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A Miss America Contestant Was Given 20 Seconds To Answer A Question About ISIS — And She Nailed It

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Miss Virginia

Earlier this month, 53 American women competed at the 2015 Miss America pageantThe top five contestants left in the competition are forced to answer notoriously difficult questions about current and newsworthy topics like foreign policy, law, technology, and culture.

Anne Macdonald, a retired brigadier general, asked Miss Virginia, 21-year-old Courtney Paige Garrettthe following question about ISIS, the jihadist group that has captured a Belgium-sized slice of Iraq and Syria:

Brig. Gen. Macdonald: "The savageness of the ISIS threat to our security was demonstrated by the gruesome videos of two journalists and an aid worker being beheaded. What should our country's response be?"

Without skipping a beat, Miss Virginia gave a thorough and wide-ranging answer in less than 20 seconds, advocating a US-led coalition with the backing of major international organizations.

Courtney Garrett: "This is an absolute outrage and something definitely needs to be done but I don't think America needs to be the only one to do it. I really think it's important for the world, for the UN to come together and decide what is the best thing we can do to really come together as a bigger and more impactful source to end this horrid, horrid, thing that is happening."

Garrett was selected runner-up to Miss New York and was awarded a $25,ooo scholarship. She graduated earlier this year from Liberty University with a double major in music and communications. 

Below is a video of Miss Virginia's on-stage question and answer (begins at 3:23). 

SEE ALSO: OBAMA: 'This Is Not America's Fight Alone'

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'Jeopardy!' Champ Ken Jennings Under Fire For Insensitive Wheelchair Tweet

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ken jennings

“Jeopardy!” champion Ken Jennings' 176,000 Twitter followers may be accustomed to his sometimes smart, sometimes snarky tweets — but all of Twitter was up in arms after the 40-year-old game show legend made a really insensitive remark on Monday:

The internet was quick to respond, bashing Jennings for the comment:Ken Jennings TweetsKen Jennings Tweets

The TV personality and author didn’t delete or apologize for his tweet, but when someone wrote, “Probably your best,” Jennings replied, “The Internet does not agree.”

We could find few others defending Jennings: 

Ken Jennings TweetsKen Jennings tweetsJennings holds the record for the longest winning streak on "Jeopardy!" and as being the second highest-earning contestant in American game show history.

In 2004, Jennings won 74 consecutive "Jeopardy!" games. His total earnings on the game show are $2.5 million.

SEE ALSO: Ken Jennings Explains How Watson Defeated Him

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Newly Crowned Miss America Defends Being Kicked Out Of Her Sorority After Hazing Allegations

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Miss New York Kira KazantsevMiss New York Kira Kazantsev was crowned Miss America 2014 last week, but she's already the subject of a pageant scandal.

"In late April 2013, Kazantsev and a friend were both kicked out of the Alpha Phi sorority at Hofstra University on Long Island after hazing pledges," Jezebel reported Monday. "At the time, Kazantsev was serving as the sorority's head of recruitment."

The 23-year-old beauty queen responded to the allegations on "Good Morning America," saying, "They're just not true."

miss america Kira Kazantsev"I'm incredibly hurt that someone has said these things." she said, admitting, "Under the broad definition of hazing, yes, I was involved in some of those activities while at Hofstra. I came in as an impressionable freshman, everybody wants to be a part of something, and at the time, unfortunately, that was just the culture of the organization."

Kira wrote a lengthy blog post defending herself, explaining that she joked about hazing in an email and when she didn't attend a judiciary hearing after being summoned by the national Alpha Phi office, she was terminated from the sorority.

A spokeswoman from the Miss America organization says they are standing by Kira, telling telling Jezebel:

Kira has been fully transparent with the MissAmerica Organization about her termination from the Alpha Phi sorority. It's unfortunate that this incident has been exploited to create a storyline that distracts from what we should be focusing on: Kira's impressive academic achievements at Hofstra University, including earning a triple major from the Honors College and her commitment to serving her community. 

Kira, who triple-majored in political science, global studies and geography, maintained a 3.6 GPA during her time at Hoftsra and has reportedly been accepted to Fordham University's Law School, where, according to her website, she "plans to pursue work in women's issues and international diplomacy."

Read more of her blog post addressing the hazing allegations below:

I’d like to address one specific issue that has popped up in the media. Because what type of role model would I be if I told people, young women especially, that you can’t make mistakes? That’s not real life.

When I entered the sorority recruitment process at Hofstra University in Spring 2010, I decided to join a sorority for the social life but I also thought that I was joining a legacy of success and philanthropy. My friends were joining, and for fear of being left out, I joined too. To be completely honest, I didn’t know what I was signing up for.

The worst of the so-called hazing was standing in a line reciting information, a few sleepless nights, and crafting. I was yelled at a few times. That year, the sorority got in trouble for those actions and was disciplined by both Hofstra and the national organization. However, after being brought up through that process, my class thought the only way to gain respect in the sorority was to go through it or be seen as weak.

Later on, I had the opportunity to be the New Member Educator for a semester. It was a very rewarding experience as you get to connect with the recruits on a very deep level. However, I did oversee some pledging events as part of my job description, similar to those described above. Furthermore, my termination from Alpha Phi surrounded entirely different circumstances and I would like to use this opportunity to further explain.

When I was a senior, as one of the older sisters in the sorority, I was asked by a new member educator at the time to send an email to alumni asking them to attend an event. In the email, I joked that we could make the evening scary for the pledges. That statement was a joke – we never intended to actually engage in the wrongful behavior that I have been accused of – and the alumni event I spoke of never came to fruition anyway. But this is when I learned a very important communications lesson that will stick with me for life.

The email was forwarded by someone to the national organization. Based on that information, the national office summoned me for a judiciary hearing. At the time, it was the end of the school year. Finals, graduation, and moving to New York City were at the forefront of my concerns. Based on the fact that I did not attend this hearing that was the official reason given for my termination.

I was never involved with any name-calling or use of profanity toward a girl during my time with the sorority. I was never involved in any physical hazing or any degradation of physical appearance of any kind. This has all been immensely taken out of context and manipulated purposefully because I am now in a public position.

The nameless source that is saying these things is doing exactly what it is that I was wrongfully accused of.

Now that I’m 2 years removed from that experience at the sorority, I’ve learned what healthy relationships are, and can better speak to what young girls entering college should avoid and it has further developed my platform, “Love Shouldn’t Hurt: Protecting Women Against Domestic Violence.”

I’m also proud to say that Alpha Phi Theta Mu of Hofstra University is an upstanding organization that has completely abandoned these practices and I’m incredibly proud of the work they do as an organization.

I understand that it can sometimes be hard for women to help other women. It’s so sad but I see it happening over and over. The Miss America sisterhood has taught me what true sisterhood is. It is a group of women that has elevated itself from that pettiness and is able to be happy for one another instead of trying to tear each other down.

I was one of those girls who fell victim not only to the abuse of an intimate partner but the abuse of people who I thought were my friends. In response, I imposed that attitude unto others because I thought it was right. Today, I am proud to say — as I have said before — that I have lived a lot of life in my 23 years. I have made mistakes, and I have made magnificent triumphs, most importantly the one that happened to me on September 14 in Atlantic City.

SEE ALSO: Miss New York Wins Miss America For Third Year In A Row

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5 Roles That Show Why Vince Vaughn Will Be Awesome In 'True Detective' Season 2

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vince vaughn

HBO made its "True Detective" season 2 casting official Tuesday announcing that Colin Farrell and Vince Vaughn would take over as the show's leads.

Most are familiar with Vaughn as a comedic actor for his roles in films like “Dodgeball” and "Wedding Crashers," so his casting may have some scratching their heads.

However, the move to TV makes sense for Vaughn. Not only have his four latest films failed to crack $100 million worldwide at the box office, but Vaughn is also no stranger to drama. Despite his comedic success, the actor has been in a series of serious films.

If you're not convinced Vaughn is the guy for "True Detective," here are a few of the actor's less-known roles that should have you convinced otherwise.

1. "The Cell" (2000)

"True Detective" wouldn't be Vaughn's first time as a cop. Before the torture porn movies "Saw" and "Hostel," we watched Vaughn get tortured as FBI Agent Peter Novak in "The Cell." 

The clip is slightly NSFW.

2. "Made" (2001)

This clip shows off one of Vaughn's strengths on-screen — his ability to argue and his mastery of enhancing those arguments with a barrage of curse words effortlessly, as this clip from 2001's "Made" displays. On HBO, Vaughn won't have to hold back.

We Need Guns
Made — MOVIECLIPS.com

3."Domestic Disturbance" (2001)

If you can’t imagine Vaughn as the tough guy digging into potential suspects, look no further than Vaughn’s role in "Domestic Disturbance," where he played a murderous stepfather only to be discovered by John Travolta. Roger Ebert said Vaughn "plays a creep better than just about anybody else."

Watch Vaughn in a creeptastic clip:

4. "Clay Pigeons" (1998)

If you want to see Vaughn in an even creepier role, look no further than 1998's comedy thriller "Clay Pigeons," in which he played a serial killer with a southern accent.

5. "Into the Wild" (2007)

If you're still worried about Vaughn perfecting an accent, he took on the owner of a harvesting company from South Dakota in Oscar-nominated picture "Into the Wild" in one of the film's best scenes.

SEE ALSO: What season 2 of "True Detective" will be about

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The Sexiest CEOs Alive!

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elon muskA chief executive officer is the face of a brand. He or she announces earnings, attends events, and leads the company into the future. But some companies' faces are hotter than others.

We've scoured the world to find the sexiest CEOs around the globe.

Sexiness, we will remind you, is a subjective measure. It's not just about looks. Sex appeal is the culmination of a person's success, power, ambition, charisma, altruism, fashion sense, and style. We also considered how sexy and buzzworthy the company is.

For this ranking, we have only included CEOs of companies with at least 100 employees.

50. Gina Bianchini, Mightybell

The self-proclaimed theater nerd and Stanford grad is an expert in social networking. Before Mightybell, Bianchini and Marc Andreessen co-founded Ning, a platform that lets users create and manage their own social networks.

Today, the 41-year-old is still top dog in the "Internet of People" space. Mightybell is a platform for creating your own smarter, more personalized social network among small groups.



49. Safra Catz and Mark Hurd, Oracle

When Larry Ellison announced that he would be stepping down as CEO of Oracle, Safra Catz and Mark Hurd were quick to step up, both as CEOs of the large software company.

The Israeli-born Catz, 52, joined Oracle in 1999 as a senior vice president and was serving as a president and CFO of Oracle when she was named a CEO. She's often cited as being the highest-paid female executive. Hurd, 57, formerly chairman and CEO of Hewlett-Packard, is also a president at Oracle. He joined the company in 2010.



48. Charles Phillips, Infor

The former co-president and director of Oracle Corporation, Phillips has risen from the ashes of an executive power play scandal. His new enterprise software company now poses a huge threat to Ellison's Oracle, as Infor hit almost $2.8 billion in revenues in 2013.

The 55-year-old is described as being "tall (6' 3"), graceful, and impeccably dressed" and poised to become "the 'Steve Jobs' of business software."



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Hope Solo Breaks Her Silence On Nude Photo Leak And She's Not Happy

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hope solo 2

Soccer star Hope Solo has finally responded to her nude photos being released Saturday after being hacked in the second round of celebrity photo leaks.

While other victims like Jennifer Lawrence, Gabrielle Union, and Kate Upton have made statements about contacting the FBI, Solo took to her Facebook page to say that the incident went "beyond the bounds of human decency":

It is extremely sad and unfortunate that the rights of so many women were violated by the unauthorized release of private photographs. This act goes beyond the bounds of human decency and, as such, I stand united with all the women affected and am exploring every option to protect my privacy.

In the same post, Solo also addressed her current legal issues. The 33-year-old pleaded not guilty to two counts of domestic violence charges in June stemming from an altercation with her sister and 17-year-old nephew.

In addition, while I understand that the public desires more information regarding the allegations against me, I continue to maintain my innocence against these charges. And, once all the facts come to light and the legal process is concluded, I am confident that I will be fully exonerated.

Solo's post has nearly 10,000 "likes," with an overwhelming majority of comments supporting her:

hope solo comments

SEE ALSO: Here's How Hacked Celebrities Are Responding To The Latest Round Of Nude Photos

AND: Here's How The First Round Of Hacked Celebrities Responded To Their Nude Photo Leaks

MORE: Kaley Cuoco Had A Great Reaction After Being Part Of The Nude Photo Leak

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Vin Diesel Teases New Photos From 'Fast and Furious 7' With Paul Walker

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Vin Diesel has been quick to keep fans apprised of any "Fast and the Furious 7"updates on his Facebook account

Tuesday, the "Guardians of the Galaxy" actor shared new photos from the set featuring himself and the late Paul Walker who passed away late last year in a car crash.

The seventh installment in the series is expected to pick up where the last film left off with the group mourning the loss of one of the crew while seeking revenge on the man responsible played by Jason Statham.

The first photo shows Diesel as his character Dominic Toretto with both of his hands wrapped.

vin diesel fast and furious 7

A close look at the background shows a photo off to the side with Diesel's on screen family including Walker, who he affectionately refers to as Pablo off screen.

dominic fast and furious 7 

The other photo shows Diesel dressed up in a scene with Walker.paul walker fast and furious 7

Walker's character Brian O'Connor is supposed to be retired in the next film. The actor filmed many of his scenes while look-a-like brothers Cody and Caleb will also fill in for him. The film will reportedly use new technology to merge archived audio of Walker's voice with his brothers'.

Diesel also shared that he had a first look at the trailer for the film which he says left him "speechless."

Universal came to visit, to show the trailer for FF7...

Speechless... yeah, it was that INCREDIBLE!

I must also say, that it was emotional and bittersweet... we all went above and beyond to make Pablo proud, but man, I wish he could see what we have created and just how far we have come.

He added that the film should make Walker proud.

We wouldn't be surprised if we see a teaser trailer for the film soon. 

"Fast and Furious 7" will be released April 3, 2015 in theaters.

SEE ALSO: Vin Diesel: It has been 'awkward and uncomfortable' adjusting to Paul Walker visual effects in "Fast and Furious 7"

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MythBusters: Airlines Are Boarding Their Planes All Wrong!

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MythBusters Airplane

Ever feel like boarding the plane is taking much longer than it should?

If so, you aren't alone. The guys at MythBusters have thought about it so much that they devoted a whole segment of their popular Discovery Channel show to the topic. 

In an empty hangar, MythBusters built an airplane interior with 173 seats and staffed the mock aircraft with actual cabin crew to facilitate boarding. The show then tried a variety of boarding methods to determine which procedure is the quickest. Each method of boarding was also evaluated by passengers, with points given or taken away based on their impression of the boarding technique.

The show found that the familiar back-to-front boarding method is, by far, the slowest method, with a time of 24.29 minutes. On the other hand, boarding with no assigned seats and no assigned order proved to be the quickest way to go, at 14.07 minutes.

However, according to the passengers, this free-for-all style was the least pleasant boarding method.MythBusters Airplane BoardingIn the end, the team found the methods using the so-called "WILMA" method — in which window passengers are boarded first, followed by middle-seat flyers and finally travelers sitting in aisle seats — to be the most effective.

The best combination of speed and consumer enjoyment came from the "reverse pyramid" method, which notched a time of 15.10 minutes and a satisfaction score of 113. This approach boards the aircraft from the back to the front and from the window seats in. 

MythBusters Airplane Reverse Pyramid

Here's the complete "MythBusters" episode — which also features a segment on bullets made from teeth: 

SEE ALSO: Airlines Should Ditch Their Confusing Boarding Passes And Use This Smart Design Instead

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Watch Emma Watson's Passionate UN Speech That Everyone's Going Nuts Over

'Jersey Shore' Star 'The Situation' Indicted On Tax Fraud Charges

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Mike 'The Situation' SorrentinoFormer "Jersey Shore" star Mike Sorrentino — aka "The Situation" — and his brother, Marc, were indicted Wednesday on charges of tax fraud.

According to court documents, Mike and Marc Sorrentino failed to properly pay taxes on approximately $8.9 million of income. The indictment alleges the pair submitted false and fraudulent tax returns by failing to report all of the income they earned.

Mike Sorrentino allegedly failed to even file a tax return in 2011, a year in which he earned nearly $2 million. 

The $8.9 million in income was allegedly largely received through MPS Entertainment LLC and Situation Nation Inc., two companies established by the brothers.

The brothers also established smaller business entities called Situation Productions Inc., Situation Capital Investments LLC, and GTL Management Inc. The companies made income largely through personal and television appearances by Mike, according to the indictment.

The SItuation indictment

According to the indictment, the pair allegedly claimed millions of dollars in personal expenses as business expenses, such as high-end luxury cars and clothing.

The Situation indictement

Marc Sorrentino was charged with four total counts, while Mike was charged with three. They face a maximum of 10 and seven years in prison, respectively, as well as hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines. The brothers are due to appear in federal court in Newark, New Jersey, later Wednesday, the US Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey said. 

"Michael and Marc Sorrentino filed false tax returns that incorrectly reported millions made from promotions and appearances," US Attorney Paul Fishman said in a statement. "The brothers allegedly also claimed costly clothes and cars as business expenses and funneled company money into personal accounts. The law is absolutely clear: telling the truth to the IRS is not optional."


NOW WATCH: Homeless-Man-Turned-Billionaire Shares The Secret To The American Dream

 

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Jon Stewart Nails The Insane Reason We Need To Keep Talking About Climate Change

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Burn Noticed StewartIf 99.9% of the scientific literature shows that climate change is real and worsened by human action, why do we still need marches like the one that recently flooded the streets of New York City?

It's an appropriate question, and one that comedian Jon Stewart answers eloquently in a recent Daily Show episode.

As he notes on the show, some members of the White House Representatives Committee on Science, Space and Technology hold some very strange and unscientific views on the matter. They apparently consider themselves allies of the 0.1% — the 0.1% of scientific research that doesn't definitively implicate humans as chiefly responsible for an increasingly warmer Earth.

As a result, instead of discussing solutions to climate change or forging agreements to lower greenhouse gas emissions, as they should be doing, the committee spent hours "debating" global warming, even though really, truly, for real, there is no debate in the scientific community:

pie chart consensusIn his frustration over this topic, Stewart calls out these members of the Science, Space And Technology committee for their absolutely asinine ideas and complete misrepresentation and misunderstanding of the science of climate change.

First up: Representative Larry Bucshon (R-Indiana) says the science on climate change still isn't clear.

"There's public comments out there that that question [about whether humans are causing climate change] has been asked and answered saying no." Representative Bucshon tells Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy John Holdren. 

Just as the comments below a news article aren't the best place to look for facts, neither are the public comments on climate change the authority on global warming.

Responding to Representative Bucshon, Director Holdren suggests he take a look at the scientific literature instead.

Rather than doing that, however, Representative Bucshon counters by saying: "I could read that," Representative Bucshon says, "But I don't believe it."

His reason? Money. "Climatologists rely on the climate changing," says Representative Bucshon, "to keep themselves publishing articles."

Though that's simply not true, it's even more ridiculous for Buschon to make this argument, Stewart points out, because his three biggest campaign donors are some of the world's leading coal industry backers: Murray Energy Corporation (America's single largest underground coal mining company), Koch Industries (which oversees crude oil refineries that produce more than 600,000 barrels per day) and Peabody Energy (the largest private-sector coal company in the world).

donors"If scientists could be bought," says Stewart, "these companies would have already made it rain in nerd town."

Buschon's not the only one: During that same congressional meeting Representative Steve Stockman (R-Texas) decided that he could out-science the climatologists with some "facts" that in his mind remain unanswered. The extreme climate changes caused by Earth's periodic tilts on it's axis, known as global wobbling, are not being accounted for in the scientists' models of climate change, Representative Stockman says, so how can they possibly be right?

The problem? The effects of the Earth's orbit tilting every 22,000 and 100,000 years, is a super slow process, are very tiny in a global warming models' timescale of 100 years.

Sorry, Representative Stockman. Wobbling doesn't explain the climate warming over the last few decades, let alone millennia.

Basically, we need to keep talking about it because the deniers are wrong. And sadly, these deniers are in our government and even on the science committees. So, we have to keep protesting, writing, and talking about climate change to make our voices heard.

Watch the whole clip to see Stewart's hilarious reactions to these utterly uneducated questions from the committee, courtesy of the Daily Show:

SEE ALSO: Celebrities, Politicians, And More Than 300,000 People Show Up To NYC's Climate March

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Here's Why A 'Walking Dead' Star Hated Hollywood Before His Big Break

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norman reedus

Norman Reedus is one of the most popular stars from AMC's hit series "The Walking Dead."

He plays the scrappy and resilient crossbow-wielding Daryl Dixon, a character created specifically for the series, that many fans have fallen in love with. (Fans are big on the mantra "If Daryl dies [gets killed off on the show] we riot.

In a new GQ cover story, the actor shared he wasn't happy as an actor early on in his career before finding a rewarding role on "The Walking Dead" series detailing the many issues that may deter an up-and-coming actor from carrying on in Hollywood.

"I was definitely becoming a little down on it, but I don't know if I was going to give it up. But I wasn't enjoying it as much, to be honest," Reedus told GQ.

norman reedus people's choice"I had been in a few films where I thought we were going in this direction and then, after the editing and the music and it's put together, it was sort of going in a different direction I didn't feel so connected to," Reedus said.

The actor pointed out a few of the issues which deterred him from acting were based around a film's advertising and criticism.

He said advertising on films may revolve around a big star at the moment even if they had one line in the movie.

Via GQ:

There were a few films I had done that the advertising for the film or the promotions for the film ended up being a different animal than the film itself. So you have one character in the film that has one line, but he happens to be in a hit something somewhere, and the posters and the advertising and the publicity become about that. And I was kinda like: This isn't really what I signed up for. Or actors I was working with, we weren't on the same page. I wasn't really in it for the fame or the money or anything like that.

Reedus also noted how the focus on films seemed to be less on the art of acting and more on the look itself.

"When you're acting, you get criticized over your face and your body language and your voice and your haircut—all this weird s---," he added. "And that got larger and larger and larger while the art itself sort of got smaller and smaller and smaller. And I wasn't really satisfied, to be honest."

It wasn't until his role on "The Walking Dead" he felt like he was doing something really rewarding that touched a lot of fans.

norman reedus the walking dead

Now in season 5, the actor says fans send him so much fan mail that production asked him to stop having it sent to the studio. In New York, he has a room full of items people have made or built for him.

"You know, sometimes you'll get gifts that aren't like crazy fan gifts, but they'll say, 'You know, your character on the show is a fighter, and I related to him in a time in my life when I needed to fight something and be strong.' Sometimes gifts like that make me feel really good about what I'm doing," says Reedus.

The actor often shares photos of fan tattoos, gifts, and behind-the-scenes set images from the AMC series on social media. 

"It has nothing to do with interviews or the popularity of the show or anything like that; it has to do with there's a certain part of me that I put into this character, and somehow they tune into whatever I'm feeling that the character's feeling and relate it with their own lives," he adds. That's really a good feeling."

Read the full GQ article here.

SEE ALSO: New "Walking Dead" poster hints at a very grim season 5 story line

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18 Australian Stars Taking Over America

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If you've found yourself slipping into saying "no worries" and "G'day" recently, there's a good reason. The evidence is getting clearer every day that Australians are invading America.

Gothamist recently reported there are now more than 20,000 Aussies in New York, and we've found another 18 who have gained fame in the United States. 

Some Americans may not even realize their favorite stars are Aussies, but these performers all grew up in Australia or spent a significant part of their lives there. 

Sia

SiaWhen she's not swinging from a "Chandelier" — her 2014 top-ten Billboard hit — it seems Sia Furler from Adelaide, South Australia, is busy shunning the spotlight. The anti-celebrity celebrity recently performed on "Ellen" without showing her face and has shied away traditional publicity during the rollout of her number one album, "1,000 Forms of Fear." 

The voice behind the memorable hooks in recent hits such as David Guetta's "Titanium" and Flo Rida's "Wild Ones," Sia has written songs for some of the world’s biggest stars including Christina Aguilera, Shakira, Beyonce, and Britney Spears.

Chris Hemsworth

chris hemsworth thor the avengersBest known as Marvel's Thor, Hemsworth also appeared in "Star Trek" in 2009 and "The Cabin in the Woods." He was born in Melbourne, Victoria, and his two brothers are also actors. Who knows, another one may be on this very list ...

Nicole Kidman

nicole kidman cannes anne hathaway dressFrom "Eyes Wide Shut" to "Moulin Rouge," Nicole Kidman is a veteran of modern Hollywood classics. Formerly married to Tom Cruise, Kidman is now married to fellow Aussie Keith Urban. She was actually born in Hawaii but grew up in Australia and now lives between Nashville and Sydney.  

Mel Gibson

Mel Gibson"Lethal Weapon" and "Mad Max" star Mel Gibson was born in New York but grew up in Australia, where he studied acting at Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA). Gibson isn't officially a citizen, but Australia still claims him as one of its own. NIDA alumni also include Cate Blanchett and Sam Worthington.

Iggy Azalea

Iggy AzaleaThis singer of the number one hit "Fancy" was born in Mullumbimby, New South Wales. Azalea dropped out of high school and moved to America when she was 15, drawn to the country by her love of hip-hop. Initially, she told her parents she was going only for a holiday, but we all know how that turned out.

Russell Crowe

noah russell croweThis one is controversial. Born in New Zealand, Crowe spent parts of his childhood there and in Australia. The rival nations have both claimed Crowe as their own, though maybe they were less proud after he famously threw a phone at a hotel clerk. The "Gladiator" and "Noah" star has an apartment in the Sydney suburb of Woolloomooloo and co-owns the South Sydney Rabbitohs, an Australian National Rugby League team.

Portia de Rossi 

Ellen DeGeneres Portia De RossiShe's not just Ellen's wife. Portia de Rossi also played lead roles in "Ally McBeal" and "Arrested Development" and appeared in "Better Off Ted" and "Nip/Tuck."

De Rossi grew up in Horsham, Victoria, and will be joining the cast of "Scandal" for its upcoming season.

Simon Baker

simon baker the mentalistStar of "The Mentalist" and "The Guardian," Simon Baker was born and raised in Launceston, Tasmania. Baker is married to fellow Australian actress Rebecca Rigg, while Australian actresses Nicole Kidman and Naomi Watts serve as godmothers to his children.

Hugh Jackman

wolverine hugh jackmanYes, the Wolverine is Australian. The all singing, all dancing, all buffed-up Aussie was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in "Les Misérables" and won a Tony Award for his portrayal of fellow Australian Peter Allen in "The Boy from Oz." 

Jackman is also a great host. He hosted the Oscars in 2009 and has done the honors at the Tony Awards four times. In 2004 he got an Emmy for his hosting of the Tonys — figure that one out.

Rose Byrne

Getty Images : Michael BucknerThe star of "Damages" with Glenn Close, Rose Byrne also starred in "Bridesmaids," "X-Men: First Class," and the newly released "This Is Where I Leave You." Byrne was born in the Sydney suburb of Balmain and will make her Broadway debut later this month in the play "You Can't Take It With You."

Geoffrey Rush

Geoffrey RushYou probably know Geoffery Rush as Captain Barbossa in "Pirates of the Caribbean" or Lionel Logue in "The King's Speech," but the veteran actor also has an Academy Award, a Tony Award, an Emmy Award, two Golden Globes, and three BAFTAs for a host of other characters.

It was his lead role as a pianist in the 1996 film "Shine" which won him the Oscar for Best Actor, and he was also nominated for "Shakespeare in Love" (Best Supporting Actor) and "Quills" (Best Actor).

Keith Urban

Keith UrbanThe other half of the Kidman/Urban power-couple has been a judge on "American Idol" since 2012, previously serving as a judge on Australia's version of "The Voice" in 2011. The New Zealand-born country music singer was raised in Queensland and married Kidman in Sydney in 2006.

Sam Worthington

sam worthingtonImagine Sam Worthington's face in all blue with massive yellow eyes, and it might all come together. Worthington was the main star of "Avatar" and its upcoming sequels. The action-man also starred in "Terminator Salvation," "Clash of the Titans," and the blockbuster video game, "Call of Duty: Black Ops."

Liam Hemsworth

paranoia harrison ford liam hemsworthNot quite as famous as his brother Thor, Liam is the youngest of three brothers and has plenty of time to catch up. He's currently appearing at Jennifer Lawrence's side as Gale Hawthorne in "The Hunger Games" series. Last year he co-starred with Harrison Ford and Gary Oldman in "Paranoia."

Toni Colette

Toni ColettePerhaps best known for playing the title role in Showtime's "United States Of Tara," Toni Colette also starred in "About a Boy," "Little Miss Sunshine," and the Australian classic, "Muriel's Wedding." She was nominated for an Academy Award for her role as Haley Joel Osment's mother in "The Sixth Sense," though recently had less luck when her newest TV show, "Hostages," was cancelled by CBS after one season. 

Cate Blanchett

Cate Blanchett oscars 2014 winnerCate Blanchett is one of Australia's most successful acting exports. She's won two Academy Awards, three Golden Globes, and three BAFTAs. Blanchett won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Katharine Hepburn in "The Aviator" and won Best Actress for her role as Jeanette Francis in "Blue Jasmine." She's come a long way since her first stage role opposite Geoffery Rush in 1992.

Blanchett also played Galadriel in "The Lord of The Rings" and "The Hobbit" trilogies and was also a main star in "The Talented Mr. Ripley," "Notes on a Scandal," "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," and "The Monuments Men."

The veteran Australian actress now lives on Sydney Harbour with her family. She recently spent several years as co-director of the Sydney Theatre Company with her husband, playwright Andrew Upton.

Ryan Kwanten

Ryan KwantenSookie's all-American brother in HBO series "True Blood" actually grew up in Sydney. While he plays a rather simple character, Kwanten has a degree in commerce from Sydney University. Now that "True Blood" has ended, he's set to star in several upcoming films.

Rebel Wilson

mtv movie awards rebel wilsonShooting to fame with "Bridesmaids" and "Pitch Perfect," Rebel Wilson hosted last year's MTV Video Music Awards. The Sydney-born actress lives in West Hollywood with her friend and "Pitch Perfect" co-star, Little Britain's Matt Lucas. Wilson is thought to be starring in the upcoming "Pitch Perfect" sequel next year.

SEE ALSO: Australian Ex-Foreign Minister Releases Diary Full Of Priceless Entries About US Politicians

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The Blue Man Group Just Made The iPhone 6 Unboxing Video To End All Unboxing Videos

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The Blue Man Group is known for its wacky, fun, and quirky entertainment.

This time the group decided to take its talents to YouTube and tackle one of those iPhone 6 unboxing videos. Except this one is like no other unboxing video you'll ever see.

As with all unboxing videos, it starts by opening the box.

First they try out a saw, then fixing the mess with duct tape.

Blue Man Group iPhone1

Maybe a kitchen knife will do it?Blue Man Group iPhone2

 Drills are powerful.

Blue Man Group iPhone3

The saw has to work.

Blue Man Group iPhone4

And finally they just sort of give up and wrap it into a present. Presumably for someone else? Apparently step one was just that difficult that they never made it to step two.

Blue Man Group iPhone 5

 See the madness for yourself:

SEE ALSO: Watch Us Unbox The Apple iPhone 6

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These Images Of John Malkovich Recreating Iconic Photos Will Blow Your Mind

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malkovich miller

When actor John Malkovich takes on a role, he really goes for it.

So, when longtime friend and collaborator, photographer Sandro Miller, who goes by his first name, decided he wanted to recreate his favorite iconic images as tribute to his most beloved photographers, he knew who to ask to be the stand-in model for the images.

" [Malkovich's] belief and trust in my work is unprecedented, granting me many opportunities to work with him. Over the past 17 years I would approach John with various personal projects... he has never said no, and has always been open to my ideas," says Sandro. 

The resulting series, shot over the course of three days in April, exactingly recreates 30 legendary photographs by 28 master photographers, all featuring Malkovich assuming many different roles in the frame.

Entitled "Malkovich, Malkovich, Malkovich: Homage to Photographic Masters," the resulting images will be on display at the Catherine Edelman Gallery in Chicago in November. Sandro has plans to tour the show to Los Angeles, New York, Paris, Italy, and Dallas in the near future. Also, be on the lookout for exclusive interviews with John Malkovich about the project coming soon in French publication 7-POST and French newspaper Libération

The series began two years ago, when Sandro came up with the idea to pay homage to his hero, Irving Penn, by recreating one of his iconic images, a photograph of the author Truman Capote, kneeling on a chair wedged in a corner created in Penn's studio. He realized that Malkovich looked a bit like Capote, so he asked him to stand in as the model. The feedback was great.



Because of the success of the first photo, Sandro decided to pay tribute to more of the photographers who had influenced him over the years. He flew to Paris to meet with Malkovich, prepared with 30 images he wanted to recreate.



"After consuming two bottles of wine with John, I showed him my idea and he fell in love," Sandro says.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider







The 15 Best 'Shark Tank' Pitches Of All Time

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Robert Herjavec Lori Greiner Daymond John Kevin O'Leary shark tank hosts judges

Over the past five seasons of the hit ABC reality show "Shark Tank," countless entrepreneurs have pitched their products to some of the world's most influential investors.

Not only do contestants have a shot to convince billionaire investor Mark Cuban or real-estate mogul Barbara Corcoran to fork over a few hundred grand, but they do so in front of a national audience of about seven million viewers.

Some aspiring entrepreneurs have risen to the challenge and shown how to give a pitch that's so concise and effective that the investors feel like they'd be missing out on some major cash if they didn't gain a stake in the company.

In anticipation of the sixth season's two-hour premiere on Friday, Sept. 26, and with the help of Andrew Figgins, a Chicago-based entrepreneur and owner of the fan site InTheSharkTank.com, we look back at some of the greatest pitches we've seen so far on "Shark Tank."

Vivian Giang contributed to this article.

PITCH: Charles Michael Yim has a breathalyzer that plugs into your smartphone.

In the fifth season, Yim galvanizes all five Sharks around Breathometer, a startup that makes a breathalyzer that plugs into your smartphone. He already has $1 million in venture backing, $100,000 in sales the previous month, and readily answers the Sharks' questions. He initially asks the Sharks for $250,000 for a 10% equity stake in his business. 



RESULT: All five Sharks invest for a total of $1 million.

Yim ends up with all of the episode's investors — Mark Cuban, Kevin O'Leary, Daymond John, Lori Greiner, and Robert Herjavec — in his corner and a whopping $1 million investment for 30% of his company.



PITCH: Bruno François has an app that will let you take panoramic video without using your hands.

If you place your phone vertically on a solid surface and use the Cycloramic iPhone app, it will vibrate your phone in a circle as it records video.

François boldly tells the Sharks he expects to have one million users after one year and requests $90,000 for 5% of his company.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider






Disney's First Animated Marvel Movie Is Already Looking Like A Hit

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big hero 6 baymax hiro

Disney had a massively huge success in last year's billion dollar animated movie, "Frozen." Can they do it again this fall?

Come November, Disney will release its first animated movie based on Marvel characters, "Big Hero 6." Until now, Disney has relied on Marvel to produce live-action hit after hit with the likes of "Captain America" and "The Avengers."

Disney just put out the second trailer for the film and it looks like the one parents have been waiting for to take their kids to see.

Based on the comics of the same name, the first trailer for the film primarily focused on a plush white robot named Baymax, but not much else to show what the movie would really entail. 

The second trailer focuses on a more somber story, about a boy Hiro Hamada who loses his brother and sets out on a mission to find him along with a group of pals. Together, they transform themselves into a league of high-tech superheroes to hunt down a mysterious figure.

big hero 6

With no Pixar release this year — it's the first time that has happened in nine years — that gives "Big Hero 6" some big shoes to fill as the sole Disney animated picture of the year in theaters.

Expectations are also high after the massive success of "Frozen," with some suggesting Disney has already entered a second golden age of hit films. (The first was in the '90s with a string of hits including "The Little Mermaid," "Aladdin," "Beauty and the Beast," and "The Lion King.")

We'll get a better look at the film next month when Disney brings a sneak peek of the film to New York Comic Con.

"Big Hero 6" is in theaters Nov. 7.

Watch the full trailer below:

SEE ALSO: 2 reasons Disney movies often don't have moms

AND: How the "Avengers" director saved "Toy Story" from an unwatchable script

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Actress Emily Kinney Got Her Big Break As A Singer While In A Prison Surrounded By Zombies In 'The Walking Dead'

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the walking dead bethOne of the biggest mysteries left unanswered on AMC's hit series "The Walking Dead" surrounds Beth Greene, the series' ever-optimistic, soft-spoken teen who has a knack for singing to keep up survivor morale. Season 4 of the apocalyptic zombie thriller left us with a cliffhanger after the character was abruptly kidnapped by an unknown captor.

While we wait for her return next season, Business Insider recently spoke with the actress who plays Beth, Emily Kinney, about her passion for singing and how her music and acting careers collided on screen. 

"When I first auditioned for Beth, I didn’t realize she was going to be a singer," says Kinney. "I knew that they knew I could sing because some people had come to my shows between seasons."

The actress tells Business Insider it was then-showrunner Glen Mazzara who mentioned the idea of Beth singing on the series.

beth the walking dead

"I think it was season 2 where they were like 'Oh Beth likes music.' and 'Beth likes to sing,'" says Kinney. "[Mazzara] called me to talk to me about it. He had said, ‘We really need a moment of quiet and calm so I was thinking …  we want to connect back to who they were when they were at the farmhouse. Maybe you and Maggie would sing. That could become part of who Beth is. She’s very creative.'"

The Nebraskan native attended New York University where she pursued both an acting and music career working in theater off Broadway. In the summer 2008, she made her Broadway debut in "Spring Awakening."

When Kinney joined "The Walking Dead" cast in 2011, she had just put out her first EP "Blue Toothbrush" and was playing gigs in New York City. 

As Beth, she covers several songs in seasons three and four. The first song Kinney sang on the series was "The Parting Glass," an old Scottish and Irish folk song, alongside sister Maggie (Lauren Cohen) at the start of season three.

Many of the songs have been selected for particular reasons on the series. Tom Wait's "Hold on" was featured near the end of season three episode 11, "I Ain't a Judas." 

Kinney says she suggested the inclusion of one of the more recent songs, "Be Good," by Waxahatchee.

"I loved that song so much that I kind of did another arrangement of it for my own album 'Expired Love,'" says Kinney. "I started playing it a lot at shows, too. I love that song."

She released her second EP, "Expired Love," in March in which she wrote seven original songs. Her cover of "Be Good" is one of the most popular tracks on iTunes.

Kinney says fans are sometimes taken aback by the adult themes in her music. What most fans don't realize is that the actress, who plays a teen on "The Walking Dead," is actually 29 years old

"In my music I write about my life and sometimes I get a lot of response on Twitter and Instagram where they seem very taken by my lyrics. ‘How could you have experience about this?’ or ‘Is this appropriate for someone who’s a teenager?’ … because I talk a lot about relationships and sex, drinking, and things that I’ve experienced as an adult."

Fans are often surprised to see Kinney in real life.

"Even going to the airport — It depends on how I dress and stuff but if you’re in more casual clothes — people are always like, ‘Oh, who are you with?’" She jokes, "I'm not a little kid."

She's certainly not. 

Before appearances on Showtime's "The Big C" and then "The Walking Dead," she focused on her music career.

emily kinney singing 2013

emily kinney julie"When I first started doing music I wrote the song and then I would find friends to play with me in my band and then I'd book the show and play the show. It was definitely driven by me. Now I have managers who help me with so much of that," she says.

Now, it's about learning to find the right balance between her singing and acting careers which she says "are nice breaks from each other."

"I love being on set and being in the world of 'The Walking Dead' but then it’s kind of nice to go home and sort of write my own lyrics and process what I’m going through," Kinney says. "Songwriting for me is something where I get to process my own feelings and my own thoughts where maybe acting is a little bit more of inhabiting a script that is already written."

emily kinney the walking dead set season 4"There are times when you’re between jobs as an actor and that’s the reality of being an artist," she adds. "But, I’d be like, ‘Oh, I still want to be creative. I don’t feel fulfilled.’ Writing my own music and performing it is a way to fill that for me when I’m between jobs acting."

Kinney is currently on tour with a recent gig in New York City. Next, she has two shows coming up in October in Los Angeles, California and Ewing, New Jersey. 

She says her work on "The Walking Dead" has definitely helped expand her fan base, and helped bring both groups of fans together even. 

"I’ve made a lot of connections with new fans that way," says Kinney. "It’s fun because there’s 'Walking Dead' fans and then music fans, too, and then I feel like there’s some 'Walking Dead' fans that became music fans, so that’s real exciting for me because maybe it’s an audience I wouldn’t have reached just doing music."

SEE ALSO: Here's why a "Walking Dead" star hated Hollywood before his big break

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Why 'Clash Of Clans' Is So Incredibly Popular, According To A Guy Who Plays 16 Hours A Day

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Clash of Clans"Clash of Clans" is a powerhouse of an app, and its players are as hardcore as they come.

Since its release in 2012, "Clash of Clans" has dominated Apple's App Store, quickly climbing the ranks and claiming the title of No.1 highest-grossing app overall.

In 2013, its development studio, Supercell, raked in $892 million in revenue, and the app can bring in up to $5.15 million per day.

The game revolves around the idea of fortifying a base, defending it from invading players and their clans, and raiding the bases of others in order to gain resources and start the whole process over again. The gameplay is addicting, and because logging off means leaving your base wide open for a raid, the game's top players stay glued to their screens.

Few players exemplify the addictive nature of game as well as "Tyrael," a 21-year studying fire science technology in New Jersey. He's a part-time firefighter, and he's getting an associates degree in software engineering. Tyrael, who asked to stay anonymous for our story, says the app has been open for 8,000-9,000 hours.

He's played the game ~25% of that time, but he's tending to the app the whole time in order to train his troops. Troop training is a process which can take a while but is essential to building up resources to help win a raid.

"I ended up having to stay online 16 hours a day so I didn’t get attacked," Tyrael tells Business Insider. "That became something I did on a daily routine."

Tyrael is a top "Clash of Clans" player. He was one of the first players to fully upgrade his base to completion, a rare feat that only a handful have managed.

Clash of Clans base comparison

"All defensive walls, non-defensive buildings, heroes, everything, every last upgradable thing is complete," Tyrael said. "Nothing you can click has a button that says upgrade anymore."

"Clash of Clans" is a free app, but you can move along more quickly if you pay for features. This is a "freemium" model. It's free to play, but you could end up paying a premium. Players are always tempted to pay real-world dollars for the virtual in-game currency, gems, to help get ahead in the game. For example, if a player wanted to upgrade their base to match Tyrael's, it would cost them just shy of $12,000.

While Tyrael has purchased the occasional upgrade, he says the overall amount is minimal, around $50 and that he preferred to upgrade the old-fashioned way by playing the game.

It's against the game's terms of service to sell an account, but Tyrael admits that he's been approached before. "I was offered several thousand at one point," he said.

So what's so addicting about a "Clash of Clans" raid?

"There’s a three-minute timer on the raid," Tyrael said. "You get 30 seconds to look at an enemy's base, and then as soon as you start dropping troops, you have three minutes to destroy the enemy's defenses."

If you win a battle you get at least one trophy, which advances you in the rankings. If you lose, you give up a portion of your trophies, depending on if your opponent was a higher or lower rank than you. If you're fighting someone less experienced, an upset would mean you lose more trophies proportionally, as a win would expected. If you're the underdog, you have an opportunity to earn more trophies if you're willing to take more risks.

Here's an example of what it's like in the thick of a battle, as Tyrael's troops break through the defenses and begin to swarm an enemy's base.

Clash of Clans GIF

Tyrael was introduced to "Clash of Clans" by his older brother shortly after the game launched in late 2012. As a firefighter, he says he's been in multiple fires, even narrowly avoiding death when a live power line fell only feet from him. When asked how he juggles it all, he says the answer lies in multitasking and planning ahead.

"I could take 'Clash of Clans' wherever I went," Tyrael said. He's currently using an iPhone 5S. "In some cases, I could play while doing something else. I would look at the next few days, and figure out where I could play for a few hours. I actually scheduled my sleep around it sometimes.”

Tyrael says he's never played while on the way to a fire, for obvious reasons, but he has occasionally checked "Clash of Clans" briefly on the way back.

To make some money from his intense "Clash of Clans" habit, Tyrael has started livestreaming on Twitch and YouTube.

Just this week, he partnered with Curse Entertainment, a popular streaming network that operates on YouTube and Twitch. Tyrael almost signed an e-contract with another streaming network, TGN, but he ended up going with Curse Entertainment, which will give him 90% of the ad revenue generated from his videos.

Since YouTube videos can earn roughly $6 per thousand views through ad revenue, Tyrael could end up making around $675 for a video that gets 125,000 views.

In the meantime, he'll continue battling against the best "Clash of Clans" players in the world in the "Champion's League," though his firefighting duties mean he needs to be ready to drop the game at a moment's notice.

"It's 24 hours on call, so even if I’m in Champions League, I shut off the phone and take the loss."

When asked if he would still dive headlong into "Clash of Clans" if he could do it all over, Tyrael says he has no regrets. "People every day ask me why I spent so much time," he said. "Generally, I can’t change what I’ve done, so regretting anything I do is generally a waste of time."

If you're interested in watching some of Tyrael's recorded livestreams, you can catch them over at his official YouTube channel.


NOW WATCH: We Built Google's Version Of Oculus Rift Out Of Cardboard — And It's Awesome

 

SEE ALSO: These Hidden iOS 8 Tricks Will Make Your iPhone Feel New Again

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Disney's Deal With Dish Network Reveals Why Cable Companies Are Terrified Of Online Streaming Services

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jeff bewkesThe Information’s Martin Peers wrote an interesting column on Thursday arguing traditional media companies are simply denying how online streaming services, like Netflix and Amazon, are disrupting the $100 billion-plus TV network industry.

And more disruptive services are coming. Dish Network, for example, plans to launch an online service with a smaller package of channels but programs from big media companies like ESPN, A+E Networks, and Scripps Networks Interactive.

Time Warner’s chairman Jeff Bewkes, however, shrugged off Dish’s upcoming service, saying, “Some people do (want less channels); a lot of people don’t.”

Even the TV networks getting involved with Dish's fledgling service are clearly wary of what it might mean in terms of cannibalizing their other deals with cable networks. Peers offers this particularly startling bit of information:

To be sure, programmers are taking steps to limit erosion in their deals with Dish. One industry executive says the Disney agreement with Dish has a provision that if the streaming service signs up more than a certain number of subscribers, the deal is off. Dish declined to comment.

In other words, Disney will play along with Dish Network's new service, but if it succeeds to a certain extent, they will be forced to pull out — likely to honor their partnerships with longstanding cable providers like Time Warner and Comcast.

Peers offers two potential reasons for why big media companies like Time Warner are downplaying streaming and other disruptive services:

The simple answer is that most media company CEOs are nearing the end of their careers and are more focused on short-term quarterly performance than trends that might or might not happen for a decade. Another answer is that they’re in denial about the implications of what they’re doing.

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