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NY Times Reporter Frank Bruni Found Courtney Love's iPhone In A Cab And Tweets Ensued

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New York Times reporter Frank Bruni was innocently on his way home from dinner at Barbuto in New York City's West Village when he realized the iPhone next to him in the cab was not his own.

So Bruni took the phone home with him.

"It didn't ring last night, but it rang this morning and I discovered that I couldn't even answer a call," Bruni recalled to New York mag's Daily Intelligencer. "It was super-locked."

But at the office, Bruni's assistant realized she could see the incoming texts.

"First I saw that Stella Schnabel had just texted her," assistant Isabella Moschen told NY mag. "And then I noticed this name, Lo'renzo Hill-White, and I Googled him and he's a celebrity stylist ... I said to Frank [after more detective work], 'It's gotta be Courtney Love.'"

Bruni took to Twitter to try and reach Love:

Frank Bruni Courtney Love Tweets

Bingo!

Frank Bruni Courtney Love Tweets

Even Gawker editor John Cook got in on the action:

john cook courtney love tweet

Bruni added, "It's not exactly a column I could write but it is a fun story." 

And there was a silver lining: "Now Courtney and I follow each other on Twitter, and I have a direct message from her. This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship, or at least a signed copy of a Hole album." 

SEE ALSO: Zappos Responds Brilliantly After Kanye West Slams Tony Hsieh And 'Cheap Product'

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'Snap' Is The Coolest New Feature On The Xbox One

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xbox one and controller

We've been trying out the Xbox One for a few days.

Before we give you our initial impressions of the console, we need to tell you about the coolest thing you can do on Microsoft's next-gen console.

xbox one tv

One of the many new features of the Xbox One allows you to watch TV right on the console.

While that's cool — you now have the ability to seamlessly watch games and cut straight to television any time you want while still receiving Xbox notifications — the real game changer is what you can do once the cable is set up.

Another feature of the Xbox One is called Snap which allows users to run two applications at once on the same screen.

Basically, you can play a game while music is streaming on the side, Skyping with friends, browsing the web and more. 

However, some of those combinations don't really lend themselves to a dual screen. We probably wouldn't stream Netflix and live TV at the same time or Hulu Plus and the Fox Now app which streams network series. People may love binge watching, but you just can't watch two shows at once. The Internet browser is also way too small to view in snap mode.xbox one snap

The one combination that seems to be perfect — and which we could see becoming a favorite for sports Sundays — is the possibility to watch ESPN and "snap" it together with the NFL on Xbox app to review live sports scores, analysis, and highlights on the right simultaneously.

The result looks like this:

espn nfl snap xbox one

So, you'll be able to watch football while seeing every football score live right next to the game along with highlights.

At any time, you're able to make the app on the right full screen.

Here's how the NFL app looks on its own:

NFL app Xbox OneYou can also switch between controlling the app on the right, in this case, the NFL one and live television by double clicking the Xbox logo on the controller.

xbox one controllerWe've had a few issues with the NFL app while in Beta mode before the console launches (i.e. it hasn't wanted to load sometimes), however, for the most part, it has been fine and works great. You can watch video highlights, the latest sports stories, and live scores.

This is a game changer.

SEE ALSO: Everything you need to know about the Xbox One in 60 seconds

AND: The Xbox One unboxed

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JFK ANNIVERSARY: This 26-Second Clip May Be The Saddest Movie Ever Made

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Commemorating the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's death, this commentary was excerpted from "Shooting Kennedy: JFK And The Culture Of Images" by art historian David M. Lubin of Wake Forest University:

IT MAY BE THE saddest movie ever made. And only twenty-six seconds long. It's sad in the way that classical tragedy is sad, its hero tumbling from on high. Yet there's no catharsis here, no beam of illumination amid the darkness. From Hamlet or Oedipus we come away with self-knowledge, having seen our flaws write large in the lives of the doomed prince and king. But what does this modern tragedy teach? Only that even the best, most powerful, most charismatic of us, shining in glory, riding in triumph, may be felled without notice by the meteorite from the sky.

The movie is sad in other ways. It's a domestic tragedy. A man is stricken suddenly and inexplicably, and his wife turns to him in befuddlement, not recognizing his plight. His elbows fly up and his hands jerk uncontrollably. She hastens to his side but is powerless to restore him to himself. Like some Halloween skeleton dangled on strings, he performs a demented danse macabre with those pumping arms and wagging hands, his nervous system twitching out of control, while she looks on aghast and makes a futile effort to stay his flailing appendages.

And then he's gone, the husband of ten years' time, the right half of his head a scarlet starbust as his body lurches toward her in a wicked parody of conjugal attraction. If the swift and brutal demise of a public hero is sad, so, this film implicitly claims, is the ultimate futility of love, marriage, and companionship.

We might call it a nihilist film. Or existentialist. Or dada. As I show later in this chapter, the twenty-six-second home movie made by the Dallas dressmaker Abraham Zapruder amply embodies the modernist art, theater, and philosophy emanating from advanced circles in Europe and America in the postwar era. But for now I want to focus on its sadness.

It is sad, too, because it is a home movie, and home movies, no matter how joyful in subject or lighthearted in tone, ultimately suffuse their viewers with sadness. Let me explain. The first movies ever filmed were, in essence, home movies, not because they featured domestic subjects and settings but because amateurs made them. Two businessmen from Lyons, the brothers Lumière, invented a device for taking the projecting moving pictures. In the late summer of 1895 they set it up in front of their father's factory to film workers leaving at the end of a shift. The movie lasts but seconds, and nothing of consequence occurs. Workers simply pass through the plant gates and walk forward, in the direction of the camera.

Still, in its straightforward account of effervescent everyday life, this minuscule movie amounts to a memento mori, a reminder of human mortality. However vibrant the scene, however full of quotidian vivacity, it's a document of death, for its protagonists died long ago and their lives and way of living will never come again. Even though suppliers and advertisers of home movie merchandise have done everything in their power to promote the idea that home movies or videos are about funand joy and good times, all the same, they are melancholy documents. They make plainly visible the decay that inevitably besets us all. They remind us that we rust.

The eighty-four-year-old Louis Lumière reminisced on the eve of his death about those first motion pictures that he and his brother, Auguste, had filmed so long ago, including one entitled L'Arrive du train en gare (The train enters the station). That film, he recalled, "which I took at the station of La Ciotat in 1895, shows on the platform a little girl who is skipping along, one hand held by her mother and the other by her nurse. The child is my eldest daughter, afterwards Mrs. Tratieux, and she is now four times a grandmother."

Home movies carry an aura of almost instant pastness that commercial films go to extraordinary lengths to erase. Even when they take place in distant history and attempt to re-create that history in the most persuasive manner possible, theatrical features need to have a contemporary feel and sheen about them to succeed at the box office. Just as scary rides at the amusement park must not be so dilapidated as to be truly scary, Hollywood movies about olden times must not seem truly old. Audiences prefer re-creations of the past to look brand-new. That is why wordsmiths, hairdressers, costumers, set designers, cinematographers, and sound track composers are well paid for doing their job, which is to render the past palatable to contemporary tastes. (Claudette Colbert's tightly curled coiffure marks her version of Cleopatra as a stylish product of the early 1930s as distinctly as Elizabeth Taylor's hearvily lacquered, pseudo-hieroglyphyic hairstyle bespeaks the hairspray aesthetic of the early 1960s.) Home movies, which, to be sure, concern themselves with the present, not the past, don't boast such high "production values." If they did, they'd no longer be home movies. Consequently they age almost immediately.

shooting kennedy david lubinThus, even if the Zapruder film did not bear witness to the assassination of a leader, the violent destruction of a human body, and the wreckage of a marriage, it would still be sad, confronting the viewer with le temps perdu. Madame Tratieux, a child when that train pulled into the station, will never be so again no matter how often the film is screened, nor will President and Mrs. Kennedy ever ride again in glory through the streets of Dallas on a bright November day except in the opening seconds of the dressmaker's home movie.

Republished with permission from "Shooting Kennedy: JFK And The Culture Of Images" by Professor David M. Lubin of Wake Forest University.

SEE ALSO: The Last Beautiful Picture Of JFK And Jackie

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The 8 Exclusive Games That Make The Xbox One Worth Owning

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ryse son of rome xbox one game

The Xbox One comes out tomorrow, but many gamers still haven't decided which console they're going to go with.

The PS4, Xbox One, Wii U, and PC all have advantages and disadvantages, from size and cost to app selection and gimmicky controllers. But if you're a gamer, there's one factor that outweighs all of the others: which console has the best exclusive game lineup.

Both now and for much of 2014, the Xbox One seems to have the PlayStation 4 handily beat. While Sony's console is technically superior, Microsoft has done a better job at making the deals needed to lock down exclusive, blockbuster-quality games.

TITANFALL: The shooter from the original creators of "Call of Duty" mixes up the formula gamers have come to expect by giving players jet packs and parkour moves to make getting around faster and giant mechs called "Titans" that allow for taking on groups of people at once.

If you don't have a gaming PC, the only way to get the full next-gen "Titanfall" experience is on the Xbox One.

Watch a trailer for "Titanfall"



DEAD RISING 3: This is the zombie game most of us have always wanted. It features a big city that you can roam around in, hundreds of zombies on screen at once, and the ability to use almost anything as a weapon (or to combine things into improvised weapons like the pictured sledgehammer-chainsaw).

Watch a trailer for "Dead Rising 3"



FORZA MOTORSPORT 5: This is probably the best overall game available at launch. The graphics are stunning, the controls are spot-on, and the games learns how your friends play and integrates their driving style into the cars you race against in single player.

Watch a trailer for Forza Motorsport 5



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Kevin Spacey Sent Woody Allen A Netflix Subscription — And He Responded

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netflix kevin spacey

Kevin Spacey has two Oscars to his name and is currently the star of the most-streamed show on Netflix, "House of Cards."

But there's one thing the 54-year-old actor still wants to accomplish in his career: being cast in a Woody Allen film.

Spacey was upset he has never even been considered for a role in any of the filmmaker's movies  so he took action.

"I wrote him a letter," Spacey explains in this month's GQ magazine, "and introduced myself as an actor he may or may not know. And I sent him a Netflix subscription, because I want him to watch my work."

And Allen responded with "an absolutely wonderful letter," in which the director told the actor he was "in contention for things in the future," and also took the time to thank Spacey for the Netflix subscription.

"I believe this," Spacey says of his bold move. "If an actor wants a role or wants to work with somebody, then you do everything within reason to try to get that role. If they want you to audition, you audition. If they want you to screen-test, you screen-test. If they want you to come and tap-dance in their hallway, you tap-dance in their hallway."

However, considering Woody Allen doesn't even own a computer and shuns most technology, it's unlikely the filmmaker even has a means to watch Netflix.

SEE ALSO: The 13 best celebrity career comebacks

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This Widely Praised Film Takes A Brutal Look At Life In Modern China — But Chinese Citizens May Never See It

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a touch of sin

In August, as his controversial film "A Touch Of Sin" was receiving plaudits from around the world, Chinese director Jia Zhangke seemed confident that his countrymen would see the film. “The film has been approved by the censor board and we hope it will be released in autumn," the celebrated filmmaker told the Globe and Mail.

Flash forward to today, however, and that doesn't seem to have materialized.

Writing in The New York Times, Edward Wong reports that though the film was due to appear in Chinese theatres from November 9, it has yet to be shown. Jia himself told Wong that the situation was “complicated” and “sensitive," and a leaked report from Communist Party’s Central Propaganda Bureau suggested Chinese journalists are being ordered to not write about the movie.

Why wouldn't China want people to see a film that won plaudits around the world, including best script at Cannes Film Festival (where it was also touted as a possible "Golden Palm" winner)? The touchy subject matter seems to be a problem. Watch the trailer below to understand:

The film seems to be based on a number of real events in recent Chinese history, such as a 2009 case where a pedicurist killed a local official after he reportedly slapped her in the face with a wad of cash when she refused to sleep with him, and a notorious 2011 high-speed train accident that killed 40 people. Other parts of the film make references to the suicides at Foxconn factories.

As John Defore describes it in the Washington Post, the films deals with the "skyrocketing wealth in China and the desperation ordinary people feel to get their share of it."

That's a touchy subject for Chinese authorities, but it may also be why the film received substantial buzz from the Chinese public after a trailer was uploaded to Youku in the Summer.

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'Hunger Games: Catching Fire' Reviews: Jennifer Lawrence Is Phenomenal

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jennifer lawrence hunger games

"The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" is in theaters this weekend and is expected to dominate the box office both here and abroad. 

The second installment of the book series from Suzanne Collins follows Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) as she returns to fight in the games which made her a hero across her home world of Panem. 

The reviews for the film are overwhelmingly positive, with high praise for Lawrence herself after last year's Best Actress Oscar win. 

Before you see the film, here's what critics are saying about the "Hunger Games" sequel.

Everyone can't stop praising Jennifer Lawrence's performance: 

WSJ: 

"None of it would work—not the action, the adventure, the political subtext or the humor—without the strength and beauty that Ms. Lawrence brings to the central role. Whenever she's on screen, the camera studies the contours of her face with a gaze that might be fawning in other circumstances, but seems properly attentive here. The lovely simplicity of her technique might have gratified James Cagney, whose reputed advice to actors was 'Learn your lines, find your mark, look 'em in the eye and tell 'em the truth.'"

LA Times 

"Lawrence has clearly taken this role very much to heart, throwing herself into it to such an extent that she creates genuine emotion from what is essentially pulpy material." 

Time

"Spinning in that wedding dress, or glaring in wary repose, Lawrence catches fire on screen."

The Hollywood Reporter (THR):

"Lawrence further solidifies her tenacious grip on this signature role as she explores Katniss' tortured inner self."

Stanley Tucci is perfect once again as the overly energetic host of the games.

hunger games catching fire katniss jennifer lawrenceThe New Yorker: 

"Stanley Tucci returns as Caesar Flickerman, and again brilliantly parodies beauty-pageant and talent-show hosts." 

WSJ: 

"Stanley Tucci is funnier than ever as the game-show host Caesar Flickerman, teeth and eyes gleaming madly from a skinscape of bottled tan." 

Entertainment Weekly (EW) simply refers to Tucci as the "Ryan Seacrest of Oz."

Practically every review we've seen makes comment that new director Francis Lawrence has done a much better job with the sequel than Gary Ross did with the original.francis lawrence the hunger games catching fire

One from AP:

"Francis Lawrence ("I Am Legend") has taken over directing from Gary Ross, whose poor handling of the first film didn't stop it from becoming a sensation. Lawrence has given the film (the budget was nearly doubled) a more settled environment heavy on greys and a more appropriately grave emotional atmosphere."

Don't expect a lot of blood and gore. The thrill to kill in the games has been tuned down a notch. hunger games catching fire katnissVulture:

"It’s likely that the violence has so little sting because of the studio’s need for a PG-13 rating, which has the paradoxical effect of making murder less upsetting and therefore more family friendly. (Bring the kids, why don’t you?)"

Fans of the book will be pleased the film stays true to the story ...

THR 

"The script by Simon Beaufoy and Michael deBruyn reflects the shape, emphasis and incident of the book with almost scientific precision, and the desire to deliver the expected goods is keenly felt."

... but ultimately it leaves something to be desired.  

Time 

"Like Super Bowl Sunday, when more TV time is wasted on pre-game folderol than is spent on actual footballCatching Fire moseys through half of its 2-hour-and-26-minute running time, setting up Katniss’s rivalries, and dropping hints of things to come, before the Quell Games begin." 

EW: 

"There's a ritualistic quality to these films that's key to their appeal, but it also limits their capacity to truly wow us … Catching Fire is smoothly exciting but a bit of a tease. It gets mileage out of setting up the Quarter Quell as some ultimate Fear Factor version of Deliverance, yet there isn't a moment of real dread in it." 

Overall Consensus: See it! 

If you don't have your tickets by now — and you're seeing it on your own or with kids — you should probably plan on buying them. This could very well be the BIGGEST movie of the year. Fandango told us Thursday ticket sales for the film were outpacing "Iron Man 3" — which is not only the highest-grossing movie so far of the year, but also the film with the highest-opening weekend of 2013 ($174 million).  

Not only is Jennifer Lawrence flawless in her return as the arrow-slinging Katniss, but the added talent of Philip Seymour Hoffman and newcomer scene-stealer Jena Malone should be more than enough reasons to head out.  

Fans agree that the second book in the "Hunger Games" series is the best of Collins' trilogy — and we've been told that the film stays very true to the book. 

Check out a trailer for the film below:

SEE ALSO: Why 'The Hunger Games' Sequel will own the overseas box office

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Jay Z Wants You To Buy $1,000 T-Shirts And Other Ridiculous Items In His New Barneys Collection [PHOTOS]

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Despite some controversy, Jay Z moved forward with his "New York Holiday" collection for Barneys and it debuted this week.

The collection of clothing and accessories chosen by the rapper and retailer is meant to "bring together the art, the fashion, the industry … the very energy New York was built on."

We'll give Jay credit for donating 100% of sales to his charity, the Shawn Carter Foundation, but the items he has curated would look simply ridiculous on 99% of the general population.

And before you buy those leather jogging shorts, $1,000 T-shirt, or that vinyl tie, just remember — "Due to the exclusivity of these limited edition items, all sales are final. No returns or exchanges."

Now, let's take a look at what Jay Z wants you to be wearing this holiday season.

Welcome to "A New York Holiday"!

Jay Z Barneys collection

Need a leather "mixed exotics" baseball cap? It will only set you back $875.

Jay Z Barneys collection

How about $675 plain black sunglasses?

Jay Z Barneys collection

Or this $750 Balmain T-SHIRT that looks like it came from Michael Jackson's garage sale?

Jay Z Barneys collection

What about this Balmain T-shirt could possibly cost $995?

Jay Z Barneys collection

Uh oh, $2,590 LEATHER BOXING SHORTS? Embroidered with gold cross things?? Were these Kanye's idea?

Jay Z Barneys collection

A $560 vinyl coated tie — just what Dad always wanted!Jay Z Barneys collection

Everyone needs a $1,275 fleece hoodie, right? Those leather cutouts are totally worth it.

Jay Z Barneys collection

$150 perfumed with Jay Z's name on it? Only worth it if the scent attracts your very own Beyoncé.

Jay Z Barneys collection

And everyone needs a $695 cashmere ski mask that makes you look like a bank robber.Jay Z Barneys collection

But Jay Z did get Beyoncé to try it on ...

As well as this $2,295 Moncler leather sleeve puffer varsity jacket.And nothing says love like a $12,500 New York City Ring.

We didn't even show you all of the crazy items currently for sale on the Barneys website. To see Jay Z's full collection, click here >

SEE ALSO: Zappos Responds Brilliantly After Kanye West Slams Tony Hsieh And 'Cheap Product'

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Bill From 'Bill And Ted's Excellent Adventure' Is Making A Movie About Bitcoin

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Bitcoin Movie Kickstarter CampaignAlex Winter, better known as "Bill" from the movie Bill And Ted's Excellent Adventure, has found a new calling as a director making films related to tech topics.

His first production, Downloaded, focused on the trials and tribulations of the notorious music-sharing service Napster. Premiering at SXSW last spring, the feature received stellar reviews. Critics were impressed with Winter's skills and wondered what other topics this former actor could focus on.

The answer? Bitcoin.

Today, Winter launched a new Kickstarter campaign in order to make a film about the controversial digital currency.

Tentatively titled "Deep Web: The Untold Story of Bitcoin and The Silk Road", the film will be a probing investigation into the deep web and most recent events revolving around it such as the inhabitants of Silk Road.

As of 11:34 a.m. EST, the project has gained $7,279 out of a total $75,000 needed. The closing date will be December 20th. Check out his pitch video below and head over to his project page and see if you want to contribute to this excellent adventure.

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Lena Dunham And The Gang Are Back In 'Girls' Season 3 Trailer

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Lena Dunham and the gals are back for season 3 of "Girls."

“It’s really liberating to say ‘no’ to shit you hate,” Hannah (Dunham) says in the beginning of the trailer.

But perhaps the best line goes to Hannah's boyfriend, Adam, who bluntly tells her: "I don't hate your friends I'm just not interested in anything they have to say."

HBO just released the first full trailer for the new episodes premiering Jan. 12 at 10 p.m. ET with back-to-back new episodes. Watch below:

SEE ALSO: NY Times Reporter Frank Bruni Found Courtney Love's iPhone In A Cab And Tweets Ensued

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Finally, Someone Wants To Hear About Your Video Game Exploits

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It can be hard for a guy to see his girlfriend not appreciate his impressive "Call of Duty" killstreak. Or for a girl gamer to be embarrassed to tell her friends that she beat the latest "Assassin's Creed" in one weekend. In general, telling someone about your virtual achievements is one of the most boring conversations the person at the other end will ever have.

But now, Sony is here to help.

With the launch of their "First to Greatness" campaign, premiering today, PlayStation 4 gamers of all skill levels can compete to be immortalized on the promotion's website, as well as in an upcoming commercial modeled after the successful "Perfect Day" ad. Players will use the PS4's much-hyped share feature to submit videos of them doing things as simple as getting the first quick game win in "NBA2K14," or as difficult as unlocking the Platinum Trophy in "Killzone: Shadow Fall." 

Here's the ad explaining how it works:

BBH New York developed "First to Greatness" with Sony as the culmination of the PS4's "Greatness Awaits" launch campaign, which began in June to build hype for the November release. Sony sold one million consoles in the PS4's opening weekend.

The "Greatness Awaits" campaign marks an important return to targeting hardcore gamers. As the video game industry matured (think the PS2 to PS4, along with their competitors), Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo tried different promotions aimed at everyone in the gaming spectrum. No one knew if the future of the industry lay in the hands of casual gamers playing a few popular games every year, or with gamers who dedicated massive chunks of their life to the gaming system they swore allegiance to.

BBH and Sony wanted the PS4 to be for the player who grew up with the PlayStation brand, and was unashamed of geeking out over battles with aliens and adventures with pirates. Earlier this year, "Bid for Greatness" allowed PS3 and handheld PSVita players to use very difficult and time-consuming achievements as a currency to bid for props featured in June's PS4 commercial.

"The gaming community seemed excited, but it was definitely awarding the greatest gamers out there, people with ungodly trophy accounts," BBH executive creative director Ari Weiss told AdAge"First to Greatness" is meant to take that social element and expand it to gamers ranging from novices to experts.

Gamers can compete to be the first in 64 achievements beginning today, which is also the day Microsoft launches the Xbox One.

SEE ALSO: PlayStation 4 Reviews: The PS4 Is Familiar, Yet Excitingly Advanced

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Jennifer Lawrence Calls Out Jon Stewart For Not Being Prepared For Interview

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Jennifer Lawrence Jon Stewart

Jennifer Lawrence ended her "Hunger Games: Catching Fire" press tour at "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" Thursday and the interview became a bit ... unhinged.

After Stewart opened by telling Lawrence "I got a CNN news alert when you got your haircut," he admitted he knew little about the actress' massive film franchise she was there to promote.

"I don't prepare for these very well," revealed Stewart.

"Your producers and everyone involved in this show tell everyone that you don't," Lawrence shot back. "They're like, 'he's not really going to know a lot about the movie or a lot about you.'"

But one thing the actress did get warned? "They told me not to look at your nipples."

"It's weird they would tell you that, it's my best feature," he replied.

Attempting to get somewhat serious, the late night show host tells Lawrence, "The movies are great and I do know a little something about them ... you're in it."

"Come on they must have written you up a synopsis or bullet points or something?" she pushed.

Lawrence then told Stewart about her experience backstage moments earlier: "I was drinking a beer and literally everybody who works here would walk by and be like, 'I have tequila under my desk, I have vodka, we have an alcohol cart.' I was like, 'are you guys ... happy?'"

Stewart ended the segment by saying, "I feel like this is a remarkably spirited and informational interview. In many ways I remind me of a young Charlie Rose."

Watch the funny exchange below:

SEE ALSO: 'Hunger Games: Catching Fire' Reviews: Jennifer Lawrence Is Phenomenal

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'Forza Motorsport 5' Reviews: The Most Realistic Racing Game You'll Play Yet

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forza motorsport 5

Today's the day! After eight years, Microsoft's third console, the Xbox One, is here, and the much-anticipated console war (PS4 was released last Friday) has officially begun!

While the Xbox One's reviews have been pretty good so far, its the console's exclusive games that make it worth owning.

And one of these games, the super-realistic "Forza Motorsport 5," is perhaps one of Xbox One's best — demonstrating the new system's pristine capabilities and capitalizing on the necessity of racing games in the gaming world.

Before you go out investing $59.99 in "Forza Motorsport 5," take a look at what people are saying about the game: 

The game replaces replaces the computer-controlled driver of previous games with an avatar modeled after a real player's driving habits. As a result, the new cloud-based Drivatar system allows for a lot of unpredictability — which has its pros and cons.

Gamespot

"Exactly how accurate these portraits are is up for debate, but the system does succeed in filling each 16-car grid with distinct personalities, drivers whose tendencies you can never take for granted."

USA Today

"The Drivatar system works well, especially since players can tailor the challenge to their liking."

IGN

"Racing is a lot more dynamic and unpredictable as a result." 

The Guardian

"Human errors, poor judgment calls and random acts of aggression all make the track a much more dynamic and dangerous place to be, which in turn makes the racing feel truly on the cusp of next gen."

Forza Motorsport 5The visuals and image quality are out-of-this-world good.

Joystiq

"The Xbox One game is locked at 60 frames per second and a 1080p resolution, conveying a level of clarity, lighting quality and polished material detail that I have not yet seen in a console racing game."

USA Today

"As usual, Forza is a feast for the eyes. The cars glimmer brightly, while the views of mountainsides in the Bernese Alps or downtown Prague are breathtaking."

The redesigned career mode, with "Top Gear" hosts serving as guides, remains to be a great addition.

Gamespot

"Their entertaining yet informative prologues lend both context and humor to every category of car you choose to spend time with."

IGN

"The credibility and humour these voiceovers bring to Forza 5 really works, whether it’s Richard Hammond beaming enthusiastically about classic US racing muscle or James May mildly appalled at the inclusion of a VW Beetle."

Forza Motorsport 5 xbox oneThe Xbox One's new controller allows for an even more realistic experience.

The Guardian

"The triggers vibrate independently as you brake, accelerate and career around circuits, and the increased sensitivity allows for more precise control of the car."

Gamespot

"Improved tire physics give you a better sense of your car's shifting weight as you barrel through sloped corners, while a clever implementation of the Xbox One trigger rumble delivers valuable haptic feedback about your current traction and stability levels."

Polygon

"The way Forza feels, physically, is probably the most next-gen thing about it. The controller's triggers give an incredible amount of useful, tactile feedback."

This is the car game you've dreamed of playing.

IGN:

"Thanks to a well-chosen bunch of unprecedentedly lavish car models and the help of all three hosts of the UK’s Top Gear, Forza 5 is a virtual love letter to every vehicle it contains."

"It’s an essential destination for the automobile obsessed."

Gamespot:

"... Whether you're cruising around in a Ford Focus or a McLaren P1, every car in the game's catalog looks absolutely remarkable--both in their pristine showroom forms as well as those post-race close-ups where flecks of grime litter the exterior and scratches adorn the disc brakes."

Overall consensus: Rev your engines, and purchase this baby!

"Forza Motorsport 5" isn't perfect — there is a notable cutback in the number of track and car options, and Turn 10 Studios developers made the game so players don't necessarily have to finish first to win — as long as they're in the top three, they'll earn gold.

But, this game makes up for all that with its pristine image quality, sensitive controls, and a new Drivatar system that mimics real player's driving habits.

All of these characteristics back up what gamers have always loved about the "Forza Motorsport" series — its intensely realistic and authentic racing experience.

Check out the "Forza Motorsport 5" trailer below. 

SEE ALSO: The 8 Exclusive Games That Make The Xbox One Worth Owning

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Zach Braff Accidentally Photobombs Couple's Wedding Photo In Times Square

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Zach Braff was innocently walking across the street in Times Square when he took a moment to happily look at a just-married couple kissing in the cross walk.

"Little did we know that we were about to get photobombed by no other than Zach Braff," wedding photographer Sascha Reinking wrote on his website after the fact. "The funny thing about this was that I didn’t even notice it until I started to edit the images earlier tonight! I scanned through the set and his face looked familiar. 'Is that Zach Braff?'"

So Reinking took to Twitter to find out for sure:

Proud of his work, Braff claimed the honor:

Last month, Braff also expertly photobombed Jessica Alba and Fergie.

SEE ALSO: NY Times Reporter Frank Bruni Found Courtney Love's iPhone In A Cab And Tweets Ensued

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The Adorable AT&T Kids Return To Talk Turkey In A New Ad For Thanksgiving

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Over the past year and half, the combination of actor Beck Bennett's comedic chops and a bevy of adorable kids saying the darndest things have helped make AT&T's "It's Not Complicated" campaign among the most popular ads on television.

Bennett, now an SNL cast member, and the kids are back for a clever 30-second Thanksgiving spot from BBDO. Here it is:

The ad will begin airing on television this Sunday.

SEE ALSO: Meet The 24 Most Creative People In Advertising Right Now

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'How I Met Your Mother' Spinoff Will Be A Totally Separate Story Without Original Cast

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how i met your mother

Now that CBS has officially moved forward with its "How I Met Your Mother" spinoff, "How I Met Your Father," the big question is what it will be about.

One thing's certain: The story won't revolve around any of the original cast. We won't see Barney, Robin, Marshall, Lily, Ted, OR the mother.

Don't plan on any crossovers either.

According to The Wrap, HIMYM series creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas revealed at a press event this will be something completely original.  

“If this new show goes next year, it will be a brand new show. It will be a brand new story,” Bays said. “We kind of didn’t want it to have any feeling of trying to resuscitate something that has already ended.”

Thomas said they wished they could use Cristin Miloti who plays the (so far) nameless mother this season, but that they want this show to be its own thing without any ties to the original (well, other than the title).

"In the fall, if we succeed with the spinoff, we will have to make our case to the audience in a whole new way, with a whole new world, with whole new characters. And that feels right; we want to honor ‘How I Met Your Mother’ with the cleanest ending possible. And then, should [the spinoff] go forward, that will have to earn the love again in a new way and just be its own charming, different thing.”

If you think you'll just be seeing the same exact story from a woman's point of view, Bays hinted the show will have a twist that makes HIMYF "a totally different show."

SEE ALSO: HIMYM will do an entire episode in rhyme

MORE: The 19 Best Spin-Off TV Shows Of All Time

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Here's Why Maria Bartiromo Is Leaving CNBC For FOX Business

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Maria Bartiromo

The financial media world was stunned this week when Drudge Report broke the news that Maria Bartiromo would be leaving CNBC for FOX Business Network.  

Bartiromo, affectionately known as the "Money Honey," has been a fixture at CNBC for two decades. She was one of the network's earliest and biggest stars, and she celebrated her 20-year anniversary there just last month.

A Brooklyn native, Bartiromo joined CNBC in 1993. A couple of years later, she made history as the first journalist to report live from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.  Roger Ailes, who is currently FOX News Channel's president, was the one who got Bartiromo on air back then when he was working for CNBC. 

The news of Bartiromo's departure got people talking. Why would one of CNBC's biggest stars quit the network? And why would CNBC let her leave?  

Yes, CNBC's ratings have been low of late, but they're still well above FOX Business Network's ratings. CNBC still remains the No. 1 business news channel.  

According to a source familiar with Bartiromo's thinking, her decision came down to three factors:

  • Money. FOX made a big offer. CNBC increased its own offer, but didn't quite match FOX's.
  • Visibility. FOX is going to give Bartiromo a live Sunday show on the FOX News Channel, which has a vastly larger audience than either business network. Bartiromo explored the possibility of hosting a similar show on NBC, but "Meet The Press" was taken and NBC wasn't willing to create a similar slot for her.
  • The opportunity to, once again, help build something. FOX Business is no longer a startup network, but it has a long way to go before it challenges CNBC as the most popular business network.

FOX's overtures were also made more attractive and persuasive by the personal involvement of FOX boss Roger Ailes. Ailes persuaded Bartiromo that he would be personally committed to helping her further develop her career, support that Bartiromo did not feel she would have at CNBC and NBC.

Ailes also knew the number he had to hit to make Bartiromo switch.

The New York Post's Claire Atkinson, who cites unnamed sources, reports that Bartiromo's FOX contract is said to be worth between $5 million and $6 million per year. It was believed that Bartiromo raked in around $4 million at CNBC.  

Maria Bartiromo in 1995Another big enticement for Bartiromo was the promise of the live Sunday morning show on FOX News Channel.

NBC wasn't willing to offer her that.

One CNBCer, who will remain anonymous, noted that it was pretty obvious that there weren't many opportunities left for her there in terms of the NBC network.

"There just didn't seem to be a lot left here for her to do. She clearly wasn't on the network radar screen, so if she wanted to grow her options were limited at NBC. Kind of reminds me of the Erin Burnett situation."

FOX also seems to be an obvious fit for Bartiromo politically.

Over the last year, she has been more and more vocal on her show expressing her own viewpoints in her own opinion segment.  

Back in 2012, CNBC hired a producer named Gary Schreier, who was Neil Cavuto's Executive Producer FOX Business, to be the Executive Producer of Bartiromo's "Closing Bell." One insider said that he thought Schreier was brought on to make Bartiromo happy.  

"The sense was that they brought him in to kind of like make Maria happy that he was a guy that...suits her politics. Her politics are more aligned with FOX."  

Schreier was the one who helped Bartiromo start her "Maria's Observations" segment where she would share her views at the close of each show.

Maria Bartiromo 2012"He was brought over to help continue and cultivate and grow her as an anchor and try to draw out more of her personality and viewpoint," another CNBCer said. 

The timing of the news of Bartiromo's departure caught CNBC by surprise.

Ever since Bartiromo passed on CNBC's final offer and informed the network that she was leaving, the plan had been to announce the news on Thursday, November 21st, the day before Bartiromo's final day on the air, one source says.

The Drudge leak caught CNBC by surprise.

CNBC may also have to make some changes in the wake of Bartiromo's departure.

One of Bartiromo's assets has always been her ability to book big-name guests.  CNBC has long had a policy in which guests have to appear "first on CNBC" before they appear on other networks, and the concern is that Bartiromo's guest-booking power may be able to upend that.

"The real stiff CNBC guest policy—This is going to turn that on its head. She works her ass off and gets great guests," a CNBC insider told us.

"I know for a fact that she does a lot of hands on booking herself and keeps in touch with big folks like [Larry] Fink [Prince] Al-Waleed...What does CNBC do then? Are they forced to take that person second that's been with her the whole time. You go 'come on us first or you don't come on at all?' Are they going to say that to the biggies?"  

Not everyone thinks this will have a big impact, though. 

"I think the most immediate impact is going to be in booking, but I have a feeling her prowess was always a little overrated in that department. I don't think anybody's panicking because we might get a few less Meredith Whitney interviews," another CNBCer said.

Even those who don't think Bartiromo's departure will have much impact on CNBC have huge respect for her work ethic.

Maria Bartiromo"She is a bulldog. She just works really, really hard. She's an impressive person. She's just driven. She's smart. She's energetic...She fiercely guards her territory...She's tough in a good way... She's just a hard working, driven person and she's competitive. I think that's going to be interesting to see what they're able to do with that," one source who has worked with her said.   

So this brings us back to the question of why CNBC is letting her go?  

CNBC clearly has the money, so why not match it?  

The story some CNBC executives are telling is that Bartiromo is a member of an old-school TV generation and that CNBC now wants to invest in younger talent who are comfortable working in digital as well as broadcast media — rising stars like Kelly Evans, for example, who has been dubbed the "next Money Honey." 

Sources say that Bartiromo's deal with FOX Business hasn't been signed, and that some minor details still need to be worked out. (The location of her Sunday show, for example, as well as who she will bring with her from CNBC.)

Bartiromo's contract with CNBC expires on Sunday, November 24, and she is actually not allowed to sign a new contract before then.

It's also unclear when Bartiromo will debut on FOX Business. Contractually, she is required to wait 60 days past the end of her CNBC contract, but it's possible that this restriction will be waived. In any event, we won't likely see her on FOX until January. 

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Sweepstakes: Here's How To Be The Hero Of Your Office Party

Celebrities Read Mean Tweets About Themselves On 'Jimmy Kimmel'

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Jimmy Kimmel debuted the fifth installment of  “Mean Tweets” on Thursday, in which celebrities such as Amy Poehler and Aaron Paul read the disses that have been hurled their way via Twitter.

John Krasinski, Sharon Stone, Nick Offerman, Jason Biggs, Dennis Quaid, Kevin Bacon, Larry David, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus are among the other celebs who participate in the hilarious segment.

Our personal favorite: "Look at me I'm Julia Louis-Dreyfus I was on Seinfeld the show about white people in New York eating pickles and s--- man."

Watch the rest of the funny insults below:

SEE ALSO: Jimmy Kimmel Put Together An Incredible Compilation Reel Of 'Crack Mayor' Rob Ford TV Clips

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If You're Going To Be A Famous Billionaire, Strive To Be As Cool As Elon Musk

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elon musk

Elon Musk has three companies: Tesla, SpaceX and SolarCity.

He's a billionaire but he still makes himself approachable. In fact, the soft-spoken CEO told Business Insider's Henry Blodget that his "core competency is responding to emails."

Last week, Musk spoke at Business Insider's annual Ignition conference. The conference draws a lot of star power in its speaker line-up, from TV personality Dr. Oz to billionaire Mavericks owner Mark Cuban to Russell Simmons.

Musk arrived alone. No PR person. No employees. No posse. Just himself. (For comparison, another speaker arrived with about ten other people.) He also arrived a few minutes early and happily chatted with Business Insider's giddy editors.

Elon Musk was the closing keynote the second day of the conference. As his hour-long interview wrapped up, the audience began to line up, blocking him from getting off the stage.

A lot of people would have been frustrated and bolted, or answered one question then dashed. But Musk let the crowd surround him. He stayed an extra 45 minutes to answer their questions. He even graciously accepted a piece of fan mail written by one attendee's son. 

Here's how big a crowd Musk can draw. Thousands of people filled all chair, floor and standing space at Dublin's 10,000-person Web Summit just to hear Musk speak a few weeks ago:

elon musk crowd dublinHere's a photo of Musk staying for almost an entire hour to answer questions after Ignition.

elon musk ignition

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