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People are furious that the actress who plays Queen Elizabeth on Netflix's 'The Crown' was paid less than her male co-star

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The Crown Netflix

  • Producers on Netflix's "The Crown" said that Matt Smith, who played Prince Philip, made more money than Claire Foy, who played Queen Elizabeth II.
  • People are not happy about this wage gap, considering Foy is clearly the lead. 

The actor who played Prince Philip on "The Crown" made more money than the actress who played the show's main character, Queen Elizabeth II — and people are furious.

Many, both inside Hollywood and outside, have pointed out that Queen Elizabeth II is the main character: She wears the titular crown, and her performance is one of the show's highlights.

The discrepancy in pay came up during a Tuesday panel discussion about the Netflix drama at the INTV conference in Jerusalem. "The Crown" producers said Matt Smith was paid more than Claire Foy because he had become famous as the doctor on "Doctor Who."

"Going forward, no one gets paid more than the queen," producer Suzanne Mackie said. 

Discussions about salaries for female stars are getting more common as women in Hollywood fight for equal pay to their male co-stars. Michelle Williams was reportedly paid less than $1,000 for re-shoots on "All the Money in the World," while her co-star Mark Wahlberg was paid over a million. After a media uproar, Wahlberg donated his salary for the reshoots to Time's Up.

In 2015, it was revealed that Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Adams were paid significantly less than their male co-stars for "American Hustle," and Bradley Cooper said he would be open about his salary in the negotiation process.

But if "The Crown" is any indication, Hollywood still has work to do in gender pay disparity. And people aren't buying the excuses getting thrown around.

Here are some of the best reactions people had to the pay gap on "The Crown": 

SEE ALSO: The 13 movies that made $1 billion at the box office the fastest, including Marvel's 'Black Panther'

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NOW WATCH: You can connect all 9 Best Picture Oscar nominees with actors they have in common — here's how


Netflix is reportedly planning to make a weekly TV news show to rival CBS' '60 Minutes'

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reed hastings

  • Netflix is reportedly planning to make a weekly TV news magazine show like CBS' "60 Minutes" and ABC's "20/20," according to MarketWatch.
  • A TV-executive source told the outlet that the Netflix is "proceeding with caution" to enter the TV news business with a "sharp, balanced" weekly show.
  • The potential TV news show would be the first of its kind for the streaming service. 

Netflix is reportedly planning to make a weekly TV news magazine show to rival CBS' "60 Minutes" and ABC's "20/20," according to MarketWatch.

A TV executive who worked with Netflix on a recent documentary series told MarketWatch that the streaming service is "proceeding with caution" to enter the TV news business with a "sharp, balanced" weekly show.

"Netflix have spotted a hole in the market for a current affairs TV show encompassing both sides of the political divide and are seeking to fill it," the source told the outlet, speaking on the condition of anonymity. 

"Netflix are proceeding with caution over this because they're well aware that most new current affairs shows underwhelm and are expensive," the source continued. "They want to make their show economically viable without compromising the production costs and newsgathering operation."

Though Netflix has released a number of talk shows from comedians like David Letterman, Chelsea Handler, and Joel McHale (to varying degrees of success), the potential TV news show would be the first of its kind for the streaming service. 

Netflix has said it will spend over $8 billion on original content in 2018, and a TV news program is the latest reported project that signals a more political-oriented bent to its original content.

The New York Times reported last week that former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama are also in talks to produce content for Netflix, which will focus on "the power of storytelling to inspire."

SEE ALSO: 19 Netflix original shows that both critics and audiences agree are amazing

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NOW WATCH: Why 555 is always used for phone numbers on TV and in movies

These 15 photos show how Stephen Hawking defied his disability and lived an incredible life

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Obama Stephen Hawking Presidential Medal of Freedom

Stephen Hawking, the most famous scientist in living memory, was supposed to die in his early twenties at the hands of motor neurone disease, before having the chance to achieve any great distinction, .

Instead, he was awarded a PhD from Cambridge and a series of awards and professorships. He met presidents, popes, appeared on "The Simpsons" four times, and travelled to the edges of space.

He died on March 14, 2018, at the age of 76. These photographs give a taste of the incredible life he lived. 

Hawking was diagnosed with motor neurone disease when he was in his 20s, studying physics at Cambridge. Despite predictions that he would die within a few years, he completed his PhD, and kept going for another five decades. Here's a page of his PhD, which was published online last year.



Hawking also gave lectures and presentations that expanded the minds of millions of people. Here he is at the University of Geneva in 2009, explaining the big bang.



Hawking stayed involved in the cutting edge of physics throughout his life. Here he is with CERN's Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland.

 



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Disney's most futuristic attraction yet is an insane 'Star Wars' experience that takes virtual reality to the next level — here's what it's like to try in person

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Star Wars Secrets of the Empire disney the void

Three years ago, I flew to Lindon, Utah to visit a new company called The Void, which was building attractions for an ambitious virtual reality (VR) theme park.

Here's the idea of The Void: Instead of buying an expensive VR system for your home, you visit a physical location — maybe it's a standalone building, or in a shopping center — and pay a little bit of money to have a totally unique and completely immersive VR experience, with a level of polish that's impossible to replicate in a living room.

The actual experience of The Void consists of walking in a maze-like room with black walls, very similar to a laser tag arena. But when you don The Void's VR headset (with a backpack to power the device), you might think you're walking through Mayan ruins in South America, or an alien laboratory in outer space, or standing atop the Empire State Building. Every experience can look and feel completely different, even though it's using the exact same physical space. The Void uses clever engineering tricks to accomplish this feat, including subtle effects like temperature, wind, humidity, and rain to make you truly believe you're somewhere else.

When I tried The Void back in 2015, it absolutely blew me away. And the company has only gotten better at its craft since then. Over the past three years, The Void has successfully expanded out of Utah: You can now try the company's Ghostbusters VR experience at Madame Tussaud's in New York City, and now, the company has teamed up with ILMxLabs and Lucasfilm to produce a unique Star Wars VR experience for Disney's theme park locations.

That experience — called "Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire" — debuted in early January. I was unfortunately unable to attend the grand opening, but since my older brother Michael lives in the area, The Void was kind enough to let him visit, try the experience himself, and take some pictures.

I'll let Michael take it from here, in his own words and photos (thanks Mike!):

SEE ALSO: Inside The Void: An exclusive look at the future of virtual reality

On the morning of January 5, 2018, I jumped in my car to make the 40-minute drive to Downtown Disney in Anaheim, California. Since the ribbon cutting was at 8 a.m., all press was asked to get there by 7 a.m., which meant I was getting my butt out the door by 6 a.m.



As you can see, the sun hadn’t even risen yet. But I was greeted by a “starry” California night.



Once I arrived at Downtown Disney, press was corralled just outside the security gate. I’ve never been to the Disneyland Resort this early before, and it was surreal to see how empty it was.



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How to watch March Madness online and on TV

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march madness

March Madness is here. 

The tournament is 67 basketball games played over a 21-day period, culminating with the national championship on April 2. The games will be happening at all times of the day, meaning you might need to watch the games on your tablet, phone, or computer at work. 

Thankfully, there are plenty of ways to watch the games — both online and on TV. 

Here's your guide for streaming the NCAA Tournament online:

You can stream all games on the NCAA's website.

The NCAA website will stream all 67 basketball games. You can find the NCAA's live stream here

Like last year, there will be a boss button on the website that you can click to hide the live stream in case your boss happens to walk by you and your device. 



Games will also be streamed on the NCAA March Madness Live app.

The NCAA March Madness Live app is free for Apple and Android.



21 of games will be aired on CBS.

These include both quarterfinal games on March 25. 



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These surround-sound gaming headphones made by a high-end audio company are perfect for games like 'PUBG'

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Audeze Mobius Copper Blue Combo

  • High-end audio company Audeze is hosting an Indiegogo campaign for its first pair of gaming-centric headphones, called the Mobius headphones.
  • I tried these headphones while playing the game "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" and was amazed by their sound quality and how well I could pinpoint exactly where sounds came from. 

I've tried a bunch of headphones that promise "surround sound" for video games, and some of them do a decent job.

For first-person-shooter games like "Battlefield 1" and "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" (otherwise known as "PUBG"), surround-sound headphones help me locate nearby enemies and where shots are coming from. It all helps toward my efforts of becoming number one. 

But more importantly to me, personally, surround sound enhances the experience of certain games, especially those cinematic-style, visual masterpiece games like "Battlefield 1."

It's only fair that these beautiful games are accompanied with the best audio experience I can afford. And great sound make a bigger difference than the best graphics, in my opinion. 

Battlefield 1

So when high-end audio company Audeze (pronounced like the word "odyssey") asked me to try out their latest pair of gaming-centric headphones – the Mobius – I jumped at the chance. I'm always willing to try new products that could potentially enhance the cinematic experience of playing the games I love, and gaming headphones from a company that specializes in audiophile-quality headphones sounded mighty tempting. 

I tried the Audeze Mobius headphones with "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds," and for the early stages of the game where there were no enemies around me, they sounded like a really good pair of normal headphones.

PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds

But the Mobius quickly proved their worth once enemies started intruding into my comfort zone. 

I found myself inside a building when I heard the unmistakable hum of a car getting closer and closer behind me. I turned back and I pointed at the source of the sound that was coming from outside the house. Then I tracked the sound as it moved.

The real test for the Mobius was whether I was tracking that sound accurately. I followed the sound of the car through the building walls when it crossed a window and I could finally see the car. It was proof that I was hearing exactly where the car was located from the moment I first heard it. 

The sets of gaming headphones I've been using at home, which include the Logitech G433 and Turtle Beach Elite Pro, can somewhat help me figure out the general direction of a sound, but the Mobius let me pinpoint sound with extreme accuracy. The sound came from exactly here in the game, not somewhere over there. It was almost like being able to see through the building's walls in the game of "PUBG" I played with the Mobius. 

audeze mobius

In the end, I ended up dying outside the game's blue "safe zone" circle that slowly shrinks as the match progresses. It had been some time since I played "PUBG" and I timed my movements poorly. But that had nothing to do with the Mobius headphones.

The Mobius headphones also work with consoles and mobile devices, and they come with a detachable microphone for in-game chat or phone calls. They also work wirelessly with Bluetooth, and Audeze claims they have a 10-hour battery life.  

Audeze is hosting an Indiegogo campaign for the Mobius gaming headphones starting Wednesday. You can pre-order the Mobius headphones for $250 including shipping, which is 37% off the full retail price of $400. Audeze expects to ship out pre-orders in June 2018. 

I'll be trying out the Mobius headphones a little further with different games once I get a review unit, but I can report that my short experience with "PUBG" was overwhelmingly positive. 

SEE ALSO: Bose's $350 noise-cancelling headphones are a must-have if you want to live in a quieter world – and they sound great, too

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NOW WATCH: Why Apple's headphones have those extra holes in them

How to get incredibly ripped like Alicia Vikander did to play Lara Croft in 'Tomb Raider'

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tomb raider 2 Warner Bros

With "Tomb Raider" opening in theaters on Friday, Warner Bros. is rebooting the famed video game character that Angelina Jolie first brought to the screen in the early 2000s. 

This time the studio is stepping back to present the origin story of Lara Croft, a young woman from a privileged family trying to figure out what to do with her life and eventually finding her calling as a thrill-seeking archaeologist.

Oscar winner Alicia Vikander takes on the role and, like Jolie, didn't go cheap on the physical preparation. 

The 5' 5", 117-pound actress began working out with celebrity trainer Magnus Lygdback three months before shooting began and added 12 pounds of muscle to sustain the action-packed shoot (Lara Croft goes through a lot in this movie).

We dove into Lygdback's Instagram and found a series of "Tomb Raider" training videos he posted. 

Here are some of the workouts he put Vikander through to get her ripped for the role: 

SEE ALSO: The unique reason the director of box-office hit "Jumanji" says he doesn't want to direct a "Star Wars" movie

Back workouts

Standing Row - 20 reps / 4 sets

Kettlebell Swings - 20 reps / 4 sets

Straight Arm Lifts - 20 reps / 4 sets

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Legs

Goblet Squats - 20 reps / 4 sets

Lunges - 20 reps / 4 sets

Skate Jumps - 20 reps / 4 sets

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Abs

Magnus’ No-Name Ab exercise (Push-up position, rotate out and kick, raise arm) - 1 minute

Windshield Wiper - 30 seconds to 1 minute

Switch Blade - 30 seconds to 1 minute

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Miley Cyrus is facing a $300 million copyright infringement lawsuit over her hit song 'We Can't Stop'

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Miley cyrus

  • Pop singer Miley Cyrus is facing a $300 million copyright infringement lawsuit over her hit 2013 single, "We Can't Stop."
  • The Jamaican songwriter Michael May, whose stage name is Flourgon, claims that Cyrus' "We Can't Stop" closely resembles his 1988 single "We Run Things."
  • May said in the suit that Cyrus' song took "about 50 percent" from his song, including musical elements and the phrase, "We run things / Things no run we."
  • Cyrus' "We Can't Stop" hit No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart after its release in June 2013. 
  • May's "We Run Things" reached No. 1 in his home country, Jamaica, in 1988. 

Pop singer Miley Cyrus is facing a $300 million copyright infringement lawsuit from the Jamaican songwriter Michael May, who claims that Cyrus' 2013 hit single "We Can't Stop" closely resembles a song he wrote in 1988, Reuters reports

May, whose stage name is Flourgon, said in the suit that Cyrus' song took "about 50 percent" from his song "We Run Things" — including musical elements and the phrase,"We run things / Things no run we," which Cyrus sings in a chorus as, "We run things / Things don’t run we."

Cyrus' "We Can't Stop" hit No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart after its release in June 2013. May's "We Run Things" reached No. 1 in his home country, Jamaica, in 1988. 

In the suit, filed at the U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Tuesday, May's lawyers said that Cyrus' song "owes the basis of its chart-topping popularity to and its highly-lucrative success to plaintiff May’s protected, unique, creative and original content."

In addition to seeking $300 million in the case, May is also seeking a halt to subsequent sales and performances of Cyrus' song. 

Listen to Cyrus' "We Can't Stop" and May's "We Run Things" below:

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

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Why 555 is always used for phone numbers on TV and in movies


'Jeopardy' winners are smart in a way that no one expects — here's how 5 of the richest champions spend their winnings

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Ken jennings Trebek Jeopardy

  • "Jeopardy" has been a popular game show for over 30 years.
  • "Jeopardy" champions are smart in a way that no one expects when it comes to money.
  • The poster boy of "Jeopardy," Kenn Jennings, said much of his nearly $4 million in winnings have been "invested in stocks, bonds, and real estate."

 

What is a way to become famous and earn loads of money by answering questions?

"This is 'Jeopardy!'"

Every night, three contestants compete on "Jeopardy" by buzzing in at trivia questions in the hopes of starting a winning streak and taking home cash.

"Jeopardy" has been a TV staple since 1984, racking up 34 Emmy Awards and a Peabody and even turning some contestants into celebrities. While host Alex Trebek is no doubt the star, occasionally a contestant will end up more than a one-time phenom.

From Ken Jennings to Brad Rutter — who both went up against IBM supercomputer Watson back in 2011 — repeat champions have not only won games and millions of dollars, but the attention and adoration of viewers.

Sometimes, a winning contestant will mention what they plan on doing with their money — spending for a wedding, a new car, or a house are all common answers. But many of the show's biggest winners have more in common than their intelligence: they invested the bulk of their winnings.

We found out what five of the most popular and successful candidates in "Jeopardy" history did post-show. Find out what each has spent their winnings on.

SEE ALSO: A 'Jeopardy!' fan favorite explains how he's won over $300,000 in an 8-day streak without really knowing the answers

DON'T MISS: The man who broke records by winning 74 games and $2.5 million on 'Jeopardy' memorized the most obscure facts using the 'links in a chain' technique

Ken Jennings — perhaps the most famous of all "Jeopardy" contestants — won 74 consecutive games back in 2004. In his initial run, Jennings earned $2.52 million.



He won even more money on other "Jeopardy" appearances, and trips to other game shows including "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?" and "Grand Slam." In total, Jennings has won $3,923,414 from game shows.

Source: Celebrity Net Worth



Jennings says the greatest luxury his earnings allowed him was to spend more time with his wife and two children. He was also able to move from Utah to Seattle and buy a house.

Source: Jeopardy!



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Amazon and Twitch are giving free games to Prime members every month (AMZN)

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twitch free games

  • Gamers will now be able to get a handful of free games every month through Amazon's Twitch Prime service.
  • Each month, new games will be made free to download and to keep forever.
  • The first games to be made free through the program come from Twitch's "Indie Amplifier" program.


Amazon has a new perk for Prime members: five free video games a month, for keeps.

The program is offered through Twitch, an Amazon subsidiary for livestreaming video games. 

Starting Thursday, Twitch Prime, included with Amazon's $13 a month Prime membership, will make a handful of PC video games free each month for members to download and keep forever. That supplements existing membership perks such as in-game loot, exclusive content and ad-free viewing.

The first two games that will be available for free are Superhot and Oxenfree, both graduates of the indie game amplifier program that Twitch launched earlier this year. All eight indie titles from the program will be available for free through Twitch Prime in the upcoming months, along with a handful of new releases, according to an official Twitch blog post with a complete lineup of all the upcoming free games. 

Here is Twitch's announcement:

Amazon and Twitch's "Free Games with Prime" program is entering the monthly subscription market where it will compete with Sony’s PlayStation Plus platform and Microsoft’s Games with Gold program, all of which are experimenting with Netflix-like subscription models, aimed at gamers. 

SEE ALSO: Amazon's streaming service Twitch is pulling in as many viewers as CNN and MSNBC

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NOW WATCH: What it's actually like to hear voices in your head

One of the last TV shows starring Stephen Hawking is now streaming for free — here's how to watch it

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  • Stephen Hawking died at age 76 on Wednesday.
  • The world-renowned physicist worked on an Emmy Award-winning TV show called "Stephen Hawking's Favorite Places" before he passed away.
  • In the show, Hawking flies around in a spaceship called the "S.S. Hawking" and explores his favorite cosmic mysteries.
  • CuriosityStream released the final episode several weeks early and is streaming the three-part series for free for a limited time.


Stephen Hawking, who died today at age 76, was known for his work on the science of time travel and black holes.

The British physicist penned several bestselling books and even worked on an Emmy Award-winning documentary trilogy, called "Stephen Hawking's Favorite Places."

In the show, which is one of the last Hawking ever worked on, he flies around in a spaceship called the "S.S. Hawking" and explores deep scientific mysteries.

The show was created by CuriosityStream, and its description reads: "Mixing recollections from his childhood and family life that inspired his work as a scientist, he goes in search of the ultimate mystery: the theory of everything. Along the way, time travel and a precarious free fall to Venus, plus questions about aliens, God, and truth, offer unprecedented insight into this genius mind."

stephen hawking favorite places tv show streaming curiositystream 02CuriosityStream planned to release the third and final episode, which in part dives into Hawking's fears about artificial intelligence, in mid-April.

But a representative for the company told Business Insider that, following the death of Hawking, its creators decided to release the last episode today.

Through March 23, Anyone can also watch the series for free for a limited time. It's normally packaged in a streaming subscription that costs between $2.99 and $11.99 per month.

You can find all of the "Stephen Hawking's Favorite Places" episodes at curiositystream.com/hawking.

Remembering Stephen Hawking:

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NOW WATCH: Stephen Hawking warned us about contacting aliens, but this astronomer says it's 'too late'

The 21 most inspirational photos from the 2018 Winter Paralympics

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Paralympic Games photos

Athletes are back in Pyeongchang, South Korea as the 2018 Winter Paralympics are well underway.

The Winter Paralympics began on March 9 with a record 650 athletes competing for 80 gold medals in alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, sledge hockey, snowboarding, and wheelchair curling.

To accomodate competitors who sit, stand, or are are visually-impaired, there are three classifications within alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, and biathlon.

We've rounded up the most mesmerising photos taken at the games, which come to a close on March 18, so far.

Keep scrolling to check out our top 21.

SEE ALSO: Churros, pranks, and hallway bobsleds: Here's what Winter Olympic athletes get up to when they're not competing

DON'T MISS: The world's first ski tournament for robots was held near the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics — and the pictures are incredible

UP NEXT: North Korea's Winter Olympics cheer squad are being forced into sexual slavery, according to a defector

Like the 2018 Winter Olympics, the Paralympics in Pyeongchang had an opening ceremony where no expense was spared.



The opening ceremony was held on March 9. There were fireworks, choreographed dance routines, and light sculptures.



There was also a 'Parade of Nations' where athletes from all participating nations entered the 35,000 capacity Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium and waved at the crowds.



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24 movies that made outrageous amounts of money but were totally despised by critics

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Transformers dark side of the moon

Some of the highest-earning movies of all time at the box office are also the most hated by critics.

While "Black Panther" has earned its spot among the biggest moneymakers of all time in just a short month (the film hit $1 billion globally and has a 97% on reviews aggregator Rotten Tomatoes), other films don't have the critical acclaim to match their box office receipts.

To find which movies made boatloads of money but were despised by critics, Business Insider looked at the top 100 highest-grossing movies worldwide of all time, based on unadjusted information from boxofficemojo.com, and compared that with their Rotten Tomatoes scores. We ranked the movies that received "rotten scores," below 60%, from highest to lowest score (the one tie was broken using the RT audience score).

Every movie that made the list is either a franchise sequel or based on pre-existing material. If studios are losing faith in the domestic box office, it might be because American audiences are losing faith in franchises such as "Transformers" and "Pirates of the Caribbean," which are still performing well in foreign markets.

Below are 24 of the top-grossing movies of all time that critics despised: 

SEE ALSO: The 13 movies that made $1 billion at the box office the fastest, including Marvel's 'Black Panther'

24. "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" (2014)

Critic Score: 59%

Original domestic gross: $255,119,788

Adjusted gross: $268,326,452

Original worldwide gross: $956,019,788

Adjusted worldwide gross: $1,005,509,610

"It's adequately visionary, it's routinely spectacular, it breathes fire and yet somehow feels room-temperature." — Kyle Smith, New York Post



23. "Shrek Forever After" (2010)

Critic Score: 58%

Original domestic gross: $238,736,787

Adjusted gross: $272,605,712

Original worldwide gross: $752,600,867

Adjusted worldwide gross: $859,370,264

"By the middle of the second act, Forever After finally finds its groove, becoming mildly amusing (the actors -- Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas -- are in fine form) but never rising to the inspired heights of the original." — Ernest Hardy, L.A. Weekly



22. "Transformers" (2007)

Critic Score: 57%

Original domestic gross: $319,246,193

Adjusted gross: $383,373,502

Original worldwide gross: $709,709,780

Adjusted worldwide gross: $852,269,910

"Transformers delivers on its promise of stunning visuals and well-crafted action sequences, but it's not remotely worth the slog it takes to get there. Once the novelty of the robots wears off it's hopelessly insipid." — Joshua Starnes, ComingSoon.net



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Former PlayStation CEO Jack Tretton is a legend in the video game business — and now he’s starting a new company with a radical business model to shake up the industry

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Jack Tretton

  • Game industry veteran and former PlayStation CEO Jack Tretton is starting a new company focused on video games.
  • The company is named Interactive Gaming Ventures; the goal is to partner with indie game developers by providing capital and management assistance.
  • Unlike the traditional game publisher model, Interactive Gaming Ventures acts like a publisher partner.


If you've played any PlayStation console across the past 30 years, you're familiar with Jack Tretton's work. 

The long-time Sony employee starting working in the PlayStation division before Sony was fully convinced it would ever become a player in the video-game industry. He ended his career at the Japanese electronics giant in 2014 as the president and CEO of Sony's PlayStation group, having ushered in the outrageously successful PlayStation 4 the year prior.

He's kind of a big deal— which is why it's so fascinating that he's starting a new video game company, named Interactive Gaming Ventures, that's focused on ushering smaller games to market.

"We formed Independent Gaming Ventures with money backed inside the industry, with industry understanding," Tretton told me in a phone interview this week. "We're targeting two to three projects a year where we can work very closely with successful indie developers that've had some degree of commercial success in the past, but are looking for some management advice, some financial contribution to help grow their business a little bit sooner than they could on their own."

Jack Tretton (E3 2013)

On paper, it sounds like Tretton's starting a new game publisher along the lines of EA and Activision — but there are some key differences from the traditional game publisher model. For one, Interactive Gaming Ventures won't own the rights to the game after publishing. 

"Our interest is really in the game itself," Tretton said. "We invest specifically in the game itself — the developer owns the IP [intellectual property], the developer controls the actual process of developing."

That's meaningful! Traditionally, a game publisher like EA or Activision agrees to publish an independent studio's game in exchange for rights to that game. The game studio is paid for that project, and when it's finished, the publisher owns the IP. In the case of Interactive Gaming Ventures, the game's developer owns the IP and retains control of the project's development.

"We'll provide financial support with milestones," Tretton said, "But when the game ultimately goes to market, we'll take a percentage of the income in return for our investment. And hopefully we'll share in the success together. It's really more of a royalty-based investment."

Ark: Survival Evolved

Tretton's not alone in this new business — he's working with Studio Wildcard CEO Doug Kennedy, a man who's most well-known recently for the insane survival game "Ark: Survival Evolved."  

That game's tale of success — from an unfinished "Early Access" release to a major console game — serves as a model for the type of game that Interactive Gaming Ventures intends to release.

"We're looking to make investments in two to three projects a year, probably between $1 and $5 million per project, with studios that've had some degree of commercial success," Tretton said. More specifically, Tretton's looking for games that "publish on PC first in early access, and then ultimately roll out to consoles." 

As it turns out, some of the biggest games in the past 10 years followed exactly that path: Both "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" and "Minecraft" started out on PC only, eventually making their way to consoles in more polished forms.

Playerunknown's Battlegrounds

With Interactive Gaming Ventures just getting off the ground, there are no projects to speak about just yet — but Tretton's timed his company's announcement to the annual Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, which kicks off next week. 

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: These bionic arms make kids feel like superheroes

We talked to Walton Goggins about how he came up with the 'grounded' villain role in 'Tomb Raider' and his Oscar — yes, he has an Oscar

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  • Veteran TV actor Walton Goggins gets some time on the big screen this weekend as he plays the villain in "Tomb Raider."
  • He talked to Business Insider about coming up with the right tone for the character.
  • He also teased his next big TV role, playing Jack Vincennes in the series adaptation of James Ellroy's "L.A. Confidential."
  • And we chatted about his Oscar win in 2002.


Walton Goggins is one of those actors you can’t help but root for.

From his breakout performance in the 2000s FX hit “The Shield,” to his Emmy-nominated work on “Justified,” to his recent string of impressive performances in Quentin Tarantino movies (“Django Unchained” and “The Hateful Eight”), he’s done it all over his 28-year career. But only recently has he gotten cast in the high-profile projects he deserves (upcoming ones include “Ant-Man and The Wasp” and a TV series on the popular James Ellroy book “L.A. Confidential”).

Goggins also plays the villain in “Tomb Raider” (in theaters Friday) opposite Alicia Vikander in the title role. In a movie that tries very hard to show its hero Lara Croft is not a superhero but instead an ordinary person doing extraordinary things, Goggins used that real-world template to craft Mathias Vogel. Vogel is the leader of the expedition to locate a hidden tomb on a mysterious island who, after seven years of searching, has gone a little mad and is obsessed with finding the tomb so he can return to his family.

Business Insider talked to Goggins about crafting this grounded character, preparing to take on the role of Jack Vincennes in the “L.A. Confidential” TV version, and the night he won an Oscar.

Jason Guerrasio: First off, Mathias Vogel — he's a relatable villain. 

Walton Goggins: You know what, I'll take that. Okay.
 
Guerrasio: Because if I was on an island for seven years just blowing up rocks I would probably lose it too.

Goggins: I think so. If you really take a walk in his shoes — that he's a father and the day he left his family he kissed them all on the cheek and said he would be back in a year — you understand him. Desperate people do desperate things and that was my only way into him.

Tomb Raider Warner Bros finalGuerrasio: I feel you could have done this role two ways: Play him really crazy and do a scenery-chewing performance or do what you did — make him more grounded. 

Goggins: You know I had a lengthy discussion with Roar Uthaug, our director, on a Skype call and I said, "If you want me to be a part of this story I think this is how I can help you tell it." It was in a grounded way. And I thought Alicia was going to do the same thing and Roar wanted to tell a similar story so we were all on the same page. To take it out of the realm of superpowers because Lara Croft doesn't have them. With everything I've been fortunate enough to do that's always been a part of my experience, be truthful to who these characters are. Even how grandiose Lee Russell was in “Vice Principals,” he's still a person in the world with deep pain. That's what interested me.

Guerrasio: Was the “Tomb Raider” role also attractive because it's basically a one-off in the franchise? You don't have to be stuck with a character for years. You can get in and out. 

Goggins: Huh, no one has asked me that. If I was offered a character in a franchise in a meaningful way I would have done that, for sure. But I don't think about those things. For this, this is a complete journey for this character and that's really satisfying. 

Guerrasio: Is your character also a one-off in "Ant-Man and The Wasp?"

Goggins: I don't know man, you got to see the movie. [Laughs] We'll see what happens. 

the shield FXGuerrasio: Have you ever auditioned for a major Marvel or DC character that would have locked you into a franchise? Have you gone down that road yet?

Goggins: No. Not beyond what I've participated so far. I look at it like this, honestly, I've been in television for 15 years and however long it takes to tell the story that's how long it takes. For "The Shield,” I don't think [creator] Shawn Ryan had any idea that it would go seven years. But the story goes until the time when it doesn't need to anymore. And that's how we all felt about "Justified" too. So whether it's sequels or franchise, if you're doing it from an authentic place and it rings true then I'm up for it.

Guerrasio: Has it been crazy to watch the evolution of television from back on "The Shield" to how it is now? A lot of talent believe it’s more rewarding to do TV these days more than movies. That wasn’t the case when you started out. Has that been weird to see how things have shifted?

Goggins: With TV it's just rewarding because in a serialized story things can play out over a very long time so the opportunities to really explore nuances are there. It's very rewarding right now, but I feel that way about movies. The way they wanted to tell Lara Croft in this “Tomb Raider” movie is very refreshing and different. And this is possible because of what's coming out of TV now, each impact the other.

Guerrasio: You've bounced back and forth from movies and TV for a long time.
 
Goggins: A long time. 

hateful eight the weinstein companyGuerrasio: Did things change in the offers you were getting when you starred in back-to-back Tarantino movies?

Goggins: Yeah. Most people who have worked with Quentin you measure your life in “before Quentin Tarantino” and “after Quentin Tarantino.” But for me it's never been more complicated than to be good at telling stories. The cherry on top, though, is working with filmmakers like Quentin.
 
Guerrasio: Will we see you in the next Tarantino movie?

Goggins: Buddy, I don't know who you are talking about right now. [Laughs] Tarantino who? No. He's very private in his process and I respect that. We'll see. Maybe.

Guerrasio: But you’ve done two movies with him, are you at the point where you can text him and just say hi or do you just wait and see if you're called on again?

Goggins: It's not something that you ever expect to happen again. When you get that call, that golden ticket, you just jump on the ride. 

Guerrasio: Can you talk a little about playing Jack Vincennes in the upcoming TV version of "L.A. Confidential?"

Goggins: I can tell you that it isn't a remake of the movie (in which Kevin Spacey played Vincennes). It is a telling of James Ellroy's novel and I'm really excited about it. 

Guerrasio: I’m actually reading the book again right now. There's so much to the Jack character that was not explored in the movie.

Goggins: That's how I feel. I'm just reading Ellroy for the first time now. 

Guerrasio: It's a quick read, right? You just fly through his books.

Goggins: Yeah. And the story behind how he found his voice for “L.A. Confidential,” from what I was told, is he was told to cut a third of the book and he couldn't do that so we went back to page one and just began cutting words and sentences and did it through the whole book and it became this rapid, quick-fire read. I'm just blown away by it. 

Walton Goggins Oscar Oscars finalGuerrasio: It dawned on me the other day, you are an Oscar winner. You won in 2002 for a short film you starred and produced, "The Accountant," right?

Goggins: It was myself and my two partners, Ray McKinnon and Lisa Blount, who has since passed away. And in the short film category you can only put two names down for the award, so it was Ray and Lisa, but we all did it together so we all decided we'd walk up on stage. And we timed our speech so we all could talk in 30 seconds and not piss anyone off. It came from the heart and it brought the house down. And that's hard to do after Sidney Poitier just got his lifetime achievement award. It was pretty incredible. 

Guerrasio: Do you have one of the Oscars?

Goggins: I have one and Ray has the other and we have Lisa in our hearts.  

SEE ALSO: The 30 most important deaths in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, ranked by how sad they were

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15 of the best science podcasts that will make you smarter

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Podcasts are more popular every year, which means there's a wealth of audio storytelling to listen to — and many options to choose from.

We're here to help.

Whether you need something to listen to on your commute or just want a brain-boost while you pick up around the house, you can always trust a science podcast to teach you something new.

Some of our favorites tell fantastic stories, others examine the science behind controversial topics, and a few delve deep into the mysteries of how we exist in and understand the world. Many of these podcasts stretch beyond science, talking about tech or culture, but all examine scientific topics, including psychology, artificial intelligence, pharmacology, and more.

These are our 12 favorite science podcasts.

SEE ALSO: The 23 best science movies and shows streaming on Netflix that will make you smarter

"Hidden Brain"

The NPR show "Hidden Brain" takes deep dives into one of the most complex objects we know of in the universe: the human mind. Covering everything from psychology to neuroscience, host Shankar Vedantam investigates why people act, feel, and think the way we do.

Vedantam looks at how parents do (and don't) shape their kids minds, the ways humans cope with the unexpected, and why our attention can be sucked into the internet for hours at a time.



"The Story Collider"

In this personal storytelling show, individuals recite their own tales — similar to "The Moth" — but they're all focused on science and more specifically, the ways that science touches people's lives. It's a science-themed show about people.

In some cases, scientists tell stories about things that have blown their minds or gone horribly wrong. In others, you might get a heartwarming (or heartbreaking) tale informed by science. And some stories are just funny. 



"StarTalk Radio"

While some podcasts focus on humans or life on Earth, "StarTalk" takes a much larger-scale approach. Hosted by science-popularizing astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, the show takes on the cosmos.

Tyson discusses what it would be like to live on Mars, the search for extra-terrestrial life, and occasionally dabbles in other scientific topics like technology in football or the new science of LSD. 



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ESPN boss who shocked the media world by resigning says he did it because of a cocaine extortion plot

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John Skipper

  • John Skipper resigned suddenly as ESPN president in December, citing a long struggle with "substance addiction."
  • In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Skipper shed light on the days leading up to his resignation, a time he said included being caught up in an extortion plot over a cocaine purchase.
  • Skipper said he resigned after disclosing the extortion to Disney CEO Bob Iger, agreeing at the time that he had "placed the company in an untenable position."

In December, John Skipper resigned suddenly from his role as president of ESPN and cochairman of Disney Media Networks, citing a long struggle with "substance addiction."

The move came as a shock to the sports-media world at the time. But in a new interview with the ESPN historian James Andrew Miller for The Hollywood Reporter, Skipper described the difficult days leading up to his resignation, which he said included being caught up in an extortion plot over a cocaine purchase.

In the interview, Skipper said he was an "infrequent" cocaine user and that his drug use did not interfere with his work at ESPN. When Miller pressed him on that, saying the behavior Skipper described didn't sound like an addition, Skipper said that in December someone he had not previously bought cocaine from "attempted to extort" him and that this ultimately brought about a discussion with Disney CEO Bob Iger that led to his resignation.

"They threatened me, and I understood immediately that threat put me and my family at risk, and this exposure would put my professional life at risk as well," Skipper said. "I foreclosed that possibility by disclosing the details to my family, and then when I discussed it with Bob, he and I agreed that I had placed the company in an untenable position and as a result, I should resign."

"It was inappropriate for the president of ESPN and an officer of The Walt Disney Co. to be associated in any way with any of this," he later said. "I do want to make it clear, however, that anything I did in this regard, and anything else resulting from this, was a personal problem. My drug use never had any professional repercussions, but I still have profound regret."

Skipper described spending the day after his resignation by himself in New York City, crying as he "realized the profundity of what I'd done to myself, to my family, and that I'd given up the best job in sports on the planet."

He went on to call James Pitaro, the man who replaced him as ESPN president on March 5, "a good, smart executive" whose "style will work at ESPN."

Read the interview here.

SEE ALSO: John Skipper has unexpectedly resigned as president of ESPN, citing substance addiction

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'Trainspotting' director Danny Boyle confirms he will be directing the next James Bond movie

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Danny Boyle Getty

  • Director Danny Boyle has confirmed that he will be directing the upcoming James Bond movie.
  • He's currently working on a script with longtime screenwriting collaborator John Hodge.
  • If all goes according to plan, Boyle will begin shooting the movie by the end of this year.
  • The 25th Bond movie is slated for release November 2019 and will mark Daniel Craig's last time playing 007.


After months of rumors, Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle has confirmed that he will be directing the upcoming James Bond movie.

Boyle talked about the project to Metro US Wednesday night in New York during a screening of his upcoming FX series, "Trust." It seems he's trying to make the Bond movie after he's done with a project he's about to work on, which has a script by "Love Actually" screenwriter, Richard Curtis.

“We are working on a script right now," Boyle said. "And it all depends on that really. I am working on a Richard Curtis script at the moment. We hope to start shooting that in six or seven weeks. Then Bond would be right at the end of the year. But we are working on them both right now.”

“We’ve got an idea, John Hodge, the screenwriter [for the James Bond movie], and I have got this idea," Boyle continued. "And John is writing it at the moment. And it all depends on how it turns out. It would be foolish of me to give any of it away."

Hodge has been a longtime collaborator of Boyle's. He wrote "Trainspotting" and the 2017 sequel, as well as "Shallow Grave" and "The Beach."

The 25th Bond movie currently has a release date of November 8, 2019. It will mark the final time Daniel Craig will play 007.

Business Insider contacted MGM for comment but did not get an immediate response.

SEE ALSO: We talked to Walton Goggins about how he came up with the "grounded" villain role in "Tomb Raider" and his Oscar — yes, he has an Oscar

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A record-breaking number of people watched Drake play a video game in the middle of the night — and it was an incredible cultural moment

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  • Drake jumped on a Twitch stream Wednesday evening with prominent streamer, "Ninja."
  • The stream reached over 600,000 viewers at one point — the highest-ever concurrent viewership on the Amazon-owned live video streaming service.
  • Drake and "Ninja" played "Fortnite" together, an enormously popular online shooter.


What happens when an enormously popular musician teams up with an enormously popular video-game streamer? 

In the case of Drake teaming up with game-streamer "Ninja" on a Twitch stream late Wednesday night, the result was record-setting numbers: Over 600,000 people tuned in to watch them take on dozens of other players in "Fortnite." 

The stream broke records on the Amazon-owned Twitch streaming service — no one stream has ever drawn as many concurrent viewers. It nearly doubled the previous record.

Drake doesn't appear on the stream as a visual, but instead joins via chat (using the Discord chat service). 

But it wasn't just "Ninja" and Drake playing "Fortnite": Rapper Travis Scott and Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster also jumped on the stream at various points to play.

The crew of four played "Fortnite: Battle Royale" as a squad, which pits teams of four against each other in the game's hugely popular "Battle Royale" mode. Drake played on PlayStation 4, while "Ninja" played on PC — the game is playable across some platforms, though not all.

You may be wondering if Drake's any good at "Fornite" — turns out he is! You can check out the entire stream below.

The record-setting stream is representative of the bigger cultural interest in streaming video games. More people than ever are watching video games played live, and it's no surprise that major stars like Drake and Travis Scott would get in on the action — even in the middle of the night, the presence of Drake was able to crush previous Twitch records. 

SEE ALSO: Amazon's streaming service Twitch is pulling in as many viewers as CNN and MSNBC

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The 100 best comedy movies of all time, according to critics

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The comedies that film critics have deemed the greatest in history have often wrapped their humor in an inventive or thought-provoking package. 

From Charlie Chaplin's silent-film antics to quote-worthy parodies like "Airplane!," to the animated movies of the new millennium, comedy classics have taken many forms over the decades.

To find out which movies in the genre have gained the most critical acclaim over time, we turned to the reviews aggregator Rotten Tomatoes for its list of the top-rated films labeled "comedy" on its site.

As happens with many films and the idea of "genre," some may argue that certain of these entries are dramas rather than comedies (or horror in the case of "Get Out"). But we went with their categorization on Rotten Tomatoes.

We arranged the films in chronological order by decade, stretching from the 1920s to the present.

Here are the 100 best comedy movies of all time, according to critics:

SEE ALSO: The 13 movies that made $1 billion at the box office the fastest, including Marvel's 'Black Panther'

1920s:



"The Gold Rush" (1925)

Critic score: 100%

Audience score: 93%

Summary: "A prospector goes to the Klondike in search of gold and finds it and more."



1930s:



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