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Actor Michael B. Jordan trolls Kobe Bryant in the new Apple TV ad (AAPL)

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Michael b. Jordan Kobe Bryant

Basketball player Kobe Bryant and actor Michael B. Jordan star in Apple's latest ad, which debuted Sunday afternoon.

The video presents Jordan and Bryant in a trailer. Jordan is playing Bryant in a film about the Lakers player's life.

Bryant assumes that Jordan will play only the younger version of him.

Jordan explains, however: "I'm playing you all the way through, with makeup and prosthetics and all that."

Jordan then plays a scene from the film using Siri on his Apple TV, in which Jordan is playing an old-man version of Kobe Bryant. Annoyed by this, Bryant kicks Jordan out of his trailer.

Here's the full 60-second commercial:

The spot is Apple's second for the Apple TV. The first, which came out in January, highlighted the apps that are available to download through the platform.

Kobe Bryant is known to be a massive fan of Apple products. In summer 2014, we reported that Bryant was working with Apple lead designer Jony Ive to test an early version of what turned out to be the Apple Watch.

SEE ALSO: Apple is showing off all the apps available for the Apple TV

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NOW WATCH: Here’s why airlines ask you to raise the window shades for takeoffs and landings


One of retail's biggest stars looks Photoshopped in a recent picture — and fans are furious

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Vogue China is under fire for what appears to be an airbrushing gaffe.

The magazine is being accused of Photoshopping star designer and former pop star Victoria Beckham.

Beckham posted the photo in question as a part of a video montage of her photo shoot on Instagram.

Loved working on this shoot for @voguechina May issue. Thank u @inezandvinoodh, @wendyrowe, @georgecortina and @shayashual x vb

A video posted by Victoria Beckham (@victoriabeckham) on Apr 9, 2016 at 12:07am PDT on

But one of the photos in the montage has caught the eyes of some of her fans.

Here's a screen grab — you can see that there's a suspicious gap above her thigh. 

Victoria Beckham screenshot instagram vogue china photoshop

Fans are now debating if that's a Photoshop fail or not.

"OMG she's missing a huge chunk out of her thigh in the first pic," one fan wrote.

"No legs are that pointed," one fan wrote.

"You also see that they cut off a bit of the leg. Whew," another wrote.

"It's obviously her underwear! She looks spectacular, all tve el [sic]," another wrote.

"There is a little place which is a underwear but there is way to much no underwear," another wrote.

"Am I the only one that thinks that it's the material from the clothing that she is wearing lol, get yourself together Internet!" Another wrote.

"Even if she does look incredible, the photo has been cropped just above her thigh.. That fact changes nothing about her looking good!" Another wrote.

Whether it is or isn't, it wouldn't be the first time Vogue China was accused of heavily editing an image of a famous woman. Just a few months ago, fans caught an image of Gigi Hadid in which her birth marks appeared to have been removed.

SEE ALSO: People are outraged after a Victoria's Secret model was Photoshopped to look totally different

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Melissa McCarthy made history with 'comedic genius' win at the MTV Movie Awards

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melissa mccarthy

Melissa McCarthy made history during the MTV Movie Awards Sunday night when she became the first woman to win the comedic genius award. 

McCarthy crowd-surfed to receive her award during the ceremony.

"I may be the first woman to receive this award, but I am certainly not the first one to deserve it," McCarthy said during her acceptance speech. "I'm a walking human patchwork of all the remarkable, funny women I have loved and studied over the years."

She then listed numerous influences, including Lucille Ball, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Carol Burnett, Gilda Radner, and Whoopi Goldberg.

The actress also thanked her mom, "who taught me not to fear being the butt of the joke, taught me not to worry about being likable or perfect, and to lovingly go for the kill."

She got choked up thanking fans for seeing her movies, and she ended her speech with a shout-out to Bruce Springsteen for getting "even cooler," referring to his cancellation of a North Carolina concert following the passage of the state's anti-LGBT law.

McCarthy is the third person to receive the award. Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart (who cohosted this year's ceremony with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) previously won it.

Watch her accept the award below: 

 

SEE ALSO: The 26 best comedy movies you can stream on Netflix right now

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Why 'Suicide Squad' is really getting those expensive reshoots, according to the director

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Suicide Squad

It turns out the stories about“Suicide Squad” undergoing reshoots to make the movie more fun may not be totally correct.

At least, that’s what the film’s director says.

In a tweet early Monday morning, “Suicide Squad” director David Ayer said the reshoots are a chance for him to plug in more action, rather than make the film lighter in tone.

In late March, Birth Movies Death reported that the studio, Warner Bros., requested additional filming to create more fun scenes, after all of the humor had been revealed in trailers.

Many saw this as a knee-jerk reaction following complaints that “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” also from Warner, is too gloomy.

We’ll see what kind of vibe "Suicide Squad" is going for when it opens in theaters August 5. The plot follows a suicide mission by a group of notorious villains from the DC Comics universe.

In the meantime, here’s the latest trailer for the film, which premiered during the MTV Movie Awards Sunday night.

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The Lonely Island performed Will Smith's biggest hits to honor him at the MTV Movie Awards

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the lonely island will smith tributeWill Smith received the generation award during the 2016 MTV Movie Awards Sunday night and was honored with a musical tribute by The Lonely Island.

The trio — consisting of Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, and Akiva Schaffer — dressed in "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air"-inspired clothing and performed a medley of Smith's hits, including “Parents Just Don’t Understand,” the "Fresh Prince" theme song, “Summertime," “Men in Black,” and “Gettin’ Jiggy wit It.”

At one point, they played "Men in Black" backward before Samberg interjected, saying, "Wait, sorry, that was a bad idea, that sounded terrible."

Watch the performance below: 

SEE ALSO: Melissa McCarthy made history with 'comedic genius' win at the MTV Movie Awards

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Texas-based firearms maker responds to criticism surrounding a real gun that looks like Nintendo's toy 'Duck Hunt' gun

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Zapper Gun

Texas-based firearms maker Precision Firearms LLC has responded to criticism of its "Nintendo Glock," a firearm inside a Nintendo Zapper-inspired shell.

The controversy started last Wednesday when the custom-gun maker posted about the creation of a gun inside a retro video-game-inspired shell.

The post has since been shared over 147,000 times and accumulated over 8,300 comments.

Precision Firearms wrote on its Facebook page that it didn't plan to mass-produce the gun and that the design was a "one-off":

In light of the 'Nintendo Glock' drama, we feel that the media and our fans need to know that this firearm will not be mass produced nor will it ever be. This is a one off custom build for a friend of ours. Do to the thousands of emails and messages we have received in the past 2 days we have been unable to contact everyone in a timely manner, please be patient we will get to you as soon as possible. Thank you all for your support! Oh, and please ... keep your guns locked up and away from children, it's common sense.

Commenter opinion on the toy gun is split.

Many complimented Precision Firearms on its craftsmanship; others feared the mass production of the plastic weapon could further blur the lines between real guns and toy guns.

We've emailed Nintendo and are awaiting a comment.

For anyone who's ever played "Duck Hunt," the once popular Nintendo game where players shoot ducks by pointing a laser toy at a television, the Precision Firearms gun looks eerily familiar.

Here's what Nintendo's "Duck Hunt" zapper looked like:

NES zapper

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Services like Netflix and Hulu are growing much faster than cable (NFLX)

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jessica jones marvel netflix review 2

The growth of US streaming services like Netflix and Hulu is outpacing traditional cable by a wide margin, according to research by The Convergence Consulting Group.

The US revenue for video streaming services like Netflix and Hulu grew by 29% to $5.1 billion in 2015. And while the US streaming industry in 2015 was a fraction of its cable, satellite, and telco TV counterpart (with revenues of $105 billion), that sector grew by just 3% in 2015.

2015 saw an explosion of new players in the industry, from NBC’s all-comedy Seeso to Sony’s PlayStation Vue, but Netflix and Hulu still make up 98% of the revenue for non-cable (“over-the-top”) streaming video services — excluding Amazon. Convergence estimates this market share will decline to 91% in 2016.

And streaming isn’t slowing down. Convergence predicts it will grow to $6.7 billion in 2016.

Here’s a chart showing the growth of the streaming industry since 2013:

BI_Graphics_Video streaming industry chart

Convergence also saw a growth in “cord-cutters” and “cord-nevers,” households who don’t hold a traditional TV subscription and instead rely on things like streaming services for video. Analysts found 20.4% of households fell into this category at the end of 2015, up from 18.8% at the end of 2014. By the close of this year, Convergence predicts this will grow to 21.9%.

Note: 2013 and 2014 data includes Netflix and Hulu. 2015 data also includes Lifetime Movie Club, CBS All Access, Showtime, DirecTV’s Yaveo (only 2015), Sling TV, Seeso, Tribeca Shortlist, PlayStation Vue, HBO Now, and Nickelodeon’s Noggin. 2016 projected numbers include previous offerings plus the newly released Starz app. Data excludes Amazon.

SEE ALSO: 80% of people who will have their Netflix prices raised next month don't even know it's coming

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John Oliver exposes the massive hidden dangers of credit reports

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last week tonight john oliver credit reports hbo

John Oliver thinks credit reports have a ludicrous effect on our lives. And on Sunday's "Last Week Tonight," he set out to prove why they shouldn't be "the basis for the single most important three-digit number in your whole life."

Credit-reporting companies — the biggest of which are TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax — and the scores they crunch for individuals are obviously important, especially considering how they are used.

"It's not just banks deciding whether to lend you money," Oliver said. "It's also landlords deciding whether to rent you an apartment, insurers setting your rates, and even employers using it to decide whether or not to hire you."

That's especially problematic considering just how plagued with errors credit reports can be. Oliver pointed out a 2013 study from the Federal Trade Commission showing that 25% of credit reports had errors and 5% had serious enough errors to affect one's ability to take out loans.

These mistakes can be as small as reporting errors from credit-card companies or as big as mistaken identity, being falsely labeled a terrorist or a sexual offender, and even being declared dead when you're alive.

"Just one error on your credit report, and suddenly the world treats you like a mean girl treats the high-school debate team," Oliver said, before imitating a teen girl saying, "You're nothing, Amberly. You don't even exist."

Credit-reporting agencies would rather draw attention to the 95% of reports that don't have serious errors. In response, Oliver decided to provide some perspective.

"When you are holding records for more than 200 million individuals, that 5% error rate affects 10 million people," Oliver said. "They're basically saying, 'Great news, everyone: We only f---ed up a group equivalent to the entire population of Sweden!'"

Oliver decided to cook up a way to show the agencies just how terrible errors can be.

"We started three terrible companies with names that are problematically similar to theirs," he said. "Specifically, Equifacks, Experianne, and TramsOnion."

Watch Oliver's take on credit reports below:

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A new 'Game of Thrones' season 6 trailer is here, and it's the most intense yet

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The start of "Game of Thrones" season six is quickly approaching, and HBO just released its second full trailer for the new episodes.

This one gives the fullest look we've seen yet at what's ahead. There's Cersei warning about what the Lannisters do to their enemies, and Tyrion has a startlingly close encounter with a dragon.

"Game of Thrones" returns April 24, 2016.

Watch below:

 

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Producers behind hit reality-TV shows reveal the secret tricks they use to orchestrate crazy drama

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bachelor in paradise ashley i crying meme

Outrageous, dramatic, instructional, and even touching reality shows have grown into a huge business in the past two decades.

According to National Geographic Channel's numbers, there were 350 new primetime unscripted series on cable television last year.

Clearly, interest in reality TV isn't going anywhere, but critics of the genre are quick to dismiss these hit shows by calling them "scripted" or "fake."

"I've never worked on a scripted reality series. Good luck trying to get f---ing reality talent to do anything scripted, because they're so difficult. So I don't even know what that means, that accusation," one producer of several reality shows, including Bravo's "Real Housewives" franchise, told Business Insider on condition of anonymity.

"There is a cliché that the truth is stranger than fiction. And on reality, I have consistently found that to be the case," Sean Dash, who has produced nonfiction series, including Discovery Channel's "Bering Sea Gold" and "Deadliest Catch," told Business Insider.

"I think the issue often is your viewer cannot believe what they're seeing because it can be so ridiculous or so absurd, but it is actually, literally, exactly what had happened," Dash said.

The issue often is your viewer cannot believe what they're seeing because it can be so ridiculous or so absurd, but it is actually, literally, exactly what had happened.

"I certainly see that plenty of times on the shows that I've worked on, and I go see the comments and I just laugh because yes, that did happen. That genuinely was a father and son rolling around the dirt fighting. That's them; that's not us."

That doesn't mean the shows just stand back and film. The producers we talked to say there is definitely a story they're trying to tell. That can take skill to pull off, and some maneuvering when things don't go as planned.

"As a reality producer, you're dealing with real people with their own minds that have their own images that they want to control or they want to be seen. We don't always know what we're going to get," said producer Rahel Tennione, whose credits range from "Real Housewives" to dating shows like "Tough Love," competitions shows including "The Real Gilligan's Island," and serious docuseries like FX's "Black. White."

Business Insider talked to producers about the behind-the-scenes secrets that go into creating the drama you see on successful reality shows. Here are some of the trade secrets behind TV's most popular reality shows.

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It all starts with casting.

Obviously, a reality show hinges on the people involved. That's where a show can be made or broken.

"We look for people who have really interesting stories to tell who won't shut down on camera, who are outgoing, dynamic personalities, or willing to expose themselves a little bit, for lack of a better term," the anonymous producer said.

Dash said that not everyone on a show gets equal footing. Many times, the cast needs someone who shines above and beyond the others.

"Frankly, you're looking for a star," he said. "You're looking for somebody to hang the show on. And that is such an intangible quality, because people can be incredibly dynamic when you're sitting with them across the table, but they fall flat on screen. And the opposite can happen. You really have to put them on camera to know. But you're looking for somebody that you just cannot take your eyes off of."



Producers are prepared to cut a cast member.

Many reality shows with ensemble casts will bring in more people than they need, because it's hard to tell if someone will fall flat. In those cases, producers try to help the struggling cast member out.

"One thing I like to tell my casts sometimes is, 'Look, I want you to have a story and if so-and-so is showing up for more scenes, they're going to naturally get more screen time, and they're going to tell your story and you'll have less of a voice to tell your story. It's better to be present and show up and have some screen time. The last thing you want is for someone else to tell your story,'" the anonymous producer said.

"You do everything you possibly can to try to bring out the best of them," Dash said. "You try to see who it would be good to pair them up with, who do they bounce off with naturally, what tends to spark them."

But sometimes it's a lost cause. "Real Housewives" is known to bring in extra women who attend shoots alongside the other ladies. And by the end of shooting, it becomes clear whether they've earned a place in the opening credits.

"If somebody just doesn't deliver, they just begin naturally to fade because the edit bay, honestly, is a meritocracy," Dash said. "The best characters win out and the best stories win out. People who don't deliver just end up on the cutting-room floor."



You have to get inside the reality stars' heads.

In Lifetime's hit "Unreal," which parodies the production of a "Bachelor"-like reality show, producers constantly coax their contestants. The truth is that's a very big part of creating the drama you see on reality TV.

"I like to be like an assassin. I'll try to subtly get the story way before the scene," the anonymous producer told us. "I'll put it into their heads so they think about it organically. I'll trick them. Basically, I'll sort of give them story beats a couple days in advance or remind them what's happening in real life and what we want to see in a subtle way, so they don't know I'm doing it."

Sure, that sounds underhanded, but it can actually turn out to be cathartic for a cast member who may not want to handle confrontation, or who's trying to figure out what's bothering them, according to the producers.

"You simply prompt them and you say, 'Hey, so-and-so, I know you feel this way, tell him about that,'" Dash said. "In a weird way, you're doing on-camera therapy, but all you're actually doing is bringing out the tension that exists between these two people and letting them talk it out. I know this sounds bizarre, but I have seen relationships actually improve because of the intervention of the show in people's lives."



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Netflix now has better programming than HBO, according to new a survey

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Netflix has kicked HBO out of the top spot for best original programming, according to an annual streaming video survey by Morgan Stanley.

On Monday, Morgan Stanley released the results of its sixth annual survey of the video streaming industry. And for the first time in the survey's history, Netflix moved into the number one spot among non-cable (“over-the-top”) services and premium networks (like HBO and Showtime).

The survey measured only original programming from non-cable and premium networks, not traditional TV networks or licensed programming. It included 2,501 adults from the U.S.

The percentage of the population that ranked Netflix’s original programming number one rose from 23% last year to 29% this year. HBO came in second at 18%, while Showtime, Hulu, and Amazon all hovered in the 4-5% range. Starz lagged at about 2%.

cotd 041116

Netflix has been spending aggressively on original content in 2016, and Netflix executives have characterized it as the best investment for the company moving forward.  Netflix will release 600 hours of original content this year, including 31 original shows.

This strategy seems to be working to snag and retain subscribers. About 45% of Netflix members surveyed by Morgan Stanley cited originals as a driver of their subscriptions, up from 34% last year.

And research by AllFlicks, a site that tracks Netflix’s catalog, showed that Netflix's originals get better "star ratings" on average than other Netflix content (such as TV shows licensed from legacy networks). Netflix originals have an average rating of 3.87 stars (out of 5), higher than the 3.47 stars "other content" averages.

Originals are, however, expensive to produce. And the move deeper and deeper toward original content might be one reason why Netflix's US catalog has shrunk by 31.7% since the start of 2014.

SEE ALSO: 80% of people who will have their Netflix prices raised next month don't even know it's coming

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8 things we learned about the new 'Game of Thrones' season from its premiere screening

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Arya Game of Thrones Season 6

HBO threw a star-studded premiere screening for the sixth season of "Game of Thrones" in Los Angeles on Sunday.

It was the only chance for press to see the premiere episode ahead of its airing, as the network decided not to release early screeners to the press, presumably to avoid spoilers and pirated copies.

Media at the screening were asked to hold their reviews and plot-point revelations until the episode premieres on HBO, according to Entertainment Weekly (EW). But reporters and critics were still able to divulge their "general impressions."

The main cast was present, but there were two obvious no-shows: Kit Harington, who plays Jon Snow, and writer George R.R. Martin, who wrote the novels the series is based on but which it has now surpassed in plot.

Here's what we learned from the coverage that came out of the screening:

SEE ALSO: Here's the odd way 'Game of Thrones' actors find out their characters are about to be killed off

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"Game of Thrones" shot an insane amount of footage for the new season.

"We shot 680 hours of dailies, which translates to 3.7 million feet of film," co-showrunner David Benioff said. "We shot in five different countries — Northern Ireland, Spain, Croatia, Iceland, and Canada. We employed 900 crew members in Belfast; 400 in Spain. We issued 140 script revisions. We two shot units a day for 22 weeks straight, three units a day for 10 weeks straight, four units for two weeks straight. And none of that would be possible without the greatest producing team on the planet."

Source: EW



The story jumps right back into what happened at the end of season five.

The action picks up right away, without any kind of time jump. And the first episode is more fast-paced than usual.

Source: EW



Not every main character makes an appearance in the premiere.

The episode spends a lot of time at Castle Black, the primary headquarters of the Night's Watch. Jon Snow theorists certainly have a hunch about why that is.

Source: EW



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Legendary sketch show 'MadTV' is being revived at CW

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The CW is bringing back iconic sketch show "MadTV" for an eight-episode primetime run.

The new "MadTV" will cast up-and-coming comedic actors alongside returning cast members who act as hosts. Original executive producer David E. Salzman will return as the showrunner, Deadline reported.

No premiere date or names of returning cast members have been announced at this time.

The decision to bring the sketch show back was partially influenced by how well The CW's retrospective "Mad TV" special did back in January. The one-hour program was watched by 1.7 million viewers, a good amount by CW's standards.

“The 'MadTV' franchise is as vibrant as ever thanks largely to social and digital media appealing to a fan base numbering in the millions that relates to the show’s brand of authentic and irreverent cross-cultural comedy,” Salzman said in a statement. “We will continue to present the hard-hitting, laugh-out-loud, wall-to-wall pop culture parody our fans expect, but in a fresh, new way.”

Relaunching "MadTV" also adds some synergy between The CW and its digital network, Seed, which bought the original show's library of 75 episodes.

"MadTV" aired for 14 seasons from 1995 to 2009 on Fox. Inspired by comedy magazine Mad, the show won five Emmys.

After Fox announced the show's cancellation in 2009, Salzman told Variety that the network felt the show was expensive compared to the advertising dollars it was earning.

"MadTV's" amazing alumni include "Key & Peele" stars Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, "Web Therapy's" Michael McDonald, "Parks and Recreation" actress Mo Collins, and "The Mindy Project" star Ike Barinholtz.

SEE ALSO: RANKED: The 20 worst TV shows of 2016 so far, according to critics

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Louis C.K. says he's 'millions of dollars in debt' from making his latest show

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Louis CK

Louis C.K. has a new show called "Horace and Pete," on which he and Steve Buscemi star as two owners of an Irish bar. If this is the first time you've heard about it, you're not alone: Many simply aren't watching. 

In fact, C.K., who created the show, which can only be seen on his website, says he's in the hole for millions because of the lack of viewers.

The comedian went on "The Howard Stern Show" on Monday to promote the show, and gave the details of his financial woes. 

He said he self-financed the first four episodes, which cost $2 million, in the hope that he'd make his money back after people started paying to watch them (the first episode costs $5, $2 for the second, then $3 for episodes 3-10). That didn't happen, so to finish the season of "Horace and Pete," C.K. had to take out a line of credit.

"I'm millions of dollars in debt," C.K. told Stern.

A big reason why "Horace and Pete" hasn't had the success of previous C.K. web ventures is that first, even making a barebones series costs significantly more than his stand-up specials, which he's released online. Second, he intentionally didn't promote the show.

"I got so excited by the idea of having a show appear from nothing," he told Stern.

Now he's going on Stern and other big outlets to get the word out about the show. His plan is to sell the show down the road to a cable network or a streaming entity.

To help make up the money he's lost, C.K. said he plans to go out on the road doing stand-up.

But for a guy who's currently out millions, he doesn't seem that down.

"No other way could have made a show that when you're watching it, you don't know what's going to happen, when you're going to see another one, you don't know who's in it," he said. "That was well worth it for me."

Listen to Louis C.K. on Howard Stern's show below:

SEE ALSO: John Oliver exposes the massive hidden dangers of credit reports

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: James Altucher makes an argument for not paying back your credit card debt

How special effects made you believe that Matt Damon was actually stranded on Mars in 'The Martian'

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Last year's smash hit "The Martian" went through a lot to convince viewers that Matt Damon was actually stranded on Mars. While inspired by the Wadi Rum desert in Jordan, where some of it was filmed, the movie was mostly shot on a sound stage in Hungary.

Watch the full visual effects breakdown here

Story by Ian Phillips and editing by Kristen Griffin

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3 lessons any guy can take away from Chris Pratt's jeans at the MTV Movie Awards

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Chris pratt

Chris Pratt, we loved you in "Jurassic World." However, we cannot abide by your taste in denim.

The star appeared on the red carpet for the MTV Movie Awards Sunday wearing what could only be described as blue-on-blue — a blue leather jacket on top of a pair of ill-advised jeans.

While we approve of the jacket's Star-Lord-like qualities, it's just too close to the color of the jeans for comfort.

The jeans themselves need to be thrown out and started over from scratch. 

Here's why they don't work:

  • Fake fading is very '00s. For jeans, we either recommend a pair of plain dark denim or a very light wash. These jeans have a fake fade near the crotch area that provides unsightly lines that don't look anywhere near naturally faded. Pratt should have gone with a dark denim that not only would have looked better and more formal in a red carpet setting, but would have provided more contrast to his brighter blue top as well.
  • They're too long and wide at the bottom. The jeans are just too long for Pratt's legs! They bunch weirdly at the bottom and flare out, indicating that they are too long. Still, the leg opening wouldn't be flattering even if it was the right length. Pratt would have looked much better with a slimmer pair of tapered jeans that provided some shape to the transition from his legs to his shoes.
  • Pants need to provide some contrast with your top. Since Pratt's outfit is all blue, there's no contrast between his top block and his bottom half. It washes him out completely, and the eye simply glazes right over his entire outfit. A shame, because his jacket is actually really cool and could have been served much better with a slick pair of black jeans and some black boots.

Pratt went on to win the award for Best Action Performance for his role in "Jurassic World", but we're still happy for him — even if he isn't going to win any style awards.

SEE ALSO: Here's exactly how many days before a big event you should get a haircut

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A New Jersey software analyst won the US crossword championship over a six-time winner in a stunning upset

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crossword tournament

For most people, solving a crossword puzzle is a leisurely way to spend a lunch break or kill time on a long flight.

Howard Barkin isn't one of those people.

Last week, Barkin beat out nearly 600 other contestants to win the 39th annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament in Stamford, Connecticut.

Directed by New York Times crossword editor Will Shortz, the competition pits the best crossword solvers in the country against one another in a gauntlet of seven puzzles over the course of the weekend. Competitors are judged on speed and accuracy.

In the championship round, Barkin dethroned six-time winner Dan Feyer in a stunning upset that delighted the audience:

The final puzzle was equivalent in difficulty to those offered by the New York Times on Saturdays, which are considered the hardest puzzles to solve.

Barkin finished it in seven minutes and 49 seconds to claim the victory. His celebration made it clear how much it meant to him:

"I was very surprised. I did not at all expect to beat Dan," Barkin told Business Insider. "It was kind of a cathartic moment there at the end, and I let out a yell."

Feyer completed the grid less than a minute later to claim second place. The last finalist, David Plotkin, could not finish the puzzle in the allotted 20 minutes.

Top competitors usually complete the first puzzle of the tournament, of the "Monday"-level variety, in less than three minutes, and occasionally break the two-minute mark. The puzzles progressively get more difficult as the tournament progresses.

The clues for the final puzzle are the most difficult.

Barkin got tripped up trying to come up with a seven-letter answer for the intentionally unspecific clue "Boards."

Howard Barkin crossword"They’re very vague. They’re ambiguous. 'Boards' could be a verb, a noun, you don’t know what it is," one of the commentators can be heard saying during the championship round.

Eventually, Barkin deduced the answer: "STEPS ON," as one would do an airplane. 

(An easier version of the puzzle designed for nonexperts cleared things up a bit. The clue for the same answer was "Squashes, as a bug.")

Perhaps the most difficult clue required solvers to come up with a six-letter word for "Muscovite, for example."

Barkin initially filled in the spaces with "SOVIET," knowing a Muscovite is what someone from Moscow is called.

However, the clue relied on an obscure double meaning — muscovite also happens to be the name of a flaky, metamorphic rock. Barkin quickly recognized his mistake and erased it in favor of the correct answer: "SCHIST."

"There's a certain mental flexibility that goes into it," Shortz told Business Insider. "Keeping your mind limber, and if your first answer doesn’t work, try your second. And if that doesn’t work out, try your third."

Barkin, a New Jersey resident who manages quality assurance for a software company, has competed in the tournament 11 times. He finished third place in 2014 and 2015, finishing both times behind Feyer and Tyler Hinman, another multiple-time champion.

SEE ALSO: A group texting app turned off its spellchecker for 72 hours — and it revealed interesting insights about millennials

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How piracy actually helps Hulu make a lot of great decisions

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Jack_Sparrow_Netflix is famous for using subscriber data to decide exactly what original shows it should make.

When the company decided to remake a BBC series into “House of Cards,” it reportedly examined data and found that subscribers who liked the original show tended to also like director David Fincher and actor Kevin Spacey. Netflix snagged those two heavyweights for the remake and the show became a runaway success.

But Netflix isn’t the only streaming service that lives by data.

A big chunk of Hulu’s value comes from licensing current blockbuster shows like “Empire” or “Blindspot.” And when Hulu decides which shows to license, it weighs a slew of variables, and pushes to be as data-driven as possible, Hulu’s head of content acquisitions Lisa Holme tells Business Insider.

While Hulu looks at more traditional variables, like Nielsen ratings, Holme also points out one important variable you might not expect: piracy.

One of the touted benefits of streaming services, both for video and music (think Spotify), is that they work to decrease piracy. The thinking is that there is a segment of the population that lives online, has the ability to pirate any TV show they want, and hates the 100-channel legacy cable bundle. At $8 per month, Hulu is the reasonable, convenient alternative for people who could pirate anything, but don’t feel great about it.

Holme says that piracy is a valuable variable because it measures how committed a certain segment of fans are to a show. “They are passionate enough about it to break the law,” she continues, even if they are not in much danger of getting in trouble. When people care so much about content that they will go out of their way to pirate it, it means they’ll pay to stream it if there’s an easy way, Holme says.

And this digital-savvy pirate audience is predisposed to love a service like Hulu, which lives in a cable-free world.

HBO

Pirates seem to be a target audience not just for Hulu, but also for HBO. Last April, HBO launched its cable-free streaming plan called HBO Now. The service is a big part of the company's bid to become "ecosystem agnostic," as CEO Richard Plepler puts it.

Why does HBO want to create a completely separate streaming product? One reason is probably that its blockbuster show, “Game of Thrones,” has been the most pirated show in the world for four straight years. In 2015, the show’s finale was pirated an estimated 14,400,000 times, and only had a US viewership of 8,110,000.

HBO CEO Richard Plepler has said that he believes there are about 12 million to 15 million “persuadable homes” for HBO Now, and that these don't overlap with current HBO subscribers, according to Variety. HBO has said that only 1% of HBO Now subscribers previously had HBO.

This suggests HBO thinks there is (potentially piracy-prone) audience that lives outside the traditional cable system.

SEE ALSO: Netflix now has better programming than HBO, according to new survey

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15 movies and TV shows that you'll be dying to see coming out of the Tribeca Film Festival

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With over 100 films on tap, as well as interactive projects, TV premieres, and engaging talks with giants in entertainment, the Tribeca Film Festival has a lot in store for its 15th year when it kicks off on Wednesday in New York City. 

Whether you're there or not, movies and shows from the fest will be headed your way soon enough. To help you figure out what's worth watching, we've highlighted the 15 most exciting projects making their way through Tribeca. 

 

SEE ALSO: The 26 best comedies you can stream on Netflix right now

1. "Betting on Zero"

In this eye-opening documentary, we follow hedge-fund bigwig Bill Ackman as he attempts to bring down global nutritional titan Herbalife by making the case that it's a giant pyramid scheme. The film not only gives a behind-the-scenes look at Ackman's quest, but also highlights heart-wrenching testimonials from people who have lost thousands of dollars taking part in Herbalife's business model. To this day, Herbalife has defended itself as being a legitimate business.



2. "Don’t Think Twice"

Following his acclaimed directorial debut "Sleepwalk with Me," comedian Mike Birbiglia creates another funny and authentic story, this time delving deeper into the world of comedy. In "Don't Think Twice," we look at a close-knit comedy troupe (including Gillian Jacobs and Keegan-Michael Key) that breaks into dysfunction when a role on a hit TV show can only go to one of them. 



3. "Elvis & Nixon"

In 1970, Elvis Presley showed up at the White House unannounced to have a chat with President Nixon about becoming a Federal Agent for the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs. The meeting was immortalized in a photo of the two that has since become the most-requested photograph in the National Archives. Finally a movie has been made about the meeting. Michael Shannon takes on the role of Elvis with Kevin Spacey playing Nixon. The subject is ripe to become a cult comedy.

"Elvis & Nixon" opens in theaters April 22.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Bill O'Reilly tells Donald Trump that many African-Americans are 'ill-educated and have tattoos on their foreheads'

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Screen Shot 2016 04 12 at 9.24.31 AM

Fox News host Bill O'Reilly told Donald Trump on Monday that "many" African-Americans aren't qualified for the jobs that Trump is campaigning to bring back to the US.

During an interview with the Republican presidential frontrunner, O'Reilly pressed Trump about how he would win over voting groups who strongly oppose his candidacy. The Fox host then zeroed in on African-Americans.

Trump said he would win them over because "they're going to have the jobs."

"I'm telling you, it's an economic message," Trump said.

O'Reilly questioned how Trump would actually accomplish that aim.

"Many of them are ill-educated and have tattoos on their foreheads, and I hate to be generalized about it, but it's true," O'Reilly said. "If you look at all the educational statistics, how are you going to get jobs for people who aren't qualified for jobs?"

Trump stayed on message, insisting that African-Americans would benefit from manufacturing jobs returning to the country under a President Trump.

"We're going to bring jobs back," Trump responded. "We're going to have Apple computers made in this country."

O'Reilly pushed back.

"But you have to have skills to make Apple computers," he said.

"We will get the skills and develop the skills," Trump said.

O'Reilly continued to push his point that some African-Americans were unqualified for the jobs Trump wanted to bring back.

"It's more challenging for a poor child in Harlem without parental guidance in a school that's falling apart than it is for some white kid out in Garden City," he said. "You say you can bring jobs back, but if the kid isn't qualified to do the job and can't do the work — I mean — you've got to get into the infrastructure of the African-American community."

Trump replied: "Well it is true. It's about education, but it's also about spirit."

Watch Trump's interview with O'Reilly below:

SEE ALSO: 'A crooked deal': Donald Trump rages after getting crushed in Colorado

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NOW WATCH: Here’s the joke Hillary Clinton and the mayor of New York performed that some are calling racist

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