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The Mountain from 'Game of Thrones' took a break from his intense workouts to run with his tiny dog

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Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, better known as The Mountain on "Game of Thrones," has a tiny Pomeranian named Asterix. He took a break from one of his intense workouts so they could go on a run together. The resulting video is a joy to watch.

Written by Ian Phillips and produced by Stephen Parkhurst

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How the free-to-play model captured the mobile gaming market, why it's proven problematic, and how to fix it

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bii app store gaming app submissions of whole

The mobile gaming app industry is quickly growing. Over the past eight years, developers have flocked to create mobile games as smartphones became a mainstream consumer device. Technological evolutions including faster processors, larger screens, more input points, and better overall graphics capabilities, combined with dropping prices, brought the ability for gaming via smartphone to audiences larger than ever before. 

In that growth and through that transition, smartphones as a gaming arena experienced its own evolution. More developers flocked to this medium, and the gaming sections of app stores became saturated. While mobile gaming apps using an up-front paid downloading model, wherein consumers paid a typically nominal fee to download an app, flourished in the early days of mobile gaming, the deluge of apps led to a change in monetization strategy. More apps started using the free-to-play (F2P) model, wherein a consumer can download an app for free, and is then later monetized either via in-app purchases or in-app advertising. Since that transition, most consumers have been conditioned to expect quality mobile gaming apps for little or no cost.

In a new report from BI Intelligence, we examine how the mobile gaming market has been affected by the transition to F2P monetization. We also take a close look at how saturation in the mobile gaming category, combined with the standard F2P model, has led to numerous issues for developers, including spiking marketing costs, the premium on acquiring users who will spend heavily within a game (called whales), and the impact that it's having on mobile gamers who do not spend in-app. The report then identifies innovations in mobile app marketing and engagement that seek to alleviate the issues of F2P and inadequate monetization in the fact of mounting marketing costs.

Here are some key takeaways from the report:

  • The mobile gaming app market is so big it makes other app categories seem small by comparison. Mobile gaming apps accounted for 20% of active apps in Apple's App Store in March 2016, according to AppsFlyer. That’s more than double the second most popular category, business apps.
  • It's only going to keep growing as quality smartphones become more accessible and more consumers look to their smartphones for gaming. In the US alone, 180.4 million consumers will play games on their mobile phones in 2016, representing 56% of the population and a whopping 70% of all mobile phone users, according to estimates from eMarketer. 
  • This quick growth is resulting in numerous growing pains. Saturation in the market has led to the dominance of the free-to-play (F2P) monetization model, which in turn has led to sky-high marketing costs.
  • As marketing costs for mobile gaming apps has skyrocketed, so has the tendency for apps to focus on the very small segment of players who spend money in-app. This has resulted in game mechanics that optimize the amount of money being spent by this small user group, which can often alienate the large swath of users who do not spend money in-app.
  • There are numerous new solutions coming to market that offer developers and publishing houses a diverse selection of monetization models which combine in-app purchases with other methods. 

In full, the report:

  • Sizes up the current mobile gaming app market and its future growth trajectory.
  • Examines the role of free-to-play (F2P) games in the greater mobile gaming ecosystem.
  • Identifies the major threats and opportunities inherent in the current mobile gaming market and in peripheral markets such as marketing.
  • Explains the current monetization conundrum wherein the vast majority of revenue comes abysmally small segments of mobile gamers.
  • Presents new approaches and solutions that can help mobile gaming apps monetize without alienating swaths of mobile gamers.

Interested in getting the full report? Here are two ways to access it:

  1. Subscribe to an All-Access pass to BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report and over 100 other expertly researched reports. As an added bonus, you'll also gain access to all future reports and daily newsletters to ensure you stay ahead of the curve and benefit personally and professionally. >>Learn More Now
  2. Purchase & download the full report from our research store. >> Purchase & Download Now

 

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'Bankrupt' 50 Cent presents a spoof episode of MTV Cribs from a youth hostel

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50 Cent hostel cribs

In a classic episode of MTV Cribs from the noughties, 50 Cent took us round his 23 bedroom Connecticut mansion.

Since then, the rapper has faced some serious financial difficulties. In June 2015, he filed for bankruptcy.

After going bankrupt, the rapper complicated his situation by posting images of himself posing around massive piles of cash. He later told a court that this cash was "fake."

Money problems may explain why 50 Cent has returned with a parody version of MTV Cribs, where he shows us round his communal dorm room, in a new ad for Hostel World, created by UK ad agency Lucky Generals.

SEE ALSO: Rapper 50 Cent files for bankruptcy

The hostel 50 Cent visited for the ad was in Barcelona, Spain.



As he opens the door, 50 Cent forces a smile.



We are introduced to 50's friend "Carlos," a hostel worker.



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Why an app for food photos caught the attention of some of YouTube's biggest stars

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That small sense of vanity that comes with posting food photos online has totally disappeared.

Thanks to a new food photo centric app called Dysh, your constant browsing and liking photos can actually do some good. The more you earn points in the app through those basic actions, the more "meals will be donated to feed the hungry." 

Dysh, which launched in February 2016, has four primary functions. The main social feed, which acts similarly to your Instagram feed, lets you catch up on anyone you follow on the app and see what they've been eating, where they ate it, and what they rated it. 

Hannah Hart Dysh app

Then there's the utility function of it: based on your location, you can see restaurants in your area and the dishes other Dysh users have enjoyed (or not). Next is the Explore tab, which acts as a collection of community-based photos surrounding a certain themed hashtag. (At the time of writing, the current feature is #SLICESLICEBABY, where people can show off slices of pizza to see who found the best one.) The fourth area of the app is your own personal profile, where you can post your own food photography, and "no one can give you crap about it." Dysh screenshot

That's according to Hannah Hart, one of the four founding "Taste Buds" of Dysh. 

"When I get fired up about something, I want to contribute all of myself," Hart tells Tech Insider. Her enthusiasm for the project, and for food puns, during our interview is infectious. 

(Her favorite hashtag theme so far is #HowToGetAwayWithBurger where, you guessed it, people competed for the most likes and to find the best burger.)

Hart's YouTube channel has nearly 2.5 million subscribers. Combine that with the reach of the other Taste Buds Grace Helbig, Mamrie Hart, and Ingrid Nilsen, and they have just over 10 million YouTube subscribers. 

That group of social media powerhouses, all of whom have highly active Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat accounts to interact
with even more fans, joined the Dysh team in March, and their combined forces drive much-needed traffic to the app.

A livestream held on April 16 lovingly titled "Brunch of Idiots," brought "a huge surge of engagement," Lauren Bartel, the director of marketing and communications for Dysh, told Tech Insider. 

Dysh Taste Buds

One of the differences between Dysh and Instagram, where users already post plenty of food photos, is that it's bulit around eliminating the potential "shame" users might feel. 

"I hear about that feeling," said Hart, laughing. "I lack that self-awareness, and my 'haterade' is so blocked" that she never felt shame when posting food on Instagram to begin with. But there is a rising, if small, backlash against users who do it too often. It discourages people from posting those kinds of pictures.

"Dysh is a safe space for food photography," said Hart. Dysh screenshot

With the addition of #DyshFeeds, the charity initiative, there's even more reason for people to participate with the app.

"We’re giving people a chance to get in at the beginning of something big," she said, and explained that was one of the most exciting parts of things to her, the feeling of being at the start of something new and wonderful. The donation aspect of Dysh is unlike a lot of other apps right now.

She remembers the old online vocabulary game, Free Rice. By answering basic questions, players could donate grains of rice to those in need. With Dysh, they're trying to bring back that "passive participation," so users can do good without having to lift any extra fingers.

"Each status level has a cute, different character," said Bartel. For example, you're a "Nibbling Newbie" when you first join. "You can see how far you are until you reach the next status. The app also shows how many meals we've donated on a user's behalf."

#DyshFeeds donates to many non-profit charities across the United States as users advance in the game aspect of the app and reach higher levels.

According to an online disclaimer from Dysh, they provide the donations themselves, but cap them at "10,000 meals each month, made through an equivalent monetary donation to a hunger-related non-profit." 

"We would love to support unlimited donations and help as many people as possible, but we cannot afford that quite yet," the disclaimer also stated.

Hannah Hart Dysh

"We here in the first world really need to re-frame how we participate toward social good," said Hart. "We’re taught it’s about having money or giving the most money, and we need to get that out of our heads. The way technology has advanced is not similar to the way our relationship to charity has advanced."

"The more you participate," Hart said, "the more you work toward real life food donations. If that doesn’t inspire somebody to use an app, I don’t know what will."

SEE ALSO: The 'Rich Parents of Instagram' post photos of their private jets, Lamborghinis, and giant champagne bottles

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NOW WATCH: Here's how drastically food portions have changed in the past 20 years

Louis C.K. went on 'Jeopardy!' and won $50,000 playing against journalists

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What happens when a famous comedian and two journalists compete against each other on "Jeopardy!"? Turns out the comedian wins.

In what could have been a surreal storyline out of his FX show, "Louie," Louis C.K. went on "Jeopardy!" Wednesday night for its "Power Players" week, joining CNN's Kate Bolduan and MSNBC's Jonathan Capehart, two smart broadcast journalists who you might expect could take down the funnyman.

But Louis C.K. beat them both, winning $50,000 for his charity of choice, the Fistula Foundation, dedicated to helping women around the world who suffer as a result of obstetric fistula, a childbirth injury.

C.K. even wrote his name as "Louie" on the show, getting into the head of his alter ego, and there was a "Louis, Louis" category.

He didn't do so well in that one at first. In fact, C.K. came from behind, starting out by saying he would probably not be funny because he was so nervous.

"This is not my comfort zone," he said.

But in the end he crushed his competitors, who seemed a little blindsided by the whole thing.

Watch highlights from the episode below:

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NOW WATCH: Louis C.K. secretly released a new TV show and it's unlike any show you’ve seen before

The new 'Star Trek' trailer is full of clues about the upcoming series

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star trek cbs

CBS just unveiled a teaser trailer for the new Bryan Fuller's Star Trek series (that will stream online in early 2017 on CBS' new All Access service).

The voiceover says "a new adventure" hinting that it's not an anthology show with aliens of the week, but rather a season-long story arc.

Then the cards say "New crews" — does it mean new crewmembers? or rather does it suggest several starships?

New villains and new worlds also strongly point to a renewal: we might not see Klingons or Romulans or the Borg.

The trailer shows an exploding planet, with the same sort of effects as JJ Abrams' Trek movie (where planet Vulcan is destroyed).

Finally, the logo for the new series sends the biggest clue: it is a stylistic mashup of the old Trek logo and the more recent ones. Maybe it is the visual confirmation that the new series will take place in between Captain Kirk's Trek and Captain Picard's Next Generation.

Showrunner Bryan Fuller said it all with a Tweet: "WARNING: MAY CONTAIN EASTER EGGS - #StarTrek Television Logo and First Look Teaser Revealed."

Manu Saadia is the author of "Trekonomics: The Economics of Star Trek." Read about author appearances and more at Inkshares.

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NOW WATCH: Here’s why your jeans have that tiny front pocket

Moby might be involved with the next season of 'Twin Peaks'

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twin peaks

The cast list for the upcoming season of "Twin Peaks" was announced in April. It's 217 names long, but it's missing one of director David Lynch's longtime friends: Moby.

In his upcoming memoir, "Porcelain," Moby mentions how much he loves "Twin Peaks." In an interview with INSIDER, he dropped a little-known factoid: he signed a non-disclosure agreement that makes him unable to say whether or not he's involved with the show's new season.

"I signed an NDA... I'll get fined $100,000," Moby said. "If I am involved, it's a small contribution."

The very fact that he signed a non-disclosure agreement indicates that he is involved with the project.

Some fans believe that Trent Reznor might be working on the soundtrack, as the musician is a cast member, and his atmospheric, moody style would make a good fit. He's also written soundtracks for high-profile movies like "The Social Network."

However, Moby's involvement with the show could indicate that he, in fact, is working on the music.

Moby and Lynch have a history of artistic collaboration. In "Porcelain," Moby also talks about how "Twin Peaks" inspired his first hit single, "Go." He says he was watching the show and struggling with the song, and then tried integrating parts of its soundtrack into "Go." He ended up with "Go (Woodtick mix)," which became a top-10 single in the UK. Years later, Moby and Lynch became friends, and Lynch directed the music video for Moby's 2009 single "Shot in the Back of the Head." In 2014, Moby returned the favor by remixing and directing the music video for Lynch's song "The Big Dream."

SEE ALSO: Naomi Watts, Amanda Seyfried among 'Twin Peaks' reboot stars

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NOW WATCH: The Mountain from 'Game of Thrones' took a break from his intense workouts to run with his tiny dog

8 explosive new documentaries that you need to see

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weiner 2 ifc films

If the current summer blockbuster movies blanketing your local cineplex each week aren't your thing, don't worry, there's a handful of documentaries coming out soon that will save you.

From an inside look at a cult to the highly public breakdown of a political career, these nonfiction works tell compelling stories that are likely to be more fulfilling than your latest climactic world-resucing showdown.

Here are eight titles we think you should definitely check out in the coming months — and how to watch them.

SEE ALSO: Here are the new TV shows that just got picked up by networks

"Weiner" — in theaters May 20 (available on demand May 26)

The collapse of Anthony Weiner's political career is a strange story that late-night show hosts pray to the comedy gods for. This Sundance-winning doc gives us a fly-on-the-wall look at Weiner's attempt to rebound from his embarrassing social-media gaffe to become mayor of New York City. What follows is a bizarre insight into politics and one man's questionable methods to save face.



"Holy Hell" — in theaters May 27

The Buddhafield started in the late 1980s in West Hollywood as a spiritual group led by a charismatic leader with a handful of followers who thought he was providing them with an enlightened life. Two decades later, many in the group figured out they were in a cult. Former member Will Allen now reveals what went on in his eye-opening documentary made up of footage he shot over the 21 years he was there. 



"Unlocking the Cage" — in theaters May 27 (New York), nationwide in June

Legendary filmmakers D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus ("The War Room") document the pioneering work of animal protection attorney Steven Wise, who seeks personhood rights for animals, specifically four chimpanzees in New York. We see Wise's journey bringing the first lawsuit ever attempting to transform an animal from a "thing" with no rights into a "person" with legal protection. If the courts see corporations as people, why not chimps? That complex question makes "Unlocking the Cage" gripping stuff.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

'60 Minutes' correspondent Morley Safer is dead at 84

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Morley Safer Charles Sykes AP final

CBS News has announced that "60 Minutes" correspondent Morley Safer passed away on Thursday at the age of 84. 

After 46 years as a journalist, Safer retired from "60 Minutes" last week, and the show celebrated his legendary career.

A winner of a dozen Emmys and three Peabody Awards for his work, Safer's report on the US Marines burning a Vietnamese village in Cam Ne gave the US a different perspective on what was going on during the Vietnam War. He also reported from inside China in 1967 when it was still largely a closed society.

He is survived by his wife and daughter.

 

SEE ALSO: The biggest box office hit the year you were born

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Inside the enormous Hamptons mansion where celebrities like Beyonce and Jay Z regularly stay for $1 million a month

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Sandcastle Hamptons

If you're staying in the Hamptons for a month, the best way to go is the Sandcastle estate in Bridgehampton, New York.

With 31,000 square feet of insane amenities — like a movie theater, bowling alley, walk-in refrigerator, wine room, climbing wall, basketball court, private gym, and spa — it's highly unlikely you could ever get bored. 

All that doesn't come cheap, however: the mansion is listed for rental at the cost of $1 million a month, or $500,000 for a shorter term.

It was built by legendary Hamptons home builder Joe Farrell, and was offered for sale as recently as 2013, according to the Real Deal. Though Farrell received his $43.5 million ask, he ultimately decided not to sell the house so that his family could make use of it, which he told The New York Post was a "very tough decision."

It regularly draws celebrity renters, including Jay Z and Beyonce, who reportedly paid $400,000 to stay in the house for a month in 2012.

Gary DePersia at Corcoran has the rental listing.

Julie Zeveloff and Callie Bost contributed to an earlier version of this story.

SEE ALSO: Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel and model Miranda Kerr just bought a $12 million house together

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The Sandcastle sits on 11.5 acres on swanky Halsey Lane in Bridgehampton, New York.



It has about 31,000 square feet of living space.



Here's the formal living room, complete with an intricate ceiling design and fluffy pillows.



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Kanye just gave his most passionate defense of himself yet — and it might change your mind

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kanye west"I'm sorry, daytime television. I'm sorry for the realness."

That's how Kanye West ended his seven-minute monologue (you really can't call this one a rant) on "Ellen" Thursday, in which he explained what you might call the theory of Kanye.

Ellen DeGeneres started out by asking Kanye if he ever regrets any of the things he tweets (he doesn't) and if he should think more about any of his statements — for example, his infamous pro-Bill Cosby tweet.

"What's the point of thinking?" Kanye said.

He seemed in a good mood, standing up and telling the audience, "Ye is in the building — throw your motherf------ hands in the air right now!"

Instead of getting defensive, Kanye simply laid out his creative process and why he says the grandiose things he says that people mock. He's thinking, after all.

"I feel if I had more resources I could help more people," he said. "I have ideas that could make the human race's existence in 100 years better, period."

Of course, this kind of naked ambition and self-regard is taboo, but Kanye delivered a point, too, under a lot of references and name-dropping — including director Steve McQueen, Michael Jackson, Phife Dawg, Picasso, Steve Jobs, Walt Disney, Russell Simmons, Barack Obama, Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Zuckerberg, the Will Smith film "The Pursuit of Happyness." West even managed to rap a couple bars of Eric B. & Rakim's "I Ain't No Joke" to help make his point.

"I was raised to make a difference," Kanye said. "I don't care how much you sold, if you're on the radio. Are you connecting?"

He mentioned how, back in the '80s, Michael Jackson struggled to get his videos on MTV because he was categorized as "urban." Ignoring black artists was a sad spot on the network's history that David Bowie once called out.

Like Jackson, Kanye wants to "break open doors" for people like him who aren't supposed to do certain things. In his case, for example, altering the direction of the fashion industry when you're thought of as "just" a music visionary.

"I want to take away bullying!" Kanye said, veering to another ambition without much of a segue.

That was the only moment when the audience responded in applause, agreeing with whatever vague consciousness-raising mission he's on. Ellen DeGeneres just sat in dazed silence, realizing it was good TV, even if it wasn't "daytime TV."

Still, it was probably Kanye's most earnest defense of the Kanye West mission. It didn't always make sense, but if you're a Kanye fan, it was at turns delightful, confusing, and moving — the trifecta at which he excels. Like Michael Jackson or Steve Jobs, he's at least never boring.

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NOW WATCH: Kanye West is a legitimate Justin Bieber fan

Seth Rogen and Chloë Grace Moretz tell us how they made the feminist comedy of the year

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Neighbors 2 Chloe Chuck Zlotnick

Hollywood studios have been taking a lot of body blows in the last few years.

The lack of diversity in their casting has made the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite a trending topic the last two years when Academy Award nominations went out.

And the portrayal of female characters in major movies has been under fire as more actresses are speaking out about the lack of roles that display power and authority.

Well, this weekend Hollywood will get a slight break with a new movie that showcases women of different ethnicities in positions of power.

Strangely enough, it comes from bro-comedy king Seth Rogen.

“Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising” is the sequel to the hit 2014 comedy, in which Rogen and Rose Byrne played a married couple with a newborn who are forced to live next to a fraternity (whose ringleader is Zac Efron).

In “Neighbors 2,” a sorority has now moved in, but instead of using the same gags from the first movie (with females swapped in as the troublemakers), Rogen and his cowriter Evan Goldberg completely reoriented. The sequel is about what girls really want to do in college — and it's not getting drunk at frat parties.

“Pretty quickly it was evident that five guys should not be the sole creative individuals behind this,” Rogen told Business Insider in a recent interview. “So we wanted to get the opinions of a lot of smart girls.”

Along with reaching out to their wives and female friends about how they should write the characters, they also hired actresses Maria Blasucci and Amanda Lund to shadow the film. (They are listed as associate producers, but because of Writers Guild rules they aren’t credited as coscreenwriters.) 

Neighbors 2 3 Chuck Zlotnick Universal_final“It made a serious difference,” Goldberg said of Blasucci and Lund collaborating. “I think we can all agree that the movie just woudln’t have worked if we kept it a literal sausage party.”

One example Rogen and Goldberg used to prove how out-of-touch they were: For a sorority rush video, they wrote a bit in which the girls play paintball.

“Man, was that wrong,” Goldberg said.

With the help of Blasucci, Lund, and the female cast, the filmmakers created moments in which the girls dress up like Hillary Clinton or watch “The Fault in Our Stars.”

“Sometimes what male writers do to make females seem cool or to make it seem like a feminist thing is they just write them exactly like men,” Rogen said, “and it's just wrong to pretend that a group of 18-year-old women do the exact same thing that a group of 18-year-old men do. They might do a lot of the same things, but there are also very different things that they would do. And we tried to get as much insight into that as humanly possible.”

The film’s main female lead, Chloë Grace Moretz, recalled what happened when an outline in the script had her character and friends talking in their dorm room about if they have had sex before.

“So the way we put it was, ‘Oh yeah, I've done everything but ….’ And the boys had no idea that's how girls our age would approach that subject,” Moretz told Business Insider. “So they kind of just let us go with it and where they wanted it to go. So it was really highly improv-driven.”

Though Moretz is proud that “Neighbors 2” is a more honest look at young women, it’s not time for Hollywood, or even Seth Rogen, to pat themselves on the backs just yet.

“This is so a rare case of the type of script you'll be offered in this day and age,” she said.

“Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising” opens in theaters on Friday.

SEE ALSO: Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg talk making movies their way, and how life blew up after the Sony Hacks

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NOW WATCH: Seth Rogen explains why Marvel is great at making sequels

Here's how the world's smallest car that just sold for $176,000 is made

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"How It's Made" is one of the most successful shows you've maybe never heard of.

On the air for 10 years, the show returns to Science Channel for its 14th season on Memorial Day, to provide concise (and soothingly narrated) explanations of how feats of engineering and imagination come to be.

Business Insider is exclusively premiering this "How It's Made" clip above from the new season about the making of the world's smallest car, from Peel Engineering, a commuter vehicle that goes up to 40 miles per hour and is just 54 inches long. An original version from the 1960s just sold at auction in the US for $176,000.

It's no ordinary ride, and neither is how it's made.

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This terrifying video shows how technology could overwhelm our world

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augmented reality

When companies like Microsoft and the mysterious Magic Leap present their visions for augmented reality, it is like dreams coming true. But on the internet, dreams have a funny way of becoming nightmares — ad-filled, overwhelming nightmares.

Designer and filmmaker Keiichi Matsuda has created a short film that shows an alternative vision of what augmented reality might do to our world. He describes "Hyper-Reality" as "a provocative and kaleidoscopic new vision of the future, where physical and virtual realities have merged, and the city is saturated in media."

It shows how ads and other media might make our new reality a digital version of New York's Time Square.

Here is the film, which was surfaced by Gizmodo:

SEE ALSO: Netflix has launched a new tool to show you how fast your internet really is

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NOW WATCH: The defense attorneys from 'Making a Murderer' respond to criticism from Steven Avery’s new lawyer

The family in 'Bob's Burgers' was originally going to be a bunch of cannibals

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Bob's Burgers

The charming — if ever so slightly dysfunctional — Belcher family at the heart of "Bob's Burgers" is what makes the show so popular.

Hard to believe that they were originally meant to be a coven of cannibals. 

In a new oral history about the Fox cartoon in "The Hollywood Reporter," creator Loren Bouchard explained that his first idea for the series involved eating human flesh.

"I originally thought the show should be about a family that runs a restaurant who are cannibals," Bouchard explains. "Very early on, [Fox] said, 'Well, do you need the cannibalism?'"

Bouchard, who had previously created shows like "Home Movies" and "Lucy: The Daughter Of The Devil" for Adult Swim, explained that the more mature nature of the channel influenced his decision. 

"I had really put it in there because I thought they would want it," he said. "I'm coming off of working for Adult Swim, and the darker, more shocking aspect seemed like what you needed in order for an animated idea to cut through the noise."

It's probably for the best that Bob, Louise, Tina, and the gang didn't end up being a bunch of craven cannibals. As Suzanna Makkos, Fox's executive vice president of comedy, noted, "Do you want to do 100 episodes worth of cannibal jokes?"

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NOW WATCH: The Mountain from 'Game of Thrones' took a break from his intense workouts to run with his tiny dog


Amazon just won over the year's biggest film festival with these 6 movies

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Cafe Society Pascal Le Segretain Getty

Though it's been a quiet year for sales at this year's Cannes Film Festival, Amazon Studios has stood out for not just nabbing the few titles for the taking, but also showcasing movies the company itself brought to the fest.

The streaming giant is quickly becoming a favorite among those in the independent film world thanks to the leaders of Amazon Studios, Ted Hope and Bob Berney, who are legends in the field for the movies they've worked on ("The Ice Storm," "American Splendor," "My Big Fat Greek Weeding," "The Passion of the Christ").

And their model is attracting big-name filmmakers, especially since Amazon insists on releasing its titles in theaters before streaming. (Their biggest competition, Netflix, has simultaneously put original movies in theaters and online, to mixed results.)

Let's take a look at the Amazon titles that are currently wowing audiences in the South of France and when you'll be able to see them.

 

 

SEE ALSO: 8 explosive documentaries that you need to see

"Cafe Society"

Woody Allen looks at old Hollywood in this love story that stars Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Blake Lively, and Steve Carell. The movie, which will be released theatrically through Lionsgate, got a standing ovation when it kicked off the festival. 

Release Date: July 15 (limited), July 29 (wide), on Amazon Prime later in the year



"The Neon Demon"

The latest film from "Drive" director Nicolas Winding Refn stars Elle Fanning, who is thrust into the dark side of the modeling world. It will get a theatrical release through Broad Green Pictures. 

Release Date: June 24, on Amazon Prime after theatrical run



"Paterson"

You'll see Adam Driver in a very different role at the movies later this year before he returns as Kylo Ren. In director Jim Jarmusch's latest, Driver plays a bus-driving poet who lives in Paterson, New Jersey. Don't be surprised if Amazon leverages this as one of their award-season offerings.

Release Date: 2016 TBD



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Here's the trailer for 'Equity,' the new movie about a badass female banker

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Equity trailer Anna Gunn

The trailer has dropped for "Equity" — the new Wall Street movie that is written, produced, directed, and starred in by women.

"Orange Is the New Black" star Alysia Reiner is coproducing the film with Sarah Megan Thomas, and both are starring in it as well.

The film is about "a top female investment banker fighting to keep her Wall Street firm in the lead as she shepherds the IPO for an emerging tech company," according to Reiner and Thomas' website.

The protagonist, Naomi Bishop, played by "Breaking Bad" star Anna Gunn, will struggle to "balance business and ethics in the post-financial crisis world where regulations are tight but aspirations remain high."

The script, written by Amy Fox, is based on interviews the filmmakers held with male and female bankers across Wall Street, including Barbara Byrne, Alexandra Lebenthal, Elaine La Roche, and Liz Myers.

Thomas, whose husband works on Wall Street, told Bloomberg that the intention of the movie is not to "vilify" bankers, despite the sexism and other obstacle that the heroine will encounter.

Here's the trailer, from Yahoo Movies:

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Charter Communications now #2 in broadband after Time Warner Cable deal

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Cable Subscribers

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Charter Communications finalized its acquisition of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks yesterday in a deal worth roughly $65 billion, after California regulators approved the three-way merger last week, Reuters reports.

The three companies will eventually be subsumed into a single Charter brand, and the combined entity will serve over 25 million customers across 41 states, according to the company’s press release.

The merger gives Charter even greater scale in the pay-TV and broadband internet-provider industries. In particular:

  • Charter will become the third-largest pay-TV provider, behind Comcast and AT&T's DirecTV, according to Leichtman Research Group figures. Combined, Charter and Time Warner Cable accounted for about 16% of the US pay-TV industry in 2015, Comcast for 24%, and AT&T’s DirecTV for 21%. Verizon was fourth in line with 10% of the pay-TV market.
  • Charter will become the second-largest broadband internet provider, behind Comcast, according to Leichtman's figures. Combined, Charter and Time Warner Cable accounted for 21% of the US broadband internet-provider industry in 2015, and Comcast for 23%. AT&T was the next big player with 17% of the broadband internet market.
  • Increased scale will give Charter more leverage during programming negotiations with TV networks. A larger subscriber base means a larger audiences for ads. This should help Charter get more favorable terms during negotiations with TV networks.     

As part of the conditions for the merger, the FCC has prohibited Charter from restricting media companies from make their programming available online. This will mitigate the merger from stifling competition in the online video space, by giving programmers who partner with Charter the opportunity to still license content to online video distributors like Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu. 

Additionally, Charter will be forbidden for the next seven years from charging bandwidth usage-based prices or imposing data caps on customers, as reported by Recode. This will protect consumers from being charged by the amount of bandwidth (online streaming) they consume. These rulings try to ensure that video distributors, video content creators, and consumers emerge relatively unscathed from this merger.

Every subscriber to the BI Intelligence "Digital Media Briefing" newsletter received this story first thing in the morning, along with other insightful and informative content. To learn more and subscribe, please click here.

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Former Miss Universe: Donald Trump called me 'Miss Piggy' and 'Miss Housekeeping'

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Alicia Machado

A former Miss Universe claimed in a Thursday interview with Inside Edition that she was publicly shamed by Donald Trump, who she said called her "Miss Piggy" after she gained weight.

Alicia Machado, a Venezuelan native, was crowned Miss Universe at age 19 in 1996 — the first year Trump owned the pageant.

Machado, who was one of the women featured in a recent New York Times story detailing Trump's treatment of women in the workplace, suggested the presumptive GOP nominee bullied her "all the time."

"For sure, he is not a good person," Machado said.

Trump publicly called Machado an "eating machine" to radio host Howard Stern. Machado said that Trump insisted she lose weight and took her to work out at a gym in front of a large media gathering.

“She weighed 118 pounds or 117 pounds and she went to 160 or 170," Trump said at the time, according to Inside Edition. "So this is somebody that likes to eat.”

Machado said the treatment — which included Trump calling her "Miss Piggy" — wrecked her self-esteem. She also claimed Trump mocked her ability to speak English and also called her "Miss Housekeeping."

Trump has spent much of the past week attempting to discredit the bombshell Times report, which attracted widespread attention. He pointed to Rowanne Brewer Lane, a former girlfriend of Trump at the center of the story, as proof that the story wasn't credible. She told "Fox & Friends" on Monday that The Times misrepresented her.

Watch a clip from the Inside Edition interview below:

SEE ALSO: HILLARY CLINTON: Donald Trump is not qualified to be president

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NOW WATCH: Ted Cruz just released a bizarre attack ad featuring a terrifying Hillary Clinton impersonator

6 things that we just learned about the future of TV

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the great indoors cbs

The broadcast networks just wrapped one of the most chaotic weeks for television viewers, but also one of the most telling.

In addition to announcing which shows have met their end, the networks presented their new series for the 2016-2017 seasons this week in an annual event known as upfronts. At upfronts, the networks put on a glitzy show for advertisers and spin a web of statistics in order to entice companies to spend their commercial dollars.

At upfronts, you can see trends begin to form and a glimpse into what challenges the industry is facing.

Here are six things we learned about the TV networks from upfronts:

SEE ALSO: 47 new TV shows coming in the next year that just got announced

DON'T MISS: 19 TV shows that were just canceled

Reboots, remakes, and spin-offs are still going strong.

If y0u thought last year's crop of shows was packed with reboots, remakes, and spin-offs, wait until you see this year's list. TV series based on movies, like "Lethal Weapon, " "Frequency," and "The Exorcist," are a big part of the upcoming class.

At the core of this strategy is fear. Networks are afraid to try new things. And when a title or concept was successful in another form — such as a movie, book, or comic book — businesses feel more comfortable with the decision, because they believe they arrive with built-in audiences.

It's a solid theory, but not foolproof. Looking back on this year alone, the fallen copycat shows include Fox's "Minority Report" and CBS's "Limitless" and "Rush Hour."



The bottom line is more important than ever.

This year, we saw networks cutting the cord on shows that, in the past, have had some immunity to cancellation because they were created as part of longtime or important partnerships.

We saw it over and over again at ABC. The network canceled "The Muppets," which comes from ABC's owner, Disney, and "Agent Carter," from sister company Marvel, which still has "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." at the network. It also got rid of cult show "Nashville," which comes from the network's own production studio.

Then over at CBS, we saw the network unload "Supergirl," the expensive but solid-rated DC Comics show, on sister network CW. Arguably, "Supergirl" should have gone to the more youthful network to begin with, especially since it already had three other DC series.

What does this tell us about the state of the TV industry? First, networks have an eye on the bottom line now more than ever. And second, there must be a lot of talented show creators out there if networks are willing to get rid of some established players.



The surprising history show trend is here.

There are no fewer than six new shows that deal with time travel or are set in the past. They range from comedic takes like Fox's "Making History" to action-adventure like NBC's "Timeless" and drama like CW's remake of the movie "Frequency."

It's unclear why the networks are turning to history for show ideas, except maybe for the success of shows like FX's "The People v. O.J. Simpson" and Hulu's JFK drama "11.22.63." Or even the huge success of HBO's "Game of Thrones," which has a very medieval atmosphere.

 



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