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Jada Pinkett Smith fires back at claim that she's 'been in Scientology a long time'

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jada pinkett smith

Jada Pinkett Smith took to Facebook on Tuesday to shut down ex-Scientologist Leah Remini's claim that Pinkett Smith has "been in Scientology a long time."

"I have studied Dianetics, and appreciate the merits of Study Tech… but I am not a Scientologist," Pinkett Smith wrote in the post, which addressed the multiple religions she says she has participated in but does not devoutly follow:

"I recently lit Shabbat candles with Rabbi Bentley at Temple Sinai... but I am not Jewish;

I have prayed in mosques all over the world... but I am not a Muslim;

I have read the Bhagavad Gita... but I am not a Hindu;

I have chanted and meditated in some of the most magnificent temples on earth… but I am not a Buddhist; and

I have studied Dianetics, and appreciate the merits of Study Tech… but I am not a Scientologist.

I practice human kindness, and I believe that we each have the right to determine what we are and what we are not.

NO ONE ELSE can hold that power."

Remini, who recently won an Emmy for her Scientology-exposing A&E docu-series "Scientology and the Aftermath," told The Daily Beast on Saturday that she had frequently seen Pinkett Smith at Scientology-related events and locations.

"I know Jada’s in. I know Jada’s in. She’s been in Scientology a long time," Remini said. "I never saw Will [Smith] there, but I saw Jada at the Celebrity Centre. They opened up a Scientology school, and have since closed it. But Jada, I had seen her at the Scientology Celebrity Centre all the time."

In 2008, the Smiths opened a private school that raised concerns because some of its teachers were members of the Church of Scientology. Both Smiths have repeatedly insisted that they aren't Scientologists themselves. 

SEE ALSO: Leah Remini hopes her Scientology show will prompt an FBI 'raid' investigating the religion's 'abusive practices'

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


'The Handmaid's Tale' was Amazon's most-read fiction book of the summer — here are the others

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Hulu's hit series "The Handmaid's Tale," based off Margaret Atwood's acclaimed novel under the same title, won four Emmys Sunday night.

And it seems the widespread success of the series has sparked some new interest in its original source material.

According to Amazon, "The Handmaid's Tale" was the most-read fiction book this summer on its Kindle devices.

You can bet the popularity of the Hulu series is responsible for this resurgence of interest in "The Handmaid's Tale" — 22 years after it was published.

Who else made the list?

Here are the top five most read fiction books of the summer, according to Amazon: 

SEE ALSO: 9 changes 'The Handmaid's Tale' show made from the original dystopian book

5. "It"

The movie "It" is already being dubbed the first big hit of the fall movie season, and it seems as though Stephen King fans were gearing up for the film this summer by re-reading his lengthy (1,184 page!) novel "It." 



4. "House of Spies"

Daniel Silva's "House of Spies" quickly gained popularity this summer, shortly after it was released. The novel follows Gabriel Allon on his search for a the world's deadliest terrorist and ISIS mastermind.



3. "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone"

The first novel in the "Harry Potter" series, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," was one of the most read books this summer — 20 years after its release.



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An ex-stockbroker who's now the star of Netflix's 'Kindness Diaries' explains his foolproof strategy for becoming a better person

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Leon Logothetis Kindness Diaries

Kindness isn't a zero sum game.

Leon Logothetis would know. The former stockbroker ultimately left the corporate world to travel the world on his yellow motorbike.

During his journeys, he relied on the generosity of strangers, who provided him with lodgings, meals, and gas. Logothetis would respond by completing an act of kindness for the Good Samaritans, in turn. The television producer and author documented his experience for the Netflix series "The Kindness Diaries."

Over the course of his voyage, Logothetis said he realized how people often think about kindness the wrong way.

"I would say kindness is a moment-to-moment practice," he told Business Insider. "You do not have to be perfect. I am not perfect. All my ex-girlfriends will tell you that."

He said it's best to treat kindness as a daily practice rather than a state of being.

"If you fall off the wagon and you scream at someone or you're mean to someone, that's okay," he said. "You're human. Just follow kindness moment to moment. It's a practice. Keep practicing it day in, day out, and things will change. Moment to moment, follow the path of kindness."

In Logothetis' travels around the globe, he found that people tend to want the same things, regardless of background — to be loved, to be seen, and to be heard. So practicing kindness can be as simple as striving to meet those needs in the moment.

Logothetis added that the biggest mistake you can make is giving up on yourself.

"Don't think, 'Oh I screamed at someone in the car, I'm an evil person and I can't be kind,'" he said. "No. Just do it moment to moment."

SEE ALSO: Jet.com execs say the trait they look for in job candidates is far more important than intelligence

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Why Olivia Munn actually lost money acting in 'Ocean's Eight'

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Actress Olivia Munn has a cameo in the upcoming all-female heist thriller "Ocean's Eight," but the brief role apparently cost her rather than made her money. 

Munn told Entertainment Weekly Radio that she had to pay up front for her expensive wardrobe for the scene she appeared in, which took place at the annual Met Gala in New York City — and she received no reimbursement. 

"It's a whole scene at the Met Ball and they're like, 'Do your own glam.' I got the dress, all that, and then you submit the bills for it because I'm part of your movie," she said. 

"But the bills come right back to you," she continued. "It actually cost me money to be in 'Ocean's Eight.'"

"Ocean's Eight" stars Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Rihanna, Anne Hathaway, and several other notable names.

It is an extension of the "Ocean's" film series, and it's slated for release on June 8, 2018.

SEE ALSO: The 20 actors who have made the most money at the U.S. box office

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

The eSports competitive video gaming market continues to grow revenues & attract investors

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eSports Advertising and Sponsorships

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

What is eSports? History & Rise of Video Game Tournaments

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

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

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

eSports Market Growth Booming

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

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

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

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

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

eSports Industry Analysis - The Future of the Competitive Gaming Market

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  1. Subscribe to an All-Access pass to BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report and over 100 other expertly researched reports. As an added bonus, you'll also gain access to all future reports and daily newsletters to ensure you stay ahead of the curve and benefit personally and professionally. >> START A MEMBERSHIP
  2. Purchase & download the full report from our research store. >> BUY THE REPORT

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

Trump takes a jab at the Emmys after threatening to 'destroy North Korea' in first UN speech

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Stephen Colbert Emmys 2017

Two days after celebrities threw verbal jabs at President Donald Trump during the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards, Trump fired back at his critics with a tweet.

"I was saddened to see how bad the ratings were on the Emmys last night - the worst ever," Trump tweeted on Tuesday evening.

"Smartest people of them all are the "DEPLORABLES," Trump said, referencing a term Hillary Clinton used to describe some of Trump's supporters during the contentious 2016 election.

Though the 2017 Emmys ratings were not "the worst ever" as Trump described, they averaged 11.4 million viewers, about 100,000 more than in 2016 — the show's all-time low, according to Variety

During the awards Sunday night, Trump bore the brunt of several jokes made by its host, comedian Stephen Colbert and several other celebrities who won awards that night.

"Unlike the presidency, Emmys go to the winner of the popular vote," Colbert joked at one point, referring to the results of the US presidential election.

Trump's comments about the Emmys came just hours after he delivered a fiery speech before the United Nations General Assembly in New York, in which he threatened the US could "totally destroy North Korea" if its nuclear aggressions continue.

SEE ALSO: The 9 biggest surprises at the 2017 Emmys

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NOW WATCH: Putin says Trump is not his bride and claims Americans don't know the difference between Austria and Australia

Jimmy Kimmel slams new Republican healthcare bill, says its author lied to him

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Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel once again waded into the healthcare debate on Tuesday, blasting the newest Republican attempt to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act and saying one of its authors lied directly to his face.

Kimmel drew attention in June when he gave an emotional monologue about his newborn son's emergency open-heart surgery and how it gave him clarity on Congress' healthcare debate.

Following the first plea, Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana told Kimmel he would write a bill that would protect children with preexisting conditions, like Kimmel's son, from lifetime limits. The limits, before the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, the healthcare law better known as Obamacare, allowed insurance companies to cap the total dollar amount of care they covered in a person's life.

Under such rules, being in intensive care during infancy could leave children like Kimmel's unable to get insurance for the rest of their life. At times, the phenomenon has bankrupted families.

"These insurance companies, they want caps, to limit how much they can pay out," Kimmel said. "So for instance, if your son has to have three open-heart surgeries, it can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars apiece. If he hits his lifetime cap of — let's say, a million dollars — the rest of his life, he's on his own."

Cassidy pledged to make sure that this would not come back under his system and that preexisting conditions would not cause people to be charged more. The senator dubbed this qualification the "Jimmy Kimmel test."

But Kimmel said Cassidy's new bill, the Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson legislation, failed the test.

"Not only did this bill fail the Jimmy Kimmel test, it failed the Bill Cassidy test," the host said. "It failed its own test, which you don't see very much. In fact, this bill is even worse than the one that thank god Republicans like Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski and John McCain torpedoed over the summer."

In the new bill, most federal healthcare funding is handed to states in a large, up-front chunk called a block grant. States can then apply for what are known as 1332 waivers that allow states to relax some of Obamacare's regulations to bring down costs.

While the new bill does not allow states to waive the requirement that keeps insurers from rejecting people with preexisting conditions altogether, the waivers could end up allowing insurers to charge sick people drastically more money for coverage, essentially pricing them out of the market.

For that reason, Kimmel said the bill not only failed Cassidy's original Kimmel test but also created a new one.

"This new bill actually does pass the Jimmy Kimmel test — but a different Jimmy Kimmel test," the late-night host said. "With this one, your child with a preexisting condition will get the care he needs if, and only if, his father is Jimmy Kimmel. Otherwise, you might be screwed."

Kimmel said Republicans were trying to slip the bill through before the September 30 deadline (after which a bill would be subject to a Democratic filibuster) to placate insurance companies they take donations from.

In addition to taking issue with the content of the new bill, Kimmel called out Cassidy specifically.

"A senator named Bill Cassidy from Louisiana, was on my show and he wasn't very honest," Kimmel said, adding that he "just lied right to my face."

Watch the video of Kimmel's monologue:

SEE ALSO: Republicans' last-chance Obamacare repeal has a giant money problem

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NOW WATCH: Putin says Trump is not his bride and claims Americans don't know the difference between Austria and Australia

The 50 worst TV shows in modern history, according to critics

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Many of the worst television shows originate from some highly questionable concepts that make you wonder how they ever got approved.

ABC's "Cavemen" series in 2007, for instance, was based on characters from a short-lived Geico commercial, and Fox's 2014 reality show "I Wanna Marry Harry" saw 12 women compete for the chance to marry a Prince Harry look-alike who they thought was the real Prince of Wales.

Both shows were critical disasters, and each lasted only one season — as many of the worst reality shows, dramas, and sitcoms have.

To find out which programs critics hated the most, we turned to the review aggregator Metacritic for its list of the worst TV shows, which goes back to 1995. The list ranks show seasons by their composite critical reception.

Check out the 50 worst TV shows from least to most objectionable, according to critics:

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

50. "South Beach" (UPN, Season 1)

Critic score: 29/100

User score: 8.6/10

What critics said: "A preposterous and pretentious drama series." — The Washington Post



49. "Hidden Hills" (NBC, Season 1)

Critic score: 29/100

User score: Unavailable

What critics said: "This series reflects the way wealthy, neurotic, overly busy and sex-obsessed TV executives and producers think America lives, in other words, the way they live. They're wrong." — The Detroit News



48. "American Inventor" (ABC, Season 1)

Critic score: 29/100

User score: 5.1/10

What critics said: "A bloated disappointment that spends more time on the judges than the inventors and their inventions." — Houston Chronicle



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

I spent over an hour playing the insane and delightful 'Super Mario Odyssey,' Nintendo's huge next game

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Here's hoping Nintendo is working double-time on making more of its new Nintendo Switch consoles available for this holiday. When "Super Mario Odyssey" arrives on October 27, and word starts getting around that it's the freshest, craziest, most ambitious new Mario game in years, people are going to want the Switch. It's going to be a thing once again.

Like "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" before it, "Super Mario Odyssey" will sell Nintendo Switch consoles. It's easy to understand why.

Super Mario Odyssey

More than just adorable, which it obviously is, "Super Mario Odyssey" is a breath of fresh air for the Mario franchise.

It takes classic 3D Mario gameplay and puts a bunch of new spins on the old formula. The new game is a spiritual successor to classics like "Super Mario 64" and "Super Mario Sunshine," with huge, open worlds to explore — like New Donk City, in the "Metro Kingdom," seen above.

What makes "Odyssey" unique is that in enables you to play as nearly anything — including enemies — by throwing your hat at them. This is how Mario becomes, say, Bullet Bill:

Super Mario Odyssey

Though it's a novel trick, "Super Mario Odyssey" is much more than a one-trick pony. I spent over an hour exploring three huge areas in the next major Mario game at a recent event, and I have a bounty of information to share.

SPOILER WARNING: I'm going to speak about specific "Super Mario Odyssey" gameplay from the final version of the game. If you want nothing spoiled, turn back!

Then again, this is a "Super Mario" game, so the real delight comes from playing the game — it's hard to spoil the sheer joy of nailing a long jump. You'll probably be fine.



Perhaps the most important thing you should know: "Super Mario Odyssey" feels like a Mario game. Running, leaping, backflipping and wall-jumping as Mario is as "tight" as ever.

In the brief time I spent with "Super Mario Odyssey" last week, I was pulling off long jumps and backflips in no time flat. As ever, playing a new "Super Mario" game is the video game equivalent of riding a new bike. It might feel new, but the fundamentals are still rock solid.

Before you start throwing your cap at stuff and playing the game as, say, a Hammer Bro, the basic act of exploration with Mario is better than ever in "Odyssey." If you've done it in a previous Mario game, you can do it in "Odyssey" — from the triple jump first introduced in "Super Mario 64" to the wall jumping first introduced in "New Super Mario Bros."

"Super Mario Odyssey" is essentially the sum of all previous Mario games, like so many Mario games before it.



What's so immediately impressive about "Odyssey" is how that level of control translates to the many things Mario can become. "Super Mario Odyssey" is essentially a Mario game with dozens of playable characters.

Whether I was controlling a stack of Goombas in an attempt to woo a female Goomba (seriously) or swimming through the water as an adorable fish with a mustache (seriously), playing as the game's many "capturable" things is truly fresh and exciting.

Just as you might imagine, there are boss fights built around using characters that aren't Mario — that can only be defeated using characters that aren't Mario. The same thing applies to puzzles. I found myself wondering how to solve this or that, applying the usual set of tools that Mario comes with. The solution, nearly every time, was "throw your cap." 

I'm oversimplifying of course, but here's an example:



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Watch Alicia Vikander wield an array of deadly weapons in the action-packed trailer for 'Tomb Raider'

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Academy Award-winner Alicia Vikander accomplishes superhero-like stunts in the new trailer for "Tomb Raider."

Vikander stars as the British adventurer and thrill-seeker Lara Croft in the reboot of the popular film series helmed by Angelina Jolie.

Jolie originally played Croft in the adaptations of the popular "Tomb Raider" video games. Jolie starred in "Tomb Raider" in 2001, and its sequel "Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life" in 2003.

In the trailer for the "Tomb Raider" reboot, we see Croft come upon a video left for her by her father — an explorer who went missing when she was only 10 years old. In the video, Croft's father tells her about a tomb that needs to be sealed in order to save humanity, and from there we see Croft head out in search of the mysterious tomb.

In the trailer, Croft wields an assortment of deadly weapons as she tries to accomplish the mission her missing father sent her on. And whatever concerns anyone may have had about Vikander taking the place of Jolie should immediately vanish the minute we see her impressively leap through crumbling cavernous ruins.

"Tomb Raider" hits theaters March 16, 2018.

You can watch the first trailer for "Tomb Raider" here:

SEE ALSO: Alicia Vikander is starring in the 'Tomb Raider' reboot — here's why she'll make a great action star

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The original Sarah Connor, Linda Hamilton, will return to the 'Terminator' franchise after 25 years

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According to The Hollywood Reporter, director James Cameron has announced that Linda Hamilton will be joining the cast of the newest "Terminator" film, 25 years since her first appearance in the franchise.

At an event celebrating the "Terminator" franchise, Cameron spoke about Hamilton's return: "As meaningful as she was to gender and action stars everywhere back then, it’s going to make a huge statement to have that seasoned warrior that she’s become return."

Cameron also spoke about the lack of older women in action films, compared to older men, as an incentive to include Hamilton in his latest "Terminator" film.

"There are 50-year-old, 60-year-old guys out there killing bad guys," Cameron said, "but there isn’t an example of that for women.” 

Hamilton starred in the first "Terminator" film as Sarah Connor in 1984. Connor is a waitress hunted down by the Terminator (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger) who comes from the future to assassinate her. In the future the world is overrun by robots and machines, and Connor is the woman who gives birth to the leader of the machine resistance — hence the Terminator's desire to destroy her. Connor is regarded as one of the strongest female action heroes of all time.

Hamilton reprised her role as Connor in the sequel "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," which premiered in 1991. While three additional "Terminator" films were made after "Judgment Day," Hamilton did not make another appearance in the franchise, unlike Schwarzenegger who appeared in all but one of the five "Terminator" films.

Schwarzenegger will also be in the next "Terminator" film along with Hamilton, although neither will be the main leads. But as Cameron puts it, they will help "anchor" the newest addition to the franchise.

"We’re starting a search for an 18-something woman to be the new centerpiece of the new story," Cameron explained. "We still fold time. We will have characters from the future and the present. There will be mostly new characters, but we'll have Arnold and Linda’s characters to anchor it."

Details regarding the film's story are being kept secret, but according to The Hollywood Reporter, the film will be a sequel to "Judgment Day."

SEE ALSO: 'The Terminator' franchise might not be dead after all

SEE ALSO: 'Wonder Woman' director responds to James Cameron calling her film 'a step backwards'

Join the conversation about this story »

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

Xbox and PlayStation may finally play nice together for the first time, and it's all because of 'Minecraft'

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If you own a PlayStation 4 game that's also on the Xbox One, like "Overwatch" for instance, there's no way to play it with your friends across platforms. The game is more or less identical on each console, and it's an online multiplayer game. You should be able to play it with whoever, on whatever platform they're playing it on, but you can't.

You might be thinking to yourself, "Yes, and it's always been that way." And you'd be right! But just because it's always been that way doesn't make it logical. Microsoft is attempting to change that standard by making the massively popular "Minecraft" playable with friends across platforms.

minecraft nintendo switch

And Microsoft is succeeding, sort of. With its "Better Together" update, announced earlier this year and now live, "Minecraft" can be played with friends who are on mobile devices, Xbox One, PC, and even VR headsets like Samsung's Gear VR and Facebook's Oculus Rift. 

Notably, two major platforms are missing from that list: Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4. 

Incredibly, "Minecraft" on Nintendo Switch will actually be added to this list "by the end of the year," Microsoft's "Minecraft" lead Matt Booty told us in an interview this week. PlayStation 4 is less certain, but Microsoft is actually working with Sony on making it happen.

"Sony is a good partner, and they are working with us on this," Booty said.

That's a pretty major change from what we heard earlier this year.

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

Minecraft

It sounds like, since June, Microsoft and Sony are discussing making that happen.

"I know that Sony has taken some heat in the press, and they are working with us on this," Booty said. "I feel good that we're gonna work this out. If we all take the angle that we should do what's best for players, that guiding principle will lead us to the right decision and we'll work it out."

Of course, just because "Minecraft" is able to play nice across platforms doesn't mean that, say, "Overwatch" is going to suddenly work across platforms. Booty sees "Minecraft" as helping to build a foundation for future collaboration.

"The way these things work is that somebody always has to go first," he said. "It helps to work out the specifics with a particular game and figure that out."

In this case, "Minecraft" is being used as the first attempt to bridge Xbox One and PlayStation 4 players. In a few years, you could be playing games like "Call of Duty" or "Battlefield" with your friends on whatever platform they're playing the game on. 

In the meantime, Microsoft and Sony are at least working on that functionality. The major hurdle of two competing companies simply getting together and discussing how to make such a thing work has already been overcome. Now, it's just a measure of working out logistics.

Xbox vs Playstation

"Those consoles need to understand how to respect each other's settings," Booty said. "It's just a matter of figuring out how to make that work. We want to be really careful that we don't just open this and get into a situation, particularly with 'Minecraft,' where we're not respecting all the parental controls."

There's no word on when cross-play between Xbox One and PlayStation 4 is coming to "Minecraft" — there isn't even a guarantee that it's going to happen — but Booty's openness about the process and his passion for making it happen provide some hope:

"We think that 'Minecraft' — given its deeply cross-platform nature and the wide range of devices where it's played — is a great opportunity to figure this out. We're probably gonna hit some roadblocks along the way, but if we stick to what's good for the player, hopefully we can fix the platform challenges."

"Hopefully" is right.

SEE ALSO: A huge change is coming to 'Minecraft' that unites all of its players

DON'T MISS: Sony refuses to work with Microsoft on 'Minecraft' — and that’s a shame for PS4 owners

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NOW WATCH: 6 reasons why 'Minecraft' is so incredibly popular

Hulu is bringing Sean Penn to TV for the first time in a show about 'the first human mission to Mars'

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Days after netting the top Emmy award for best drama series with "The Handmaid's Tale," Hulu has announced that it will be bringing actor Sean Penn into a new Hulu original series for his "first foray into television."

The upcoming drama series, "The First," will be led by Netflix's "House of Cards" creator Bill Willimon.

Hulu said in a release that the show will follow "the first human mission to Mars, exploring the challenges of taking the first steps toward interplanetary colonization."

The company gave no specific details about Penn's role in the series, but Willimon gave a statement expressing his "deep admiration" for the Oscar-winning actor.

"I have such deep admiration for Sean’s immense talent and extraordinary body of work," Willimon said in a statement. "I feel very lucky to be collaborating with an artist of his caliber."

Willimon's Westward Productions will own and produce the show, which is slated to premiere on Hulu and the UK's Channel 4 in 2018. 

Penn's last film appearance was a voiceover role in "The Angry Birds Movie." Despite Hulu's statement that this is his "first foray" into TV, Penn technically contributed voiceover work to Fox's "Family Guy" in 2016. 

SEE ALSO: RANKED: Hulu's 12 original shows, from worst to best

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If the NFL's ratings troubles continue, it could cost TV networks $200 million or more

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The NFL's TV ratings were down again in week two, and a Jefferies analyst has projected that its TV partners could lose out on $200 million or more, in earnings, if its ratings troubles persist in a double-digit way. 

In week two, the NFL saw a 4% drop from 2016's week two in live and same-day average viewers of Sunday games, and a 14% drop in viewers for Monday Night Football, according to UBS. 

This comes after a dismal week one, which saw ratings drop an average of 13% from the same week in 2016.

UBS speculated that cable coverage of Hurricane Irma may have affected the NFL's ratings in week one, but the drop in week two suggests a continued downward trend for the league's viewership. (NFL ratings were also down an average of 8% over the course of last season.) 

Jefferies analyst John Janedis told The Hollywood Reporter that CBS, ESPN, Fox, and NBC will generate around $2.5 billion in NFL ad revenue this year, but, as Jefferies confirmed to Business Insider, a 10% drop in ratings over the course of the season could cost those networks a $200 million cut in earnings. 

While UBS speculates that it will "take several weeks of data to gauge the health of the NFL" this season, the league's performance across most fronts in week two does not seem to bode well for its future, or for its network partners.

SEE ALSO: As NFL ratings drop, a new internet study says young men like watching eSports more than traditional sports

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21 excuses we've heard for NFL ratings being so bad

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No one really knows why the NFL ratings have been so bad — first last year, and now through the first two weeks of the current season.

The loudest explanation the league gave last year was "unprecedented interest in the presidential election." And indeed, ratings did improve a bit after the election ended.

"It's an encouraging rebound," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told ESPN in December. "I think it proves that the election was certainly a factor."

But if Goodell was optimistic then, and when ratings for preseason NFL games looked good this summer, he probably isn’t quite as rosy now.

Through the first two weeks of the season, NFL ratings were down 12% and 15% respectively, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The first weekend, many blamed interest in watching hurricane coverage. But for week two there was no easy explanation.

So what's going on?

In covering the NFL's ratings woes over the past few years, I've run into a bunch of explanations for why TV viewers aren't tuning in with the same numbers. 

Here's a list of all the excuses I've heard thrown around, (some valid, some much less so):

  • The election.
  • Trump's antics, generally.
  • Cord-cutting, or the fact that people are not subscribing to cable TV in the same numbers.
  • Injuries that make teams less compelling.
  • The controversy surrounding concussions and CTE.
  • Unfavorable matchups.
  • Too many commercials (about 70 per game last year).
  • Too many penalties.
  • Too many game stoppages, generally.
  • Too many televised games, which Mark Cuban has been saying for years.
  • Hurricanes.
  • Cell phones, specifically them making people impatient about ads.
  • Players protesting during the national anthem.
  • Colin Kaepernick, generally.
  • Small sample sizes (could be a fluke).
  • The handling of domestic violence cases involving players.
  • NFL RedZone.
  • Fantasy Football.
  • Social media.
  • The MLB postseason.
  • Not enough scoring. 

With the NFL's TV network partners estimated to earn $2.5 billion from ad revenue this season, everyone involved has a clear incentive to figure out how to turn the viewership trend around.

SEE ALSO: Hulu showed up Netflix with a historic Emmy win, but it shouldn't get comfortable

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J.J. Abrams' decision to direct a new 'Star Wars' movie is upsetting another studio paying him $10 million

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For "Star Wars" fans, J.J. Abrams is perceived as the savior of the latest trilogy of the saga, as the director of "The Force Awakens" has agreed to take over production on "Star Wars: Episode IX" following the departure of original director Colin Trevorrow.

But that's not how it looks over at Paramount.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Abrams is currently under a $10-million-a-year contract in overhead and development with the studio. It's been his home since his feature debut in 2006 with "Mission: Impossible III," and his departure to go and make another "Star Wars" movie means the studio brass have to once more wait for Abrams to sprinkle his box office magic on one of their titles.

Abrams always called directing "The Force Awakens" a once in a lifetime job, and because of that, then head of Paramount Brad Grey was gracious enough to let Abrams jump over to Disney/Lucasfilm to make the movie. (Though he made sure Abrams' next movie would be at Paramount, according to the trade.)

But with "The Force Awakens" earning over $1 billion at the global box office, and breaking countless records, Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy had Abrams on speed dial when she needed someone reliable to take over "Episode IX."

That left current Paramount chairman and CEO Jim Gianopulos with two choices: defy the powerful Lucasfilm and Disney machine and make it difficult for Abrams to take the movie, or sit on his hands and wait a little longer.

He chose the latter.

star trek into darknessbenedict cumberbatch Abrams' last movie for Paramount was 2013's "Star Trek Into Darkness," which earned over $460 million worldwide. He was also a producer on studio hits "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation" and "10 Cloverfield Lane" in 2015. Since then, he's been engulfed in the "Star Wars" saga. And with no finished script yet for "Episode IX," and the release date pushed to December 2019, Abrams' deal with Paramount will have expired by the time he's done (it ends the summer of 2018).

For his troubles, THR reports that Gianopulos has received money from Disney to compensate the loss of Abrams. But not that much: sources say it's less than seven figures. And the problem with giving a director a big contract like Paramount gave Abrams: "How to enforce them is as complicated as the deals themselves," one source told THR.

But if Paramount didn't do the deal with Abrams, another studio would have. So Gianopulos and Paramount, which THR reports will likely renew their deal with Abrams after the summer 2018 expiration date, continue to wait for Abrams to come back home and give them a hit. 

SEE ALSO: How the smartest movie-theater owner in the country has severely jeopardized his company's brand

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We played the insane new Mario game, Super Mario Odyssey — this is what it's like

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We played Nintendo's insane new Mario game, Super Mario Odyssey. Here's why we think it could be the next classic Mario game. Following is a transcript of the video.

Ben Gilbert:Remember Super Mario World? Or maybe Mario 64? Even if you never played these games, you probably know that they’re classics. And in 2017 Nintendo is on the verge of releasing another Mario classic: It’s called Super Mario Odyssey.

I spent an hour with Super Mario Odyssey recently at a Nintendo event and I had a blast playing it. In short, it looks amazing, it plays amazing and I’m really excited to play more of it.

It’s a new Super Mario game, where you’re in a 3D world. You’re collecting coins and you’re jumping on Goombas. And if all of this sounds familiar it’s probably because you’ve done it a lot of times before in other Super Mario games.

What makes Super Mario Odyssey so distinct, unique, and ambitious is its massive open worlds that are full of stuff to explore and find … puzzles to solve and new enemies to defeat, but also that there are no power-ups.

So forget about stuff like Mushrooms and Fire Flowers and instead think about controlling literally everything using Mario’s new cap. It’s called Cappy, and your new ability with Cappy is you’re able to capture “capture” enemies or friends … or objects and essentially become them.

So think of Mario as a Goomba, or as a Bullet Bill, or maybe as a question mark block. I know that sounds weird. That’s because it’s super weird. Mario Odyssey is a very weird game. But then again so are most Mario games right?

So some of these worlds are incredibly unique because they are so surreal. One such world, for instance, is a food-themed world where there are a bunch of human-like forks that have chef hats. Where they talk to each other and are building dishes and it’s very weird. I have a hard time putting it into words because of how strange it is. It’s sort of like playing a Mario game inside a Dali painting or something along those lines.

And so don’t think of Super Mario Odyssey as a Grand Theft Auto-style massive open world. There are a bunch of distinct open worlds that you will go to, they are not as large as something like Grand Theft Auto but they are quite large and you will explore them to your heart’s content and that’s really at the heart of what you’ll do in Super Mario Odyssey.

I’m excited to play a lot more Super Mario Odyssey when it comes out on October 27th on the Nintendo Switch. It looks like a lot of fun, and it looks honestly like it could be Nintendo’s next big Mario classic.

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Ads for this season of 'American Horror Story' are giving people panic attacks — here's the science behind it

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American horror story cult

An advertising campaign for the new season of "American Horror Story" has been giving people panic attacks with its disturbing, hole-covered imagery, and the underlying cause is a rare but intense feeling of disgust that scientists are still trying to figure out.

Trypophobia, this fear of clustered holes, bumps, and similar patterns, affects around 15% of the general population. 

Some researchers think that the fear is an evolutionary instinct ingrained in humans to avoid dangerous, hole-covered formations in nature, like bee-hives or other poisonous structures. 

In this season of "American Horror Story: Cult," actress Sarah Paulson's character suffers from trypophobia, and as CNN notes, her overwhelming fear in the first episode of holes in her souffle and a piece of coral in her therapist's office has also affected viewers with the same condition.

One woman, Jennifer Adresen, told CNN that she had a "full-blown panic attack" with nausea upon seeing the show's promotional posters for the first time. 

american horror story cult

Many people have since taken to Twitter to complain about the show's preoccupation with holes as a triggering mechanism. Some have even diagnosed themselves as having trypophobia. 

"American Horror Story: Cult" airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on FX.

SEE ALSO: This photo deeply disgusts some people, and scientists are trying to understand why

SEE ALSO: The 50 worst TV shows in modern history, according to critics

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Ryan Phillippe has responded to his ex-girlfriend's claim that he threw her down a flight of stairs and abused drugs

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Ryan Phillippe

Ryan Phillippe's ex-girlfriend Elsie Rose Hewitt alleged that the actor physically abused her while they were still together, the Los Angeles Times reported on Tuesday. And now Phillippe has responded.

Hewitt filed a lawsuit Monday in the Los Angeles County Superior Court, claiming that Phillippe had hit, kicked, and pushed her down a flight of stairs on the fourth of July.

The alleged incident described in Hewitt's lawsuit was also reported to the LAPD.

According to Hewitt's lawsuit:

"[Ryan Phillippe] grabbed [her] upper arm so tightly that his grip left heavy bruises on her arm hours later. He then braced his body and threw her down his staircase as hard as he could."

The lawsuit alleges that after the couple had gone to a party together — Phillippe had left early without Hewitt — he became jealous of the attention Hewitt was getting from other men. Hewitt had left some clothing she needed at the actor's home, and upon arriving to retrieve her belongings, the lawsuit claims that an angry Phillippe threw her down the stairs and told her to leave his home.

Hewitt reported the incident to the LAPD that evening, and Phillippe was served with a restraining order two days later. (The restraining order is no longer active at this time.)

Hewitt's lawsuit also alleges that Phillippe had an intense drug addiction during the time they were together. According to suit, "cocaine, ecstasy, psychedelic mushrooms, and steroids" were just some of the drugs that the actor abused while they were in a relationship.

Phillippe spoke out and denied Hewitt's allegations in a letter he posted on Twitter Tuesday.

"I am saddened and disgusted by the false allegations circulated about me. At the time these allegations were initially made, I fully cooperated with law enforcement and a thorough investigation was conducted," Phillippe wrote. 

Phillippe continued to insinuate that Hewitt's allegations were made solely for "monetary gain."

Phillippe wrote:

"Domestic violence is a very real and tragic issue faced by many women the world over and should never be used to vengefully slander or as a ploy for monetary gain. This is wrong. This is not who I am. Every one of my accuser's allegations are false."

According to US Weekly, Hewitt is requesting $1 million from Phillippe in her suit.

You can read Phillippe's full letter here:

The Los Angeles Times reported that the criminal investigation of this case is now in the hands of the Los Angeles city attorney’s office.

No further comments have been made by Phillippe or Hewitt at this time.

SEE ALSO: Everything you need to know about Kevin Hart's bizarre alleged cheating and extortion scandal

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Why one of Facebook's most successful video publishers had to scramble to re-think its whole strategy to cash in on ads

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  • Publishers like Tastemade built big Facebook audiences by churning out lots of short content. But now many need to shift gears.
  • That's because Facebook has begun inserting ads into video clips, but only if they run 90 seconds or more.
  • For Tastemade, that's meant shooting videos using more TV-like conventions, like cliffhangers before ad breaks.

Over the past few years, Tastemade got really, really good at making very short recipe videos on Facebook (aka food porn).

Think a 30-second clip of an unseen chef making delectable-looking fried shrimp tacos – one of which has generated over 26 million views since last June.

 

Then Facebook decided it wanted media companies to make longer videos, so it could insert more video ads. 

When Facebook decides it wants something, publishers usually get on board — especially when the promise of ad revenue is involved.

"We kinda had to rethink everything," Larry Fitzgibbon,Tastemade co-founder and CEO, told Business Insider.

That's likely the state of affairs for many content companies that spent a great deal of energy perfecting eye-catching, decidedly short videos on Facebook. Many publishers built large Facebook audiences by honing the art of producing quick-hit clips built for a sound-off, thumb-scrolling world. The hope was eventually Facebook would help them make money on these videos

But now, they've got to rethink their production operations to make longer videos, and the videos need to be shot and edited accommodate ads seamlessly, without turning people away. It's hard not to feel a bit of algorithm and business-model whiplash.

So earlier this year Tastemade shook up its production process over a two-month period, and re-oriented it around longer content. The hope was that Facebook would keep putting Tastemade clips in people's feeds, and that the content would be good enough to keep people's attention for more than a few seconds – and thus good enough to feature 'mid-roll ads'.

When videos from partners run 90 seconds or more, Facebook now inserts ads during video breaks, similar to TV ads. This is especially top of mind now that Facebook is pushing original series via its new longer-video-centric Facebook Watch platform.

"We were optimized for the Facebook news feed," added Jay Holzer, Tastemade head of production. "That meant grabbing people thumbing through Facebook on their phones with arresting images, hoping they stick around for a few seconds. We had developed a good set of best practices around that."

"You can't just make 45-second videos 90 seconds," said Oren Katzeff, Tastemade's head of programming. "That would be a terrible experience. "

Luckily, Tastemade started out as a food-centric network built primarily on YouTube. So it had been producing content with the help of influencers that was longer than the early Facebook video fare.
Plus, Tastemade was an early Snapchat partner, where it's been experimenting with longer (in relative terms) original series, such as "Frankie's World," a show featuring the digital influencer Frankie Celenza digging into the science of cooking.

"This is all more about changing our process around watch time," said Fitzgibbon. This has been in the works for a while, he added. "You may be able to generate views or clicks. But watch time is the ultimate measure of whether you are entertaining people. So we've thought about, how do we tell stories and create a monetization opportunity. It was evolutionary."

For Facebook specifically, Tastemade has started not only going longer with its instructional, recipe clips, but also breaking them into acts — much like a TV show. Videos now have to deliver something interesting right away, but leave people hanging a bit so they'll hang around after a mid-roll break.

"You need a set up and a tease," Holzer said. "It's very similar to TV. You need a payoff after the ad."

That's even more true for Facebook Watch shows, some of which run a whopping five, 10, or 15 minutes.

It's very early, but Tastemade is seeing some solid traction with Watch. For example, the show "Struggle Meals" which features Celenza prepping quick meals for under $2, has seen several of its early episodes generate over one million views each.

Now Tastemade just needs to start generating some more checks from Facebook.

SEE ALSO: Millennial publisher Mic.com says comScore data showing a shrinking audience is wrong

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