Netflix rolled out its new original series "House of Cards" featuring Kevin Spacey earlier today.

The political drama follows Spacey as congressman Francis Underwood who goes after the White House after the president goes back on a promise to nominate him for Secretary of State.

If you want to check out the series, Netflix is allowing anyone, even those without a subscription, to view the first episode free here. 

However, the episode will only be available for play through the month of February.

Subscribers, meanwhile, have access to the entire series' first 13 episodes.

If buzz picks up, it could work in Netflix's favor by getting even more people interested in subscribing to the $7.99 monthly service. 

Netflix just had a huge fourth quarter. Usage is up 20 percent over last year as the video-streaming site is now used in one out of every four homes. 

Worldwide, the site now has more than 33 million active members.

Check out the trailer for the show below:

SEE ALSO: Harvey Weinstein wants people to pay for content on the Internet >

Please follow The Wire on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

After nearly 25 years at ABC News, 67-year-old Diane Sawyer is considering calling it quits in 2013, a source close to the "ABC World News" anchor tells the New York Daily News.

“She has discussed with a few close friends and some people at ABC that she is seriously considering retiring,” says the insider. “She said she’ll be ready to hang it up not long down the road. She loves work and what she does and has endless energy, but she’s overwhelmed with personal problems and she is thinking about leaving to take care of her family.”

In addition to taking care of her ailing mother, the NYDN also claims Sawyer is dealing with "a private matter."

“No one wants to see her going through a rough time," adds the source. "She’s the nicest woman. If it’s a co-worker’s birthday, she’ll throw a party. Anything to show everyone a good time.”

In November, Sawyer started trending on Twitter after she appeared sleepy (or drunk) during election night coverage after she started to slur her words. 

But ABC News Senior Vice-President Jeffrey Schneider is squashing the report, saying the story "is not true."

Schneider goes on to say, "had the Daily News actually asked us if Diane was considering retiring we would have told them yesterday that it wasn’t true.”

SEE ALSO:

• Everyone is talking about Diane Sawyer's strange on-air election coverage >
• Source says Diane Sawyer was not drunk during election coverage, just "overworked" >

Please follow The Wire on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

Movie mogul Harvey Weinstein recently sat down for a lengthy Q&A with Deadline's Mike Fleming in which the pair discussed everything from paying for content on the internet to President Obama.

But it was interesting to hear what Weinstein, who is behind two of the nine Best Picture nominees at this year's Oscars ("Silver Linings Playbook," "Django Unchained"), thinks of his competition come February 24.

Here's what Weinstein says — or doesn't say — about his Oscar competitors:

• "Life of Pi": "Brilliant, Ang Lee at his absolute best."
• "Lincoln": "A masterpiece."
• "Argo": "Ben Affleck hit it out of the ballpark."
• "Amour": "Amazing, and those guys did such a good job getting that film noticed and nominated."
• "Beasts of the Southern Wild," "Les Miserables": "Stupendous year."
• "Zero Dark Thirty": He literally says nothing about it, just lists the film as a contender. Weinstein has notorious beef with the film's director Kathryn Bigelow after he released the competing "Seal Team Six" ahead of Bigelow's film also documenting the killing of Osama bin Laden.

The Weinstein company co-chair also takes on Megan Ellison, who produced "Zero Dark Thirty," as well as this year's "The Master" alongside Weinstein. The two have reportedly been feuding since working together on the film.

DEADLINE: What about Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master? Will you make money?

WEINSTEIN: Probably not, and I just feel bad for Megan Ellison on that. I think it’s a great movie and God bless her for bringing these great movies into the world.

DEADLINE: Why didn’t it click with a wider audience?

WEINSTEIN: I probably could have marketed it better. I probably should have prepared the audience. We opened up to the highest per screen average ever, but I think the audience had trouble with the movie and needed to be guided and eased into it. I was so enamored with the film that I didn’t think the audience would have that trouble. Other people around me did say the audience would have trouble, but I personally loved the movie and Paul. Maybe I would have done him more of a favor being a devil’s advocate instead of a cheerleader. I seem to do better when I’m playing devil’s advocate. I do think the film will stand up and have a long life down the line.

Weinstein, who additionally distributed "Django Unchained," also addressed Quentin Tarantino's Best Director snub by the Academy.

DEADLINE: Was Quentin robbed with no nomination for Best Director?

WEINSTEIN: I don’t want to use the word “robbed,” but Quentin Tarantino not in the running for Best Director? He is one of the greatest directors of our time. Here’s what I think happened on Django. We finished the movie December 1. We didn’t show it until a few days later. The race was early this year: the voting cutoff was January 3. We tried to show it to people in theaters, not on DVD. It’s an epic movie and that man put his whole life and heart into this. It’s his most important movie, his most important subject matter, and the idea of DVDs stopped me cold. And I stopped them. I wouldn’t do it.

To read the rest of the revealing Q&A on Deadline, click here >

SEE ALSO: Harvey Weinstein wants people to pay for content on the internet >

Please follow The Wire on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

Al Pacino was a guest on "The Late Show with David Letterman" this week, where he got a bit of a surprise.

After Letterman told Pacino what a good impression Kevin Spacey does of the actor, Spacey popped out from backstage to impersonate Pacino — straight to his face.

And it was spot-on. Watch below.

SEE ALSO: Watch Kevin Spacey's new Netflix show 'House of Cards' for free right now >

Please follow The Wire on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

Beyoncé is about to perform in front of more than 100 million people at the Super Bowl halftime show.

That's five times more than the number who watched her sing, or sort of not sing, the US national anthem at President Obama's inauguration, so even though she might be an Illuminati robot she's still likely to be nervous.

But if she follows our handy guidelines, she'll be fine. Good luck, Bey!

DON'T sing live

If Beyoncé needs all her lung capacity to pull off spectacular dance moves then so be it. I'm fully prepared to sacrifice live vocals for a Single Ladies Fossey move, a Bootylicious-era twerk, or even the mesmerising shoulder shuffle of Run the World (Girls) video fame. Never forget that Westlife's stagecraft involved getting on and off a stool. Nobody wants to go back to the bad place.

DO sing live

Of course, she's now saying she "absolutely [will] be singing live", telling reporters at a press conference on Thursday night that "this is what I was born to do". And of course she should show off those pipes in all their full athletic glory.

The whole "she mimed because she can't really sing" response to what happened at the inauguration was preposterous. When Beyoncé really goes for it – see this stunning dressing-room rehearsal of 1+1 or her performance of the Star-Spangled Banner to the journalists in New Orleans – it's like watching Usain Bolt strut towards the finish line.

DON'T bother with guest stars

Beyoncé is a superstar and that's why she's doing this. Previous Super Bowl performers have lost their nerve and tried to bulk up their show with guest stars. Madonna was not only upstaged by LMFAO, but also by MIA's middle finger. For shame.

Beyoncé dabbled with guests for her Glastonbury slot, which resulted in Tricky looking like a kid in a supermarket who'd lost his mum in front of 50,000 people. Let her do her own thing. She's quite good at it.

DO make an exception for Destiny's Child

Mind you, if you buy a ticket to see Paul McCartney, you're hoping he'll play some Beatles songs. There are rumours that Queen B will deign to allow Kelly and Michelle to appear for a medley of DC hits, which would of course exist within a Beyoncé medley, meaning this would be a medley-within-a-medley of some of the best pop songs of all time. Plus, it will give Michelle something to look forward to. See poormichelle.com.

DON'T overdo the wind machine

As much of a spectacle as a Beyoncé show can be, she has a tendency to veer into Tina Turner Vegas Residency territory for the bigger ones, mostly through excessive use of the wind machine.

Yes, her hair is lovely, but it is not the time for a shampoo commercial. If weather-based effects are really necessary, this Rihanna performance suggests that rain should at least be under consideration.

DO throw in a curveball

Judging by the rehearsal footage she's also released, there will be some Single Ladies. It would be a surprise if she didn't include Crazy in Love, and Irreplaceable is a worthy crowd-pleaser (for the "to the left" bit, people really like to wave their arms to, er, the left).

Here are some excellent Beyoncé songs that would also work brilliantly in a 30-second burst: Diva, Ring the Alarm, Baby Boy, End of Time, Naughty Girl. Ideally Diva. But she's got options.

DON'T decide that a new song counts as a curveball

Learn from George Michael at the Olympics closing ceremony. If you're using an audience of 111 million as an advert for your old group's new single that nobody really noticed when it failed to set the internet on fire, then your audience might feel a bit used. In fact, you could say: look out, it would lead to a Nuclear fallout. (Sorry.)

This article originally appeared on guardian.co.uk

Please follow The Wire on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

Beyoncé's live Super Bowl halftime performance won't be the only singer keeping fans entertained this weekend. 

Celebrities are heading out in droves to New Orleans for concerts and parties this weekend. 

From Justin Timberlake's first live concert in years to a star-studded Michael Bay event, see what events will be keeping Hollywood busy in Louisiana.

Jennifer Hudson will sing America the Beautiful along with 26 children from the Sandy Hook Elementary School Choir.

One Republic and Matchbox Twenty are performing the Super Bowl pregame show.

Justin Timberlake will be performing for the first time in years during DIRECTV's Super Saturday Night.

(Washington Post)

Please follow The Wire on Twitter and Facebook.

He wasn't even nominated for an Oscar, but on Saturday night Ben Affleck received the top directing prize at the Director's Guild of America Awards (DGA) -- voted on by his fellow directors. 

The "Good Will Hunting" actor beat out top talent including Kathryn Bigelow for "Zero Dark Thirty," Tom Hooper for "Les Miserables," Ang Lee for "Life of Pi" and Steven Spielberg for "Lincoln." 

"I don't this makes me a real director, but I think it means I'm on my way," Affleck said while accepting the award.

After "Argo" has had big wins at the Critics Choice Awards, SAG Awards, AFI Awards and Producers Guild Awards, the DGA win is a big indicator that the film will also do well at the Academy Awards come February 24.

In fact, according to the LA Times, "only six times since the DGA Awards began in 1948 have the two honors differed" in the Best Director category.

Only problem is that Affleck was "mind-bogglingly" snubbed by the Academy and isn't even nominated in the Best Director category at the Oscars.

Directors Kathryn Bigelow and Tom Hooper, DGA nominees, were also left off the Academy's list.

But Affleck wasn't the only big winner of the night. Lena Dunham was also lauded for "Girls," Rian Johnson for "Breaking Bad" and Jay Roach for "Game Change" were also honored.

See the full list of winners below:

FEATURE FILM

*WINNER BEN AFFLECK
Argo
(Warner Bros. Pictures)

KATHRYN BIGELOW
Zero Dark Thirty
(Columbia Pictures)
  
TOM HOOPER
Les Miserables
(Universal Pictures)
  
ANG LEE
Life of Pi
(20th Century Fox)
 
STEVEN SPIELBERG
Lincoln
(DreamWorks Pictures/Twentieth Century Fox)
 

DOCUMENTARY FILM

KIRBY DICK
The Invisible War
 
*WINNER MALIK BENDJELLOUL
Searching For Sugar Man
 
LAUREN GREENFIELD
The Queen of Versailles
 
DAVID FRANCE
How To Survive A Plague

ALISON KLAYMAN
Ai WeiWei: Never Sorry
 

MOVIES FOR TELEVISION AND MINI-SERIES
 
GREG BERLANTI
Political Animals, “Pilot”
(USA Network)

PHILIP KAUFMAN
Hemingway & Gellhorn
(HBO)
 
KEVIN REYNOLDS
Hatfields & McCoys
(History)
 
*WINNER JAY ROACH
Game Change
(HBO)
 
MICHAEL RYMER
American Horror Story: Asylum, “Dark Cousin”
(FX)
 
DRAMATIC SERIES
 
MICHAEL CUESTA
Homeland, “The Choice”
(Showtime)
 
JENNIFER GETZINGER
Mad Men, “A Little Kiss”
(AMC)
 
LESLI LINKA GLATTER
Homeland, “Q & A”
(Showtime)
 
*WINNER RIAN JOHNSON
Breaking Bad, “Fifty-One”
(AMC)
 
GREG MOTTOLA
The Newsroom, “We Just Decided To”
(HBO)
 
 
COMEDY SERIES
 
LOUIS C.K.
Louie, “New Year’s Eve”
(FX)

MARK CENDROWSKI
The Big Bang Theory, “The Date Night Variable”
(CBS)
 
BRYAN CRANSTON
Modern Family, “Election Day”
(ABC)
 
*WINNER LENA DUNHAM
Girls, “Pilot”
(HBO)
 
BETH MCCARTHY-MILLER
30 Rock, “Live from Studio 6H”
(NBC)
 
MUSICAL VARIETY
 
MICHAEL DEMPSEY
12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief
(Multiple Networks/Cable Outlets)
 
DON ROY KING
Saturday Night Live with Host Mick Jagger
(NBC)
 
DON MISCHER
84th Annual Academy Awards
(ABC)
 
CHUCK O’NEIL
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, “#17153”
(Comedy Central)
 
*WINNER GLENN WEISS
66th Annual Tony Awards
(CBS)
 
 
REALITY PROGRAMS
 
TONY CROLL
America’s Next Top Model, “The Girl Who Becomes America’s Next Top Model”
(CW)
 
PETER NEY
Face Off, “Scene of the Crime”
(Syfy)

*WINNER BRIAN SMITH
Master Chef, “Episode #305”
(Fox)
 
J. RUPERT THOMPSON
Stars Earn Stripes, “Amphibious Assault”
(NBC)
 
TIM WARREN
Ink Master, “Episode 103”
(Spike TV)

 
DAYTIME SERIALS
 
ALBERT ALARR
Days Of Our Lives, “11895”
(NBC)
 
LARRY CARPENTER
General Hospital, “Bad Water”
(ABC)
 
WILLIAM LUDEL
General Hospital, “Magic Milo”
(ABC)
 
SCOTT McKINSEY
General Hospital, “Shot Through The Heart”
(ABC)
 
*WINNER JILL MITWELL
One Life To Live, “Between Heaven and Hell”
(ABC)
 

CHILDREN'S PROGRAMS
 
STUART GILLARD
Girl vs. Monster
(Disney Channel)
 
*WINNER PAUL HOEN
Let it Shine
(Disney Channel)

SAVAGE STEVE HOLLAND
Big Time Movie
(Nickelodeon)
 
JONATHAN JUDGE
Camp Fred
(Nickelodeon)
 
AMY SCHATZ
Don’t Divorce Me! Kids’ Rules for Parents on Divorce
(HBO)
 
COMMERCIALS
 
LANCE ACORD
Park Pictures
 
Jogger, Nike – Wieden + Kennedy, Portland
 
The Dog Strikes Back, Volkswagen 2012 – Deutsch LA
 
Thread, Levi’s – Wieden + Kennedy, Portland
 
Greatness, Nike – Wieden + Kennedy, Portland
 
STEVE AYSON
MJZ/The Sweet Shop

Beer Chase, Carlton Draught – Clemenger BBDO/Melbourne

Let Me Go, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas – Fallon Minneapolis

FREDRIK BOND
MJZ

Surfer, Puma – Droga5
 
Eternal Optimism, Budweiser – Anomaly
 
*WINNER ALEJANDRO G. INARRITU
Anonymous Content

Best Job, Proctor and Gamble – Wieden + Kennedy
 
TOM KUNTZ
MJZ
 
Terry Crews Muscle Music, Old Spice – Wieden + Kennedy NY
 
Stray Animals, DirecTV – Grey
 
Roadside Ditch, DirecTV – Grey
 
Platoon, DirecTV – Grey, NY

SEE ALSO: Outlawed 'Argo' DVDs are selling by the thousands in Iran >

Please follow The Wire on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

UPDATE: Click here for the fully updated list of Super Bowl ads in order. This story was made before the Super Bowl.

Super Bowl XLVII is on right now but you don't have to wait until the game ends to check out the ads.

Skip straight to the ads →

With some advertisers shelling out as much as $4 million for a 30-second time slot, companies started rolling out teasers for their big game commercials weeks ago to get the most bang for their buck. 

And with just four days to go before the game, almost every single company has unveiled the ad it will be playing in the game.

This year's spots will star Sports Illustrated models including Kate Upton and Bar Refaeli, comedians like Seth Rogen and Amy Poehler, and a strange fish that sings "Yo Diggity." (Really.)

We've compiled a list of all of the ads that you will see Super Bowl Sunday — we've included some "teasers" as well if the full spot hasn't been leaked early — and the order that they will be playing in, based on quarter. Some advertisers haven't announced when their commercials will air, so those have been placed in our "undisclosed" section.

Tell us your favorites in the comments and check back at this story or Business Insider's Advertising news channel as we live blog Super Bowl Sunday, as more commercials get released.

Here we go!

Budweiser Black Crown — "Coronation" will be the first ad in the Super Bowl. "Coronation" (see teaser below) will also play in the first quarter.

Created by Anomaly.

Audi — "Prom"

Created by Venables, Bell and Partners.

Please follow Advertising on Twitter and Facebook.

DIRECTV put on its seventh annual Celebrity Beach Bowl at the Super Bowl on Saturday and some big names participated this year.

The Beach Bowl began when DIRECTV's senior VP of advertising and public relations, Jon Gieselman thought it up seven years ago, and it was put together quickly. Gieselmen told Forbes:

"Seven years ago, I was sitting in my office with a friend of mine who runs an agency that we work with.  It was like December 15 and it was late at night and we were talking about things we wanted to build.  I said that we should do something around the Super Bowl.  Together, we came up with an idea of having celebrities and retired NFL greats play flag football on the beach.  That year, the Super Bowl was in Miami.  So, we very quickly, in a month-and-a-half pulled the event together."

Now, the Beach Bowl is televised nationally, and internationally, and there's a giant fancy party afterwards. 

Model Chrissy Teigen was there, drinks in hand

Erin Andrews helped host the event, Deion Sanders played

Friends, Teigen and Andrews joked around on the event's "red carpet"

Please follow Sports Page on Twitter and Facebook.

We'll be updating Business Insider's Advertising channel live all through the game here.

If you want our full archive of previous coverage — including the live coverage — of Super Bowl advertising, click here.

The full online lineup of Super Bowl ads can be found here.

Vote For Your Favorite Super Bowl Ad Here.

AND TODAY'S HEADLINES ARE:

• Samsung released its ad at the last minute.
• Here's the Old Spice Super Bowl ad.
• See 21 ads that were banned from the game here.
• Here's our full archive of previous Super Bowl ad coverage.

PLUS:

• Jesse Heiman Shares How He Got To Make Out With Bar Refaeli In Front Of 111 Million People Super Bowl Sunday

• The E*TRADE Baby Succumbs To Hard Partying Ways In His Super Bowl Ad [VIDEO]

• Humiliation for CBS As Super Bowl Audience Expected To Decline

• It Took Bar Refaeli 65 Takes To Get This Kiss For Go Daddy's Super Bowl Ad Right [VIDEO]

• Coke Defuses Racism Allegations Over Super Bowl Ad Showing An Arab Pulling A Camel

• UPDATED: Here's Everything We Know About The Super Bowl Ads

• How Visa Psychically Predicted That The 49ers And Ravens Were Super Bowl-Bound In May

• Watch Budweiser's Clydesdale Super Bowl Ad Starring A 7-Day-Old Foal

Please follow Advertising on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

Alicia Keys sat down at a piano at the Super Dome and it was incredible. For those of you who bet, she went over the 2:41:

Please follow The Wire on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

The "Star Trek: Into Darkness" trailers continue to look bleak.

J.J. Abrams' Super Bowl spot for the summer blockbuster shows a bit more of Benedict Cumberbatch's nameless villain wreaking havoc for the crew aboard the Enterprise.

SEE ALSO: The extended "Iron Man 3" Super Bowl ad >

Please follow The Wire on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

The Church of Scientology — which has been repeatedly accused of essentially being a cult — ran an ad in several major metropolitan markets including Los Angeles and New York during the Super Bowl on Sunday.

As such, most of the nation thinks Scientology just bought a Super Bowl ad.

You can find details about where the ad ran here. We've got the spot below:

Please follow Advertising on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

Wow. We're blown away by Beyonce's incredible half time show. Beyonce just completely dominated the Super Bowl. 

Here's a perfect gif:

And here's the entire show:

Please follow The Wire on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

Right after the "Iron Man 3" Super Bowl spot aired, Marvel released an even longer, more revealing trailer.

You just have to get through Robert Downey Jr. admiring himself in the camera for the first 30 seconds.

SEE ALSO: The awesome "Star Trek" Super Bowl ad >

Please follow The Wire on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

CBS and the authorities at the Superdome in New Orleans will have hoards of furious advertisers calling for their heads Monday morning.

When power went out at half the stadium during the third quarter, with the Baltimore Ravens in a strong 28-6 lead over the San Francisco 49ers, advertisers were already likely unhappy because the game was so lopsided its non-partisan audience was poised to stop paying attention.

But with zero action on the field, every neutral fan has now gone to the bathroom, gotten more food and drink, or started checking their phones and tablets for alternative forms of entertainment.

CBS initially seemed to attempt to stick to its regular ad break schedule, but now, more than 15 minutes into the partial blackout, the channel has realized it will run out of ads before it runs out of game if it continued with that plan. So the network has reverted to live reported coverage of the blackout.

It's certainly dramatic — and echoes the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 when thousands huddled the darkness of the Superdome.

But it's lousy for advertisers.

It's not CBS' fault, of course, but it would be unsurprising if several companies tried to negotiate discounts on their ad buys starting Monday.

Please follow Advertising on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

It won't get 1 billion views like his K-pop single did, but people sure did cheer for it in the bar where we're watching the Super Bowl when it came on:

Please follow Advertising on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

After Beyonce rocked the half time show, Jay-Z gave her a huge hug. Just adorable:

Please follow The Wire on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

Advertisers want only one thing from the Super Bowl: For the game to be super-close, and super exciting, so that viewers will remain glued to their TV sets until the very end.

After all, they've got up to $4 million each riding on the game. That's the top price of a 30-second ad this year.

By half time, the consensus was that the game wasn't a very good one, with the Baltimore Ravens steamrolling the San Francisco 49ers. Then the Ravens scored another touchdown immediately after half time, making the score 28 - 6 with the extra point. It was great for Ravens fans, but the rest of the country likely started to get distracted.

It would be all over for advertisers. People would tune and start checking out the Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet.

And then ...

The lights went out in the stadium!

The Ravens lost their momentum!

And the 49ers pulled the score back to 28-23.

Suddenly, it was one of the most dramatic, weird, thrilling Super Bowls ever.

Just the sort of thing that advertisers love.

Advertisers who buy spots in the first two quarters of the game often pay extra to ensure that people are still watching while the game is still new and exciting. That's one reason why big brands like Coke and Bud Light are among the first ads you see.

Spots in the third and fourth quarters are often booked by more marginal brands that are taking the risk that the game will be a nail-biter — and thus they'll get the big audience numbers at a discount.

Which is why every advertiser in the back half of the game is suddenly rooting for San Francisco.

This post was originally published at 8.19 pm and was updated at 9.55 pm.

Please follow Advertising on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

Shaq was really into Beyonce's halftime performance, and even lip-synced along with her emotional song "Halo":

Please follow Sports Page on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »