DraftKings CEO Jason Robins runs one of the hottest digital companies in the sports industry, and he's joining Business Insider at IGNITION: Future of Digital on December 8 to discuss the future of sports. Get ready to hear about sports data, virtual reality, fantasy sports, and more.

Nicknamed "the Super Bowl of startups," DraftKings reportedly sees over 50,000 active daily users by running fantasy-sports contests that allow users to earn money based on player performances across all major sports leagues: MLB, NHL, NFL, NBA, PGA, Premier League, UEFA Champions League, NASCAR, MMA, and American college football and basketball.

Don't miss this exciting opportunity to glean insights from a superstar entrepreneur as he discusses what's to come in sports with Fortune's lead sports writer Daniel Roberts.

Keep ahead of the digital-media curve and get your tickets before it's too late. IGNITION sold out in 2014, so reserve your seat!

Join the conversation about this story »

Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson is getting into the comedy business.

Fox has just ordered a script for a comedy which will feature the rapper in a recurring role titled "My Friend 50," a network representative told Business Insider. Deadline reported the deal first.

It follows a 20-something woman named Amanda who believes all her problems will be solved by befriending 50 Cent. Things go awry after she finds a way to hang out with 50's crew. That experience becomes a documentary, which is unreliably narrated by Amanda herself. 50 Cent is expected to appear on the show as a version of himself.

The single-camera project (which means it'll be shot more like "Modern Family" as opposed to "Big Bang Theory") will be produced by Will Packer Productions ("Truth Be Told," "Uncle Buck"), Jackson’s G-Unit Film & Television, and Universal Television.

"My Friend 50" was written by Ava Tramer on spec, meaning she wrote it without being commissioned to do so. Her writing credits include "The Mindy Project," "Trophy Wife," and "Angie Tribeca."

50 Cent also executive produces the Starz drama "Power," and recurs on the series. Previously, he executive produced the Sundance TV reality series "Dream School."

In July, 50 Cent filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. At the time, he said the filing allowed him to reorganize his finances.

Some believed that the filing was a protective move after 50 Cent was ordered to pay Lastonia Leviston $5 million as a result of a sex tape that he posted in 2009, an alleged attempt to stir the pot with rival rapper Rick Ross.

SEE ALSO: Sylvester Stallone is reviving 'Rambo' as a Fox TV series

MORE: Here's how 50 Cent says his entire ~$25 million fortune vanished

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: 50 Cent once sat in this home — which he can no longer afford — and told Oprah he would never go broke

She may be General Leia instead of Princess now, but Carrie Fisher said beauty standards are still the norm.

In a candid interview with British Good Housekeeping, Fisher revealed that she was pressured to lose more than 35 pounds to reprise her role as Leia in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens." 

"They don’t want to hire all of me – only about three-quarters! Nothing changes, it’s an appearance-driven thing," she said. "I’m in a business where the only thing that matters is weight and appearance. That is so messed up. They might as well say get younger, because that’s how easy it is." 

To lose the weight, she watched what she ate and exercised more. 

"I have a harder time eating properly than I do exercising. It’s easier for me to add an activity than to deny myself something," she said. "When I do lose the weight I don’t like that it makes me feel good about myself. It’s not who I am." 

She said the obsession with appearances in Hollywood extends to how people talk to each other. 

"Everyone in LA says, 'Oh you look good,' and you listen for them to say you’ve lost weight. It’s never 'How are you?' or 'You seem happy!'"

Fisher was reportedly asked to lose 10 pounds when she originally played Princess Leia in the first "Star Wars" trilogy, to get down to 95 pounds.

SEE ALSO: How J.J. Abrams got the creator of hit musical 'Hamilton' to write the new 'Star Wars' cantina song

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Aziz Ansari nails Hollywood's race problem in one great episode of his new Netflix show 'Master of None'

The National Board of Review has released its annual film honors, and in a very surprising choice, "Mad Max: Fury Road" has been named the best film of the year.

One of the biggest hits of 2015 critically (97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes) and at the box office (over $375 million worldwide), the Tom Hardy-starring reboot of the classic franchise (which originally launched Mel Gibson into superstardom) still has an uphill climb to Oscar night, but this win will certainly perk the ears of Academy voters.

Historically, the NBR best movie — voted on by a select group of film enthusiasts, filmmakers, professionals, academics, and students — has been an indicator of what will be nominated in the Best Picture category for the Academy Awards. And as this year has no particular frontrunners, it's possible "Fury Road" could make the cut.  

Other winners selected by NBR include:

Best Director: Ridley Scott — "The Martian"
Best Actor:  Matt Damon – "The Martian"
Best Actress: Brie Larson – "Room"
Best Supporting Actor:  Sylvester Stallone – "Creed"
Best Supporting Actress:  Jennifer Jason Leigh – "The Hateful Eight"
Best Animated Feature: "Inside Out"

See the complete list of winners.

SEE ALSO: Here's how the insane vehicles were created for "Mad Max: Fury Road"

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A former Planned Parenthood employee describes the violence she faced regularly

Set in an unnamed African country crippled by civil war, Netflix's “Beasts of No Nation” depicts an area of the world that's dealing with political and economic failures of gargantuan proportion.

But the film’s director, Cary Joji Fukunaga, will be the first to tell you that that’s not the reason he made it.

“I don’t want it to be seen as the issue being the forefront,” Fukunaga recently told Business Insider. “It’s not waving a flag, it’s about this kid and this kid’s experience.”

The movie's story, based on the novel by Uzodinma Iweala, follows a young boy named Agu (Abraham Attah) who, after seeing his family killed at the hands of militants, is taken in by a group of guerrilla fighters and becomes a child soldier.

After reading Iweala’s book, Fukunaga felt compelled to tell the story of Agu, who he believes stands out more than where the story is set.

“For me it’s no different than any story anywhere in the world — it’s about a kid who had to figure out how to function on his own when everything is taken away from him,” Fukunaga said. “That’s not an issue film, that’s a survival film.

But Fukunaga is most annoyed by comments that “Beasts of No Nation” is "'another child-soldier film,' like there's a huge amount of child-solider films, like there are too many," he said.

“You can’t lump all these stories together,” Fukunaga continued. “If you look at the child-soldier movies of the last 10 years, they are all different. You can’t say ‘War Witch’ is like ‘Johnny Mad Dog’ is like ‘Beasts of No Nation.’ People that lump them together have a very limited perspective of the world.”

"Beasts of No Nation" is currently playing in select theaters and streaming on Netflix.

SEE ALSO: "Beasts of No Nation" director Cary Fukunaga talks Netflix's mysterious streaming numbers and more

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Former Ivy League admissions director reveals why expensive boarding schools may not be worth it

Adele doesn't care much for streaming services and wants CDs to make a comeback.

Rolling Stone released some quotes that didn't make it into the magazine's November cover story about the musician, including her thoughts on streaming services like Spotify, which she did not give rights to offer her record-breaking new album "25."

"It probably is the future, but, eh," she said. "There are kids I know who are, like, nine who don't even know what a f*****g CD is! I've got my CDs out on display in my house just to prove a point. Maybe CDs will have a massive comeback like vinyl did. Actually I think cassettes, just to be a pain in the ass!"

At the time of the interview in October, Adele hadn't decided to keep her album off of streaming services. Now, Pandora is the only site to stream her album because it constitutes a radio broadcast. 

The singer also said, "I don't care if 10 people buy the album as long as those, like, 10 people believe me. That's the most important thing to me, is just being believed."

Right now, more than 4 million people believe in her, and they helped her crush the record for most copies of an album sold in its debut week, selling 3.38 million copies of "25" last week alone. 

SEE ALSO: How Adele's record-breaking 3.38 million sales of '25' compare to Taylor Swift's '1989'

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Gigi Hadid is being blackmailed by hackers who say they have her iCloud photos

The 2015 film, "Amy", based on the life of singer Amy Winehouse, has become the highest-grossing British documentary film ever. We recently sat down with the director Asif Kapadia, who discussed the transformations that take place in the film.

"Amy looks at the camera and looks at the audience all the way through the film, and what happens is, we, the person looking at her, change," he says. "We start off as Amy's friends, we become her manager, we become her boyfriend, we become the paparazzi eventually and her relationship with the camera changes during the film."

Kapadia continues, "I want people who really didn't like Amy to go and see 'Amy'. It's not just about appealing to the hardcore fan. It's about speaking to the people who really think they're not interested and getting them to fall in love with Amy Winehouse."

Producer/Editor: Josh Wolff

Cinematography: David Fang

Special Thanks: A24, Sam Rega

Join the conversation about this story »

Tidal has a new CEO — its third since the music-streaming service launched in March, Billboard reports.

After months of heavy turnover in Tidal's executive ranks, the company has named former SoundCloud executive, Jeff Toig, as its new chief executive.

In addition to his previous role as SoundCloud's chief business officer, Toig brings an extensive background in music-streaming services.

All of that could bode well for Tidal, which has been fighting to gain traction among a growing field of competitors.

Tidal has proven itself to be an interesting business case. Maybe even an outlier.

The company held a relaunch in New York, but it was widely criticised. One streaming expert Business Insider talked to said "they started out on the wrong foot from the beginning."

Two CEOs have cycled through, along with a handful of other executives.

Rumors of Tidal's demise were the song of the summer, despite cofounder Jay Z's promise that the seemingly hobbled service would survive.

Recent Jay Z sightings at powwows with Samsung executives appeared to suggest the multi-platinum rapper and mogul was looking for an out. But, if we've learned anything from Jay Z (other than the fact that he's a business, man), it's that he refuses to lose.

In an interview with Billboard published Wednesday, Toig called Tidal's business model — music-streaming as an artist-driven creative platform — a "powerful" and "compelling" experience. He says that despite the somewhat crowded field, "there's clearly momentum building" in the space.

Evidence of that can be seen in Tidal's subscriber growth, which topped 1 million users earlier this fall.

Though some critics have panned Tidal's subscription model — one $9.99-per-month "basic" subscription, a $19.99 monthly membership for high-fidelity audio, and no free option — Toig says nearly half of Tidal's subscriber's "are on the hi-fi offering."

It's not clear how many of those are paying subscribers though, since Tidal still offers a free 30-day trial for new users.

While some uncertainties remain, Toig lays out his vision for Tidal's future: "We're deeply committed to this business, and we're focusing on building a scaled, sustainable, successful business that's going to be here for a long time."

Toig officially jumps in the front seat in January.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Easy ways to make your Mac run faster

Harrison Ford didn't reprise his role as Han Solo in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" for nostalgia's sake. He's very clear that he was a hired hand.

Ford made an appearance on "The Tonight Show" last night and host Jimmy Fallon asked if the 73-year-old star got emotional from putting Solo's costume on again.

"No, I got paid," Ford responded. 

The actor also demonstrated the leg injury he receieved on set by using a Han Solo doll Fallon provided. 

"They closed the f---king door on me," he "whispered" to Fallon before breaking pieces off of the doll.

During the course of the interview, the duo took a couple shots and did spit takes in response to saying J.J. Abrams' name. Harrison Ford also joked about being nominated for but not winning an Oscar, and he completely destroyed an original Han Solo action figure.

You can watch the clip of Harrison Ford getting very honest and funny below: 

SEE ALSO: Harrison Ford has seen 'Star Wars' and says it's 'wonderful'

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here's why Adele is the most popular musician on the planet

Though Adele has kept her new album "25" off of places like Spotify and Apple Music, there is one prominent streaming service where you can get it in full: Pandora.

“Good news radio listeners, you can now hear all songs from Adele’s latest album 25 on Pandora,” a Pandora spokesperson told Entertainment Weekly. “It is clear radio listeners love Adele and are coming to Pandora to enjoy her incredible music."

And Pandora seems ecstatic about this.

The problem is that it's not exactly easy to just listen to the whole album because of the way Pandora works. You have to create a station, and keep skipping songs, hoping, trying to eventually get to those elusive Adele tracks. 

Or do you?

This photo from Reddit suggests that Pandora's algorithm might be just a little tipsy off the power of being able to play Adele. In it, you see Adele's hit single "Hello" coming up somewhere you wouldn't expect — System of a Down radio. 

What exactly do they have in common?

View post on imgur.com

Now, there's always a chance this could be Photoshopped. But Pandora has said that since "Hello" was added to its platform, Adele's total station adds have gone up 1,200%, and that "spins" for "Hello" are more than 5 times the number of Adele's previous smash hit, "Someone Like You." This probably makes her the algorithm darling of the moment.

And as they say, when you've got it, flaunt it.

SEE ALSO: The incredibly successful life of 10-time Grammy winner Adele, and how the world's best singer was discovered

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Adele had never heard of the most famous pop producer in the world until she fell in love with a Taylor Swift song

Tavi Gevinson is not your typical 19-year-old. 

She's edited four books, starred in a Broadway show, and leads a staff of 80 at Rookie, an online magazine she founded for teen girls. Recently, she made her Broadway debut and starred in an episode of Fox's new show, "Scream Queens."

Yet to her, age just isn't a big deal. 

"In my life, age does not apply at all. I feel 19 in that I’ve been alive for 19 years, and what’s happened in them happened to me," she recently told Business Insider. "A lot of those on-paper qualities just don't apply to creative industries, where people are crazy in their own ways." 

The writer, editor, and actor recently posed for Annie Leibovitz and the Pirelli calendar, a historically NSFW production that is changing direction this year.

For the first time, the calendar focused on photographing strong, successful women instead of models in the nude. Amy Schumer, Patti Smith, Fran Lebowitz, Serena Williams, and Yoko Ono are just a few of the other women who posed for the calendar. 

We got the chance to sit down with Tavi, who told us a bit about what she's up to now.  

SEE ALSO: The fabulous life of Anna Wintour

Tavi started her blog, Style Rookie, when she was just 11 years old. It quickly became a must-read in the fashion community. By 2010, when she was 14, she was interviewing people backstage at New York Fashion Week.

Tavi has been considered a tastemaker for years. Here, she chats with Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour and Barneys CEO Mark Lee in September 2010.

"I understand that it's unorthodox, but I'm really glad that I finished high school and that I had these amazing experiences, like going to Fashion Week and interviewing people, but that I had to go home and go to school the next day," she said. "I think my parents kept me from any extreme ego trip that could come from that, hopefully."

"The Daily Show with Trevor Noah" had scheduled an interview with Chris Brown for its Tuesday night show, but the appearance was canceled due to show staff being uncomfortable about having the artist on, according to the Daily Beast.   

Brown, who two years ago was convicted of felony assault changes against his former girlfriend Rihanna, has since dealt with numerous violent instances and probation violations.

According to the Daily Beast story, "Daily Show" staffers disapproved of the booking, though host Trevor Noah brought up in a meeting that he was planning to use the interview to bring up domestic-violence issues. Noah's ex-stepfather violently abused his mother.

Some on the staff felt Noah wouldn't be right for the interview, as in the past he had joked about Brown's abuse.

Like with this tweet:

The Tuesday episode interview ended up being scrapped and Nick Cannon, promoting his new film "Chi-Raq," was the guest in Brown's place. 

SEE ALSO: David Spade reveals how Chris Farley came up with classic "Fat Guy in a Little Coat" scene in "Tommy Boy"

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: 'Falling in love with Amy Winehouse' — the director of the hit documentary, 'Amy,' on how the genius star captivates even those who thought they didn't care

In the new boxing film "Creed," actor Michael B. Jordan manages to look even more ripped than Carl Weathers and Silvester Stallone, who played Apollo Creed and Rocky Balboa, respectively, in the "Rocky" movies.

To get in shape for the role of Adonis Creed — Apollo's illegitimate son in the film — Jordan worked closely with personal trainer Corey Calliet and followed a strict diet.

"I remember on set of 'Fantastic Four' there was talk of Mike doing 'Creed,'" Calliet recalled. "I grew up watching 'Rocky,' and they were so ripped, but I knew with my skills I could do better."

Along with amping up his workout schedule, Calliet directed Jordan to increase his intake of lean proteins like egg whites, chicken, and fish, which help build muscle, and pair them with whole grains like brown rice or oats, which help fill you up and smoothe digestion, plus some fresh veggies for key vitamins and minerals.

Importantly, Calliet also had Jordan eating small meals more regularly — about every 30 minutes, he told E! Online. All told, he ate six meals each day for the diet.

"Literally in the middle of takes, I would just be eating food. Chicken and rice and broccoli — a lot of it," he said.

Here's the meal plan Calliet gave Jordan, according to Men's Journal:

Meal 1

• 6 egg whites
• 1 whole egg
• 45 g carb (ex: oats, rice, etc.)

Meal 2

• Protein shake
• 35 g carb (ex: steelcut oats)

Meal 3

• 8 oz lean protein (ex: chicken, ground turkey)
• 65 g carb (ex: rice, sweet potato)
• 1 cup green veggie

Meal 4

• 8 oz lean protein (ex: chicken, ground turkey, or fish)
• 35 g carb (ex: rice, sweet or red potato)

Meal 5

• Protein shake
• 35 g carb (ex: steelcut oats)

Meal 6

• 8 oz lean protein (ex: chicken, ground turkey)
• 1 cup green veggie
• 1 tsp oil (ex: olive oil, coconut oil, macadamia nut oil)

He also added in some supplements to the diet, including something called a "pre-workout supplement" and a "recovery supplement," though we're doubtful these are absolutely crucial.

Here's how Jordan looked before — and after — training with Calliet:

Also, he was reportedly allowed one day off the diet as a "cheat day" each week, during which he ate whatever he wanted.

The movie was shot in Philadelphia, Rocky's hometown. "I don't know if a person has ever eaten as many cheesesteaks as I saw Mike eat," Calliet told Men's Journal.

In addition to a strict diet, here's a snapshot of the intense workout Jordan did six days a week:

• 45 to 60 minutes of cardio
• Three sets of 25 reps of sit-ups every other day
• One-mile warm-up on the treadmill
• Two sets of 10 reps of push-ups
• Four sets of dumbbell curls
• Three rounds of 20 reps of box jumps, jump squats, and burpees
• Boxing training (heavy bag, speed bag, jump rope)

See Calliet's complete workout regimen at Men's Journal.

CHECK OUT: Here's the workout Michael B. Jordan used to get in insane shape for his boxing movie, 'Creed'

NOW SEE: Most celebrity diets are bogus, but here are the ones you should consider

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Watching Sylvester Stallone play Rocky again after all these years in the trailer for 'Creed' is fantastic

Over two days in mid-October, Hollywood executives and power players held a secret meeting in LA to address the gender bias that's plaguing their industry.

The event was hosted by Women in Film and the Sundance Institute. According to Deadline, which broke news of the gathering, 44 of the biggest players in the industry — including producers Paula Wagner and Mike De Luca, HBO Films president Len Amato, showrunner Jenji Kohan ("Orange is the New Black"), and actress Maria Bello (pictured) — didn't just meet to chat. They came up with a four-point plan to solve the issue.

Here is that plan:

- Advocate “Unconscious Bias” training across the industry. An expert Unconscious Bias educator will be selected to work with executives and creatives across the board.

- Develop and launch a Gender Parity Stamp to recognize films and television shows — as well as production companies, networks, and studios — that show measurable progress to achieving gender equity

- Sponsor/Protégé Program. This high-level pilot program will identify talented early-to-mid career female film and TV directors for a year-long training and fellowship program, and pair them with advocates across the industry who will actively help them move to the next level.

- Ambassadors from the meeting of industry leaders will spread the word about the solutions to studios, networks, and agencies.

“We are at an economic, social, and cultural tipping point and sustainable change is within reach,” Cathy Schulman, president of Women in Film Los Angeles, told Deadline. “The time to act is now. Hollywood is surprisingly late in coming to this party and this is the time for conversion.”

Here's the list of all the particiapants at the two-day meeting:

Adriana Alberghetti
Agent and partner, WME

Stephanie Allain
Producer and former Senior Vice President of Production, Columbia Pictures

Victoria Alonso
Executive Vice President of Physical Production, Marvel Studios

Len Amato
President, HBO Films

Darla Anderson
Producer, PGA Board of Directors

Chris Andrews
Agent, CAA

Rowena Arguelles
Agent, CAA

Bonnie Arnold
Co-President, Dreamworks Animation

Glen Basner
CEO of FilmNation

Maria Bello
Actor, activist, author and producer

Andrea Berloff
Screenwriter, WGA Board of Directors

Cindy Chupack
Writer-producer

Maha Dahkil
Agent, CAA

Mike De Luca
Producer, former executive at Sony, New Line and Dreamworks

Zanne Devine
Executive Vice President of Film and Television, Miramax

Cassian Elwes
Producer and former agent and Head of William Morris Independent

Erik Feig
Co-President, Lionsgate

Sid Ganis
Former executive at Sony Pictures, Lucasfilm, Warner Bros. and Paramount and former President of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences

Liz Gateley
Executive Vice President, Head of Programming, Lifetime Television

Micah Green
Agent and Co-Head of Film Finance, CAA

Catherine Hardwicke
Director

Nina Jacobson
Producer and former President of Walt Disney Motion Picture Group

Charles King
Founder of MACRO and former agent and partner, WME

Jenji Kohan
TV series creator

Sue Kroll
President of Worldwide Marketing and Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures

Franklin Leonard
Founder of The Black List, former executive at Universal and at the production companies of Will Smith, Sydney Pollack and Anthony Minghella, Leonardo DiCaprio and John Goldwyn

Linda Lichter
Founding law partner of Lichter, Grossman, Nichols, Adler & Feldman

Alix Madigan
Head of Creative Affairs, Broad Green Pictures

Zola Mashariki
Executive Vice President, Head of Original Programming at BET Networks, former Senior Vice President, Fox Searchlight

Glen Mazzara
TV creator and showrunner, co-chair of the WGA’s Diversity Advisory Group

Hannah Minghella
President, Tristar Pictures and former President, Columbia Pictures

Bruna Papandrea
Producer and co-founder of Pacific Standard

Kimberly Peirce
Writer-director, Western Council and National Board Member, DGA

Lydia Dean Pilcher
Producer and Vice President, PGA

Gigi Pritzker
CEO of OddLot Entertainment and Board Trustee, Sundance Institute

Keri Putnam
Executive Director, Sundance Institute

Howard Rodman
President, WGA West

Rena Ronson
Agent, partner and Head of the Independent Film Group, UTA

Michelle Satter
Founding Director, Sundance Institute Feature Film Program

Cathy Schulman
Head of Production, STX Entertainment, President, Women In Film Los Angeles and Board Member, Film Independent

Stacy Smith
Director of Media, Diversity & Social Change Initiative, USC and author of Women In Film/Sundance Institute research

Mimi Steinbauer
President and CEO, Radiant Films International

Robin Swicord
Screenwriter, Governor for the Writers Branch of the Academy and Chair of the Nicholl Fellowship

Paula Wagner
Producer and co-founder ofCruise/Wagner Productions; former CEO, United Artists; Board Member, PGA

SEE ALSO: Netflix's "Beasts of No Nation" director says he's tired of people calling it an "issue film"

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: This is the single most iconic moment of Kobe Bryant's career

Beauty, grace, bravery, and wits may be the makings of a Disney princess, but there's a whole lot more beneath the surface.

Over the years, fourteen women have lent their voices to bring Cinderella, Belle, Ariel, Mulan, and the others to life.

There's Adriana Caselotti, who beat out 150 actresses for the part of Snow White, and Filipina actress Lea Salonga who voiced not one but two Disney princesses. These leading ladies are as impressive as their animated counterparts.

SEE ALSO: Meet Jennifer Lawrence's small but powerful squad that's taking over Hollywood

Snow White befriends small forest creatures and takes a long, curse-induced nap in 1937's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs."

In real life, Adriana Caselotti was a convent-educated teenager who beat out 150 actresses for the part.

Walt Disney personally hired 18-year-old Adriana Caselotti for the role of Snow White in his first feature-length cartoon. She made $20 a day reciting lines and singing, which is reportedly less than one of the actors who voiced a dwarf.

After "Snow White," Caselotti sang opera, worked briefly in real estate and the stock market, and wrote a book on singing.

In 1950's "Cinderella," the princess made an unforgettable appearance at a ball.

There have been a lot of highly visible conversations about inequality in the entertainment industry recently, particularly around gender. Major moments have run from Patrica Arquette’s Best Supporting Actress Oscar speech early this year on wage equality and equal rights for women in the US, to Jennifer Lawrence penning an essay for Lena Dunham’s newsletter Lenny on how she’s paid less than her male co-stars. But is anything changing?

Lake Bell is wondering exactly that. One of the numerous female filmmakers featured on the cover of a recent New York Times Magazine story focusing on sexism in Hollywood, Bell is currently in fundraising mode to make her second feature, “What’s the Point.”

“It will be interesting to see in the next few months, while I’m out trying to make ‘What’s the Point,’ if things have changed,” the actress/director recently told Business Insider. “Because I’m in it now, and you can be like ‘Clap your hands, you’re on the cover of the New York Times Magazine,’ but let’s see if anything comes of this lip service.”

Bell, who wrote and directed her critically acclaimed first feature, 2013's "In A World...," admits that recently offers for her to direct have gradually increased, but on other people’s projects.

“There are only so many years in my life to dedicate to certain projects,” Bell said. “If I'm going to pour that kind of love and energy and sweat and heartache, all that juju into something, I'm going to lean into my own projects before someone else's.”

Bell, who can currently be seen in the comedy "Man Up" co-starring alongside Simon Pegg, hopes to begin shooting “What’s the Point,” a relationship dramedy, by the beginning of next year. If the money comes forward.

“Of all this talk and all this attention,” said Bell of the inequality issue, “let’s see the action that’s going to be taken.”

It sounds like there just might be. It was revealed Wednesday that a secret meeting was held in LA in October where some of the most powerful people in the industry devised a four-point plan to help curb the problem of gender bias. 

SEE ALSO: Actress Lake Bell, first female voice of Apple ads, is taking over Hollywood one project at a time

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Saudi Arabia is building the world’s tallest building – nearly twice the height of One World Trade Center

With only a handful of dates left on her marathon world tour for "1989," Taylor Swift gave her crew a few days off.

But in typical Swift fashion, she went big, and booked an entire island near the Great Barrier Reef.

In an Instagram post, Swift said she took 125 crew members on a vacation to Qualia, a luxury resort on the privately owned Hamilton Island in Australia. While Aussie media went into a tizzy over reports that she'd booked the resort for her birthday party, Swift confirmed that it was for her crew.

On Instagram she thanked the people "who work tirelessly to make sure the 1989 World Tour stage gets built, the lights are on, the costumes are made, the guitars are tuned, and the show goes on."

The crew has put on 79 concerts in 207 days. The tour is on pace to gross around $200 million.

Story by Tony Manfred and editing by Carl Mueller

INSIDER is on Facebook: Follow us here

SEE ALSO: Taylor Swift gave a 12-year-old superfan who's losing her hearing the surprise of a lifetime

Join the conversation about this story »

Netflix doesn't generally publicly release data about how many or what types of people watch its movies and shows, and it doesn't need to.

That's because Netflix, unlike traditional TV networks, doesn't sell ad time or get subscription fees from cable companies, both of which depend on ratings. And Netflix has decided that, at least for now, it's better off keeping those numbers close to its chest. Or as "Beasts of No Nation" director Cary Fukunaga recently told Business Insider: "That's their MO, to not release numbers."

But you might expect that those working within Hollywood have a better idea of Netflix's streaming data. It turns out, however, that they're just about as clueless as the rest of us.

Vulture talked to numerous industry sources who said they know "precious little" about data on who watches their content, and it's left them "frustrated."

"As not transparent as they are to the press, that’s how not transparent they are to us," a source involved in producing shows for Netflix said to Vulture. "They would promise all the time to be more transparent. I heard for months, ‘We’ll give you the [ratings]’ … But they’d keep delaying. They wouldn’t show us."

Tina Fey has basically admitted as much, saying at a recent conference of the show she co-creates, "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt," "We know that [Netflix chief content officer] Ted [Sarandos] is pleased, which is great news, but we don't have any actual numbers."

The sources Vulture quotes say Netflix will sometimes provide vague information about how a show is doing relative to other shows and "basic stuff" like how many people start a program (though not necessarily finish it). Studios that license their own original content for streaming will try to demand this info. But it's relatively meager for the industry, and provided on a "need-to-know basis." Plus, Netflix has partners sign non-disclosure agreements.

One thing's for sure: Netflix would rather keep the emphasis on how critically acclaimed its latest originals, "Master of None" and "Marvel's Jessica Jones," have been, rather than any numbers that are lower than they'd like.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Hugh Hefner's son has a surprising and inspiring attitude toward women

A woman who sued the rapper Curtis Jackson (aka 50 Cent) for posting a sex tape of her on the internet is claiming lawyers for the now-bankrupt rapper spent lavishly during the civil trial that she ultimately won.

Lastonia Leviston — who has a child with the rapper's rival Rick Ross — filed an objection in bankruptcy court to fees sought by Jackson' law firm Brewer, Attorneys, & Counselors — including more than $57,000 on lavish hotels.

Last July, a jury ordered Jackson to pay Leviston $5 million for invading her privacy when he posted the sex tape without her permission.

The rapper has yet to pay that money because he filed for bankruptcy shortly after the judgment, and now Leviston's lawyers are objecting to the attorney fees in an apparent attempt to get Jackson to pay her first. 

In the objection, Leviston's lawyers assert that, "A significant portion of the expenses sought by the Brewer Firm in the Expense Application for hotel stays, court reporter fees, travel and legal research are extravagant, excessive and unreasonable."

Jackson's lawyers from Brewer Attorneys spent $57,241.76 on hotels alone, according to the objection. The lawyers chose posh settings like The Benjamin, and the Loews Regency, where rooms can cost upwards of $1,000 per night, according to the filing. 

Also in question are $26,890.90 in court reporter fees, $14,800.66 in legal research, and $4,186.94 in travel expenses. 

“We believe all of the firm’s expenses were appropriate, and we are prepared to demonstrate that to the court,” says William A. Brewer III, partner at Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors, in an emailed statement. “We are confident the court will conclude these expenses were reasonable.” 

These new developments come on the heels of a bad few months for the Queens, New York-born rapper of "In Da Club" fame.

Jackson filed for bankruptcy this past summer, after a series of high-profile lawsuits. He also owes more than $16 million to Sleek Audio, a headphones manufacturer, after a botched business partnership.

Leviston's lawyers have argued that Jackson filed for bankruptcy just to avoid paying his legal judgment. 

h/t The New York Daily News

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Parents are complaining that Pixar's new movie scares the crap out of their kids

Twitter-obsessed actress Alyssa Milano wasn't in love with the social network when she joined in March 2009.

"I did not get Twitter at all when I first joined Twitter. It felt dirty actually," Milano said onstage at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Next Gen conference.

"I followed all those celebrities that made Twitter kinda famous but every time they did self promotion it was dirty."

To understand the social network, the actress, made famous by her roles on "Who's the Boss?" and "Charmed", turned away from her peers and started looking at users who had large followings but weren't famous. 

She realized those people were curators of information, and would only share what they thought interesting. 

"I started using Twitter as a platform to share things that are interesting to me and that are important to me," Milano said.

Her obsession with Twitter began in earnest, though, during the Iran protests in 2009. At its peak, 98 percent of the links on Twitter had to do with the Iranian revolution, according to the Pew Center.

"The thing that really got me just obsessed with Twitter were the protests in Iran. And we were getting real-time information," Milano said. "To get information unfiltered from the ground in Iran just really rocked my world."

The actress and entrepreneur now has 3 million followers — more than Bernie Sanders, the political figure that she often retweets. Part of her appeal to fans is her unfettered access and lack of the 'dirty' promotional tweets. Instead, she posts about everything from breastfeeding and parenting to her love of sports. 

She views as a little mayor of a community she's created amongst her followers and wants to share information with that community, she says. Since the Iranian protests played out on Twitter, she's grown to think of the social network as a tool for change and democratization.

"There used to be a time when you needed a leader to create a movement. Now you just need a moment," Milano said. "A moment can create a movement in social media."

SEE ALSO: This was the smartest thing 23andMe did to keep it from being practically crushed by the FDA

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The full story of Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is much more awesome than you realize