• A Ryder Cup spectator is considering taking legal action against tournament organisers after she was blinded in one eye by a stray Brooks Koepka drive.
• The injury was not thought to be serious at first, however, the fan now says she suffered an "explosion of the eyeball" and has lost sight out of one eye.
• Corine Remande, who travelled to Paris from Egypt for the tournament, says officials failed to warn the crowd of the incoming ball.
• "More than anything I want them to take care of all the medical bills to make sure there is no risk of infection," she said.
• 28-year-old Koepka said he felt "terrible" for hitting the woman.

A spectator at the Ryder Cup golf tournament who was hit by a stray Brooks Koepka drive on Friday has lost sight in one eye.

The woman, Corine Remande, said she is considering taking legal action against tournament organisers who failed to alert the crowd that the ball was travelling towards them.

"Doctors told me I had lost the use of that eye," Remande told Agence France-Presse, according to The Guardian. "It happened so fast, I didn’t feel any pain when I was hit. I didn’t feel like the ball had struck my eye and then I felt the blood start to pour. The scan on Friday confirmed a fracture of the right eye-socket and an explosion of the eyeball."

The US Open champion was teeing off on the sixth hole with partner Tony Finau when his first shot veered left into the crowd gathered on the side of the fairway.

"I didn't actually see her at first," Koepka recalled later, according to The Guardian. "I didn't know I hit anybody and then someone from the crowd yelled, 'You hit someone.'"

"It seems just about every week we're hitting somebody, and you know, it's unfortunate. You're never trying to," Koepka added.

Remande said she appreciated the gesture from Koepka who came over to check she was ok and handed her a signed glove.

However, she thinks more could have been done by tournament officials to warn her of the incoming ballistic: "Quite clearly, there is responsibility on the part of the organisers," Remande said after coming out of a specialist eye hospital in Paris, according to Sky News.

"Officials did not shout any warning as the player's ball went into the crowd."

The golf fan says she'll be consulting with a lawyer in the coming days.

"More than anything I want them to take care of all the medical bills to make sure there is no risk of infection," she said.

SEE ALSO: The 9 most expensive watches worn by the world's biggest golfing stars

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• A new game set in the world of Harry Potter was seemingly revealed in a leaked video overnight.
• The video was posted by a Reddit user who claims to have seen the game in a mall focus group.
• The game appears to be a third-person action RPG set in the world of Harry Potter, featuring combat and much more.

A new game set in the world of Harry Potter debuted overnight, albeit through leaked footage that popped up on Reddit.

"Have you ever had a random guy approach you while you were walking around a mall?" Reddit user "VapeThisBro" wrote. "This guy walked up to me and was like 'Hey man...I'll give you 8 bucks to watch this video game trailer while I fill out the survey for you.'"

Such is the story of the origins of this leaked trailer, captured off of a screen — thus the low quality image seen above. There also appears to be a mouse cursor hovering over the video as it plays. The lower right corner is blurred, obfuscating some type of potentially incriminating information.

The game appears to be a third-person action game set in the world of Harry Potter, and iconic locations — like Hogwarts and Diagon Alley — both make appearances. A description alongside the video calls the game a "third-person open-world action/RPG." To that end, a character creation screen is shown — a staple of RPG-style games. Button prompts in the video indicate the game will be available on Xbox One and/or PC.

That is, of course, if the game is still an existing project in development. The origins of the YouTube video are strange to say the least.

The description alongside the video reads like marketing copy: "Journey to Hogwarts to become one of 8 different Wizard types. Experience Hogwarts, make new friends, uncover new secrets, and change the fate of the Wizarding world."

That's because, as VapeThisBro explained, it was provided by the marketing representatives in the mall where he was asked to watch the video. "All that I was shown was a few videos, stills, and this," the Reddit user wrote. Here's the full description from Reddit:

"Set in the 19th Century (1800s) Wizarding World, this third-person open-world action RPG game centers around your character with unique abilities who has earned a late acceptance to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You are a newly arrived fifth year student to Hogwarts that demonstrates a latent gift for magic with a unique ability to track and identify remnants of a potent ancient power. Upon arrival, strange events begin to materialize in the Forbidden Forest and trouble begins to brew within the castle walls. Together with Professor Elezar Fig, you embark on a journey through both familiar and never before seen locations to bring to light the truth behind these mysterious occurrences. On your quest you will craft potions, master new spells, and discover fantastical beasts. You will battle Dark Wizards, Goblins, and other supernatural enemies and uncover the truth about your destiny — the fate of the Wizarding World lies in your hands.

FEATURES:

- Journey to Hogwarts to become one of 8 different Wizard types
- Experience Hogwarts, make new friends, uncover new secrets, and change the fate of the Wizarding world.
- Experience a new magic system that creates countless possibilities to master magic.
- Freely explore the Wizarding World for the first time.
- Choose your house and friends at Hogwarts, and decide to pursue a path of good or evil.
- Create your own witch or wizard, and experience an all new story separate from the books or films."

For its part, Warner Bros. hasn't responded to a request for comment. No such game in the Harry Potter fiction has been announced, but a new film is on the way — "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald," the second in the "Fantastic Beasts" series, is scheduled to arrive this November.

The full leaked trailer of the game was taken down from YouTube shortly after this was published. According to the notice, a copyright claim was filed by none other than Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment — the game publishing arm of Warner Bros.

A GIF version of the trailer from Reddit can be found below:

SEE ALSO: Watch this gamer beat 'Super Mario Bros.' in under five minutes and set a new world record in the process

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• Much of the "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" backlash came from Russian trolls — not fans — according to a new study.
• Researcher Morten Bay wrote in a paper that there was "evidence of deliberate, organized political influence measures disguised as fan arguments."
• Bay said much of the hatred for the film was politically motivated, a result of the Trump era.
• "The Last Jedi" director Rian Johnson said that much of Bay's writing was consistent with his experience online.

New research suggests that much of the negative reaction to 2017's "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" came from Russian trolls and was politically motivated.

While critics loved it, the rest of world seemed quite divided on "The Last Jedi." Some people liked director Rian Johnson's experimentation with the story and the world we thought we knew.

But some in the fandom thought Johnson had destroyed what they once loved in a way that couldn't be repaired.

In the wake of the film's release, many of those who hated the movie aggressively made their feelings about the film known.

There were racist and sexist comments made toward actors in the film, particularly Kelly Marie Tran, who played Rose Tico and left social media.

In early 2018, a mysterious Twitter account emerged, the sole purpose of which was to get the movie remade with a different director. Johnson also experienced harassment online that has continued since the film's release last December.

A recent study's findings, published in "Weaponizing the Haters: The Last Jedi" and the strategic politicization of pop culture through social media manipulation" by researcher Marten Bay, looks into the reactions to the movie online — particularly the negative criticism that's made the movie controversial within the Star Wars fandom.

In the paper, Bay suggests that much of the aggressive negative criticism isn't genuine and that some of it isn't even coming from Star Wars fans. Bay wrote that there was "evidence of deliberate, organized political influence measures disguised as fan arguments."

"Overall, 50.9% of those tweeting negatively was likely politically motivated or not even human," Bay wrote, adding that a number of those users appeared to be Russian trolls.

Bay also wrote that the Trump era influenced the fandom, because the themes and messages within "The Last Jedi" are the same as the other Star Wars films.

"The divisive political discourse of the study period and the months leading up to it has likely primed these fans with a particular type of political messaging that is in direct conflict with the values presented in 'The Last Jedi,'" Bay wrote.

On Monday, "The Last Jedi" director Rian Johnson tweeted a link to Bay's research, writing that it sounded like the experience he has had online since the movie came out:

SEE ALSO: The 7 movies or TV shows coming to Netflix this week that are worth watching

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

• Google this week unveiled "Project Stream," a new service that lets you stream video games to your Google Chrome web browser.
• Project Stream, like Nvidia's GeForce Now service, leverages computers in the cloud to power the games themselves — all you need is a reliable streaming connection to play.
• Project Stream has the potential to be disruptive, since it removes one of the biggest limitations keeping people from playing the games they like: the need for powerful hardware.

Almost exactly a year ago, I tried a free piece of software from Nvidia called GeForce Now, which lets you play high-end PC games on any kind of computer — including my 5-year-old MacBook Pro.

Gaming? On a Mac? You'd think it's impossible. But since the GeForce Now service leverages Nvidia's high-end GPUs in the cloud, you don't need a powerful PC to play incredible-looking games on your computer — all you need is a quality internet connection.

I own a PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch, but when I tried GeForce Now for the first time last October, I almost converted to PC gaming entirely. Suddenly, I couldn't wait to try all of my favorite games on my MacBook laptop — my MacBook! — and I was impressed by how smoothly the games ran, and how impressive the games looked.

Google, however, may have just one-upped Nvidia's GeForce Now with a new service launching this Friday, called Project Stream.

What is Project Stream?

According to Google, being able to stream movies, TV shows, and music has changed the way we've consumed multimedia. And in the same way, Google believes the video-game medium could also benefit from streaming — but there are some notable technical hurdles that need to be overcome in order to successfully stream a video game from the cloud to one's computer.

"When streaming TV or movies, consumers are comfortable with a few seconds of buffering at the start, but streaming high-quality games requires latency measured in milliseconds, with no graphic degradation,” Catherine Hsiao, product manager at Google, said a blog post.

"The technology and creativity behind these AAA video games is extraordinary ... Every pixel is powered by an array of real-time rendering technology, artistry, visual effects, animation, simulation, physics, and dynamics."

The first real test for Google's Project Stream arrives this Friday with the launch of the next big game in the "Assassin's Creed" franchise, called "Assassin's Creed Odyssey." The massive new AAA game from Ubisoft will be available on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC, and, yes, a select number of participants in Project Stream, which is accessed via Google's Chrome browser.

You can apply to try Project Stream on Google's website, but you must live in the US, be 17 years or older, and have an internet connection of at least 25 megabits per second.

Why Project Stream could be so disruptive

One of the big limits in the video-game industry is hardware. If you care about performance, you may not want to buy your favorite game on a console, since most games both look and perform better on a PC.

The problem is, not everyone can afford an expensive gaming PC, or a computer with a GPU that's powerful enough to run highly-detailed games like "Destiny 2." Consoles are considerably cheaper and more user-friendly in that way.

GeForce Now introduced a great solution, but it's not perfect. You have to download a separate app to your computer, create an Nvidia account (if you don't have one), and register or buy all your games through Nvidia's store. It's not arduous, but it's a multi-step process.

Google's Project Stream has a chance to meet GeForce Now on a technical level, but surpass it in terms of accessibility. Project Stream doesn't require a separate app; all you need is Google Chrome, which is already the most popular web browser in the world by a mile. It's unclear exactly how this works, but the fact you don't need to leave Chrome is a huge advantage for Project Stream. Perhaps all you need to do is open a new window, or tab, and boom: you're playing a video game.

Exactly how well Google's new system will work, however, has yet to be determined. As with all new software, there could be some hiccups and bugs, especially at first — there could be lag, or technical glitches, or other connectivity issues. And we still don't know if this service comes with a price — whether that's one-time or monthly — or any other hooks.

But Project Stream is an ambitious idea that, if successful, could break down barriers between people and the games they want to play, and influence a new generation of game consoles to focus on streaming capabilities rather than beefy hardware.

SEE ALSO: This free app lets you play incredible-looking PC games on any Mac computer

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• The first social-media reactions to "Venom" are in after the movie's world premiere on Monday.
• They paint a mixed picture, with some saying it's a "complete failure" and others enjoying its surprising humor.
• One thing everyone seems to agree on, though, is that Tom Hardy gives a bizarre performance.

"Venom," the latest superhero movie based on the popular Spider-Man villain, is either an entertaining buddy-cop movie or as bad as "Catwoman," depending on who you ask.

The frst social-media reactions to the movie poured in Monday night after the film's world premiere, and they paint a mixed picture. One thing everyone seems to agree on, however, is that, compared to his co-stars, Tom Hardy gives a bizarre performance as Eddie Brock, the reporter who is consumed by the alien symbiote called Venom.

Some critics despised the movie, calling it a "complete failure" and a "tonal mess." Others actually liked it a lot, saying it's surprisingly funny (maybe without intending to be) and to not take it too seriously.

Below are some early reactions to the movie:

Many straight-up hated "Venom."

Some people were confused, or even fascinated, by Tom Hardy's bizarre performance.

Some had purely mixed feelings.

There were still plenty who liked it.

And it's at least better than "The Emoji Movie."

"Venom" comes to theaters on Friday.

SEE ALSO: After missing its original release date and angering fans, Kanye West's next album is now scheduled to come out in November

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

There are a lot of movies to choose from on Netflix these days — but honestly, they aren't all great. So we have highlighted the ones worth your time.

In October, there are some classic titles you really need to watch, including “Blazing Saddles,” “Once Upon a Time in America,” and two Monty Python movies.

Netflix is great again!

• “Billy Madison” (Available October 1). Is it Adam Sandler’s best movie? [Checks notes] It is.

• “Blazing Saddles” (October 1). Dr. Samuel Johnson is right about Olsen Johnson being right about Mel Brooks’ classic comedy being essential viewing.

• “The Devil’s Advocate” (October 1). Keanu Reeves and Charlize Theron give great performances — okay, Keanu’s accent is a little much — but it has Al Pacino going bananas playing the devil.

• “Once Upon a Time in America” (October 1). Sergio Leone’s epic look at the birth of organized crime in America is as masterful as the Westerns he’s known best for. And the movie features a young Robert De Niro, young James Woods, young Treat Williams, and a really young Jennifer Connelly in a flashback scene.

• “Rumble in the Bronx” (October 1). It’s not Jackie Chan’s best movie, let’s get that out of the way right now, but he still does some pretty amazing things in it.

• “The Shining” (1980) (October 1). Stanley Kubrick tosses Stephen King’s book aside and makes a horror movie where he comments on the genocide of Native Americans and reveals in the movie's subtext that he filmed the Apollo 11 moon landing. Hold on — I’m told none of those conspiracy theories are true.

• “Monty Python: The Meaning of Life” (October 2). The legendary comedy troupe use their unique style of to look at life in all its stages.

• “Monty Python’s Life of Brian” (October 2). Get even more Python as the group spoofs the messiah by exploring Brian (played by Graham Chapman), who was born in the stable next to Jesus on Christmas day and is mistaken for him ever since.

SEE ALSO: MoviePass emailed former subscribers to tell them they'll be enrolled in a new plan unless they opt out, and experts are calling it "unfair and abusive"

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

October is packed with must-watch television on Netflix, from the funny to the spooky to season two of the addictive true crime docuseries "Making a Murderer."

Knowing there's an overwhelming amount of content coming to Netflix in October, we studied the list and picked the best shows to watch. 

So, finish up what you haven't gotten to in September so you're prepared to watch all of the great shows coming this month, from "Big Mouth" season two to "The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina."

• "Big Mouth" season two (October 5), a Netflix Original: Nick Kroll and friends go at it again for another disgusting but sweet season of the animated comedy about navigating puberty. 
• "Schitt's Creek" season four (October 11): This wildly funny Canadian comedy starring comedy legends Catherine O'Hara and Eugene Levy got people addicted thanks to its availability on Netflix, and people have been impatiently awaiting the fourth season's arrival on the service. 
• "The Haunting of Hill House" (October 12), a Netflix Original: This new horror series starring Timothy Hutton, Carla Gugino, and Victoria Pedretti is getting some good buzz, with one critic calling it "the first great horror TV show."
• "Making a Murderer Part II" (October 19), a Netflix Original: The second part of the true crime docuseries that was a major hit for Netflix and dominated our culture three years ago may not be as exciting as the first season, but if you're a fan of true crime you'll probably love it. 
• "Marvel's Daredevil" season three (October 19), a Netflix Original: Real stakes for the hero and the return of Wilson Fisk make season three the best season yet, and possibly the strongest season of any of Netflix's Marvel shows.
• "Great News" season two (October 25): NBC canceled this bright and sharp local news station comedy, and it was a huge mistake. Everyone should watch it, and beg Netflix to bring it back, please. 
• "The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" (October 26), a Netflix Original: Kiernan Shipka of "Mad Men" takes on the leading role in this twisted, Satanic spin on the teenage witch. It's dark, literally and figuratively, slightly disturbing, but the story is all told with a big wink which makes it fun to watch: the show knows how ridiculous it is, and has fun with itself. 

SEE ALSO: The creators of Amazon's new show 'Forever' talk about keeping the premise a secret and what it's like to work in TV when there's too much of it

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• Google's cloud division is taking its first steps into streaming games.
• This could be a big source of revenue down the road, provided Google can pull it off.
• Streaming video games is a complex engineering problem.  

Google is getting get into gaming in a big way with its new streaming project, but the move appears to be as much about fighting Amazon's massive cloud as it is about Google becoming a player in the world of gaming. 

The effort, announced on Monday, is being led by the Google Cloud Platform (GCP) group, which will provide the fundamental infrastructure for a new cloud-based videogame platform. 

Beginning on Friday, GCP will enable a limited number of US gamers to play Ubisoft’s popular “Assassin’s Creed” game via their Chrome browser. Users will play directly through their Chrome browser via streaming, and Google says that very little computing power is required on the user's end. 

This as an opportunity for Google to "drive traction for GCP," Morgan Stanley analyst Brian Nowak wrote in a research note on Tuesday.

"In addition to its efforts to build a Twitch competitor at YouTube and its partnership with game engine Unity, launching a cloud gaming platform could allow GOOGL to form a more direct relationship with gamers, which it could leverage to expand further into the video game value chain," Nowak wrote.

The foray into gaming by GCP has long been rumored and comes as Google is searching for new sources of income. Investors see Google as a growth company and to keep that narrative going, managers need new revenue sources ready for the day when the company’s colossal ad business tops out. To that end, Google is throwing a lot of resources into developing cloud and artificial intelligence.

GCP's management, led by Diane Greene, have described the new streaming-game initiative as a test of Project Stream's technology, formerly code named Yeti (You can read more about the announcement here). Google will face steep technical hurdles in making the effort a success — as Business Insider's Dave Smith writes, this kind of thing has been tried before by others with mixed results.

But there's a big payoff if Google can pull it off by providing an opportunity to forge direct ties to gamers, which Google could mine in the future.

'A source of upside'

“We learned last week at our AMZN Disruption Symposium that AWS is currently the leading provider of cloud tools for video game development,” Nowak wrote. “This represents Google’s first attempt to move ahead in distribution... the company has strong engineering talent and cloud gaming has proven to be a difficult engineering problem.”

Project Stream also represents a chance for GCP to continue its rapid expansion into the broader cloud market, Nowak said.

When it comes to the market leaders, GCP trails Amazon’s AWS and Microsoft’s Azure cloud services by a significant amount Nowak indicated.  

According to the analyst’s estimates, GCP has a value of $45 billion while he values AWS at $375 billion. Still, Nowak likes the direction that GCP is headed.

“Success in gaming,” he wrote, “could be a source of upside.”

SEE ALSO: Google's ambitious new project could fundamentally change the way we play video games

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Forget about the rest of the year — the biggest Xbox One game of 2018 just arrived: "Forza Horizon 4" is now available.

Like "Forza Horizon 3" before it, "Forza Horizon 4" sets a new standard in the racing genre. It's more attractive than the last game, it's got a better flow than the last game, and it's got the same excellent driving that "Horizon" fans have come to expect.

It is, in many ways, more of the same — but it's more of something really good.

Whether you're a fan of games like "Need for Speed," "Burnout," "Gran Turismo" or even "Mario Kart," there's something for you in "Forza Horizon 4." That's because it's not just the best racing game available — it's also the most accessible. Better still: It happens to be a great game, regardless of the whole "driving" bit.

Here's why:

SEE ALSO: Here are the 16 biggest video games launching this fall, from an all-new ‘Fallout’ to the hotly-anticipated ‘Red Dead Redemption 2'

1. "Forza Horizon 4" is intended for everybody.

Before creating a character, or buying cars, or even seeing the map, the very first thing you do in "Forza Horizon 4" is race. 

The game opens — as it has for the past several iterations — with a freewheeling race that has you leaping from vehicle to vehicle. The instructions are simple: Right trigger to accelerate, left trigger to brake, and left thumbstick to steer. 

The race is intentionally simplistic and bombastic — a bluster-filled intro to the anything goes mentality of the "Horizon" series. It continues to be a strong way to onboard new players. "Here!" it screams. "Jump in! Go!"

And go, you must.

That introduction transitions to the real game soon after, and the game's controls remain set in the default, easy-to-use setting. The game doesn't urge you to amp up the difficulty, or even tell you where the settings are to change said difficulty.

If you want to turn on manual transmissions, or turn off steering assists — or whatever else — you have to go find that stuff. The options are there in spades, but the game puts no pressure on the average player to ramp up the difficulty.

2. The game rewards exploration and silliness just as much as careful racing.

Like the "Burnout" and "Need for Speed" games, "Forza Horizon 4" encourages plenty of "arcade-style" car gameplay. By that I mean there are lots of things to do that might be considered mistakes in a more straight-laced racing game. 

If you take your car off-road, for instance, and do a bunch of crazy jumps, "Horizon 4" actually rewards you for it. If you stay on the road, and carefully weave around traffic, the game also rewards you for that. Perhaps you'd rather pursue the smashing of various billboards strewn around the game's massive landscape? "Horizon 4" is also happy to give you points for that.

There's a general sense of reward to pretty much every action (short of crashing) — a feeling that the game is encouraging whatever behavior you enjoy. It's welcoming! 

There's plenty of genuine structure (I'll get to that in a minute), but you're more than welcome to do your own thing. And, most importantly, doing your own thing will still allow you to make progress towards unlocking cars, leveling up, and generally getting to do more stuff. 

3. The spirit of "Forza Horizon 4" is irreverence.

"Forza Horizon" has never been a "serious" racing series in tone.

The "Horizon" franchise — a spinoff of the drearily serious "Forza Motorsport" simulation racing game franchise, also for the Xbox One and PC — is centered around the concept of a very silly music and car festival. It stars forgettable characters, and there's next to no "story" holding it together. I would argue that this is all intentional.

The game's creators clearly know how thin the story is — how serious does the story in a racing game need to be? — and have dug in more than ever with "Horizon 4." The slight framing of a "festival" has now transformed into a non-stop party, spanning all four seasons.

When do people work in the world of "Forza Horizon 4?" They do not work. They live for the festival. They die for the festival. There is only the festival.

Better still, there's a custom avatar that does silly dances before and after races. Occasionally, you'll find a place in the massive open world that is especially picturesque — and your character is able to get out and wildly gyrate in said environment. For what reason? I have no idea, but it's incredibly endearing and silly.

More than ever, "Horizon 4" is absurdly silly and it knows it. 

• Panos Cosmatos' latest movie "Mandy," starring Nicolas Cage, is achieving the impossible for most day-and-date movies, as audiences would rather see it in theaters than Video-On-Demand.
• Thanks to fans demanding it be shown in more theaters, RLJ Entertainment, the distributor of "Mandy," has the movie booked in theaters until November.
• Business Insider explores why "Mandy" could be the next "Rocky Horror Picture Show."

With the fall movie season in full swing, much of the weekend box office discussion has focused on the impressive staying power of titles such as “The Nun,” “A Simple Favor,” and “The House with a Clock in Its Walls,” which audiences continue to flock to after their opening weekends.

But if you dig a little deeper, you’ll come across a title currently playing that has the kind of hold on audiences that it has the makings of being a cult classic the likes we haven’t seen since “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”

Panos Cosmatos’ acid-laced revenge movie starring Nicolas Cage, “Mandy,” isn't just having a solid theatrical run, it’s defying the release strategy of most day-and-date movies before it.

In the three weeks since opening, the movie has only played in 210 theaters, but to date it's grossed close to $840,000. And that doesn’t even count the money coming in through Video-On-Demand, which the movie’s distributor, RLJ Entertainment, boasts is in the millions.

When a movie is released on a day-and-date platform, meaning its distributor releases the movie in theaters and streaming/Video-On-Demand simultaneously, the theatrical component of the release is often used almost as a unique brand of advertising for the VOD option.

Because the major theater chains won't allow day-and-date movies to be played in their multiplexes (as they are not exclusively shown on the big screen), these titles instead play in limited release at independent chains and art houses, typically in major cities. So the reviews, feature stories, and any other attention from the theatrical release boost the movie's VOD exposure, as people who want to see the movie but don’t live near one of the theaters showing it can easily order it on their TVs. Cage, in particular, has capitalized on this recently, as many of his movies in the last few years have been straight-to-VOD or day-and-date.

So RLJ Entertainment, which is known for releasing genre movies (“Brawl in Cell Block 99,” “Bone Tomahawk”) and has handled movies starring Cage in the past (“Rage,” “Dog Eat Dog,” “Pay the Ghost”), moved forward with the usual game plan for “Mandy.” They released it in 75 theaters its first week, and had Cosmatos, Cage, and co-star Linus Roache show up for live Q&As following some special Thursday-night screenings before its opening weekend, the hope being that exposure and the 94% Rotten Tomatoes score the movie has would bring in the audiences that a limited marketing budget a day-and-date movie can't.

And boy did it work.

Though the movie earned a modest $225,723 its first weekend, there were sellout showings — from New York’s Alamo Drafthouse to Chicago’s Music Box to even an art house in El Paso, Texas. And then something unusual happened: Instead of people ordering the movie on VOD, they took to social media and demanded a wider release so that “Mandy” could open at a theater near them.

The twitter handle @CheddarGoblin — named after the mac & cheese puking green goblin featured in a commercial that appears in the movie — suddenly became the destination for “Mandy” fans to get the latest updates on which theaters around the country were playing the movie.

And the hunger for the movie only increased in the second weekend it was out, as the number of theaters showing “Mandy” dropped down to 71. The loss of four screens may not seem like a big deal, but it was for fans living in southern California, because “Mandy” didn’t show at a single theater in Los Angeles that weekend.

This wasn’t because RLJ Entertainment had given up on the movie, it simply was going with its usual formula of decreasing its theatrical count in week 2 and letting VOD become a more attractive option to see the movie. The company had done its theater bookings long before the fan outcry, and that meant it couldn't add new screenings because the theaters already had a full slate of titles for the weekend. Last weekend, the movie played at three theaters in LA.

Despite the loss of a major market, the movie saw a relatively minuscule 31% drop in ticket sales from its opening weekend — in fact, its $155,405 take was one of the largest for any indie movie that weekend.

“With a day-and-date release, it’s really hard theatrically to break out, it’s nearly impossible,” Mark Ward, chief acquisitions officer at RLJ Entertainment, told Business Insider. “So it’s beyond our wildest dreams that the film is performing strong everywhere, on all platforms." (Currently, “Mandy” is in the top 10 movies to rent on iTunes in “independent,” “horror,” and “thriller” categories.)

Ward promises that, if there’s demand, the movie will continue its theater run, so it seems the “Mandy” craze isn’t going to end anytime soon.

“RLJ’s theatrical booker is getting all these calls from theaters saying, ‘We want the movie but we have contractual obligations with other films, can we have it in October or November?’” said Lisa Whalen, CEO of SpectreVision, the production company founded by Elijah Wood that's behind “Mandy” (along with XYZ Films and Umedia). “So it’s just going to keep coming out.”

“As filmmakers, we have to catch up to the reality that many cinema goers are now experiencing films in their homes,” Daniel Noah, director of development at SpectreVision added. “And that's one of things that's so thrilling for us, that people are saying 'No, this demands to be seen in the theaters, we are not going to watch it at home.'”

Ward believes we could be seeing the start of “Mandy” becoming what “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” is now: a movie that continues to be played in theaters for its fans over decades. But for the here and now, he believes “Mandy” has changed how day-and-date movies are perceived. 

“I feel ‘Mandy’ is the new benchmark in terms of this type of release,” Ward said.

SEE ALSO: MoviePass emailed former subscribers to tell them they'll be enrolled in a new plan unless they opt out, and experts are calling it "unfair and abusive"

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• The porn actress Stormy Daniels wrote a book in which she likened President Donald Trump's genitals to "the mushroom character in 'Mario Kart.'"
• For a visual, the "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" host Jimmy Kimmel offered Daniels fake mushrooms to compare.
• She chose one of the smaller mushrooms as "the most accurate depiction."
• Daniels also recalled new intimate details regarding her alleged 2006 affair with Trump, which Trump has denied.

The porn actress Stormy Daniels picked out a fake mushroom she said most resembled President Donald Trump's genitalia in a wild appearance on late-night TV in which she gave further details about the affair she says she had with him in 2006.

Daniels was offered a selection of mushrooms during Tuesday night's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" in a reference to a lurid description in her new book that describes Trump's manhood as resembling Toad, "the mushroom character in 'Mario Kart.'" Trump has denied the affair.

The host Jimmy Kimmel asked Daniels, whose real name Stephanie Clifford, about the mushroom comparison.

In her book, "Full Disclosure," Daniels had written: "I lay there, annoyed that I was getting f---ed by a guy with Yeti pubes and a d--- like the mushroom character in 'Mario Kart.'"

She was presumably referring to Toad, a Nintendo character with a mushroom head.

Kimmel brought out a platter of fake orange mushrooms for Daniels to select from, asking her which one most closely resembled Trump's genitalia.

"Can you hold it up so it's coming at me at the correct angle?" Daniels asked, before picking out one of the smaller mushrooms as "the most accurate depiction."

She also joked about the backlash she had gotten for her comments: "Do you know how much hate mail I've gotten from people who love 'Mario Kart?'"

When Kimmel suggested that Daniels had "made love" with Trump, she argued back: "Gross! What is wrong with you? I laid there and prayed for death."

When he asked why she would have sex with someone she was so "grossed out by," she answered: "I still don't know."

Daniels acted out a moment she said she spanked Trump with a magazine that had his face on the cover, using her book as a stand-in for the magazine and Kimmel as a Trump surrogate.

"Please, God, let him be watching this right now," Kimmel said. "I don't think I've ever been so happy," he said later.

You can watch the segment below:

SEE ALSO: Michael Avenatti takes a victory lap after Wall Street Journal reports Trump directed an effort to keep Stormy Daniels silent earlier this year

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• Chinese actress Fan Bingbing broke her silence after disappearing for three months after being accused of tax evasion.
• She issued a groveling apology on social media on Wednesday admitting to signing secret contracts to avoid taxes.
• She said: "Without the Party and country's good policies, without the love of the people, there would be no Fan Bingbing."
• Chinese tax authorities say Fan evaded taxes by splitting her earnings into two contracts, and fined her $129 million.

Fan Bingbing, the Chinese actress who has been missing for three months, has broken her silence with a groveling apology to the Chinese government, which has reportedly fined her $129 million in overdue taxes and fines.

Fan disappeared from the public eye in early July shortly after she was accused of tax evasion. Cui Yongyuan, a TV host with Chinese state media, suggested as long ago as May that she signed secret contracts for an upcoming movie to avoid paying higher taxes.

Tax authorities in Jiangsu province on Sunday found that Fan earned 30 million yuan ($4.4 million/£3.4 million) for a film, but split her earnings into two contracts — one public one for 10 million, and a secret one for 20 million — to avoid paying higher taxes, the state-run Xinhua News agency reported on Wednesday.

In a statement posted on Chinese social network Weibo the same day, Fan admitted wrongdoing, said she was "deeply ashamed" of avoiding tax, and praised the Chinese authorities.

As well as the contentious split contracts, Xinhua said that Fan and companies she represented also evaded 248 million yuan ($34 million/£28 million) in taxes, but gave no further details regarding the companies or this figure.

The actress and her companies have been fined a total of 884 million yuan ($129 million/£99 million), the BBC and Reuters reported, citing Xinhua. Of that sum she was personally fined 479 million yuan ($70 million/£54 million), according to the Financial Times. It's not clear who exactly owes the rest of the sum.

Authorities also ordered that Fan repay the money within a prescribed time limit, Xinhua said, without saying how long that would be.

If Fan doesn't pay it back in time, tax authorities will transfer her case to public security officials for "handling," the news agency reported, without specifying what that would entail.

Shortly after the Xinhua story was published, Fan broke her silence on microblogging site Weibo with a confirmation with the financial accusations against her as well as an apology to "society, my friends, the public, and the country's tax authority."

The actress said: "For a while, due to my not understanding the relationship between benefits of the country, society, and individual, I and others took advantage of a 'split contract' to avoid tax problems, and I am deeply ashamed."

She also said that she "totally accepts" the tax authorities' penalty, adding: "Without the Party and country's good policies, without the love of the people, there would be no Fan Bingbing."

Fan's case is not unique. China is grappling with tax evasion cases both within and beyond its entertainment industry, and experts say that Fan's temporary disappearance shows Beijing's eagerness to end those infractions.

Zhu Chuanlu, a tax lawyer at Beijing's Zhonglun W&D law firm, told the Financial Times "the punishment would also have a deterrent effect to other sectors. [Wealthy] individuals will continue to be the target of national tax audits, I believe that similar cases will continue to erupt."

Rod Wye, a former official in the British Embassy in Beijing, also told The Sun last month: "For someone like her to be 'publicly disappeared' sends out a message that no matter how high you rise the Party can cut you down again... You can't tell who will be singled out next. 

"They want to send out a message to the entertainment industry that they need to be aware of the new morality, which is core socialist values."

Fan, 37, is one of China's most prominent actress. She has starred in movies both in and out of China, including "X-Men: Days of Future Past," and in ad campaigns for brands like De Beers.

But Fan's Wednesday apology may have come too late to save her tarnished reputation. Earlier this year academics at Beijing Normal University ranked Fan the lowest in a "social responsibility assessment" of Chinese film and television stars.

Many companies she advertised for, including De Beers and Australian vitamin brand Swisse, have also suspended her image from their campaigns, according to the Associated Press.

SEE ALSO: A director close to vanished Chinese actress Fan Bingbing has been mysteriously edited out of a movie

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• Actor Christian Bale transformed into former US Vice President Dick Cheney for director Adam McKay's upcoming biopic "Vice."
• The first trailer debuted Wednesday.
• The film also stars Sam Rockwell as George W. Bush, Amy Adams and Lynne Cheney, and Steve Carell as Donald Rumsfeld.

Actor Christian Bale is known for undergoing incredible physical transformations for his roles.

For his latest he gained 40 pounds to portray former US Vice President Dick Cheney in director Adam McKay's ("The Big Short") upcoming biopic.

The film's first trailer finally dropped Wednesday, showcasing Bale as Cheney, along with Sam Rockwell as former President George W. Bush; Amy Adams as author and Cheney's wife, Lynne Cheney; and Steve Carell as former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

The trailer finds Rockwell's Bush asking Bale's Cheney to be his vice president, which Cheney agrees to only with a certain understanding.

"Well, George, I'm a CEO of a large company, and I have been secretary of defense, and I have been White House Chief of Staff," Cheney says. "The vice presidency is a mostly symbolic job. However, if we came to a different understanding ... "

The trailer then cuts through a montage of Cheney's life before circling back to his and Bush's exchange.

"I believe we can make this work," Cheney says.

"Vice" comes to theaters December 21.

Watch the full trailer below:

SEE ALSO: The first reactions to 'Venom' are in, and people are saying it's an unintentionally funny superhero movie with a bizarre Tom Hardy performance

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• Chinese authorities detained actress Fan Bingbing in a luxury "holiday resort" while they investigated tax evasion allegations against her, the South China Morning Post reported.
• Fan disappeared from the public eye for three months.
• She spoke for the first time since July on Wednesday after she was fined $129 million for signing secret contracts to avoid tax.

Chinese actress Fan Bingbing was held under a luxurious house arrest while authorities investigated her tax evasion case earlier this year, the South China Morning Post reported.

Fan was accused of signing secret movie contracts to avoid paying higher taxes in May. She disappeared from the public eye from early July to early October, with fans being left in the dark as Beijing forbade its state media to report on her.

Tax authorities since found that Fan split her earnings into two contracts — one public and one secret — to avoid paying taxes, the state-run Xinhua News agency reported on Wednesday. The state also ordered her to pay 884 million yuan ($129 million/£99 million), the BBC and Reuters reported, citing Xinhua.

The actress spoke for the first time since July on Wednesday with a social media post admitting to the tax evasion and apologizing to her fans and the Chinese government.

While her whereabouts remain unknown, the South China Morning Post has reported that Fan had secretly detained until two weeks ago, when she was allowed to return to Beijing, citing unnamed sources with knowledge of the case.

Fan had been kept in a "holiday resort" in a suburb in the coastal province of Jiangsu, whose authorities were investigating her case, the Hong Kong newspaper said.

The South China Morning Post's sources referred to the detention as "residential surveillance at a designated location."

Fan is no longer in detention, but she could still be summoned for further questioning, the paper said.

Authorities have ordered that Fan repay the money within a prescribed time limit, Xinhua reported, without disclosing how long that would be.

Fan could escape criminal charges if she repaid the money in time, Xinhua said. But if she doesn't, tax authorities will transfer her case to public security officials for "handling," the news agency said, without specifying what that would entail.

She was the highest-earning celebrity in China last year, having raked in 300 million yuan, according to Forbes.

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There are two big movies coming out this weekend. One of them is Bradley Cooper's "A Star is Born," which is loved by critics and expected to sweep the Oscars in major categories. The other? Not so much. 

It's "Venom," which does not exist within the Marvel Cinematic Universe and is produced by Sony. "Venom" stars Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, and Riz Ahmed. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Williams said that the main reason she took the role was the chance to work with Tom Hardy, but later mentioned money was a factor too.

And critics say "Venom" is a mess, and it currently has a 27% score on Rotten Tomatoes. But even the most scathing reviews of the movie indicated that it is still a good time, because it is so awesomely bad that you can't help but enjoy yourself. 

Hardy, Williams, and Ahmed do what they can with a clunky, boring plot, but the film doesn't seem to know what its own tone is. The movie is, essentially, exactly what you'd expect after seeing the hilarious trailer. 

Here's what the critics are saying about "Venom," in theaters Friday:

SEE ALSO: The 7 TV shows coming to Netflix in October that are worth watching

"It's a mess, but wow, is it ever a fun, fascinating mess."

Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service

"A movie that initially seemed just-plain-bad becomes so-bad-it's-good. Or maybe it's just plain good. It's been a full day since I've seen it, and honestly, I'm still not sure. Either way, I laughed a lot."

Angie Han, Mashable 

"It would be true to say that the tongue and Tom Hardy are the making of Sony's venture into the Marvel Universe."

Louise Keller, Urban Cinefile

• Ted Farnsworth, the CEO of Helios and Matheson Analytics, which owns MoviePass, said on Tuesday that the company has raised $65 million in new funding.
• He also said that that MoviePass has controlled its spending since changing to the three-movies-per-month plan.

MoviePass isn't going anywhere — at least according to Ted Farnsworth, the CEO of Helios & Matheson Analytics (HMNY), which owns MoviePass.

Farnsworth said just that on Tuesday while speaking at the entertainment media conference TheGrill in Los Angeles.  

According to The Wrap, which puts on the event, Farnsworth insisted that the company is not going bankrupt and stated that it raised $65 million in new funding last month. 

Business Insider contacted HMNY to get more specifics on the funding, but the company declined to comment. 

Farnsworth said MoviePass has controlled its spending since August, when it switched to a three-movie-per-month plan for $9.95. 

“People are going to less than one movie a month,” Farnsworth said at the event. "So technically subscription alone right now is doing just fine, now it’s tacking on all the other things on top of it.”

Farnsworth is referring to the acquisition side of the company, like its recent co-acquisition of Neon titles "Monsters and Men" and "Border" through MoviePass films.

However, the threat of HMNY being delisted from the NASDAQ is still looming over the company, as its stock is currently at $0.01. If it continues to trade below $1 by mid-December, the process of delisting will begin. 

On October 18, HMNY will hold a special meeting with stockholders to approve an amendment for a one-time reverse stock split of up to 1-for-500 shares. 

SEE ALSO: 8 movies coming to Netflix in October that are worth watching

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The company that makes "Grand Theft Auto" isn't known for pumping out games. You may recall that the latest "GTA" game came out in 2013 — that's the most recent release from Rockstar Games.

But a new game from Rockstar is just on the horizon: "Red Dead Redemption 2."

The relentlessly gorgeous "Red Dead Redemption 2" is just weeks away, with a scheduled launch on October 26 for Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

So, what's "Red Dead Redemption 2" all about? Is it basically "Grand Theft Horse"? Yes and no! Let's dive in.

SEE ALSO: I played 2018's most anticipated game, 'Red Dead Redemption 2' — here are the 12 most interesting things I learned

Unlike "GTA," the "Red Dead" series is set in the American frontier. That means campfires and starry skies.

It also means gunslingers and six-shooters and bandit masks. This isn't just a tale of America's Wild West, but a tale of cowboys, robbers, and the evolution of American society.

Rockstar characterizes the game's story as an "outlaw epic set across the vast and unforgiving American heartland."

• Tom Hardy's performance in "Venom" is a Jekyll and Hyde vibe mixed with the physical comedy of Jim Carrey.
• Yes, this is a very different Marvel movie.

When news hit that Sony was making a Venom movie, fans of the legendary comic book villain probably immediately thought that it has to explore certain things, and the character's look and tone have to be a certain way.

I'm going to level with you — if you are a superfan of the Marvel comics you probably are going to hate "Venom" (in theaters Friday).

But if you are someone, like me, who did not grow up on the ultra-violent exploits of this alien Symbiote that clings to a human host to survive, there's hope. 

With "Venom," director Ruben Fleischer ("Zombieland," "Gangster Squad") delivers an entertaining comic book movie that at times is intentionally funny, while other non-funny moments miss the mark so badly that you can't help but laugh.  

The worst parts of the movie are when it attempts basic character development. Whether it be the first 45 minutes or so where we watch the self-destructive life of Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy), Carlton Drake's (Riz Ahmed) obsession to find the proper host for his Symbiotes he plucked from space, or the non-existent relationship between Eddie and Anne Weying (Michelle Williams). 

Obviously all of this is needed or the movie would be 30 minutes long, but it's easy to zone out during these parts until Venom shows up. And when he does it pays off, but maybe not the way you would think.

The plot of the movie revolves around Drake having these Symbiotes and his struggle to find a human host for them that won't die while they are inside them. Eddie, who is an investigative journalist, gets a tip from one of Drake's scientists (Jenny Slate) about what he's doing and sneaks into Drake's lab to see first-hand what is going on. And that is when he contracts the Symbiote, Venom.

From that point on the movie kicks into a gear that fans of the Marvel movies will need a second to adjust to. Because things get very wacky. Yes, numerous Marvel movies (whether they be from Disney's MCU or from Sony or Fox) have a comedic feel, but none have had Tom Hardy's brand of funny. 

As Eddie tries to deal with Venom inside him, Hardy portrays that uncomfortable adjustment by giving a performance that's a Jekyll and Hyde vibe mixed with Jim Carrey physical comedy. 

And then there's the voice of Venom inside his head, which is the best part of the movie. 

Seriously, if the whole movie was Eddie and Venom arguing about the ethics of biting people's head's off and tater tots (that's right, Venom loves tater tots), I would be the first in line for that.

There's also the stuff that clearly is not in the movie for comedic reasons, but is in fact just that. It's what makes the movie distinctly batty (and in some people's eyes, unwatchable). Dramatic lines, corny plot points — there's literally a moment in the movie where Anne apologizes to Eddie that Venom is no longer inside of him. Honestly, how you get through this movie all comes down to how you see it. 

If you go with a group of friends, all of this just elevates the absurdity and pure enjoyment of this bizarre dark comedy. If you go see this alone... yeah, we don't recommend that.  

SEE ALSO: The surprise theatrical success of Nicolas Cage's new movie "Mandy" has forced its distributor to completely overhaul its release strategy

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• Netflix announced Wednesday that it's developing movies and TV shows based on C.S. Lewis' fantasy book series, "The Chronicles of Narnia."
• Disney released three movies based on the books in 2005, 2008, and 2010, which wavered at the box office after the first movie, "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe."
• But Netflix's deal is just the latest effort from a streaming company to develop big-budget fantasy titles.

Netflix announced Wednesday that it's developing movies and TV shows based on C.S. Lewis' classic-fantasy book series, "The Chronicles of Narnia."

Netflix said that it will develop the titles under a new multi-year deal between Netflix and The C.S. Lewis Company, marking the first time that a company has held the rights to all seven books.

"It is wonderful to know that folks from all over are looking forward to seeing more of Narnia, and that the advances in production and distribution technology have made it possible for us to make Narnian adventures come to life all over the world," said Douglas Gresham, stepson of C.S. Lewis, in a statement. "Netflix seems to be the very best medium with which to achieve this aim, and I am looking forward to working with them towards this goal."

Disney released three movies based on the books in 2005, 2008, and 2010. The first, "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" made $745 million worldwide. The second, "Prince Caspian," grossed $419 million worldwide. And the third, "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader," made $415 million, according to figures from Box Office Mojo.

After the first movie, Disney's adaptations wavered at the box office. A fourth film, "The Silver Chair," which director Joe Johnston ("Captain America: The First Avenger") was attached to direct, never saw the light of day.

But the Netflix deal could signal a battle of big-budget fantasy titles in the streaming wars. HBO is developing a prequel to its hit series "Game of Thrones," Amazon bought the rights to the "Lord of the Rings" series in a major $250 million deal, and Showtime is developing a series based on the popular video-game franchise, "Halo."

SEE ALSO: 'Black Mirror' season 5 is reportedly coming to Netflix this year, and it could include a choose-your-own-adventure episode

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• Kanye West hopped on a table while visiting Detroit’s College for Creative Studies on Tuesday and demanded that people leave Elon Musk "the f**k alone."
• West appeared to be addressing Musk's recent legal troubles with the SEC — the Tesla CEO was forced to pay a $20 million fine and step down as Tesla's chairman for at least three years as part of a settlement, though he'll remain CEO. 
• A brief clip of the incident was recorded by a student in the classroom and posted on Twitter.

Kanye West's soapbox took the form of a classroom table, as he pleaded with his audience of art students to go easy on Tesla CEO Elon Musk. A brief clip of the incident was recorded by a student and posted on Twitter.

During a visit to Detroit’s College for Creative Studies on Tuesday, the notorious rapper and designer hopped on a table and yelled that people need to “leave that man the f**k alone, I don’t care who’s over at his house, leave that man the f**k alone.”

When he wasn't on the table, West spent his time at the college looking through various student projects, according to posts on social media. 

West appeared to be referencing Musk's recent legal troubles with the SEC — as part of a settlement stemming from a fraud investigation, Musk was forced to pay a $20 million fine and step down as Tesla's chairman for at least three years. The investigation began after Musk tweeted that he had "funding secured" to take Tesla private at $420 per share, after which Tesla's stock jumped more than 6 percent. 

The reference to "who’s over at his house" is likely a reference to rapper Azealia Banks, who became intertwined in the saga when she claimed that she was in Musk's home while he was "scrounging for investors" for the take-private deal that he had indicated was all but finalized. 

This isn't the only strange behavior that's landed West in the news lately, however — in the past few weeks alone he's created headlines by saying the 13th amendment, which banned slavery, should be abolished; showing off a custom-made "Make America Great Again" hat; and going on a pro-Trump rant while at the Saturday Night Live studios. 

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