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Here's why you probably aren't just imagining that video games have become more 'mature' over the past 5 years

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Breaking Bad GTA VIf you felt as if video games were getting more violent and more sexual over the past 5 years, it might not just be you.

New research from the data crunchers at Dadaviz shows a trend that would outrage violent-game opponent Tipper Gore. Since 2010, there has been a decline in new kid-friendly video games and an increase in ones rated "Mature."

Dadaviz's Ian Sommers looked at the video game titles released over the past decade and charted their respective ESRB ratings. The ESRB, or Entertainment Software Rating Board, is an agency that assigns ratings to computer and video games indicating the age group it thinks is appropriate to view them.

The ratings go from "E" for everyone: "May contain minimal cartoon, fantasy, or mild violence and/or infrequent use of mild language"; to "M" for mature: "Content is generally suitable for persons ages 17 and up. May contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content, and/or strong language." Well, there is also "A" for adult, but those titles are akin to NC-17 films and usually aren't mainstream.

If the data is any indication, it seems that the taste of the gaming public has shifted toward gore and away from minimal cartoon violence. The number of games released that are dubbed suitable for everyone has gone down.

See the shift in the graph below (though it's important to note that some of this could reflect changes in reviewing standards as well):

vidgameratings

SEE ALSO: The 11 top-grossing video games of all time

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9 tripped-out sci-fi technologies in 'The Martian' that NASA really uses

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the martian (entertainment weekly)

In Matt Damon's latest thriller "The Martian," NASA doesn't just play a key role in the movie — the agency was also an important consultant in the making of the film.

The movie is based on the best-selling recent novel by Andy Wier and explores the story of Mark Watney, a man marooned on Mars, and his struggle to survive. 

While the premise is science-fiction, much of the NASA equipment and technology featured in the film is scientifically accurate. Here's a comparison of all the awesome, seemingly science fiction elements of the movie that actually exist as science fact.

Make sure you don't miss them when you see the film, which premiers on Oct. 2.

 

 

DON'T MISS: All of the beautiful locations in Matt Damon's new thriller about Mars are real — here are the epic photos that prove it

UP NEXT: The best way to colonize Mars is crazier than Elon Musk's idea of dropping nukes on the planet

SCIENCE FICTION: Mark Watney spends most of his time on Mars in what he calls "the Hab," — short for Mars Lander habitat — which shields him from harmful radiation, contains breathable air, and protects against the sub-zero temperatures on Mars.



SCIENCE FACT: This is NASA's Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA). It's a three-story habitat that spent some time in the Arizona desert to test its equipment under intense arid climates similar to Mars before reaching its current home at Johnson Space Center in Texas.



SCIENCE FICTION: Perhaps the most impressive piece of machinery in Watney's arsenal is this Mars rover. It won't travel any faster than 15 mph, but it gives him great opportunity to explore the Martian surface.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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Kanye West says he definitely plans on running for president in 2020

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Kanye smile

If you didn't think a Kanye West presidential run was going to happen before, you should now.

The hip-hop mogul, whose fans have already created a PAC to raise support for a potential run, broke the internet when he announced that he'd take a shot at the oval office in 2020 during the VMAs.

In his first official interview since the announcement, West told Vanity Fair he "definitely" plans on running.

"I didn’t approach that because I thought it would be fun," he said.

"I sit in clubs and I’m like, 'Wow, I’ve got five years before I go and run for office and I’ve got a lot of research to do, I’ve got a lot of growing up to do.'"

West, 38, said people never dismissed the idea of him running because the “we don’t like Kanye" era has passed.

"As soon as I said that, it was like [people thought], 'Wait a second, we would really be into that, because actually if you think about it, he’s extremely thoughtful. Every time he’s ever gotten in trouble, he was really jumping in front of a bullet for someone else. He’s probably the most honest celebrity that we have,'” West said.

However, he later added that he "hates politics" — that they aren't his forte or his focus.

"I’m not a politician at all," he said. "I care about the truth and I just care about human beings. I just want everyone to win, that’s all I can say, and I think we can."

No matter what comes of his future presidential plans, West seems to think it will be a growing experience. "It’s fun to be a rock star," he said. "I’ll never not be one I guess, but there’ll be a point where I become my mother’s child."

West may just be testing the waters, but he's never been known to back down from a challenge or fear the spotlight in the past. 

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: 5 of the richest countries on Earth are in the Middle East, and they won't take any refugees from their war-torn neighbors










A startup that raised $250,000 on ’Shark Tank’ just made over $120,000 on Kickstarter in one week

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Power Practical

In early 2013, Power Practical’s cofounder Caleb Light received a surprise email from the producer of ABC’s “Shark Tank.”

The producer had come across Power Practical’s 2012 Kickstarter project called, “PowerPot,” and wanted his team to pitch the product on the show.

"We were like, ‘Holy hell, are you serious?” Light told us. “We were kind of skeptical that we would make it through and actually air because the possibility of that happening is insanely low.”

Two months later, Light’s team flew down to LA to film the show. Power Practical, founded in 2012, had already made over $500,000 at that point with PowerPot, a camping cooking pot that can generate electricity with boiling water. Light asked for $250,000 in exchange of 10% of his company, valuing Power Practical at $2.5 million.

But the investors, or the “Sharks,” weren’t so impressed. They said the market was too small and the product was just not that interesting. All the sharks ended up dropping out, leaving only Mark Cuban as Light’s last chance.

Cuban asked for 20% of the company at $250,000, cutting the company’s value in half. Light didn’t budge. Instead, he countered with 12% of the company, on top of a board seat and 3% share from the advisor options pool, essentially diluting less of the company.

“We got a deal,” Cuban said, walking up to Light and his cofounder David Toledo.

Since then, Cuban has worked closely with Power Practical, sitting on its board and helping create a growing business that Light says is generating millions in revenue now. Its latest product, a portable USB lighting product called Luminoodle, has raised more than $125,000 in less than a week on Kickstarter.

You can watch Power Practical on "Shark Tank" below. Its segment starts at the 8:38 mark:

 

The Shark Tank experience

Light said what makes “Shark Tank” so interesting is that the whole process of pitching and closing a deal is in reverse order.

Typically, a startup would meet with investors multiple times before getting the actual term sheet, and the investors would get to do due diligence along the way. In “Shark Tank,” however, you set the terms of the deal first — and then do the diligence process after that.

“People go on the show thinking you make the deal, then you walk away and get the money immediately,” Light said. “Whereas you actually go in there, do the deal, and then they kind of do a bunch of fact-checking, looking at your financials, product development, and then the deal closes or not based on the diligence that happens post-the pitch.”

In fact, Light said he was only able to close the deal with Cuban six months after filming the show. The show itself didn’t even air until almost a year later, in the spring of 2014.

“It makes it much more challenging in the Tank because you have one opportunity. The purpose of the meeting is to get the deal done so you can progress to the diligence process,” he said.

But going on the show pays off in different ways as well. It’s a massive publicity event and could instantly boost your sales, as it did with Power Practical, too.

“We at least tripled our sales since going on the show,” Light said.

The Mark Cuban Company

Power PracticalLight says the best part about working with Cuban isn’t just about the knowledge and feedback you get from him.

It’s the access to his entire team that’s comprised of accountants, designers, and product managers, which is helpful to a lot of his portfolio companies that tend to be early startups. Also, portfolio companies get to talk to each other, and help in certain areas when possible.

“We give weekly updates and talk to the team multiple times a week. But the greatest thing about the Mark Cuban Company is they facilitate conversations with multiple [portfolio] companies, creating this open communication channel that helps these people to grow together,” he said.

Power Practical has launched five Kickstarter projects so far, which generated roughly $700,000 in crowd funding in total. Its latest one, a portable LED light stick, is already showing signs of a big hit. Other Power Practical products are also available online or even at big box retail stores like Staples, Sam’s Club, and Brookstone.

So what does it all mean to go on Shark Tank, have Mark Cuban as a board member, and consistently churn out hot-selling outdoor products? Light says it's just a validation of his hard work.

"To go and tell our story, and be compelling enough to have someone like Mark, who's a billionaire, to be like, 'I want to back you guys and give you money, and try to help you be successful' — that’s a validation of all that blood, sweat, and tears have paid off at some point," Light said. "Not that it's our goal, but it’s kind of a means to achieving a larger goal of being a startup."

SEE ALSO: This guy turned his failure on 'Shark Tank' into a $28 million investment from Richard Branson

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NOW WATCH: Here’s why 'Shark Tank' star Robert Herjavec thinks Donald Trump is wrong on immigration










10 things you didn’t know about the background characters in the iconic 'Star Wars' cantina scene

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cantina

In continuation of our on-going series, “Star Wars” Rewind, in which we look back on all of the movies from the saga leading up to “Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens” (out December 18), we’ve now hit the one that started it all, “Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope.”

George Lucas’ sci-fi destiny was forged when the film opened in May of 1977 and essentially launched the summer blockbuster.

One moment in the film that’s always fun to go back and analyze is when Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) enter the Mos Eisley cantina in search of a pilot to take them to Alderaan. There they meet Han Solo (Harrison Ford), so obviously going into the cantina was worthwhile.

But Kenobi wasn’t joking when he told Luke that in Mos Eisley, “You’ll never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.”

Let’s look back on ten interesting characters who were in the cantina the day Luke and Obi-Wan walked in.

Watch out, this place can be a little rough.

SEE ALSO: George Lucas was scared to death to shoot this epic scene in 'Attack of the Clones'

1. Ackmena The Bartender

The nightshift at the cantina was overseen by Ackmena. We saw her in the now infamous "Star Wars Holiday Special" played by "Golden Girls" great Bea Arthur. Legend has it the day Luke and Obi-Wan were in the cantina she was in the backroom.

Ackmena was more liked at the cantina than the bartender during the day... 



2. Wuher The Bartender

This gruff fellow is known for not allowing droids in the establishment and takes cover when a blaster is drawn.



3. BoShek

This Corellian smuggler (who dabbled a little in The Force) is distinctly known for introducing Obi-Wan to the Millennium Falcon’s first mate, Chewbacca. But Obi-Wan and Luke would have been in good hands if BoShek decided to take them.

He set a new record for the Kessel Run before his meeting with the Jedi that day. Taking bragging rights from Solo and Chewbacca, who were the previous record holders. Though Solo still boasted his feat when he met Luke and Obi-Wan.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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Kanye West: When I first heard ‘brilliant’ Ben Carson speak, I tried to get on the phone with him for 3 weeks

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Kanye West

Kanye West is a fan of Republican presidential candidate and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson.

"As soon as I heard Ben Carson speak, I tried for three weeks to get on the phone with him," West said in an interview with Vanity Fair. "I was like this is the most brilliant guy."

West said in an interview Thursday that he's taking a future presidential run very seriously

The rapper/fashion designer announced at the MTV VMA's earlier this year he planned on running in 2020, but in the recent interview with Vanity Fair, West prescribed an unusual campaign strategy.

"When I run for president, I’d prefer not to run against someone," he said.

That's because he thinks presidential candidates should work together, since they all "have something that other candidates need."

"I would be like, 'I want to work with you,'” he said. "I want everyone to win."

West specifically named Carson, who has recently made headlines for saying he "would absolutely would not agree" with a person of Muslim faith holding office, as someone he'd like to work with. Despite his comments, Carson is still polling in second place of the Republican primary, trailing only front-runner Donald Trump. 

"The idea of this separation and this gladiator battle takes away from the main focus that the world needs help," West said.

SEE ALSO: Donald Trump: 'Kanye West — I love him'

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Eli Roth's long-delayed jungle cannibal movie is finally here, and it's exactly what you'd expect

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green inferno entrance

Eli Roth's "The Green Inferno" is finally getting a theatrical release after a tumultuous year-long delay, but unfortunately, it really wasn't worth the wait.

Considered a tribute to "Cannibal Holocaust" and exploitation films of the '70s and '80s, Roth's film actually plays more like a knock-off version of its influences than a worthy update.

Following in the footsteps of the subgenre, as well as Roth's own oeuvre, "The Green Inferno" follows a group of naive college kids as they travel to the Amazon with ambitions of saving the world.

They have a plan to stop evil Peruvian militias from destroying the rain forest and displacing/murdering the natives, and even though this proves to be a successful operation, their plane crashes on the way back, and the terror begins.

The rest of the film is a horror show in which our protagonists are imprisoned by a cannibalistic tribe, and one by one the Americans are maimed, cooked, and eaten by the villagers. While the gore is certainly there, Roth simply doesn't take things as far as he should.

green inferno cannibal"The Green Inferno" doesn't fully commit to the carnage. It's all inherently grisly and horrific, but whenever things get really hairy, you can count on a juvenile reminder that you're watching the work of a not-so-great filmmaker.

There are so many frivolous, tone-altering moments that take the viewer right out of the action.

For example, while the protagonists are all awaiting their gruesome fates, one of them gets really bad diarrhea, which makes the locals laugh. When confronted with the possibility of eating her friends, the very same girl claims she doesn't want to because "she's vegan."

Later, their genius plan to escape involves shoving a bag of marijuana down the throat of one of the deceased so that when the body is cooked, the villagers will all get stoned and become distracted.

It's scenes like these that keep "The Green Inferno" from being the mock-gonzo horror masterpiece it so desperately wants to be. Roth is not one to mask his ambition, and he actually said he wanted to distance himself from "Cannibal Holocaust" and "do something that was much more like a Werner Herzog movie."

green inferno plane crashIn this case, actions speak louder than words, as "The Green Inferno" very much looks and feels like "Cannibal Holocaust." Even the manner in which people die (aside from the cannibalism) is shockingly similar. Homage still requires a twinge of originality.

Squeamish viewers will most likely consider the film among the most repulsive they've ever seen, but more seasoned horror vets will scoff at how few and far between sequences featuring bloodshed are.

The first victim's death is appropriately visceral and hard to watch, but the rest of the carnage is played way too safe. Rather than one-up the film's predecessors, Roth pays homage in ways that actually water down the material. Nobody wants to see a death by CGI ants in this movie, nor do they want any blood and guts to spill offscreen, yet both of these things happen.

It doesn't help that the plotting is too familiar and the characters far too archetypal for their interactions to add any value.

The "final girl" here isn't atypical to the trope in any way, and everything that happens to her can be seen from a mile away. Her entire trajectory is made clear from the very opening sequence in which she's in a college course being lectured on female genital mutilation. When a film is this easy to peg down, it's hard to be that moved by it. final girl green infernoOne element that actually works fairly well is the film's indictment of "Social Justice Warriors" and "Facebook Activism," or the idea that these college-age kids are so willing to put themselves in danger for a vague cause just to rack up recognition on social media.

The film posits that these acts are more selfish than helpful, as the group is really there to take selfies and look like saints among their friends back home. This adds some relevance and satirical commentary, but it's not enough to do all the heavy lifting.

"The Green Inferno" features a premise so genuinely terrifying that it's extra disappointing when the film doesn't quite live up to it. It's a fine entry in the cannibal movie canon, but it's not the transcendent experience fans were promised.

Watch the trailer below.

"The Green Inferno" opens in limited release Friday, September 25.

SEE ALSO: This horror film that breathes new life into haunted-house movies is now available to watch

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Robert Herjavec on Ashton Kutcher's ‘Shark Tank' debut


Drake has finally addressed the accusations that he doesn't write his own raps

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Drake

Earlier this year, rapper Meek Mill and others accused Drake of not writing his own raps. Now Drake is finally addressing those statements.

In The Fader's latest cover story, the Toronto-based rapper brought up the issue before reporter Leon Neyfakh had a chance to ask him about it.

"I'm just gonna bring it up 'cause it's important to me," Drake told Neyfakh.

"I was at a charity kickball game — which we won, by the way — and my brother called me. He was just like, 'I don't know if you're aware, but, yo, they're trying to end us out here. They're just spreading, like, propaganda. Where are you? You need to come here.' So we all circled up at the studio, and sat there as Flex went on the air, and these guys flip-flopped about how they were gonna do this, that, and the third."

Drake was talking about Hot 97 radio DJ Funkmaster Flex, who stoked the fire when he announced on his radio show that someone had given him tapes of Drake songs originally recorded by other artists ("reference tracks").

Flex thought this would prove to the world that Drake was a fake and that he just copied other artists' work.

The same night Flex made the announcement, Drake recorded a diss track called "Charged Up," and he immediately released it. "Given the circumstances, it felt right to just remind people what it is that I do," Drake told Neyfakh.

But when he got no response from the other side, he was confused and frustrated.

"This is a discussion about music, and no one's putting forth any music?" he said. "You guys are gonna leave this for me to do? This is how you want to play it? You guys didn't think this through at all — nobody? You guys have high-ranking members watching over you. Nobody told you that this was a bad idea, to engage in this and not have something? You're gonna engage in a conversation about writing music, and delivering music, with me? And not have anything to put forth on the table?"

He added: "It was weighing heavy on me. I didn't get it. I didn't get how there was no strategy on the opposite end. I just didn't understand. I didn't understand it because that's just not how we operate."

Drake then knew what he had to do — put the finishing blow on his foes. That's when he released a second diss song, "Back to Back." He said he wanted to make it the song of the summer.

Drake"This has to literally become the song that people want to hear every single night," Drake said. "And it's gonna be tough to exist during this summer when everybody wants to hear this song that isn't necessarily in your favor."

People had such a problem with the accusations against Drake because for the longest time, hip-hop listeners tied authenticity and solo efforts together. If artists worked with other artists, they were seen as phonies.

The new era of music, however, has produced a different mindset.

Drake says music is sometimes a "collaborative" effort.

"I need, sometimes, individuals to spark an idea so that I can take off running," he said. "I don't mind that. And those recordings — they are what they are. And you can use your own judgment on what they mean to you."

In Drake's song "Tuscan Leather," he says he's "on a mission tryna shift the culture." Five years into his illustrious career, that's exactly what he's done.

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Mike Rowe's advice to 20-somethings: Just take a bite of the sh-- sandwich

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mike rowe

Through eight seasons of "Dirty Jobs" and three of "Somebody's Gotta Do It," Mike Rowe has seen hundreds of the toughest, grossest, and strangest jobs in the US.

We spoke with Rowe about the upcoming third season of "Somebody's Gotta Do It," premiering on Sept. 27, and what he's learned from spending the past 10 years with workers who perform some of the most back-breaking work in the country.

"Fundamentally, you're talking about people who don't necessarily rely on a job to make them happy," he said.

Rowe said he sees a worrying gap between the way these workers approach their jobs and the way young people do in general.

"If you ask [millennials], what's the most important key to job satisfaction, they would tell you, 'getting a job I love.'" That's like thinking the key to a happy marriage is finding your soul mate, he said. "But that's not really true, you know?"

"Most of the people I met on 'Dirty Jobs' and 'Somebody's Gotta Do It,' their level of job satisfaction is very high, but it's not because they're doing the thing they always dreamed of doing," Rowe said. "It's because they've figured out how to do it in a way that pleased them."

It's a lesson 20-somethings need to realize if they want successful careers, he explained.

Rowe thinks young people today need to better educate themselves about job markets before elaborately planning an ideal career. "There's a long list of things that you can't control and on that list is available opportunities, available pay — all the normal things that are basically set by the employer," he said. "They're out of your control. The opportunities that exist in your zip code might be very different from the opportunities that exist across the country. So you have to focus on the things you can control when it comes to work."

The things in your control include where you decide to live, what skill you decide to pursue, and how hard you work.

He said he knows his advice makes him sound like a cranky grandfather, but that's probably because it's the same advice his cranky grandfather gave him: Don't tell me about what you want to do; show me how to do it.

"And that means you show up early, you stay late, you learn a skill that's actually in demand," Rowe said. "And then you just have to take a bite of the sh-- sandwich when it comes around, you know? You've got to volunteer for the scut work, and do it with a smile."

Rowe said that his advice applies to both blue-collar and white-collar workers.

And as far as those with artistic talents who dream of having a successful art career, he said, "Go take the job waiting tables or busing tables or washing dishes, and do whatever you have to do and then do your art. Write your great novel. It's the thing that makes you human and whole. Just don't stand there waiting for somebody to pass out at your brilliance or write you a check."

In short, Rowe thinks that young Americans need to shed the ideal of their dream job and get working. It will not only benefit them, but it will benefit the country.

"The single biggest problem shared by most industries today is recruitment," Rowe said. "It's finding people who are willing to learn a skill that is actually in demand. It's a real problem. And that means it's a real opportunity for people who are willing to go that way."

SEE ALSO: Mike Rowe reveals what he considers to be the toughest job in America

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Ex-Scientologist actress Leah Remini is writing a 'bravely confessional' tell-all memoir

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Leah Remini

Actress Leah Remini has never been shy about sharing her opinion, and that will continue in a new book she'll be writing about her experience with Scientology.

Publisher Ballantine Books has announced that the former “King of Queens” star will be releasing a “bold, brash, and bravely confessional tell-all memoir" about her religious experience.

The book, titled Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology (due out November 3), “shares her deeply moving eye-opening account of her thirty-year-plus association with the Church of Scientology,” according Ballantine's press release.

Remini left the church in July 2013 when she questioned the validity of excommunication of people by the church. Once she left Scientology, she spoke out about the disappearance of her friend, Shelly Miscavige, who was the wife of the church's leader David Miscavige.

She even filed a missing persons report for Shelly with the Los Angeles Police Department.

The church told Business Insider in March that the police declared Remini’s missing persons report "unfounded" two years ago and that Shelly “continues in the church as she always has.”

kirstie alleyRemini has received some backlash for her decision to leave Scientology. Scientology member, actress Kirstie Alley, called Remini“repulsive” and “a bigot” during an interview on Howard Stern’s SiriusXM radio show in 2013

But former Scientology members have applauded Remini for leaving, like filmmaker Paul Haggis, who wrote an open letter in The Hollywood Reporter about it. “I can’t express how much I admire Leah," he wrote. "Her parents, family and close friends were almost all Scientologists; the stakes for her were so much higher than for me. Her decision to leave was so much braver…” 

According to people who have left the church, the decision to leave means that anyone who you knew that is still a Scientologist is required to excommunicate themselves with you, including family members.

The HBO documentary “Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of the Belief” gave an unflattering look at the church and the inhumane acts its members allegedly go through.

Remini did not take part in the film.

Business Insider has reached out to the Church of Scientology for comment for this story but has not yet received a reply.

SEE ALSO: Leah Remini on Scientology split: "No one is going to tell me how I need to think"

Join the conversation about this story »

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Inside the compound where the missing wife of Scientology's leader might be living

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David Miscavige

David Miscavige, the leader of the Church of Scientology, is one of the best-known Scientologists in the world. But Miscavige's wife, Shelly Miscavige, hasn't been seen in public since 2007.

The Church of Scientology says Shelly Miscavige isn't missing, and she hasn't been kidnapped. Instead, Scientology says she has been working inside the church.

The disappearance of Shelly Miscavige continues to be a high-profile mystery for Scientology critics and former members. A 2014 Vanity Fair article referred to Shelly Miscavige as "Scientology’s Vanished Queen."

Filmmaker Alex Gibney's 2015 Scientology documentary "Going Clear" passes over the disappearance of Shelly Miscavige, instead focusing on testimonies from former Scientology members and the history of the organisation's founder, L. Ron Hubbard.

Steve Hall, a former Scientologist who left the church in 2004 after spending the previous 17 years at its international management level as a senior writer of its marketing materials, spoke with Business Insider about where Shelly Miscavige might be. He thinks Shelly is at Scientology's little-known Church of Spiritual Technology, a remote forest compound with prison-like security in Twin Peaks, California, near San Bernardino.

It's important to note that Shelly Miscavige may not actually be held against her will. Instead, she may have been convinced that she must stay at the remote compound to make up for any alleged crimes she may have committed against the Church of Scientology. The 2014 Vanity Fair article says Miscavige was responsible for restructuring the upper levels of Scientology, but she told a former Scientology member at her father's funeral that she had "f----d up."

One person who has visited the compound is "Angry Gay Pope," the nom de guerre of an Anonymous activist who has staged protests against Scientology. In 2010, he took these pictures of the CST compound in Twin Peaks, documenting its spiked fences, razor wire, motion detectors, infrared spotlights, satellite dishes, fuel tanks, and mysterious semipermanent trailers.

SEE ALSO: 13 celebrities who left Scientology

This is an aerial view of the Twin Peaks, California, property owned by Scientology.



This aerial view has notations by Angry Gay Pope. The official address of the compound is 25406 State Highway 189, Twin Peaks, CA 92391.



This is an entrance to the compound, showing a security gate.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider








People are up in arms over 'a borderline insulting' new movie about a landmark moment in the gay-rights movement

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stonewall

Director Roland Emmerich is known best for making CGI-heavy disaster movies like "Independence Day," "The Day After Tomorrow," and "2012." So with "Stonewall" (opening Friday) the filmmaker delivers his most personal film yet — unfortunately, it isn't going over well with critics.

The film looks back on a landmark moment in the modern gay-rights movement, the Stonewall Inn riots in 1969, in which a police raid of the gay bar led to riots by its patrons.

Emmerich, who is gay, had to put up his own money to make the film (budgeted at $15 million), as no studio would take it on.

Though it seems as if Emmerich's intentions for making the movie come from a good place, the public reaction has been anything but kind. The trailer, which revealed that the movie's lead was a straight white guy (Jeremy Irvine), debuted to biting criticism. The Stonewall patrons were mostly nonwhite.

Then there's this quote Emmerich gave during a BuzzFeed interview that made it seem as if his movie was meant to cater to a straight audience:

"You have to understand one thing: I didn't make this movie only for gay people, I made it also for straight people," he said. "I kind of found out, in the testing process, that actually, for straight people, [Danny] is a very easy in. Danny's very straight-acting. He gets mistreated because of that. [Straight audiences] can feel for him."

Now the Gay-Straight Alliance Network has called for a boycott of the movie.

Things aren't looking good for the film, which has a rating of 10% on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, entering its opening weekend.

Here's how critics feel about it so far:

Variety commented on its tame portrayal of the events:

"Disaster maven Roland Emmerich treats a seminal event in the gay pride movement as the mere backdrop to the otherwise vanilla story of a homeless Indiana teen looking for community in New York City."

Vanity Fair points out its glaring flaw:

stonewall 3 roadwide attractions"But more troubling was how Emmerich seemed to be framing the story, with Jeremy Irvine playing some beautiful, blond angel from the Midwest, sent to the Village to marshall the non-white, gender-queer street kids into action. Which, y'know, is certainly not how the Stonewall riots, which were largely incited by drag queens and trans women of color and lesbians, actually happened."

The Wrap touched on its absurdity:

"'Stonewall' somehow manages to be simultaneously bloated and anemic, overstuffed and underpopulated. It's a story about a true historical event that spends way too much time on its fictional lead character; the tone is so erratic and artificial that it wouldn't feel surprising if the movie suddenly became a musical."

The Playlist suggests Emmerich needs to go back to what he knows best:

"If 'Stonewall' is what it means for Emmerich to make an artist's statement, please, for the love of god, someone start setting up dynamite charges around the Seven Wonders of the World so that he might return to his wheelhouse."

The Guardian tells it like it is:

Roland Emmerich Sonia Recchia Getty"It's still difficult for gay cinema to pass into the mainstream. Emmerich, who put his own money into making the film, should be cheered for giving it a shot. Unfortunately the compromises he's made leave 'Stonewall' feeling neutered. A member of the Mattachine Society makes a speech about how gay men should assimilate. 'Wearing a suit and tie will make them realize they're just like you,' he says. 'Stonewall' tries the same trick. By trying to disguise itself as a coming-of-age romance, it hides the real story underneath."

But Salon has the mic drop:

"I think we need to file Emmerich's 'Stonewall' – a well-intentioned, profoundly silly and borderline insulting movie – under the category of Yeah That Happened or perhaps God Reminding Us We Are Idiots, and then forget it as soon as possible."

SEE ALSO: "I was here the day of the rebellion": The birthplace of the gay rights movement celebrates the Supreme Court

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'Sicario' is a relentless, brutal look at the realities of the drug war

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"Sicario" is as ugly and hopeless as the drug war itself. 

The film wastes no time getting to the nitty-gritty as it opens with Kate Macer (Emily Blunt) leading the charge on her own FBI kidnapping task force. During the opening raid, forty-plus corpses are discovered in the walls of a home owned by a vicious Mexican cartel.

A Department of Defense "consultant" (Josh Brolin) then plucks a shell-shocked Kate from the field to join his interagency operation, along with Alejandro (Benicio del Toro), another alleged DoD "consultant." 

From the very moment Kate agrees to join her new team, she is systematically lied to. She is told they're going on a trip to El Paso, but wind up in the war-torn streets of Ciuadad Juarez, where limbless bodies hang in public view. Kate is never briefed on the operation and remains entirely in the dark and even when she thinks she's got all the facts, they're not entirely accurate. This is par for the course.

As Kate becomes embedded deeper into this lawless world, her repeated attempts to play things "by the book" are systematically rejected. By the end of the film, the ugly truth is revealed: There's no room for morals or ethics here.

Welcome to the war on drugs.

sicario brolin"Sicario" quite masterfully presents the harsh realities of life during a drug war. We are introduced to characters on all sides, and even dirty cops and cartel members are humanized, which makes the drama incredibly impactful and hard to swallow. This is a film so bleak that there are no rules — anything can happen and to anyone. 

"Sicario" is deliberately slow and meanders in its second act to a fault. Kate is a conduit for the audience, so we are just as sheltered by the lack of information as Kate herself, and this can be aggravating at times and make the film feel a bit airy and aimless.

That being said, it does all build to an intense, uniquely shot sequence, and an ending that gave me chills. By then, I had forgiven the film's (thematically intentional) disorientation. It's a hauntingly graceful film, and the methodical pacing ultimately works in its favor.  

Emily Blunt is fantastic as Kate Macer and nails the nuance associated with doing all she can to be on the right side of the law and still winding up on the dark side.

Benicio del Toro, however, is the film's greatest asset as a mysterious force whose allegiances are not made explicitly clear until all is said and done. He's equal parts thoughtful and brooding, which makes his rage and determination that much more palpable. 

sicario benicioIt's hard to not crack a smile whenever Brolin's character is on screen, as he's constantly busting balls and being so purposefully vague with his team. He's hilarious yet so cold that it's almost alarming that we find him so amusing. 

Technically speaking, the film is gorgeous. The urgency of its pulsating score, the gorgeous photography (by cinema legend Roger Deakins), and the commanding performances — every element works towards a full, truly cinematic experience. All the violence is handled in such a way that pops with intensity and dread.

The real beauty of "Sicario" is that it is entirely apolitical and amoral; it presents the horrors and lets them speak for themselves. It's not pushing any sort of agenda, but it's so relentlessly in your face that you'll leave the theater mortified at how real it all might be. 

Watch the trailer below. It will be released nationwide October 2. 

SEE ALSO: 'Everest' is a harrowing moviegoing experience, but it's missing something

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'The Daily Show' had to rewrite a bunch of jokes from its premiere script after John Boehner's surprise resignation

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Daily Show Trevor Noah John Boehner

Trevor Noah and his team is going to have to pull or revise some John Boehner jokes from the upcoming "Daily Show" debut.

Noah and his Emmy-winning writers and producers were in the middle of a press conference, which Business Insider was attending, when the news broke that Boehner will be resigning both his position as House Speaker and his congressional seat on October 30.

"I’m sorry, we have to go right now," Noah joked, without skipping a beat, after hearing the news.

The new host then added, "That’s sad. I liked him. He always cried."

It was then that one of the producers let it slip that they had "really funny" jokes about Boehner planned for the upcoming premiere episode on Monday.

One reporter requested that they tell us the "failed jokes."

"They weren’t failed," Noah responded. "They were great jokes. That’s the sad thing."

Salvaging the moment, Noah then used Boehner's resignation to illustrate how he and his team would react to breaking news:

This would’ve broken in the room. Then, we would sit around and then we would discuss and then we’d look at how we should approach. I’m a big fan of thinking before I say or react to anything. So, that’s what we’d be doing about it right now is talking about it and reminiscing on our favorite Jon Boehner moments. They would be taking me back to some that I didn’t know of. And then we’d figure out where to go from there.

"The Daily Show With Trevor Noah" will premiere Monday, September 28 at 11:00 p.m. ET on Comedy Central and will be simulcast on all the Viacom networks.

SEE ALSO: The Trevor Noah era of 'The Daily Show' is now here with this first promo

MORE: Here's how Jon Stewart's successor Trevor Noah plans to change 'The Daily Show'

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New 'The Daily Show' host Trevor Noah says Donald Trump 'doesn't say much'

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daily show trevor noah donald trump

Trevor Noah said he's keeping his mind wide open on the presidential candidates and who he'd interview on Comedy Central's "Daily Show" during a press conference on Friday, which Business Insider attended.

"We have an opportunity to re-learn these institutions," Noah told reporters. "I come on with a clean slate, I feel, with a lot of the politicians, a lot of the news media outlets, I have an opportunity to grow into it."

Noah thinks Dr. Ben Carson, for example, who recently came under fire for saying he wouldn't support a Muslim person for president, “would be a very energetic interview."

The South African native, who refers to himself as a progressive politically, expressed several times during the conference that he's very interested in Rand Paul.

"Myself and [executive producer Steve Bodow] we were watching the debate together and I was complimenting every single thing Rand Paul said," Noah laughed.

Rand PaulBodow warned Noah, "Just you wait. He's going to break your heart." 

That didn't put the host off of having Paul on the show. "I really think there's the beginnings of something fantastic there," he said.

And what about Donald Trump? The host has certainly done some thinking about the candidate.

“Donald Trump is an interesting one, because the truth of the matter is he doesn’t say much, and really what we’re doing is enjoying the spectacle of it all,” Noah said. “That’s really what we’re doing: we’re indulging in it. At some point, our indulgence may come back to bite us.”

He said that while he would welcome Trump onto the show, he feels they really will need to think about why.

"The question I would ask me and the team is 'What do we aim to achieve from this? What are we trying to do?'" Noah said. "Is it just for entertainment? Are we really trying to get answers?"

"The Daily Show With Trevor Noah" will premiere Monday, September 28 at 11:00 p.m. ET on Comedy Central and will be simulcast on all the Viacom networks.

SEE ALSO: 'The Daily Show' had to rewrite a bunch of jokes from its premiere script after John Boehner's surprise resignation

MORE: Mike Rowe was almost named the host of 'The Daily Show' twice

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New 'Daily Show' host Trevor Noah explains why Monday's show will be like going on a first date

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Trevor Noah will fill Jon Stewart's former role as host of "The Daily Show" starting Sept. 28, a job he landed after just a brief stint as a "Daily Show" correspondent.

The 31-year-old South African comedian has been honing his stage presence since he was 18. Now that he's part of an experienced team of Comedy Central writers and producers, he's refining his creative process.

At a panel at "The Daily Show" studios on Friday, we asked Noah how he's transitioned from developing material for a stand-up career to becoming the host of an acclaimed show with an Emmy-winning team of creative people.

He said the journey has been like dating someone new, and the main task has been keeping honesty at the forefront.

"Performing stand up, you have no tools at your disposal, no production tools," Noah said. "So what you're trying to do is create a world only using your words. And so what's been fun here is learning how many tools we have at our disposal. There are screens, there are videos, there are things that can help you create that picture...

"And so what's been really fun is learning to incorporate that into what I've been doing and then finding ways to authentically bring Trevor into the show."

He said he and his team have been focusing on how to develop him as the host without compromising either the tradition of the show or his authentic self. "My stand up is honestly the most natural version of who I am," Noah explained. "I don't play a character on stage. I try to get to the most honest place. And so I'm trying to get to that place on the show."

It's a matter of practice. "That just comes with doing it repetitively," he said. "You find your rhythm, you find your beat. You start to learn the audience, you start to learn each other. It's like any relationship, you know? Your first date, you go, Does this work? And then, Yeah, let's do this again. And again, and again, and again. And then you slowly slide into a rhythm. And then you hate one another — the other person is there all the time, throwing towels on the bathroom floor and squeezing the toothpaste."

Noah is now in a position where he's learning to appreciate the similarities and differences of the worlds of stand up and cable television, as well as the worlds of being a one-man show and being one member of a large team. "It's a beautiful journey that we'll be on together," he said. "It's about meshing those two worlds and finding the right balance."

SEE ALSO: 'Daily Show' host Trevor Noah breaks down his insane daily schedule

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This is the best advice Ronda Rousey has ever gotten

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Ronda Rousey

Ronda Rousey won yet again this week when she was named to Forbes' 40 under 40 at the ripe age of 28.

The list is made up of mostly business-related minds and hosts names such as Jessica Alba and John Oliver.

After Rousey made the list, Forbes asked her a bunch of questions about her life, including the best advice she's ever gotten.

Rousey said she has one piece of advice that she never forgets and takes everywhere she goes: “No one has the right to beat you,” Rousey said, words of wisdom she first heard from her mother.

“Someone has to be the best in the world. Why not you?"

She added, "That applies to fighting, writing, acting, business. I always try to keep that in mind."

It seems to be working out for her. Rousey is 12-0 in the UFC, and she has seen nothing but success over the course of her career. Many people even believe her to be the most dominate female athlete of all time.

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An MTV star created a Kickstarter campaign for a web series about women falling in love in an elevator

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GettyImages jillian rose reed

Jillian Rose Reed, who stars on the MTV comedy "Awkward," is producing and starring in a web series about women who fall in love in an elevator, but she needs help getting it made.

She has pledged to raise $36,000 on Kickstarter by Saturday, October 17 to fund the project.

jillian rose reed elevator stories kickstarterTitled "Elevator Stories," the romantic comedy takes place in the New York City apartment building where Fashionista, Ezabel (played by Nicole Percent), and comic book artist, Samantha (Reed), fall for each other via fortuitous meetings in their elevator. 

Created by Erica Feliciano, the series will also explore Ezabel's many former lovers, who also happen to live in the building. The stories will also tie in with a comic book Samantha's working on.

"I'm so lucky to have found Erica through this process and get to work with her, because she's such a good writer and such a good person," Reed says in the Kickstarter video.

"And for me, attaching myself to a female-driven piece of work is extremely important, especially right now," she continued. "It's really timely and I'm really excited."

Find out more about the project in the video below:

  

SEE ALSO: Amy Schumer just landed a ~ $10 million book deal

MORE: The reports are true! Jenna Coleman is leaving 'Doctor Who'

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Matt Damon was offered the 'Daredevil' role before it went to his pal Ben Affleck

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Damon Affleck Getty Angela Weiss

While promoting his new movie "The Martian," Matt Damon revealed to The Daily News that he was offered the lead role of "Daredevil" before it went to his good buddy Ben Affleck. 

"That's the comic we read when we were kids," Damon told the paper.

But when it came time to sign on in 2003 the actor balked.

"I chickened out, because I couldn’t tell," he said. "I hadn’t seen the director [Mark Steven Johnson’s] work and I didn’t know. So I just said, ‘no,’ and Ben was like, ‘I ‘gotta do it.'”

It turned out to be the right choice for Damon and the wrong one for Affleck. 

The theatrical release of "Daredevil" only grossed $180 million worldwide and was slaughtered by the critics. The Marvel character has since found a new life in the popular Netflix series of the same title.

In an interview for Playboy last year, Affleck said that the "Daredevil" role is the only movie he regrets making. 

Affleck will get a superhero redo next year when he plays Batman in "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice."

SEE ALSO: 12 ways Matt Damon uses science to survive in "The Martian"

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