When Netflix ended the second season of its hit original series Narcos, the show seemed to have reached its logical conclusion: Pablo Escobar was dead after two gritty seasons full of drugs and violence.

But as they say, the show, or in this case, the blow must go on.

The company just released the third season of the series this past weekend. The only hitch? Everyone in the world knows Escobar, but not so much the Cali Cartel — the massive drug organization that ran its organization like a stealthy corporation around which the third season centers on.

Netflix has been plastering what would have been cocaine hotspots in the '90s, aka bars and clubs and their bathrooms, with punny one-liners and facts about the Cali Cartel to educate viewers and build excitement around the latest season.

The streaming giant has partnered with the ad agency Doner Los Angeles to create stickers and coasters and placed them in locations across over 160 bars and hotspots in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and Miami, where unknowing Cali Cartel customers may have used their product in the ‘90s. The campaign began rolling out Sept. 1.

One coaster, for example, features a rolled up $1 bill with a powdered white substance on the side and the lines "Need a great pickup line?" Another sticker shows a credit card next to several lines of a white powdered substance and the quote "The Cali Cartel built a $200 billion empire one line at a time."

“We wanted to not only be disruptive and place the idea where people would least expect it, but it was just as important for us to continue the story that Netflix is telling," said Jason Gaboriau, Doner Los Angeles' chief creative officer. "Netflix is first and foremost about storytelling. This is just a continuation of the story — a segue if you will to the next chapter — in a contextual setting so we’d be heard.”

The contextual ads follow the same approach that Netflix has adopted in previous seasons, using fact-based campaigns and utilizing statistics to illustrate the storyline. Last year, before releasing the show's second season, for instance, Netflix launched a Tumblr site called ‘Narcopedia’, an interactive experience that took viewers through the history of cocaine and provided in-depth information on the war on drugs. 

The approach seems to be working. According to data crunched by social analytics firm Brandwatch, while there has been some mention of viewers "missing Pablo" online, the Cali Cartel is gaining prominence, with over 7,000 mentions over the past month versus "Pablo Escobar," which has about 2,300 mentions. 

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here’s how to tell if the solar eclipse ruined your vision

Tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee (MKBHD) had a great hands-on video with the RED Hydrogen One smartphone in early August, but unfortunately he wasn't allowed to show the "holographic display" the company had talked up.

Personally, the Hydrogen One's holographic display was the one thing I was hoping would be revealed, as it can be difficult to get excited about tech when we're not exactly sure what it'll look like or how it'll work.

On Thursday, however, RED CEO Jim Jannard announced a "long term exclusive partnership" with holographic display company Leia Inc on the Reduser.net forum, which was first spotted by Engadget. The announcement helps reveal what the Hydrogen One's display will look like if the tech delivers on its advertising.

It just so happens that Leia's YouTube channel contains a video showcasing a promotional video of its holographic display, which could be similar to what we'll see on RED's Hydrogen One smartphone. It's important to note that this doesn't appear to be actual footage of the display in action, but rather CGI-rendered marketing material, so we still don't know if the tech can deliver in real-world settings.

From the GIF above and Leia's YouTube video, it seems that the company is claiming its tech allows for items to appear to float directly on top of the display, creating an effect where the display itself is a surface for the holographic items, like the car and the cones above, to rest on.

Another example, pictured below, shows that the company is claiming items can appear like they're extending out from the display, not just resting on top of the display.

But not all content will be able to holographically protrude from the display, as you saw above. For the effect to work, the company says content like photos, games, and videos will have to be produced or shot in the ".h4v" format, which will be supported by one of the camera modules that RED will offer for the modular Hydrogen One. It isn't clear yet if apps themselves could be displayed holographically.

Check out Leia's full one-minute YouTube video for more of the display in action:

SEE ALSO: Here's our first look at the mysterious $1,200 smartphone from RED, a company that makes cameras for blockbuster films

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here’s how drastically cell phones have changed over the past 40 years

In an interview with British television network Channel 4 Wednesday, Jennifer Lawrence expressed her frustration with climate change deniers and the Trump presidency.

Lawrence, when asked how she felt about the changes she's seen in the United States over the past year said, “You know, it’s this new language that’s forming. I don’t even recognize it. It’s also scary to know — it's been proven through science — that climate change is due to human activity, and we continue to ignore it, and the only voice that we really have is through voting." 

Lawrence then continued to discuss the hurricanes (Harvey, and the impending Irma) that have been wreaking havoc in the States the past two weeks. “You know, you’re watching these hurricanes now, and it’s really hard, especially while promoting this movie, not to feel Mother Nature’s rage and wrath,” said Lawrence.

The actress explained earlier on in her interview that her character in "Mother!" represents Earth - which may explain why promoting the film has been "really hard" for the actress as natural disasters continue to occur. 

Lawrence also said that she found “it was really startling” to see Trump in office. Lawrence has always been outspoken when it comes to her disapproval of the president, and famously said she felt that if Trump were to become president it would be "the end of the world."

You can watch the full interview here:

SEE ALSO: Jennifer Lawrence prepares for trouble in the ominous first teaser for 'mother!'

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: How to hide on the internet

The war over your streaming video dollars is ramping up, and Disney is going to have to make major subscriber gains to break even after charging headlong into the fray, according to new analysis from UBS.

On Thursday, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that Marvel and ‘Star Wars’ movies would appear on Disney’s upcoming Netflix competitor, a streaming service that will debut in late 2019.

The service will also include Disney and Pixar films, as well as exclusive content to the tune of 4-5 live-action movies (already in development), 4-5 TV series, and 3-4 TV movies. All that is in addition to a back catalog of 400-500 movies and around 7,000 episodes of TV.

In short: It’s a ton of content — and expensive content at that.

This means Disney will be making a substantial upfront investment in the new service, and as a result, will need to show impressive subscriber numbers to please shareholders.

This investment is “both intriguing from a build the future growth of the company perspective, but also daunting in terms of the amount of lost third-party revenue,” UBS analysts led by Doug Mitchelson wrote in a note distributed Friday.

UBS pointed out that Disney’s film TV licensing alone is worth $2 billion a year, and that its streaming licensing through services like Netflix is worth approximately $500 million. That’s a lot of ground to make up.

How much ground? “Disney will need 32 million global subscribers just to break even at $9 per month,” UBS wrote.

The landscape

Disney may own the most compelling intellectual property on the planet, but 32 million subscribers is still a high bar.

Earlier this year, Netflix crossed the 100 million global subscriber mark. But it’s the outlier in the streaming industry. HBO Now, the company’s streaming service, was at around 3.5 million subscribers (including add-on subscriptions from places like Amazon) this summer, according to the Financial Times. CBS CEO Les Moonves said his company’s streaming services, CBS All Access and Showtime, would combine for over 4 million subscribers by the end of the year.

Those kinds of numbers make Disney’s task seem like a tall order. UBS, however, has some faith.

“While [32 million subscribers] is not a stretch at all given our bullish expectations for the  growth in the SVOD [streaming video] marketplace globally, it certainly creates greater EPS [earnings] uncertainty for the next several years during a period where investors are already nervous about secular trends for ESPN.”

Here is the full breakdown from UBS:

SEE ALSO: NFL star Russell Wilson launched a startup to help 'superfans' get deeper access to celebs

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: 6 details you might have missed on the season 7 finale of 'Game of Thrones'

UPDATE: Disney has decided to close Disney World early on Saturday due to the approaching Hurricane Irma. Disney has said it hopes to resume normal operations starting Tuesday, September 12.

Hurricane Irma is barreling toward Florida and is expected to cause major damage, including to Disney World.

Disney World generates about $30 million in revenue a day for its parent company, so shutting down for even a half day means millions of lost dollars, according to John Janedis, an analyst at Jefferies.

Last year, Hurricane Matthew closed the park for 1 1/2 days, costing the company about $40 million in revenue, according to Janedis. It was only the second time the company had closed its doors in the last decade, according to reporting from Chelsea Brasted at the Times-Picayune.

Disney recently released a statement saying it would be closing Disney World in Orlando early on Saturday and remain closed until Tuesday, a rare move for the company. The hotels will remain open, according to the company's website. According to Janedis' numbers, this could cost Disney up to $90 million in lost revenue, and wouldn't include any damages caused by the storm.

"Walt Disney World Resort continues to monitor the path of the Hurricane Irma as we take the necessary steps to maintain the safety of Guests and Cast Members," a warning on the company's website states.

Hurricane Irma is expected to be in the Orlando area sometime Sunday evening, according to the National Weather Service. The agency warns residents of east-central Florida to "prepare for life-threatening wind having possible devastating impacts" from Hurricane Irma.

Omar Sheikh, an analyst at Credit Suisse, said before the park closed that the impact of Irma will be less than a 1% drop in Fiscal Year 2017's earnings. The park segment of the company may be hit for about 10% of its operating income, but the company as a whole would probably see minimal impact.

Several Disney Cruises have been canceled due to Irma. Sheikh says just five cancellations would have a similar impact to a park closure at Disney World, and three cruises have so far been canceled according to the company's website. Disney is offering all impacted customers full.

Snhares of Disney are down about 8.37% this year.

Click here to watch Disney's stock trade in real time...

SEE ALSO: Hurricane Irma is heading to Florida as a Category 4 storm — here's everything you need to know

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The looming war between Alibaba and Amazon

Fans are impatiently awaiting the return of Netflix's "Stranger Things," which debuts its season two on October 27th. 

Actor and Emmy nominee David Harbour, who plays Police Chief Jim Hopper, recently told TV Guide that the "primary focus" of season two will be Hopper's daughter.

Hopper's daughter, Sarah, hasn't been introduced in the show because she dies of cancer before the events in season one take place. 

“Hopper’s daughter will be the primary focus of season two, but not in the way that you think it will be,” Harbour said. “Hopper’s understanding of that relationship and Hopper’s understanding of being a father, and of being a man, grows deeper and deeper in season two, and we get a lot of time to explore what that is, but it won’t be in the literal way that you think it is.” 

We won't know exactly what this means until the end of October. But we're guessing that the death of Hopper's daughter is related to all the strange things that happen on this very accurately-named show. 

SEE ALSO: Netflix just announced when 'Stranger Things' season 2 will come out — and shared a creepy new poster and teaser

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A popular 'Game of Thrones' fan theory says Bran is the Night King — here's why

This week, St. Vincent and Beck dropped new singles, and The National released its seventh studio album.

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

SEE ALSO: The best songs to stream from last week — Frank Ocean, LCD Soundsystem, and more

St. Vincent — "Los Ageless"

St. Vincent's Annie Clark crafts a satiric takedown of L.A. on her latest single, "Los Ageless," a sharp, electric track that also finds her ruminating on the loss of her model-actress ex-girlfriend.

Beck — "Up All Night"

With a falsetto chorus and bright, pop-rock instrumentation, Beck seems to channel French indie rock band Phoenix on "Up All Night," the most recent single from his upcoming album "Colors."

SZA — "Quicksand"

Kendrick Lamar labelmate SZA's "Quicksand" is a fresh R&B love song with soul-sampling production. It's also the latest original single from the new-music hub that is HBO's "Insecure."

Spike Lee and "Get Out" director Jordan Peele are teaming up for a film called "Black Klansman," a crime thriller that will be based on the true story of a black police officer who infiltrated the KKK, according to The Hollywood Reporter. 

Lee will reportedly direct the movie, which also serves an adaptation of a 2014 memoir by Ron Stallworth, the aforementioned officer. Peele's Monkeypaw Productions company will produce the film.

Denzel Washington's son, John David Washington (HBO's "Ballers"), is in talks to star in the film.

According to THR, Lee and Peele have been working on "Black Klansman" for at least two years. 

Peele's "Get Out" was one of the most critically acclaimed box office hits of this year. Peele said the film, with its darkly satiric take on race relations, would be the first in a series of "social thrillers" from his production company, and "Black Klansman" seems to fit that mold. 

Lee's most recent feature film, "Chi-Raq," was a controversial musical drama and a study of gang violence in the south side of Chicago. 

SEE ALSO: 34 movies you have to see this fall — including 'Justice League,' 'It,' and 'Blade Runner 2049'

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: TECH ANALYST: There's one business driving Apple's growth, and it's not the iPhone

Jake Gyllenhaal has shown for over a decade that he has an impeccable ability to choose roles that can highlight his ever-expanding talents. But his latest role could get him his first Oscar nomination since 2006’s “Brokeback Mountain.”

In “Stronger” the actor plays Jeff Bauman, a free-spirit Bostonian who, like most in the city, grinds out his days so he can race to cheer on his beloved Red Sox, Bruins, or Patriots (depending on the time of year) at a nearby bar with friends and family. But after losing both his legs following the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, Bauman suddenly becomes the unlikely face of the “Boston Strong” motto the nation uses to recover. Bringing notoriety to Bauman he never wanted.

Gyllenhaal plays Bauman in two parts. Before the bombing he’s a free spirit who can sweet talk anyone to get his way. And when it comes to his ex-girlfriend, Erin (Tatiana Maslany from “Orphan Black”), he lays on the charm big time, even promising her that he’ll be at the finish line to root her on at the marathon. Which leads to his horrific injury. Following the bombing, the charismatic smile is gone and Bauman is left lost navigating a world alongside family members that can’t get enough of him being a hero after not just surviving the blast but also helping the police ID one of the bombers.

For both versions of Bauman, Gyllenhaal goes all-in, delivering a tour-de-force performance that is the heart and soul of the movie. But the secret weapon of “Stronger” is Tatiana Maslany.

As Erin, Maslany plays a woman riddled with guilt as she feels responsible for what happened to Bauman.

Though the horrific event brought them back together, Erin struggles with becoming a part of his close-nit family, especially getting the approval of his often tipsy mother (played by Miranda Richardson). Erin is the person that keeps Bauman driven through his rehab and comforts him during his mental trauma.

A thankless job, it’s her refusal to enable Bauman during his darkest moments that finally makes him realize how vital she is to him and what his life means to others.

Maslany’s performance resembles Amy Adams’ in “The Fighter,” who also played an outsider trying to fit in with the dysfunctional Ward family as she falls for boxer "Irish" Micky Wars (Mark Wahlberg). The role garnered Adams a best supporting actress nomination. Maslany is worthy of the same attention.

At the helm of “Stronger” is David Gordon Green (“Pineapple Express”), who once more shows he can direct any genre. But he wisely stays in the background, keeping the storytelling by the numbers. He pushes all the much-deserved attention on his stellar cast.

“Stronger” opens in theaters September 22.

SEE ALSO: The filmmakers behind a big game hunting doc tackled a controversial subject, and almost got shot by a poacher

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here's why people are afraid of clowns — and what you can do to get over it

A strategy overhaul is underway at Amazon Studios, and it comes all the way from top brass including CEO Jeff Bezos, according to a new report from Variety.

This week, Amazon unexpectedly killed the second season of “Z: The Beginning of Everything,” which had been previously greenlit, and which writers had been working to get ready for production.

The cancellation comes as part of a mandate from the leadership in Seattle.

“We’ve been looking at the data for some time, and as a team we’re increasingly focused on the impact of the biggest shows,” Amazon Studios head Roy Price told Variety. “It’s pretty evident that it takes big shows to move the needle.”

Price pointed to Amazon Prime Video hits like “Man in the High Castle,” and car series “The Grand Tour” (from the “Top Gear” team), as examples of what Amazon is looking for. He also mentioned “Game of Thrones.”

“I do think ‘Game of Thrones’ is to TV as ‘Jaws’ and ‘Star Wars’ was to the movies of the 1970s,” Price said. “It’ll inspire a lot of people. Everybody wants a big hit and certainly that’s the show of the moment in terms of being a model for a hit.”

This isn’t the first time Amazon Studios execs have talked about focusing on big shows. In April, Price said Amazon’s “real focus is the crème de la crème … [the] actual shows people are talking about.” And late last year, he said that “the real competition [in streaming TV] is not to be broadly accepted, but to be truly exceptional.”

But it seems Price is getting pressure to move faster in that direction.

Sources told Variety that there is some internal frustration with Amazon’s original TV output. Amazon has had critical darlings come out of its TV division, like Golden Globe winners “Transparent” and “Mozart in the Jungle.” But for all the money it’s spending on video, which JPMorgan estimated to be $4.5 billion in 2017, Amazon doesn’t yet have a culture-dominating drama like “Game of Thrones.”

It sounds like Jeff Bezos has noticed.

“We’re very interested in getting those top shows — something that is broadly popular and admired,” Price told Variety. “We want to allocate a lot of our attention and resources going forward to that kind of thing.”

SEE ALSO: Disney has to get a whopping 32 million subscribers for its Netflix competitor to break even, according to UBS

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: TOP TECH ANALYST: Snap needs to innovate 'more quickly'

On paper, a movie directed by George Clooney, with a script written by Joel and Ethan Coen, and starring Matt Damon and Julian Moore looks like a hit. But after seeing “Suburbicon” you’re left with only disappointment as all these talents couldn’t pull off a good movie.

A major reason for the disappointing outcome is that the movie tries to be a dark satire on suburban culture and a commentary on racism. Yes, that part of the movie will be a surprise, especially if you’ve seen the trailer.

According to a profile on Clooney done recently by The Hollywood Reporter, the Coens originally wrote their script back in the 1990s and approached Clooney to star in it. That story, set in the 1950s, follows a white family looking to be living a carefree life in the suburbs until a home invasion leaves the father unhinged. Recently when Clooney took the project on as something for him to direct — with racial tension bubbling to the surface during Donald Trump’s race for the presidency — he and his writing partner Grant Heslov decided to also include a real-life incident that took place in Levittown, Pennsylvania in 1957 where a white suburban neighborhood erupted in violence after an African-American family moved in.

It’s almost embarrassing to imagine that Clooney, Heslov, and others would think these two plot elements could work seamlessly in one movie.

Matt Damon plays the father, Gardner. Julianne Moore plays his wife and also her sister, Margaret. Gardner’s wife dies during the home invasion and it is soon revealed that it was Gardner who was involved in planning the invasion so he can ship his son to boarding school and run off to Aruba with Margaret. While all of this is going on, the African-American family living in the town are dealing with continued racist behavior from everyone in the neighborhood.

Beyond the fact that everything going on in the Gardner family plot of the movie is unoriginal, there is very little time given to the plight of the African-American family. Outside of a scene here and there of white angry men yelling at the family from the sidewalk and neighboring yards, there’s no scenes with dialogue of the family dealing with the harassment. It’s all done through the brief interaction between the sons of each family.

There are a few parts of the movie that seem to have a Coen brothers feel, from the opening scene that reveals the racial tension in the neighborhood to a shifty insurance investigator played by Oscar Isaac, but the movie, outside of being very violent, doesn’t have the bite of a Coen story. It’s also a far cry from the originality or style that Clooney has given us in previous directing work like “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind” and “Good Night, and Good Luck.”

Damon and Moore work hard with the material given, trying desperately to make a few comic moments hit the mark. But mostly they are stuck with really lousy material.

I can’t really say I’m even curious what the Coens' script on its own would have looked like because the kidnapping aspect of the plot in “Suburbicon” is so close to what happens in “Fargo,” the Coens-directed 1996 classic. I just can’t believe no one went to Clooney at the script stage and told him he was dancing very closely to what one of the Coen brothers’ classics already did. And why the Coens would write something so similar to what they did in “Fargo.” Rewrites may have been the culprit, however. 

Regardless, Clooney is so heavy-handed with both the satire and commentary on race, watching “Suburbicon” builds into a frustrating experience.

“Suburbicon” opens in theaters October 27.

SEE ALSO: "It" is a unique horror movie that's as funny as it is scary, and it looks like fall's first hit

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A popular 'Game of Thrones' fan theory says Bran is the Night King — here's why

Mario is on the verge of starring in his biggest game in years.

Forget about that smartphone game — "Super Mario Odyssey" is a massive, crazy-looking, open-world Mario game. And it's only available on Nintendo's Switch.

Though there are plenty of games coming to all three major game consoles this holiday, a few blockbusters are exclusive to each. Starting with "Super Mario Odyssey" in October, we've put together the three heavy-hitter "exclusive" games for Sony's PlayStation 4, Microsoft's Xbox One, and Nintendo's Switch console this holiday season.

SEE ALSO: The 20 biggest games coming in the 2nd half of 2017

1. "Super Mario Odyssey" on the Nintendo Switch

Just as "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" was a massive evolution of the long-running, celebrated "Legend of Zelda" franchise, "Super Mario Odyssey" appears poised to challenge and evolve the "Super Mario" formula.

"Super Mario Odyssey" is an open-world, nonlinear game starring Mario. That means you're not running from a beginning point to, say, a flagpole. We're talking big open worlds that are packed with details: secret areas to find, puzzles to solve, and — bizarrely — even some old-school 2D Mario thrown in for good measure. Seriously!

This is an area you enter, and play, in "Super Mario Odyssey":

Instead of reaching an endpoint, your goal in "Super Mario Odyssey" is to collect moons, of which there are many in each world. Based on the too-brief time I spent with it back in June, the closest comparison I have is to "Super Mario 64." It's too early to call it, and there are a dozen other incredible looking games that are coming out on multiple platforms, but "Super Mario Odyssey" looks like the game to get this holiday season.

Check out our hands-on with the game right here.

Release date: October 27

Check out "Super Mario Odyssey" in action right here:

Youtube Embed:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/wGQHQc_3ycE
Width: 800px
Height: 450px

2. "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" on the Xbox One/Xbox One X

"PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" boasts a bizarre name and a brilliant concept: 100 people on a massive island, armed with their wits and a scattered arsenal, fighting to the death. Whoever survives at the end of the match wins — and there can only be one.

Each match of "Battlegrounds" starts the same way: You're in a derelict airplane with 100 other actual people; as you fly over a deserted island you're able to choose where you'll parachute down. Since you're unarmed, if you land near anyone it's up to you to choose whether to run (an attempt to arm yourself and/or escape) or to fight (with your fists!) to death. As the match progresses, the area of the island you're able to occupy shrinks — thus forcing you closer and closer to your opponents.

It sounds intense because it is intense. There is no single-player, no "campaign" mode. Just the terrifying island and 100 actual people.

OF NOTE: This game is an "exclusive" insofar as it's only coming to the Xbox One this holiday season. The game is already available, albeit unfinished, on the PC; it will also head to the PlayStation 4 further down the line, though it's not clear when.

Release date: "Later this year"

It is no exaggeration to say that the comedy duo of Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim has produced some of the most disturbing and gut-wrenchingly funny television in the history of the medium. 

After meeting in film school at Temple University in the '90s, Tim and Eric found a home at Adult Swim in the mid 2000s, where they released a string of innovative, 11-minute shows, including the animated "Tom Goes to the Mayor" and the absurdist sketch comedy "Tim and Eric's Awesome Show, Great Job!"

In the first season of their latest show, "Tim & Eric's Bedtime Stories," the pair crafted ten diverse and darkly hilarious short films. One episode featured Bob Odenkirk ("Better Call Saul") as a doctor specializing in toe removal, and another found Jason Schwartzman ("The Grand Budapest Hotel") confronting a demented billboard ad that comically distorted the actor's face.

Eric Wareheim talked to Business Insider about the "creepier" second season of "Bedtime Stories" and the process of making a 10-year anniversary episode of "Awesome Show," which premiered in August. We also touched on his burgeoning wine business, his experience acting on Netflix's "Master of None," and the two feature films he's writing. 

Season two of "Tim & Eric's Bedtime Stories" premieres Sunday at midnight EST on Adult Swim. 

John Lynch: The “Awesome Show” anniversary episode was fantastic. As you're switching between sketch comedy and the cinematic structure of “Bedtime Stories,” do you find it’s easier to be in one of those modes than the other at this point?

Eric Wareheim: Yeah, we hadn’t done the sketch show for a while. We’d been in story mode, doing “Bedtime Stories,” and I was doing “Master of None.” As soon as we got back to sketch mode, we spent a week doing “Awesome Show” and had so much fun because it’s such a different energy. It’s really quick, you get to be really crazy, and you don’t have to develop characters. It was easy to switch back, and we had a blast doing it. We were pretty much just crying on set every day, crying from laughing. A lot more laughter when you’re making sketch comedy. You get to the joke really quick.

Lynch: Do you feel it’s more rewarding, in a way, to find humor within the structure of “Bedtime Stories?"

Wareheim: They’re both equally rewarding. I can’t say one is better than the other. But as former film students, making “Bedtime Stories” is satisfying in the way that it looks like a film, sounds like a film, and there are really great actors involved. Sometimes “Bedtime Stories” feels almost like a trick, where you get settled in like, “Oh, I’m watching something pleasant here,” and then you’re like, “Oh, my God. This is happening?” But with “Awesome Show,” the video element just looks so wild that you know something wild is going to happen. With “Bedtime Stories,” you’re tricked into feeling like you’ve seen it before, if you’ve seen movies and dramatic TV.

Lynch: Would you say that this season is darker than season one? I’ve only seen the trailer, but that was the impression I got, that it’s more ... Cronenberg.

Wareheim: Yeah, it’s more kind of ... Lars Von Trier. More reflective of our culture and society right now. Things are getting crazy. Things are getting nightmarish, and that’s reflected in our show. As two guys getting older, dealing with these heavy issues, we’ve kind of naturally put that into our stories. And yes, the new season is darker, creepier, but also pretty funny.

Lynch: In what ways did you approach this season differently than the first one? Were there things you brought over from it?

Wareheim: Well, yes, we brought in the same style, the same soundscapes, same score, same kind of energy. But we learned a lot from season one. We know what works now, and we feel that season two is a whole new world that we’re super excited about.

Lynch: I think your fans really appreciate the versatility of your sensibilities. Do you have any sense of whether diehard fans of "Awesome Show" appreciate "Bedtime Stories" to the same degree?

Wareheim: You know, we’ve been walking our fans through our library since “Tom Goes to the Mayor,” which is very different than “Awesome Show,” and “Bedtime Stories” is very different than “Awesome Show” as well. But they all have these similar themes, and I feel like if you’re on board with a couple of these themes, and you’re a fan, you can go with us to other places. And that’s the hope of anyone’s career is to have it be dynamic and not staying the same. I’m glad we took seven years off and didn’t make “Awesome Show.” We came back, and I feel like this special is one of the strongest “Awesome Shows” we’ve made.

Lynch: The post-production editing that’s so prominent on “Awesome Show” and “Tom Goes to the Mayor,” it’s used to a lesser degree on “Bedtime Stories.” Do you feel like you’ve exhausted that tool in a way?

Wareheim: No, I don’t. I feel like with the “Awesome Show” special we tried to do some new things, which I was totally surprised at from our editors, to go to new places. We’ve seen a lot of people try to recreate what we do, and no one’s really done it quite yet. I wish people would take our editing style and take it to the next level, but I don’t think we’re done with it yet. There are more places to go.

Lynch: Your style is definitely trending toward being more cinematic, and you've done a feature film in the past. Do you see another feature on your horizon?

Wareheim: Yes. I'm writing two feature films right now. It's the most exciting thing that's happened to me. I went to film school because I wanted to be a filmmaker. Tim and I made a film, and it was really hard, but this is my personal passion. They're going to be a combination of drama and comedy, in a very dark, dark way. We've been making so much sh-t, so we're going to take a couple months the rest of this year to do some writing.

Lynch: When you're in that film mindset, do ideas germinate in the same way that a "Bedtime Stories" episode does, and then you build on it?

Wareheim: Yeah. It all comes from experiential things. For example, when I was in New York shooting "Master of None," I encountered a lot of wild, amazing things, and I'm turning those things into a feature. And it's just like "Bedtime Stories" is based off of our real fears or real things that have happened to us, and then we exaggerate them for dramatic effect. That's where everything comes from. 

Lynch: Definitely. My phone was a breaking up a bit at the end there. Sometimes these phone interviews feel like I'm Ed Begley in the "Cinco-Fone" sketch from "Awesome Show." 

Wareheim:  [a weary laugh]  Yeah. Definitely, a Cinco communication system. 

Lynch: On another note, you’ve also been a successful musicvideo director throughout your career. Are there any recent music videos that you’ve admired?

Wareheim: Sh-t. I can’t think off the top of my head really. I don’t watch that much comedy, and I don’t watch that many music videos. Not to be all high falutin about it, but I like to keep my voice pretty pure and try not to follow the trends and stuff like that. I'm sure there are some great music videos out there.

Lynch: I understand you also have a wine company that you're looking to build. What's been the operation behind that, and how do you approach it?

Wareheim: Well, if you've been following my Instagram for the last five years, you know I'm real fan of food and travel and culture, and wine is like the base of a lot of culture I feel. I've learned so much about different places through wine, and I wanted to do something amazing in America and do it naturally. There's a new kind of wine making, it's not new, but it's a style that's just becoming popular called natural winemaking. And I wanted to be a part of it, and I want to give back to the world. One of the wines is actually a Dr. Steve Brule Sweetberry wine, if you know that sketch. That was sort of the start of this business, but I have a winemaker Joel Burt, who's a genius, and we said to ourselves, "Let's make good wine. Let's not make it a joke." And that's what happened. Now we have a whole line of wines coming out in the fall that are incredible.

SEE ALSO: RANKED: Netflix's 25 original comedy shows, from worst to best

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A popular 'Game of Thrones' fan theory says Bran is the Night King — here's why

Shaul Schwarz and Christina Clusiau never thought much about big game hunting. In fact, the two photojournalists-turned-filmmakers, who have been a couple for years, didn’t even know how each other felt about the controversial sport.

Then almost four years ago, Schwarz was on his computer when he came across a “trophy shot” — a photo taken of a hunter next to the animal he or she has just killed. Schwarz shouted his displeasure, which fell on deaf ears as Clusiau didn’t see any problem with it.

“Growing up in Northern Minnesota it’s what people do, hunting,” Clusiau, sitting alongside Schwarz, told Business Insider. “So to me I felt everybody does it. It’s normal.”

“I grew up in Israel where if you shot a deer you shot Bambi,” Schwarz said. 

That led to the making of “Trophy” (opening in select theaters on Friday), the duo’s powerful documentary that delves into the world of safari hunting. On the surface, the movie looks to be an anti-big game hunting movie that sheds light on man’s atrocities toward animals. And with the main financing coming from Impact Partners — a company most recognized for backing the 2009 Oscar-winning movie, “The Cove,” which looks at the slaughter of dolphins in Taijii, Japan — that wouldn’t be a bad guess. 

But Schwarz and Clusiau go beyond the low-hanging viral sensations that diminish the sport, from Donald Trump’s sons taking trophy shots while on a hunting safari in Zimbabwe, to the death of Cecil the lion at the hands of a Minnesota dentist. Instead, they explore a complex issue in which big game hunting has fueled not just breeding of endangered species but wildlife conservation as well.

That was the biggest shock Schwarz and Clusiau got when attending Safari Club International’s annual Hunters’ Convention in Las Vegas in 2014. Essentially the Comic-Con of hunting, the three-day event offers everything from buying the latest high-tech hunting weapons, to getting a new fur coat, to spending thousands of dollars to make a reservation to hunt a buffalo or rhino on an African safari.

“It angers you that there’s so much money, but then they started to throw this argument at us that money is what drives this, this is why there is wildlife conservation,” Schwarz said.

The movie explores this tricky topic with lush visuals and moving interviews from those on the front lines of the issue, who are passionate about their stance.

There’s Philip Glass, a Texas sheep breeder who is on a quest to hunt the “big five game” (African lion, elephant, cape buffalo, leopard, and rhino); John Hume, a South African who owns a rhino farm and cuts off their horns to protect them from poachers; Christo Gomes, a South African all-inclusive safari owner; and Chris Moore, a Zimbabwean anti-poacher.

With a crew only made up of Schwarz and Clusiau, the two traveled with their subjects around Africa and other parts of the world. How to tell their stories evolved through time. At first, the two wanted to tell it as a verite with no narration or interviews. However, gradually they brought in interviews to better explain why people believe big game hunting is a positive for wildlife in Africa.

“When we started working with Craig Packer, the ecologist, that helped us reinforce doing interviews because he’s the one that says how this model can bring a restored ecosystem,” Clusiau said. Including interviews also revealed a surprising emotional moment. In one interview with Gomes, he breaks down and cries after asked if he has ever had an emotional connection to the animals he breeds that are eventually killed by hunters on his safari.

Then there are the movie’s visuals, which aren’t just stunning but showcase the incredible access the filmmakers got. To pull that off was physically draining and at at times dangerous.

The two often lugged around a drone for miles to film aerial shoots. It paid off after Glass killed an elephant. Before men from a local town picked it apart for meat to bring back to their village, Schwarz and Clusiau filmed an aerial shot via drone of the dead elephant. It’s one of the most memorable shots in the movie.

But getting drone shots almost led to the filmmakers getting stranded in the bush. After filming shots with the drone one morning, they went back by boat to the camp where they were to meet their hunting party. But when they got to the site no one was there.

“I think the guy misunderstood that we were coming back,” Clusiau said.

Remembering being told that buffalo and crocodiles roam the river at this time of day, the filmmakers knew they couldn’t walk along the river to get back to the home base. They thought of taping a note to the drone and flying it back to the base to get help. But finally Schwarz got reception on his phone and after calling numerous numbers where no one picked up the phone, he emailed the general email box of one of the companies that assisted in connected them with the hunters. Four hours later, a boat came to pick them up.

But their closest call wasn’t realized until six months after shooting was completed.

Schwarz got a voice mail out of the blue from Moore who shared what he learned about the poacher they were trying to track down when Schwarz and Clusiau filmed one of his anti-poacher raids:

"So, I discovered from an informant yesterday that that night when you were on that raid the guy was at home, he was there, he jumped out of the window, remember there were no burglar bars. And he had the 375 high-caliber rifle and he didn't know which guy to shoot, you or me,” Moore said in the voice mail, which Schwarz played for Business Insider. “He was confused. But he got a beat on both of us a few times and then, anyway, he decided to not pull the trigger for whatever reason."

Besides the incredible access, what makes “Trophy” so memorable is its ability to tell both sides of a complex issue. Schwarz and Clusiau are well aware the movie is a tough sell for people. But what they have realized is once they get people in the theater, they'll recognize the other side of the argument.

“We had Philip Glass at a screening in LA, a very liberal audience, and two days later he got this long email from a person there saying they were still against trophy hunting but thanked him for the dialogue,” Schwarz said. “And from the hunter side we hear from people who say, ‘Maybe ‘God giveth’ isn't the best excuse.’ That makes me happy. We are happy when people will go out of their comfort zone.”

SEE ALSO: Why fans shouldn't be concerned about all the directors leaving "Star Wars" movies — yet

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A popular 'Game of Thrones' fan theory says Bran is the Night King — here's why

In a year where a lot of the hyped titles playing at the Toronto International Film Festival have already premiered at Telluride or Venice, “I, Tonya” is one title TIFF can claim as its own.

The dark, twisted, and hilarious look at the rise and fall of US Olympic figure-skater Tonya Harding had its world premiere at the fest on Friday, and with no distribution in place, the movie has buyers scrambling to nab it.

Margot Robbie plays the disgraced skater in a performance that is the best of her career to this point.

Though Harding’s claim to fame should be as the first American woman to land a triple axel in competition, what she’s really known for is being the center of one of the biggest scandals in US sports history when her rival, US figure-skater Nancy Kerrigan, was attacked leading up to the 1994 Winter Olympics. Later on, it was discovered that Harding’s ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly, hired someone to assault Kerrigan.

But “I, Tonya,” directed by Craig Gillespie (“Lars and the Real Girl,” “The Finest Hours”), doesn’t only focus on the scandal that became a pop-culture obsession in the mid-1990s. To tell the story right, you have to delve deeper into Harding’s life and that’s just what Gillespie and screenwriter Steven Rogers did.

Pushed to be a figure-skater by her mother (played by Allison Janney) at 3, Harding knew two things growing up, skating on the ice and being abused.

There’s a lot to laugh about and get nostalgic over in “I, Tonya,” but at its core it’s a story about a woman who has been mentally and physically abused by everyone who has ever been in her life.

By 15, Harding moves from the slaps and shoves of her mother to go live with Gillooly (Sebastian Stan), and things don’t get better. He beats her constantly, which doesn’t stop Harding from marrying the guy.

Through all of this, Harding rises through the ranks of US figure-skating, and because of her ability to land the triple axel, becomes an elite skater. Which is even more remarkable in a sport like figure skating — where privilege and a wholesome image is a necessity — Harding did it all dirt poor and never making nice with anyone.

Robbie (who is also a producer on the movie) captures the rough Harding persona and delivers a performance which is at times heart-achingly real and at others masterfully comedic. From her hair to her loud outfits, Robbie is everything that made you love Harding if you lived through the time when she was one of the most recognizable people on the planet.

And then there’s the supporting cast that only makes Robbie and the movie better. Stan as the mustached Gillooly is the perfect villain. And Paul Walter Hauser, who plays Gillooly’s friend and Harding’s “bodyguard” Shawn Eckhardt, is a hilarious scene stealer. But it’s Janney as Harding’s unforgiving mother that's the most remarkable. She plays her ruthless and never gives the character the slightest hint of compassion towards Harding.

The movie has top notch make-up and costume design as it goes through the decades of Harding’s life and jumps forward to present day with the characters giving interviews looking back on the events. This style gives the movie one of its most memorable moments, when present day Harding looks into the camera and describes the pain she feels being the punching bag of the media and public. They being her latest abuser. And how this movie, and we the audience enjoying her messed up life, are now her current abuser.  

If there’s one knock on the movie, the poor CGI for the skating scenes makes it obvious Robbie isn't doing most of the skating. But, no one was expecting her to learn the triple axel for the role.

With “I, Tonya” having no distribution at the time of this writing, it’s hard to forecast what’s in store for it. But outside of box office, which should be solid seeing the amount of people still fascinated by Harding and the scandal, this movie certainly has the potential of being an awards season player this year.

I certainly hope that happens.

SEE ALSO: George Clooney's latest directing effort is embarrassingly awful

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: 6 details you might have missed on season 7 episode 5 of 'Game of Thrones'

Making it in the comedy world is hard, especially for women. And it can be even harder when you're trying to stay true to your religious beliefs.

Nigerian-American actress Yvonne Orji plays Molly on HBO's "Insecure," which ends its second season on Sunday. In addition to acting, Orji's been working as a stand-up comedian for years. She's also a Christian, and doesn't compromise her beliefs for her comedy.

Business Insider recently talked to Orji about equal pay, the challenges of coming up in comedy as a black woman, and about staying true to her beliefs in a tempting atmosphere. 

In season two of "Insecure," Orji's character Molly finds out that she's getting paid less than a male co-worker. In the penultimate episode, she tries to negotiate a raise, but fails. Orji told Business Insider that she's had a similar experience.

"Before 'Insecure' I was doing a lot of stand up and I did a lot of hosting," Orji said. "An opportunity presented itself where somebody wanted to hire me to host something on a TV show. And I was like, 'Oh that would be a good opportunity.' They asked if I knew other people, and I knew a guy. I suggested him. Then I got my contract. And I was like ...'Ooh. I don't think I can do this for this rate.' As luck would have it, I found out how much the other guy was getting, so I countered. Instead of them coming back with a counter offer, they just said, 'Oh no, it's ok, I think we'll go with the guy instead.' It sucks, but I would never do it for less. I understand because I'm willing to reject offers that are below my rate, that alienates some people from hiring me. But if you don't start demanding what you want now, you will always be short changed. And that's just how I flow." 

Pay isn't the only challenge Orji has faced as a woman in the comedy world. "In the comedy community, the concept of being a female and pretty and skinny and funny, it's like, 'Uh, you can't be all three.' But skinny, pretty and actually hysterical? They're like, 'what unicorn are you?' I would show up to comedy clubs early on in my career and I would get asked, 'Ok, what are you doing tonight? Are you singing? Doing spoken word?' And I'm like, 'No sir, I am not doing any of the above because this is a comedy club.'"

Orji, despite playing a promiscuous character on "Insecure," is a devout Christian. A lot of comedians reject religion and talk about it in their stand up. But Orji embraces her beliefs and doesn't compromise them for her jokes. And she made sure to point out that she doesn't judge people whose beliefs differ from hers, either. "I'm so established in my beliefs and grounded in what is important to me, that even if no one appreciates it or has an issue with it, that is their issue," she said. "There's some times where people will be like, 'Hey, you should do this joke.' And I'm like, 'Oh, but I don't curse.' And they really think it'll make it funny. And it would. I actually believe it would make it funnier, but I don't curse so it's not an option for me. I have a couple non-negotiables. For me, it goes against what I firmly believe in. And it's fine, but my non-negotiable won't impede on your well-being."

The season two finale of "Insecure" airs Sunday night on HBO. 

SEE ALSO: HBO's 'Insecure' has the hottest music on TV — we talked to the guy who puts it together

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: TECH ANALYST: There's one business driving Apple's growth, and it's not the iPhone

• Vevo – the so-called Hulu for music videos – is seeing a surge in audience, thanks to artists like Taylor Swift.
• Since embracing a TV-like selling model, Vevo has locked in nearly $200 million in upfront ad buys this year.
• The joint venture anticipates 130% overall ad revenue growth in 2017.

The fall TV season has barely begun, but Vevo already has a massive hit on its hands: the Taylor Show.

Specifically, as of Friday, Taylor Swift's buzzy video for her new single "Look What You Made Me Do" had generated a staggering 270 million views since it was posted on August 27. That's been happy news for Swift fans, and also for advertisers like Dodge, Flex Dry, and the new Tom Cruise movie "American Made," each of what had their video ads running prior to the video on Vevo's YouTube channel.

Indeed, big brands have been flocking to Vevo – a joint venture between Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Abu Dhabi Media and Google – hoping to capitalize on the resurgence of music videos overall, and particularly the TV like events that premieres like that of Swift have become.

Vevo has locked up nearly $200 million in year long ad commitments this year, after the company shifted its strategy to "upfront" selling, or selling ads like a TV network rather than a web video company.

Kevin McGurn, Vevo's chief sales officer who joined the company in February, said he reoriented the way the company sold ads, looking to emulate TV in terms of the currency, measurement and process.

Instead of focusing on more digital ad staples like branded content, custom sponsorships, clicks and laser targeting, his team embraced selling lots of video ads aimed at Vevo's massive audience using the equivalent of TV ratings data.

"We wanted to talk to TV buyers and sell ourselves like TV," said McGurn. "We put our media inventory in the lead of our sales."

While many companies in the web video space say they want to "unlock TV money," ad buyers say Vevo actually has a legitimate claim. Christopher Geraci, president of national video investment at the media buying giant Omnicom Media Group, said that Vevo has graduated to being considered "premium" status, along with Hulu and full TV episodes streamed on the web by big networks like ABC and Fox.

McGurn, who's logged stints at Fullscreen and Hulu, said after bringing in more than $500 million last year, Vevo expects to enjoy 130% growth this year. 

It doesn't hurt that artists like Beyonce, Katy Perry, Ariana Grande and Miley Cyrus consistently pump out slickly produced videos that regularly exceed 50 to 100 million views a piece. When advertisers commit to upfront Vevo ad deals, they can negotiate "premiere credits" which gives them first dibs on getting their ads in front of big videos as soon as Vevo knows about them.

You can bet the next time Swift is about to drop a new video, Vevo's top ad buyers will get an email.

To be sure, Vevo's business model has always been tricky, given that the bulk of its views happen on YouTube, meaning it has to share a significant share of ad revenue with the Google-owned video brand. Plus, Vevo has to share some revenue with its record company partners. Vevo keeps all the revenue it makes on its owned-and-operated properties, which include Vevo.com as well as iOS and Android apps.

Still, the company says that eight of the previous nine quarters resulted in revenue records. McGurn said the recent concerns in the ad industry over brands' ads ending up in dicey corners of the web have helped, given that most of Vevo's artists are known quantities 

Besides the fact that Vevo attracts big turnouts for top videos, "their daily audience is very impressive," said Geraci. In the US, Vevo averages 25 million visitors a day, according to Nielsen. 

"Our scale has always been there, but it wasn't put in context," added McGurn.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: 6 details you might have missed on season 7 episode 5 of 'Game of Thrones'

In the new "South Park" game, "South Park: The Fractured but Whole," difficulty is directly tied to the color of your character.

Though the game features a robust character creation system, it's immediately overruled by the subsequent difficulty slider. The more challenging you make the game, the darker your character's skin tone becomes — a not-so-subtle nod to racial inequality.

As South Park's own Eric Cartman puts it when you make the choice, "Don't worry, this doesn't affect combat. Just every other aspect of your whole life."

Since "South Park: The Fractured but Whole" is a role-playing game — along the lines of "Final Fantasy" and "Skyrim" — the character you create is your main interaction with the game world. Though many games, including the new "South Park," offer robust character creation options, the choices you make rarely impact the game directly.

"South Park: The Fractured but Whole" flips that, and instead forces a skin tone change on the character you already created based on the difficulty you choose.

Beyond merely reflecting how a player wants to represent themselves in-game, the new "South Park" game is forcing players to think about how representation impacts people in real life (who of course don't have a choice as to the color of their skin, or how difficult their life will be).

Though the system is tongue-in-cheek, like so much of the humor of "South Park," it's stinging because it jests about a horrific truth: That being a person of color in the United States has a massive, overarching impact on your whole life. After all, this is a show whose main black character is named "Token" — a nod to the lack of black representation on television.

Like the previous "South Park" game, "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone are writing and overseeing "South Park: The Fractured but Whole"; French game company Ubisosft is developing and publishing it.

When it arrives for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC on October 17, we expect more biting commentary on modern life through the lens of game systems and tropes.

Here's a look at the game in action:

SEE ALSO: The 3 biggest games coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch this holiday season

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A Georgetown professor explains how Martin Luther King Jr. 'has been severely whitewashed'

If there's one thing we can say about the Disney era of “Star Wars” movies, everything is amplified.

Whether it's pictures tweeted out from the set by a director or news of reshoots, the media (especially us here at Business Insider) rush to write it up. A big reason for that is because the current fandom for “Star Wars” is beyond anything the franchise has ever experienced before, and it seems everyone can’t get enough information, whether it's rumors or facts.

The big difference in today’s “Star Wars” versus when George Lucas made the original trilogy is that there are ten times more outlets writing about it, and thanks to social media, the access to them is instantaneous. Just imagine how social media would have reacted about Ewoks back then!

So of course a director being fired from a “Star Wars” movie is going to be a really big deal.

In today’s Hollywood, being chosen to take on the saga is like getting the industry’s golden ticket. You basically are going to have free reign from then on to work on any project you want — especially if the movie is a hit.

Getting fired (or stepping down over creative differences) from one of the movies doesn’t look good because it gives the impression that you couldn’t swing it, even if the director genuinely just couldn’t mesh with those overseeing the franchise.

The list of directors who have left “Star Wars” projects (that we know of) is small but shows that even a money-making Goliath like Lucasfilm has drama behind the scenes.

Josh Trank left a planned Boba Fett standalone movie in 2015 (he said because he just needed a break from the fans), this summer Chris Mill and Phil Lord left the Han Solo standalone movie with only a month left in production (it was later reported that they were fired by Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy), and on Tuesday Lucasfilm announced it had “mutually chosen to part ways” with Colin Trevorrow, its first choice to direct "Star Wars: Episode IX."

All of these exits are likely for different reasons, but what they all have in common is that events led to the people who control the current vision of “Star Wars” — Kathleen Kennedy, franchise longtime screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan, among others — losing trust in the directors.

For most movies, when the director and producer (especially when the producer has all the power, whether it be rights to the project for the money) can’t get along, bad things happen. But “Star Wars” has the unique advantage of having incredible resources that it can rebound.

A Boba Fett movie will likely be back on its feet with a new director. Ron Howard is hard at work finishing off the Han Solo movie with no plans of a release date change. And “Episode IX” (which is still in script stage) will soon be taken over by someone else.

And even when the “Star Wars” powers-that-be aren’t into what a director did, they bring in someone to get it right, as was the case with director Gareth Edwards on “Rogue One.” He wasn’t fired, but Lucasfilm brought on Tony Gilroy to direct the reshoots on “Rogue One.”

If there’s one thing we might see change from Lucasfilm in its director choices, it’s the experience level. “Star Wars,” like many franchises, have nabbed young directors who have either made an impressive first movie within the studio system or an ambitious indie film. With Howard coming on to direct the Han Solo movie and veteran English director Stephen Daldry (“Billy Elliot”) reportedly in early work on a standalone Obi-Wan Kenobi movie, we might be seeing Kennedy’s new thinking on how to take on “Star Wars” movies going forward.

The reason why “Star Was” fans should not be concerned about the director drama is that, at this point, it has not affected our enjoyment or, more importantly for Lucasfilm and Disney, the box office performance of the movies.

If the day comes when Kennedy can’t put a band-aid on a problem, that's when everyone will panic. But with a line around the corner of capable directors, young and old, who want to work on these movies, it’s hard not to come up with the right formula by picture lock.

SEE ALSO: "It" is a unique horror movie that's as funny as it is scary, and it looks like fall's first hit

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A popular 'Game of Thrones' fan theory says Bran is the Night King — here's why

Season seven of "Game of Thrones" had its issues, but in the end it was satisfying.

But you might've noticed that it didn't feel like other seasons of the show. And that might have to do with its lack of nudity. There was nudity, of course, especially with Jon Snow's behind being the star of the finale. But compared to the other seasons, the nudity dropped substantially.

Broadly noticed, and did a deep dive into the amount of nudity in season seven, among other topics.

Here's what they found:

• Season one: 33 naked people (88% women, 12% men)
• Season two: 16 naked people (100% women, 0% men)
• Season three: 19 naked people (79%, 21% men)
• Season four: 23 naked people (91% women, 9% men)
• Season five: 28 naked people (68% women, 32% men)
• Season six: 22 naked people (91% women, 9% men)
• Season seven: 6 naked people (50%, 50% men)

Notice anything different about season seven? It has around a quarter of last season's number of nude people, though it does have gender parity in its nudity for the first time. 

Broadly also put all their research into this very handy chart that measures the amount of nudity in season one through seven:

SEE ALSO: All the best moments from 'Game of Thrones' season 7

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: 6 details you might have missed on season 7 episode 6 of 'Game of Thrones'