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CREDIT SUISSE: Disney needs to be rewarded for going after Netflix (DIS)

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mickey minnie disney world

  • Disney plans to spend $1.2 billion in direct-to-consumer services.
  • Credit Suisse maintains its price targets though it plans to revisit stock in future.
  • Disney cable network subscribers likely to grow.

Disney will spend $1.2 billion in direct-to-consumer services in the next few years in a play to launch its own video streaming services, priming it against Netflix.

The company plans on investing hundreds of millions of dollars in a Disney-branded movie and TV service and an ESPN-branded service, a price tag that some investors fear is bound to grow. However, the investment will likely be reflected in the next one to two quarters, which "will remove one of the biggest overhangs on the stock," according to Credit Suisse.

"We also argue that Disney should be rewarded for aggressive investment, given the market opportunity in 5 years for the Disney-branded service is in excess of 20m homes, and successful DTC services should put the company in a substantially stronger strategic position as consumption of video content shifts to online platforms," Omar Sheikh, an analyst at Credit Suisse, wrote in a note.

Disney announced that it would pull its movies from Netflix to start its own stand-alone service in August. The company also plans to acquire a majority stake in the streaming service BAMTech with a cost plan of $570 million over the next two years.

Disney's cable network subscribers should see growth from September onwards with the inclusion of Hulu's live product and YouTube TV, Sheikh said. Ratings of ESPN's NFL games have performed better than its peers, which could bolster ad sales, he added.

Credit Suisse maintains its $120 price target, which is 22.5% above Disney's current price.

Disney shares are down about 6% this year. 

To read more about Disney's advantages in its streaming service bet, click here.

Disney stock price

SEE ALSO: UBS: Disney has one big advantage that'll make its streaming movie service succeed

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NOW WATCH: Debating the odds of a stock market correction


Spotify now features an eerie 'Stranger Things' Easter egg — here's how to see it

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stranger things 2

  • Spotify's desktop players now feature an eerie "Stranger Things" overlay.
  • To make it appear, play a song from the show's soundtracks on a Spotify web player or desktop app.
  • The second season of "Stranger Things" premieres Friday on Netflix. 

 

In advance of the "Stranger Things" season two premiere on Netflix this Friday, Spotify's desktop players now feature a hidden Easter egg that appears when you play the soundtrack for either season of the series. 

As The Verge notes, the eerie overlay feature, inspired by the alternate universe of the show's "Upside Down," crawls along the Spotify playback bar, looking like a flashlight moving through the dark, spore-covered realm.

All you have to do to see the feature is play a song from the show's soundtrack for a few seconds on a Chrome or Spotify-enabled browser, or on the desktop app. 

stranger things

I was only able to get the hidden feature to pop up on the Spotify web player, but my colleague was able to see it on her Spotify desktop app (though she has also received screeners of the show's second season for a review, so that may be beyond my Netflix-sanctioned purview). 

Listen to the "Stranger Things 2" soundtrack on Spotify. 

SEE ALSO: How Netflix prepares to unleash a monster like 'Stranger Things 2' to its 'north of 300 million' potential viewers

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: This 'crazy, irrational decision' Apple made 20 years ago turned out to be the key to its outrageous success over Samsung

Apple CEO Tim Cook personally ordered the removal of dirty jokes from the company's TV shows, report says

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tim cook carpool karaoke

  • Apple CEO Tim Cook delayed the release of "Carpool Karaoke," an Apple original series, to edit out profanity from the show, Bloomberg reports.
  • "Carpool Karaoke" was meant to be the company's first move into original TV shows and movies before the delay.
  • Apple is reportedly seeking clean shows and movies with "broad appeal," and plans to invest $1 billion in the effort.

 

Before Apple released "Carpool Karaoke" in August, company CEO Tim Cook delayed the release of the series — which would have been the company's first original show — in order to have his staff edit out profanity and "references to vaginal hygiene" from the show's episodes, Bloomberg reports

The show's delay was first reported in April, and Apple did not specify the reasons for the delay at the time. 

"Carpool Karaoke" features celebrities like Pharrell Williams, Chelsea Handler, and the late Chester Bennington of Linkin Park singing along to songs and conversing in a moving car. 

A spinoff from a popular segment featured on James Corden's "The Late Late Show," "Carpool Karaoke" was meant to be Apple's first move in a $1 billion investment in original TV shows and movies. Instead, the company moved ahead with "Planet of the Apps," a "Shark Tank"-like reality show for app developers, which it released in June.

According to Bloomberg, Apple is only pursuing shows and movies with "broad appeal," while avoiding nudity, profanity, and violence — all of which are staples of most hit shows nowadays.

As a result, executives at Apple are turning down pitches for "edgier fare," as they reportedly did with a prospective eight-part series from Oscar-winning director Alfonso Cuarón ("Gravity") and actor Casey Affleck. 

Read Bloomberg's article here.

SEE ALSO: The best movie of every year since 2000, according to critics

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These are the 23 best HBO shows of all time, according to critics

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Insecure HBO

HBO has made many of the best television shows of all time, including "The Sopranos," "Game of Thrones," and "The Wire."

And the network is often credited with jump starting the Golden Age of television with its dark, ambitious dramas. 

But drama isn't HBO's only strength. It also has excellent half-hour comedies including "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Insecure," and "Silicon Valley."

But which HBO shows are the best of the best?

We ranked its shows according to their ratings on Metacritic, which aggregates critic reviews and assigns each season of a show a score.

For shows with multiple seasons, we averaged their scores. And to break ties, we brought in the audience score.

Here are HBO's best shows of all time, ranked:

(Note: We left off animated, children's, documentary/reality, and foreign programming, as well as miniseries, with a few notable exceptions.)

SEE ALSO: The 16 worst HBO shows, according to critics

23. "Dream On" (1990-96), six seasons

Metacritic score: 80

"This is a rare TV union where cast, writers, and directors appear to be of a single comedic mind; the humorous results speak for themselves." — LA Times



22. "High Maintenance" (2016), one season

Metacritic score: 81

Audience score: 6.2

"'High Maintenance' stands out, not just because it's on the front end of what is apparently a reefer TV trend, but because it's so precisely made and has such an ambling, open heart." — Vulture



21. "Getting On" (2013-15), three seasons

Average Metacritic score: 81

Audience score: 7.8

"It's a dark and astonishing gem of a show, with a bravely skillful cast juggling the petty obsessions of the workplace with Much Bigger Issues." — LA Times



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The absolute best Amazon Echo app just got even better (AMZN)

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best jeopardy answer

  • Amazon's Echo smart speakers boast a version of "Jeopardy" that's as close to the real game show as you can get from the comfort of your own home.
  • On Tuesday night, Amazon upgraded "Jeopardy" for Amazon Prime subscribers with an additional six daily questions. If you're not a Prime member, you can subscribe to "Jeopardy" for $1.99 and get those bonus clues.
  • The move is an important test for how Amazon and developers will make money from Alexa "skills," or apps.

Some of my colleagues say that the best way to use an Amazon Echo smart speaker is as a white noise machine, or as an in-car infotainment system

For me, though, there is one killer app for the Amazon Echo that stands above all others: "Jeopardy," the trivia blood sport of champions and kings. Just ask Amazon's Alexa to play Jeopardy, and you'll get six trivia questions per day, complete with the iconic game show's music and sound and a voiceover from host Alex Trebek — all for free. 

On Tuesday night, Amazon quietly made Jeopardy even better, at least for paying customers. Now if you subscribe to Amazon's Prime service, you'll get an extra six questions a day, for a total of 12 daily. If you're not an Amazon Prime member, you can upgrade your "Jeopardy" experience to get those additional six daily questions for $1.99 per month.

And if you miss your daily ration of "Jeopardy" clues, you can now make up for it later. Amazon Prime members and subscribers to the "Jeopardy" subscribers can play on subsequent days the clues from any days of the week they missed. That's the first time the app has offered that feature.

The new and improved "Jeopardy" is available now on every Amazon Echo device, from the $50 Dot, all the way up to the $229 Show.

An important test

Despite the additional questions, the core game hasn't changed. Alexa gives you a clue, and you answer out loud in the form of a question. It's as close as you can get to the real "Jeopardy," and because it's all voice-based, you can play while doing the dishes or folding laundry. Let me question that answer — what is the best?

The "Jeopardy" upgrade actually is something of a test of a possible business model for developers who build apps for Alexa. Currently all Alexa apps, or "skills," are free to users, something that'll have to change, if Amazon wants to attract developers away from rivals such as Google Home

The retail giant has already experimented with some ways for developers to make money off their Alexa apps, but hasn't really settled on a business model. Using a popular app like "Jeopardy" to test a subscription-based model may give an indication into the direction Amazon's heading. 

new Echo, All Colors

A fun perk for Prime members

The upgraded "Jeopardy" also represents yet another perk for Prime subscribers, who already pay $99 per year for benefits including discounted shipping and access to Amazon's streaming video service.

If you're a true "Jeopardy" fan, I'd recommend playing the game on the Echo Show. The device's screen shows each clue like it appears on the show — as white text on a blue background.

What is perfect?

SEE ALSO: 'Jeopardy' winner takes home just $1 after everyone blows the final question in historic ending

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: This is what 'Jeopardy!' host Alex Trebek is really like

Nintendo's next big smartphone game is a new entry in the 'Animal Crossing' series

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Nintendo's on the verge of releasing its next major mobile game. It's called "Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp" and it's headed to iOS and Android devices at some point in "late November." 

Unsurprisingly, it looks adorable.

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp

Like "Super Mario Run" — the last Nintendo game on mobile devices — "Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp" is a free game. You can download and play it without paying anything, but there's an in-game store where you can purchase items for real money.

In the case of "Animal Crossing," you're able to purchase "Leaf Tickets" that speed up the process of building stuff in the game. Perhaps you're building a new couch, or a chair for K.K. Slider to sit in when he wants to visit — it may take a few days in real time, or you could do it instantly by using Leaf Tickets. 

So, ;what do you do in "Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp"? You build and maintain a camp!

You visit a forest to pick berries, and you visit a beach to go fishing. Those mundane tasks earn money that can be exchanged for stuff you can build at your camp. It's a relaxing management game, essentially, full of quirky characters to befriend along the way.

Check out the first trailer for the game right here:

It may sound boring on paper, but the "Animal Crossing" series is a huge hit for Nintendo. The last two games in the series sold over 11 million units apiece. Moreover, it's the type of game that players stick with — there are live events in-game that correspond to real world holidays, for instance — which makes it an especially good fit on mobile. 

"Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp" is scheduled to launch in "late November."

SEE ALSO: The first 'Super Mario' game for Android is excellent, gorgeous, and too short

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JEFFERIES: People are overlooking Nintendo's chance to reach 1 billion users

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nintendo switch console launch

  • Most people think about the Switch console when they think of modern-day Nintendo.
  • The company is placing a big priority on other platforms too, like mobile.
  • Mobile could be the next big driver of growth for the company.
  • Click here to get a live stock price for Nintendo.

 

Nintendo released its Switch console in March with just one major title, a new Zelda game.

The company has slowly been releasing new games for the console, adding new Rabbids and Mario Kart games since its launch, but that's just one aspect of Nintendo's multi-platform video game strategy.

"It is on mobile that Nintendo can reach billions of users,"Atul Goyal,, an analyst at Jefferies, said in a recent note to clients. "No other platform gives Nintendo that reach."

Goyal said that too many analysts are under-appreciating the large number of potential monetization platforms for Nintendo's popular characters. The Switch is getting most of the attention, but the company just announced its new Animal Crossing game for mobile.

Nintendo's mobile strategy has been refined over time, starting with the relatively poor performance of Super Mario Run, which was monetized with a one-time purchase. The company's Fire Emblem game did better with the popular "freemium" model, but lacked enough content to keep players engaged.

Goyal thinks that the upcoming "Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp" is an even further improvement over previous releases by the company and really demonstrates Nintendo's continued prioritization of all of its platforms. The timing of the new Animal Crossing game is another hint towards Nintendo's multi-platform strategy.

"It has staggered the IP launch at different times," Goyal said. "And before one IP is launched, it communicates the next IP launch," exactly as it has with "Super Mario Oddysey" and "Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp."

Goyal says that Nintendo's mobile games will continue to improve and grow in sales. The Switch will be the company's main driver of revenue for the next three to five years, but mobile could outpace the Switch in the long term.

"Nintendo is staggering its game pipeline across platforms, impressively," Goyal said. "Nintendo is not focusing on one platform or another. Nintendo will monetise its intellectual property treasure trove on various platforms."

Nintendo is up 80.31% so far this year.

Read more about Nintendo's mobile strategy here.

nintendo stock price

SEE ALSO: JEFFERIES: Nintendo's road to huge profits won't come from its console games

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I got 'Super Mario Odyssey' early and spent 10 hours playing it — here's what I think so far

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About 10 hours ago, I lucked into a copy of Nintendo's upcoming "Super Mario Odyssey." Ever since, I've been playing it nearly non-stop.

Good news: So far, "Super Mario Odyssey" is excellent.

Super Mario Odyssey

"Super Mario Odyssey" feels brand new, despite starring a decades-old character. It looks far better than it should on the Switch, a console that's not quite as powerful as the competition.

And it seemingly evolves the long-running franchise once again, letting you play as dozens of unique characters. 

Like Mario's old pal Bullet Bill, for instance:

Super Mario Odyssey

Here are my full impressions of the biggest game of the year, "Super Mario Odyssey," after 10 hours:

SEE ALSO: Nintendo's about to debut a huge new Mario game — here's everything we know

DON'T MISS: The Nintendo Switch is having an incredible run so far, and the future looks even brighter

WARNING: Minor spoilers ahead for "Super Mario Odyssey," including story and gameplay.

I'm going to speak explicitly about "Super Mario Odyssey" — this is a preview, after all. If you don't want anything spoiled, turn back!



It doesn't waste your time with a bunch of needless story.

The premise of "Super Mario Odyssey" is delightfully quick and simple.

Mario's permanent nemesis, Bowser, has kidnapped Princess Peach and is forcing her into marriage. Mario's not into that, which is seemingly why Bowser's doing it in the first place. He shreds Mario's hat and takes off in an airship. Typical!

But also whatever, right? How much motivation do you need to take out a villainous turtle dressed like a pimp?

Super Mario Odyssey

Relax: All of this plot set-up plays out in short order. 



"Odyssey" jumps right into the action.

After falling from Bowser's airship, Mario lands in a world ruled by hat-obsessed ghosts — a convenient twist given his immediate past. One such ghost hat, named Cappy, befriends Mario and offers to team up on a mission to save their respective significant others. 

What that means for playing the game is that you can start throwing around Mario's hat pretty much immediately. And that's great, because that's the new element at the heart of "Odyssey" — Mario can "capture" and inhabit various things, both living and not.

Before I fought a boss or even found the all-important airship (named "Odyssey") that Mario uses to travel from kingdom to kingdom, I'd "captured" a frog and done some insane things.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The 18 weirdest things I've seen in Nintendo's big new Mario game that's about to launch

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I never thought I'd see a shirtless Mario running along the beach, nipples and all, but here we are.

Super Mario OdysseyThis is emblematic of the supreme silliness of "Super Mario Odyssey," the next big game coming to Nintendo's Switch. If you remember "Super Mario 64," "Super Mario Odyssey" is basically that, but bigger, better looking — and way weirder.

I got a chance to play the game recently, and during that session I found a bunch of things that are at least as strange as the image above.

Here, for example, is another real image from the game, which I captured while playing it:

Super Mario Odyssey

"Super Mario Odyssey" is quite a game. Let's dive in!

SEE ALSO: I got 'Super Mario Odyssey' early and spent 10 hours playing it — here's what I think so far

In "Super Mario Odyssey," you explore vast open worlds.

The point is to find moons to power your ship, the Odyssey, from place to place.

In this scene, Mario is exploring one such place — Bubblaine — while wearing some polka dot swim trunks.



That by itself isn't all that strange. What is crazy is what's going on with Mario's hat.

The ability to explore worlds is pretty similar to "Super Mario 64."

What's new is how Mario's hat is being haunted by a ghost. He can use it to take over ("capture") other characters or items in the game by tossing it onto them



With the hat, you can take over a person.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Netflix's 18 original comedy films, ranked from worst to best

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meyerowitz stories

Netflix's efforts in the field of original comedy films have produced mixed results, with a striking disparity between its best and worst movies.

This year, the streaming service extended its four-film production deal with Adam Sandler's Happy Madison Productions to last for four more movies (eight in total). The three Netflix originals Sandler has released so far have all been severely panned by critics, but are nonetheless widely watched, according to Netflix. 

Sandler has scored one critical hit for the platform, however, with his role alongside Ben Stiller and Dustin Hoffman in Noah Baumbach's new dramedy, "The Meyerowitz Stories" — one of Netflix's most critically acclaimed originals.

To figure out which of Netflix's original comedies are worth watching, we turned to the reviews aggregator Rotten Tomatoes to rank each release by its composite critical reception. We excluded stand-up comedy specials and any films that didn't have enough reviews to receive a designation of "Rotten" or "Fresh."

Here are 18 of Netflix's original comedy films, ranked by their Rotten Tomatoes critic score from lowest to highest (if there was a tie, we used the audience score to break it):

SEE ALSO: Netflix's 28 original drama films, ranked from worst to best

18. “The Ridiculous 6” — 0%

Critic score: 0%

Audience score: 31%

Netflix description: "When his outlaw dad is kidnapped, Tommy 'White Knife' Stockburn sets off across the West on a rescue mission with five brothers he never knew he had."



17. “The True Memoirs of an International Assassin” — 0%

Critic score: 0%

Audience score: 42%

Netflix description: "After his publisher markets his crime novel as a memoir, a novice author finds himself forcibly recruited into a deadly political plot in Venezuela."



16. “The Do-Over” — 5%

Critic score: 5%

Audience score: 42%

Netflix description: "The life of a bank manager is turned upside down when a friend from his past manipulates him into faking his own death and taking off on an adventure."



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Maroon 5 has announced its 2018 'Red Pill Blues' tour dates — here they are

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Maroon 5

  • Maroon 5 has announced a 2018 North American tour in support of its upcoming album, "Red Pill Blues."
  • "Red Pill Blues" debuts on November 3.
  • The tour kicks off May 30, 2018 in Tacoma, Washington.

 

Maroon 5 has announced a 2018 North American tour in support of its upcoming album, "Red Pill Blues," which is set for release on November 3.

The "Red Pill Blues" tour starts out on May 30, 2018 in Tacoma, Washington, before playing 32 more dates throughout the United States and Canada. The tour concludes October 15 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Tickets will be available for American Express cardholders on Monday, October 30 at 10 a.m. Tickets go on sale for the general public on Saturday, November 4 at 10 a.m.

Any tickets purchased between October 30 and November 10 will also be bundled with a free download or physical copy of "Red Pill Blues."

Find the tour dates below:

May 30 - Tacoma, WA at Tacoma Dome
June 1 - Oakland, CA at Oracle Arena
June 2 - Sacramento, CA at Golden 1 Center
June 4 - Los Angeles, CA at The Forum
June 7 - Phoenix, AZ at Talking Stick Resort Arena
June 9 - Dallas, TX at American Airlines Center
June 10 - Houston, TX at Toyota Center
June 12 - San Antonio, TX at AT&T Center
June 14 - New Orleans, LA at Smoothie King Center
June 16 - Tampa, FL at Amalie Arena
June 17 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL at BB&T Center
September 7 - Salt Lake City, UT at Vivint Smart Home Arena
September 9 - Denver, CO at Pepsi Center
September 11 - Kansas City, MO at Sprint Center
September 13 - St Louis, MO at ScottTrade Center
September 14 - Chicago, IL at United Center
September 16 - Milwaukee, WI at Wisconsin Entertainment and Sports Center
September 18 - St. Paul, MN at Xcel Energy Center
September 20 - Indianapolis, IN at Bankers Life Fieldhouse
September 22 - Louisville, KY at KFC Yum! Center
September 23 - Nashville, TN at Bridgestone Arena
September 25 - Columbus, OH at Nationwide Arena
September 27 - Toronto, ON at Air Canada Centre
September 29 - Pittsburgh, PA at PPG Paints Arena
September 30 - Detroit, MI at Little Caesars Arena
October 2 - Washington, DC at Capital One Arena
October 4 - Charlotte, NC at Spectrum Center
October 6 - Newark, NJ at Prudential Center
October 7 - Boston, MA at TD Garden
October 10 - Hartford, CT at XL Center
October 12 - Philadelphia, PA at Wells Fargo Center
October 14 - New York, NY at Madison Square Garden
October 15 - New York, NY at Madison Square Garden

SEE ALSO: The 5 best new songs you can stream right now

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Netflix says it now has over 300 million 'viewers' (NFLX)

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stranger things 2

  • Netflix has over 104 million paid accounts.
  • But its reach is far greater than that, at over 300 million "viewers."
  • 65% of Netflix viewing happens on a TV.


Netflix has blown past its recent growth targets on its way to over 100 million global subscribers, and investors are loving it.

The stock hit an all-time high of over $200 after its last earnings report (though it has since retreated a bit).

But while 104 million paying accounts is an impressive statistic for Wall Street, Netflix says its reach is actually far greater than that.

In an interview about how Netflix prepared for the global launch of “Stranger Things 2,” Netflix’s VP of product innovation, Todd Yellin, shared that the company’s total number of “viewers” — including factors like families with multiple profiles — was “north of 300 million people.”

Within that global population, Yellin said about 65% of viewing was on a TV, 20% on a mobile device (with phone percentage moving up, and tablet down), and 15% on a computer. (“Stranger Things,” incidentally, under-indexes for mobile and over-indexes for computers and TV, which makes sense given its cinematic nature.)

Netflix has also mapped 2,000 distinct “taste communities” within its viewer population, to better target suggestions across the globe, Yellin said.

To read more about how Netflix prepared for “Stranger Things 2,” see our feature on it.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A Dungeons & Dragons master shows us how to play the classic game featured in 'Stranger Things'

Ashley Judd on what she'd say to Harvey Weinstein: 'I love you and I understand that you are sick'

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Ashley Judd GMA

  • Actress and activist Ashley Judd is one of the many women to accuse film producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment or assault.
  • On Thursday, Judd spoke about the allegations for the first time on camera, with Diane Sawyer on "Good Morning America."
  • Judd said she felt like no one would believe her at the time that it happened.
  • Judd said that she got out of the hotel room where Weinstein sexually harassed her by telling him she would only get intimate with him if she won an Oscar for one of his movies. Years later, Weinstein tried to offer her a role that could get her that Oscar, she said. 
  • Judd told Sawyer that if Weinstein is a rapist, he should go to jail.

 
Ashley Judd is one of over 60 women to come out with allegations against Harvey Weinstein over the past few weeks, which range from sexual harassment to rape. After confirming her story to The New York Times for its bombshell report three weeks ago, Judd spoke about it in public for the first time with Diane Sawyer on ABC's "Good Morning America" Thursday. 

Judd told Sawyer that when she met Weinstein in his hotel room, he began "insistent pressure" after she refused his advances. "I thought 'no' meant 'no,'" Judd said. "He kept coming back at me with all this other stuff. And finally I just said, 'When I win an Oscar in one of your movies, okay?' And he was like, 'Yeah, when you get nominated.' And I said, 'No, when I win an Oscar.' And then I just fled."

Judd also told Sawyer that in 1999, Weinstein brought up their "agreement." "Remember that little agreement we made?" Weinstein allegedly said. "I think I've got that script for you."

Judd said that Barbara Walters was sitting near her when he had said this. Then, Weinstein looked at her and said, "You know what, Ashley? I'm gonna let you out of that little agreement we made," according to Judd.

"And I said, 'You do that, Harvey. You do that,'" Judd said. "And he has spat my name at me ever since."

"If I could go back retrospectively with a magic wand ... I don't know if I would have been believed," Judd said. "And who was I to tell? The concierge that sent me up to the room?"

Sawyer pointed out the women all across the country who have been sexually assaulted or harassed, but don't have the power to do anything about it. Judd responded by saying that "we're doing this" for those women. Judd said that "we're helping create the moment" when other women can speak about their harassment or assault. 

Sawyer said that Weinstein plans to reach out to Judd a year from now, and she asked what Judd would say to him. Judd, who is religious, said that she would never forgive what he did to her and other women. But she would say, "I love you and I understand that you are sick and suffering. And there is help for a guy like you, and it is entirely up to you to get that help."

When Sawyer asked her if Weinstein should go to jail, Judd said, "If he's a rapist, he absolutely should go to jail."

She also said that we can only change this dynamic of men overpowering women for good if men and women work together. "This is the moment," Judd said. "And if we want it to be the moment, it for sure will be the moment."

SEE ALSO: All the women who have accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment or assault

Join the conversation about this story »

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A major movie theater chain plans to charge more for hits and less for bombs in 2018 (RGC)

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movie theater Shutterstock final

  • Regal Cinemas will start "dynamic pricing" in 2018.
  • This is on the heels of a 12% revenue drop from last year.
  • Regal won't share revenue with MoviePass.

 

The idea of theater chains offering different ticket prices for different movies has been kicked around for years.

It's the age-old question: Would you be more willing to go to the movies to see something that's a dumpster fire if the ticket were dirt cheap?

And now it looks like "dynamic pricing" is going to be put to the test. 

Regal Cinemas, one of the largest theater chains in the country, announced on Tuesday that it will test the concept in 2018 by charging higher prices for hit movies, and lower prices for flops. 

“Changes to the historical pricing structure have often been discussed but rarely tested in our industry, and we’re excited to learn even more about how pricing changes impact customer behavior,” Amy Miles, CEO of Regal, said Tuesday on a call with analysts, according to Bloomberg.

It's a model movie ticket app Atom Tickets has been lobbying theaters to try out. 

The big question, though, in how far the "dynamic pricing" will go. What will constitute as a bomb? A big budget studio movie that doesn't perform well, like Warner Bros.' "Geostorm?" Or an independent film that will likely be seen by more people on streaming services than in theaters?

geostorm warner brosRegal could potentially see empty seats in its theaters for both types of movies, but should an indie suffer if it's not bringing in a mass audience?

Business Insider contacted Regal for some answers but did not get an immediate response. 

It's obvious that movie theater chains have to start thinking outside the box. 

Regal reported on Tuesday that its revenue dropped 12% from a year earlier, to $716 million. A major reason is that many movies movies have performed poorly in the last year, adding to pressure from great content on TV and streaming. 

Another hoped "game changer" to the movie business is MoviePass, the service that allows one-a-day admission to theaters for $10 a month. However, Miles also said in the call on Tuesday that Regal won't be sharing revenue with MoviePass.

SEE ALSO: The 27 best scary movies on Netflix

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The director of 'Thor: Ragnarok' says the movie is so unconventional Mark Ruffalo joked they'd both get fired

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  • Director Taika Waititi is known best for his indie movies "What We Do in the Shadows" and "Hunt for the Wilderpeople."
  • He talks about the ways he made his Marvel movie the most un-Marvel yet.
  • Waititi also explains how he brought the scene-stealing character he voiced, Korg, to life.

 

“Thor: Ragnarok” has huge fight scenes (led by the bulging biceps of its lead Chris Hemsworth), and CGI-fueled destruction from the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) — all things we’ve become accustomed to from Marvel movies — but it also has hilarious deadpan humor, and an improvisational feel that’s a refreshing new element to the franchise. And that stuff you can thank director Taika Waititi for.

The New Zealand filmmaker known best for directing episodes of HBO’s “Flight of the Concords,” and indie movies “What We Do in the Shadows” and “Hunt for the Wilderpeople,” might be the most unlikely director to answer the Marvel call. However, what he’s given “Ragnarok” (opening in theaters November 3) is a new kind of Marvel story that intentionally veers from its conventional “save the world” blueprint, and hypes up the comedy aspects while still telling a thrilling story.

Business Insider spoke to Waititi about being allowed to amp up the weird on a huge blockbuster, why he was convinced Marvel would get fed up with his unconventional style, his decision to voice the movie’s scene-stealing Korg character, and the idea of flashback scenes of Thor and Loki (Tom Hiddleston) as kids that didn’t make the cut.

Jason Guerrasio: I love how you describe your work being a mix between comedy, drama, and "the clumsiness of humanity." Is that formula easier or harder to pull off in a superhero movie?

Taika Waititi: I actually feel like it's harder because you just have to spend more time figuring out what those clumsy elements are in these larger than life characters. How to make the characters more relatable to the audience. Really, when I look at the story of Thor, how I kind of get myself in there and figure out I can tell the story, is actually looking at it in terms of an indie film. It's about a guy trying to get home because there's someone in his house, and he's got to sort that out. And along the way he's got his annoying brother, a drunk chick, and some bipolar kid with him. [Laughs.] And he's just trying to get home. So that's the way into the story, and then it's how do I apply those things into spaceships and explosions. 

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Guerrasio: Take that indie idea and then go really big with it. 

Waititi: Yeah. 

Guerrasio: So when you had the early talks with Marvel about the project, did you lay all the cards on the table and say that you weren't interested in making the typical Marvel franchise movie?

Waititi: Yeah. But they knew that as well. They said that. "We know this isn't going to be very fulfilling for you to come in and continue with what we've done. And we don't want to continue with what we've done. We want to do something very fresh and new."

Guerrasio: And that must have been music to your ears. 

Waititi: It was.

Guerrasio: Was there a moment through all this when you said to yourself, "Wow, they are really letting me do this the way I want to do it!"

Waititi: Within reason. There were moments when you're like, "Wow, this is something that I never thought I'd be allowed to put into a superhero movie." But I came in knowing I'd bring character, tone, and dialogue — those are my strengths. Marvel's job really is just to keep me in my lane and make sure I'm not crashing the car. Derailing the Avengers. [Laughs.]

Guerrasio: That being said, did you ever get told by Marvel after they looked at the dailies to tone it down?

Waititi: No. There was never a moment like that, which was both surprising and also disconcerting. "Wow, man, are they even watching the dailies?" We were doing stuff that was so different. I remember after a couple of days working with Chris [Hemsworth] and Mark [Ruffalo], Mark came up to me and said, "I'll be surprised if you and I are back here on Monday. I have a feeling like we're breaking this. They are going to get rid of us." We were just doing whatever we felt we wanted to see in the film. That includes a scene with Hulk and Thor sitting on a bed talking about their emotions and apologizing to each other after an argument. Which is not something I felt I've ever seen in a superhero movie. 

ThorRagnarokThorHulkMarvelGuerrasio: But strangely, those lighthearted "real" scenes are what I remember most from this movie.

Waititi: Totally. And I feel that is the point of difference that I've managed to bring. What would everyone expect from this and let's do the opposite. That's what we were saying to each other often when we were shooting. "Does this feel like we've seen it before? And if so, how do we change it?" I've seen the hero in a movie getting beaten up by a bunch of people, and then a mysterious figure comes in and saves them, and the person takes off their mask and it's the love interest. How about we make that love interest (the Valkyrie character played by Tessa Thompson) more like Han Solo and she's a drunk, gambling mercenary who in her introductory scene falls off the ramp of her spaceship. 

Guerrasio: I read that in your sizzle reel to Marvel you had scenes from "Sixteen Candles" because there was a time when you were planning to do flashback scenes of Thor as a kid.

Waititi: Yeah. I did.

Guerrasio: How long did you play around with that flashback idea?

Waititi: It was in the first couple months of storylining. We always wondered, could we put in these flashbacks and make them work. To me it still feels like a great idea, but it was one element too many. It was very hard to justify doing. It would have felt like just this one-off little flashback and it needed more. We could have done it when Thor talks about one of the times Loki tried to kill him. 

Guerrasio: Instead of Thor describing it in that scene there could have been a jump to a flashback?

Waititi: Yeah. But it's actually better that we didn't flashback because it's funnier him just telling the story.

Guerrasio: It's funny, but I don't know, watching a teen Thor and Loki in a flashback scene would have been really great.

Waititi: It would have been funnier if it was this ongoing thing where we had more and more of those stories through the movie.

Guerrasio: Yes.

Waititi: But just a one-off would have just thrown people off too much. 

Guerrasio: The one thing I'm kind of bummed about was that the trailer revealed that Hulk is Thor's opponent in their fight on Sakaar. The buildup is so great. Are you disappointed that was used in the trailer?

Waititi: Not necessarily. I felt like it was something everyone knew was going to happen because Mark was in the movie. It's very hard to keep any of that stuff under wraps. Marvel knows in many ways with something like that you have to give it out. 

ThorRagnarokKorgMarvelGuerrasio: How early on did you want to do the Korg character?

Waititi: That was definitely in the script early on, but we didn't end up doing a huge amount with it until much later on in prep. There were many other story points we had to worry about, we knew this character was going to be in at least one or two scenes as a kind of information giver. I knew I was going to play something in the film because I always put myself in my films but I didn't know what. And he was one of the few minor characters that hadn't been cast yet so I decided to do that one. Also, it was small enough that it wouldn't infringe on my concentration with directing the film. Which was the priority. The more I found the voice through the read-through the more funny we found it. The more jokes came out of those reads. 

Guerrasio: How did you find the voice?

Waititi: Just through reading the script through with Chris. We would start getting into those scenes and I would play with the voice and we thought wouldn't it be funny if this big hulking rock guy had this very delicate voice? I kind of based it on people I remember from home. So it's a strange combination of a big guy with a gentle-natured presence. Chris was loving that when we started doing those scenes, and we started shooting some stuff, and Marvel thought it was really funny and I really enjoyed doing it. Chris wanted to do more, so we injected him into more and more scenes and before you know it he was all over the movie. 

Guerrasio: Before I go, what's the latest on the Bubbles the Chimp stop-motion movie you’re doing for Netflix.

Waititi: I'm excited about it. We are in very early stages. Early development with design and trying to figure out the schedule. I think all the work I would be doing is the up-front design and recording and see those guys off and let them do their thing. 

SEE ALSO: How the screenwriter of "American Sniper" convinced Steven Spielberg he was ready to direct

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Eminem may have announced his new album with an elaborate ad for a fake prescription drug

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  • It looks like an elaborate ad campaign for a fake drug called "Revival" might actually be an announcement of Eminem's upcoming ninth album.
  • The fake drug has promotional billboards and a website that make subtle references to Eminem's music.
  • The ads were reportedly purchased by Interscope Records, Eminem's label, which pulled a similar stunt to promote his 2009 album "Relapse."

 

Evidence is mounting that an ad campaign for a fake prescription drug called "Revival" is actually a veiled announcement of Eminem's upcoming ninth album from Interscope Records.  

As Billboard notes, the fake drug ad first appeared in the background of an Instagram photo from Paul Rosenberg, Eminem's longtime manager and the CEO of Def Jam Records. 

Look what arrived at the Shady offices today! @Yelawolf TRIAL BY FIRE comes out this Friday 10/27! #cdbaby

A post shared by Paul Rosenberg (@rosenberg) on Oct 25, 2017 at 1:26pm PDT on

Reddit sleuths were quick to point out that the ad featured a backward "E" in the same style of Eminem's logo. They soon discovered that "Revival" has its own legitimate-seeming website, which features an 800-number, a promotional video, and many subtle references to Eminem's music.

The medication supposedly treats "Atrox Rithimus," a non-existent condition, and its side effects, as listed on the website, include a "highly combustible head." The site features multiple references to lyrics from Eminem's 2002 hit "Lose Yourself," and the 800-number plays the piano melody of Eminem's Dr. Dre collaboration, "I Need A Doctor."

As it turns out, the "Revival" ads were purchased by Eminem's label, Interscope Records, according to a listing in the Detroit Free Press.

Interscope pulled a similar promotional stunt in promotion of Eminem's 2009 album "Relapse," when it created a website for a fictional rehab center called Popsomp Hills. As Billboard points out, fine print on the "Revival" website lists "Popsomp" as its manufacturing company.

Rumors of an imminent album release from Eminem began in July, when Allen Hughes, the director of Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine's HBO documentary, "The Defiant Ones," said that Dre was producing a new track for Eminem's album in the "11th hour."

Business Insider has reached out to Eminem's representatives for comment.

SEE ALSO: The 5 best new songs you can stream right now

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Here's what Melissa Joan Hart — who played Clarissa and Sabrina the Teenage Witch — is doing today

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If you were an '90s kid, you probably grew up watching Clarissa explain it all, and Sabrina try to survive high school with the help of her magical powers. We sat down with actress and director Melissa Joan Hart to find out what it was like working on those popular shows and what she is working on now, including a remake of a cult classic Disney horror film. Following is a transcript of the video.

Melissa Joan Hart: Hey! I'm Melissa Joan Hart. You might know me as Clarissa, or Sabrina, or from "Melissa and Joey."

I was about 11 or 12 when I got the role on "Clarissa." I had to audition 3 times. I was doing a play off Broadway, and the executive producer heard that that he should audition me. He did not want a blonde, but after 3 auditions, I won him over, and I got the part of Clarissa. And I played that character until I was about 17 and a half. Basically graduating high school.

We were on the Universal Studios lot. We were part of the tour. The tour would go through the studio. You get to go taste slime and Gak and all these things. So my breaks were spent eating green pudding, and green apple sauce, and stuff like that.

I just remember it being a lot of work. But I learned a lot too. Like walking around the set, and asking a lot of questions about the equipment. And learning how everyone did their jobs there. So it kinda, basically, was like a mini film school.

Clarissa was one of those characters that girls wanted to be and guys wanted to date. And it was just one of those things where is she was just cool and everyone wanted to be like her. A lot of people tell me that she started their careers in fashion or in graphic design, because of the computer design that was going on around the screen. How she was always designing computer programs.

I don't talk to the actors anymore from that show. It was before the time of  like social media, or like email even.

"Hi Sam!"

Nobody has ever crawled in my bedroom window that I can recall. I've often thought about crawling out of the window.

BI: Can you explain it all?

Joan Hart: I can explain a lot, but only a little bit of everything. Not like everything.

"Wow, this magic thing isn't so bad!"

Sabrina was awesome. It was long hours, but I wasn't having to go to high school this time. So it was like more like an adult job for the first time in my life. People remember high school their entire lives, and that's only 4 years. And we spent seven years on "Sabrina," so that's that's something that will always be with me.

Sabrina, a lot of people related to. I didn't, because I was always very like, you know, I wasn't the wallflower. I was the one who was always like tap dancing in the middle of the room. I understand that she spoke to a lot of people and made people kind of come out of their shell and feel better about themselves. And I love that about her.

I don't really have any supernatural beliefs. You know, what's funny about "Sabrina" is like everyone looks at it as witchcraft. And I guess the reboot that they're about to do, that I'm not involved in, is more about witchcraft. Ours was more magic. I learned a little bit about witchcraft just because people kept giving me witchcraft books and stuff as gifts. I can see where witchcraft came from. You know, women in the woods making up concoctions. You know, basically just getting high. Um ... hahaha, "flying on their brooms."

So I was called "Sabrina" for many many years, my whole twenties really. And then I did "Dancing with the Stars." About the same time I started playing Mel from "Melissa and Joey." I went from being called on the street like, "Sabrina! Sabrina! Hey Sabrina!" To all of a sudden being called "Melissa." And people started to know who I was.

Every actor wants to play an iconic role that they'll be remembered for their whole lives. But then when you are, you realize that you've done a whole body of work, but that's all people seem to want to talk about. So it can be frustrating at times, but I've been really lucky, because I have played so many different characters. I don't ever see it as a negative. I think it's wonderful.

My mother is my producing partner. We have our company, Hartbreak Films. When I was little, she would manage my career. We've just done tons of movies together and TV shows like "Melissa & Joey." But then I decided I didn't want to be in a movie. I wanted to direct a movie, and it was "Watcher in the Woods."

It's the first thing I directed that I'm not in, and it just a beautiful movie. And it's scary, and it's fun, and it was my favorite movie when I was a kid. So I'm very excited to be a part of the reimagining and to show it to a new audience. 

So we went to Wales last summer in 2016, and we brought the amazing Anjelica Huston with us. And we got a great young cast out of London. And we had some fun in the rainy, swampy like in the woods of this dairy farm, just making this scary movie. It's gonna be like one of the gems of my career that I'm so proud of.

I actually avoided horror movies for very long time. When I was a little girl I actually auditioned for the original "It." That terrified me.

Yeah, I had no problem with horror movies until the movie "Scream" came out. I did audition for it. Didn't get the part. The only person hired at the time was Drew Barrymore. And when that came out, then I was offered "I Know What You Did Last Summer," and I just thought it was a ripoff of "Scream." And I thought it was going to be a good. So I probably talked my way out of a film career in a little bit of a way.

And then with "Watcher in the Woods" now here I am back in this genre, but because it's a movie I've loved my whole life. And I think it's also one of those, it's not a splatter movie.

So everybody always asks, "What's my favorite role, Clarissa or Sabrina?" And I always say, "It's Mel from 'Melissa and Joey.'" She was such a flawed character. I just loved being that kind of character that was just kind of ... it was very "Lucy" - esque to me. It was like someone who was just kind of, you know, causing the tornado. With Sabrina, I feel like I had to like always fix everything.

I think "Clarissa" would be a good one to reboot, because we didn't really leave it anywhere. Sabrina rode off in a wedding dress with Harvey on a motor scooter, or motorcycle, you know, and their hearts rolled together, and you saw that they were soul mates. This kinda like buttons up the show. "Clarissa," we never had that. We just sort of like did an episode, and it was the end. You know, I feel like there is probably more room to grow on "Clarissa." And people were so fascinated with it. I would think that that character, it would be nice to see what happened to her.

With Sabrina, it's kind of obvious, you know. She has some kids. They're half mortal. Or they're a quarter mortal. Or a quarter witch I guess? Three quarters mortal? I dunno ... anyway.

With reboots, it's a really touchy subject, because if you don't do it right, if you don't have the right writing, and the right even promotion behind it, everything, it can just fall on its face.  And if it does, that can be the end of your career.

I like moving forward, more so than moving backwards.

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Here's what critics are saying about 'Super Mario Odyssey,' the newest hit game for the Nintendo Switch

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By most accounts, Nintendo's next major Super Mario game is already a smash hit. Thus far, the game's got an average score of 97/100 on review aggregation site Metacritic

Super Mario Odyssey

Not too shabby for a game that isn't even out yet!

"Super Mario Odyssey" officially arrives on Friday, October 27, but we've put together what critics have to say about it ahead of launch.

SEE ALSO: I got 'Super Mario Odyssey' early and spent 10 hours playing it — here's what I think so far

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"One of the most joyous and entertaining gaming experiences I’ve had in a long time."

Giant Bomb's Dan Ryckert gave the game 5/5 stars:

"Each kingdom is absolutely packed with charm, clever objectives, gorgeous visuals, a stellar soundtrack, and a huge variety of ways to have fun. One moon would have me leaping across tiny platforms with pinpoint precision, and the next would have me cheering up a businessman by dressing like a clown. At no point did I feel like I was checking boxes just to up my completion percentage. Even now that I've collected every moon and purple coin in the game, I still want to play more of it. It’s one of the most joyous and entertaining gaming experiences I’ve had in a long time, and it stands tall among the all-time great Mario games."



"Cappy could have been just another annoying sidekick, but its inclusion only adds to the playfulness of Nintendo Switch’s first Mario adventure."

The Guardian's Jordan Erica Webber also gave the game 5/5 stars:

"Although it’s still just as fun to run around as Mario, especially as he leans his body to the side and sticks out his arms like an uninhibited infant, Cappy is a welcome new companion; he gives you so much more to play with."



"'Odyssey' is a new entry in a long-running series that belies its age with sprightly invention."

Edge Magazine's reviewer gave the game a 100/100:

"Like 'Breath of the Wild,' 'Odyssey' is a new entry in a long-running series that belies its age with sprightly invention, taking big risks with an established formula, and having all of them pay off handsomely. Mario might be getting on a bit, then, but a dinosaur? This astonishing adventure proves he's anything but."



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Netflix's 'American Vandal' is one of the best new TV shows this fall, and just got renewed for season 2

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American Vandal"American Vandal," like most Netflix shows, came to the streaming service quietly and with little marketing.

But the show, which revolves around drawings of male genitalia, started to generate major buzz a few weeks after it debuted in September. And on Thursday, Netflix announced that it would return for seaon two in 2018. 

The documentary-style series satirizes the serious true crime documentaries like Netflix’s own "Making a Murderer" and HBO’s "The Jinx."

Since the podcast “Serial” in 2014, interest in unsolved crimes and the possibly unjust imprisonment has reached its peak, thanks to the internet — and in particular, sites like Reddit.

“American Vandal” is essentially a mockumentary. AV club geek, high school sophomore, and aspiring filmmaker Peter Maldonado (Tyler Alvarez) is shooting a documentary that aims to get to the bottom of the biggest crime in Hanover High School history: who did the d--ks? Peter is fascinated with the possible innocence of Dylan (Jimmy Tatro), who gets expelled after being found guilty of spray painting penises on 27 cars in the teachers’ parking lot (with little evidence). The crime results in over $100,000 in damages.

The show works because its characters take themselves — and the crime — as seriously as the documentaries it’s mocking do. Within this silly world the writers created, the absurd obsession with true crime in the real world is taken very seriously.

“American Vandal” will make you laugh out loud often, and the immersive mystery will make you think.

Peter spends so much time with Dylan that he finds himself sympathizing with him. And you might find yourself emotionally attached to Dylan, too, despite yourself.

Dylan antagonizes teachers. He has a name for his group of friends (The Way Back Boys). He will probably remind you of certain potheads who went to your high school. In every episode (which are only 30 minutes), Peter finds new evidence, gets an enlightening interview, or makes a discovery about a student or teacher that gets him closer to proving Dylan’s innocence. But some findings convince Peter that Dylan is guilty, and that he’s put all this effort in this documentary for nothing.

American Vandal

Like most poignant comedies, “American Vandal” has something serious to say behind all the bathroom talk. It’s not only addressing the absurd obsession with true crime, it also addresses the absurdity of high school, being a teenager, and social media. At one point, Peter’s documentary goes “viral.” It gets hundreds (!) of views on YouTube, and fans start tweeting and Redditing their disturbing theories. So like New York City being a character on “Sex and the City,” Snapchat and Instagram are characters on “American Vandal,” as they prove to be very important to proving Dylan’s innocence (or guilt).

But more importantly, “American Vandal” — like “Making a Murderer” — addresses the way people are judged before they’re given a chance, and the lack of justice within a system that’s supposed to be just. I won’t tell you if Dylan is guilty, but the fact that he’s expelled for the crime just because one student (the brilliantly named Alex Tremboli) thinks he saw him do it is a smart take on society, high school, and the true crime phenomenon all in one. Everyone is human, especially Dylan. He’s a bit dumb, but he has some feelings and a future.

American Vandal

But the smartest thing about "American Vandal" isn't the case or its underlying comments on the real world. While it’s impressively thorough and true to what a high school in 2017 is like, the most clever thing is how bad the whole thing is.

"American Vandal" is meant to appear like a documentary made by a 15-year-old boy and his friend, both sophomores at this high school. So . . .  it’s not a great documentary. The editing is off, it’s repetitive, and some theories Peter investigates come out of nowhere. But what more would you expect from a 15 year old with no driver’s license, access to AV equipment, and a YouTube account?

Watch the trailer for "American Vandal" below:

SEE ALSO: Alexis Bledel got her brutal, Emmy-winning role on 'The Handmaid's Tale' because of 'Gilmore Girls'

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A 1991 Oliver Stone film helped lead to the release of the JFK files 26 years later

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  • Thousands of documents relating to the assassination of John F. Kennedy are scheduled for release on Thursday.
  • They were originally due to be released in 2029, but Congress was pressured in 1992 to move the date up several years.
  • We can thank the 1991 conspiracy film "JFK" for renewing public interest in the assassination and forcing the government to release the files sooner.  


The long-awaited release of 3,000 previously-classified documents relating to the assassination of John F. Kennedy may not have happened for years were it not for a blockbuster 1991 film.

The documents, collectively known as the "JFK files," are slated to be released on Thursday, as mandated by a federal law in 1992. They were originally supposed to stay sealed until 2029, but under public pressure, Congress moved the release date up to October 26, 2017, 25 years after the enactment of the law.

We can attribute that public pressure largely to Oliver Stone's "JFK," a star-studded 1991 film about the Kennedy assassination and the New Orleans businessman who some believe was involved in the murder. While historians argued the film was far from historically accurate — The Washington Post calls it "barely factual" — "JFK" succeeded in generating intense public speculation over Kennedy's death and injecting new life into moribund conspiracy theories about it.

In the film, Kevin Costner plays New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison, who is depicted as leading an effort to prove that local businessman Clay Shaw conspired with Lee Harvey Oswald and the CIA to kill Kennedy. Garrison targets key witnesses who seem to confirm the government conspiracy, but the jury comes just short of finding Shaw guilty.

In real life, such a trial did take place, but Shaw was acquitted after less than an hour of deliberation. It turns out Stone greatly exaggerated details of the trials, and even invented one of the key witnesses out of whole cloth. Years later, the New Orleans Times-Picayune said the trial "left a lasting stain on the city's justice system."

Stone defended the film upon its release, but admitted its factual shortcomings.

"It is not a true story per se,” he told the New York Times in 1991. "It explores all the possible scenarios of why Kennedy was killed, who killed him and why."

Still, the possibility of a government conspiracy resonated with Americans. In 1992, Congress passed the JFK Records Act, expediting the release of the classified JFK files. It also established the Assassination Records Review Board, which in 1998 acknowledged the influence of Stone's film in the decision to release the files ahead of schedule.

"Stone suggested at the end of JFK that Americans could not trust official public conclusions when those conclusions had been made in secret," a report from the review board said. "The American public lost faith when it could not see the very documents whose contents led to these conclusions."

SEE ALSO: More than 3,000 classified JFK files are about to be released — here's what they are

DON'T MISS: Here are some of the unanswered questions that could be addressed in the JFK files

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