Is it true that the best way to defend yourself against a shark is to punch its nose? To improve your chances of surviving a shark attack, we spoke with George Burgess, director of the Florida Program for Shark Research and manager of the International Shark Attack File. Following is a transcript of the video.

My name is George Burgess. I serve as director of the Florida program for shark research.

If you see a shark while in the water, of course the first thing to do is to get out if you can, and that seems obvious to most people, but surfers in particular, who swim a lot in the water and see sharks, oftentimes don’t worry about it because they have been with them before. Sometimes they get bit.

If the shark is actually coming at you and it looks like it is going to make contact with you, the nose is the sensitive spot. If you can bop it on the nose with your fist, it likely will veer away and, once again, you hopefully will have enough time to get out of the water.

Finally, in fact, if a sharks got you in its jaws, the eyes and the gill slits — the five openings behind the eyes — are very sensitive. And stick your fingers in there. Claw at them. Some people that have been bit have had success in getting them to open their mouths when you poke at their eye.

The odds of being attacked actually have never been lower than they are right now. Simply because we are putting so many people in the water, that it’s just like having extra lottery tickets thrown into the pool. So, individually, our odds of being attacked have never been lower.

Follow Tech Insider: On Facebook

Join the conversation about this story »

• Filmmakers Billy Corben and Alfred Spellman used the perspective of drug dealers and hitmen to tell the story of "Cocaine Cowboys."
• When criminals get out of prison, they want to tell their stories to Corben and Spellman.
• Corben and Spellman explained their failed attempt to make the real-life story of Martin Scorsese's "Casino." 

Born and bred in Miami, Florida, director Billy Corben and producer Alfred Spellman grew up knowing a simple fact: their city has been, and will always be, a sunny place for shady people.

Whether it’s the refuge for retired mafia kingpins of the past, or most recently O.J. Simpson’s likely new home once he's released from prison in October, The Magic City has never been able to shake its notorious reputation.

For Corben and Spellman, memories of being kids in Miami include racing home after suddenly coming upon a massive drug bust on their way to school and realizing that all their neighbors suddenly were driving around in fancy cars, had big boats, or were building additions on their houses — all while the rest of the country was going through a recession in the '80s.

And then there was “Miami Vice.”

“The big thing [growing up] was finding, in town, where 'Miami Vice' was shooting," Spellman told Business Insider. “They were always just shooting the other day near your friend's house, that was the talk. It was a huge thing in elementary school."

When the two grew up (they've known each other since the 9th grade), and decided to get into making movies through their production company Rakontur, they didn't set up camp in Los Angeles or New York City. They stayed put in Miami and decided to tell the taboo stories of the city.

The first: making the real-life "Scarface" movie.

The Smugglers

Miami was the entry point for cocaine moving into the country in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It made the people who were trafficking it extremely rich, but it also made Miami, in that time, the most violent place in the country. The Colombian and Cuban drug cartels set up hits almost on a daily basis around the city.

It was a story Corben and Spellman felt had been glamorized in movies and TV, but never told the real way in documentary form. They planned to do that with "Cocaine Cowboys" — tell the story through the accounts of the people who were there. And not just on the law enforcement side, but the underworld as well.

But there was a problem. Corben and Spellman had zero connections in the city's drug world of that era. However, there's another simple fact about Miami: "You are basically two degrees of separation away," Corben told Business Insider. "You'll be at a bar and end up sitting next to a former smuggler."

And that's what happened to Corben's cousin on a sunny Miami day in 2003. While Corben and Spellman were beginning their research on the movie, Corben got a call.

“My cousin called me and he said, ‘Do you know who Jon Roberts is?’ And I’m like ‘No, but let me ask the office.’ And Alfred yells out, ‘Yes!’” Corben said.

In his research, Spellman had come across the book “The Man Who Made It Snow,” and in it Roberts is featured as a former New York City club owner who moved down to Miami to deal marijuana, and ended up being one of the major players dealing cocaine for the Medellín Cartel.

“It turns out Billy’s cousin met him at a pool and Jon wanted to know if we wanted to do lunch and meet,” Spellman said.

Up until this point, Corben and Spellman had hit closed doors whenever it came to talking to the people behind the cocaine that flooded into Miami in the 1980s. By the early 2000s “Scarface” was a bonafide classic constantly referenced on TV shows and rap songs, but for people living in southern Florida, the topic was still a sensitive subject.

“In Miami, you didn’t talk about cocaine, it’s just an era that had never been talked about,” Spellman said.

“My grandfather, who was a real estate developer in Miami Beach and South Florida, he was appalled we were doing the movie,” Corben said.

But after a sit down with Roberts, in which they explained to him that the movie would not feature a narrator, or have an agenda, and instead would be focused on the first-person accounts, Roberts was on board. And Roberts’ partner, Mickey Munday, a modern-day pirate who was in charge of smuggling the drugs into Miami through air and sea, quickly followed.

Corben and Spellman realized they possessed a tool that the former gangsters desperately needed to get back on their feet after years in prison: notoriety.

“Most people coming out of prison don’t have anything,” Corben said. “It’s life reset. You’re not helpless, but you have no income, you have no savings, some people don’t have any support system when they come out because people have disowned them. So you come out and all you have is your stories. I don’t want to call it your currency, but that’s what you have.”

Though Corben and Spellman said they never paid for an interview, they do not take their subjects’ life rights, which means the people they interview are free to use the notoriety they get from the movie to try and land a book or movie deal. (Thanks to the success of “Cocaine Cowboys,” both Roberts and Munday have done just that.)

After snagging Corben and Spellman, the filmmakers now had law enforcement, newspaper reporters, and smugglers all retelling how cocaine got to the shores of Florida. But they still didn’t have any Colombian enforcers.

The Hitman

Landing someone who would go on camera and speak about the murders they committed was obviously a huge challenge. In most instances, the hitmen were in prison for a single murder, so the person could only speak on what they had been convicted of. Corben and Spellman would want to talk to someone who could speak about a wide range of criminal activity.

Through the help of a homicide detective, Corben and Spellman reached out to three hitmen serving prison sentences. One was a man convicted for the murder of Barry Seal, the drug smuggler for the Medellín Cartel who Tom Cruise will be playing in the upcoming movie “American Made.” They also reached out to Miguel Perez, who is featured in “Cocaine Cowboys” as a hitman who once killed a target at an airport in broad daylight with a bayonet.

“This guy was described to us by a veteran homicide detective in the documentary as one of the scariest people he had ever encountered in his life,” Corben said of Perez.

Perez agreed to be interviewed. But after weeks of preparing, and hours on the day setting up lights and dolly track at the prison, Perez appeared from his cell to tell the filmmakers he would no longer do the interview after speaking to his lawyer.

“This took months to get to this point,” Corben said. “I’m on the other side of the room with the crew and I see Alfred wagging his finger at Miguel saying, ‘We came all the way here….’”

“I’m just yelling at him,” Spellman added. “And he said he couldn’t do it.”

The third person was Jorge “Rivi” Ayala. An enforcer for drug lord Griselda Blanco, aka “The Godmother,” Ayala was unique to the other hitmen the filmmakers reached out to. Why? Because Ayala had turned on Blanco and cooperated with authorities. Instead of getting the death penalty, he had immunity and could speak about over 20 homicides instead of just the one he was convicted on.

For five to six hours a day, for three visits, Corben and Spellman, along with a film crew, visited Ayala. And what they got from the interviews is some of the most compelling and memorable footage of “Cocaine Cowboys.” Ayala held nothing back as he talked about the people he killed and how insane his boss, The Godmother, was.

After “Cocaine Cowboys” premiered at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival, the movie was bought by Magnolia Pictures. Though its theatrical release wasn’t that impressive, the movie would later gain a loyal following on the bootleg market, and quickly became a popular title in the hip-hop world. The movie has since found even more fans on Netflix and airs on movie channels like Showtime.

The filmmakers have also built up their status through their popular ESPN “30 for 30” documentaries “The U” and “Broke.”

That has made Corben and Spellman’s job of landing interviews with shady characters much easier. A major reason why “Cocaine Cowboys 2,” which delved deeper into the reign of Blanco, was made is because the main subject of the movie, Charles Cosby, saw that the promotional material for “Cocaine Cowboys” had a photo of him and Blanco. Cosby reached out to Spellman to get the photo, which led to the two talking and eventually deciding to do a movie.

And their two movies released in 2011, “Limelight” and “Square Grouper,” were made when the subjects reached out to the filmmakers directly. In the case of “Square Grouper,” main subject Robert Platshorn's first call after 29 years in prison for marijuana smuggling was to Corben and Spellman.

“We say, ‘When you get out of prison the first call you make is to your mother and the second is to Rakontur,’” Spellman said.

The real 'Casino'

But the pair hasn't landed every movie idea they’ve gone after.

Shortly after the theatrical release of “Cocaine Cowboys” in 2007, Corben’s cousin came through again. He told him that Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal, a mob associate and the person Robert De Niro's character is based on in Martin Scorsese’s “Casino,” lived in Miami Beach. As “Cocaine Cowboys” was spun as the real “Scarface,” Corben and Spellman felt it was time to tell the real-life “Casino.”

The duo tracked down Rosenthal, who suggested they meet at the posh Joe’s Stone Crab in Miami Beach.

Rosenthal, impeccably dressed as Corben recalled, dazzled the filmmakers with stories about his power plays with Hollywood, like how he forced the studio that released “Casino,” Universal, to change the real-life names of the mobsters for the movie. In the movie, Rosenthal’s name is changed to Sam “Ace” Rothstein. But when Corben pitched to Rosenthal the idea of a documentary about him, Rosenthal's reaction was simply that he’d “consider it.”

“So a two-hour, $250 lunch later, we walked out with a definite maybe,” Spellman said.

Two more very expensive lunches followed, including one in which Spellman had to move Rosenthal’s car so it wouldn’t get towed  — “I’m walking to the car and I’m thinking, ‘Are people still after him?’ I took a deep breath and started the car,” Spellman said — but they were still at a stalemate. Months after the final lunch, Rosenthal died.

“Funny enough, a month or so later I have lunch with an FBI agent we know, and I was spitballing ideas with him, and I told him the whole story about Lefty and he looked at me and paused and said, ‘He was the biggest snitch we ever had. He ratted on people until the day he died.’ So I realized he was still an asset of the agency and didn't want to put himself out there with doing a movie,” Spellman said.

Corben believes what has made them successful over the years is they are completely honest with their subjects. They don’t have fixers or field producers trying to track people down and convince them to be in the movie, like other movies and TV shows. It’s just Corben and Spellman building the relationships.

“I don’t even know what a fixer is,” Corben said with a laugh. “So much of what we do and the candid nature, we’re asking people to recount embarrassing, unflattering, or humiliating parts of their lives, like going to prison. Those relationships are so much about trust. I don’t know how we could do this any other way.”

And because of that they also are meticulous in the edit room to make sure nothing a subject says on screen is taken out of context. To date, the filmmakers say no one featured in one of their movies has ever said they were depicted unfairly.

“You’re dealing with people who would be very upset if we weren’t truthful,” Spellman said.

The duo aren’t done with the “Cocaine Cowboys” franchise. A third one, which will focus on a Miami Cuban crime family headed by Willie Falcon and Sal Magluta, is currently being made into a six-hour miniseries. But before that, there will be another documentary we’ll see from them. At the moment they are keeping that under wraps, but you can bet it will be set in Miami and involve shady people.

“All I’ll say for that one is the people called us on the way to prison and then on the way out,” Corben said.

SEE ALSO: The big Hollywood romantic comedy is dead — here's what happened to it

Join the conversation about this story »

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

One of the highlights from this year's Sundance Film Festival was "Ingrid Goes West" (opening in theaters Friday), a dark comedy starring Aubrey Plaza as Ingrid, a girl so addicted to her Instagram account that she becomes dangerously obsessed with the "Insta-famous" Taylor (Elizabeth Olsen).

With the help of Taylor's account, Ingrid knows everything from where Taylor lives to her favorite shops and restaurants. After inheriting over $60,000 following the death of her mother, and trying to put her life together after ruining her friend's wedding because she wasn't invited, Ingrid decides to start a new life out in California, in the same neighborhood Taylor lives in. The movie then chronicles Ingrid's "Single White Female"-like lengths to become Taylor's friend.

Plaza and Olsen talked to Business Insider at Sundance about the movie's commentary on social media, their realization that being internet famous can be a good business model, and the story behind one of the movie's funniest scenes (if you were a fan of K-Ci & JoJo, keep reading).

Jason Guerrasio: Is it frightening to think that there might be a person like Ingrid out there trying to connect with you through social media?

Aubrey Plaza: I don't think about that. I wouldn't think about that.

Elizabeth Olsen: I just don't want people to know what I'm doing. [Laughs] And not that I think I have a stalker, I just want to stay private.

Guerrasio: What do you guys think of social media in general? The movie is kind of a commentary on where we are.

Plaza: I think it's its own animal that is evolving and it's something that in years to come we'll look back on and learn a lot about. We're in it right now, so it's really hard to have a perspective on it, but it feels scary to me.

Olsen: I think it's advancing so fast and there's something always new, I think we're still exploring how it's most beneficial. "Black Mirror" is a show that shows you the scariest version, it's almost a cautionary tale.

Guerrasio: I feel this movie is the same way, too. I mean, there are things you want to tell your fans, but you also want privacy and not to be trolled.

Plaza: Yeah, I'm a private person and don't like sharing my private life with people, but as a producer and being in a professional business, there is a part of it where you need to give back. It's nice to emote something and you want to make things for those people, so having that is good sometimes.

Olsen: I keep thinking about maybe doing it —

Guerrasio: Really?

Olsen: Yeah, but I probably won't.

Plaza: [Laughs]

Olsen: Though I think about doing it.

Plaza: It's like coming up with something to post and then going, "Forget it, I'm not doing it."

Olsen: Yeah, I mean, honestly, from a specific business point of view, it would help me. But not in film or acting, it would help me in the other picture of all this, which is branding. Using it when I do a cover story, that would be helpful for me. And inevitably that is helpful for your projects. So there is a cycle and social media is very important to all those companies that you want to be on good terms with so you can promote your projects. I understand it from a business point of view and I have friends who handle it like a business, like you Aubrey (after a hiatus on Instagram, Plaza is back on it). But I just don't know how to commit to it.

Guerrasio: You can always start one and have someone else be in charge of it.

Olsen: No, I would want to do it. (Olsen is now on Instagram.)

Guerrasio: Aubrey, did you do a lot of research to play Ingrid?

Plaza: I definitely did a lot of thinking about it. I think the script was well-written and the character just jumped off the page. I think [director] Matt [Spicer] and I had so many conversations about what's wrong with her — it's never really stated.

Guerrasio: How about you, Elizabeth?

Olsen: Yeah, I did research. Matt actually had a list of 35 people on Instagram who we could model Taylor off of. When Matt first told me to do it, I was like, if I'm playing someone who does drugs, I don't have to go and become a drug addict, but at a point I was like, "Eh, lean into it." So I learned how to take Instagram-pro quality pictures with my phone.

Guerrasio: Doing the perfect selfie.

Olsen: Well, I'm not good at that. So Matt set up a fake account for me and I followed 35 people and it's fascinating. I have no clue who these people are, but they have millions and millions of followers and they get paid for it and they all look fabulous and they get invited to very prestigious things. I thought it was fascinating and humanizing. I try not to place judgments as a general rule of thumb but I think I had a little bit of judgment before and now I understand it's a potential career just like any other career.

Guerrasio: One of the funniest scenes is when you two are in the car singing the K-Ci & JoJo song "All My Life." How did that come together?

Olsen: I think there was another song first, but they couldn't get the rights for it.

Plaza: Yeah, it was Seal's "Kiss from a Rose."

Olsen: Oh, right! And doing this song was so much better.

Plaza: Wasn't that our first day together?

Olsen: Yeah, first scene we shot. I had practiced those lyrics so many times.

Plaza: I had not practiced. But yeah, you knew it. We were just in a desert in that truck in the middle of the night just singing that song.

Olsen: It was so much fun.

Guerrasio: How many renditions did you do?

Plaza: We did numerous versions. All different levels of energy from both of us. I'm sure we did real weird stuff, even weirder than the finished cut.

Olsen: We smoked so many cigarettes.

Plaza: It was so trashy, I loved it.

Olsen: [Laughs] It was great.

Plaza: It was this "Thelma & Louise" vibe.

Guerrasio: Aubrey, you are a producer on this film and another Sundance entry "The Little Hours." How does that feel, having work that you started from the ground up?

Plaza: It's really exciting. I've never produced before so it's always exciting as an actor to see your movie at Sundance, but as a producer it's even more exciting because you were there from the very beginning. It's like your child.

Guerrasio: Is the next step directing?

Plaza: I mean, I went to film school for writing and directing and I definitely want to direct, but I don't know when that will be.

Guerrasio: Any directing aspirations, Elizabeth?

Olsen: No.

Plaza: Really?

Olsen: I like acting. Though right now I'm developing two things and I have never had more fun pitching and being on projects from the beginning. It's frustrating but it becomes this thing that you fall in love with.

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

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: 8 details you might have missed on season 7 episode 4 of 'Game of Thrones'

Apparently Sharon Stone couldn't wait for Throwback Thursday.

On Wednesday, the actress shared an audition tape for "Basic Instinct" on Twitter. In the video, she's reading lines with director Paul Verhoeven, who's standing in for her co-star, Michael Douglas.

In the 1992 film, Stone plays Catherine Tramell, an author whose books are eerily similar to crimes she's connected to. A detective (Michael Douglas) interrogates her as a suspect for a brutal murder and can't figure out if she did it, while simultaneously falling in love with her.

Even before its release, "Basic Instinct" become controversial for its grotesque violence and explicit sexuality. Oh, the 90s!

Here's the audition tape:

SEE ALSO: People are baffled by this strange Taylor Swift courtroom drawing

Join the conversation about this story »

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

Netflix will end the year on a royal, dramatic, and very British note.

On Thursday, the streaming service released a new trailer for the second season of "The Crown," the Emmy nominated series that depicts the life of Queen Elizabeth II. Season two of 'The Crown' will come to Netflix on December 8. 

"I've learned more about humiliation in the past few weeks than I hoped I would in a lifetime," Elizabeth says in voiceover. The second season looks even more dramatic than the first. The trailer teases trouble with prime ministers and the strained relationship between the Queen and her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. 

Watch the trailer, and see the new pictures below:

SEE ALSO: The season 3 trailer for Netflix's 'Narcos' teases new and terrifying villains

When "Horizon Zero Dawn" arrived on PlayStation 4 back in February, critics and players alike were dazzled. The gorgeous, massive third-person action game received near-universal critical acclaim, and Sony reaped the benefits of a blockbuster hit: huge sales numbers.

On November 7, the already gigantic "Horizon Zero Dawn" is getting a huge new expansion. It's called "The Frozen Wilds," it looks super fresh, and we already know a lot about it.

SEE ALSO: This is the best any 'Grand Theft Auto' game has ever looked

SEE ALSO: 'Horizon Zero Dawn' is an incredible, must-play game that's reason enough to buy a PlayStation 4

In "The Frozen Wilds," which arrives on November 7, the game's main character Aloy will explore an entirely new region, with a new culture and new robot animals.

The "Frozen Wilds" is a reference to where you're going, of course — the "Banuk" territory, north of the mountain range that would otherwise have stopped you in the original game.

As a result, the expansion is essentially a condensed version of the original game: There's an entirely new map, with new weapons and animals and a new culture to explore (the Banuk peoples). Here's the managing director of Guerrilla Games, Hermen Hulst, giving an overview of the expansion from an interview back in June:

"We start with a new territory. We go across the northern mountain range into the territory of the Banuk, the tribespeople of the Banuk. They are very hearty. They live in these wild lands. It's so cold, and it's very hard to survive there. It's very beefy, it's a good-sized map. There will be plenty of new stuff in there."

The expansion is a direct continuation of the main story. "Let's call it a new chapter in Aloy's journey."

One of the best things about "Horizon Zero Dawn" is its surprisingly deep, interesting narrative. Many games try, and most games fail, to marry strong gameplay and strong storytelling — "Horizon Zero Dawn" is a rare standout in this regard.

The game's development studio is advancing that narrative in "The Frozen Wilds." Rather than telling a side-story, or exploring an alternate "what if?" scenario, the new expansion will continue Aloy's journey of self-discovery. 

Snow and ice are sure to play a crucial role in "The Frozen Wilds." What role that will be remains to be seen. Perhaps snow can be used as cover for sneaking around?

"Horizon Zero Dawn" is set in a future Earth, in a deserted Colorado that's been retaken by nature. Colorado, as you know, can be cold and snowy. It's neighbor to the north, Wyoming, can be even colder and snowier — and Wyoming appears to be the setting for "The Frozen Wilds."

Everyone in the tech industry wants your eyeballs.

More specifically, a growing number of tech companies are trying to attract the millions of "cord-cutters" who have ditched cable for services that stream live TV channels over the internet.

Hulu's flashy new live-TV service is the latest to join the fray, while YouTube recently launched its YouTube TV platform. Sony, Dish Network, and AT&T, meanwhile, have been fighting it out for months now.

But since this is the TV industry in America, figuring out what's what is complicated. So to help you see which, if any, make sense for you, we've broken down the biggest live-TV streaming services you can choose from today: PlayStation Vue, Sling TV, DirecTV Now, YouTube TV, and Hulu with Live TV, as well as a smaller offering called Fubo TV that's expanded in recent months.

Let's dig into the fine print:

SEE ALSO: Here's how the 'unlimited' plans from Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile compare

Sling TV

1. How much does it cost?

$20 a month for the base Sling Orange package, or $25 a month for a Sling Blue package with more channels.

For $40 a month, you can buy the Orange and Blue packages together, but the two do not totally overlap in terms of channel selection. (Hold that thought.)

From there, you can tack on a bunch of smaller specialized bundles of channels for between $5 and $15 a month per bundle. There are way too many to list here, so you should have a look at Sling’s service page.

2. How many channels does it have?

Sling Orange has about 30 channels. Sling Blue has about 45 channels depending on where you live, but its lineup doesn't include everything in Sling Orange.

The add-on bundles can incorporate a few dozen more channels, but those vary wildly in terms of popularity. The likes of MTV, Starz, and Showtime are very much popular; other networks, like the Outdoor Channel, are more niche. 

3. Which major channels are not included?

CBS is absent. ABC is there, but only for some markets, and only with a Sling Orange subscription; it also costs an extra $5 a month. For the kids, the main Nickelodeon channel isn't available, either.

Also, while Sling does carry Fox and NBC channels, they're only included in the Sling Blue package. And there's a good chance those local channels won't even be available if you don't live in one of a few major markets. Check your coverage before you buy.

Sling TV (cont'd)

4. Does it include ESPN?

Yes, but like every other Disney-owned channel, it's only in Sling Orange. There, you get ESPN, ESPN 2, and ESPN 3 by default. This is the main thing that keeps the Orange and Blue packages from overlapping.

5. What about local sports and non-ESPN sports networks?

This is a little convoluted.

Sling Blue doesn't have ESPN, but it does include Fox and Comcast/NBC regional sports channels. Again, those vary by region; you can use the tool on Dish’s FAQ page to check what's covered in your area.

As for other national sports channels, only Sling Blue includes Fox Sports 1, NFL Network, and NBC Sports Network. With Sling Blue, you can add a Sports Extra package that includes the NFL's RedZone channel, NBA TV, NHL Network, and others for $10 a month.

If you have Sling Orange, though, that Sports Extra package costs $5 a month, doesn't include NFL RedZone, and throws in a few more deep-in-the-weeds sports channels. Again, that's in addition to the main ESPN networks, which Sling Blue does not have.

You can probably see why these services aren’t quite revolutionary now.

6. What about HBO?

HBO is available as an add-on to one of the core bundles. It costs $15 a month, the same as the standalone HBO Now streaming service.

Sling TV (cont'd)

7. Which devices does it support?

You can check Sling's support page for the full list, but the only big no-show is Sony's PlayStation 4.

Otherwise, Roku, Apple TV (4th-gen), Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, iOS, Android, Android TV, Windows, macOS, Xbox One, and others are all supported.

8. Does it have DVR so I can record shows I missed?

Yes, but it doesn't come included with a basic subscription. Instead, you have to pay an extra $5 a month for up to 50 hours of DVR storage.

Beyond that, a decent chunk of channels — namely Disney's and ESPN's networks — cannot be recorded for the time being. (Here's a full list.) And while Fox networks can be recorded, you'll automatically be reverted to the on-demand version of those shows if they're available. That means you'll have watch ads. 

Sling has done well to roll out DVR support to more devices over the past few months, but Apple's macOS is still out of luck. There's no limit on how long you can keep a recording, though, and Sling now lets you "protect" specific recordings in case you run out of space.

9. Can I pause and rewind live TV?

Technically, yes. But several channels — including ESPN, CNN, TBS, Cartoon Network, and AMC — do not support the feature and can only be watched live.

These channels also typically lack support for Sling's "Replay" feature, in which certain recently-aired programs are available to stream for a limited time after they first air. 

10. How many people can use it at once?

With Sling Orange, you can only have one active stream going at a time. With Sling Blue, that's bumped up to three concurrent streams. With the $40-a-month Orange + Blue combo package, it becomes four.

• Facebook’s foray into original shows, dubbed Watch, is a direct shot at YouTube, and less of a play to compete with more premium services like Netflix and HBO.
• The first round of shows Facebook plans to debut in Watch include daily series from internet celebrities, many of whom have already built large followings on YouTube.
• Facebook could still compete more directly with Netflix and HBO when it debuts its more expensive, longer shows in the coming months.

When Netflix CEO and Facebook board member Reed Hastings was recently asked if the two companies were competing, he said there wasn't a conflict because "we are not bidding on the same shows."

Now we know what he meant.

Facebook's recently announced push into shows is a direct attack on YouTube, not Netflix.

The company's new video tab, Watch, will showcase a slew of original shows from a wide range of partners, including digital content studios like ATTN and more conventional TV channels like National Geographic.

But what separates Watch from Netflix or HBO and makes it a direct YouTube competitor is Facebook's plan to feature videos created by individuals, not just entertainment and media companies.

"We hope Watch will be home to a wide range of shows — from reality to comedy to live sports," CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post announcing the initiative. "Some will be made by professional creators, and others from regular people in our community."

For example, one of the first shows to debut on Watch is called "Nas Daily," a daily show featuring a former YouTube star who tellingly ditched the platform a year ago and has since been posting his videos on Facebook instead.

Facebook has been aggressively courting other homegrown YouTube stars in recent months. To help with that effort, it's working on a standalone app for video creators that would allow them to interact with fans and get analytical data on the content they share. Another inducement: Watch partners will be able to keep 55% of the revenue from mid-roll ads that run in their videos, a Facebook representative told Business Insider on Thursday.

If Facebook can convince more internet celebrities to ditch their large followings on YouTube, Watch could deal a severe blow to YouTube's Red subscription, which features similar types of shows.

No "House of Cards" yet

For now, Watch looks more like YouTube than Netflix. Facebook appears to be kicking off Watch with lower-tier, less expensive shows.

But Watch could soon take more direct aim at Netflix. Facebook has shown that it's willing to spend millions of dollars for exclusive rights to the kinds of series you would see on traditional TV.

Multiple people familiar with the matter mentioned Netflix's own "House of Cards" as a representation of the caliber of shows that have been pitched to Facebook. Another person familiar with the matter cited "Scandal" as an example.

Shows on Watch will debut in waves. A handful of them will be available starting on Thursday to the small percentage of Facebook users with access to the new tab. Facebook plans to make Watch available to everyone across its desktop website, mobile app, and TV app in the coming weeks.

Here's a handful of some partners who have already announced shows coming to Watch:

• Tastemade’s "Kitchen Little" will feature "kids who watch a how-to video of a recipe, then instruct professional chefs on how to make it."
• Condé Nast Entertainment will debut a five-episode "Virtually Dating" series later this month. "In this innovative and fun dating show, two people are set up on a blind date that takes place entirely in a virtual reality world."
• Major League Baseball will stream one game live every Friday.
• ATTN's "Health Hacks" starring Jessica Alba "will focus on several healthy living issues, ranging from diet to drinking habits."
• A&E’s “Bae or Bail" dating show will put "unsuspecting" couples "to the test as they’re thrown into terrifying scenarios."
• Cheddar, a business and financial news network that targets Millennials, will stream its daily broadcasts live in Watch.
• Mike Rowe of "Dirty Jobs" fame will host a show that highlights "people doing something extraordinary for their communities." Viewers will be able to use Facebook to nominate people to be featured on the show.
• Business Insider will stream "The Great Cheese Hunt," a five-episode series about a "global quest to find the most delicious cheese dishes the world has to offer.”
• National Geographic’s "We’re Wired That Way" will be about "all the things that make us us: how your canine teeth tell the story of walking upright, why being in love makes you feel the way it does, why you instantly recognize a stranger you met six months ago."

SEE ALSO: Facebook is going to let publishers start charging readers to view stories

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: INSIDE QVC — the retail powerhouse that plans to buy rival HSN for $2.1 billion

The HBO hacker has leaked a message in which an unnamed HBO executive offered a "bounty payment" of $250,000 after the data breach that came to light last week, Variety reports. 

The hacker — or hackers — in question stole "thousands of Home Box Office (HBO) internal company documents," in addition to leaking unaired episodes of the HBO shows "Ballers" and "Insecure," and company emails. 

In HBO's new message, leaked by the hacker and dated July 27, a network executive offers a $250,000 payment to the hackers as part of program in which "white hat IT professionals” are rewarded for "bringing these types of things to our attention," according to Variety. 

The message also asks the hackers to extend a ransom deadline for one week in order for the network to secure and transfer the requested bitcoin payment.

“You have the advantage of having surprised us," the message reportedly reads. "In the spirit of professional cooperation, we are asking you to extend your deadline for one week."

HBO declined to comment on the leaked message to Variety, but the publication confirmed the veracity of the email with someone close to the investigation.

SEE ALSO: The HBO hackers stole 'thousands' of internal company documents, and 7 times as much data as the Sony attack

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here's everyone left on Arya Stark's kill list on 'Game of Thrones'

NEW YORK (AP) — Anthony Scaramucci says his profanity-laced phone call that preceded his ouster as White House communications director was recorded without his permission.

But a spokesperson for The New Yorker said Thursday that reporter Ryan Lizza wasn't required by law to get Scaramucci's consent to record the conversation.

Scaramucci called Lizza last month and insulted White House aides using vulgar language during the phone interview. The former Wall Street financier was fired July 31 after only 10 days on the job.

He used #lowlife to describe Lizza on Twitter on Wednesday night:

In an episode of "The New Yorker Radio Hour", Lizza said he was in his bedroom at home on July 26 when his phone rang around 10:30 p.m. He named the resulting audio file "insane Scaramucci interview."

The next day, The New Yorker published what Scaramucci said in that interview. Lizza said he talked to Scaramucci before they published, explaining that it was newsworthy because he was the White House communications director, which Scaramucci said he understood.

"What I want to do is I want to f------ kill all the leakers and I want to get the president's agenda on track so we can succeed for the American people," Scaramucci told Lizza that night.

And: "I'm not Steve Bannon, I'm not trying to suck my own c---," he said, speaking of Trump's chief strategist. "I'm not trying to build my own brand off the f------ strength of the President. I'm here to serve the country."

While the text reads as if Scaramucci was furious and yelling, the audio reveals that the two were laughing, sometimes joking with each other. Lizza calls him "buddy" at one point. You can listen to the audio for the first time in the podcast. The expletives have been bleeped out.

Scaramucci is planning a media tour next week, beginning Sunday with an interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC's "This Week." He'll follow that up with an appearance Monday on Stephen Colbert's "The Late Show."

SEE ALSO: Inside the rise, fall, rebound, and spectacular flameout of Anthony Scaramucci

DON'T MISS: How Anthony Scaramucci rose to the top of Wall Street, sold his company, tanked his marriage, and traded it all for a wild 10 days in Trump's White House

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A former HR exec who reviewed over 40,000 résumés says these 7 résumé mistakes annoy her

The entertainment industry has always been a tough club to gain entry to, which makes what Jaime Primak Sullivan has accomplished in a few short years pretty amazing.

Sullivan, who some may recognize as the star of the Bravo reality series "Jersey Belle," transitioned from a career in publicity to producing content.

In only five years, she has sold a stable of projects ranging from TV, to movies, to books — at varying levels of development. In addition to "Jersey Belle," her projects include two horror films and two thrillers. One of them, the home-invasion drama "Breaking In," stars Gabrielle Union and is currently shooting in Los Angeles.

Sullivan, who serves as the head of digital development and production for Will Packer Media, is sure that anyone with enough passion and great ideas can sell them in Hollywood.

“To anybody who is looking at content creation as a business model, I’d want to let them know it is a seller’s market," she told Business Insider. "Everybody is buying. You just have to sell them what they're looking for."

To help others accomplish what she has, Sullivan shared some of the lessons she picked up along the way with Business Insider. Here are her seven tips to selling an idea in Hollywood.

1. Find a void in the marketplace.

Sure, Hollywood studios and TV networks are all about the franchises right now. Why? If an idea was successful in one medium – a book, a play, a comic, a movie, or TV show – there's a better chance that it will do well if adapted to another medium. But Sullivan doesn't think that should scare people off from pitching original ideas.

"Making money in Hollywood is very difficult, so people want a proven concept," Sullivan said. “It can be very difficult for someone to want to buy something that originated from your mind if there’s nothing proven."

Sullivan says that people can take advantage of proven concepts and create from there. She used her Bravo show, "Jersey Belle," as an example.

The reality show was based on her own "fish out of water" story of being raised in New Jersey and moving her family to her husband's hometown in Alabama. She capitalized on the trend of shows based in the South, but wanted to show a different side to the culture.

"We’ve seen the 'Honey Boo Boo' version of the South a million times, but what you haven’t seen is the most appropriate beautiful parts of the South that are rich in tradition and culture and etiquette, right?" she said. "So what if you take an outspoken Jersey girl and you put her in the most refined part of the South? That’s funny, that is highly commercial, that is a big idea! I’m creating based on voids in the marketplace."

2. Find ways to make your idea appeal to the biggest demographic.

"I think the biggest mistake people make when they’re trying to sell an idea is keeping it too narrow," Sullivan said. "It speaks to such a small demographic that there’s no way that it can be financially successful. Creatives become so attached to their ideas that they’re afraid to make it bigger, because they think it waters it down. But it doesn’t. It actually gives you a better chance for a sale. The broader and more commercial your idea, the bigger audience you can speak to, the better."

When crafting the horror movie, "Fear Followers," Sullivan understood that pitching a movie based in the US that captured the American obsession with fear could be successful, but incorporating the characters' use of technology to grow their fan base overseas would give the concept a more global feel. This gave it a much better chance for international success, and in turn gave it a much better chance to sell. 

3. Keep your pitch simple.

Sullivan said a good pitch should be one to three sentences long.

"If you cannot summarize what you are trying to sell in a way that grabs the buyer in one to three sentences, you’re over-complicating it," she said.

"People work themselves up. They feel like they need to give it all away in the detail. They don’t, because [Hollywood is] buying an idea. A broad concept. You don’t have to know every twist and turn your character’s going to make. You don’t have to know exactly how episode seven of season five is going to work out. That’s not what you’re selling. You're selling an idea that has longevity potential."

4. Know your buyer.

One pitch doesn't fit all, Sullivan said. She believes that pitches should be tailored for each potential buyer, so do your research. Again, she used her Bravo show as an example.

"I knew my target demo. I knew who would most appreciate a live-out-loud Jersey Girl," she said. "You have to know your buyer and their audience because that’s who they’re buying for. The pitch would have been different if the focus of 'Jersey Belle' was on Southern food and the experience. I may have gone to Food Network. For a network like TLC, it would’ve been a much softer show. You have to know who you’re pitching to. You have to know as much about your buyer as you do about your concept."

5. Partner with someone with experience, but not just anyone.

"I highly recommend partnering, I want to be very honest," Sullivan said.

She has been developing with blockbuster movie producer Will Packer for several years. Packer, whose film “Girls Trip” made $30.4 million in its opening weekend in July, has had several of his films open at No. 1 at the box office. They include "Straight Outta Compton,” and the "Ride Along” and “Think Like a Man” franchises. Together, Sullivan and Packer have partnered on three film projects, including "Breaking In," an unscripted show, and two scripted concepts – all based on Sullivan’s original ideas.

"You want to attach yourself to someone that you think can move the ball down the field," she said. "But I highly recommend that you do not give the farm away."

Sullivan said she didn't team up with Packer just because he had a successful track record, but also because he understood her vision, her process, and her longterm goals.

"Everyone wants the sale and I get it. There is no greater feeling for a creative to be able to turn around and say, 'Someone validated me in buying my idea.' That is the greatest feeling," she said. "But if you partner with the wrong people, it can make the process excruciating and heartbreaking. Everything in Hollywood is about vision. If they don’t share your vision, you will find yourself contractually stuck to somebody that doesn’t have the same goals for the project as you, and that is the biggest downfall I believe creatives make. They so badly want to sell that they partner with anybody waving an offer then find themselves sidelined while their project is dissected."

Packer told Business Insider that he teamed up with Sullivan because she impressed him with her vision and ability to know what sells.

"The thing that separates Jaime is her ability to tell vividly specific stories in an incredibly engaging way," Packer told us. "She actually brings you inside that crazy brain of hers. You're not listening to a pitch, you're watching a movie. She is a masterful storyteller and has a cache of commercial ideas. Usually, folks I encounter have one or the other."

6. Great! You've sold your idea to Hollywood – but you may want to keep your day job.

"There is a gross misconception that anyone who has ever sold anything in Hollywood is rich," Sullivan said. "I would recommend that you have a short-term financial strategy, as well a long-term financial strategy."

While she and Packer began developing “Breaking In" four years ago and it has since sold to Universal, Sullivan said outside of the treatment sale, she hasn't seen any income from that movie yet.

"Here’s something that many people don’t know: No matter how big a producer’s fee is, they don’t see a penny of it until the movie gets made, and most don’t see anything until it’s a success," she said. "Don’t spend the money before the check is in the bank, because most producers spend well over three years working on the project before you see a dime."

"It sometimes can be a very long and often discouraging road, and you have to be emotionally and financially prepared for setbacks," she continued. "And I don’t mean there may be setbacks, I want you to hear me, from pitch to production there will be so many setbacks that you doubt why you got into this game in the first place, that’s how many setbacks there will be. But if it is your door, if it meant for you, it will open. That is a fact: You have to ride the wave and sometimes it takes four years as in my case, sometimes more, sadly."

But it's not like Sullivan hasn't seen some return from selling her ideas – even if it isn't monetary at first. While she’s recently shifted into producing content full time, she continues pitching through her publicity business, Bridge and Tunnel Entertainment, on a much smaller scale. She's partnering with unique clients, promoting her own projects, and only working on others' projects when she feels passionate about them. 

"I'll take stuff that is much more interesting to me, because I still get to craft a story and bring a narrative to life," she said. “But my business model has changed. The day-to-day talent handling and working red carpets, that part of my career is over."

7. Find ways to extend your successful idea into a franchise.

Here's where Hollywood's desire for proven products works in your favor.

"When you have a successful brand, take your concept and find ways to re-tool it for other media," Sullivan said.

In the case of "Jersey Belle," Sullivan found an opportunity to extend the brand to people who wanted to know more about the experience portrayed on the show, and those who hadn't watched the show at all, with her book, "The Southern Education of a Jersey Girl."

And now, the book is being developed for a scripted series.

SEE ALSO: ABC aired a show that could have brought America together, but no one noticed until Trump was president

DON'T MISS: These are the 10 best shows on TV, according to critics

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: 8 details you might have missed on the season 7 premiere of 'Game of Thrones'

Directing a single box office hit is an extraordinary feat.

But to become an all-time box office great, one must possess unrivaled levels of creativity, longevity, and enterprise — or else, decide to make five "Transformers" movies.

To find out which directors have had the most fiscally successful careers, we looked into Box Office Mojo's data to compile this list of the helmers whose movies have grossed the most money at the domestic box office.

From Steven Spielberg to Christopher Nolan to Michael Bay, the top-grossing directors in U.S. movie history all have compelling and versatile filmographies.

Here are the 15 highest-earning movie directors of all time, ranked by total box office gross:   

SEE ALSO: The 13 Alfred Hitchcock movies you need to watch in your lifetime

15. Gore Verbinski — Total gross: $1.529 billion

Number of movies: 10

Average gross: $152.9 million

Highest-grossing film: "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" ($423.3 million)

14. David Yates — Total gross: $1.631 billion

Number of movies: 6

Average gross: $271.9 million

Highest-grossing film: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part 2" ($381 million)

13. Ridley Scott — Total gross: $1.635 billion

Number of movies: 23

Average gross: $152.9 million

Highest-grossing film: "The Martian" ($423.3 million)

Robert Pattinson may be known best for the role that made him into a global superstar and tabloid obsession, playing Edward Cullen in the “Twilight” franchise, but he’s making it very hard for everyone to keep him in that box.

In his latest movie, “Good Time” (in select theaters Friday, nationwide August 25), Pattinson gives the best performance of his career so far playing Connie, a petty criminal who sets out on a mission to bail his mentally challenged brother out of prison. After the two botch a bank robbery, we follow Connie in a bizarre journey through New York, in which everything he does completely goes wrong. To morph into a greasy Queens hood, the 31-year-old actor spent months working with directors Josh and Benny Safdie (Benny plays Connie’s brother in the movie) before shooting began, which included dressing in character and doing improvised performances with Benny in public.

With a cluster of eager paparazzi waiting outside, Business Insider chatter with Pattinson at the Bowery Hotel in New York City to discuss his new role, why he spends so much time on movie websites, and with more “Twilight” movies to come, if he’d ever consider playing Edward Cullen again.

Jason Guerrasio: You've said in interviews that it's seeing a picture of the Safdie's last movie, "Heaven Knows What," that sparked the interested to work with them. What were you searching for creatively back at that time?

Robert Pattinson: That. I mean, I don't do anything else. I literally f---ing look at film websites all day long. [Laughs]

Guerrasio: Wow. 

Pattinson: Also book review websites, anything where there could be something. I guess I'm trying to figure out what could potentially be a zeitgeist-type thing. Something that will connect. And it's very, very difficult to find anything that's in the zeitgeist. 

Guerrasio: So your process in choosing roles is different from the traditional method in Hollywood of an agent sending you material. You're searching for the material.

Pattinson: I think it's so much more than the script. I did a movie after "Good Time" [titled “Damsel”] which was from a script and it's funny. But originally I read it and I didn't get it. And then I saw this movie, "Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter," which the directors, the Zellner brothers, had done previously, and I called my agent and said, "Who are these guys?" And he was like, "You just got offered their movie and you said 'no,'" and I was like, "Oh, s---! Wait!" [Laughs] I think you just need so many elements. And I'm just one of those people who thinks if you've made something good once, even if it was a long time ago, I think —

Guerrasio: They've still got a good one in them.

Pattinson: Yeah. Because hardly anybody has made anything good. 

Guerrasio: But with the Safdies you see this image, you're intrigued, but what happens if you go to meet them and they could be awful people. Did you vet them a little first?

Pattinson: No. I had seen the trailer for "Heaven Knows What," and I had such a strong impression of them I knew I was right. The editing, use of music, it's just bold. I remember seeing "Heaven Knows What" for the first time and just the volume of the music I was like, "Jesus, it's deafening."  

Guerrasio: So in your eyes, even if these guys were complete pricks, you could deal with it because you dig what they do?

Pattinson: Yeah. 100 percent. It worked out, because I really like them. But at the end of the day you're doing it to make something. 

Guerrasio: Not make best friends with them. 

Pattinson: And sometimes it's kind of good if you hate the person. [Laughs] The film production was only three months, I think you can basically do anything in three months. 

Guerrasio: There was so much prep to this movie. Was it fun to get made up and walk around New York City and not be recognized? As opposed to right now, we're in a lobby of a hotel and paparazzi are right at the front door waiting for you.

Pattinson: It's a satisfying experience to do that. I'm trying to make something every time that feels new and surprises people. Hopefully at least one person. But it's not like I turn it off. I don't make a movie and then go back to my normal life. When I'm finishing one movie the next day I'm thinking about the next one. 

Guerrasio: Is that because you want that? You want to be busy?

Pattinson: Yeah. But also, most of the time I'm by myself finding the next thing. Being an A&R guy, basically. I don't know how long I can do this for. I'm constantly fascinated by actors who are so confident with their career that they do a project and then go on vacation. 

Guerrasio: And then there are the actors that say "no" to everything. 

Pattinson: Oh, I say "no" to everything, too. But because I like such few things, when I take a role I just go into prep and that takes time, even for small roles I do that. 

Guerrasio: You did months of prep for "Good Time," at one point you and Benny worked at a car wash?

Pattinson: It was actually for a camera test, but the camera was far away. It was in the middle of the night we did it. We had permission from the manager, but everyone who worked there didn't have any idea what we were doing. They just thought we were new to the job. And it wasn't like we did it for the experience of washing cars, we did a bit. Benny is in character freaking out and I'm in character too and I slapped him. Benny punched me in the face. [Laughs] People tried to break it up but I loved that element where something is out of control. It's why I wanted to be in this movie. It's the real world and people react to it. It was interesting to see how real people would react to a crazy situation happening in front of them. 

Guerrasio: Did it ever get to a point where there was too much prep work? That your head was overloaded and you just needed to go and shoot the movie.

Pattinson: If someone is enthusiastic, no. There were so many times I would send emails to Josh about the character. Something like, "I just realized who the guy is," and it would be this long explanation. And then Josh would send one back that was ten times longer. So they were enthusiastic which made me that way, too. I think so much of a director's job is just to convince you that what you're doing is worthwhile. "Yes, this does mean something, we're not just messing around." Even though at the end of the day it's a film. But at the time it's something else. I don't feel like I'm making a film, I'm confronting things in myself. I don't know what it is. So if someone is enthusiastic enough to convince you that it's important it's kind of magical. 

Guerrasio: Did it take a while to shake Connie once filming was complete?

Pattinson: Actually, I was watching the movie the other day and I was like, "I wouldn't mind doing that again." I just love the certain figures of speech he uses, it's an edgy character and a lot of different angles to him. It's fun. 

Guerrasio: So when you see him on screen you don't feel burnt out from playing him, you could see yourself playing him again?

Pattinson: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I found there is so much detail to him as a character. I don't even see him as a criminal. I mean, he robed a bank, but this isn't a story where the major focus of his life is being a criminal. It's in the back of his mind. I talked to this guy who was a bank robber and just got out of prison from serving eight years when we started shooting. I was trying to figure out what his reason was to do what he did and he said, "I just wanted money." And I was like, ok, that's cool. He disguised himself to rob the banks, he's a smart guy, but it's so interesting that he just eliminated the idea of consequence. You do it because you wanted money and you either get caught or you don't. That's it. I found that profound. The fear of getting caught is eliminated. 

Guerrasio: Does the idea of being the lead in a franchise movie interest you at all going forward. I mean, doing "Twilight" was like ten years of your life. Can you go through that again?

Pattinson: Um, yeah. If you get something that you fall in love with. I always think everything is going to be my last job so every single day is a gift. [Laughs] This whole life is an accident for me. It would be nice. But if I did something else like that again I think the more established you are going into it the easier it will be for you. I still think I'm a little too young, but for some [established actors], you go into the project it's yours, they trust you. While if you're just a kid you have to follow what they say. Because everyone is scared, there's just too much money at stake. But with a movie like “Good Time,” I'm cheap, [Laughs] I can guarantee a certain amount of box office, I just want to get another chance after this. 

Guerrasio: Lionsgate said recently they are interested in doing more "Twilight" movies down the road. Does that interest you at all, if they come calling could you ever go back and play Edward?

Pattinson: I mean, I would be very fascinated to see how they explain that not only are you a vampire that can go out in the sunlight, but you can also age a little bit. [Laughs] 

Guerrasio: Well, that's what CGI is for, right?

Pattinson: Yeah. 

Guerrasio: How about if they would allow Edward to be killed off?

Pattinson: I don't know. When the source material is not there it’s tricky. Also, the entire series is based over a year, so yeah, I would feel it would potentially be redundant. Because so much of the movie was about sexual tension, so once it's consummated, that's it. [Laughs]

SEE ALSO: How the "Cocaine Cowboys" filmmakers built a career interviewing Miami's most notorious gangsters

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: 8 details you might have missed on the season 7 premiere of 'Game of Thrones'

You may not know his name, but chances are you’ve used a service or watched a channel with connections to John C. Malone.

The largest individual landowner in the US, Malone is the chairman of Liberty Media and has interests as wide ranging as race cars, the Discovery Channel, and the Atlanta Braves.

Here's a taste of his diverse interests:

• He is largest stakeholder of Liberty Media, which is worth $24 billion.
• He owns 28% of Discovery Communications, which just sealed a $14.6 billion deal for Scripps.
• He owns a quarter of Liberty Global, the largest international cable company with 29 million subscribers.
• He owns 8% of the publicly traded Atlanta Braves.
• He owns 2.2 million acres of land, making him the single largest landowner in the US.

But the media mogul wasn’t just born into his $9.22 billion net worth. Here’s how one of the richest and most powerful people in American business rose to prominence.

John C. Malone was born to parents of Irish descent on March 7, 1941, in Milford Connecticut, a suburb about two hours north of New York City.

He attended the prestigious Hopkins School in neighboring New Haven, graduating with a National Merit Scholarship in 1959.

Instagram Embed:
http://instagram.com/p/BBSkweTO8xD/embed/
Width: 658px

The school, founded in 1660, is one of the oldest and most prestigious in the country. But Malone didn't always feel that he fit in.

"I was neither a preppy nor a town kid," Malone said in 1994. "So I put a lot of energy into athletics." He got letters in fencing, track, and soccer. "It was raw drive, not skill," he says.

He has since donated $25 million to fund school's science center, which bears his name.

After high school, Malone stayed in New Haven and attended Yale University. He graduated in 1963 with a degree in electrical engineering and economics.

He has since donated $50 million to the university's engineering school, where some professorships bear his name.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator of the smash-hit musical "Hamilton," announced on Friday the release of the "HamApp" for iPhone and Android, which will allow users to enter the lottery for $10 tickets to the show more easily than ever. 

Previously, aspiring #Ham4Ham lottery-winners would need to visit the 'Hamilton' website every day and fill out a form to enter. Now, those with the app will be able to enter with just a tap. 

In addition to the lottery, the app will feature Hamilton-themed content, including digital stickers, a merchandise store offering exclusive items, as well as a "#HamCam" which will allow users to take themed photos using augmented reality. 

SEE ALSO: Disney's CEO quoted the musical 'Hamilton' to defend his position on Trump's business council

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: 8 easy ways to fix common iPhone problems

"SNL" alum Bill Hader brought a great impression of short-lived White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci to the first episode of the show's "Weekend Update: Summer Edition" on Thursday night.

"I heard you two nutless liberal a--wipes mention my name earlier, and when I hear my name three times, I appear like a Goomba Beetlejuice," Hader says, interrupting hosts Michael Che and Colin Jost with a fake FaceTime call.

Hader's "The Mooch" goes on to say that he isn't surprised by the brevity of his White House Tenure, which ended after just 11 days last month, following a controversial and explicit interview in The New Yorker.

"Hell no. Not after what I said to that a--wipe from The New Yorker, which was all off the record, by the way," Hader says.

"But I guess people didn't like it when I said that," he continues. "And let me see if I can clean this up for primetime — that Steve Bannon was trying to 's' his own 'c.' And by the by, I was completely misquoted. I didn't say Bannon tried to 's' his own 'c.' He did it! He made contact. I saw it, tongue to tip. Next question."

After labeling himself "human cocaine," "The Mooch" says he has "no regrets, baby" about his 15 minutes of fame.

"All I did was sell my company, miss the birth of my child, and ruin my entire reputation, all to be king of idiot mountain for 11 days," he says.

Watch the segment below:

SEE ALSO: Anthony Scaramucci's wild ride in the Trump administration

Join the conversation about this story »

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

After four long years, Kesha released her new album "Rainbow" on Friday, along with a music video for the album's title song.

For the last four years, Kesha had been trying to free herself from her contract with Dr. Luke, her former producer and mentor whom she alleges drugged, and sexually and verbally assaulted her while she recorded with him at Sony. Sony removed Dr. Luke from the company in April, and now Kesha's new album "Rainbow" has been released under his former label Kemosabe — a bittersweet triumph.

In an emotional personal essay penned by Kesha for Refinery29, Kesha describes another part of her onerous journey that the public is a little less privy to: her time in rehab.

Kesha explains that while in rehab for her eating disorder, "that had gotten wildly out of control," she had no access to her phone or computer, and as a result was completely unable to work. Kesha begged for a keyboard of any kind so she could write and process her emotions. Eventually Kesha was allowed one hour a day to play on a keyboard, and thus the song and album "Rainbow" was born:

"Every day I sat there on the floor and played. This is how the song 'Rainbow' came to be. The whole album idea and tour and everything, came from me crying and singing and playing and dreaming until my hour was up and they took the keyboard away again. Every day I would just cry and play that song because I knew I had to get through that incredibly hard time. I knew I had to change and learn to take care of and love myself, and I had no idea how to even begin."

The moving essay explains that the idea of turning "Rainbow" into a full album had become Kesha's main goal while in rehab:

"I just held onto that idea because it was all I had. I just kept saying, 'I’m gonna put out Rainbow, I’m gonna put out Rainbow. I’m gonna do it. I’m gonna put it out. I’m gonna do it, I’m gonna do it.'"

The singer's reminders of the goals she had for herself, and the album she wanted to produce, became mantra-like.

Once Kesha left rehab she got to work. The singer enlisted the help of Ben Folds to help her produce the song "Rainbow," and together they created one of Kesha's most un-Kesha-like and moving songs to date. "Rainbow" at its core is an ode to self love and overcoming obstacles.

In her essay, Kesha describes a line in "Rainbow" that probably best encapsulates its meaning, and her message: "There’s a line in 'Rainbow' that I really love: 'What’s left of my heart is still made of gold.' I truly believe that."

Kesha's album "Rainbow" is out now, and you can watch the music video for "Rainbow" here:

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Marvel dropped another trailer for 'Thor: Ragnarok' — and it looks incredible

Netflix has done some housecleaning in the last few months, cutting two high-profile shows, "Sense8" and "The Get Down."

It also canceled "Girlboss" and "Gypsy" after only one season.

"Gypsy," which starred Oscar nominee Naomi Watts is the most recent cancellation. Netflix canceled it on Friday. 

Netflix historically has canceled very few shows — only about eight (or up to 10, depending on how you count). But if CEO Reed Hastings gets his way, expect more in the future.

"We've canceled very few shows," Hastings said at the Code Conference in May. "I'm always pushing the content team. We have to take more risk. You have to try more crazy things. Because we should have a higher cancel rate overall."

Here are the eight shows Netflix has killed, along with their critic and audience ratings from Metacritic.

Additional reporting by Jethro Nededog.

SEE ALSO: Netflix shared the first trailer for season 2 of 'The Crown,' which is coming December 8

"Longmire": Canceled after six seasons (three on Netflix)

Netflix description: "This contemporary crime thriller focuses on a Wyoming sheriff who's rebuilding his life and career following the death of his wife."

Critic rating: 75/100

Audience rating: 9.2/10

"Lilyhammer": Canceled after three seasons

Netflix description: "They killed his dog. They made him run. Now he's living a new life in a strange land ... like a boss."

Critic rating: 68/100

Audience rating: 7.6/10

"Hemlock Grove": Canceled after three seasons

Netflix description: "A quaint town links a mangled corpse to a dark outsider with a carnivorous secret. But monsters come in many forms."

Critic rating: 37/100

Audience rating: 6.7/10

This week, Avicii collaborated with English electronic duo AlunaGeorge on a new track, and The National dropped a contemplative new single.

Here are the 5 best songs from the past week that you can stream right now:

SEE ALSO: The best new songs from last week — The Weeknd, Four Tet, and more

The National — "Carin at the Liquor Store"

Indie rock band The National brings anguish, introspection, and a wailing guitar solo to its piano-ballad single "Carin at the Liquor Store" — the third release from its upcoming album, "Sleep Well Beast." 

Cut Copy — "Standing In The Middle Of The Field"

Leading up to its fifth LP, "Haiku from Zero," Australian electro-rock band Cut Copy lights up its latest single, "Standing In The Middle Of The Field," with a panorama of ebullient synths and a stellar chorus.

Destroyer — "Sky's Grey"

Destroyer — the Canadian rock band led by eccentric songwriter Dan Bejar — returns with the minimalist "Sky's Grey," a showcase for Bejar's humorously cryptic and poetic meditations, sung from the perspective of a foundering actor.

Harry Potter's childhood home in the film "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" is on sale for 995,000 euros, or about $1.2 million. 

The house, which is located in Suffolk, England, is listed with the UK-based real-estate agency Carter Jonas.

Here's a closer look at the enchanting home.

SEE ALSO: Take a rare look at the enormous mansions hidden behind the Hamptons' famously high hedges

The official name of the property is the "De Vere House."

According to the listing, the home is believed to have been built by the De Vere family, which was an aristocratic family during Medieval times. 

The home is approximately 3,165 square feet and is broken into two wings.

According to the listing, the home has a number of Medieval and Tudor features including a timber frame ...