George R. R. Martin, author of the best-selling "A Song of Ice and Fire" fantasy series, indicated that the latest instalment could be finished this year.

Martin has worked on "The Winds of Winter" (TWoW) since its predecessor, "A Dance with Dragons", was published in 2011. TWoW will be the sixth and penultimate book in the series, which is currently being adapted into the award-winning HBO series "Game of Thrones."

The books — and TV adaptation — focus on the fractured fictional kingdoms of Westeros and Essos, and the court intrigue and bloody battles playing out between an expansive cast of dozens of characters.

Posting on his blog, Martin announced that he's pulling out of the World Fantasy Convention in Saratoga, because he has "too many things on my plate." But he added the caveat that he may change his mind "should I complete and deliver WINDS OF WINTER before these cons roll around."

He suggested that progress on TWoW is going well, and could be realistically completed this year. Previously, the author's publisher said there were no plans for publication in 2015. And past books in the series have also been mired by delays: Martin originally intended to finish "A Dance with Dragons" by 2006, but after numerous holdups, it was finally released 5 years later, in 2011.

For this reason, Martin previously said he won't "play games with news about the books," and that the announcement of when it is complete would be "straightforward and to the point."

So, considering his statement about the completion of the book, it looks like this is a strong indicator that he doesn't envision many holdups.

As progress on "A Song of Ice and Fire" continued to drag on, fans of the book have grown increasingly concerned about its TV adaptation "Game of Thrones" overtaking the events of the books.

The producers of the show, David Beinoff and D. B. Weiss, were told by Martin about how the books will end, and they have no contractual obligation to wait for the books. With season 5 of the show about to begin next month, it has already almost caught up with the events of the books, with some storylines almost certainly set to overtake the books this season.

Martin's latest statement won't stop Season 5 from spoiling some aspects of the series for book readers, and it's no guarantee that the TV show won't ultimately conclude before the books do. But the fact that he is at least discussing the completion of TWoW is being taken by many in the community as a very positive sign.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: HBO just released another new trailer for 'Game of Thrones'

The next James Bond film, "Spectre," is in theaters November 6.

In February, the first image of Daniel Craig in the film was released on the official James Bond 007 site. Tuesday, the site revealed the first teaser poster for the film featuring Craig.

Two versions of the poster in different sizes were put out in both color and black and white. Craig's icy blue eyes are striking on the latter.

SEE ALSO: The first photo of James Bond in "Spectre"

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: HBO just released another new trailer for 'Game of Thrones'

Marc Jacobs announced a worldwide model call on Monday looking for the new faces of his Marc by Marc Jacobs campaign.

But the designer doesn't just want one model, he wants a group of friends to rep his fall/winter campaign. And he wants nornal people!

Jacobs made the announcement via Instagram, naturally.

"Want to be the face of Marc by Marc Jacobs FW15? Cast Me Marc is back! Tag a photo of you with your friends (we're looking for groups!) on Instagram or Twitter with #castmemarc for a chance to star in our #FW15 ad campaign.

On Tuesday, Nintendo announced that it was partnering with Japanese mobile gaming company DeNA to bring Nintendo games to smartphones for the first time.

Nintendo's stock shot up 28% following the news, and it marks the beginning of a new era for Nintendo — gamers have been begging for Nintendo games for their iPhone or Android phones for ages. But why is Nintendo asking DeNA to create the mobile games rather than taking on the challenge itself?

It turns out that Nintendo has realized that neglecting the mobile apps space for eight years means it has some catching up to do. Enter DeNA, a multi-billion dollar Japanese gaming company that's published over 1,000 games, almost all of which are free-to-play.

From Nintendo's standpoint, DeNA might not be the most well-known games publisher in the business, but it's Nintendo's best shot at a successful late entry into the mobile space, and DeNA has a track record of creating polished games under existing intellectual properties including Marvel, Star Wars, and Hasbro.

"DeNA’s expertise lies in, for example, the infrastructure technology that can handle a massive amount of traffic," DeNA CEO Isao Moriyasu said Tuesday at Nintendo's press conference. "We are also able to manage live operation by analyzing user activities and quickly reflecting the insight to improve our service."

DeNA's big claim to fame is its "Mobage" gaming platform, an existing software infrastructure that allows DeNA to quickly crank out games. Thanks to Mobage — which was recently re-branded to "DeNA" for greater exposure — DeNA is used to "massive amounts of traffic," which is exactly what Nintendo needs if it's planning to launch a game like "Super Mario Bros." or "Super Smash Bros." on iPhone.

And while Many of DeNA's casual puzzle games such as "Cupcake Carnival" and "777 Slots" have yet to break into the top 1,500 apps on the App Store, DeNA's portfolio also includes established franchises like "Marvel Mighty Heroes," "Star Wars: Galactic Defense," "Transformers: Battle Tactics," and Peter Molyneux's "Godus."

It's likely these more popular games that drew Nintendo to DeNA, as they prove DeNA can handle creating a polished game under an existing intellectual properties such as Star Wars and Marvel. Nintendo has a history of being extremely protective of its characters and games, and it likely looks at DeNA as a safe way to quickly bring Nintendo games to mobile.

Nintendo is also going to avoid porting existing Nintendo games over to smartphones, and has promised to build new games "from the ground up" for mobile. Once again, DeNA's experience in the space will provide Nintendo with multiple options for how to build a game designed specifically for mobile.

DeNA also has a large incentive to create games that meet Nintendo's high standards: both companies have invested $181 million (22 billion yen) into each other, according to Reuters, which means that Nintendo now owns about 10 percent of DeNA and DeNA owns 1.24 percent of Nintendo.

There's no doubt that Nintendo is the one calling the shots in this partnership, either. While DeNA has been successful at landing partnerships with other big players such as Marvel, Star Wars, and Hasbro in the past, DeNA is certainly looking for another major hit. DeNA's revenue dropped 17% year-over-year to $287 million last quarter, according to Tech Crunch, so it's in DeNA's best interest to stay in Nintendo's good graces.

Nintendo needs DeNA, DeNA needs Nintendo, but most importantly, the world needs to be able to play Pokemon on their iPhones.

SEE ALSO: Nintendo is working on a new game console codenamed 'NX'

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: 14 things you didn't know your iPhone headphones could do

Rapper Kendrick Lamar dropped his new album, "To Pimp A Butterfly," a week early, and the crowd went wild — Spotify says that it was streamed 9.6 million times on Monday, the first full day of its release, making for a world record at the music service. 

Of course, Spotify had something of a leg up, as it was the first place you could listen to it — before it was for sale on iTunes and the Google Play store.

For comparison, rapper Drake also did a surprise release of his album "If You're Reading This It's Too Late" back in February and garnered 6.8 million streams in the first day, a record at the time. It seems that Lamar has killed Drake's vibe. 

"To Pimp A Butterfly" is the long-awaited follow-up to Lamar's tremendously lauded 2012 album "good kid, m.A.A.d City," and had its first hit last year with the single "i." Critical response to the new album is highly positive.

You can add to Lamar's Spotify record for yourself here: 

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: How To Listen To Your Entire Music Library Anywhere

If you were watching the live broadcast of the most recent episode of WWE's "Monday Night Raw" on the USA Network, you might have noticed an unusual change occur in the first hour of the show. For the first two segments of last night's taping in Des Moines, IA,  a group of fans sitting at ringside were seen dressed as such WWE superstars of yesteryear such as Ric Flair, Ultimate Warrior, "Macho Man" Randy Savage and IRS.

Approximately 30 minutes into the show, the costumes were gone. The fans had changed into what appeared to be an assortment of WWE t-shirts.

Here you can see the fans in costume:

And here's a shot of the fans after being ordered to remove the costumes:


We reached out to WWE for comment, and while they did not address the reason for the change, they issued this statement:

"WWE apologized to the fans for the inconvenience and offered them tickets to an upcoming show."

Business Insider talked via phone to one of the fans forced to change his costume. Des Moines-based accountant Chris Andersen, 33, went to the event dressed as Ric Flair. Andersen said that after the second segment of the show, a WWE representative politely informed the group that they would either have to remove their costumes or be forced to give up their ringside seats that were in clear view of what's known as the "hard camera," or the main camera that shoots the in-ring action.

Andersen said that the WWE official told the group "we love your enthusiasm, but it's a distraction."

Andersen said the official presented the fans with a stack of WWE t-shirts they could wear for the rest of the broadcast.

According to Andersen, he and his 9 friends each paid about $107 each for the ringside seats.

Today a reddit post about the incident became the top post on the popular pro-wrestling sub-reddit known as Squared Circle. One of the fans posted this email that he sent to the WWE:

Andersen forwarded Business Insider the WWE's response to this email, wherein the company said this:

"We apologize for any inconvenience you encountered.  We would like to offer you and your 9 friends tickets to the next WWE event in Des Moines.  At your convenience, please e-mail back your mailing address and phone number so we can work on the specific ticket arrangements.  Thank you very much."

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: This video will change the way you watch the WWE

PlayStation launched its first original series, "Powers," March 10.

Based on the graphic novel of the same name, "Powers" is a cop procedural set in a a world where people with super abilities have become the norm.

Reviews for the series have been pretty lukewarm, but "Powers" showrunner Charlie Huston isn't paying attention.

Business Insider recently spoke with Huston who explained to us why he doesn't pay attention to critics. 

Here's his answer in full.

Huston's quote has been slightly edited for clarity.

To do this, whether it’s writing a book or just producing a show and writing a lot of the script ... there’s a lot of will power that’s involved, and if you second guess yourself constantly then you stop moving forward. And particularly in TV production there’s no room to be questioning your decisions because it moves so stinking fast. 

Once you’re in production, you just have to have self confidence, even if it’s a bit of an act — which as it is for most people I think in life. If you admit too many critical voices into your head, you just start doubting yourself and you start doubting your own instincts. You have to believe that you’re there for a reason, that people have trusted you with the material. You know, Brian [Michael Bendis] and Michael [Avon Oeming], the creators, and the people who have trusted Sony and PlayStation have trusted you with a lot of f’ing money. 

A lot of people have come on board to bring their creativity and their intelligence, and their hearts to it. You have to believe it’s all happening for a reason, and that you have something to say and your choices are valid. A good review or positive feedback from somebody or positive critiques from someone will flare out in my mind within minutes, but harsh words will linger in my soul forever. Who needs it?

"Powers" launched on the PlayStation Network March 10. New episodes are released every Tuesday. The first episode can be watched on YouTube, here.

SEE ALSO: Why this popular superhero comic took over 10 years to get made

AND: Here's how much PlayStation's first original TV show cost to make

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: George Clooney goes on a quest to save the world in this new 'Tomorrowland' trailer

Sony Pictures released the first trailer for its coming sci-fi comedy "Pixels." The movie stars Adam Sandler as a former video game champion who has to fight off an invasion of classic arcade characters like Pac-Man and Donkey Kong.

Directed by Chris Columbus ("Home Alone," "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone"), the movie is based on a 2010 short film by filmmaker Patrick Jean that you can watch here.

"Pixels" will be released July 24.

Follow BI Video: on Facebook

Join the conversation about this story »

Real estate mogul and television personality Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he will take a significant step towards launching a presidential campaign.

Trump, a Republican, said he is forming an exploratory committee. This is an essential first move that lets candidates raise money to fund the early stages of their campaigns.

"We must rebuild our infrastructure, control our borders, support local control of education, greatly strengthen our military, care for our veterans and put Americans back to work! We must stop other countries from totally taking advantage of our representatives who are being out-negotiated at every turn. I am the only one who can make America truly great again!" Trump said in a statement.

Critics have long been skeptical of Trump's willingness to pull the trigger on a White House bid. Trump, the host of NBC's "The Apprentice," previously flirted with a presidential campaign in 2012 and a New York gubernatorial campaign in 2014 without ultimately pursuing them. A senior Trump adviser told the New Hampshire Union Leader that he will not be renewing his "Apprentice" contract.

Trump appears to be hoping that concrete steps like hiring political staffers and launching the new committee will indicate he's serious about the potential 2016 campaign.

"I have a great love for our country, but it is a country that is in serious trouble. We have lost the respect of the entire world. Americans deserve better than what they get from their politicians — who are all talk and no action!" his statement exclaimed.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here's what it takes to be President Obama's right-hand man

"The Jinx" star Robert Durst's recent arrest is just the latest in a series of legal troubles for the 71-year-old real-estate heir accused of murdering three people.

In 2003, Durst went on trial for the murder and dismemberment of his Galveston, Texas, neighbor, Morris Black. While many considered the case a slam dunk in finally putting Durst behind bars after the murder of his best friend, Susan Berman, and disappearance of his wife 21 years prior, Durst's high-powered defense attorney claimed self-defense and he was acquitted of murder.

Those who had been following the high-profile case went nuts after the verdict, which was covered on every major news outlet.

Even "Saturday Night Live" mocked the shocking verdict.

In the November 13, 2003, episode of "Saturday Night Live," Fred Armisen played Robert Durst ...

... being interviewed by Tony Bennett, played by host Alec Baldwin.

While video of the sketch is not available online, HBO's "The Jinx" plays a clip from it in episode five.

Following Durst's weekend arrest and everyone's fascination with the case following Sunday's explosive "The Jinx" finale, the sketch is now more relevant than ever.

Read the funny transcript below:

Tony Bennett/Alec Baldwin: I guess you're right. I'm glad you're here anyway. I'd like to bring out my first guest. He's a millionaire who chopped up his neighbor in their apartment complex. Some people seem to have a beef with that. He just won the big court case, so I bet he's got some pep in his step. Please welcome Robert Durst. [Creepy white-haired dude comes in, sits.] Thank you for coming, Robert. You look great. Hey, that's a real top-notch sport coat. James Garner — I mean, eat your heart out!

Robert Durst/Fred Armisen: Oh why thank you!

So how's it going?

Well, better now. I was a little scared there for a while.

Now, uh, you chopped up your neighbor! Tell us about that.

Well, he raged at me. And as I was defending myself, I fell and accidentally ... chopped him up.

Man, that's outta sight. Now, I'm a pretty laid-back kind of guy. But I've had my own gripes with my neighbors over the years. You know, one summer I lived next door to Richie Sambora at Big Bear Lake. And this dude had a tropical bird the size of Chita Rivera that just wouldn't stop squawking.

Oh, that would wear me out.

You telling me, Robert. Now, what's the scoop on this first wife of yours that went missing? Did you chop her up, too?

I had absolutely nothing to do with that ...

Hey, Robert. hold that thought on the chopping-up-your-missing-wife business. I gotta mention one of our sponsors. [Holds up a maxi-pad package.] Stayfree Super Maxi Pads with four-wall protection. Robert, do you mind? [Robert holds the maxi-pads.]

In my book, all ladies should look like Angie Dickinson. That's why it's a shame when their monthlies keep them from wearing cream-colored pantsuits. You know, I once made love to Angie Dickinson for seven hours! Then a security guard came in and said, "Mr. Bennett, Madame Tussauds is closing."[Throws maxi pads away.]

Anyway, we're back with Robert Durst. Now, they also say that you're something of a cross-dresser.

Well, you know, on occasion. I have dressed in women's clothing ... accidentally, yes.

Well, I think it's just great when you can put on women's clothes, have a fight with a neighbor who rages at you, chop him up, and then you both just say "uncle." You know, I still regret not clearing things up with Richie Sambora. Sometimes I think that's why I have trouble sleeping. In fact, I'll just call him up right now and try to get the whole thing over with. [Picks up phone.] Our friends at AT&T will connect me. [Phone rings.]

Richie Sambora [over the phone]: Yeah? Yeah?

Tony Bennett/Alec Baldwin: Is this Richie Sambora?

Sambora: Yeah. Who is this?

Tony Bennett/Alec Baldwin: This is your neighbor, Tony Bennett. I got a beef with your bird.

Sambora:
Tony Bennett/Alec Baldwin: [Hangs up phone.] I heard it. He said, "I'm sorry." That's what I've been waiting for 12 years. A simple apology from Richie Sambora. Isn't it great, Robert, when it all works out in the end?

Robert Durst/Fred Armisen: It's so great. It really is the best.

Tony Bennett/Alec Baldwin: Fat Joe, I'm gonna have to catch you on the flipside. I wanna say thanks to my guests, Robert the neighbor chopper, Angie Dickinson, Richie Sambora, those maxi-pads with four-wall protection, and crazy Pat, the rooster sucker!

SEE ALSO: The LAPD insists Robert Durst's arrest was actually not connected to HBO's 'The Jinx'

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Adam Sandler may finally have a hit with 'Pixels' — watch the awesome trailer

It's almost April, and Netflix has put out its list of releases for the month.

What's in store? Darren Aronofsky's "Noah," the newest season of "Sons of Anarchy," and the long-awaited Netflix original, "Daredevil."

If you're a fan of the "Leprechaun" series, there are a few installments from the franchise. 

We'll continue to update the list throughout the month.

Let's get to it!

Here's what you should check out on Netflix in April:

TV

"Daredevil" (available 4/10)

The first season of Netflix's anticipated reboot will prove whether Marvel can make fans fall in love with the blind, crime-fighting lawyer Ben Affleck tried to bring to screen in 2003's critically-panned film.

"Halt and Catch Fire" (available 4/8)

The first season of AMC's series about the rise of the computer.

"Sons of Anarchy" (available 4/25)

The seventh and final season of FX's crime drama starring Charlie Hunnam. 

Movies

"The Babadook" (available 4/14)

The indie film, which brings a character to life from a story "Mister Babadook," is one of the creepiest films we saw last year.

"Hot Fuzz" (available 4/16)

Simon Pegg's British comedy which sees his London cop heading to a quiet town that isn't what it appears to be.

"Noah" (available 4/18)

If you skipped out on Darren Aronofsky's adaptation of the biblical story starring Russell Crowe and Emma Watson, here's your chance to see it.

Here's the full list of April releases:

Available 4/1

"And Now ... Ladies and Gentlemen ..." (2002)
"Bandolero" (2000)
"Barnyard" (2006)
"The Beautician and the Beast" (1997)
"Bound" (1996)
"Buffalo Soldiers" (2001)
"The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course" (2002)
"Down to Earth" (2001)
"Leprechaun 3" (1995)
"Leprechaun 4: In Space" (1997)
"Leprechaun 6: Back 2 tha Hood" (2003)
"Suicide Kings" (1997)
"Sunset Strip" (2000)
"Underworld" (2003)
"Whiteboyz" (1999)
"Wrong Turn at Tahoe" (2009)

Available 4/2

"Life Partners" (2014)
"Sinbad: The Fifth Voyage" (2014)

Available 4/3

"All Hail King Julien" (Season 1) Five new episodes
"Derek" Netflix original special
"Starry Eyes" (2014)
"The Quiet Ones" (2014)

Available 4/4

"Delta Farce" (2007)

Available 4/7

"Preservation" (2014)
"Wilfred" (Season 4)

Available 4/8

"Halt and Catch Fire" (Season 1)

Available 4/9

"Crank" (2006)
"Pioneer" (2013)

Available 4/10

"The Awakening" (2013)
"Broken" (2013)
"Burning Bridges" (2014)
"Confusion Na Wa" (2013)
"Finding Mercy" (2012)
"Finding Mercy 2" (2014)
"Flower Girl" (2013)
"Forgetting June" (2013)
"Knocking on Heaven's Door" (2014)
"Lagos Cougars" (2013)
"Lies Men Tell" (2013)
"Mad Couple" (2014)
"Mad Couple 2" (2014)
"Marvel's Daredevil" (Season 1) Netflix Original 
"Matters Arising" (2014)
"October 1" (2014)
"Onye Ozi" (2013)
"Ties that Bind" (2011)

Available 4/12

"The Identical" (2014)

Available 4/13

"Video Game High School" (Season 3)

Available 4/14

"The Babadook" (2014)
"Goodbye to Language" (2014)
"Kink" (2013)

Available 4/16

"Hot Fuzz" (2007)

Available 4/17

"Baby Daddy" (Season 4)
"Chris D'Elia: Incorrigible" Stand-up 
"They Came Together" (2014)

Available 4/18

"Noah" (2014)

Available 4/21

"A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night" (2014)

Available 4/25

"Sons of Anarchy" (Season 7)

Available 4/26

"The Nutty Professor 2: Facing the Fear" (2008)

Available 4/27

"National Treasure" (2004)

SEE ALSO: Everything leaving Netflix in April

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Netflix's new 'Daredevil' show looks way better than Ben Affleck's version of the superhero

What "Jaws" did for the ocean, "Backcountry" will do for the woods. 

The premise isn't unfamiliar: A couple ventures into the Canadian woods for a weekend getaway, and things don't go exactly as planned. Alex claims to be an expert woodsman, and he does all he can to impress his girlfriend, Jenn, since this is her first camping trip.

"Backcountry" works because of the relationship between Alex and Jenn. When they first arrive at the campsite, it's clear that Jenn has little to no interest in actually being there — she's only there because Alex is so gung-ho about it. She'd rather just stare at her BlackBerry the whole time.

As the trip progresses and things spiral out of control, Jenn's disinterest in the trip becomes toxic, and a whole other level of tension and intensity is thrown into the mix. 

The film is more effective than your average horror movie since the terror comes from real-life situations. There are no ghosts, demons, or creatures from another dimension, just the seemingly never-ending woods with all of nature's horrors contained within.

There are so many elements working to keep the audience on edge and it's never clear which scary set-up will actually get its pay-off. Each new situation brings its own sense of dread to the table, and when the proverbial shit hits the fan, my jaw hit the floor and stayed there for rest of the movie.

Saying any more would likely weaken the experience — I knew literally nothing about the movie going in, so I tense on the edge of my seat the entire time trying to anticipate what would happen next. Every time I thought I knew where it was going, it veered off the path and surprised me with something else that's equally unsettling.  

The single most horrifying moment occurs right up top, when text appears on-screen that reads "based on a true story." "Backcountry" plays like a bizzarro version of Reese Witherspoon's Oscar-nominated "Wild," where literally nothing goes right along the way.

Watch the trailer below (although I recommend going in completely blank if you can hold out):

"Backcountry" opens in limited release and video-on-demand on March 20th. 

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: There's a 'Poltergeist' remake out this summer and the first trailer is absolutely terrifying

It's that time again.

Netflix has announced the titles leaving the streaming site next month, and we're sad to see some of these go.

Two very different comedies, each with a big cult following, will be taken down April 1: "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" and "Clue: The Movie."

If you're a horror fan, make sure to watch the original "Friday the 13th."

There's also Robin Williams' Oscar-nominated performance as a crazed DJ trying to bring some laughter to the troops during the Vietnam War, "Good Morning, Vietnam."

And, sadly, Netflix has swept the leg of the original "The Karate Kid."

Here's everything that’s leaving. We've highlighted some favorites.

Leaving 4/1

"28 Hotel Rooms"
"Annie" (1982)
"Astonishing X-Men: Dangerous"
"Astonishing X-Men: Torn"
“Astonishing X-Men: Unstoppable"
"Baby Genius: A Trip to the San Diego Zoo"
"Baby Genius: Animal Adventures"
"Chalet Girl"
"Clue: The Movie"
"Coneheads"
"Friday The 13th" (1980)

"Friday the 13th: Part 2"
"Friday the 13th: Part 3"
"Friday the 13th: Part 4: The Final Chapter"
"Friday the 13th: Part 6: Jason Lives"
"Friday the 13th: Part 8: Jason Takes Manhattan"
"Gentlemen Prefer Blondes"
"Get Shorty"
"Good Morning, Vietnam"
"Guess Who"
"Inventing the Abbotts"
"Jane Eyre"
"Jeepers Creepers 2"
"Les Miserables" (1935)
"Madeline"
"Miral"
"Mystic Pizza"

"Mystic River"
"Pee-Wee's Big Adventure"
"Philadelphia"
"Reindeer Games"
"Sense and Sensibility" (1995)
"Shadow of the Vampire"
"Taking Lives"
"The Amityville Horror" (1979)
"The Cable Guy"
"The Karate Kid" (1984)
"The Karate Kid Part II"
"The Karate Kid Part III"
"The Quick and the Dead"
“The Whole Nine Yards”

Leaving 4/10

"Sleeping Beauty" (2011)

Leaving 4/12

"Paranormal Activity 4: Unrated Edition"

Leaving 4/16

"The Woman Who Wasn't There" 

NOW SEE: What's coming to Netflix in April

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Netflix's new 'Daredevil' show looks way better than Ben Affleck's version of the superhero

Variety's Mark David reports that Tom Cruise has listed his mansion on Mulholland Drive for just under $13 million with the real estate Multiple Listing Service.

The European-style villa in Beverly Hills has two parcels with a total of 2.5 acres of land, according to the listing. The home is gated with three bedrooms and a fully detached guest house with an additional four bedrooms and bathrooms.

According to Variety, the home was rumored to have been bought as a retreat for high-level Scientologists — it was purchased by two corporate entities back in 2005 — and Tom Cruise’s sister was recently living on the property.

The movie star seems to be undergoing a real estate overhaul. In November of last year he listed his Colorado estate for $59 million and back in 2013 he listed his New York townhouse for $28 million as well as an East Village condo for $3 million. Variety reports he currently lives in a Beverly Hills mansion he bought for $30.5 million in 2007.

The home is on sale for $12.995 million, according to real estate listing website Redfin.

Welcome to Tom Cruise's Beverly Hills mansion that he's currently selling for $13 million. The home is right off of the famous Mulholland Drive.

According to Variety, the estate is rumored to have been a not-so-secret Scientology retreat.

The property has both a main residence as well as a separate guest house.

Long before Robert Durst was in the news for the explosive HBO documentary "The Jinx" and his recent arrest, the 71-year-old real estate heir gripped the nation in 2003 while on trial for the murder and dismemberment of his Galveston, Texas, neighbor, Morris Black. 

While many considered the case a "slam dunk" in finally putting Durst behind bars after the murder of his best friend and "disappearance" of his wife 21 years prior, Durst's high-powered defense attorney claimed self-defense and he was acquitted of murder.

Those who had been following the high-profile case went nuts after the verdict, including Jon Stewart.

In a 2003 "Daily Show" clip titled "Where's The Head?" Stewart says: "There's one case we need to talk about and that's the multimillionare Robert Durst, who had been on trial for — well, it's kind of a funny story — dismembering his neighbor. Things didn't look good for him after he admitted to dismembering his neighbor, but yesterday he was acquitted by a jury."

"And since he's from New York, that's gotten quite a bit of play here in the city, so I wanted to show you some of the headlines."

"The New York Times, generally not known for their ironic, humorous take on things — 'New York City Real Estate Heir Is Acquitted of Murder in Texas: Durst, Who Cut Up Body, Argued Self-Defense' — that's as close as the New York Times will come to making a joke on the front page. That's like the New York Times just going, 'Can you f------ believe it?!"

"But here's what's so wonderful about New York, the different newspapers give you different takes. For instance, there was a slightly more subtle approach from the Daily News."

"And of course the New York Post strikes a more cautionary pose — 'Run For Your Lives!'"

"So, the guy who cut up his neighbor is free — go justice system!"

Watch the full "Daily Show" clip from 2003 below:

On Saturday, Durst was arrested by FBI agents at a New Orleans hotel, a day before the final episode of the HBO series "The Jinx" aired.

"FBI agents believed Durst may have wanted to flee the country, possibly to Cuba, as he registered under an alias at the hotel, paid with cash, and was found with fake documents," according to ABC News. Coincidentally, Saturday marked the first nonstop flight from New Orleans to Cuba since 1958, as pointed out by nola.com.

SEE ALSO: Fred Armisen plays Robert Durst in this amazing 'SNL' sketch from 2003

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: 6 Crazy Things Revealed In HBO's Explosive New Scientology Documentary 'Going Clear'

When Amazon bought Twitch, a popular video-game streaming platform last August, the website had a healthy 45 million monthly visitors. Fast-forward less than a year and the site has more than twice that, averaging 100 million viewers as of the end of December.

What's more astounding is that Twitch's average user watches 106 minutes of video on the site per day even though none of the players are exactly household names.

This dedicated community of viewers fuels Twitch's success, according to Twitch star Sean Plott.

“Twitch is fundamentally a community site [for the gaming community] and a technology platform," Plott told Business Insider. "It’s not successful because it has a huge show or 10 huge personalities.” 

On the surface, Twitch may look simply like a video-streaming site. At its core, though, Twitch serves as a social network for gamers, according to Plott.

While watching and playing the games is a central function of Twitch, the action on the screen is not limited to the games. As Twitch's PR director told Business Insider, users joke around with each other, talk about their lives, and form friendships. Twitch helps users socialize.

Twitch enables fans of a particular game to form a community on their own without the interference of a third party, Plott points out, citing that ability as the site's main strength.

"There are streamers that only have 40 or 50 followers, but those followers always watch when that person streams," Plott said. "It’s so easy for someone to hit a button, be live, and create a community."

Since its launch, Twitch has focused on video games and the gaming community. It's easy to see however, how the site could transfer that "social video" approach to other communities and interests like traditional sports or even politics. 

Indeed, the site has begun to push into a new sector: music. In 2014, the site added a "Music" category for musicians and has started to livestream concerts on the site. Twitch has created partnerships with record labels like Monstercat, Fool's Gold, Skrillex-founded OWSLA, and Steve Aoki's Dim Mak, which have made their music available for free on the platform and host their own Twitch channels. 

It's easy to imagine music aficionados using Twitch as a space to talk about their favorite bands, watch exclusive performances live, or even talk to the performers themselves during a livestream.

The challenge in bringing "social video" to other areas like music and news may lie in managing other communities. Twitch is deeply involved in the video game community and understands what it wants. Whether Twitch could bring that knowledge to other areas remains to be seen.

Twitch works best when streamers have small, but dedicated followings, which allows for productive chats. The larger the followings, the more difficult it is for streamers to connect with viewers, which is one of its core strengths. When it comes to other sectors, it might not be so easy to create those followings.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: 14 things you didn't know your iPhone headphones could do

With its second season coming to a close Wednesday night, Comedy Central's "Broad City" has quickly become a cult favorite.

The show's casual and off-the-cuff feel is part of the appeal, but behind-the-scenes there's a long writing and production process before anything makes it onto the air.

"Writing is the first act of our three act experience of the show of acting, shooting, editing," one of the show's stars and creators, Ilana Glazer, tells Business Insider over the phone. 

"It’s pretty stressful, the deadlines come quickly," she adds, "but those deadlines actually make us feel like we’re running around Broad City, too. It has the same feeling of the show and we feel like the process of rushing to come up with good ideas for an outline and make it into a script, the process feeds the product."

Despite the improv backgrounds of "Broad City" creators and stars, Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer, the show is actually written by a whole team of writers.

"What it looks like is a room of writers who we came up with here [in NYC] in the comedy community, and we all come up together with these bigger concepts of what the episodes could be and we all kind of write every episode," Glazer explains. "We come up with the outlines and a writer or a writing team may go off and write the script but I think the whole writers' room is all over every episode."

Adds Jacobson: "Yeah, because the script then comes back into the room and we all go over the script together. The whole process is very collaborative."

And for the most part, all actors stick to the script.

"The show is very, very much scripted," says Glazer. "We use some new little details in and out of scenes, but we do stick to our script a lot. Just in general, how it works on set is we do two or three scripted takes and then we say to the actor: ‘Okay, now just put it in your words, just so it feels natural.' What we usually end up taking from people’s improv is flourishes people put on." 

Adds Glazer: "The way the shows feels very present and in the moment is exactly how we write it. Our No.1 goal is always the comedy and the funniest thing over other goals of like plot, or where they end up. I feel like we’re very much about the moment that the characters are in and what’s the funniest expression of their experience."

Jacobson agrees that one of the most important aspects of the show is keeping the characters and their story lines in the moment.

"I don’t think there’s so much huge growth happening," she says of her character. "I think it’s just like, you’re in your twenties, you may envision where you end up but maybe it’s just better to focus on the day ahead of you, and that’s what the show does."

But, Jacobson says of the future of the show, "Ideally we just get to continue playing with things we find funny and exploring New York and the different facets of New York. I don’t think that I could speak to any kind of plot of where we want to go because I think it’s more about this exploration and playfulness of the show that I want to take to another level."

And while Glazer and Jacobson are off "exploring New York," they tell us that Comedy Central let the duo do their thing.

"We love working with Comedy Central," says Glazer. "Their main thing is to nurture our artistic vision and we’re so lucky that we are at the network right now. The people there are great, they just get it. They get the artistic process, and we get to continue to refer to our work as 'art' and think of it that way."

The network does, however, offer a few pointers here and there.

"We actually like their notes when they give them to us, which they do," Glazer says of working with Comedy Central. "They’re just like our other executive producers, just like Amy [Poehler]. They give outlines on drafts. We don’t take every note, but we really appreciate them. It’s happily collaborative."

As for that other EP, Amy Poehler, who helped bring "Broad City" from web series to network TV, both Glazer and Jacobson have nothing but praise.

"Just working with her and getting to know how she operates in all of the different roles she plays as a producer, as an actor, as a businessperson, it’s just sort of learning how she operates has been the biggest thing for me," says Jacobson. "It’s a good person to watch and learn from."

"But on a specific level," she adds, "I think she has a bigger picture view of the show. We’re so in the show that she sees it from a step back, and that lends to looking at things from a different point of view, which is really important."

SEE ALSO: Here's how Comedy Central's 'Broad City' lands such epic celebrity guest stars

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Adam Sandler may finally have a hit with 'Pixels' — watch the awesome trailer

Of all the characters who cross paths with Robert Durst in The Jinx, perhaps the most enigmatic is Durst's second wife, Debrah Lee Charatan.

First seen bailing Durst out of jail after his 2001 murder arrest, Charatan appears only in archival police interview footage, where she's a brash, sarcastic presence. (She declined to be interviewed for the documentary, perhaps wisely.)

With little else to go on, both Jinx fans and the series itself have speculated on the exact nature of Charatan's relationship with Durst. As one interviewee put in in the penultimate episode, "A lot of people believe Debbie knows Bob’s secrets, whatever they may be."

As Durst's legal troubles have been well covered in the press, so, too, have various snippets of Charatan's biography. Here's what we know about her so far.

Like Durst, she's a powerful figure in New York City real estate.

Unlike Durst, it seems to be her passion. Charatan first came to fame in the 1980s, running all-female brokerage firm Bach Reality and telling Harper's Bazaar she had aspirations of being "a female Harry Helmsley." Alongside her son from her first marriage, she currently heads BCB Property Management, which has been instrumental in the gentrification of Crown Heights. 

She met Durst in the late ’80s after his first wife disappeared.

According to the New York Times, the couple began dating in 1988, six years after Durst's first wife Kathleen disappeared. Both came from tragic families: Durst's mother had died in front of him, while Charatan's parents had survived the Nazi invasion of Poland, which cost her father his foot.

The pair moved into an Upper East Side apartment together in 1990, the same year Durst officially divorced his missing wife, but the cohabitation was short-lived. (She kept the apartment.) The pair kept in contact throughout Durst's travels in the ’90s, and she was reportedly a "lifeline" for him whenever he visited New York.

They were secretly married in December 2000, just before the death of Durst's friend Susan Berman.

The timing is important, as it's shortly after the Kathie Durst case was reopened, and only weeks before the death of Susan Berman.

Their wedding was apparently a rushed affair — 15 minutes, one witness, a rabbi hired from the phone book. "Durst was rather taciturn," the rabbi later told the New York Daily News. "He was not buoyant and didn't smile." The Jinx implies Durst married Charatan to prevent her from testifying against him, and as for what was in it for her, a former co-worker told the Times, "For Debbie, it's all about the money. When she met Bob, she hit pay dirt."

Charatan was a frequent visitor during Durst's Galveston trial, and a confidante during his stint in jail.

As seen in The Jinx, Charatan was the driving force behind Durst's decision to fire attorney Michael Kennedy and go with a local lawyer, Dick DeGeurin.

According to transcripts of jailhouse phone calls obtained by the New York Post, the decision was a purely mercenary one: Kennedy wanted to go with an insanity defense, which could jeopardize both Durst and Charatan's share of his family's fortune. (When Durst jumped bail, police prevented her from withdrawing $1.8 million from his accounts.) Other parts of the transcripts reveal Charatan saving Durst from potentially incriminating himself, interrupting him when he threatened revenge against Berman's friend Kim Lankford, and reminding him that his armed appearance outside his brother's house was a "suicide" attempt.

Despite all this, Durst didn't fully trust Charatan, telling his sister their wedding was "a marriage of convenience ... I had to have Debrah to write my checks. I was setting myself up to be a fugitive." Later, Charatan appeared on what police claimed was Durst's "enemies list."

She's apparently still married to Durst, and handles his real-estate deals.

Charatan eventually moved out of the Fifth Avenue apartment she'd shared with Durst, and traded it up for another one; when she sold that apartment in November, the tabloids still called her Durst's wife. Through BCB, she and Durst invested money from his trust fund in buildings in Williamsburg and Carroll Gardens, and flipped them for a $12 million profit last summer.

SEE ALSO: Here's what Jon Stewart said about Robert Durst after his shocking murder trial verdict in 2003

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: 6 Crazy Things Revealed In HBO's Explosive New Scientology Documentary 'Going Clear'

When “Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace” opened in theaters May 19, 1999 the anticipation for the continuation of the saga was palpable. Fans would finally get the first three installments leading up to “Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.” All those hours of discussing what led Obi-Wan Kenobi to live in seclusion on Tatooine or why Anakin Skywalker turned to the dark side to become Darth Vader would finally be revealed.

Though the film earned over $1 billion dollars worldwide in its theatrical run, many critics and loyal fans weren’t that impressed by George Lucas’ return to his galaxy far, far away. From the strange sexual connection between 9-year-old Anakin (Jake Lloyd) and 14-year-old Queen Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman) to Jar Jar Binks, there was a lot to pick on Lucas about.

But one exception — and watching it 16 years later still gives me goosebumps — is the fight at the end of the movie between Jedi Knights Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) versus the Sith Lord Darth Maul (Ray Park) during the Battle of Naboo.

Doing a deep-dive of the scene, it's shocking to see what George Lucas and his team needed to use to pull off one of the pinnacle shots in the duel.

But first, let's get ourselves familiar again with the scene. 

Accompanied by a new piece of music from John Williams, who has been responsible for all of the iconic scores in the “Star Wars” saga, the scene shows that Lucas was prepared to elevate the lightsaber battles from episodes IV-VI. Faster, more complex moves and the inclusion of a new-style lightsaber sported by Maul, which had double blades, the scene gives the movie the jolt it needed following a drawn out podrace on Tatooine earlier and heavy dialogue-driven diplomatic scenes.

Lucas pushed his stunt team to create a fighting style different from the previous films as this is the era of Jedi in their prime. And in casting Maul he turned to Park, who was already doing stunts on the film. When Lucas saw a tape of him doing moves with the double-bladed lightsaber he gave him the role.

As per Lucas’ style, the Jinn/Kenobi/Maul fight is one of four battles going on simultaneously. There’s also Queen Padmé and her guard detail trying to retake the palace from Federation Viceroy Gunray; Jar Jar Binks and the rest of the Gungan army going up against the Federation’s droid army; and Anakin has found himself in space battling the Federation’s droid control ship after accidentally starting the starfighter he was hiding in. Lucas uses this method to keep the action from getting stale and extending the battles in running time.

Specifically focusing on the lightsaber battle, you have the intimidating figure of Maul — which up to this moment we had only seen mostly standing around looking sinister and for a brief moment battling Jinn on Tatooine — holding his own against two Jedi.

During the fighting, Kenobi is kicked by Maul and falls down a lower level of the room and finds himself hanging from one of the catwalks in the generator room.

With Jinn fighting Maul one-on-one, Maul leads him towards a narrow hall with laser fields.

Kenobi finds the strength to force-jump back on the catwalk. He jumps once more to the level Jinn and Maul are on and races back to the action. But is held up when the laser fields turns on. Jinn and Maul are also separated by the fields, leading to a pause in the action.

When we return after checking in on Anakin, Jar Jar and Padmé’s progress, we find Jinn, Kenobi and Maul preparing for the fields to open.

Using The Force they are prepared before the fields are opened with Jinn and Maul instantly going back at it. Kenobi is still racing to assist his Master.

The fields close just before Kenobi can enter the fray and he is forced to watch as Maul kills Jinn.

Once you get over the shock of seeing a lightsaber go through someone, you can't help but find the reaction of Kenobi eerily similar to Luke Skywalker watching Kenobi’s death by the hand of Darth Vader in “A New Hope.”

In the commentary track of “The Phantom Menace” Blu-ray, Lucas explained the challenges of this portion of the scene.

“One of the most difficult parts of this sequence was figuring out a way to separate Obi-Wan from Qui-Gon,” he said. “I had to have a situation where Qui-Gon could get trapped and Obi-Wan would have to look and watch him get killed and not be able to do anything about it.” 

Kenobi finally gets his chance to avenge Jinn’s death as the final laser field opens.

Lucas remarked on McGregor and Park’s intensity in this duel.

“This was a fun sword fight between Ewan and Ray because they were really into it and they were very much out to prove who was the better swordsman,” he said in the commentary. “They were very much challenging each other, which made for a challenging shoot but very exciting. They finished this and their swords were almost bent in half they were hitting each other so hard.” 

But things don’t go well when Maul force-pushes Kenobi into a pit, leaving him hanging for his life as Maul kicks his lightsaber into the dark void.

Lucas notes that this moment is a theme in the saga.

“[Obi-Wan] falls over the ridge earlier [in the battle], falls over here. Copying kind of what happens in ‘Empire Strikes Back’ with Luke in the same kind of sword fight with a Sith and falling over the edge.”

But in a move that surprises Maul, Kenobi force-jumps out of the pit while using The Force to get Jinn’s lightsaber, flips over Maul, and slices him in half.

Lucas says the four battles were switched around in the way they ended numerous times in post production. But he finally settled on the Kenobi/Maul battle to conclude them all.

“When you have four endings basically you have to figure out which is the most important and save it for last and the most shocking,” he said. “Which is Darth Maul being cut in half, and you make it the last one.” 

In looking back on "The Beginning" documentary we also get a glimpse into the making of the Jinn/Kenobi/Maul duel.

Here's Park getting his Darth Maul makeup applied.

Though the generator room looks like a giant section of Padmé’s palace, it actually was a portion of a soundstage the first three films were all shot on in London. Most of the vast space created in post production.

"The Beginning" shows the section of filming where Kenobi pulls himself from the catwalk to get back into the fight. Here McGregor is shown a model of the generator room and where the catwalk he's hanging from is located. 

A challenge making that sequence was finding a way for McGregor to leap back onto the catwalk in a "graceful, Jedi-like move." 

First they tried a trampoline.

That didn't work.

After the shot, Lucas came over to say that from his monitor "you can see that he's bouncing on something."

This leads to a practical solution, but one that's surprising to see on the set of a "Star Wars" film. The stunt team decided to lift McGregor up while he's standing on a wooden plank.

That turned out to be successful. 

Pretty incredible that even on a $115 million budgeted movie sometimes what works best is some basic DIY ingenuity. 

Though it's hard to justify many things in “The Phantom Menace,” the Jinn/Kenobi/Maul duel shows the strength of the "Star Wars" saga. Unique battles with a thrilling score is the hallmark of “Star Wars” and this one especially stands out as it highlights the beauty of the lightsaber duels and its ferocity.

It brings us some hope that all those years of waiting for the prequel wasn’t all in vain.

Watch a portion of the fight below.

SEE ALSO: 2017 is going to be an absolutely huge year for Disney

Join the conversation about this story »

In April 2014, Evan Beard and Kendall Dabaghi launched a website, A Plus, in Ashton Kutcher's living room. They worked from the actor's Los Angeles pad for the next six months tirelessly, building a media site they hoped could become the next BuzzFeed.

Beard and Dabaghi moved to New York City and now their site has has 50 million monthly readers, according to the site's internal analytics. It just raised a $3.5 million convertible note at a $30 million valuation cap, sources with knowledge of the deal tell Business Insider.

The founders confirmed the fundraise to Business Insider but declined to comment on the valuation. Investors include Kutcher and Guy Oseary's Sound Ventures, A-list celebrities (who sources says are getting offered a lower valuation of ~ $20 million), SV Angel, Axelspringer*, Gary Vaynerchuck, Venture 51, Richard Chen of Ceyuan Ventures, Social Starts, Norwest Venture Partners' Jared Hyatt, and Babble co-founder Rufus Griscom.

We hear rappers Nicki Minaj and Lil Wayne are being asked to invest and that they're already part of the A Plus network.

A Plus (A riff on Kutcher's initials A+K) ended the year with $2 million in revenue, up from $0 eleven months prior, a source says, adding that the founders hope to eclipse BuzzFeed's 215 million monthly uniques by May.

Despite its soft launch in April, the site has actually been around for a bit more than a year. According to Business Insider's Rob Price, who did a deep dive into Kutcher's viral site, A Plus was originally a product discovery service that launched in 2013 but failed to gain traction. It pivoted to become an editorial shop in early 2014. 

Beard met Kutcher when he was the founder of Etacts, a startup that went through Y Combinator's accelerator program in Silicon Valley and was acquired by Salesforce. Kutcher attended the demo day where Beard presented.

Beard and Dabaghi then co-founded Gridtech, a company that helped analyze large sets of data. Gridtech was acquired by Spirent Communications. 

The software engineers teamed up with Kutcher and plotted ways to combine their technical backgrounds with Kutcher's extensive social reach. The result was A Plus, a viral, socially-concious media company that uses celebrity influencers to boost stories farther across the Internet. Beard is CEO, Dabaghi is president, and Kutcher is chairman of the board.

"We built technology to source content from around the web before it goes viral," Beard says. "It can predict the performance of different pieces of content and we use it to reach as many people as possible. We combined that with the social reach of Ashton and we were able to reach tens of millions of people in first few months."

Beard and Dabaghi wouldn't say exactly how their algorithm works, but it involves crawling lots of sites, such as news publications, YouTube and Tumblr, and determining which new posts are starting to gain traction. They hired a machine learning specialist to help analyze the data.

Links are then kicked to A Plus' 20-person newsroom, which curates the content and pings relevant celebrity partners to blast the stories to their social media followings. Beard and Dabaghi say celebrities see more engagement in their social streams when they share A Plus' content. Kutcher, they say, saw his own engagement increase 10X.

The long-term vision is to partner with all sorts of influencers across many verticals, like pro athletes for a sports section.

When asked if the celebrities are paid to partner with A Plus, Beard replied: "There are a lot of reasons they work with us."

Beard and Dabaghi plan to announce the celebrity partners sometime in the next few weeks.

*Axelspringer is a Business Insider investor

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A lawyer in Florida has come up with an ingenious way for drivers to evade drunken-driving checkpoints