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Democrats are using Jimmy Kimmel to target Republican lawmakers in 12 states

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Jimmy Kimmel

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee launched a new digital ad campaign Thursday framed around the "Jimmy Kimmel test" that targets Republicans in a dozen pivotal midterm election states, the committee told Business Insider.

In the 12 states, people will see the ads when searching terms on Google such as "the Jimmy Kimmel test," "health care," "Jimmy Kimmel," and "repeal," all of which have shot up the charts on Google after Kimmel's stand against the Graham-Cassidy healthcare proposal on his late-night show this week.

The ads will redirect those who click to the DSCC's already existing healthcare ad titled "The Price." The new campaign is a part of an ongoing six-figure digital ad buy, according to the DSCC, which shared the plans with Business Insider ahead of an announcement.

Republican lawmakers and candidates in Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia, and Wisconsin will be targeted. Those 12 states host most of what are set to be closest Senate races in 2018.

Some of the politicians being singled out include Sens. Dean Heller of Nevada, Ted Cruz of Texas, and Bob Corker of Tennessee, as well as Gov. Rick Scott of Florida.

"There’s a reason Republicans’ toxic health care agenda would hurt Jimmy Kimmel’s family and hardworking families across the country: it spikes costs, imposes an age tax on older Americans, and guts coverage for pre-existing conditions," Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesman David Bergstein said in a statement. "If Republicans continue to push forward with their expensive and unpopular agenda, there will be no rock GOP Senate candidates can hide under to escape the voters who will hold then accountable in 2018."

Here's an example of what the DSCC's ad looks like in Arizona, targeting Republican Sen. Jeff Flake:

Screen Shot 2017 09 21 at 3.12.14 PM

Flake told CBS "Late Show" host Stephen Colbert on Wednesday that he would vote for the Graham-Cassidy healthcare proposal, which Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said would get a vote on the Senate floor next week. The proposal appears to have the support of nearly the 50 GOP senators it needs to pass, but a few remaining senators have yet to announce how they intend to vote on the proposal.

Kimmel has taken aim at the legislation on his late-night ABC program, imploring his viewers to oppose the legislation while blasting the bill's authors — particularly Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana.

The late-night host accused Cassidy of lying when he said on his program earlier this year that any healthcare plan would have to protect those with preexisting conditions in order to earn his vote.

In May, Cassidy said he wouldn't support any bill that would allow insurers to charge people with preexisting conditions more for coverage after the Kimmel's emotional monologue about his newborn son's open-heart surgeries. The Louisiana senator dubbed it the "Jimmy Kimmel test."

But Graham-Cassidy would allow states to apply for waivers that could lead to insurers charging individuals with preexisting conditions more for coverage, as healthcare-policy experts said.

Cassidy then said on CNN that Kimmel "does not understand" after the host said the senator's bill failed the test.

"Oh, I get it, I don't understand because I'm a talk-show host, right?" Kimmel said Wednesday night, attacking the bill's proposed cuts to federal healthcare funding.

"Which part of that am I not understanding?" Kimmel added. "Or could it be, Sen. Cassidy, that the problem is that I do understand and you got caught with your G-O-Penis out? Is that possible?"

SEE ALSO: The Senate might clear the biggest roadblock Trump faces in cementing a key part of his legacy

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A director who tried to charge white men more to see his new movie says he's getting death threats

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shiraz higgins

Canadian filmmaker Shiraz Higgins is navigating the backlash following a controversial ticket pricing he proposed for his new movie, which has since led to a flood of racist comments and even death threats.

For the September 28 premiere in Victoria, British Columbia of his new movie, "Building the Room," a documentary about stand-up comics, Higgins wanted to charge white males $20 while women paid $10 for tickets to the screening.

Calling it "justice-pricing," Higgins did an interview with The Canadian Press earlier this week using the false name "Sid Mohammed" to promote it, as he was concerned about the backlash if he used his real name. Higgins claims the email address he created for the pseudonym has since gotten death threats. He also said his cast and crew have suffered "racist attacks."

Higgins then lowered the price for "White Cis-Straight Able-Bodied Males" to $15, everyone else would pay $10.

Many have called this a publicity stunt by Higgins, as he's known to pull stunts in the past. A few years ago, he invited reporters to meet a Salvation Army youth pastor who was allegedly endorsing gay marriage, but in reality the pastor was an actor, and the bit appeared in Higgins’ film. But Higgins told The Hollywood Reporter that the justice-pricing was not a stunt but a way to "spark a conversation about income inequality." 

"It was never intended to be a national conversation," Higgins said. "It's a local screening, featuring an unknown cast of comedians, from an unknown director, in an little known city. For some reason, the national media thought it was a story that needed to be run far and wide."

Higgins said he never intended to keep white men out of the screening. 

This comes on the heels of the Alamo Drafthouse doing women-only "Wonder Woman" screenings this past summer. The theater chain was flooded with comments on social media by men who opposed it. Drafthouse is currently involved in two lawsuits over the matter. 

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

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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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The 19 movies that audiences have hated the most in the past 30 years

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mother

Audiences can't stand Darren Aronofsky's new allegorical horror film, "Mother!" starring Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem.

CinemaScore, which conducts exit polls of audience opinion on opening nights, recently gave the film the dreaded "F" rating — its lowest.

Just how bad is that?

Only 19 films have ever received an "F" rating since CinemaScore started logging data in 1986, according to Vulture.

Some of the films to receive CinemaScore's lowest rating include both Nicholas Cage's disastrous "The Wicker Man" and the woeful early-aughts thriller "Fear Dot Com."

"Mother!" has been polarizing, with some critics loving it and others hating it. It has a 67% "fresh" rating on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes— but the audience apparently feels differently.

To put that in context, here's a list of the only 19 films to have received an "F" rating from CinemaScore:

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

"Alone in the Dark" (2005)

Based on the popular video game of the same name, "Alone in th Dark" follows detective of paranormal activity Edward Carnby as he investigates the recent mysterious death of his friend, with the help of his anthropologist girlfriend, played by Tara Reid.



"The Box" (2009)

Cameron Diaz and James Marsden star as a couple who have been given a box containing a button. If they push it, they get $1 million — but pushing the button causes someone they don't know to die. 



"Bug" (2006)

Michael Shannon and Ashley Judd (who we are sad to say shows up more than once on this list), are paranoid about an infestation of bugs in their home — but it's unclear whether or not the bugs exist. 



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

8 details we noticed in the trailer for Wes Anderson's new stop-motion film, 'Isle of Dogs'

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isle of dogs

The trailer for Wes Anderson's new stop-motion animated film, "Isle of Dogs," was released Thursday.

The film takes place in the fictional Japanese city of Megasaki, 20 years into the future.

Dogs have overpopulated the city and have spread "dog flu." As a result the mayor has ordered all dogs to be sent to live on "Trash Island," to prevent further outbreaks.

The trailer for Anderson's new film is touching and sweet, and reminiscent of "Fantastic Mr. Fox" with its thoughtful and vocal cast of animal characters. 

Here are a couple of interesting details we noticed in the new "Isle of Dogs" trailer (as well as the trailer itself at the end):

SEE ALSO: This powerful stop-motion animated movie was nominated for an Oscar and it's easy to see why

Ads for "dog flu" are shown on television.

Depictions of disgruntled and aggressive dogs are shown in what appear to be televised warnings about the "dog flu."



Cats appear to be the pet of choice for people in power.

We can see cats sitting on the lap of what appears to be a wealthy older woman, and some sort of high-ranking military official. 



Everything is branded with cat imagery.

Cats are seen on television, and briefly on the back of a machine in the trailer. It feels like an indication that Megasaki City favors cats over dogs.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

20 modern classic movies everyone needs to watch in their lifetime

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Wall-E

There's never a bad time to dive back into the archives and watch some good movies.

And if you have some time on your hands, this might be a good time to binge some modern-day classics.

With that in mind, I've come up with 20 essential titles from the past 15 years that you should reexamine or, if you've never seen them, delve into.

SEE ALSO: RANKED: All 13 late-night talk shows from best to worst

1. “Donnie Darko” (2001)

Jake Gyllenhaal was just starting to get on everyone's radar when he scored one of his first lead roles, playing a troubled teen who is tormented by visions of the future and a disturbing-looking bunny. "Donnie Darko" has become a cult classic, as it captured the angst of youth who, at the time the movie was in theaters, were coping with the confusion of a post-9/11 world.



2. "Bowling For Columbine" (2002)

Michael Moore's fourth feature film, which won an Oscar for best documentary, might be his best. The controversial director uses the events of the Columbine High School massacre to address the US's addiction to guns. Sadly, 14 years later the issues explored in this movie are still relevant.



3. "City of God" (2002)

This incredibly stylish look at the slums of Rio de Janeiro charts the lives of two boys as they grow up among guns and drugs. The cast is made up mostly of nonprofessional actors, which gives an authenticity to the movie. But what's most surprising about this extremely violent film is how much comedy is layered into it.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

How the director of Jake Gyllenhaal's new movie went from 'Pineapple Express' to tackling the Boston Marathon bombing

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Stronger Roadside Attractions final

There aren’t many directors in Hollywood with a filmography like David Gordon Green.

In a business where if you’re lucky enough to find a niche you milk it for all its worth, Green jumped from being one of the top rising directors in the independent film world in the 1990s, to now making a diverse array of mainstream movies, from “Pineapple Express” to his latest, “Stronger” (opening in theaters on Friday).

“I always need to change it up,” Green told Business Insider while attending this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. “It’s really satisfying to be able to switch gears.”

Green certainly switches things up with “Stronger,” a look at the life of Boston Marathon bomber survivor Jeff Bauman. Played by Jake Gyllenhaal, we follow Bauman as his life completely changes after he loses both his legs in the bombing, and becomes an unlikely hero in the aftermath.

pineapple expressGreen had never made a biopic before, but diving into a new genre has never stopped him. He had never directed a comedy before the Seth Rogen/James Franco stoner comedy “Pineapple Express,” or done TV before directing episodes of HBO's cult hit "Eastbound & Down." So when he was approached to come on and help develop screenwriter John Pollono’s adaptation of Bauman’s book, he jumped at the chance.

“I’ve always been curious about what happens when people are involved in a headline news event, what their lives are like afterwards; after the headlines fade,” Green said.

In “Stronger,” he shows the good, bad, and ugly of Bauman’s life after becoming the face of “Boston Strong,” the motto that became prevalent across the nation after the bombing. Now the movie, which currently has a 96% Rotten Tomatoes score, is gaining Oscar buzz.

That’s not to say Green hasn’t struck out while attempting things that people might think are out of his lane. The Jonah Hill comedy “The Sitter” (2011) and dramedy based on the popular 2005 documentary “Our Brand Is Crisis” (2015), were both critical and financial flops, but the truth is you probably didn’t know he was the director on those movies.

And that’s what allows Green to continue being diverse in his choices. While the auteur label is loosely thrown around these days for any director who shows a bit of flair, the disadvantage of that is suddenly your work is raised to a level where you have to deliver a specific style to appease the audience, as well as the studio that you’re working for. In the case of those directors, if you don’t deliver at the box office, your days of making your kind of movies are done.

Green has evolved by doing things the complete opposite way.

Though he certainly has skill, he isn’t a show-off with it. Instead, most of the work he does is centered on the storytelling. And telling good stories will always get you work. In the case of “Stronger,” Green leaves the talents of Gyllenhaal and costar Tatiana Maslany, who plays his girlfriend in the movie, Erin, to carry the movie.

That’s also the case with the work he’s done on television. HBO comedies “Eastbound & Down” and “Vice Principals” (currently airing its second, and final, season) highlight the genius comedy of Danny McBride, but it’s often Green who is directing the episode and giving it the structure needed to tell the stories (as zany as they are).

Halloween Compass International PicturesAnd Green isn’t done changing things up. Through his production company Rough House Pictures, which Green started with McBride and “Eastbound & Down” co-creator Jody Hill, he’s about to start filming his first horror movie.

Since wrapping on “Stronger,” Green and McBride have been writing a script for the reboot of “Halloween.” Executive produced by the franchise creator John Carpenter, and produced by Blumhouse Productions (“Get Out,” "Split"), Green will also direct the movie, which is slated for release in October 2018, and will include franchise star Jamie Lee Curtis in the cast.

“It’s amazing,” Green said of working on the project. “Sitting down with John Carpenter a couple of weeks ago at his house and getting script notes, it’s crazy. And I think he’s going to do the music for it.”

Carpenter created the score for the original movie, which has since become one of the most iconic pieces of music ever put on screen.

Looking at his career, Green doesn’t knock his early work in the independent film world, like "George Washington," "All the Real Girls," and "Undertow." But he says the goal was always to get where he’s at now.

“Once ‘Pineapple Express’ happened and was successful I was able to confidently say, ‘I’d like to do a lot of different things, please,’” Green said. “Big ideas, little ideas, I like it. It's just messy and it’s fun. I’m just trying to challenge myself.”

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

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The best game of 2016 just arrived on iPhone and iPad — it's an amazing game that everyone should play

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You're on an island, completely alone, and it's a beautiful day. 

The Witness

There are structures all over the island that appear to be human-made. There are also puzzles everywhere, and they all employ the same solution mechanism: a single line, drawn by you, from a beginning point to an end point. 

Sometimes the puzzles are all by themselves:

The Witness

But often, they're in sets:

The Witness

Everything I've just described about "The Witness," a brilliant game from acclaimed game developer Jonathan Blow and his team at Thekla, Inc., is factually accurate on paper. Factually accurate, yes, but not anywhere near as fascinating as the game itself.

The experience of actually playing "The Witness" is another matter entirely. Lucky you: The game just launched on iPhone and iPad for just $10.

What is it?

"The Witness" is played in first-person, meaning you are the person solving the puzzles, exploring the lonely island, wondering what in the world happened.

You walk around, unable to interact with anything beyond walking, looking, and activating a puzzle solution mechanism — tap on the starting point of any puzzle and a white dot appears that you can trace with your finger. The dot can be anchored to a starting point, enabling you to trace a line from a starting point to an end point. 

Sounds weird and confusing? It isn't! This GIF should help:

That's the second puzzle in the game, and it activates a third puzzle that builds on the knowledge you've gained from solving the first and second puzzles.

As Justin McElroy at Polygon put it, "The Witness" builds a type of puzzle vocabulary for you. Once you've solved one puzzle, you're better equipped to solve subsequent puzzles. And once you solve one set of puzzles, you're better equipped to solve other sets. (And so on.)

So, wait — why am I solving puzzles?

The puzzles, while intellectually challenging and smart, aren't the only hook of "The Witness." They're devious and clever far more often than they are frustrating and confusing, yes, but for every "Aha!" moment of clarity that makes me feel brilliant solving a puzzle, there are many minutes of frustration where my wife and I angrily slam our heads against a seemingly-inscrutable puzzle.

What's so fascinating about "The Witness" is the island itself.

The buildings that were seemingly vacated suddenly, as though all living things disappeared in an instant:

The Witness

The distinct areas of the island, which contain distinct sets of puzzles that often correlate directly with the puzzle you're solving:

The Witness

The often totally bizarre, unexplained setpieces in the world:

The Witness

Themes and colors and lines in the environment directly play into the puzzles in that area. No detail is left unattended, which makes everything — and I mean everything — feel deliberate. What's that side path? How do I get over there? The answers are waiting... if you can solve the puzzles and piece together the world.

As a result, "The Witness" feels tense, and foreboding, and even somehow serene, all at once.

There's a persistent sense that you're teetering on the edge of an enormous mystery, unable to grasp what's beyond the veil. It's everywhere. From the moment you start the game, in a dark hallway underneath a residential building, to the moment you realize this:

The Witness (PlayStation 4)

There are secrets — everywhere— and you quickly begin to spot them.

I'm being intentionally vague here so as not to spoil some of the game's most interesting revelations, but I will say this: if something seems "off" to you, it likely is. "The Witness" is a game about building up a vocabulary of understanding — through puzzle solutions, among other things — and then subverting that understanding.

And that's why you should play "The Witness." Might I also suggest buying and playing it immediately, before reading anything else about it? 

Even in reading this review you're going into "The Witness" with more knowledge than you probably should, despite the fact that I've gone out of my way not to be too specific how the game works.

Relax: you'll be fine — the game is still a delight.

The Witness

Simply put, "The Witness" is a unique, smart, gorgeous game that you shouldn't miss. At just $10 on iOS — a perfect platform for the game — it's an easy sell.

SEE ALSO: The 14 best games that aren't about killing stuff

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NOW WATCH: PlayStation's virtual reality device looks incredible


'Star Trek: Discovery' intentionally made its Klingon rallying cry similar to Trump's 'Make America Great Again'

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star trek

As "Star Trek: Discovery" awaits the sci-fi franchise's first TV premiere in over a decade, the show's cast and crew discussed the politically inspired elements behind the show's creation in a new interview with Rolling Stone.

Aaron Haberts, a co-executive producer on the show, told the outlet that Donald Trump's candidacy was "front and center in our minds" when they started putting the series together in 2015.

star trek discoveryHaberts said one of the antagonist groups on "Star Trek: Discovery" is an extremist Klingon sect, whose rallying cry, "Remain Klingon," the show made intentionally similar to Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan.

"It's a call to isolationism," Haberts said of the slogan. "It's about racial purity, and it's about wanting to take care of yourself. And if anybody is reaching a hand out to help you, it's about smacking it away.

"That was pretty provocative for us," he continued. "And it wasn't necessarily something that we wanted to completely lean into. But it was happening. We were hearing the stories."

The show began production in 2015 and faced delays after an initial January 2016 premiere date was pushed back. 

"Star Trek: Discovery" premieres on CBS on September 24. Subsequent episodes of the show will air on the network's streaming app, CBS All Access. 

Watch the trailer for the new season below:

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

Join the conversation about this story »

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Traders are betting billions against Disney

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sad mickey

Disney's stock has had a rough time lately, falling 4.4% in a single day earlier this month after CEO Bob Iger threw cold water on the company's 2017 profit outlook.

And traders don't look like they'll ease up on selling any time soon.

Short interest — a measure of wagers that share prices will drop — now sits at more than $2.7 billion after surging by $696 million in the last month alone, according to data analytics firm S3 Partners. That increase was the fifth-largest out of any American company over the period.

Also adding to pressure on Disney's stock was the company's August 8 announcement that it will terminate its streaming agreement with Netflix in 2019. While the entertainment titan also has plans for its own streaming portal for both Disney and Marvel content — as well as an online-based ESPN network — investors have been less than convinced. They've sent shares 7.6% lower over the past six weeks, badly lagging an S&P 500 that's repeatedly soared to new record highs.

If short sellers want to keep loading up on bets against Disney, they won't be met with much resistance, S3 said. The cost to borrow shares to short is sitting right around normal levels, while there's also "more than enough" stock available to borrow, according to the firm.

Looking at the big picture, while Disney is the biggest target for stock shorts in the movies and entertainment sector, the whole industry is feeling pressure. Short interest in the group is up $1.7 billion, or 29%, this year, S3 data show. And more than $1.1 billion of that increase has occurred in the past 30 days.

So regardless of Disney's own fundamentals, it also looks to be a lightning rod of sorts for sentiment in its industry. Stay tuned to see if the company's reorganization efforts pay off in the long run.

Screen Shot 2017 09 22 at 10.58.18 AM

SEE ALSO: The 'death rate' of America's biggest companies is surging

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NOW WATCH: Trump's lack of progress has caused a major dollar reversal

Nintendo has a bizarre answer for people who can't find the Switch: 'We dramatically over-delivered'

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Nintendo's new console, the Switch, is a big hit. Such a big hit, in fact, that it's stil hard to buy right now — half a year after coming out.

You can't just walk into your local Target and snag a Switch without some serious luck. And it was even harder back in March when the console launched.

Nintendo Switch (Japan)

Look no further than the insane, hours-long tale that Business Insider editor-in-chief Alyson Shontell endured to find one. It's no surprise that many fans were frustrated.

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé has a surprisingly different take on the situation.

"We actually sold through almost 2.8 million units, so we dramatically over-delivered," Fils-Aimé told Mashable in a recent interview. "And yet, demand outpaces supply. So what do some of the consumers on Reddit say? 'Gosh, Nintendo, if you would've made more you would've sold more.' Well, we did make more!"

In a business sense, of course, he's not wrong. Ahead of the launch of the Switch, analysts intentionally tempered expectations. Despite this, Nintendo "over-delivered" by producing more Switch units than were projected (by analysts) to sell. Even still, Nintendo produced fewer units than were demanded by consumers — thus, customers who wanted to buy the Switch weren't able to, and some saw this as evidence that Nintendo was intentionally constraining supply.

Super Mario Odyssey

Of course, if you're one of the many people who wanted to buy a Switch at or near launch in March — or even now — Fils-Aimé's answer could come across as needlessly defensive. Seeing Fils-Aimé say that Nintendo "over-delivered" supply of a product that you weren't able to buy just adds fuel to that frustration.

Nintendo's no stranger to making products that are highly sought after, yet limited in supply.

NES Classic Edition / Super NES Classic Edition

The company is re-starting production of its NES Classic Console, for instance, due to overwhelming demand; similarly, the Super NES Classic Edition console is having its production run extended for the same reason. 

More than just being limited-edition products, Nintendo did a poor job of communicating with consumers how and when they could buy the Classic Edition consoles. That's at least in part due to how Nintendo operates. Fils-Aimé characterizes Nintendo as a company that "likes to keep our information very close to the vest." 

Sometimes, that can mean amazing surprises — like the inclusion of never-before-released "Star Fox 2" with the Super NES Classic Edition — and just as often it means consumers are left in the dark.

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

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The 31 most underrated 'Star Trek' episodes

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Netflix recently released data revealing the most watched "Star Trek" episodes on its streaming service.

The majority came from "Voyager," the fourth series in the franchise, and there were a few "The Next Generation" shows sprinkled in. They mostly featured the fan favorite villain, the Borg.

But there are so many great non-Borg, non-Voyager episodes that people seem to have forgotten about. So we decided to put together a list of underrated (and clearly under-watched!) episodes.

Our list is in chronological order of when the episodes aired, and at least one episode from every series made it. 

If we missed a episode that you think belongs on the list, shoot us an email at eholodny@businessinsider.com.

"The Conscience of a King" — The Original Series season 1, episode 13

What can we say about "The Original Series" that hasn't already been said? Many of the most iconic episodes from the first series end up high on "best of" lists, if for no other reason than their lasting influence on the science fiction genre.

Several are overlooked, however, like "The Conscience of a King." In the episode, Captain Kirk suspects that an actor traveling on the Enterprise might have been a mass-murderer and eugenicist responsible for a brutal massacre years prior.

Memorable line:

Dr. McCoy: In the long history of medicine, no doctor has ever caught the first few minutes of a play.



"A Taste of Armageddon" — The Original Series season 1, episode 23

"A Taste of Armageddon" is another original series episode that gets overshadowed.

In this one, the crew of the Enterprise encounters a planet fighting a brutal centuries-long war with its neighbor. The catch is that the war is fought entirely through computer simulations, with "casualties" expected to report to suicide chambers when the simulations say they've died.

Memorable line:

Spock: Sir, there's a multi-legged creature crawling on your shoulder. [Then goes in for the Vulcan nerve pinch.]



"The Survivors" — TNG season 3, episode 3

Although "The Next Generation" is best known for the Borg, Q, and Captain Picard's Shakespearean monologues, there are a bunch of hidden gems scattered throughout the show's seven-year run.

"The Survivors" is one such episode. Much to its surprise, the Enterprise crew stumbles upon two people living on an unharmed section of the colony Rana IV. They have somehow survived while the rest of the planet has been incinerated.

The story slowly and methodically unfolds before the final revelation knocks the wind out of you. The haunting performance by the late John Anderson in the last scenes alone is worth re-watching this episode. 

Memorable line:

Kevin Uxbridge: No, no, no, no, no — you, you don't understand the scope of my crime. I didn't kill just one Husnock, or a hundred, or a thousand. I killed them all. All Husnock, everywhere. Are 11,000 people worth... 50 billion? Is the love of a woman worth the destruction of an entire species?



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As the new Apple TV launches, Amazon's video app is still 'coming soon' (AAPL)

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Apple's newest Apple TV hardware hit stores on Friday, but one of its key announced pieces of software is nowhere to be found.

Earlier this summer, Apple announced that the Prime Video app was coming to Apple TV.

Prime Video enables subscribers to Amazon Prime to watch lots of TV shows and movies, and soon, live TV as well. 

"Today we’re really thrilled to announce that Amazon is coming — Amazon is coming to the TV app in Apple and all Apple TVs later this year with Amazon Prime Video," Apple CEO Tim Cook said onstage in June. 

There's still no official launch date for the Amazon Prime video app. An Apple representative pointed us to the press release for the new Apple TV 4K set-top box that went on sale on Friday, which says that the app is "coming soon."

"I don’t have any specifics to share regarding a date," an Amazon representative said. 

While it's not quite the self-imposed end of the year deadline yet, there are several reasons to expect the new Amazon Prime Apple TV app soon.

First, Amazon bought the rights to stream NFL games on Thursday nights. The first football game streaming on Amazon is happening this Thursday between the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers. 

Those are two big markets with fans who may be frustrated when they can't watch the game on their Apple-equipped TVs. But there will be alternatives: 600 different devices will be able to watch the game through a Prime Video app, an Amazon representative said. Tim Cook

The first report about Amazon's change-of-heart on Apple TV supported cited Amazon employees that expected the app to show up in the third quarter. 

Amazon's Prime video app has never appeared on an Apple TV, and it's currently one of the few content holdouts on Apple's streaming platform.

The fight between the two tech giants got bitter at points, with Amazon at one point stopping the sales of Apple TV boxes on its website. Recode reported that industry observers believe that the deal would have been worked out at a high-level, which means it likely included CEOs Tim Cook and Jeff Bezos. 

Know anything about Amazon Prime video on the Apple TV? Email the author at kleswing@businessinsider.com. We'll be discreet. 

SEE ALSO: Almost no one lined up for the new iPhone in London

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'Battle of the Sexes' is uplifting, entertaining, and gets Emma Stone out of her comfort zone

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In 1973, at the height of the women’s liberation movement, former tennis great Bobby Riggs went up against current world number one women’s tennis pro Billie Jean King, in a match that would go down as a landmark moment in the quest for equal rights for women in the US.

A new movie, “Battle of the Sexes” (in select theaters Friday, wide release next week), delves into the match with a feel-good Hollywood vibe that touches on issues that, sadly, are still relevant 44 years later.

Perhaps the best thing directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (“Little Miss Sunshine”) did in looking back on the spectacle of the match was expand it beyond the tennis. Though we see right from the start of the movie that King (played by Emma Stone) is headstrong in getting women tennis players the same money men get on the tour — even quitting the Association of Tennis Professionals and starting a new female circuit to prove her point — she’s also attracted to women.

This aspect of King’s life takes up much of the first half of the movie. King, the face of women’s tennis, spends most of her off-the-court time with a hairdresser named Marilyn (Andrea Riseborough). And the last thing she’ll seriously consider is the middle-of-the-night call from retired pro and gambling addict Bobby Riggs (Carell), who proposes an exhibition match between the two.

battle of the sexes 3 fox searchlight finalThings turn more dramatic in the movie when King watches Riggs destroy her tennis colleague Margaret Court (Jessica McNamee) in the first “Battle of the Sexes” match. Feeling it’s her obligation to redeem her sport, and the women who play it, King agrees to play Riggs.

Dayton and Faris get us into the setting by using archival footage – a highlight is celebrities and tennis players of the era giving their thoughts on the match and who they are rooting for. The male-superiority comments  come fast and furious, but the most shocking clip is then up-and-coming tennis player Chris Evert saying she thinks Riggs is going to beat King.

Carell plays Riggs perfectly. Lighthearted, but not over-the-top comedic, his portrayal is a guy who thirsts for the limelight, and will do some very chauvinistic things to get there.

There are also strong supporting performances by Sarah Silverman playing Gladys Heldman, who helps create the Virginia Slims Tour with King and other female tennis pros; Alan Cumming, playing the gay costume designer who is really the only person King can talk truthfully to; and Bill Pullman, who plays the perfect heel Jack Kramer, a former pro who in the 1970s started the Association of Tennis Professionals, and in the movie is King’s biggest adversary in building up women’s tennis.

But the standout in the movie is Stone as King. The movie is clearly on her shoulders, and though she in no way engulfs herself physically into the character (in a lot of ways it’s just Emma Stone in a wig), it’s the strong writing (by Simon Beaufoy) and direction that makes Stone believable in the role, which is very different from what she’s played in the past.

Perhaps it’s because this is the first time Stone is playing a real person, but she can’t go back to her comfortable comedic tricks to pull in the audience. She plays King with the perfect blend of the brooding she had in “Birdman” (toned down from being way over-the-top in that movie), and the vulnerability that earned her an Oscar for “La La Land,” to show the conflict and pressure King faces at this time in her life both personally and professionally.

That character development, and a thrilling ending when King and Riggs finally play (trust me, it’s exciting regardless if you know the outcome), leads to a movie that will leave you with a good feeling coming out of the theater.

And that’s all we’re really asking for these days.

SEE ALSO: The director of "Pineapple Express" has an intense new movie about the Boston Marathon bombing that's getting Oscar buzz

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The 5 best new songs you can stream right now

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This week, Kendrick Lamar linked up with his previous collaborator Rapsody on a new track, the Wu-Tang Clan dropped a new single, and Cut Copy released its fifth studio album.

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

SEE ALSO: The best new songs from last week — Lorde, The xx, and more

Wu-Tang Clan — "Lesson Learn'd"

On "Lesson Learn'd," Wu-Tang Clan rapper Inspektah Deck disses Clan-antagonist and imprisoned "pharma bro" Martin Shkreli for his drastic price inflation of a prescription drug, while Wu affiliate Redman puts in a stellar guest verse. 

 



Cut Copy — "Counting Down"

The strengths of Australian electro-rock band Cut Copy's fifth album, "Haiku From Zero," are epitomized on "Counting Down," a buoyant track that contrasts bright guitars and synths with deceptively dark imagery. 



Charlotte Gainsbourg — "Deadly Valentine"

Charlotte Gainsbourg — the actress, singer, and daughter of legendary French artist Serge Gainsbourg — explained her breathy and compelling electronic song "Deadly Valentine" by saying it "mixes wedding vows with an offbeat tone."



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'Wonder Woman' had a bad foreign box office performance compared to most superhero movies (TWX)

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Warner Bros. has a lot to be proud of about its release of “Wonder Woman,” as the first female-centered superhero movie of all time took in over $400 million at the domestic box office to top the summer movie season.

But in a time when the foreign box office is arguably more important, the studio failed to perform overseas as strongly as other superhero movies.

Only 49.8% of the movie’s $819 worldwide box office came from foreign territories, and that’s one of the worst international performances by a superhero movie released in the last decade, according to Forbes

Typically, superhero movies earn as much (if not more) in their theatrical revenue overseas compared to North America. Outside of “Wonder Woman,” only 2008’s “Iron Man” ($266.7 million foreign vs. $318.4 million domestic), 2008’s “The Incredible Hulk” ($128.6 million foreign vs. $134.8 million domestic), and 2011’s “Green Lantern” ($103.2 million foreign vs. $116.6 million domestic) didn’t make more internationally.

In the case of these titles, “Iron Man” and “The Incredible Hulk” were released before the superhero movie craze, while “Green Lantern” was just awful.

In a comparison with Sony’s superhero summer 2017 release, “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” Forbes showed that Spidey outperformed Diana Prince in Europe, while in South Korea, it was even worse as “Spider-Man” earned 6% of its worldwide gross there, while “Wonder Woman” only took in 2%. However, “Wonder Woman” outperformed “Spider-Man” in Australia, Taiwan, and Brazil.

There are multiple theories why “Wonder Woman” wasn’t stronger internationally — chauvinism, star Gal Gadot being Israeli — but the most realistic Forbes can find is that Warner Bros.’ overseas marketing isn’t as strong as the other studios when it comes to superhero movies. “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” is the only superhero title from the studio that earned over 60% of its worldwide gross overseas ($542.9 million foreign vs. $330.3 million domestic). Marvel has 11 titles that have taken in 63% or more.

It's something for Warner Bros. to strive for when “Wonder Woman 2” comes out.

SEE ALSO: How the director of Jake Gyllenhaal's new movie went from "Pineapple Express" to tacking the Boston Marathon bombing

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A new Netflix scandal involves a children's show, a drawing of male genitals, and potential legal action

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It turns out that "American Vandal," Netflix's original series about a genital-drawing mystery, isn't Netflix's only show to feature drawings of male sex organs.

Netflix is currently dealing with a scandalous drawing featured in "Maya the Bee," an animated children's series the streaming service distributes.

"Maya the Bee" follows the adventures of Maya, a bee, who has left her hive to explore the world outside of it.

She meets new friends who are not bees, and learns some lessons along the way. She also unknowingly stumbles upon a rock with a drawing of male genitalia on it.

Some parents recently noticed the drawing in a season one episode, and are outraged. The episode was removed from Netflix earlier this week, and now the production company is suing the rogue animator who allegedly put the drawing in the episode. The story continues to unfold.

Here's everything you need to know about the controversy surrounding "Maya the Bee" on Netflix:

SEE ALSO: The 19 movies that audiences have hated the most in the last 30 years

Parents noticed the drawing on a rock in a scene and caused uproar on social media.

Variety reports that Chey Robinson appears to have been the first to share the drawing. She wrote this on Facebook:

“Please be mindful of what your kids are watching. I did NOT edit any images whatsoever, this is ‘Maya the Bee,’ Season 1, Episode 35. I know I’m not going crazy and I know that something like this shouldn’t be in a kids’ show whatsoever. I’m extremely disgusted by it, there should be no reason my kids have to see something like this. I don’t know if they’re gonna do something about this or what, but there’s no reasons why this should be in this show.”



Netflix removed the episode (season one, episode 35) on Tuesday.

In response to the negative reaction once parents discovered the genitalia drawing, Netflix removed the episode entirely. 



The production company, Studio 100, blamed a rogue artist for including the drawing in the episode, calling it a "very bad joke."

Studio 100 released this statement to Variety on Friday: 

“An absolutely inappropriate image has been discovered in a four-second fly-by scene in one episode of the total of 78 episodes of the series. The origin of this image obviously results from a very bad joke from one of the 150 artists working on the production.”



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How Lady Gaga spends her $275 million fortune

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Lady Gaga may have once written a song called "Money Honey," but cash isn't everything for the pop artist.

"Money has been put on a pedestal, beauty has been put on a pedestal, celebrity has been put on a pedestal," she told the crowd at one 2016 London concert, according to The Telegraph.

Still, with a fortune worth hundreds of millions of dollars, it's interesting to see what kind of costs Gaga is racking up.

The star — whose real name is Stefani Germanotta — recently offered fans an intensely personal glimpse of her life in the new Netflix documentary "Gaga: Five Foot Two."

Here's what we know the pop star spends her money on:

SEE ALSO: Meet Alice Walton: How the world's wealthiest woman spends her Walmart fortune

Since bursting onto the scene with her 2008 debut album "The Fame," Gaga has acquired a net worth of around $275 million.

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But, in Gaga's case, fortune didn't immediately follow fame. Despite her success, she found herself $3 million in debt after her Monster Ball tour, which ran from 2009 to 2011.

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"I remember I called everybody and said, 'Why is everyone saying I have no money? This is ridiculous, I have five No. 1 singles,'" she told the Financial Times. The culprit of her money woes turned out to be the tour's multitude of lavish costumes.

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Source: The Hollywood Reporter, The Financial Times



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Justin Bieber says he's 'willing to stand up' for the Black Lives Matter movement

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Canadian pop singer Justin Bieber took to Instagram on Friday to voice his support for the Black Lives Matter movement. 

"I am a white Canadian and I will never know what it feels like to be an African American," Bieber wrote in the caption of a post that read "Black Lives Matter."

"But what I do know is I am willing to stand up and use my voice to shine light on racism, because it's a real thing and it's more prevalent now than I have ever seen in my lifetime," he wrote. "We are all God's children and we are ALL EQUAL."

Bieber has largely avoided making political statements throughout his career, though he did reportedly turn down $5 million to perform at the 2016 Republican National Convention. 

The 23-year-old pop star appeared among many other celebrities at last week's "Hand in Hand" telethon, which raised over $55 million for victims of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. 

SEE ALSO: The 50 best-selling music artists of all time

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