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The first TV ad for 'Spectre' gives us our best look at the next Bond movie yet

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The first TV spot for "Spectre" debuted during the NBA finals Tuesday night, and it gives us the best glimpse at the latest Bond film yet.  

Much like the first trailer for the film, this new teaser partially revolves around a secret from Bond's past that was uncovered at Skyfall, his childhood home.  

It also gives a shadow-shrouded glimpse of Oscar winner Christoph Waltz as the villain, who's identity is mostly still shrouded in mystery. 

The trailer also gives us glimpses of "Guardians of the Galaxy" star Dave Bautista, who plays Mr. Hinx, as well as Monica Belluci as Lucia Sciarra, and Lea Seydoux as Madeleine Swann. 

"Spectre" will be released in theaters on November 6, 2015.

SEE ALSO: See the first photo of Daniel Craig in "Spectre"

AND: Meet the full cast of the film

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An actor with one scene in 'Jurassic Park' is the only character returning for 'Jurassic World'

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BD Wong Chuck Zlotnick Universal.JPG

Warning: (Small) Spoilers Ahead

BD Wong has been acting since the early 1980s, showing up in memorable movies like “Father of the Bride” (and the sequel) as the flamboyant assistant of the wedding planner (played by Martin Short) to recurring TV roles such as playing Dr. George Huang on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.”

But for the rest of the summer you’ll likely remember him best for playing another type of doctor.

Over 20 years ago Wong played Dr. Henry Wu in “Jurassic Park.” Dr. Wu only shows up for one scene, but like most things that happen in “Jurassic World” (opening in theaters Friday), you should be familiar with Steven Spielberg’s original to keep up with what’s going on in the latest film in the franchise.

In “Jurassic Park,” Dr. Wu is the chief engineer of InGen (International Genetic Incorporated), the bioengineering start-up responsible for recreating the dinosaurs featured in Jurassic Park.

BD Wong Jurassic ParkIn the film, when doctors Grant (Sam Neill), Sattler (Laura Dern), and Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) interrupt the ride they’re on which explains in general terms how the dinosaurs were cloned and enter the laboratory, there we find Wu with pencil and clip board in hand looking over the newly-cloned dinosaur eggs.

Through the main character’s visit to the lab and speaking with Dr. Wu, they (and the audience) have a better understand of how the dinosaurs came back into the world, and some major plot points…like the fact that they’ve cloned Velociraptors.

After that scene we don’t see Dr. Wu the rest of the film, leaving us to assume he either made it on one of the last boats to the mainland off Jurassic Park or he was gobbled up by the dinosaurs.

In “Jurassic World” we fast forward twenty-plus years later and the failure of Jurassic Park has now become the wildly successful Jurassic World. It's a fully-functional theme park beyond anything we saw in the first movie, including bigger dinosaurs.

jurassic world dinosaur eating sharkThis is the handy work of Dr. Wu, who is now the head of the InGen division that clones the dinosaurs.

We learn quickly that crowds flocking to Jurassic World are no longer satisfied with just seeing a Tyrannosaurus Rex or Raptor, and through this pressure to keep amazing audiences Dr. Wu and his team have pushed the envelope in their cloning habits. They've created dinosaurs (or perhaps it’s better to call them “attractions”) that marvel but are extremely dangerous.

As Wong explains it in this promotional video for “Jurassic World,” “they [InGen] are exploring new things because they have taken the technology to a really extreme depth, and that extreme depth leads to death.”

BD Wong Chuck Zlotnigh Universal2.JPGLike in “Jurassic Park,” Dr. Wu is once more part of a conversation in “World” that informs the audience in greater detail about the origins of these new dinosaurs and will be of importance as you watch the film.

But unlike “Park,” Dr. Wu doesn’t just disappear for the rest of the film. This time around he’s involved in matters that endanger everyone at Jurassic World and could possibly be of great importance for future movies in the franchise.

SEE ALSO: Why it took 10 years to bring "Jurassic World" to theaters

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NOW WATCH: 5 science facts 'Jurassic World' totally ignored

We've learned a lot about dinosaurs in the last two decades and 'Jurassic World' is completely ignoring it

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jurassic world dinosaurs

When it was first released during the summer of 1993, "Jurassic Park" not only captured the imaginations of viewers with its dazzling special effects, it also made dinosaurs cool again, and made the public interested in paleontology.

"It had a big influence on me in wanting to study Paleontology."Dr. John Hutchinson, an evolutionary biomechanist and professor at the Royal Veterinary College in London, explained to Business Insider. "The original film was a landmark in cinema, in many ways and also an important moment in Paleontology that influenced a lot of people including me."

Our understanding of dinosaurs has changed a lot in the 22 years since "Jurassic Park" debuted in theaters. A few years after the first film came out, it was discovered that some dinosaurs were feathered. While you won't find any feathers on the dinos in "Jurassic Park," the film does cling to the theory that dinosaurs had more in common with birds than reptiles.

"I bet you'll never look at birds the same way again," Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) muses while watching a T. rex take a Gallimimus down. 

Jurassic Park T RexIn reality, the T. rex was still a flesh-eating carnivore. However, its actual feathered appearance diverges from the popular image of it as seen in "Jurassic Park."

While some interpret that prehistoric beasts were covered entirely in feathers, others think the feathers were just "filaments and strands," as Dr. Mark Norell, current Chairman of Paleontology at the American Museum of Natural History, tells Business Insider.

However, it's no longer just a theory that dinosaurs had bird-like features: It is a flat-out fact. 

"The distinction between what is a bird and what is a dinosaur has really gone away." said Norell.

Here's what T. rex looked like in "Jurassic Park":

Jurassic Park T RexAnd this is what scientists today think the T. rex really looked like:

Take note of the small, feathered arms and bird-like feet:

T rex feathers

Yet, the newly discovered physical appearance hasn't altered how the "Jurassic Park" franchise has portrayed its dinosaurs. 

In "Jurassic World," you will not find a single feather, but rather the same, reptile-like appearances found in previous films.

"Jurassic World" director Colin Trevorrow announced this in a simple way on Twitter in March 2013:

This decision goes beyond the justification of artistic license into what some paleontologists believe is scientific irresponsibility.

"Well, I understand the primary mission of the movie is to tell a story and everything has to lend itself towards telling that story,"Hutchinson said. "It doesn't contribute to telling the story in some way then it's not so important. But if part of the story and the selling point of the movie is 'this is a scientifically accurate, believable vision of what could be,' then scientific accuracy begins to matter more and more." 

Hutchinson notes the original film was praised by the scientific community for sticking to the science as much as humanly possible, with a notable exception.

"If you are kind of marketing the movie as a scientific vision, then I think the 'Jurassic Park' films have given up on that largely." Hutchinson added.

There's no arguing that the T. rex of "Jurassic Park" is terrifying. Some might believe adding feathers to it would have made it less scary, especially when a lot of scientists now compare it to a "big chicken."

T Rex FeathersHutchinson, however, believes the opposite. 

"There's still a significant sector of the public that don't like the idea of dinosaurs with feathers and think its less scary. But I think that's totally wrong. If you actually put some thought into it you can make feathered dinosaurs incredibly terrifying." Hutchinson said.

Norell concurred. 

"I think any animal that's over 40 feet long and 12 feet high at the hip, and has, you know, six inch long teeth, I mean, if it was in a clown suit it would still look scary." Norell said. 

Real Microraptor

If Spielberg and Trevorrow took these changes into account, it might have made for a stranger, more unique "Jurassic World" that completely veered away from the franchise. 

However, just because paleontologists are displeased with the science, that doesn't mean that "Jurassic World" won't be a fun time at the movies. 

"You know, people have to realize that these films are entertainment." Norell said. "I remember back when one of the films came out several years ago, I said that these films are to Paleontology what 'Star Trek' is to Stephen Hawking...They're not documentaries, they're pure fantasies and storytelling. And when I say that, I'm not making a judgment on them at all because of course fantasy storytelling can be really great. It's just...they're not textbooks about dinosaur paleontology."

Feathers or not still won't stop scientists from seeing "Jurassic World."

When asked if he would go see "Jurassic World," Hutchinson succinctly answered, "Sure...yeah."

SEE ALSO: The velociraptors in the 'Jurassic Park' movies are nothing like their real-life counterparts

AND: An Earth, Wind, and Fire song inspired Spielberg to create one of the most terrifying scenes from 'Jurassic Park'

AND: THEN & NOW: The cast of 'Jurassic Park' 22 years later

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NOW WATCH: The new 'Jurassic World' trailer shows why it took $190 million to make this summer blockbuster

It looks like there's going to be another awesome Quicksilver scene in the next 'X-Men' movie

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The best scene in last year's "X-Men: Days of Future Past" revolved around a lightning fast mutant, Quicksilver, played by Evan Peters.

In the film, Quicksilver helps break Magneto (Michael Fassbender) out of a prison cell 100 floors beneath the Pentagon.

magneto prison cell pentagon days of future past

The scene became a fan-favorite for a hilarious slow-motion run where Quicksilver saved Magneto along with Wolverine and Charles Xavier.

quicksilver pokes guard x men days of future past

Unfortunately, that was one of Peters' only scenes in "Days of Future Past."

For fans wanting to see more of Quicksilver, there's good news! Peters will reprise his role in next year's followup, "X-Men: Apocalypse."

While we're not sure what his role will entail yet, we know he'll potentially have another cool, big action sequence.

Director Bryan Singer has been sharing images from on set of the new film, and his latest tease is the best yet.

They're in the midst of filming a Quicksilver scene, and it looks like a lot of fun. 

 

Just another day at the office. #Quicksilver #Xmen #XmenApocalypse

A photo posted by Bryan Singer (@bryanjaysinger) on Jun 10, 2015 at 12:13pm PDT


"X-Men: Apocalypse" will be in theaters May 27, 2016."

SEE ALSO: Bryan Singer teases a big group from the comics may appear in "X-Men: Apocalypse"

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NOW WATCH: This Was Marvel Legend Stan Lee's One Big Mistake

Christopher Lee did his incredible lightsaber fight against Yoda in 'Star Wars' when he was 79

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Legendary British actor Christopher Lee passed away at the age of 93 Thursday morning. Starring in over 250 films, he's best known for playing Dracula on numerous occasions from the 1950s-1970s in cult horror films made by British production company, Hammer.

In the last ten years his large 6'5" frame made him perfect for playing intimidating roles in Hollywood blockbusters like "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" films as the evil Saruman, as well as Count Dooku in the "Star Wars" prequels.

Lee is part of one of the most exciting moments from the first three episodes of the "Star Wars" saga with his fight against Yoda in "Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones." Pulling off the fight sequence was a nerve-racking experience not only for George Lucas and his team, but for Lee as well, who was 79 at the time of shooting.

 

Here's a look back on how it was pulled off.  

10 years later in the saga, "Attack of the Clones" finds Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) under the tutelage of Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and is reunited with Senator Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman) following an assassination attempt on her. Skywalker is assigned to protect Senator Amidala while Kenobi investigates the attempted assassination. Skywalker and Amidala soon fall in love, while Kenobi learns of the Republic’s clone army and the Separatists’ battle droids led by renegade Jedi master, Count Dooku (Christopher Lee). This leads to the beginning of the Clone Wars

Attack of the Clones PosterThe film concludes with Kenobi and Skywalker facing off against Dooku. Once Dooku fights them both off, Yoda enters the battle for a sequence most “Star Wars” fans never thought was possible.

Showing how far the computer graphic wizards at Industrial Light and Magic have come, we watch Yoda have a dazzling lightsaber battle with Dooku.

This goose-bump inducing scene took years to pull off and many sleepless nights for George Lucas.

“To be very honest with you, I was scared to death of this sequence and how we were going to pull this off,” Lucas said on the commentary of the Blu-ray of “Attack of the Clones.” “This was the biggest risk in the whole movie. Could I make this realistic enough to make it believable, or would it be this ludicrous joke.”

It was far from that. Let’s break it down.

Yoda enters the fray by facing off with Dooku using their powers of the Force.

yoda 1First Dooku tried to throw the rocky ceiling on Yoda.

yoda 2Dooku then tried to uses his electric power on him, but Yoda sends it right back at him.

yoda 3When neither finds an advantage they turn to their lightsabers. Yoda uses the Force to unhinge his lightsaber from his holster to his hand and then prepares for battle.

yoda 4Yoda and Dooku fight throughout the hanger.

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yoda 6Dooku finally ends the duel and escapes by using to Force to land a large generator on top of Kenobi and Skywalker. 

Yoda 7But Yoda uses his powers of the Force to protect them.

Yoda 8There was a lot of tweaking that went on with this sequence before we all finally saw the finished product.

The original script had Yoda entering the Dooku fight right when he appears in the hanger. But some of the senior members of ILM, including visual effects supervisor John Knoll and animation director Rob Coleman were able to convince Lucas to draw the sequence out a bit and include the exchanging of Force powers before Yoda and Dooku turn to lightsabers.

“[We] talked to George month after month about how we could make this real and believable,” Coleman said on the “Clones” Blu-ray commentary. “We felt if we got into the fight too quickly the audience would not be able to travel that distance from Yoda being an 800-year-old character to be able to go around with such speed and be nimble. So we talked to George about, what we called, ‘The Wizards' Battle’ and we added this into the sequence because I think it really helps us as an audience to travel with Yoda to find the inner strength and energy to fight this evil Jedi master, this Sith lord.”

And another decision made before production began was to have a “digital double” of Christopher Lee. Though Lee boasts he holds the record for most sword fights in front of the camera than any other actor, the legend was 79 at the time of shooting, so a majority of his shots in the sequence were done by a stunt double.

lee_and_double_finalThen when the double's face could be revealed on camera, it was replaced digitally by Lee's face. And in regards to knowing where Yoda would be when they filmed the actors for the scene, a small Yoda doll was used on set as a reference point for the actors.

Lucas even had fun with Lee by placing a pair of fangs on the Yoda doll to tease Lee of his legendary performances as Dracula in the 1960s.

yoda fangsThe part that brought the most anxiety was making Yoda digital

In the theatrical release of “Episode I,” Yoda was still a puppet (a digital version replaced the puppet in the 2011 Blu-ray release of the film), so this was the first time an audience saw the 800-year-old Jedi Master sans Frank Oz (who not only did Yoda's voice but operated the puppet).

One of the biggest challenges for the animators was keeping that puppet feel.

Coleman and his team poured over footage of Yoda from “The Empire Strikes Back” to give their digital version authentic mouth movements and even have Yoda’s ears bounce slightly as the puppet version did.

lucas coleman at computerBut for the fight with Dooku, they had to create the believability of Yoda moving quickly. Lucas and Coleman spent months painstakingly going over the sequence that the animators created. They had to make a lot of decisions where Yoda was concerned: Will Yoda have a robe or won't he while fighting? They also had to make sure Yoda wasn't moving too fast in the battle, but enough to prove he was still a master of his craft. 

yoda computerLucas said he knew the sequence would work when he saw Yoda's incredible entrance.

"I was worried right up to the point where the animators showed me the shot where he walks in and looks tough," he said. "Suddenly, Yoda in his acting, I believe this was a tough character you had to look out for… This is what we've been waiting for."

Watch the Yoda/Dooku fight below (beginning at the 2:30 mark).

 

SEE ALSO: How a simple wooden plank helped create the greatest fight in "Star Wars: Episode I"

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The lost 25-minute short film that originally debuted in front of 'Star Wars: Episode V' is finally available to watch

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If you’re a fan of “Star Wars” you might know the legend of the lost 25-minute short film that accompanied the theatrical release of “Empire Strikes Back” in 1980.

Directed by “Empire” art director Roger Christian, “Black Angel” is a stunning short film set in medieval times that follows a knight who battles a ghost-like warrior for the soul of a young girl.

Shot on a budget of £25,000 in Scotland with a nine person crew, four actors, and two trained horses, “Black Angel” only played during the theatrical run of “Empire” overseas, including 400 theaters in the UK. But word quickly got to the States of the amazing work by Christian.

black angel 1Lucas, who fully supported the short, told people that the slow-motion lightsaber battle dream sequence between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader in "Empire" was inspired by a slo-mo fight sequence in “Black Angel.”

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luke dream finalAnd a year later, when the Hollywood epic “Excalibur” opened, word spread that director John Boorman (“Deliverance”) encouraged everyone on set to watch “Black Angel.”

John Boormans Excalibur finalUnfortunately, it has taken roughly 35 years for the film to finally be shown again.

“Black Angel” was considered lost forever when Christian believed the only negative in existence was destroyed when the UK's Rank Laboratories, where the film was stored, went out of business in 1995.

As the Internet came along fans, of "Black Angel," and those just curious to see it, would not let the spirit of the film die as it gradually built a cult following, with stories written about it and forum discussions dedicated to it spreading over the years.

black angel 2Then around 2011, Christian got word that original elements of the film were discovered at Universal Studios.

Christian began to get the word out.

The film was shown at a few film festivals last year. Then last month it was uploaded onto YouTube.

Now that the short is available, it’s the perfect time for Christian to go forward with what he originally wanted to do — make the story into a feature length film.

roger christianHe currently has Rutger Hauer (“Blade Runner”) and John Rhys-Davies (“The Lord of the Rings”) to star in the feature version and has started a Indiegogo campaign to raise $100,000. 

Watch "Black Angel" below.

SEE ALSO: A librarian found the original "Star Wars" script, and it settles one of the fan debates of the film

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Director Terry Gilliam’s long-awaited 'Don Quixote' movie will finally be made by Amazon

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Terry Gilliam Gareth Cattermole Getty final

Terry Gilliam is known best for being a member of the legendary comedic group Monty Python and directing some of the most impossibly complex movies of all time like “Time Bandits” and “Brazil.”

But there are many projects the 74-year-old filmmaker has tried to pull off with no success. Most famously is a retelling of the famous Spanish novel "Don Quixote" titled “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote.”

However, according to Gilliam, the project is back on thanks to Amazon.

In a recent interview with The Playlist, Gilliam revealed that he has signed a deal with Amazon Studios for them to release the film theatrically followed by streaming it. Amazon will also partly funding the film.

Amazon has confirmed the deal.

“I’m intrigued by their way of doing it,” Gilliam said in the interview. “They go into the cinemas first and then a month or two afterwards they go into streaming. And I think that’s good because you get a chance to see it on the big screen, and yet I know that more people have seen my films on DVD than they have in the cinemas and that’s the reality of life now.”

This is not the first time Gilliam has tried to make “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote.”

lost in la mancha100In 1998 he went into production on the film with Johnny Depp as Toby, an advertising executive who has been thrust back to 17th century La Mancha, Spain where he goes on adventures with Don Quixote, who believes he’s Sancho Panza (Quixote’s sidekick in the novel).

Production on the film was doomed as it dealt with flood-like rain storms, fighter jets soaring over head and the actor playing Quixote, Jean Rochefort, injuring himself, which shut down production for good.

lost in la manchaThe ’98 production of the film, and all its bad luck, was chronicled in the acclaimed documentary, “Lost in La Mancha.” 

According to Gilliam, Depp and Rochefort are not involved in the latest attempt to make the film. Jack O’Connell (“Unbroken”) will now play Toby and John Hurt (“Snowpiercer”) will play the windmill-chasing adventurer Quixote.

See for yourself the struggle Gilliam has had trying to make this movie. The trailer for "Lost in La Mancha" is below. The film is available on Netflix, iTunes, and Amazon Instant. 

SEE ALSO: "Game of Thrones" put a hidden "Monty Python" reference in the show

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These new ‘Ant-Man’ posters are brilliant

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Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man won't be in "Ant-Man," but that doesn't mean Marvel can't have a little fun with the characters marketing its next big film. 

Marvel just released three new promo posters for its next superhero movie, "Ant-Man," heavily featuring iconic symbols of Earth's mightiest heroes, and they're pretty brilliant.

Take a look at them below. 

ant man captain america posterant man thor posterant man iron man poster

How do you market a movie for a character who plays a big role with the Avengers in the comics, but who hasn't been in an Avengers film?

Use recognizable images and characters from previous successes to draw in fans.

A quick glance at the posters, and you're not even focusing on the miniscule Ant-Man. You're looking at Steve Rogers' shield, Thor's Hammer, and Iron Man's suit.

It's even more brilliant because the posters instantly make you conjure images of Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, and Robert Downey Jr., the actors who play Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man, respectively, without having them in the ads.

The posters continue the film's clever marketing approach which has played off of the character's ability to shrink into an ant-sized human with incredible strength. 

In January, Marvel Studios released an “ant-size” teaser trailer before previewing a full-size one.

  

In April, Redditors found miniature billboards popping up in Australia among other locations promoting the film.

ant-man tiny billboardsWe've seen a few different posters for Ant-Man — the first which garnered a lot of laughs for riffing on the characters' size and a second, more generic poster. 

ant man poster

ant man posterThese new ones teasing the Avengers are definitely the best yet.

This one's a close second.

cool ant man poster"Ant-Man" is in theaters July 17.

SEE ALSO: It looks like there's going to be another awesome Quicksilver scene in the next "X-Men" movie

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NOW WATCH: Marvel's new 'Ant-Man' trailer looks even better than 'Guardians of the Galaxy'


Disney could lose $140 million on 'Tomorrowland' flop

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If ever there was a studio that could withstand a serious stumble, it's Disney, home of Lucasfilm, Marvel, Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios. And stumble it has with Tomorrowland, the Brad Bird-directed fantasy adventure.

Sources say the film will lose $120 million to $140 million by the time it finishes its global rollout, becoming Disney's first major financial misfire since The Lone Ranger prompted a $190 mil­lion write-down two summers ago.

It's also the third big-budget original tentpole of 2015 to bomb after Jupiter Ascending and Seventh Son, highlighting the risky nature of nine-figure filmmaking at a time when relatively lower-budget hits such as Spy and Pitch Perfect 2 are causing studios to look closely at the costs of creating franchises.

Tomorrowland, which cost $180 million to produce plus a marketing spend of $150 million or more, had everything going for it: a hot filmmaker in Bird, 57 (Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol), and a global star in George Clooney, 54.

But it debuted to weak reviews (was it for kids or adults?) and a soft $42.7 million during the long Memorial Day weekend. As of June 8, the film had earned $76.4 million domestically and $93.5 million overseas for a global total of $169.9 million. It might not gross much more than $200 million, far from enough to cover Disney's costs.

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China, ravenous for American event movies, has been a particularly harsh blow. Tomorrowland bowed to $13.8 million there in early June, getting trounced by the $38.3 million opening of the Japanese animated title Stand by Me Doraemon.

"Yes, they took a miss with Tomorrowland, but there are so many things working for Disney," says analyst Eric Handler of MKM Partners, noting that Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron has earned nearly $1.35 billion worldwide since May. "And coming up, there's Inside Out (June 19), Ant-Man (July 17) and Star Wars (Dec. 18). Disney will do just fine this year."

That's why Tomorrowland hasn't stirred media or shareholder uproar as did Lone Ranger and John Carter ($200 million write-down). (Disney stock hasn't budged.) But it has raised the issue of whether studios will spend at this level on original tentpoles. Even the hit San Andreas, which Warner Bros. has marketed as an event pic, cost "only" $110 million.

"There's a reason you're seeing more sequels, prequels and known properties because you never know how films like Tomorrowland or Jupiter Ascending are going to turn out," says Handler. Jupiter was a pricey miss for Warners, Village Roadshow and other partners who paid nearly $180 million to make the sci-fi fantasy, which topped out at $181.9 million worldwide and lost about $120 million all-in.

Despite the flop, few fault Disney for taking a chance on a director like Bird. Says a rival executive, "When a guy like that comes to you with an original idea, and Clooney is part of the package, you'll take the swing."

SEE ALSO: Why the iconic Walt Disney Pictures logo was changed for 'Tomorrowland'

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NOW WATCH: George Clooney goes on a quest to save the world in this new 'Tomorrowland' trailer

Netflix reportedly nabs comedic lifeguard movie starring a bunch of 'SNL' stars

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snl Weekend_Update colin jost

Netflix may be adding the "Saturday Night Live" star-packed comedy movie, "Staten Island Summer," to its growing list of original movies.

The streaming company is finalizing a deal with the movie's producer Paramount Insurge, TheWrap reported.

If the deal is completed, the movie will premiere exclusively on Netflix starting July 30.

A Netflix representative told Business Insider it had no comment on the report.

"Staten Island Summer" was written by "SNL" writer and "Weekend Update" co-host Colin Jost and directed by "SNL" director Rhys Thomas. The NBC sketch show's creator Lorne Michaels and John Goldwyn produced the independent film.

"Staten Island Summer" centers on pals Danny (Graham Phillips) and Frank (Zack Pearlman), who spend the summer after high school working as lifeguards while figuring out their future.

Saturday Night Live Tina TurnerThe movie's cast is packed with "SNL" stars and alums, including Bobby Moynihan, Will Forte, Fred Armisen, and Cecily Strong.

It also co-stars Ashley Greene (“Twilight”) and John DeLuca (“Teen Beach Movie”) along with Jim Gaffigan, rapper Method Man, and Jackson Nicoll (“Bad Grandpa”). Kate Walsh (“Private Practice”) and Gina Gershon (“Killer Joe”) make cameos in the movie.

"Staten Island Summer" joins Netflix's growing cache of original movies, which include Judd Apatow-produced “Pee-wee’s Big Holiday," Ricky Gervais' “Special Correspondents,” and Adam Sandler's “The Ridiculous 6,” the first of a four-film pact between Netflix and Sandler's production company Happy Madison Productions.

Earlier this week, Netflix acquired Brad Pitt film, “War Machine."

SEE ALSO: Netflix makes its biggest deal yet by buying Brad Pitt’s next movie

SEE ALSO: Netflix just saved teen favorite 'Degrassi' from cancelation

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Marvel's new 'Ant-Man' trailer looks even better than 'Guardians of the Galaxy'

Why Joseph Gordon-Levitt's next comic book movie is taking so long

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Sandman #1 cover

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is the latest in a long line of people to attempt the impossible: Bring acclaimed writer Neil Gaiman's "The Sandman" comic book series to the big screen. Gordon-Levitt has been attached to "Sandman" since December of 2013, mostly as a producer, but industry buzz has long held that Gordon-Levitt would direct and star as well.

It has been nearly a year and a half since any significant news regarding the "Sandman" film has surfaced, but during an interview with MTV last weekend, we got a quick update: He's working very hard to make "a big spectacular action movie ... but without any punching."

This is very good news.

Here's why:

"The Sandman" isn't like most comic books. Created by Neil Gaiman and artists Mike Dringenberg and Sam Keith, with contributions from a deep roster of acclaimed artists, it tells the story of Dream of the Endless, a member of a family of personified abstractions. His siblings are Desire, Delirium, Destruction, Destiny, Despair, and Death.

Endless posterDream's story begins with him escaping a decades-long imprisonment by human occultists to find his kingdom, the Dreaming, in disarray, and nightmares on the loose in the real world. So he goes about reinstating order, while a decision he made long ago begins to slowly creep up on him.

But knowing the broad strokes of "The Sandman" actually does very little to tell you about what makes it special.

What makes "The Sandman" unique among millions of other comic books is the way it ends up being a story about stories, a grand meditation on the power of myth and fable. The best parts of "The Sandman" aren't really the moments that contribute to the grand arc, but short stories about characters like Hob, a man who believes dying is for suckers and decides he's just not going to do it, or about a deal William Shakespeare struck with Morpheus (Dream has many, many names) that led to his writing "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

"The Sandman" sinks into your subconscious and weaves its dreams into your own. It is utterly enchanting, and sometimes genuinely scary — it was originally pitched as "a horror-edged fantasy set in the DC Universe," and it goes to some dark, disturbing places early on.

MorpheusReally, it just gives its readers so much to think about. It's steeped in mythologies from all over the world, full of enough allusion and symbolism to earn its reputation as one of the most literary series in comics. It is not the sort of story where punching belongs — although there is certainly violence, some of it horrifying.  

This is why Joseph Gordon-Levitt's job is so hard right now: Absolutely everything that makes "The Sandman" great is also what makes it impossible to turn into a movie.

It's probably wise to remain very skeptical that a "Sandman" movie will even happen, let alone be any good — a film adaptation has been in the works for 30 years, first in the '90s with Roger Avary of "Pulp Fiction" fame attached, then languishing until 2010 when it was rumored to be a television series developed by "Supernatural" creator Erik Kripke that quickly dissolved to become the movie project headed by Gordon-Levitt, David Goyer, and Jack Thorne.

There's even a case study we can look at: Zack Snyder's "Watchmen" adaptation.

Like "Sandman,""Watchmen" was an acclaimed comic from the late '80s that was widely considered unadaptable, for mostly the same reason: It was created specifically as a comic book, using the language and storytelling techniques unique to the medium in order to comment on and enrich its narrative. "Watchmen" #5 in particular, is acclaimed for this, deliberately constructed to be entirely symmetrical with the first half of the book mirrored in the last half. That's something you can't really do in film. 

"Watchmen" was also mired in development hell, with an adaptation in the works from pretty much the moment the comic book miniseries ended in 1987. 22 years and many writers and directors later, we got a movie no one really talks about much anymore. Why things turned out that way is a story for another day, but the lesson is pretty simple: "Watchmen" the comic is a timeless work, while "Watchmen" the movie is not.

And that's what worries "Sandman" fans the most. 

SEE ALSO: This new DC comic is the 'Game of Thrones'/'Star Wars' mashup you never knew you wanted

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NOW WATCH: The Surprising Real Jobs Of Superheroes, Zombies And Other Comic Con Fans

Chiwetel Ejiofor will play Benedict Cumberbatch's frenemy in 'Doctor Strange'

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After an intriguing rumor involving Tilda Swinton, the cast of Marvel's 'Doctor Strange' is starting to take shape, and it's looking pretty interesting. 

According to Deadline, Oscar-nominated actor Chiwetel Ejiofor of "12 Years A Slave" fame has been cast opposite Benedict Cumberbatch as Baron Mordo, Dr. Strange's comic book nemesis. 

However, the Deadline report makes it clear Ejiofor's Mordo might not necessarily be the villain he is in the comics.

That's not unreasonable, given Mordo's connection to Dr. Strange's origin — like Strange, he is a pupil of Tibetan sorcerer The Ancient One. Unlike Strange, he plots to murder his mentor. It's this plot that actually sets Stephen Strange on the path to becoming Earth's Sorcerer Supreme, as The Ancient One takes Strange into his tutelage after the hero warns him of Mordo's plot. The Ancient One then exiles Baron Mordo as punishment, and a bitter rivalry forms between Strange and Mordo. 

Here's how he looks in a relatively recent comic, 2010's "X-Factor" #207 by Peter David, David Yardin, and Sebastian Fiumara.

Baron MordoMordo also appeared in an episode of the '90s Fox animated series "Spider-Man."

It was weird. 

It's really interesting that the Deadline report is so strongly hedging against calling Ejiofor's character a villain. Chances are that Marvel's looking for another Loki, a charismatic-yet-sympathetic antagonist that will be as much of a hit with audiences as the hero (and possibly make appearances in other films). An actor of Ejiofor's caliber is guaranteed to be anything but boring. 

At the very least, "Doctor Strange" is shaping up to be the most British Marvel film yet. 

"Doctor Strange" is scheduled to arrive in theaters November 4, 2016.

SEE ALSO: The Future of Marvel movies is riding on these two guys

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NOW WATCH: Marvel's new 'Ant-Man' trailer looks even better than 'Guardians of the Galaxy'

THEN & NOW: The cast of 'Jurassic Park' 22 years later

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jurassic parkWhen "Jurassic Park" came out in 1993, it was a groundbreaking marvel. It revolutionized CGI while telling a compelling story.

With the next installment, "Jurassic World," out in theaters June 12, now seemed like as good a time as any to see where everybody from the original is today.

The actors and actresses who helped bring the original classic to life have found success long after escaping the clutches of the Velociraptors.

THEN: In perhaps the biggest role of his career, Sam Neill played leading paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant, who gets invited to the dinosaur-filled island home to Jurassic Park.



NOW: Neill reprised his role in "Jurassic Park III" and has appeared in TV series including "The Tudors." He now plays Inspector Chester Campbell in the British gangster drama "Peaky Blinders," which is preparing for its third season.

"Peaky Blinders" airs on BBC Two and can be seen on Netflix.



THEN: Laura Dern played paleobotanist Dr. Ellie Sattler, who accompanies Dr. Grant on his trip to Jurassic Park.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

'Jurassic World' had a monster opening night

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Universal's "Jurassic World" is already a massive hit.

The Spielberg-produced sequel to "Jurassic Park" has amassed $18.5 million in Thursday night previews, which began at 7pm last night. It opens in 4,273 theaters this weekend and is tracking to earn $125 million or more. 

The film also opened in several international markets on Wednesday, earning a combined $24.5 million on the day of its debut in China and France. 

"Jurassic World" topped "Furious 7" to become the biggest Universal 'late night' Thursday release of all time. "Furious" earned $15.6 on the first Thursday of its release and wound up taking home a cool $147 million through the weekend. 

"Jurassic World" stars Chris Pratt & Bryce Dallas Howard as they try and track down a a genetically-engineered, hyper-intelligent dinosaur that gets loose and terrorizes the island. Reviews have been generally favorable. The film currently  sports a 71% on RottenTomatoes .

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SEE ALSO: ‘Jurassic World’ completely ignores these important discoveries scientists have made about dinosaurs

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NOW WATCH: 5 science facts 'Jurassic World' totally ignored

Jeremy Renner teases first image from set of the next 'Captain America' movie

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"Captain America: Civil War," the third chapter in the "Captain America" series and the next big followup to "Avengers: Age of Ultron," started production back in May in Atlanta, Georgia. 

As the cast begins filming, we're starting to get some very brief teases from the set. 

The latest comes from Jeremy Renner, who plays Hawkeye in the "Avengers" films.

He'll be back in "Civil War," and he showed off a note presumably left for cast members wishing them a good time shooting the film.

Check out the image below:

Here's a larger version of the image:

jeremy renner captain america civil warThe image teases an impeding battle between Captain America and Iron Man which is at the center of the 2006-2007 "Civil War" comic storyline

Essentially, something huge is going to happen on screen, which will divide Tony and Steve, and every superhero will have to decide who they're going to stand by in the aftermath.

The above image from Renner is probably a big hint at what we can expect from the first marketing for the "Captain America" sequel.

Whose side are you on? — Steve Rogers/Captain America or Tony Stark/Iron Man.

Here's Marvel's synopsis for the film:

“Captain America: Civil War” picks up where “Avengers: Age of Ultron” left off, as Steve Rogers leads the new team of Avengers in their continued efforts to safeguard humanity. After another international incident involving the Avengers results in collateral damage, political pressure mounts to install a system of accountability and a governing body to determine when to enlist the services of the team. The new status quo fractures the Avengers while they try to protect the world from a new and nefarious villain.

"Captain America: Civil War" will be in theaters May 6, 2016. 

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NOW WATCH: This Was Marvel Legend Stan Lee's One Big Mistake


5 inconsistencies in 'Jurassic World' that will drive scientists crazy

These 20 stars from blockbuster movies were replaced in the sequels — here's why

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When it comes to building franchises, Hollywood tries desperately to stay consistent. If the first movie is a hit, studios will try their hardest to keep the same directors and actors on board as long as possible.

But there are instances in which change is necessary. Sometimes for the betterment of a movie, but sometimes they leave viewers scratching their heads.

From "Batman" to The National Lampoon "Vacation" franchise, check out the most notable recastings in movie history.

In 1980's "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back" we see the Emperor for the first time as he speaks to Darth Vader via holograph. The Emperor was actually played by Elaine Baker, then wife of special makeup effects legend Rick Baker. The voice was done by New Zealand actor Clive Revill.



For the next film in the saga, "Return of the Jedi," George Lucas recast the role with Scottish actor Ian McDiarmid, who not only went on to play the Emperor in the prequels, but was placed into the "Empire" scene when Lucas updated the films in the early 2000s.



Though Anthony Hopkins won an Oscar for his performance as Hannibal Lecter in "The Silence of the Lambs" (and would play the part two more times), he wasn't the first to star as the good doctor.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

This awesome montage shows all the movie scenes Quentin Tarantino has stolen from

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Quentin Tarantino

Director Quentin Tarantino is a thief, and he'll be the first to tell you so.

“I steal from every single movie ever made,” Tarantino once said in an interview with Empire magazine. “If my work has anything, it’s that I’m taking this from this and that from that and mixing them together.”

In movies from “ Reservoir Dogs ” to “ Django Unchained, ” Tarantino has borrowed from classic and unknown films alike, replicating and reinterpreting his source materials with an unabashed brilliance.

"8 1/2" (1963) and "Pulp Fiction" (1994)

pulp fiction fellini gifIn a famous scene from Tarantino's classic "Pulp Fiction," Vincent Vega (John Travolta) and Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman) reenact a dance scene from another classic, Federico Fellini's “8 1/2.”

"The Flintstones" (1960-1966) and "Pulp Fiction" (1994)

flinstones pulp gifJust before the dance scene, Tarantino references "The Flintstones" when he has Mia tell Vega not to "be a square"— though Mia inexplicably makes a rectangle with her fingers instead.

"City of the Living Dead" (1980) and "Kill Bill Vol. 1" (2003)

Kill Bill gif 2In this scene from "Kill Bill Vol. 1," Tarantino copies a stunning bloody-eye sequence from the 1980 Italian horror film "City of the Living Dead."

"Black Sunday" (1977) and "Kill Bill Vol. 1" (2003)

kill bill black sunday gifAnd in another memorable and violent sequence from the Uma Thurman-led film, he completely rips off the split-screen style of the trailer for the 1977 thriller "Black Sunday."

"Gone with the Wind" (1939) and "Django Unchained" (2012)Gone with thewinddjango gif"Django Unchained," Tarantino's acclaimed western that's set partly in the slavery-era South, features an unlikely visual influence from the title sequence of the 1939 historical romance "Gone with the Wind."

"A Professional Gun" (1968) and "Django Unchained" (2012)

Leo dicaprio gifAnd in a climactic scene from the same film, Tarantino reimagines the 1968 spaghetti western "A Professional Gun" when he has Christoph Waltz's Dr. Schultz kill the menacing slave owner Calvin Candie (played by Leonardo DiCaprio).

Spanning the filmmaker's entire career, a montage video from editor Jacob T. Swinney compiles these scenes and many other notable copycat moments from Tarantino's catalog.

Watch the full video below:

SEE ALSO: Quentin Tarantino is 'retrofitting 50 theaters in the world' with special projectors so they can show his new film properly

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'Jurassic World' just had the biggest Friday in box office history

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"Jurassic World" continues to over-perform at the box office.

The film opened Thursday at 7 p.m. and broke Universal's all-time "Thursday night preview" debut record with $18.5 million

Friday's numbers are in and, combined with Thursday's grosses, "Jurassic World" nabbed a gargantuan $82.3 million opening day.

That number is the third-biggest debut of all time behind "Avengers: Age of Ultron" ($84 million) and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" ($91 million).

Forbes' Scott Mendelson reports that if you take away the late-night Thursday numbers, the film actually grossed $64.1 million on Friday alone, which is the biggest "pure" opening day of all time, surpassing the recent "Furious 7" ($52 million) and both "Avengers" films ($63 million and $57 million respectively). 

"Jurassic World" is now on track to have one of the, if not the, biggest opening weekends of all time and could gross over $200 million domestically. Early tracking had the film earning about $125 million this weekend.

It was also huge internationally, grossing another $60 million across 66 territories, which is a record number. Taking foreign box office into account, "Jurassic World" has already earned $212.8 million all in since Wednesday. 

The film cost $150 million to produce and was directed by Colin Trevorrow, whose only previous feature-length directorial credit was the small independent film "Safety Not Guaranteed." 

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SEE ALSO: Here’s how big the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park would be in real life

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NOW WATCH: WHERE ARE THEY NOW? The original 1993 'Jurassic Park' cast today

SEAL Team 6 uses tomahawks created by ‘Last of the Mohicans’ weapons master

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navy seal

Over the weekend, The New York Times wrote an in-depth look at the history of SEAL Team 6, the Navy’s secretive unit that is best known for killing Osama bin Laden.

In a piece filled with insight from former members on the controversial assaults done by the team, one eye-opening portion revealed that sometimes Team 6's choice of weapon during nights raids are “primeval tomahawks.”

And not just any tomahawk, but ones created by renowned North Carolina knife maker Daniel Winkler.

Winkler is known best for his Native-American designs, which led to filmmakers of the 1992 drama “The Last of the Mohicans,” set during the French and Indian War in the 1750s, to call on Winkler to create realistic tomahawks and knives for the film.

last of the mohicans tomahawkWinkler notes that along with making rubber versions for the film’s action sequences, he and his team also created “actual functioning knives and tomahawks” that the actors did carry.

Winkler was also brought on as a consultant for “Zero Dark Thirty,” Kathryn Bigelow’s 2012 Best Picture nominated film looks at the decade-long hunt for bin Laden, including his death at the hands of SEAL Team 6.

ZERO DARK THIRTY seal team 6In the New York Times story, members of Team 6’s Red Squadron, which brandishes a logo of crossed tomahawks below the face of a Native American warrior, received a hatchet made by Winkler after their first year on the team.

Former members tell the paper that some on the team “carried the hatchets on missions, and at least one killed an enemy fighter with the weapon.”

Though the story points out that SEAL operators reject the use of tomahawks because they are “too bulky to take into combat and not as effective as firearms,” former Team 6 member Dom Raso told the Times that during his time with the unit he saw the hatchets used “for breaching, getting into doors, manipulating small locks, hand-to-hand combat and other things.” He tells the paper he did see hatchet kills.

According to the story, Winkler said many of the tomahawks were paid for by private donors.

Business Insider reached out to Winker for insight on the weapons he provided SEAL Team 6, but he said he could not “discuss my involvement with any of the US Special Operations community.”

However, he did grant us permission to include pictures of tomahawks that he sells on his site.

Here’s a look at some of Winkler’s custom-designed works:

Titled the WK II Stealth Axe, it's described on the site as a "close quarters axe." 

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WK II Winkler/Sayoc RnD Hawks was made with the goal to "exceed the standards of what a tomahawk could be — a practical application tool of exceptional craftsmanship."

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WK II Hammer Combat Axe is "the same as those carried by elite SOF (Special Operations Forces) operators."

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WK II Combat Axe is another favorite of the SOF community specialized for "breaching/combat."

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SEE ALSO: 18 things Navy SEALs won't leave home without

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NOW WATCH: 70 people were injured while filming this movie with 100 untamed lions

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