• Ben Mendelsohn plays King Henry VI in "Darkest Hour," one of the rare times he hasn't played a bad guy in a movie.
• Don't worry though, he's got some major bad guy roles coming, like Sheriff of Nottingham in "Robin Hood" and the villain in "Ready Player One."
• But he's quiet about a possible return of his "Rogue One" character Director Krennic in any future "Star Wars" movies. 

After years of being a struggling actor in Australia, Ben Mendelsohn got his breakout in 2010 as the patriarch of a crime family on the run in “Animal Kingdom,” and hasn’t looked back since.

Finding his mark playing complex dark characters in indies like “The Place Beyond the Pines” and “Slow West,” Mendelsohn hit it big when he scored the role of Director Orson Krennic in “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” last year. But in his latest role Mendelsohn proves he can do more than just play the bad guy. As King George VI opposite Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill in “Darkest Hour” (in select theaters now, nationwide December 22), Mendelsohn shows off his softer side as he plays a man tasked with keeping the United Kingdom strong during World War II while trying to match wits with Churchill, though suffering a stammer when he speaks. (He plays the same character who earned Colin Firth a best actor Oscar for “The King’s Speech.”)

Mendelsohn talked to Business Insider about preparing for the challenging task as well as his upcoming anticipated roles, which range from the Sheriff of Nottingham in “Robin Hood” to a gaming nerd in “Ready Player One” — yes, he’s a bad guy in both.

Jason Guerrasio: When you had to wrap your head around that you're going to play King Henry VI, was it exciting or scary?

Ben Mendelsohn: It was both. It was very unexpected. I got why [director] Joe [Wright] thought of me in one respect. If you look at me in profile and look at him it's not a bad match. There are certain, well, I guess, shyness to me and the portrayal of him. But other than that it's a pretty big risk. 

Guerrasio: And when you say risk, you mean the weight of the role?

Mendelsohn: Yeah. It's a risk from Joe's perspective. I think there's plenty of people he could have cast that were more, um —

Guerrasio: English. 

Mendelsohn: Yeah. Exactly. Wouldn't have to worry about the accent stuff. But I'm very thankful that he did ask me to do it. And then it's the company you're in. Gary Oldman playing Winston Churchill, that is a film I would go see. 

Guerrasio: What was the research like? Did you want to go really deep in knowing everything about King Henry?

Mendelsohn: No. I was mostly interested in what I could see and hear. I was less interested in the various interpretations of the man. I knew the rough outlines of his situation. It was really to get a sense of where the stutter was and what feeling you get from him. 

Guerrasio: So basically watching "The King's Speech" would have screwed you up.

Mendelsohn: By the time the Jello had nearly set I went back and watched "The King's Speech." I hadn't planned on it and then I just thought, you know what — um, I'm trying to find a way to say this that you won't have to edit me —

Guerrasio: Screw it!

Mendelsohn: Yeah. Thank you. [Laughs.] And I'm glad I did because it is a beautiful portrayal.

Guerrasio: Was it less looking at how Colin did the voice and more how he moved as the King? His swagger?

Mendelsohn: It was less of that. No. I wasn't looking at Colin's performance as to how he interpreted the guy. I wasn't interested to try to take up or ignore, it was more getting the whole sense of the story. The stuff that affected me more was the business with his dad and brother. That's what I took on board a bit more. 

Guerrasio: It sounded like you got in early with Gary, all the actors were given a good chunk of rehearsal time before shooting started. 

Mendelsohn: They had a long rehearsal period which I was there for a few days of. And thank God we did. Look, it was a task and it helps a lot to get comfortable with the people you're going to be doing it with. Gary and I had met before, we worked on "The Dark Knight Rises."

Guerrasio: That's right!

Mendelsohn: We don't do anything together, but we are in one scene where Commissioner Gordon gets up and makes a little speech in the back of Wayne Manor. So we were together over a couple of night shoots together. 

Guerrasio: While shooting "Darkest Hour," between shooting are you and Gary talking in your character voices? Are you scared you'll lose the stutter?

Mendelsohn: Well, once you know where it is you can pick it up and put it down. You don't need to do all that stuff.

Guerrasio: The connection between you and Gary is you both play bad guys so well. For you, is it hard to find a role like this? Something that just on paper doesn't scream, "evil!"

Mendelsohn: I consider it a real compliment to be offered the bad guy. No complaints on that. But it was a delight to be offered this role in part because he's a good guy. 

Guerrasio: Is it more fun to play the dark roles?

Mendelsohn: No. Well, it depends. I think it's more fun to work than not to work. 

Guerrasio: [Laughs.]

Mendelsohn: There's a certain malevolent delight that baddies get to express. But that's pretty short lived. 

Guerrasio: Coming up you play the Sheriff of Nottingham in the latest “Robin Hood” movie. Will you give him a more playful feel? Like Alan Rickman did in “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves?"

Mendelsohn: Ah, no one is ever going to top Alan Rickman. 

Guerrasio: He was damn good in that role. 

Mendelsohn:No one is ever going to top that, and I'm not trying. But this is an origin story of Hood, it's a very explosive kind of piece. But no, the sheriff is not a good guy at all. But Nolan Sorrento in “Ready Player One” is a fantastic bad guy. He’s a nerd that's got too much power. I guess most bad guys you look at what they do with their flaws. How they've compensated for them in some way and how they try to make everyone else pay for it. That seems to be one of the thematic things about most bad guys. 

Guerrasio: I think that's why people gravitate to those kind of roles, they plug their darkness and insecurities into what they see that character doing. 

Mendelsohn: Yeah. And that kind of misbehaving, as it were, comes vicariously. 

Guerrasio: With “Ready Player One,” was that just another "pinch me" moment in your career?

Mendelsohn: Oh yeah. I remember meeting Spielberg for the first time and I said, "I don't know what your intention is but this is good enough for me, I got to sit in a room with you." He had seen "Bloodline," he was a big "Bloodline" fan.

Guerrasio: Are you bummed there's no more "Bloodline?” Did you feel there was more story to be told?

Mendelsohn: I think from my point of view [my character] Danny Rayburn was always in the early part of that telling. I think that those guys had a lot more in them. But that's the way it is. Few things have been as good to me as "Bloodline." 

Guerrasio: With the news that Rian Johnson is going to expand "Star Wars" and is tasked with making more movies — not to mention all the one-off movies — is it possible Director Krennic comes back?

Mendelsohn: I don't know. I really don't know what's happening with any of that. 

Guerrasio: Was it a one-and-done contract for you, or did you have an option for multiple films?

Mendelsohn: It would be remiss for me to discuss contractual details. 

Guerrasio: Well, I had to try.

Mendelsohn: [Laughs.]

Guerrasio: And I guess this is another one you can't really say, but are the rumors true that you'll be in Captain Marvel?

Mendelsohn: That’s another I wish we could talk about, but I can neither confirm or deny the existence of such a project, if there were such a project. [Laughs.]

Guerrasio: Honestly, these kind of questions, are these fun for you? Because you've had to navigate through them a lot for a year-plus now.

Mendelsohn: Look, honestly, I'm a guy who sat around being out of work for a very long time so this is not a problem. [Laughs.] This is a very, very lucky position to be in.  

SEE ALSO: The 10 biggest box office bombs of 2017

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• New Zealand is seeking further information on sexual misconduct allegations against Matt Lauer to decide if he is still fit to own property in the country.
• The country requires foreigners who purchase land in New Zealand to be "of good character." 
• Lauer purchased a 16,000-acre ranch worth $9.1 million on New Zealand's South Island earlier this year.
• Last month, NBC fired Lauer after a colleague accused the TV anchor of sexual misconduct.

New Zealand is seeking further information on Matt Lauer's sexual misconduct allegations to determine if the former TV host is still fit to own property in New Zealand.

Matt and his wife Annette, through Orange Lakes Ltd, purchased a 16,000-acre cattle and sheep farm near Lake Wanaka on New Zealand's South Island earlier this year. But New Zealand’s Overseas Investment Office, which regulates foreign investment in New Zealand, stipulates foreigners who seek to purchase land in New Zealand must be "of good character." 

A spokesperson for the agency, Lisa Barrett, told Business Insider it is "aware that allegations have been made in relation to Matt Lauer."

"We are discussing this with his representative and are seeking further information," said Barrett. "A condition of the consent granted to Orange Lakes Ltd to purchase the lease for Hunter Valley Station is that the individuals with control of that company must continue to be of good character."

Valley Station has 30 kilometers of lakefront access, a five-bedroom homestead, stables, 10 huts and four airstrips. According to the New Zealand Herald, the property is worth $9.1 million. 

Last month, NBC fired Lauer after a colleague accused the TV anchor of sexual misconduct. Lauer had been a TV personality on the network for over two decades before his fall from grace.

Lauer released a public statement on the allegations, saying: "Some of what is being said about me is untrue or mischaracterized, but there is enough truth in these stories to make me feel embarrassed and ashamed." 

According to the Overseas Investment Office, when determining an investor's good character, the office takes into account any ongoing allegations or investigations into any criminal offenses.

Barrett said the Overseas Investment Office can "seek orders, through the Courts, that require people to dispose of property," if they are deemed to lack good character.

The New Zealand government has been cracking down on foreign investors buying property in the country in order to tackle the nation's housing crisis. In October, New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinta Ardern introduced legislation to ban foreign buyers from purchasing existing homes.

According to the Guardian, the country has become a hotspot for wealthy Americans, who see the country as a safe investment away from the politically unstable climate of the rest of the world.

SEE ALSO: Megyn Kelly on Matt Lauer: 'I had heard rumors about Matt'

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• The lead singer of Queens of the Stone Age appeared to kick a photographer at a concert on Saturday.
• Photographer Chelsea Lauren said Josh Homme "looked at me, smiled and then kicked me."
• Homme said he was "in a state of being lost in performance" and didn't mean to kick her.

Queens of the Stone Age lead singer Josh Homme appeared to kick a concert photographer during his show, which sent her to hospital.

Josh Homme, who founded the rock group, appeared to kick Chelsea Lauren in the head as she held up her camera to film him in Los Angeles on Saturday night.

Watch the moment the incident happened in the video below, which Lauren uploaded to Instagram:

Lauren wrote in her caption: "Thanks to @joshhomme @queensofthestoneage I now get to spend my night in the ER. Seriously, WHO DOES THAT?!?"

She said in an ensuing post that the 44-year-old singer "looked at me, smiled and then kicked me. [...]

"Assault in any form is not okay, no matter what the reasoning. Alcohol and drugs are no excuse. I was where I was allowed to be, I was not breaking any rules. I was simply trying to do my job," she said. "I hold nobody accountable for this but Josh himself."

She added that she had a sore neck and a bruised eyebrow, but that she has since been discharged from hospital.

After the show, Homme apologised to Lauren via Twitter, explaining he was "in a state of being lost in performance" and that he didn't mean to kick her.

He added in a second apology: "I don't have any excuse or reason to justify what I did. I was a total d**k. I want to be a good man but last night I definitely failed."

This is not the first time Homme has been in trouble for his behaviour during one of his shows. In 2008, he threw a bottle at a fan after accusing him of throwing an item toward the stage.

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NOW WATCH: This South Korean boy band is taking over the music world

Nominations for the 75th Golden Globe Awards were announced Monday morning at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles.

Kristen Bell, Sharon Stone, Alfre Woodard, and Garrett Hedlund announced the nominations in a live stream.

Guillermo del Toro's unique love story "The Shape of Water" led everyone with seven nominations. Steven Spielberg's "The Post" and "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" each nabbed six. On the TV side, HBO's hit "Big Little Lies" picked up six nominations.

The Golden Globes ceremony is set to air on January 7 at 8 p.m. EST on NBC, with Seth Meyers hosting.

Here are the nominees:

Best motion picture, drama

"Call Me by Your Name"
"Dunkirk"
"The Post"
"The Shape of Water"
"Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri"

Best motion picture, comedy or musical

“The Disaster Artist"
"Get Out"
"The Greatest Showman"
"I, Tonya"
"Lady Bird"

Best director

Guillermo del Toro, "The Shape of Water"
Martin McDonagh, "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri"
Christopher Nolan, "Dunkirk"
Ridley Scott, "All The Money in the World"
Steven Spielberg, "The Post"

Best TV series, drama

"The Crown"
"Game of Thrones"
"The Handmaid's Tale"
"Stranger Things"
"This is Us"

Best TV series, comedy

"Black-ish"
"The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"
"Master of None"
"SMILF"
"Will & Grace"

Best actor in a motion picture, drama

Timothée Chalamet, “Call Me by Your Name”
Daniel Day-Lewis, “Phantom Thread”
Tom Hanks, “The Post”
Gary Oldman, “Darkest Hour”
Denzel Washington, “Roman J. Israel, Esq.”

Best actor in a motion picture, comedy or musical

Steve Carell, “Battle of the Sexes”
Ansel Elgort, “Baby Driver”
James Franco, “The Disaster Artist”
Hugh Jackman, “The Greatest Showman”
Daniel Kaluuya, “Get Out”

Best actress in a motion picture, drama

Jessica Chastain, “Molly’s Game”
Sally Hawkins, “The Shape of Water”
Frances McDormand, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Meryl Streep, “The Post”
Michelle Williams, “All the Money in the World”

Best actress in a motion picture, comedy or musical

Judi Dench, “Victoria & Abdul”
Margot Robbie, “I, Tonya”
Saoirse Ronan, “Lady Bird”
Emma Stone, “Battle of the Sexes”
Helen Mirren, “The Leisure Seeker”

Best actor in a TV series, drama

Sterling K. Brown, “This is Us”
Freddie Highmore, “The Good Doctor”
Bob Odenkirk, “Better Call Saul”
Liev Schreiber, “Ray Donovan”
Jason Bateman, “Ozark”

Best actor in a TV series, comedy

Anthony Anderson, “Black-ish”
Aziz Ansari, “Master of None”
Kevin Bacon, “I Love Dick”
William H. Macy, “Shameless”
Eric McCormack, “Will and Grace”

Best actress in a TV series, drama

Caitriona Balfe, “Outlander”
Claire Foy, “The Crown”
Maggie Gyllenhaal, “The Deuce”
Katherine Langford, “13 Reasons Why”
Elisabeth Moss, “The Handmaid’s Tale”

Best actress in a TV series, comedy

Pamela Adlon, “Better Things”
Alison Brie, “Glow”
Issa Rae, “Insecure”
Rachel Brosnahan, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
Frankie Shaw, “SMILF”

Best supporting actor in a motion picture

Willem Dafoe, “The Florida Project”
Armie Hammer, “Call Me by Your Name”
Richard Jenkins, “The Shape of Water”
Christopher Plummer, “All the Money in the World”
Sam Rockwell, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

Best supporting actress in a motion picture

Mary J. Blige, “Mudbound”
Hong Chau, “Downsizing”
Allison Janney, “I, Tonya”
Laurie Metcalf, “Lady Bird”
Octavia Spencer, “The Shape of Water”

Best TV movie or mini-series

“Big Little Lies”
“Fargo”
“Feud: Bette and Joan”
“The Sinner”
“Top of the Lake: China Girl”

Best actor in a TV miniseries or movie

Robert De Niro, “The Wizard of Lies”
Jude Law, “The Young Pope”
Kyle MacLachlan, “Twin Peaks”
Ewan McGregor, “Fargo”
Geoffrey Rush, “Genius”

Best actress in a TV miniseries or movie

Jessica Biel, “The Sinner”
Nicole Kidman, “Big Little Lies”
Jessica Lange, “Feud: Bette and Joan”
Susan Sarandon, “Feud: Bette and Joan”
Reese Witherspoon, “Big Little Lies”

Best supporting actor in TV miniseries or TV movie

Alfred Molina, “Feud”
Alexander Skarsgard, “Big Little Lies”
David Thewlis, “Fargo”
David Harbour, “Stranger Things”
Christian Slater, “Mr. Robot”

Best supporting actress in TV miniseries or movie

Laura Dern, “Big Little Lies”
Ann Dowd, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Chrissy Metz, “This is Us”
Michelle Pfeiffer, “The Wizard of Lies”
Shailene Woodley, “Big Little Lies”

Best animated film

“The Boss Baby”
“The Breadwinner”
“Ferdinand”
“Coco”
“Loving Vincent”

Best original score

“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
“The Shape of Water”
“Phantom Thread”
“The Post”
“Dunkirk”

Best screenplay, motion picture

“The Shape of Water”
“Lady Bird”
“The Post”
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
“Molly’s Game”

Best foreign language film

“A Fantastic Woman”
“First They Killed My Father”
“In the Fade”
“Loveless”
“The Square”

Best original song

“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
“The Shape of Water”
“Phantom Thread”
“The Post”
“Dunkirk”

SEE ALSO: The 10 biggest box office bombs of 2017

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• The food and dining website Eater says Mario Batali is "stepping away" from his restaurant empire after multiple women accused the celebrity chef of inappropriate behavior.
• Eater published a bombshell report on Monday, with women recounting instances of groping, inappropriate comments, and sexual harassment while working for the chef.
• Batali did not deny the allegations.

The celebrity chef Mario Batali has stepped back from running his restaurant empire after multiple allegations of groping and sexual misconduct.

Vox Media's food and dining website, Eater, reported on Monday that four women had shared stories of Batali touching them inappropriately. Batali's pattern of inappropriate behavior spanned over two decades, according to Eater.

One woman in the restaurant industry told Eater that when she met Batali about 10 years ago, someone bumped her glass, causing her to spill wine on her shirt. Batali, she said, "began rubbing her breasts with his bare hands while saying something like, 'Let me help you with that,' as he groped her chest."

Sources told Eater that Batali had a history of inappropriate comments about women's bodies and aggressive sexual behavior in and out of the kitchen they described as an open secret in parts of the restaurant world.

In the 2006 book "Heat," Bill Buford wrote that Batali once told a female server at one of his restaurants: "It's not fair I have this view all to myself when you bend over. For dessert, would you take off your blouse for the others?"

Tom Colicchio, another celebrity chef with restaurants in New York City, tweeted Monday morning that "no one should be surprised" by the bombshell report.

Batali rose to prominence as a chef in New York City in the 1990s. Known for his Italian-inspired cooking and orange Crocs, he became a familiar face outside the New York restaurant scene thanks to his Food Network show "Molto Mario" as well as appearances on "Iron Chef" and, most recently, as a cohost on ABC's "The Chew."

The chef did not deny the allegations and told Eater he was "stepping away" from the day-to-day operations of his businesses, though he did not say for how long. As the cofounder of the Batali & Bastianich Hospitality Group, that means taking a step back from more than two dozen restaurants, including Babbo, Del Posto, and Eataly. ABC told Eater that Batali had been asked to step away from "The Chew" as it reviewed allegations against the chef.

"We built these restaurants so that our guests could have fun and indulge, but I took that too far in my own behavior," Batali told Eater. "I won't make that mistake again. I want any place I am associated with to feel comfortable and safe for the people who work or dine there."

SEE ALSO: Undercover footage shows chickens being kicked and impaled at a farm that reportedly supplies Tyson Foods

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• "The Shape of Water" by Guillermo del Toro led all Golden Globe nominees with seven.
• That could foreshadow a major Oscars run.
• We saw it at the Toronto International Film Festival and found it to be a moving monster love story.

The latest film by visionary director Guillermo del Toro, "The Shape of Water," is officially a frontrunner in the race to the Academy Awards. Leading all nominees at this year's Golden Globes with seven, this unique love story is one that shouldn't be missed.

Here's what we thought about the movie when we saw it at the Toronto International Film Festival:

There are some directors who have a special talent for building worlds all their own, without any source material, and Guillermo del Toro is one of the best doing it right now.

His latest movie, "The Shape of Water," followed up its grand prize win at the Venice Film Festival this past weekend by dazzling everyone here at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Written by del Toro and Vanessa Taylor, the movie is set during the Space Race at a time when America isn't ready to put a man in a shuttle yet. In the film, there's a creature the government has captured in the Amazon that it thinks can be used as a test dummy on a launch. But that plan is quickly knocked down, as the military believes it makes more sense to kill and examine the creature to know more about its capabilities.

There's one problem: The creature has befriended a mute janitor named Eliza (Sally Hawkins), who is determined to see that doesn't happen. 

That's the real story of "The Shape of Water," the relationship between the creature and Eliza. She lives atop a run-down movie theater and spends her days going to work at an military base, where she cleans alongside chatty Zelda (Octavia Spencer), and at home hanging out with her gay neighbor, Giles (Richard Jenkins). Only able to communicate through signing, Eliza instantly has a connection with the creature as she sees them both as prisoners: literally for the creature and figuratively for Eliza, as she cannot find someone to love her.

After Eliza comes up with a daring escape from the lab with the creature, pulling a fast one on the head of security, Strickland (Michael Shannon), Eliza keeps the creature in the bath tub of her apartment until the rainy season comes when she'll bring him out into the ocean. In that time, a relationship between Eliza and the creature sparks.

Throughout all this, we're surrounded in a world del Toro has created that has the feel of an old Hollywood movie, from the set design to the wacky dream sequence when Eliza and the creature suddenly have a brief dance number. "The Shape of Water" combines a creature feature and a melodrama to tell a beautiful story that will thrill as much as get you emotional. 

As with every del Toro movie, there's a nice touch of gore in it, too. The major squirm moments come from the Strickland character, who early in the movie has two fingers sliced off by the creature. And let's just say the reattachment of the digits to the hand doesn't work out.

The creature is played by the always great Doug Jones, who del Toro fans will remember played Abe Sapien in his "Hellboy" movies, while Hawkins gives a wonderful performance as Eliza. And let's not forget two of the best Michaels working today: Shannon and Michael Stuhlbarg (as the good-natured scientist).

Expect a lot of talk about this movie as we get deeper into awards season.

"The Shape of Water" is currently playing in limited release:

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• Former Gawker employees have launched a Kickstarter to buy Gawker.com.
• Gawker.com ceased publication in 2016 and was not included in the sale to Univision.
• Gawker founder Nick Denton is not involved. 

A group of former Gawker employees launched a Kickstarter on Monday to buy back the domain name and archives of the pioneering blog, which ceased publishing in 2016.

The non-profit project is looking to not only keep the site's archive of blog posts alive, but also aims to re-launch the site. 

"We're a group of former Gawker Media employees across editorial, tech, and business, and we want to put in our own bid to buy it back," according to the Kickstarter page. 

The reason that the archives and domain name are for sale is because they were not included in the sale of the other Gawker Media properties to Univision in 2016. Gawker Media was forced to sell sites such as Gizmodo after it was forced into bankruptcy after Hulk Hogan was awarded $140 million in damages stemming from a Gawker news article. Billionaire investor Peter Thiel secretly financed Hogan's lawsuit. 

The Gawker Foundation

The Kickstarter campaign, which is backed by a group calling itself "The Gawker Foundation,"  is looking for $500,000. 

It's being led by James Del, a former advertising executive at Gawker, and also involves Elizabeth Spiers, Gawker's first editor, among what they say is a dozen "Gawker Media alumni." Spiers will advise and will join the Gawker Foundation's board of directors. 

"I'm the only name involved because everyone else has a day job working for another company. I run my own company, so there's no risk that I'm going to fire myself for being involved," Spiers told Business Insider in an email. 

One person who's not involved is Gawker founder and former publisher Nick Denton. "First I had heard of it," Denton told Business Insider in an email on Monday. 

Re-launching Gawker

The foundation has a two-part objective. First, to keep Gawker's archives online, which consists of a "couple hundred thousand articles," according to Spiers. 

The second objective is to relaunch Gawker under the "stewardship of former editors, new writers, and an entirely membership-funded model." If it's not under the Gawker.com domain name, they will choose a new name, but the site will still be modeled off of Gawker. 

"By setting ourselves up as an ownerless, advertiser-less, non-profit media organization, the editorial team will be able to do what they do best," said the group's Kickstarter page.

But the Gawker Foundation's goals may be limited by what the Gawker Media estate decides to do with the site's archive and domain name. 

"My biggest concern personally is that all of Gawker gets erased, and you're talking 14 years of work and a couple hundred thousand articles," Spiers said.

"The estate may decide to separate the archives from the domains, etc., but right now, they're packaged together," she continued. If they lose the bid, the winner could choose to take the archives down, but Spiers hopes that whoever else bids has an interest in preservation.  

That's part of the reason why they're trying to raise $500,000 or even more — to make a bid on the Gawker archives, in addition to funding the new site. "I think the bids are going to be all over the place on this one," Spiers said. 

The Kickstarter is currently accepting donations. Possible rewards includes membership to the new Gakwer, a launch party invite, an even special "commenter star" status for people who pledge $10,000 or more. 

Max Tani contributed to this report. 

SEE ALSO: Controversial billionaire Peter Thiel might be looking to buy Gawker.com — the news site he helped Hulk Hogan take down

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YouTube plans to launch a new music streaming subscription service, internally dubbed "Remix," in March 2018, Bloomberg reports.

The service, YouTube's latest foray in the music streaming space, will include on-demand streaming capabilities, similar to Spotify's, and offer video clips.

Warner Music Group, one of the world’s three largest record labels, has already signed a deal with YouTube for Remix. And YouTube is in talks with the other two major record labels — Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group — as well as with independent labels, about procuring their music libraries for the service. Additionally, YouTube could structure royalties based on the licensing agreements other streaming services, like Spotify and Apple Music, have with the record labels.

A new music streaming service makes sense for YouTube for several reasons:

• It has a sizable user base to draw from. The site last reported having over 1.5 billion logged-in users on its platform in June 2017. This built-in user base can help Remix quickly catch up to music streaming leaders Spotify and Apple Music.
• YouTube’s music catalog is unique. YouTube has a ton of content — such as mainstream songs, cover songs, remixes, and old obscure songs — that other platforms like Spotify and Apple Music don’t. And, more than 400 hours of content are uploaded to YouTube every minute — this significantly helps the platform grow its catalog in a way other platforms can’t.
• Music is one of the most popular types of content on YouTube. Music videos account for 30% of all time spent on YouTube and represent 94% of the 250 most-viewed videos on the platform, per the VAB. This indicates that there's a big base of devoted music listeners who YouTube could potentially convert into paying subscribers.
• YouTube will be able to strengthen its relationships with record labels. Some record labels believe YouTube doesn't pay enough in fees for the music videos it hosts on its platform, according to The Guardian. A successful music streaming platform would generate additional royalties for record labels, appeasing those that feel monetization from YouTube streams is too low.

Nonetheless, the company’s planned music streaming service will have obstacles to overcome:

• Google could struggle to differentiate Remix from its existing music streaming services. The company already runs Google Play Music, an audio-only streaming service available on Android, iOS, and desktop. It also operates YouTube Music, a stand-alone app that features audio and music videos and can be accessed without ads through a YouTube Red subscription.
• Google is going up against established players with large subscriber bases. Google’s ad-free music streaming service, Google Play Music, hasn’t seen the same success as Spotify and Apple Music, for example. YouTube Red and Google Play Music have about 7 million subscribers combined, while Spotify and Apple Music have 60 million and 30 million, respectively.
• Users may opt to view music videos on YouTube for free instead. Given Google's limited success at launching music streaming services, the competition it faces elsewhere, and the popularity of its free YouTube tier, the company might have a hard time convincing consumers to pay for its streaming service.

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• The Golden Globe nominations were announced Monday morning.
• The competition was tough this year, particularly in the film categories, which means there were a lot of snubs.
• After a breakthrough year for female directors, none were nominated in the best director category. 

Unfortunately some of the year's most notable movies, shows, performances, and directors were snubbed by the Golden Globes this year.

Nominations for the 75th Golden Globe Awards were announced Monday morning at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles.

And while not everyone can get a nomination, there were still quite a few disappointing snubs this year.

NBC's innovative comedy "The Good Place" is going places no other network comedy has before, but isn't recognized at all. "Logan," one of the best and most critically acclaimed films of the year, didn't manage to get any nominations despite powerful performances and an excellent screenplay. "Get Out" got several nominations including best motion picture (in the comedy category), but Jordan Peele didn't get nominated for the award the movie deserves most: best screenplay. The romantic comedy "The Big Sick" was a fresh take on the genre and was expected to get several nominations, but didn't get any. 

And zero women were nominated in the best director category, despite some of the year's best movies being directed by women including Greta Gerwig ("Lady Bird"), Patty Jenkins ("Wonder Woman"), and Dee Rees ("Mudbound").

The Golden Globes ceremony will air January 7 at 8 p.m. EST on NBC, with Seth Meyers hosting.

Here are all the snubs for the 2018 Golden Globes:

SEE ALSO: Here are all the nominees for the 2018 Golden Globes

Best motion picture, drama

"Mudbound"

"The Florida Project"

• One anonymous Netflix user watched the DreamWorks film "Bee Movie" almost once a day for a year.
• Yes, really.

We all fall victim to a day on the sofa in front of Netflix every now and again.

But one unidentified Netflix subscriber caused a buzz when they took a movie binge to the next level.

In Netflix's 2017 "Year in Review," the online streaming platform revealed that one UK user watched the 2007 DreamWorks classic "Bee Movie" 357 times this year. That works out at almost once a day, or 23.5 days of non-stop streaming.

"Bee Movie" follows the trials and tribulations of Barry the Bee (Jerry Seinfeld), who finds the prospect of working in a hive all his life uninspiring. Barry's world is turned upside down when he meets a New York florist and decides to sue the human race for eating the bees' honey.

Netflix found the average UK member only watched around 60 films on the website in 2017.

The American entertainment company honey-combed through mountains of data from November 1, 2016, to November 1, 2017, to work out the most streamed, binged, and loved shows of the year.

But this streamer's bee obsession wasn't the only unbelievable fact in Netflix's report.

The review also found that subscribers around the world collectively watched more than 140 million hours of Netflix a day in 2017 — amounting to over a billion hours a week.

SEE ALSO: The 27 best scary movies on Netflix

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If you're one of the millions of people with an iPhone, chances are you're playing "HQ Trivia," the outrageously popular iPhone game that pairs a live host with a daily trivia show where players can win real money.

But if you're an Android user like me, you're looking on with jealousy from the sidelines. I've got a Google Pixel, and that means I can't play "HQ Trivia" until it arrives on Android on December 25. What's an Android user to do with the weeks between now and then?

The answer is "The Q," a very similar live-trivia game show that's available right now on Android.

After playing a few games of "The Q" last week, I'm here to tell you what it is and what it isn't. 

SEE ALSO: The biggest iPhone game of 2017, HQ Trivia, is coming to Android for Christmas

"The Q" is not "HQ Trivia."

Despite the naming convention, there is no connection between "HQ Trivia" and "The Q." They are otherwise very similar games.

When I first opened the app, it asked that I sign in with my existing Facebook login. I obliged, and it pushed me to the next screen. There, I was able to select my own username so that my Facebook name didn't show up.

Unfortunately, this name was a bit too long.

Since "The Q" has fewer players than "HQ Trivia," I was able to easily secure "bengilbert." 

This past weekend, for instance, "HQ Trivia" hit an all-time high of around 470,000 concurrent players in a single game. "The Q" never topped 1,000 concurrent players in any of the games I played.

The prize payouts are significantly lower than "HQ Trivia," but it's logical given the smaller userbase.

The biggest prize available in a single game of "HQ Trivia," thus far, has been $10,000. That prize was split between 102 players, with each winner actually winning about $98. 

In "The Q," prizes are in the $1,000 range — and often are lower. With only 500 or 600 people tuning in to a game, the prizes are logical. In so many words, there's a much lower chance of lots of people completing the usual round of questions because the overall group of players is far smaller.

That's good news for you: You've got a much better chance of winning the entire payout, statistically speaking.

• Netflix is keeping a close eye on how many times its customers have watched its original movie "A Christmas Prince."
• According to Netflix, 53 people have watched the movie every day for the past 18 days.
• Netflix trolled those people on Twitter by asking, "Who hurt you?"
• The quip showcased how much data Netflix has, and some found it creepy.

Netflix knows how many times its users have watched its original movie "A Christmas Prince," and it's making fun of people on Twitter for it.

The movie, Netflix's rather triumphant attempt to emulate the dumb magic of Hallmark and Lifetime Christmas movies, is getting a lot of attention for its achievement in the "silly" category.

The plot — basically, a journalist falls in love with a prince she is supposed to be writing about — is predictable, cliché, and impossible, even in a world where an actual American woman is marrying a royal. And the portrayal of journalism in "A Christmas Prince" is outrageous. (We went into detail about that here.)

SEE ALSO:A 6-year-old boy is making $11 million a year on YouTube reviewing toys

But even though it's silly, "A Christmas Prince" has become something of a cult hit for Netflix, and it has already created some superfans.

On Sunday night, Netflix, usually very secretive about its streaming traffic, joked that it knew how many times people had watched "A Christmas Prince" and was concerned.

Netflix said 53 people had watched "A Christmas Prince" every day for the past 18 days — and, poking fun at its own original movie, it asked, "Who hurt you?"

The quip got a lot of traction on Twitter. But it also sparked a wave of remarks on how creepy it was when you consider how much data Netflix has on our collective binge-watching habits.

"A Christmas Prince" isn't the only movie Netflix is tracking and sharing about — it also said one user in the UK had watched the 2007 film "Bee Movie" 357 times this year.

Netflix did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment and confirmation that these numbers are accurate.

SEE ALSO: Netflix's holiday movie 'A Christmas Prince' is good dumb fun — but its portrayal of journalism is outrageous

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The year is nearly over, and you might finally have enough time to actually play some of the biggest games of 2017. Finally!

That, of course, begs the question: What to play? There were dozens of great games this year, and it's hard to know where to start.

We've got your answers right here — these are the 10 best games of 2017, in order.

SEE ALSO: 16 reasons why now is the perfect time to buy an Xbox One

DON'T MISS: Forget 'Call of Duty' — the hottest game of 2017 is an insane 100-player battle royale

10. "South Park: The Fractured But Whole"

If you're a "South Park" superfan, you probably already own "The Fractured But Whole." If not, and you're not sure, know that this is a game for you. Even if you hate role-playing games, you can turn the combat difficulty way down and just enjoy a very long South Park experience.

If you're anything like me, a casual "South Park" fan at best who just wants to play a good game, "The Fractured But Whole" is also for you. It might not be one you have to rush out and grab today, but it's one to keep in mind as the holiday season rages on.

Read our full review of "South Park: The Fractured But Whole" right here.

9. "Cuphead"

Video games never look as good as "Cuphead." It's a ridiculously gorgeous game, and that's because it's all hand-drawn. Seriously! Just gawking at "Cuphead" is enough to impress. Playing it, however, is even better.

If you're familiar with "bullet hell" games, you'll be right at home with "Cuphead." The gist is this: A bunch of different things are happening on screen at any one time, and you have to decide where to prioritize your actions. Perhaps it's most important that you keep jumping from cloud to cloud, lest you fall to your death. Or perhaps it's most important that you shoot that enemy in its stupid face.

The only constant in "Cuphead" play is change — you're constantly deciding what to prioritize, and that can change from second to second. It's a tremendously challenging, tremendously satisfying game with more style than most games. 

Read our full review of "Cuphead" right here.

8. "HQ Trivia"

On its face, "HQ Trivia" is a simple, multiple-choice trivia game. You watch a host as he/she rattles off question after question — if you get the answer right, you get to keep playing. Miss one, and you're out. 

What's amazing about "HQ Trivia" is how that simple concept is implemented.

At two times every day, the game goes live through the app. This isn't a pre-recorded segment, though — "HQ Trivia" is live every day. That means you and a couple hundred thousand of your closest friends are all competing live, together. And that's led to some amazing stuff in real life, like groups of friends playing live together. 

In 2016, "Pokémon Go" got people together in huge groups to hunt down pocket monsters. In 2017, "HQ Trivia" is that cultural phenomenon — using the modern smartphone in a way that no one else has before: to create an incredible game! 

• Google and Amazon are fighting, resulting in the removal of the YouTube app from Amazon streaming devices starting January 1, 2018. 
• Consumers lose in this major corporation fight. 
• The best way to avoid becoming a victim of this corporate fight is to buy or switch into the Roku non-partisan ecosystem. 
• Roku has Amazon's and Google's streaming services, including YouTube.

If you haven't heard, Google and Amazon are fighting. 

Long story short, Google will remove the extremely popular YouTube app from all of Amazon's Fire TV streaming devices, as well as the Echo Show smart-home device.

The YouTube "ban" on Amazon devices will go into effect starting January 1, 2018. 

Google's move is a retaliation against Amazon's refusal to carry Google's products like the Chromecast or Google Home in its online store. Amazon doesn't make its Prime Video streaming service available on Google streaming devices, either. Meanwhile, Google streaming devices don't have an Amazon Prime Video app, but Google offers you ways to cast Prime Video content onto a Google streaming device. Amazon, on the other hand, doesn't allow for casting.

Amazon seems to have pushed Google too far when Amazon recently dropped Google's Nest smart thermostats from the Amazon store. 

At the end of the day, it's us, the consumers, who lose in this fight of the tech behemoths. Those of us who have bought into the Amazon ecosystem lose out on YouTube. And those of us who bought into the Google ecosystem lose out on Amazon's streaming services.

Considering the popularity of YouTube against Amazon's Prime Video service, it's arguably Amazon Fire TV and Echo Show customers who are losing out the most here. If not Amazon, you can also buy Google's Nest or Home products from Google's website.

All that said, the best thing to do to stay out of this corporate tiff is to buy into the Roku ecosystem. 

Roku is a non-partisan ecosystem, which means it doesn't have any particular allegiance or preference to either Google or Amazon. I have the Roku home screen up right now on my TV using a new Roku Streaming Stick+, and I have access to both Amazon Prime Video and YouTube, as well as Google Play Movies & TV. And I can cast my YouTube video onto the YouTube app with the Roku Streaming Stick+, too. Once Google removes the YouTube app from Amazon streaming devices, I'll still be able to use the YouTube app on my Roku stick. 

And for playing music through speakers attached to my TV, Roku has the Spotify app, the Amazon Music app, and a wide variety of other music streaming apps, like Pandora, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, Sirius XM, and Slacker. Oddly, the Google Play Music app is missing in the Roku app selection. 

For those looking to buy a new streaming device, I'd absolutely recommend Roku's streaming devices. And if you've already bought Google or Amazon streaming devices, it's not the worst thing in the world to switch. If you own 1080p HD TVs, Roku's Express stick only costs $30. Those with 4K TVs will have a less tempting option with Roku's $70 4K HDR Streaming Stick+, which is a relatively hefty cost when you already own Google or Amazon streaming devices, and it's all in the name of the YouTube app, YouTube casting, or the Amazon Prime Video app. 

Still, by switching over to Roku, you can avoid being the victim in current or future scuffles between Google and Amazon.

SEE ALSO: The best Apple MacBook laptops for every budget

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• Writer-director Greta Gerwig crafts an authentic high school movie with "Lady Bird."
• The movie isn't just becoming a box-office hit, but is the best-reviewed movie of all time on Rotten Tomatoes.
• A big reason for that is the performance by Saoirse Ronan, who delivers a role that is one of the best ever in the coming-of-age genre.

Greta Gerwig has gone from one of indie film’s most sought-after actresses to now being one of its rising directors.

Her first solo directing effort, “Lady Bird,” has become the end-of-year FOMO movie thanks to its award season hopes (it received four Golden Globe nominations on Monday), and status as the best-reviewed movie ever on Rotten Tomatoes (at the time of writing it had an astounding 195 "fresh" reviews).

What has wowed audiences about “Lady Bird” (currently playing in theaters) is its authentic feel focused on coming-of-age and family. These are two things that almost any audience member can relate to.

Gerwig, who in the early 2000s became the face of the mumblecore genre with her captivating acting talent, also got her own ideas to the screen through writing (a highlight was Noah Baumbach’s 2012 film “Frances Ha”), and codirecting “Nights and Weekends” in 2008 with Joe Swanberg.

“Lady Bird” is a culmination of the work she’s absorbed in front of and behind the camera throughout her career.

A semi-autobiographical look at her youth growing up in Sacramento, California, the movie revolves around the senior year of Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson (beautifully acted by Saoirse Ronan). Literally living on the wrong side of the tracks, Lady Bird is seeking more than what her current circumstances offer. She wants to live in a better part of town, she wants to lose her virginity to a hot guy, and she wants to go to a college on the East Coast. The latter is the hardest because of her family’s financial situation. Already struggling to pay the bills, things get worse when her dad (Tracy Letts) gets laid off. This puts even more pressure on her mom (Laurie Metcalf) to do it all.

Lady Bird is basically Andie in “Pretty in Pink,” but she’s got a lot more guts and doesn’t give a damn what people think about her.

The center of Gerwig’s story is the relationship between Lady Bird and her mother, which is constantly hot and cold. Conversations with them can jump from happiness to cutthroat hatred in the blink of an eye (or vice versa). It's watching this emotional relationship that leads to the movie's powerful ending.

And along with drama, Gerwig also gives us a lot of comedy.

The movie’s 94-minute running time flies by because Gerwig’s pacing is at lightspeed. With jump cuts and brief scenes, Gerwig plows through the story, and with a lot of the fat trimmed, when a meaty scene comes up, it pays off because there is importance to it. These scenes can come in the form of a mother-daughter (or father) chat; Lady Bird navigating her relationship with best friend, Julie (Beanie Feldstein); or exploring love or lack thereof with a boyfriend (Lucas Heges followed by Timothée Chalamet).

And set in 2002-2003, Gerwig pulls off the nostalgia perfectly by including some great needle drops, including Alanis Morissette’s “Hand in My Pocket,” Bone Thugs N Harmony’s “Crossroads,” Justin Timberlake’s “Cry My A River,” and Dave Matthews Band's “Crash Into Me.”

Though Gerwig’s talents as a writer-director shine, it’s the casting of Ronan in the lead that makes “Lady Bird” such a memorable work. The layers she gives the character will make the performance go down as one of the best high school characters ever.

The movie is one of the best teen movies I’ve seen in a long time, you should really find time to see it.

SEE ALSO: MEET THE YOUTUBE MILLIONAIRES: These are the 10 highest-paid YouTube stars of 2017

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Netflix has shared a list of the TV shows that viewers binge-watched the most on its platform in 2017.

Led by the true-crime satire "American Vandal," Netflix listed the ten series that were most popular for binge-watching (defined as watching more than two hours per day).  

The streaming service looked at the average daily viewing hours per user between November 2016 and November 2017. The resulting list of shows includes several sci-fi series and a few unexpected titles. 

Here are the top 10 most binge-watched shows on Netflix in 2017:

SEE ALSO: The biggest Golden Globes snubs of the year — from 'Logan' to 'The Big Sick'

10. "The Confession Tapes"

Netflix description: "This true crime documentary series investigates cases where people convicted of murder claim their confessions were coerced, involuntary or false."

9. "The OA"

Netflix description: "Seven years after vanishing from her home, a young woman returns with mysterious new abilities and recruits five strangers for a secret mission."

8. "The Keepers"

Netflix description: "This docuseries examines the decades-old murder of Sister Catherine Cesnik and its suspected link to a priest accused of abuse."

• Jimmy Kimmel made a tearful plea to lawmakers to secure funding for CHIP.
• The Children's Health Insurance Program covers 9 million children who would struggle to pay for healthcare without it.
• Kimmel held his son Billy, who has a heart condition that has required several surgeries.
• CHIP's funding expired while politicians were finalising details of an impending tax bill.

Jimmy Kimmel took his seven-month-son on air to make a tearful plea to congress to save the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which covers 9 million children in the US.

Kimmel appeared alongside Billy after a week-long break from his show, "Live." Billy was born with tetralogy of fallot with pulmonary atresia, a rare defect which required open heart surgery just hours after his birth.

Billy has undergone a series of surgeries in his short life, but Kimmel said he now has just one more to go.

CHIP, first introduced during the Clinton administration, recently had its funding lapse as Congress focuses on passing tax reform. An analysis by the Urban Institute found that 1.2 million children, many of them in low-income families, could lose their healthcare.

Speaking with his son in his arms, Kimmel immediately began to tear up while compelling Congress to act to fund CHIP, and his viewers to demand action from their representatives.

"CHIP has become a bargaining chip. It's on the back burner while they work out their new tax plans, which means parents of children with cancer, diabetes and heart problems are about to get letters saying their coverage could be cut off next month," Kimmel said. "Merry Christmas, right?" 

"Imagine getting that letter, literally not knowing how you will afford to save your child's life. This is not a hypothetical. About 2 million CHIP kids have serious chronic conditions," Kimmel said.

Kimmel pointed out that CHIP usually gets bipartisan support in the Senate and House but said "this year they let the money for it expire while they work on getting tax cuts for their millionaire and billionaire donors."

Watch the full clip below:

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NOW WATCH: These realistic animations will mess with your mind

• Nintendo's latest game console, the Switch, is a major success.
• Since launching in March, over 10 million units have already sold according to Nintendo.
• A steady cadence of major game releases and a simple concept helped make the Switch such a success.

Nintendo is back on top. After a major misstep with its Wii U console, Nintendo is making up for past mistakes with a massively popular game console: the Switch.

Since launching on March 3, more than 10 million Switch consoles have been sold.

For comparison: It took nearly two and a half years for the Wii U to reach the 10-million mark.

It's a major return to form for Nintendo, a company that has traditionally held a leadership position in the game industry. The new sales number puts the Switch in line with the PlayStation 4 in terms of pace — it took around nine months for Sony's PlayStation 4 to reach 10 million units sold. 

"The response from fans has been great, and we’re doing our very best to satisfy demand during the holiday shopping season," Nintendo of America president and COO Reggie Fils-Aimé said in a press release announcing the sales milestone.

Nintendo has struggled to keep up with demand for the Switch. Up until fairly recently, it was difficult to walk into a store and find one available for purchase.

Demand has been so high, in fact, that Nintendo had to revise its sales projections for first-year sales of the Switch. The company initially expected to sell about 10 million units in year one — now, Nintendo expects to sell over 14 million by March 2018. That would put Switch year-one sales over that of the Wii U's lifetime sales (the Wii U only moved around 13 million units).

What's made the Switch so popular?

There are a few simple reasons that the Switch has been such a smash hit, whereas the Wii U was a flop.

For starters, the Switch is a simple concept that's well executed. It's a home game console! It's a portable game console! It's both!

If you want to play it at home, you simply drop the console into the dock that's already connected to your TV. Like magic, it's immediately on your TV and ready to play.

If you want to play it on the go, you simply pick up the console out of the dock. If the controllers aren't attached, you slot them on. That's it! It's ready to go wherever you're going.

The Wii U, on the other hand, was a mess. It was a tablet, sort of, but it couldn't leave your house. It was slow and muddy to use. It felt underpowered, and old, and cheap — the "build quality" of the device was more toy-like than most personal electronics.

The Switch feels fresh, and modern, and sleek. It loads super fast, is a snap to navigate, and more or less intuitively "just works." It's a breath of fresh air from Nintendo's hardware division, and it's easy to see why so many people have taken to it.

The other major reason for Nintendo's massive success with the Switch is a killer game line-up.

Starting with "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" as a launch game, moving to "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe" and "Splatoon 2," then finishing up 2017 with "Super Mario Odyssey," it's easy to see why Nintendo's Switch sold so well: Some of this year's best games were exclusive to the Switch.

The only place you could play any of the games above — with the exception of "Breath of the Wild," which could also be played on Wii U — is on a Switch. Whereas PlayStation 4 owners don't have much incentive to pick up an Xbox One as well (or vice versa), there are strong arguments for buying a Switch in addition to a PlayStation 4 (or an Xbox One, or a PC).

In so many words, it's easy for a video game fan to make a purchasing argument for the Switch given its strong line-up of exclusive games — and the majority of the 10 million people buying a Switch early on were likely the kind of folks who already own another game console.

Whether Nintendo can continue this sales run remains to be seen. But with another strong line-up of games from major franchises in the pipeline for 2018, it looks like Nintendo's future could be even brighter.

SEE ALSO: The Nintendo Switch is having an incredible run so far, and the future looks even brighter

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• Disney and Fox are all set to announce the sale of Fox's entertainment assets to Disney later this week, CNBC's David Faber reports.
• The news sent shares of both the companies higher.
• Watch the price of Fox move in real time on Markets Insider.

Reports that 21st Century Fox is expected to announce the sale of its entertainment business to Disney on Thursday have sent shares of both companies higher. Disney shares are trading up 0.18% at $107.02 on Tuesday while those of 21st Century Fox are higher by 0.53% at $33.84.

Fox is expected to split itself in two, selling its estimated $60 billion of entertainment and TV assets to Disney while holding on to its cable news business, CNBC's David Faber reports. The news business that remains is expected to be worth about $10 per share, and shareholders would receive one share of the remaining company as well as shares in Disney based on a fixed ratio, CNBC reports.

Shares of 21st Century Fox have surged about 34% over the past month as several interested buyers have circled the company. Comcast and Disney were seen as the leading bidders, but Comcast dropped its bid on Monday, leaving Disney in the pole position.

The size of the final bid is still unknown, but RBC analyst Steven Cahall previously said he expects a deal that values 21st Century Fox's assets at about $37 per share.

Read more about RBC's valuation of Fox here.

SEE ALSO: RBC: 21st Century Fox will keep going up as Disney acquisition talks simmer

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• In an interview on "The View," comedian and creator of "One Mississippi," Tig Notaro, said it was a "huge relief" when Louis C.K. was removed from her series.
• C.K. was the executive producer of "One Mississippi."
• C.K. was accused of sexual misconduct by five women in November, and responded that the stories were "true."

Tig Notaro, comedian and creator of the Amazon series "One Mississippi," said that it was a "huge relief" when comedian Louis C.K. was removed from her series, on "The View" Monday.

C.K. was listed as the executive producer on "One Mississippi," and released Notaro's comedy album in 2012.

Notaro said that shortly after she and C.K. sold the series to Amazon she heard stories of his alleged sexual misconduct, and began making an effort to distance herself from him.

 “I found this out right after we sold the show, that this was happening,” Notaro said. “I started publicly trying to distance myself from him for almost two years now. Even though I knew firsthand from people, it wasn’t my place to call out names. It’s somebody else’s story. It’s for them to directly speak about, but I knew, for myself, I wanted to make sure.”

Notaro also said that she “had gotten firsthand confirmation” that the rumors about C.K. were true.

On "The View," Notaro was also asked if one of the main storylines on "One Mississippi's" second season, which involves a male executive masturbating in front of his female employee, was about C.K.

Notaro told the hosts of "The View" that she and her all-female writing staff wanted to "recreate" harassment and their various experiences with it. She added that they had written the second season in January 2017, prior to the sexual misconduct allegations against C.K. coming out.

“Every story on ‘One Mississippi’ is based in truth, and it’s not necessarily my truth, but it’s somebody’s truth. Something somebody experienced, or knew of the experience happening,” Notaro said.

The New York Times published a bombshell story that detailed five allegations of sexual misconduct against C.K. in November. C.K. released a statement responding to the allegations, which said the "stories are true."

Before publication, Notaro told the Times that she had felt "trapped" by her association with C.K.

Notaro told the Times that she feared C.K. released her comedy album in 2012 to "cover his tracks" and make him "look like a good guy, supporting a woman."

You can watch Notaro's interview on "The View" here:

SEE ALSO: Comedian Tig Notaro said she felt 'trapped' by her association with Louis C.K. after learning of sexual misconduct allegations

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