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Kal Penn from 'Harold and Kumar' wants you to go back to White Castle for a Bill-Gates backed veggie burger that 'bleeds'

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harold and kumar white castle

  • Kal Penn, the actor who played Kumar in the 2004 cult comedy "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle," now has a reason to return to the burger chain in real life.
  • The chain's vegetarian sliders made with patties from startup Impossible Foods will become available at all of its nearly 400 restaurants nationwide on Wednesday.
  • Impossible Foods is known for its Impossible Burger, which sizzles and "bleeds" just like a traditional burger, and has received funding from several big name investors, including Bill Gates and Richard Branson.

Kumar is going back to White Castle — this time for a Bill Gates-backed veggie burger that "bleeds."

Kal Penn, the actor who played Kumar in the 2004 cult comedy "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle," now has a reason to return to the burger chain in real life: the long-time vegetarian can chow down on veggie Impossible Burger sliders, which will be available at all of its nearly 400 restaurants nationwide starting Wednesday.

"This is something that’s like, 'Hey you can have the same meat burger — with all the flavor, texture, everything — it’s just not made from a cow, and by the way it’s way better for you and for the planet,'" Penn told Business Insider.

Backed by investors including Bill Gates and Richard Branson, the Impossible Burger sizzles and "bleeds" just like a traditional beef burger when cooked — only the patty is made from vegetarian ingredients like wheat protein and the essential nutrient heme.

After trying the Impossible Burger for the first time in New York and mistaking it for a beef burger, Penn called up a friend, Jake Crumbine, who'd taken on a role as the head of partnerships at Impossible Foods. When he found out how the company was making "legitimate meat from plants," using heme, he decided to invest a small amount in the company.

"I thought I should probably put my money where my mouth is," Penn said.

From homemade veggie patties to Impossible Sliders

White CastleFor the film, "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle," set workers had to make miniature vegetarian patties to swap out for the beef sliders in the final scene where Harold and Kumar order their meal.

"The person in charge of props went out of her way to make little mini veggie burgers for me," said Penn. "Who would have thought that 14 years later we could be using Impossible Sliders?"

Before rolling out the veggie sliders across all of its restaurants, White Castle tested them out in a six-month pilot at a selection of locations. To White Castle CEO Lisa Ingram's surprise, White Castle fans, or "cravers," loved it.

So the company decided to make the patties available at all of their restaurants for $1.99.

White Castle isn't the only chain that's had success in adding the Impossible Burger to its menu. Fatburger, a regional chain loved by stars like Nicki Minaj and Kanye West, has been "selling the Impossible Burger like crazy," since adding it to its lineup last year, Andy Weiderhorn, the CEO of parent company Fat Brands Inc., told Business Insider.

"We’ve had a whole crop of people who come to our restaurants looking for the Impossible Burger, either never knowing we had veggie burgers before or looking for it specifically," Weiderhorn said.

That's something that can't be said of most vegetarian fast-food options.

"You no longer have to make a choice between something that’s environmentally conscious and something that tastes really good," Penn said.

SEE ALSO: The startup behind Silicon Valley’s favorite ‘bleeding’ veggie burger has scored a major victory in its battle for legitimacy

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The 11 youngest Emmy award nominees and winners of all time

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millie bobby brown converse

Millie Bobby Brown is nominated for her second Emmy award this year for her role as Eleven on the hit Netflix show "Stranger Things." She's one of the youngest people to ever be nominated for an Emmy, and if she takes home the prize on Monday, she'll be tied with the youngest person to ever win at 14 years old.

It's rare for the Emmys to nominate young actors, despite the fact that so many child actors have gotten their start on the small screen throughout television history.

There have only been 11 actors 18 years of age or younger nominated for an Emmy, and only two actors in that age group have won since the award show began in 1949.  

The 70th Primetime Emmy Awards, hosted by Colin Jost and Michael Che, air live on Monday, September 17 on NBC at 8 p.m.

Amanda Luz Henning Santiago contributed reporting on a previous version of this article.

Below are the youngest Emmy nominees and winners of all time:

SEE ALSO: The 2018 Emmy nominees have been announced, with 'Game of Thrones' and Netflix leading the pack

Patty Duke, 18-years-old

Duke was 18 in 1964 when she received an Emmy nomination for her work in her self-titled show "The Patty Duke Show."



Sara Gilbert, 18-years-old

Gilbert was nominated for best supporting actress at 18, in 1993 for her portrayal of broody teenager Darlene Conner on "Roseanne."



Malcolm Jamal-Warner, 16-years-old

Jamal-Warner became a contender for a best supporting actor Emmy at 16 for his role as the goofy, relatable Theo Huxtable on "The Cosby show" in 1986.



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'The Tonight Show' canceled Norm Macdonald's appearance after he made controversial comments about Louis CK, Roseanne Barr, and the MeToo movement

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Norm Macdonald has a show

  • In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter published Tuesday, in advance of his upcoming Netflix show, comedian Norm Macdonald defended Roseanne Barr and Louis CK, and said he was "happy" that the #MeToo movement was "slowing down a bit."
  • "The Tonight Show" canceled Macdonald's appearance on Tuesday night's episode "out of sensitivity" to its audience following the interview's publication. 
  • In the THR feature, Macdonald praised "Tonight Show" host Jimmy Fallon for his "fun and silliness."


Jimmy Fallon's "The Tonight Show" canceled comedian Norm Macdonald's scheduled appearance on Tuesday night's episode following Macdonald's controversial comments about the #MeToo movement in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. The show said it canceled the "SNL" alum's appearance "out of sensitivity" to its audience.

Macdonald, who is promoting his new Netflix series "Norm Macdonald Has a Show," which premieres Friday, defended Roseanne Barr and Louis CK in the THR interview. He also said he was "happy" that the #MeToo movement had "slowed down a bit."

"There are very few people that have gone through what they have, losing everything in a day," Macdonald said of Barr and CK. "Of course, people will go, 'What about the victims?' But you know what? The victims didn't have to go through that."

"The Tonight Show" gave the following statement regarding its decision to cancel:

“Out of sensitivity to our audience and in light of Norm Macdonald’s comments in the press today, 'The Tonight Show' has decided to cancel his appearance on Tuesday’s telecast.”

To fill time, the show extended Matthew McConaughey's appearance. 

In an ironic twist, Macdonald had also praised "The Tonight Show" host Jimmy Fallon in the THR interview, particularly for his 2016 interview with Donald Trump that got tremendous backlash.

"He is just all about fun and silliness. That's what his audience wants," Macdonald said.

Macdonald apologized for his comments in a statement on Twitter Tuesday night: "Roseanne and Louis have both been very good friends of mine for many years. They both made terrible mistakes and I would never defend their actions. If my words sounded like I was minimizing the pain that their victims feel to this day, I am deeply sorry."

SEE ALSO: Paul McCartney says some people think Kanye West 'discovered' him when they made songs together in 2015: 'And that's not a joke'

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AT&T's CEO compared Netflix to Walmart, while calling HBO the 'Tiffany' of streaming services in reference to the luxury jewelry retailer

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  • AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson compared HBO to Tiffany, the luxury jewelry retailer, and Netflix to Walmart at a Goldman Sachs conference on Wednesday. 
  • The comparison follows remarks made by WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey in July about expanding the quantity of HBO's offerings to reach a "broad" audience that could better compete with services like Netflix.  

 

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson used a striking retail metaphor at a Goldman Sachs conference on Wednesday to compare the streaming offerings of Netflix and the AT&T-owned HBO. 

"I think of Netflix as kind of the Walmart of SVOD [streaming video on demand]. HBO's kind of the Tiffany," Stephenson said at Goldman's Communacopia conference.

Stephenson's comparison of Netflix and HBO follows a series of comments from WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey in July about expanding the quantity of HBO's offerings to reach a "broad" audience that could better compete with rival streaming services like Netflix.  

Stankey said in a townhall conversation with HBO CEO Richard Plepler in July that HBO's current subscriber numbers, around 40 million in the US and 142 million worldwide, were insufficient, and that the company would have to become a "much more common product," according to a recording obtained by The New York Times. 

Stephenson on Wednesday reportedly said he "concurs" with Stankey's assessment, but his comments helped to clarify the cable outlet's content-spending strategy.

“You'd like to fill out the schedule," Stephenson said. "We're not talking about Netflix-level of investments."

Stephenson added that HBO needs a "more fulsome lineup and schedule" to combat the flux of subscribers who sign up for HBO to watch "Game of Thrones" and then leave when a season ends.

Nevertheless, BTIG analyst Rich Greenfield seized on Stephenson's Tiffany-Walmart metaphor to note how drastically Walmart outperformed Tiffany in revenue last year: 

And oddly enough, Walmart is itself exploring a subscription video-streaming service that would reportedly seek to challenge Netflix and Amazon, according to a  Wall Street Journal report from July.  

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The Nintendo Switch online service costs $20 a year, granting access to classic games and long-awaited new features when it lights up on September 18 (NTDOY)

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Nintendo Switch (online)

  • The Nintendo Switch Online service is scheduled to launch on September 18. It costs $20 per year, and you'll need it to play most games online. 
  • But you'll also get some great benefits: At launch, Nintendo Switch Online will give access to a library of 20 classic NES games, upgraded with online play. 
  • You'll also get cloud saves, so you can backup and restore your saved games. 
  • It's an important step toward bolstering the Nintendo Switch's online features, which lag behind the Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

For years, Nintendo fans have fantasized about a paid online service that would grant access to Nintendo's rich, decades-long library of classic games. For years, Nintendo has demurred. 

In 2018, that fantasy is finally becoming a reality, through the Nintendo Switch Online service.

Nintendo's new service costs $20 per year ($4/month, $8/three months), and is scheduled to launch on September 18. With that subscription price, you'll get access to a library of classic games, the ability to play various Nintendo Switch games online, cloud saves for some games, and voice chat through the Nintendo Switch online smartphone app.

When the service arrives later this month, it'll only be available on the Nintendo Switch — Nintendo's newest game console, which operates as both a portable handheld and a home console.

Nintendo Switch

So, what's in the classic game library? "20 games, with more added on a regular basis," Nintendo said in a press release earlier this year. 

Nintendo also announced the first 10 of those 20 games: "Super Mario Bros. 3," "Dr. Mario," "Balloon Fight," "Donkey Kong," "Ice Climber," "The Legend of Zelda," "Mario Bros.," "Soccer," "Super Mario Bros." and "Tennis." 

Even better: Every classic NES game on the Switch will have new online functionality. In some games, you can play co-op online with friends or go head to head, and in all games you can watch a friend play remotely. Friends can even "share" the controller online by handing off control of a game over the internet.the legend of zelda

The classic games library only includes Nintendo Entertainment System games, at least for now — it's specifically referred to as a collection. Nintendo even gave the classic game library its own name: "NES – Nintendo Switch Online, a compilation of classic NES games."

Perhaps a "SNES — Nintendo Switch Online" library will be added later? Or something similar for Nintendo 64, GameCube, or other Nintendo console games? Perhaps, perhaps not — Nintendo isn't saying. The Japanese game company told Kotaku last year, "Super NES games continue to be under consideration, but we have nothing further to announce at this time."

But the classic game library isn't Nintendo Switch Online's primary component — the service is intended as a paid subscription for access to online gameplay. Indeed, you'll need the service to play games online. 

In other words, you'll need a Nintendo Switch Online subscription to play online multiplayer games on the console — including existing games like "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe" and "Splatoon 2," which have to date let people play online for free. After September 18th, you'll need a Nintendo Switch Online subscription to keep using the online features.

Fixing a flaw

The Switch console itself lacks system-wide functionality for online interaction — stuff that's standard on other consoles, like joining an online party, and voice chat, barely exist on the Switch. 

In fact, online services are the crucial flaw of the Nintendo Switch.

Nintendo Switch

The console lacks basic functionality that Microsoft and Sony had in their respective consoles over a decade ago. Beyond missing stuff like voice chat and parties, the Switch also doesn't have access to services like Netflix, YouTube, and Amazon. The Nintendo Switch app for iPhone and Android enables voice chat for select games, like "Splatoon 2," but it's not a feature that's built into the system. 

It looks like Nintendo intends to remedy that situation with Nintendo Switch Online, at least in part.

More than just offering multiplayer and a classic game library, Nintendo Switch Online promises cloud saves — the ability to upload your save data to Nintendo's servers, then easily re-download it. As Nintendo puts it, "This is great for people who want to retrieve their data if they lose, break or purchase an additional Nintendo Switch system."

One thing Nintendo didn't mention is the much requested Virtual Console service, which was a digital storefront for classic games on previous Nintendo consoles. 

Super Mario 64 box cover

Though the Nintendo Switch launched with a digital storefront (the "eShop"), there's no way to buy classic games through Nintendo's long-running Virtual Console service. That's an especially big shame on the Switch — a console more-than-capable of running classic games, and one you can bring with you anywhere.

Nintendo hasn't offered details on the whereabouts of the Virtual Console service. A Nintendo representative gave us the following statement via email earlier this year:

"There are currently no plans to bring classic games together under the Virtual Console banner as has been done on other Nintendo systems. There are a variety of ways in which classic games from Nintendo and other publishers are made available on Nintendo Switch, such as through Nintendo Entertainment System – Nintendo Switch Online, Nintendo eShop or as packaged collections."

That doesn't mean it's never going to happen, but you probably shouldn't hold your breath in anticipation either.

SEE ALSO: The Nintendo Switch is the hottest game system right now — here are its 18 best games

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Henry Cavill will reportedly no longer play Superman as DC focuses on Supergirl instead

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batman v superman

  • Henry Cavill will no longer play Superman, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
  • THR reported Wednesday that negotiations fell apart for Cavill to make a cameo in "Shazam!" next year.
  • Warner Bros. will focus on a Supergirl movie instead, according to THR.
  • Warner Bros. said in a statement: "While no decisions have been made regarding any upcoming Superman films, we've always had great respect for and a great relationship with Henry Cavill, and that remains unchanged."

It's up, up, and away from Superman for the actor Henry Cavill.

Citing unnamed sources, The Hollywood Reporter said on Wednesday that Cavill would not play Superman in future films. THR reported that negotiations broke down between Cavill and Warner Bros. over a cameo in next year's "Shazam!" because of scheduling conflicts and said that "the door is now closing on other potential Superman appearances."

A Warner Bros. representative said in a statement to Business Insider: "While no decisions have been made regarding any upcoming Superman films, we've always had great respect for and a great relationship with Henry Cavill, and that remains unchanged."

Cavill appeared in "Mission: Impossible — Fallout" this summer and was recently cast in a Netflix adaptation of the "Witcher" book series.

According to THR, Warner Bros. is instead focusing on a Supergirl movie, which would most likely write out Cavill's Superman from the film mythology.

Cavill appeared as Superman/Clark Kent in 2013's "Man of Steel," 2016's "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," and last year's "Justice League." The latter two were panned critically, and "Justice League" was a box-office disappointment.

THR quoted a studio insider as saying that "there's a recognition that some parts of the previous movies didn't work."

Warner Bros. has been rethinking its superhero-film strategy after "Justice League." Rather than belong to a shared universe similar to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, future films are likely to focus on standalone stories, similar to "Wonder Woman," which only briefly alluded to a connection to a larger film universe.

"Aquaman" comes to theaters in December and will most likely distance itself from "Justice League," while "Wonder Woman 1984," "Joker," and "Shazam!" are set to debut next year. A solo Batman movie is also in development that may or may not star Ben Affleck back in the title role.

SEE ALSO: There are major signs that Ben Affleck will not return as Batman in the next solo movie

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Netflix released the first trailer for its anticipated new Coen Brothers movie

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ballad of buster scruggs

  • Netflix has released the first trailer for its anticipated original film from the Coen Brothers, "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs."
  • The Western film was originally conceived as a six-episode Netflix original miniseries, but the Coens cut it together into one feature film and premiered it at the Venice Film Festival in August. 
  • "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs" debuts on Netflix and in select theaters on November 16.

 

Netflix on Wednesday released the first trailer for its anticipated original film from the Coen Brothers, "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs."

Written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, the Western film features an anthology of stories, and was originally conceived as a six-episode miniseries. The Coens reportedly "decided instead to jam the episodes" into one feature film before screening it at the Venice Film Festival in August.

"The Ballad of Buster Scruggs" stars James Franco, Liam Neeson, Zoe Kazan, Tim Blake Nelson, and Tom Waits in an ensemble cast.

The Coens told reporters at Venice that the material for the film originated from stories they wrote over a period of 25 years. 

"We would write these short stories and not really know what to do with them and put them in a drawer," Joel Coen said. "Then we decided to make them all together."

The film has a 94% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes from the 17 critics who saw it in Venice. 

"Richly entertaining and blackly funny but told with sincerity and heart, the half-dozen Western tales packed into 'The Ballad of Buster Scruggs' show the Coen brothers loading up their six-shooter and firing barely a blank," Philip De Semlyen wrote in a review for Time Out. 

"The Ballad of Buster Scruggs" debuts on Netflix and in select theaters on November 16.

Watch the trailer below:

SEE ALSO: AT&T's CEO compared Netflix to Walmart, while calling HBO the 'Tiffany' of streaming services in reference to the luxury jewelry retailer

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NOW WATCH: A top movie actor reveals how he learns different accents

'Black-ish' creator opens up about an 'anti-Trump' episode shelved by ABC that was reportedly one reason he left for Netflix

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  • "Black-ish" creator Kenya Barris left ABC in August for a reported $100 million deal with Netflix.
  • A big reason for his departure was that ABC shelved a "Black-ish" episode that its execs deemed too critical of President Trump, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
  • Barris reportedly had "a flurry of back-and-forths with executives as high up as CEO Bob Iger" over the "political sensitivities" of the episode (which he wrote), before ABC decided to shelve it. 

 

Kenya Barris, the creator of the ABC sitcom "Black-ish," left ABC in August for a reported $100 million deal with Netflix.

A big reason for his leaving ABC, according to a new profile of Barris in The Hollywood Reporter, was that the network "mysteriously and indefinitely shelved" an episode of "Black-ish" that ABC executives deemed too critical of President Trump.

Barris wrote the episode in question, titled "Please, Baby, Please," and ABC shelved it days before its planned premiere on February 27. The episode reportedly included news footage of Donald Trump, the Charlottesville attacks, and NFL national anthem protests, and also featured animation and a voiceover segment from filmmaker Spike Lee.

The "Black-ish" creator reportedly had "a flurry of back-and-forths with executives as high up as CEO Bob Iger" over the "political sensitivities" of the episode, which ABC and Disney executives feared would alienate viewers, two sources told THR:

"Executives at ABC, more than any other network, have been forthright about their desire for more red-state programming since Trump's win — and with Barris' latest episode, they feared they'd be alienating the very population they'd tried so hard to court. That Disney brass wouldn't want to poke Trump himself just as the company was seeking Justice Department approval of its acquisition of most of 21st Century Fox is widely believed to have been a factor as well."

Barris said that ABC had him rework and cut some of the episode's "anti-Trump material," but the result wasn't fit to air. "What it ended up being, and I think the network would agree, was not a true representation of what we intended to do. Because if it was, we would’ve shown it," Barris told THR.  

Barris left ABC in August to sign a multi-year production deal with Netflix that was reportedly worth around $100 million. The deal puts him in the same salary realm as producers Shonda Rhimes and Ryan Murphy, two showrunners who previously signed eight-figure deals with the streaming service.

Read THR's feature here.

SEE ALSO: Netflix released the first trailer for its anticipated new Coen Brothers movie

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How 'The Nun' overcame bad reviews to be a box-office hit

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the nun

  • "The Nun" surpassed expectations this past weekend and had the biggest opening at the box office of any of the "Conjuring" movies, despite being the worst-reviewed film in the series.
  • Jeff Bock, the senior box-office analyst at Exhibitor Relations, credits the success to a lackluster summer for horror and the movie's foreign appeal.
  • The movie stars a Mexican actor, Demián Bichir, and its biggest foreign opening was in Mexico.
  • Bock also made box-office predictions for this weekend's "The Predator" and next month's "Halloween."

"The Nun," the latest movie in the "Conjuring" horror franchise, raked in $53.5 million this past weekend, the highest opening in the series, despite a 27% critic score on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes that made it the worst-reviewed film of the bunch.

Even the well-reviewed "Annabelle: Creation" last year, a prequel to "The Conjuring," couldn't muster that much cash at the box office. In fact, that movie had the worst opening of the series.

So how did "The Nun" capture audiences' attention to succeed both domestically and abroad?

Jeff Bock, the senior box-office analyst at Exhibitor Relations, told Business Insider it was a combination of foreign appeal, marketing, and a lackluster summer for horror.

Warner Bros. has been attracting foreign audiences

the nun

The studio Warner Bros. is closing out the summer with three hits released within a month of one another: "The Meg," "Crazy Rich Asians," and "The Nun." All exceeded projections because they appealed to diverse audiences, Bock said.

"The Meg," which was a coproduction with a Chinese company and starred multiple Asian actors, has grossed nearly $500 million worldwide. "Crazy Rich Asians," which is the first Hollywood movie in 25 years to feature an all-Asian cast, has been a steady force domestically, dropping just 6% and 11% in its second and third weekends after a strong opening. Bock said it was all about casting choices.

"It's the sort of play that many studios have been going after, by not casting people just so it will do well in North America, but throughout the world," Bock said.

"The Nun" appealed to Latino audiences. The movie stars a Mexican actor, Demián Bichir, and had its biggest foreign opening in Mexico, with $10.7 million. Spain was among the top markets as well, with $3.3 million. The movie has made over $136 million worldwide — not bad for a movie with a $22 million budget.

"Horror films don't traditionally make it into China because censors don't allow a lot of horror films," Bock said. "But in South America, and Mexico specifically, horror films do really well there."

Moviegoers were deprived of horror this summer

the nun

Horror is the only genre, perhaps outside the superhero blockbuster, that consistently gets moviegoers in seats at the theater. "The Nun" continued a win streak for horror that goes back to last year with "Get Out," "It," "A Quiet Place," and even "Hereditary," which may have divided audiences but is the studio A24's biggest box-office hit.

But this summer was lacking for horror fans, according to Bock.

"We didn't really have a traditional horror film this entire summer," Bock said. "'The First Purge' was more violence than horror. 'Slender Man' was out there, but it had a horrible trailer and awful execution of a really good idea. That one was DOA."

Warner Bros. didn't hold back when it came to marketing "The Nun," and it took full advantage of its horror qualities and connection to the "Conjuring" universe. YouTube banned a six-second ad for the movie that played before select videos because it violated YouTube's "shocking-content policy." That made headlines, but Bock said the film's full-length trailer was appealing on its own.

"How many times were you in the theater watching that trailer and heard people scream when that second nun came out?" Bock said. "You knew after seeing that trailer that this was going to catch on with audiences. People love to be scared and they love to go to horror movies in groups, and that's an experience you can't get anywhere else but theaters."

Watch the trailer below for yourself:

Looking ahead

The "Conjuring" series has been a reliable presence in theaters since 2013 and now consists of "The Conjuring," "Annabelle," "The Conjuring 2," "Annabelle: Creation," and "The Nun." Bock said the "Conjuring" series and Blumhouse — the company that produced "Get Out," "Paranormal Activity," the "Purge" movies, and the coming "Halloween" — are the best-known names in horror among audiences.

That's why Bock predicts that "Halloween" will make $50 million to $60 million at the box office next month in its opening weekend.

"No doubt about it, because it's not only a franchise but then you add in Blumhouse, which knows how to construct a film and market it," Bock said. "And you're reaching into the past with Jamie Lee Curtis — it's the nostalgia factor."

Once again, casting is important, and it's something Bock thinks this weekend's "The Predator" got wrong.

"If Arnold was the lead, we'd be talking about a $50 million opening," Bock said of Arnold Schwarzenegger, the star of the original "Predator" film. "It could be a sh--, but people would go see it."

Bock predicted "The Predator" would still open No. 1 at the box office this weekend and dethrone "The Nun," but he said it wouldn't open to nearly as much as it could have. As for "The Nun," Bock expects it to drop about 55% from its opening, but he said that's OK.

"Warner Bros. is making great money," he said. "They're not worrying about that drop."

SEE ALSO: Every movie in 'The Conjuring' series, including 'The Nun,' ranked by opening weekend box office

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Viola Davis explains why she regrets her role in 'The Help'

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  • Viola Davis said in a New York Times interview published Tuesday that she regrets her role in the 2011 film "The Help."
  • The film starred Emma Stone as a white journalist writing a book on the lives of black maids in Jackson, Mississippi during the Civil Rights movement.
  • Davis, 53, said she regretted the role because "it wasn't the voices of the maids that were heard."

Viola Davis may have won an Screen Actor's Guild award for her role in the 2011 film "The Help," but the actress says she now regrets taking the part.

In an interview with The New York Times on Tuesday, the 53-year-old actress was asked if she regrets turning down any roles. Davis said there have been "one or two," but that she's more concerned with the roles she's taken and regretted after shooting.

"'The Help' is on that list," she said.

The film depicts a white journalist (played by Emma Stone) writing a book on the experiences of black maids working in Jackson, Mississippi during the Civil Rights movement. Davis plays one of the maids, named Aibileen.

"I just felt that at the end of the day that it wasn't the voices of the maids that were heard," Davis told The Times. "I know Aibileen. I know Minny. They're my grandma. They're my mom. And I know that if you do a movie where the whole premise is, I want to know what it feels like to work for white people and bring up children in 1963, I want to hear how you really feel about it. I never heard that in the course of the movie."

Davis went on to say that she had a great experience working on the film, and that the friendships she gained "are ones that I'm going to have for the rest of my life."

"I had a great experience with these other actresses, who are extraordinary human beings. And I could not ask for a better collaborator than Tate Taylor," she said.

The film was largely well received by critics, and a box office success to boot — making nearly $170 million in North America alone.

In addition to winning the Screen Actor's Guild award for best actress in a leading role for the film, Davis was also nominated for best actress at the Academy Awards, the BAFTAs, and the Golden Globes.

SEE ALSO: The director of the Oscar-winning 'The Help' comments on #OscarsSoWhite: 'It's so obvious'

DON'T MISS: People want to see more diversity in movies, but it's not happening fast enough

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How much Netflix costs in different countries around the world, and which ones get the best deal

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  • Technology-research company Comparitech found that Japan is the most cost-effective country to use Netflix in.
  • Japan has 6,000 movies and TV shows, the most of any of the 24 countries featured in the study.
  • The cheapest country to use Netflix in is Turkey, where the service costs $3.27 a month.
  • The most expensive country to use Netflix in is Denmark, and the least cost-effective country is Norway.

 

If you want to get the most bang for your buck for Netflix, you might want to live in Japan.

According to a new study from technology-research company Comparitech, Japan is the most cost-effective country to use Netflix in.

Comparitech found this by looking at how many movies and TV shows are available on Netflix in 24 countries, based on figures from the unofficial Netflix Online Global Search (uNoGS), and dividing that number by the cost per month of Netflix in each country.

netflix

Japan has nearly 6,000 shows and movies — the most of any of the other countries — and costs $5.86 in US dollars, which makes each title $0.0010. Following Japan was Canada, Brazil, the US, and India to make up the top five most cost-effective countries.

The US has the second-largest library of movies and TV shows.

netflix

The least cost-effective country to use Netflix was Norway, where 3,300 titles are available and the monthly cost is $10.95.

netflix

But though Japan was most cost-effective, it doesn't have the cheapest absolute cost of Netflix per month.

That distinction goes to Turkey, where users pay 15.99 TL, or $3.27, a month. That's nearly 60% cheaper than in the US or UKFollowing Turkey are Argentina, Brazil, Japan, and Mexico as the top five cheapest places to use Netflix.

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On an absolute basis, Netflix is the most expensive in Denmark, at $12.37.

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You can read the full study here.

SEE ALSO: How 'The Nun' overcame bad reviews to be a box-office hit

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A visual guide to Mark Wahlberg's daily routine, which involves waking up at 2:30 a.m. and 2 breakfasts

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Mark Wahlberg

Mark Wahlberg shared a look at his daily routine on Instagram on Tuesday and it starts at 2:30 a.m. and ends at 7:30 p.m.

The actor makes time for two breakfasts, two showers, two workouts, family time, and "cryo chamber recovery" each day, among other things.

It also includes a half hour of golfing and multiple snacks throughout the day.

And it has gotten results for Wahlberg, who was the highest-paid actor of 2017, taking home $68 million according to Forbes.

We've put together this handy, visual guide to Walhberg's rigorous routine.

Check out the schedule below:

SEE ALSO: 'Mile 22' is one of the worst-reviewed movies of the summer, and Mark Wahlberg's career: 'The movie equivalent of being shouted at by your drunk ex-Army dad'

2:30 a.m. — Wake up and pray



3:15 a.m. — Breakfast



3:40-5:15 a.m. — Workout



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The 9 best Netflix original series to binge-watch

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In 2017, Netflix looked back on "A Year in Bingeing" with an infographic that showcased the Netflix original series subscribers devoured throughout the year.

According to the release, Netflix members watched more than 140 million hours of shows, movies, and documentaries per day in 2017. The most popular shows that people devoured (watched for more than two hours a day) in 2017 included "Riverdale," "The OA," "American Vandal," and "The Keepers," among others.

But 2018 has brought new series and new seasons of fan favorites, which means plenty of new opportunities to bang out 10 episodes in a weekend.

From true crime to feel-good makeovers, to sci-fi hits like "Stranger Things," here are 9 Netflix original series worth binge-watching.

SEE ALSO: I 'Netflix-cheat' on my partner — here's how it affects our relationship

"Aggretsuko"

Don't let her appearance as a cute red panda and Sanrio anime character fool you. By day, Retsuko is a 25-year-old who works in the accounting department of a trading firm in Tokyo and is often frustrated with the demands of her job. By night, she screams her heart out to death metal karaoke.

This animated original series is one of Netflix's hidden gems. It has already been renewed for a second season in 2019, so don't feel guilty about binge-watching every 15-minute episode.



"Black Mirror"

Created by screenwriter and producer Charlie Brooker and picked up by Netflix for seasons three and four after originally airing its first two seasons on UK's Channel 4, "Black Mirror" is an anthology series that explores the complicated effects of technology on modern society.

It's number six on Netflix's list of the shows that had people cheating in 2017— cheating that is, in watching it ahead of their significant others.

Netflix, which has renewed "Black Mirror" for a fifth season, will announce a premiere date and episode count in late 2018. The original series also received three Emmy Nominations in 2018 with "Black Mirror: USS Callister" nominated for best television movie, Jesse Plemons for the episode "USS Callister" as lead actor in a limited series or movie, and actress Letitia Wright for the episode "Black Museum" as supporting actress in a limited series or movie.



"Girlboss"

"Girlboss" received its share of criticism and was canceled after one season.

The half-hour series, which is billed as a "loose" retelling of Sophia Amoruso's rise to fashion-flipping fame as the founder of clothing line Nasty Gal, but it does get some of the details right before she launched her eBay store.

Britt Robertson (portraying Amoruso) also brings grit and determination to her performance, making the character an edgy one to watch. If you've got an entrepreneurial spirit and want a series with low commitment (read: one season only), ignore the critics and start watching this one.



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A gripping drama on immigration starring the lead of Pixar's 'Coco' could be the sleeper Oscar contender of the fall

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icebox_02 Gracie Films

  • "Icebox" is the feature debut for director Daniel Sawka and is based on his award-winning short film that looks at the US immigration policy from the perspective of a migrant young boy trying to get to the US.
  • The short film caught the attention of legendary director/producer James L. Brooks ("The Simpsons," "Terms of Endearment") who produced the feature version.
  • The lead of "Icebox" is Anthony Gonzalez, the star of the Disney hit "Coco."


Though the Toronto International Film Festival is where the major studios and established players from the independent film world launch Oscar campaigns, the festival can still have a few surprises.

This year those include “Icebox,” one of this year’s TIFF world premieres that could find itself in the running for award season consideration with the big boys by year’s end thanks to a ripped-from-the-headlines story and the backing of one of the most powerful producers in Hollywood.

Swedish-born filmmaker Daniel Sawka has expanded his award-winning short film into a gripping feature that follows 12-year-old Oscar as he leaves his family in Honduras to escape gang life to start brand new in the US with his uncle. The trek illegally across the border to the States doesn’t go as planned and Oscar is snatched by the border patrol and sent to an immigrant detention facility.

Sawka then gives us an intimate look inside one of those facilities through the eyes of young Oscar. Unable to reach his uncle, Oscar must deal with days stuck inside an empty warehouse in a designated area surrounded by chain fences. And in the evenings he shivers himself to sleep on the cold concrete draped in a silver solar blanket. Though he befriends another boy who is in there with him, he finds himself in danger when his gang ties back home are revealed. Oscar must then take desperate steps to get his uncle out of hiding and convince him to come pick him up, which could jeopardize the uncle’s hopes for a green card.

icebox_03 Gracie FIlmsAnthony Gonzalez, who plays Miguel in the Disney/Pixar hit “Coco,” gives an incredible performance as Oscar (he also played the character in the short film), whose adolescence has been stripped from him due to gangs back home and who is determined to make it to the US. Oscar’s uncle, Manuel, is played with a heartwarming mix of comedy and drama by Omar Leyva.

The short film version of the movie, which was also Sawka’s thesis project at the American Film Institute, made the rounds at top-tier festivals like Telluride and the AFI Film Fest, where it won best live-action short. And that pedigree led to it coming across the desk of legendary director/producer James L. Brooks (“The Simpsons,” “Big,” “Terms of Endearment”) in 2016, who was moved by Sawka’s short.

“Seeing the short was my awareness of what was going on,” Brooks told Business Insider over the phone before the movie’s Toronto International Film Festival premiere. “I was very interested in meeting with Daniel and I asked him what he wanted to do with a full-length piece and this is what he wanted to do.”

“I was shocked to be sitting with him,” Sawka said to Business Insider in Toronto the day after the movie’s premiere. “He called AFI and we got in touch and we talked for two hours. I thought that was all it was going to be but then he said he wanted to make this film together and we started developing.”

For Sawka it was the latest highlight in a four-year process from when he started researching the short film. And it was all sparked from his own family’s experience with immigration.

“For generations on my father’s side, people have been forced to migrate and relocate and find new homes,” he said. “It’s something I never experienced, but I was brought up on these stories and I wanted to find out more. Understand it better.”

And one day online he came across a story that included a photo of a group of boys on a warehouse floor with silver blankets around them, and he realized that was the story he needed to tell: The plight of the the immigrant coming to the US through our southern borders.

immigration deportation US Customs and Border ProtectionAfter months of research and interviews with countless people, from immigration lawyers, to judges, to children who had experienced staying in a detention facility, Sawka had his story. And then he found his lead.

Then only 11 years old, Anthony Gonzalez was found through the casting process and blew everyone away. Gonzalez’s riveting performance is a main reason for the attention the short got and will likely be why it gets attention when released to general audiences. And he's had success since the short, getting cast as the lead in Pixar's “Coco.”

“He discovered a star,” Brooks said of Sawka casting Gonzalez. “Which doesn’t happen on every thesis film.”

From humble beginnings, Sawka was now going to the offices of Brooks’ Gracie Films, the home base for the making of “The Simpsons,” to develop “Icebox” into a $2 million feature.

Though Sawka said Brooks’ imprint is in every part of the movie, the Oscar winner is quick to say that this is Sawka’s movie and he’s just happy to help a talented newbie get his start.

“Every time I do work with a first-time filmmaker it’s because I believe that person has a real voice and I try to help them have their voice rather than mine,” Brooks said. “But the one thing I wanted out of this for myself was the spirit of the film. Just to be around that spirit.”

With a crew made up of recent AFI graduates, or those with just a little experience on set, Sawka used the research he had been compiling since the short as the movie's guiding light. Shot in 21 days in New Mexico, Sawka and Brooks cast a predominantly Hispanic crew and that turned out to make the story even more authentic, as Sawka would often talk to crew members and learn how similar their families’ stories were to the story they were telling.

Icebox Daniel Gracie Films“Every day someone would come up and tell you something,” Sawka said. “There was this willingness and want to share experiences so Jim and I constantly talked about how we could get those perspectives into the movie. The challenge of this movie was finding the focus because you could go so many different places.”

And then a big moment regarding the immigration issue happened in post production. Around the time Sawka was getting to the final cut, President Trump announced a “zero tolerance” immigration policy that separated migrant parents from their children at the border (weeks after the announcement, Trump changed the policy so families no longer would be split up). 

It’s something Sawka had gotten used to over the last four years, that the topic of his story was essentially a “moving target,” as he put it. But it was time to go forward with the movie in the can, so the decision was made to address the “zero tolerance” policy in an end card before the credits.

“We wanted to show that we’re now on a slippery slope towards something quite terrifying,” Sawka said of addressing the policy.

“Icebox” is now working on landing a distribution deal out of TIFF with the hopes of launching an awards season run. Sawka is also developing another project for Brooks to produce.

But the Oscar character is not far from his mind. When asked if he could ever see himself making a sequel that looks at where Oscar is with his life five or ten years from now, Sawka was excited by the idea.

“I would personally love that and I think Anthony would too,” he said. “I think a lot about what might happen to this character.”

"Icebox" is currently seeking distribution.

SEE ALSO: John C. Reilly on long silent walks with Joaquin Phoenix, a tearful farewell to a horse, and almost losing the part he wanted in "The Sisters Brothers"

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An entrepreneur who went on 'Shark Tank' to pitch his 3-month-old startup in front of a national audience relied on an unusual memory technique to avoid panicking and forgetting his script

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  • On an episode of "Shark Tank," Vibes founder Jack Mann received a $100,000 offer from Kevin O'Leary. He turned it down.
  • Mann was initially nervous about messing up his pitch, so he hired a speech coach, who taught him an unusual memory technique.
  • The memory technique involved associating keywords from each paragraph with a different image. Mann delivered his pitch seamlessly.

Between the day Jack Mann was approved to appear on "Shark Tank" and the day the episode was filmed, there were about five weeks.

"It was a stressful time that month; I'll tell you that," Mann told Business Insider. Mann is the founder of Vibes, a company that makes reusable earplugs designed to preserve sound quality. Vibes was just three months old when the episode was filmed.

Mann told Business Insider that, going into the show, he was less nervous about preparing answers to the Sharks' questions and more so about delivering his opening pitch. Specifically, he was worrying about his mind going blank in the middle.

"I hadn't done much public speaking previously, and definitely hadn't done anything to that magnitude on television," he said.

So he hired a speech coach, who guided him in using a specific memory technique.

As Mann explained it, you simply associate a keyword in each paragraph of your speech with a different image. Then you work your way clockwise through the group of images, "rather than think through what's the next thing you were trying to say."

For example, Mann said, you might use an image of a house to remember to talk about your background and where you're from.

"Things really go wrong when you forget what you're trying to say and you slip up," Mann said — something that's happened before on the "Shark Tank" stage. "So I found that [technique] helpful."

Mann delivered his pitch seamlessly and received a $100,000 offer

Mann's memory technique is similar to another, research-backed strategy, called the "method of loci" or the "memory palace."

Using that strategy, you associate each item you're trying to remember with a specific image and place. As you walk through the different places in your mind, you're reminded of the items they're linked to.

Ron White, a two-time national memory champion, previously told Business Insider that he taught a six-year-old girl to memorize the names of all 44 US presidents using much the same technique.

Ultimately, Mann delivered his pitch seamlessly and went on to receive an offer from Kevin O'Leary (a.k.a. "Mr. Wonderful"): $100,000 for 35% of the company, with a royalty of $2 for every pair of earplugs sold until O'Leary got his money back. Mann turned down the offer, and has "zero regrets" about it.

As of 2017, Vibes had grown from an initial $33,000 investment to $2 million in sales.

"I'm happy with where we are today, where we've grown, and where we're going to continue to grow," Mann said.

SEE ALSO: 'Shark Tank' founders who were called 'sock cockroaches' on national TV prepared answers to about 300 questions before they even appeared on the show — and they landed a $200,000 deal

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19 outlandish conspiracy theories Donald Trump has floated on the campaign trail and in the White House

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In May 2011, reporters swarmed now-President Donald Trump as he exited the Hyatt in Washington, DC, after the White House Correspondents' Dinner.

Many wanted a response from Trump, who had just watched President Obama deliver jokes that night about Trump's constant questioning of the legitimacy of Obama's birth certificate.

Years later, Trump is still not convinced of the legitimacy of Obama's birth certificate. But this was perhaps the first of numerous debunked or unverified conspiracy theories that Trump has entertained during his time in the political spotlight.

Throughout the 2016 campaign and while in the White House, Trump has floated theories fueled by the conspiratorial-minded corners of supermarket tabloids and the internet, something unprecedented in modern politics. He's often used them as weapons against his opponents.

Here are some of the most notable conspiracy theories Trump has entertained:

SEE ALSO: Theresa May condemns Trump for retweeting anti-Muslim hate videos from the British far right

DON'T MISS: Sarah Huckabee Sanders says it doesn't matter if the anti-Muslim videos Trump retweeted are real because 'the threat is real'

Questions about Ted Cruz's father's potential ties to President John F. Kennedy's assassin.

On the eve of the Indiana primary, Trump attempted to undermine former Republican presidential rival Ted Cruz's father's legitimacy by parroting an unverified National Enquirer story.

It claimed Rafael Cruz was photographed in the early 1960s handing out pro-Fidel Castro leaflets with President John F. Kennedy's assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald.

The Cruz campaign denounced the piece as "garbage."



Questions about President Obama's birth certificate.

While mulling a potential 2012 presidential bid, Trump became the most high-profile figure to promote the rumors suggesting that President Obama was not born in the US.

Trump claimed he'd deployed private investigators who "could not believe what they're finding" about Obama's place of birth.

He also repeatedly clashed with reporters who pushed him on the issue. During one contentious interview, he told ABC's George Stephanopoulos that he'd been "co-opted" by "Obama and his minions" when the anchor tried to push back on Trump's claims.

When Obama eventually released his long-form birth certificate, Trump questioned the document's authenticity

Trump has since continued to push the conspiracy theory in recent months during his presidency, according to advisors who spoke with the New York Times. One sitting US senator echoed these reports.

"[Trump] has had a hard time letting go of his claim that Mr. Obama was not born in the United States," the senator told the Times.



Questions about a former Bill Clinton aide's suicide.

After Vince Foster, a former aide to President Bill Clinton, was found dead in 1993, various law-enforcement agencies and independent counsels determined he committed suicide.

But Foster's death spawned conspiracy theorists who questioned whether the Clintons themselves were involved in Foster's death.

In an interview with The Washington Post, Trump suggested Foster's death was "very fishy."

"He had intimate knowledge of what was going on," Trump said of Foster's role in the White House. "He knew everything that was going on, and then all of a sudden he committed suicide."

He added: "I don’t bring [Foster’s death] up because I don’t know enough to really discuss it. I will say there are people who continue to bring it up because they think it was absolutely a murder. I don’t do that because I don’t think it’s fair."



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'Shadow of the Tomb Raider' looks gorgeous on the Xbox One X and I just can't stop taking pictures

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Shadow of the Tomb Raider (30)The newly released "Shadow of the Tomb Raider" is unquestionably one of the best-looking games ever made and the game’s graphics are further enhanced with the strength of the Xbox One X.

Featuring a wide array of exotic locales, breathtaking landscapes, and unimaginable architecture, "Shadow of the Tomb Raider" is an ideal game to test the limits of Microsoft’s premium console. Players using the Xbox One X can choose between two modes for the game: high resolution or high frame rate. For those using 4K televisions, the high resolution mode will offer the greatest level of fidelity for the game's graphics, while the high frame rate mode will keep the game running around 60 frames per second to provide the smoothest possible animations while playing. Additional options include HDR support, to increase the range of the game's dynamic lighting, and anisotropic filtering, which adds more texture to the environments.

Even while playing through the game with the high frame rate mode activated, I found myself constantly stopping to take dozens of pictures to just grasp the full view of the huge environments. The game’s photographer mode adds extra options for adjusting the camera angle, brightness, and field of view, and even has a few filters for players to tack on.

With so much jungle to explore in “Shadow of the Tomb Raider,” there’s no shortage of amazing images to capture.

"Shadow of the Tomb Raider" is considered the final chapter in a trilogy that began with "Tomb Raider" (2013).



In "Shadow," Lara Croft fears her hunt for an artifact may have triggered Armageddon.



Lara must reckon with the consequences of her actions and face her own inner beast.



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Netflix renewed 'Insatiable' for a season 2 despite the wrath of critics and a fat-shaming controversy

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  • Netflix renewed its controversial original TV series, "Insatiable," which upset many people who viewed it as fat-shaming. 
  • The show, which has many fat jokes meant to be satire, features a protagonist who is a formerly overweight teenager, played by a thin actress who wears a fat suit for flashback scenes. 
  • Many people are not happy that the show was renewed, but its season 2 could be explained by the fact that a lot of people watched the show despite the backlash, according to an app that tracks what people binge-watch every week. 

 

Netflix just renewed its controversial comedy, "Insatiable," for a second season. And many people are not happy, especially considering over 230,000 signed a petition for the show to be canceled before it had even debuted.

Critics (including me) and activists were appalled by the show's fat-shaming, though it was meant to be satire. The series, which documents the life of a teenage girl after she loses weight, and is suddenly skinny because her jaw was wired shut, is supposed to be critical of society's erasure of women who don't meet beauty standards. But it fails miserably.

Still, audiences loved and flocked to it. Critics gave it a Rotten Tomatoes score of 11%, but its audience score stands at 83%. For weeks, "Insatiable" was at the top of TV Time's Binge Report, which tracks and ranks interest in shows based on the number of episodes consumed by the millions of fans across the globe in the TV Time app.

It seems that while "Insatiable" had a lot of vocal detractors, it had many fans as well.

Here are some of the reactions to the "Insatiable" renewal, which upset many people, including fans of controversy-free shows Netflix has canceled like "Everything Sucks":

SEE ALSO: The 8 Netflix original TV shows coming this fall that are definitely worth watching

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The 7 best movies in theaters right now, according to critics

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A new wave of films hits theaters every week, but a lot of them aren't worth seeing.

To help you sort out which movies are must-see material, we turn to the reviews aggregator Metacritic each week to compile this list of the most critically acclaimed films that are currently in theaters on a wide release. 

On this week's list, Bo Burnham's directorial debut "Eight Grade" contends with Spike Lee's satirical true-crime thriller "BlacKkKlansman," and the wildly compelling satire "Sorry to Bother You."  

Here are the 7 best movies in theaters right now, according to critics:

SEE ALSO: 'Sorry to Bother You' is one of the most original and thought-provoking movies of the year

7. "Searching" — 71%

Critic score: 71%

Date released: August 24, 2018

What critics said: "Impressively, first-time filmmaker and former Google commercials creator Aneesh Chaganty has also made a real movie, the story of a family that morphs into a crime drama that gradually ratchets up the tension as all good thrillers must, one that’s well constructed and acted as well as novel in its storytelling techniques." — The Hollywood Reporter



6. "Crazy Rich Asians" — 74%

Critic score: 74%

Date released: August 15, 2018

What critics said: "It’s a reinvented romantic comedy, sassy and fun, that doesn’t necessarily rely on obvious tropes and is worth the wait." — Time Out



5. "Incredibles 2" — 80%

Critic score: 80%

Date released: June 15, 2018

What critics said: "Though it would be unrealistic to expect 'Incredibles 2' to have quite the genre-busting surprise of the original, it is as good as it can be without that shock of the new — delivering comedy, adventure and all too human moments with a generous hand." — Los Angeles Times



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Our Emmys 2018 predictions: who should win, who will win, and who got snubbed

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the americansThe Emmys air on Monday night, and there is some tough competition this year, making it hard to decide who should win in every category. 

But it's easier to figure out who will win, based on precedent and buzz.

"The Handmaid's Tale," which won best drama last year, is a favorite to win across all major categories from best drama to best supporting actress. But it could lose in multiple categories to "Game of Thrones," which wasn't in the running for last year's awards. But both of those shows should lose to "The Americans," which had an impeccable final season and has never won, though it's deserved all of the drama Emmys for years. 

There's also tight competition among the limited series categories, with incredible shows including "The Assassination of Gianni Versace," "Godless," and "Patrick Melrose," which are all deserving of every award they're up for on Monday night. 

We put together a list of our Emmy predictions, along with who we think should win. We also threw in who got snubbed. So if you're excited to see the best contenders among all the nominees this year, look no further.

The Emmys, hosted by "SNL's" Colin Jost and Michael Che, air Monday, September 17 on NBC. 

Here's our list of who will win the Emmys, and who should:

SEE ALSO: The 2018 Emmy nominees have been announced, with 'Game of Thrones' and Netflix leading the pack

DRAMA SERIES

The nominees: 

"The Americans"

"The Crown"

"Game of Thrones"

"The Handmaid's Tale"

"Stranger Things"

"This Is Us"

"Westworld"

What will win: "Game of Thrones." Despite its accelerated and lackluster seventh season in 2017, "Game of Thrones" still delivered some excellent episodes and mind-blowing sequences, such as the battle at the end of "The Spoils of War." 2017 Emmy winner "The Handmaid's Tale" had a sophomore slump and just wasn't as popular, so a win for a show on the scale of "Game of Thrones" is probably inevitable.

What should win: "The Americans." Its sixth and final season was perfect and eloquently marked the end of television's Golden Age. We're just glad it was nominated after years and years of snubs, though it absolutely deserves the win in this category. Unfortunately this is the second time the show is nominated in the best drama category, so it doesn't have much of a chance: it's more of a sympathy nomination that's been building for years. 

What was snubbed: "Halt and Catch Fire." Sadly, the four-season AMC series, one of the best dramas to come out of the Golden Age (like "The Americans"), wasn't nominated for anything and flew under the radar for the majority of its run. 



COMEDY SERIES

The nominees: 

"Atlanta"

"Barry"

"Black-ish"

"Curb Your Enthusiasm"

"Glow"

"Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"

"Silicon Valley"

"Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt"

What will win: "Marvelous Mrs. Maisel." This would be a surprising win over defending champ "Atlanta," but it swept the Golden Globes and is lauded by critics. It was basically made for awards season, but not in a bad way. 

What should win: "Atlanta." Season two broke boundaries, even for this show's standards, and it absolutely deserves Emmy number two. 

What was snubbed: "The Good Place." Albeit in a very different way than FX's "Atlanta," NBC's "The Good Place" is groundbreaking comedy that has completely transformed what a network comedy can be. It should be a frontrunner, but didn't even get a nomination. 



LIMITED SERIES

The nominees: 

"The Alienist"

"The Assassination of Gianni Versace"

"Genius: Picasso"

"Godless"

"Patrick Melrose"

Who will win: "The Assassination of Gianni Versace." The Emmys love Ryan Murphy content, and if "the People vs OJ Simpson" is any indication, the second season of "American Crime Story" will sweep the awards this year. And it deserves the win for its unique take on the story of a serial killer that focuses on the victims, not just the monster. 

Who should win: "Godless." By embracing every cliche about westerns, "Godless" was somehow something truly unique, bolstered by an incredible cast including Michelle Dockery, Jeff Daniels, and Meritt Weaver (all nominees). We also wouldn't be upset if "Patrick Melrose" wins. 

Who was snubbed: "The Terror." It is an absolute shame that the best television show of 2018 wasn't nominated in any category. "The Terror" is revolutionary television in so many ways. It deserved better, and should have been an absolute shoe-in for a nomination and the win. Netflix's "American Vandal" deserved a nomination as well for its biting commentary on the true crime obsessed culture.



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