President Barack Obama told CNN's Candy Crowley Friday that the unprecedented attack against Sony Pictures Entertainment was a mere act of "cybervandalism" rather than cyberterrorism or even an act of war.

Crowley landed an interview with Obama on Friday after a press conference that addressed a number of issues, including North Korean hackers' cyberattack of Sony. That hack was an aggressive effort to get Sony to stop the release of the satire "The Interview," which depicted the assassination of North Korea's dictator Kim Jong-un.

Obama's comments to Crowley appeared to downplay the seriousness of the Sony hack, which released troves of sensitive and sometimes embarrassing internal documents onto the internet. During his press conference, Obama criticized Sony for canceling the theatrical release of "The Interview," which was supposed to come out Christmas Day. 

Crowley's interview with Obama will air in full this weekend, and she described the interview (and Obama's "cybervandalism" description) in a teaser on the air Friday night.

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Sony pulled the plug on the North Korea-mocking movie, “The Interview," on Dec. 17. The film was set to release on Dec. 25.

The decision was made a day after a hacking group called Guardians of Peace (GOP), which claims to be responsible for the hacks, threatened to attack theaters showing the movie.

Although North Korea still denies it, FBI has concluded the North Korean government was behind these attacks.

But on the same day the movie was pulled — Dec. 17 — North Koreans were observing the end of a three-year mourning period of their late leader Kim Jong Il, the father of Kim Jong-un.

Traditionally, North Koreans observe the death of a parent for two years. But South Korean TV broadcaster KBS says North Korea extended the official mourning period to three years out of respect for their "national hero." 

This year's official mourning ceremony was more special than others. It took place at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, the public square where the mausoleum for Kim Jong Il and his father Kim Il-sung is. It was held indoors the last two years.

North Korean TVs showed the mourning ceremony all day. No alcohol drinking or excessive entertainment activity were allowed for days.

In other words, it was a big day in North Korea. And a very sensitive time.

So what does this all mean? 

Sony, at the outset, may not have picked a great time to release a movie making fun of North Korea. 

In fact, leading up to the three-year mourning period, the North Korean government is reported to have doubled down on all kinds of security measures, according to Radio Free Asia. That includes banning any type of travels, bringing back most overseas government officials, and tracking cellphones to spot any illegal calls. 

RFA also recently said many North Korean expats have started to carry two cellphones because they’re afraid the North Korean government might be tapping into their calls. All expats are required to register their phones with the government, and if any of those phones were found to have messenger apps like Kakao Talk or WeChat, they would get arrested for suspicious activity, it says.

KBS says North Korean press had hyped up the Dec. 17 ceremony for months to make it look like the official start of the “Kim Jong-un Era.” The reason they had the ceremony outdoors was also to show the world that Kim Jong-un has finally arrived, it says.

Still, it’s hard to say there’s any real evidence correlating the two events. But it’s also not hard to see why North Korea was so ticked off by the movie. Does that justify the hacking, which may or may not have been perpetrated by North Korea? Absolutely not. But would that have led to the Sony hacking? Who knows?

Here are some photos of North Koreans bowing on the street on Dec. 17 to show respect to Kim Jong Il:

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Seth Rogen fans may want to thank President Barack Obama this weekend.

When Obama called Sony's decision to cancel Rogen's movie, "The Interview," "a mistake" at his year-end news conference on Friday, he may have guaranteed the movie will leave the studio's vault.

Almost immediately after Obama's remarks, some industry experts speculated the president's strongly-worded comments would get Sony to reverse its decision to pull the comedy about North Korea.

The movie studio called off "The Interview's" scheduled Dec. 25 opening on Wednesday following a massive cyber hack that included several Sony films leaking, the release of internal emails, employees' data, and threats of terrorist attacks against theaters that played the movie.

Along with the leaked documents the hackers released statements saying they objected to the way "The Interview" mocks North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Both Obama and the FBI have said there is evidence linking the attack to North Korea.

In his press conference, Obama slammed Sony for setting a bad precedent with their decision to cancel the movie.

"We cannot have a society in which some dictator some place can start imposing censorship here in the United States," the president said, later adding, "I wish they had spoken to me first. I would have told them do not get into a pattern in which you're intimidated by these kinds of criminal attacks."

Right after Obama spoke, David Poland of the Hollywood industry blog Movie City News predicted the president's statement would force Sony to make a reversal. 

"Obama calling the pulling of 'The Interview' 'a mistake' pretty much assures a release," Poland wrote on Twitter. "Though Christmas Day might be too soon functionally."

Brent Lang, the senior film and media reporter with Hollywood trade magazine Variety, told Business Insider he agreed Obama "definitely" had an impact on the studio.

"How could he not have? He's the president," said Lang. "That's terrible publicity for Sony. He basically called them out on television, the president of the United States."

In the wake of Obama's comments, Lang said he believes there's a "better than 50% chance they'll release the film."

"I don't think it's going to come out on Dec. 25 like it was supposed to. They've now started to pull their television and their other ads," Lang explained. "But at some point, in some way, people will see this movie."

Indeed, following the president's remarks,  Sony Entertainment CEO and Sony Pictures Entertainment chairman and CEO Michael Lynton issued a pair of statements wherein he seemed to back track from a vow the studio made on Wednesday that it had "no further" plans to release the movie in any format. Lynton's response to Obama also seemed to blame the decision on movie theater chains that declined to show the film after the hackers made terrorist threats.

"Let us be clear – the only decision that we have made with respect to release of the film was not to release it on Christmas Day in theaters, after the theater owners declined to show it," said Lynton. "Without theaters, we could not release it in the theaters on Christmas Day. We had no choice."

Along with the pressure from Obama, Lang attributed Sony's apparent reversal to massive backlash from other critics like the actors George Clooney and Rob Lowe who were outraged by the studio's decision to pull the movie. Lang said the anger over the studio's decision was amplified when the government confirmed the hack was linked to North Korea.

"It subsequently sort of came to light who was behind the hack and I think it became more of an issue about free speech than maybe Sony even realized it was going to become. So, now they're facing a lot of blowback that maybe they didn't anticipate," Lang said. "They really, as a studio, they don't want to be in a position where they're on the side of censorship."

Lang attributed Sony's seemingly shifting plans for the film to watching them "trying to figure out a situation in real time." 

"They are sort of changing their mind in real time because it's such an unprecedented situation. There's not really like a crisis management script they can refer to. It's so beyond what an entertainment company normally deals with," said Lang. "They didn't anticipate the vitriolic response that they received and now theyre trying to salvage what they can of their brand and what it stands for."

Even though Sony appears to be backing down from the decision to cancel "The Interview," not everyone believes critics, even the president, played a defining role.

Jeff Sneider, a film reporter at Hollywood industry website The Wrap, told Business Insider he doesn't think Sony ever really planned to shelve "The Interview."

"It was always going to come out eventually, one day, in some form or another," Sneider said. "I don't think Obama ensured its release any more than Clooney did."

Sneider said he believes Sony was merely was merely buying time to allow for an investigation of the matter. He also theorized the studio was loathe to risk an attack on a theater, which after the specific threats made by the hackers, could result in tremendous legal liability.

"To think this movie will never be released is naive. It will definitely come out and it will definitely be in 2015. They've got to give the government time to investigate and catch these bastards," said Sneider. "It was wise to take a time out and pull the movie. It was the only thing they could do. Why take the risk of something happening. It's not worth it!"

Sneider also predicted the publicity from the hack will make "The Interview" a success, whether in theaters or in a video on demand format.

"The publicity will help the box office performance if they opt for a theatrical release," Sneider said. "It may very well go VOD and that'd be the end of it, but I predict it would be the most successful VOD release of all-time."

For his part, Lang thinks Sony genuinely considered pulling the movie. He argued that strategy is based on the studio's bottom line. Lang, who broke the news the cancellation would leave Sony with a loss of about $75 million in costs associated with the film, suggested Sony executives may have felt they could recoup more through their insurance policies than a VOD release.

"From my understanding they could probably have made about half of their production back through insurance or terror coverage," Lang explained. "I think the high watermark for VOD is like $20 million. This would probably have been the biggest VOD title of all time just given the awareness around it, but ... by the time you cut in the cable operator, whoever it is who's distributing it, you're not going to make the money back. It's just not feasible. So, they probably took a look at those numbers and figured insurance was the better way to go."

Lang also noted "The Interview" wasn't a big budget blockbuster, Oscar contender, or major franchise.

"At a certain point, they can't stand to lose more money and risk the security of their employees and stuff just to release this comedy, which is a fairly small movie. This isn't 'Interstellar,'" said Lang. "It's a fairly small movie to begin with and the damages associated with this are so dispropritonate to the cost of this film and its revenues. I mean this is a company." 

However, those calculations may have changed for Sony due to the pressure from the president and other critics along with the ensuing public relations damage.

Still, though the film now has a ton of free publicity, Lang doesn't think it will be a moneymaker for the studio — even if the theater chains have a change of heart that lets Sony can give the movie a traditional release rather than an on demand one.

Lang pointed out the studio's losses from this hack were not confined to the costs associated with "The Interview." The leaked personal information led to legal woes and the publication of internal emails could have caused intrapersonal drama that might pose issues for other future projects, among other complications associated with the attack. 

"'The Interview' could be phenomenally successful, but it's doubtful that it will be successful enough to make up for all the lost revenue, for all the lost operations, the cost in legal liabilities, the cost in repairing their cybersecurity network, and the cost in repairing their brand damage," Lang said. "So, even if the film is succsessful, it won't be successful, basically." 

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On Friday, President Obama addressed the Sony hack, telling reporters the studio "made a mistake" by canceling the Christmas Day premiere of "The Interview," which depicted the assassination of North Korea's dictator Kim Jong-un.

"I wish [Sony] had spoken to me first," he said. "I would have told them do not get into a pattern where you're intimidated by these kinds of criminal attacks."

Sony CEO Michael Lynton responded to Obama's remarks by saying that the studio "did not cave" and that "the president, the press, and the public are mistaken as to what actually happened."

It sounds like everyone, even those involved, may still be confused by what actually did happen and now the situation has turned into a game of he-said/she-said between Sony and the White House.

After Friday's press conference, Lynton further contradicted Obama’s criticism in his first interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaraia, airing Sunday.

"We definitely spoke to a senior advisor in the White House to talk about the situation," Lynton confirmed. "The White House was certainly aware of the situation."

According to Deadline, "Sony also consulted with the US State Department before the November hacking attack to assess any potential political heat the Seth Rogen/James Franco comedy might provoke. Lynton said Sony went to experts, think tanks, and the State Department 'to get an understanding of whether or not there was a problem' with the comedy about two bumbling journalists sent to assassinate North Korea’s Kim Jong Un."

But the White House allegedly told Sony all was fine. "We were told there wasn’t a problem, so we continued to proceed," Lynton said Friday in the pre-taped interview with CNN. "The US government told us there wasn’t a problem."

But then there was a problem -- Sony Entertainment was brutally hacked by a group calling themselves "Guardians of Peace," who wouldn't stop releasing private information about the company until the studio promised to stop the Christmas Day release of "The Interview." When Sony didn't back down, major theater chains did, refusing to show the controversial film, and then Sony pulled the movie from a theatrical release.

According to Obama, he never got a call from Sony specifically asking whether it should pull "The Interview" from theaters.

Obama spoke to CNN's Candy Crowley after his press conference Friday, who relayed that Obama said: "They [Sony] called about the hacking... there was not discussions about distributing or not distributing."

Obama also told Crowley that had he been approached by Sony, he would have personally talked to the movie theater chains about sticking with the Dec. 25 release date, according to Variety.

A senior administration official who spoke to Variety on condition of anonymity said: "There was a meeting, and they [Sony] did present to the government their issue. But to say that we instructed them, or made them to believe that we endorsed the idea of them pulling the film, is categorically incorrect. The administration, and no administration, is in the habit of instructing businesses what to do or not do or how to conduct their business."

The official added that it "defies logic" that the administration would have told the studio to pull the movie, as it would be a "bad idea."

On Friday, Lynton confirmed that Sony is still "looking into release on other platforms" and "It is still our hope that anyone who wants to see this movie will get the opportunity to do so."

SEE ALSO: OBAMA: Sony 'Made A Mistake'

MORE: SONY: No VOD Distributor Will Release 'The Interview'

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After more than five years and more than 600 million views, YouTube superstar Bethany Mota's legion of fans have gotten to know her pretty well.

But when we caught up with Mota at the IGNITION 2014 event she revealed two things her fans might be surprised to learn about her.

Produced by Graham Flanagan

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What happens when you combine the faces of 400 CEOs? 

A startling picture of just how similar, and pale, our modern leaders are.

SumoCoupon, the money-saving coupon company, used the face-manipulation software Psychomorph to "average" the faces of 400 executives in 10 different industries, from nonprofits to entertainment to transportation. They also averaged the age and income of CEOs in each industry. 

Some of the results are to be expected (e.g., startup CEOs are about 15 years younger than the rest), while others are more surprising (female leaders in politics seem to have shorter hair than the other women).

See the images below.

NOW WATCH: Couples Therapist Reveals The Key To Having A Good Sex Life

SEE ALSO: Google Has An Embarrassing Diversity Problem

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Nikki Williams, a singer-songwriter based in South Africa, tweeted early Saturday morning that her Uber driver “tried to grab and kiss on me in my own driveway.”

Williams says she fought off her driver and reported the incident to Uber. 

The ridesharing company was swift to respond, deactivating the driver and providing the following statement to Mashable:

Uber has zero tolerance for this behavior, and we apologize to Ms. Williams for this terrible experience. We immediately deactivated the driver, and have begun an investigation.

We’ve reached out to Uber for more information and we’ll update the story if we learn more from the company.

This is just the latest in a string of alleged incidents against Uber drivers. A Boston-based Uber driver was arrested this week for allegedly kidnapping and raping a passenger on Dec. 6, and an Uber driver in India allegedly raped a female passenger last week.

In response to these incidents, Uber outlined several steps it is considering to increase the safety of its global operations, including research into biometrics and voice verification to improve its screenings of drivers.

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The hacker group who broke into the computer network of Sony Pictures and managed to halt the release of 'The Interview' have issued a new message, this time mocking the FBI. 

The Daily Beast reports that Guardians of Peace published a new message on Pastebin on Saturday. Here's that message in its entirety:

By GOP

The result of investigation by FBI is so excellent that you might have seen what we were doing with your own eyes.

We congratulate you success.

FBI is the BEST in the world.

You will find the gift for FBI at the following address.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiRacdl02w4

Enjoy!

The link in the message leads to a Japanese prank video which repeats the phrase "You are an idiot" to the tune of throbbing house music. It seems that Guardians of Peace are mocking the FBI's "excellent" investigation, which led to the US government declaring on Friday that North Korea was behind the cyber-attack.

The "You are an idiot" video could be an attempt to criticize the FBI for blaming the Sony hack on North Korea. Some are still unconvinced by the US government's claim that the software used in the Sony hack was similar to programs used in the past by attacks linked to North Korea.

US authorities found the evidence to be overwhleming enough to call out North Korea directly, and President Obama has vowed to respond to the attack.

SEE ALSO: Obama May Have Forced Sony To Release 'The Interview'

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Sony Entertainment's lawyer said on Meet The Press Sunday that the company will find a way to release "The Interview" after it decided not to premiere the film in theaters on Christmas Day.

The lawyer, David Boies, called Sony's decision a "delay" in the movie's release and implied that it hasn't been shelved for good. But Boies said Sony doesn't know how it'll end up distributing the movie.

"Sony only delayed this," Boies said. "Sony has been fighting to get this pciture distributed. It will be distributed. How it's going to be distributed I don't think anyone knows quite yet."

This contradicts earlier Sony statements that made it seem like the movie would never be released, not even online or through video on demand services.

On Friday, Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton told CNN that the company didn't "cave" to the hacker group Guardians of Peace (GOP) by canceling "The Interview" premiere. Instead, he said Sony made the decision because the top theater chains wouldn't show the theater after the GOP threatened the safety of people who go see the movie.

Before that, President Obama told reporters at a news conference that Sony made a "mistake" by caving to the GOP's demands and not allowing "The Interview" to premiere. That echoed a sentiment from many pundits that Sony set a bad precedent proving that hackers groups can control US corporations by threatening hacks.

Also on Friday, the FBI said there's enough evidence to link North Korea to the GOP and the hacks on Sony.

Here's the full clip from Boies' interview on Meet The Press:

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From explosives to LEGO bricks to actual human tears, artists in 2014 stepped away from traditional mediums to showcase their talents.

Here are 7 of the most unique exhibits that were on display this year.

Produced by Alex Kuzoian. Video courtesy of Associated Press.

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Billionaire Mark Cuban was one of many people whose emails were exposed during a massive cyber attack on Sony.

Sony produces ABC's hit show "Shark Tank," and Cuban is one of the judges.

A leaked email shows that Sony wanted to pay Cuban $30,000 per episode to be on the show. Cuban was less than thrilled. He responded:

seriously? 

no chance... this is beyond an insult and it shows no one cares about the investments I have made or the entrepreneurs 

now it's really business..

I will negotiate like any other deal I would do

you may want to start cutting me out of the promos

m

Cuban tells CNN's Brian Stelter that he wasn't embarrassed that his email about the salary fight leaked.

"It's nothing I wouldn't have said publicly," Cuban said. "If they want me to continue to do 'good television' and make investments that I like to do but that I otherwise would not have done or would not have been accessible to me, then it's a decision they have to make. And if we don't come to a resolution, I'll leave the show."

NOW WATCH: 'Shark Tank' Investor Reveals Mark Cuban's Strategy On The Show And The Real Drama Behind The Scenes

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Phenomenon "Serial," the 12-episode podcast that unraveled the details behind the murder of a teenager in 1999, has been fodder for plenty of parodies.

SNL's take is incredibly hilarious, with Cecily Strong doing an uncanny impression of host Sarah Koenig.

The story starts on Christmas Day, 1999, when a little boy found a "Nerf EndStrike MegaMagnus Blaster" under his tree. The boy's mom swears she didn't purchase the toy. How did it get there? Santa.

Strong has Koenig's cadence and delivery down cold. She interviews Santa — calling from the North Pole. She interviews elves who witnessed the delivery of presents. 

But like the real "Serial," which ended without a conclusive answer to "who did it?" the mystery of Santa seems to be left unsolved as well.

Watch the entire thing here:

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Sony Pictures fell under cyber attack after it produced and nearly released a Seth Rogen film, "The Interview."

"The Interview" is a political satire about the assassination of North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un.

Why did Sony feel it was appropriate to make light of an assassination of a real person?

CNN's Fareed Zakaria asked Sony Pictures CEO Michael Lynton if the film's topic was in "poor taste."

Lynton replied: "First of all, we made the movie because we thought it was a funny comedy. Second, there's a long history of political satire in film and this clearly falls into the realm." 

When asked if he'd make the movie all over again, Lynton said he would.

"Ya, I would make the movie again. I think, you know, for the same reasons we made it in the first place. It was a funny comedy. It served as political satire, I think – I think we would have made the movie again. Knowing what I know now, we might have done something slightly differently but I think a lot of events have overtaken us in a way we had no control over the facts."

Seth Rogen, who directed and starred in the movie, explained his thought process on The Colbert Report: "We did not think [The North Koreans] would love the concept of the movie to be totally honest," Rogen said. "But more than anything we wanted to make a movie that had one foot in reality. That’s something we as filmmakers like and think is interesting as audience members as well."

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Sony is planning to release Seth Rogen's controversial comedy, "The Interview" for free on its own streaming service Crackle, The New York Post's Dana Sauchelli reports, citing unnamed sources.

However, Re/code reports that Sony hasn't made a decision yet and a spokesperson says "the Post report isn't accurate."

That doesn't mean "The Interview" will never appear on Crackle. It just means plans have not been finalized.

A lawyer for Sony Pictures Entertainment, David Boies, stated on "Meet The Press" Sunday that the film would be distributed, but he wasn't sure how.

"It will be distributed. How it's going to be distributed I don't think anybody knows quite yet. But it's going to be distributed," Boies said.

But if Sony were to distribute the film on Crackle, it wouldn't be able to charge users who watch it. The inability to recoup some of the movie's production costs might deter Sony from going an internal route. 

CNN's Brian Stelter spoke with a Sony source this morning who confirmed that Sony is "pursuing all options" to release the film, although the source didn't seem to specify which outlet Sony was leaning toward. 

"I think it’s very, very likely [Sony will release the movie], I would be shocked if we don’t see this movie someway, somehow," Stelter stated on CNN Sunday. "The question now is how? One source at Sony said to me today, ‘We are pursuing all options.’ So let’s imagine what those could be. Could be Netflix, could be Youtube, it could be independent movie theaters or it could be the big movie theater chains that originally decided not to show the film about 4 days ago. ”

Stelter added that Sony is having discussions with potential distributors about releasing "The Interview" this weekend, and it could inform the public of its plans either this week or in very early 2015.

"The Interview" was scheduled for a Christmas Day release in theaters nation-wide. Sony canceled it after hackers threatened it and breached its servers, releasing 32,000 private email messages written by Sony executives.

Sony Pictures CEO Michael Lynton told CNN's Fareed Zakaria Friday that his company did not "cave" to the pressure of hackers. Lynton said the film's release was canceled because theaters came to Sony one by one over the course of a "very short period of time ... and announced they would not carry the movie."

Lynton says Sony had "no alternative" but to cancel the Dec. 25 theatrical release. He also stated that Sony was considering online alternatives for the release, including YouTube, but that it needed a distribution outlet to show the film.

Sony may have felt pressure to release the film after President Obama stated Friday that the company's decision to cancel the showings was a "mistake."

"What I was laying out is a principal that I think this country has to abide by," Obama told CNN's Candy Crowley after his Friday press conference. "We believe in free speech. We believe in the right of artistic expression and satire and things that powers that be might not like. And if we set a precedent in which a dictator in another country can disrupt through cyber a company’s distribution chain or its products and, as a consequence, we start censoring ourselves, that’s a problem ... I expect all of us to remember that and operate on that moving forward." 

When asked why Sony didn't release the film online when it canceled the theatrical release, Sony Pictures president Michael Lynton replied:

"There are a number of options open to us and we have considered and are considering them. While there have been a number of suggestions that we deliver this movie digitally or via VOD [Video On Demand], there has not been one major VOD distributor, one major e-commerce site, that has stepped forward and said they're going to distribute this for us. Again, we don't have that direct interface with the American public, so we need to go through an intermediary to do that."

He did not mention Crackle.

Sony Pictures did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Benedict Cumberbatch seriously got into his role for "The Hobbit" films. 

In both “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" and "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies," now in theaters, Cumberbatch plays the role of the perilous dragon, Smaug. However, the “Sherlock” actor didn’t simply voice the dragon. He also acted out the role in a motion-capture suit. 

Ahead of the release of “The Desolation of Smaug” on Blu-Ray and DVD last month, Warner Bros. released video showing the 38-year-old actor immersing himself into the role. 

The best footage comes from the L.A. Times which has an exclusive video showing Cumberbatch act out the dragon in the motion capture suit.

It's amazing to see how much Cumberbatch really gets into it.

To get into the role, little motion capture tracking dots were placed onto Cumberbatch's face.

He was fitted with a helmet that has a little camera attached to capture his every facial movement.To prepare for the role, Cumberbatch told the Los Angeles Times last year that he went to the London Zoo to study animals including lizards.

"They really like doing very little," added Cumberbatch. "Then, when they act, it can suddenly be very violent or very slow and they really take their time. I tied all that in to the playing I did rolling around on that carpet."

Motion capture king Andy Serkis, who has played Gollum in both “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” films, gave Cumberbatch advice on playing Smaug. 

“I said, ‘Treat it like you’re playing the role. Don’t think you’re just providing the voice. Go in there physically. Get what you can out of it,” said Serkis in a Warner Bros. featurette. “There will be head turns. There will be moments from that performance that you give that can be pulled out and extrapolated and will become part of Smaug’s being.”

A quarter of the shots in the film were CG, according to the special effects crew at WETA. Cumberbatch says about 80% of the dragon was created by them.

Here's how it looks side by side.

The actor didn't just roll around on the carpet. He also acted out the character from his own platform.

They built a wooden platform on stilts and they had this hard board that they’d padded with some foam and mats and stuff and on top of that they put this sheepskin," Cumberbatch told the LA Times. "It was literally like 'Baum chicka baum baum,' me up on my Smaug-y platform. I was like, 'This is cool, I can slink around like a porn star dragon.'”

Cumberbatch said he can see pieces of his motion capture performance in the final rendering of the dragon in his eyebrow movements and with the mouth during closeups with Bilbo (Martin Freeman) and Thorin (Richard Armitage).

"I absolutely loved it after a minute of stepping on and feeling completely like a nob," said Cumberbatch. "Once you get over that bit of self-consciousness, it’s so freeing. I just played like a kid in a bedroom, just imagining this thing, which is great."

Here's the finished product on screen.

You can watch a portion of Cumberbatch’s motion capture performance below.

SEE ALSO: Our review of "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies"

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Mike Myers crashed SNL reprising his role as Dr. Evil from "Austin Powers" to address the Sony hack.

"I've preempted this program because I'm furious that North Korea and Sony Pictures have both given evil organizations a bad name," said Myers. "I mean, what the eff people? It's just so pathetic to see you two fight over a silly comedy ... Who cares?"

The comedian then took punches at North Korea, the hackers, and Sony.

"Let's start with you, North Korea. You're one of the most evil countries in the world and your act of war is to kill a movie? It's easy to kill a movie. Just move it to January."

January is notoriously known as a dump month for bad movies at the box office.

Myers also called out the hackers who go by the name of Guardians of Peace. He pointed out there already is a GOP and that "they're already an evil organization."

Sony didn't go untouched either.

"But why pick on Sony? They haven't had a hit since the Walkman," joked Myers. "Come on, Sony. You thought it was a joke to have James Franco assassinate Kim Jon-Un? The man single-handedly almost killed the Oscars."

You can watch the full sketch below.

SEE ALSO: Seth Rogen crashes James Franco's SNL monologue to address Sony hack

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With so many new shows premiering in 2015, it's hard to remember when all of your favorites, like "House of Cards" and "The Walking Dead," are returning.

Below is a list of when the popular shows will be back from hiatus or will kick off their midseason premieres.  

Tues., Jan. 6
"Pretty Little Liars," season 6 premiere, 8 pm., ABC Family
"MasterChef Junior," season 3 premiere, 8 p.m., Fox
"Cougar Town," season 6 premiere, 10 p.m., TBS
"Switched at Birth," season 4 premiere, 10 p.m., NBC
"Chicago Fire," midseason return, 10 p.m., NBC

Wed., Jan. 7
"American Idol," season 15 premiere, 8 p.m., Fox
"American Horror Story," midseason return, 10 p.m., FX
"The Mysteries of Laura," midseason return, 8 pm.,  NBC
"Law & Order: SVU," midseason return, 9 p.m., NBC
"Chicago PD," season 3 premiere, 10 p.m., NBC 

Thursday, Jan. 8
"Portlandia," season 5 premiere, 10 p.m., IFC
"Archer," season 6 premiere, 10 p.m., 
"Parenthood," midseason return, 10 p.m, NBC

Friday, Jan. 9
"Glee," midseason premiere, 8 p.m., Fox
"Hart of Dixie," midseason return, 9 p.m., The CW
"Banshee," season 3 premiere, 10 p.m., Cinemax
"Comedy Bang! Bang!" season 4 premiere, 11 p.m., IFC

SEE ALSO: Here's What's New On Netflix In January

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It was a big weekend for "The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies" at the box office.

The final film in director Peter Jackson's "Hobbit" trilogy debuted to $90.6 million since Wed., making it one of the best openings of the year.

The other two releases this weekend didn't come close to "The Hobbit" opening.

Sony's "Annie," which leaked online ahead of release, made $16.3 million opening weekend while the third installment of "Night at the Museum" — Robin Williams' final film appearance — debuted to $17.3 million.

Compared to the other two "Hobbit" films, the final film made less than the previous two over the three-day weekend. "The Battle of the Five Armies" made $56.2 million from Friday to Sunday. In comparison, "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" made $84.6 million in that same time frame. Last year's "Desolation of Smaug" opened to $73.6 million over three days.

The trend shows an ongoing decline in the interest of "Hobbit"-related films as the series played out.

An adaptation of one book, the "Hobbit" was stretched from two movies into three.

The first "Hobbit" movie made over $1 billion worldwide. Last year's film made $958 million.

SEE ALSO: Our review of "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies"

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2015 is going to be one of the biggest years at the box office in a long time.

Not only are we getting a new "Star Wars" movie, but we'll finally see the next "Avengers" grouping, which has been nearly three years in the making. 

Those two movies alone have the potential of being billion-dollar films.

In comparison, 2014 only had one movie gross $1 billion— "Transformers: Age of Extinction."

Through plenty of sequels and reboots, we're counting down the movies that will be the biggest at theaters next year. It's going to feel like the early '90s with Arnold Schwarzenegger back as the Terminator and dinosaurs roaming around in "Jurassic World."

Mark these dates down in your calendar.

12. 'Fifty Shades of Grey' (Universal/Focus Features)

Release date:
Feb. 13, 2015

Why it will be huge: This will be the movie every guy will be dragged to see.

The best-selling book series dubbed "mommy porn" is making its big screen debut Valentine's Day weekend. There couldn't be a better release date for the erotica film about a naive college girl (Dakota Johnson) who becomes involved in a BDSM relationship with a billionaire named Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan).

While the film's trailer was the most-viewed all year, there are two reasons "Fifty Shades" is lower on our list. 1. Big blockbusters rarely come out in this month. "Passion of the Christ" currently holds the record for largest Feb. gross ($611.9 million). 2. Erotica movies are usually a niche group. 1992's "Basic Instinct" is the highest-grossing film in the genre making $352.9 million worldwide.

11. 'Ted 2' (Universal)

Release date:
June 26, 2015

Why it will be huge: "Ted," featuring Seth MacFarlane's foul-mouthed teddy bear and Mark Wahlberg, became the highest-grossing original R-rated comedy ever in 2012. It surpassed the record previously held by the first "Hangover." "Ted" made $549 million worldwide.

10. 'Inside Out' (Pixar/Disney)

Release date: 
June 19, 2015

Why it will be huge: Pixar's reputation speaks for itself. The studio hasn't made a bad film yet (except perhaps the poorly-reviewed "Cars 2"). Regardless, none of them have been bombs and the majority of Pixar's animated movies make at least $500 million worldwide at theaters. 

Buzz about its next animated picture, "Inside Out," is already growing. While the movie's concept about the inner workings of the brain and our emotions may sound a bit confusing, an early sneak peek of the film was very well received at the Animation Film Festival in France back in June.

The New Year is just around the corner, which means it's resolution season. 

To help you make the most of the change in calendar, we asked industry leaders and world-changing entrepreneurs, including Arianna Huffington and Mark Cuban, what they're resolved to do in 2015. 

'Shark Tank' investor Daymond John wants to hit the slopes more often.

"New Year's Day is when I like to reset my 10 goals. Let me think of a fun one..." he says. "I'd like to start to snowboard more. I'd like to try to start to do the half pipe."

Drybar founder Alli Webb hopes to spend more time with her children.

"The very first thing that popped into my head was to spend more time with my boys," says Webb. "My older son Grant is almost 10, my youngest, Kit, is 7 — the last few years have been so crazy busy for me, and I don't want to miss this magical time in my kids' lives when they still actually want to hang out with their mom!"

Cofounder and CEO of The Global Poverty Project Hugh Evans is committed to ending extreme poverty.

He says 2015 "is a pivotal year for the movement to end extreme poverty by 2030."

"My resolution is to use Global Citizen's unique mix of disruptive events, grassroots organizing, and digital campaigning to hold our world leaders accountable to create a world where clean water and toilets are taken for granted, where no one goes to bed hungry, children have access to immunizations, and no child is denied an education. I am committed to realizing this world without extreme poverty."