.

Fleet described the process like this:

"Smoothing out tiny vellus hairs on the skin requires a totally different approach to removing a large volume of hair, like a beard or mustache. If we were to remove a beard we would have to digitally re-build the actor's face behind the hair mass. We would need to build a 3D model of the face and then shade the surface of the skin to look realistic. We would then need to track the 3D model to the movement of his head and potentially re-animate his mouth. The amount of lip animation would depend on how much of the original beard occluded his lips. We would need to paint out the parts of the beard that extend beyond his shaven face." 

How long does it take to remove a mustache in post-production?

"Justice League" is expected to hit theaters November 17, slightly over three months away. 

Fleet explained the time frame required to build out all the basic elements needed to edit the mustache out: "One week just to make the 3D elements; then another three weeks to track, animate, and render the shaven face; and another two weeks to composite it all together."

It would take about six weeks to edit a mustache out of a one minute clip, and approximately 25 weeks to edit a mustache out of a five minute clip, according to Fleet. 

Unfortunately, Trotman and Fleet were unable to give a good approximation of the costs involved in removing a mustache, as it is hard to calculate or predict without having a better sense of the work required. However, a source who is familiar with this kind of work told Business Insider that it's unlikely editing out Cavill's mustache would be a huge cost, since the studio certainly has already 3D modeled his face. 

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

The biggest game of 2017 isn't even out yet, but it's already made hundreds of millions of dollars

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It's no surprise that the bizarrely-named "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" — which still hasn't officially launched — has already racked up over $150 million in revenue. This is a game that's exclusively available on PC and isn't even finished with development, yet it's already being played by over 6 million people.

There's a simple explanation for why it's doing so well: It's an unbelievably good game.

PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds

More than just a bizarre name, "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" is a brilliant concept for a game: 100 people on a massive island, armed with their wits and a scavenge-able arsenal, fighting to the death. Whoever survives at the end of the match wins. And there can only be one. There's no single-player story, and the entire game is played online.

Here's how the average match of "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" goes:

You're jammed in a crappy plane with 100 other people, flying above an abandoned ex-Soviet island. You can jump whenever you want, knowing that as you plummet to the ground, 99 other people are plotting your imminent death. Of course, you're plotting theirs as well, just as soon as you can get your hands on a weapon.

playerunknown's battlegrounds parachuting

Thankfully, though the island is uninhabited aside from you and the enemy players, the island — including all its houses, hospitals, and gas stations — are packed with P9s, AKs, and plenty of body armor.

As you scramble to put together a small arsenal and supplies for survival, you're also contending with the other 99 people doing the same thing. Sometimes those folks want to fight, and sometimes they're unarmed and just as terrified of you as you are of them. Every interaction with another player in "Battlegrounds" is a gamble. 

Sounds thrilling, right?

PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds

It is thrilling, and it's surprisingly thrilling to watch people play as well.

The game has been incredibly successful on Amazon-owned game streaming service Twitch — it's consistently among the top three most-viewed games on the service. In this way, the game's growth has spiraled. The more people buy it, the more people stream it, the more people buy it, etc.

And this is all before the game has "officially" launched; it's expected to go from an "Early Access" game (still in-development, but up for sale and available to play) to a final release by the end of 2017. The game is also headed to the Xbox One by year's end, and is expected on the PlayStation 4 at some point after that. 

Check it out in action right here:

SEE ALSO: A game developer made over $100 million in 3 months — here's how he's spending his wealth

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NOW WATCH: Everything you need to know about 'Battlegrounds' — an unfinished game that’s already made $60 million

The most popular music artist in every state, according to Pandora

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We're over halfway through an eventful year in music, and the continued growth of streaming services has done much to invigorate the music industry.

Big artists like Drake have seen great success in releasing streaming-only albums. "More Life," Drake's streaming-only "playlist" LP, set streaming records and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard album charts in March.

And with streaming now counting for the majority of revenue in the US music industry for the first time, more and more music listeners are turning to streaming services as their go-to mode of music discovery and consumption. 

To get a sense of which artists are dominating the streaming field in the US, we turned to Pandora Radio, the streaming and recommendation service, for a list of the artists whose Pandora "artist stations" were most frequently added in each of the 50 states this year. It's a snapshot of what streaming audiences across the country are seeking out the most.

Turns out, Drake is just as popular as he seems — though not everywhere. Some states have a few curveball favorites.

Check out the top 10 music artists in each state:       

SEE ALSO: The best album of every year since 2000, according to critics

ALABAMA: Kevin Gates

1. Kevin Gates

2. Future

3. Drake

4. Beyoncé

5. Migos

6. Rihanna

7. Kodak Black

8. Bruno Mars

9. Chris Stapleton

10. Lil Wayne



ALASKA: Eminem

1. Eminem

2. Drake

3. Ed Sheeran

4. Bruno Mars

5. Adele

6. Beyoncé

7. G-Eazy

8. Rihanna

9. Twenty One Pilots

10. Kevin Gates



ARIZONA: Drake

1. Drake

2. Bruno Mars

3. The Weeknd

4. Beyoncé

5. Rihanna

6. Eminem

7. Adele

8. J. Cole

9. Kendrick Lamar

10. Future



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A shark expert explains what would really happen if Michael Phelps raced a live shark

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Recently, the Discovery Channel staged a race between 28-time Olympic-medal winner Michael Phelps and a CGI shark.

George Buress, the director for the Florida Program for Shark Research at the Florida Museum of Natural History and contributor to SharkFest, explains what would've happened to Phelps if he'd been next to a real shark. Following is a transcript of the video.

You certainly don't wanna get in the water if you see a shark.

My name is George Buress. I serve as the director for the Florida Program for Shark Research at the Florida Museum, which is part of the University of Florida.

Michael Phelps recently "raced" a shark, except Phelps didn't swim side-by-side with a real shark. He went up against a CGI shark ... that simulated how fast a shark would swim in a straight line. People were disappointed.

If Michael Phelps and a real shark had lined up side-by-side and run the kind of race that Michael Phelps is used to, he would have had his butt kicked.

Even the most adept Olympic swimmer is wholly ungraceful in the water. And the kicking of the feet, the splashing of the hands, couldn't serve as any better attraction to sharks there is. So, no, Michael Phelps, if he had a shark after him, the shark's gonna win every time.

I will say this, Michael's in pretty darn good shape. There's not a lot of body fat there. So, whatever got him was gonna get a lot of muscle and sinew and not so much fat. Maybe someone like myself would be a better meal because I have more calories in me than Michael does.

A far more interesting scenario, however, would have been, if you ... give Michael a head start and put the great white behind him and see how fast he could swim with the white shark chasing him.

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Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington's widow released a touching statement: 'We had a fairytale life'

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Chester Talinda Bennington

Last week, Chester Bennington, a member of the band Linkin Park, committed suicide. On Friday, Bennington's wife and mother of their three children, Talinda Bennington, released a statement provided by the band's publicist in response to his death.

Here it is: 

"One week ago, I lost my soulmate and my children lost their hero – their Daddy. We had a fairytale life and now it has turned into some sick Shakespearean tragedy. How do I move on? How do I pick up my shattered soul? The only answer I know is to raise our babies with every ounce of love I have left. I want to let my community and the fans worldwide know that we feel your love. We feel your loss as well. My babies are so young to have lost their daddy. And I know that all of you will help keep his memory alive. He was a bright, loving soul with an angel's voice. And now he is pain-free singing his songs in all of our hearts. May God bless us all and help us turn to one another when we are in pain. Chester would've wanted us to do so. Rest In Peace, my love."

Bennington, 41, was outspoken about his struggle with drugs and alcohol, and reportedly hanged himself. Linkin Park had a string of hits in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and Bennington's vocals were one of the band's trademarks. Bennington was close friends with fellow rocker Chris Cornell, who also committed suicide by hanging in May.  

SEE ALSO: Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington has died in an apparent suicide

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Ryan Seacrest reveals how he landed the 'American Idol' hosting job that made his career at age 28

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Ryan Seacrest of “American Idol” fame shares the story of how he first got his gig as the show's host. Following is a transcript of the video.

ALYSON SHONTELL: Take me back to getting the first “Idol” gig. And that was really your breakthrough moment, it seemed like. How did you audition for it? Walk me through that process of landing that in the first place.

RYAN SEACREST: There was already a host for the show and I auditioned to be the co-host and I remember they were looking for people — around the country they were doing auditions for the host and as I went into one meeting, they actually started the meeting by talking to me about being a judge for the show and I said, “let me audition to be a host.” And I auditioned, and I got the job and then I got asked back. So, and it happened very fast. I remember I auditioned on a Friday and I think I started working on a Saturday. Nothing ever happens as planned.

Well, I mean, Simon — he created the show and he created a show with a certain vision and I think my job has always been and, and is to be someone that that moves something along, but also the key to being a part of it and being a successful part of it is also not putting yourself in front of everything, too.

I mean like I lay back, I stand back, let moments happen. And, I'm not the star of the show. The artist that is competing to win is the star of the show. And once you understand that dynamic then hopefully you get to stick around.

SHONTELL: One thing I read in The Hollywood Reporter piece was that there was actually some fierce salary negotiations going on. At one point you maybe thought about walking away with removing your name from being in consideration. So, talk me through the salary negotiations and tips you might have for helping others get what they need.

SEACREST: Well, I think the priority in anything is always the product and the quality of the product and that has been at the top of the list ever since we've talked about bringing back “Idol” — ever since I said on “Idol” at the end, “for now, goodbye for now.” So that's been what we've been focused on the most and I think that when you, when you have a, a great show, a great product, great storytelling, then it works and that's what we're focused on, so.

SHONTELL:  But you didn't answer my negotiations for salary thing.

SEACREST: I’m negotiating the answer.

SHONTELL:  Okay, fine. I'll let you skirt around that one just because we are short on time. You're lucky.

 

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'The Emoji Movie' has a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes — and critics say it 'can’t escape its own idiocy'

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You knew it was going to happen sooner or later — an aspect of our everyday habits made into a movie. And Sony was the studio that dove in and did it.

"The Emoji Movie" opens this weekend and critics aren't too happy about it. 

As one put it: "This failed attempt to create a story from a texting trend makes the worst comic book adaptation look like Shakespeare."

The animated movie starring T.J. Miller as Gene the "meh" emoji, who goes on an adventure in a teen's phone, currently has the dreaded 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Here's why the movie is one of the worst-reviewed of the year (which will either make you run as fast as you can from the multiplex, or give you even more motivation to see it):

SEE ALSO: The 17 best action movies you can stream on Netflix right now

It's a rip-off of Pixar's "Inside Out."

The movie's premise of a pair of rogue emojis setting out to find meaning and purpose isn't all that original. It has similar beats to the better-executed Pixar movie, "Inside Out," which followed the journey of a girl's emotions.

Or as Variety called it, a "witless 'Inside Out.'"

While on the subject of the movie's deeper meaningVulture wrote: "There is a mumbled, shorthand moral about staying true to yourself in all this, but it is drowned out by the wall-to-wall cynicism that is 'The Emoji Movie'’s entire reason for existing in the first place." 



The movie has no shame in also being a Sony commercial.

Licensing is always an issue in movies about technology, and though you'll see familiar things from your own phone in "The Emoji Movie" — like Candy Crush, Spotify, and Facebook — there's also some shameful highlights of Sony products (seriously, who has a Crackle app on their phone?).

"Vertically integrated product placement is to be expected, though the movie’s most egregious plausibility-breaking move is that it takes place on a Sony smartphone; these emojis are halfway between Droid-designed purgatory and their vastly more popular Apple variants," wrote The AV Club



Even Patrick Stewart as the poop emoji can't save the movie.

That's right. Sir Patrick Stewart voices the poop emoji. Which seems funny on the surface, but all it did was remind reviewers that the emoji exists, and they made sure to include it in their tweets about how much they hated the movie.

The other known names voicing emojis — T.J. Miller, James Corden, Anna Faris, and Maya Rudolph — also didn't bring much satisfaction.

ScreenCrush wrote: "Miller might be down to get paid globally for the role of Gene, but he doesn’t bring a ton of personality to the role, which is kind of a problem since Gene’s whole character is based on the fact that he’s supposed to have a ton of personality. Corden gives a high-energy performance as Hi-5, but his material is thumbs-down emoji. His main running gag is a brutally literal one; his character keeps puking up a candy corn and eating it over and over."



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Verizon's president of media and telematics, Marni Walden, to speak at IGNITION (VZ)

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marni walden

Want to stay up-to-date with this year's IGNITION conference and all things media? Subscribe here to receive our free weekly IGNITION newsletter.

2017 is shaping up to be a huge year for Verizon. Between AOL's merger with Yahoo and major advancements with its 5G network, which it plans to test this year, the telecommunications giant continues to expand into new areas.

We are proud to announce that Marni Walden, the executive vice president and president of media and telematics at Verizon, will be taking the stage at Business Insider's flagship event, IGNITION: Future of Media, November 29-30 in New York City.

Marni has been a rising star at Verizon for some time now, and she is considered to be on the short list to be the company's next CEO. She is a key executive leading Verizon's media strategy, playing a major role with Verizon's new Go90 video service and helping to spearhead the AOL-Yahoo merger. She is also the leader of Verizon's telematics department, which is responsible for much of Verizon's Internet of Things products such as connected cars and fleet management.

We are thrilled to hear her insights into how she plans to integrate AOL and Yahoo and her thoughts about the blurred lines between media and telecommunications.

With IGNITION now less then five months away, the speaker lineup is beginning to take shape. We've already announced that HBO CEO Richard Plepler will be speaking, and we will continue to announce new additions to the lineup in the coming weeks.

 

Register Today!

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Frank Ocean, Tame Impala and more — here's who to see perform at the New York latest big summer music festival

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panorama festival

This weekend marks the second year of Panorama Festival, New York's newest three-day music festival put together by Goldenvoice, the big name promoters behind Coachella.

The first year of the festival went off with a bang, featuring the reunion of indie rock hall-of-famers LCD Soundsystem — to say nothing of Kendrick Lamar

Goldenvoice is doing their best to top that with a lineup that features over 50 musicians, including big names like Frank Ocean, Solange, Tame Impala, Tyler the Creator, Nine Inch Nails, and A Tribe Called Quest. 

As with any festival these days, there are artists from all different genres including indie, rock, pop, R&B, hip-hop, and dance. Sometimes, the choices can be overwhelming.

We decided to help make it a bit easier by curating your days for you.

Check it out below.

SEE ALSO: I went to NYC's newest music festival, and it's the future of live music

If you're playing hooky from work, get there for early for soul singer extraordinaire Jamila Woods, who has worked often with fellow Chicagoan Chance the Rapper

Friday 2:10-2:55 PM, The Parlor stage

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Foxygen may be more well-known to music hipsters for their off-stage dramatics, but their bombastic homages to classic rock are a lot of fun to listen to.

Friday 3:20-4:05 PM, The Pavilion stage

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Australian folk rocker Vance Joy made it big a few years with "Riptide," but there's a reason that hit was inescapable — it was catchy, like most of his best songs, which go from laid-back to intense in a beat.

Friday 3:50-4:40 PM, Panorama stage

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Amazon quietly bought a gaming company for $10 million, according to reports (AMZN)

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Jeff Bezos Amazon CEO

Amazon has reportedly acquired yet another company involved in the video game industry. PitchBook is reporting (via TechCrunch) that Amazon purchased a small gaming firm called GameSpark last quarter for about $10 million.

Like Amazon's other gaming acquisitions, GameSpark isn't a game developer — instead, the company provides what it describes as "the ultimate backend development platform for game developers." In so many words, GameSpark provides a framework for the creation of games.

It stands to reason that, if GameSpark was indeed purchased, Amazon will now offer the services that GameSpark did at one point — presumably through its Amazon Lumberyard program.

Lumberyard, which was introduced back in February 2016, is an all-in-one game development engine. In English, that means it can be used to create games that can then be supported by Amazon's internet hosting services (AWS) and Amazon's game streaming service (Twitch). It's a kind of "closed ecosystem" approach to game development that encourages any developers using the service to also use Amazon's other services to support their games.

GameSpark offers services like leaderboards and microtransactions, potentially offering additional services to Amazon's Lumberyard game development service. For its part, Amazon hasn't officially announced the acquisition, nor did it respond to request for comment as of publishing.

SEE ALSO: Amazon's video game boss gave us the best answer for why it spent $970 million to buy Twitch

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NOW WATCH: Turns out the Amazon Echo Dot makes an amazing car infotainment system

Katie Couric is leaving her Yahoo show just weeks into Oath's reign (VZ)

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Katie Couric

Katie Couric is leaving Yahoo News after four years as global anchor, according to Recode.

This brings Couric's digital interview show to an end, though she will continue to work with Oath — Yahoo's recently established parent company — on select projects. 

"Over the last four years, Katie has created a vast portfolio of work that has been equal parts inspiring, thought-provoking and fun to watch,” an Oath spokesperson told Recode. “We're proud of everything she has accomplished and look forward to exploring ways to work together in the future."

Couric's departure comes just three months after Verizon bought Yahoo and combined it with AOL to form the mega media company Oath. Oath officially launched on June 19. 

Around 2,000 people from Yahoo and AOL — including many people from of the Yahoo News staff — were laid off in June as part of the transition. Couric's executive producer Tony Maciulis left then too, at which point Couric said she would wait to see how things go with Oath before deciding whether or not to leave, Page Six reported.

The signing of Couric is often touted as one of the big accomplishments of former Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, as it helped the company push its larger plan to double down on video content and high-quality media offerings. But the strategy never lived up to its promise. 

Recode reports that while Couric was able to swing high-profile interviews, she struggled with her placement on the Yahoo homepage.

Metrics-wise, Couric appeared to be doing OK. Recode cites stats from Oath, which claim that Couric and her team saw nearly 1 billion video views over their tenure, and produced around 60 videos a week. It was also reported in October that Couric guaranteed almost 2.5 million views to Hillary Clinton's team when she requested an interview with the former Democratic presidential candidate in early 2016.

Couric reportedly garnered a $10 million annual contract when she first signed with Yahoo. 

SEE ALSO: Katie Couric guaranteed 2.5 million views when she asked Hillary Clinton for a Yahoo interview

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THE ODDS: Who will probably survive 'Game of Thrones' this week, and who could die

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Game of Thrones Grey Worm

In this shortened, seven-episode season of "Game of Thrones," basically anyone can be killed — and at any time. 

So to prepare you (and ourselves) for this intense season, which will undoubtedly be filled with deaths, we put together a list of all the characters still alive, their chances of dying this week, and in the season generally.

We'll update each character's risk of death percentage every week, depending on what happens as the story progresses. 

Season seven episode three, "The Queen's Justice," airs Sunday night on HBO.

Here's who will live and who will die this week on "Game of Thrones:"

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

Daenerys Targaryen — 100%

Chance of survival this episode: 100%. She is Daenerys of the House Targaryen, the First of Her Name, The Unburnt, Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men, Queen of Meereen, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Protector of the Realm, Lady Regnant of the Seven Kingdoms, Breaker of Chains and Mother of Dragons. She is perfectly fine and there's nothing to worry about for now. 

Chance of survival this season: 99%. All men must die, but Daenerys Stormborn is not a man. 



Arya Stark — 100%

Chance of survival this episode: 100%. Arya's got a lot to do (aka: a lot of people to murder) before it's her time to go.  

Chance of survival this season: 75%. Arya will likely survive the season and the series, but her mission puts her at a big risk.



Jon Snow — 100%

Chance of survival this episode: 100%. Jon Snow isn't looking forward to the inevitable battle with the White Walkers, but he is just dandy in Dragonstone this week. 

Chance of survival this season: 90%. He's already died before and his life could be saved again.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

This hilarious madness is what 'Duck Hunt' looks like re-created within 'Halo 5'

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What happens when you mash-up the wildly popular first-person shooter "Halo" with Nintendo classic "Duck Hunt"? Something truly bizarre is what happens.

This playable game type in "Halo 5: Guardians" on Xbox One — the latest game in the long-running "Halo" series — answers exactly that question. Was anyone asking the question this custom mode answers? 

That's unlikely. That said, it's both impressive that such a thing is even possible in "Halo 5" and hilarious that it's so, so much sillier than expected. If that GIF above isn't enough for you, there's a whole video of the mode in action right here:

And if you have "Halo 5: Guardians," you can add the "Duck Hunt" game mode to your bookmarks right here.

SEE ALSO: The new 'Halo' won't change the world, but it is the best 'Halo' in years

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


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

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For most of his adult life, former US Vice President Al Gore has warned of the dangers of global warming.

The 2006 documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” revealed the eye-opening presentation Gore had been delivering around the globe for decades. The movie earned $50 million worldwide and won an Oscar for best documentary. In 2007, Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize for his environmental work.

Al Gore Sequel reasons

Gore returns to the big screen with “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power,” directed by Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk, opening in limited release July 28 and in wide release August 4. This time, Gore serves as our guide to show us the effects of global warming firsthand, whether walking through floods in Miami or seeing the melting of huge glaciers.

The movie’s most gripping scenes capture Gore’s tireless — and successful — efforts in 2015 to get global leaders to sign onto the Paris Agreement. The historic climate accord gives individual countries the freedom to set their own goals to lower their carbon footprint. It was a major achievement for Gore and the environmental movement. But earlier this year, President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the pact, despite Gore's personal appeal to the president.

Business Insider spoke with Gore in New York City about the documentary, his belief that the US will continue to be a leader on climate change, and why he has no interest in talking to Trump again. This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Jason Guerrasio: I’ve read that you weren't fully sold on doing a sequel to "An Inconvenient Truth." Why?

Gore: It took me a bit to realize how big the changes have been in the last decade. Number one, the climate-related extreme-weather events are way more frequent now and way more destructive. We have had 11 once-in-a-thousand-year events in the US just in the last seven years.

Secondly, we've got the solutions now. They were in the first movie a decade ago, but they were on the horizon, and you had to take the technology business point of view to say, "Oh, yeah, that will eventually get here." Now they are here. And in so many places — electricity from solar and wind is cheaper than electricity from fossil fuels, and now the batteries are coming down in costs very quickly. So it's very exciting news that needed to be told.

antarctica nansen fracture waterfalls esa

Guerrasio: But still, as you say, very scary events still happen. There's the icebergs, and in Antarctica that piece that collapsed that was the size of Delaware.

Gore: Yes.

Guerrasio: When you hear news like that, what do you think? Is that a major issue when it comes to climate change?

Gore: Well, it's a major signal that the warming of Antarctica is moving even faster than was predicted.

Guerrasio: And it's real; it's hard to dispute that.

Gore: It's hard to dispute it. Absolutely. It's one of the largest icebergs ever recorded. Now, it was already floating in the sea, so by itself it will not raise the sea level, but it's part of a larger pattern in Antarctica that's very tightly connected to how much the seas will rise in the decades ahead.

Guerrasio: We're talking about sea level. One of the things you show in the sequel is that one of the scenarios in the first movie — the flooding of lower Manhattan and the damage to the 9/11 Memorial — could happen and did happen with Hurricane Sandy.

Gore: It happened many years before the scientists predicted that it would.

Al Gore Quote 1

Guerrasio: And to give a modern-day look, you go to Miami and you show parts of Miami that are flooded, with people driving and walking through knee-high water.

Gore: On a sunny day.

Guerrasio: Yeah, it's not like it's pouring rain.

Gore: The sea levels have risen so much that when a high tide comes in, it floods the streets. I saw fish from the ocean swimming in the streets. Since then, somebody sent me a picture of an octopus in a parking garage there. That's not something you see every day. But there are a lot of low-lying coastal cities that are now seriously threatened by sea level rise, which comes from the melting ice.

Guerrasio: Scientists are saying the same thing. In a story we ran not too long ago by David Wallace-Wells for New York Magazine, he said: "Most people talk as if Miami and Bangladesh still have a chance of surviving: most of the scientists I spoke with assume we’ll lose them within the century, even if we stop burning fossil fuel in the next decade.” So when you hear a quote like that, and you see that President Trump has a Cabinet with many people who feel climate change is not a major issue, how does that make you feel?

Gore: The truth about the climate crisis is still inconvenient for the large carbon polluters and the politicians who are in their pockets.

Guerrasio: But are you disappointed that in some ways America is not a leader in climate change on the world stage?

Gore: Of course, but I would distinguish between Donald Trump and the United States of America. Although he is president, he does not speak for the country on this issue, and that was vividly illustrated in the aftermath of his speech pulling the US out of the Paris Agreement.

Almost immediately, not only did the rest of the world double down on its commitments, but also here in this country, governors, mayors, business leaders, they said, we're still in the Paris Agreement, and they're doubling down. A lot of cities have now made a decision to go 100% renewable energy, and the latest studies indicate that the US is certainly going to meet its commitments under the Paris Agreement, regardless of what Donald Trump says.

An Inconvenient Sequel Sundance Institute

Guerrasio: Recently, Trump has said he might reconsider going back into the agreement. Do you feel that's a good thing? Does it even matter?

Gore: I’m not going to hold my breath. I had conversations with him after the election and during the first part of his presidency, trying to convince him to stay in the Paris Agreement, and I thought there was an excellent chance that he would come to his senses and stay in, but I was wrong about that. I would take his statements to the French president, that he might come back into the Paris Agreement, with a grain of salt, but I hope I'm wrong again. I hope that actually he does reconsider. But I don't put much stock into it.

Guerrasio: You rattle off many stats about climate change — you know many of them. Is there one stat that scares you the most when it comes to climate change?

Gore: There are a couple that go together, and this is a bit geeky. So you asked for it.

Guerrasio: No, let's geek out.

Gore: The cumulative amount of man-made global pollution that's in the atmosphere now traps as much extra heat energy every day as would be released by 400,000 Hiroshima-class atomic bombs exploding every day. It's a big planet, but that's an awful lot of energy.

Now the second statistic is, we're still putting 110 million tons of that stuff into the air every single day as if the sky is an open sewer. And all of the increase temperatures that people talk about, that's air temperature. More than 90% of the extra heat energy is going into the oceans, and that's why superstorm Sandy was so much more destructive, that's why the ice is melting more rapidly, that's why the water cycle is being disrupted and we get a lot more water vapor coming from the oceans into the sky, and that's why we get these enormous downpours and big floods. They happen all the time. Every night on the TV news is like a nature hike through the Book of Revelation.

Guerrasio: One thing that stood out for me with “An Inconvenient Sequel” is you touch on, for one moment, the personal failures in the evolution of bringing climate change to all our attention. Though off the Paris Agreement, it seems everyone has rebounded to get back on. What was it like initially for you when you heard Trump pulled out of the agreement? For you, was that up to that level of a personal failure?

An Inconvenient Sequel Jensen Walker Paramount final

Gore: Well, I worried a lot that other countries would follow his lead, but I was so gratified when the rest of the world said, "No, we're not going to pay any attention to that. We're still in, and we're going to double down." And I was even more gratified when all of the domestic political and business leaders stepped up to the plate and said we're going to fill the gap.

Guerrasio: In a strange way, with all the news about the Paris Agreement, did it give a heightened sense of the climate-change issue? I mean, there's more press talking about it now, the Weather Channel changed their whole homepage to show the effects of climate change. This movie was coming out regardless, so we were going to have this conversation. But it seems like a lot more people are talking about it now because of the actions he took.

Al Gore Quote 3

Gore: Yeah, I think it's partly a reaction to Donald Trump. You know, in physics there's the old law for every action there's a equal amount of reaction. Sometimes that's true in politics. If somebody's out there making nonsensical statements, but wielding power behind them a lot of people say, "Well, I need to react to that." I think that's happening. I also think another reason for the increased prominence of the issue is the Paris Agreement itself. It's not a small thing when just about every nation in the entire world comes together and makes an historic agreement like this. It's a big deal. And the old cliché "The train is leaving the station" kind of applies. People who might not regularly pay that much attention to it, they say, "Oh, the whole world is moving in this direction. I guess there's a lot to this, we better go along."

Guerrasio: And you must be very proud of it. As the movie shows, you were backstage, wheeling and dealing, making calls, trying to get India on board.

Gore: I was doing my best and so were lots of other people. It was a group effort and a lot of people succeeded in getting an agreement that many thought was impossible.

Guerrasio: A very powerful moment in the movie is you taking that elevator ride up Trump Tower to meet the president-elect, which I believe was organized by his daughter Ivanka Trump. Have you spoken to Ivanka since that meeting?

Gore: Oh, yes. Many times. But not since the speech in which President Trump pulled out of Paris.

Guerrasio: Have you talked to President Trump at all since that meeting?

Gore: Not since his decision on Paris, no.

Al Gore Kevin Hagen Getty final

Guerrasio: One thing you said when you left Trump Tower was that it was a conversation that would be continued. Do you feel you need to continue that conversation with him?

Gore: I did continue it. And that was not the only conversation I had with him. But after he made his decision on Paris, I have not reached out to him again; he has not reached out to me.

Guerrasio: Do you feel it's important? Do you need to talk to him anymore?

Gore: I would never close the door to responding, but I don't expect that and have no real desire to talk to him anymore. I think he made such an obviously reckless and indefensible decision, I think now, my time, the time of others, is better spent helping to move the country forward in spite of him.

Guerrasio: You say it in the movie, and I think you've said it a few times in other places, that you're a recovering politician.

Gore: Yeah. [Laughs]

Guerrasio: But I do want you to do a little armchair quarterbacking for me. What is your feeling of Trump as a president? Give me a grade: How is he doing?

Gore: Well, I never like the question about letter grades, but I think he's failing. I think that every day there's another set of tweets and another set of controversies, and nothing seems to be getting done that's any good. And there seems to be kind of a policy paralysis in Washington. Even the appointments he's supposed to make as a new president — he's way behind all his modern-day predecessors, as I understand the statistics — so I focus most of all on climate, and so my opinion of his time as president is certainly influenced by my opinion of the job he's done on climate. He's tried to move the country in the wrong direction.

Guerrasio: Believe it or not, we're going to ask some question other than Trump.

Al Gore Bomb fact

Gore: OK.

Guerrasio: Do you think about your own legacy? Are you at a point in your life where you think about that at all?

Gore: No, not really. Maybe I should. [Laughs]

Guerrasio: I don't know. You've done many things, many very important things. Does that every pop in your head, of what you want to be remembered for?

Gore: I don't really think about that. It's not about me. I have a sense of mission on this climate crisis, and I'm trying to pour all the energy I have into it. And I hope that I, along with others, can catalyze the emergence of real solutions to the climate crisis. I think we're making a lot of progress. I think we're going to win this, but it matters how quickly we win it. So I'm focused on that.

Guerrasio: Give me the next decade for you, goal-wise, with climate change. What needs to be accomplished?

Gore: Every five years, under the Paris Agreement, all the countries that signed to it have an obligation to renew their plans and ratchet up their commitments, which is going to be easy to do because, again, the cost reductions for renewable energy continue downward in a very dramatic way. We're in the early stages of a sustainability revolution in the globe that has the scale of the industrial revolution but the speed of the digital revolution. And you see it with renewable energy and you see it with LED lighting, which takes a fraction of the energy for the existing bulbs. And within a few years, all new lights are going to be LED. Electric vehicles. I can go down the list for sustainable agriculture and forestry. There are a lot of changes underway right now. I'm excited by the prospect, and I look forward to working in the months and years to come to accelerate this transition.

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Venezuela's president released a version of 'Despacito' to support his effort to rewrite the constitution

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Nicolas Maduro Despacito dancing singing song

Venezuela is less than a week from the vote called by President Nicolas Maduro to elect for members of a constituent assembly that would start redrafting the country's constitution — a move widely criticized as an attempt to expand government's power while disempowering citizens.

Widespread public displeasure with Maduro's effort has manifested itself in numerous street protests — continuing a period of protest that has gripped the country since April — and in an unofficial referendum organized on short notice by the opposition that drew more than 7 million of the country's 19 million registered voters out to reject Maduro's plan.

The Venezuelan president has said the vote will go ahead, however, and he has continued his campaign to support it. The latest part of that campaign appears to be a version of the Spanish-language pop song "Despacito" by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee, which recently become the most streamed song of all time.

Maduro, who debuted the song over the weekend on his show, "Los Domingos con Maduro," did not specify who made his version, referring only to "a group of creators."

"We going to see if it also passes the test to become viral," Maduro said before the music started.

"For the unity and peace of our country ... the constituent [assembly] goes on," begins the song, which you can see in the video below.

The government has indicated that the song was sent to the president by Ernesto Villegas, the minister of communication and information, according to El Nuevo Herald.

Panamanian composer Erika Ender, who coauthored the song, rejected its use by Maduro.

"To see that a song, on which I was coauthor, is used without permission in order publicize campaigns tied to a regime that is causing discontent and suffering in a country, far from making me happy, it angers me," she wrote in an Instagram post. "I DO NOT APPROVE of its use."

"At no time have I authorized the use of 'Despacito' or a lyric change to promote any political agenda, especially in the middle of the deplorable situation that Venezuela, a country that I love very much, is experiencing," Fonsi said in a statement emailed to Business Insider on Monday evening. "My music is for everyone who wants to listen to it and enjoy it and is not intended to be used to manipulate the will of a country where the people are loudly begging for their freedom and a better future."

Daddy Yankee also criticized both the unauthorized use of the song and the Venezuelan government's action against citizens.

Venezuela opposition plebiscite voting

Despite a years-long political and economic deterioration and months of violence, Maduro has maintained about 20% support among Venezuelans, but his constituent assembly has been rejected by an overwhelming majority of the country and drawn international rebuke.

Most of the region voiced support for the July 16 referendum convened by the opposition against the assembly, and the EU and the US have suggested they could level sanctions on the Maduro government should the July 30 vote go ahead.

The opposition continues to call for protest, and it plans to mount a nationwide strike on Wednesday and Thursday this week, after a similar action last week. Ahead of the 48-hour strike, opposition leaders have encouraged Venezuelans to stock up on food and other goods — a call echoed by the US embassy in Venezuela.

Shortages have already left many stores and and shops in Venezuela empty or understocked, and Twitter users in Caracas reported that grocery-stores shelves around the city were bare, due to both the shortages and people shopping in preparation for the strike.

SEE ALSO: 'All options are on the table' for Trump to go after Venezuela, but the side effects could be severe

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NOW WATCH: THE BOTTOM LINE: Record highs for stocks and an oil market forecast

22,000 people had to be evacuated from a Barcelona music festival after a massive stage fire

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Smoke is seen rising from flames engulfing the stage after a fire broke out at Tomorrowland Unite Spain festival in Barcelona, Spain July 29, 2017, in this still image from a video obtained from social media. Alex Prim Lopez via REUTERS

More than 22,000 people were evacuated from an electronic music festival in Barcelona on Saturday night after a huge fire broke out on one of the stages during a sequence of the show involving fireworks, emergency services said.

They said no one was injured.

Footage circulated on social media showed big flames leaping from the stage, creating big plumes of black smoke in front of a crowd.

The festival said in a statement the fire was caused by a "technical malfunction," Associated Press reported.

The festival, known as "Tomorrowland", was taking place just north of Barcelona, in Santa Coloma de Gramenet, the first time it has been held in Spain. The festival has previously been held in Belgium.

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These 10 'Game of Thrones' characters disappeared, but could come back in a major way this season

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Game of Thrones Danearys Targaryen Meeting Khal Drogo

There are tons of characters on "Game of Thrones," and it's hard enough to remember all the main character's names sometimes, let alone the minor ones.

And on this show, anyone could come back unexpectedly. So to help you be the one who can tell your friends exactly who that character you haven't seen a while is, here's our guide to forgotten "Game of Thrones" characters who could return in the future  some in a very big way. 

Here are some forgotten "Game of Thrones" characters who could return in season seven or season eight:

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

Gendry

As the only remaining bastard of King Robert Baratheon, Gendry is the only Baratheon left alive. This definitely has some significance, so it would be shocking if we never saw him again.

The last we saw him was back in season three, when Davos set him free from Stannis and Melisandre, who planned to sacrifice him to the Lord of Light. 

Until we meet again, Gendry's still rowing. 



Salladhor Saan

Don't remember Salladhor Saan? Fair enough. He's barely in the show. He's a pirate and friend of Davos from his days as a pirate. In fact, he's a pirate lord and sellsail who commands a fleet of thirty ships. Salladhor is recruited by Stannis Baratheon (thanks to Davos) to help in the Battle of the Blackwater, but abandons the cause after Stannis loses. 

In season five, Stannis and Davos secure a loan from the Iron Bank of Braavos. This allows Davos to pay Salldhor for his service to Stannis' cause, but that's the last time we see him.

Will Davos recruit Salladhor for Team Dany to replace the ships and people lost in Euron Greyjoy's attack on Yara's fleet? It's certainly a possibility, and would explain why we got that scene between Davos and Salladhor in season five. 



Illyrio Mopatis

Illyrio is a Magister in Pentos and a supporter of House Targaryen. In season one, he sets up the marriage of Daenerys Targaryen and Khal Drogo, and feeds Varys information on Dany and Viserys, who both support the latter's claim to the Iron Throne. In season five, though unseen, he lets Varys and Tyrion stay in his home in Pentos after their escape from King's Landing together.

Varys could bring Illyrio onto Dany's team for some more foreign support. He's also super wealthy, which could prove helpful to Dany. 

 



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

A rare copy of the original 'Super Mario' game just sold for over $30,000 on eBay

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There are tens of millions of physical copies of the original "Super Mario Bros." for the Nintendo Entertainment System. As such, buying the game is usually a trifling matter — a few bucks at most at your local garage sale.

But this copy is different, and it just sold on eBay for over $30,000.

Super Mario Bros. (rare copy)

What makes this particularly copy of the original "Super Mario Bros." so valuable is that it's a particularly early copy of the game; additionally, it's still in the original shrink wrap from when it was sold (for $26.99!) back in the 1980s.

Since the original "Super Mario Bros." came out in 1985, that means this copy has been preserved perfectly for over 30 years. The seller spoke with Kotaku — he said the game had "been sitting in his office for years" when he decided to put it up for auction on eBay. The auction started at one penny, eventually reaching a grand total of $30,100.44; the seller has reportedly been paid already.

Few games demand such high prices at auction.

One particularly notable example is a game named "Nintendo World Championship," which isn't a game that was actually released but rather a collection of snippets of NES-era Nintendo games that the company used during a series of in-person competitions. Since few cartridges were ever manufactured, it's become an ultra-rare collector's item — when it does pop up on eBay, it often goes for thousands (or tens of thousands) of dollars.

What will become of this very rare, very early copy of "Super Mario Bros." remains to be seen. You can, of course, play the original "Super Mario Bros." whenever you'd like on dozens of different devices. And don't worry: You don't need $30K to play.

SEE ALSO: The 10 best Super Mario games ever made

Join the conversation about this story »

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

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