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The 'exhausting' routine of a YouTube star who makes over $300,000 a year (GOOG)

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Joey Graceffa

Although he's only 24, Joey Graceffa has already been his own boss for five years.

With bright eyes and perfectly coiffed purple hair, the young YouTube star tells Business Insider that he created his own moment of reckoning at 19, when he decided to ditch his home in Massachusetts to move to Los Angeles.

He and a high-school friend had already started raking in hundreds of dollars a month making YouTube videos, so he decided to drop out of college to start making video blogs — or vlogs — full time.

"It had to really become my job," he says. "I loved it, but I was reliant on the money I made off of YouTube to support me. I had to really put the effort in and make it into something."

Fast-forward, and today Graceffa makes tens of thousands of dollars a month, instead of hundreds. Discounting the sums he pulls in from sponsorships — he's worked with brands like Top-Shop, Lego, and H&R Block — and revenue from his recently released memoir, the young star makes an estimated $365,000 a year.

And although he loves his job, he admits that his schedule feels totally exhausting.

"As a YouTuber, most of your life revolves around YouTube," he said. "It's not something that you get to have a break from."

What he does all day

Because he posts a new video every day, most of his morning is spent either shooting or editing the footage he filmed the day before. Graceffa's catalog includes clips of him going on adventures, hanging with his adorable dogs, collaborating with other YouTube stars, making well-produced music videos or short films, or simply talking, ranting, and laughing into the camera.

Once a new video goes live, he really puts his focus on the comments and on his Twitter feed.

"It's exhausting trying to handle every social-media platform," he says. "Constantly having to keep up with social media is the hardest part."

Graceffa opts not to use Snapchat or Vine because he's already busy enough with Twitter (2.66 million followers), Instagram (3.4 million followers), Facebook (1.3 million likes), and YouTube comments (his two channels have more than 6.5 million subscribers).

A few years ago, Graceffa filmed a season of "The Amazing Race" with fellow YouTuber Meghan Camarena. He says that it was one of the first times he felt like he had a vacation from social media because the TV show took away his cellphone and internet access every evening.

He found the break refreshing, even though there were "definitely some phantom buzzes."

In between likes, retweets, and responses, he spends his time figuring out what the next day's video is going to be.

"It can be very frustrating," he says. "Some days I'll go to Toys R Us to get inspiration. Or Target. Some days I'll have collaborations planned. Or some days I'll just go do an activity and vlog it."

Here's a video with fellow YouTube personality Miranda Sings:

But even though it's tiring, communicating constantly with fans has been a big part of Graceffa's rise to fame.

Although he doesn't reel in the kind of insane salaries as some of his YouTube star peers, he's still the kind of creator "success story" that YouTube business executive Robert Kyncl highlighted during his keynote at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week. During his speech, Kyncl trotted out the same study that YouTube often quotes: A Variety survey conducted last year shows that teens idolize YouTubers more than Hollywood celebrities.

As YouTube tries to attract more premium TV ad dollars, creators like Graceffa with rabid followers and consistent posting schedules mean good business.

"Being your own boss is tough," Graceffa says. "I mean, it's very rewarding, but it's managing your time, managing everything ... The daily stuff is very, very tough."

SEE ALSO: Facebook obsessively tracks whether you think it 'cares' about you

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An aerospace engineer explains how a 'Star Wars' X-wing could fly in real life

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the force awakens x wing disney finalThe X-wing fighter has been used by rebels (and now Resistance fighters) in the "Star Wars" franchise since the very beginning. 

Luke Skywalker used it to destroy the first Death Star, and Poe Dameron (the Resistance's "best pilot") leads his fleet of X-wing pilots to destroy the Starkiller Base in "The Force Awakens."

These fighters are sleek, but are they realistic? One Quora user took to the Q&A site to ask "What's wrong with an X-wing aircraft in real life?" The user added: "Would one be able to fly? Would it be aerodynamic? Would it be easy to control?"

Jamie Gull, an aerospace engineer at SpaceX and Scaled Composites, answered all of the questions, assuming that the plane could fly in earth's atmosphere. His answer explained that while the design could theoretically fly, it's currently not aerodynamic. Here's his full answer, published here with permission:

"First let's assume you mean could it fly here on Earth in our atmosphere. Anything can fly in space in zero gravity with the right propulsion on it, even a brick.

  • "This basic design could fly. It's similar to a blended wing body style plane, just with a big nose. With modern computer control it could be easily controlled. If we didn't have those controls it would likely be extremely difficult to fly as it is not a naturally stable configuration without a tail or forward lifting surfaces. A naturally stable plane has is it's aerodynamic center of pressure behind it's center of gravity, so any deviation from straight flight tends to straighten out the trajectory. There are some military fighters and blended wing bodies that have their CG aft of the center of pressure and are therefore unstable, and they require fast computers to keep them flying straight, but fly well and are very maneuverable. No vertical stabilizers (fins) are required; computers can yaw the craft with differential drag and ailerons, and this has been proven in a number of stealth craft.
  • "It's not a very aerodynamic design. All those intersections at the fuselage will create a ton of drag due to interfering aerodynamics. The engines and wingtip pylons are not helping in that regard either, as they are not well blended in. The wings are essentially a biplane configuration, which definitely works. The designer would need to take extra care near the fuselage due to the surfaces being so close together; their wakes would interfere with each other. Careful tuning could help turn this into somewhat of an advantage in slow flight. The square wing cross-section and all that hardware sticking out of the wing surfaces would need to get fixed to reduce drag but would work as-is. A flat airfoil can create lift at a non-zero angle of attack, it does not need to be a shaped foil. Flat surface lift is an into aerodynamics problem, even a pizza box can fly as a wing given the right propulsion and controls."

SEE ALSO: Here's everything we know about the next 'Star Wars' movie, 'Rogue One'

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NOW WATCH: Leonardo DiCaprio explains the amazing Lady Gaga Vine from the Golden Globes

Here's how John Krasinski from 'The Office' got ripped in 4 months for his first action movie

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John Krasinski Christian Black Paramount final

John Krasinski is known best for his comedic work, like lovable Jim Halpert on "The Office."

But starting Friday, we'll see him in a new way as he stars in his first action movie, Michael Bay's "13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi."

Krasinski told Men's Health he had just four months to train in preparation for the role of a Navy SEAL who defended the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi. After all, he had to look the part.

Thank you to @menshealthmag for putting this dude on the cover

A photo posted by John Krasinski (@johnkrasinski) on Dec 16, 2015 at 2:31pm PST on

"I gotta be honest: It was brutal at times," Krasinski said. "We did tons of metabolic work, dragging sleds and all this stuff I've seen NFL players do."

"My body fat was, I believe, 25%," Krasinski told Jimmy Kimmel on Kimmel's late-night show. "And then by the time I did the movie my body fat was 9%."

Krasinski doesn't go out of his way to show off his new body in the movie, aside from one shirtless shot toward the end. But it was important to authentically play one of the six members of a security team that helped protect Americans in the 2012 terrorist attack in Libya that resulted in the death of Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens.

Here are some highlights from Krasinski's experience getting fit for the movie, via Men's Health, including his favorite workout to do:

... And for finding my shirt JUST after this picture was taken. Thank you @menshealthmag

A photo posted by John Krasinski (@johnkrasinski) on Dec 16, 2015 at 2:32pm PST on

Favorite workout song: "What More Can I Say," Jay Z.

Favorite exercise: "Bench press. There's that number you can keep pushing. It's almost a game instead of a workout."

Least favorite workout: "Bulgarian split squat."

SEE ALSO: Here's the workout Michael B. Jordan used to get in insane shape for the boxing movie, "Creed"

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NOW WATCH: 3 hardcore exercises to build muscle superfast

After interviewing 'El Chapo,' Sean Penn says he isn't fearful for his life

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sean penn cbs

Speaking to Charlie Rose in an interview for this Sunday's "60 Minutes," Sean Penn told the host how he felt that the Mexican government was intentionally placing him in the crosshairs of the notorious Mexican Sinaloa Cartel. 

Penn, who wrote an article for Rolling Stone about the Mexican drug war and was able to interview then fugitive Sinaloa drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, told Rose that Mexico was using his interview as a scapegoat in order to pin the blame.

Penn also said that the Mexican government was creating a "myth" in which his visit was pivotal for the capture of El Chapo.

But Penn insists that, in fact, his interview had nothing to do with the drug lord's capture and that the Mexican government was blaming him as a face saving measure and an attempt to incur the cartel's wrath against the actor. 

"We know that the Mexican government, they were clearly very humiliated by the notion that someone found him before they did," Penn told Rose.

"Well, nobody found him before they did. We didn't -- we're not smarter than the DEA or the Mexican intelligence. We had a contact upon which we were able to facilitate an invitation."

Rose then asked Penn if he thought that Mexico intentionally released information saying that he was "essential" to the capture in order to "see you blamed and put you at risk." 

el chapo kate del castillo sean pennPenn replied "yes." Rose then asked if the Mexican government "wanted to encourage the cartel to put you in their crosshairs." Penn again replied "yes."

However, the actor said he did not fear for his life. 

Penn was able to secure the interview with El Chapo on October 2, 2015 through the facilitation of Mexican actress Kate del Castillo. 

El Chapo was captured in the Mexican city of Los Mochis on January 8 following a shootout with Mexican marines, US Drug Enforcement Administration agents, and US Marshals.

SEE ALSO: Sean Penn says he has a 'terrible regret' about El Chapo meeting: 'My article failed'

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NOW WATCH: A shirt made famous by a drug lord is flying off shelves

Meet the 8 on-the-rise actors who have been short-listed to be the next Han Solo

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han solo shrug final

Getting cast in a "Star Wars" movie will change your life. And for this handful of actors, it could easily happen soon.

While it might not pay a lot, the role brings international fame. There will also no doubt be an action figure for the new star.

Earlier this year, Disney announced that it's planning a standalone "Star Wars" prequel focused on Han Solo. It will be directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller ("The Lego Movie") and open in theaters in 2018.

As soon as it was announced, people speculated who, if anybody, could possibly replace Harrison Ford as the smuggler.

According to Variety, the original list of 2,500 actors who reportedly auditioned to play young Solo has now been narrowed down to just a dozen actors. Eight of the names from that short list are now known.

This franchise made stars out of Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher. "The Force Awakens" has done the same for John Boyega and Daisy Ridley.

Here are eight actors who could end up playing the young Han Solo — and what you need to know about them:

Dave Franco is the younger brother of actor James Franco.



Franco had bit roles in comedies for years before really getting noticed in the 2014 hit "Neighbors."



Twenty-eight-year-old Miles Teller's young career has been a mix of blockbusters and small indies.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Female comedians reported sexual assaults online and this is how the comedy world responded

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beth stelling

Female comedians in Los Angeles are working together to create a safer environment for performers who have been sexually harassed and assaulted to share their stories and change the way accusations are managed in the comedy world.

In late December, Beth Stelling posted a photo on Instagram showing her bruise-covered legs with a note about the alleged abuse she suffered while in a relationship with another LA comic. Three days later, fellow comic Courtney Pauroso revealed on her podcast that she had also been allegedly abused by the same man. Though neither released his name, it was quickly revealed online, and the man defended himself with a Facebook post claiming that the accusations were "false and extremely hurtful."    

In a lengthy news report for BuzzFeed, reporter Katie J.M. Baker examined how private Facebook groups have evolved as forums for comedians to discuss the abuse they've faced, as well as the changes city theaters are implementing to address the accusations. 

One comedian, Erika, told Baker that a Facebook group helped her make a case against her alleged rapist. Four women had responded to her post saying that the man had assaulted them, too. 

"People always ask why you didn’t go to the police, but I wouldn’t have had a case if I hadn’t posted on Facebook," Erika said. "That group is the only reason I had a chance.”

Members of the groups have also posted screenshots of harassing messages that they have received, which are then reported to the theaters. This has resulted in the banning of some of the accused from venues around the city. 

The report found that Upright Citizens Brigade and iO West, two of the most well-known and respected comedy theaters and training centers in LA, "drew up new misconduct policies and hired new staffers to handle allegations."

UCB hired an outside, licensed therapist as director of student affairs and "offers UCB students a limited number of free therapy sessions and other mental health services," as well as "does its best to address allegations in a way that is fair to both the accused and the accuser." 

iO West hired a "new human resources director tasked with overseeing the theater’s new, mandatory sexual harassment and discrimination policies, along with working on diversity outreach."

While these are important shifts, charges of sexual assault are still rare. In the case of Erika's alleged rapist, the district attorney hasn't decided whether to prosecute. The detective emailed Erika and said, "Unfortunately [he] has the right to come back into the community. But at least you women have the knowledge to make sure it does not [happen] to anyone else.”

Read the full BuzzFeed article here.

SEE ALSO: People are furious the Oscars didn't nominate any minority actors for the second year in a row

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NOW WATCH: This guy makes badass custom lightsabers for 'Star Wars' fans

One of the most thrilling scenes from Oscar-nominee, 'Sicario,' almost didn't get made

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sicario emily blunt

Cinematographer Roger Deakins feels every movie has its own set of challenges, whether it be the budget or time to pull off shots. However, for his latest film “Sicario,” the legendary DP told Business Insider there was a part of the movie in particular that was one of the hardest he’s had to pull off.

The movie follows FBI agent Kate Macer (Emily Blunt) as she’s thrust into the intense drug war on the Mexico/US border.

In one scene Macer and “consultant” Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro) are part of a convoy that goes into Mexico to pick up a major player in the Mexican drug trade and transport him back across the US border for questioning.

sicario 3With beautiful aerial shots mixed with tight shots of the black SUVs driving close together as they speed through the narrow streets of Juarez to pick up its prisoner, the sequence is filled with tension as the convoy is on the lookout for anyone that might take them out.

sicario 1Things get serious after the convoy picks up their man from a Mexican prison and try to cross the border back to the US. Stuck in gridlock at the border, the team spot numerous cars planning to ambush the convoy and reclaim the prisoner.

sicario 2With Alejandro at the lead, the teams leave their vehicles and take out the targets, to the shock of Macer.

Deakins told Business Insider that it was unknown if they’d get permission to shoot in Mexico City (which doubled for Juarez), but finally towards the end of production they got the okay, leading them to scramble to get the shots they needed.

Roger Deakins Tommaso Boddi Getty“That was such a jigsaw of how the hell we were going to shoot it,” said Deakins, noting the complexity or aerial shots of the real Mexican border and the convoy on the streets of Mexico City that had to match the scenes they did on set, like the shootout at the border.

Shot over five days, the shooting locations constantly changed. Deakins recalls how difficult it was to shoot the exterior of the Mexican jail where the convoy picks up their prisoner.

“[Director] Denis [Villeneuve] and I fell in love with this location and the night before we were going to shoot we were told, ‘We think you can shoot there,’” Deakins recalled. “So we all showed up that morning and it was all negations but we got permission about five minutes before we shot it.”

He added, “It was quite an amazing experience. But it was particularly tight to do this one.”

Watch the trailer:

 

SEE ALSO: The cinematographer behind some of the most beautiful movies of all time gives his 3 favorites

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Fox is creating an all-new '24' spin-off with a fresh face as the star

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24 legacy pilot tca

Fox is moving forward on a pilot for a spin-off of long-running hit "24."

Announced during the Television Critics Association press tour in Los Angeles on Friday, the potential series will feature new characters and cast members but stick with the real-time feel of each episode representing one hour. The network had been developing the show since last summer.

"There's a time jump," Fox TV's chairman and CEO, Dana Walden, said of the new chapter. "This is a new organization. It's a completely new story and a much more contemporary one."

Currently titled "24: Legacy," the project will center on Eric Carter, a military hero who returns to the US with trouble following him back. That leads him to contacting the CTU, the counterterrorism group that Jack Bauer is a part of, for help in saving his life and trying to stop what could be one of the largest terrorist attacks on American soil.

Regarding casting of the male lead, Walden said, "The pilot was just ordered. We've had conversations with the producers, but we don't have an actor yet."

Deadline's sources tell the site that the role was written for a young, African-American actor and that all the actors being considered so far are black.

Howard Gordon, Manny Coto, and Evan Katz of the original show will be executive producers on the new project. The pilot is set to start shooting this winter. Stephen Hopkins, who directed the show's first season, will return to direct the pilot.

It's important to remember that many pilots never make it to TV. If the pilot is good and Fox orders it to series, it will probably air in the fall.

The originally "24" ran for eight seasons, starting in 2001. Its star, Kiefer Sutherland, last reprised the role for Fox's 2014 limited series, "24: Live Another Day."

Mary Lynn Rajskub, Kim Raver, and William Devane also starred in the limited series, which was nominated for three Emmys.

Read more live coverage from the Television Critics Association press tour.

SEE ALSO: 7 things we know will happen in 'Mr. Robot' next season — including a time-jumping opening

DON'T MISS: The new 'X-Files' will take on a notorious 9/11 conspiracy theory

Join the conversation about this story »

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'Making a Murderer' defense lawyer thinks this is the real reason Steven Avery was convicted

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dean strang

Netflix's wildly popular docuseries "Making a Murderer" covers the trial of Steven Avery, who was convicted in 2007 of the murder of photographer Teresa Halbach. This was after being released from prison after 18 years for a previous crime that he did not commit.

The series closely inspects the evidence that led to Avery's conviction, leading to the conclusion that he may have been convicted on shaky grounds. Some even allege that he was framed by the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Office.

Dean Strang, one of Steven Avery's lawyers and a favorite among fans of "Making a Murderer" for his valiant defense, tells Business Insider that there's a bigger problem that sets people like Avery up for conviction. He believes there's a reason the players involved in this trial did not acknowledge the many errors that occurred during the process.

steven avery jury guilty making a murderer netlfix.PNG

“For me, it’s whether or not there’s humility among the actors in the criminal justice system and the institutions that compose our criminal justice system," Strang told BI.

What exactly does he mean by that?

"By humility I mean willingness to evaluate our levels of certainty critically. Willingness to ask if error is inevitable. Humility in acknowledging mistakes when we make them. Humility in trying to correct mistakes when we make them. Humility in demoting the value that we place on finality for its own sake as a way of putting our uncertainty in the past and denying our uncertainty and just moving on," Strang said.

Strang often speaks with a lot of uncertainty and ambiguity. And he thinks the kind of closure and clear distinctions he refers to aren't as important as many people seem to believe.

"I think the emphasis we place on finality is elevated far beyond what humble public servants and workers in the justice system would give it," Strang said.

That finality certainly had a lot to do with Avery being convicted for the Halbach murder, with a jury that had an initial vote of seven people saying not guilty before reaching its final guilty verdict.

People may finally be listening to Strang's message. Avery recently filed a new appeal to have his conviction thrown out. Two new lawyers have also agreed to work with him on the case, after he exhausted his right to a public defender and took up the case himself.

SEE ALSO: 'Making a Murderer' top defense lawyer explains what his life has been like since the show exploded and made him internet famous

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NOW WATCH: A law professor tricked his students into lying, which shows why you should never talk to police

The mother of 'Making a Murderer' convict Steven Avery thinks the murder victim is still alive

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steven avery jury guilty making a murderer netlfix.PNG

The mother of Steven Avery, the convict at the center of Netflix's "Making a Murderer" documentary series, has always thought that her son is innocent.

But now she says that's because she believes the victim in the murder charge from 2005 is still alive.

In audio published by TMZ from "The Hill-Man Morning Show" on Boston's WAAF radio, Dolores Avery claims that the victim, Teresa Halbach, could be involved in a conspiracy.

"I don't think she's even dead," Dolores Avery said on the radio show.

As for the bones found on the property, she responded, "How do you know if them were her bones?"

She added that someone could have "planted" them.

Listen to the full audio at TMZ.

SEE ALSO: Everything you need to know from 'Making a Murderer' if you don't want to spend 10 hours watching

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NOW WATCH: Jimmy Kimmel lost a ton of weight on this radical diet

Watch these YouTube stars interview President Obama (GOOG)

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YouTube

A trifecta of YouTube stars interviewed President Obama in the White House Friday afternoon as a follow-up to his final State of the Union address earlier this week. 

Destin Sandlin, of the SmarterEveryDay channel, Ingrid Nilsen, known as Miss Glamorazzi, and Adande Thorne, who goes by sWooZie, each grilled the President on a range of topics, including women's issues, terrorism, healthcare, and his favorite "Star Wars" movie in front of individual sets that YouTube created for them in the East Room of the White House. 

With more than 12.1 million subscribers combined, the creators were targeting their interviews to their younger, more digitally savvy fans. 

At peak, about 40,000 people were watching the stream live. 

Obama interview

The White House and YouTube teamed up with a similar format last year, when stars Bethany Mota, GloZell, and Hank Green all had the opportunity to chat with Obama. However, Obama has partnered with YouTube for various Q&A sessions throughout his presidency. 

You can watch the video here:

 

YouTube White House

SEE ALSO: The ‘exhausting’ routine of a YouTube star who makes over $300,000 a year

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What it's like to survive a punishing Michael Bay movie set, according to '13 Hours' star Pablo Schreiber

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Pablo Schreiber Christian Black Paramount final

Pablo Schreiber got the call two months before shooting telling him that he would be in “13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi.”

That's when the Michael Bay stories started.

“You talk to all your friends and they have all their stories about Michael and working with him and a lot of it involves screaming,” the actor told Business Insider.

Schreiber, who’s probably best known as the entertainingly evil “Pornstache” in “Orange Is the New Black,” took in all the stories while he prepared for the role of Kris “Tonto” Paronto, one of the surviving members of the security team that defended the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi on September 11, 2012, after it was attacked by Islamic militants, which led to the killing of US Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens. 

The prep involved putting on a lot of muscle mass, which meant “eating a ton and lifting a lot of weights,” and then doing a three-day boot camp for the cast with ex-Navy SEALS.

Looking back on the experience, Schreiber sums it up this way: “Nothing can prepare you for a Michael Bay set.”

Michael Bay Francois Durand Getty finalThe director known for over-the-top mega-blockbusters like “Armageddon,” “The Rock,” and the “Transformers” movies also has a reputation for being tyrannical on his sets. Megan Fox once said of working with Bay on the first two “Transformers” movies: “He wants to be like Hitler on his sets, and he is.” (She was later fired from the franchise.)

When Schreiber touched down in Morocco for the shoot, he realized he had other things to focus on than Bay's behavior. When you're lugging around 50- to 60-pound gear for an unthinkable 70 setups in a day, with temperatures hitting the low 90s, “screaming is like the smallest part of it all,” Schreiber said.

In fact, he felt that Bay’s high energy was infectious and drove everyone to be equally as intense.

“There’s really no down time on set. Everything is go, go, go. He expects a lot from you,” Schreiber said of the director, who claims to be worth half a billion dollars. “You have to be able to perform any part of the movie at any given moment, so you want to give a lot because you can see how hard he is going. To rise to the occasion when your moment is called in that circumstance gives you a confidence that you can get through anything.”

Schreiber also wanted to make sure he was correctly representing the person he plays.

Pablo Schreiber Peter Larsen GettyHe talked via Skype with Paronto, a former US Army Ranger who is the sarcastic jokester of the bunch in the film, at least five times before shooting started.

“It became really clear that the biggest dynamic in portraying this guy was using the humor to good effect," he said.

The actor would often adlib, throwing in a joke when he felt a scene needed something to break the tension. He said one of those getting the biggest laughs is when, after talking to an interpreter, he turns to one of the soldiers on his team and says, “I’m going to have to break up with him after all of this is over.”

Schreiber knew the hard work paid off when Paronto, after seeing the film, told the actor he was happy with his portrayal.

So what’s his advice for surviving a Bay movie?

“Get on the train and hang on as hard as you can,” Schreiber said with a laugh. “He’s moving, and it’s going to go, and you just have to buckle in.”

Watch the trailer:

SEE ALSO: There's going to be a Broadway musical about Steve Jobs and Bill Gates

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No wonder Taylor Swift has #1 Instagram account — she's a genius at making cat videos

Christian Slater says starring on 'Mr. Robot' has made him paranoid about the internet

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Getty Images Christian Slater Mr. Robot USA

Hacker drama "Mr. Robot" hasn't only enlightened viewers about the many dangers lurking on the internet.

Christian Slater, who won his first Golden Globe for playing the title role earlier this week, says the show has made him more aware, even a bit paranoid of technology.

"Certainly, making the discovery that as wonderful a thing the internet is — the magical power it has brought to all of us — it can also be a very dangerous tool," he told Business Insider after the show's panel at the Television Critics Association press tour in Los Angeles.

In fact, he gave us a couple examples of how the USA Network's story of hackers looking to redistribute the country's wealth has shaped his relationship with the internet.

Slater took a good look at his online passwords. 

"Updating passwords is vitally important, and using complicated things [as your password]," he said. "I mean, pet names is a killer. Don’t do that."

He then joked, "And my new password is Golden Globe."

And he took control of his kids' internet usage.

"I got monitoring devices with their knowledge," Slater said.

mr robot christian slater usa"As long as they’re under my roof, I’m going to make sure to the best of my ability that they’re safe. It’s very, very difficult because we’re living in a world where they invent things in order to hide things from parents. There are these secret creator app guys who make things to intentionally do that, to keep your parents in the dark, and you’ve really got to work extra-hard to stay on top of it."

The actor is proud to be working on a show that is reflecting what's happening in the world and delivering it to people in an entertaining way.

"It’s raised my level of awareness," the 46-year-old said. "And I think if it can do that for others, that’s certainly serving a purpose and a benefit. Any time you can raise people’s awareness in any way it’s like Alan Rickman’s quote, ‘A movie, a book, a television show can certainly make a difference.'"

"Mr. Robot" returns for its second season this summer.

Read more live coverage from the Television Critics Association press tour.

SEE ALSO: 7 things we know will happen in 'Mr. Robot' next season — including a time-jumping opening

MORE: 'Lost' creator Carlton Cuse's latest show ‘Colony' is creating a whole new online world

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Reruns on cable are not the same as the originals — check out these differences

There's one big problem with this crucial piece of evidence in favor of Steven Avery on 'Making a Murderer'

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One of the strongest pieces of trial evidence in favor of "Making a Murderer" subject Steven Avery was the vial of his blood from a previous conviction that appeared to have been tampered with.

But new information makes that piece look a lot weaker.

OnMilwaukee.com reports that court papers from Avery's appeal show prison nurse Marlene Kraintz was set to testify in Avery's trial for the 2005 murder of Teresa Halbach that she punctured a hole in the test tube of Avery's blood, and in fact such holes are commonplace, because that's often how the blood gets put in the tube in the first place.

Avery's defense team, Dean Strang and Jerry Buting, discovered the hole in the test tube's stopper. They believed it was proof that the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department had tampered with the evidence and withdrew blood from the tube. The theory supposed that blood was later smeared in the victim's car to incriminate Avery.

If Kraintz had testified, it would have gone a long way to discrediting the theory and Avery's perceived innocence. According OnMilwaukee.com, she would've explained that it's common practice to fill a test tube via syringe. But she wasn't called to the stand.

"We did not believe that the defense had raised the issue significantly enough [at trial], claiming that there was any tampering done to the blood vial," former prosecutor Ken Kratz told the site. "Although the documentary suggests that the hole in the vial of blood was significant, everybody at the time knew and certainly the filmmakers had to know that the hole in the vial was put there by the nurse who drew the blood."

Steven avery blood vial making a murderer netflixIn addition to Kraintz, the website interviewed two other experts who also said that it's common practice to fill a test tube in that manner.

"Making a Murderer" also shows that the vial was supposed to be in a sealed box. But when the prosecution discovered it, the seal had been broken. Manitowoc County DA E. James Fitzgerald said that he opened the box after both sides were given permission to study the evidence from Avery's previous trial.

For some, that might seem enough to strike down the planting argument by the defense. But the site points out that just because Kraintz would've testified to making the hole, there's no way to know if someone else extracted blood from the tube through the same hole.

SEE ALSO: Everything you need to know from 'Making a Murderer' if you don't want to spend 10 hours watching

MORE: 'Making a Murderer' subject Steven Avery files a new appeal to throw out his conviction

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NOW WATCH: The lawyer from 'Making A Murderer' describes what's wrong with America's criminal justice system


Penn says he has nothing to do with 'El Chapo' Guzmán's recapture

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American actor Sean Penn says that his article for Rolling Stone, in which he secretlyinterviewed then fugitive drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, "failed."

"My article has failed. Let me be clear, my article has failed," he told Charlie Rose in his first interview about the now notorious meeting on this Sunday's "CBS This Morning."

But Penn insists that his visit, despite what the Mexican government is claiming, had absolutely nothing to do with the drug lord's recapture.

"There is this myth about the visit that we made, my colleagues and I with 'El Chapo,' that it was — as the attorney general of Mexico is quoted — 'essential' to his capture," Penn told Rose. "We had met with him [Guzmán] many weeks earlier ... on October 2, in a place nowhere near where he was captured."

sean penn el chapo"So as far as you know," Rose asked the actor, "you had nothing to do and your visit had nothing to do with his recapture?"

Penn said:

Here's the things that we know: We know that the Mexican government ... they were clearly very humiliated by the notion that someone found him before they did. Well, nobody found him before they did. We didn't — we're not smarter than the DEA or the Mexican intelligence. We had a contact upon which we were able to facilitate an invitation.

Penn was able to secure the interview with the Sinaloa cartel chief on October 2, 2015, through the facilitation of Mexican actress Kate del Castillo. The actress and Guzmán had been in touch since as early as 2012.

Penn told Rose that he believed that the Mexican government was attempting to blame him for the recapture of the drug lord in order to put him in the cartels' crosshairs. But Penn said that he was not afraid.

"El Chapo" was captured in the Mexican city of Los Mochis on January 8 following a shootout with Mexican marines, US Drug Enforcement Administration agents, and US Marshals.

SEE ALSO: Sean Penn says he has a 'terrible regret' about 'El Chapo' meeting: 'My article failed'

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NOW WATCH: El Chapo was sending flirty texts to a Mexican TV star before he got captured

These are the 10 pop stars advertisers most want to work with

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Popstars have always been hot property for marketers. Bag an endorsement deal with a live music star, and you sign up for your brand being projected in front of millions of fans, who all hang on their idol's every word and sartorial choice.

Repucom, a sports and entertainment intelligence and advisory company, released a report on Thursday detailing the top 10 most marketable music artists in the world.

The popstars are ranked according to their "Davie Brown Index" (DBI) score out of 100, which assesses consumers' views of more than 8,000 personalities in 15 markets around the world.

For this report, Repucom interviewed Americans aged between 13 and 24-years-old and asked questions about their awareness of each artist, the artist's appeal, the degree to which they take notice of the celebrity when they appear in the media, whether the celebrity is a trendsetter, the influence they have on culture, the trust they have in their words and image, whether they think that celebrity is an effective brand spokesperson, and how aspirational the celebrity's life is.

Check out the top 10 music artists brands will be falling over themselves to work with in 2015.

10. Bruno Mars — DBI 81.6. The American singer/songwriter/producer is perhaps best known for his hit "Uptown Funk", a collaboration with Mark Ronson. He has scored five number one singles in the Billboard 100, faster than any other male singer since Elvis Presley, and is famous for his retro showmanship. But while he has incredible appeal, he's signed very few endorsement deals. Instead he's focused in making investments in businesses including an e-cigarette company and restaurants.



9. Nicki Minaj — DBI 81.8. The edgy "Anaconda" singer might seem like an unusual marketing choice but she has plenty of assets. The opinionated rapper is rarely out of the headlines and was nominated for a Grammy after her album “Super Bass” went platinum eight times over. Recent brand affiliations have included Pepsi and Beats.



8. Britney Spears — DBI 81.8. The "Hit Me Baby One More Time" singer has landed a string of endorsements in her long career including Skechers, Pepsi, Polaroid, and Volkswagen. This year she also launched a fragrance under her own name.



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How to find Netflix’s secret categories

Alan Rickman was the toughest actor I ever interviewed — and the smartest

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Alan Rickman

Alan Rickman died this week at age 69, and while his role in "Harry Potter" sprang to mind for many, I remembered a different movie.

It was 2008's "Bottle Shock," an offbeat little film about the early days of the California wine business.

Rickman played Steven Spurrier, an English wine merchant who staged a now-legendary taste-off between French and California wines — that the Californians won!

I recalled "Bottle Shock" because I interviewed Rickman about it, when I was living in Los Angeles and doing celebrity journalism, writing profiles for the LA Times. I had been a longtime admirer of Rickman thanks to a great movie called "Truly, Madly, Deeply," directed by the late Anthony Minghella before he achieved much larger fame with "The English Patient."

Rickman was remarkable. You generally interview movie actors under two scenarios: at breakfast or lunch, usually at a restaurant of the actor's choosing, sometimes at his or her home; or at media cattle calls in fancy hotels. The "Bottle Shock" interview took place at the Four Seasons Beverly Hills, in a suite of rooms.

You could tell Rickman was holding his nose about the whole thing, remaining almost completely still, but he was gracious and he brightened up a bit when I told him that although I had been forbidden to ask any "Harry Potter" questions, his interview completed a hat trick of conversations with English "Harry Potter" actors in which questions about the series were off-limits.

The other two were Jim Broadbent (for "When Did You Last See Your Father?" also released in 2008) and David Thewlis, who in 2007 had published a novel, "The Late Hector Kipling."

I can't remember if Rickman really embraced the irony, but it at least elicited a wry chuckle.

Alan Rickman Bottle Shock

There was a lot of class in Rickman's disgust with the media junket, which unfortunately is by far the worst way to create a good profile of a thespian. Actors don't like it because they feel like they're answering the same questions over and over again, and journalists don't like it because, well, they know they're asking the same questions that have already been asked. But the process is grimly efficient. It gets everybody's job done.

Rickman was one of those actors who brought something special to every film he did — you never got the sense that he was trying to merely get the job done. My usual trick when interviewing actors was to go out of my way to take them seriously — even if the movie or show wasn't all that great, you had to respect their professionalism. 

Rickman was the only case in which this didn't work for me. Not to take anything away from the other actors, but it was clear with Rickman that he expected quite a bit more. And of course I walked out of the hotel with miles and miles of respect for the man, whose reputation, at that point already massive, only grew.

Though he was calmly though throughout the interview, when it came time to discuss his craft in detail, he was winning. In "Bottle Shock," Spurrier is portrayed as being almost comically driven — a man with a ferocious plan. That presented a challenge for Rickman.

"Given that his objectives are so clear, I had to locate the moments when he discovers things," Rickman told me. "I had to find out where his innocence is."

It was a simple observation, but it said everything about how intensely important Rickman thought acting was, and how carefully he considered his own work.

As with many people I've interviewed over the years, I thought I might get a chance to talk to Rickman again some day. But that possibility is now gone for good, leaving me with the lasting and chastening lesson that when you get your time to talk to someone who is really, really good at what they do, the first thing you need to do is raise your game as far as possible. 

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SEE ALSO: Alan Rickman's two final film roles will be dramatically different

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NOW WATCH: The 7 most memorable roles of 'Harry Potter' star Alan Rickman you may have completely forgotten

The 15 most ridiculous celebrity commercials that only aired overseas

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For decades, some of the biggest movie stars in Hollywood have traveled to other parts of the world to make bizarre commercials for lots and lots of money.

Endorsing everything from coffee and energy drinks to things that seem to only be popular in Japan, celebrities who would never be caught dead doing such projects in the US have pushed their egos aside and put on a smile for a day's work abroad.

In the process, they've pocketed anywhere from the high six-figures to $10 million paydays

Thankfully, the internet is here to confirm that the ads happened, and show us what they look like. 

Check out 15 very famous people doing very silly things. 

SEE ALSO: Everything you need to know from "Making a Murderer" if you don't want to spend 10 hours watching

Madonna shows off her sword technique in this 1995 commercial for Takara sake.

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Watch the complete ad here.



Brad Pitt gets goofy in this commercial for Japanese cellphone company SoftBank, directed by Wes Anderson ("The Royal Tenenbaums").

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Watch the complete ad here. 



Arnold Schwarzenegger has shown up in some really silly Japanese commercials. Like this one for Cup Noodle.

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Watch the complete ad here. 



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