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Amazon Targets Warner Home Video In Another Aggressive Move Against Suppliers (AMZN)

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batman lego movie

Amazon has axed the ability to pre-order Warner Home Video titles like "The Lego Movie," "300: Rise of an Empire," "Winter’s Tale" and "Transcendence," in a effort to gain leverage with the supplier, according The New York Times

This is the second public fight that Amazon has picked in the last several weeks: The company is also in a standoff with Hachette Book Group, delaying shipment on its titles and also removing pre-order buttons as it tries to win more favorable terms for e-book pricing. 

Amazon apparently started refusing pre-orders for Warner Home Videos (the video distribution division of Time Warner) back in mid-May. It has also chosen not to feature "The Lego Movie" in its list of upcoming "Kids & Family" movies, despite the fact that the film had astronomical success in theaters and is widely anticipated.

In an effort to make a point to Time Warner in its negotiations, Amazon is angering customers, who have taken to an Amazon forum to discuss the issue. One writer says that he ended up ordering the movie from Best Buy instead. 

New York Times reporter David Strietfeld notes that if Hachette continues to hold out and Warner doesn't cave, it could have significant implications for Amazon as it continues its relentless push for better margins. 

SEE ALSO: Stephen Colbert To Amazon's Jeff Bezos: This Means War

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How Fox News Anchor Megyn Kelly Balances A Nightly Show And Raising 3 Kids Under Age 5

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Megyn Kelly

Fox News anchor and "The Kelly File" host Megyn Kelly is dominating her competition, even beating the almost-unbeatable Bill O’Reilly in the ratings last week.

But when Kelly heads home after her high-stress job, there's no rest for the weary. The 43-year-old has three children  ages 4, 3, and 10 months — with her husband, author Douglas Brunt.

"It's tough now because I work nights, basically, and I have three kids who don't really understand that," Kelly told us last month at a gala honoring Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World.

Kelly was the only woman in media to make Time's exclusive list, and it's no fluke. After working for 10 years as a lawyer, Kelly transitioned to a career in TV and has become one of the most powerful women in broadcast journalism — despite December's "White Santa" snafu.

So how does Kelly balance her nightly show with raising three children under 10?

Megyn Kelly husband doug

"I'm not going to say I'm an expert at balancing, but I will say that having a very supportive husband helps a lot," Kelly tells us. "And having a supportive boss helps a lot. Nobody at Fox is looking at the clock like. 'Why isn't she here?' Face time isn't required. As long as you're doing your job and you're doing it well, nobody bothers you."

Another key to keeping her sanity? A nanny.

"At home, I have my dear husband who helps with our children, and I have a nanny," Kelly says. "I couldn't do it without a nanny, and that's the truth."

Kelly breaks down her daily routine for us:

"The kids wake us up by around 6:30 and the day gets going within the hour. Two of the kids go to school and I spend the mornings with my little baby. I have most of the days with my kids, and then I go into the office later in the afternoon. So it's actually been a nice balance between home life and work life with my new schedule, although I'm tired a lot."

Here's what she eats to fuel her busy days:

"I usually have a Siggi's yogurt with fiber sprinkles in it. It fills you up and keeps you full for longer. If I don't have that, I'll have a piece of peanut-butter toast. For lunch, I'll have a salad with chicken in it, and for dinner a lean protein with some vegetables."

As for when she finds time to sleep, Kelly says: "Not that much, I miss it. I hear it comes back when kids are like 20, so I'm really looking forward to that ... but I have a lot of coffee."

SEE ALSO: Seth Rogen's Secret To Success: Make It Cheap, Dirty, And Ignore The Studio

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Robert De Niro Really Drove An NYC Cab To Prep For His 1976 Role In 'Taxi Driver'

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Robert De Niro was nominated for an Oscar for his 1976 leading role in "Taxi Driver," about a Vietnam veteran working as a night-time cab driver in New York City to battle his insomnia.

Perhaps De Niro was so convincing in the role because he actually was a taxi driver.

While preparing for the film, De Niro obtained a cab driver’s license and reportedly worked 12-hour days as a cabby for a month to prep for the role. As Hollywood lore has it, he would even pick up passengers while on break during shooting around New York City. 

The Taxi and Limousine Commission tweeted a photo of the actor's real license, asking for stories from anyone who remembers riding in the back seat of his taxi:

The license, which expired on May 31, 1976, even has a photo of a young De Niro, who was 32 at the time.

“Even 38 years later, the images of Robert De Niro as Travis Bickle in ‘Taxi Driver’ are still indelibly etched in people’s minds,” TLC Chair Meera Joshi told The Post’s Rebecca Harshbarger. “It’s very much to Mr. De Niro’s credit that he spent weeks behind the wheel of a real cab to get into character, and as we suggested in our recent tweet, if someone remembers hailing and riding with him, we hope they will share that experience with us.”

It wasn't the first (or last) time De Niro practiced method acting. For 1980's "Raging Bull," De Niro and co-star Joe Pesci lived and trained with each other before filming together. De Niro even gained a significant amount of weight to look more like his character and as a result, reportedly experienced difficultly breathing

In 1962's "Cape Fear," De Niro underwent a complete physical transformation, bulking up at the gym, getting tattoos, and reportedly having his teeth ground down.

SEE ALSO: The 12 Most Sought-After Stunt Doubles In Hollywood

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Square Enix Had A Change Of Heart And Will Allow Same-Sex Marriages In 'Final Fantasy XIV'

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During a live-streamed developer talk at E3 on Tuesday, "Final Fantasy XIV" developer Square Enix confirmed that it will allow same-sex marriages in the game.

The update will be available through a patch, according to the game's director and producer Naoki Yoshida.

The game was relaunched in 2012 as "Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn," and with it came a bunch of extra features, including the ability to get married. At the time, the folks at Square Enix wrote:

As for same-sex marriage, this is an extremely controversial topic that has been under discussion in the MMO world for the past few years. First we would like to start out with opposite-sex marriage, and then consider the feedback from our players in order to make a careful decision.I can’t say whether or not it will be possible at this point in time. I’d like to keep dialog open with our players as we deliberate the matter.

The decision to not include gay marriage struck a nerve with some players, even leading people to create an online petition asking that the decision be reversed.

During the live stream, Yoshida explained through a translator: "Two players within [the fictional world of] Eorzea will be able to pledge their eternal love and or friendship in a ceremony of eternal bonding. And this will be open to people regardless of race, creed, and gender. Two players, if they want to be together, in Eorzea, they can, through this eternal bonding ceremony."

This isn't the only game to include marriage and gay marriage. "Elder Scrolls Online" allows two characters who are the same sex get married. 

Yoshida went on to explain, "We discussed it and we realized within Eorzea, why should there be restrictions on who pledges their love or friendship to each other? And so we decided to go this way." 

"Final Fantasy XIV" may also include "special mounts that only people that have pledged their friendship or love can ride them together, maybe." So that's nice.

This is a great move, both in terms of gameplay and social commentary.

And it's in stark contrast to how Nintendo handled a similar situation recently. 

Nintendo says that it won't allow players to choose gay relationships in "Tomodachi Life," an upcoming 3DS game that's similar to "The Sims" and "Animal Crossing."

The company later apologized for "disappointing people," but still won't allow same-sex couples to get married within the game. Nintendo did say, though, that if there's another Tamodachi Life installment, they will strive to make it more inclusive.

You can watch the live stream below. This specific topic is covered at the 2:28:43 mark:

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Shame On The Gaming Industry: Severed Heads Outnumbered Women Speakers At The E3 Conference

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Severed Head

Nearly half of all the people who play video games are women, but you wouldn't know it by the video game industry's biggest conference.

Only five women presented on stage at the major press events at E3, the video game industry's huge conference, which took place in LA this week.

Sadly, that number won't be surprising to anyone familiar with sexism in the tech industry, and the particularly appalling way women are treated in the video game industry.

But here's the really shocking part. E3 actually featured more severed heads on stage than women: eight heads. 

No kidding. Someone was actually counting. Danielle Riendeau over at Polygon kept a running tally of speaking women presenters after seeing a tweet by Vlambeer developer Rami Ismail:

Microsoft, EA, Ubisoft, and Sony all had speaking women presenters. 

Meanwhile, severed heads were featured from games, including "Assassin's Creed: Unity" and "Mortal Kombat."

In 2013, 59% of Americans played video games, according to the Entertainment Software Association. And of those people, 48% were female. So it's not that women aren't playing; it's that they're not being represented equally at the major press events. And that's a shame. 

Riendeau points out that companies don't just randomly select who's going to present for them. The decision is strategic, and not having many women presenters, sends a message.

She writes:

E3 is already a show that's dominated by white men, and keeping the focus on those men during the most public events reinforces the feedback loop that the show is for, should represent, and sell to, white men.

And it's not that there aren't any women executives for companies to choose from. Several high-ranking execs in the gaming industry are women. (Even though one of them, Julie Larson-Green, who heads the Xbox team, was harassed because she's a woman when she got the job.)

The message is loud and clear, not just at E3, but throughout the gaming world. For instance, Jenny Haniver, an avid "Call of Duty" player, chronicles her experiences being a female gamer on her website Not In The Kitchen AnymoreSince 2010, she has been posting recordings of how other gamers, usually men, act upon meeting a female gamer. As you can imagine, it's not good.

mortal_kombat

Nintendo has tried to address the problem by creating a YouTube channel, called the Nintendo Girls Club, that's aimed specifically toward young girls who like playing video games. Unfortunately, the channel is terribly sexist, and ends up perpetuating the stereotypes not ending them. 

In an interview with Re/code, Aisha Tyler, a longtime gamer who was one of the five women presenting at E3, says she thinks that sexism in the industry is easing up.

The more people who come forward and talk about how much they love gaming, how much they talk about individuality and diversity, the more gamers of color that come out, and gay gamers that come out and everybody talking about what they love — that’s what the community has in common, a love of gaming.

Tyler not only presented for Ubisoft, but she's also a character in the game "Watch Dogs." She says that there is a shift in what kind of characters we see in video games. And that will lead to a shift in the mentality of the industry as a whole.

"I think we’re starting to see an evolution in characters, for sure. They’re starting to look more like the real world," she says.

Here's hoping that she's right and that next year at E3, women will be at least as welcome as dismembered body parts. As Riendeau points out:

It wouldn't hurt the publishers to pay more mind to diversity when choosing people to speak at press events. And it would certainly help make E3 a slightly more welcoming place for the rest of the 75 percent or so of people [besides white men] that make up the population.

SEE ALSO: 15 of the highest-paid professional female video gamers

SEE ALSO: Square Enix had a change of heart and will allow same-sex marriage in 'Final Fantasy XIV'

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James Franco and Seth Rogen Try To Kill Kim Jong-Un In 'The Interview' Trailer

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James Franco and Seth Rogen are joining forces again for another comedy which may leave Kim Jong-Un unhappy.

Sony Pictures just released the first teaser trailer for "The Interview," in which the two run a celebrity tabloid show. 

The pair get recruited by the CIA to assassinate Jong-Un after they land an interview with the North Korean dictator who just so happens to be a fan of their show.

Franco and Rogen have built quite a reputation for their comedies lately after the success of the duo's "This is the End" (which made $126 million) and Rogen's "Neighbors" ($225 million).

"The Interview" is in theaters this October.

Watch the trailer below.

SEE ALSO: Seth Rogen's secret to success: Make it cheap, dirty, and ignore the studio

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The Original Names Of 10 Huge Hollywood Movies

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edge of tomorrow poster

Tom Cruise's new movie "Edge of Tomorrow" is out in theaters now; however, it was almost called "All You Need is Kill."

The sci-fi film is based on a novella of the same name by Hiroshi Sakurazaka. 

Warner Bros. decided to change the name partly because of negative buzz around the word “kill” in the title.

It's not the only big movie that has undergone a name change. 

"Pretty Woman" was originally called "3,000."

The title came from the amount of money Edward Lewis (Richard Gere) offered prostitute Vivian Ward to spend a week with him.

When Michael Eisner originally heard the film pitch from Jeffrey Katzenberg, he was convinced it would be bomb at theaters.

Budget:$14 million
Box Office:$463.4 million



Before "Alien" came to theaters, it was known as "Star Beast."

Writer Dan O’Bannon explained how he came up with the name for the hit sci-fi movie in a 2003 documentary on the film, “The Beast Within: Making Alien.” 

“‘Star Beast’ is one of those titles that you think of and then … you throw them away,” said O’Bannon. “I was running through titles and they all stank. I didn’t like any of them. One morning, at three o’clock, at Ronnie’s apartment, I’m typing away writing dialogue and the characters are saying ‘the alien this’ and ‘the alien that.’ Suddenly, that word alien just came up out of the typewriter at me. I said 'Alien. It’s a noun and it’s an adjective ... Yes! That’s it, I have the title!’”

Budget:$11 million
Box Office:$104.9 million



"Return of the Jedi" was nearly "Revenge of the Jedi."

According to “Star Wars” documentary “Empire of Dreams,” producer Howard Kazanjian recalled how George Lucas originally wanted to call the "Star Wars" sequel "Return of the Jedi"; however, he convinced him to change his mind.

“George came to me and said the title of Episode VI is ‘Return of the Jedi,’ and I said I think it’s a weak title,” said producer Howard Kazanjian. “And, he came back one or two days later and he says, ‘We’re calling it ‘Revenge of the Jedi.’” 

After posters were released for the film and a theatrical teaser trailer was shown in theaters, Lucas decided to change the name weeks before the film’s release. 

“Just before it got to the theaters, George came back and he said, ‘I want to go back to ‘Return of the Jedi,’" said Kazanjian. “The logic behind that was a Jedi does not take revenge.”

Disney recently re-released the original teaser trailer for the film that was seen in theaters. You can watch it here.

Budget:$32.5 million
Box Office:$475.1 million



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The One Thing In Aaron Paul's New Xbox One Commercials Microsoft Hopes You Don't Notice

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aaron paul plays titanfall

Microsoft recently recruited "Breaking Bad" actor Aaron Paul to star in a few new ads for the Xbox One.

The commercials highlight the console's lower $399 price tag that went into effect June 9.xbox one 399Paul shows off some of the console's best features, including exclusive title “Titanfall” and "Snap," which allows players to do two things at once, like watching TV while playing video games — something that, while cool, doesn’t really make much sense. You can’t give your full attention to a video game and pay attention to a TV show or movie at the same time. 

The funniest part about these two trailers is that Paul shows off some of the Xbox One's voice features.  You need the Kinect to do all those fancy voice commands, such as "Xbox, watch TV," "Xbox, Snap," or "Xbox, volume up."

There's one problem.

The $399 Xbox One doesn't come with the Kinect.

Take a closer look at the ads, and you may have missed the fine print that says: "Kinect sensor required for voice functionality and Skype video calling features" and "Kinect sold separately."aaron paul xbox one

xbox one commercial $399

If you want to do all those cool things Paul's doing in the commercial, you can't, unless you buy the $499 Xbox One, which comes with the Kinect sensor. 

SEE ALSO: Twitter is coming to the Xbox One — Here's how it will look

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Pixar's Next Movie 'Inside Out' Is About The Inner-Workings Of The Brain

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WALL-E

From "Toy Story" to "Wall-E," Pixar has brought us some of the most emotional and thought-provoking animated pictures.

One of the reasons the studio's movies continue to win Academy Awards year after year is not only because they take risks and innovate, but because they offer something which we all can relate to — whether its our incessant reliance on technology in "Wall-E" or letting go of a favorite toy in the "Toy Story" trilogy.  

When the studio's next movie comes out, it's going to try and outdo itself again.

Pixar's 15th animated picture, "Inside Out," will take us inside the mind of an 11-year-old girl and introduce us to the different emotions that make up the brain.inside out pixar

Sound like a hard sell?

A little bit — but we thought the same initially when Pixar said there was nearly no dialogue in the first half hour of "Wall-E." It ended up being amazing.

During a one-hour presentation at the Animation Film Festival in France this week, "Inside Out" director Pete Docter gave an overview of the new film that explores the change that happens in a child's brain from adolescence into adulthood.

According to Variety's Peter Debruge, it will change the way people think about the very way we think.

The film will personify five different emotions — Fear (Bill Hader), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Joy (Amy Poehler), Disgust (Mindy Kaling), and Anger (Lewis Black) — and show how they interact with each other to help an individual process new experiences and form memories. 

Docter said the film was inspired by his daughter to show "there is something that is lost when you grow up." 

Here's how Debruge described a scene shown from the film:

Docter explained that Riley and her parents relocate from a quiet rural home to San Francisco at a particularly impressionable age, resulting in a new-school trauma that forces Joy and Sadness out of the control panel and into the far, unfamiliar reaches of her mind.

While Fear, Disgust and Anger awkwardly try to keep things under control — as illustrated in a second clip set around the family dinner table which Pixar unveiled at CinemaCon in March — Joy and Sadness put aside their differences and take audiences through a tour of Riley’s thinking process. 

So far, the film has received very positive reception during screenings at both Disney's D23 Expo and CinemaCon.

Docter said after test screenings, there were already audiences who were analyzing their behaviors.

All together, Pixar's catalog of movies have generated more than $8 billion at the box office worldwide.

We'll have to wait until June 2015 to see if Pixar can pull it off again.

SEE ALSO: This unknown 22-year-old actor is rumored to be the lead in "Star Wars: Episode VII"

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A Facebook Employee Paid $20,000 To Be Killed Off In The Next 'Game Of Thrones' Book

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David Goldblatt

Last week, "Game of Thrones" author George R.R. Martin decided to auction off the chance to be featured and killed off in his next book. A Facebook employee named David Goldblatt is one of the two lucky winners, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The prize went for $20,000, the entirety of which will go to a wolf sanctuary in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Goldblatt only took 10 minutes to decide to part with the 20 grand. 

"I’m fortunate enough to be in a position to do this cool thing, and it's going toward a good cause," Goldblatt said. "I don't think I'm doing anything extraordinary."

By paying $20,000, Goldblatt earned the ability to chose what he wanted his character to be like in the book. And he decided he wanted to be a Valyrian, a race of "dragonlords" in Martin's books.

While Goldblatt and one other lucky winner snagged the two spots within hours, a waiting list soon followed with eight people begging Martin to create characters for them as well. Martin also auctioned off some other prizes and has already raised more than $350,000 for the wolf sanctuary.

SEE ALSO: 'Game Of Thrones' Is Officially The Most Popular Show In HBO History

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Bill Murray Crashed A Couple's Engagement Photos And The Results Are Amazing

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Billy Murray is on a roll lately, doling out advice at bachelor parties and doing karaoke with complete strangers

But the 63-year-old actor's latest stunt will live on forever  in the couple's engagement photos he crashed.

Ashley Donald and Erik Rogers were in the midst of a photoshoot in downtown Charleston when all of a sudden, Murray appeared "with his shirt pulled up and belly proudly on display, patting it pretty loudly in an attempt to make the couple laugh," the photographer explained on her website.

"Needless to say I was stunned and I invited Mr. Murray to join the couple for a quick shot," the photog says. "He obliged and congratulated them and went on his way… leaving behind an extremely happy couple and this photo that will be forever remembered by this couple." 

Check out the full photoshoot here >

SEE ALSO: Bill Murray Crashes A Bachelor Party, Then Gives An Awesome Speech On Marriage

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How Fox News Anchor Megyn Kelly Landed Her First TV Job After 10 Years As A Lawyer

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Megyn Kelly

Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, 43, may have been the only woman in media to make Time magazine's list of the 100 Most Influential People In The World and she may be dominating the ratings, but it wasn't an easy road getting there.

Kelly worked as a lawyer for 10 years before even making the huge career change to TV. Kelly practiced law as a corporate litigator at Jones Day for nine years and was an associate in the Chicago office of the law firm Bickel & Brewer LLP.

"I started off as a lawyer for almost a decade before I decided I was completely burned out," Kelly told Business Insider at Time magazine's gala, where she was honored. "When choosing a new profession, I just said to myself: 'What can I do that would utilize some of these skills, but that I would enjoy a little more and will also be fun and still intellectually stimulating?' And this was an obvious choice."

"So I just called up [Fox News chairmain] Roger Ailes, asked for a job on the air, and he said 'Here ya go,'" Kelly joked.

In reality, Kelly had to start from square one.

"I cold-called a bunch of people and then Bill Lord of WJLA, the ABC affiliate in Washington, D.C., was the poor sucker who put me on the air when I stunk up the joint, but he gave me my first break," Kelly explains. "I stunk at first, but got better and better, thanks to him. And also thanks to Roger Ailes, who ultimately put me on the air every day, multiple times a day for a couple of years, until I got better."

Brit Hume, longtime ABC News correspondent and retired chief White House correspondent, was Kelly's first mentor and the man responsible for getting her audition tape to Ailes in the first place.

Hume recalled to Time:

Brit Hume Megyn Kelly

"Ten years ago, my wife Kim, then Fox News’ Washington bureau chief, walked into my office carrying a videocassette. 'You have got to see this,' Kim said. It was the audition tape of a local TV reporter then named Megyn Kendall. She was a lawyer and new to the business, but her tape displayed as full a set of the qualities of a network correspondent as I had ever seen: great looks, strong voice, authoritative yet cheerful presence and obvious intelligence. In other words, limitless potential. 

But there was a problem: we had no openings, which was quickly pointed out to me when I enthused about her during a phone call with Fox News chair Roger Ailes and other executives. 'Please,' I asked Roger, 'just look at the tape.' I suspected he would see what I had seen. He did, and an opening was created. From the start, Megyn gave us insightful Supreme Court coverage, and she was among the first to spot flaws in the false rape charges against the Duke lacrosse players. She was too good to last as a mere correspondent, and she didn’t. The rest, as they say, is history."

In addition to Brit and Kim Hume, Kelly credits Ailes for helping her become the powerhouse she is today.

Roger Ailes

"My boss, Roger Ailes, has been a huge inspiration," Kelly told Business Insider. "People who don't like Fox always wonder whether there's been some editorial imprint by Roger, but I can tell you in the 10 years I've been there, that has never been the case. However, he has many times given me advice on how to connect with an audience, how to be my real self, how to tear down the wall between myself and the viewer, and that's helped me."

Kelly added: "Television is just like typing — there's no way to get better without doing it a lot, over and over."

SEE ALSO: How Fox News Anchor Megyn Kelly Balances A Nightly Show And Raising 3 Kids Under Age 5

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Here's What 'Jurassic Park' Looked Like Before CGI

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Jurassic Park, T Rex attack, roar scene

"Jurassic Park" is one of the most successful movies ever made, generating more than $1 billion at the box office  but it's also one of the most groundbreaking.

The Steven Spielberg film is credited with ushering in the era of computer generated effects in film. While other movies like 1991's "Terminator 2: Judgement Day" and 1982's "Tron" also used computer graphics, "Jurassic Park" was the first to really utilize the technology.

For the movie's 21st anniversary this year, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences released a great featurette breaking down how the dinosaurs that take over Jurassic Park weren't always CGI.

Since the technology was only used in a few films to date, Spielberg preferred using practical effects instead, including lifelike puppets and animatronics.

trex stan winston, jurassic parkSpielberg also used stop-motion photography to bring the prehistoric creatures to life. 

He had a stop-motion test created for the T-Rex truck scene ...

Jurassic Park stop motion, Trex... as well as the Velociraptor kitchen scene in the film.

Jurassic Park, raptors, stop motionIn order to make the dinosaurs look as real as possible, Spielberg went to buddy George Lucas' visual effects company Industrial, Light, and Magic (ILM) to ask if they could add in "motion blur," which helps make the shot look more fluid.

The computer artists at ILM had something else in mind, though. They started secretly building a digital test shot of a T-Rex skeleton walking.

T rex bones, Jurassic ParkThe test blew the film's producers away, and after that movie effects were never the same.

"It was immediately very clear that we're going to get realistic movement to these dinosaurs that was going to be far advanced from what we were doing with stop motion," producer Kathleen Kennedy said in the video. 

While the featurette notes "Jurassic Park" opened up an over-reliance on CGI technology for future films, the 1993 classic doesn't have much CGI at all.

There are only about 15 minutes of dinosaur effects and nine of those minutes are practical effects which look so great you could be fooled into thinking they're CGI. 

Take a look below and see if you can tell the difference.

Jurassic Park, kitchen, CGI

Jurassic Park, Raptor kitchen, pratical effectCheck out the Academy's full featurette below: 

SEE ALSO: THEN & NOW: The Cast Of 'Jurassic Park'

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Hollywood's Most Infamous Columnist Broke Her Silence With An Epic, Nasty Blog Post

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Hollywood Sign

A Hollywood legend returned from a long absence with guns blazing Thursday. 

Late last year, infamous columnist Nikki Finke parted ways with the site she founded, Deadline Hollywood. For months, Finke, who is known for rarely being photographed and for publishing no-holds-barred, gossipy scoops that terrify studio executives, remained silent as rumors swirled of a potential reconciliation with her old bosses along with reports they had her under a contract that would prevent her from working anywhere else until 2016.

Finke first began to stir last month when she posted a note on her personal website indicating the webpage would go "live" on June 2. However, when that date came and went with nothing but a message from Finke blaming delays on "late-breaking developments," it seemed her absence from Tinseltown might really last.

However, Finke finally returned Thursday rising from the ashes like a foul-mouthed phoenix with an R-rated verbal barrage slamming her former colleagues, her competitors, the Hollywood power structure, and her own commenters. 

Finke began her glorious return with a note on her personal site that included an explanation of her exile from Tinseltown.

"I’m posting on my own website after sitting out my non-compete for 7 soul-crushing months. And that’s why I designed my new logo to look the way it does – gritty and bullet-riddled with a fiery palm tree shooting sparks into the night sky more dramatically than any fancy klieg light," Finke explained. "Let those wimpy Hollywood websites do glossy or garish or rewrite press releases or post stenography instead of sturm und drang. I’m all about this town’s gritty reality exposed through the harsh glare of my reporting."

She went on to offer some choice words for those other "wimpy Hollywood websites." Armed with an arsenal of incredible puns, Finke doled out sick burns to the current team at Deadline Hollywood and her other major competitors. She referred to Deadline, Variety, The Wrap, and The Hollywood Reporter as "Deadlame," "Valiety," "The Hollywood Unreported," and "The Crap."

Finke had especially harsh words for Deadline. She promised she would have "much more to say over the next few days about Little Lord Fauntleroy and Mike Phlegming," an apparent reference to Penske Corporation heir Jay Penske, who purchased Deadline from her in 2009, and the site's film editor, Mike Fleming. Finke did not respond to a request from Business Insider asking to clarify the references. She wrote that she would delay discussing them because, "I don’t fuck on the first date."

In addition to trashing the competition and promising to be the "cruel and quirky alternative," Finke outlined "a few rules of the road" for her readers.

"Just like I can’t be silenced or intimidated here, your comments won’t get sanitized. (Even the inevitable four-letter words about my genitals.) I’ll monitor your comments but never alter them," she said.

Overall, Finke said her "new website is not for the easily offended or ridiculously naïve." That seems abundantly clear. 

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Harrison Ford Suffers Injury While Filming 'Star Wars: Episode VII'

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harrison ford oscars

Harrison Ford has sustained an injury on set of "Star Wars: Episode VII."

The 71-year-old actor reportedly suffered an ankle injury while filming the sequel, according to The Wrap.

In a statement, Disney said Ford was taken to a local hospital and is "receiving care." 

The injury happened during filming at Pinewood Studios in England.

Variety reports a hydraulic door fell down and hit the actor. 

Ford was subsequently airlifted to a nearby hospital.

Disney says filming is set to continue on the sequel while he recuperates.

"Star Wars: Episode VII" is scheduled for release December 18, 2015.

We'll update this post, accordingly.

SEE ALSO: This unknown 22-year-old actor is rumored to be the lead in "Star Wars: Episode VII"

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Stan Lee's Secret To Keeping The Perfect Work-Life Balance

The 25 Coolest Cars In Jay Leno's Garage

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Jay Leno's Garage Jaguar E-type

There are few people in the world with a car collection that can rival Jay Leno's.

Now that his 20-year stint as host of the "Tonight Show" has come to an end, Leno will undoubtedly be spending more time with his beloved cars. Located in a series of large hangars at the Burbank Airport, Leno's Big Dog Garage has been such a sensation that his NBC-produced web series on its contents have become one of the most popular shows on Youtube, according to the Wall Street Journal. 

The Leno collection, which is estimated to include around 150 cars and motorcycles, ranges from daily drivers to Smithsonian-worthy museum pieces. Most of the cars are restored and looked after by Leno himself and a small team of mechanics. Even more amazing, every car in garage is licensed and legal to drive. 

Here are 25 of the most interesting and historically significant autos in Jay Leno's collection. 

The 1969 Lamborghini Miura S is one of the most beautiful designs to ever come out of Italy's Bertone design house. The mid-engined Lambo is considered by many to be the original supercar.



The legendary McLaren F1 (right) can reach a top speed of 240 mph, and is still stunning to look at 20 years after its debut.



The sporty 1970 Mazda Cosmo helped pioneer road-going Wankel Rotary engine technology and is a predecessor to Mazda's modern RX-7 and RX-8 sports cars.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider






Netflix Has A New Logo And A Brighter Look (NFLX)

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In early May, we noticed that Netflix was testing a new logo in some of its YouTube videos, and it looks like the company has officially decided to take the plunge. If you check out Netflix right now, you'll see its brand new logo. Here's what it looks like, both with a black background and a white one:

new netflix

Just a little reminder, here's what the old logo looked like:

Netflix_Web_Logo

The site in general has gotten a refreshed look. It's now brighter and the pictures look bigger than before:

Netflix

SEE ALSO: Scamming Amazon Might Be Easier Than You Think

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11 Movie Sequels That Came Out More Than 10 Years After The Original

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Jim Carey Jeff Daniels Dumb and Dumber To

With so many sequels over the last couple of years, it's easy to forget that some follow-ups take a long time to get made.

Take, for example, "Dumb and Dumber To." The film, whose trailer was just released, took 20 years to get Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels to reprise their roles.

Other series like "Toy Story" and "Terminator" have also had belated installments, and while some have been successful, just as many have been flops. 

"Star Wars: Episode VII" (2015; 32 years)

The biggest sequel time gap on our list is also one of the most anticipated, the next film in the "Star Wars" saga "Star Wars: Episode VII."

With the return of fan favorites like Harrison Ford, Mark Hamil, and Carrie Fisher along with a bunch of talented newcomers, "Episode VII" is bound to be the biggest "Star Wars" film since 1984's "Return of the Jedi."

Sure, the film is only 10 years off from "Episode III: Revenge of the Sith" but considering that director JJ Abrams may be going back to the original trilogy's practical style (and many fans would like to just forget the prequels outright) we'll consider this a true sequel.



“Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” (2010; 23 Years)

After an Oscar-winning performance for “Wall Street,” the announcement of a sequel with Michael Douglas more than two decades after the original was extremely exciting. 

"Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" was met with decidedly mixed reviews. Some adored the references to the original film and loved the return of Douglas’ Gordon Gekko, while others were totally bored.

Shia LaBeouf, who was also in "Crystal Skull," also starred in the film.



“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” (2008; 19 Years)

Everything seemed in place for the globe-trotting archaeologist to have another hit on his hands almost 20 years after 1989's “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade." Harrison Ford was back in the fedora and Steven Spielberg returned to the director’s chair. 

However, "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" was a total letdown.

The story veered into alien territory (literally) and disappointed many fans of the series. There's always talk of another sequel, but if it’s anything like “Crystal Skull” we’d be afraid to see what they come up with next.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider






YouTube Invades The World Cup To Steal Viewers Away From Cable (GOOG)

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brazil world cup david luiz

The 2014 World Cup figures to be the biggest television event of the year, with 3.2 billion viewers expected to tune in worldwide.

That audience would be more than six times the size of the 500 million people the International Olympic Committee estimates watched the Winter Olympics this past February.

Here in the United States, the event is an even bigger deal to the television industry, since the majority of the games will be aired exclusively on cable and satellite networks ESPN and Univision.

At a time when more and more consumers are choosing to quit paying for television, it's a huge feather in cable's cap to be the only place Americans can (legally) watch their national team's first three tournament matches.

But now, one of cable television's biggest rivals is crashing the party.

According to a report from Ad Age, YouTube will run an ad during every World Cup game in the Chicago, San Francisco, and New York City markets as part of a campaign that seems designed to persuade the tournament's majority-male viewership to migrate to their computers once the games are over.

The ads will promote two of the Google-owned video-sharing platform's most popular content providers: the humorous hip-hop duo "Epic Rap Battles of History," and the gritty, gonzo journalism purveyor Vice News, whose parent company Vice Media has been in the news recently due to rumors surrounding a potential investment from Time Warner.

The campaign is significant in part because YouTube's expansive, free content offerings have helped give many young people the alternative entertainment they need to feel comfortable skipping out on an expensive cable bill.

And over the past two years, Google has been doing everything in its power to convince major brands like Procter & Gamble and Bud Light to spend their advertising budgets on YouTube instead of television, which currently claims about $66 billion in U.S. ad money annually.

One of YouTube's biggest recent initiatives to woo these big brand advertisers, as opposed to the smaller players that have traditionally filled the coffers of web media properties, has been a wide-scale advertising push to turn its most popular stars into household names.

The strategy serves to alleviate concerns expressed by brands that the company was not giving its content the same amount of promotion that TV networks provide when they launch a new show.

In April and May, YouTube made a massive outlay to put three of its biggest female video creators on national television, as well as on billboards, subway trains, and transit stops in Chicago and New York City.

But while YouTube's first three advertising stars make videos about fashion, makeup, and cooking, the latest campaign seems aimed at letting men know the platform has something for them, as well.

Both Nice Peter and EpicLLOYD, the two comedic vocalists behind "Epic Rap Battles of History," are men, and Vice Media's affluent, youthful audience is 64% male, according to literature provided to prospective advertisers.

Coincidentally, or perhaps not so, the U.S. audience for the 2010 FIFA World Cup was also 64% male.

If YouTube's strategy is on point, those men will love comedic hip-hop and news about war as much as they love soccer. 

SEE ALSO: 4 Things You Need To Know About YouTube's Big Advertiser Presentation

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