Quantcast
Channel: Business Insider
Viewing all 103217 articles
Browse latest View live

'South Park' Pointed Out Everything I Hate About Mobile Games

$
0
0

stan south park gaming

As someone who plays video game consoles somewhat regularly, I'll occasionally get asked what I think of mobile games.

I usually try to avoid answering, because if I'm perfectly honest, I'm not that fond of them. While I enjoy a limited few, I find most to be time-sucking procrastination machines that are hastily engineered ripoffs of games I played long ago on consoles and PC. 

The purpose of the majority of them appears to be to try to get me addicted and to shell out money for silly upgrades to keep me coming back for more. No thanks. 

I've never known how to articulate my feelings about mobile games out loud, though. Just about everyone I know seems to be hooked on some version of "Flappy Bird," "Dots," "Candy Crush," or whatever new game is hot at the moment. 

So I was exhilarated when the latest episode of "South Park" Wednesday evening centered around the addictiveness of free mobile games and the thought process that goes into developing one.

It basically summed up everything I feel about mobile gaming: the games are overly simple and repetitive, the gameplay itself isn't long, players are pressured into making trivial purchases, and the games aren't even that fun.

It all starts out when Kyle and a few of his friends are introduced to a new game based on their favorite Canadian cartoon characters Terrence and Phillip.

kyle south park terrance phillip game

They all hear about the mobile game from their school friend Jimmy who pressures them into downloading the free game because "If it's free, why wouldn't you?" Sounds promising.

Here's a look at the game aptly titled: "Terrance & Phillip: Give Us Your Money." 

It looks like a generic clone of your run-of-the-mill free mobile game app.

terrance phillip south park game

The goal of the game is ridiculously simple. All players need to do is collect coins on a screen simply by tapping them. This shouldn't be a toughy.

south park game terrance phillip

Kyle starts collecting coins. As he plays, he's encouraged by the game to keep playing with prompts like, "That's one coin. Can you collect all?"

south park terrance phillip game

After he collects 10 coins, he's given a small reward on screen telling him how well he did and encouraging him to keep playing.  

south park mobile game

But before he can continue, Kyle's given an offer to purchase "Canadough Coins" to buy stuff in the game. A screen pops up prompting Kyle to buy something similar to any regular mobile-based free game app.

south park mobile game

Kyle immediately thinks it's "stupid"; however, his friend Butters points out it only costs $0.49 to purchase the smallest amount of Canadough coins. What could it hurt?

south park kyle butters phone

His small purchase lets him click on a piece of land to buy and place a hospital.

south park mobile game

I'm glad Terrance and Phillip look happy, but, that's it?!

Kyle soon realizes the game isn't all it's cracked up to be and wonders what kind of people are behind the game. 

We're then introduced to the Canadian Department of Mobile Gaming. The company is bombarded by Terrance and Phillip who are frustrated their likenesses are being used in a free, popular app they consider "the dumbest game ever" because if people are paying for upgrades then the game isn't actually "free."

The company's response? They tell Terrance and Phillip they know the game isn't great and lay out "the science" behind "freemium gaming."

compliments south park freemium app

According to "South Park," a successful freemium game is based on five principles:

1. Simplicity: A player must be enticed with a simple game loop.
2. Compliments: Make sure you're making the gamer feel special and good about themselves.
3. Fake Currency: Train the players to spend your fake currency.
4. Switcheroo: Offer the customers a way to spend their real money for fake, virtual dollars, so they'll forget they're spending money.
5. Waiting Game: "Make the game about waiting, but make the player pay not to wait."

In addition, the game needs to be "just barely fun" because if it is too fun then there would be "no reason to micropay in order to make it more fun."

south park five principles freemium success

"South Park" added a few other funny tips for the success of freemium games in the background.

south park micro pay

However, the majority of "freemium" users won't pay for anything on the app. Instead, "South Park" lays out one more simple two-step strategy in which "freemium" games make money:

1. Find the heaviest users (addicts).
2. Extract the most amount of cash from them.

This is exactly what I've found in my personal experience. Friends, family, and colleagues will become so engrossed in their mobile games that they're addicted to them. In some instances they'll shell out hundreds of dollars to play something like "Candy Crush."

I don't understand it.

This is what happens in "South Park" when one of the kids, Stan, can't stop playing the "Terrence & Phillip" mobile game. He skips school to play the game for hours on end and winds up spending upwards of $26,000 (a rather exorbitant amount), justifiably freaking out his parents. 

south park mobile app freemium

"South Park" likens this new mobile gaming addiction to other diseases like gambling and drinking.

And this is why I will not play mobile games. I think I've paid small fees twice in "freemium" games. The first time was in a "Despicable Me" temple run game (I will admit, that was totally worth it). The other time was while testing out the Kim Kardashian app (had to get that A-list celeb status). That was two times too much.

You can watch the full episode of "South Park" on Hulu

NOW WATCH: Confessions Of A Candy Crush Addict

 

 

SEE ALSO: We tried out "Evolve," the first big game of next year, and had a blast

AND: How "Alien: Isolation" reunited the original film cast 35 years later

Join the conversation about this story »









'Interstellar' Makes Sense If You Know These 5 Physics Facts

$
0
0

interstellar matthew mcconaughey

Christopher Nolan's latest mind-trip "Interstellar" will be premiering in theaters across the country on Friday, Nov. 7. No doubt, the film is the strangest cinematic experience you will have had since Nolan's "Inception."

But unlike "Inception," the visually-gripping film "Interstellar" is based on real, scientific concepts like neutron stars, spinning black holes, and time dilation. And if you're not at least semi-familiar with these terms, you might end up feeling a little lost during the movie.

In the movie, a crew of space explorers embark on an extra-galactic journey through a wormhole. What awaits them on the other side is another solar system with a spinning black hole for a sun.

They must race against space and time to complete their mission. All this space travel can get a little confusing, but it relies on some basic physics principles. And if you understand these principles, then you'll spend less time guessing and more time enjoying.

Here's a brief guide to the five physics concepts you need to know in order to understand "Interstellar."

Artificial Gravity

interstellar spaceship

A big problem we, as humans, face with long-term space travel is the effects of zero gravity in space. We were born on Earth and therefore our bodies are adapted to thrive under certain gravitational conditions, but when we're in space for long period of time, our muscles degrade.

This is an issue for the travelers in "Interstellar," too.

To combat this, scientists have conceived different designs of to simulate artificial gravity on spaceships. One way is to rotate the spacecraft, like in the film. The rotation creates a force, called centrifugal force, that pushes objects to the outer walls of the spacecraft. This push acts similar to how gravity would, but just in an opposite direction.

You experience this same form of artificial gravity when you're driving around a tight curve and feel like you're being pushed outward, away from the central point of the curve. For a spinning spacecraft, your wall becomes the floor on which walk.

Spinning Black Holes

black hole from interstellar

Astronomers have observed, albeit indirectly, spinning black hole in our universe. No one really knows what lies at the center of a black hole, but scientists have at least a name for it: singularity.

What you need to know about spinning black holes is that they warp the space around them differently than stationary black holes.

This warping process is called frame dragging, and it affects the way a black hole will look and distort the space and, more importantly, the spacetime around it. The spinning black hole you see in the film is surprisingly scientifically accurate.

Wormholes

wormhole interstellar

Wormholes — like the one the "Interstellar" crew use — are one of the only physical phenomenon in the film that don't have any observational evidence to support their existence. They are purely theoretical but an incredibly handy plot device for any science fiction story looking to traverse cosmic distances.

This is because wormholes are essentially shortcuts through space. Any object with mass will create a divot in space, meaning space can be stretched, distorted, or even folded. A wormhole is a fold in the fabric of space (and time) that connects two, otherwise extremely distant, regions in space, which enables space explorers to travel long distances over a short period of time.

The official term for a wormhole is an Einstein-Rosen bridge because they were first theorized by Albert Einstein and his colleague Nathan Rosen in 1935.

Gravitational Time Dilation

shot from interstellar

Gravitational time dilation is a real phenomenon that has been observed on Earth. It occurs because time is relative, meaning time runs at different rates for different reference frames. When you're in a strong gravitational environment time runs slower for you relative to people in a weak gravitational environment.

If you are near a black hole, like the one in the film, your gravitational reference frame, and therefore your perception of time, is different than someone standing on Earth. This is because the gravitational pull from the black hole is stronger the closer you are to it.

For you, a minute near a black hole will still last 60 seconds, but if you could look at a clock on Earth, a minute will appear to last less than 60 seconds. This means you will age more slowly than the people on Earth. And the stronger the gravitational field you're in, the more extreme the time dilation.

This plays an important role in the film when the explorers encounter a black hole at the center of another solar system.

Five-Dimensional Reality

shot from interstellar

Albert Einstein spent the last 30 years of his life working out what physicists call a unified theory— which would combine the mathematical concept of gravity with the other three fundamental forces of nature: the strong force, weak force, and electromagnetic force. He failed to find one, as have countless physicists since Einstein.

Gravity refuses to cooperate, and some physicists think that one way to solve this outstanding mystery is to treat our universe as if it actually functioned in five dimensions, instead of the four-dimensional universe Einstein developed in his theory of relativity, which couples three-dimensional space with one-dimensional time, a.k.a. spacetime.

Nolan toys with this idea that our universe has five dimensions in the film and gravity's important role in it all.

Movie Time

That wasn't too bad, right? Now it's time to test what you've learned and go see the movie. Let us know in the comments below if this post was helpful.

Here's the official movie trailer from Paramount.

SEE ALSO: 'Interstellar' Animators Made A Physics Breakthrough While Creating A Black Hole For The Movie

READ MORE: What Is The Most Powerful Thing In The Universe?

Join the conversation about this story »








Here's Why NFL Fans Are Getting Screwed When It Comes To Watching Football

Disney's 'Big Hero 6' Takes Down 'Interstellar' At The Box Office

$
0
0

big hero 6 baymax hiro

We knew it would be a huge, close weekend at the box office between "Interstellar" and "Big Hero 6," and it looks like the Mouse House is the big winner, at home anyway.

Disney's latest animated picture brought in an estimated $56.2 million at the box office over the weekend. That's more than both "Tangled" and "Wreck-It Ralph," which the film was tracking ahead of at the end of last week.

Some analysts predicted the Disney film could hit as high as $66 million.

Early numbers for director Christopher Nolan's "Interstellar" are reporting box office at $52.2 million. That's slightly short of expectations which had the film outpacing the opening weekend for last year's sci-fi space epic, "Gravity." That film made $55.8 million upon debut. 

Here's how that compares to the opening for Nolan's other films. It makes more sense to compare "Interstellar" with "Inception" rather than his Batman superhero trilogy.

MovieOpening Box OfficeWorldwide Box OfficeEstimated Budget
"Interstellar"$52.2 million$132 million (so far)$165 million
"The Dark Knight Rises"$161 million$1.1 billion$250 million
"Inception"$62.8 million$825.5 million$160 million
"The Dark Knight"$158.4 million$1 billion$185 million
"The Prestige$14.8 million$110 million$40 million
"Batman Begins"$48.7 million$374 million$150 million
"Insomnia"$20.9 million$114 million$46 million
"Memento"$235,488$39.7 million$9 million


Final numbers will most likely adjust upwards. 

How did Disney get the edge over Nolan's movie?

"Big Hero 6" had a few advantages over "Interstellar":

  • "Big Hero 6" was showing in 3D, meaning higher ticket prices (Christopher Nolan isn't a fan of the format).
  • Families were most likely heading out to see "Big Hero 6" in groups. 
  • There were more showings of "Big Hero 6" since the film's runtime (108 mins.) is a lot shorter than Nolan's nearly 3-hour sci-fi flick.
  • "Big Hero 6" is Disney Animation's followup to billion dollar movie, "Frozen." People want to know if Disney can pull off another success story.
  • "Big Hero 6" was playing in 200 more theaters than "Interstellar" (3,761 vs. 3,561)

The bigger winner of the weekend is actually "Interstellar." 

When you factor in the foreign box office, Nolan's sci-fi film is killing it. The movie has already made $80 million overseas

At the end of the big weekend, "Interstellar" has made $132 million while "Big Hero 6" has taken in $79.2 million. Paramount and Warner Bros. are hoping the film has staying power at theaters which could become tough with the next installment of "The Hunger Games" in theaters Nov. 21.

Regardless of which movie came out on top, this was one of the biggest and most significant box-office weekends of 2014 as it was the first weekend where two films debuted above $50 million at the box office. That's something that has only happened four times at the box office.

SEE ALSO: There are 6 different ways to see "Interstellar" — here's how to see it

AND: Our review of "Interstellar":

Join the conversation about this story »








The Wonderfully Bizarre Story Of Bob Dylan Wanting To Make An HBO Slapstick Comedy With A Seinfeld Writer

$
0
0

bob dylan

Larry Charles, a key staff writer on 'Seinfeld' and the director of 'Borat' and 'Religulous,' sat down with comedian/podcaster Pete Holmes for this week's episode of his "You Made It Weird" podcast.

The best moment from the episode comes about 1 hour and 26 minutes in when Charles offers up a story about working with Bob Dylan.

He mentions that back in the 90s, Bob Dylan was endlessly touring and stuck on a bus a lot of the time, so to combat his boredom, he would become "addicted" to different genres of movies and watch "every single one of them" during that period.

At one point, he became "deeply into Jerry Lewis" and decided he wanted to star in a slapstick comedy. Not only that, but he decides he wants to do it as a TV series for HBO, and this is when Charles' phone starts to ring.

Charles describes the whole experience as "very dreamlike" and says he really only took the meeting so he could tell his friends he had a meeting with Bob Dylan. Charles describes the surreal meeting:

"He owns a boxing gym in Santa Monica, I meet him in the back of this boxing gym in a cubicle, he's chain-smoking the whole time...completely smoke-filled...and his assistant comes over and says 'do you want something to drink' and it's attached to this coffee house so I say 'yeah, I'll just have an iced coffee' and Bob responds 'I want something hot. I want a hot beverage,' because that's sort of how he talks, he talks in this very ornate way. So they bring a hot coffee for him, a cappuccino or something, and they bring an iced coffee for me and they put them together in the middle of the table and he immediately grabs my iced coffee and starts drinking the iced coffee.

"And I'm watching him drink it, and I'm not touching the other thing I didn't want the other thing, and finally he almost finishes my drink and goes 'why aren't you drinking your drink' and it's like 'you're drinking my drink,' y'know, and he kinda laughed, and that kinda broke the ice, strangely enough. It's like going to see a sorcerer...'cause it's like all a test...he drank my drink, how would I react?"

larry charles

As the meeting progressed, Charles got some fascinating and unique insight into Bob Dylan's writing process.

"He brings out this very ornate beautiful box, like a sorcerer would, and he opens the box and dumps all these pieces of scrap paper on the table...and yes, that is exactly what he does...every piece of scrap paper was a hotel stationary, little scraps from Norway and from Belgium and Brazil and places like that, and each little piece of paper had a line, like some kind of little line scribbled or a name scribbled, 'Uncle Sweetheart,' or a weird poetic line or an idea or whatever, and he was like 'I don't know what to do with all this,'...and for some reason I was able to go 'oh y'know you can take this...this is a line, this is the character, and the character could say this line.' And he said 'you can do that?' and it's like 'yeah, yeah you can do that' because I realized that's how he writes songs, he takes these scraps and he puts them together and makes his poetry out of that.

"He has all these ideas...and then just in a kind of subconscious or unconscious way he lets them kind of synthesize into a coherent thing, and that's how we wound up writing, also. We wound up writing in a very cut-up technique, we would just take scraps of paper, put them together, try to make them make sense, try to find the story points within it, and we finally...we wrote this very elaborate treatment for this slapstick comedy which was filled with surrealism and all kinds of things from his songs and stuff. So we say to Bob, 'if you come to HBO with us, we'll definitely sell the project because they won't have the balls to say no to your face,' and he agrees."

Bob Dylan being awarded a medal by Obama 2012

"So he showed up at the meeting...and at the time, by the way, I was only wearing pajamas everywhere I went, I used to just wear pajamas, I worked at 'Mad About You' for two years, I started wearing pajamas, everywhere I went,  I would take my kids to events and I'd be wearing pajamas...I probably was having a nervous breakdown and didn't realize, but I wore pajamas everywhere I went."

"So I show up for the meeting in my pajamas...and he shows for the meeting at HBO in a black cowboy hat, a black floor length duster, black boots, he looks like Cat Ballou or something, he looks like a Western guy who's carrying six guns.

"We stride down the hall at HBO, if you can imagine that scene, my hair is super long, beard down to my belly button in f*ckin' pajamas and Bob Dylan is dressed like a cowboy from a movie. We go into the meeting and Chris Albrecht who was the president of HBO says 'Bob, oh,  so great to meet you, look I have the original tickets from Woodstock' and Bob goes 'I didn't play Woodstock' and then he walks over to the other side of the office which has floor to ceiling windows overlooking the city and proceeds to have his back turned to us for the entire meeting.

"He never turns around, I have to start pitching this thing...this is who he is. Gavin Polone was there, who has my manager at the time, and he was like [whisper] 'he's like a retarded child.' So I would go 'Bob's going to do this, right Bob?' and at the end, ironically, despite all this discomfort, they bought the project, indeed.

"They bought the project, we go out to the elevator, Bob's manager Jeff, my manager Gavin, me and Bob, the 3 of us are elated we actually sold the project and Bob says 'I don't want to do it anymore.' He says 'I don't want to do it anymore, it's too slapsticky.' He's like not into it, that's over. The slapstick phase has officially ended. He's not into it anymore, and Gavin Polone said to me 'you gotta get out of this', and I said 'I'm on the Bob Dylan train, I'm going to take this train wherever it takes me' and we wound up re-writing that into kinda like a serious movie, and that's what we wound up shooting, which took another year to do that.' 

The final product, titled "Masked and Anonymous," debuted at Sundance Film Festival in 2003 and received less than stellar reviews despite an impressive cast (pictured below).

masked anonymous cast

The episode of "You Made It Weird" was a quintessential example of what makes the longform, intimate interview podcast so special — Pete's an incredible conversationalist, and Larry Charles was an open book, telling numerous great stories from his lengthy (and still thriving) career. 

Below is a YouTube clip with an abridged version of the story. The full episode is available for free here.

SEE ALSO: The Holy Grail For Bob Dylan Fans Has Just Been Released

Join the conversation about this story »








'Shark Tank' Investor Daymond John Says Losing This Deal Was Like Getting Smacked Down On National TV

$
0
0

daymond john

The producers of ABC's hit show "Shark Tank" know how to edit the show for maximum dramatic effect, but that doesn't mean the intense battles between the investors for a hot company are fake.

We recently spoke with investor Daymond John, who said that losing out to Robert Herjavec in the most recent episode for a deal with fitness accessory company The Natural Grip got him riled up. 

"The deal was apparel-based, it was fitness-based, and Robert beat me out," John said. "So I'm sitting there saying to myself, 'Should I be mad at Robert or should I be mad at myself?' Because this is a natural layup for me. The person knows my expertise. What didn't I communicate to that person that made me lose the deal, or what did I say to that person that may have pissed them off?"

In the episode, Ashley Drake, an active duty captain in the Army Corp of Engineers from Louisville, comes into the tank looking for a $100,000 investment in return for a 20% equity stake in her company. She has a CrossFit athlete demonstrate how The Natural Grip hand wraps can protect weight trainers from tearing up their hands. Her product is the only cotton and custom-fit of its kind, she says, which has led her to bring in a respectable $178,000 in revenue in the first year.

She wants to use the money to expand beyond the limitations of her six-person staff and start manufacturing enough to meet demand. She expects $400,000 in sales by the end of 2014 and $1 million by the end of 2015, if she can develop her manufacturing.

Investors Lori Greiner and Kevin O'Leary both commend Drake on her energy, focus, and preparedness, but back out of doing a deal because the field is not within their interests or expertise. The usually cynical O'Leary, however, urges the remaining Sharks to get in on a deal.

ashley drake shark tank

"You are one motivated cowboy!" he tells Drake. "You're not wasting your time on 'Shark Tank,' I must say that. Alright, somebody give this woman $100,000 and get her out of here!"

Mark Cuban is also a big fan, but his vision of expanding The Natural Grip beyond a single product into a CrossFit lifestyle brand in the near future doesn't align with Drake's vision, and so he doesn't do a deal. John and Herjavec make it clear that both of them very much want to make a deal and spend the rest of the negotiation trying to appeal to Drake.

Herjavec, who tries out the Natural Grips and does some pull-ups, is the self-proclaimed "Sporty Shark" and makes his case first. "You have tremendous credibility, and you're a great operator. Every business I've invested in on 'Shark Tank' that had a great operator has succeeded," he says. He tells Drake that he is completely on board with her strategy and offers $100,000 for a 30% stake. 

"I think you need more than just the money," John counters. "I know Robert has a couple connections, but obviously I'm in this space." John previously mentioned that he is the owner of Reebok CrossFit Fifth Avenue in New York and now says he can get her a partnership with Reebok. He offers her his industry expertise and $100,000 for a 40% stake.

Herjavec appeals to Drake's trepidation over giving up too much of her company and tells her that she doesn't need Reebok, she just needs to stick to what she's been doing but at a higher level. Drake is receptive to this idea and tells John that she doesn't need "more fancy people wearing my grips" from a branding deal but needs to focus on growing manufacturing.

"I've been manufacturing since the day I was born. I actually took my umbilical cord and made it into a belt," John tells Drake.

Herjavec jumps in before Drake can mull over that graphic metaphor. He offers her $125,000 for 25%. John immediately counters with $100,000 for 33% and the promise that he completely understands the CrossFit community and will take care of her manufacturing issues before anything else.

robert herjavec

Drake tells John that she knows he's very well connected, but she's sacrificed a lot over the last year for her company — suggesting that she wants someone more aligned with her vision and likely doesn't want to give up too much equity or undervalue the business. She does the deal with Herjavec.

"That is a big mistake," John says, scowling. "She just partnered with a cyber theft guy, referring to Herjavec's security tech company.

"Nope, she partnered with a sporty Shark!" Herjavec says.

Before the episode aired, John told us that he wasn't actually angry with Herjavec so much as he was angry with his own performance. "It's almost like going into sports. Two boxers go out there and somebody whoops your ass — you know you weren't on top of your game in that fight," he said.

John was objectively the most qualified person to get Drake's product to the CrossFit community, but he failed to convince her that he was on her side. Herjavec was able to tap into Drake's fear over giving up control of her company and framed John as someone who wasn't aligned with her vision. In retrospect, John admits defeat.

But he was pretty heated in the moment, and it wasn't for the cameras.

"Listen, I don't care if you're my brother — if we go play football I'm gonna try to crack your head open. It doesn't mean that I don't love you," he said of competing with the other Sharks. "There is real stuff at stake. There's real money, and there are also real egos. And you have 10 million people watching you get smacked down on national television! It's real."

You can watch the episode where John and Herjavec face off on Hulu Plus.

SEE ALSO: Daymond John Reveals What It's Like Being A 'Shark Tank' Investor

Join the conversation about this story »








Why You Will Not See 'Interstellar' Or Any Other Christopher Nolan Movie In 3D

$
0
0

christopher nolan interstellarWhen I went to a screening of "Interstellar" Monday, two women sitting behind me were surprised we weren't seeing Christopher Nolan's film in 3D. 

When the the director's newest film rolls out in theaters nationwide Friday, you'll be able to see it in six formats, but not one of those will be 3D.

You will never see a Nolan film in 3D, at least not for now, anyway. 

In a 2012 interview from the Associated Press, the "Inception" director explained why his films aren't seen in digital 3D.

"The question of 3-D is a very straightforward one," said Nolan. "I never meet anybody who actually likes the format, and it’s always a source of great concern to me when you’re charging a higher price for something that nobody seems to really say they have any great love for."

Nolan has explained his view on 3D many times. In 2012, he told the Directors Guild of America why he refused to use 3D in "The Dark Knight Rises":

Warner Bros. would have been very happy, but I said to the guys there that I wanted it to be stylistically consistent with the first two films and we were really going to push the IMAX thing to create a very high-quality image. I find stereoscopic imaging too small scale and intimate in its effect. 3-D is a misnomer. Films are 3-D. The whole point of photography is that it’s three-dimensional. The thing with stereoscopic imaging is it gives each audience member an individual perspective. It’s well suited to video games and other immersive technologies, but if you’re looking for an audience experience, stereoscopic is hard to embrace. I prefer the big canvas, looking up at an enormous screen and at an image that feels larger than life. When you treat that stereoscopically, and we’ve tried a lot of tests, you shrink the size so the image becomes a much smaller window in front of you. So the effect of it, and the relationship of the image to the audience, has to be very carefully considered. And I feel that in the initial wave to embrace it, that wasn’t considered in the slightest.

Without the added boost of 3D ticket sales, "The Dark Knight Rises" made over $1 billion at the box office worldwide.

It's not that Nolan necessarily dislikes the format overall.

At CinemaCon earlier this year, the "Inception" director praised Baz Luhrmann's "The Great Gatsby" in 3D after its release.

“My resistance to 3D is purely based on what I feel is right for the films I want to make," Nolan told The Wrap earlier this year.

The director said he even tested out "Inception" to be in 3D but ditched the idea saying there wasn't enough time to do "a quality 3-D conversion."

SEE ALSO: Our review of "Interstellar"

Join the conversation about this story »








A Huge Actor Has A Surprise Cameo In 'Interstellar'

$
0
0

Warning: Huge spoilers for "Interstellar" follow.

Director Christopher Nolan's films are known for being shroud in secrecy. You usually know very little about the plot even after the first trailers are revealed and sometimes a few big names pop up in unexpected roles. 

So it should come as little shock that a huge actor makes a surprise appearance in "Interstellar."

In fact, he's been hiding in the trailers and no one has even realized it.

Last chance to head back before spoilers.

interstellar matthew mcconaughey cooper

Around the two hour mark in "Interstellar," Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway's characters, in search of a habitable planet to save mankind, land on a foreign planet covered in ice where another astronaut, Dr. Mann, has been stranded for an undetermined amount of time. 

Up until this point, viewers know little about the mysterious Dr. Mann other than he's a supposedly brave astronaut who set off on a similar mission in the past. 

When Cooper and Brand come across Mann, he's sealed in a cryogenic hibernation pod. As they awaken him, you have a feeling it's about to be a huge actor reveal.

Sitting up, staring us straight in the face is Matt Damon.

What??

This won’t be a surprise to everyone. The Playlist reported back in summer 2013 that Damon joined the cast in a small, secret role; however, no one really made a big deal out of it.

Damon's role is so secretive that he isn't mentioned anywhere in Paramount's lengthy production notes for the film handed out to press at screenings. In fact, he's listed as an uncredited actor in the film.

It's surprising more people haven't been discussing it online yet, because if you've steered clear of trailers and news, you'll be genuinely shocked. It's surely one thing people will be talking about after seeing the film.

The best part? Damon's been staring at us in the trailers.

Sort of. 

There are at least two instances of his character I've managed to spot after going back and re-watching the trailers.

Here on the icy planet you can spot four astronauts. There's McConaughey and Hathaway's characters, along with another astronaut played by David Gyasi. If memory serves correct, Damon is in the lead as he shows off the planet to the others.

interstellar matt damon

In another more prominent scene that stands out in multiple trailers, you can see his figure as he reacts to an explosion.matt damon interstellar

I won't give too much more away about Damon's role, but I will say there is a scene where Damon and McConaughey fight in their astronaut suits and for some reason all I could think was that two of People magazine's former Sexiest Men Alive were having it out. 

It wasn't too long ago that Matt Damon was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, starring in everything from "Invictus" and "Informant!" to "True Grit." Now, McConaughey has sort of taken that crown from him during an age that has been coined the McConnaissance, so to watch the two duel it out in a battle royale of sorts is kind of fitting.

Of course, I'm sure this isn't what Nolan intended. But now you’re going to think about it, too.

I wouldn't be surprised if we start to see more of Damon in marketing after the film's nationwide release in theaters this Friday, Nov. 7.

SEE ALSO: Our review of "Interstellar"

AND: Why you won't see "Interstellar" or any other Christopher Nolan movie in 3D

Join the conversation about this story »









Here's The Definition Of 'Funemployed,' According To A 'Rich Kid Of Beverly Hills'

$
0
0

dorothy wang

Dorothy Wang is one of the breakout stars from the hit E! reality show, "Rich Kids of Beverly Hills," which recently wrapped its second season.

Dorothy Wang TwitterIn both her Twitter and Instagram bios, Dorothy describes herself as "Funemployed and Fabuluxe!"

But if you watch the show or follow Dorothy on social media, the 26-year-old billionaire heiress seems to have many jobs (real estate agent! jewelry designer! reality TV star!), so we asked the USC graduate about the current state of her "funemployment."

"Funemployed has gotten a bad wrap," Dorothy tells Business Insider. "It actually means just enjoying what you do, it doesn’t mean being unemployed and fun. It’s enjoying your job, being passionate, having fun with what you’re doing."

She adds, "Right now I’m doing my jewelry line, so I’m more funemployed than usual."

"Funemployed" and "fabuluxe" are just a few of the terms Dorothy has coined on "Rich Kids." Her hybrid words became so popular, in fact, that she turned them into a jewelry line.

"All hashtags that I’ve said on the show" have now been turned into gold-plated necklaces that read words likes #Fabuluxue, #NoFilter, and #Rich.

Wang sells the necklaces on her website DorothyWang.com and promotes the designs on her popular social media accounts:

The 20 Most Popular YouTubers In The World

$
0
0

PewdiepieYouTube has exploded since it first launched in 2005, becoming the de-facto launchpad for the next generation of celebrities.

We did the math and found YouTube's 20 biggest independent stars based on total all-time views.

While some of the names may be obvious to YouTube aficionados (big comedy stars like Jenna Marbles and Ray William Johnson come to mind), there were just as many relative unknowns, who are building absolutely huge fan bases around niche formats like video game commentating and unwrapping toys. 

There's no doubt that among teens and tweens, these are the new celebrities.

20. UberHaxorNova/NovaPipeBomb

1.38 billion total views.

2.77 million total subscribers.

James Wilson Jr., 24, better known as UberHaxorNova, is an extremely popular video game commentator who uploads videos that mainly show him playing "Grand Theft Auto V," "Minecraft," and the 'Sims 4." He is known —and loved by his fans — for his inappropriate gags and his wild emotions. He also produces funny, irreverent animated videos. 

In the following video, his most viewed, he flips out for nearly a minute after a fellow player "broke the rules" in "Minecraft." It gives a taste of Wilson's wild persona.

Youtube Embed:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/5NylmdC_uEM
Width: 800px
Height: 450px

 



19. HolaSoyGerman

1.52 billion total views.

19.93 million total subscribers.

German Garmendia is a 23-year-old Chilean YouTuber who makes comedy videos aimed at a Spanish-speaking audience. He became famous with "Las Cosas Obvias De La Vida" ("The Obvious Things of Life"). He was second only to top YouTuber PewDiePie in adding subscribers in 2013.

Youtube Embed:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/UaMBtjxvuMA
Width: 800px
Height: 450px

 



18. TheDiamondMinecart

1.53 billion total views.

4.11 million total subscribers.

Daniel, otherwise known as TheDiamondMinecart, is a popular "Minecraft" YouTuber, posting daily reviews and gameplay videos. He is married to another popular "Minecraft" YouTuber, JemPlaysMC

Youtube Embed:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/Ql7S_erMIDs
Width: 800px
Height: 450px

 



See the rest of the story at Business Insider






Jerry Seinfeld Wrote A Great Thank-You Note To Mark Zuckerberg For His Web Show's Surprising Success

$
0
0

Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee Jerry Seinfeld

Jerry Seinfeld's hit web show "Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee" had a record-breaking season 5 premiere last week, and apparently Facebook is partly to thank.

Seinfeld, who just joined Facebook in October and so far has only about 570,000 followers, did not provide specific traffic numbers, but he did share a screenshot of a Facebook post from Thursday in which he linked to the season premiere that has now been viewed by a whopping 12.2 million people and counting.

As of Monday morning, that post has more than 340,000 "likes" and 11,000 shares.

Seinfeld personally thanked Mark Zuckerberg (via Facebook of, of course) for the 30-year-old billionaire's social networking site helping to promote his web series, telling him "I think you might really have something here."

jerry seinfeld

 Zuckerberg responded with a "Thanks Jerry" and welcomed him to Facebook.

Meanwhile, one commenter had a great response to the post that is itself going viral:

comedians in cars getting coffee jerry seinfeld facebook

Kevin Hart appeared on Seinfeld's "Comedians" season premiere, but Joan Rivers was slated to be the first guest before her unexpected death in September.

The series' current season still has a long list of celebrities and comedians lined up for the show. Watch the trailer below.

SEE ALSO: Joan Rivers Was Set To Be The First Guest On Jerry Seinfeld's Web Series: Read The Last Text Exchange

MORE: Jerry Seinfeld Thinks He's On The Autism Spectrum

Join the conversation about this story »








Yahoo Messed Up And Released Taylor Swift's New Video Early

$
0
0

Taylor Swift Blank Space

Overnight, Taylor Swift's new video for her track "Blank Space" (off the album "1989") made its way onto the internet via Yahoo.

Swift fans woke up like kids on Christmas morning to the surprise that their pop idol had released a new video without so much as an announcement that it went live.

By 10 a.m., the video had been taken down.

The video, which shows Taylor wielding weaponry in front of a gentleman, made the rounds Monday morning but is no longer available. 

Then the director of "Blank Space," Joseph Kahn, tweeted the following:

It is believed that Yahoo made an error and released "Blank Space" earlier than planned.  

This is bad for Yahoo for a few reasons. One, Swift is the only thing that matters right now in the entertainment industry, and Yahoo is fighting for relevance. If it had some sort of opportunity to use Swift to attract users — young users — and messed that opportunity up, there's a huge risk that Swift and others will skip Yahoo in the future.

Swift's team has yet to comment on the video or Yahoo's premature release.


NOW WATCH: Here's Why NFL Fans Are Getting Screwed When It Comes To Watching Football

 

 

Join the conversation about this story »








Only A Marine Could Have Made This Incredible Documentary About The Legendary Chosin Campaign

$
0
0

Chosin reservoir campaign

Anton Sattler says he could not have made his award-winning CHOSIN documentary or its spin-off graphic novels without what he learned in the Marine Corps.

The Marines taught him how to thrive under stress with limited resources — and how to make order out of chaos.

"Filmmaking is very much that," Sattler told Business Insider. "You need to be able to make quick decisions, especially while making a documentary. You need to be able to make changes and manage the chaos to get the job done." 

In the Marines he learned of a story so powerful that he felt compelled to tell it to a wider audience: the 1950 Chosin Reservoir Campaign, in which 15,000 U.S. soldiers and Marines were surrounded by 120,000 Chinese soldiers in Korea. They fought their way 78 miles to the sea, and rescued 98,000 refugees in the process. 

"If you aren't into the Marine Corps or aren't a military history buff it's not really well known," Sattler said. For the Marine Corps, though, the Chosin campaign is the stuff of legend. This sense of tradition has always played a large part in Sattler's life.

Sattler graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 2002 with a B.A. in film studies and English. Driven by a sense of duty, he immediately enlisted with the Marines. 

"I have a pretty long history of military service in my family. They've served in every military conflict since pretty much the turn of the last century, so after 9/11 it felt like my time to enlist," he said.

Sattler served two tours in Iraq, first as an infantry platoon commander in Al Qa'im and then as a company executive officer in Ramadi. Once he returned to America, Sattler served as an operations officer on recruiting duty in Baltimore. After six years of active duty, Anton transferred to the reserves with a dream of breaking into the film industry.

"I left the Marines in 2008, moved to New York, had a film degree, and I knew I wanted to make movies," he said.

Through a mutual friend, Sattler met fellow Marine Corps veteran Brian Iglesias, who had also served in Ramadi and was interested in making films. They joined together to form Veterans Expeditionary Media

"I walked out of the military with enough money to survive for a year, in one of the most expensive cities in the world, and I cashed it all in to make a movie," Sattler said.

Chosin Documentary

To put together their documentary, CHOSIN, Sattler and Iglesias traveled across the country and interviewed 186 veterans in 27 cities across 14 states. Along this journey the overwhelming kindness of the veterans' families reinforced the idea that familial-type bonds percolate through the military, even after active service is over.

"You're not alone," Sattler said. "You have an extended family of people in the military, or families of people who served in the military, who are happy to help you."

CHOSIN went on to win best documentary at the 2010 GI Film Festival. It has spawned two graphic novels, Chosin: Hold the Line and Chosin: To the Sea. An animated short film, CHOSIN: Baptized by Fire, is due to be released in May 2014.

After CHOSIN premiered in 2010, Sattler decided to return to school for a degree in marketing. He is set to graduate from Baruch College in New York in May 2014.

"Marketing for me seems like a weird arc, but for me it's where creativity and business meet," Sattler said. "Making the film helped me learn how to wear both hats."

Below is a trailer for CHOSIN: 

CHOSIN will be making its cable premier this Memorial Day, Monday, May 26, on the American Heroes Channel at 9pm/8pm Central Time. 

SEE ALSO: 5 Keys To Success That An Entrepreneur Learned In The Marines

Join the conversation about this story »








Here's When The Next Big Villain Is Coming To 'The Walking Dead'

$
0
0

rick the walking dead season 5 ep 3Warning: There are some spoilers ahead for season 5 and from the comic book.

"The Walking Dead" fans may have been surprised this season when the new big villains this season, a group of cannibals, were quickly and brutally killed off in episode three.

It seemed like we were in for the long haul (or at least a little while) with this storyline. The leader of the cannibals, Andrew J. West's Gareth, seemed like the successor to the show's previous popular villain, The Governor (David Morrissey). 

The Governor was on the series for two seasons. The cannibal crew lasted about a total of five episodes after heavily being teased over the course of season 4.

the governor the walking dead

Now that they're gone, the group doesn't have any main antagonist. Sure, Beth (Emily Kinney) was taken by a group of mysterious survivors, but they don't seem like any real threat Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and his group of survivors can't handle by the close of season 5.

beth the walking dead

What's next?

Any one who reads the comic knows there's a huge fan favorite villain coming eventually to the series named Negan.

Who's Negan?

negan the walking dead

If you thought the one-eyed, prison slaughtering Governor was awful, Negan's at least 10 times worse. The character is the leader of a large group of survivors coined "The Saviors" made up of mostly violent men. Negan delivers his own brand of justice with the swing of a bat wrapped in barbed wire he calls Lucille.

"The Walking Dead" creator Robert Kirkman confirmed to MTV News in April he's coming eventually.

There's just one problem. 

The character isn't the easiest to bring to life on screen. Negan is known for throwing around the "f-bomb" in nearly every panel of the comic.

While at New York Comic Con last month, we caught up with "The Walking Dead" creator Robert Kirkman and asked him when we could expect to see Negan on the series and how the character would be adapted to screen.

It doesn't sound like we should be gearing up to see Negan in the rest of season 5.

"Negan says a word that you can't say on television. I understand that. I think that there are ways around that," Kirkman tells Business Insider. "Luckily, we're not going to have to work that out for some time. I'm not going to say when Negan will possibly show up on the show, but it's not any time soon."

How do you adapt a character who appears virtually unadaptable?

It's not even clear Kirkman's sure yet.

"We'll figure that out along the way," Kirkman added. "Maybe AMC can change the rules on TV."

NOW WATCH: There's A Good Reason 'The Walking Dead' Creator Doesn't Use The Word Zombie

SEE ALSO: Why "The Walking Dead" casts so many actors from HBO's hit show "The Wire"

AND: "The Walking Dead" actress tells us the hardest part about season 4

Join the conversation about this story »








People Are Outraged Over Nicki Minaj's New Nazi-Themed Music Video

$
0
0

Nicki Minaj just released her new lyric music video for "Only" on Friday, and it is already receiving tons of criticism for resembling cartoonish Nazi propaganda. 

The video features Minaj as a reigning dictator:

Nicki Minaj nazi video Nicki Minaj nazi video

As well as Chris Brown, who is featured on the track, as a mustached military leader:

Nicki Minaj nazi video Nicki Minaj nazi video

Drake, who is half-Jewish, as a religious leader:

Nicki Minaj nazi video Nicki Minaj nazi video

And Lil Wayne (far left) as a business mogul:

Nicki Minaj nazi video

Ranks of solders are shown with red armbands mirroring those worn by Nazi soldiers:

Nicki Minaj nazi video

Nicki Minaj nazi video

The word "chamber" is shown over an image of a gas mask:

Nicki Minaj nazi video

Army tanks:

Nicki Minaj nazi video

Swastika-like red flags with the YM sign  symbolizing Young Money, the record label to which Minaj is signed:

Nicki Minaj nazi video

And propaganda billboards:Nicki Minaj nazi video

The similarities are glaringly obvious and the Anti-Defamation League is clearly not pleased, saying in a statement that they are "deeply disturbed by the unadulterated Nazi imagery."

"The irony should be lost on no one that this video debuted on the 76th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the 'night of broken glass' pogrom that signaled the beginning of the Final Solution and the Holocaust," added ADL National Director Abraham H. Foxman. 

"It is troubling that no one among Minaj’s group of producers, publicists and managers raised a red flag about the use of such imagery before ushering the video into public release," said Foxman, a Holocaust survivor. "This video is insensitive to Holocaust survivors and a trivialization of the history of that era. The abuse of Nazi imagery is deeply disturbing and offensive to Jews and all those who can recall the sacrifices Americans and many others had to make as a result of Hitler’s Nazi juggernaut."

Twitter, too, has been up in arms:

 

Minaj hasn't responded to the controversy, but the video's director, Jeff Osborne, has acknowledged the outcry by retweeting his fans and critics alike:

nicki minaj only tweets jeff osborne

Watch the full video below and judge for yourself. (Warning: explicit language)

SEE ALSO: Yahoo Messed Up And Released Taylor Swift's New Video Early

Join the conversation about this story »









Ariana Grande Still Made A Hefty Salary When She Was Just An Unknown Actress On A Nickelodeon Show

$
0
0

Before 21-year-old Ariana Grande was the pop star she is today...

ariana grande

The "Problem" singer was just a little-known (and very different looking) 16-year-old actress with a supporting role on the Nickelodeon show, "Victorious."

Ariana Grande Victorious

Grande appeared on 57 episodes of the kid-friendly show between 2010 and 2013, and she was paid a pretty penny to do so.

Because she was a minor at the time of her casting, TMZ was able to obtain a copy of her contract, which had to be filed with the courts.

According to the docs, Grande raked in $9,000 per episode for the first season  not terrible for a then-unknown 16-year-old.

TMZ reports that Grande earned additional amounts for her musical contributions to the show:

  • $4,000 for a theme song,
  • $3,000 for a song played in various episodes
  • $1,500 for a 20-second "ditty"

Grande's contract also guaranteed that other than the show's leading stars like Victoria Justiceno one would have a better dressing room than hers.

TMZ also found a music contract of Grande's to record up to five albums "with a guarantee that starts at $50,000 for the first album and goes up from there."

Today, Grande's net worth is estimated to be around $10 million. Her 2013 debut
 full length album "Yours Truly" briefly hit No.1 on the US Billboard top 200 chart and that year reportedly sold 200,000 copies.

Grande also has income from her short-lived Nickelodeon series "Sam & Cat," as well as touring revenues from her own concerts and opening for Justin Bieber on his "Believe" tour.

Grande also reportedly comes from a well-off family, who are based in Boca Raton, Fla. Her father, Edward Butera, is the CEO of a successful design company, Ibi Designs Inc., which counts FAO Schwarz and Eddie Murphy among its clients.

SEE ALSO: Here's How Much 17-Year-Old Chloe Moretz Made To Costar In Denzel Washington's New Movie

MORE: This 10-Year-Old Is Earning $20,000 Per Episode To Star In Steven Spielberg's New TV Show

Join the conversation about this story »








Here Is The Only Way You Should See 'Interstellar'

$
0
0

interstellar matthew mcconaughey

There are six different ways to see "Interstellar." 

If you're heading out to see the film, which opened in theaters Friday, you want to make sure you're seeing it in the best possible way.

Now that I've seen the movie twice, in 70mm IMAX and 70mm film, it became instantly clear Nolan's sci-fi film should be seen on the biggest screen possible. 

Friday evening, I headed over to New York City's Ziegfeld theater to see the movie on 70mm film. Since Nolan filmed the movie in both 65mm IMAX and 35mm anamorphic film, I figured it only made sense to see it in both IMAX and film before making a decision on the right way to see it.

My biggest concern was how the big IMAX scenes would transition over to a smaller screen. There are a few absolutely gorgeous moments when Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway's characters are blasting through space that I couldn't imagine looking better in any format other than IMAX.

interstellar sky

While I was pleasantly surprised to still feel the pull of being taken through space in 70mm, those scenes felt much more immersive while seeing it in IMAX. You feel like you're on a ride as you appear to zoom through a wormhole and across an icy planet.

Your eyes can't help but wander up the screen as you feel the enormity of a giant wave on another planet. 

waves interstellar

The only problem is that if you want to see "Interstellar" on a legitimate IMAX screen, they are few in the US. As IMAX has become an increasingly popular format, many theaters started retrofitting theaters with smaller IMAX screens that are around 30 feet high.

There is only one real IMAX screen in New York City, the AMC Lincoln Square theater. It's about a 600-person theater with a screen that's 80 feet high and 100 feet wide. If there's a movie worth seeing in IMAX, that's the theater I'll want to see it at.

According to Paramount, there are 42 theaters showing "Interstellar" in 70mm IMAX in the US and Canada. Here's the full list of US theaters: 

Alabama
Huntsville: IMAX, U.S. Space & Rocket Center 

Arizona
Tempe: Harkins Arizona Mills 25 & IMAX

California
Dublin: Regal Hacienda Crossings Stadium 21 & IMAX
Hollywood: TCL Chinese Theatres IMAX
Irvine: Edwards Irvine Spectrum 21 IMAX & RPX
Sacramento: Esquire IMAX
San Francisco: AMC Meteon 16 & IMAX
San Jose: Hackworth IMAX Dome, The Tech Museum
Universal City: AMC Universal Citywalk Stadium 19 & IMAX

Colorado
Denver: UA Colorado Center Stadium 9 & IMAX  

DC
Washington: Lockheed Martin IMAX, National Air & Space Museum

Florida
Fort Lauderdale: Autonation IMAX, Museum of Discovery & Science
Tampa: IMAX Dome, Museum of Science & Industry

Georgia
Buford: Regal Mall of Georgia Stadium 20 & IMAX

Iowa
Des Moines: Blank IMAX Dome, Science Center of Iowa

Idaho
Boise: Edwards Boise Stadium 22 & IMAX

Illinois
Chicago: Navy Pier IMAX
Lincolnshire: Regal Lincolnshire Stadium 21 & IMAX

Indiana
Indianapolis: IMAX, Indiana State Museum

Michigan
Dearborn: IMAX, The Henry Ford
Grand Rapids: Celebration! Cinema Grand Rapids North & IMAX

Minnesota
Apple Valley: Great Clips IMAX, Minnesota Zoo

Missouri
Branson: Branson's IMAX

Nevada
Las Vegas: Benden Theatres & IMAX at the Palms

New York
New Rochelle: Regal New Roc Stadium 18 & IMAX
New York City: AMC Loews Lincoln Square 13 & IMAX
Rochester: Cinemark Tinseltown USA & IMAX
West Nyack: AMC Loews Palisades 21 & IMAX

Pennsylvania
King of Prussia: UA King of Prussia Stadium 16 & IMAX
Philadelphia: Tuttleman IMAX, The Franklin Institute

Rhode Island
Providence: Providence Place Cinemas 16 & IMAX

Tennessee
Nashville: Regal Opry Mills Stadium 20 & IMAX

Texas 
Austin: IMAX, The Bullock Texas State History Museum
Dallas: Cinemark 17 & IMAX
San Antonio: AMC Rivercenter 11 & IMAX

Virginia
Chantilly: Airbus IMAX, Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center

Washington
Seattle: Boeing IMAX, Pacific Science Center

There is one issue I had seeing the film in 70mm IMAX at AMC's Lincoln Square. I couldn't help but think the sound was better at the Ziegfeld in 70mm film.

We're not the only ones.

While the sound didn't appear to distort any of the dialogue during my IMAX screening at Lincoln Square, I did pick up on a few more jokes from a wise-cracking robot named TARS that I missed the first time around. 

The sound of composer Hans Zimmer's harrowing soundtrack was less deafening and dynamic in the Ziegfeld. If you're not a fan of very loud films, 70mm may be the way to go. 

SEE ALSO: Our review of "Interstellar"

AND: A huge actor has a big cameo in "Interstellar"

Join the conversation about this story »








Neil deGrasse Tyson Gives The Science Of 'Interstellar' A Surprisingly Good Review

$
0
0

neil degrasse tyson in space ooyala 16x9

Unlike his scientific review of "Gravity," Neil deGrasse Tyson is full of praise for Christopher Nolan's "Interstellar."

The astrophysicist reviewed the new film via Twitter Sunday night, posting his thoughts to his 2.61 million followers.

In addition to pointing out how many of the scientists or engineers in the film are played by women (half), he also discussed the factuality behind worm holes, black holes, and relativity of time.

Read deGrasse Tyson's full "Interstellar" review below, though he does warn "Never look to me for opinions on new films... all I do is highlight the science one might or might not find in them.”

"Interstellar" raked in $47.5 million at the box office over the weekend  still not as great as the $55 million "Gravity" opening weekend.

SEE ALSO: Here is the only way you should see 'Interstellar'

AND: Our review of 'Interstellar'

MORE: Neil deGrasse Tyson: I Loved 'Gravity' But Here's What The Movie Got Wrong

Join the conversation about this story »








Here's The Critical Money Lesson That Shaped Jennifer Lopez's Career

$
0
0

jennifer lopez vmas

Jennifer Lopez knows a thing or two about money.

After years in the entertainment industry, Lopez is a masterful businesswoman who is worth about $300 million.

Along with her platinum albums, she's made millions from movie roles, endorsement deals, clothing and fragrance lines, and as a judge on hit TV show "American Idol." 

What has she learned from all that financial success? Time pulled out some of the most poignant career lessons in her new book "True Love," including a powerful point about money: "Don't let money make you complacent."

"Lopez says her parents, who held down multiple jobs to be able to send her and her sisters to Catholic school, were an early source of inspiration and taught her that hard work is about more than financial prosperity," writes Time, which presents this excerpt from the book:

There was a certain hustle I grew up with, a hustle that I learned from watching my parents. They showed me that you put your head down and work — you work for a living and then, when you're making a living, you still don't stop … We don't stop working because we have money in the bank — we do what we do and we keep on doing it.

Lopez's perspective is particularly interesting when we consider it in the larger landscape of what being wealthy really means. For many of us, it means having enough money to stop working and be complacent, although time and time again, successful people — like TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie— highlight the disconnect between working for money and achieving success.

SEE ALSO: What 9 Successful People Wish They'd Known About Money In Their 20s

Join the conversation about this story »








How Jimmy Fallon Struck Up A Career-Defining Relationship With His Idol Lorne Michaels

$
0
0

jimmy fallon lorne michaels

Lorne Michaels is the Emmy-winning creator of NBC's "Saturday Night Live," making him television royalty. He's got an intense personality that often comes across as off-putting or intimidating, but he regularly secures huge deals for his closest friends.

Jimmy Fallon became one of those friends at the start of his career, and it was that relationship that eventually got Fallon the coveted host's seat of "The Tonight Show," elevating Fallon to the top of the industry.

Fallon explains in Men's Journal how SNL producer Marci Klein, who found Fallon to be very charming, helped him overcome his fear and connect with Michaels, who had long been one of his idols:

Marci gave me a bit of advice: "After every show, go over to Lorne and you thank him for the show." And I did. I thanked him every single show. And by the third show, he probably got tired of me coming up. He was like, "Sit down, come have a drink."

After a few seasons, Fallon would be immediately taken to Michaels' table following a show to go over the cast's performance with him. "There's some kind of very strong connection. I can't really describe it beyond that. But it just has always been there," Michaels says.

It's a perfect example that with enough confidence and grace, even a new employee can lay the foundation for a valuable relationship with the head of their company.

You can learn more about the keys to Fallon's success in the November issue of Men's Journal.

SEE ALSO: How Jimmy Fallon Made It To 'The Tonight Show' Through Exceptional Networking

Join the conversation about this story »








Viewing all 103217 articles
Browse latest View live




Latest Images