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Emma Watson will play Belle in a live-action version of Disney's "Beauty and the Beast."

The Wrap first reported the news. Disney has since confirmed the report.

The 24-year-old actress is best known for her role in the "Harry Potter" franchise.

"Beauty and the Beast" will be the latest animated Disney tale to get the live action treatment. The 1991 animated feature won two Oscars including best original song for the film's titular piece.

The Mouse House has had previous success with Angelina Jolie in "Maleficent." That movie, an adaptation of the 1959 classic "Sleeping Beauty," grossed $757 million last year at the box office.

Next year, Disney will release a live-action version of "The Jungle Book" starring Bill Murray and Ben Kingsley.

"Beauty and the Beast" will begin production later this year. Bill Condon ("Dreamgirls") will direct.

SEE ALSO: Emma Watson launches equality initiative during passionate speech at Davos

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Oculus, the Facebook-owned company that's building a virtual reality headset, is making its own virtual reality movies now. It just announced a new in-house team called the Oculus Story Studio to spearhead the project.

The first movie from Story Studio is called "Lost," and it's directed by Pixar animator Saschka Unseld, the man who made the Pixar short "The Blue Umbrella," which was shown before "Monsters University."

Like Pixar's films, "Lost" will be entirely computer-generated rather than live action. This will likely make for a heightened feeling of immersion, as live-action content shown on the Rift is still pretty rough, and it's easier for the brain to believe a fully rendered environment.

"We all heard these stories of how it was like to be there at the birth of computer animation, or see films on how it was to be there at the birth of cinema," Unseld recently told The Verge. "And when I tried out VR the first time, and everyone here, they realized this is that moment. This is the moment of a birth of a completely new medium. That made me just instantly jump on it."

"Lost" will debut at Sundance this week, and will offer a virtual reality short story that will last about five minutes, though it's an experience that's designed to respond to the pace of the viewer. If you take your time, it could be up to 10 minutes.

Unseld and the Oculus Story Studio team hope to tackle some of the biggest questions of bringing storytelling into the realm of virtual reality. Traditionally, a director can decide when and what a viewer sees onscreen. But that goes out the door in VR, where people can gaze around them freely. This requires a different style of storytelling, but it also opens up the doors for what's possible.

Here's one example: Instead of jump-cutting to a scary monster like horror films usually do, VR directors could theoretically use sounds or distractions to cause a viewer to look in a specific area of the room, and sneak in the monster only when the viewer is looking away. Talk about the potential for realistic terror.

People will be able to sign up to watch "Lost" at Sundance, where it will be shown on the latest Oculus Rift prototype, Crescent Bay. Oculus has promised additional films as well as the opportunity for outside filmmakers to one day distribute content as well.

While it's still early days for VR films, Oculus joining the fray early on will only help set the standard for what's possible with virtual reality storytelling, and that can only be a good thing.

Films in the future are going to be insane.

SEE ALSO: See How Strange And Trippy Virtual Reality Was 20 Years Before The Oculus Rift

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If you've recently heard Sam Smith's hit song "Stay With Me" and thought, "Hm, this sounds kind of like Tom Petty's 'I Won't Back Down,'" well, you're not the only one.

After "Stay With Me" became the 22-year-old British singer's most successful single to date (it peaked at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart and reached No. 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100), Petty and his cosongwriter Jeff Lynne took note of the ballad's likeness to their 1989 hit.

The two parties settled out of court this past October that the two songs are so much alike that Smith now pays Petty royalties on the track — specifically, a 12.5% credit, according to The Sun. 

Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty were also added as cowriters on "Stay with Me" after Smith's lawyers settled the suit with Petty, despite the Brit claiming any likeness was "a complete coincidence."

Sam Smith's rep explained the situation in a statement to USA Today:

Recently the publishers for the song "I Won't Back Down," written by Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne, contacted the publishers for "Stay With Me," written by Sam Smith, James Napier and William Phillips, about similarities heard in the melodies of the choruses of the two compositions. Not previously familiar with the 1989 Petty/Lynne song, the writers of "Stay With Me" listened to "I Won't Back Down" and acknowledged the similarity. Although the likeness was a complete coincidence, all involved came to an immediate and amicable agreement in which Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne are now credited as co-writers of "Stay With Me" along with Sam Smith, James Napier and William Phillips.

Michael Harrington, a professional musicologist who specializes in federal copyright matters, agreed that the two songs sounded awfully similar.

Harrington explained to USA Today: "It got to the chorus, and I just started smiling ... That's pretty close, just the slightest differences. Especially compared to what's in court these days, this one is really solid."

According to Harrington, the two songs have a sequence of almost identical phrases in Smith's chorus and Petty's verses that made a successful claim of copyright infringement likely.

A post on Medium shows the musical similarities between the two:

Here are the two tunes; the chorus of "Stay With Me" and the verse of "I Won’t Back Down" (transposed into the same key to make the comparison easier).Check out the two songs and judge for yourselves below:

Or just listen to the lyrics below:

"Stay With Me" is nominated for a Grammy for record of the year, song of the year, and best pop solo performance. As of December 2014, the song had sold six million copies, becoming one of the best-selling singles worldwide.

SEE ALSO: Grateful Dead Fans Are Creating Awesome, Intricately Designed Envelopes In Hopes Of Getting Mail Order Tickets For The Band's Farewell Tour

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Amazon Studios likely has another hit with "The Man In The High Castle," one of many pilots being screened to Prime members. The show is smart, fun, and polished, and it currently sports a five-star user rating.

Produced by Ridley Scott, the show is based on a 1962 Philip K. Dick novel about a world in which the Nazis and Japanese won World War II. Of all of Dick's classics, it was the only one to win science fiction's preeminent Hugo Award. Scott, who directed another Dick adaptation in "Blade Runner," started developing in 2010 what would surprisingly be the book's first screen adaptation.

It takes place in 1962 in a conquered America that has been divided into the Greater Nazi Reich from the Atlantic to the Rockies, and the Japanese Pacific States on the Pacific Coast.

The opening scene shows a propaganda film about life in America, which chillingly demonstrates how the Americans might come to accept Nazi overlords.

"It's a new day," the narrator proclaims. "The sun rises in the east. Across our land men and women go to work in factories and farms providing for their families. Everyone has a job. Everyone knows the part they play keeping our country strong and safe. So today we give thanks to our brave leaders, knowing we are stronger and prouder and better."

Only the end of the film explicitly references the Nazi takeover:

"Yes, it's a new day in our proud land, but our greatest days may lie ahead. Sieg heil!"

 Here's a look at Nazi Times Square: 

Here's Japanese San Francisco:

As the propaganda film suggests, aspects of life in Nazi/Japanese America are not bad, even as the overlords are brutally repress all resistance. The winners of the war — particularly the Germans, who developed the first atomic bomb — are living in a technological and economic boom as great as anything America saw in the real postwar era.

Given this rosy portrayal, it's all the more shocking when there's a reminder of how inhuman the Axis powers could be. In one scene, a volunteer for the resistance is driving through the middle of the country for the first time. He is talking with a Nazi police officer, who helped him change a flat tire, when ashes began falling like snow.

"Oh it's the hospital," the cop explains. "Tuesdays, they burn cripples, the terminally ill — drag on the state."

Amazon Studios is putting out some of the best new TV. There's "Transparent," starring Jeffrey Tambor as a father who comes out as transgender, which won the Golden Globe for best TV series, musical or comedy. I haven't watched that one yet, but I can personally recommend the underrated "Alpha House," a political comedy by Garry Trudeau, and the fantastic new "Mozart In The Jungle," a comedy based on a book about "sex, drugs, and classical music" in New York City.

NOW WATCH: This 20,000-Calorie Burger Is The Craziest Thing We've Ever Eaten

SEE ALSO: Netflix is also kicking ass when it comes to original content

DON'T MISS: Here's the weather prediction that won WWII

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It would be easy to dismiss "Appropriate Behavior" as just another indie dramedy showcasing some Brooklynite's petty problems, but the debut feature of writer/director/star Desiree Akhavan ("Girls") has a personal, honest touch that so many similar projects sorely lack. 

The plot is as directionless as Shirin, the film's protagonist, and we simply see her life as it exists before and after a devastating break-up with her girlfriend, Maxine. Shirin identifies as bisexual, depending on who's in the room. She's still closeted to her parents, which she continually blames on the fact that they are Iranian and Iranians don't exactly have a great relationship with the LGBT community. Maxine refers to Shirin as a "sexually confused narcissist."

The PR campaign for the film flaunts Desiree Akhavan's association with Lena Dunham's polarizing HBO series "Girls" (Desiree is featured in the new season), so comparing the two feels natural. Both "Girls" and "Behavior" function as day-in-the-life snippets of young New York women (with snarky jabs at hipster culture and occasional nudity), but where "Girls" feels oddly specific and hard to relate to if you're not a similarly privleged woman, "Behavior" is more honest, down-to-earth, and focused on actually connecting to the audience. Everyone can relate to Shirin's relationship issues, no matter their sexual orientation or social status.

With her debut feature, Akhavan is trail-blazing uncharted territory, exploring LGBT issues as well as what it's like to be a second-generation immigrant raised in America. She gives a terrific performance as Shirin, which is a relief, since she's in every single scene. It's clear that this is a very personal work for Akhavan — she is Shirin, in the same way that Woody Allen's characters are proxies of himself. The tension drips off the screen during the scenes in which she hides her sexuality from her family, and when she finally confronts her mother about it, the result is so real it hurts.

Most importantly, the movie is hilarious, and the comedy stems from the characters and their interactions rather than cheap gags. Shirin's awkwardness and general confusion leads to tons of laughs, and the Spirit Award-nominated script is full of memorable one-liners. 

Without it's wonderful script and strong, unique voice, "Appropriate Behavior" would have been a drab "Frances Ha," "Girls," or  any other "insert 20something New Yorker in mild peril" clone, but Akhavan's personal touch makes this a stunning debut for the writer/director. She has been hailed as "the next Lena Dunham," but in just 90 minutes she accomplished what Dunham has been trying to capture for four seasons.

"Appropriate Behavior" is currently playing in limited release and is available to stream on video on demand services including iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, and YouTube.

Watch the trailer below:

SEE ALSO: "Black Sea" is easily the best movie of 2015 so far

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Kim Kardashian West is the star of T-Mobile’s Super Bowl ad, which the brand released online Monday ahead of the big game this weekend.

The 30-second spot sees Kim “Kardashian West, Famous Person” take on a PSA-style of delivery to explain how each month millions of gigs of data are “tragically” taken back from consumers by wireless companies.

Data, Kardashian West explains, that consumers paid for that could have been used to see her makeup, outfits and vacations.

And, yes, there’s a few shots of her (clothed) derriere.

T-Mobile, on the other hand, has a “Data Stash” offer, which rolls over unused mobile data to the following month.

This year's commercial acts as the follow-up to T-Mobile’s 2014 Super Bowl campaign. Last year the company, which describes itself as the "Uncarrier," ran three ads, including a simple text-only spot explaining how the carrier had killed off the long-term contract. Ironically, the ad also stated: “Maybe next year, we’ll do an ad with overpaid movie stars.”

And do that they most certainly have.

Here’s the ad:

Here's one last year's efforts:

The other two ads starred NFL quarterback Tim Tebow humorously doing things that can only apparently be doing without a contract: Like delivering a baby and addressing the United Nations.

Advertisers are paying Super Bowl XLIX broadcaster NBC between $4.4 million and $4.5 million to air a 30-second commercial during the big game this year.

SEE ALSO: Here Is Everything We Know About The 2015 Super Bowl Ads

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The NFL is planning to run a domestic violence awareness ad during this year’s Super Bowl, Adweek reports. 

The hard-hitting 60-second commercial eschews actual images of violence and instead is based on real 911 call.

The woman rang 911, asking to order a pizza. At first the operator was confused as to why she was calling 911 to organize a pizza delivery before realizing she was subtly calling for help. The operator went on to get the caller’s address and made sure help was on its way.

In the ad, the camera does not feature any of the people involved, but instead the camera pans around a house where it’s clear a scuffle has taken place. Books are strewn across the floor, a rug appears to have been scrunched up, there are cracks on the wall and a photo frame with a picture of a woman lays smashed on the floor.

The ad aims to raise awareness of the NFL’s “No More” campaign which is working to put a stop to domestic violence and sexual assault. The NFL donated its own airtime for the Super Bowl spot and paid production costs, Adweek reports. 

It forms part of a long-running initiative as the league is still reeling from the public outcry over its handling of Baltimore Ravens’ Ray Rice’s assault of his fiancee. The league’s commissioner Roger Goodell was heavily criticized for only suspending Rice for two games after he allegedly knocked his now-wife unconscious.  The league later suspended Rice indefinitely after TMZ published footage of the incident. 

Here's the commercial:

SEE ALSO: Here Is Everything We Know About The 2015 Super Bowl Ads

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For the past two months, Trivia Crack has dominated the App Store, rising to the No. 1 spot and staying there for 60 consecutive days.

It's shattered the previous 38-day record held by the 2012 hit game Draw Something.

"Right now we have 20 million daily active users," Maximo Cavazzani, CEO of Etermax, the Argentina-based game studio behind Trivia Crack, tells Business Insider. "We now have more than 100 million registered users."

Those 20 million users are all making Etermax money too. While 99% opt for the free-to-play version of the game, advertisements and in-app purchases make up around 50% of the game's revenue. The other 50% comes from the 1% of customers that choose to buy the ad-free, pro version of Trivia Crack for $2.99.

But Trivia Crack's rise to 20 million users has snowballed over time, and it wasn't very popular starting out.

The app has actually been around since late 2013, but Cavazzani says the game truly took off once they added a feature called the Question Factory, which allowed users to submit their own questions and see questions that were specific to their own country.

“At the end of 2013, after making three games, we started thinking about doing a trivia app for a platform, and we realized that the main problem with trivia games was content," Cavazzani says. "The problem was that if you live in Latin America or Argentina or Mexico, you don't want the same questions as people who live in Spain. What you should do is get content for each country in each language, which is pretty difficult and very expensive. So we started thinking out of the box and we realized what we needed was for the users to create the content and also moderate it. That’s how we came out with the Question Factory."

The Question Factory turned out to be the secret sauce Trivia Crack needed. Once it was added to the US version of the game in December, Trivia Crack catapulted to the top of the App Store, and it's stayed there ever since.

The Question Factory now has 20 million unapproved questions in its vaults, with 1 million approved.

But a lot of Trivia Crack's viral spread can be chalked up to the natural way people play the game. When people don't know an answer, they'll ask their friends, which Cavazzani says is the very definition of word-of-mouth marketing.

"There’s a big virality to the app because if you’re playing and you don’t know the question, you just say it out loud, and if you say it out loud, someone hears you and says, ‘What are you playing?' That’s how you have a virality — that’s not the regular virality you see in other games. It’s just man to man."

When asked what trends he's noticed, Cavazzani said he's noticed one particular funny trend. 

“We see that maybe Americans aren’t that good in foreign geography," he says. "They like a lot of questions about their pop stars, Kim Kardashian and all that, I saw question about Monica Lewinsky and that was very popular too. It’s kind of funny to see that."

So what's next for Etermax? 

There's already a sequel to Trivia Crack in development, which will allow users to create their own Trivia Crack channels designated to a particular subject or age group. People will be able to follow the channels they like, causing the most popular channels to rise to the top.

Cavazzani says this will allow players with niche interests to play games revolving around math, ecology, or edgier adult content, while teachers and friend groups will be able to create their own channels filled with inside jokes and other oddball questions.

"We’ll see what happens," says Cavazzani, who also mentioned the original Trivia Crack will continue to exist. "I don’t know if it’s going to work, but if it does, it’ll be something great to see."

SEE ALSO: The Mastermind Behind Kim Kardashian's Insanely-Popular App Explains How The Hit Game Was Created

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There's a "Fantastic Four" reboot coming to theaters this summer and Fox just released the first teaser trailer.

Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara, and Jamie Bell star.

"Fantastic Four" is in theaters Aug. 7.

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HBO's explosive new documentary about the Church of Scientology, based on Lawrence Wright's best selling book "Going Clear," premiered Sunday at the Sundance Film Festival to much buzz.

In the film, some bombshell, behind-the-scenes information is revealed, like the claim that Nicole Kidman’s phones were tapped at the suggestion of her then-husband Tom Cruise and church head David Miscavige in order to sabotage the celebrity marriage.

While the Alex Gibney-directed documentary received a standing ovation during the Sundance premiere, the Church of Scientology unsurprisingly isn't happy with the film.

According to one PageSix source: "Movie insiders believe some Scientologists may have snuck into the packed theater at Sundance Sunday night and secretly recorded audio of the documentary, which their lawyers are currently poring over."

The litigious church has set up an official Twitter account to hit back against HBO, which worked with 160 lawyers ahead of the film's March 16 premiere.

The Scientologists’ Twitter account is titled Freedom Media Ethics, with the handle @FreedomEthics, and in its bio says it is "taking a resolute stand against the broadcasting and the publishing of false information."

There are only a few posts so far and few followers, but the message is clear — they're not happy:

Per NYT ad, @AlexGibneyFilm#GoingClear "documentary" = Rolling Stone/UVA redux. #Sundancehttp://t.co/2XwrDvz6Cypic.twitter.com/XzD5HBjCNh

— Freedom Media Ethics (@FreedomEthics) January 26, 2015 

Free speech is not a free pass to broadcast or publish false information. http://t.co/40DmOdczP3#Scientologypic.twitter.com/OAjRqLfn8d

— Freedom Media Ethics (@FreedomEthics) January 17, 2015

In the account's first-ever post earlier this month, there is a link to a "Statement Concerning Alex Gibney’s HBO Documentary" on the Scientology site FreedomMag.com.

The statement begins: "More than two years after Alex Gibney, Lawrence Wright and HBO started secretly working on their film glorifying bitter, vengeful apostates expelled as long as three decades ago from the Church, the one-sided result is as dishonest as Gibney’s sources."

The statement continues:

"The Church has documented evidence that those featured in Gibney’s film regurgitating their stale, discredited allegations are admitted perjurers, admitted liars and professional anti-Scientologists whose living depends on the filing of false claims. All have been gone so long from the Church they know nothing of it today. Yet Gibney and HBO stonewalled more than a dozen requests by the Church to offer relevant information about them, with more than 25 individuals with firsthand information eager to speak."

Read the Scientologists' full response to HBO's "Going Clear" here.

Previously, the Church of Scientology published a full-page ad in The New York Times earlier this month accusing the film of reporting false claims about the controversial religion.

The Scientology ad calls out "Going Clear" director Alex Gibney for supposedly not allowing the organization to respond to claims made in the film.

Specifically, the ad asks whether the documentary is "a Rolling Stone/UVA Redux" — a reference to a now notorious article in the magazine about rape at the University of Virginia.

But former Scientology members hope "Going Clear" will have the power to force major shifts within the church.

"I hope this movie increases public pressure for the church to change its abusive practices," one former Scientology member told The Times.

SEE ALSO: 6 Crazy Things Revealed In HBO's Explosive New Scientology Documentary 'Going Clear'

MORE: 21 Famous Church Of Scientology Members

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Bradley Cooper recently bulked up to 225 pounds to play US Navy Seal Chris Kyle in "American Sniper."  

His daily regimen included two intense workouts and eating more than 5,000 calories per day.  

He's not the only actor to undergo extreme measures to gain and lose weight for a role. Plenty of stars have endured grueling diets and workouts to be in tip top shape for their roles as superheroes, ballerinas, boxers and more.  

Keertana Sastry and Jennifer Michalski contributed to this story.

Bradley Cooper gained 40 pounds for "American Sniper."

The Oscar-nominated actor told Men's Health he worked with a trainer twice a day to help him gain the weight in 10 weeks.

In the first workout, beginning at 5 a.m., they focused on structural exercises like deadlifts and squats to build a foundation solid enough to hold the extra mass. The second workout, late in the afternoon, was more focused on traditional muscle-building exercises. Cooper needed both types of training to convincingly portray Chris Kyle.

Jake Gyllenhaal looked gaunt after losing 30 pounds for his role in "Nightcrawler."

Gyllenhaal really went all out to get into the mind of his deranged, career-hungry freelancer journalist. 

The actor told Variety he didn't take on any special diet. Instead, he just stopped eating.

“I would try to eat as few calories as possible. I knew if I was hungry that I was in the right spot. Physically, it showed itself, but chemically and mentally, I think it was even a more fascinating journey. It became a struggle for me.”

Gyllenhaal added that he would often go on 15 mile runs from his home to the film's set.

In addition, his co-star Riz Ahmed claimed the star would chew flavored gum to trick his mind into believing he was eating a meal.

Chris Pratt lost 60 pounds in six months for "Guardians of the Galaxy."

Pratt said he ditched beer to take on the role of Peter Quill in Marvel's hit. He also divulged his workout routine with a personal trainer and nutritionist to Men's Fitness.

It consisted of running, swimming, boxing, kickboxing, a triathlon, and consuming 4,000 calories a day.

"I actually lost weight by eating more food, but eating the right food, eating healthy foods, and so when I was done with the movie my body hadn't been in starvation mode," Pratt told People magazine.

Ask any fan of "Parks and Recreation" to name their top five favorite scenes and surely, one of the following will rank among them.

Season 5, Episode 505 "Halloween Surprise": Where Ben proposes to Leslie.

Season 5, Episode 514 "Leslie and Ben": Where the couple say their marriage vows.

Critics regard these two scenes as some of the sweetest, most romantic moments in television history. They perfectly encapsulate Leslie's quirks, Ben's sincerity, and the powerful magic of spontaneity in a relationship.

(You can watch the scenes below.)

In Amy Poehler's new book "Yes Please," the leading lady reveals the heartbreaking event that led to the writing of those two scenes.

Season 5 kicks off with Leslie visiting Washington, D.C., where Ben set up a surprise-meeting with her ultimate crush, Vice President Joe Biden.

The cast and crew, including the show's creator and head writer Michael Schur, filmed the scene with Biden in his ceremonial office on the grounds of the White House. Poehler says he charmed them all, and didn't even flinch when her character leaned in for a kiss.

As they were walking out of the building, the high from their brush with the VP came crashing to a halt. The cast and crew learned that their show, which had been talked about as a front-runner for winning the Emmy for Best Comedy, didn't even get nominated.

Schur, who cut his teeth in the writing room of 30 Rockefeller Center and went on to write and produce the American reboot of "The Office," didn't let the snub get him down. Instead, he turned to his peers and announced, "I am going to go write the scene where Ben proposes to Leslie."

He went back to his hotel room and wrote the script for these ...

Watch Ben pop the question.

And see Ben and Leslie tie the knot.

In a recent interview with Yahoo! TV, Schur says he wrote both scenes under the impression that the show would be cancelled. That is why they offer so much closure.

Schur admitted to having written five or six series finales over the course of seven seasons — one for each time "Parks and Recreation" wasn't guaranteed a renewal. "We did it midway through Season 5, and then again at the end of Season 5," Schur says. Then, "we got our back-nine order, so we just kept going."

Still, the feeling of impending doom spawned TV-marital-bliss.

"Do you see what kind of maniac I am working with here?" Poehler teases in her memoir. "I have been shoulder to shoulder with a wonderful writer and excellent boss who loves big emotion as much as I do. Nightmare!"

The real "Parks and Recreation" series finale is Tuesday, February 24. You bet we can expect more happy endings from the old sap, Schur.

SEE ALSO: It Took 5 Minutes For Amy Poehler To Fall In Love With Her 'Parks And Rec' Character

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Taylor Swift looks to be the victim of a Twitter hacking.

Swift tweeted a suspicious tweet about noon ET, encouraging her fans to follow user @Veriuser.

This is what user @Veriuser's profile looks like when you click through:

Swift also tweeted this message, which appears to be evidence that Lizard Squad is behind the hacking.

Lizard Squad is an international hacking group that takes down game networks. Over the holidays, the same hacker squad took down the PlayStation network.

Swift addressed the hacking on her Tumblr.

 Update: She has regained control of her account. And tweeted this message to folks:

NOW WATCH: Hugh Hefner's Son Has A Surprising And Inspiring Attitude Toward Women

SEE ALSO: Who and what is Lizard Squad?

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"Going Clear," HBO's explosive new documentary on Scientology, just premiered on Sunday at the Sundance Film Festival, but it's already causing a lot of controversy.

The film, directed by Alex Gibney based on Lawrence Wright's best selling book of the same name, alleges that the religion enforces physical and psychological abuse, among other bombshell reports.

According to Variety's Brent Lang, who saw the film at Sundance, the documentary also "points the finger of blame squarely at two of Scientology’s most famous practitioners, John Travolta and Tom Cruise, and shames them for turning a blind eye to the alleged mistreatments."

Lang spoke to filmmaker Alex Gibney, who also did the 2005 Enron documentary "The Smartest Guys in the Room," and "Going Clear" author and Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Lawrence Wright, about why Scientology relies so heavily on its celebrity members, like Tom Cruise.

"He’s vital to the church, because he is the most famous Scientologist," Gibney told Variety of Cruise. "He is their key guy and he is a magnet for people. Very often you’ll ask people what’s Scientology and they’ll say, 'isn’t that the religion with Tom Cruise'? So he’s their poster boy."

But both Gibney and Wright accuse Cruise of turning a blind eye to mistreatment in the church.

Wright tells Variety that the actor "has spent countless hours out on the Sea Org base," where especially harsh punishments are inflicted like "sleeping on the floor on bedrolls with ants crawling around, [people] abused physically, and made to lick the floor or the toilet with their tongue."

"It’s just unbelievable degradation," Wright continues. "If he’s [Cruise] ignorant of that then it’s willful on his part."

Adds Gibney: "The other thing about Cruise is that he’s been the beneficiary of this unbelievably low-paid Sea Org labor. These people are being paid forty cents an hour and they’re tricking out Cruise’s cars."

Wright bluntly states: "We hold people like Tom Cruise and John Travolta and others responsible for not demanding change inside that church."

"By not speaking out," argues Gibney, "it’s a kind of an endorsement and I think that’s why we’re [the documentary] right and properly critical."

But Scientology's involvement with celebrities goes beyond just Tom Cruise and John Travolta. The church's headquarters is based in Hollywood, and actively recruits people in the entertainment industry.

Wright explains to Variety:

This goes back to the founding; when L. Ron Hubbard created the Church of Scientology, he decided to make its headquarters in Hollywood, because he had a very perceptive notion that there is something that all Americans do worship and it’s celebrity and the capital of celebrity is Hollywood. He set out very early to make it a Scientology town.

They always wanted celebrities who could sell Scientology just like the people on the front of the Wheaties box.

Read Wright and Gibney's full interview with Variety here.

"Going Clear," which has 160 lawyers preparing for the litigious Church of Scientology's response, premieres March 16 on HBO. 

Earlier this month, the church published a full-page ad in The New York Times accusing the film of reporting false claims about the controversial religion.

The Scientology ad calls out "Going Clear" director Alex Gibney for supposedly not allowing the organization to respond to claims made in the film.

Specifically, the ad asks whether the documentary is "a Rolling Stone/UVA Redux" — a reference to a now notorious article in the magazine about rape at the University of Virginia.

Former Scientology members hope this film will have the power to force major shifts within the church.

"I hope this movie increases public pressure for the church to change its abusive practices," one former Scientology member told The Times.

SEE ALSO: 6 Crazy Things Revealed In HBO's Explosive New Scientology Documentary 'Going Clear'

MORE: The Church Of Scientology Created A Twitter Account To Fight Back Against HBO's New Documentary

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Louis CK recently announced a new comedy special, and today it's available for you to purchase for only $5. 

The announcement was made on the comedian's site a few weeks ago, and those who preordered the special, titled "Louis CK Live At The Comedy Store," were emailed the download link today.

Anyone who is subscribed to his email list got the go-ahead to download and watch.

The email to customers says:

Well, I made another standup special. It's called "Louis CK Live at the Comedy Store." You can buy it right now on my website, louisck.net, for 5 dollars, all over the world. Here's the link. I hope this is well timed for some of you who are stranded by the storm in the North East of America.

That's the basic news of this email so go ahead and go watch the show. Youre getting another email from me now which is crazily long. So I sent it separate. If you don't enjoy long winded, unedited coffee-addled, had to shit the whole time while my kids yelled at me to take them sledding-written material, then skip the next email. thanks.

Louis CK

He also sent another long email to those who purchased the show. Here's the full text. It's really long.

Hello. So below are my messy thoughts about my new special "Louis CK live at the Comedy Store" available here https://louisck.net/purchase/live-at-the-comedy-store for 5 dollars, all over the world...

So this is my sixth hour-long standup special. The truth is, I really love making these. I skipped doing one last year and I missed it. This one is different from the recent others. For one thing, it was shot in a nightclub instead of a theater. I love doing the theater shows. When I was a kid, my favorite thing in the world was Richard Pryor's concert films. The idea of being a comedian and doing a "concert" was a real goal for me. Performing in a theater expands your material and opens you up as a performer. The pressure of playing to thousands of people, I found, always makes you better. And every concert hall I've played has made me feel like I'm getting a whiff of that city or town's history. The whole thing can be very exhilarating.

But Nightclubs, comedy clubs, is where comedy is born and where comedy, standup comedy, truly lives. Going back to Abraham Lincoln, who was probably America's first comedian, Americans have enjoyed gathering at night in small packed (and once smokey) rooms, drinking themselves a bit numb and listening to each other say wicked, crazy, silly, wrongful, delightful, upside-down, careless, offensive, disgusting, whimsical things. Sometimes in long-winded, red faced hyperbole, sometimes in carefully crafted circular, intentionally false and misleading argument. Sometimes in well-chiseled perfectly timed trickery of verbiage. Pun-poetry. One line, one off, half thoughts. Half truths. Non-truths. Broad and hilariously wrongful generalizations, exaggerated prejudices and criticism of nothing and everything while a couple over here shares a pitcher of sangria, this table of guys order round after round of beers. These women over here are having vodka and cranberry. This guy drinks club soda and sits alone. He actually came for the comedy. It's a club. It's a bar. It's late at night. No one here is being responsible. These are the things we do when we are DONE working and being citizens. We go to a comedy club and pay a bit of money to laugh harder than we ever do anywhere else.

That is the standup comedy that I've been doing for almost thirty years. I have been working theater (and now arena) stages for the last nine of those thirty years but the amount of hours I've spent on a club stage outnumber the theater stage hours by more than I can figure.

I've been on comedy club stages probably more than I've stood on any other kind of spot in my entire life. I started in the Boston comedy scene, on ground that had been laid by great comedians like Steve Sweeney, Steven Wright, Barry Crimmins, Ron Lynch, Kevin Meany, Don Gavin, back in 1985 when I was 18 years old. I skipped college (still regret it), worked shitty jobs (will never regret that) and spent every single night at any comedy club in Boston I could finagle my way into. I would watch every single comedian and I would BEG to get on stage.

In 1989 I moved to New York. I discovered a bursting comedy club scene, where you could literally do 8 shows on a saturday night. (I remember Ray Romano held the record at 9 shows).

It was a glorious time for standup comedy clubs. Great comics everywhere. Colin Quinn. Mike Sweeney. Joy Behar. John Stewart. Charlie Barnett. Ray Romano. Dave Chapelle. Chris Rock. Brett Butler. Brian Regan.

All working out every night in clubs all over the city. There was the Improv on 44th street. On 1st Avenue, Catch a Rising Star and around the corner on 2nd ave, the Comic Strip (still there). Carolines was on the Seaport then. And in the Village we had the Comedy Cellar (still there), the Boston Comedy Club and the Village Gate.

I spent my early twenties bouncing from one stage to the other, from 8pm till about 4am, when Dave Attell, Kevin Brennan, Nick DiPaolo and I would head to a diner and eat breakfast.

The money was terrible. About ten dollars per show on the weeknights, fifty a show on the weekends. So every other week you had to leave town and work in another city. You'd go live in Atlanta, Columbus, Phoenix,  Tampa, for a week. Most clubs would put you up in a condo behind the club and you'd work the whole week. Tuesday thru Sunday, two shows Friday, three shows Saturday. You could make about 700 a week as an opening act. A good headliner might make 2500 or 3,000 but that was rare. I worked in comedy clubs all over the country and I think I actually remember every single club. My favorite clubs were the smelly little beer soaked places with dim lighting and low ceilings. Go Bananas in Cincinnati. The Brokerage in Long Island (still there). Penguins in Cedar Rapids. The Comedy Underground in Seattle.

Then there were chain comedy clubs that were always too antiseptic and suburban. Some of them were literally inside of a mall next to a sunglass hut. The Improvs, the Funny Bones.

There were some comedy clubs around the country that were legendary. That lasted out the death of comedy in the 90s. The independent and truly great rooms where you can still smell the cigarette smoke exhaled by Bill Hicks. The Acme in Minneapolis. The Punchline in Atlanta. The Punchline (not related) in San Francisco. Cobbs in San Fran. The Laff Stop in Houston. Zanies in Chicago. Charlie Goodnights in Raleigh. The Comedy Works in Denver. These were the Meccas. When you could get a week at Acme, you know you could continue having the will to do this shit for another few months. A week at the Punchline in San Fran could get you through the next week at Harvey's in Portland. There were club owners that were part of Comedy History. Who knew how to shape comedy. Mark Babbit, Lewis Lee, Manny Dworman, Lucien Hold, Silver Friedman, Bud Friedman, Ron Osborne, others.

I spent all of my mid to late 20s and thirties working out in places like these.

Later when I moved to Los Angeles, I discovered a scene out there that was creative and fun and also steeped in show business history. You could see Norm Macdonald. Charles Fleicher. Robert Schimmel.

In LA they have coffee houses and very cool rooms like Largo, where you can bring your notebook on stage and try just about anything.

People like Andy Kindler, Kathy Griffin, Patton Oswalt, Blaine Capatch, Craig Anton, Laura Kightlinger did outrageous stuff in those rooms.

I would sometimes go on stage at places like Mbar or Largo and come out with twenty minutes of new material, cheered on by the young, open and adaptive crowds of the "alternative" scene. But I never believed those jokes until I took them to the Improv, where the more average and basic character of the audience would cut the new material down to about three jokes.

And then there was the Comedy Store. I would take the last three remaining jokes to the store on Sunset. Maybe ONE of those would get a chuckle. And that joke, I knew, was the true treasure of the night.

I have always found the Comedy Store to be the most intimidating club of my life. It is what I thought comedy clubs to be when I listened to Lenny Bruce records as a kid. The black vinyl couches and chairs, the red formica stage. Andrew Dice Clay on stage playing to fifteen people in open defiance of their hatred and funny as hell. The Comedy Store is really show biz. As in Milton Berle with his bow tie undone around his neck show business. Mop your brow and say "tough crowd" show business. A guy being beaten up in the parking lot show business. The Comedy Store is where Pryor cut his teeth. Letterman fought to get spots there. George Carlin. Eddie Murphy. Marc Maron told me stories about living in the apartment behind the Store and how Sam Kinison pissed on his bed one night. This is the Comedy Store. The wonderful dark side of comedy.

The Comedy Store is the only club in the country that NEVER passed me when I auditioned. I auditioned at many clubs where I didn't pass but I always went back and finally did pass. The Comedy Store NEVER passed me. I just wasn't right for them. I didn't start working there until I became well known enough to circumvent the audition process. Until I became one of those guys who can just walk into a nightclub and go on stage.

So why did I shoot my new special in this place? I don't know. Maybe because, after thirty years of doing comedy, the most exciting feeling for me is going on stage, not entirely sure it's going to go well. To this day, when I work at the Store, I feel there's a one in three chance I might bomb. Like bomb hard. To a guy my age who has been doing it this long, that is exciting. So over the last tour I did this year, I started doing shows at the Comedy Store "Main room" to feel it out. The staff of the club is excellent and they really know how to run a traditional room. I loved working with them. Pauly Shore and his family were very gracious when we approached them about shooting my special there.

I really feel truly privileged to have shot this special on that stage.

Okay I didn't mean to write such a long thing about comedy clubs. The point is I prepared the material for this special on club stages. I went to the Cellar here in New York, and their new club, The Village Underground, about ten times a week with the occasional trip uptown to Gotham Comedy Club and "The Stand" on third avenue. I went out to LA to put that spin on it, working Largo, the Improv and finally the Comedy Store, hammering this stuff together in front of late night comedy club audiences. So it only seemed right to shoot it that way.

That's all. I hope you enjoy the special. Please see the movie "Boyhood." It's a great piece of filmmaking and even literature. And take your kids to see "Into The Woods." It teaches the greatest lesson you could teach a kid: If you are paying attention, life is very confusing.

Thanks.

Louis CK

ps. I guess I didn't have to cancel the show at MSG tonight. I don't blame the mayor. That storm was a monster. We got lucky. When you consider the action taken by the government of entire north east, they got it right. To expect accuracy from each individual mayor is just too much.
For us in New York and us in my house and us at MSG it was overblown. But if you expand that "us" to everyone in the path is the storm, they were spot on. My family in Boston is part of us for me. So that's how I look at it.

You can purchase the show here.

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Plus-size model Tess Holliday has made history as the first woman of her size and height to sign a contract with a major modeling agency.

Holliday, whose real name is Tess Munster, just signed a deal with MiLK Model Management. She is 5 feet 5 inches tall, and a size 22.

Most plus-size models are typically taller and between sizes 8 and 16, by comparison. 

"I think we’re the only agency with a model of her size. She is by far the largest model I have in the [Curves] division," Anna Shillinglaw, the owner and director of MiLK, told the New York Daily News.

Announcing the deal on Facebook, Holliday said, "I can finally share my big news!!! I'm now represented by MiLK Management in London ... I'm the first plus size model EVER (I die) my size & height to be signed to a major agency."

Holliday has been featured in Vogue Italia, but Shillinglaw said she discovered the model through her Instagram account, where she has more than 357,000 followers. 

"I started following her, and saw how many followers she had — more than most models," Shillinglaw told the Daily News. "She's such an important role model for so many women."

Here are some of Holliday's Instagram posts: 

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On Tuesday, Taylor Swift's Twitter account was allegedly hacked by Lizard Squad, the same international hackers that took down the PlayStation network over the holidays.

With the hack came leaked DMs, allegedly between Swift and Nick Jonas.

The DMs are as "Taylor Swift" as you can imagine: very PG, sweet messages.

She also DM'd with YouTuber PewDiePie.

Here are the DMs:

[h/t Gawker]

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WWE shares went wild on Tuesday.

Shares of the company gained more than 19% on Tuesday after the company released news that subscribers to its WWE Network finally broke through 1 million.

"We’re thrilled that we’ve surpassed the 1 million subscriber milestone less than a year after launching WWE Network and in advance of WrestleMania, our biggest event of the year on March 29," WWE CEO Vince McMahon said. "We remain focused on delivering an outstanding value proposition for our fans by adding new content and new features in the coming year."

This milestone has actually been a long time coming. Analysts have been estimating that WWE needed to add around 1.4 million subscribers in order to make up for lost earnings from its pay-per-view business.

Investors have gotten used to watching shares crash after the company repeatedly announced subscriber stats that fell short of expectations.

In July, the company announced a round of strategic measures which involved cutting 7% of its workforce.

And even with today's gains, the stock is still down 40% in the last year.

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An all-female "Ghostbusters" reboot is in the works and we finally know the lead cast.

Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, and current "Saturday Night Live" comediennes Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones are set to star in the upcoming Sony film. 

The Hollywood Reporter first reported the news. 

Director Paul Feig ("The Heat," "Bridesmaid") since confirmed the news with a simple image of the four actresses on Twitter.

McCarthy and Wiig previously starred in Feig's hit "Bridesmaids."

Last year marked the 30th anniversary of the original "Ghostbusters" film.

A "Ghostbusters" reboot/sequel has been in the works for a long time. Originally, the film was supposed to reunite original stars Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, and Ernie Davis with director Ivan Reitman.

After the death of Ramis in Feb. 2014, Reitman decided to step out of the directing chair. 

Feig announced the new "Ghostbusters" movie will hit theaters July 22, 2016.

The new film will begin shooting in New York this summer, according to THR.

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