More than 13 women have recently come forward claiming Bill Cosby sexually assaulted them, igniting a media firestorm.

As a result, Netflix has indefinitely delayed the release of a Cosby stand-up special, NBC stopped development on a new sitcom starring Cosby, and TV Land is going to stop airing reruns of "The Cosby Show."

Yet the 77-year-old comedian, who was once revered as "America's dad," is continuing to perform like he did Saturday in Florida.

Howard Bragman, a crisis PR expert and founder of 15 Minutes Public Relations, tells Business Insider that Cosby's nearly 50-year-long career is now "probably" over and that the comedian should "shut up and disappear."

"It's hard to see who would want to be in the Bill Cosby business right now," Bragman explains. "Certainly not a brand, both Netflix and NBC have said 'no.'"

"I don't see what he can say, and even when he says 'This is just innuendo,' why are you doing these comedy clubs?" Bragman questions. "You don't need the money, just go in your mansion and be happy."

While Bragman admits that Cosby "doesn't have a lot of good options right now," the PR expert explains the comedian "has essentially three choices" of how to deal with the scandal:

1. "You can not talk."
2. "You can go on record and deny it, which he has done and more people keep coming out of the woodwork."
3. "Or you can say, 'Yes, I did it and I'm going to get help for it,' but that would open up all sorts of litigation and I don't think that's something you can advise him to do."

 In conclusion, Bragman says Cosby "doesn't have a lot of good choices."

"I don't know that this is ever going to blow over," says Bragman. "Unless there's some sort of conspiracy or something that comes out that was an attempt to pain him, I don't know that this one will blow over. It's not a DUI, it's not a one-time deal, or a moment. This was seemingly a lifestyle for a long time."

Bragman clarifies "we don't know what happened," but says he is suspicious because "even since it started coming out, so many women have started coming forward with nothing to gain out of it. If they were people who had something to gain and were going to file civil suits, you say, 'okay, I see some motivation' and I see that all the time against celebrities. What you don't see is people with nothing to gain coming forward, that's the unusual part of this."

Bragman continues, "He should be grateful that he's likely not going to have to go on trial for these kinds of things because they happened a long time ago. But when I look at women living quiet lives in their 60s and 70s and a 90-year-old guy who worked at NBC, I'm not willing to believe these people did it for publicity or money, I think they saw what was going on and they wanted to live their truth and get it out there."

According to RAINN statistics, 60% of women don't report sexual assault, and even when they do, 97% of rapists will never spend a day in jail.

"And that's in the normal world," Bragman says, citing the stats. "You're not talking about someone who has all the money in the world and all of the powerful lawyers in the world and one truly understands why, if these allegations are true, why somebody would be reluctant to stand up and make these claims."

Despite decades of rumors about Cosby sexually assaulting women and some even coming forward throughout the years, the accusations never hit mainstream media until a few weeks ago, when comedian Hannibal Buress did a standup bit that reignited the rumors. 

As for why the accusations finally stuck this time around, Bragman says, "I think the media got on board. I think one big factor was social media. Before, if mainstream media didn't report it, it didn't happen. But now with social media, it has been talked about aggressively every time there's a new charge. Hannibal's video went viral because of social media."

And Bragman isn't surprised by the aftermath.

"I figured that's what would happen," Bragman says of Netflix and NBC indefinitely postponing their projects with Cosby. "NBC was in development and that's one of those black holes of Hollywood where it's easy to let it go. Netflix I think it's a contractual issue with them, I don't know if they have to pay him or how it works, but he's certainly not in a position to go out and do interviews to support a project, which is what you do when you have a project like that."

But why would Netflix and NBC agree to work with Cosby in the first place, knowing about the years of rumors?

While Bragman "can't speak for NBC or Netflix," he simply says, "There's a lot of rumors about a lot of different people. But I think they made the right decision at this time."

As for whether the projects could one day be greenlit again if the Cosby scandal ever blows over, Bragman seems to think it's unlikely. "I think one has to see how this plays out — if he's vindicated of charges or if he's accused of more. As of now, the vast majority of shows 'in development' never see the light of day anyways, so that would not be surprising if it just disappeared."

While the comedian's career may be over, Bragman does add, "I want to be clear, Bill Cosby did a lot of good things through the years. He was breakthrough in that he redefined the black family in America, he did some amazing things — but that doesn't make other things okay. You look at Paula Deen and Lance Armstrong, who both did good things and also had scandal, and we are complex beings, we're not perfect. It's very interesting to look at people who have had everything in the world and were living the kinds of lives that perhaps they weren't proud of."

Bragman concludes, "This is not a personal judgement on Bill Cosby, this is an observation from somebody who handles crises and is a spin doctor. I'm here to tell you the prognosis of a patient and it's not good."

SEE ALSO: The Backstory Behind The Shocking Bill Cosby Rape Allegations

MORE: Another Bizarre Detail Emerges About How Bill Cosby Was Allowed To Treat Young Women

Join the conversation about this story »

Much of the film Interstellar is centered around the existence of a wormhole and black hole, which happen to be two of the most perplexing things in the universe. Astrophysicist and StarTalk Radio host Neil deGrasse Tyson explains how wormholes and black holes really work.

Produced by Will Wei. Additional camera by Devan Joseph.

StarTalk Radio is a podcast and radio program hosted by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, where comic co-hosts, guest celebrities, and scientists discuss astronomy, physics, and everything else about life in the universe. Follow StarTalk Radio on Twitter, and watch StarTalk Radio "Behind the Scenes" on YouTube.

Follow BI Video: On Facebook

Join the conversation about this story »

HBO is producing a new documentary on the Church of Scientology so explosive that the network has been forced to hire legal backup.

"We have probably 160 lawyers" looking at the film, HBO Documentary Films president Sheila Nevins tells The Hollywood Reporter.

The documentary is based on Pulitzer Prize-winning author Lawrence Wright's controversial book "Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, & the Prison of Belief," which grew out of a New Yorker profile on former Scientologist director Paul Haggis.

Wright's book was initially met with strong resistance from the litigious Church of Scientology and "threatening letters from lawyers" when it hit shelves in 2013. The church published a lengthy takedown of the book upon its US release, and it was never even published in the UK after the publisher dropped "Going Clear" at the advice of its lawyers.

HBO is bracing for protests as well but still hopes the doc will be done in time to be submitted to the Sundance Film Festival in January.

The doc "is expected to feature new revelations about the controversial religion and its famous followers Tom Cruise and John Travolta," THR reports.

Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney is attached to direct. Gibney's previous topics he has explored in his "documentary factory" include Lance Armstrong, Enron, Eliot Spitzer, WikiLeaks, and the US military.

SEE ALSO: Here Are 21 Famous Church Of Scientology Members

Join the conversation about this story »

When Ben Affleck was first cast as the new Batman in 2016's "Batman V Superman" movie, Batfans were pretty torn over the decision.

In the December issue of Empire Magazine, Christian Bale, the most recent man to play the bat, speaks out about the first time he heard Affleck was cast as the new Batman.

It seems he wasn't on team #Batfleck when he got the news.

Comicbookmovie.com has the quotes:

'I've got to admit initially, even though I felt that it was the right time to stop, there was always a bit of me going, 'Oh go on ... Let's do another.' So when I heard there was someone else doing it, there was a moment where I just stopped and stared into nothing for half an hour.'

"But I'm 40," he added. "The fact that I'm jealous of someone else playing Batman ... I think I should have gotten over it by now."

Bale says he hasn’t spoken with Affleck but that he emailed him advice on the role.

"I would imagine he is doing everything he can to avoid anything that I did," Bale said.

From Bale's quotes, it sounds like he was actually considering coming back for another Batman movie.

Bale's "The Dark Knight" trilogy, directed by Christopher Nolan, made nearly $2.5 billion worldwide over about a decade for Warner Bros.

Bale will next star in Ridley Scott’s biblical adaptation of the story of Moses, "Exodus: Gods and Kings," in theaters Dec. 12.

NOW WATCH: Watch These Daredevil Dancers Leap From A 22-Foot Spinning Ladder

SEE ALSO: "Batman V Superman" will reportedly include this iconic Batman scene

Join the conversation about this story »

"Grand Theft Auto 5" came out in 2013, but this month, the remastered version was released for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. 

The new release features a first-person point of view, which some people might find disturbing.

But others are finding tranquility and beauty not in the violent aspects, but in everything that's around them. Someone even made a documentary-like video using the game's imagery and a little artistic license, according to Polygon.

Using the hashtag #GTAPhotographers, players are sharing the pictures they're taking in the game on social media. And some of the results are stunning.

"Grand Theft Auto 5" isn't all violence, all the time.

In addition to robbing and stealing cars ...

... some people are finding side activities they can do.

"Dancing with the Stars" went old school on Monday night. 

Mark Ballas and Sadie Robertson, from the show "Duck Dynasty," danced to music from "Super Mario Bros." 

As expected, it was as amazing as any dance set to music from "Super Mario Bros." could be. 

Ballas was Mario, Robertson was Princess Peach, and a couple of other dancers jumped in later as Luigi and Toad. 

Nobody did the original "Mario" dance, which was featured during the ending credits of the TV show "The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!," unfortunately. 

Still, the "Dancing with the Stars" choreography is pretty awesome. And if you can't get the song out of your head, Nintendo released the "Super Mario Bros." medley. 

Check out the video from "Dancing with the Stars" below:

SEE ALSO: These Images From 'Grand Theft Auto 5' Are So Vivid, They Look Like Real Life

Join the conversation about this story »

Universal Pictures has released the first official trailer for next summer's "Jurassic Park" sequel starring Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard.

Called "Jurassic World," the film takes place 22 years after the original movie where people from all over the world are visiting a dinosaur theme park. 

Steven Spielberg’s original “Jurassic Park” in 1993 became one of the most successful movies ever made, grossing more than $1 billion in its lifetime. The movie was among the first to really incorporate computer-generated imagry (CGI) in film to portray realistic dinosaurs; it set the precedent for the use of CGI in future movies. 

In the new film, attendance at the park starts to dwindle over the years. To spice things up, scientists create a new, modified dinosaur that's inherently smart.

As Pratt's character says, "You just went and made a new dinosaur? Probably not a good idea."

Nope. Not at all. 

"Jurassic World" is in theaters June 12, 2015.

The best parts of the trailer show raptors breaking out of cages ...

... and subsequently running alongside Pratt on a motorcycle.

SEE ALSO: The 30 theaters where you can see the "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" trailer this weekend

Join the conversation about this story »

Warner Bros. released the first trailer for "Pan," which it hopes will be a blockbuster tentpole when it arrives next summer. The movie is directed by Joe Wright who, up to this point, is known for more Oscar-friendly period pieces like "Atonement," "Pride In Prejudice" and "Anna Karenina."

"Pan" doesn't simply retread the familiar tale of Wendy Darling and her brothers' adventures to Neverland. Instead it focuses on Peter Pan's backstory, which includes an unlikely friendship between the titular character and a young Captain Hook, played by Garrett Hedlund. Pan's main rival is Blackbeard, who is played by an almost unrecognizable Hugh Jackman.

But perhaps the most buzz-worthy aspect of the trailer is when supermodel-of-the-moment Cara Delevingne appears as a mermaid.

Follow BI Video: On Twitter

Join the conversation about this story »

There's a glaring mistake in the 1993 dinosaur classic "Jurassic Park" that any good entomologist would know. The mosquito used in the film is completely the wrong species.

In the film, scientists extract dinosaur blood from the gut of a prehistoric mosquito, preserved in amber. They then use the DNA in the dinosaur blood to create the terrifying creatures that roam the island and eventually maim and kill many of the characters.

Yes, retired Navy entomologist Joe Conlon confirmed, mosquitoes did indeed buzz around during the time of dinosaurs feeding on their blood.

"They've been around for about 170 million years," Conlon, who now works for the American Mosquito Control Association, told us. Unfortunately, the species portrayed in "Jurassic Park" — Toxorhynchites rutilus — doesn't feed on blood. It's actually the only type of mosquito that doesn't.

T. rutilus is also the largest species of mosquito that scientists know of, even beating the recently infamous gallinipper.

Another problem with the movie: DNA couldn't have possibly stayed intact for 80 million years. Scientists are trying to resurrect some more recently extinct creatures, though.

SEE ALSO: There's A 'Jurassic Park' Sequel Out Next Summer, Here's The First Teaser Trailer

Join the conversation about this story »

While TV series are about to go into winter hiatus with the holidays quickly approaching, Netflix has announced its list of releases for the month of December.

Among the highlights this month are "The Wolf of Wall Street," horror movie "Oculus," and the first season of critically acclaimed BBC series "Broadchurch."

Netflix is also releasing its new $90 million series, "Marco Polo," along with its Nick Offerman comedy special "Nick Offerman: American Ham."

Here's what you should check out on Netflix in December:

TV

"American Horror Story: Coven" (available 12/6)
The third season of FX's wildly popular series adds Emma Roberts among a group of backstabbing witches.

"Broadchurch" (available 12/12)
 The first season of the hit BBC series follows the aftermath of the murder of a young boy in a small town. While Fox just introduced a remake of the series featuring original star David Tennant called "Gracepoint" to less than stellar ratings, the original eight-episode series is a must-watch.

"Marco Polo" (available 12/12)
Netflix is betting $90 million on its new original series which looks like the streaming service's answer to HBO's "Game of Thrones." The series executive producer, Dan Minahan, actually worked on "Thrones." The series will follow the explorer in 13th century China as he comes toe to toe with Kublai Khan.

"Nick Offerman: American Ham" (available 12/12)
If you're waiting for the final season of "Parks and Rec" to arrive on NBC, Offerman's new Netflix comedy special should hold you over. Netflix says the special will feature the comedian's "woodworking skills and tips for prosperity."

Movies

"Almost Famous"
Kate Hudson and Jason Lee star in the Oscar winner where a high school student (Billy Crudup) follows around a rock band on tour to write a story for Rolling Stone.

"American Beauty"
The five-time Oscar-winning picture follows a father (Kevin Spacey) who becomes infatuated with his daughter's friend.

"Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues" 
If you skipped out on seeing the return of Ron Burgundy and his dog Baxter to the big screen last year, now's your chance to catch up.

Here's the full list of December releases:

Available 12/1

"A Knight's Tale" (2001)
"Almost Famous" (2000)
"American Beauty" (1999)
"Bewitched" (2005)
"Jewtopia" (2012)
"Knights of Badassdom" (2014)
"Madison" (2005)
"Out of the Clear Blue Sky" (2012)
"Out of Time" (2003)
"The Out-of-Towners" (1999)
"Troop Beverly Hills" (1989)
"Turbo FAST" 

Available 12/3

"Oculus" (2014)
"Son of God" (2014)

Available 12/5

"Bill Burr: I'm Sorry You Feel That Way" (2014)

Available 12/6

"American Horror Story: Coven"
"Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues" Super-sized version (2013)
"Ava & Lala" (2014)
"Sharknado 2: The Second One" (2014)

Available 12/8

Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown: Season 3

Available 12/9

"I Am Ali" (2014)
"Drive Hard" (2014)

Available 12/10

"A Haunted House 2" (2014)

Available 12/11

"The Village" (2004)
"The Wolf of Wall Street" (2013)

Available 12/12

"Broadchurch: Season 1"
"Marco Polo"
"Nick Offerman: American Ham"

Available 12/13

"Don't Blink" (2014)

Available 12/15

"Jake Squared" (2014)

Available 12/18

"Ragnarok" (2014)
"The Honourable Woman: Season 1"

Available 12/19

"All Hail King Julien" 

Available 12/20

"Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones" Extended Edition (2014)

Available 12/22

"Dark Skies" (2013)
"Romy and Michele's High School Reunion" (1997)

Available 12/23

"The Trip to Italy" (2014)

Available 12/24

"Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return" (2014)

Available 12/25

"Good People" (2014)

Available 12/27

"Child of God" (2014)
"Labor Day" (2013)

Available 12/28

"Behaving Badly" (2014)
"Comedy Bang! Bang! Season 3"
"I, Frankenstein" (2014)
"Maron: Season 2"
"Jessie: Season 3"

Available 12/30

"Last Weekend" (2014)

SEE ALSO: 10 foreign TV shows you should be watching

Join the conversation about this story »

The cast of  "The Imitation Game" offered their thoughts on artificial intelligence.

The film is directed by Morten Tyldum and follows the race against the clock to crack the German Enigma Code during World War II. It stars Benedict Cumberland as Alan Turing and Keira Knightley as Joan Clarke. 

Produced by Devan Joseph. Video courtesy of Associated Press.

Join the conversation about this story »

Barack Obama has said he quit his cigarette habit, but a report published in The Hill on Tuesday said "Piano Man" singer Billy Joel claimed the president offered him a smoke at the White House last year. However, a source close to Obama told Business Insider there's no way that story is true.

"This is ludicrous. When it comes to his promise to kick the smoking habit, the President has been keeping the faith," the source said. 

The Hill based their report on a person who said they saw Joel on Nov. 19 at the Jefferson Hotel in Washington, D.C. Joel was in the nation's capitol to collect an award. While he was there, Joel also visited House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) at his office. 

According to The Hill, while at the hotel, Joel described being offered a cigarette by Boehner, who is a smoker. Joel also allegedly said Obama once tried to smoke with him.

"I was at the White House recently, and President Obama did the same thing. He said, ‘I’m going out on the North Portico to have a smoke. Do you want to come with me?'" Joel was quoted as saying.

The Hill reported Joel responded that he had not smoked in a long time, but "ultimately couldn’t turn down a cigarette offer from the president." Joel visited the White House in December 2013 after receiving Kennedy Center Honors.

When he took office in 2009, Obama admitted he smoked occasionally. 

"Have I fallen off the wagon sometimes? Yes. Am I a daily smoker, a constant smoker? No," the president said at a press conference that year. 

In 2011, the White House physician, Navy Capt. Jeffrey Kuhlman, urged Obama to continue "smoking cessation efforts." The following year, First Lady Michelle Obama told iVillage the president had been able to "kick the habit."

"I think that he didn't want to look his girls in the eye and tell them that they shouldn't do something that he was still doing," she said.

Last year, Obama was caught on an open microphone at the United Nations General Assembly discussing his smoking habit. 

“I haven't had a cigarette in six years ... that's because I'm scared of my wife," said Obama.

A spokeswoman for the first lady declined to comment on The Hill story about the president allegedly offering cigarettes to Joel. 

Update (7:11 p.m.):Joel himself denied the story as well, according to a new report in the Daily News.

Join the conversation about this story »

When it comes to tech, thinner is the new normal.

Microsoft's Xbox One, though, goes against the grain. It weighs around 8 pounds and is pretty chunky, especially compared with other consoles it's competing with. It's even bigger than slimmest version of the 360, which came out in 2010.

But there's a good reason for it, according to the Xbox industrial designer Carl Ledbetter: It needs to stay cool.

"Everybody gets frustrated, because what we want is for everything to be wafer thin, not get hot and just be a snap to put together," he tells MCV's Christopher Dring. "But the reality is that there are very real issues around cooling when you’re pushing some number of watts in the processor, therefore the thing has to have some size to it. There’s always an interesting dynamic between engineering and design, and constraints around performance."

He says that you can't design something without taking into consideration engineering factors. 

"It’s called designing with constraints, and constraints create very real things for people to go after and solve," he says. "Blue sky can get a little tough because it is limitless and it’s boundless. The engineering doesn’t really become a barrier — engineering is necessary, just like the design and technology. It’s a combination of everything that creates the product."

The Xbox One isn't just a chunky black box, either. Its patchwork squares are a reflection of the console's dashboard, which looks similar to the experience on the Surface tablet. It's meant to be seamless across the entire brand. And all of that effort matters, even if nobody really notices it.

"For us it is about creating a very consistent and seamless experience that is reliable, so that when you see it, it is already starting to communicate aspects of the brand, and when you go into the user experience, it fulfills your expectations," he says. "It would be like if you saw a beautiful car, and then you opened the door and the handle felt a little strange, and when you got inside it had been designed by someone different, and even the controls were not what you expected."

Read the rest of the interview with Ledbetter over at MCV>>

SEE ALSO: PlayStation Chief Takes A Victory Lap Around The Xbox One

Join the conversation about this story »

On Tuesday, HBO revealed it has 160 lawyers preparing for its new documentary on the Church of Scientology.

The documentary is based on Pulitzer Prize-winning author Lawrence Wright's controversial book "Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, & the Prison of Belief," which grew out of a New Yorker profile on former Scientologist director Paul Haggis.

See Scientology's most famous followers >

The new HBO documentary "is expected to feature new revelations about the controversial religion and its famous followers Tom Cruise and John Travolta," according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Cruise, Scientology's most prominent member, became involved with the church in 1990 through his first wife, actress Mimi Rogers.

"It's a privilege to call yourself a Scientologist, and it's something that you have to earn," Cruise said in 2004.

In 2005, he told Matt Lauer on "Today," "It is a religion. Because it's dealing with the spirit — you as a spiritual being. It gives you tools you can use to apply to your life."

By 2013, Cruise admitted that ex-wife Katie Holmes divorced him in part to protect the couple's daughter Suri from Scientology. He also admitted that Suri is no longer a practicing member of the church.

Cruise, however, is still an active member — and he's not the only one. From "Mad Men" to "The Simpsons," see who practices Scientology. 

Actress Kirstie Alley

The former "Cheers" star says the religion helped her overcome a cocaine addiction. 

In 2010, rumors swirled her weight loss program, Organic Liaison, was a front for Scientology, a claim the actress vehemently denied. 

Actress Bijou Phillips

Indie goddess Bijou Phillips, most recently known for her role on "Raising Hope," is daughter of the "Mamas and Papas" singer John Phillips.

Bijou is married to Danny Masterson and the two frequently go to Scientology events together. 

Actor Danny Masterson

Masterson is best-known for his role on "That '70's Show." He defended Tom Cruise for the actor's leaked Scientology video back in 2008. 

In an interview with Paper Magazine in 2009 he explained the religion as follows:

"The definition of Scientology is 'the study of knowledge,'" said Masterson. "Obviously, the more knowledge you have in a given field, such as life, the more confident you are as a person."

When you go through a breakup, it can be agonizing. You're often left wondering: 

What is he doing?

How is she feeling? 

Does he want me back?

You can sort of see what that person is doing if you follow their activity on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter. At least, you can see what they want you to see.

Thanks to Spotify, you can get more honest insight into your ex's true emotional turmoil post-breakup.

A friend recently called it quits with a guy she's been dating for a  few months. He gave her some lame excuse, the whole, "It's not you, it's me," thing.

"I just got out of a long relationship and I'm not ready for another one right now. You're great, I just need some time," he told her.

Blah, blah, blah.

They follow each other's Spotify accounts though, and the friend noticed that her ex turned "emo." Every song he listened to seemed directed at her. He played the entire soundtrack of a concert they'd attended together, for example. Later, he listened to songs titled, "Wait for me," "Too Late," "Leave Me Alone," "Tough Love," and "World Restart."

"He always listens to one type of music and today it's all different," the friend said of her ex's recent music selections. She says he's aware she follows him on Spotify. "I think he's doing it on purpose."

Here's how to follow (and unfollow) someone on Spotify:

Spotify has a follow tab. Click it, and you'll have the option to find your Facebook friends who are on Spotify that you can follow.

Or, you can search for their name, and users will populate.

Once you click on the right person's name/profile, you'll see a "Follow" button. Click it and voila! You're following them on Spotify and you'll be able to see what they're listening to in real time.To unfollow someone, just right click on their name in your stream and select "Unfollow."

Join the conversation about this story »

James Cameron's "Avatar" became the highest-grossing movie ever making over $2.7 billion after it came out in 2009.

Three sequels are set for release consecutively in 2016, 2017, and 2018, and, apparently, they'll be worth the long wait.

In a new interview with Empire Magazine, Cameron wouldn't say much about the films, but he did say one thing.  

"They’re gonna be bitchin’," said Cameron. "You will s--- yourself with your mouth wide open.”

That's some high praise, but when you've made two of the highest-grossing movies ever at the box office, who can argue with that?

So far, we know Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana will reprise their roles in all three sequels. Stephen Lang, who played the villain, and was killed off in the 2009 film, will also return.

Sigourney Weaver will also return in all three movies in a new role. 

The films are expected to be in theaters December 2016, 2017, and 2018.

SEE ALSO: The "Avatar" sequels will use groundbreaking underwater technology

AND: James Cameron explains how he wrote three "Avatar" sequels simultaneously

Join the conversation about this story »

Universal Pictures unveiled the first trailer for next summer's "Jurassic World" movie Tuesday starring Chris Pratt. 

From the looks of it, the fourth installment in the series will be filled with plenty of computer-generated (CG) dinosaurs and Velociraptors. 

When the first "Jurassic Park" came out in 1993, it contained very little CG. Director Steven Spielberg originally wanted the dinosaurs in the film to be done through practical effects with stop motion.

It wasn't until producer Kathleen Kennedy spotted CG test footage of a T-Rex on a computer screen at visual effects studio Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), that it was decided to mix CG dinosaurs in with the live action film.

There are only 14 minutes of dinosaur visual effects in "Jurassic Park," about four of which were made with a computer, but its lasting effect on movies has been monumental. 

Two years later, 1995's "Toy Story" was the first full-length computer-animated movie.

Today just about every film — from James Cameron's "Avatar" to summer blockbusters like Michael Bay's "Transformers" series — owes credit to CG.

Business Insider spoke with Steve “Spaz” Williams, who was a CG Animator at ILM, the visual-effects studio that helped bring “Jurassic Park” to life.

Williams broke down the steps it took to bring the dinosaurs from paper and pad to the big screen in CG.

1. They begin with drawn designs and prosthetics of the different dinosaurs. 

The production used CG for velociraptors, brachiosauruses, and the tyrannosaurus rex, which Williams worked on primarily.

2. Next, those renderings needed to make their way into the computer.

They scanned models, including ones for the T. rex and the velociraptors, into the computers."In order to get it into the computer we actually fire a laser at the three-dimensional rubber prosthetic model and extract the data so the computer had it essentially," says Williams.

Williams explains it's like the opposite of 3-D printing with them taking an object and turning it into data.

3. They then reconstruct the data to make it work in the computer.

These are two images of T. rex data from Williams' monitor using software called Alias.

4. An animation piece of software called SoftImage 3D is used to figure out the joint placement on the dinosaurs. 

Here, you can see one of the Brachiosauruses in the beginning of the film.

5. After that, the data has to be "rigged" with a digital armature in wireframes. 

This is the framework for the dinosaur that helps provide its structure allowing it to stand up, move, and run.

"This is the first shot I animated for the movie after I built all of the T. rex data," says Williams. "It took me months to get this run right, but once done, we reused the run data for the rest of the jeep-chase shots and ultimately for the following two 'Jurassic Park' movies."Below is another wireframe for one of the raptors in a kitchen scene where the two children are trying to outsmart the dinosaurs.

6. Next, the dinosaurs get their skin. 

"We used a program called Viewpaint, which allowed us to actually paint the texture of the skin in the computer so now we have this textured map," says Williams.

7. To put all of the separate images together, they needed to be rendered by massive graphics computers.

"Now we substitute in this high-resolution mesh data into a low resolution wireframe. That's all being done in computer," says Williams. "It pretty much took 10 hours to calculate one frame. You have to remember film is 24 frames per second. So it would sit there and crunch all night."

Williams built and animated the image below of the first fully rendered T. rex test. It was this video that convinced the producer Kathleen Kennedy and Steven Spielberg that "Jurassic Park" should be made in CG rather than stop motion.

Williams also animated all of the shots in a famous T. rex Jeep-chase sequence. He says each frame in the entire sequence took an estimated 12 hours to render. 

The point where the T. rex breaks through the log is 75 frames long. 

"I animated all those shots where the T. rex is chasing the jeep. It took me four months to animate it, just to get the running to work properly," says Williams.

8. From there, the dinosaur needs to be put into a scene through a process called compositing.

This is where all the pieces to the puzzle are assembled together. CG shots are combined together with live-action shots and any background and foreground imagery referred to as plate photography.

In this case, live-action shots of actors were combined with photography shoots in Kauai and ILM's work on the brachiosauruses and birds.

Here's the final shot with the added dinosaurs:

9. Once it's put together, the images are reviewed to make sure they work. When everything looks good, the scene is put to film.

Final images are reviewed on a high-concentrated projector before translated to film.

All together, Williams says it took about a year to bring the dinosaurs to life.

“Basically May of ’92 to May of ’93 was the entire build and composite time for probably 40 shots,” says Williams. 

After $1 billion at the box office, you can't argue with the result.

You can watch Williams and others from ILM speak more about the creation of the dinosaurs in a featurette from the Academy of Motion Pictures below:

SEE ALSO: The first "Jurassic World" trailer reveals the dinosaur theme park of our nightmares

AND: Chris Pratt reveals the plot for "Jurassic World"

Join the conversation about this story »

Earlier this month, a hacker discovered that an old Nintendo game from 2011, called "Cubic Ninja," could be used to hack into the company's handheld game system, the 3DS.

Using the game, hackers could install "homebrew" software onto the 3DS. Nintendo quickly pulled it from the digital download store, according to VentureBeat. That made the game hard — but not impossible — to find. 

Homebrew refers to games, apps, emulators, etc., made by consumers and that can be downloaded onto the 3DS. Homebrew software isn't sanctioned by Nintendo. 

Some retailers are cashing in on how popular this old, (and until now) forgotten game is. You can buy a used copy of "Cubic Ninja" at GameStop for up to $39.99. On Amazon it's going for as much as $130. "Cubic Ninja" was only $5 as recently as last week, according to Polygon.

Although the fear is that the hack could make it easy for people to download pirated games, it wouldn't be possible with "Cubic Ninja." 

"I don't care if people pirate in their private lives, but I don't want to be a part of it," Jordan Rabet, the person who found the hack, tells Eurogamer. "I don't want to release something others can use to steal someone else's intellectual property. That's not what I want. I wouldn't release something that could be used for piracy ... it's just not something I want to do."

Instead he's hoping that the exploit in "Cubic Ninja" will make people want to develop more homebrew games for the 3DS. Right now he's even working on a 3DS version of "Minecraft."

It's not a surprise that Nintendo pulled "Cubic Ninja" so rapidly from its e-store. The company has a strict policy against emulators and piracy. But still, a quick firmware patch could render the game's exploiting powers useless. 

"It's just a vulnerability in a game to access a vulnerability in the system firmware. All they'd really need to do is patch the firmware and then the game doesn't even matter," Rabat says. 

SEE ALSO: There's A Really Good Reason Why The Xbox One Is Such An Enormous Device

Join the conversation about this story »

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has become an irreplaceable staple of Thanksgiving festivities. 

Every year, 3.5 million people flock to New York City to see the parade march down a two-and-a-half mile stretch of Manhattan.

Another 50 million people gather around their television sets to watch the event from home. 

What began as a small Macy's employee-run event called Macy's Christmas Parade, has morphed into a huge production that requires almost an entire year's worth of preparation.

Macy's 88th Annual Thanksgiving Day spectacle will feature appearances from Idina Menzel, KISS, and The Vamps. Six new balloons including Paddington Bear will make their debut in the parade.

Christina Austin and Jennifer Michalski contributed to this report.

The first Macy's Day Parade was on November 27 in 1924. The parade originally featured Macy's employees and live animals from the Central Park Zoo. Floats, instead of balloons, were the main attraction.

The parade began in Harlem at 145th Street and ended in front of the Macy's flagship store on 34th Street. It was originally called the Macy's Christmas Parade, but was renamed the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade in 1927.

(Above photo is from 1994)

An estimated 250,000 spectators attended the first parade. Today, about 3.5 million people attend.

(Above photo is from 2007)

Seth Rogen never had the joy of experiencing Thanksgiving until later in life.

In a new animated video on Funny or Die titled "Seth Rogen's Jewish-Canadian-American Thanksgiving," the 32-year-old actor explains, "I'm Canadian and in Canada they do celebrate Thanksgiving..."

"But for some reason my parents didn't want to do it, so they told me that Jewish people did not celebrate Thanksgiving in Canada. And I believed this, throughout my whole childhood, until I moved to the United States."

"And I was in my 20s and I would meet Canadians who had also moved to the states and Thanksgiving would come up in conversation, and I'd be like, 'Well if you're Jewish you don't celebrate Thanksgiving,' and they would be like, 'No, I'm Jewish, I celebrated Thanksgiving.'

I slowly started to realize that my parents lied to me."

"And then I finally got to do Thanksgiving with my girlfriend at the time, who is now my wife... and there was nothing not Jewish about it..."

"All you do is eat and complain!"

"So now I look back on all my missed Thanksgivings. I haven't confronted my parents yet, but I will one day."

Watch the full one-minute video below:

SEE ALSO: 11 Things You May Not Have Known About Thanksgiving

Join the conversation about this story »