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REPORT: Amazon Is In Talks With Companies About An Online Pay TV Service

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Jeff Bezos

Amazon may be in the early stages of an online pay TV service, according to The Wall Street Journal. The retail giant has approached three entertainment companies to talk about the possibility of licensing their channels.

While this service is still under consideration, it would provide live TV channels similar to the ones found on cable or satellite TV. A set-top box may still be under development, according the same report. 

One possible reason for this still being under consideration is that Amazon would need to pay a hefty fee since licensing content is expensive. That was one of the reasons why Intel ended up selling its Web TV product to Verizon today.

Amazon's project appears to still be in the preliminary stages. Meanwhile, we already know Sony, Google, and Apple have had similar talks with media companies about delivering content over the Web.

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The Muppets Are Coming To Toyota's Super Bowl Commercial

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Toyota released a teaser video Tuesday revealing that The Muppets will star in the auto maker's Super Bowl commercial alongside actor and former Old Spice pitchman Terry Crews.

In the video, Crews pulls over on a desert highway to ask the driver of a painted, broken-down bus whether he or she needs help. The teaser then cuts to a shot of a muppet fiddling with the lock on one of the bus' doors:

Toyota will promote its new Highlander at the Feb. 2 game with a 60-second commercial from the advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi LA.

According to a press release, the ad will show off how the Highlander is both fun and functional, with the Muppets gang showing Crews how to "unborify" his life while the characters take over his vehicle. There will also be a musical number for the ad, which will help promote the forthcoming "Muppets Most Wanted" movie.

A former football player, Crews currently stars as Sergeant Terry Jeffords on the Fox comedy "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" and has made his mark in AdLand by acting in several funny, non-sequitur ads for Old Spice.

Here's one we particularly enjoyed:

SEE ALSO: Here's a preview of the ads you will see on Super Bowl Sunday

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South Korea Is Building A $1.5 Billion 5G Service That Can Download Movies In A Second

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Seoul south korea

South Korea, already one of the most wired countries on earth, Wednesday announced a 1.6 trillion won ($1.5 billion) plan to roll out a next-generation 5G wireless service quick enough to download full-length films in a second.

The science ministry said it aims to implement the technology -- about 1,000 times faster than the 4G services currently available -- within six years.

"We helped fuel national growth with 2G services in the 1990s, 3G in the 2000s and 4G around 2010. Now it is time to take preemptive action to develop 5G," the ministry said in a statement.

"Countries in Europe, China and the US are making aggressive efforts to develop 5G technology ... and we believe there will be fierce competition in this market in a few years," it said.

Under the roadmap, a trial 5G service will be rolled out in 2017 and a fully commercial service in December 2020.

Priority will be given to developing key features for the new network, including Ultra-HD and hologram transmission as well as cutting-edge social networking services.

Related industries will be able to rack up sales of 5G-related devices and infrastructure equipment worth 331 trillion won from 2020 to 2026, the ministry estimated.

The government hopes to implement the plan with investment and cooperation from operators such as SK Telecom and Korea Telecom as well as handset makers like Samsung and LG.

It also aims to expand the telecom infrastructure equipment industry, which is relatively weaker than the mighty mobile device sector.

Led by Samsung -- the world's top handset maker -- South Korea has a leading 30-percent stake in the global mobile device market.

"But the (telecom) infrastructure equipment industry has only a 4.4 percent share in the global market, with exports very limited," the ministry said.

Chinese equipment makers including Huawei have expanded their presence in the global market from 12 percent in 2007 to 26 percent in 2012.

Huawei announced in November that it was looking at a 5G commercial rollout by 2020, with a minimum investment of $600 million to develop the technology.

Seoul intends to take up to a 20 percent stake in the world's telecom infrastructure equipment market by 2020, according to the ministry.

New opportunities

South Korea is renowned for being at the forefront of internet technology with broadband speeds that consistently out-pace those in Europe or the United States.

5G technology will allow users to download a 800-megabyte movie file in one second, compared with 40 seconds using 4G, the science ministry said, adding that such speeds would help South Korean firms win overseas deals.

Officials said the new service would also mean people on bullet trains running faster than 500 kilometres (310 miles) an hour would even be able to access the Internet, compared with 300 kph currently.

"Bullet trains around the world keep getting faster, with some in China running as fast as 500 and 600 kilometres per hour," said one ministry official who declined to be named.

"If we have the technology to allow fast Internet access in these trains, it can open new opportunities for us globally," he said.

Samsung Electronics announced back in May that it had successfully tested 5G technology, managing data transmission of more than one gigabyte per second over a distance of two kilometres.

Samsung said it had found a way to harness millimeter-wave bands which have proved to be a sticking point for the mobile industry to date.

The test used 64 antenna elements, which the tech titan said overcame the issue of "unfavorable propagation characteristics" that have prevented data traveling across long distances using the bands.

However, it made clear that the technology would not be available commercially before the end of the decade.

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How The Greatest Super Bowl Ad Ever — Apple's '1984' — Almost Didn't Make It To Air

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Apple 1984 Super Bowl ad woman

Thirty years ago today, Apple aired what is widely considered the greatest commercial in Super Bowl history. But some of the first people who saw the ad thought it would be an absolute flop.

In his new book, "The Insanity of Advertising," former Apple ad account manager Fred Goldberg reveals that when he sent Apple's now famous "1984" ad to be tested by the leading market research company of the day, he was told it would be one of the least effective commercials the firm had ever tested.

On ASI Market Research's 43-point scale predicting how effective a commercial would be at persuading people to buy a product, Apple's first ad for the Macintosh computer scored a measly 5, well below the average score of 29.

Fortunately for Apple, Goldberg chose not to share the results with any of his superiors at the ad agency Chiat/Day (now TBWA\Chiat\Day), and ASI's prediction couldn't have been further from the truth.

You can judge for yourself by watching the ad below. Its tagline, "Why 1984 Won't Be Like 1984" plays on George Orwell's dystopian novel and reassures viewers that Apple's new technology would be used for freedom, not control.

In it, a Big Brother figure addresses a room full of drab, bald-headed people and praises the futuristic society's achievement of the "Unification of Thoughts." A blond-haired woman in a white T-shirt and bright, orange shorts then runs into the room, chased by policemen, and throws a sledgehammer through the screen:

Mesmerized by the ad's state-of-the-art cinematography and alluring message about the promise of technology, consumers flooded electronics stores across the country when the Macintosh debuted the following Tuesday. Those consumers would go on to purchase $155 million worth of Macintoshes in the three months after the Super Bowl.

"It was the first time that anybody did something so outrageous on the Super Bowl," Goldberg said in an interview with Business Insider. "I didn’t immediately know it was going to be what it was, but it sure was a really great way to introduce the product and get attention."

Indeed, the ad's extraordinary production values and riveting story made it one of the most-talked about topics in America, and was rebroadcast on television news shows around the country.

Though other advertisers, like Masterlock, had already started targeted their most important marketing messages at the Super Bowl and its huge audience, "1984" is often credited with ushering in the current era of Super Bowl advertising, in which the ads are as important and popular as the game itself.

But for all the accolades "1984" has won over the past three decades  — among them the Grand Prix award at the 1984 Cannes Lions Advertising Festival and the No. 1 slot in TV Guide's list of the greatest commercials of all time — the ad almost never saw the light of day.

Though Apple co-founder Steve Jobs loved the ad from the start and drew wild applause when he showed it to employees at a national sales meeting during the fall of 1983, the company's board of directors was less impressed with the work of ad agency Chiat/Day.

According to Steve Hayden, a Chiat/Day copywriter who helped conceive the commercial, the board sat in silence after the ad was first presented, and chairman Mike Markula asked his colleagues whether they, too, wanted to fire the agency responsible

"There was this odd, dysfunctional quality to presenting advertising to Apple," said Brent Thomas, the Chiat/Day art director on the project. "If the people that you had to first present to hated it, Jobs was going to like it. And conversely, if it went the other way, you knew Steve would kill it."

By the time the ad was shown to the board, Apple had already spent $650,000 to make "1984" and a second ad for its Lisa model business computer. That money was used to enlist the services of director Ridley Scott, who at the time was coming off the 1982 hit movie "Blade Runner." Apple also hired 300 extras to act in the ad, many of them real-life London skinheads.

In spite of all that, Chiat/Day was ultimately told by Apple to sell the two minutes of Super Bowl advertising it had purchased with the original intention of airing the "1984" spot and two 30-second Macintosh product demonstrations.

The Chiat/Day executives in charge of selling the time to other advertisers had other ideas. Goldberg says that at agency head Jay Chiat's urging, the executives dragged their feet and were only able to sell the two 30-second slots before running out of time. Rather than show a blank screen during $250,000 worth of airtime, Apple ran "1984," and the rest is history.

"I basically told the ad execs given the job of selling off the time ... I said I will kill you if you manage to do this," Thomas said. "I was on my hands and knees saying, 'Don’t do it! Don’t do it!' Fortunately they couldn’t do it."

The commercial would wind up having a lasting impact, not only in the world of advertising, but in the United States' nascent consumer technology industry, as well.

By throwing a sledgehammer through the screen broadcasting a dreary announcement from a Big Brother figure, actress Anya Major inspired a generation of young people to go into a technology field that appeared more than ever to hold the key to solving problems and making the world a better place.

"This commercial was classically disruptive," said Timothy de Waal Malefyt, a former BBDO vice president who currently teaches at Fordham University. "This wasn’t a machine where you were going to be kowtowed in the workplace, this was a machine for the young, innovative, entrepreneurial mind. It really inspires the creative individual to break free and start something different."

The commercial was also pivotal to Apple as it positioned itself as an innovator in the field. The Macintosh computer itself was revolutionary in that it was the first affordable, personal computer to include a graphical-user interface and allow even novice computer users to easily operate the machine with its mouse. The ad helped cement Apple's reputation as an innovator, and presented a contrast between itself and the staid marketing of industry giant IBM. 

Apple also reaped the benefits of having one of the first ads to be shown repeatedly on television news shows, exposing its product to more and more consumers with every airing.

Hayden said Apple's internal team calculated the amount of airtime the commercial got being rebroadcast on these shows, and found that it had earned about $150 million worth of free airtime as a result. 

"I guess what’s so cool is that when all the things come together, you have a computer with totally revolutionary technology, and then you create a commercial that is totally revolutionary in the world of advertising and is seen by a huge audience," said Ken Segall, who worked on Apple's "Think Different" campaign as a Chiat/Day creative director and later served the company as an in-house consultant.

"It really helped launch Apple on this amazing trajectory."

SEE ALSO: Here's a preview of the ads you will see on Super Bowl Sunday

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Check Out The Expensive Supercars In 'Need For Speed'

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need for speed aaron paul

When the "Need for Speed" adaptation comes to the big screen in March it will be filled with a lot of fast cars ranging from Lamborghinis to a Bugatti.

Starring "Breaking Bad" actor Aaron Paul, the movie is based on the popular game franchise from Electronic Arts.

To make a connection to the game believable, a mix of '70s muscle cars and European super cars featured in the "Need for Speed" series over the years will appear on screen. 

More than 15 supercars were built in less than six months for the film with each costing between $2-3 million. In addition, Ford worked with filmmakers to design a Mustang based on the 2013 Shelby GT 500. Of course, since many of these cars are getting smashed up on screen, there were replicas built to take the hits.

Walt Disney Pictures released a series of photos showing off the six super cars that will be featured in the film. 

In addition to the cars below there will be a '69 Gran Torino and ’66 Pontiac GTO. 

"Need for Speed" is in theaters March 14.

Let's take a look at the cars that will appear on screen.

Here's the Shelby Mustang made especially for the movie that Aaron Paul's character will drive.shelby mustang need for speed

The GTA Spano has a top speed of 217 mph.gta spano need for speed

There will be a few Swedish Koenigseggs racing the roads. Those cars can reach up to 273 mph.koenigsegg need for speed

koenigsegg need for speed

The McLaren P1 was featured in "Need for Speed: Rivals." The car can reach up to 217 mph and costs $1.5 million.mcclaren p1 need for speed

If the Lamborghini Sesto Elemento looks familiar, it's because Batman's Tumbler in "The Dark Knight" was a Lamborghini-Hummer hybrid.lamborghini sesto elemento need for speed

Here's the Saleen S-7 that appeared in "Need for Speed: Most Wanted." This car can reach 205 mph.saleen 7 need for speed

The Bugatti Veyron has appeared in a few titles in the franchise including "Need for Speed: Hot Pursuits" and can go up to 255 mph.bugatti need for speed need for speed

Now, take a look at the cars in action.

SEE ALSO: A trailer for the film

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Hollywood Lobbyists, AMC And 'Bob Hope' Should Apologize For Terrorizing That Poor Guy Who Wore Google Glass To The Movies (GOOG)

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Bob Hope

Both AMC Theaters and The Motion Picture Association of America — Hollywood's lobbying group — have confirmed they called in Homeland Security to interrogate a man for over an hour simply because he wore Google Glass to watch a movie.

Neither, however, has apologized for its ridiculous over-reaction, or the distress it caused the man and his wife, who turned out to be completely innocent of any crime.

The incident has also — bizarrely — managed to tarnish the name of the late, great Bob Hope.

The movie-goer — whose identity we still don't know — wore the smart glasses because they have prescription lenses and he has bad eyesight. He had visited the cinema, the AMC Easton 30 in Columbus, Ohio, several times before and chatted with staff there about the spectacles.

Both AMC and the MPAA issued statements indicating that "the investigation determined the guest was not recording content" and "no such activity was discovered," respectively. Yet neither organization has bothered to officially say "sorry" for assaulting the man (his glasses were ripped from his face), for detaining him, for searching through his personal photos, and for falsely accusing him of being part of a network of movie pirate thieves.

Obviously, theaters need to prevent people from recording their copyrighted content. But it's easy to see whether Google Glass is recording or not, especially in the dark of a movie theater: There is a small internal light on the device that goes on when the user is recording. If the feds and the MPAA are going to bust people for using Google Glass, they should at least learn how the device works.

Rather than looking for that light, the MPAA and its federal goons subjected the man to an interrogation that sounds like it was scripted from an old Bob Hope movie (one of the ones like "Alias Jesse James," in which the late comedian is mistaken for a bad guy with hilarious consequences): "Why don’t I just give up the guy up the chain, ’cause they are not interested in me. ... who is my boss and why am I recording the movie?" the man said he was asked.

This is where the story takes a turn that would be unrealistic if it were a comedy: the MPAA executive in charge of this failed investigation is actually named "Bob Hope." And he's the great-nephew of the actual Bob Hope. He has previously told TribToday.com that he goes by his more famous relative's name because the comedian was born "Leslie Towns Hope," and only used "Bob" as a stage name. (That doesn't quite explain why the MPAA's Hope doesn't go by "Robert" or "Rob.")

Then there is the question of your tax dollars at work. Apparently, the MPAA has Homeland Security at its beck and call, in Columbus, Ohio. You'd think they have bigger fish to fry. Are the local police really incapable of briefly detaining a man to check whether he's carrying pirated content? (Answer: no, as this case indicates.)

Lastly, would it have been too much trouble for AMC to put a sign at the box office asking people not to wear Google Glass in the theater, for the obvious reason that the devices can actually record movies? Then the man, AMC, the MPAA, the feds, the taxpayers and the reputation of the Bob Hope family would have been spared a lot of wasted time and money.

SEE ALSO: CONFIRMED: Man Interrogated By FBI For Wearing Prescription Google Glass At The Movies

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Jonah Hill Took $60,000 SAG Minimum Pay For 'Wolf Of Wall Street'

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Wolf Of Wall

A $60,000 pay check for a seven-month film shoot may sound nice to most  but by Hollywood standards, it's the Screen Actor's Guild minimum pay.

But when Jonah Hill was offered the $60,000 to star as stockbroker Donnie Azoff in the Martin Scorsese-directed "Wolf of Wall Street," he still jumped at the chance.

"I got to f------ be in a Martin Scorsese movie and I just got nominated for an Oscar," Hill told Howard Stern yesterday on "The Howard Stern Show." "I'm tripping out, Howard ... I'm in shock. I'm totally in shock."

The 30-year-old actor admits he would have done anything to be in the film.

"They gave me the lowest amount of money possible, that was their offer," he continued on Stern's radio show. "I said, 'I will sign the paper tonight. Fax me the papers tonight.' I want to sign them tonight before they change their mind. I said I want to sign them before I go to sleep tonight so they legally can't change their mind." 

"So you got paid $60,000 for that movie?" Stern clarified.

"It was the minimum. I think SAG minimum is something like $60,000 before commissions and taxes," Hill confirmed. "Yeah, for an almost seven-month shoot. I would sell my house and give him all my money to work for [Scorsese] ... I would have done anything in the world. I would do it again in a second."

But unlike some of his peers in the industry, Hill says "It's not about money for me. None of this s--- is about money. I want to make money to pay my rent, and hopefully have a family one day and have kids and stuff."

The pay cut paid off. Hill was nominated for an Oscar last week for his role in the film.

"I am in complete and total shock," Hill said in a statement after receiving the nod in the Best Supporting Actor category. "I honestly was not expecting this, on a level you can't even imagine. Again, I'm clearly in shock. I didn't have a plan for celebrating today because I truly did not expect any of this ... Truly, this is shocking."

Hill was previously nominated for an Oscar for 2011's "Moneyball." 

SEE ALSO: Jonah Hill Says ‘Wolf Of Wall Street’ Behavior 'Leads To A Very Bad Ending'

MORE: Jonah Hill Got His Big Break Making Prank Calls For Dustin Hoffman

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It’s All Out War In New ‘300’ Sequel Trailer

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300 rise of an empire

Warner Bros. released a new trailer for “300: Rise of an Empire” filled with ships, mayhem, and bloodshed.

The sequel to the 2006 movie stars Eva Green (“Casino Royale”) as Artemisia, a commander of the Persian navy who is leading her army to war against Greek general Themistokles (Sullivan Stapleton). 

Director Noam Murro takes over for Zack Synder this time, who wrote the screenplay. 

“300: Rise of An Empire” is in theaters March 7. 

SEE ALSO: Check out the supercars that will be featured in "Need for Speed"

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9 Fantastic Behind-The-Scenes Images From ‘Sherlock’ Season 3

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Benedict Cumberbatch is back as our favorite detective on British series "Sherlock."

Season 3 made its return to PBS in the US last Sunday. While we're waiting for another new episode, we have a few behind-the-scenes photos from the new season to hold you over until Sunday.

We first spotted these on BenedictCumberbatch.co.uk. All of these are photos tweeted out by cast and crew from the BBC series.

If you haven't seen the first episode yet, there are a few mini-spoilers in the photos below.

Enjoy!

Remember Sherlock's long shaggy look that wasn't shown in the episode? Actor Tomi May (who played Sherlock's torturer in the episode) tweeted this photo with Mark Gatiss (Mycroft) and Cumberbatch after the episode first aired overseas.sherlock benedict cumberbatch

Actress Louise Brealey, who plays Molly, shared this photo of herself and Cumberbatch looking less than serious at 221 Baker St.louise brealey sherlockCumberbatch and Martin Freeman goofing off at script read through.benedict cumberbatch martin freeman

Makeup artist and hair designer Claire Prtichard tweeted out this photo of the two dropping gang signs ... or the Vulcan salute.

martin freeman benedict cumberbatch sherlock

Here's one of our favorites — Cumberbatch's Sherlock posing as his Khan character from "Star Trek Into Darkness" in front of the movie poster.

sherlock into darkness benedict cumberbatch

Cinematographer Steve Lawes was seeing double in this photo.
sherlock big head benedict cumberbatch

Here's one of the crew reviewing footage. (Check out Freeman's mustache!)sherlock season 3 ep 1Production designer Arwel Jones shared a photofrom the shocking kiss between Sherlock and Molly.sherlock mollyAnd one more showing how they made the tube car seen at the episode's end.tube car sherlock

SEE ALSO: The expensive supercars that will be featured in the "Need for Speed" movie

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Arnold Schwarzenegger Worked Undercover At A Gym And People Didn’t Realize It Was Him

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arnold gym

You probably wouldn’t expect to see Arnold Schwarzenegger at the gym while you’re working out, but that’s just what happened. 

The “Terminator” actor went undercover to promote fitness at a Gold’s Gym in Venice, Calif. as a general manager. He’s currently raising awareness for After-School All-Star, a charity which provides kids with free after-school programs, through a partnership with fundraising site Omaze. 

Most people didn’t realize they were being giving tips by the famous actor who was going by the name Howard. 

You could tell a few people caught on to the actor toward the end of the video. After all, he wasn’t wearing much of a disguise — just a wig and mustache. 

Schwarzenegger shared the video on Reddit yesterday. It already has more than 1 million views.

For more on the charity and to win a ride in a tank with Schwarzenegger, you can head here.

SEE ALSO: Behind-the-scenes images from season 3 of "Sherlock"

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Jimmy Fallon Helps Bill Gates Make A Silly Viral Video To Promote His Website

Carrie Fisher Confirms That She'll Be Princess Leia In The Next 'Star Wars' Movie

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Gold Princess Leia

While Disney has yet to confirm it's bringing back the original "Star Wars" cast members for the next installment of the franchise, "Episode VII," that hasn't stopped a few of them from spilling the beans.

The latest is Carrie Fisher, who told TV Guide that she'll reprise her role as Princess Leia. (This isn't the first time she's said it either.) Fisher says that she, Harrison Ford, and Mark Hamill will start filming in March or April of this year. Ford will play Han Solo and Hamill will be back as Luke Skywalker.

"I'd like to wear my old hairstyle again, but with white hair" Fisher told TV Guide, referring to Leia's iconic cinnamon bun hairdo.

Disney has already announced that "Episode VII" will launch on December 18, 2015.

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THEN & NOW: The Cast Of 'Mean Girls' 10 Years Later

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Mean Girls

This April marks a decade since The Plastics ruled the halls of North Shore High School, taking new student Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan) along for the crazy, Burn Book-filled ride.

Aside from giving us many memorable quotes (see: "She doesn't even go here!"), the film, written by Tina Fey, boosted the careers of many in its cast.

While some actresses, like Rachel McAdams (Regina) and Lizzy Caplan (Janis) continued to have successful careers in Hollywood, other actors such as Rajiv Surendra (Kevin) and Daniel Franzese (Damian) went on to pursue more artistic ventures.

It's almost the 10-year anniversary of "Mean Girls" — let's see what our favorite high school students and teachers are up to now.

THEN: Lindsay Lohan played Cady Heron, a high school student who is forced to navigate manipulative friendships, dating, and gossip after moving to a new school.



NOW: Lohan, 27, is making a comeback after several stints in rehab and legal troubles.

The former child star, known for her leading roles in "Parent Trap" and "Life-Size," announced at the Sundance Film Festival this week that she will produce and star in a new film titled "Inconceivable."

The announcement follows Lohan's continued comeback from five years of rehab stints and run-ins with the law.

She's filming a docu-series for the Oprah Winfrey Network after a failed turn in the 2013 erotic thriller "The Canyons."

Since "Mean Girls," Lohan has also appeared on "That '70s Show" and "Ugly Betty" and has even released two music albums between 2004 and 2005.



THEN: Rachel McAdams played Regina George, the leader of the mean-girl pack.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider
    






Tons Of Celebrities Have Money Sitting In NYC That They Don't Even Know About

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Jay Z Diddy

New York has more than $12 billion in unclaimed money sitting around — and according to the New York Post, some of it belongs to the likes of Beyoncé, Angelina Jolie, Woody Allen, and a slew of other A-listers.

Famous celebrities and politicians were among the names that showed up in an “unclaimed funds” database kept by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s office, which catalogues more than 30 million accounts waiting to be paid out — except that no one ever claims their funds.

So if you see your (very famous) name below, consider this a public service announcement (via PageSix):

  • Sean “Diddy” Combs has unclaimed funds dating back to at least 1991, in the form of insurance payouts, dividends, uncashed checks and even a bank account set up by his late dad, Melvin, records show.
  • Woody Allen has unclaimed dividend money from 2012, and Yoko Ono has an unclaimed payout from Sprint that same year, according to the records.
  • Angelina Jolie has uncashed checks dating back to 2004.
  • Glenn Close has an Exxon cash dividend from 1994.
  • Beyoncé and record mogul Tommy Mottola have money waiting for unredeemed Bergdorf Goodman gift cards.
  • Steven Spielberg and Al Pacino have unredeemed Giorgio Armani gift cards.
  • Several politicians also have money waiting to be picked up, including Hilary Clinton, Eliot Spitzer, George Pataki and Anthony Wiener.

And that's just some of the names. To read more, click here.

The Post notes that New York's database (osc.state.ny.us) doesn’t specify how much money a particular recipient is owed, but half of claims amount to less than $100, according to the Comptroller’s Office.

But it's not all small amounts sitting there waiting to be picked up — apparently one New Yorker has a whopping $1.7 million still waiting to be claimed.

SEE ALSO: Jonah Hill Took $60,000 SAG Minimum Pay For 'Wolf Of Wall Street'

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Netflix CEO Reed Hastings Jokes HBO Boss's Password Must Be 'Netflix Bitch' (NFLX)

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netflix reed hastings

On his earnings call today, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings joked that his archrival, HBO chief Richard Plepler, used "Netflix bitch" as his HBO Go password.

The battle between Netflix and HBO is becoming increasingly intense. Yesterday, Business Insider reported that streaming video services like Netflix are catching up to premium channels like HBO and Showtime in terms of the proportion of U.S. households that pay for such services, based on a study out of market research firm NPD.

Today, Netflix's stock soared after the company beat analyst expectations for both revenues and earnings. 

Riding high on those numbers — and the 2.3 million U.S. subscribers the company added in the most recent quarter —  Netflix CEO Reed Hastings came out swinging at competitors during today's chat with Wall Street analysts. 

LA Times media reporter Joe Flint caught this during the call:

While HBO and its premium channel brethren came out against the NPD study suggesting that their numbers were falling, the fact of the matter is that HBO expects a gain of about 1.9 million subscribers in 2013, less than Netflix's customer growth in a single quarter. It's clear which side has the momentum in this race.

SEE ALSO: Netflix issues warning on the dangers of ending net neutrality

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Judge Issues Devastating Ruling Against Online Copyright Crusaders

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china computer internet

Washington District Judge Robert Lasnik ruled simply that IP addresses are not individuals, according to a report by Torrentfreak.

An "Internet Protocol" address is a numerical value placed on a computer that is participating in Internet traffic. An Internet Service Provider, or ISP, is the company that provides consumers with Internet access.

Copyright infringement cases have traditionally sought to target either the ISP, or the person behind the IP address (the person whose name is on the bill).

This piracy case was like any other against alleged copyright infringers: it relied completely on the judge's interpretation of an IP address as an individual person, or that person's individual responsibility.

From the ruling:

“[The movie studio] has actually alleged no more than that the named defendants purchased Internet access and failed to ensure that others did not use that access to download copyrighted material ... While it is possible that the subscriber is the one who participated in the BitTorrent swarm, it is also possible that a family member, guest, or freeloader engaged in the infringing conduct.

Cory Doctorow of BoingBoing calls the ruling "surprisingly sane" and notes that certain firms have "gained notoriety" for so-called copyright trolling — when companies seek to gain financially from filing lawsuits aimed at several people for sharing information copyrighted content over peer-to-peer networks.

In this case, it was against 152 people who allegedly illegally downloaded copies of the movie "Elf-Man."

While Internet users have lost some battles — "the 6 strikes law" — and won some — a judge ruling that ISPs cannot be subpoenaed for personal information — activists against copyright trolling call Lasnik's ruling another "nail in the coffin."

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Justin Bieber Arrested For Drag Racing And DUI

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bieber

Singer Justin Bieber has been arrested for drag racing and DUI in Miami Beach, police told NBC News.

Bieber was under the influence of drugs and was incoherent but compliant when arrested at 4:30 a.m. on Thursday, Miami Beach Police Chief Raymond Martinez told the Miami Herald.

Police sources told NBC that the 19-year-old was in a rented Lamborghini. His entourage reportedly used their cars to block traffic in a residential area to create a drag strip. 

Bieber has been in town the past few days and was reportedly visiting a club downtown on Wednesday night.

On Wednesday, police were investigating an unauthorized police escort of Bieber.

On December 25 Bieber said he was "officially retiring." Earlier this month his house was raided and his friend was arrested on drug charges.

SEE ALSO: Here Are The Deleted Instagram Photos Justin Bieber Posted Before His Arrest

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Here Are The Deleted Instagram Photos Justin Bieber Posted Before His Arrest

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Justin Bieber was arrested early this morning in Miami on suspicion of DUI and drag racing a rented yellow Lamborghini.

According to the Herald, Bieber told officers he "had a beer, was under the influence of anti-depressants and had been smoking marijuana all day."

Singer Khalil Sharief was also arrested in another Lamborghini. 

Before his arrest, Bieber and Sharief posted images to Instagram that have since been deleted, showing Bieber in and around the Lamborghini, suggesting he may not have been the driver.

bieber lamborghini

Here's a photo of model Chantel Jeffries driving the yellow Lamborghini Bieber was inside.

chantel jeffries justin bieber

SEE ALSO: Justin Bieber arrested on suspicion of DUI and drag racing

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Paparazzi And Fan Video Of Justin Bieber's Miami Arrest

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Justin Bieber was arrested early this morning in Miami for drag racing and DUI.

Unfortunately for the 19-year-old pop star, fans and paparazzi caught Bieber's wild night on tape. 

TMZ posted this video of Bieber racing through the streets of Miami in a yellow Lamborghini before his arrest:

Bieber was even giving out autographs while parked in the middle of the street, but TMZ captures police cars getting him at :49:

A screaming fan girl who was following Bieber caught it all on tape, too:  

SEE ALSO: Here Are The Deleted Instagram Photos Justin Bieber Posted Before His Arrest

MORE: Justin Bieber Arrested For Drag Racing And DUI

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Hysterical Teenagers Are Skipping Their Midterms To Grieve Justin Bieber's Arrest

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Teenage idol Justin Bieber was arrested this morning in Miami for drag racing and driving under the influence, and the nation's teens are melting down.

Crying Girl

Beliebers everywhere have taken to Twitter to join forces during these troubled times. Some are even skipping their midterms, according to a post from The Wire this morning.

"Justin Bieber is not worth going to remedial algebra for," The Wire says. But grief can be blinding.

According to a local NBC affiliate, Bieber was driving a rented Lamborghini at the time of his arrest and is currently in custody at the police department where his blood alcohol content level is being tested.

The New York Daily News, however, says that it is not yet clear whether he was under the influence of alcohol or a different substance. 

It is always unfortunate when a public figure, be it a celebrity or politician, sets a bad example for all who worship him. 

And as everyone knows, masses at the church of Bieber are standing-room only.

Even parents are getting in on the movement:

 

 

But some of Justin's fans don't want to deal with the news:

 

And the tears. Oh...the tears:

 

 

One thing is for sure. Bieber's Beliebers sure are devoted:

SEE ALSO: Justin Bieber arrested for drag racing and DUI

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