One of the directors of “Frozen” has a theory that the Disney films “Frozen” and “Tarzan” are connected.

Last year in a Reddit AMA, “Frozen” co-director Chris Buck explained that when Princess Elsa and Anna’s mother and father sailed away and their ship was lost at sea, they didn’t die on the boat. The queen gave birth to a baby son and they were washed up on shore on a jungle island where they built a treehouse. Tragically, both the king and queen were then eaten by a leopard.

If that plot sounds familiar, it should — it’s the beginning of another of Disney’s animated films, “Tarzan,” which Chris Buck was also a director on back in 1999. That would mean that little Tarzan was the brother of Anna and Elsa.

In an interview with MTV News this August, Buck confirmed that while directing “Frozen” he had connected the two worlds in his mind [emphasis ours]:

When you’re working on a feature, you have a lot of time to think about stuff because it takes four years to make one. I think Jen [Lee] and I were walking to a meeting, and I just start to tell her the entire story.

I said, ’Of course Anna and Elsa’s parents didn’t die. Yes, there was a shipwreck, but they were at sea a little bit longer than we think they were because the mother was pregnant, and she gave birth on the boat, to a little boy. They get shipwrecked, and somehow they really washed way far away from the Scandinavian waters, and they end up in the jungle. They end up building a tree house and a leopard kills them, so their baby boy is raised by gorillas. So in my little head, Anna and Elsa’s brother is Tarzan— but on the other side of that island are surfing penguins, to tie in a non-Disney movie, ’Surf’s Up.’ That’s my fun little world.

It’s a cute theory, but it probably won’t be official Disney doctrine anytime soon. First of all, the ship in "Tarzan" was on fire when it sank; the “Frozen” ship was caught in a storm.

And here’s a comparison of the parents in Tarzan and the parents in Frozen. Their clothes and hair look pretty different, but there are a few similarities:

Though Buck seems only half serious about this idea, Disney super fans have long connected the universes in these stories. “Frozen” has also been tied to “Tangled”— fans believe that wedding the king and queen were sailing to was actually Rapunzel and Flynn Rider’s wedding. The pair later allegedly make an appearance at Elsa’s coronation.

And according to one popular fan theory, “Frozen” and “The Little Mermaid” could also be linked. When Elsa and Anna’s parents’ ship sinks, some Disney addicts think it could later become the shipwreck where Ariel spends so much time exploring with her best friend Flounder.

But while it’s one thing for fans to dream up these connections, it’s very rare for a director to tie the worlds together in a public statement, albeit couched by saying it was all in his imagination.

“I say, whatever people want to believe, go for it,” Buck told MTV News. “If you want to tie them all together, then do it. That’s the spirit of Disney.”

Disney has not responded to Tech Insider’s request for comment at the time of this post.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The trailer for Disney's latest live action film depicts one of the most daring rescue attempts in US history

Crowdfunding has brought the world some pretty cool stuff: A popular smartwatch, a terrific indie video game, and some really expensive potato salad. In just a few short years, everyone from high schoolers to Hollywood directors have turned to crowdfunding campaigns to bring about a lot of weird and (mostly) interesting products that might not otherwise see the light of day.

Now, a group of "The Lord of the Rings" fans led by UK-based Jonathan Wilson have started an IndieGogo campaign titled Realise Minas Tirith to construct an exact scale replica of the fictional city of Minas Tirith as seen in "The Two Towers" and "The Return of the King" somewhere in southern England. They just need 1.85 billion pounds sterling (or roughly $2.9 billion US dollars). 

Although Wilson and his team of passionate architects and structural engineers acknowledge that the project is "a light-hearted venture with virtually no chance of succeeding," they've certainly meticulously planned it out — complete with a seven-year construction timeline that includes plans for both residential and commercial properties. 

At the time this is being written, Realise Minas Tirith has raised £31,360 — quite a lot of money, but a drop in the bucket compared to the sum needed to make the project a reality (no backer gets charged unless the funding goal is met). To those inspired enough to donate, the developers are promising everything from backer's names etched on a massive monument (for those who donate £15 or more) to a Lordship/Ladyship to the biggest contributors (£100,000 or more) — entitling them access to all of the non-residential areas of Minas Tirith, priority bids on property, and access to exclusive events once the city is open (which, again, is probably never).

We've seen a lot of crowdfunding campaigns over the past few years, but this one might be the craziest.

In case you happen to be new to "The Lord of the Rings" novels or films, Minas Tirith, is the capital of Gondor, the nation that is the first line of defense against the hordes of orcs and monsters which lie in the neighboring land of Mordor.

Why are we telling you this? Because the campaign to Realize Minas Tirith has inspired a counter-campaign: Destroy Minas Tirith. They're big fans of orcs and Mordor.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: After you see us playing 'Rocket League,' you’ll understand why it’s the game of the year

If you feared seeing more than you wanted of Amy Schumer in "Trainwreck" due to her short skirts and dresses, then mission accomplished on their part (and you weren't alone). 

"The costume designer, Lisa Evans, on this movie, it was her idea to make everything just a little too short, just slightly, just so you’re uncomfortable," Schumer told Melbourne's KIIS 101.

Just don't mistake the high hemlines for "skanky." Schumer isn't having that, which the aforementioned KIIS 101 interviewers found out.

Evans, the costume designer, also took issue with Schumer's character being reduced to being "skanky."

"Her character is a girl that, on occasion, gets dressed up in an overly sexy way and on occasion gets dressed up in a really sweet way and a lot of things in between," she told The Huffington Post.

After all, there was some really grounded reasoning to show so much of Schumer's leg.

"She doesn't realize what she's doing," Evans described. "She's kind of throwing it together and has skewed her personal and professional lives together. She stays out too late and she has 10 minutes to get dressed and she runs to the office, and maybe it's a skirt that she would normally wear out to a bar or to a club, but instead she's wearing it to work with a blazer -- the lines were blurred."

Schumer said the character reminds her of herself as a college sophomore a decade ago.

"I was in a lot of pain," Schumer, 34, told the radio station. "I was spreading myself too thin. I was drinking a lot and then I just realized how destructive it was."

Watch Schumer's KIIS FM interview below:

SEE ALSO: Connie Britton loved Amy Schumer's boozy take of her character in 'Friday Night Lights' spoof

MORE: The first teaser for Amy Schumer's raunchy HBO special was just released and it's amazing

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Amy Schumer gives a brutally honest interview about her sex life

Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, and Easy E — that's who most people reflect on when they think about 1980's rap group, N.W.A.

Many feel that "Straight Outta Compton," the film documenting the group's rise, got the casting just about right.

Ice Cube is played by his son, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Dr. Dre is played by Corey Hawkins, and Easy E is played by Jason Mitchell.

But one casting call for the film posted in July last year raised some eyebrows because many thought it to be incredibly racist.

At the time, Sande Alessi Casting posted the notice on several social media platforms in search of different types of women to be extras in the film.

In the post, the company classified the girls they were looking for into four categories: A, B, C, and D girls. 

The "A-Girls," according to the company, are "the hottest of the hottest," and could be "black, white, Asian, Hispanic, Mid-Eastern, or mixed race too."

But then, the company got particularly specific about the types of girls it was looking for.

"B-Girls," as the company described them, were "Fine girls, long natural hair, really nice bodies. Small waists, nice hips." Skin color was limited to "light-skinned ... Beyonce is a prototype here."

Further down the list, the casting call got even more selective.

"C-Girls" were described as "African American girls, light-to-medium skin tone with a weave."

"D-Girls" were to be "African American girls. Poor, not in good shape. Medium-to-dark skin tone."

The posting was removed from all social media shortly after it was posted. The casting company told Jet Magazine last July that the categorization of the girls "is not by any means a ranking of A is better than B." Adding, "We obviously don’t want to leave anything up that’s offensive to people."

The company later said it would use a different method to cast women as extras. 

As the film's release date nears, posts from last July — when the casting call was originally published — have re-surfaced on social media:

Universal Pictures, the company that produced the film, slammed the offensive casting call in a statement: "The filmmakers did not approve and do not condone the information in this casting notice," they said. "We regret and sincerely apologize for being in any way associated with the offensive descriptions it contained."

Business Insider has reached out to Universal Pictures for comment on how the casting process was changed.

"Straight Outta Compton" is not the first film to be called out for questionably racist casting. But this instance raises questions about where the line is drawn with regard to casting practices. 

A casting call for "The Hobbit" in 2010 was panned for requiring potential applicants to have "light skin tones." The casting agent was fired.

Here's a transcipt of the entire "Straight Outta Compton" casting call, via Gawker.

"Straight Outta Compton" releases in theaters Friday, August 14.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Pixar's next movie shows what would have happened if dinosaurs never went extinct and it looks gorgeous

"Fantastic Four" is a strange comic book movie, one that's very shy on the actual superheroics. This could have been one of the film's great strengths, but ultimately served to cripple it in the long run. But how much of it comes from the source material?

Quite a bit, it turns out. 

If there's any direct comic book parallel to the story in "Fantastic Four," it's in the comic book series "Ultimate Fantastic Four," a 2003 comic book series that rebooted Marvel's First Family in a 21st century context. 

While "Ultimate Fantastic Four" was probably pitched as a radical reinvention, it really just ended up making the characters younger (they're adults in the mainstream "Fantastic Four" comics that kicked off in the '60s) and updated their origin a bit (from "spaceship bombarded with cosmic rays" to "interdimensional teleportation accident").

This worked out just fine, though, since — barring maybe the final few installments of its impressive 60-issue run — "Ultimate Fantastic Four" remained very accessible to readers who didn't follow other superhero comics. 

Unfortunately, while the new movie takes a lot of cues from the "Ultimate" origins, much of the comics' spirit (read: fun) was left out. But how about the look? 

Let's compare:

"House of Cards" alum Reg E. Cathey plays Dr. Franklin Storm.

An aging scientist who believes his generation has made a mess of the world, Dr. Franklin heads up the think tank that he recruits Reed into. The biological father of Johnny Storm, and the adopted father of Susan, he shepards the teleportation project, and convinces Reed, Sue, Johnny, and Victor von Doom to work together to get it done. 

On the page, Dr. Storm isn't all that different.

There's one big, obvious difference — his race, which also makes him the biological father of only one of the Storm siblings — but his role is more or less the same. He's a mentor to the team, acting as a shield between them and overzealous government liaisons. 

Miles Teller plays Reed Richards, the young genius largely responsible for the accident which creates the Fantastic Four.

In the film, we meet Richards when he's in grade school and causes a blackout with his homemade miniature teleportation device. As he matures, he's quiet, dedicated, and — following the accident — wracked with shame and guilt.

Post-transformation, Reed gains the ability to stretch like rubber, although the film is extremely conservative about showing this power off. His costume is the crudest of the bunch, with wiring and spring-like materials designed to stretch with him.

NOW WATCH: It's hard to believe this film about Benghazi is a Michael Bay movie

Though the next "Star Wars" movie, "The Force Awakens," doesn't open until December 18, there's been no shortage of news about the saga.

One of the most exciting announcements was that an upcoming"Star Wars" anthology film would focus on a young Han Solo.

Entertainment Weekly reported Thursday some new details about the project. Here's a breakdown of everything we know so far about the standalone movie on one of the galaxy's most lovable scoundrels.

1. The directors behind the "21 Jump Street" films and "The Lego Movie," Phil Lord and Chris Miller, have signed on to direct the film.
2. The movie will be released May 25, 2018.
3. EW got a sense from Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy that the film will include a lot of familiar faces including Solo's wingman Chewbacca, Lando Calrissian, Jabba the Hutt, and even Greedo.
4. Lawrence Kasdan, screenwriter for "The Empire Strikes Back,""Return of the Jedi,""The Force Awakens," as well as "Raiders of the Lost Ark" is writing the screenplay.
5. No actor has been hired yet to play Solo. In fact, according to the EW story, "they aren't even close in that department."
6. According to Kennedy, the Solo stand-alone will likely focus on him at the age of "the high teens, low 20s."
7. It's possible we'll also see Solo's wife. From the movies we believe that at the end of "Return of the Jedi" Solo and Princess Leia are an item, but it turns out from the current comic books Marvel is releasing on events that happened between "A New Hope" and "The Empire Strikes Back," Sana Solo, Han's wife, shows up to her husband's surprise.

As we see here:

SEE ALSO: Why Stormtroopers look different in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens"

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: What really happened to Jon Snow in 'Game of Thrones'?

Universal looks to have another hit on its hands.

The N.W.A. biopic “Straight Outta Compton” took in an incredible $4.96 million during its Thursday night preview screenings at 2,264 theaters, according to Deadline. 

That’s more than the $4 million “Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation” took in during its Thursday showings, and that was at 500 more theaters.

“Compton” will be in wide release today at over 2,700 theaters and will likely be No. 1 at the box office this weekend, with estimates having the movie earning a weekend total of between $40 million and $50 million.

Fandango, which tracks advance ticket sales, reports that 70% of sales for this weekend are for “Straight Outta Compton,” making it the top-selling musical biopic in the company’s history.

SEE ALSO: A biopic on the rap group N.W.A. is a sobering realization that nothing has changed in 27 years since 'F--k tha Police' was written

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Trailer for Manny Pacquiao biopic 'Kid Kalufu' chronicles his early life in the Philippines

It's been a long time since a movie has generated as much fervent anticipation as "Star Wars: The Force Awakens." Due in theaters this Christmas, the movie is expected by some to gross more than $2 billion at the worldwide box office.

Expectations are incredibly high for the JJ Abrams-directed sci-fi epic, but there's no guarantee that "The Force Awakens" will please everybody. 

Produced by Graham Flanagan. Camera by Corey Protin.

Follow BI Video: On Facebook

Join the conversation about this story »

In May, rapper-mogul Dr. Dre called together a meeting with top-level marketing executives from Universal Pictures, Universal Music’s Interscope label, Apple and his own Beats audio company.

The release of Universal’s N.W.A biopic "Straight Outta Compton," which he produced, was just three months away, as was the launch of his first album in 14 years, Compton, a companion piece to the film.

So he looked around the room and said: “What do you guys got?”

During the past two weeks, leading up to today's Aug. 14 release of "Straight Outta Compton", he got his answer: The efforts of the four companies resulted in several attention-getting plays: When UFC champ Ronda Rousey knocked out Bethe Correia in 34 seconds on Aug. 1, the "Straight Outta Compton" label was right below her on the mat; there was an ad for the film that played during the first Republican presidential debate on Aug. 6; the “Straight Outta Somewhere” meme went viral with nearly 6 million personalized labels being shared on the Internet; and the word “Compton” was literally painted over the skies of Los Angeles.

 "You very rarely see companies like this in a room together,” Beats by Dre CMO Omar Johnson tells The Hollywood Reporter.“But we were all super aligned with Dre’s goals and he’s been a great maestro to conduct all of these brands working together.”

The “Straight Outta Somewhere” meme was the brainchild of Beats by Dre, in partnership with Universal. After three junior Beats employees were tasked with coming up with a campaign, they stumbled upon a video of Dre talking about how the members of N.W.A named their debut album "Straight Outta Compton" because they wanted to show they were proud of where they came from.

“That is where the campaign took its form,” says Johnson. “It wasn’t about Compton as a place anymore, it became about being proud of where you’re from.”

 Beats hired North Kingdom agency to create the meme generator, which allows anyone to input their own hometown in N.W.A’s signature black and white logo. The Aug. 5 launch of the site featured a handful of Beats partners, including Dre, tennis star Serena Williams and NFL player Richard Sherman, presenting their own “Straight Outta Somewhere” stamps, and it’s taken off from there. Since its launch on Aug. 5, the site has had 7 million visitors and nearly 6 million downloads of the meme (as of Aug. 13). It simultaneously trended No. 1 two days in a row across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and, during that time, there were an average of 15,000 #Straightoutta tweets and retweets per minute. According to Twitter, there have been more than 400,000 Tweets mentioned #StraightOutta since Aug. 6.

“We see this as just the beginning,” adds Johnson, who points to celebrities like Jennifer Lopez who have created their own memes, leading to big spikes in activity. “I think it has room to grow and we’re seeing traffic increase day after day after day.”

Tweeted images of the word “Compton” peppered across the sky all over Los Angeles also became a viral sensation.

Interscope Records organized the skywriting as a promotional tool for Dre’s new album. It was only on Aug. 1 that Dre announced he’d be releasing Compton: A Soundtrack By Dr. Dre, and that the album, from Dre’s Interscope label Aftermath Entertainment, would be released exclusively on  iTunes and Apple Music on Aug. 7.

“We really had six days to prepare for the launch,” says Interscope vice chairman Steve Berman. “We wanted to make as much of a statement, especially in Dre’s hometown, as we possibly could.”

The skywriting took over Los Angeles on Aug. 7 and 8, and also appeared in skies above the Outside Lands music festival in San Francisco that same weekend. Plus, Interscope booked skywriting for Monday, Aug. 10, to coincide with the red carpet premiere of "Straight Outta Compton" in downtown Los Angeles.

“It’s a very effective tool in certain markets, especially the way social network can create a buzz,” says Berman. “We definitely caught that wave in this campaign.”

Interscope will also be tying their album promotion to the film over opening weekend by running an album teaser in front of screenings of "Straight Outta Compton."

“The synergy that was taking place between Beats and Apple and the film company and the record company is something that was being orchestrated for the past couple of months when everything started to crystalize,” says Berman. “The promotions all complement each other going into the launch of the film, and it’s created a huge amount of energy and excitement.”

SEE ALSO: 'Straight Outta Compton' is going to crush the weekend box office

MORE: A biopic on rap group N.W.A. is a sobering realization that nothing has changed in the 27 years since 'F—k tha Police' was written

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Watch the viral street harassment video that is now the source of a new controversy

Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson is currently trying to build a campaign that can get him the Republican nomination for the 2016 presidential election. But there’s one thing that sets him apart from his other opponents — he has starred in a Farrelly brothers comedy.

Carson has a cameo in the brothers’ 2003 movie “Stuck on You,” starring Matt Damon and Greg Kenner as conjoined twins.

In the scene, Carson plays the doctor who attempts to separate them. He even had some lines opposite Eva Mendes.

Following the operation he goes into the waiting room and tells the conjoined twins’ girlfriends, one of them played by Mendes, the outcome.

“Look, I don’t quite know how to tell you guys this,” Carson said, “But we lost them.”

The girls are in shock until another doctor rushes in and tells Carson’s character, “Good news, we found Bob and Walt. Someone took them upstairs.”

Carson acts relieved and tells the girls, “By the way, the operation was a smashing success.” Followed by a shove from Mendes’ character.

Carson told The Baltimore Sun back in 2003 regarding the role, "If it was going to be raunchy or offensive, or degrading or demeaning to anybody, I wasn't going to do it."

According to the story in The Sun, Carson declined to be paid for the role and instead got the producers to agree to premiere the film in Baltimore with proceeds of the event going to two of his charities.

The casting of Carson as the doctor makes sense. In 1987, he became the first surgeon to successfully separate conjoined twins at the head. 

Watch Carson’s waiting room scene in “Stuck on You.” 

SEE ALSO: CNN anchor defends incredibly awkward interview with GOP candidate Ben Carson in epic tweetstorm

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here are the best quotes from the GOP debate

Posters are one method for studios to sell their films.

Years later, many of the best ones can end up becoming collector's items.

Sometimes, movies will switch up the posters when going overseas. Some take a lot of creative liberties, and others might even manage to create something even better than their American counterparts.

This is what the posters for some of your favorite movies look like in other countries

Here is the poster that accompanied the original 1984 release of "The Terminator." This was before anyone realized that the man on the poster would become one of the most famous people in the world.

Poland took some interesting, creative liberties with how they sold "The Terminator" to audiences. Perhaps the bright colors represent what it is like to see in T-800 vision.

The American poster for "Jurassic World" intimidated us with the breathtaking size of the park's newest creature, Mosasaurus.

NOW WATCH: 'Zoolander 2' has an epically funny trailer

When I interview artificial intelligence researchers for Tech Insider stories, the conversations almost always turn to science fiction.

I've seen a few movies about artificial intelligence (AI), like the "Terminator" and "The Matrix," for example, but I hadn't seen "2001: A Space Odyssey," considered by many I've spoken with as the pinnacle of sci-fi. (Marvin Minsky — one of the pioneers of AI — was even an adviser to the movie's production team.)

So I decided to spend a weekend binge-watching every acclaimed AI movie I'd missed. Taking tips from colleagues and The Guardian's list of the top movies about AI, I lined up seven films.

I didn't begin with any expectations or criteria, but by the end — red-eyed and suffering from a little bit of cabin fever — I realized that one movie on my list offered the most realistic vision of the future of AI, and it was a cartoon.

Read on to see how these iconic titles jibe with modern science. (Warning: Spoilers ahead.)

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

The movie: Astronaut David Bowman and his crew mates aboard the Discovery One are headed to Jupiter in search of strange black monoliths — devices that appear at turning points throughout the human species' evolution. The ship's computer, Hal 9000, has a lot of responsibilities, including piloting the ship and maintaining life support for astronauts in hibernation.

Though Hal insists he is "by any practical definition of the words, foolproof and incapable of error," he makes a mistake and two astronauts conspire to turn him off. Little do they know that Hal has a few tricks in his memory banks.

The technology: Hal has a wide range of tasks, which makes him an artificial general intelligence (AGI) — AI that has or exceeds human-level intelligence across all the fields of expertise that a human could have. AGI would take a huge amount of computation and energy. According to Scientific American, AI researcher Hans Moravec estimates that it would require at least "100 million MIPS (100 trillion instructions per second) to emulate the 1,500-gram human brain."

Is it possible?: The Fujitsu K computer already outpaces this estimate at 10 quadrillion worth of computations in one second. Despite the K computer's computing capabilities, it still took about "40 minutes to complete a simulation of one second of neuronal network activity in real time," according to CNET. Moravec writes "at the present pace, only about 20 or 30 years will be needed to close the gap." So, Hal is possible, but not right now.

Hal also has human emotions — pride, fear, and a survival instinct — but I wasn't sure where they originated. Humans have emotions because of evolutionary survival instincts. Emotions like fear and jealousy, according to the New York Times, may have helped us hoard scant resources for ourselves.

On the other hand, AI wouldn't develop emotions unless they’re programmed to replicate them. The humans may have given Hal a survival instinct, but surely they wouldn't have programmed him to survive at the expense of his human crewmates.

The takeaway: Watching Stanley Kubrick's stunning masterpiece was like watching a living painting. But it also serves to warn us to ensure any AGI we create doesn't prioritize its survival over the survival of the humans it serves.

WarGames (1983)

RAW Embed

The movie: Matthew Broderick plays a high school hacker named David Lightman, who mistakenly hacks into a government computer in charge of the nuclear missile launch systems at the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). Thinking he's hacked into a games company, Lightman begins to play as the Soviet Union in what he thinks is a simulation game called Global Thermonuclear War, unwittingly setting off a series of events that threaten to create World War III.

The technology: The government computer, called the War Operations Plan Response (WOPR), learns from constantly running military simulations, and can autonomously target and fire nuclear missiles.

Is it possible?: WOPR combines two different technologies that exist right now, so I'd say this technology is possible with some time and effort — though it may not be a good idea. Like WOPR, DeepMind's deep neural net system, called deep-Q networks (DQN), learns to play video games and gets better with time. According to Deep Mind's Nature paper, the DQN was able to "achieve a level comparable to that of a professional human games tester across a set of 49 games."

Autonomous weapons that can target and fire on their own also exist right now. One frightening real-life autonomous weapons is the Samsung SGR-1, which patrols the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea and can fire without human assistance. These are the kind of self-targeting weapons that almost started World War III.

The takeaway: Autonomous weapons exist right now, but I can't think of any government that would be willing to put the most dangerous weapons known to man in the hands of an easily hackable computer that doesn't clearly differentiate between simulations and firing real weapons. However, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, physicist Stephen Hawking, and over 16,000 AI researchers don't want to take that chance, and recently urged the United Nations to ban the use of autonomous weapons.

WOPR also has a clear set of goals — win the game at any cost, even if it means destroying humanity. It's a clear illustration of an AI that could decimate humanity, what philosopher Nick Bostrom calls "existential threat."

Ghost in the Shell (1995)

RAW Embed

The movie: In 2029, almost everyone in Japan is connected to the cloud via cybernetic android bodies, including detective Major Kusanagi. Tasked with finding a hacker named the Puppet Master, she learns that the hacker was originally a computer program that gained sentience. Over time, the Puppet Master learned about the nature of his existence, and his inability to reproduce or have a normal life.

The technology: In "Ghost in the Shell," technology has advanced to the point that false memories can be hacked and robots can build other robots. Major Kusanagi is a "ghost"— a human mind uploaded to and accessible through the cloud using her artificial body. She has superhuman strength and invisibility. She can also speak telepathically, access information, and even drive cars using her mind's access to the cloud.

Is it possible?: The idea of humans accessing the internet using just their minds is a well-trodden trope. Futurist and Google researcher Ray Kurzweil predicted that we'll be able to communicate telepathically using the cloud by 2030, just a year after the events of "Ghost in the Shell" take place.

Kusanagi's artificial body moves like a human body, but robots today still can't walk on two legs without collapsing midstep, as shown by the robots in the DARPA Robotics Challenge Finals. So that makes it pretty hard to believe that robots would be dexterous enough to be backflipping off high-rise buildings in just 15 years. On the other hand, MIT is currently building superstrong robots that can punch through walls, but these robots aren't autonomous — they're controlled by a human wearing an exoskeleton.

The takeaway: We’ll probably have to wait more than 15 years for technology that will allow us to upload our minds into robotic bodies, but “Ghost in the Shell” brought up some very real ethical and safety concerns. For example: In the movie, a garbageman is convinced he’s helping a criminal in exchange for regaining custody of his daughter. But he later learns that his memories have been faked — he never had a wife or a daughter. Could hackers implant false memories?

“Imagine when the internet is in your brain, if the NSA can see into your brain, if hackers can hack into your brain,” Shimon Whiteson, an AI researcher at the University of Amsterdam, said.

The military is developing a brain implant that could restore memories and repair brain damage, so it's not too far-fetched to think these kinds of implants could be hacked.

NOW WATCH: These guys remotely hacked a Jeep — here's how to prevent it from happening to you

Universal's epic year at the box office just got even better.

The N.W.A. biopic “Straight Outta Compton” took in an astounding $24.2 million on opening day, including the already-impressive $4.96 million it earned during its Thursday night preview screenings.

The film was originally projected to make closer to $25 million over the entire weekend, but it is now expected to earn about $60 million all-in thanks in-part to its brilliant viral marketing and positive reviews.

Considering that the film is a nearly two-and-a-half hour R-rated biopic, all these figures are extra impressive.

Factor in the film's scant $29 million budget, and this thing will likely be in the black by the time you read this post.

Watch the trailer below.

SEE ALSO: Here’s the ’Straight Outta Compton’ casting call that everybody thought was racist

Join the conversation about this story »

Click for the story >

Join the conversation about this story »

In an attempt to increase reader engagement, media publications like BuzzFeed and The Huffington Post started allowing embedded comments from Facebook to show up directly on their sites.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: How to speak without bias, according to the 'Bias-Free Language Guide'

There is a lot of "Star Wars" news Saturday!

Disney and Lucasfilm announced the director for "Star Wars: Episode IX," revealed the first poster for "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," and revealed plans for a massive "Star Wars" expansion into its theme parks at fan convention D23.

The studio also announced the first standalone "Star Wars" spin-off movie "Rogue One" has begun principal photography, and celebrated by showing off the first cast photo for the film.

You can check it out below:

The standalone film will take place before the events of "Star Wars: A New Hope" following a group of resistance fighters who are working together to steal plans to the Death Star. Gareth Edwards ("Godzilla") will direct the movie. 

“It goes into new territory, exploring the galactic struggle from a ground-war perspective while maintaining that essential Star Wars feel that fans have come to know," said Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy in a press release. "Gareth is such an innovative director and I’m so excited to be working with him and the extraordinary ensemble cast he’s selected for ‘Rogue One.’” 

Here's a quick breakdown of who will star:

Oscar nominee Felicity Jones ("The Theory of Everyting")
Diego Luna ("Milk")
Ben Mendelsohn (Netflix's "Bloodline")
Hong Kong action star and martial artist Donnie Yen ("Blade II")
Jiang Wen ("Let the Bullets Fly")
Oscar winner Forest Whitaker ("The Last King of Scotland")
Mads Mikkelsen ("Hannibal,""Casino Royale")
Alan Tudk will play a performance-capture character
Riz Ahmed ("Nightcrawler")

"Rogue One" will be released December 16, 2016.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here's the moment Harrison Ford surprised fans during the 'Star Wars' Comic-Con panel

Disney and Marvel surprised attendees at its fan event D23 in Anaheim, California Saturday.

Marvel president Kevin Feige showed up with actors Chris Evans (Captain America) and Anthony Mackie (who plays Falcon) to show off never-before-seen footage from next year's "Captain America: Civil War."

The footage showed off several Avengers including Captain America, Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), the Falcon (Anthony Mackie), as well as a new villain, Crossbones, and more.

It sounds like it was a long piece of footage.

Here's how Forbes' Mark Hughes described it:

The footage begins with the Captain America, Falcon, and Black Widow in position for a battle, surveying a busy city street. Falcon deploys a flying drone that swoops down into traffic and up under a large vehicle. The truck’s occupants are Crossbones and his crew, and a large battle commences between these villains and Cap’s team. While Captain America fights Crossbones, Falcon and Black Widow take down the rest of the criminals. We see lots of damage done to the surrounding street and buildings, and Cap’s shield ends up with a bomb attached to it, so he throws it just before the bomb explodes. Crossbones finally falls, defeated, and removes his mask. He mentions Bucky Barnes — aka the Winter Soldier, whom Cap has been trying to track down — and Captain America seems shocked.

From there, it sounds like there were several different segments of footage shown in a montage. Bucky Barnes was seen again in what appeared to be the one post-credit scene from "Ant-Man" with his arm caught in a device, there was a funeral shot, and Paul Bettany's Vision was shown in a tuxedo.

Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) appeared, too, giving a great line: "Sometimes I want to punch you in your perfect teeth." 

Fans also saw Paul Rudd's Ant-Man join up with Captain America, the Falcon, and Scarlet Witch. 

At some point, friends Black Widow (Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) get into a fight as well.

Variety also notes that Chadwick Boseman's Black Panther appeared in regular clothes. 

I highly recommend checking out Hughes' coverage of the footage for more details. Film site Comingsoon.net also has a good break down of the reel you can read here.

It sounds like the film will be bigger than "Avengers: Age of Ultron."

The film will follow the events of this summer's "Avengers: Age of Ultron," leading to a big rift in our heroes. 

Here's the official description via Disney and Marvel:

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 arrive in theaters May 6, 2016.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A 19-year-old will play Peter Parker in the next Spider-Man movie

Here it is. 

Just announced and rolled out at the D23 event this weekend, our first look at a new official poster of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens."

As io9 notes, the art is drawn by Drew Struzan, who has a long track record doing posters for 'Star Wars' movies.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here’s how to get your own 'Straight Outta Compton' Facebook photo

Artist 'ThatNordicGuy' combines the photos of A-list celebrities into stunning portraits with the features of both. He seeks out celebrities with a common theme, who have played in the same movie or similar roles. You can find more on his DeviantArt page, or by following him on Reddit.

Produced by Rob Ludacer

Follow TI Video: On Facebook

Join the conversation about this story »

Disney announced plans to expand its theme parks over the next few years at its biannual fan event D23 this weekend. 

In addition to several new "Star Wars" attractions, the company announced several other projects it's working on including a much-anticipated Marvel ride.

However, if you want to check it out, you'll have to head to Hong Kong Disneyland.

That's where the Iron Man Experience will debut in 2016.

Check it out below.

Set to open in Disneyland Hong Kong in 2016, the Iron Man Experience will be the first Marvel attraction to be at any Disney theme park.

The attraction will put guests in Iron Man's shoes as they soar above the streets and through the Hong Kong skies.

Riders will head to the Stark Expo where they'll board the Iron Wing to battle Avengers nemesis Hydra with Iron Man.

NOW WATCH: Here’s how to get your own 'Straight Outta Compton' Facebook photo