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'The Americans' creators tested 'hundreds' of songs for a pivotal scene in the series finale

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The Americans

Warning: This post contains major spoilers for the series finale of FX's "The Americans." Please read at your own risk.

  • "The Americans" series finale featured a montage set to an iconic song from the 80s, one of the things the series always did best.
  • The showrunners said they listened to hundreds of songs before making their final choice.
  • But they won't say what other songs they listened to because they don't wan fans making edits of the sequence on YouTube. 

 

In the series finale of "The Americans," the critically acclaimed Cold War drama that ended its six-season run Wednesday night, a pivotal montage set to U2's "With or Without You" wraps up storylines for all of its main characters. 

Showrunners Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg said they listened to "hundreds" of songs with the montage before figuring out the right fit. During a conference call discussing the finale, Fields and Weisberg refused to tell journalists what some of the other song options were, because they don't want fans making edits on YouTube.

"We just think about what's going to be most emotional," Fields said. "In fact, if anything, we want to find something that's going to support the emotion, but not distract and become about a particular song. And we listened to probably ... I mean I want to say hundreds [of songs]. And I don't think that's hyperbole — I actually think we listened to hundreds of songs next to that montage. And there were a lot of great songs that didn’t work, some songs worked really well, but when we heard that U2, it was just magic."

When asked what some of the other songs that didn't make the cut were, Fields said he'd prefer not to say.

"We’d hate to have people do a YouTube mashup of that sequence with other songs — at least not the ones from our heads," Fields said. "We’ll leave it. Now that I’ve said it of course, I imagine somebody’s going to do a very knee slappingly funny version of that. But that’s okay. It won’t be our fault."

SEE ALSO: We looked back at the long history of failed 'Watchmen' adaptations, as HBO tries to break the cycle with a new TV show

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The Nintendo Switch is getting 4 new Pokémon games — and investors are very happy (NTDOY)

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Pokémon Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!

  • Nintendo and The Pokémon Company announced four new games coming in the next year or so, to the delight of fans and investors.
  • The variety of games shows how Nintendo and The Pokémon Company know what they're doing to satisfy mainstay fans, casual gamers, and newcomers to the series.

Nintendo and The Pokémon Company made big waves Tuesday night by announcing not just one, or two, or even three, but four new Pokémon games coming out in the next year.

The games:

"Pokémon Quest," a new game that is free to download right now on the Nintendo Switch and is coming soon to iOS and Android devices.

"Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu!" and "Pokémon: Let's Go, Eevee!" a pair of $60 games coming to the Nintendo Switch on November 16.

— A new entry in the "core" Pokémonseries, coming in late 2019.

My colleague Ben Gilbert wrote an excellent breakdown if you're interested in learning more about the individual Pokémon games, which look not only different from anything we've played so far, but also a lot of fun as well.

Reactions to this news have been largely positive. The two "Let's Go!" games have already topped Amazon's chart of best-selling video games, and fans seem pleased with the variety of Pokémon offerings coming in the next 18 months, which range from kid-friendly ("Pokémon Quest") to casual ("Pokémon: Let's Go!") to something for the mainstay Pokémon fans who have played the role-playing games for decades, since the franchise started on Nintendo's Game Boy.

(Of course, there are plenty of fans who just want the new accessory that lets you play the "Let's Go!" games with an actual Poké Ball.)

Poké Ball Plus

The markets also seem to be reacting well to the news of four new Pokémon games. Nintendo's stock has steadily risen since the news was announced, ending Wednesday on a 4.3% increase.

Investors and fans are happy because Nintendo and The Pokémon Company appear to know what they're doing with the beloved Pokémon franchise. Given the massive success of "Pokémon Go" on mobile — not to mention "Fortnite," another cross-platform hit that's accessible for casual players — "Pokémon Quest" and "Pokémon: Let's Go!" appear to have a very good chance at attracting a wide audience. Plus, fans can also look forward to a full Pokémon game that's true to its RPG roots with a full game on the Nintendo Switch next year. The Pokémon Company seems to have covered all its bases with just one announcement.

Of course, the Pokémon news also benefits Nintendo and its one-year-old console. The $300 Nintendo Switch was a huge hit in 2017, debuting in March with one must-have title ("The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild") and ending the year with another ("Super Mario Odyssey"). Nintendo is banking on "Super Smash Bros." to be the raison d'être for buying a Switch in 2018, but adding these new Pokémon games — and the promise of a new mainline experience in 2019 — makes it even harder to say no to the Switch.

SEE ALSO: The new Spider-Man game for PlayStation 4 looks incredible — here are 14 other characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe that deserve their own video games

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Dorothy's $6 million ruby slippers from 'The Wizard of Oz' are the most expensive piece of pop culture ever — but 12 more collectibles came close

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Dorothy Ruby slippers

  • Dorothy's ruby slippers from "The Wizard of Oz" are on sale for $6 million — the highest-ever price for pop culture memorabilia.
  • The Cowardly Lion's costume from "The Wizard of Oz" is already one of the most expensive film costumes ever sold.
  • Two Marilyn Monroe dresses are among the most expensive pieces of memorabilia ever sold.

Dorothy's ruby slippers from"The Wizard of Oz" are looking for a new home.

Actress Judy Garland wore the shoes in the 1939 film and they're now on sale by Moments In Time for $6 million. The slippers had previously been on exhibit at Disney World for over a decade. Several other pairs of the slippers exist, including a pair that was stolen in 2005 and never found. 

The authentication document for the $6 million pair says the shoes are "rimmed in 46 rhinestones, surrounding 42 bugle beads and the three larger (rectangular) jewels centered in a line."

While no movie prop or costume has ever sold publicly for more than $6 million, there have been several pieces of memorabilia that were auctioned off for seven figures. 

Take a look at these 12 pieces of memorabilia from movies, TV, and sports which each sold for at least $3 million.

SEE ALSO: 13 outrageous items sold by auction houses Christie's and Sotheby's

DON'T MISS: WATCH: Art agents frantically bid on a rare $450 million painting

Mark McGwire's 70th home run ball: $3 million

In the summer of 1998, baseball fans across the country watched Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire try to break Roger Maris' single-season home-run record. Eventually, both players broke Maris' record of 61 home runs, which had stood since 1961.

Sosa ended the year with 66 home runs and McGwire hit an even 70. Even though it wasn't the home run that broke the record, comic book millionaire Todd McFarlane purchased McGwire's 70th home run ball for $3 million. He also owns McGwire's 67th, 68th, and 69th, and Sosa's 66th home run balls.



The Cowardly Lion's costume: $3.1 million

The ruby slippers are not the only sought-after costume from "The Wizard of Oz." Dorothy's dress from the movie sold for over $1.5 million, but another character's wear has sold for more.

Actor Bert Lahr donned this costume made of actual lion skin and fur for the 1939 film. He sung "If I Were King of the Forrest" and found his courage in this costume.

Bonhams auctioned off this piece of movie history in 2014 for $3 million.



Honus Wagner T206: $3.1 million

The most famous baseball card of all time is also the most expensive. There is an entire book dedicated to the card and it has arguably overshadowed Wagner's Hall of Fame playing career. 

Only 57 of the cards are known to exist and few are in good condition considering they were printed between 1909 and 1911. At one time, hockey legend Wayne Gretzky owned one of the mint condition copies.

The record price for a trading card was by one of these T206 in 2016 for $3.12 million.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

'The Americans' series finale left one storyline unresolved that fans have been debating for a year

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the americans

Warning: This post contains spoilers for the series finale of "The Americans."

  • "The Americans" ended its six-season run on Wednesday with a satisfying conclusion, but left one storyline up in the air that fans have heavily theorized about for a year.
  • Fans have been suspicious that the character Renee, the wife of F.B.I. agent Stan Beeman, might be a Russian KGB agent after she was introduced last year in season five.
  • But the finale doesn't answer whether she is or not, and lets the audience draw its own conclusion.
  • Actors Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell have their own theories, though.

 

FX's "The Americans" wrapped up its critically acclaimed six-season run on Wednesday with a satisfying conclusion. But one storyline that fans have been heavily theorizing about for a year was left open to interpretation: whether Renee is a KGB agent.

"The Americans" follows Russian spies Philip (Matthew Rhys) and Elizabeth Jennings (Keri Russell) who are posing as a married couple in 1980s Washington, D.C. Their neighbor, Stan Beeman (Noah Emmerich), is a counterintelligence F.B.I. agent. In last year's fifth season, Stan begins dating Renee (Laurie Holden), and by the final season they are married.

But fans have always been wary of Renee, and many have theorized that she might be a KGB officer herself (Philip is even suspicious of her). When the character was introduced last year, fans expressed their concerns about Renee in a thread on "The Americans" subreddit.

Comments included:

"I think Renee is KGB and she's watching the relationship between Philip and Stan."

"The man finds a nice lady, starts making the scene, and the only logical solution is that it is a plot."

"KGB...S05E07 Renee mentions going to Bloomington Indiana. refers to IU (Indiana University) as U of I (University of Indianapolis) So either KGB or bad writing, which seems more likely?"

Suspicion continued this year when Renee wants a job in the F.B.I. and actually gets an interview in the final season. Prior to the finale, fans were tweeting their theories and suspicions.

But the finale didn't answer the question of whether Renee is a KGB agent, a false alarm, or even something else. 

Instead, her status is left up in the air. After the F.B.I. discovers that Philip and Elizabeth are the spies they've been searching for all these years, Renee gives Stan a big hug, and as Stan walks away, the camera stays on her ambiguous expression. 

However, earlier in the episode when Stan confronts Philip and Elizabeth (and lets them escape), Philip warns Stan about his suspicions. It's likely that Stan will be on alert from here on out — it's just left up to the audience to draw its own conclusion. 

Rhys and Russell have their own theories. During a conference call with journalists, they were asked whether they thought Renee was a Russian spy or not. 

Russell implied that she was suspicious of Renee and said "that seems pretty creepy to me." Rhys, however, said that he didn't think Renee was a spy, which is ironic considering his character warns Stan that she could be.

"Stan was the only friend [Philip] ever had ... There's genuine concern for [Stan] there that I just think [Philip] couldn't leave it unsaid," Rhys said. 

With "The Americans" done, fans will never know whether Renee was a spy or not. But the finale focused on a more important aspect of the show: the relationship between Philip and Elizabeth and their kids.

SEE ALSO: We looked back at the long history of failed 'Watchmen' adaptations, as HBO tries to break the cycle with a new TV show

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NOW WATCH: Ian Bremmer: Why the American dream doesn't exist anymore

'The Americans' creators said finding a McDonald's that looked like it was from 1987 was 'literally a drop down from heaven'

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The Americans McDonald's

Warning: This post contains major spoilers for the series finale of "The Americans." Read at your own risk.

  • "The Americans" series finale aired Wednesday night, and it had an important scene featuring a McDonald's.
  • The co-showrunners Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg said that it wasn't easy to make this scene happen because they had to make it look like a location from 1987.
  • They also said that McDonald's was surprisingly enthusiastic about incorporating its brand into the episode. 

No one thought McDonald's, which makes America's best french fries, would be a meaningful part of the FX drama "The Americans" — but it played a pivotal part in the series finale, which aired Wednesday night.

While on the run from the FBI, KGB spies Philip, Elizabeth, and (their daughter) Paige Jennings stop at McDonald's for dinner. They're on their way to Russia to avoid arrest.

Their last stop, at America's most iconic fast-food chain, represents the capitalist country Philip and Elizabeth lived in for decades. It's the country Elizabeth hated, but Philip took a liking to over time. 

During a conference call with creators and showrunners Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg, the two described the exciting challenge of creating the look and feel of a McDonald's in 1987. Fields joked that they could talk "a lot" about incorporating the fast-food chain into the series finale, and Weisberg said it wasn't as simple as just shooting at a McDonald's.

"That's quite a story," Weisberg said. "We loved that so much as Philip's final goodbye to this greatest icon of American capitalism as he had become enamored with capitalism and America itself."

Throughout the series, Philip is clearly more comfortable with American life, while his wife Elizabeth remains loyal to the Soviet Union, often disgusted by the America. But she gets more used to it as the series goes on and as she opens up to her husband's optimism.

Weisberg said it was a "journey" to get McDonald's in the scene, because they needed approvals from the corporation. "It's not something McDonald's had done a lot," Weisberg said, "and fortunately, McDonald's ended up being enthusiastic about it. And we had a really great experience with them. But it just took a lot of work to get to them."

Once they got the approval, they had another obstacle: the series finale takes place in 1987, and that's a tough period to find, since McDonald's locations and signage have been updated many times over the years. It was incredibly important to McDonald's and to Weisberg and Fields to get the location, the signage, and everything in the scene to be completely accurate to the period. Thankfully, the locations department found a spot that Weisberg describes as "literally a drop down from heaven," although there was some "green screen magic" involved to make this particular location look like it was on the side of a road.

To make the interior and the signage of the period, McDonald's tapped a librarian who kept record of all of the old
McDonald's signage. "We're obsessed with that sort of period history," Weisberg said. "It was amazing to have that resource. It came together."

SEE ALSO: All your favorite Netflix original shows that have been renewed for another season

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NOW WATCH: Ian Bremmer: Why the American dream doesn't exist anymore

'Kim has been my war angel': The unlikely story of how Kim Kardashian West is trying to get Trump to free a 63-year-old grandmother from prison

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Alice Johnson wide

  • Kim Kardashian West visited the White House on Wednesday to ask President Donald Trump to grant clemency to Alice Marie Johnson.
  • Johnson, 63, is serving a life sentence without parole for nonviolent drug offenses. Kardashian West took an interest in her case late last year.
  • Johnson told Business Insider that her 63rd birthday was Wednesday, and that she hoped Trump would grant her clemency — "the biggest present I've ever received in my life."
  • She also said she has been "walking around in a daze" in recent weeks, praying that Trump will make an announcement soon.

After weeks of negotiations with senior White House officials, Kim Kardashian West visited President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Wednesday with a simple request: Free a 63-year-old grandmother from prison.

The visit came after the reality TV star and mogul brought her plea to Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law, in April. Their hope is that Trump will grant clemency to Alice Marie Johnson, possibly by commuting her sentence.

Johnson is serving a life sentence without parole for first-time, nonviolent drug offenses she committed in the early 1990s. Her case has for years received nationwide media attention, and it happened to capture the interest of Kardashian West in October.

Johnson told Business Insider on Wednesday that it was her birthday — and she was hoping Trump would grant her the ultimate gift.

"Today is my birthday and if my clemency was granted today that would be the biggest present I've ever received in my life," she said in an email from the Aliceville correctional facility in Alabama. "All boots are on the ground in prayer!"

Johnson told Business Insider previously that she had been "walking around in a daze" ever since she first got word that Kardashian West was speaking with Kushner about her case. She said she remains "very optimistic" she will be granted clemency.

"I don't even know myself what emotions I will really feel when this happens," she said. "My faith in God is still very strong. I have already experienced the miraculous when Kim Kardashian West saw my story and came to my rescue by hiring attorneys to help me gain my freedom."

Johnson said she and her family had already endured the devastation of being denied clemency by President Barack Obama three times in a yearslong cycle of raised hopes followed by crushing blows.

"My family has been broken beyond what anyone can imagine," she said. "A commutation would mean wholeness for me and my family again."

For years, Johnson believed Obama was her last hope of leaving prison alive.

Now, she's hoping Trump will do what Obama wouldn't.

'Kim has been my war angel'

kim kardashian white house

Johnson said it took a miracle for her case to grab the attention of the Trump administration — and that miracle came in the form of Kardashian West.

"She has embraced my cause and taken to heart my plight," Johnson said. "Kim has been my war angel, and I'll never forget what she is doing for me."

Though Johnson never seemed to spark enough interest from the Obama administration, she has long been featured in news stories about overzealous drug sentencing.

In the waning days of Obama's signature clemency initiative, a parade of legal experts, lawmakers, prison staff members, and advocates of criminal-justice reform touted Johnson as the perfect candidate for clemency.

She has been described not only as an extreme example of the type of harsh mandatory-minimum sentencing that emerged in the 1980s and '90s, but as the embodiment of a reformed and repentant prisoner with the skills and support to live a productive life.

"We often say that people were given clemency, but the truth is that they earned it — and that's very much true of Alice," Mark Osler, a law professor at the University of St. Thomas who has closely followed Johnson's case, told Business Insider. "She obviously saw herself as a work in progress while she was in prison and sought to be a positive influence on other people, which is the most we can hope for for anyone in or out of prison."

Johnson is an ordained minister, a playwright, a mentor, a counselor, a tutor, and a companion for inmates who are suicidal, and she didn't commit a single disciplinary infraction in two decades in prison, staff members at Aliceville who have supported her clemency said in letters in 2016.

"She's just one of those people that there's something remarkable about her; it's unforgettable," said Amy Povah, who has worked on Johnson's case since 2014 for CAN-DO (Clemency for All Nonviolent Drug Offenders), a nonprofit that advocates clemency and assists prisoners with their petitions. "She's like this ray of sunshine."

Povah herself received a commutation, from President Bill Clinton in 2000, and upon learning of Johnson's case, she immediately placed her at the top of the foundation's list of 25 women who most deserve clemency.

"She has expressed incredible remorse, that this was the worst thing she ever did," Povah said of Johnson. "And we shouldn't be defined by the worst decision that we made."

Povah added: "She has 21 years of evidence that she deserves a second chance and she deserves mercy. Enough is enough."

Trump has given no indication that he's actively considering Johnson's case, and the White House did not respond to requests for comment. But Trump tweeted about his meeting with Kardashian West on Wednesday, sharing a photo that showed them behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.

"Great meeting with @KimKardashian today, talked about prison reform and sentencing," Trump tweeted.

How a viral video put Johnson in position to be free

Donald Trump Kim Kardashian

Johnson's case finally gained momentum in October when her story went viral.

A four-minute video published by Mic featured an interview with Johnson via Skype video call, a privilege rarely granted to federal prisoners.

Unlike with previous news coverage, more than 7 million people viewed Johnson's story on Facebook and Twitter this time.

And it caught Kardashian West's eye.

"This is so unfair," Kardashian West tweeted on October 25.

Weeks later, she asked Shawn Holley, a criminal defense lawyer, to work on Johnson's case and that of another woman serving a life sentence, Cyntoia Brown.

Holley told Business Insider last month she often speaks with Kardashian West up to several times a day to discuss their strategy for Johnson's case, and the celebrity has been intricately involved throughout the process.

"Alice's case appeals to Kim (and most people who hear about it) because her sentence was so disproportionate to her crime," Holley said. "Alice was a first-time offender, convicted of a non-violent crime and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. She had served 21 years at the time we first learned about her case."

But it wasn't until mid-April that Kardashian West achieved major momentum in Johnson's case. When her husband, Kanye West, reemerged on Twitter and sparked a massive uproar, it did more than enrage some fans and delight conservatives — it grabbed the attention of Trump.

"You don't have to agree with trump but the mob can't make me not love him," West tweeted, to which Trump replied, "Thank you Kanye, very cool!"

Though it's unclear what role West's resurfacing had in Johnson's case, the controversy may have presented Kardashian West with the opportune moment to push it.

Johnson's supporters, including Povah and Osler, have speculated that her case may have appealed to Kushner, who has advocated criminal-justice reform despite the tough-on-crime, lock-'em-up rhetoric from much of the Trump administration.

Kushner published an op-ed article in The Wall Street Journal in April, urging Congress to make it easier for released inmates to integrate back into society.

"President Trump promised to fight for the forgotten men and women of this country — and that includes those in prison," he wrote.

Kardashian West later tweeted her gratitude for Trump's willingness to meet with her.

"It is our hope that the President will grant clemency to Ms. Alice Marie Johnson who is serving a life sentence for a first-time, non-violent drug offense," she said. "We are optimistic about Ms. Johnson’s future and hopeful that she —and so many like her—will get a second chance at life."

'I had to pick myself back up'

kim kardashian instagram story

Johnson's life began to unravel around 1990.

Within the span of a few years, Johnson had faced not only a gambling addiction and the loss of her job while she struggled to raise five children, but a divorce, a bankruptcy, a home foreclosure, and the death of her youngest son in a motorcycle accident.

She turned to a drug-dealing and money-laundering operation. It was the worst decision she ever made, she said.

Johnson said her role in the conspiracy was as a telephone mule, an intermediary passing along messages by phone so that the people who were selling and distributing the cocaine weren't contacting one another directly. She said she never touched or sold the drugs.

When authorities dismantled the operation and brought drug-conspiracy charges against its participants, prosecutors labeled Johnson one of the leaders, though Johnson viewed herself as a relatively low-ranking member of the scheme.

"Conspiracy meant that I became responsible for the acts of everyone involved in my case and paid the lion's share of the debt to society … a life sentence," she said.

Johnson says that while she is deeply sorry for the crimes she committed, she believes her sentence was fundamentally unjust.

The next blow to Johnson came early last year, two weeks before Obama left office. She had been certain that Obama's 2014 Clemency Initiative — which prioritized people convicted of nonviolent offenses who demonstrated exemplary conduct in prison — would view her as the perfect candidate for a commutation.

But she was denied clemency on January 6, 2017, and never told why. According to the Office of the Pardon Attorney, presidents rarely explain their denials, and documents related to presidential decision-making are exempt from the Freedom of Information Act.

Several former Obama administration officials who led the clemency program — including Sally Yates, the former deputy attorney general, Neil Eggleston, the former White House counsel, and Robert Zauzmer, the former pardon attorney — did not respond to Business Insider's questions about why Johnson was denied.

"It's hard to find closure for the death of a dream when you don't have answers for the cause of death," Johnson said. "I did grieve, but knew that giving up was not an option, so I had to pick myself back up and get back in the ring and fight for my life."

SEE ALSO: Trump's pardon of Scooter Libby sends a 'troubling signal' to the Mueller investigation

DON'T MISS: Trump grants clemency to an Iowa meatpacking exec convicted in a fraud case

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NOW WATCH: Here's why the death penalty and longer prison sentences don't really deter crime

A new ‘Super Smash Bros.’ game is coming out this year — here’s everything you should know about the biggest Nintendo game of 2018

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A new "Super Smash Bros." game? Yes, a new "Super Smash Bros." game! And it's planned to launch this year on Nintendo's excellent Switch game console!

This is very exciting news.

Super Smash Bros. teaser (Switch)

Nintendo announced a new entry in the long-running "Super Smash Bros." franchise earlier this year, and debuted a brief teaser alongside it that offered a surprising amount of information.

We've collected as much information as possible on Nintendo's biggest game of 2018 — here's what we've got:

SEE ALSO: PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are about to go head-to-head at the biggest gaming event of the year — here's what to expect

First things first: What is "Super Smash Bros."?

"Super Smash Bros." is a fighting game series from Nintendo that features the company's most iconic characters like Mario, Link, and Donkey Kong. 

The first entry in the series debuted in 1999 on the Nintendo 64, and every Nintendo game console since has gotten a major "Smash Bros." entry. It's become a standard of Nintendo's gaming portfolio, alongside nostalgia-laced hits like "Mario Kart." 

Rather than focusing on complex, expertly executed fighting moves, the "Smash Bros." series uses one control template across a massive list of characters — if you learn how to fight as one, you're able to control all of them.

Each character has different sets of moves that correspond to their gaming personas. Mario shoots fireballs, Link wields the Master Sword, Samus shoots balls of energy, etc. 

The game has a devoted, hardcore following — but it's also a delightfully accessible game for the most casual of game players.



The next entry in the "Smash Bros." franchise is headed to the Nintendo Switch — but is it an entirely new game?

In Nintendo's press release announcing the new "Super Smash Bros." game, the language is extremely careful: "The Super Smash Bros. series comes to Nintendo Switch in 2018."

Whether the game is an entirely new entry in the series is unknown — the Nintendo Switch has a handful of major games that are updated re-releases of games that already came out on the Nintendo Wii U, the failed console Nintendo replaced with the Switch. 

Last year's incredible "Mario Kart" game on the Switch, "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe," for instance? It was similarly incredible when it came out three years earlier on the Wii U.

Mario Kart 8

It's entirely possible that Nintendo could do the same thing with "Super Smash Bros. for Wii U," the excellent "Smash Bros." game that launched on the Wii U in 2014. Considering how few people owned Nintendo's last console, re-releasing major Wii U games on the Switch makes a lot of sense — most Switch owners haven't played the games being re-released.

That said, the last major "Super Smash Bros." game also launched on the Nintendo 3DS — the outrageously popular handheld game console. And plenty of people played it there (just shy of 10 million copies were sold, according to Nintendo's own numbers) — about half that number got the game on Wii U.

Nintendo hasn't clarified whether "Super Smash Bros." on the Switch is an entirely new game or not, and a rep declined to comment.



We know of four characters so far, and we've got some strong guesses for the others.

In the teaser that revealed "Super Smash Bros." as coming to the Nintendo Switch, a handful of characters are shown.

Nintendo is direct about four of them: Mario, Link, and two inklings from "Splatoon" (in the foreground).

The rest are shown only as silhouettes in the shadow of a massive, burning "Super Smash Bros." logo. But we're talking about Nintendo characters here — it's pretty easy to pick out the shape of, say, Bowser from a silhouette.

So, starting from the left, here are the shapes we're able to pick out with certainty: Pit (from "Kid Icarus"), Donkey Kong, Kirby, Marth (from "Fire Emblem"), Mario, Link, Samus (from "Metroid"), Bowser, and Pikachu. Additionally, the two inklings from "Splatoon" are likely new characters.

There are also a handful of shapes that aren't sharp enough to say with certainty who they represent. Our best guesses put those shapes as Ness and Lucas (from "Earthbound"), Captain Falcon or Ganon (from "F-Zero" and "The Legend of Zelda," respectively), Little Mac (from "Punch-Out!!"), Princess Zelda, and Jigglypuff.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Trump releases photo of his Oval Office meeting with Kim Kardashian West

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Donald Trump Kim Kardashian

  • President Donald Trump released a photo on Wednesday night of his White House meeting with Kim Kardashian West about prison reform and sentencing.
  • Kardashian West is trying to get Trump to grant clemency to 63-year-old Alice Marie Johnson, a low-level drug offender serving a life sentence without parole.

President Donald Trump released a photo on Wednesday night of his White House meeting with Kim Kardashian West.

"Great meeting with @KimKardashian today, talked about prison reform and sentencing", Trump tweeted along with the photo on Wednesday evening.

Kardashian West has taken the lead in trying to get Trump to grant clemency to 63-year-old Alice Marie Johnson, a low-level drug offender serving a life sentence without parole since the 1990s.

Kardashian West has spoken with White House senior adviser Jared Kushner to discuss the issue, as well.

Last month, Kardashian West called Kushner and pressed Trump's son-in-law to encourage the president to grant Johnson clemency. Like Kardashian West, Kushner has advocated strongly for criminal justice and prison reform.

Kardashian West took interest in Johnson's case after her story went viral last year.

"She has embraced my cause and taken to heart my plight," Johnson told Business Insider's Michelle Mark in April. "Kim has been my war angel, and I'll never forget what she is doing for me."

Kim_Kardashian_West_on_Twitter___Happy_Birthday_Alice_Marie_Johnson__Today_is_for_you_🙏🏼✨_

Kardashian West posted on Twitter and Instagram about Johnson's case and her White House meeting on Wednesday, thanking Trump for considering giving Johnson "a second chance at life."

Kim_Kardashian_West_on_Twitter___I_would_like_to_thank_President_Trump_for_his_time_this_afternoon__It_is_our_hope_that_the_President_will_grant_clemency_to_Ms__Alice_Marie_Johnson_who_is_serving_a_life_sentence_for_a_first time__non violen

Kim_Kardashian_West_on_Twitter___We_are_optimistic_about_Ms__Johnson’s_future_and_hopeful_that_she_—and_so_many_like_her—will_get_a_second_chance_at_life__

It's unclear whether Trump will ultimately grant Johnson clemency. On Thursday morning, he abruptly announced he was going to pardon Dinesh D'Souza, the far-right author and pundit who was convicted of campaign finance fraud and has become a vocal Trump supporter.

SEE ALSO: 'Kim has been my war angel': The unlikely story of how Kim Kardashian West is trying to get Trump to free a 63-year-old grandmother from prison

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NOW WATCH: Ian Bremmer: Why the American dream doesn't exist anymore


Nintendo is about to reveal its plans for the next 6 months at the biggest game show of the year — here's what to expect

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Nintendo is on a serious roll.

Super Mario Odyssey

The company's latest console, the Switch, is a major hit. The two biggest games for Switch are massively popular entries in the long-running "Super Mario" and "Legend of Zelda" franchises.

And the future looks as big — or maybe even bigger— for the Japanese gaming giant. How does a new Pokémon game for the Nintendo Switch sound to you? How about three? Or maybe a new "Smash Bros." game is more your style? 

That's just the beginning! Nintendo is about to announce tons of new stuff during its annual briefing at E3 2018 — here's what to expect:

SEE ALSO: PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are about to go head-to-head at the biggest gaming event of the year — here's what to expect

Nintendo's plans for E3 2018, broadly speaking:

Nintendo's annual E3 video presentation on all things Nintendo Switch is Tuesday, June 12 at 12:00 p.m. EST / 9:00 a.m. PDT.

As always, Nintendo will broadcast its video presentation on several platforms — Twitch and YouTube are both hosting streams of the event.

The E3 briefing is Nintendo's annual opportunity to announce major games, further detail upcoming games, and — generally speaking — address its most loyal fans directly. It's the kind of event where Nintendo might reveal a major new "Pokémon" game, for instance (which happened last year).

It's a presentation full of surprise reveals intended to wow viewers, and this year is no different. But we do have a few good ideas of what to expect.

Here's what we know about Nintendo's line-up:



"Nintendo Switch Super Smash Bros." (working title)

If you've never played a "Smash Bros." game, think of it as a fighting-game version of "Mario Kart."

Nintendo's large cast of famous faces — from Mario to Donkey Kong, Pikachu to Princess Peach — take each other down in a simplified fighting format. They each have their own set of moves and traits that map to that character: Pikachu shoots lightning, Mario throws fireballs, Link wields the Master Sword, etc.

Rather than taking players on one at a time, "Smash Bros." distinguishes itself by throwing anywhere from two to eight players into a match. It's a chaotic, silly, surprisingly deep fighting-game series with a serious following.

And in 2018, it's apparently coming back: The series is headed to the Nintendo Switch in 2018.

So far, we can spot Link, Bowser, Pit, Pikachu, Kirby, the two Inklings from "Splatoon," and Mario — and it looks like Link is represented in his "Breath of the Wild" form. But there are a handful of other character silhouettes in the trailer.



Check out the teaser for "Super Smash Bros." right here:

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'The Americans' series finale made me reexamine and appreciate its most disappointing season

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the americans

  • Season five of "The Americans" was underwhelming, but this year's final season, specifically the finale, puts it in an entirely new perspective. 
  • One scene in particular in the finale makes the monotony of season five worth it.
  • It's caused me to reexamine and appreciate what I once thought was the show's weakest and most disappointing season. 

Warning: This post contains spoilers for the series finale of "The Americans."

FX's Cold War spy drama, "The Americans," was always a slow-burn, but that was to its advantage. It prided itself on being character-focused, and while it was often a riveting thriller, the action was never the main part of its appeal. A character eating a sandwich at the dinner table could be just as dramatic as a job gone wrong.

But last year's fifth season took the term "slow-burn" to another level. While it was still one of the best dramas on television, "The Americans" stumbled in season five. It didn't seem to be pushing the show's narrative forward, and instead seemed to be stalling for its final season, which had already been announced at the time. It also lost out on an Outstanding Drama nomination at last year's Emmys, while the fourth season marked the series' first nomination in the category. The show's momentum had slowed.

By the end of the season, I was left wondering what had changed from the first episode to the last, and, unfortunately, I thought not much had. Season five was still well-written and there were some memorable moments, but it felt underwhelming at the time because I expected more. 

On Wednesday, the show's sixth and final season came to a satisfying halt, and marked the end of its era of character-driven television dramas. But not only did it deliver a fulfilling finale, it also made me reexamine and appreciate what I once thought was the show's most disappointing season.

Throughout season five, Philip (Matthew Rhys), one of the KGB agents posing as an American along with wife Elizabeth (Keri Russell), is doubting his life as a spy. He's become accustomed to and even likes life in America, and he's taken too many innocent lives for him to feel good about his work anymore. This is the main focus of the season, and by its end, Philip decides to quit being a spy (for the most part) while Elizabeth stays in the field.

By this year's final season, the series jumped forward three years. Elizabeth is chainsmoking and constantly tired from her nightly spy gigs. Their children, Paige (Holly Taylor), who knows about her parents' double life and has been training to be a spy with her mother, and Henry (Keidrich Sellati) are attending college. Philip is struggling to keep his travel-agency business afloat, despite focusing on it more.

the americans

On the surface, the final season is strikingly different from what I remember of the fifth season. The story moves toward a definitive conclusion and the stakes are high.

But the final season, specifically the finale, also shines a new light on the fifth season. Philip is drawn back into the life he left behind because of two things. First, Oleg (Costa Ronin) has returned to America to gather intel on a plot to remove Russia's leader by the people that Philip and Elizabeth serve, and he wants Philip to spy on Elizabeth. Second, Elizabeth needs his help for a job in the season's seventh episode, "Harvest." It naturally goes terribly wrong.

By the end of the season/series, Philip and Elizabeth flee back to Russia because the F.B.I. has learned about them. Philip, who at the end of the fifth season had quit that life, and Elizabeth, who had always been so loyal to her country but is betrayed by her own people, leave their American life, including their children, behind.

Was it all worth it?

That's a question they must be asking themselves, and it's a question that wouldn't be as powerful without season five. Philip has obviously assimilated to his American lifestyle. He chooses his final American meal to be at McDonald's, and he even thinks about staying in America in hiding. But both he and Elizabeth know there's no other option than to leave. 

It's a heartbreaking realization considering how season five plays out. In season five, Philip can't handle his actions anymore and he gets out, but the final season ropes him back in with devastating results. And in the end, it's their own people who are their undoing. Philip's monologue during the parking garage scene in the finale, when Philip and Elizabeth's F.B.I. agent neighbor Stan (Noah Emmerich) finally confronts them, is the perfect encapsulation of this. 

"I did all this for my country. My country wanted me to and I kept doing it. Telling myself it was important, until finally I couldn't and I stopped. I'm done with that now and I have been for a long time. It was all just screwing people for ... I don't even know for what. So I quit ... Now I need to leave, if I can. I have to run away from the place I have lived for the past so many years. I have to abandon my son. He can't come with us, because I got caught, I finally got caught. I don't even know what happens if we make it home, because after all these years of being scared of Americans and recruiting Americans and following Americans we finally got something ... and it's our own people. It's a bunch of f---ing Russians."

In this moment, Philip is pouring his heart and soul out to the one person he's ever considered a friend, and it's everything he was feeling in season five. For Philip and Elizabeth's downfall to be because of their own bosses puts season five in an entirely different perspective, both in terms of Philip quitting and Elizabeth being so loyal. 

Apart from Philip and Elizabeth's storylines, we also needed Oleg's slow story in season five, where he is back in Russia, for his fate in the finale to be as effective. Oleg leaves his family and risks being arrested in America — and exactly that happens. 

And while the series finale didn't answer whether Stan's wife Renee (who was introduced in season five) is a KGB agent or not, which fans have speculated, her up-in-the-air storyline still felt worthwhile. Many fans felt she might be the endgame when she was introduced, and while the finale doesn't answer who she is, that kind of ambiguity feels strangely satisfying. 

Season five of "The Americans" may have been monotonous when I first watched, but the series finale gives it new meaning. I guess it's time to go back and rewatch.

More on "The Americans" finale:

SEE ALSO: We looked back at the long history of failed 'Watchmen' adaptations, as HBO tries to break the cycle with a new TV show

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F-35 embarrassed by Tom Cruise's new 'Top Gun' movie going with its older competitor, the F-18

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top gun

  • The actor Tom Cruise tweeted a teaser for the long-awaited sequel to the movie "Top Gun" on Thursday — and in doing so, he wandered into one of the most heated debates in modern combat aviation and delivered a savage burn to the F-35.
  • The F-35C, the US Navy's long overdue, massively expensive new carrier aircraft, is nowhere to be seen. Instead, the F-18 Super Hornet, the F-35's main competitor, can be seen.
  • It's an embarrassment to the F-35 program that mounting setbacks have pushed it out of a potentially massive public-relations boost and that the boon instead went to its older competitor. 

The actor Tom Cruise on Thursday tweeted a teaser for the long-awaited sequel to the movie "Top Gun" — and in doing so, he wandered into one of the most heated debates in modern combat aviation and delivered a savage burn to the F-35.

The original "Top Gun" film was nothing short of a revelation for the US Navy. People around the US and the world saw fighter jets in a whole new light, and naval aviation recruitment shot up by 500%.

A new "Top Gun" movie, now 32 years after the first, could again spike interest in combat aviation at a time when the US military struggles to retain and attract top talent. But for the most expensive weapons system in history, it already looks like a bust.

Here's the poster for the new "Top Gun."

Notice anything? The F-35C, the US Navy's long overdue, massively expensive new carrier aircraft, is nowhere to be seen. Instead, the F-18 Super Hornet, the F-35's main competitor, can be seen.

The F-35 community was not thrilled.

"Everybody that's flown a fighter in the last 25 years, we all watched 'Top Gun,'" retired US Marine Corps Lt. Col. David Berke, who flew F-35s and actually attended the US Navy's Top Gun school, previously told Business Insider.

"Damn shame," Berke said in response to the new movie's choice of fighter. "I guess it will be a movie about the past!"

While experts agree that the F-35's carrier-based variant, the F-35C, and its vertical-takeoff sister, the F-35B, represent the future of naval aviation, they're just not ready for the big time yet.

The F-35B had its first operational deployment in 2018 in the Pacific, but the F-35C remains a ways off from adoption onto the US Navy's fleet of aircraft supercarriers. Persistent problems with launching the sophisticated airplane off a moving ship have pushed back the schedule and resulted in huge cost overruns.

Meanwhile, the F-18 Super Hornet continues to do the lion's share of combat-aviation work aboard aircraft carriers, and its maker, Boeing, has even offered an updated version of the plane that President Donald Trump entertained buying instead of the F-35.

In short, it's an embarrassment to the F-35 program that mounting setbacks have pushed it out of a potentially massive public-relations boost.

"It's a capable aircraft," retired Lt. Gen. David Deptula, the dean of the Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies, told Business Insider of the Super Hornet. "It's just last century's design."

He added: "It is a missed opportunity."

Berke pointed out that the producers of the new "Top Gun" may have gone with the Super Hornet over the F-35 because the Super Hornet has two seats, which could facilitate filming and possibly on-screen dynamics.

The popular aviation blog The Aviationist also pointed out that Cruise is holding an outdated helmet and that the photo does not appear to take place at the US Navy's Top Gun school. But Hollywood sometimes makes mistakes.

"Hollywood doesn't build movies around what makes sense — they build movies around what makes money," Deptula said.

But despite what might have come as a slight sting to F-35 boosters hoping a new film could help usher in what they call a revolution in combat aviation, both Berke and Deptula said they were looking forward to the film.

SEE ALSO: Russia's foreign minister gave Kim Jong Un a mysterious box to 'lock secret things' inside

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14 surprising celebrities Donald Trump has been friends with over the years

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alec baldwin and trump

As a billionaire reality TV star and real estate mogul in New York, a lot of people have tried to get into Donald Trump's inner circle over the years.

From politics to business and to Hollywood, it's not surprising that Trump has had friends in almost every line of work.

On Thursday, the president announced that he is considering a pardon for his friend Martha Stewart. Stewart was convicted for conspiracy, obstruction, and making false statements to investigators in 2004.

Along with Stewart, here are 14 people you may not have known Trump befriended:

SEE ALSO: 17 celebrities who became politicians

DON'T MISS: Meet 'Stormy Daniels', the porn star Trump's lawyer paid to keep quiet about an alleged sexual affair — who's finally telling her side of the story

Trump took a liking to Mike Tyson when he starting hosting some of the boxer's biggest matches at Trump Plaza in Atlantic City. When Tyson was convicted of rape in 1992, Trump defended the boxer, calling the verdict "a travesty."

Source: CNN



Shortly after the 2016 election, Trump met with rapper Kanye West at Trump Tower in New York. "We've been friends for a long time," Trump said, adding that the two discussed "life" during their meeting. The two also shared the love on Twitter in April.

Source: BusinessInsider



Journalist Barbara Walters has been friends with Trump on and off for years. After having a bit of a falling out in 2007 after she defended Rosie O'Donnell's criticisms of Trump, Walters "rekindled" their friendship two years later, saying "I've missed you."

Source: The Today Show



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Why American actors suck at British accents

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Lots of British actors have really nailed their American accents, but Americans can't seem to imitate their peers across the pond. We spoke with Erik Singer, a dialect coach based in New York, to find out why British actors appear to be so much more skillful when it comes to accents and dialect on the big screen. Following is a transcript of the video.

Kevin Costner: Sheriff calls us outlaws. But I say we are free.

Cary Elwes: Unlike some other Robin Hoods, I can speak with an English accent.

Narrator: There are countless examples of American actors who do terrible British accents.

Keanu Charles Reeves: I've seen many strange things already.

Dick Van Dyke: Mary Poppins, you look beautiful.

Narrator: While most British actors appear to have perfected their American accents.

Kate Winslet: Is that the going rate for saving the woman you love?

Andrew Lincoln: But, I'm gonna kill you.

Narrator: So why do Americans have such a tough time?

Erik Singer: I think part of it is an illusion. I think part of it is just the fact that we actually hear a lot more British actors doing American accents.

Narrator: Erik Singer is a dialect coach based in New York.

Singer: How many accents and dialects can I do? All of them.

Narrator: He works with actors to fine tune their accents for film and TV.

Singer: I think we can probably think of some accents from British actors in American accents that are less successful.

Orlando Bloom: I can't imagine a world without you.

Ray Winstone: There are guys you can hit. And there's guys you can't.

Singer: The British actors who do really successful American accents tend to live in the states tend to come here and really be sort of be aiming at the kind of success that, you know, having a career in TV and film that's produced in Hollywood represent. The American actors who do really good British accents, and there are plenty, tend to be under the radar a little bit more. You know they're doing theater in London or something like that.

Narrator: The type of training actors receive can also come into play.

Singer: More British actors tend to have a drama school training in which speech and accents and phonetics is part of it.

Narrator: So what are some examples of Americans who can do a good British accent?

Singer: I've heard some clips of Michael C. Hall in the Netflix series "Safe" doing an English accent that sounds really really really good.

Michael C. Hall: I'm looking for Jenny, my daughter, I think she was Chris last night, is she here?

Singer: Alan Tudyk does a great job, he's the robot in "Rogue One."

Alan Tudyk: I'm a reprogrammed Imperial Droid.

Narrator: On the flip side, Singer says there are numerous British actors who have really nailed their American accents.

Singer: Idris Elba's kind of African American accent in "The Wire."

Idris Elba: You going out on point pickin' up business in the pit. Ain't nothin' else to it.

Singer: Daniel Kaluuya did an amazing job, I think, in "Get Out."

Daniel Kaluuya: Yo, my man, they were asking me about the African American experience. Maybe you can take this one.

Singer: Mark Rylance, his native accent is English. He usually does a really great job in American accents.

Mark Rylance: Hello, I am James Halliday, if you're watching this, I'm dead.

Narrator: For those who have struggled with accents in the past.

Brad Pitt: I need that money, Tom.

Narrator: Singer has some tips for actors looking to hone their skills.

Singer: Listen to a native speaker, listen a lot and listen some more. It's an act of the imagination taking on another accent if you're not familiar with the culture, the place, the people or you don't have a strong kind of sense of empathetic identification that's when it gets really hard. Meryl Streep is famous for having done this a lot, being surrounded by people who talk in the target accent.

Meryl Streetp: 1941, when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor.

Singer: Meryl Streep doing Margaret Thatcher which is a very specific, it's an idiolect, it's one person's accent. But, it's absolutely flawless.

Narrator: When doing a British accent, there are a few basic things to keep in mind.

Singer: Posture wise the tongue tips tend to be pointier jaw tends to be a bit higher. I would listen particularly for sounds like goat, the o-sound where it's like hold, gold, hope. I tend to use a bit more pitch, tend to use pitch for emphasis a bit more so that'll get you started.

Narrator: There were many types of British accents. And some tend to be more difficult than others.

Singer: One thing that comes up for some reason is that a lot of Americans seem to really struggle with is Welsh accents. A lot of it is a lack of exposure. It's like Welsh, what does that even sound like for a lot of Americans. Unless you've gone to see a production of "Under Milk Wood" or something like that. You probably haven't been exposed to lots of Welsh accents.

Narrator: There's also one type of British accent that actors tend to lean on.

Singer: One of the first things that you'll see American actors do is kind of straighten up, yes, I've got to be like this. And there's an association with the kind of fanciness. Sometimes you'll see British actors kinda get soft and floppy and lean back 'cause American are all like that. Which is adding a particular character and attitude on top of an accent. And I think it's really important not to rely on those sorts of things. And to realize that people are people. And character is to a large extent, independent of accent.

Narrator: To perfect an American accent you need to focus on one key letter.

Singer: A huge thing is getting American r-sounds. And there's two things that can be challenging there. One of them is just making sure they're all there. And unstressed syllables like at the end of words like other and another, mother, sister, brother, you know, writer, baker. We tend to skip right over those.

Andrew Lincoln: Carl! Carl!

Singer: American r's usually are made for most people with the sides of the tongue kind of bunching up. It's a really odd thing to do with your tongue. And it can feel very awkward and clumsy and it involves a lot of muscularity.

Narrator: Regardless of your skills, sometimes your true accent will pop up unexpectedly.

Singer: Getting very emotional, yelling, also being tired or drunk, these are times when accents do tend to slip.

Christian Bale: I killed Bethany, my old girl friend with a nail gun.

Narrator: So how long does it take to master an accent?

Singer: It just depends, it really does. The more time the better. If you have six weeks before shooting starts or before rehearsals start for a play and you work on it really really hard, ideally with a really qualified dialect coach, you stand a pretty good shot of getting to a good place.

Keanu Charles Reeves: Yes sir, I will give it my full attention. Our work is finished here. Hers has just begun.

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The 7 artists you need to see at Governors Ball music festival this weekend

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gov ball, Governors Ball 2012, Randall's Island, NYC, New York City, Festivals, Music, Live Performance, BI, DNG

Governors Ball returns to New York City's Randall's Island Park this weekend for its eighth annual music festival.

Headlined this year by Jack White, Travis Scott, and Eminem, the festival's lineup also features a handful of acclaimed indie acts and an altogether impressive showing for hip-hop artists, including a last-minute addition of rapper Pusha-T.

For those attending, we've highlighted a selection of the best performers to help streamline your festival experience.

Here are the 7 artists you need to see at Governors Ball music festival this weekend:

SEE ALSO: The 50 best-selling albums of all time

Jack White

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Day: Friday

Set time: 9:15-11 pm

Stage: Gov Ball NYC Stage

Jack White is the headlining act on Friday. His latest album, "Boarding House Reach," is a bizarre, protean mix of funk-rock influences that should make for a raucous and compelling live set. If you're in the mood for more of a chill set to close out your night, consider seeing English producer-singer James Blake instead. Blake is performing in the same time-slot as White on the Honda Stage.



Kelela

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Set time: 3:45-4:45 pm

Stage: American Eagle Stage 

R&B singer Kelela's debut full-length album, "Take Me Apart," was one of the best-reviewed LPs of 2017. Her versatile singing compliments her great ear for idiosyncratic, electronic production from indie artists like Arca and Kwes. 



Cut Copy

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Day: Saturday

Set time: 4:45-5:45 pm

Stage: Gov Ball NYC Stage

The Australian indie-rock trio Cut Copy makes striking guitar-led music backed by panoramic synths and accessible melodies — all of which translates well in a festival setting. The singles from its most recent album, 2017's "Haiku from Zero," are all stellar, "Airborne" (see above) in particular. 



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Advertisers are starting to ditch Samantha Bee over her snipe at Ivanka Trump

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Samantha Bee

  • The fallout from comedian Samantha Bee's insult to Ivanka Trump looks like it's just getting started.
  • Hours after Bee apologized for calling the first daughter a "feckless c---," companies began suspending their advertising on her TBS program, "Full Frontal with Samantha Bee."
  • The automotive classifieds website Autotrader and the insurance giant State Farm announced they were pulling their ads from the show.


Companies are starting to pull their advertisements from comedian Samantha Bee's "Full Frontal" program on TBS after Bee called Ivanka Trump a "feckless c---."

There was fierce backlash over Bee's remark which aired Wednesday night, and the comedian released a statement apologizing to the first daughter on Thursday. By Thursday night, advertisers began to flee, CNN reported.

Autotrader, the automotive-classifieds website, said in a statement according to CNN: "We will not run Autotrader advertising on Samantha Bee's show moving forward."

The insurance giant, State Farm, told CNN that it asked TBS to suspend its advertisements as well. "We constantly review programs to ensure alignment to our programming guidelines and brand values," State Farm's statement read.

Bee's comment was couched in a broader criticism of a photo Trump posted of herself with her child over the weekend. That photo was seen as tone-deaf among some observers, as news about the Trump administration's policy on migrant children gained new momentum.

Responding to the photo on Wednesday night, Bee said "Do something about your dad's immigration practices, you feckless c---." The comedian's remark came just hours after Roseanne Barr's self-titled TV show was canceled over a racist comment she made about a former Obama administration adviser.

TBS released its own statement after Bee's apology, calling her remark about Ivanka Trump "vile and inappropriate." It was not immediately clear whether any other disciplinary action would be taken. 

Fox News opinion-show host Laura Ingraham saw similar uproar in March after she mocked a Parkland school shooting survivor on her show.

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The house owned by Cameron Diaz in 'The Holiday' is on sale for $12 million — take a look inside

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cameron diaz the holiday

The house owned be Cameron Diaz' character in "The Holiday" could now be yours — if you have $11.8 million to spare, that is.

The seven-bedroom, six-bathroom "landmark two-storey masterpiece" on 1883 Orlando Road in San Marino, California served as the exterior of the California mansion — as well as the backyard scenes — in the 2006 comedy/romance film starring Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jack Black, and Jude Law.

It's on sale through realtors Brent Change and Linda Change of Compass, who provided photos of the property to Business Insider.

Scroll down to take a look inside.

SEE ALSO: Thailand's famous beach from 'The Beach' is closing after damage by too many tourists

The gated two-story mansion was designed by architect Wallace Neff as his own personal residence. It was built in 1928 for $40,000. He described it as a "California interpretation of the Italian Lombard vernacular."



It's located in San Marino, right across from the Huntington Library.



The entry is pretty grand, with an even more impressive staircase.



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Trump calls out 'double standard,' asks why not fire Samantha Bee for calling Ivanka a 'c---'

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Samantha Bee

  • President Donald Trump on Friday called out what he saw as a double standard between the treatment of Roseanne Barr and Samantha Bee.
  • He asked why TBS hadn't fired Bee as "Full Frontal" host after she called Ivanka Trump a "feckless c---."
  • ABC pulled Barr's show, "Roseanne," after Barr tweeted a racist insult about an Obama administration official.
  • The comments from Bee and Barr differ greatly, as do their respective shows and networks, so it's unclear whether they can be usefully judged on the same standards.

President Donald Trump called out what he saw as a double standard on Friday morning, asking why TBS hadn't fired the "Full Frontal" host Samantha Bee for calling his daughter Ivanka Trump a "feckless c---."

"Why aren't they firing no talent Samantha Bee for the horrible language used on her low ratings show?" Trump tweeted. "A total double standard but that's O.K., we are Winning, and will be doing so for a long time to come!"

Bee used the derogatory remark against Trump's daughter and adviser during Wednesday night's show because of what Bee described as her failure to protect immigrant children. A policy of Trump's administration has been to separate families that cross the border illegally, sparking outrage from critics.

"The language used by Samantha Bee last night is vile and vicious," the White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, said in a statement. "The collective silence by the left and its media allies is appalling."

Bee apologized for the remark on Thursday, saying she "crossed a line" and "deeply" regretted the comment, but by then she already had begun to lose advertisers.

The automotive classifieds website Autotrader and the insurance giant State Farm announced they were pulling their ads from her show.

Trump's assertion that Bee's show has low ratings is solid. From The Wrap:

"Year-to-date, Bee's Nielsen ratings are down 34 percent among adults ages 18-49, which is the demographic most-coveted by primetime advertisers. Isolating just millennials, a label assigned to adults ages 18-34, she's shed a whopping 47 percent — or nearly half — of her 2017 viewership.

"In terms of total viewers, 'Full Frontal' is down 29 percent year over year."

A double standard?

Roseanne barr

In evoking the double standard, Trump was surely referring to Roseanne Barr's firing this week by ABC, which canceled her show, "Roseanne," after she tweeted a racist insult about the former Obama administration official Valerie Jarrett.

The comments from Bee and Barr differ greatly, as do their respective shows and networks, so it's unclear whether they could be usefully judged on the same standards.

While Bee used one of most offensive words in American English to attack Ivanka Trump, Barr mocked the appearance of a woman of color, likening Jarrett, an African-American born in Iran, to an ape and stereotyping her as being somehow linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, an organization to which she has no affiliation.

Trump has also attacked ABC over its reporting on his campaign and has demanded an apology from Bob Iger, the CEO of the network's owner, Disney.

SEE ALSO: Trump demands ABC, Bob Iger apologize to him for bad reporting after the network canceled 'Roseanne' for her racist tweet

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'Fortnite' is finally coming to the Nintendo Switch

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fortnite

  • The world's most popular game, "Fortnite," looks to be headed to Nintendo's Switch console.
  • The game showed up as rated by the Korean Game Rating and Administration Committee — one of the final steps before launch.
  • Epic Games, the maker of "Fortnite," has yet to officially confirm the Switch version of the game.


"Fortnite" is on pretty much every platform except for Nintendo Switch — and it looks like that's about to change. 

The world's most popular game popped up on the Korean Game Rating and Administration Committee database overnight, specifically listed for the Nintendo Switch. The game's rating applicant is listed as "Epic Games Korea," and Nintendo Switch is the only platform it's being rated on.

Though "Fortnite" hasn't been announced as coming to Switch, the rating is as close as it gets to an official reveal without Epic Games just announcing it.

Games tend to pass through ratings boards like the ESRB in North America, PEGI in Europe, and the GRAC in South Korea as one of the last certifications before launch. That could mean that "Fortnite" is coming to the Nintendo Switch sooner than later.

Fortnite on Switch

The certification is further backed up by an image that popped up on 4chan overnight that spells out some of Nintendo's plans for E3 2018. 

The image points to "Fortnite" and a slew of other unannounced games as headed to the Switch, including known quantities like "Mario Tennis Aces" and unknowns like "Dragon Ball FighterZ." Neither Nintendo nor Epic Games responded to request for comment as of publishing.

SEE ALSO: Why isn't Fortnite, the world's most popular game, on Nintendo's Switch?

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NOW WATCH: How to avoid having your computer hacked

How a true-life heist movie used the real criminals and victim to bring the story to life

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  • "American Animals" looks at a thrilling heist that took place at Transylvania University in 2004.
  • Director Bart Layton explains to Business Insider the unique way he used the real-life criminals in his movie to make it more real than most "based on a true story" movies.


When a movie starts with the text “based on a true story,” audiences are meant to believe that what they are about to see is mostly true. But the words “based on” can be very misleading.

Often the rights to a true-life story are based on an article or book. This leads to the real-life people behind the story, if they are still alive, often not being involved in the storytelling. And that can mean the filmmakers taking a lot of major artistic liberties to get the story compelling enough for it to be worthy of the big screen.

But with a background in documentary filmmaking, director Bart Layton (“The Imposter”) wanted to change that perception with his new movie “American Animals” (in theaters Friday). And right from the opening, it promises to be different.

The text at the start boldly changes from reading “This is not based on a true story” to “This is a true story.”

Finding the men behind the heist

“American Animals” looks at the audacious attempted heist of priceless books from Transylvania University’s special collections library in 2004 by childhood friends Warren Lipka and Spencer Reinhard. The movie follows the two, along with two other fellow students they enlisted, as they plan and follow through with the heist. Every second they think they are masterminds when in fact they are a bunch of bored suburban kids who get in over their heads.

This may all sound like your typical heist movie, but here's the kicker: Layton also filmed the real members of the heist as well, so along with actors cast to play them, the movie also gets the perspective of the men who did it. The heist members even have on-screen discussions with the actors playing them at certain moments.

american animals the orchard moviepass venturesReinhard (played by Barry Keoghan), Lipka (Evan Peters), and the two other members — Chas Allen (Blake Jenner) and Eric Borsuk (Jared Abrahamson) — were all caught after the heist and went to prison for over seven years. It was during their stint in prison when Layton, who had come across their story in a magazine article while on a flight, began writing letters to the men.

“I wrote to each of them and asked why, what was the motivation?” Layton told Business Insider. “They sent back these surprising letters about doing it because they were searching for their identity and the realization that maybe they weren’t going to be interesting or special in life like how they were told they would be when they were brought up. For me it took it from a great story to an amazing story.”

For years, Layton had a correspondence with the men through letters while also feeding his interest in the subject by getting their case files and police reports of the heist through the Freedom of Information Act. And despite a “big Hollywood producer” having the life rights to the men, according to Layton, he began to work on a script for a movie that would depict how the heist went down.

A style of true story you've never seen before

Layton is no stranger to putting a unique spin on stories that are already ambitious in nature. His major breakout in the movie world was his award-winning 2012 documentary “The Imposter.” In it, he tells the story of a man who in 1997 convinced authorities on two continents that he was a boy who had gone missing three years earlier at the age of 13. He even convinced the boy’s family.

Layton didn't just film interviews with all the players involved — even the crafty admitted imposter, Frédéric Bourdin — but filmed Bourdin’s recollections through reenactments, blurring what was true and what was made up by Bourdin.

bart layton the orchard moviepass venturesFor “American Animals,” Layton wanted to go a step further. He believed having the real people placed into the narrative would heighten the truth.

“I wanted to experiment with this notion that there might be a new way in which to tell a true story,” Layton said. “A gripping roller coaster white knuckle heist movie but at the same time because of the inclusion of the real guys you have a connection to the truth and to the reality.”

While trading letters with the heist participants in prison, Layton was informed that the Hollywood producer declined to reacquire the rights after they lapsed, allowing Layton to nab them and go forward with his movie. When the heist members were through with their prison sentences, Layton asked them to be in the movie, though making it clear that they were not going to receive a major pay day for their involvement.

“It was nothing that would commensurate to life rights from Hollywood,” Layton said. “We paid them for their time. We didn’t want them to profit from this seeing they did something that’s not legal.”

Getting the victim to agree to be in the movie

“American Animals” concludes with how the heist went down, and though it's depicted with all its stranger-than-fiction qualities, it’s the added element Layton plugged in that really drives it home.

Layton was able to track down the librarian who was working the day the heist took place. Depicted by character actor Ann Dowd in the movie, at a point toward the end of the movie, the real Betty Jean Gooch comes on screen, dressed exactly how she is in the movie, and is interviewed about the experience. It’s a moment in the movie that stands out for Layton because it defines what he tried to do with the movie — building an added element of fact.

“I wanted her to get the last word,” Layton said, though he admitted she needed a lot of convincing to be in the movie.

Gooch, along with the four real-life heist members, were the few who saw the movie before it had its world premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival (it was co-acquired there by The Orchard and MoviePass Ventures).

“She’s the only person I would have gone back into the finished film and changed anything," Layton said. “But she actually loved the film and said after we showed it to her that she could actually begin to find a degree of forgiveness toward the guys after all this time.”

SEE ALSO: "Solo" is the latest "Star Wars" movie to bomb in China, and Disney has a big problem on its hands

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NOW WATCH: Ian Bremmer: Why the American dream doesn't exist anymore

7 great movies you can watch on Netflix this weekend

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No plans this weekend? Thankfully, there are plenty of movies available on Netflix, and you don't have to choose among its entire catalog anymore.

Every week, we go through Netflix's inventory and select amazing movies that you can watch over the weekend.

We pick some that have recently come onto the service and mix in a few old favorites as well.

From Pixar's Oscar-winning tear-jerker "Coco" to the silly but enjoyable action-adventure film "National Treasure" starring Nicolas Cage, these are some great movies on Netflix that you can watch over the weekend.

Here are seven movies you won't regret watching on Netflix:

SEE ALSO: All your favorite Netflix original shows that have been renewed for another season

"Coco" (2017)

Netflix description: On the Dia de los Muertos, young would-be musician Miguel crosses into the afterlife on a quest to meet his ancestor and understand his family legacy.

Critic score: 97%

Audience score: 94%

Before you watch this sweet and visually stunning Oscar winner from Pixar, make sure you have a lot of tissues, because it will make you cry a river.



"The Truman Show" (1998)

Netflix description: Truman Burbank is the star of "The Truman Show," a 24-hour-a-day TV phenomenon that broadcasts every aspect of his life without his knowledge.

Critic score: 94%

Audience score: 88%

This film, one of the smartest movies from the 1990s, quickly became a classic for its thought-provoking twist and Jim Carrey's exemplary performance. It's such a pop-culture touchstone that people still discuss it 20 years later.



"Other People" (2016)

Netflix description: After a bad breakup, a struggling New York comedy writer tries to don a brave face and care for his dying mother in Sacramento.

Critic score: 88%

Audience score: 79%

This dark comedy about death from the "Saturday Night Live" writer Chris Kelly doesn't exactly cover anything new, but it has a fresh take. It's a smart, funny, emotional movie, and it's some of the best work Molly Shannon has ever done.



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