It’s December, which means everyone’s doing their respective “best of” lists to celebrate everything that happened in the last 12 months. 

While we’re busy compiling our own list of the best games of 2014, YouTube user Malcolm Klock borrowed clips from many of those games and set them to music, editing everything down into a comprehensive two-minute clip.

Klock, who is a Los Angeles-based filmmaker, has grown quiteadept at creating end-of-the-year video game montages, and this one’s pretty great. You can see clips from “Mario Kart 8,” the latest “Call of Duty” and “Smash Bros.” games, and many more. Check it out below.

SEE ALSO: Even People Who Hate Games Will Be Blown Away By How Realistic This One Is

SEE ALSO: 21 Video Games We Can't Wait To Play In 2015 Read more:#ixzz3LX7nHuVV

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Michelle Miller, a former banker at JPMorgan, just landed a six-figure book deal based on her self-published online series "The Underwriting," a 12-part weekly serial found on theunderwriting.com. 

The corporate thriller is being billed as "The Social Network"-meets-"The Wolf of Wall Street" and takes place at an online dating startup, according to the AP.

The story, scheduled for a May 26 release, will take on both Silicon Valley and Wall Street and explore office politics, sex, and murder at a San Francisco startup preparing for an IPO.

Miller, who received an MBA from Stanford University, plans to write five books for the series; the Penguin Random House imprint has only acquired the first two books. 

Lauren Weisberger, author of the "The Devil Wears Prada," says of Miller's series:

Michelle Miller's debut novel reads like a salacious, ripped-from-the headlines tell-all of Manhattan's young, wealthy, and uber-successful. From the very first page, I felt like I'd met these characters in real life: Todd, the hot, rich, d-bag banker; Tara, the striver perfectionist who can't quite please everyone; Kelly, the good girl with a secret, and Josh, the creepy savant genius who just might change the world. 

What do they all have in common? A certain location-based hookup app that alters each of their lives in shocking ways. Get ready to settle in-you won't be able to put down this book.

Here's more from 'The Underwriting''s website: 

The Underwriting initially aired on this website as a 12-part weekly serial in the spring of 2014. Episodes, which took about 30 minutes to read, were released each Wednesday, free to read for 24 hours, or available for purchase as text or audio files. The series was accompanied by DJ playlists, photography, finance tutorials and brand sponsorships, and found a global audience whose loyalty to the story and its delivery was, for its author, the stuff of much skin-tingling.

"I really wanted to create a new type of publishing model," Miller told Elle magazine in March. "I wanted to create a project that mimicked the world that I was talking about, and to do that, I felt it needed to function like a start-up. So I set up an LLC, raised money from venture capitalist investors for equity, and basically, they get a piece of whatever I would’ve gotten if I had just done it as an individual writer. To me, you can invest in content the same way you can invest in an app, and maybe it works, and maybe it doesn’t."

Miller told the magazine that there a few misconceptions about Silicon Valley and Wall Street:

I worked at JPMorgan’s private bank in the Palo Alto office, so we were managing assets for the new wealth at Facebook and Instagram and Pinterest and other Silicon Valley tech companies. Wall Street is not as conniving and sexy as people think it is. And Silicon Valley is not as heroic and well-intentioned as it’s often written out to be. I find Silicon Valley to be a much more difficult place to work than Wall Street, especially as a woman. In Silicon Valley, there’s this general “I think I’m better than you” attitude. I also think that Silicon Valley gets let off the hook, because there’s almost this high school mentality of it’s mean to pick on the nerd, but at the end of the day, there are some really difficult personalities that don’t necessarily make for good companies or good working environments. It’s not all just broomball tournaments and free food and hoodies. There’s some real undiscussed tension that’s honestly like Wall Street 20 years ago. I mean you can look at company websites and you see the white dudes running the business, the immigrants doing the engineering, and cute girls doing HR and ad sales. That’s as much as you’re ever going to get as a girl there.

Watch the trailer for Miller's "The Underwriting" series below:

SEE ALSO: 30 'Bond' Women Then And Now

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Gone are the days spent at the Jersey Shore.

MTV star Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi has gone the route of Martha, Blake, and Gwyneth; getting in touch with her inner artist and "launching Nicole’s Craft Room, an Etsy store where she shills handmade mugs, candles, wine glasses and more," The New York Post reports.

And she's actually selling her crafts — the entire store is sold out.

So far The Post says she's logged 156 sales of her kitschy mugs and vases since the store opened on December 3rd.

Most of the items have phrases written on them in Polizzi's handwriting ("Jesus Take The Wheel" is a favorite.)

“So excited to have finally opened up my own etsy store! Hope you guys enjoy my stuff, because I LOVE making everything offered here!” she writes on the store’s information section.

The store currently says its getting Christmas orders out but will reopen soon.

For now, take a look at two of the crafts offered by Polizzi, which she recently Instagrammed.

This "Party like the Jersey Shore" wine glass:

And this mug giving MTV co-star and BFF JWoww a shout out:

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When an alternate ending to Emmy-winning series "Breaking Bad" leaked online late last Nov., Sony Television executives were understandably upset.

The complete series Blu-Ray and DVD collector set was about two weeks from release. The alternate ending was among the special features on the discs.

In a series of emails from Sony TV president Steve Mosko that leaked online by hackers, Sony was especially upset with ABC's "Good Morning America." 

In the emails, Mosko was warned a day in advance that "GMA" was going to air a story on the leak of the content on Nov. 18, 2013. Sony assumed GMA wouldn't use any clips from the alternate ending since the illegal clips were supposedly removed from online.

Mosko explicitly says "GMA" "will be on deep s— if they run an unauthorized clip."

The following day, 12 seconds of the unauthorized clip appeared on ABC's morning show and again subsequently on "LIVE with Kelly and Michael."

Mosko referred to the leak of the info on broadcast television as "a nightmare," especially since they knew in advance. In an email to a colleague, he asks why they didn't have the alternate ending on tighter lockdown like a "Breaking Bad" documentary feature on the disc set.

"Why didn't we fingerprint the alternative ending like the documentary?? This is a nightmare," wrote Mosko.

According to subsequent emails following the series release, the "Breaking Bad" barrel collector sets sold 27,000 in their first week on sale. 100,000 copies of the final season of the AMC series were sold on Blu-Ray and DVD.

Read the emails in full below.

SEE ALSO: David Fincher had a hilarious response to an angry email from a Sony exec

AND: Joel McHale asked Sony execs for a discount on a TV after "Community" was canceled

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More leaked Sony emails are being unearthed from the pile of data hackers dumped online, and one thread shows executives making racist jokes about movies President Barack Obama might like, BuzzFeed reports.

Before Sony Pictures co-chairwoman Amy Pascal attended a breakfast organized by DreamWorks Animation head and Democratic donor Jeffrey Katzenberg, she sent an email to movie producer Scott Rudin and wondered what she should ask Obama at the event.

Pascal said: "Should I ask him if he liked DJANGO?" to which Rudin replied: "12 YEARS," likely in reference to the movie "12 Years A Slave." Pascal then said: "Or the butler. Or think like a man? [sic]" referring to other movies featuring black men.

Rudin then speculated that Obama liked Kevin Hart, the black comedian.

BuzzFeed notes that Pascal is a major Democratic donor who supported Obama's re-election campaign.

Links to the sites in which the inboxes of Pascal and Sony Pictures president Steven Mosko were made available were posted in a message claiming to again be from the mysterious Guardians of Peace group, which has also taken credit for the previous attacks over the past two weeks.

Several embarrassing revelations have come from the Sony emails — how Sony lost a big Steve Jobs biopic to Universal, Rudin's calling actress Angelina Jolie a "spoiled brat," and "Community" star Joel McHale asking for a discounted Sony TV after the show got canceled.

NOW WATCH: This Drone Footage Of Desolate Detroit Looks Like Something From 'The Walking Dead'

SEE ALSO: 2 Sony Execs' Entire Email Boxes Got Leaked By Hackers And Now All Hell Is Breaking Loose

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The 2015 Golden Globes nominations were announced Thursday morning at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

Kate Beckinsale, Jeremy Piven, Peter Krause, and Paula Patton announced the 25 categories. 

The 72nd Golden Globes will take place Jan. 11 2015 on NBC.

Here's the full list of nominees. We'll continue to update this post.

Best Actress in a TV Series, Drama

Claire Danes, "Homeland"
Viola Davis, "How to Get Away With Murder"
Julianna Margulies, "The Good Wife"
Ruth Wilson, "The Affair"
Robin Wright, "House of Cards"

Best Actor in a TV series, Drama
Clive Owen, The Knick
Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan 
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards
James Spader, The Blacklist
Dominic West, The Affair

Best TV Series, Drama 
The Affair
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
The Good Wife
House of Cards

Best Actress in TV Series, Comedy
Lena Dunham, "Girls"
Edie Falco, "Nurse Jackie"
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "Veep"
Gina Rodriguez, "Jane the Virgin"
Taylor Schilling, "Orange is the New Black"

Best Actor in a TV Series, Comedy
Louis C.K., "Louie"
Don Cheadle, "House of Lies"
Ricky Gervais, "Derek"
William H. Macy, "Shameless"
Jeffrey Tambor, "Transparent"

Best Comedy
Girls
Jane the Virgin
Orange Is the New Black
Silicon Valley
Transparent

Best Supporting Actor in TV Miniseries or TV Movie
Matt Bomer, The Normal Heart
Alan Cumming, The Good Wife
Colin Hanks, Fargo
Bill Murray, Olive Kitteridge
Jon Voight, Ray Donovan

Best Supporting Actress in TV Miniseries or Movie
Uzo Aduba, "Orange is the New Black"
Kathy Bates, "American Horror Story"
Joanne Froggatt, "Downton Abbey"
Allison Janney, "Mom"
Michelle Monaghan, "True Detective"

Best Actor in a TV Miniseries or Movie
Martin Freeman, Fargo
Woody Harrelson, True Detective
Matthew Mcconaughey, True Detective
Mark Ruffalo, The Normal Heart
Billy Bob Thornton, Fargo

Best Actress in a TV Miniseries or Movie
Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Honorable Woman 
Jessica Lange, American Horror Story 
Frances McDormand, Olive Kitteridge 
Frances O'Connor, The Missing 
Allison Tolman, Fargo 

Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama
Jennifer Aniston, Cake
Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon, Wild

Best Motion Picture, Drama
Boyhood
Foxcatcher
The Imitation Game
Selma
The Theory of Everything

Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Jessica Chastain, A Most Violent Year
Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
Emma Stone, Birdman
Meryl Streep, Into the Woods

Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
Robert Duvall, The Judge
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Edward Norton, Birdman
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
J.K, Simmons, Whiplash

Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical
Ralph Fiennes, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Michael Keaton, Birdman
Bill Murray, St. Vincent
Joaquin Phoenix, Inherent Vice
Christoph Waltz, Big Eyes

Animated Animated Movie 
Big Hero 6
The Book of Life
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
The Lego Movie

Best Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical        
Birdman
       
The Grand Budapest Hotel
       
Into the Woods
       
Pride 
       
St. Vincent

Best screenplay, Motion Picture
Wes Anderson, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"
Gillian Flynn, "Gone Girl"
Alejandro González Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr., "Birdman"
Richard Linklater, "Boyhood"
Graham Moore, "The Imitation Game"

Best Original Song 
"Big Eyes," Big Eyes, Lana Del Rey
"Glory," Selma, John Legend and Common
"Mercy Is," Noah, Patty Smith and Lenny K
"Opportunity," Annie
"Yellow Flicker Beat," The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part I, Lorde

Best Foreign film
Force Majeure (Sweden)
Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem (France)
Ida (Poland)
Leviathan (Russia)
Tangerines (Estonia)

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If you ask the average person on the street what "Thinkbox" is, chances are they won't be able to tell you. But the UK is about to fall in love (once again) with Thinkbox's doggy mascot, Harvey, when the organization releases its latest TV ad the day after Christmas (watch it below.)

Thinkbox is a UK marketing lobby group for commercial TV. Its job is to convince advertisers and agencies — through events, research, and meetings — that TV advertising is where they should be spending their bucks.

Every now and then, Thinkbox proves its point by creating a great TV ad of its own (and it gets free TV media time from its shareholders Sky, ITV, Channel 4, Turner, and UKTV).

Later this month, Thinkbox will unleash the third and final ad in a series featuring Harvey the dog, who has been the company’s mascot since 2011 (however, he's getting a bit old for TV work).

In this spot, created by ad agency The Red Brick Road, Harvey switches on the TV to show his owner a montage of how he came to meet his new-found love, Harmony the poodle, who has just turned up with a suitcase at the door.

It’s cute and funny and is set to the soundtrack of Glenn Medeiros' "Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You." The ad ticks a lot of boxes.

Here's the ad:

SEE ALSO: People Are Complaining That The McVitie’s Fluffy Animal Ad Could Encourage People To Buy — And Then Abandon — Their Pets At Christmas

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In Lena Dunham's book "Not That Kind Of Girl," Dunham describes a sexual encounter with a man named "Barry" during her time at Oberlin College, a man who, Dunham says, sexually assaulted her.

In her book, Dunham explains that she never reported the incident to college officials or the authorities.

Like so many women, she notes, she was unclear about what had happened, and whether she was at fault for what occurred.

Shame had silenced her for a long time, but she felt her book was the perfect venue in which to speak out.

Dunham, in an essay she wrote for BuzzFeed, explains that she received a lot of backlash for that decision,

As indicated in the beginning of the book, I made the choice to keep certain identities private, changing names and some descriptive details. To be very clear, “Barry” is a pseudonym, not the name of the man who assaulted me, and any resemblance to a person with this name is an unfortunate and surreal coincidence. I am sorry about all he has experienced.

Dunham is referring to a Breitbart story by John Nolte which points out that an "easily identifiable Oberlin conservative from that era named Barry; indeed, that Barry has already been identified as the person from Dunham’s book by many people," reports The Washington Post. 

She also has a message for the media:

I have a certain empathy for the journalists who asked me questions like whether I regret how much I drank that night or what my attacker would say if he was asked about me. These ignorant lines of inquiry serve to further flawed narratives about rape, but these people are reacting to the same set of social signals that we all are — signals telling us that preventing assault is a woman’s job, that rape is only rape when a stranger drags you into a dark alley with a knife at your throat, that our stories are never true, and that lying about rape is a way for women to enact revenge on innocent men. These misconceptions about rape are rampant, destructive and precisely the thing that prevents survivors from seeking the support that they need and deserve.

You can read her full essay in BuzzFeed here.

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Racist remarks about President Obama by Sony Pictures co-chairwoman Amy Pascal and mega-producer Scott Rudin were made public Thursday in the latest leaked Sony emails.

In the email exchange, Pascal asks Rudin what she should talk about with Obama at an event organized by DreamWorks Animation head and Democratic donor, Jeffrey Katzenberg.

Pascal said: "Should I ask him if he liked DJANGO?" to which Rudin replied: "12 YEARS," likely in reference to the movie "12 Years A Slave." Pascal then said: "Or the butler. Or think like a man? [sic]" referring to other movies featuring black men.

Rudin then speculated that Obama liked Kevin Hart, a black comedian who has done numerous films with Sony.

In the wake of the emails being made public, Rudin just issued an apology to Deadline:

"Private emails between friends and colleagues written in haste and without much thought or sensitivity, even when the content of them is meant to be in jest, can result in offense where none was intended. I made a series of remarks that were meant only to be funny, but in the cold light of day, they are in fact thoughtless and insensitive — and not funny at all. To anybody I’ve offended, I’m profoundly and deeply sorry, and I regret and apologize for any injury they might have caused."

Following Rudin's apology, Pascal released a statement of her own: 

The content of my emails to Scott were insensitive and inappropriate but are not an accurate reflection of who I am. 

Although this was a private communication that was stolen, I accept full responsibility for what I wrote and apologize to everyone who was offended.

But the Obama email wasn't the only one Rudin and Pascal are probably regretting right about now.

In other leaked exchanges, Rudin calls Angelina Jolie a "spoiled brat" with "a rampaging spoiled ego" and even blasts Pascal for "behaving abominably" while handling the Steve Jobs project that Sony ultimately lost to Universal.

On Wednesday, Rudin told the New York Times:

"This is not about salacious emails being batted around by Gawker and Defamer. It’s about a criminal act, and the people behind it should be treated as nothing more nor less than criminals."

The FBI is currently investigating the series of cyber hacks at Sony, but say the attack is so sophisticated that it would have gotten past "90%" of firms.

SEE ALSO: LEAKED: Sony Execs Made Racist Jokes About Movies Obama Might Like

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Royal baby buzz is once again sweeping the globe.

England's Prince William and Kate Middleton announced that they would welcome a second child in September, after Prince George was born in July 2013. And Charlene Wittstock, wife of Prince Albert II of Monaco, gave birth to twins on December 10, 2014.

But there are plenty of other princes and princesses who will carry on their royal bloodlines alongside these young princes and princesses.

From Monaco to Swaziland, the next generation of future queens and kings are involved in everything from charity work to camel-racing.

Here are 17 young royals who will someday take over the world.

Ana Douglas, Julie Zeveloff, and Jennifer Polland contributed to this story.

Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana of Thailand

27-year-old Princess Sirivannavari is the daughter of the Crown Prince Maha Vajralongkorn and granddaugther of the current King of Thailand, Bhumibol Adulyadej.

She was educated at Chalalongkorn University, where she received a degree in Fine Arts. She has since been invited to Paris Fashion Week and is often in the front row at runway shows. She sells her own designs in Asia.

Prince Carl Philip, Prince of Sweden, Duke of Värmland

The dashing Prince Carl Philip is 35 years old, and third in line for the Swedish throne.

Before attending college at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, he completed his military duties at the Swedish National Defense College.

He's the brother of Princess Madeline, and his hobbies include skiing, race car driving, and graphic design.

Charlotte Marie Pomeline Casiraghi of Monaco

26-year-old Charlotte is seventh in line to the Monaco throne. Her grandparents were the late Prince Rainier and Grace Kelly, the late Princess Grace of Monaco.

Besides her good looks, Princess Charlotte is known as an accomplished equestrian and has competed in show jumping tours around the world.

In 2010, she was named as the official equestrian ambassador for Gucci, which designs competition clothes exclusively for her.

She caused a scandal in 2012 by riding in red face with face paint, a headband, choker necklace, and feather earrings.

The budget of the new Bond movie, "Spectre," has been revealed as emails from the massive Sony hack continue to leak online.

CNNMoney reports the movie, distributed by Sony and Columbia Pictures and MGM, is expected to cost over $300 million, making it one of the most expensive movies ever made.

Via CNNMoney:

MGM president Jonathan Glickman sent emails in early November explaining how the studio is scrambling to cut costs.

He says the current budget "sits in the mid $300Ms," but the studio has to drastically cut back to $250 million. And the shooting period already costs $50 million more than the previous film, "Skyfall."

2012's "Skyfall" cost an estimated $200 million to make. The film made over $1 billion worldwide at the box office. No doubt Sony and MGM are hoping this one will be as big of a hit.

Without inflation, 2007's "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" is the most expensive movie ever made at $300 million. 

What really stands out is a line from Sony Pictures co-chair Amy Pascal in which she says the film had no script but already had a massive, inflated budget.

Here's what she said in a direct email to Glickman:

"It's insane and you know with no script this movie is gonna go overbudget."

CNNMoney reports Glickman suggested measures to cut costs which include filming a Rome villa in London because "it's a nighttime scene," tossing out a "dramatic finale in the rain" to lower the cost of special effects, and filming more in Mexico to receive "an extra $6 million" in what are most likely tax incentives to film there.

In addition, the casting of Andrew Scott, known for BBC miniseries "Sherlock," reportedly saved $1 million in costs. They were planning on casting Oscar-nominated Chiwetel Ejiofor instead.

CNN has a few other tidbits involving plot spoilers about characters in the film that I won't mention here. 

"Spectre" started production Monday, Dec. 8 and will be released Nov. 6, 2015.

Read more at CNN.

SEE ALSO: The full "Spectre" cast

More on the Sony hack:  Joel McHale asked Sony execs for a discount on a TV after "Community" was originally canceled

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Kevin Hart has a whopping 10 million Instagram followers and 14.4 million followers on Twitter — but getting the actor/comedian to promote his latest projects on social media apparently doesn't come cheap.

In new leaked Sony emails on Gawker, it's revealed that Hart asked for additional funds from Sony to write a Tweet promoting his film (possibly "Think Like a Man Too"), in addition to the $3 million paycheck he got for the movie.

In an email exchange between Sony Pictures co-chair Amy Pascal, studio exec Clint Culpepper, and Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton, Culpepper writes, "I’m not saying he’s a whore, but he’s a whore."

Culpepper continues:

It's not as if we paid him 3M and 4M respectively for his last 2 films thinking he might be nominated. We paid for his ability to open a film which included his social media savvy. I feel like this is something that should be negotiated going into the film as opposed to after the fact. It feels tantamount to buying a car and then upon picking it up being told that the engine will cost extra.

I'm tempted to suggest we call his bluff. If he doesn't do his normal routine, his film will not open as well and his brand will appear diminished and he will- in fact - be f------ himself because we have his next 2 immediate films. And then there's the social media precedent we're setting...especially in light of the fact that Channing is at the same agency.

Deadline's Mike Fleming Jr. explains that Culpepper's strong comments may have been taken out of context and his tone misinterpreted over email:

Culpepper’s salty wit is something he wears on his sleeve, and I understand he and Hart spoke and laughed it off. The relationship they have isn’t reflected in the leaked reports, and so the report, especially when taken out of context, seems like a vitally important revelation. Guess what? It isn’t. The fact is, it’s not uncommon for them to talk to each other like that, or for Culpepper to talk to most people in Hollywood like that. 

Hart has a longstanding relationship with Sony/Screen Gems, doing six past successful films with the studio, including "Think Like A Man" (which raked in over $91 million at the box office), "Think Like A Man Too" ( $65 million), and "About Last Night ($48 million).

SEE ALSO: 2 Sony Execs' Entire Email Boxes Got Leaked By Hackers And Now All Hell Is Breaking Loose

MORE: After Sony's 'Community' Was Canceled, Star Joel McHale Asked For A Discount On A Sony TV

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Sony Pictures co-chairwoman Amy Pascal stayed silent when thousands of the studio's employees' personal info like Social Security numbers were made public, when her private email inbox was hacked to reveal an explosive exchange with producer Scott Rudin, and when the real story leaked of how Sony lost a Steve Jobs biopic to Universal.

But there's one thing Pascal felt she needed to address — racist remarks she exchanged with Rudin about US President Barack Obama.

In an email exchange leaked Thursday, the two joked that Obama would like movies like "Django Unchained," "12 Years A Slave," and "The Butler," referring to recent movies featuring black men.

After the comments were made public, Pascal said in a statement Thursday:

The content of my emails to Scott were insensitive and inappropriate but are not an accurate reflection of who I am.

Although this was a private communication that was stolen, I accept full responsibility for what I wrote and apologize to everyone who was offended.

Earlier in the day, Rudin also apologized for his remarks, saying:

Private emails between friends and colleagues written in haste and without much thought or sensitivity, even when the content of them is meant to be in jest, can result in offense where none was intended. I made a series of remarks that were meant only to be funny, but in the cold light of day, they are in fact thoughtless and insensitive — and not funny at all. To anybody I’ve offended, I'm profoundly and deeply sorry, and I regret and apologize for any injury they might have caused.

The apologies comes as Sony braces for Thursday night's premiere of "The Interview," the Seth Rogen and James Franco comedy that was denounced by North Korea for its depiction of leader Kim Jong-un. North Korea has been speculated to have been complicit in the series of scary cyberattacks against the studio.

SEE ALSO: Hollywood Mega-Producer Apologizes For Racist Obama Comments In Leaked Emails

MORE: 2 Sony Execs' Entire Email Boxes Got Leaked By Hackers And Now All Hell Is Breaking Loose

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"Inherent Vice" is sure to be labeled Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Big Lebowski," another sprawling and goofy crime comedy. While that comparison is certainly apt, his take on the comedic film noir stands entirely on its own. Based on Thomas Pynchon's novel, it's part throwback to '70s neo-noir, part stoner comedy, and its inspired madness is effectively brought to life thanks to Anderson's assured direction.

The film follows hippie detective Larry "Doc" Sportello (Joaquin Phoenix) as he investigates the mysterious disappearance of a former girlfriend. The film takes place in 1970, when the hippie movement was slowing to a standstill as Richard Nixon and his "silent majority" took hold of the country. 

Anderson is the first director to ever tackle a novel by Pynchon, a notoriously complex and heady writer. The resulting film is anything but traditional and is sure to leave plenty of viewers scratching their heads over what the hell they just watched.

Seemingly justifying the occasionally incoherent narrative, at a panel following the film's premiere in New York, Anderson stated: "I never remember plots of movies. I remember how they make me feel." 

"Inherent Vice" is steeped in Charles Manson-era hippie paranoia. In this world, according to the powers that be, everyone with shoulder-length hair and a vague patchouli stench is a lunatic cult-member ready to attack Americans at a moment's notice. The film's protagonist falls into this category, which make his attempts at solving this confusing affair even more difficult, no matter how professional he tries to be. 

I can't recall one scene in the entire movie that doesn't feature Phoenix; it's essentially a one-man show starring a pot-smoking hippie who obliviously stumbles from one major clue to the next.

The real comedy in the film stems from the fact that Sportello is caught up in a conspiracy that he can barely understand, let alone solve. It's pure joy to watch Phoenix trip his way through solving the elaborate mystery, and all of his exchanges with Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro are hilarious. Every supporting role appears to have been filled with a perfectly capable A-lister, so even the more insignificant characters are intriguing in their own way. Plenty of laughs stem from Phoenix's physicality, and it's astounding what he can accomplish with simply a look (a scene with a frozen banana scene had me and the audience howling). 

The dialogue is full of hippie slang (try and count the number of times you catch someone utter "far out" or "right on") that helps establish the setting and mood, and Sportello's sheer indifference to his surroundings really drives the whole "stoner hippie" angle home. Sportello is constantly referred to as a "doper," and it truly fits — the man smokes more joints in the film's two and a half hours than most people do throughout four years in college. 

There are a few sequences that bend reality and feel hallucinatory, ensuring we're never quite sure what Sportello is really seeing. Pynchon's words are brought to the screen through narration by the quirky folk singer Joanna Newsom whose musings only add to all the uncertainty. The narrative is purposefully muddled and disorienting, as the audience sees things from Sportello's unreliable point of view. 

The film is often weird for the sake of being weird and only gets more bizarre as it moves along; by the time Martin Short shows up in a hilarious cameo, the film has already gone off the deep end. 

"Inherent Vice" looks nothing like Anderson's other recent works — the beautifully composed and breathtaking cinematography that fills "There Will Be Blood" and "The Master" is replaced by a tighter, grainy look that focuses more on close-ups than lush establishing shots. This helps keep the audience confined to Sportello, as we see the world just as he does through the smoke-filled haze. As if the film's noir aesthetic weren't enough, there's even a shadowy scene in a dark, sketchy alley to really drive it home. 

What makes the film so unique is how all these different elements combine to form something that's greater than the sum of its parts. It has many functions; it's an homage to old-school film noir/neo-noir, a goofy stoner comedy, and a compelling mediation on America in the late '60s/early '70s. On paper, it sounds like a total trainwreck, but in the hands of one of the greatest living filmmakers, it's actually one of the best movies of the year. 

"Inherent Vice" opens in limited release on December 12th and expands nationwide on January 9th, 2015.

SEE ALSO: Watch Joaquin Phoenix Go Nuts In First Trailer For Paul Thomas Anderson's 'Inherent Vice'

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"Like most Americans, I spent the '60s, '70s, and part of the '80s in awe of Bill Cosby and his total domination of popular culture," Beverly Johnson, the first black model to appear on the cover of Vogue, writes in Vanity Fair.

Her admiration, however, quickly turned turn to fear one night in the mid-'80s. Cosby, now 77, invited Johnson to his home where he allegedly gave her a drugged drink and assaulted her.

Johnson's story continues the wave of sexual-assault allegations that resurfaced last month after another comedian targeted Cosby during a taped set that went viral.

Johnson and Cosby's interactions began when the respected comedian wanted her to audition for a role on "The Cosby Show." Johnson, then in the middle of a custody battle and waiting for her "big break," jumped at the chance to play even a small part. 

She first attended a taping and met the cast. Cosby seemed "genuinely interested in guiding [her] to the next level. [She] was on cloud nine." Johnson even brought her daughter to the next taping. 

After a few more interactions, Cosby invited Johnson to his home to read lines for the part. After dinner that night, he strangely insisted Johnson enjoy a cappuccino from his personal machine. She tried to refuse at first, explaining caffeine kept her up at night. But Cosby persisted. "It’s nuts, I know, but it felt oddly inappropriate arguing with Bill Cosby so I took a few sips of the coffee just to appease him," Johnson writes. 

As a model in the '70s, Johnson admits she experimented with drugs. She knew what a mood-altering substance felt like. In her words (emphasis ours):

I knew by the second sip of the drink Cosby had given me that I’d been drugged — and drugged good ... My head became woozy, my speech became slurred, and the room began to spin nonstop.

Johnson soon felt her body go entirely limp. Switching into survival mode, she starting calling Cosby a "motherf-----." With the drug taking full hold, she barely remembers what happened next: 

I recall his seething anger at my tirade and then him grabbing me by my left arm hard and yanking all 110 pounds of me down a bunch of stairs as my high heels clicked and clacked on every step. I feared my neck was going to break with the force he was using to pull me down those stairs.

At that point, Cosby allegedly dragged her outside his brownstone and "shoved" her into a cab. 

Cosby's attorney reportedly did not respond to Vanity Fairy's requests for comment. 

Johnson awoke the next day in her own apartment with no memory of how she arrived there. It took days for the drug to fully wear off, and her mind kept questioning whether her actions encouraged Cosby to try and take advantage of her.

Johnson had always wanted to confront Cosby, she writes, although she never did. Even when she started to consider going public with her story, she thought, "Black men have enough enemies out there already." 

But after Barbara Bowman told her horrific story to the Washington Post in October and Johnson's longtime friend and fellow model Janice Dickinson did the same, Johnson knew the time had come. In her words: 

Finally, I reached the conclusion that the current attack on African American men has absolutely nothing to do at all with Bill Cosby. He brought this on himself when he decided he had the right to have his way with who knows how many women over the last four decades. If anything, Cosby is distinguished from the majority of black men in this country because he could depend on the powers that be for support and protection.

Many of Cosby's accusers have said that the comedian lured them in with promises of career help and mentorship, then gave them pills to make them immobile so he could assault them. The allegations span decades — some dating back to 1969 and one as recent as 2004.

"The allegations are strung together by perceptible patterns that appear and reappear with remarkable consistency: mostly young, white women without family nearby; drugs offered as palliatives; resistance and pursuit; accusers worrying that no one would believe them; lifelong trauma," according to a comprehensive report from the Washington Post. "There is also a pattern of intense response by Cosby’s team of attorneys and publicists, who have used the media and the courts to attack the credibility of his accusers." 

Cosby has denied the claims.

Check out the entire Vanity Fair article »

NOW WATCH: Bill Nye: This Scientific Fact That Blows My Mind

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The Rev. Al Sharpton sharply condemned Sony Pictures co-chairwoman Amy Pascal's racially insensitive remarks from leaked emailed that were published by BuzzFeed Thursday.

Notably, Sharpton compared Pascal to Donald Sterling, the former LA Clippers owner who made his own infamous racial remarks in a leaked tape earlier this year. Facing intense pressure, Sterling ultimately sold the team.

"These emails nominate Amy Pascal to be considered by some of us in the same light that we concluded and moved on the ownership of Donald Sterling of the L.A. Clippers," Sharpton, an influential civil rights advocate, said in a statement Thursday afternoon.

In her emails, Pascal and producer Scott Rudin joked about which African-American-themed movies President Barack Obama would like. They apologized after the messages were made public.

"The content of my emails to Scott were insensitive and inappropriate but are not an accurate reflection of who I am," Pascal said. "Although this was a private communication that was stolen, I accept full responsibility for what I wrote and apologize to everyone who was offended."

Sharpton, however, was not satisfied with the mea culpa and said there is a larger issue of diversity in Hollywood studios. 

"What is most troubling about these statements is that they reflect a continued lack of diversity in positions of power in major Hollywood studios," he said. "The statements clearly show how comfortable major studio powers are with racial language and marginalization. Her apology is not enough there must be moves by her studio and others to respect the African American community and reflect that respect in their hiring and business practices."

The emails were leaked as part of a massive cybersecurity attack targeting Sony that some believe is linked to the movie "The Interview." The movie lampoons North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. North Korea has furiously objected to the movie leading to speculation it may be involved in the hacking. 

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Disney revealed on Thursday the names of a few of the new characters from the new Star Wars movie, The Force Awakens.

Entertainment Weekly got the exclusive from Disney, but here's a look at the names. They're the characters we saw in the teaser trailer that came out a few weeks ago.

Let's break it down.

This little droid is BB-8.

The X-Wing pilot from the trailer, played by Oscar Isaac, is Poe Dameron.

The villain is Kylo Ren.

Daisy Ridley will play Rey. She's likely one of the leads of the new film.

John Boyega plays Finn. He's probably the other lead.

There are several other new characters in the film, but we don't know their names yet. Here's a look at the full cast though.

SEE ALSO: An explanation for everything you see in the new Star Wars trailer

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Disney released the names of a few new Star Wars characters on Thursday.

One of them is the name of the bad guy, the scary-looking dude with a tri-blade lightsaber that we saw in the teaser trailer that came out a few weeks ago.

Him:

It turns out his name is Kylo Ren.

But there's something wrong with that name. Kylo Ren is using a red lightsaber, which is what the Sith, the evil Jedi who follow the Dark Side of the Force, use. But all Sith also have the title "Darth" in front of their name. (Think Darth Vader, Darth Maul, Darth Sidious, and Darth Tyranus from earlier movies.)

So why isn't he Darth Kylo Ren?

Weird!

Let's speculate a bit.

It's possible Kylo Ren isn't a Sith quite yet. The Sith rules say there can only be two at a time, the master and the apprentice. When one dies, the other one becomes the master and finds a new apprentice. But at the end of Return of the Jedi, both the master (Darth Sidious/Emperor Palpatine) and his apprentice (Darth Vader) die, effectively destroying the Sith.

So it's very possible that Kylo Ren is the first of the new generation of Sith and has yet to adopt the "Darth" title. 

Or it's possible the Sith are gone for good and the Dark Side followers just call themselves whatever they please.

Remember, the title of the new Star Wars movie is "The Force Awakens," which could mean a lot of people across the galaxy are just discovering they can use the Force. Some of those will probably fall to the Dark Side like our friend Kylo Ren.

SEE ALSO: An explanation for everything you see in the new Star Wars trailer

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A Cuban music producer named Rajko Bozic was hired with funding from the U.S. government to reach out to rap group Los Aldeanos.

The government believed that the influence of the group could help Cuban youth "break the information blockade" set in place by the country's government.

Produced by Alex Kuzoian. Video courtesy of the Associated Press.

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Years before Napster, MySpace, and SoundCloud, there was another place on the web where independent musicians uploaded their music for all to hear.

It was called the Internet Underground Music Archive, or IUMA, and it was kind of a big deal in musician circles in the early 1990s, especially in Northern California. It was founded in Santa Cruz in 1993, before web browsers were even a mainstream thing and uploading a single song took forever.

Writer Caleb Garling went back and interviewed one of the founders, Jeff Patterson, and talked to some of the musicians who used the early service. There were some successes, like punk-ska band Sublime, which used the action it was getting on IUMA to get a label deal.

But it's a bittersweet story because the technology was so far ahead of its time — with much faster download speeds available today, Soundcloud gets more than 12 hours of new music posted every single minute. 

But back then, not enough people were willing to suffer through slow upload and download times to share their music. Then, as Napster took off, the business case for IUMA disappeared — nobody wanted to invest in a company that made it so easy to share music. It limped along for a few years, got sold twice, and finally shut down for good in 2006.

It's a great story of the early days of the Internet, and a reminder that new startup ideas rely as much on timing and luck as on vision.

Read the whole story here>>

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