• Netflix is now streaming an experimental documentary film about nuclear weapons.
• "The Bomb" debuted in April 2016 at the Tribeca Film Festival as an immersive experience with 30-foot-tall screens and live music.
• The filmmakers hope their movie inspires viewers to speak up about the existential threat of nuclear weapons.

The year before I was born, the world almost ended. Twice.

In September 1983, sunlight reflected off a patch of clouds, fooling a Soviet missile-warning system into detecting five US intercontinental ballistic missiles that were never launched. A colonel in a bunker ignored the alarm on a 50/50 hunch, narrowly averting a nuclear holocaust.

Two months later, US forces staged "Able Archer 83" — a massive nuclear-strike drill on the doorstep of the USSR. Soviet commanders panicked at the show of force and nearly bathed America in thermonuclear energy. Once again, an act of human doubt saved the planet.

Today these and other chilling tales seem like dusty history to the population born after the Cold War and those too young to remember the conflict's many close calls.

But the grave nuclear threat persists.

Aging weapons systems, evolving terrorist threats, and a worryingly hackable digital infrastructure make the danger perhaps even greater today. That's the message that the makers of "The Bomb" — an ambitious, experimental documentary that Netflix began streaming on August 1— have tried to make breathtakingly real.

"Nine countries have 15,000 nuclear weapons. That's an existential threat to mankind," said filmmaker Eric Schlosser.

Schlosser is the author of "Command and Control," an investigation into nuclear weapons accidents that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. To write the book, he spent more than six years steeped in declassified government materials and interviewed military experts, scientists, and "broken arrow" eyewitnesses.

"The Bomb" is an unnarrated, non-linear film that riffs on the major themes in Schlosser's book. It leans heavily on archival nuclear weapons footage, roughly a third of which the public had never seen before the movie came out. Cold War-era documents and blueprints are also brought to life with eye-catching animations, and everything is synced to a trippy electro-rock musical score by The Acid.

Co-directors Smriti Keshari, Kevin Ford, and Schlosser told Business Insider in April 2016 that their ultimate goal is to get people to feel something they will never forget — and then do something about it.

Not your father's nuclear weapons documentary

When "The Bomb" premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, it was formatted as an immersive, 360-degree experience. The film now playing on Netflix is a "flat" version edited for a high-definition screen.

The original version continues to travel the world, however — it was recently shown in Berlin and Glasgow — and projects the footage onto eight huge screens while "The Acid" jams out a live score.

Keshari, Ford, and Schlosser said this experience is what makes "The Bomb" unique.

"Being surrounded by 30-foot-high screens upon which nuclear explosions are being projected, while really loud music plays," Schlosser said, "I think that's going to be a memorable life experience for anyone who sees it."

Keshari likened it to a form of "shock treatment," meant to help people feel something about nuclear weapons instead of dismissing their existence.

"These weapons are literally buried underground. They're out of sight, out of consciousness," Keshari said. "It's shocking how many we have, the countries that have them, how powerful these are, how much money is spent on them. And yet we're in complete denial of it."

They have a point.

The so-called Millennial generation has never experienced the dread of imminent thermonuclear war. For me, the existential threat of nuclear weapons didn't really click until a few years ago, when I wrote a story about a byproduct of the nuclear arms race.

My fears, not to mention those of preeminent experts, have grown since reading about the January 2016 rhetoric of President Donald Trump, along with North Korea's maturing intercontinental ballistic missile and nuclear weapons testing programs.

Consider me biased — I'm a friend of Keshari's, and I believe zero nuclear weapons on Earth is the safest number — but "The Bomb" is not your standard, long-winded, made-for-TV-with-commercial-breaks documentary about nuclear weapons.

Roughly 30% of the movie is new footage from declassified films that the public has never seen.

"Poor Kevin [Ford] has watched more nuclear weapons footage, I think, than any living person," Schlosser said.

Ford said that dive into the archives will always haunt him.

"The testing footage is what really stuck with me. The effects on people and on animals is just devastating," Ford said. "It's like the kid who's frying ants with a magnifying glass just to see what will happen." He added that he's "ruined dinner parties" by talking about his work. 

The end product of Ford's nearly year-long effort in the archives is the film's non-chronological yet meticulously edited stream of detailed blueprints, harrowing Cold War test footage, modern-day nuclear armament grandstanding, and foreboding music. (Though the filmmakers left out some of the most disturbing clips they encountered.)

"People may have different feelings about 'The Bomb' when they see it, and that's legitimate," Schlosser said of its experimental approach. "But I feel confident nobody will have ever seen anything like this before."

'Our silence is a form of consent'

Today's nuclear arsenals are packed with a variety of exceptionally deadly weapons.

Enhanced warheads, for example, are dozens of times more powerful than the relatively crude bombs that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Fusion bombs are also on alert and ready to launch, and they are thousands of times more powerful than any nuclear weapons detonated during World War II.

The US and Russia together harbor roughly 90% of the world's supply of more than 14,900 nuclear weapons, and they're maintained under tight systems of control. The US is also spending $1 trillion to upgrade its devices. Nuclear terrorism continues to be a major point of concern, too.

But the central thesis of "The Bomb" — one Schlosser made strongly in "Command and Control" as well — is that mortifying accidents have happened and will happen again, because people are human, and nuclear weapons aren't foolproof.

"They're they deadliest machines ever made. And like all machines made by human beings, they're inherently flawed, and imperfect, and go wrong," Schlosser said. "They get connected to other machines — computer systems, nuclear command and control systems, early warning systems — and those all have problems in them. And that just makes those deadly machines all the more dangerous."

The film's target audience is younger generations who will inherit these decades-old nuclear arsenals. The filmmakers hope to feed the movement to not only reduce nuclear stockpiles, but eventually abolish nuclear weapons altogether.

"The [US] military is trying to minimize civilian casualties and use precision weapons. And nuclear weapons are the opposite of that," Schlosser said.

"The Bomb" hopes to cut through the overwhelming amount of technical information out there about nuclear weapons and display them for what they are: machines. Beautiful, powerful, flawed, and indescribably dangerous human creations.

"They're looked at as status symbols. They're looked at as heroic. And really, they're demonic," Keshari said. "They do nothing but kill, and kill humans in the millions."

But the filmmakers don't want the film to simply bum people out.

"There's no point in that. For me, this sort of knowledge should be empowering. Because to live in denial is a much greater danger than to have your eyes open and have the ability to do something about it," Schlosser said. "It helps you enjoy the day. It puts a lot of bulls**t worries into perspective and helps you not take anything or anyone for granted."

Text at end of the film drives home this sentiment with a call to action.

"A nuclear war anywhere in the world would affect everyone in the world. These weapons pose an existential threat. The widespread lack of knowledge about them, the lack of public debate about them, makes the danger even worse," it reads. "Our silence is a form of consent."

Disclosure: The author of this post is friends with Smriti Keshari but has no financial stake in "The Bomb" or any of the companies involved in its production or distribution.

SEE ALSO: North Korea has tested another intercontinental ballistic missile — here's what that is, how it works, and why it's scary

DON'T MISS: If a nuclear bomb explodes nearby, here's why you should never, ever get in a car

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Denny's is feuding with a fake Diplo Twitter account run by James Van Der Beek, an actor made famous by his starring role in "Dawson's Creek."

The Twitter feud— which only gets more confusing the deeper you dig — began on Monday.

Mad Decent, a record label actually run by DJ/producer Diplo, accused Denny's of stealing a potato-centric joke from its Twitter account. 

"[D]enny's tweets have always been annoying but this is the last straw," the record label tweeted.

A Twitter user called Diplo, with the handle @_diplo_,  backed up Mad Decent, telling Denny's to "stay away" from his record label.

However, the Twitter account in question is not, in fact, run by Diplo. It is run by Van Der Beek, the actor who made his name playing Dawson Leery on "Dawson's Creek." 

Van Der Beek is playing Diplo in Viceland's "What Would Diplo Do?," a series that debuts on Thursday. The New York Times called the show a "satirical (and often flat-out mean) look at the life of an irrationally confident E.D.M. star." Apparently, what Diplo would do in this situation, in Van Der Beek's mind, is pick a fight with Denny's. 

Denny's responded by implying Diplo — who they called "Dilpo" — was a potato. 

"[I]t's making me cringe so hard imagining a room of the ad agency guys running this account high fiving eachother over this terrible comeback," Van Der Beek as Diplo tweeted in response. 

Denny's then offered to send "Dilpo" a basket of potatoes.  

It's unclear if the Denny's social media team thinks it is fighting with the actual DJ, realizes it is arguing with Van Der Beek, or if this is all some kind of promotion for the new show. The real Diplo, whose Twitter handle is @diplo, has not tweeted in response to the feud, and Van Der Beek as Diplo is signaling it all might just be a stunt. 

Business Insider has reached out to Denny's and will update this article if things start to make sense at all. 

SEE ALSO: Denny's just schooled IHOP with the ultimate Twitter comeback

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While watching "Game of Thrones," do you ever catch yourself wondering, "Wait, is that person dead or alive?"

There's so much death, and so many characters, that it's certainly a possibility — even for someone who has been paying close attention.

It can also get hard to keep track of who's related to whom, so it also helps to keep track of where loyalties lie. 

To help you with both of these problems, here's a handy guide to the life status of every member of the major noble houses in Westeros.

SEE ALSO: The 8 biggest questions we have after this week's 'Game of Thrones'

House Stark

Ned Stark — dead

Catelyn Stark — dead

One of my favorite experiences from the "Destiny 2" event in May was meeting Desirée Wright.

I met Wright, who goes by the name "Lady Desirée" on Twitch and YouTube, while she was walking the packed show floor with Michael Salvatori, the composer for "Destiny 2."

Wright, based in Tallahassee, Florida, is a single mother of three children. She teaches piano during the day, and streams herself playing games and music on Twitch at night. (She also makes YouTube videos, but playing games and music live on Twitch is her passion).

Wright hit it big in 2015 when she recorded herself playing piano melodies of the epic music from the first "Destiny" game and posted it to YouTube, including simplified sheet music in case anyone was interested.

The post went viral after someone posted her video onto the popular "Destiny" subreddit. Marty O'Donnell, who composed music in "Destiny" and the original "Halo" games, tweetedlinks to several of her videos. She was quickly approached by other "Destiny" YouTubers and podcasters to write music to complement their content. She was even invited by Bungie, the maker of "Destiny," to come visit their studio and meet the audio team behind the game.

That "Destiny" video for YouTube has changed Wright's life: Nowadays, she arranges music for all sorts of charity and community events — she performed live for thousands of people the last two years at GuardianCon, an event that's raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. This is in addition to her day job as a piano teacher and mom of three.

I recently got a chance to talk more with Wright, who released her first album on July 16 (you can stream or download it here), to learn more about her daily routine and how she got involved with Twitch and YouTube.

This conversation has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Dave Smith: So what's your background with music? How did you get to where you are right now?

Desirée Wright: My father was a concert pianist, and on the faculty at Florida State University as a piano and music history professor, but he was extremely careful not to push the piano on me. My older sister was taking lessons and I kept trying to learn her pieces, which eventually morphed into begging my parents for my own at four years old. Even though four is a young age, they enrolled me, and I took to it instantly.

I can't remember my parents ever having to tell me to practice. I just knew from a young age I wanted to play (and to teach) piano one day. I studied piano at Florida State University and received my Bachelor of Arts degree from the College of Music.

I was very, very close to my father, and in May 2014, he passed away. After his death, it was very difficult for me to play the piano, as it was a constant reminder of him.

I was playing the game "Destiny" that following winter, and one day in January 2015, I was listening to the music and had an incredible urge to work out the melody on the piano. When I was finished coming up with arrangement, I decided to post it on YouTube — then someone posted it onto the "Destiny" subreddit and it went viral within the community.

The "Destiny" community welcomed me and my arrangements with open arms. I can't thank them enough; I realized what a healing power piano was in my life and how much I needed it to cope with the loss of my father, rather than push it away. I began to arrange as many "Destiny" pieces as I could, many in honor of or supporting different "Destiny" community charity events (such as ExtraLife and Operation Supply Drop), and I eventually started working on arrangements of music from other video game franchises.

After a few months of gaining notice within the community via various "Destiny" YouTubers, podcasts, and charity events, Bungie named me their "Community Focus" in August 2015. Soon after, I visited Seattle and got to meet the audio team in person. I instantly got emotional when I met [Bungie's lead composer] Mike Salvatori, and ended up telling him him the story of how his "Destiny" compositions helped me rediscover my love for the piano after my father passed away. Mike and I have remained friends since that moment and have kept up correspondence. I also went out to Bungie shortly before "Rise of Iron" [the last expansion for "Destiny 1"], and I got to hear the music before it was released to the public.

Smith: What is your life like right now? Tell me about your family and your daily routine.

Wright: I am a single mother of three, so life is extremely busy for me. I have over 50 piano students, so I teach all morning and afternoon — some days, when I don't have my kids, I teach as late as 8:30 p.m. I start streaming on Twitch at 10 p.m. and go until 2, sometimes 3 a.m. I don't stream every night, but usually about 4-5 nights of the week.

It can be tiring in the morning, yes, but performing live for people gives me so much energy and happiness. It is a total stress relief for me.

My parents used to joke that they knew what kind of mood I was in as a teenager when I sat down to practice piano: Whatever I played always reflected the mood I was in, and that's still very much the same. Even though I get little sleep, I have never felt healthier and happier since I started performing live regularly on Twitch.

Smith: Have you always been into video games?

Wright: I got the original Nintendo as a child, and have been a gamer ever since. I loved all the original Nintendo and Super Nintendo classics. I dug into the first-person shooter genre with "Halo 3" — unless you count "GoldenEye 007" from years before — and got really sucked into "Halo" and "Call of Duty" for awhile.

When "Destiny" came out, I became completely entrenched in the game. I am a very social person and my favorite thing about "Destiny" has been the community and the teamwork that goes into playing the game. I have made fantastic friends within the "Destiny" community, fighting alongside them in strikes, raids, or even just kicking a ball around the Tower.

Smith: How did you first hear about "Destiny"?

Wright: A group I was playing "Call of Duty" with convinced me to try "Destiny" when it first came out. I was worried I wouldn't have the time to put into learning an involved game but decided to give it a shot, and quickly realized that it was very accessible. Plus, there's always been a wealth of tutorials and strategies out there on YouTube, Reddit, and Destiny-focused podcasts. The "Destiny" community rallies behind new "Guardians" to help them out. I've never felt more at home in a game.

Smith: When did you start filming yourself for Twitch and YouTube? Do you consider it more than just a hobby at this point?

Wright: I consider YouTube and Twitch more than just a hobby, but not yet profitable enough as a full-time job to support a family — key word being "yet." I love teaching too much to ever give it up completely, but I would love to cut back and put more time into YouTube, Twitch, and original compositions — especially indie games, which I've been getting into more.

In terms of how I started, once my YouTube was doing well, I decided to start live streaming on Twitch. I started out first as a gaming streamer, but then switched to full-time music streamer earlier this year. On my Twitch channel, I don't just play straight music; I interact with my viewers, I talk between music — about my life, their lives, life in general, music, geek culture, etc. I am 100% an extrovert, so this feeds my need to interact with people.

As my Twitch audience has grown, I have focused more energy on streaming than making arrangements for YouTube. I am still doing YouTube, and will continue, but I have an immense love for Twitch: Performing live and interacting with the viewers, talking about music, and taking requests from chat is just fun. It brings me such joy to know that others are feeling happier by listening to my arrangements.

Teaching piano is in its own way very rewarding, but since I started my YouTube and Twitch channels, I have a creative outlet that fills a void that was there for such a long time. I love to make people happy, and my YouTube and Twitch channels make me feel like I am providing a sort of "musical therapy" of sorts. I have daily comments from viewers that the music brightened their day - what could be more rewarding than that?

I also love the fact that I have an international audience on both YouTube and Twitch. Over half of my viewers on YouTube are outside the US, and though I don't currently have a way to track the geography of my viewers on Twitch, I regularly have people visit my stream that tell me they are from other countries. Sometimes we have difficulty communicating, but at the very least, they can type the name of the piece in chat and I can play it for them, and in that instance, music breaks down those language barriers. 

Smith: How are you balancing streaming and your day job? Would you change anything?

Wright: I'm currently maxed out with my teaching hours, so if I want to do anything "extra," I am limited to evenings and late nights. There isn't a lot I can do past bedtime with children — but YouTube and Twitch are perfect. It feels like I am having my own personal recitals on my own schedule.

There are streams where I don't see any donations, but I also have nights where I receive an incredibly generous sum from viewer contributions. Since I'm outside of a major city, my opportunities for paid performances are limited, but YouTube and Twitch change all that. I could play at a restaurant and receive a small stipend, or, I can play on my own channel where I'm not only steering the ship but have limitless potential with viewer engagement. I could end up with hundreds or thousands of eyes, donations galore, and of course a degree of interaction with the audience that just doesn't exist out there in that hypothetical restaurant. It's a no-brainer for me. Thank goodness I live in a time where something like this is available. These days, I can't imagine my life without these outlets.

You can find "Lady Desirée" Wright on Twitch and YouTube.

SEE ALSO: Attending Bungie's 'Destiny 2' event with my older brother was a precious memory I will never forget

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Last week, Angelina Jolie caused quite a stir when a Vanity Fair article described a cruel, intense method of casting impoverished Cambodian children for her Netflix original film, "First They Killed My Father."

Jolie has since denied the accusations, saying the process was mischaracterized.

And now we have the first trailer for the project. 

"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.

On Wednesday, Netflix released the trailer. It looks intense and proves that Jolie has established her directorial style. 

"First They Killed My Father" plays at the Toronto Film Festival next month, and debuts on Netflix later this year. 

You can watch the trailer below:

SEE ALSO: Angelina Jolie's intense method of casting children is being slammed as cruel and unnecessary

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A California muralist painted a portrait of the late Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington on a wall near the 101 freeway in Los Angeles last weekend, and a congestion of stopped cars on the busy highway reportedly cheered him on with honks and encouragement.

Jonas Never, the muralist, took two days to spray paint a 20-foot mural of Bennington on the back of a new pizzeria in Sherman Oaks, California.

Bennington died last month of apparent suicide in his L.A. home. 

"I grew up listening to [Chester]," Never told Variety. "When I heard Chester died, I immediately thought of that wall because I knew some of the band members lived in the Valley. I just texted Jim [Conners, the pizzeria owner] and offered to do it for free because it was the right thing to do."

Conners, the owner of Rock N' Pies pizzeria, told Variety that the mural has brought attention to his restaurant and even caused a commotion of sorts on the 101 highway bordering the back of the store.

"I was leaving the kitchen last night at 11:30, and I was greeted by flashing lights, people taking pictures," Conners told the outlet. "When Jonas was working on it, everyone in their cars on the 101 were beeping their horns and cheering him on."

Bennington was laid to rest over the weekend as well. His family held a private funeral Saturday afternoon near the singer's home in Palos Verdes, California.

SEE ALSO: Linkin Park wrote an emotional tribute to their late lead singer, Chester Bennington: 'Your absence leaves a void that can never be filled'

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NOW WATCH: Here's the first trailer for the second season of 'Westworld'

Season seven of "Game of Thrones" premiered July 16, and has tallied up a total of 26 million viewers — making it HBO's most watched season premiere ever. 

Time Warner released its quarterly earnings report Wednesday morning, and shared the good news:

"Through the first two weeks, the premiere of the seventh season of 'Game of Thrones' has totaled 26 million viewers across all platforms, and is the most-watched season premiere episode of any HBO original series ever." 

Time Warner also said that opening night viewership for the season premieres of "Ballers" and "Insecure" had gone up by 41% and 45%, respectively, year-over-year.

Although "Game of Thrones" has historically done well when it comes to season premiere ratings, the latest numbers show how much its audience has grown over the years.

Here's a chart that shows the progression of each season premiere, based on live viewers tracked by Nielsen:

The live audience ratings, however, don't account for the number of DVR and streaming views from HBO's streaming platforms, HBO GO and HBO Now. Streaming numbers for "Game of Thrones" don't really begin to appear in the reported Nielsen numbers until the "Game of Thrones" season five premiere in 2015, which was the same year that HBO launched its streaming service, HBO Now. 

With the addition of the streaming and DVR views recorded by Nielsen for "Game of Thrones" (seasons five through seven), the numbers go up. Season five's season premiere numbers bump up to 9.8 million viewers, season six's numbers to 10.7 million viewers, and season seven's to a massive 26 million viewers.

So while the "Game of Thrones" season seven premiere was a record-breaking milestone for HBO, it also showed how many viewers are now turning to streaming platforms, and DVR, rather than watching on the traditional linear channel.

SEE ALSO: Netflix CEO says big cash burn will be an 'indicator of enormous success'

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NOW WATCH: 7 details you might have missed on season 7 episode 3 of 'Game of Thrones'

Do you hear it? The wave is coming. Soon, we'll be overwhelmed by dozens of blockbuster video games arriving all at once. 

As usual, the back half of the year is awash with major game launches, from the highly-anticipated "Destiny 2" in September to the also highly-anticipated "Super Mario Odyssey" in October. Whether you're looking to pair up with friends online or tuck into a personal adventure, there's something great coming for you in the next few months.

Let's dive in!

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

"Tacoma"

What it is: "Tacoma" is the story of six crew members of a space station (named "Tacoma"), set in the near future of 2088. You're a forensic investigator, essentially, but in space, digging through notes and audio logs and other detritus of their lives. If you played "Gone Home," you'll find "Tacoma" immediately familiar.  

Release date: August 2

Platforms: Xbox One, Windows 10 PC, Mac, Linux

"Uncharted: The Lost Legacy"

What it is: The "Uncharted" series, featuring Nathan Drake as he traipses around the world in third-person, is over. With "Uncharted 4: A Thief's End," the series was officially sunset — until "Uncharted: The Lost Legacy," that is, which extends the series by following Chloe Frazer as the main character. If you liked the high-octane, Indiana Jones-esque gameplay of previous "Uncharted" games, "The Lost Legacy" is more of that with a new set of characters in a totally new environment. 

Release date: August 22

Platforms: PlayStation 4

"Madden NFL '18"

What it is: Do we need to spell out what "Madden" is? Probably not, right? Every August, a new "Madden" game comes out, and 2017 is no different. As usual, "Madden NFL 18" is a football simulation sports game where you can live out your wildest NFL dreams. There's a new story mode, and this is the first time EA's made the game using its proprietary Frostbite game engine, but if you're getting "Madden" you probably don't need to hear about any of that — you just wanna play some football. We totally understand! This is your chance to do just that.

Release date: August 25

Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4

"Minecraft" is one of the most popular, most-played games in the world for two main reasons:

1. It's really, really good.
2. It's available on everything.

You can play "Minecraft" on your iPhone or your Xbox One, and it's basically the same game.

Even though Microsoft owns and operates the Xbox brand, it continues to support "Minecraft" (which it owns) as a multi-platform game. It's a striking anomaly among Microsoft's portfolio of first-party games — "Halo," for instance, only comes to Microsoft-owned platforms (Xbox One and Windows 10). The same could be said for the "Forza Motorsport" franchise, "Gears of War," and many others.

Microsoft's next move with "Minecraft" is even more dramatic: An update coming to "Minecraft" this year unifies all versions of the game — if you're playing on an iPhone, you can team up with a friend on Xbox One and craft a world together. A friend playing the game in an Oculus Rift VR headset on a PC could jump in, and another friend on the Nintendo Switch could too. 

It's hard to overstate how big of a deal that is, which is why it's so unfortunate that a single company refuses to participate: Sony. 

Though "Minecraft" on the PlayStation 4 is essentially the same game, you'll only be able to play "Minecraft" on PlayStation 4 with other PlayStation 4 owners. And it's Sony that's stopping that from happening. 

"You should probably ask them," Xbox leader Phil Spencer said in an interview with Business Insider in June, when asked about why the PlayStation 4 version doesn't work with other platforms. He added, "I don't mean that to be snippy. We've shown our intent on what we want to go do. And I'd love for 'Minecraft' players to get to play 'Minecraft.'" 

In a FAQ published on Monday, Microsoft issued another volley at Sony over the issue:

"Q: Will the new version be available on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch?

A: While we are thrilled to be able to confirm the new version of Minecraft is coming to Nintendo Switch, we are still in discussions with Sony about PlayStation and have nothing to confirm. We would love to work with Sony to bring players on PlayStation 4 into this ecosystem as well."

It's notable that Microsoft included the Nintendo Switch question alongside the PlayStation 4 question. Nintendo is a notoriously closed company, only rarely working with its direct competition. In the case of "Minecraft," though, Nintendo smartly embraced a partnership with Microsoft. Sony's choice to opt-out is all the more glaring when directly compared with Nintendo's surprising openness.

With over 63 million PlayStation 4 consoles in the wild, "Minecraft" players on PS4 aren't likely to have problems finding people to play with. But Sony's not endearing itself to fans of the game who want to play on Sony's console, and the company looks bad for not embracing what appears to be a solely consumer-friendly move on Microsoft's part.

SEE ALSO: Sony and Microsoft are getting in the way of an amazing service that would benefit gamers on all platforms

DON'T MISS: There's a simple, frustrating reason you can't play Xbox games with PlayStation owners online

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Hollywood might have cracked the code on how to make money for its movies that get a bad Rotten Tomatoes score.

Despite "The Emoji Movie" having a 0% rating on the review aggregator site going into its opening weekend last week (it currently has a 6% rating), the movie battled for the top spot at the domestic box office, eventually coming in second to "Dunkirk." It still pulled in an astounding $24.5 million for the weekend.  

Sony believes it was the strategy of not allowing critics to run their reviews until Thursday last week (the day the preview showings began) that worked. The movie ended up winning the Friday box office with $10 million. 

"What other wide release with a score under 8 percent has opened north of $20 million? I don't think there is one," Josh Greenstein, Sony Pictures president of worldwide marketing and distribution, told The Hollywood Reporter.

In recent years, the Rotten Tomatoes score for a movie has become a huge marketing tactic for studios. If a movie is in the high 90% ("Wonder Woman," "Baby Driver") or hit that 100% mark ("Get Out"), the studio puts it on everything from TV spots to web banners. 

And a big reason for that is practically everyone visits Rotten Tomatoes before deciding to see a movie, and the studios know it. According to THR, Nielsen Research Group found seven out of 10 people said they would be less interested in seeing a movie if the Rotten Tomatoes score was zero to 25. And social media research firm Fizziology, which tracks every major Hollywood release, discovered a Rotten Tomatoes score has the most influence on moviegoers 25 and younger.

So if a movie gets a rotten on the "Tomatometer," the studio has to scramble to figure out how to spin it.

When the Tom Cruise action movie "The Mummy" came out, director Alex Kurtzman tried to fend off its rotten review (16%) by saying he's doesn't "make movies for them," meaning critics. But that didn't help, as the movie only had a $31.6 million opening weekend (though it has grossed over $300 million internationally). 

In March, Brett Ratner lashed out at Rotten Tomatoes as being the "worst thing that we have in today's movie culture" while speaking at the Sun Valley Film Festival. Hhe was a producer on "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," which he believes had lower than expected box office due to its bad Rotten Tomatoes score. But the truth is the site is more powerful than ever, and instead of complaining about it Hollywood has to adapt.

Holding back critics from seeing a movie until right before it opens is nothing new — in fact, Sony is doing it again for this weekend's anticipated adaptation of the Stephen King book series, "The Dark Tower," which has received bad press for production problems. And in some cases, studios don't screen movies at all, a tactic Warner Bros. used with the Will Ferrell/Amy Poehler comedy, "The House" (it had an $8.7 million opening).

What's changed is the power of the Rotten Tomatoes score. The less time people have to see a movie's score on the site, the greater chance studios have to squeeze a little more box office coin out of a title they know is rotten. 

SEE ALSO: 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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Bryan Fogel became one of the biggest success stories at Sundance in 2017, when his doping scandal documentary “Icarus” sold to Netflix for a staggering $5 million (unheard of for a documentary sale). But his journey actually goes back 14 years, when his claim to fame was being the creator of an off-Broadway hit show.

Struggling to get into the business as an actor, writer, or director, Fogel co-wrote the stage play “Jewtopia” with Sam Wolfson in 2003. It's a comedy about two friends navigating the Jewish and Gentile dating scenes. It became a surprise hit, with Fogel and Wolfson starring as the male leads during runs in Los Angeles, and then off-Broadway for three and a half years.

That play then had a touring production, was put into book form, and even spawned a movie version starring Jennifer Love Hewitt in 2012 directed by Fogel.

But that’s when the party stopped. The movie barely got a theatrical run, and was thrust into streaming limbo following its 10% Rotten Tomatoes rating. 

Following that disappointment, and known around town only as “The Jewtopia Guy,” Fogel was stuck in the bubble Hollywood likes to put people in.

“There was nothing coming at me that was exciting,” Fogel told Business Insider. “In a way, I would call it director’s jail.”

But there was one thing that gave him comfort: cycling.

Fogel constantly rode his bike, sometimes even riding and doing competitions alongside pros. Around the time of accusations running wild in 2012 that Lance Armstrong was doping throughout his seven consecutive wins of the Tour de France, Fogel, who idolized Armstrong, began to wonder if the blame should be put on Armstrong or the entire system. Armstrong wasn’t the only one doping, though he finally admitted to doing it in 2013.

That led to Fogel to an idea.

“I like to make films and I like to ride my bike, so I set out on this journey to evade positive detection,” Fogel said. “Show on a bigger level how this anti-doping system essentially doesn’t work and hopefully make a cool movie in the process.”

In 2014, Fogel used $350,000 given to him by a friend and began to make “Icarus” (available on Netflix Friday). He hired a team of nutritionists and trainers to chart his progress, and through that he befriended the man who would be in charge of his doping process, a Russian scientist named Grigory Rodchenkov.

It took years to find what the movie was. Fogel admitted that the first two years of material hardly even made it in the finished version of the movie. But his “Super Size Me”-like journey to see how performance enhancing drugs bettered his cycling led to a friendship with Rodchenkov, which inevitably became his movie.

As shown halfway through "Icarus," Fogel begins to realize through his Skype conversations with Rodchenkov that he’s a major player in Russia’s doping of its athletes. In fact, he’s the guy.

It turns out Rodchenkov is the director of the Moscow laboratory, the Anti-Doping Centre, which does the complete opposite on a daily basis of what its name says it does. The lab, as Rodchenkov shows in the movie, doped the athletes and then carried through methods to make sure they got through the Sochi Winter Games in 2014 undetected.

Around the time Fogel got this bombshell from Rodchenkov, producer Dan Cogan and his team at Impact Partners joined the movie, and gave Fogel the financing and support to complete it. This included Fogel’s trip to Moscow to see Rodchenkov at his lab for the final stage of his doping.

But then the movie took a drastic turn.

Doping allegations toward Russian Olympic athletes begin to come out in the news, with involvement tracing all the way up to Russian president Vladimir Putin. Fearful for his life, Rodchenkov devised a plan with Fogel to get him to the US.

“I had so many sleepless nights in that period,” Fogel said. “I had a responsibility. This story had to come out, and Grigory was the only person on planet earth who had this evidence.”

Fogel and Rodchenkov’s faces were suddenly plastered all over Russian television, and Fogel claiming his Facebook and email were constantly trying to be hacked into. This led to the movie's most dramatic moment, Rodchenkov getting in touch with the New York Times in May 2016 to deliver the whistle-blowing story that rocked the sports world. Fogel was there to capture it all on camera. In fact, some of that footage has only recently been included in the movie, as Fogel didn’t have enough time to get it into the Sundance cut.

“The movie has the same running time, but we lost 20 minutes of material that was in the Sundance cut, and replaced that with 20 minutes of material that is bringing this story together emotionally. Showing and not telling,” Fogel said, who adds that the story also now goes quicker into Rodchenkov’s story. “So at Sundance we had a lot of [text] cards because we didn't have the time to put that together.” Also different from the Sundance cut, there’s now animation in the movie.

Many will likely connect the events in "Icarus" to the allegations that Russia interfered in the US 2016 presidential election. And Fogel is 100% on board with that thinking.

“You think to yourself, if they have been doing this to win gold medals and they had this entire laboratory that was basically a front for this spectacular criminal operation, is there any question what else they're capable of?” Fogel said. “Whether they hacked our election or whether there was collusion, I think the writing is right there on the wall. How much more evidence do you need?”

“Icarus” is available on Netflix beginning August 4.

SEE ALSO: Everything you need to know about the Iron Bank of Braavos, which will be important on "Game of Thrones" next Sunday

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NOW WATCH: Ryan Seacrest reveals the one thing you should never say to a celebrity the first time you meet them

Kanye West has sued insurance firm Lloyd's of London for $10 million, alleging that the company is withholding payments from West's canceled 2016 tour dates by saying, in part, that the rapper's "use of marijuana" may allow them to deny his insurance claim, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

West's Saint Pablo tour ended in an erratic fashion in November 2016.

After vocalizing his support for the newly elected President Donald Trump at a show in San Jose, California, West criticized Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Hillary Clinton, and Mark Zuckerberg in a rambling rant at a Sacramento concert two days later. At the latter show, he abruptly walked off the stage three songs in, canceled his remaining 21 tour dates, and admitted himself to a UCLA neuropsychiatric hospital, where he stayed for a week.

West's touring company, Very Good Touring, wrote in the lawsuit that Lloyd's of London hasn't given them "any indication if they will ever pay or even make a coverage decision, implying that West’s use of marijuana may provide them with a basis to deny the claim and retain the hundreds of thousands of dollars in insurance premiums paid by Very Good."

West's lawyer, Howard King, said in the lawsuit that the firm's claims of West's alleged marijuana use as a means to withhold payments is an "unsupportable contention."

The suit also alleges that Lloyd's brought confidential information about West to the attention of the news media, and it claims that the firm's chosen doctor said at the time that West’s mental condition was "disabling" enough to prevent him from continuing the rest of his tour, according to The Guardian.

Lloyd's of London has said they will not comment on on-going cases.

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

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NOW WATCH: Pokémon Go's first real-world event was a complete disaster — here's what happened

Before Donald Trump announced his candidacy for the highest office in the land, he was very nearly cast as a fictional POTUS in the Syfy made-for-TV movie "Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!," according to a profile on the series by The Hollywood Reporter. 

In January 2015, Trump agreed to appear in the film after Ian Ziering, the star of the series and a former contestant on "Celebrity Apprentice," contacted his former reality TV boss about the role. A contract was soon sent to Trump's lawyer, Michael D. Cohen.

Eventually, the once "serious talks" devolved into silence from Trump's camp as he prepared to launch a real presidential bid, according to David Latt, the founder of The Asylum, the studio behind the "Sharknado" series.

"Donald's thinking about making a legitimate run for the presidency, so we'll get back to you," Latt recalled to THR how Cohen explained Trump's indecision about the role. "This might not be the best time."

Nevertheless, when the role of POTUS went to Mark Cuban at the last minute, Trump took offense.

"We immediately heard from Trump's lawyer," Latt said. "He basically said, 'How dare you? Donald wanted to do this. We're going to sue you! We're going to shut the entire show down!'"

"Sharknado 3" went on to premiere in October 2015 to a 36% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Just over a year later, Donald Trump would win the presidential election, and Michael D. Cohen would soon be under FBI investigation for the Trump campaign's alleged connections to Russia.

SEE ALSO: Here’s how 'Sharknado 3' packed in all those celebrity cameos

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NOW WATCH: 7 details you might have missed on season 7 episode 2 of 'Game of Thrones'

This is a preview of a research report from BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service. To learn more about BI Intelligence, click here.

What is eSports? History & Rise of Video Game Tournaments

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

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

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

eSports Market Growth Booming

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

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

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

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

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

eSports Industry Analysis - The Future of the Competitive Gaming Market

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1. Subscribe to an All-Access pass to BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report and over 100 other expertly researched reports. As an added bonus, you'll also gain access to all future reports and daily newsletters to ensure you stay ahead of the curve and benefit personally and professionally. >> START A MEMBERSHIP
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The recent HBO hack now appears worse than initial leaks, which included unaired episodes of HBO shows including "Ballers" and "Insecure" as well a script for the next episode of "Game of Thrones." 

Variety reports that security company IP Echelon — which frequently works for HBO to remove infringing content from Google — determined that hackers stole “thousands of Home Box Office (HBO) internal company documents.” The security company also said that the hackers took “masses of copyrighted items including documents, images, videos and sound.”

The alleged hackers — going by the name Little.Finger66 — already leaked personal information about a senior HBO executive, and claim to have access to HBO's network infrastructure, which could compromise internal documents, employee data, and emails. 

At this point, the HBO hack seems a bit reflective of the 2014 Sony Pictures hacks, which have been called one of the "worst cyber attacks in corporate history." Those hacks, which included company email leaks, resulted in the head of Sony Pictures, Amy Pascal, stepping down.

"Data protection is a top priority at HBO, and we take seriously our responsibility to protect the data we hold," HBO told Variety in a statement.

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

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NOW WATCH: 7 details you might have missed on season 7 episode 2 of 'Game of Thrones'

Built in 1927, Coney Island Cyclone is a roller coaster that runs on wooden rails. It may be old, but it still stands as one of the most thrilling rides.

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There's a creed The Gunslinger lives by in "The Dark Tower," and it ends with: "You do not kill with your gun. He who kills with his gun has forgotten the face of his father. You kill with your heart."

Director Nikolaj Arcel and everyone at Sony should have thought about that meaning more when adapting Stephen King's eight-book series, because unlike The Gunslinger, they had no heart in their attempt to bring this classic to life.

Done in a brisk 90 minute running time, the movie feels like a bunch of scenes cobbled together. With a disregard to character development, or even simply giving the audience a moment to breath in the world, the feeling of watching "The Dark Tower" is like racing through a meal because you are late to an appointment.

At one point, I was imaging what it must have been like to edit this movie. Likely it was days filled with Sony Pictures head Tom Rothman standing over the editor screaming, "IS IT DONE YET? IS IT DONE YET?? IS IT DONE YET!?!?!?"

The movie opens with teenager Jake Chambers (Tom Taylor) having a nightmare that kids are being forced to be weapons for an evil Man in Black (Matthew McConaughey) in his quest to destroy the Dark Tower, a giant black structure that goes high up in the sky. Seriously, that's all I know about it. The movie gives very little indication of its importance outside of it being very powerful. Gradually, we learn that Jake continues to have visions of The Man In Black and Roland Deschain/The Gunslinger (Idris Elba), while noticing that people around him seem to be strange creatures disguised as humans. Eventually, Jake's visions lead him to a portal to another dimension, and there he meets The Gunslinger. The two then go out to find the Dark Tower and also face The Man in Black.

I never read the King books, but it's more than obvious Arcel and the slew of screenwriters who have taken on this project over the years — there are four credited, including Arcel — completely slaughtered King's material.

Numerous supporting characters are given zero time for audiences to understand who they are and their importance in the story.

And even more bizarre is the major power Jack has in the movie is actually a reference to another King book.

About halfway through the movie, Jack discovers that he shines, which means he has psychic abilities. It's a power Danny Torrance possesses in King's novel, "The Shining." Though it's kind of cool that the movie makes a reference to another King classic, it's also very weird. In King's "The Dark Tower" books, Jack possess a similar power called "The Touch." Wouldn't it have made more sense to go with that? Fans of books like the movies they are based on to reference what's actually in them.

It's hard to fault Elba or McConaughey for their performances. Whatever they were sold on to accomplish in this movie likely never panned out. Honestly, outside of some fish-out-of water comedy done by Elba when The Gunslinger transports to Earth briefly, there's nothing memorable about any performance.

It's more than obvious Sony wasn't looking to really make a movie for the fans of the books — which is just plain bizarre. They are the ones who can't wait to see this!

"The Dark Tower" turns out to be just the latest in a long line of movies based on King's books that are nothing like his work. The added problem with this one, however, is it's nowhere near close to being as good a standalone movie as most of those others.

"The Dark Tower" opens in theaters on Friday.

SEE ALSO: How a guy who injected PEDs to see the effects scored a Netflix deal and uncovered the biggest doping scandal in Olympics history

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HBO's "Game of Thrones" naturally had to make some changes from the books when adapting them to a television show. That's the business.

But it's still fun to spot them, and think about whether you like one choice more than the other.

Business Insider previously compiled the biggest plot changes from the books to the show, including how Tyrion Lannister looks quite different on the small screen.

However, in honor of season seven, we've also rounded up 40 differences (in no particular order) that you might not have noticed unless you've really read the books carefully.

Warning: There are book and show spoilers in this post so read at your own risk.

Here are the differences between the "Game of Thrones" books and show you may not have noticed:

SEE ALSO: HBO just unveiled a peek at 15 new character looks for 'Game of Thrones' season 7

Everyone's favorite sellsword Daario Naharis looks way different in the books than in the show.

In the the books Daario Naharis is much more flamboyant, taking after his Tyroshi roots. The Tyroshi are known for dyeing their hair bright colors and wearing bright clothes. Daario is described in the novel "A Storm of Swords" as having a blue trident beard and bright blue, long hair, with a gold mustache and one gold tooth. While both Ed Skrein and Michiel Huisman have done an outstanding job of playing the character in seasons three and four through six, respectively, they aren't exactly what George R.R. Martin had in mind.

Missandei isn't having a romance with Grey Worm any time soon in the books, because she's only 10!

Daenerys refers to Missandei often in the "A Song of Ice and Fire" book series as her "little scribe," because the girl is so small. When she's introduced in the show during season three, she appears to be much older. Her age is unconfirmed in the show, but you can take your own guesses based on her picture here. Also the slavers of Astapor offer her with no prompting in the book "A Storm of Swords." In the show during season three, Daenerys demands they give her Missandei (as a gift).

Mance Rayder is still alive in the books, kind of, despite being burned alive on the show. Well, he's mostly alive. He was still burned at the stake.

In the book "A Dance with Dragons" and in season five of the show, Mance Rayder is burned alive at the stake. But, in the book, Melisandre does some red-priestess magic to switch Mance Rayder and the Lord of Bones' (aka Rattleshirt's) body. You remember the Lord of Bones, right? He wore... bones... lots of them. Anyways, Stannis wanted to burn Mance Rayder, but Melisandre thought Mance Rayder would still be useful later on, so she wanted to keep his soul alive. She clearly didn't share the same thoughts about the Lord of Bones. It's really quite complicated and you should read "A Dance with Dragons" to get a full description of it but for right now: Mance = alive, Rattleshirt = dead.

The DEA's hunt for Pablo Escobar might be over on Netflix's "Narcos," but now agent Javier Peña, played by Pedro Pascal (aka Oberyn Martell), joins a new fight with new villains from the Cali Cartel. 

Netflix just released the trailer for the third season, and it proves to be just as exciting, dark, and violent as the first two. And even without the presence of Pablo Escobar, there's still lots of cocaine. 

The trailer makes the Cali Cartel sound terrifying. In voiceover, agent Peña says, "To take down the gentlemen of Cali, you'd have to be crazy, stupid, brave, and lucky all at the same time."

Season three of "Narcos" debuts on Netflix on September 1. Watch the trailer below:

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NOW WATCH: Here’s what celebrities would look like with symmetrical faces

•The Void, a company that makes "hyper-reality" VR experiences, is working with Lucasfilm and ILMxLab to open a new experience near Disney's parks, called "Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire"

• The new experience will open near Downtown Disney in Anaheim, California, and near Disney Springs in Orlando, Florida

• Business Insider talked to The Void's CEO Cliff Plumer to learn more about the collaboration and how it came to be

Two years ago, I flew out to a small town in Utah to try the world’s first virtual reality theme park.

It was an extraordinary experience.

The Void gives you a VR headset and a backpack with a computer, but unlike other VR setups where you're chained to a large computer, The Void lets you explore your environment: a warehouse-like maze, reminiscent of a laser-tag arena, that's specially designed by The Void, complete with lasers and cameras that can track your backpack and headset. 

Though the environment is actually just a series of blank walls and objects, your VR headset (plus some environmental tricks) makes you think you’re in the virtual world of The Void’s choosing — maybe it’s a decrepit laboratory on an alien planet, or gorgeous Mayan ruins, or even just the streets of New York City. By mixing VR with clever tricks like heat, cold, vibrations, audio cues, and puffs of air, The Void can make you believe you’re just about anywhere.

Trying The Void’s unique take on the future of entertainment and storytelling, and getting to know the company’s team of designers, artists, and engineers working tirelessly to make it all possible, was an unforgettable experience.

And since then, The Void has only grown:

• Last year, the company built a Ghostbusters hyper-reality experience (in time for the new movie, of course) that lets you live out your dreams of busting ghosts. You can try it right now in New York City and Toronto.
• Earlier this year, the company hired a new CEO: Cliff Plumer, notably the former CTO of Lucasfilm and ex-president of VR experiences company Jaunt.
• Last month, The Void joined Disney's Accelerator Program, which helps companies building the future of entertainment get access to Disney’s resources and support.

That last bit is important, and has to do with the company's latest news: The Void will soon open two new “Experience Centers” near Disney’s two theme parks in California and Orlando, which will let people try an all-new hyper-reality experience called “Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire.”

Though there's no specific information regarding when people can expect these new Experience Centers to open, they will be located at Downtown Disney near the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, and in Disney Springs, near Disney World’s resorts in Orlando.

For “Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire,” The Void collaborated with Lucasfilm and ILMxLab, which is the collaboration between Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) and Skywalker Sound that’s solely dedicated to creating “immersive experiences.”

Cliff Plumer, The Void's new CEO as of January, tells Business Insider that "Secrets of the Empire" was truly was a collaboration with the Lucasfilm story team. "They spent time with us understanding our process and looking at how we go about creating our experiences, and they had a storyline in mind," he said. "It's been a great collaboration since day one."

Plumer first experienced The Void early last year at Sundance — he said he was "immediately blown away by the experience," and that "the things I'd done at Oculus and Jaunt were exciting at the time, but what The Void was doing was next-level." Now that he's joined The Void as its new CEO, Plumer says the company is putting a ton of effort into making sure customers are wowed even before they don their VR headsets and backpacks — taking a note from Disney, which keeps guests entertained even while they're waiting in line.

"There's a lot we've learned working closely with the Walt Disney company, which pretty much wrote the book on guest services," Plumer tells us. "So when you come to The Void entertainment center, the entertainment immediately begins. It's not just what happens in the virtual world; it's that whole journey that we've worked really hard on, and we're excited to launch that part of it with the 'Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire' experience."

Plumer tells Business Insider that he goes through the new "Star Wars" experience every time he's at The Void's studio, and he says he's "confident every Star Wars fan is going to love it."

"They'll feel like they've stepped into the universe," Plumer says. "This Star Wars experience — I wanted to be in the film industry the moment I saw the original 'Star Wars' in 1977. I was fortunate enough to work with Lucasfilm on the original trilogy, and the second trilogy with George. I officially grew up with Star Wars, as well as my kids. And this experience, being in that Star Wars universe, engaging those famous characters, is amazing. That's what I'm excited about. A new form of storytelling."

SEE ALSO: I tried the world's first virtual reality theme park, and it was better than anything I could've imagined

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