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The 'Netflix For Pirated Movies' Is Back, And Its Creators Say It Will Never Die

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Popcorn Time

A desktop app called Popcorn Time launched last week gaining considerable attention for presenting pirated streaming movies in a clean and easy to use format. It was essentially a Netflix for pirated movies.

By Friday, it was taken down. The anonymous team of developers wrote a blog post proclaiming their motivation was "we need to move on with our lives."

Now, Torrentfreak reported that a team of developers called YTS resurrected the project and officially relaunched it last Sunday.

Business Insider reached out to the new team for comment about the future of Popcorn Time. They wouldn't disclose their identities but voiced their opinions over email.

"The decision to close the project was against the community and users will, but fortunately, ideas never die and specifically this idea that wears an open source dress from day one," the developers said.

YTS explained they were surprised that the original team dismantled the app so quickly. This new team's goal was to make the app quickly available to everyone and make sure it was perfect without risking taking it down again. They concluded that their version would never die and new updates would be coming in the near future.

SEE ALSO: This App Just Made Hollywood's Piracy Nightmare Even Worse

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'X-Men' Are Fighting Extinction In New Trailer

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20th Century Fox has just released a new trailer for "X-Men: Days of Future Past" and it's great.

This is probably the summer movie we're looking most forward to not only because it's been three years since "X-Men: First Class," but because it reunites a lot of actors from the 2006 film "X-Men: The Last Stand" as well.

Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Jennifer Lawrence, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, and Halle Berry are among the stars in the sequel.

Based on the popular comic story, the group will team up with their younger selves to take down a bunch of mutant-hunting robots threatening to extinguish their race.

"X-Men: Days of Future Past" is in theaters May 23.

Basically, what we gather from the trailer is that Peter Dinklage's character Bolivar Trask will set loose a bunch of robots in the present time to go after the X-Men. They'll be successful in killing some. When that happens, Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Magneto (Ian McKellen) get the Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) to travel back into the past to prevent Trask from ever creating these robots. 

Here are a few takeaways from the new trailer:

Storm (Halle Berry) looks like she's in trouble.halle berry days of future past

Here's a better look at the forces the X-Men will be fighting against. x-men days of future past fight gif

We're sure Professor X is fine. The below are most likely two separate scenes edited together.patrick stewart monster

Rise!magneto days of future past

SEE ALSO: See who will be back for a cameo in "Days of Future Past"

AND: The mutant-hunting robots that will be featured in the film

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Look How Much Better 'Divergent' Performed Than Other Young Adult Adaptation Opening Weekends

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shailene woodley divergent

"Divergent" broke the curse of recent young adult (YA) adaptations bombing at theaters over the weekend.

The film made $56 million opening weekend. While that's not as much as the $65 million analysts were originally predicting, it's a good start for a film based on a best-selling book series.

The last five attempts after 2012's "The Hunger Games" all tanked at theaters.

Take a look at the opening weekends for the first films in every potential YA series below. "Divergent" comes in fourth behind "The Hunger Games" ($152.5 million), "Harry Potter" ($90.3 million), and "Twilight" ($69.6 million).box office young adult movies opening weekends

The Lionsgate and Summit Entertainment picture has two sequels in the works.

The next film, "Insurgent" is planned for a March 2015 release. "Allegiant" is set to debut the year after.

SEE ALSO: How poorly most young adult movies perform at theaters

AND: Everything you need to know about "Divergent"

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A 'Lost' Reboot May Soon Be Coming To TV

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terry o'quinn lost john locke

Lost's iconic catchphrase 'We have to go back!' might take on a whole new meaning, as creator Damon Lindelof teases a return for the infamous ABC drama that ended its run in February of 2010 with a two-and-a-half hour finale.

But there is a catch. If Lost takes on a new life, it won't come from the original team behind the series. While Damon Lindelof believes the franchise will live on in some way, perhaps as a reboot, it will be from a fresh mindset of people looking to do something new with the title.

"I think there will be more Lost. But I don't think it's gonna come from us. My guess is that some other creative team will come in and take their creative spin on this content, which is really exciting."

Damon Lindelof himself claims that he is done with the whole Lost universe, a sentiment which co-creator J.J. Abrams shares.

"I think we told our story, you know. We put so much energy into ending it, that to put energy into kickstarting it again, you know...The show, I felt like it had a very successful life. Maybe it lived a little too long, but I never felt like it didn't live long enough. So I feel like there will be more, but it won't be made by us."

ABC and Disney own the property, which means they could decide to reboot it at anytime. And they don't need any consent from the team responsible for the first go-around.

Lost and its finale remain one of the most controversial topics in TV history. Some loved it, while others loathed it, and some simply felted ripped-off by its lack of question answering. Damon Lindelof explains that those questions are as alive today as they were when the show was still on the air. 

"The [questions] that were alive during the show are still the biggest ones post-show. What was up with the polar bears? Are they all dead? Were they dead the whole time? Different expressions of that...Who was on the other outrigger? Why Nicki and Paolo? The show lived with questions, it died with questions, and I'm happy to have questions be the legacy."

What do you think? Do you want to see Lost rebooted so soon?

SEE ALSO: THEN & NOW: The Cast Of 'Lost' 10 Years Later

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ABC News President Ben Sherwood Replacing Anne Sweeney As Head Of Disney-ABC TV

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Anne Sweeney

There was much speculation as to who would replace Anne Sweeney as Disney/ABC Television Group President when she announced her departure to pursue TV directing earlier this month.

Disney just announced that ABC News President Ben Sherwood will succeed Sweeney.

Read the full press release below. 

BURBANK, Calif., Mar 24, 2014 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- The Walt Disney Company [NYSE: DIS] today announced that ABC News President Ben Sherwood, who successfully steered ABC News to new heights over the past several years, including driving “Good Morning America” to #1, brokering a landmark partnership with Yahoo to create the #1 news and information online network, and launching Fusion, a joint venture news and lifestyle network with Univision, will assume the title of co-chairman, Disney Media Networks and president, Disney/ABC Television Group on February 1, 2015. Anne Sweeney, Co-Chair, Disney Media Networks and President, Disney/ABC Television Group will remain in that capacity through January 2015.

Ben Sherwood ABC DisneyEffective immediately, Mr. Sherwood will begin the transition as Co-President, Disney/ABC Television Group. He will also continue to oversee ABC News until a successor is named.

In making the announcement Robert A. Iger, Chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company, said, “Ben is one of those unique executives who combine rich creative experience with great business acumen. He’s also focused, strategic, and competitive, as evidenced by the success of GMA, the Yahoo deal that delivered ABC News online dominance, and his vision behind our new cable and digital joint venture, Fusion. These reasons, and many others, make Ben the ideal candidate to oversee the future of the Disney/ABC Television Group.”

Ms. Sweeney added, “It was Ben’s intense passion and incredible insight that made us confident he’d do great things as President of ABC News. Over the years, he has moved from success-to-success, and helped create a more vibrant, collaborative and powerful News division that embraces innovation and risk-taking. Ben’s now set to bring those same attributes to bear for the larger Group, and I could not be more thrilled. This announcement simply highlights the fact that our talent and succession planning process works.”

Mr. Sherwood stated, “I am honored and humbled that Bob has entrusted me with this great responsibility and amazing opportunity. I’m also deeply grateful to Anne, who has built and led a powerhouse division over the last 10 years. I am looking forward to her counsel and wisdom during this transition period. I must also thank the remarkable people of ABC News who inspire me every day with their creativity, dedication and spirit. I will keep their commitment to excellence and their fierce competitiveness firmly in mind as I move forward to meet this exciting new challenge.”

SEE ALSO: Hollywood Is Skeptical As To Why Anne Sweeney Really Left Disney

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A Chemist Has Developed A Brilliant Way To Survive The Zombie Apocalypse

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zombie the walking dead

The folks at the American Chemical Society want us to be prepared for a zombie apocalypse. Since zombies — like those in "The Walking Dead" — are attracted to the smell of live humans, chemist Raychelle Burks suggests using chemicals to mimic the smells of rotting flesh, which should ward off living corpses in the event of a siege.

It sounds like it would really work for certain zombie futures. For example, characters in AMC's "The Walking Dead" use jaw-less and armless zombies on leashes to camouflage their scent from other zombies. 

The so-called "death cologne" would be made from a combination of three stinky molecules found in rotting flesh: putrescine, cadaverine, and methanethiol.

zombie chemicalsDead human bodies naturally produce putrescine and cadaverine early in the decomposition process, Burks says in the video. Methanethiol provides the rotting-egg, cabbage smell.

By modifying the bacteria e.coli and growing them in large colonies in the lab, scientists can isolate the nasty-smelling compounds. All you need it a little genetically engineered bacteria and a petri dish!

You can learn more about the smelly solution in the video below, from the American Chemical Society's Reactions series:

SEE ALSO: 10 Foods That Will Survive In A Post-Apocalyptic World

You might also be interested in: 19 Scientists Tell Us Their Favorite Element

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Former Talking Heads Frontman David Byrne Calls For The End Of The Internet As We Know It

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david byrne

David Byrne is unquestionably one of the most important musicians of the last 40-odd years, having served as the country's first art-punk. 

As the lead singer and songwriter of the Talking Heads, Byrne fused the "downtown" New York scene sonic rhythms and textures from around the world. Today he remains an active presence in the New York arts and literary scene. 

And in a new post on his blog, Byrne says that in light of revelations about the amount of information getting harvested from the Internet by the NSA, Google, Facebook, and cyber thieves, it is time to consider ending the Internet as we know it. 

"To a lot of folks it appears that the corporations, the thieves and the government are all doing exactly the same thing: the 'legal' behavior and the illegal theft are cousins," he writes. "Online spying and cyber theft are not freak phenomena; increasingly, they appear to be unavoidable consequences of online access as it now exists."

"It is we who are being sold," he adds.

He imagines — though does not advocate — a hypothetical scenario where a small team of activists "detonate a small timed radioactive paintball" that would shut down major nodes of the world wide web, as the first step in starting the Internet from scratch.

Imagine this: in a new Internet, we’d still be able to send emails. Academic and nonprofit institutions would still share resources online. Wikipedia and web-based journalism would still exist. But if we can’t be tracked as we are now, a lot would change. Google would lose its primary sources of revenue—ads—and return to being a very good search engine, with a lot fewer employees. The NSA and the other data thieves and collectors would be helpless. No one would have data on countless innocent citizens that could be repurposed to God knows what ends. The Chinese couldn’t hack into the North American power grid. 

Byrne is currently advocating for overturning the longstanding practice of not paying performance royalties for airplay. At this point, that seems like a cause more suited to his wheelhouse.

Click here to read the full post »

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HOUSE OF THE DAY: Billy Joel Can't Sell His $23 Million Beach House In The Hamptons

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billy joel hamptons home

Billy Joel is having an impossible time selling his beautiful Hamptons home. The Piano Man just reduced the price on it from $23.5 million to a mere $22.9 million, Curbed reports.

This isn't the first time Joel's Sagaponack house has been on the market. In 2009, the price was cut from $22.9 million to $16.75 million before it was relisted. The home resurfaced again last November.

The house includes a beachfront view, piano room, and a separate studio situated in the fifth most expensive zip code in the country.

You can see the full listing here

This is the view as you enter through the wooden gate.



You can gaze off the patio and look at your 145 feet of oceanfront property.



The home has classic Hamptons shingles.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider
    







CNN Anchors Fighting 'Hunger Games'-Style For Piers Morgan Spot

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Piers Morgan phone

As Pier Morgan's time on CNN comes to a close this month, his on-air colleagues at the network are apparently fighting for the coveted 9pm time slot.

"Bill Weir, Don Lemon and Jake Tapper are in a 'death match' for it," reports PageSix. "With one TV insider saying, 'It’s like ‘The Hunger Games’ at CNN, a fight to the death between Weir, Lemon and Tapper for the slot.'"

Making things even more tense, Weir and Tapper are apparently old ABC rivals, “and are fiercely competitive, to the point of strong hostility,” notes a PageSix source, adding that Weir has received good ratings while guest hosting the past week, but “he has produced a number of pilots, which haven’t been picked up.”

Jake TapperDeadline reported a similar story a few weeks ago, noting that the network is making four men — Jake Tapper, Bill Weir, Don Lemon, and the recently arrived Michael Smerconish — compete for the slot. 

"Each anchor would bring a very different flavor to the hour," writes The Huffington Post. "Smerconish has had a long career as a centrist radio host. Weir was an ABC News veteran who has been filing the odd report for a few months, but is almost certainly expecting something bigger for himself ... Then, there's Lemon, who would seem to fit most neatly into the primetime cable news landscape."

Meanwhile, it's also rumored that Piers' replacement will be more of a household name.

“Rosie O’Donnell is at the top; the rest are Joy Behar, Ann Curry, Anthony Bourdain, David Muir, Star Jones, Anderson Cooper and Rachel Maddow,” a source told The Daily News. “Most of the people that are being considered are ones that either create news, are going to make news or have rated really high on television in the past.”

“Piers Morgan Live,” whose 9 p.m. time slot had previously belonged to Larry King, was canceled amid some of its lowest-ever ratings at a time when CNN head Jeff Zucker is trying to fix the struggling channel’s lineup.

SEE ALSO: Chelsea Handler Rips Piers Morgan As 'Terrible Interviewer' On Live TV

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Why 'Divergent' Will Never Be As Big As 'The Hunger Games'

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tris prior shailene woodley divergent

"Divergent" opened to a strong $56 million this weekend at theaters.

While it's the first young adult (YA) adaptation to the big screen to not totally bomb since "The Hunger Games," the movie will never gain the same status as Jennifer Lawrence's girl on fire.

Sure, the film will be a healthy franchise for Lionsgate and Summit Entertainment over the next few years, but don't count on it being the cash cow that previous YA series have been for the studios.

There are a few simple reasons "Divergent" will stay in the shadows of "The Hunger Games."

The Star Powershaielene woodley divergent hunger games

Simply put, Shailene Woodley is no Jennifer Lawrence.

When Jennifer Lawrence signed on to "The Hunger Games" franchise she recently came off a role in "X-Men: First Class" and was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for 2010's "Winter's Bone."

Since the film's 2012 release she won an Oscar for her performance in "Silver Linings Playbook."

Shailene Woodley is known among teens for her role on ABC Family's "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" and her role in "The Descendants" alongside George Clooney.

Overall, "The Hunger Games" has a more recognizable cast than "Divergent."

"The Hunger Games"
Jennifer Lawrence
Stanley Tucci
Elizabeth Banks
Liam Hemsworth
Woody Harrelson
Donald Sutherland

"Divergent"
Shailene Woodley
Kate Winslet
Ashley Judd
Maggie Q 

"The Hunger Games" was a huge anomaly.

katniss the hunger games catching fire

When the "Divergent" movie was first announced everyone — us included— automatically referred to the series as the next "Hunger Games." 

It was easy. Both series are about a dystopian future led by strong female leads. Any YA movie adaptation that follows Suzanne Collin's series obviously has some huge shoes to fill; however, it's unlikely we'll ever have another "Hunger Games" anytime soon.

"The Hunger Games" had a larger debut than the first "Harry Potter" film— and that's when inflation is accounted for as well.

Compared to other young adult movies, "The Hunger Games" has the seventh-largest opening weekend at theaters behind four superhero films ("The Avengers," "Iron Man 3," "The Dark Knight Rises," and "The Dark Knight") and the final "Harry Potter" film. 

3 films vs. 4 or 5four tris divergent

Unlike both "Twilight" and "The Hunger Games," "Divergent" is expected to be a three-film series. Lionsgate greenlit a sequel for next March, "Insurgent," and have another film planned for the series' third book set for 2016.

The two former franchises split their final novels across two movies giving "The Hunger Games" four movies and "Twilight" five.

In total, the "Twilight" franchise has generated more than $3.3 billion worldwide. So far, the two "Hunger Games" films have taken in about $1.6 billion at theaters.

If the studios really want to milk the "Divergent" franchise, they'll pull a "Hobbit" and break the final book into two movies to keep it around longer.

The "Divergent" series may have shot itself in the foot. 

divergent fighting theo four

People like happy endings and the "Divergent" series doesn't have one.

HUGE *spoiler* The lead character gets killed off as a martyr in the final novel.

How do you think people would have responded if Harry Potter was killed by Voldemort in the final book (and on screen) or if Jennifer Lawrence's Katniss Everdeen bit the bullet? My guess is not positively. *spoiler*

The final book in the series,  "Allegiant," received a lot of fan backlash after its release in October 2013. 

So many fans responded negatively that author Veronica Roth took to her blog to address the controversial ending.

"I’ve said before that this ending was always a part of the plan, but one thing I want to make clear is that I didn’t choose it to shock anyone, or to upset anyone," wrote Roth.

Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer previously told analysts he didn't think the book's outcome would hurt the series' chances at the box office. “A little controversy in terms of publicity never hurts," said Feltheimer.

While "Divergent" and "Insurgent" may do well, the final third film could be a test for Lionsgate with fans.

SEE ALSO: How much better "Divergent" performed compared to other young adult adaptations opening weekend

AND: Everything you need to know about "Divergent"

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These Maps Show Which Cities Have The Most Diehard Music Fans

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Global news site Vocativ has discovered America's true musical preferences.

The team mined online data — including illegal song downloads, tweets, and BitTorrent traffic — to reveal the most popular genre of music in 100 U.S. cities.

“Our unique Deep Web methodology discovers unseen stories to reveal fascinating insights as to what’s really happening,” Founder of Vocativ Mati Kochavi said in a press release. "In this case, our data scientists were able to discern what music Americans across the country are truly passionate about.”

The index also uncovered the top cities where each of ten musical genres (including pop, country, rock, R&B/hip hop, dance/electronic, Latin, Christian/gospel, blues, jazz, and reggae) have the most die-hard fans.

Vocativ Cities that love Country music

  1. Evansville, IN
  2. Lexington, KY
  3. Billings, MT
  4. Green Bay, WI
  5. Fargo-Valley City, ND
  6. Nashville, TN
  7. Sioux Falls, ND
  8. Springfield, MO
  9. Knoxville, TN
  10. Boise, ID

Vocativ Cities that love Hip Hop music

  1. Montgomery, AL
  2. Jackson, MS
  3. Baltimore, MD
  4. Shreveport, LA
  5. Memphis, TN
  6. Naples, FL
  7. New Orleans, LA
  8. Lafayette, LA
  9. Little Rock, AR
  10. Baton Rouge, LA

Vocativ Cities that love Pop music

  1. Lansing, MI
  2. Honolulu, HI
  3. Santa Barbara, CA
  4. Salt Lake City, UT
  5. Anchorage, AK
  6. Bakersfield, CA
  7. Sacramento, CA
  8. El Paso, TX
  9. Sioux Falls, SD
  10. Pittsburgh, PA

Vocativ Cities that love Rock music

  1. Eugene, OR
  2. Honolulu, HI
  3. Santa Barbara, CA
  4. Salt Lake City, UT
  5. Anchorage, AK
  6. Bakersfield, CA
  7. Sacramento, CA
  8. El Paso, TX
  9. Sioux Falls, SD
  10. Pittsburgh, PA

Vocativ Cities that love Reggae music

  1. Honolulu, HI
  2. Santa Barbara, CA
  3. Boise, ID
  4. Eugene, OR
  5. San Diego, CA
  6. Reno, NV
  7. Salt Lake City, UT
  8. Denver, CO
  9. Hartford, CT
  10. Naples, FL

cities that love Christian Gospel music (edited)

  1. Knoxville, TN
  2. Ft. Wayne, IN
  3. Tulsa, OK
  4. Springfield, MO
  5. Chattanooga, TN
  6. Anchorage, AK
  7. Mobile, AL
  8. Oklahoma City, OK
  9. Lubbock, TX
  10. Wichita, KS

cities that love Dance Electronic music

  1. Reno, NV
  2. Santa Barbara, CA
  3. Spokane, WA
  4. Eugene, OR
  5. Seattle, WA
  6. San Diego, CA
  7. San Francisco, CA
  8. Lansing, MI
  9. Denver, CO
  10. Portland, OR

Vocativ Cities that love Jazz music

  1. Honolulu, HI
  2. Sacramento, CA
  3. Santa Barbara, CA
  4. Eugene, OR
  5. Naples, FL
  6. Boise, ID
  7. Reno, NV
  8. New Orleans, LA
  9. Spokane, WA
  10. San Francisco, CA

Vocativ Cities that love Latin music

  1. Laredo, TX
  2. Miami, FL
  3. El Paso, TX
  4. Naples, FL
  5. Reno, NV
  6. New York, NY
  7. Houston, TX
  8. Los Angeles, CA
  9. San Antonio, TX
  10. Santa Barbara, CA

Vocativ Cities that love Blues music

  1. Wichita, KS
  2. Austin, TX
  3. Peoria, IL
  4. Reno, NV
  5. Ft. Wayne, IN
  6. Hartford, CT
  7. Portland, OR
  8. Billings, MT
  9. Eugene, OR
  10. Springfield, MO

You can explore by city or by genre at Vocativ's website, and see what your city's favorite genre of music is here.

SEE ALSO: 25 Places To Party Before You Die

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George Steinbrenner 'Loved' Being Teased On 'Seinfeld'

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seinfeld steinbrenner

Late New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner apparently enjoyed being parodied on the 1990's sitcom "Seinfeld."

Longtime Yankees broadcaster Suzyn Waldman discussed Steinbrenner's reaction to his portrayal on the series during an event for fans at the team's spring training facility in Florida last Friday.

"George loved that stuff. ... George thought it was spot on," Waldman said. "He thought it was hysterical."

During the character George Constanza's stint working for the team, several episodes of "Seinfeld" featured Steinbrenner. The baseball boss was always seen from behind and was generally shown making impulsive, bad decisions. 

Though Waldman said Steinbrenner didn't mind the jokes at his expense, she described one aspect he did not enjoy. "Seinfeld" co-creator Larry David voiced Steinbrenner on the show and the Yankees owner apparently was not amused by how he sounded. 

"He didn't like the voice," Waldman said. 

 

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'Homeland' Actor Writes His Own Emotional Obituary

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James Rebhorn

Veteran TV character actor James Rebhorn died this weekend at age 65 after a battle with cancer.

After a five-decade-long career, Rebhorn was most recently known for playing Claire Danes' father on "Homeland" and Special Agent Reese Hughes on USA's "White Collar."

He also appeared on shows like "The Practice," "Boston Legal," "Third Watch," "Law & Order," and films "Silkwood," "Independence Day," "Meet the Parents," among many, many others.

But it was Rebhorn's last role on stage  a play that included a character who wrote her own obituaries  that inspired his final project, writing his own obituary.

Rebhorn writes that he was "a lucky man in every way," and spoke lovingly of his wife, two daughters, and son-in-law he leaves behind.

As for his career, which he "was fortunate enough to earn his living doing what he loved," Rebhorn gave a special shout out to the unions, writing, "His unions were always there for him, and he will remain forever grateful for the benefits he gained as a result of the union struggle."

"His Life, According to Jim," was originally posted on the website for the St. Paul Lutheran Church in Hoboken, N.J., where he was a longtime member. Read the full obituary below:

James Robert Rebhorn was born on Sept. 1, 1948, in Philadelphia, PA. His mother, Ardell Frances Rebhorn, nee Hoch, loved him very much and supported all his dreams. She taught him the value of good manners and courtesy, and that hospitality is no small thing. His father, James Harry Rebhorn, was no less devoted to him. From him, Jim learned that there is no excuse for poor craftsmanship. A job well done rarely takes more or less time than a job poorly done. They gave him his faith and wisely encouraged him to stay in touch with God.

He is survived by his sister, Janice Barbara Galbraith, of Myrtle Beach, SC. She was his friend, his confidant, and, more often than either of them would like to admit, his bridge over troubled waters. He is also survived by his wife, Rebecca Fulton Linn, and his two daughters, Emma Rebecca Rebhorn and Hannah Linn Rebhorn. They anchored his life and gave him the freedom to live it. Without them, always at the center of his being, his life would have been little more than a vapor. Rebecca loved him with all his flaws, and in her the concept of ceaseless love could find no better example.

His children made him immensely proud. Their dedication to improving our species and making the world a better place gave him hope for the future. They deal with grief differently, and they should each manage it as they see fit. He hopes, however, that they will grieve his passing only as long as necessary. They have much good work to do, and they should get busy doing it. Time is flying by. His son-in-law, Ben, also survives him. Jim loved Ben, who was as a son to Jim, especially through these last months. His aunts Jean, Dorothy and Florence, numerous cousins and their families, and many devoted friends also survive Jim. He loved them all, and he knows they loved him.

Jim received his BA at Wittenberg University and his MFA at Columbia. He was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha Nu Zeta 624, a life-long Lutheran, and a longtime member of both the AMC and ACLU.

Jim was fortunate enough to earn his living doing what he loved. He was a professional actor. His unions were always there for him, and he will remain forever grateful for the benefits he gained as a result of the union struggle. Without his exceptional teachers and the representation of the best agents in the business, he wouldn’t have had much of a career. He was a lucky man in every way.

SEE ALSO: Airplane Disaster Film 'Deep Water' Shelved Over Eerie Similarities To Missing Malaysia Flight

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Business Insider Is Hiring An Audience Development Manager for BI Studios

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horse race winner

Business Insider is looking for a goals-oriented Audience Development Manager to join BI Studios, our in-house content marketing and production team.

BI Studios works with marketers to develop robust, engaging sponsor content in a variety of formats (text, videos, slideshows, and infographics) as part of their ad campaigns. The person in this role will grow traffic and video views to that content, as well as help foster and strengthen audience engagement.

Do you love diving into performance metrics and understanding them inside and out — and then improving upon them? Do you want to be part of a growing team dedicated to producing and distributing the best branded content on the web? Then this may be the job for you.

The ideal candidate is a self-starter who thinks strategically and proactively about how to drive traffic and engagement. As Audience Development Manager, you will be responsible for the following:

  • Optimizing organic and social media distribution.
  • Facilitating traffic partnerships.
  • Building partner relationships.
  • Increasing revenue opportunities overall.
  • Working closely with marketing, business development, and ad operations to spearhead, coordinate, and drive sponsor content distribution and exposure.

Qualifications:

  • Traffic, digital marketing, and/or brand-building background.
  • Expertise in Google Analytics, social media platforms, and other analytics tools.
  • Strong understanding of current industry best practices and benchmarks.
  • At least 2-3 years relevant experience at a major publisher or digital agency.

Interested candidates should send your résumé and a couple paragraphs on why you're right for this role to studiojobs@businessinsider.com. Thanks in advance.

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Amazing XKCD Animation Shows How Often Things Happen Around The World

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Randall Munroe charts the frequency of 50 events around the world in a recent brilliant xkcd webcomic (recirculated by Cardiff Garcia).

You can read a more thorough explanation of the chart here, noting that heartbeats happen 70 times per minute, the U.S. builds a car 8.6 times per minutes, a pet cat kills a mockingbird a shocking 33 times per minute, and more.

A version of the Creative Commons-licensed chart appears below:

FrequencyFrequencyFrequencyFrequencyFrequency
FrequencyFrequencyFrequencyFrequencyFrequency
FrequencyFrequencyFrequencyFrequencyFrequency
FrequencyFrequencyFrequencyFrequencyFrequency
FrequencyFrequencyFrequencyFrequencyFrequency
FrequencyFrequencyFrequencyFrequencyFrequency
FrequencyFrequencyFrequencyFrequencyFrequency
FrequencyFrequencyFrequencyFrequencyFrequency
FrequencyFrequencyFrequencyFrequencyFrequency
FrequencyFrequencyFrequencyFrequencyFrequency

SEE ALSO: XKCD chart shows how utterly humans dominate Earth's land mammals

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The Rock Looks Ridiculously Awesome As 'Hercules' In First Trailer

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the rock hercules

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is coming to the big screen as Hercules this summer — wearing a lion's head.

The first trailer for the Paramount and MGM movie premiered Monday night at CinemaCon, the annual convention of the National Association of Theatre Owners.

This will be the second Hercules film we're seeing this year after Lionsgate and Summit Entertainment's box-office dud, "Legend of Hercules."

Director Brett Ratner's version looks much more promising. 

"Hercules" is in theaters July 25.

Here are a few more images Paramount released for the film:

the rock hercules

hercules the rock

Here's the poster for the film:hercules poster

SEE ALSO: A new "X-Men: Days of Future Past" trailer

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Here's Why Pharrell Guarantees Hillary Clinton Will Win The 2016 Election

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Pharrell Williams hat

Hillary Clinton hasn't even declared her candidacy, but Pharrell Williams is "happy" just at the thought of the former First Lady becoming the next President of the United States of America.

In a new interview with GQ, the musician predicts, “Hillary's gonna win. Trust me.”

Williams excitedly adds, “And it's a two-for-one: Bill is the coolest dude in the game, still plays saxophone, and every woman in the world wants him. It's a two-for-one. Hillary's gonna win. Everybody laughed at me when I said Obama was going to win, but I knew what he represented. But I know what Hillary represents: She represents a woman in power, and she did great as the Secretary of State. She's gonna win.

“Let me tell you why Hillary's going to win,” Williams further explained to the magazine. “Everywhere you go in this country, you have red and blue. You got the Democrats; you got the Republicans. You got the Bloods; you got the Crips. Everything is red and blue in this country. You know what else is red and blue? Blood. Blood is blue in your body until air hits it, and then it turns red. That means there's unity. There's gonna be unity. So when you think about a night where there's late-night talk-show hosts and it's mostly women, that's a different world. Right? A world where seventy-five percent of the prime ministers and the presidents were women: That's a different world. That's gonna happen, and it's gonna happen when Hillary wins.”

As for "the other guys," the Republicans, the ones with "the n----- jokes in 2014," Williams isn't scared they could harm Hillary's chances at the presidency.

"They're all trying to learn how to do the Dougie," Williams jokes of the formerly popular dance craze. "While their daughters are all twerking. Trust me: Miley tells me all the time. Not saying that about Billy Ray, but I'm saying Miley tells me all the time: All those little girls, all those girls with their Republican daddies, they're twerkin' somewhere listening to Jay Z and Beyoncé and doin' the 'Happy' dance. And that's black."

SEE ALSO: The Most Popular Show In America Is Basically NSA Propaganda

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The YouTube Stars And Channels Disney Paid $500 Million For In Maker Studios Deal

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mickey minnie disney world

Monday, Disney announced plans to buy YouTube content producer Maker Studios for $500 million.

That's more than the company's previous two ventures into the digital space.

The Mouse House purchased gaming community Club Penguin in 2007 for $350 million and social game maker Playdom in 2010 for $563 million.

Maker stands to gain another $450 million from Disney if performance goals are met.

Why invest so much money in a multichannel network?

It's all about the eyeballs.

The New York Times reports Maker receives 5.5 billion views per month across its approximately 55,000 YouTube channels.

Here's a look at some of Maker Studio's channels, subscription numbers, and viewers.

Polaris 
A collection of YouTube personalities’ original content. 
511,529 subscribers
40,544,824 views

The Platform 
A fashion and beauty channel
357,940 subscribers
21,885,330 views

Cartoonium 
Hosts classic episodes of kid’s cartoons along with a few original shows.
58,055 subscribers
5,687,303 views 

The Mom’s View 
Network for mothers who give parenting and do-it-yourself advice.
205,681 subscribers
19,221,881 views

Animonster 
Consists of various cartoons from a variety of animators.
311,317 subscribers
35,750,586 views

Some of Maker's YouTube Personalities

Felix Arvid Ulf Kjelberg (aka PewdiePie
pewdiepie Felix Kjellberg YouTube
25.3 million subscribers
3.9 billion views
The Swedish video game commentator holds the Guinness World Record for the most YouTube subscribers.

Tessa Violet (aka Meekakitty)
tessa violet
988,484 subscribers
69,270,126 views 

Lisa Donovan / LisaNova (co-founder Maker Studios)
lisanova lisa donovan

575,591 subscribers
150,522,739 views 

Kassem G (co-founder Maker Studios) 
kassem G
2.6 million subscribers
410,875,100 views

Maker Studios is also responsible for one of YouTube’s viral channels, Epic Rap Battles of History.

The video series, a collaboration of Nice Peter, epicLLOYD, Dave McCary, and Maker, consists of imaginary rap fights between popular cultural figures. Among the channel’s most popular spoof is a pretend battle between Steve Jobs and Bill Gates.

All together, Epic Rap Battles of History has received 904.3 million views.

How will this help Disney? 

In the past, Maker Studios has worked with both Universal and Warner Bros. to help market and drive ticket sales for their films “Pitch Perfect” and “Pacific Rim,” respectively. 

gipsy danger pacific rimMaker held a contest for fans to participate in a music video with the cast of “Pitch Perfect” while putting together a month-long campaign for fans to create their own giant Jaeger robots for “Pacific Rim.” 

“Pitch Perfect 2” is now slated for a May 2015 release. “Pacific Rim” took off at the international box office lending itself for another possible sequel. 

This is one area where Maker is most interesting to Disney — to help the company integrate and market its upcoming studio slate.  

“Maker brings to Disney a substantial digital audience, some of the biggest stars in the space and also a real understanding of how to manage big brands on YouTube,” Brent Weinstein of United Talent Agency’s digital media division, told The New York Times. “Look at what Maker has done for Epic Rap Battles and Snoop, and imagine what they can do for Iron Man, Mickey and Yoda.” 

In addition to television and film promotion, Maker could lend itself to finding new original talent and content for Disney if it hopes to take off on YouTube.

SEE ALSO: Disney buys Maker Studios for $500 million

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Tom Cruise Fights For Eternity In The New 'Edge Of Tomorrow' Trailer

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Warner Brothers just released the second trailer for the Tom Cruise futuristic time-traveling war film, "Edge of Tomorrow."

Much like the first trailer, we see Cruise's character Lt. Col. Bill Cage reliving the same day over and over again.

The new trailer delves a bit more into Cage's repetitive lifestyle along with his relationship with the mysterious Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt) as she tries to turn him into Earth's greatest weapon.

"Edge of Tomorrow" is in theaters June 6.

Watch the trailer below:

Here are a few takeaways from the new trailer:

Lt. Col. Bill Cage (Tom Cruise) doesn't know why he keeps dying then reliving battles with a futuristic alien race.

Tom Cruise, Training, Edge of TomorrowIt's important that he finds out because it seems that the human race is losing.

Edge of TomorrowRita Vrataski (Emily Blunt) tries to train him, but if he fails then they'll have to "start over."

Emily Blunt, Edge of TomorrowHowever, repeating the war over and over again may be humanity's only hope.

Tom Cruise, Battle, Edge of Tomorrow

Now: Watch the first trailer

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Here Are The YouTube Stars And Channels Disney Paid $500 Million For In Maker Studios' Deal

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0

mickey minnie disney world

Monday, Disney announced plans to buy YouTube content producer Maker Studios for $500 million.

That's more than the company's previous two ventures into the digital space.

The Mouse House purchased gaming community Club Penguin in 2007 for $350 million and social game maker Playdom in 2010 for $563 million.

Maker stands to gain another $450 million from Disney if performance goals are met.

Why invest so much money in a multichannel network?

It's all about the eyeballs.

The New York Times reports Maker receives 5.5 billion views per month across its approximately 55,000 YouTube channels.

Here are some of Maker's YouTube personalities, channels, subscription numbers, and viewers.

Felix Arvid Ulf Kjelberg (aka PewdiePie): 
A 24-year-old Swedish video game commenter who holds the Guinness World Record  for the most YouTube subscribers. pewdiepie Felix Kjellberg YouTube

25.3 million subscribers
3,9 billion views

Tessa Violet (aka Meekakitty)
Violet's a singer, songwriter, and actress who is known for her supercut videos.
tessa violet
988,484 subscribers
69,270,126 views 

Lisa Donovan / LisaNova (co-founder Maker Studios):
She used to do a series of political videos along with series including “Hot Girlz!” She hasn't uploaded videos in a while since co-founding Maker Studios.lisanova lisa donovan

575,591 subscribers
150,522,739 views 

Kassem G (co-founder Maker Studios):
Kasseem does man-on-the-street type interviews along with comedy sketches. 
kassem G
2.6 million subscribers
410,875,100 views

Here are some of Maker Studios' most popular channels:

Polaris 
A collection of YouTube personalities’ original content. 
511,529 subscribers
40,544,824 views

The Platform 
A fashion and beauty channel
357,940 subscribers
21,885,330 views

Cartoonium 
Hosts classic episodes of kid’s cartoons along with a few original shows.
58,055 subscribers
5,687,303 views 

The Mom’s View 
Network for mothers who give parenting and do-it-yourself advice.
205,681 subscribers
19,221,881 views

Animonster 
Consists of various cartoons from a variety of animators.
311,317 subscribers
35,750,586 views

Maker Studios is also responsible for one of YouTube’s viral channels, Epic Rap Battles of History.

The video series, a collaboration of Nice Peter, epicLLOYD, Dave McCary, and Maker, consists of imaginary rap fights between popular cultural figures. Among the channel’s most popular spoof is a pretend battle between Steve Jobs and Bill Gates.

All together, Epic Rap Battles of History has received 904.3 million views.

How will this help Disney? 

In the past, Maker Studios has worked with both Universal and Warner Bros. to help market and drive ticket sales for their films “Pitch Perfect” and “Pacific Rim,” respectively. 

gipsy danger pacific rimMaker held a contest for fans to participate in a music video with the cast of “Pitch Perfect” while putting together a month-long campaign for fans to create their own giant Jaeger robots for “Pacific Rim.” 

“Pitch Perfect 2” is now slated for a May 2015 release. “Pacific Rim” took off at the international box office lending itself for another possible sequel. 

This is one area where Maker is most interesting to Disney — to help the company integrate and market its upcoming studio slate.  

“Maker brings to Disney a substantial digital audience, some of the biggest stars in the space and also a real understanding of how to manage big brands on YouTube,” Brent Weinstein of United Talent Agency’s digital media division, told The New York Times. “Look at what Maker has done for Epic Rap Battles and Snoop, and imagine what they can do for Iron Man, Mickey and Yoda.” 

In addition to television and film promotion, Maker could lend itself to finding new original talent and content for Disney if it hopes to take off on YouTube.

SEE ALSO: Disney buys Maker Studios for $500 million

Join the conversation about this story »


    






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