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Believe the hype — Netflix's 'Beasts of No Nation' is incredible

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Beasts of No Nation Idris Elba

The hype over Cary Fukunaga's latest project after wowing audiences with directing the complete first season of "True Detective" has been building since word came out that Netflix bought the film and vowed to give it a proper award-season push.

Well, we've seen the movie at the Toronto International Film Festival, and you should believe the hype.

"Beasts of No Nation," (watch it now on Netflix) written by Fukunaga, is an unforgiving adaptation of Uzodinma Iweala's novel that gives a vivid look inside a faction of the rebels who terrorize West Africa from the eyes of a young boy.

Abraham Attah, who plays the lead character, Agu, is a nonactor who was a street vendor in Ghana before Fukunaga cast him in the movie. The director has found a diamond in the rough, as Attah plays the role with such convincing reality you'd swear he had been in front of the camera for years prior.

beasts of no nationIn the film, Agu is claimed by the rebel leader (Idris Elba), who goes by "Commandant," after troops kill Agu's father and older brother, and he escapes their wrath. He's then brought into the world of the rebels, being taught the basic salutes and how to fight like the rest of the members. Then comes an initiation ritual that includes being beaten by the rebels, forced to lie in an open grave, and blessed by a shaman.

We then follow Agu as he and his fellow rebels (ranging from grown men to teenage kids his age) kill and pillage villages. In time, Agu becomes the right-hand man of the Commandant.

Elba as the Commandant is a tour-de-force performance as he plays him with intimidation, compassion, and madness. But it's Attah who wows in the movie. This performance from a nonactor is remarkable.

Getty Images cary fukunagaThen there's Fukunaga's direction. (He's also the director of photography on the film.) Having come up with creative visuals his whole career, Fukunaga fills the film with thrilling crane, handheld, and long single shots.

But one striking visual happens during a gruesome attack on a village. All the leaves and foliage turn a shade of red, symbolizing the bloodbath going on. It's these tweaks to the shots' details that have made Fukunaga stand out among his contemporaries.

And there are also less horrific scenes. Like in the beginning of the movie before Agu loses his family. Just another kid in the neighborhood, he walks around with the outer casing of an old square television. Calling it "imagination TV," he tries to sell the set with its unique programming, which includes his friends on the set side of the TV acting out soap operas and Kung-Fu flicks. Fukunaga gets his camera tight on the set to make it look like we are really watching the kids inside an actual set.

The film, Fukunaga, Attah, and Elba all have very good chances of being nominated for Oscars and other year-end awards. But the bigger story will be before the Oscars come, as Netflix will be doing the unprecedented move of releasing the film simultaneously on their streaming service as well as select theaters (out October 16).

If the film finds the attention Netflix is expecting, the company will have changed how movies get released (as Amazon and others will follow suit).

But, if you can, see the movie in a theater. The visuals and sound mix should be enjoyed in a premium setting.

SEE ALSO: The cinematographer behind some of the most beautiful movies of all time gives his three favorite

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NOW WATCH: We just got our first teaser for Netflix's next Marvel show 'Jessica Jones'











Taylor Swift strongly suggests her smash hit 'Bad Blood' isn't about Katy Perry

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Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift has had her fair shareofbeefs, and she's turned a lot of those frustrations into song lyrics.

Her biggest and most widely known beef is with pop star Katy Perry. Swift and Perry used to be best friends, but quickly became sworn enemies in 2014 when Swift said Perry tried to hire away her dancers.

Swift then released the music video to her song "Bad Blood" and told Rolling Stone shortly after it was about another female artist — leading everyone to believe she was referring to Perry.

"For years, I was never sure if we were friends or not," Swift said of the pop singer who the song was supposedly about.

Swift added, "She would come up to me at awards shows and say something and walk away, and I would think, 'Are we friends, or did she just give me the harshest insult of my life?' Then last year, the other star crossed a line. She did something so horrible," Swift said. "I was like, 'Oh, we're just straight-up enemies.'"

However, Swift never actually named names, and in a recent interview with GQ's Chuck Klosterman, Swift strongly suggested the song wasn't about Perry after all — but an ex-boyfriend she was trying to protect from the press:

You’re in a Rolling Stone interview, and the writer says, "Who is that song about? That sounds like a really intense moment from your life." And you sit there, and you know you're on good terms with your ex-boyfriend, and you don't want him — or his family to think you’re firing shots at him.

So you say, "That was about losing a friend.” And that’s basically all you say. But then people cryptically tweet about what you meant. I never said anything that would point a finger in the specific direction of one specific person, and I can sleep at night knowing that. I knew the song would be assigned to a person, and the easiest mark was someone who I didn't want to be labled with this song. It was not a song about heartbreak. It was about the loss of friendship.

Whether the song was actually about Perry or not, Swift has listeners right where she wants them. It's a never ending cycle of subtle blows that everyone speculates about until she releases another one.  Swift says not naming names sometimes feels like the one card she can still hold close to the chest. It's driving fans crazy, but driving her career.

Read the full story at GQ>>>

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NOW WATCH: An Army veteran was shot multiple times protecting others students from the Oregon gunman










Neil deGrasse Tyson says fate of 'Cosmos' to be determined 'within a month'

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Iconic science show "Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey" isn't dead at Fox, according to the show's host and executive producer Neil deGrasse Tyson.

"We should know soon, within a month possibly," Tyson told Business Insider while promoting the upcoming second season of his National Geographic Channel series, "StarTalk" (which is adapted from the podcast of the same name).

"We’re converging now," the astrophysicist continued. "Nothing’s greenlit, but we’re getting the band back together and we’re meeting with some of the heads of the Fox network by the end of the month. So, we should know something."

Second season meetings have been mentioned before. For example, "Cosmos" executive producer Seth MacFarlane previously said discussions were going down in December 2014 in the tweet below.


neil degrasse tyson and ann druyan cosmosAside from partnering with Nat Geo, Tyson and, MacFarlane, the remake could brag that it also had Carl Sagan's original creative collaborators – executive producer/writer Ann Druyan and co-writer and astronomer Steven Soter – on board.

"We had the pedigree that linked to that production back in 1980," Tyson underscored.

The new "Cosmos" premiered in March 2014 to a modest audience of 8.5 million viewers across 10 networks, including Fox, its cable networks, and Nat Geo. Over the course of the first season, "Cosmos" debuted new episodes on Fox, which were then re-aired on Nat Geo (with bonus footage).

In the end, it averaged 3.93 million viewers and a 1.47 rating in the advertiser-coveted 18 to 49-year-old demographic. At the time, its rating was beating "The Mindy Project" and tying "Bob's Burgers."

For Nat Geo, "Cosmos" became its most-watched program ever. 

If the show were to be given a second season, Tyson wouldn't change a thing.

"I don’t think there’s anything I would do differently," he said. "I was quite happy with how that turned out, how the visualizations, the animations, the script, the music... it’s a full sensory intellectual experience."

And after thinking on it for a beat, he added, "And the ship of the imagination, you have to admit, that was a badass ship."

Fox had no comment on the renewal of "Cosmos."

"StarTalk" returns for its second season on Sunday, October 25 at 11 p.m. on National Geographic Channel.

SEE ALSO: Neil deGrasse Tyson thinks 'Star Trek' is better than 'Star Wars' — but he prefers this show over them both

MORE: Neil deGrasse Tyson explains how Batman can really beat Superman

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NOW WATCH: Neil deGrasse Tyson explains why he's so excited for 'The Martian'










Jennifer Lawrence hit on a disturbing workplace trend in her recent open letter

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Jennifer Lawrence speaks out

If Martin Luther King, Jr. were a "woman in a meeting," jokes the Washington Post's Alexandra Petri, she'd hedge her "I have a dream" speech with rhetoric like, "I'm sorry, I just had this idea — it's probably crazy, but — look, just as long as we're throwing things out here — I had sort of an idea or vision about maybe the future?"

Petri is satirizing the all-too-real tradeoff women make daily between sounding smart, confident, and assertive and appearing warm and likeable. She writes in response to the essay Jennifer Lawrence recently wrote for Lena Dunham's newsletter, Lenny.

In her essay, Lawrence attributes not negotiating for more money for her role in "American Hustle" — she and costar Amy Adams were only offered 7% of proceeds from the film, while male actors Christian Bale and Bradley Cooper were offered 9% — to her fear that she might appear "difficult" or "spoiled."

"At the time, that seemed like a fine idea, until I saw the payroll on the internet and realized every man I was working with definitely didn't worry about being 'difficult' or 'spoiled,'" she writes.

"I don't think I'm the only woman with this issue," Lawrence says. "Are we socially conditioned to behave this way? ... Could there still be a lingering habit of trying to express our opinions in a certain way that doesn't 'offend' or 'scare' men?"

The answer to her question, sadly, is a resounding yes. And they have every reason to.

According to research conducted by NYU psychology professor Madeline Heilman, women's career advancements are often impeded by two kinds of gender stereotypes:

  • Descriptive stereotypes attribute certain characteristics to women, like "caring," "warm," "modest," and "emotional." This creates problems, Heilman says, when there's a disconnect between what women are perceived to be like and what attributes are necessary to successfully perform in male gender-typed roles.
  • Prescriptive gender stereotypes designate what women and men should be like. With this kind of stereotyping, women are disapproved of and punished socially when they directly or seemingly violate the prescribed ways they should act.

Numerous studies have shown the disturbing role prescriptive gender stereotypes play in the workplace.

Another study conducted by Heilman showed that successful women working in "male domains" are penalized when they are perceived to be less nurturing or sensitive, since they violate gender-stereotypical prescriptions.

Women who violate prescriptions of modesty by promoting themselves at work were found to be less hireable in a Rutgers University study, and a study conducted by Harvard's Hannah Riley Bowles showed women were penalized by evaluators more often than men for initiating negotiations, thus violating the prescription that women be passive. 

After analyzing more than 248 performance reviews last year, Kieran Snyder wrote in Fortune, "negative personality criticism — watch your tone! step back! stop being so judgmental! — shows up twice in the 83 critical reviews received by men. It shows up in 71 of the 94 critical reviews received by women."

Women's reviews included gems like, "You can come across as abrasive sometimes. I know you don't mean to, but you need to pay attention to your tone," and, "You would have had an easier time if you had been less judgmental about R—'s contributions from the beginning." 

Somewhat surprisingly, the more a woman climbs the career ladder, the more she clams up, write Katty Kay and Claire Shipman in their book, "The Confidence Code."

"The more a woman succeeds, the worse the vitriol gets," Kay and Shipman write. "All too often the very fear of this kind of abuse is enough to make women pull too far back and become overly deferential."  

We continue to see this kind of gender bias play out in today's headlines.

ellen paoAs The Verge's Nitasha Tiku noted about the Ellen Pao trial, feedback given to Pao at Kleiner Perkins included criticism that she was too negative, too resentful, and too concerned with being "personally credited for the work she did."

Feedback given to Wen Hsieh, who Pao hired and trained to share her chief of staff duties at the time, included notes that Hsieh should stop being "too optimistic," that he's "spread too thin," and that he gets "undue credit" for successes that are not his.

"Pao's territoriality makes sense if her male coworker is automatically handed more credit than he deserves," Tiku wrote. Pao had to choose between standing up for her work and being chastised for the immodesty of it all. 

"I don't think I've ever worked for a man in charge who spent time contemplating what angle he should use to have his voice heard," Lawrence says. "It's just heard."

SEE ALSO: Twitter joins an elite group of companies pioneering a radical perk new moms love

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NOW WATCH: Gina Bianchini: Here's The Best Way To Handle Gender And Other Biases In Silicon Valley










Netflix's explanation for poor growth is just smoke and mirrors, according to credit card experts (NFLX)

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reed hastings gettyOn Wednesday, Netflix blamed its poor subscriber growth on an unlikely source: the new chip-based credit cards rolling out in the US.

But now some credit card experts are saying that explanation is a bit too convenient, according to Bloomberg.

“Netflix is using [the new cards] as a whipping boy for their customer attrition,” Julie Conroy, a payments analyst at Aite Group, told Bloomberg.

Netflix told Business Insider that those new credit cards often have a new number or expiration date, requiring subscribers to update their payment information online in order for their subscription to continue. And some customers accidentally let their subscriptions lapse.

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings characterized this as “involuntary churn.” But Conroy doesn’t buy it.

“I don’t think a significant customer churn could be blamed on the chip migration,” she said to Bloomberg.

David Robertson, the head of card research at Nilson Report, agrees. “It seems like they are grasping for a bogeyman here,” he told Bloomberg. He went on to say that most credit card companies would not change account details, like card numbers, when switching over to the new technology. This runs in direct contrast to Netflix’s explanation.

Netflix said the new credit-card rollout was only a third of the way completed, though it wouldn’t affect Netflix for much longer. “We’ll be through it in a couple months,” Hastings assured shareholders. “Next year, everyone will have chip-based cards.”

But if these analysts are correct, the end of the rollout won’t boost US subscriber numbers.

Netflix gained 880,000 US subscribers during the third quarter, lower than expected by analysts. Wall Street expected domestic subscriber growth to be around 1.25 million.

Business Insider has reached out to Netflix for comment and will update this post when we hear back.

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This map shows the most famous movie set in every state

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We recently set out to name the most famous movie set in every state, a challenging and subjective endeavor. In order to pick, we evaluated the state's prominence in the movie and leaned toward movies that were filmed in that location, as well.

The film's lifetime gross, its critical acclaim, and testimonials by our geographically diverse staff also influenced our decision.

How many have you seen? Check out the annotated map below, and read more about the movies here.

BI_graphics_moviesMap_2

SEE ALSO: The most famous movie set in every state

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The 10 funniest Dilbert comic strips about idiot bosses

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It should be comforting that no matter how much you hate your boss, they can't possibly be as bad as the Pointy-Haired Boss.

The idiot middle manager is central to the popular Dilbert comic series, which was the first syndicated comic that focused primarily on the workplace when it launched in 1989. The character embodies the time-wasting, circular-reasoning, and ignorant mentality of bad bosses that many workers are all too familiar with.

"If you've ever had a boss, this probably hits home for you," Dilbert creator Scott Adams tells Business Insider.

To celebrate National Boss Day on Oct. 16, Adams shared his 10 favorite Pointy-Haired Boss strips from the archives of Dilbert.com

SEE ALSO: 'Dilbert' creator Scott Adams shares his all-time favorite comic strips

DON'T MISS: 'Dilbert' creator Scott Adams illustrates why 'goals are for losers and passion is overrated'

August 2001



July 2009



August 2009



See the rest of the story at Business Insider








The less you know before seeing 'Room,' the better

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If you've been intrigued by the rave reviews for "Room" since its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival (where it won the coveted "People's Choice" award), do yourself a favor and just go see it. 

It's based on a popular New York Times bestselling novel, so the story may already be deeply familiar to some, but if you're still blissfully ignorant, keep it that way.

"Room" is one of those movies best experienced cold, without any knowledge of what it's about or what will transpire.

The trailer for "Room" functions as a neatly-wrapped summation of the entire story from beginning-to-end. There are no subtle teases, or visual flairs that intrigue without revealing too much. Instead, it presents images and sounds from the entire movie that literally tell you every detail. Some of the most beautiful, revelatory moments from the film are totally spoiled. 

The film opens with a mother (Brie Larson, in the role of her career) and her 5-year-old son (Jacob Tremblay) living in isolation in a tiny space referred to only as "room." Nothing is explained straightaway, but as the story progresses, more information is revealed and their chilling backstory starts falling into place. 

Room finalFor the first 30 or so minutes, "Room" could feasibly go in any number of directions. Is it a post-apocalyptic thriller? A dysfunctional family drama? A psychological head-game?

Once the gaps are filled in, the film takes a major leap, and the second half is an entirely different movie from the first. The stakes have changed entirely.

Thankfully, both portions of the film are equally entertaining, emotionally charged and, at times, quite intense. Jacob Tremblay's performance is easily the best I've seen this year and hopefully his age doesn't prevent him from proper recognition come award season. 

"Room" made quite the impression on me, and my ignorance to the film's plot is partially responsible for this. It's a tough film to discuss without ruining the suspense, so why bother? 

For consistency's sake, the trailer is below. If you're already sold on the movie, skip it, and enjoy the movie the way it was meant to be experienced. 

 

"Room" opens in New York and LA on October 16 and expands nationwide November 6. 

SEE ALSO: 'Steve Jobs' tries to show his dark side but winds up idolizing him anyway

Join the conversation about this story »

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The author of best-selling novel 'Room' was so confident it would be a hit movie she wrote the screenplay for it before the book was published

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It can be hard for authors to get their books turned into movies, and even harder to get control of those movies once they're being made.

For every Mario Puzo who's let in Hollywood's door (author of “The Godfather” who also penned the screenplay for all three films), there’s a Stephen King who isn’t (he's publicly bashed most of the adaptations of his work).

And though the J.K. Rowlings, Stephenie Meyers, and E.L. James' of the world have had a lot of power in shaping their pages to screen in the last few decades, recently the movie world has opened the door even wider for input from authors in the adaptation process.

Author Stephen Chbosky adapted his own novel "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" (he also directed the film), Gillian Flynn wrote the book “Gone Girl” and the screenplay (which earned her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Screenplay), and now there’s Emma Donoghue.

The Irish-Canadian has written eight novels, but the adaptation of her 2010 New York Times Best-Selling book "Room" is the one that has now given her cross-over appeal as it has become one of the most buzzed about films this awards season.

But what sets Donoghue apart from many other author/screenwriters is that Donoghue wrote the screenplay for “Room” before the book was even published.

Emma Donoghue John Philips Getty“I didn’t want to have some company come along and say ‘Let us take it off your hands and have some experienced writer take it,’” Donoghue told Business Insider. “I decided that, privately, I’d do a draft of it myself before anyone could tell me what to do.”

Donoghue had experienced the more traditional path with her previous books — a production company hired on a screenwriter to adapt her stories.

But those movies never got off the ground.

The author had such a good feeling about "Room"’s cinematic prospect, she wanted to be ahead of the game this time.

“And I wanted to be honest,” said Donoghue. “If I found the right filmmaker I wanted to be able to say, ‘Look, I’m not trying to force you to hire me, here’s my script, can we work together?’”

But Donoghue also admitted that if her book were to be made into a movie she wanted to try her best to keep it as true to what she created.

"Room" is an emotional tale filled with as much tension as warmth. It follows a 5-year-old boy and his mother as they are held captive in a small shed. But a big stand-out about the book is it’s told in the voice of the 5-year-old, Jack. The only glimpse we get of his mother, which he calls Ma, is from Jack’s point-of-view.

lightened room brie
Certainly not an easy task to adapt into a movie for the author of the book, let alone a screenwriter.

But Donoghue said she wasn’t afraid to rework the story so it was more cinematic. She took out a lot of the social commentary that’s in the second half of the book, as well as an incident where Ma had a stillbirth before Jack was born.

“You always have to streamline,” she said about writing a screenplay. “I’m not left with any regrets.”

While taking meetings with numerous filmmakers who wanted to make the film, which included established names, she was given a ten-page hand-written letter from a fellow Irishman, independent filmmaker Lenny Abrahamson.

“I had a big emotional reaction to the novel, being a parent with a young boy at that point,” Abrahamson told Business Insider. “I had very strong images of how this novel should be adapted and what not to do and what to do. So the letter to Emma was, ‘I know it, I know how your novel works. I promise I won’t f--k it up.'"

Lenny Abrahamson John Phillips GettyDonoghue instantly felt that Abrahamson got the book and got what she was doing.

“He immediately got my references to Plato in the book,” she explained. “He understood this was both a realistic story about people being kidnapped and a metaphor for the moment when you move from childhood into adulthood. And he didn’t call it The Room.”

Once Abrahamson realized that Donoghue had a script he embraced her involvement. In fact, he pushed her to keep things in the script from the book that she was reluctant to include.

“One thing I changed immediately for my first draft of the script was Jack’s long hair,” said Donoghue, who felt that looking at a boy’s hair that goes down below his shoulders in a movie would have looked bizarre.

“But Lenny said, ‘No, go back to the long hair.’ He was just unafraid of the unconventional aspects of the screenplay.”

Donoghue and Abrahamson worked on the script together for months. Flying back and forth to each other's home, with almost no interference from the film's backers. They fleshed out Ma so the character in the film would be a stronger presence than in the book while still keeping Jack as the foundation for the story.

The finished product is an emotional, tear-jerking ride that is excels with Abrahamson's direction and Oscar-worthy performances by actress Brie Larson as Ma and newcomer Jacob Tremblay as Jack.

Brie Larson Room BrightThe film won the Audience Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. Winners of the prize often go on to receive a Best Picture Oscar nomination.

For Donoghue, seeing the film was a thrill, especially watching Larson as Ma.

"Ma was a very real character in my mind but for the book I had this frustrating fact that she was just through Jack," she said. "So seeing her on screen was beautiful. She's strong, and motherly."

Donoghue knows that the experience she had with Abrahamson making "Room" is extremely rare. And though she wants to continue writing screenplays, so knows she'll likely never have that kind of bond and understanding with a director again (although they both say they want to work with each other moving forward).

"The whole thing was made protectively," she said. "It's like the little room."

“Room” opens in limited release on Friday.

SEE ALSO: The less you know before seeing "Room," the better

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Netflix is in 'ongoing discussions' for the rights to the new Star Wars movie (NFLX)

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The Force Awakens' villain, Kylo RenNetflix is in an annoying spot when it comes to the new Star Wars film.

In 2012, Netflix made an enormous deal with Disney that would bring the exclusive streaming rights of all its new films to Netflix — starting January 1, 2016.

The problem with that start date is that it narrowly shaves off one of the most anticipated films in recent memory, "Star Wars: The Force Awakens." The seventh film in the series is scheduled to release in theaters on December 18.

On Wednesday, CEO Reed Hastings confirmed that Netflix will not get the rights to that film. As things stand now, Star Wars is set to go to Starz.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t backroom negotiations happening for the rights — and those kinds of talks are taking place, according to Netflix.

“It’s an ongoing discussion,” Hastings said of the rights to "Star Wars: The Force Awakens." He added that it’s primarily up to Disney — and, presumably, Starz.

Whether or not you’ll be able to watch the new Star Wars film on Netflix next year might depend on just how much Starz is willing to negotiate, and how badly Disney wants all seven films to be available on Netflix.

See the trailer for the upcoming film below:

 

SEE ALSO: Netflix has blamed poor US growth on those new credit cards with chips

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Meet Staz Nair, the model and 'X Factor' singer who just became a secret new 'Game of Thrones' cast member

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Model, actor, and singer Staz Nair has joined the sixth season of HBO's "Game of Thrones," an HBO representative confirmed to Business Insider.

The pay cable network wouldn't reveal any information on Nair's character, though.

So what's the deal with Nair?

He will be part of the scenes shot in Spain for Season 6, which returns in Spring 2015.

In the mean time, here's more about him. He's a Gemini, singer, model and self-proclaimed nice person.

SEE ALSO: This favorite 'Game of Thrones' couple reunited for a very touching photo

MORE: 'Game of Thrones' star Maisie Williams says 'sorry' but she knows Jon Snow's fate

Meet Staz Nair. He plays the piano, writes and sings and is a self-proclaimed "nice guy!" Below, he is posing with a fan on Instagram.

SOURCE: Watchers on the Wall



Apparently, the news of his casting was broken in September in a press release for a film Nair stars in titled "Bazodee." It's directed by Todd Kessler, the co-creator of Nickelodeon's "Blue's Clues." Nair plays a man whose fiancee is falling in love with another man. Watch the trailer below.

SOURCE



Clearly a man of many talents, Nair competed as part of a boy band called Times Red on UK's "X Factor" in 2012. During that time he was very fond of showing off his abs. Who can blame him?



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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Mind-blowing photos of Mars and Earth reveal the miraculous wonders of our solar system

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Because of how they appear from afar, we call Mars the Red Planet and Earth the Blue Planet.

But these two worlds don't look so different when you zoom in, which is exactly what scientific satellites do to give researchers information on how different regions of each planet change over time.

We've collected some of these satellites' spectacular images of Mars and Earth and juxtaposed them to test your skills.

Can you tell which is the planet you call home and which is the desolate, lifeless wasteland more than 141 million miles away?

LEARN MORE: Epically awesome photos of Mars

SEE ALSO: The 12 most compelling scientific findings that suggest aliens are real

Which photo is of Earth and which of Mars?



Earth is on the right.

During a recent pass over the Australian continent, NASA astronaut Scott Kelly snapped 17 photos from the International Space Station, and they all look insanely alien — almost like certain features on Mars.

Mars is on the left.

When temperatures heat up in the Martian spring, the carbon-dioxide ice in the polar caps sublimates, meaning it changes from its solid form directly to a gas, into the atmosphere, leaving behind these distinct starburst patterns. Why the melting process makes these characteristic patterns is a subject of ongoing research.

(All of the photos of Mars shown here were taken by the HiRISE camera on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Each Mars photo has false coloring that highlights distinct Martian features, like sand dunes.)



Which photo is of Earth and which of Mars?



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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17 tech toys and gadgets from the 90s that we want back

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The '90s was a decade that was famously rough for the tech industry as a whole.

But it did bring us tons of gadgets and innovative gadgets.

In honor of that nostalgic feeling, we're taking a look back at our favorite gadgets from the 1990s, the decade when the World Wide Web first started to change our lives.

Back then, our flannel was loose, our jeans were high-wasted, and our tech gadgets were cool.

 

SEE ALSO: 16 Tech Gadgets From The 1980s That We Want Back Right Now

After watching "Home Alone 2," everyone wanted a Talkboy. This little gadget let you record and playback whatever you wanted, plus speed up or slow down recordings to make yourself sound ridiculous.

Check out this old Talkboy commercial



The Sega Genesis, which came bundled with Sonic the Hedgehog, was technically released in the U.S. in 1988 but didn't start really winning our hearts until the '90s.



It didn't matter that your Sony Discman would skip despite its anti-shock protection, you loved it all the same.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider








The 28-year-old actor who played Eazy-E in 'Straight Outta Compton' explains how the role has changed his life

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Jason Mitchell Joshua Blanchard Getty

It’s hard for Jason Mitchell to complain about anything at the moment.

He was just in the surprise hit of the summer and is about to get on a plane to star in Hollywood’s next attempt to make a movie about King Kong.

But he’s the first to admit that it hasn’t always been like this.

Like the iconic rapper he plays in “Straight Outta Compton,” Eazy-E, Mitchell also had it rough in his youth.

“Growing up in New Orleans and just being in a poverty-stricken neighborhood gave me that same fire that Eazy had to separate himself from what could have ended up being such a bad situation,” Mitchell tells Business Insider.

Mitchell, 28, who was around gangs and drugs most of his life, points to the beginning of “Straight Outta Compton” where Eazy-E shows up at a house in South Central Los Angeles to do a drug deal, as a moment he was all too familiar with.

The scene ends with Eazy escaping a police raid on the house. In many ways, the scene was a wake-up call for Mitchell's character to change his life.

Jason Mitchell Straight Outta ComptonMitchell had a more sobering wake-up call in his actual life.

“My best friend was killed,” Mitchell said. “I had lost friends, guys I went to high school with, but that was a shock to me. That was so close to me that I could see myself in that situation. I would never say I could see death around the corner, but it was definitely too close.”

That’s what got Mitchell into acting.

His first role was as a 7-Eleven cashier in the indie film, “Texas Killing Fields.” He followed that with blink-and-you’ll-miss-them roles in a few Mark Wahlberg movies (“Contraband,” “Broken City”). But when he got word that a movie about N.W.A. was being cast and they wanted unknowns to play the rap members, he jumped at the chance.

Mitchell says what drew him to the role wasn’t just his rough past, his similar 5-foot frame to Eazy, or the fact that he looks strikingly similar to the rapper when wearing a jheri curl wig.

It was the opportunity to be part of a biopic that could be remembered forever.

Jason Mitchell Jason Kempin Getty“If you get it right, it’s the most grand thing you could ever do,” Mitchell said. “So many people let biopics slip through their fingers, but the opportunity to play Eazy-E could change my life.”

That’s exactly what happened.

“Straight Outta Compton” to date has grossed over $160 million in the US (its reported budget is $28 million). And Mitchell’s performance as Eazy-E has blown critics away.

The New York Times review says the performance by Mitchell opposite Paul Giamatti, who plays the group’s shady manager, “consistently out-acts the rest of the performers.”

Mitchell will next be seen in the comedy "Keanu," starring Will Forte and Keegan-Michael Key due out next year. And he’s about to begin filming the much-anticipated “Kong: Skull Island,” opposite Brie Larson, Tom Hiddleston, and Samuel L. Jackson.

But as Mitchell’s star rises he is trying to stay humble.

“I never ever thought I was going to be an actor, so to be where I am now and have these experiences, I have to take every moment for what it is,” he said.

SEE ALSO: A "Straight Outta Compton" sequel featuring Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur is already in the works

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The 'Shark Tank' investors reveal their investing secrets and most profitable deals

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shark tank river illustration

Over the past seven seasons, the "Shark Tank" investors have seen hundreds of pitches from entrepreneurs and invested their own money into the ones that grabbed their attention.

The long hours and countless deals have resulted in the investors developing unique investing styles suited for the show's format, as well as methods for turning their companies into massive successes.

We asked the six Sharks what they prefer to invest in, how they structure their deals, what they look for in entrepreneurs and how they work with them, what their most profitable deals have been, and what they like most about being on the show.

Here's what they had to say.

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The funny challenge Google gives to anyone who wants to make playlists for its music service (GOOG)

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Susan Boyle

Whenever Google brings up its Apple Music and Spotify competitor, there's one feature that it always brags about:

The incredibly specific, human-curated playlists.

Streaming service Google Play Music offers thousands of free compilations like "What would Beyonce do?" or "Hillbilly bodybuilding" that promise to capture a specific mood.

The company has an editorial calender for keeping up with pop culture events (for theme ideas) and updates its selection regularly. 

Peter Asbill, who has spearheaded Google's music efforts since it acquired his company Songza last year, gave The Guardian the inside scoop about how it selects who to hire for playlist-creation duty.

"We make curators take the Susan Boyle test," Asbill says. "We ask these people – and remember, these are music geeks, they’re really seriously into music – to please put together a playlist that features Susan Boyle, that you think a Susan Boyle fan would love. If they can’t do that …"

The idea is that curators can't be music snobs. Instead, they have to be able to understand all different tastes in music.

"If they can’t understand Susan Boyle, why she appeals to people and what they’re interested in, they’re not going to be a successful curator for us," he says.

Read the rest of The Guardian piece here.

SEE ALSO: Apple's Jimmy Iovine is 'scared' for the future of music

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Here's a new behind-the-scenes video for Showtime's hedge fund show 'Billions'

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Showtime has put out a behind-the-scenes video for the upcoming hedge fund drama "Billions" that debuts next year. 

The 12-episode series stars Damian Lewis, who plays a hedge fund king Bobby "Axe" Axelrod, the CEO of AXE Capital, and Paul Giamatti, who plays US Attorney Chuck Rhoades.

"You will see your preconceptions constantly challenged—who's good? who's bad? And what people are prepared to do to get what they want," Lewis said in the video.

Giamatti described the series as a "thriller" and a "cat and mouse game" between his character and hedge fund manager Bobby Axelrod. 

The show was written by Brian Koppelman, David Levien, and New York Times editor/CNBC anchor Andrew Ross Sorkin. It premieres January 17, 2016 at 10pm EST. 

Check out the behind-the-scenes video [via IndieWire]:

Check out the official trailer too: 

 

 

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22 photos that show the grit and the glamour of Studio 54, New York City's most infamous club

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studio54 elton john pulling up his pantsOn April 16, 1977, crowds of hip revelers cheered as nightclub Studio 54 first opened its doors at a building on 54th Street in New York City. 

It would only be open in its original form for 33 months, but it soon became known as one of the hottest and most exclusive clubs in town, making a whopping $7 million in its first year alone.

The space would later be adapted into a theater, but Studio 54's party scene in the '70s and early '80s will forever be remembered for its wild nights, high-profile guests, and massive crowds. 

We've put together a collection of photos that will take you back more than thirty years into the club. 

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Studio 54 officially opened its doors on April 16, 1977, in a building that previously housed a theater. The club quickly became popular, with regular crowds lingering outside in the hopes of getting in.



Steve Rubell (pictured in the short satin jacket in the center) was the co-owner of Studio 54 and often the one to determine who was cool enough to enter. The club became notorious for its exclusivity thanks in part to Rubell's motto: "The key to a good party is filling a room with guests more interesting than you."



Still, the dance floor was consistently packed with people dancing to disco beats. Among the guests were an array of high-profile influencers and celebrities.



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'Minority Report' gets shredded in this week's ratings roundup of fall's new shows

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fox Minority Report new shows 2015

There wasn't a lot of change in the show standings for this week's ratings roundup, but networks started making decisions anyway.

Fox's "Minority Report," which takes place after the 2002 Tom Cruise film, could only hang out in last place for so long before the network had to make a decision on it. Late last Friday, Fox confirmed it had cut its 13-episode order of the Steven Spielberg-produced drama to 10 episodes.

Effectively, this makes "Minority Report" the first canceled series of the season. The decision also sends star Meagan Good back to the unemployment line with her third canceled series in a couple years.

fox rosewood new shows 2015Earlier today, Fox announced it had given Morris Chestnut's "Rosewood" a full season order. That pilot was terrible, but the show has been in the top 5.

That was the bad news (depending on how you look at it), here's some good news: NBC gave "Blindspot" a full season order. So, viewers can watch without fear as the series picks a new tattoo off Jaimie Alexander's body. This was of course expected, since it has been the highest-rated show of the fall (thanks to a strong lead-in by "The Voice").

ABC's "Quantico," hanging strong in the season's top 5, also received a full season order. Like "Blindspot," "Quantico" has a complicated plot, so this full season order should give fans the confidence needed to continue watching.

Looking ahead, fans of NBC's "The Player" and ABC's "Blood & Oil" may want to start evangelizing for those programs. Their ratings could mean they're not long for this world.

Take a look at this week's ratings rankings below:

1. “Blindspot” (NBC) 2.65 rating/9.31 million viewers (4 weeks on-air)*
2. “Life in Pieces” (CBS) 2.07/9.18 (4 weeks)
3. “The Muppets” (ABC) 1.95/5.99 (4 weeks)
4. “Rosewood” (Fox) 1.90/6.14 (4 weeks)*
5. “Quantico” (ABC) 1.82/6.62 (3 weeks)*
6. “Limitless” (CBS) 1.75/9.30 (4 weeks)
7. “Best Time Ever With NPH” (NBC) 1.66/5.49 (5 weeks)
8. “Heroes Reborn” (NBC) 1.59/5.12 (4 weeks)
9. “Dr. Ken” (ABC) 1.39/5.72 (2 weeks)
10. “Scream Queens” (Fox) 1.37/3.38 (4 weeks)
11. “Code Black” (CBS) 1.29/7.46 (3 weeks)
12. “Grandfathered” (Fox) 1.21/4.13 (3 weeks)
13. “Blood & Oil” (ABC) 1.16/5.18 (3 weeks)
14. “The Grinder” (Fox) 1.12/3.55 (3 weeks)
15. “The Player” (NBC) .92/4.46 (3 weeks)
16. “Minority Report” (Fox) .85/2.45 (4 weeks)**

Yet to premiere:

“Truth Be Told” (NBC, 10/16)
“Supergirl” (CBS, 10/26)
“Wicked City” (ABC, 10/27)
“Angel from Hell” (CBS, 11/5)

*= Full season order
** = Canceled

Note: Shows will be added on as they premiere. These numbers are based on live ratings through October 16 and do not count delayed viewing.

SEE ALSO: Neil Patrick Harris takes a tumble in this week's ratings ranking of new network TV shows

MORE: Neil deGrasse Tyson says fate of 'Cosmos' to be determined 'within a month'

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5 awesome movies have come out — drop everything and see one of them this weekend

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Tom Hanks Bridge of Spies

We haven't had a weekend like this in a long time.

One where a string of movies comes out the same weekend that will satisfy you, whether you love a big Hollywood epic or an intimate indie.

Some of them are made by legends and others by rising stars who are just starting to make names for themselves.

Let's break down five movies you should run to see at your local theater beginning Friday.

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1. "Bridge of Spies"

The latest teaming by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg is a Cold War drama. Hanks stars as a lawyer recruited by the CIA who helps get a US pilot back from the Soviet Union.

Reviews are off the charts with this one, as it currently has a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.



2. "Goosebumps"

If you're into something lighter, there's a Jack Black comedy in which he plays young adult author R.L. Stine. When the imaginary demons he has created come to life, Stine and a group of kids go on an adventure to make things right.



3. "Beasts of No Nation"

The much-anticipated next movie from "True Detective" Season 1 director Cary Fukunaga does not disappoint. Set in an unnamed African country, we follow a young boy, Agu (Abraham Attah), whose only way of survival during the civil war is to join the rebels as a fighter. The group is headed by a twisted Commandant (Idris Elba).

If the movie isn't playing near you, don't worry. You can watch it now on Netflix.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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