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Obama Should Watch 'Lincoln' To Learn How To Be President

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Lincoln Daniel Day Lewis

Hollywood might have a thing or two to teach Barack Obama...

WITH the possible exception of Ronald Reagan, there is no more revered figure in American politics than Abraham Lincoln. In announcing his first campaign for the presidency, Barack Obama did everything but don a stovepipe hat to evoke the Great Emancipator. The comparisons came easily enough, as the gangly lawyer from Illinois with little political experience declared his intention to unite the country and overcome "the smallness of our politics".

But the better angels of our nature, those stubborn brutes, do not always respond to eloquent speeches. Sometimes the mundane and messy bits of politics cannot be transcended and instead must be mastered. If Mr Obama missed this lesson during his first term in office, he can sit through it again in Steven Spielberg's new movie "Lincoln", which opened on November 9th in America.

The film focuses on the last four months of Lincoln's life, during which he is faced with a complex set of challenges. The civil war is coming to an end, perhaps too soon for the president, who is played brilliantly by Daniel Day-Lewis. Lincoln implores the House of Representatives to speed through a constitutional amendment banning slavery, lest a defeated South revert to its old ways. But the legislation is doomed unless he can hold together an unwieldy coalition of his own Republicans, and win over a recalcitrant group of Democrats.

The means by which Lincoln pulls off this feat are not pretty. To square his own party, the president asks those calling for full racial equality to moderate their views. He then picks off his Democrats with a combination of cajolery, patronage and threats, dispensed by an amusing team of political fixers. The grinding work of the legislative process makes for a surprisingly tense drama.

Through it all, Mr Spielberg's Lincoln is fully engaged, with Mr Day-Lewis conveying the weariness of a man locked in battle with half the nation. The juxtaposition with Mr Obama is obvious. Criticised for his aloofness, the current president has often seemed removed from the political process--he has done little to nurture relationships with Republicans, while allowing others to craft his legislation. His presidency, as a result, has hardly been Lincolnesque. The comparison is in many ways unfair. But it was Mr Obama who first made it.

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6 Factors That Decide The Makings Of The Perfect Bond Girl

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eva greenWhile the James Bond franchise has given the world one of its most iconic characters, it's also delivered a slew of beautiful femme fatales and sexy super spies that add up to a pop culture institution we call the Bond Girl.

But after 23 films filled with lovely ladies, what makes the ideal Bond Girl?

Zimbio ran the numbers, sampling more than 40 Bond Girls (at least one from every film), and this is what they found.

Ideal Hair Color: Brown

Blonde, brown, red, black — James Bond may not discriminate when it comes to the hair color of the women in his life, but he certainly has a type. Nearly half of all Bond Girls are brunette. Daniel Craig must be especially fond of the brown-haired bombshells — four of the five major Bond Girls during Craig's stint as 007 are brunettes — and since he's attached to the next two Bond films, expect the trend to continue.

Candidates Who Fit the Bill: Natalie Portman, Kate Beckinsale, Olivia Wilde, Marion Cotillard, Rachel Weisz



Ideal Height: 5'7"

In the history of the Bond franchise, no Bond Girl has ever been taller than her 007 counterpart. Even Daniel Craig, the shortest Bond of the bunch at 5'10'', is taller than all of his female co-stars (although, it was close with Olga Kurylenko who is only an inch shorter than Craig). If we call the average Bond Girl height the ideal, it's 5-feet, 7-inches. Skyfall's ladies juuuust missed it.

Candidates Who Fit the Bill: Keira Knightley, Katie Cassidy, Zoe Saldana, Victoria Justice, Troian Bellisario



Ideal Nationality: American

As an international man of mystery, James Bond meets ladies from all over the world, and the history of Bond Girls reflects that. Poland, China, Russia, Jamaica, Sweden, Italy, the Philippines, and, of course, 007's homeland, England, are all represented. But by a narrow margin, the most common country of origin for the Bond Girls is the USA. The next most common countries of origin are France and England, which means as a region, Western Europe is more popular than the States.

Candidates Who Fit the Bill: Any hot American actress



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Journalists Turn To Drinking, Streaking, And Mayhem On Rihanna's Plane

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THE SEVEN DAY, seven city juggernaut that is Rihanna’s promotional round-the-world (kind of) tour celebrating the release of her new album has entered the cabin fever stage.

MTV’s Maud Deitch has been on the tour since it left LA for Mexico City days ago, and she has described a state of “bedlam” on the latest flight between Berlin and London.

I tried to get people on Twitter to place bets about when they think we’ll actually take off for London, but nobody’s biting. I think when we have to build our own feudal society from the rubble of the plane after the revolution, bookie is a pretty decent position to be in.

Apparently the delays on the tour – which has so far gone from Mexico City to Toronto to Stockholm to Paris to Berlin to London since last Thursday – have been getting longer and 150 journalists on board have been running out of things to write about with sightings of Ri Ri becoming less frequent.

They’re also being fed on plane snacks, plied with alcohol and getting little or no sleep in between relentless Rihanna concerts.

FM104 presenter Sean Munsanje is on the plane and his latest blog he details how the journalists have turned to near-mutiny about the lack of access to the popstar, which culminated in  this incident:

(Queerty/Twitter)

Rihanna plays The Forum in London tonight (after switching on the city’s Christmas lights) and then it’s on to New York for the final concert. We predict a “Free the Rihanna 150″ will be trending on Twitter before this time tomorrow.

(H/T to @AdamPrinceBilly for the ‘Lord of the Flights’ idea. The conch is yours)

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Despite Raking In $141M, 'Twilight' Just Misses Breaking Its Franchise Record—Here's Your Box-Office Roundup

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Skyfall

With fans lining up for more than a week, it's little surprise that 'Twilight' took the biggest bite out of the box office weekend.  

Though the film had a huge opening weekend, it fell short of breaking the franchise record of $142.8 million held by the second film in the franchise, "New Moon." 

"Breaking Dawn: Part II" was the most anticipated of the fall according to Fandango. As of Thursday when the film released, 92% percent of its ticket sales were for the final film in the franchise. 

"Skyfall" performed better than "Quantum of Solace" in its second weekend. Though it hasn't hit the mark yet, but when "Skyfall" passes the $168.4 domestic take of "Quantum," it will pass it to be the highest-grossing Bond film.

Elsewhere, "Lincoln" out did itself in less theaters than most of the top ten, and one film makes a jump nine spots to make it onto the list. 

Out of the top ten this week include Adam Sandler's "Hotel Transylvania" after a long eight weeks earning $142.7 million and "The Man with the Iron Fists" which has grossed $14.6 million of an estimated $15 million budget after three weeks. 

Here are this week's winners and losers at the box office:

10. Two films tied to round out the top ten this week. First up, is "The Sessions" with Helen Hunt and William H. Macy earning $900,000. For the film to creep up into the top ten is big considering its now been in theaters for five weeks in limited release and has only amassed $2.8 million to date. 

10. "Cloud Atlas" just makes the top ten with $900.000. The film has earned $24.9 million in the month since its debut. 

9. For a film that began with one of the worst openings for actor Kevin James, "Here Comes the Boom," continues to hang on to the top ten with $1.2 million in its sixth week at theaters.

8. "Taken 2" continues its slow descent from theaters with $2.1 million. After seven weeks in theaters, Liam Neeson's action sequel has earned $352 million worldwide with $217.4 mill lion of the earnings coming from foreign ticket sales. The film cost an estimated $45 million to produce.

7. Following the "Glee" phenomenon, "Pitch Perfect" manages to stay afloat at the box office with a gross of $1.3 million in week eight. Led by Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson, the film has gone above and beyond its $17 million budget earning $62 million.

6. "Argo" drops two spots earning $4 million. In six weeks, the film is now less than eight million away from breaking the $100 million mark in the U.S. Worldwide, the film has grossed $132.4 million. Of the top ten, it's the film to drop the least in earnings from last week (38.5%).

5. Denzel Washington's "Flight" earned another $8.6 million setting the film's total U.S. gross at nearly double its $31 million budget. The film is earning most of its money at home as its only earned slightly more than $2 million overseas. 

4. "Wreck-It Ralph" drops two spots earning $18.3 million. Disney's videogame picture has now earned $157.2 million worldwide after three weeks. Its estimated budget is $165 million.

3. With an added 1,700+ theaters, the wide release of "Lincoln" earned $21 million. Its average earning per theater was nearly spot on with "Skyfall," despite Spielberg's film is in less theaters (1,775 vs. 3,505).

2. "Skyfall" continues to soar with a huge $41.5 million weekend. That brings the film's 2-week domestic total to $161.3 million. Worldwide, the film has now crossed $669 million.

1. The final installment of "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2" earned a massive $141.3 million opening weekend. Though it doesn't beat the earnings of "New Moon" ($138.1 million), its the eighth-highest opening of all time. Worldwide, the film has made $340.9 million.

SEE ALSO: 6 factors that decide the makings of the perfect Bond girl >

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Sony Passes The $4 Billion Mark Thanks To One Huge Movie—Here's Today's Buzz

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  • SkyfallAfter "Skyfall" just became the highest grossing film in James Bond history — currently at $669 million globally — Sony Pictures has hit the $4 billion mark for 2012. Its previous high was $3.6 billion in 2009. Special thanks go out to Sony's other big films of the year: "The Amazing Spider-Man," "Men in Black 3," "Hotel Transylvania," and "21 Jump Street."

SEE ALSO: 6 factors that decide the making of a perfect Bond girl >

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Everyone Freaked Out When MC Hammer Joined PSY On Stage At The American Music Awards

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If you turned off the American Music Awards before the end of the night, you missed PSY close the show with an extra special performance of "Gangnam Style" that had everyone on their feet going crazy. 

Near the end of the performance, MC Hammer joined the South Korean on stage to perform a mash up of both "Gangnam" and Hammer Time. 

PSY's black harem pants finally made sense.

Watch the two perform (and the crowd reactions) below. Hammer Time begins at the 2:55 mark:

SEE ALSO: 6 factors that decide the makings of the perfect Bond girl >

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Here's A Sure-Fire Way To Blow A Pitch On 'Shark Tank'

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Shark Tank Tie Try

If you've been following "Shark Tank," the prime-time show where entrepreneurs pitch investors on their ideas, you've probably seen your fair share of successful pitches and pitches that totally suck. 

In the most recent episode of "Shark Tank," David Powers and Scott Tindel of Tie Try sought a $100,000 investment for a 25% stake in their designer neck ties subscription service.

The two had a solid pitch overall, but it was missing two very key elements: a healthy subscriber base to tout, and passion.

Going into the Tank, Tie Try only had 110 subscribers.

Mark Cuban, the tech-billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks, felt wary about the subscription model, and expressed concern over the number of people who might cancel their subscriptions. Robert Herjavec, a Canadian tech entrepreneur, agreed. He also didn't make an offer.

To shake things up a bit, Kevin O'Leary, a software entrepreneur turned fund manager, offered to put up $50,000 if the two could convince another Shark to join him in the deal. 

Real-estate magnate Barbara Corcoran wouldn't bite.

Fubu founder Daymond John seemed to be Tie Try's best bet. But they blew it due to a lack of passion.

"I didn't hear not one word about fashion in this whole discussion," John said. "I didnt hear about ... the excitement about the beauty of a tie. For that reason you're not obsessed over this business like we are all over our businesses. I'm out."

As an entrepreneur, you must show excitement for the problem your startup addresses. Otherwise, why would an investor take a risk and back your company?

Ultimately, Cuban passed on O'Leary's offer to coinvest because he wasn't convinced Powers and Tindel fully thought through the business. With all of the other Sharks out, O'Leary pulled his offer, and that left Tie Try without a deal. 

Don't Miss: Pitching Advice From The Judge Who Puts Entrepreneurs Through Hell On 'Shark Tank' >

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The 10 Media Companies That Control America's News

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jon stewart sarah palin

Ten major media companies control most of the news content in America.

Each of these companies reaches millions of people. The five largest reach more than 50 million people each.

Discussions about news media in America often focus on two main issues. The first is whether the news is influenced by one person or family who owns a controlling interest in the media company.

See the companies that control the news >

Sumner Redstone owns voting control of Viacom Inc. and CBS Corp. The Sulzberger family has controlled The New York Times Company for over a century.

The second is whether the personalities who deliver the news also influence it. People like Brian Williams, Rush Limbaugh and Oprah Winfrey are believed to be able to express their opinions on facts and events. While this may be true, their influence is also fleeting. Keith Obermann, the central personality at MSNBC for years, quit the network and can no longer be found on air.

The most objective way to measure who controls the content and distribution of news is by looking at audience size. How many people watch a media company’s network news or cable news, read its magazines, listen to or watch its local news channels, or go to its websites? Research firms that independently track traffic and viewership include Nielsen for TV, the Audit Bureau of Circulations for newspapers and Comscore for online traffic.

What helps build audience size across news media? The largest factor is likely branding. Nearly all the companies that control the news are themselves a recognized news brand, or they own powerful brands: CBS is its own brand, Comcast Corp. owns NBC and Gannett Co. Inc. owns USA Today. News brands in most cases have reputations that have been built over decades.

In an interview with 24/7 Wall St., Tom Rosenstiel, Director of Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism observed, “These are mostly familiar brands that have been in the marketplace for a long time, and that have been engaged in repertorial journalism. As a consequence, they offer things that consumers really can’t find anywhere else.”

These powerful news brands also have been created at great cost, making it hard for new entrants to compete effectively with them. The number of brands spending money on gathering news has not grown a great deal, according to Rosenstiel. Those that do tend to spend money are “legacy media.” They have “a number of reporters who know how to call people up, report, observe events with press passes,” and have a “shoe leather, boots-on-the-ground orientation.”

The composition of media property ownership reflects how Americans consume news today. Most of the largest brands have only a fraction of their business in magazines or radio, which once represented a much larger share of American media. None of the largest media companies derive more than 10% of total audience from newspapers, and five do not have any presence at all in the medium. Meanwhile, eight of the largest media corporations have at least 20% of total viewership from local TV, and seven of the ten have at least 15% of total viewers online.

As a measure of audience and news content broadcast at the local level, in individual cities, is just as important as news broadcast nationally because of the overall size of the country’s combined local markets. Many of the largest news organizations own televisions stations in the country’s most populated cities. Some companies have dozens of local radio stations. Others own dozens of newspapers. A large media company may offer news access to millions of people, even if it does not have a single national news outlet such as a television network, a widely visited website or a national magazine or newspaper.

Based on Pew’s State of the News Media report, 24/7 Wall St. identified the 10 companies that control the news in America. We considered newspaper circulation, television viewership at the national and local level, radio audience and online traffic. Unless otherwise indicated, all figures related to viewership are as of June 2012. In several cases, the media companies surveyed only gave Pew the audience size for their largest property. Where this was the case, the sizes of the total online audience and the largest online property were recorded as identical. 

Companies that have the greatest effect on news consumption are those that own media across several of these property types. For example, CBS, which is the biggest media company by audience, owns network television, local television, local radio and national Internet businesses. Together, these CBS outlets reach over 130 million people, an extraordinary number given that the entire population of the United States is about 315 million.

10. The Washington Post

Total combined audience: 18.4 million
Number of platforms: 3
Total local TV audience:5.6 million (18th highest)

The Washington Post Companyis most well-known to the public because of The Washington Post, one of the most prominent newspapers in America. The Post broke the story of the Watergate scandal in 1972, which gave the paper even more visibility. What the wider public does not know is that the print version of Post newspaper is now a very small portion of the company, based on revenue.

The Post’s greatest presence among the national news media is by far the company’s flagship media site WashingtonPost.com because of the size of its online audience, which Pew puts at 12.2 million monthly visitors. The Post also has a moderate-sized national news commentary site, Slate. In its most recent quarter, sales from the newspaper division of The Washington Post Company were less than 15% of the company’s total revenue of $1 billion.

The Post owns six local television stations that reach 4.82% of the nation’s total TV households. The Post is also a cable company, which does not contribute to its presence in the news industry, but obviously makes it a carrier of cable news from other companies like CNN and MSNBC.



9. Cox Media Group

Total combined audience: 29.2 million
Number of platforms: 3
Total local TV audience:6.2 million (16th highest)

Cox’s public news influence comes almost entirely on its great local strength, unlike most other companies on this list. The company does not own any national medium such as a TV network or newspaper, and its national presence on the web is relatively small.Although it does own the daily newspaper in one of the largest metro markets—The Atlanta Constitution.

Cox has a dominant presence in both the local TV and radio markets. According to Pew, Cox owns TV stations in 14 local markets. Cox reports that these include WPXI-TV 11 in Pittsburgh and KIRO-TV in Seattle. Cox’s greatest strength as a provider of news is its tremendous radio network, which includes 84 stations, according to Pew. But despite the fact that these stations have a combined audience of more than 22 million listeners, the division brought in only $38 million in 2011.



8. National Public Radio

Total combined audience: 32.6 million
Number of platforms: 2
Total local TV audience:n/a

NPR is the only nonprofit media company on the list. Its national news presence comes largely from its radio audience of more than 27 million listeners. “About 93 percent of the U.S. population is within the listening area of one or more of the 975 stations that carry NPR programming.

NPR’s 270 Members operate 822 of those stations, providing national and local news to individual communities,” NPR reports. The number of stations with NPR programming has doubled over the past 20 years. The network’s flagship shows are “Morning Edition,” which runs from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. ET on most NPR stations. This is “drive time,” as it is known in the radio industry, the portion of the day that usually has the most radio listeners in almost all markets.

The other anchor show for the network is “All Things Considered,” which usually runs in “evening drive time” on the East Coast, between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.



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The Craziest Looks From The American Music Awards

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Christina Aguilera American Music Awards

Justin Bieber was crowned the "Artist of the Year" and Maroon 5 the "Band of the Year," but Sunday night's 40th annual American Music Awards at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles were as much about fashion as music.

This year's show was all about the craziest outfits, wigs and accessories.

While stars kept it conservative to walk the red carpet, all bets were off once they got inside the Nokia Theatre to perform on-stage.

From sequined body suits to Nicki Minaj's three wig changes, musicians really went for it this year.

See who donned the wackiest and most inappropriate awards show wear.

Taylor Swift, who took home "Best Country Female Artist," walked the red carpet in this pretty beige and gold Zuhair Murad mini-dress.



But quickly let her hair down and changed into this odd Victorian number to perform "Trouble."



Despite the corset, Swift was still able to let loose.



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Barbara Walters Just Announced Her '10 Most Fascinating People' Of 2012

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barbara walters

On Monday's "The View," Barbara Walters revealed her annual list of "The 10 Most Fascinating People" of the year.

The 83-year-old journalist explained that she chose people who have been "very much in the news" and ensured viewers, "no criminals."

While Walters drew criticism for having the Kardashians on her list last year, this year's line up is sure to draw some jeers, as well as cheers.

See seven of her ten picks below:

10. One Direction, Best-selling English-Irish boy band

9. Gabby Douglas, U.S. Olympic gold medalist

8.  Chris Christie, Governor of New Jersey

7. E.L. James, "Fifty Shades of Grey" author

6. Seth MacFarlane, Oscars host and "Ted" director

5. Ben Affleck, "Argo" star and director

4. Hillary Clinton, U.S. Secretary of State

... and the remaining three remain a mystery, set to be revealed in the Barbara Walters special airing December 12 on ABC.

Who do YOU think is the number one most fascinating person of 2012?

SEE ALSO: The 10 media companies that control America's news >

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In Twinkies Commercial From 1970, Humans Conquer Space But Not Casual Sexism

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Junk food lovers everywhere are mourning last week's sad news of the closing of Hostess. After 82 years of making Twinkies, Ho-Hos, and Wonder Bread, the company is now bankrupt.

The company also had a history of weird ads.

Released in 1970, the commercial has a space theme, complete with "Forbidden Planet"-like music and floating Twinkies. Hostess also managed to slip some casual sexism into the spot. "Every space man knows you just gotta have Hostess Twinkles along. Even space girls know it":

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Justice Scalia Is Apparently A Huge Fan Of David Foster Wallace

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David Foster Wallace and Antonin Scalia

At a recent Federalist Society event, Justice Antonin Scalia gave a shout-out to a postmodernist writer favored by young, brooding intellectuals.

The odd literary reference to David Foster Wallace came when Scalia was promoting a book he wrote with Bryan A. Garner, the Federalist Society's blog reports.

Scalia told the right-leaning crowd that Garner was one of the foremost legal philologists – one with expertise in history, linguistics, and literary studies – in the nation.

"We're both snoots," Scalia reportedly said. "David Foster Wallace's term for the usage obsessed."

While Scalia's DFW reference was weird, it did not come out of nowhere.

It turns out that Scalia's co-author Garner knew DFW, who hanged himself in 2008, the Wall Street Journal reported in July.

Garner arranged a lunch between Scalia and the do-rag-sporting writer in 2006. DFW was something of a hippie who loved dogs and spoke often of the importance of empathy.

Scalia, a gruff traditionalist, seemed to enjoy the company of the postmodern author who was so different from himself.

"He was a very personable fellow," Scalia told the Journal. "As co-snoots, we got along very well."

SEE ALSO: Samuel Alito Quoted Nicole Richie While Speaking To A Crowd Of Conservatives >

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Peter Jackson Denies AP Story About 'Hobbit' Animal Deaths

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Director Peter Jackson has denied an Associated Press story that claims that as many as 27 animals died on the set of "The Hobbit" trilogy. 

In a joint statement with the other producers on the fantasy films, Jackson said that great pains and hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent to provide good care for the animals on the picture. He said allegations that animals were mistreated off the set were only now being brought to the producers' attention.

"The producers completely reject the accusations that twenty seven animals died due to mistreatment during the making of the films," the statement reads. "Extraordinary measures were taken to make sure that animals were not used during action sequences or any other sequence that might create undue stress for the animals involved."

With safety in mind, Jackson added that over 55 percent of all shots using animals in "The Hobbit" are computer generated.

The story quotes four wranglers on the production who claim that the farm used to house animals near the film's New Zealand set had bluffs and sinkholes, which are dangerous for horses who need level ground on which to run. They claim that a Warner Bros. owned production company ignored their concerns. 

Animal rights groups tell the Associated Press they plan to boycott "The Hobbit" premiere in response to the accusations.

A spokesperson for the American Humane Association, which monitors the treatment of animals on movies, did not immediately respond to TheWrap's request for comment.

However, a spokesperson did tell the Associated Press that no animals were hurt during filming, but acknowledged that off-set behavior remains a blind spot. He said the organization investigated the farm and made recommendations to improve safety measures by repairing fencing and housing, suggestions the farm implemented.

Jackson said the producers are currently investigating the allegations and are attempting to speak with all parties involved.

"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," the first film in the planned trilogy, hits theaters on Dec. 14.

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This Young Actor Is Bill Nye The Science Guy's Biggest Fan

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Shia LeBeouf got so excited when he encountered his idol, Bill Nye The Science Guy, that he actually went up and gave him a big kiss on the cheek.

The 26-year-old actor ran into the TV star at the S.E.T. Awards in Beverly Hills, which honor work in science, engineering and technology.

After LeBeouf presented his "Transformers" director Michael Bay with the Legacy Award, he made this quick video of his star-struck moment:

SEE ALSO: Barbara Walters just announced her '10 Most Fascinating People' of 2012 >

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Oprah Is Tweeting Her Love For Microsoft's Surface From Her iPad (AAPL, MSFT)

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Before we all go rushing to judgment, we're sure there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for this:

oprah

As you can see, Alex Wilhelm at The Next Web has caught Oprah tweeting her love of the Surface from an iPad. Eric Limer at Gizmodo also found other Oprah tweets about Microsoft's Surface tablet from an iPad.

Earlier this month Oprah called the Microsoft Surface tablet one of her "favorite things", saying:

"The Surface, Microsoft's first tablet, feels like a Mercedes-Benz to me, people! The full-size keyboard built right into the cover makes work easy, the very smart kickstand makes watching a movie or Skyping a friend a delight, the less than a pound-and-a-half weight makes a great alternative to a laptop, and the many other features make it fun for work and play. Now, that's a wowser!"

If it's a "Mercedes-Benz" "wowser" then why is she tweeting from an iPad?

Before you just assume it's because she doesn't actually use a Surface tablet, consider this: There is no official Twitter app for the Surface. One of the third party apps, Tweetro, was shut down by Twitter because it had too many users. (Twitter has convoluted rules that only allow third party apps to have so many users.)

So, odds are Oprah has been using the Surface, forgot to sign up for Tweetro early on, then went to sign up and then was shut down. She was then forced against her will to use the iPad.

Just kidding. She probably uses an iPad to tweet because it's much better than the Surface.

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Subscribe To A Newsletter For A Chance To Win An iPad Mini From Business Insider

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Just in time for the holidays we're giving you have a chance to win an iPad mini.  Become a newsletter subscriber now and you'll have a chance to win Apple's latest tablet.  If you're the lucky winner you will have all of these great features at your finger tips and can stock up on our favorite iPad mini apps.  Click below to enter and to start receiving one or more of our newsletters to keep up to date with the news you need to know.

Entry deadline is December 21.

As a newsletter subscriber, you'll get daily updates and alerts on topics that matter most to you. You must subscribe to at least one newsletter to be eligible, so if you have not already, be sure to choose one or more newsletters before submitting your entry.

CLICK HERE TO ENTER >

On or before December 21, 2012, we'll announce the lucky winner.

You must be a legal resident of the U.S. and a newsletter subscriber to win.

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'Real Housewives Of Atlanta' Star's Mansion Hits Market For $3 Million

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real houswives kim atlanta mansion

The home " Real Housewives of Atlanta" star Kim Zolciak rented on the show is now on sale for $3 million, according to Trulia.

Zolciak called the Atlanta mansion her "dream house," and held her wedding in the backyard during her spinoff show Don’t Be Tardy For The Wedding.

The house has six bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, and 15,800 square feet of living space.

Welcome to Roswell, Ga. The house sits on two acres of land.



The current owners are asking $190 per square foot.



The house was built in 2006.



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Inside The Journalists' Drama On Rihanna's Crazy 777 Tour

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rihanna 777 tour

Roughly 200 journalists were invited to join Rihanna on her seven-day tour across seven countries.

It turns out not everyone can handle the pressure.

Instead of a star-studded red carpet flight with Rihanna, reporters from E!, HuffPost, Billboard, MTV, and more have offered that the trip isn't the dream they imagined. 

They claim to have experienced sleepless nights and a lack of food mixed with too much booze. They say they haven't even seen the hostess herself since day one. 

By day five of the week event, their restlessness has led to all-out insanity, with reporters referring to their time on the plane as #occupy777. (One reporter even took to streaking.)

On November 14, more than 200 journalists fittingly accompanied Rihanna on a 777 plane to take part in her #777 tour.



Here's the letter you received if you were one of the lucky few to join the singer.



It all seemed to start out like a fantasy with everyone freaking out to see Rihanna aboard the 777 ... and with reason.



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The Gangnam Style-MC Hammer Mashup Was Born At Google's Big Business Conference (GOOG)

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So how did the phenomenal collaboration between "Gangnam Style" superstar Psy and early-'90s star MC Hammer come together?

According to Michael Arrington at TechCrunch, all it took was one phone call at Google Zeitgeist, the Web giant's annual conference for business partners.

Psy is big business for Google, with his one-of-a-kind Korean-pop video racking up 700 million views. He's represented by Scooter Braun, who also manages Justin Bieber. Braun was hanging out at Zeitgeist with angel investor Ron Conway and MC Hammer. (Hammer and Conway are friendly, with Hammer helping put together a video for the reelection campaign of San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, a political ally of Conway's.)

Here's how Arrington described the scene:

Braun mentioned to Hammer that Psy was a huge fan of Hammer’s and had expressed an interest in bringing Hammer on stage at the AMA to perform with him. Hammer agreed. Scooter then handed Hammer his cell phone, which was ringing to an outbound phone. Psy picked up and the details were arranged.

And here's the result:

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