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Alex Gibney, the documentary filmmaker who just tackled Scientology in HBO's explosive "Going Clear," is already making news again for his next project, a new documentary about Steve Jobs.

In "Steve Jobs: Man in the Machine," Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney ("Taxi to the Dark Side," "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room") takes a critical look at the personal and private life of the late Apple CEO, tackling topics like his repeated denial of being the father of his daughter Lisa, and the harsh way in which he treated many Apple employees.

After the film's premiere at SXSW on Saturday, The Daily Beast called it "a blistering takedown" and "an all-out character assassination," while Variety wrote the film is a "coolly absorbing, deeply unflattering portrait" of Jobs.

Just one day after the premiere, Magnolia Pictures acquired North American theatrical, VOD, and home entertainment rights to Gibney's latest documentary, which was backed by CNN Films. While the financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, Variety notes, "There’s a comfort level between filmmaker and distributor. This is the seventh film directed by Gibney to be distributed by Magnolia."

While the two other Steve Jobs films — 2013's "Jobs" starring Ashton Kutcher and the upcoming "Steve Jobs" biopic based on Walter Isaacson's biography — paint a mainly positive picture of the Apple CEO, Gibney's is the first to be critical of him.

"Behind the scenes, Jobs could be ruthless, deceitful, and cruel," Gibney says via voiceover early in the film. And apparently the sentiment doesn't stop there.

Here's what five reviewers of the film have to say about "Steve Jobs: Man in the Machine":

Mashable's Chris Taylor:

"The focus (of Steve Jobs: The Man Inside the Machine) is on the shadows created by the light and the dark of Jobs' personality, as told by the people who knew him. Early on, we meet a Macintosh engineer who breaks down in tears remembering the agony and ecstasy working with Jobs, who drove his staff so hard, worked them so late, to the point where the engineer lost his wife and kids. And yet, the result was genius."

The Daily Beast's Marlow Stern:

"The entire final hour of Gibney’s 127-minute film is an all-out character assassination. It questions the inherent value of Apple products—and by extension, Jobs’s legacy. It smears him for not informing his company of his illness earlier, saying he was “obligated” to shareholders, and criticizes him for pursuing avenues of alternative medicine instead of immediately having surgery on his pancreatic cancer. It even chastises him for driving a silver Mercedes convertible with no plates and parking in handicapped spots."

LA Times' Amy Kaufman:

Certainly Gibney's portrayal of Jobs is far less flattering than Isaacson's. As the film makes its way through Jobs' story chronologically, Gibney highlights moments in which Jobs was unkind. The documentary says that when he and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak worked at Atari, Jobs once gave Wozniak only $350 of a $7,000 check meant to be split between them.

The film suggests he may have been downright greedy. The Chinese workers who were putting together iPhone 4s were making $12 per unit, while the company was profiting $300 per phone.

Variety's Justin Chang:

Gibney duly acknowledges Jobs’s artistry, innovation and technological showmanship while making plain just how “ruthless, deceitful and cruel” the man could be...

On a certain level, "The Man in the Machine" functions as a corrective and a tribute to the many brilliant men and women Jobs surrounded himself with but didn’t necessarily give their due; many here attest to his sharp way with a jab and his monomaniacal need for control, particularly with regard to staff retention...

Considerable screen time is devoted to an older episode in which the young Jobs disputed the paternity of his daughter Lisa (with his high-school girlfriend, Chrisann Brennan) and balked at paying child support — callous and ironic behavior, coming from someone who was always painfully aware of having been given up for adoption. As a still-wounded Brennan understandably concludes: “He didn’t know what real connection was.” 

9to5mac highlighted a few interesting points featured in the film:

On the paternity debacle: "Jobs’ cruelty regarding Chrisann and Lisa is highlighted in the film. You learn that he had lied in a sworn testimony, falsely claiming Brennan had multiple sex partners and that he was sterile and could therefore not be Lisa’s father. Only after a paternity test proved that he was did he finally accept responsibility. And though Apple went public in 1980, increasing Jobs’ net worth from $20 million to $200 million, he agreed to pay Brennan just $500 per month in child support."

Gizmodo and the iPhone 4: The film spends a significant amount of time revisiting the time when Jobs went to war with Gizmodo, after the tech website had gotten its hands on a prototype of an iPhone 4 that an Apple employee had carelessly left at a bar. All the key figures are interviewed, including editor Jason Chen, whose home was forcibly entered and computers seized by Silicon Valley police, and Nick Denton, who approved a payment of $5,000 for the phone. Jobs, who pledged not to stop until Gizmodo’s editors were in jail, died one year later.

In every review we've read of the film, the following clip is seen as the most emotional moment. Former Apple engineer Bob Belleville breaks down reading a note he wrote after Jobs' death.

Despite being in the midst of heavy promotion for his Scientology documentary "Going Clear," Gibney flew to Austin, Texas, this weekend for the movie's world premiere at SXSW. 

During a Q&A after the screening, Gibney defended his film and portrayal of Jobs.

"Zen was superficial — a formal elegance," Gibney said of trying to understand Jobs' spiritual values. "He believed in making the world a better place by making better products, and that's it."

Gibney also defended his film to Variety, saying, "There are critical elements that people haven’t seen about Jobs or understood."

"I would say I’m no longer madly in love with my iPhone," added the director. "It’s no longer blind faith."

Watch Gibney's full Q&A at SXSW below.

SEE ALSO: How filmmaker Alex Gibney finally infiltrated Scientology for HBO's explosive new documentary

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NOW WATCH: Steve Jobs' biographer reveals the childhood moment that defined the Apple founder

There has been a lot of chatter in the tech industry recently about YouTube stars being tempted to jump ship from the platform that made them big names, in search of more fame and a bigger paycheck.

Facebook is reportedly courting some of YouTube's biggest names to upload videos direct to its platform, while other YouTube creators have been signing big deals with TV networks, like Lucas Cruikshank with Nickelodeon. And then there are the countless new video startups like Snapchat, Vine, and Vessel all looking to woo the best online talent with the biggest fanbases over to their platforms too.

But Patrick Walker, a former YouTube executive who is now the chief executive of video network Rightster, has some advice for YouTube stars tempted to ditch the service: "Think twice before jumping ship."

Speaking to The Guardian, Walker says Cruikshank's move to sign a deal with Nickelodeon in 2009 should serve as a forewarning to others thinking of doing the same.

"It’s a cautionary tale: he jumped a bit too far into Nickelodeon’s world and lost his audience. Creators now are very smart, and very particular about protecting the authenticity of their audience. The great ones are maintaining a YouTube presence and being respectful to their history, but they are experimenting on other platforms," Walker said.

Walker doesn't think that experimentation will ultimately hurt YouTube in the long-run, telling The Guardian: "YouTube has been around for 10 years, and look how it's ingrained in people's lives: politically, socially and culturally...They've done a great job in staying cool, mostly. That's the biggest challenge for these new platforms: To attract the cool kids, and then stay cool enough to keep them."

And that's why the cool kids, namely YouTube's biggest stars, should treat other platforms with trepidation.

He advised: "That [check] may look shiny, but a high revenue-share and big check with no audience is no strategy. If you're trying to build a long term relationship with your audience is no strategy. If you're trying to build a long term relationship with your audience, you can't ignore the place where that audience exists.

"So think twice before jumping ship. But in many ways this is just like investing money: you want to have a diversified portfolio."

In the social media sense, that means negotiating direct deals with brands to create content across all of their social accounts, which is where Rightster comes in. Walker said most YouTube big talents are making 50% of their revenues by striking direct deals with brands, rather than just relying on ad revenue from their videos alone.

You can read the full interview with Rightster CEO Patrick Walker here.

SEE ALSO: When this YouTube star held a book-signing 8,000 teens turned up and police shut the area down: David Beckham did the same thing a week earlier and only 670 people showed up

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US video game makers brought in about $2.6 billion in revenue back in 1996, but that number had skyrocketed to $21 billion by 2013.

The video game industry has obviously seen explosive growth, and an ex-professional StarCraft player and current Twitch star named Sean Plott has a theory about why.

It all starts with accessibility.

In many ways, video games have democratized sports. Anyone, big or small, can join in and, with enough practice, compete with the best of them. That accessibility, Plott told Business Insider, is going to push video games and e-sports to become one of, if not "the predominant hobby in the world."

"It is only natural for [the industry] to grow from here," Plott said. "Accessibility drives traffic and growth in technology. That's a proven trend in technology."

For many kids, video games today are just more accessible than traditional sports.

"If you want to play soccer, you need a huge field," Plott said. "If you want to play football, you need armor! If you want to play squash, you need a court. If you want to play a video game, all you need is a computer and an internet connection."

Let's say you like basketball, Plott explained. One day, you decide to watch one of the few games that makes it to national television. One of the more popular teams is on — the Cleveland Cavaliers — and you see Lebron James do an incredible dunk.

His dunk inspires you to play a game of pick-up basketball. To act on that desire, you must first find a basketball court at a park, change into gym clothes and sneakers, get a basketball, and, finally, convince a few friends to play.

If any of those things fall through — say your friends don't want to play or the court at the park is occupied — you are out of luck, according to Plott.

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Kanye West is ready to celebrate.

West's wife, Kim Kardashian, recently reached 30 million followers on Twitter, and her proud husband was so excited that he tweeted a slew of explicit photos of his wife with captions like "I'M SO LUCKY" and "SWISH!"

As you can imagine, there's no outright nudity in the photos, but many of the images are semi-NSFW.

As of the time this post was published, they are still up on Twitter. West has a history of deleting his 140-character thoughts hours after he tweets them.

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NOW WATCH: 6 Crazy Things Revealed In HBO's Explosive New Scientology Documentary 'Going Clear'

HBO producers may have helped solve a 15-year-old murder by uncovering an incriminating letter written by Robert Durst, a wealthy real-estate heir who was arrested on Sunday for allegedly killing his friend.

Durst was the subject of a new HBO documentary series called "The Jinx," about the cloud of suspicion hanging over him after the unsolved 2000 murder of the journalist Susan Berman.

That documentary unearthed a "startling piece of evidence" — a letter that Durst had written to Berman, as the Guardian reported this weekend.

Durst — whose wife disappeared mysteriously in 1982 — was a close friend of Berman's and was considered a suspect in her murder. A year after she was shot execution-style, Durst killed his neighbor but was acquitted when a jury found he'd acted in self-defense, according to The New York Times.

The damning letter Durst wrote Berman contained block letters and a misspelling of "Beverly Hills" that resembled a note sent to police after Berman's death that alerted them to a "cadaver" at her residence. 

After Durst was asked about that letter, he went into the bathroom by himself. "There it is. You're caught," he muttered to himself, apparently not realizing a microphone was picking up his words. "What the hell did I do? Killed them all of course."

Susan Berman, magazine journalist and daughter of Las Vegas mobster Davie Berman, was shot in the back of the head on Dec. 23, 2000 in her Hollywood Hills home. With no signs of a break-in, police concluded that Berman's murderer must have been someone she knew.

In 2000, Durst was named the prime suspect in a reopened investigation into his wife Kathy's 1982 disappearance from their Westchester County home. Upon learning this, Durst disguised himself as a mute woman and fled from New York to Galveston, Texas.

Durst claimed in "The Jinx" that his last correspondence with Berman was in early 2000, when she called to tell him that the LAPD had contacted her about Kathy's disappearance.

He then wired her $50,000 after she told him she needed financial help. Berman was found murdered a few months later, and investigators have speculated over whether or not this $50,000 was a bribe to keep her from talking to the police. 

The following year, Durst killed his 71-year-old neighbor Morris Black, dismembered him, and dumped his body parts in the Galveston Bay. Durst successfully argued that he had killed Black in self-defense and was eventually acquitted of murder.

SEE ALSO: Infamous NYC real-estate heir says he 'killed them all' on HBO finale of 'The Jinx'

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Director Alex Gibney's explosive new documentary on Scientology, which opened theatrically in limited release on Friday and airs on HBO March 29, alleges many things the church is not happy about.

One of the allegations in "Going Clear" comes from former member, Mike Rinder, who, in an on-camera interview along with other former church members, discusses an area at one of the Scientology compounds supposedly called "The Hole," where disobedient members are allegedly sent as punishment.

In an email to Business Insider, the church denies such a place even exists:

"This is another tired, false and offensive allegation. The only 'hole' at the Church property being referred to is on the golf course. This again sources to the same small group of liars. This false propaganda was exposed as a lie in our video at freedommag.org/hbo/videos/exterminating-gibneys-propaganda.html."

Rinder, who is prominently featured in Gibney's film, even goes so far as to call Scientology's leader, David Miscavige, a "sociopath." 

The church didn't like that one, either, and in response slammed Rinder's character, calling him a "tainted source."

Rinder has since responded to BI to address the below comments from Scientology:

Scientology: "The source for these allegations, and Gibney’s primary subject, Mike Rinder, is talking about himself. Mr. Gibney and now yourself, due to prejudice and bias, have obliged in revising history for self-admitted suborners of perjury, perjurers and obstructers of justice."

Rinder: "I am no 'self-admitted suborner of perjury, perjuries and obstructer of justice' and I challenge them to produce whatever documents they say they have. This is a typical scientology sleaze. They claim [fellow former Scientology executive] Marty Rathbun admitted to doing this WHILE HE WAS EMPLOYED BY THE CHURCH and then ascribe it to me."

Scientology: "Mike Rinder admitted in a January deposition to the exact opposite of what he says to Mr. Gibney in the film and now to you."

Rinder: "No idea what they are referring to. And they don't cite the deposition or any specific statements that are 'the exact opposite.' Why not? They published portions of the deposition on their Freedom website? The entire transcript is available on Tony Ortega's site." 

Scientology: "He’s also a tainted source because he’s admitted to being paid by law firms seeking to score a payday suing the Church. You should know that just today the Church won a decisive victory in the case Rinder and his attorney clients had been hoping to hit the jackpot on."

Rinder: "Yes, I was hired as a consultant by several lawfirms. I testified in this deposition they refer to that it composed 10% of my income last year."

Scientology: "Rinder’s domestic abuse is documented by his ex-wife, brother, daughter and his ex-wife’s surgeon, and all of this would have been relevant to the film since Gibney shamelessly has Rinder lie about his ex-wife yet he didn’t ask her for comment or to sit for an interview, even when she was in New York to see him."

Rinder: "The alleged abuse is also documented by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office and on BBC TV. It's covered in my blog. I didn't lie about my ex-wife. I didn't even MENTION that she came to Florida with 6 other people, followed me and assaulted me in the parking lot of a doctor's office. And the Sheriff's Office did NOT find any 'domestic abuse.'"

Scientology: "Alex Gibney and HBO cynically repackaged Mike Rinder into the poster boy for their new propaganda film. They flew Rinder around the country in five-star luxury to shill for their religious hatred, never mentioning that Rinder was expelled from his former religion for gross malfeasance. They hid that Mike Rinder can’t hold a job and his only source of income is payment for attacking Scientology. Gibney knew all this but relevant facts would have popped the phony bubble of legitimacy Gibney created around his 'star.'"

Rinder: "Funny, the same deposition they refer to, I told them EXACTYLY what I did for a living. And that only 10% of my income came from consulting law firms on scientology cases. Somehow that becomes 'can't hold a job' and 'my only source of income is payment for attacking scientology.' These people lie even when they don't need to. This isn't even relevant to any specific claim in the film, but they just have to go out of their way to somehow proclaim me as being 'unable to hold a job'? My current activities in life have no bearing on what I have to say about my experiences inside scientology."

Scientology: "And, at a time when religious hatred is spreading through the world and inciting violence, it is also irresponsible to release any film about religion with someone so obsessed with inciting hatred as Mike Rinder, an admitted liar and suborner of perjury, a paid anti-religionist and a domestic abuser.  http://www.freedommag.org/hbo/videos/mike-rinder.html"

Rinder: "Finally, why don't they address ANY of the statements I make in the film? Not one of them. Instead, they respond with ad hominem attacks. I will tell you why that is -- they CANNOT refute the truth. And they are bound by their own policy to 'always attack, never defend.'"

Scientology: "Mr. Miscavige has been successfully leading the Scientology religion for more than a quarter of a century during which the Scientology religion has expanded faster in the last 10 years than in its previous 50 years combined. Scientology parishioners worldwide hold him in the highest esteem for what he is doing for the religion."

Rinder has also included a post on his blog addressing the allegations Scientology has made against he and "Going Clear." 

The one frequent Scientology rumor the film does not address is the alleged disappearance of Shelly Miscavige, wife of Scientology leader David Miscavige, over nine years ago.

Gibney previously told us there just wasn't enough time in the film to cover the story.

"At the end of the day, rather than doing stone skipping and covering as much as possible in a superficial way we chose to dig in on certain things," explained the director. 

But the Church of Scientology is adamant that Shelly Miscavige's whereabouts are part of a "conspiracy theory" and that she is not, in fact, missing.

"The false allegation about Mrs. Miscavige was debunked by the Los Angeles Police Department in a statement two years ago. The police declared the rumor “unfounded” and she continues in the Church as she always has. The notion that Mrs. Miscavige is missing is a conspiracy theory among Alex Gibney and Lawrence Wright's unsavory sources. The rumor has resulted in the disgraceful harassment of Mr. and Mrs. Miscavige. It is disgusting. The Church has made information available about Mr. Gibney’s film at www.freedommag.org/hbo."

HBO did not immediately reply to Business Insider's request for comment. 

SEE ALSO: Why Tom Cruise and John Travolta can't leave Scientology, according to the HBO documentary 'Going Clear'

MORE: The wife of Scientology's leader has allegedly been missing for 9 years, but HBO’s new documentary doesn't address it

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In 1982 three Mississippi teens — Chris Strompolos, Eric Zala and Jayson Lamb — had the insane idea to remake, shot-for-shot, Steven Spielberg’s classic "Raiders of the Lost Ark." Seven summers later they finally completed it, with the exception of one iconic scene.

In the age before Internet, the fan film, titled "Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation," quickly built a cult following via VHS. After Zala gave permission to one of his friends to make a copy of his master VHS, the grassroots domino effect of "The Adaptation" began to spread throughout the country. It became so big, in fact, that by 2003 copies found its way to Hollywood, and Spielberg himself even saw it (and loved it). 

The trio did an incredible job of recreating iconic scenes from the original.

Here's Indy trying to get the golden idol in the beginning of "Raiders of the Lost Ark."

Here's the same scene in "The Adaptation."

Indy fighting bad guys in Cairo.

Again, here's that same scene in the remake.

By 2003, the kids, at this point in their early 30s, had been trying to move on from the project that swallowed most of their youth. But the sudden surge of attention for the film pulled them back in and they found themselves motivated to do what they couldn’t pull off for those seven summers — shooting the dangerous airplane explosion scene that also includes Indy fighting a large Nazi while avoiding the plane's propellers.

With documentary filmmakers following along, Strompolos, who plays Indiana Jones in the remake, and Zala, director on the film (Lamb had a falling out with the two numerous years before), assembled a team to build a life-size replica of the plane in the scene and recreate the desert location in the Mississippi Gulf Coast (yes, complete with camels). Last year, the scene was shot in just over a week on a measly budget of around $60,000 they received from investors and a Kickstarter campaign.

The result is chronicled in the documentary "Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made," directed by Jeremy Coon (producer of "Napoleon Dynamite") and Tim Skousen, which just had its world premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival over the weekend.

Along with being ringside while the pair shoot the airplane explosion scene — which had horrible weather, a novice crew and shoddy pyrotechnics that almost ruined the final shot — "Raiders!" also recounts the 33-year history of the making of "The Adaptation." 

We get first-hand accounts from Strompolos, Zala, Lamb and many others who spent most of their childhoods with the trio either starring, working behind the scenes as crew, or both explaining what it was really like to try to make a Spielberg film in their neighborhood.

For every remarkable story of how they pulled something off — like Indy being chased by a boulder or the ghosts coming out of the Ark — there are the ones where serious injuries or death wasn't far off. For example, there was a scene where an old truck with no brakes was used to shoot the famous scene where Indy slides under a moving truck carrying the Ark, and is then dragged behind it from his whip. At another point, Zala was purposefully lit on fire with gasoline to recreate the bar brawl where Indy finds Marion and the bar burns down. (Luckily a fire extinguisher was close by.)

That halted production for a while due to angry parents.

But when it came to shooting the exploding airplane scene the kids couldn't decide what to do. Lamb, who was the cinematographer and special effects whiz of the group, wanted to do it as a miniature, but that wasn't in the cards for Strompolos and Zala. Spielberg didn't use miniatures for the scene! They finally just decided it wasn't possible to pull off (and do you really think their parents would allow them to fight near spinning propellers or blow up a plane?).

The scene wasn't a cakewalk for Spielberg either.

Filming in Tunisia, by the time they shot the scene, most of the cast and crew were dealing with food poisoning. Spielberg was spared as he only ate out of canned food from England. Harrison Ford's left leg was run over by the plane, tearing his cruciate ligament during shooting as well.

"Raiders!" is a testament to the power of movies and how, in this case, just dressing up as Indiana Jones for Halloween wasn't enough for a group of kids from Mississippi. But it's hardly the only example of the influence movies can have on us.

We've seen it in Michel Gondry's "Be Kind Rewind," which stars Jack Black and Mos Def as video store clerks who mistakenly erase all the tapes at their video store and decide to creatively reshoot them on no budget in their Brooklyn neighborhood with one camcorder. And opening last weekend, "Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter" is based on the urban legend that an office worker from Tokyo traveled to Fargo, North Dakota and died in search of the money Steve Buscemi's character in the Coen brother's "Fargo" left behind in the film.

This summer, popular Sundance film "The Wolfpack" opens in theaters, a documentary that highlights six brothers who have been living in an apartment in New York's Lower East Side shut away from society and only know about the outside world through the films they watch and then reenact using homemade props and costumes.

"The Adaptation" stands alone in fan films, not only because of the dedication behind it, but the story the kids pay tribute to is one that continues to capture the imagination of audiences young and old 34 years after its release. (Sadly, the movie probably won't be released any time soon due to copyright issues.)

Unlike films today that are topped a few weeks later by something bigger and bolder, Spielberg (along with Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas, who wrote the screenplay) created a story, characters and action sequences that to this day never feels outdated. Strompolos and Zala were so obsessed with it they needed to be in that story.

If you grew up loving Indiana Jones you understand why "The Adaptation" was made and why Strompolos and Zala had to finish it. Indy is still a movie hero we can relate to. He doesn't have super powers, or powerful weapons that destroy the villains. Harrison Ford plays him as a man driven by discovery and uses sheer effort and wits to accomplish it.

How much does that ring true today? In a recent Rolling Stone reader's poll asking to vote for your favorite Ford character, it wasn't Han Solo but Indiana Jones that came out as the number one choice. 

There are some guys from Mississippi who feel the same way.

Watch the first 10 minutes of "The Adaptation" below via YouTube:

SEE ALSO: 12 Austin restaurants you should try during SXSW

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When the investors first meet Brian Lim in the latest episode of "Shark Tank," he is wearing a giant cartoon headpiece and looks like a DJ ready to play to a bunch of ravers.

But once the mask comes off, the investors see that Lim has built two electronic music lifestyle companies with more than $7 million in annual revenue from the ground up.

Investor Robert Herjavec tells Lim that his focus, passion, and vision are exceptional. "Look, Brian, you're the real deal, man," Herjavec says. "You are probably one of the, if not the best entrepreneur we've had here."

The Sharks get into a feeding frenzy, and every investor makes an offer. Lim ends up making a $650,000 deal with Mark Cuban and Daymond John. Here's a breakdown of the pitch, including Lim's insights into the deal.

Lim, a native of Anaheim, California, enters the Tank seeking a $650,000 investment in exchange for a 5% equity stake in his businesses, the "gloving" company EmazingLights and the rave-apparel-maker iHeartRaves. The former is his flagship company, which he started in 2010 with just $100, and produces gloves with programmable LED lights built into the fingertips. He built iHeartRaves in 2013 to further tap the dance culture industry.

His girlfriend introduced him to the practice, which is essentially creating a light show with your hands, in 2010 at an electronic dance music (EDM) show, and he was hooked. Lim says he had always wanted to be an entrepreneur but didn't know what kind of company he wanted to create until he fell in love with gloving.

He saw an opportunity to take charge of this niche industry and filed for patents on premium-grade glove lighting. He left his job as an analyst at Deloitte the next year.

Some EDM concert promoters have banned gloving in the past, but Lim takes the practice very seriously and even considers it a sport.

He created the International Gloving Championship through EmazingLights, and it has helped him make his company synonymous with gloving. EmazingLights has 80% market share, and he tells the Sharks that he guarantees that his four or five competitors "do not operate on the same level."

Lim's companies have grossed over $13 million and together made $7.4 million in revenue in 2014. He tells the investors he wants to make EmazingLights a billion-dollar company.

The Sharks are intrigued. We've summarized the fight for a deal:

• Kevin O'Leary: Worried about the possibility of gloving being a fad, but very impressed with Lim's work ethic. Will loan $650,000 in exchange for 3% equity. Lim respectfully declines because he's looking for a hands-on partner.
• Daymond John: Will get high-level licensing deals, and can get into stores like Spencer's and Party City, if desired. Will give $650,000 for 20% of money made from licensing deals.
• Robert Herjavec and Lori Greiner: Are hugely impressed by his performance and drive, and want to be important members of his team. Will invest $1 million for 8% equity. 
• Mark Cuban and John: Cuban joins John's deal. Cuban will give $650,000 for 5% equity and will handle strategy and get EmazingLights performances into the Dallas Mavericks' halftime shows. John will take licensing duties and take 20% commission. "So you have the sports guy and the kinda music/fashion guy who's going to work with you, or you have the Queen of QVC and the security guy," John says, taunting Greiner and Herjavec.
• Herjavec and Greiner: Together have an international retail network and can also get EmazingLights into arenas. Offering $1 million for 5% equity.

Ultimately, Lim makes a deal with Cuban and John. 

"Although I respect and admire all of the Sharks for what they have accomplished in business, I just felt that Daymond's brand-building experience and Mark's familiarity with technology and e-commerce were a such great fit for EmazingLights that the difference on the valuation for a 5% stake was irrelevant in the long-term," Lim tells Business Insider.

"I gotta tell ya," Herjavec says in the Tank, "I hate losing that one." He tosses a glove onto the table in front of him.

In the days after the episode's premiere, Lim says traffic to his e-commerce sites surged to "record levels" and that the company has received "a huge number of wholesale and licensed store inquiries."

Lim and his team are now looking to acquire regional, national, and international business partners to make the International Gloving Competition more popular.

"Holding over 80% of the worldwide gloving market means the burden of growing the competitive gloving market is on our shoulders, but we are excited to face the challenges ahead with two new Sharks on our team," Lim says.

SEE ALSO: 10 things every entrepreneur should know before going on 'Shark Tank'

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NOW WATCH: Here’s the real reason why 'Shark Tank' investors get impatient

The filmmakers behind the explosive HBO documentary “The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst,” which looks at the reclusive millionaire suspected of three killings spanning four decades, have found themselves in the spotlight after Durst was arrested in New Orleans on Saturday for the murder of his friend, Susan Berman, a day before the six-part doc had its finale.

Sunday night's final episode led to a shocking revelation in which Durst reveals, while he was mic’d off-camera, that he “Killed them all, of course.”

Many are making the conclusion that the warrant came off the supposed admission from Durst in “The Jinx,” but the Los Angeles Police Department has said that it did not play a role in the decision to arrest Durst. 

“The Jinx” director, Andrew Jarecki, told "CBS This Morning" that they brought the audio to the authorities “many months” later after shooting the interview in 2012.

Jarecki also told CBS that they had “hoped” Durst would be arrested “as soon as possible.” And were “amazed” he hadn’t been arrested sooner.

Jarecki also did an interview on "Good Morning America" and one along with his cinematographer, Marc Smerling, for The New York Times, but has since canceled all interview requests, telling Entertainment Weekly in a written statement:

“Given that we are likely to be called as witnesses in any case law enforcement may decide to bring against Robert Durst, it is not appropriate for us to comment further on these pending matters.”

In the final episode of “The Jinx,” Durst leaves the room where Jarecki was interviewing him and goes to the restroom, though his mic was still on. Jarecki told CBS that Durst was aware it was still on. In the bathroom Durst begins speaking to himself:

“I’m having difficulty with the questions”

“What the hell do I do?”

“Killed them all, of course.”

Jarecki told the Times that assistant editors they hired had come across the audio two years later. However, in his interview with CBS, Jarecki said they discovered it “many months” later.

Durst is the son of New York City real estate mogul Seymour Durst. He has long been a suspect in the 1982 disappearance of his wife, Kathie, which was the basis of the 2010 movie “All Good Things” starring Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst (directed by Jarecki). Dust was also under suspicion of the unsolved killing of his close friend Susan Berman in 2000, which he’s now been arrested for. He was also a suspect in the killing and dismemberment of his neighbor in Galveston, Texas in 2001.

SEE ALSO: The damning evidence HBO uncovered about a real-estate heir accused of murder

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The dramatic arrest of infamous real-estate scion Robert Durst on the same weekend as the finale of the HBO documentary series about him is raising plenty of questions and creating plenty of its own drama.

For one, despite numerous reports that law enforcement had prior access to recordings of “The Jinx," the Los Angeles Police Department insists that Durst’s arrest in New Orleans as part of a homicide investigation into the death of his friend Susan Berman is not related to the documentary.

“We based our actions based on the investigation and the evidence,” said LAPD Deputy Chief Kirk Albanese, per the Los Angeles Times. “We didn’t base anything we did on the HBO series. The arrest was made as a result of the investigative efforts and at a time that we believe it was needed.”

Second, the timing of the documentary's “hot mic” audio recording, in which Durst says, ““What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course,” may not be admissible in court, according to legal experts. Since that comment was recorded during a break in filming when Durst went to the bathroom, Durst “had an expectation of privacy,” lawyers told The New York Times. 

Third, the timing of that apparent confession has come under scrutiny. The documentary’s director, Andrew Jarecki, told GMA that it was recorded three years ago and told CBS This Morning that the comment was found a few months later. But the New York Times reported that it wasn’t unearthed until two years after the recording. 

Amid all of the media attention, Jarecki abruptly canceled TV appearances scheduled for Monday night on MSNBC’s “All In With Chris Hayes” and the “Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.” Later, he and “Jinx” producer Marc Smerling released a statement explaining the cancellations: 

"Given that we are likely to be called as witnesses in any case law enforcement may decide to bring against Robert Durst, it is not appropriate for us to comment further on these pending matters." 

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Universal Pictures debuted seven private fan screenings of the new "Fast and the Furious" movie, "Furious 7," across the country Monday evening.

Fans in four of those locations were surprised when stars from the film including Tyrese (San Francisco, California), Ludacris (Atlanta, Georgia), Jordana Brewster (Miami, Florida), and Vin Diesel himself (Los Angeles) came out to introduce the sequel.

"Furious 7" was originally set for release in summer 2014, but was put on hold after the death of costar Paul Walker in November 2013.

Full clips of the actors' speeches haven't made their way online yet, but each of them made a reference to Walker.

Here's Tyrese welcoming the crowd in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Ludacris welcomed those at the first screening in Atlanta, Georgia and gave viewers insight into what went into completing the film. 

"There's a big misunderstanding," said Ludacris. "He [Walker] was done with about 80% of his parts in this movie before his untimely death. The whole production was shut down for about four or five months. We didn't even know if we were going to finish the movie." 

It was fitting that Diesel welcomed the crowd in Los Angeles where the franchise began.

"This is a very special movie as you all know. We made this movie with our hearts," said Diesel. "It was important to me to come."

Earlier this week, Diesel shared the following image from "Furious 7" with his Facebook followers:

"Furious 7" is in theaters April 3.

SEE ALSO: Fans loved the first screening of "Fast and the Furious 7"

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The youngest K's of the Jenner/Kardashian clan have been following in their sisters' footsteps and are now launching their own mobile game, thanks to the success of their characters on sister Kim's massively popular "Hollywood" app.

Kylie and Kendall Jenner, half-sisters of Kim Kardashian, announced today that a standalone mobile game on publishing platform Glu will soon be launching featuring the two girls.

Players will be able to friend Kylie and Kendall within the game, and work towards their career goals together.

The game will even feature the girls' voices.

Both Jenner girls have risen to fame on their own after getting their start as young kids on the family's wildly popular show "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" and its subsequent spinoffs featuring two or more of the Kardashian sisters.

The game is said to be released in late 2015.

Here is the full press release for the game:

Kendall and Kylie Jenner Join Glu's Celebrity Cast
The sisters' style and personalities coming to a new, standalone free-to-play mobile game

San Francisco, Calif. - March 17, 2015 - Glu Mobile Inc. (NASDAQ: GLUU), a leading global developer and publisher of free-to-play games for smartphone and tablet devices, today announced that the company will partner with Kendall and Kylie Jenner on the development of a new mobile game. Featuring the voices, likenesses, and creative influences of Kendall and Kylie, the game will allow players to interact with the sisters as friends and mentors as they work to realize their creative and career aspirations. Glu expects to launch the game worldwide in late 2015 on iOS and Android. To the delight of players, Kendall's and Kylie's digital personas were first introduced as characters in Kim Kardashian: Hollywood.    

The Jenner sisters have risen from reality TV fame to become globally recognized personalities and fashion icons. Kendall Jenner is a leading high fashion model, most recently gracing the runway for several designers at Paris Fashion Week 2015. She is also the face of several global ad campaigns for worldwide renowned fashion brands and a major cosmetic line. Kylie Jenner also frequently graces the covers of leading fashion and culture publications, most recently featured on the cover of Fault Magazine's 20th Anniversary issue. She is also an ambassador for several clothing lines and beauty products.

"Kendall and Kylie Jenner bring a tremendous amount of brand power and social impact to an audience largely untapped by the gaming industry. We are pleased to partner with them over the 5-year contract term," said Glu CEO, Niccolo de Masi. "We expect that their creative input along with Glu's expertise in the celebrity-based mobile gaming genre will produce an experience that resonates with Kendall's and Kylie's more than 72 million* social followers around the world. With the addition of Kendall and Kylie to our portfolio, by the end of 2015 Glu's celebrity gaming platform will be supported by more than 300 million** total social followers."

Glu will provide additional details on the game's development and Kendall and Kylie's involvement at a later date.

* Kendall's social audience as of March 15, 2015: 7.6 Million on Facebook, 9.9 Million on Twitter, 21.2 Million on Instagram. There is some fan overlap between these social channels and Kylie's social channels.

* Kylie's social audience as of March 15, 2015: 6 Million on Facebook, 8.6 Million on Twitter, 18.8 Million on Instagram. There is some fan overlap between these social channels and Kendall's social channels.

**Based on the combined Facebook, Twitter and Instagram audience of Kendall and Kylie Jenner, Kim Kardashian-West and Katy Perry as of March 15, 2015. There is some fan overlap between these social channels and celebrities.   

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Nintendo revealed Tuesday that it's working on a next-generation game console codenamed "NX."

Nintendo first announced the upcoming NX during a press conference, where Nintendo chief executive Satoru Iwata promised that the NX would be "a dedicated game platform with a brand-new concept," according to Engadget.

Nintendo is still keeping the NX largely under wraps for now, but Iwata promised Nintendo would reveal more information about the new game console "next year."

It was also revealed during the press conference that Nintendo would be partnering with Japanese mobile gaming company DeNA to bring Nintendo characters and games to smartphones, which will mark Nintendo's first entry in the mobile games market.

In the past, Nintendo has chosen to tackle the mobile space through its portable game consoles such as the Nintendo 3DS, but the partnership with DeNA paves the way for Nintendo games to arrive on iOS and Android.

Iwata assured the audience, however, that Nintendo was still interested in making game consoles, explaining that NX would exist alongside the Wii U, 3DS, PC, and other mobile hardware including tablets and smartphones.

"As proof that Nintendo maintains strong enthusiasm for the dedicated game system business, let me confirm that Nintendo is currently developing a dedicated game platform with a brand-new concept under the development codename 'NX,'" Iwata said.

You can watch Nintendo's official announcement of the NX below.

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Nintendo shares were up as much as 29% on Tuesday following an announcement from the company that it would start making games for mobile devices.

Until now, Nintendo had refused to bring its games to platforms outside its own consoles. On Tuesday, it announced a partnership with a Japanese mobile gaming company called DeNA to start developing new smartphone and tablet games featuring Nintendo characters.

Nintendo and DeNA also invested $181 million in each other, giving Nintendo a 10% stake in DeNA and DeNA about a 1% stake in Nintendo, according to Reuters.

This plays to Nintendo's biggest strength: its library of iconic characters and games. Nintendo released a new video game console called the Wii U in 2012, but the console's sales have already been eclipsed by those of Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4. Nintendo also makes a handheld console, the 3DS.

Mobile gaming is a hot, profitable space to get into. Games like "Clash of Clans," "Game of War," and "Candy Crush" practically mint money by offering in-app purchases for virtual items. Couple that model with Nintendo's library of classic franchises, and you probably have a formula for success.

Besides new games designed specifically for mobile devices, Nintendo has an opportunity to back classic titles, too. Gaming companies like Sega and Capcom have already seen success adapting older games for smartphones and tablets.

Nintendo also teased on Tuesday that it was already developing its next video game console, which is codenamed "NX." The company did not give any details on the new console other than that it was "a dedicated game platform with a brand-new concept," according to Engadget.

SEE ALSO: Nintendo is working on a new video game console

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The current season 2 of Comedy Central's "Broad City" has featured some pretty incredible guest stars, especially for such a new show.

Seth Rogen, Kelly Ripa, Susie Essman, and more have made appearances on the cult favorite series about two twenty-something women just trying to get by in New York City.

We talked to "Broad City" creators and stars, Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer, to find out how the cameos came to be.

Seth Rogen as "Male Stacy":

In the premiere episode of season 2, Seth Rogen plays Abbi's sweaty date who passes out in the midst of a hook up.

"With Seth, we wrote that part and we pictured him," Glazer tells us. "He's just so perfect for that part."

"Everybody loves him," she added. "He inspired us in writing that character and we reached out to him and we're so glad that he could do it because I don’t think it would have been the same episode without him."

Comedian/actress Susie Essman as Ilana's mom, "Bobbi Wexler."

The "Curb Your Enthusiasm" actress stopped by "Broad City" to play Ilana's lookalike mom.

"Susie Essman was a long time coming for us, we dreamed about her playing my mom for a long time, like, since the web series," Glazer tells us. "So we reached out to her and went to dinner with her. And in the same dinner she was like 'I’ll think about it' and then was like, 'I’ll do it.'"

"We’ve been seducing her," added Jacobson.

The casting was spot-on, see for yourself below.

Indie actor Bob Balaban plays Ilana's dad and Susie Essman's husband, "Arthur Wexler."

Ilana's brother is played by her real-life older brother, Eliot Glazer.

In the most recent episode, Kelly Ripa plays an outrageous version of herself.

"I play myself. I sort of play what I like to refer to as my alter-ego's alter-ego. So it's like an alter-ego twice removed," Ripa said last week on "Live With Kelly and Michael." "It is a very different version of me."

"It's a party Kelly Ripa. A misguided Kelly Ripa," the perky morning show host added. "There may be booze. There may be other things! Who knows?"

Watch the very out-of-character clip below:

In the same episode, "Arrested Development" actress Alia Shawkat plays Ilana's doppelgänger love interest, "Adele."

Season one also featured a slew of celebrity guest stars, including executive producer Amy Poehler, Fred Armisen, and Amy Sedaris.

But despite Abbi and Ilana's improv background at Upright Citizens Brigade, the show is all pretty solidly scripted, including the celebrity cameos.

"For the most part, guest stars come in after the scripts are pretty locked," explains Ilana. "So the way we shoot is that we get the scripted versions down and then we do fun runs where we allow for more improv than the other takes, which is where we let loose a little."

And there haven't been an divas on-set yet, or actors uncomfortable with the sometimes risqué story lines.

"I don’t think anyone had much of an issue with anything," adds Ilana. "I feel like if something is too risqué, we’re like, 'we have to do this.'"

As for dream guest stars of the future, Abbi would love to get Frances McDormand or Richard Jenkins, while Ilana, true to her character's personality, says, "I think Drake would be really funny."

The season 2 finale of "Broad City" airs this Wednesday, March 18.

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This week, groups of "Fast and Furious" fans around the country got the opportunity to see the latest installment of the series before the film's release.

I was fortunate enough to be one of them, and I can honestly say I was blown away. "Furious 7" gave us the smorgasbord of insane action, goofy humor, and brotherly love we were expecting — and then some. It was especially satisfying for fans of exotic cars.

For the latest film, the "Fast and Furious" producers have taken their car game to a whole new level. Characters jump in and out of more European exotics rides, American muscle cars, and Japanese tuner mobiles than Katy Perry does wardrobe changes at a concert. 

But for all of the Nissan GT-Rs and Dodge Chargers in the movie, one car drew the most ooohs and aaaahs from the audience — the Lykan HyperSport.

The red Lykan's big scene, which was teased earlier this year in a trailer during the Super Bowl, featured the hypercar flying out of the side of one skyscraper — into another!

The driver is Vin Diesel's Dom Toretto character. The setting is Abu Dhabi. Diesel is being chased by an RPG-wielding Jason Statham.

This will be the first time many people have seen the Middle Eastern hypercar.

The Lykan HyperSport is built by Dubai-based W Motors and is the company's first attempt at producing high-priced automotive exotica.

The HyperSport is powered by a Porsche-sourced, 3.7 liter, twin-turbocharged, flat-6-cylinder engine that's tuned to produce 750 horsepower.

As a result, the hypercar is able to blitz the 0-60 mph run in just 2.8 seconds and reach an incredible top speed of 242 mph.

All of this performance doesn't come cheap. The asking price for the Middle Eastern exotic is roughly $3 million. Yikes!

Believe it or not, the Lykan's cinematic debut was not completely computer generated. In true "Fast and Furious" fashion, film makers actually drove the stunt car out of the side a set.

Granted, the stunt was performed much closer to the ground than depicted in the movie. But still.

"Fast and Furious 7" will hit theaters on April 3. Check out the complete  trailer here:

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In honor of St. Patrick's Day, we're taking a look at ten actors from Irish descent. And some may surprise you.

Whether hailing from Ireland or Hollywood, these actors have starred in huge franchises and won multiple Academy Awards.

But no surprise, considering they were born with the luck of the Irish.

10. Evanna Lynch

Birth place: Termonfeckin, County Louth, Ireland

Age: 23

Most well known films: Played Luna Lovegood in the "Harry Potter" series.

Irish ancestry: Born into a family of six in Ireland, Lynch often acted in school plays and attended a summer school for gifted teens in Dublin. After reading the "Harry Potter" books and becoming a fan, Lynch sent letters to author J.K. Rowling, who corresponded with Lynch during her two-year battle with anorexia at age 11 and 12.

In 2006, after auditioning for the role of Luna Lovegood at an open casting call in London among 15,000 other girls, Lynch was cast in the "Harry Potter" series at age 14. The actress made her on-screen debut in 2007's "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix."

9. The late Peter O'Toole

Birth place: Connemara, County Galway, Ireland

Age: O'Toole died in 2013 at the age of 81.

Most well known films: "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962), "The Lion in WInter" (1968), "My Favorite Year" (1982) O'Toole has been nominated for eight Oscars. In 2008, starred as Pope Paul III on "The Tudors."

Irish ancestry: After being born in Ireland, O'Toole was raised in England, where lived until his death.

From the book "Fame and Obscurity":

Though Peter O'Toole remains an uprooted Irishman by choice, he leaves London and returns to Ireland every now and then to do some drinking, to play the horses at the Punchestown racetrack outside Dublin, and to spend some solitary hours thinking. 

8. Stuart Townsend

Birth place: Howth, County Dublin, Ireland

Age: 42

Most well known films: "The League of Extraordinary Gentleman" (2003), "About Adam" (2000). Townsend made three movies with his former girlfriend of nine years, Charlize Theron: "Trapped" (2002), "Head in the clouds" (2004) and "Eon Flux" (2005).

Irish ancestry: Townsend was raised Irish Catholic by his professional golfer father and model mother. The actor began his career while attending the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin and later made his professional stage debut in 1994's "True Lines" which was a part of the Dublin Theatre Festival. Before fame, Townsend formed a theatre group with his friends in Dublin where they re-enacted a popular childrens' show.

On Sunday, 71-year-old real-estate scion Robert Durst was arrested the same weekend as the finale of "The Jinx," the HBO documentary series about him.

But the AP made a critical error in reporting the news – it confused Robert Durst with Fred Durst, the 44-year-old former frontman of Limp Bizkit.

A jimromenesko.com reader first flagged the error that looked like this on AP:

NEW ORLEANS (AP) – A Louisiana State Police trooper says millionaire Robert Durst has been booked on weapons charges in that state – on top of a first-degree murder charge lodged by Los Angeles authorities. Trooper Melissa Matey told the Associated Press that an arrest warrant was issued for the former Limp Bizkit frontman and he was rebooked in the Orleans Parish Jail on Monday under two new charges.

It was only after Romenesko asked the AP’s spokesperson to confirm the Robert Durst/Limp Bizkit error that the story was corrected:

The Associated Press reported erroneously that Robert Durst is a member of a band. He is a real estate heir; Fred Durst is the former frontman of Limp Bizkit.

People on Twitter are having a field day with the error:

Robert Durst was arrested by FBI agents Saturday afternoon at a New Orleans hotel, a day before the final episode of the HBO series aired.

"FBI agents believed Durst may have wanted to flee the country, possibly to Cuba, as he registered under an alias at the hotel, paid with cash, and was found with fake documents," according to ABC News. Coincidentally, Saturday marked the first nonstop flight from New Orleans to Cuba since 1958, as pointed out by nola.com.

SEE ALSO: The LAPD insists Robert Durst's arrest was actually not connected to HBO's 'The Jinx'

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The seventh installment of the "Fast and Furious" franchise, aptly titled "Furious 7," is probably one of the most ridiculous non-stop action rides you'll see this year. 

It's also probably one of the few action films which will also reduce you to tears by its end. 

We attended one of seven fan screenings for the film held Monday night and reception for the film was overwhelmingly positive. 

The film, which was originally set to debut summer 2014, was put on hold after the death of lead costar Paul Walker in November 2013.  

For a while, it wasn't certain whether the cast and crew would move forward with the next installment. Fans are definitely happy they did. 

Applause opened and closed the film. 

Walker’s first appearance on screen was met with wild enthusiasm. While, yes, we were at a fan screening, this is something I expect will occur in most screenings of the film opening weekend. The "Fast and Furious" films have built up a big social presence across Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Unlike other films, the "Furious 7" team and cast update their accounts regularly and don't quit once the movie stops airing. 

Starring a huge returning cast of Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese, Ludacris, and the late Walker for one last ride, the film starts off tying the previous films in the saga together by merging the end of “Fast and Furious 3” (aka “Tokyo Drift”) with the end of “six.” That may sound confusing to outsiders of the franchise, but the film does it immensely well. 

Don’t worry. There's no need to go back and bingewatch the older films. "Furious 7" does a nice job of catching you up to speed if you haven't been keeping up with the story.

“Furious 7” kicks off with Jason Statham joining the cast as villain Deckard Shaw.

He's trying to hunt down all of Dominic Toretto's (Diesel) crew to avenge his brother, the villain from "Fast and Furious 6," who was left for dead in the last film. Before Shaw can do that, Dom plans to take him out first with help from Brian (Walker), Ronan (Tyrese), Tej (Ludascris), and Letty (Michelle Rodriguez).

From the start, the two-hour and 20 minute movie kicks it in to overdrive and never really stops. 

Highlights include big fight sequences between Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and Shaw as well as showdowns between the latter and Dom that have been teased in marketing.

Rodriguez also has a memorable brawl going toe to toe with MMA fighter Ronda Rousey.

A part near the end of the film may remind fans of Johnson's next summer action flick, "San Andreas," about earthquakes shattering Los Angeles.

Of course the cars are the big scene stealers here.

If you've seen the trailers, you already know what's in store.

Muscle cars parachute out of airplanes and a $3 million hypercar gets sent flying through buildings. 

That doesn't make them any less fun. They look even better on the big screen.

After binge-watching the six previous films ahead of "Furious 7," I'd dare to say "Fast Five" and "Six" are better plotwise than the latest installment.

Without getting into it too much, the main point of the film is for Diesel to get revenge and take down Shaw before he can harm his extended family. The mission gets sidetracked pretty fast when Diesel and his team get wrangled into a wacky chase around the world by the FBI (headed by another addition, Kurt Russell) for a valuable tech prototype before they can continue hunting Shaw. (Think CBS' "The Amazing Race.")

From there, the plot becomes slightly bloated with drones and hackers thrown in the mix, too.

But let's be realistic.

You don't go to a "Fast and the Furious" film for a serious plot. You head in to see the fast cars, Dom and Brian racing, and what ridiculous punchlines the Rock is going to deliver. 

These films know their audience and what they're doing.

Each film tries to top the last with even more ridiculous stunts. In 2001's first film, Dom and Brian tried to outrace a train. In "2 Fast 2 Furious," Brian jumped a car onto a yacht. The last film introduced a military tank to the mix and a wild scene with Vin Diesel diving out of his vehicle and across a highway. "Furious 7" more than upped the ante. 

Those who have been fans from its start in 2001 will be rewarded. 

Not only do actors from previous films — going back to the first release in 2001 — make short cameos, but diehard fans will notice specific references and nods to earlier installments. (One to be on the lookout for is *spoiler* that infamous wrench we learned Dom used to cripple a man in the first film. That sent him to the slammer for two years. *spoiler*)

More than anything, "Furious 7" is a tribute to Walker. 

Walker's brothers Caleb and Cody filled in to help complete parts of the movie that went unfilmed by Paul. In some brief moments, you may wonder if it's Paul or his siblings on screen, but you'd be hard pressed to think you're looking at anyone but Paul anywhere but in a few select scenes where the screen attention is taken off his face. For those worried that Walker may be lacking in the film, he's in the film nearly as much as Diesel. If anything, the Rock is in the film less than Walker.

The final 15-20 minutes of "Seven" definitely pull at your heart strings more than any of the other films in the ongoing series.

There's a scene in 2011's "Fast Five" where Dom gives a toast after everyone learns his sister Mia (Jordana Brewster) is pregnant. He says, "Money will come and go. We know that. But the most important thing in life will always be the people in this room. Right here. Right now. Salud mi familia."

Take away the flashy cars, the explosions, the scantily clad women, and the quirky asides and one-liners from Ludacris and Tyrese, and the "Fast and the Furious" series has always been about family.

That's one reason this franchise was able to rise back up in popularity after the fourth film when Diesel and the original cast returned. It modeled itself around the one thing his character Dom valued more than anything.

Behind the silliness and the action of the franchise, at the end of the day, the films are about Dom's extended family, an incredibly diverse one full of different races and cultures. Everyone can relate to that. Everyone has family.

I won't take away the ending of "Furious 7" from you. That's something that should be experienced on the big screen, but it is a fitting tribute to the late Walker.

Bring a tissue or two, because you're most likely going to cry. There's just no way around that. 

By the time you leave, you'll want to know the name of the Wiz Khalifa track responsible for your tears. Don't click the link to the song for now if you want to be surprised come April. 

Estimates are saying the film will make $100 million opening weekend. "Fast and Furious 6" made $97 million in three days. Over Memorial Day weekend 2013, it made $120 million. Since then, Vin Diesel has become one of the most followed celebrities on Facebook with over 90 million fans. There's also a big audience who wants to bid adieu to Walker's character on screen. That was evident from the screening we attended. We wouldn't be surprised if it made plenty more than that.

"Furious 7" is in theaters April 3.

SEE ALSO: The 'Fast and Furious' cast surprised fans at early screenings for the next film

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NOW WATCH: The new 'Furious 7' trailer is packed full of cars, explosions, and ridiculous stunts