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Watch the nightmarish teaser 'House of Cards' dropped during Trump's inauguration


Inside the 'paparazzi-proof' building where penthouses are selling for $54 million

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It's common practice for high-end condo buildings to tout all kinds of amenities to attract buyers. But 443 Greenwich, a luxury building in the Tribeca neighborhood of New York, claims to have an entirely different perk: it's apparently "paparazzi proof." 

While the building's management can't comment on the identity of its residents, it has been reported that the building's "paparazzi-proof" architectural features — such as its lower-level parking and interior courtyard garden — have proved attractive to high-end clients who value their privacy.

Jennifer Lawrence reportedly looked into buying property there, and Mike Myers purchased a $14.65 million loft in the building earlier this month. However, just a week later, Myers put it back on the market with a slightly higher price of $15 million.

According to real estate agents at Cantor-Pecorella, 66% of the units have been sold, and 50% are currently occupied. As for the eight penthouses, two are still available — one of which is listed for $27.5 million, the other for $55 million. Prices for the lofts range from $3.5 million to $14.5 million.

Ahead, take a look inside one of the building's gorgeous four-bedroom condos.  

SEE ALSO: A look inside The Boston Consulting Group's stunning New York office, which has an in-house cafe and workout rooms

Built in 1882, the 443 Greenwich building was originally a book bindery. Today, it's a landmarked building with 53 residential condominiums, including eight penthouses.



Calling itself "paparazzi-proof," the building's privacy has been a big draw for celebrity buyers. Jennifer Lawrence considered a space here, and actor Mike Myers reportedly purchased — then put back on the market — a $15 million condo in January.

Source: Curbed



One of the building's major privacy-geared benefits is its lower-level lobby and parking space, guarded by wrought-iron gates. The building has on-site valet parking.



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People noticed that Trump basically quoted Bane in his inauguration speech

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donald trump bane

A line from President Donald Trump's inauguration speech on Friday eerily echoed the Batman villain Bane.

After Trump's speech, people quickly noticed one line's similarity to a Bane quote from the Christopher Nolan-directed Batman movie "The Dark Knight Rises," which came out in 2012.

"Today, we are not merely transferring power from one administration to another, or from one party to another — but we are transferring power from Washington, DC, and giving it back to you, the people," Trump said in his speech.

Not exactly the same, but it's close to what Bane, played by Tom Hardy, says of Gotham when he holds the city hostage and removes its police and powerful officials.

"We take Gotham from the corrupt! The rich! The oppressors of generations who have kept you down with myths of opportunity, and we give it back to you, the people," Bane said.

Certainly, Trump did not intend to quote Bane, but "give it back to you, the people" is a line that will have some staying power after Inauguration Day.

Watch a video comparing Bane's line to Trump's:

SEE ALSO: Here are the must-see movies that are going to win Oscars in 2017

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NOW WATCH: Watch the nightmarish teaser 'House of Cards' dropped during Trump's inauguration

Malia Obama is going to intern with hotshot Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein

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Getty Images barack and malia obama

Former President Barack Obama's oldest daughter, Malia Obama, is continuing to rack up entertainment experience in a new internship at major movie and television studio the Weinstein Company.

The New York Post's Page Six reported that its sources were talking about the former first daughter's new gig in the days leading up to President Donald Trump's inauguration on Friday. The Hollywood Reporter's sources confirmed the report.

Malia will reportedly work with the marketing or development teams in the New York office of the Weinstein Company in February.

The Weinstein Company was founded by Hollywood mogul Harvery Weinstein, who's a big supporter of the Democratic Party, has hosted fundraisers for the party, and is friendly with Barack and Michelle Obama.

Weinstein has produced many notable and award-winning films, including "Lion," "Shakespeare in Love," and "Pulp Fiction." The Weinstein Company also produces TV shows, such as "Project Runway" and "Mob Wives."

Malia, 18, took a gap year between graduating from the Sidwell Friends School in Washington, DC, and attending Harvard University this fall. She has also held two previous entertainment internships on HBO's "Girls" and CBS's "Extant."

SEE ALSO: Jimmy Kimmel fooled people into thinking President Obama is running for a third term

DON'T MISS: President Obama tells a Donald Trump horror story for Halloween on 'Samantha Bee'

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NOW WATCH: Watch the Obamas officially welcome the Trumps into the White House

Animated map shows the most popular show on Netflix in every state

Arianna Huffington shares exclusive photos of her parties, panels, and celebrity interviews at Davos

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thrive global

The world's top politicians, economists, businesspeople, and celebrities descended on Davos in Switzerland in January for the World Economic Forum's annual meeting.

Discussions at this year's event ranged from the threat of automation to jobs, Brexit, the lack of clean water in many communities, and what a Trump presidency means for the world

Arianna Huffington, cofounder of The Huffington Post, is a long-time Davos attendee. This year she was attending in a new role, as CEO of Thrive, her new wellness startup.

Huffington sent us her photo diary of her busy week taking part in panels, being interviewed, and speaking with dignitaries high up in the Swiss mountains.

 

SEE ALSO: Arianna Huffington's wellness startup launched only 6 weeks ago and it has already doubled its revenue targets for 2017

MONDAY, January 16: Snow and a glimpse of sun greet Huffington and their team as they make the drive in to Davos.



Huffington spoke at the Financial Times/WiPro Executive Dinner Forum about our relationship to technology in the "Second Machine Age" with Royal Dutch Shell chairman Charles Holliday, founding president of Google China and venture capitalist Kai-Fu Lee, CEO of Wipro Abidali Neemuchwala, and ABInBev VP of Sustainable Development Andy Wales.



Huffington said: "I loved spending time after the panel with Kai-Fu Lee whose inspiring story I wrote about in 'Thrive.' He was diagnosed with cancer in 2013, and it was his wake-up call — instead of continuing to 'compete with others to see who could sleep less,' he started prioritizing his health and wellbeing and went on to write an amazing book 'Finding Life in Death'.”



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What happened to virtual reality? (FB, GOOG)

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Marck Zuckerberg VR

When Facebook bought Oculus VR in 2014 for $2 billion, CEO Mark Zuckerberg made a bold prediction.

"... at this point we feel we're in a position where we can start focusing on what platforms will come next to enable even more useful, entertaining and personal experiences," he said in a statement announcing the acquisition. He later added that "we believe this kind of immersive, augmented reality will become a part of daily life for billions of people."

Nearly three years later, Zuckerberg testified in a case against Oculus, subtly admitting that virtual reality hasn't taken off as quickly as he had anticipated.

Zuckerberg was right the second time.

Over the past year, evidence has stacked up that VR isn't as hot as everyone thought it'd be, and it feels poised to go the way of the smartwatch, a once-promising new computing platform that ultimately flopped once introduced into the real world.

The evidence is tough to ignore.

Following the launch of the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, we have yet to see a breakthrough game or app. Plus, the cost is prohibitive for most people: The headsets start at $600, and go up from there if you want the motion controllers and other accessories. Plus you need a powerful computer to run the hardware, which will run you at least another $500.

sony playstation VR

Sony was supposed to be the savior of the high-end VR headset. Its new PlayStation VR is designed to work with the tens of millions of PlayStation 4 consoles already out in the wild, giving it an immediate advantage over the competition. But, like with Vive and Oculus Rift, there wasn't much enthusiasm around the games and content for the PlayStation VR. 

Google appears to be stumbling too. It slashed the price of its new Daydream View headset this week to $49 following a report from Amir Efrati of The Information that Google is "disappointed" with early usage numbers for the device.

Meanwhile, overall sales of VR headsets are very low, and PlayStation VR appears to have performed well worse than expected, according to data compiled by market research firm SuperData.

vr sales forecast

Just a year ago, just ahead of major VR headset launches from Oculus, Sony, and HTC, it felt like we were about to jump into the next era of computing Zuckerberg described back in 2014. The possibilities seemed endless.

Today, the narrative has shifted. VR might be OK for gaming, but it's pretty clear it's only a first step to what really can be the next computing platform, augmented reality, or placing digital images on top of the real world either with a phone or headset. (Microsoft's HoloLens is the best example of this.)

Google and Facebook would tell you the same thing: We're in the early days of VR, and everything they're building today will inform their AR projects in the future.

But in the meantime, VR is going to remain a niche product at best.

SEE ALSO: Now is the worst time to buy a new laptop

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NOW WATCH: Here's the gorgeous trailer for 'Super Mario Odyssey' — the first Mario game for Nintendo Switch

How celebrities are protesting the inauguration of President Trump

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katy perry donald trump

The new US presidency of Donald Trump, who was inaugurated on Friday, is sure to divide Americans, coming as it does after a contentious election. But in Hollywood, it's putting many stars on the defensive.

From Michael Moore and Alec Baldwin to Katy Perry and Shia LaBeouf, stars on social media and the real world showed their disappointment in the inauguration of Trump. While others kept silent and some, of course, like the artists 3 Doors Down and Toby Keith, even performed for the inaugural events.

Here's how major stars in Hollywood reacted to the inauguration of President Trump:

SEE ALSO: Here are the must-see movies that are going to win Oscars in 2017

Chrissy Teigen made a jab at Trump during the inauguration that caused some backlash.

 



Katy Perry signaled that instead of paying attention to the inauguration, she was ready to join the Women's March on Washington.

 



Patton Oswalt encouraged people to tune into anything but the inauguration.

 



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Here's what Wall Street is saying about Netflix's blowout subscriber growth last quarter (NFLX)

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Netflix surprised Wall Street on Wednesday when it reported fourth-quarter earnings and subscriber growth.

In the US, net additions totaled 1.93 million, much better than the consensus forecast among analysts of 1.38 million and Netflix's own prior estimates. Earnings per share were $0.15, two cents above the median forecast.

Netflix's performance drove its stock higher in after-hours trading. On Thursday, it hit an all-time high of $143.45, up by 6%, in the first few minutes of trading.

The streaming service is making a major push outside the US and investing heavily in original content that works for audiences everywhere.

"We are in no rush to push margins up too quickly, as we want to ensure we are investing aggressively enough to continue to lead internet TV around the world," the company said in its earnings letter.

Below are some analysts' reactions to the earnings results and their ratings of the stock.

Jefferies: BEARISH

Rating: Underperform

Price target: $95 (from $80)

Comment: "While the international subscriber growth will drive the stock higher, we note cash burn remains above expectations, with fixed cost leverage elusive," said John Janedis.



Credit Suisse: NEUTRAL

Rating: Neutral

Price target: $143

Comment: "For the longer term, Netflix will be looking to show a greater balance between growth and profitability — which to us validates the long-term investment thesis for its international and newer cohorts to follow along the margin expansion trajectory of the US," said Stephen Ju and Christopher Ford.



Macquarie: NEUTRAL

Rating: Neutral

Price target: $130

Comment: "We remain cautious on some items we have discussed at length in previous notes, namely rising content and other costs, and concurrent FCF [free cash flow] burn in the face of rising competition, but subs are what drives this stock and for now the sub additions are covering these," said Tim Nollen. "As such, we are upgrading the stock from underperform to neutral."



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How to use Meitu — the Chinese selfie-enhancing app that the Internet is obsessed with

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A mobile app that makes everyone look like an anime character has taken over China, and now it's starting to creep its way into the United States. Meitu lets you edit and enhance your selfies with various tools, including a filter that makes your eyes big and glossy among other tweaks. People are posting these bizarro versions of themselves all over social media. Here's how you can make your own.

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Nintendo's new console has a bizarrely named controller — here's why

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Nintendo's new console isn't named something ridiculous like "Wii" or — worse — "Wii U." It's simply named the "Switch."

That name comes from the Switch's gimmick: You can switch from playing it at home to playing it on-the-go by simply removing it from its dock and attaching a pair of controllers. 

Nintendo Switch

Nintendo's applied a similarly smart, logical naming convention across much of the Switch. 

There's the Nintendo Switch Dock, where you dock the Switch when you want to play games at home:

Nintendo Switch

There's the Nintendo Switch Grip, which is the device that turns the Switch's unique gamepads into a traditional-ish gamepad:

Nintendo Switch (gamepad)

There's the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller, which is a pretty standard gamepad — of note, it doesn't come with the Switch:

Nintendo Switch Pro Controller

And then there's the main control method. It's not quite a gamepad; it's not even a single gamepad, but two. 

And they've got a ridiculous name. There's no way to say that more politely. These are the Nintendo Switch "Joy-Con":

Nintendo Switch (Joy-Con)

Which ... what? 

They come in the neon blue/red colors seen above, as well as in standard gray. Here's a ridiculously thorough look at the Joy-Con:

Nintendo Switch (Joy-Con)

They can be used wirelessly, or attached to the Grip, or attached to the Switch itself.

Here's how that looks:

Nintendo Switch

You can even turn them sideways and flip out the Switch's kickstand, thus enabling two people to play at once. It turns the Switch into a portable multiplayer game console, which is pretty rad!

Here I am doing exactly that with a colleague from Polygon during Nintendo's Switch event on January 13:

Nintendo Switch

But we're here to talk about that name. What in the world is a "Joy-Con"? Is that some type of convention for happy people? A joyous convict? Maybe it's intended to describe a happy scheme? 

The answer is staring you in the face. The "word" is actually a portmanteau of two of gaming's most prominent words:

Atari 2600 joystick / NES controller

Indeed, the joystick and the controller. Get it?

Those of you who didn't grow up with joysticks may be puzzling over the name — as someone who was born in 1984, I can personally assure you that joysticks used to be far more common. The term even became the name of a popular gaming website ("Joystiq"). Joysticks were the control standard in gaming for years, and their influence on modern gamepads is obvious.

Ever wondered where the concept of thumbsticks comes from? It's from the joystick, albeit shrunken down and duplicated for more complex control input. 

Anyway! The next time you're at a dinner party, searching your bran for enticing cocktail chatter, look no further than the ridiculous and silly story of the "Joy-Con" gamepad. It's sure to be a more exciting tale than whatever you're about to say about the weather.

SEE ALSO: I played Nintendo's new game console, the Switch — this is what it's like

DON'T MISS: You should wait until holiday 2017 to buy Nintendo's new console — here's why

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NOW WATCH: We got to try Nintendo’s new Switch console — here’s what it was like

The Lemony Snicket star Patrick Warburton almost couldn't do Netflix's show

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Patrick Warburton's path to Netflix's "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events" was just as unique as the role he plays on the unconventional drama series.

Based on the best-selling novels by Daniel Handler, the show stars Neil Patrick Harris as Count Olaf, who mistakenly becomes the guardian to three young children after their parents die in a fire and plans to steal their inheritances. Warburton plays the show's stylish, deadpan narrator Lemony Snicket.

"You never give anything away as Lemony," Warburton recently told Business Insider. "It can’t be cute. It can’t be clever. It can’t be any of these things. It just has to be just very honest and forthcoming, and everything else is in the words. As an actor, you always want to gussy things up a bit and things, but one of the tricks of Lemony is very much being reserved."

The show's executive producer Barry Sonnenfeld ("Men in Black," "Get Shorty") offered Warburton the part in a very casual and modern way.

"Barry sent me a text: 'Can you come to Vancouver for five months and do my Netflix series?'" Warburton remembers.

Two important things had to come together for Warburton to receive such a casual job offer. He and Sonnenfeld built a relationship after working together on a number of projects, including the Fox (and now Amazon) comedy "The Tick," and the films "Big Trouble," "Joe Somebody," "Scream 3," and "Men in Black 2." 

The other factor involved Warburton's 1999 movie, "The Woman Chaser."

"Unbeknownst to me, ['Lemony Snicket' author] Daniel Handler actually went to go see a screening of 'The Woman Chaser' in San Francisco about 10 years ago," the actor said. "So it was this film that I think inspired Daniel Handler to consider me as Lemony Snicket in the series. You never know."

the tick amazon rebootWarburton told us he would have loved to accept the role at the time Sonnenfeld made the offer, but it took him his own series of events to free him up.

At the time, he was under contract with NBC and starring on its comedy "Crowded." He was also slated to reprise his starring role on "The Tick" for Amazon's revival.

In the end, NBC canceled "Crowded" and let Warburton out of his contract.

"I was grateful to the folks at NBC," he said.

And as for "The Tick," Amazon decided to go in a different direction with the new show.

"I was certainly interested [in 'The Tick' role]," Warburton said, "but they wanted to redo it from the ground up, which I wholly understand."

The actor was happy to finally accept Sonnenfeld's offer after his dance card opened up.

"Anything that Barry’s doing, I’d jump at the opportunity," Warburton said. "So I was thrilled to get it and terribly curious. Barry is a great storyteller when it comes to translating property like this to the screen, and it’s just fun to watch."

SEE ALSO: Neil Patrick Harris stars in the great trailer for Netflix's 'Lemony Snicket's'

DON'T MISS: The 22 most exciting new shows of 2017 you have to see

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NOW WATCH: There are 76,000 secret categories hidden in Netflix — here's how to see all of them

Madonna: 'Yes, I have thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House'

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Madonna gave an explosive address at the Women's March on Washington on Saturday that likely has many news networks wishing they had played her remarks on delay.

"Yes, I am outraged. Yes, I have thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House ... but I choose love," Madonna said from the main stage area near the National Mall.

Her remarks are now going viral.

An estimated 500,000 people poured into DC over the weekend for what could be the largest political demonstration the US capital has ever seen. The march aims to bring together women across diverse backgrounds to send a bold message to the new administration that they will not be ignored or have their rights stomped on. It comes just one day after Trump's inaguration.

Madonna, an icon of both pop music and feminism, took the stage later in the event. While the march's organizers have insisted the event is pro-women more than anti-Trump, the singer did not pass on an opportunity to take public digs at the new president.

"It took this horrific moment of darkness to wake us the f--k up," Madonna said.

She repeated expletives multiple times on stage.

Madonna cheered on those who turned out for the march and delivered choice words to others.

"And to our detractors who insist this march will never add up to anything, f--k you. F--k you."

Madonna ended her address with a rendition of her song, "Express Yourself," in which she sang, "Donald Trump, suck a d--k, I'm not your b---h."

You can watch more of Madonna's remarks below.

To follow along with our coverage on the Women's March on Washington, click here.

SEE ALSO: Actress Ashley Judd became the breakout star of the Women's March on Washington

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Watch protesters and Trump supporters get into a fiery argument on the National Mall right after the new president was sworn in

A new documentary about the Gawker vs. Hulk Hogan trial will change how you see the case

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Nobody Speak John Pendygraft Sundance Institute

Any documentary filmmaker would like to delve into the trial between Hulk Hogan and Gawker: a high-profile case filled with sex, betrayal, and outlandish courtroom testimony.

But director Brian Knappenberger also saw something more troubling beneath the surface. The case was also a fight against the freedom of the press. Regardless of what you may think of Gawker's content, ruling against the site in this case could open the floodgates for silencing other media whenever it runs a negative story on a person with influence.

It was a scary thought to Knappenberger. And then it became a reality.

Having its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on Tuesday, Knappenberger's latest documentary, "Nobody Speak: Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and Trials of a Free Press," is a fascinating look at the story behind the Hogan win against Gawker for posting a sex tape of the former pro wrestler. The $140.1 million verdict in favor of Hogan led to Gawker closing its doors and its publisher Nick Denton going into personal bankruptcy.

Peter ThielBut two months after the verdict, it was revealed that Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel was responsible for financing Hogan's case against Gawker. It was also revealed that the major motivation for Thiel to do that was less because he was sympathetic to what Hogan was going through and more that he wanted Denton and Gawker to feel his wrath after the site ran a story in 2007 outing him as being gay.

"This notion of a nine-year grudge and this epic tale of revenge was so spectacular," Knappenberger told Business Insider at the Sundance Film Festival on Friday. "That's when I really started work on the movie."

Knappenberger — who previously made the movies "The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz," on internet activist Aaron Swartz, and "We Are Legion," about the hacker group Anonymous — got in touch with Denton and Gawker editor-in-chief (who also posted the Hogan sex tape video) A.J. Daulerio to be in the film as well as Hogan's lawyer David R. Houston.

They all took some convincing to come on camera and talk for the movie, according to Knappenberger, but at the end of the day they agreed because they all wanted to tell their sides of the story.

Brian Knappenberger Alberto E Rodriguez Getty final"The Gawker guys were angry," he said. "They wanted to talk, and David Houston wanted to tell his story."

There was also a time that Knappenberger thought he would get Hogan to participate, but ultimately Hogan declined.

"They didn't want him to say something that would hurt the settlement," Knappenberger said of Hogan. "But even if we got him now I would add him in the film."

In many ways, "Nobody Speak" portrays Hogan in a sympathetic manner, basically as the pawn in Thiel's mission to destroy Gawker (Knappenberger said he also tried to get Thiel to be in the movie, but Thiel declined Knappenberger's numerous requests). And the movie shows how other people with money and influence can and do silence the media.

Knappenberger also showcases what happened to the Las Vegas Review-Journal at the end of 2015. The paper's staff was suddenly told that the paper had been sold, though they were never told who the new publisher was. A group of reporters found that the son-in-law of Las Vegas casino titan Sheldon Adelson was a major player in the purchase of the paper. According to the movie, Adelson had a vendetta with the paper's columnist John L. Smith, who wrote unflattering things about him in a 2005 book. Smith was even ordered after the paper was bought that he was never to write about Adelson in any of his pieces. 

For Knappenberger, there's no other way to look at it: The suppression of the media by billionaires is happening. But it was the election of Donald Trump as president that influenced the movie the most.

"It went from cautionary to holy f---," Knappenberger said. "Things that seemed lighter before now seemed serious."

Donald TrumpKnappenberger said the making of "Nobody Speak" was a fast process that constantly changed, but it's the ending that has become the most nerve-wracking, as he's gone through numerous versions to paint a most up-to-date a picture of Trump's dislike toward the media.

"What we've seen is disturbing," he said of Trump. "Calling reports scum, calling them vile, slime, it's just a regular feature in his speeches. The blacklisting of the press. What's he's doing now to CNN. Talking about moving the press out of the White House briefing room. This is a clear intimidation of the press. I think all of that is scary."

Knappenberger said he doesn't see the press lying down and playing dead, but he hopes the new administration will be a wake-up call to the media to be on their game.

"The press should be adversarial, should be confrontational, should be questioning those in power, that's the role of the press," he said.

And that's why Knappenberger believes the loss of Gawker is such a huge blow for journalism. As one former Gawker editor says in the movie, "If you're not pissing off a billionaire, what's the point?"

"Yeah, they insulted people, but why is there not a place for that in this media environment?" Knappenberger said. "This is free speech. We protect hate speech. We protect a lot that one side or the other doesn't like. Thiel's response that Gawker is a 'singular, sociopathic bully' is absurd. That is only true if you live in a world without Facebook or Twitter."

Knappenberger isn't too nervous to show the movie on Tuesday. If any legal documents are sent from Thiel or Adelson's representatives, he said, "We're ready for it," but he added the bigger issue is getting people to understand that the loss of the free press is "the most important thing facing our country."

"Lots of other films at Sundance have legitimate causes and important things and I wouldn't say this is more important than those causes," he said, "it's just that you can't do anything about those causes unless you have this first. Free speech, First Amendment rights. Without that, there's no democracy."

"Nobody Speak: Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and Trials of a Free Press" has its world premiere on Tuesday at the Sundance Film Festival.

SEE ALSO: Al Gore has a triumphant new documentary about climate change and Trump that you need to see

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Mark Hamill is reading Trump’s tweets in his iconic Joker voice — and it’s hilarious

18 movies you need to know about this year coming out of the Sundance Film Festival

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PARK CITY, Utah — It's that time again when Hollywood heads to this ski town to showcase the best that independent film has to offer at the Sundance Film Festival, currently underway.

Last year’s fest gave us the world premieres of current award-season staples like “Manchester by the Sea” and “OJ: Made in America.” As new titles go from unknown to suddenly jumping on our must-see list at the 2017 festival, we'll be writing about it right here.

For now, here are 18 movies we think you’ll want to seek out:

SEE ALSO: The "Deadpool" writers reveal everything you want to know about the sequel

“A Ghost Story”

Following his first studio movie, Disney’s “Pete’s Dragon,” indie-film titan David Lowery has secretly made a low-budget thriller starring Casey Affleck as a ghost who returns home to watch over his grief-stricken lover, played by Rooney Mara. Expect a gothic feel, which Lowery has built his career mastering.

A24 will release later this year.



“An Inconvenient Sequel”

A decade after Al Gore brought climate change to the nation’s attention with the Oscar-winning “An Inconvenient Truth,” his follow-up comes to Sundance at a crucial moment in the history of climate-change awareness. With the Trump administration perceived to push back on the progress made to save the environment in the last 10 years, Gore returns to shed light on a topic that can’t be ignored.

Paramount will release later this year.



“The Big Sick”

Produced by Judd Apatow and directed by Michael Showalter (“Wet Hot American Summer”), this comedy follows the hilarious but poignant relationship a Pakistan-born man (Kumail Nanjiani, “Silicon Valley”) has with his American girlfriend (Zoe Kazan). The movie is based on the real-life relationship Nanjiani has with fellow comic Emily V. Gordon. With all the talent involved, expect to hear a lot about this one. 



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There's a Snapchat beta that lets you test new features before anyone else — here's how to install it

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When Snapchat introduces a new feature, it often tests it first with users of its free beta program.

This program isn't exclusive to Snapchat employees; anyone can sign up and get the latest updates before the vast majority of Snapchatters. The only catch is that the beta program is for Android phones only.

If you have an Android phone and want to get the latest Snapchat features, like the recently redesigned search interface, here are the steps:

Snapchat warns that its beta version could be more unstable than the normal app, so don't be surprised if it crashes occasionally.

SEE ALSO: Snapchat's ad targeting is starting to look more like Facebook's

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NOW WATCH: The fabulous and charmed life of 26-year-old self-made billionaire, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel

Sundance vets Elijah Wood and Melanie Lynskey explain why they seek out unique stories

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I Don't Feel At Home In This World Anymore Allyson Riigs Sundance Institute

Elijah Wood and Melanie Lynskey are very familiar with trudging through the snow at the Sundance Film Festival. The two actors have made the trek to Park City, Utah in January a regular occurrence, as at least one of them has appeared in a movie at the festival almost yearly for the last decade.

This year is no different, but we have the added bonus of getting the two in the same movie. "I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore" is a darkly comedic look at a depressed woman named Ruth (Lynskey) who calls on the assistance of her weird neighbor Tony (Wood) after her house is burglarized and decides to find the thief herself as the police are no help.

Writer-director Macon Blair (the lead in the 2013 indie hit "Blue Ruin") delivers a terrific twisted comedy in the vein of the Coen brothers but with more gore. You'll get to see it for yourself when the movie becomes available on Netflix February 24.

Business Insider sat down with Wood and Lynskey to talk about why they seek out unique stories, how Netflix has changed the movie business, and if we'll ever see Wood play Iggy Pop.

Jason Guerrasio: Did you guys know each other before shooting began?

Elijah Wood: We did, we met through Peter Jackson.

Melanie Lynskey: Yeah.

Guerrasio: How far back was this?

Wood: Probably seven or eight years ago.

Lynskey: Didn't I meet you at the opening for the King Kong ride?

Wood: I feel like we met there.

Guerrasio: That's a great first meet memory.

Lynskey: [Laughs] Yeah, it was before it opened and they invited us to come with friends and ride on it.

Guerrasio: Going into this movie was there a need to get together and break the ice?

Wood: We worked a little bit before on a Cartoon Network mini series called "Over the Garden Wall," and we had a day of work together. It was fun because we were in each other's world but never got to hang out.

Guerrasio: But you didn't connect before shooting started?

Lynskey: He showed up for shooting early, I'm terrible. I'm like, "Can I come up in the morning before we start filming?" I like being at home. But once I get there and I like everyone I'm like, "I don't want to leave." Filming this was very easy, very comfortable.

Wood: I just felt like I knew you already.

Lynskey: We got together for dinner a few times and hung out. It wasn't like we felt like we needed to connect.

Guerrasio: What was it about Macon's script that you dug?

Wood: Everything about it. I loved the characters. I've been a huge fan of his work from "Blue Ruin" to "Green Room," which I starred in with him. And the script he wrote was incredible, with really beautiful, well drawn characters that you could relate to. But it also delved into genre cinema as well. It was all these things in one. It was my favorite thing I've read in a long time.

Lynskey: It's just so original and it felt very honest, there were a lot of specific details that made me feel very sure of the story he wanted to tell and the world he wanted to create. I like it when somebody has a voice but it's not a voice where all the characters sound the same. He's able to create different and interesting characters.

Guerrasio: Are you guys surprised by the growth Netflix has made in building out its original content?

Wood: It's actually not that surprising, anymore. I think there was a time in the '90s that this would have been a title that would have gone direct-to-video, which would have been some certain kind of death. But that's not the case anymore. If anything, it's created this equal opportunity for filmmakers. There are so many ways to distribute a movie now and for a film like this in particular if it got a theatrical release it might have only played in the coastal cities.

Guerrasio: I was thinking after seeing the movie, if Netflix or Amazon wasn't around this movie would be in play with the Focus Features, Magnolia Pictures, IFC Films of the world.

Wood: Yeah, it's great that there's a company that, yes, has a lot of money but also is a really creative film department that are making great choices.

Lynskey: And TV.

Wood: Yeah, I love their TV. But they are making choices based on the filmmakers and material without really wanting to get in the way. They did not come to set. They saw our dailies and we were getting thumbs up. That's a really remarkable thing for a first time director to have that kind of faith. I'm all for it. If you can get your movie made the way you want to get it made, no matter what the end result is going to be, if people are going to see it that's awesome.

Lynskey: There is a wonderful piece of mind knowing that it's going to have an audience. But you still want it to have the best sendoff, so showing it here I was worried how the reviews would be, because Netflix doesn't usually let stuff go to festivals. So there was a discussion about that.

Guerrasio: Well, it sounds like it's been received very positively.

Lynskey: Very. It's been amazing.

Guerrasio: You guys have been working in this industry for almost your whole lives, what keeps you motivated to continue working?

Wood: Every experience is a new experience. I feel like I'm constantly learning. Constantly trying to grow. This is a good example, I had never played a character like this before. I never had an opportunity like this before. That's what keeps you going. It's also the filmmakers, going to festivals or just seeing movies on your own, there are just so many incredible people with so many amazing ideas. That inspires you. And I never feel safe. Safety and comfort comes with complacency and that's never a good place to be working from.

Lynskey: I feel very fortunate to have a job where I'm allowed to keep growing. And a lot of it is about exploring yourself and exploring other people and getting to understand humans. It's something that you get addicted to. I also don't know how to do anything else. Honestly, sometimes I think, "Gosh, I wish I had some backup plan." I think I would be a therapist at this point.

Wood: You would be good at that.

Guerrasio: Well, being an actor is kind of like therapy in a weird way.

Lynskey: It's true. It's the closest thing to it, I think.

Guerrasio: Elijah, will the Iggy Pop biopic every happen?

Wood: I think it's dead. I'm actually kind of grateful because I was terrified of it at the time.

Lynskey: What's this?

Wood: There was this biopic that had been written about Iggy Pop that tracked him from high school to starting The Stooges and inevitably ending The Stooges to go make his first solo album.

Lynskey: Wow!

iggy popGuerrasio: How many years were you attached to it?

Wood: It was probably like two or three years. [Current head of Amazon Studios] Ted Hope was involved in producing it and Nick Gomez was the director. It was an interesting thing and I was so flattered to be asked to play that role but it terrified me. At the time I thought I was too young and there's one thing about playing someone who has passed away, which I also would feel equally anxious about, but someone who is alive and very vital still as a musician and an artist, I don't know.

Guerrasio: Iggy didn't want to be a part of it but he gave his blessing of you playing him.

Wood: He did.

Lynskey: That's awesome!

Wood: The older I've gotten the more I've gotten a little precious about music-related films as it comes to biopics. I kind of don't want to see it, I'd rather see a documentary. And this is just coming from me. I love music documentaries, I kind of don't want to see people embodying those people.

Guerrasio: Melanie, give me a sense of the movie business today as an actress from your eyes. Are you starting to see scripts come to you with characters for you to play that are more outside the box from typical female roles?

Lynskey: I really do. I think this is so sh---y for the world and I'm terrified [about the election of Donald Trump] but I do think there's something so positive and that people are really rising up and using their voices and feeling empowered and feeling like I have to do it. There's more urgency and I think we are going to see a lot more diversity in storytelling and filmmaking. I'm kind of excited about what's ahead.

Wood: The next four years are exciting because the opposition of Trump is so strong and so united and that will yield great results.  

SEE ALSO: "Zootopia" directors: Why the movie has a special meaning after the Trump victory

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How YouTube could capitalize on its rivals' mistakes, and conquer the future of TV (GOOG, GOOGL)

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Susan WojcickiYouTube, for all its grand scale in video, hasn’t really done much to disrupt the traditional TV market.

But the time is ripe for YouTube to strike, according to Pacific Crest analyst Andy Hargreaves, who laid out a possible battle plan in a note distributed on Friday.

“Google's extraordinary data and ability to deliver video across platforms position it to disrupt traditional pay TV and capture TV ad dollars, in our view,” Hargreaves wrote.

YouTube hasn’t yet “meaningfully” encroached on the $200 billion global TV ad budget, he said. The main problem is that YouTube still doesn’t have a big enough volume of high-quality, long-form video: the type you would get on TV, or on Netflix.

That’s a hard issue for YouTube to fix with its current business model, but Hargreaves reckons YouTube’s secret weapon could be the launch of its own streaming TV service (“vMVPD”), which would directly compete with cable and satellite TV.

The battle for streaming TV

For months, it's been rumored that YouTube is working on a streaming TV service called "Unplugged."

YouTube is reportedly looking to charge under $35 dollars a month for the service, which you could watch on your TV, phone, laptop, and so on. In December, CBS CEO Les Moonves appeared to accidentally both confirm that YouTube is building its own TV package, and also that CBS had already signed a deal for it.

TVIf Unplugged comes to fruition, it will be entering a crowded market.

Dish’s Sling TV, AT&T’s DirecTV Now, and Sony’s Vue are already fighting over cord-cutters, and Hulu will enter the picture in the next few months. Even Amazon is rumored to be working on its own TV package.

There's stiff competition from both established TV distributors and tech companies. But that doesn’t mean YouTube should sit this one out, according to Hargreaves.

"Given the nature of distribution online, with virtually no geographical barriers and low consumer switching costs, and the magnitude of the advertising opportunity, we believe Google should be aggressive in both the resources it applies to the service and the retail pricing,” he wrote.

YouTube should play to win.

Just make it work

One thing that could give YouTube an early edge is if it nails the technical aspects of Unplugged.

The idea of a live streaming TV service is new, and the reference point, for most people, on how TV is supposed to function is cable or satellite. These services, while subject to the occasional glitch once in a blue moon, largely function as advertised. When you want to watch something, it’s there.

directv nowThe same cannot be said for the early streaming TV services.

Since its launched in late November, AT&T’s DirecTV Now service has been repeatedly smacked with technical issues, from strange error messages to huge blackouts. And both Sling TV and Vue have had their share of tech snafus as well.

YouTube has a ton of knowledge already, not just in delivering online video, but also in “live” online video. If Unplugged actually works 99% of the time on Day One, YouTube will have a huge opportunity to snag market share.

On Friday, AT&T announced that it had gotten 200,000 additional paying video subscribers in the quarter ending December 31, “entirely driven” by DirecTV Now. By the end of 2016, DirecTV Now had only been in business for about a month. 200,00 paying subscribers in a month is impressive, and it means there’s a demand for the product. But so far, DirecTV Now has delivered a frustrating experience for many those early adopters, who have taken to forums and Twitter to rant against the service.

This is an opening for YouTube.

One of the benefits of a streaming TV service is how easy it is to cancel — think Netflix. So if DirecTV Now continues to be struggle with technical problems, YouTube can swoop in.

The endgame

Even if YouTube succeeds in getting a leg up on its competition, that doesn’t mean the streaming TV market will be an instant goldmine.

The margins on the early streaming TV services appear to be razor-thin, and Hargreaves suggests that, initially, YouTube’s margins should actually be negative, given the “magnitude of the opportunity and the volume of competition.”

The crux of that opportunity lies in a fundamental shift in how TV ads work. As it stands now, TV networks sell most of the ad inventory for their shows. And in the early days of a YouTube streaming TV service, that's likely to continue to be the case, with YouTube itself selling only a few minutes of ads per hour on its own service..

But that will change, according to Hargreaves.

“Google's vastly superior data should allow it to monetize its ad inventory at superior rates to networks,” he wrote. “Over time, this disparity should allow Google to capture a greater share of total ad inventory on its service. Played out over several years, we believe the natural evolution of a successful Google vMVPD service [Unplugged] would be for the roles of content supply and ad selling (both currently done by TV networks) to split, with Google managing the ad selling and networks relegated to content suppliers.”

In a nutshell, YouTube will be better at selling ads than the networks, and eventually be in charge of selling all of them.

And that’s the real endgame and potential for profit: getting control of all the ad dollars.

SEE ALSO: Here are the 5 shows Amazon has canceled

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Here's everything we know about the Super Bowl ads so far

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turbotax super bowl

Super Bowl 51 is set to air on Fox on February 5 and, as usual, the big game's broadcast will be stuffed to the brim with big-money ads, reportedly costing $5 million for a 30-second slot.

Unlike last year, as Marketing Land pointed out, many brands are keeping unusually quiet so far about their Super Bowl activity. But expect to see more teasers as the Super Bowl draws closer.

We'll be keeping you up to date with all the latest commercials, teasers, and other Super Bowl ads news.

Scroll down to see what we know so far about the Super Bowl ads (we've organized all the news in alphabetical order, by brand.

84 Lumber

Construction-supply company 84 Lumber has splashed out an estimated $15 million on a 90-second ad — its debut Super Bowl spot, AdAge reported. The ad, created by Brunner, will air in the second quarter, before half-time and aims to recruit new employees. 

However, the first cut of the ad has had to be scrapped after Fox rejected it for being "too political," Campaign first reported. The creative had featured a wall blocking people looking for work in the US.

Here's a recent 84 Lumber ad, celebrating its 60th year:

Youtube Embed:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/S9PhSJ2wp-c
Width: 560px
Height: 315px


Audi

The automaker is returning to the Super Bowl for the ninth time, with an ad created by agency Venables Bell & Partners, according to Adweek.

Last year's spot featured David Bowie's "Starman":

Youtube Embed:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/yB8tgVqmKzw
Width: 560px
Height: 315px


Avocados from Mexico

Avocados from Mexico told Business Insider in December it was coming back to the Super Bowl in 2017. It's the third year in a row the brand has advertised in the big game.

This year's ad will be focused on promoting the fact that avocados are healthy, something the company was not explicitly permitted to do so in the past due to old FDA rules.

Here's last year's spot:

Youtube Embed:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/1ndPEQCoSzk
Width: 560px
Height: 315px


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