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The 17 best fashion and gossip moments from Sundance

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 31 Januari 2015 | 23.16

Sundance brings out the celebrities and their chic winter gear. We were there to round up the looks — and the latest gossip.

Photo: Invision/AP

Aftering hitting the slopes, "Entourage" star Adrian Grenier hosted a candlelit party at a private Deer Valley mansion for his documentary, "52: The Search for the Loneliest Whale in the World," about a whale whose voice's pitch is higher than his peers. Grenier talked to The Post about his new modeling gig for Buffalo Jeans: "I don't think that modeling has been thought of as a spiritual endeavor," and the craziest fan reaction he's had since they've commenced filming "Entourage: The Movie": "People are pretty much respectful and excited." Somehow, the star managed to loop every question back to his whale flick, including how he stays warm at Sundance, for which he responded, "Lots of love — and could you imagine if you didn't have any friends, like a lonely whale, how cold you might be?"

Photo: Getty Images

Funnygirl Kristen Wiig's letter skirt is write on. The actress, who was in town for her film "Nasty Baby," layers her look with a classic camel coat.

Photo: Getty Images

When stars want to escape the Sundance frenzy, there's only one place to go — up high into the mountains. Brad Pitt and a friend were spotted sipping Moscow mules at the luxury Deer Valley hotel Stein Eriksen Lodge. Also there was a ridiculously young-looking Sarah Silverman, who, when approached for an interview at 9 on a Saturday night, responded "F - - k no, I'm tired." She did manage to share her tip for staying warm at Sundance: "Coats." Noted.

Photo: FilmMagic

At the luxurious Montage hotel, a hodgepodge group of celebs dined at the hotel's restaurant, Burgers & Bourbon, including Gwyneth Paltrow and kids, Johnny Knoxville and Keanu Reeves, while the Stone Temple Pilots performed a concert steps away.

Photo: GC Images

Actress Hailee Steinfeld covers up her cold shoulders with a pop of periwinkle and gives a warm smile to the cameras.

Photo: Invision/AP

A Moschino-clad Frances Bean Cobain (far left) looks like a punk-rock princess with mom Courtney Love.

Photo: INFPhoto.com

We talked to "Daily Show" correspondent Jessica Williams, who just hours after she touched down in Park City, was already a bona fide Sundance style maven. "My coat game is really strong," says Williams. "Everything under that is just simple. I'm going with leggings, a drapey black tee, and then I have my '90s coat, my All Saints coat and my Canada [Goose]. And I'm just rotating." Williams, who was in town promoting her film "People, Places, Things," says she loves working with John Stewart, specifically for "his old man jokes."

"He's supersmart, and I'm always learning."

Photo: Getty Images

Lena Dunham (right, with pal Brie Larson) might have let it slip that she was engaged, or even married, to rock star boyfriend Jack Antonoff at a Planned Parenthood party. During a speech, she casually referred to her bae's sister, Rachel Antonoff, as her "sister-in-law." Lena shrugged it off, posed for pics with fans afterwards, and even doled out her assistant's Gmail address so they could contact her.

After posing for one photo, Lena ran over to a pal and said: "Someone came up to me and was like, 'Make a black-power face.' And I did it. And I loved it! But I was like, this is definitely going to hurt me."

Photo: Splash News

Alec Baldwin may not be a fan of The Post, but he sure charmed the pants off the staffers at the Stein Eriksen Lodge, where he and his preggers wife, Hilaria, shacked up for a week with their baby, Carmen (all pictured above).

"He was on a first-name basis with everyone" says a source, who adds that Baldwin purchased some fresh poles, a hat and goggles before heading out to the slopes.

Photo: Getty Images

It's Aussie stunner Margot Robbie fur the win in two-tone denim, violet kicks and a dreamy, creamy topper.

Photo: Invision/AP

Did Pharrell lose his hat? Erykah Badu and Common attend "A Celebration of Music in Film" at Sundance.

Photo: Getty Images

Capes off to you, Brooklyn Decker! The actress has plaid love for tartan at a Grey Goose Blue Door cast party.

Photo: Invision/AP


Meryl Streep's actress daughter Mamie Gummer is getting into the moviemaking business and launching her own production company called Lampshade, with childhood friend New Yorker Emily Jerome. Mamie shacked up with Sting's daughter Mickey Sumner and Jerome in Park City last week to premiere Gummer and Sumner's Sundance film, "The End of the Tour." Lampshade will look to support independent productions.

Photo: Invision/AP

James Franco is snow stylish in this Fair Isle sweater at the premiere of his flick "I Am Michael."

Photo: Invision/AP

While the pricey cocktails at Stein Eriksen Lodge are up to snuff for even the most famous of celebs, the hulking Jason Mamoa, from "Game of Thrones," decided to take drinking matters into his own hands, rolling into the Deer Valley establishment with "cases of beer," according to a source.

Photo: Splash News

Jack Black looks doggone cool in a Husky tee. "The D Train" star was spotted serenading Sundancers from a balcony.

Photo: Getty Images

Nicole Kidman doesn't do snow-wear chic. She just does chic. The elegant actress was spotted with a Céline tote and fitted polka-dot sweater.


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Japan says hostage negotiations with ISIS ‘deadlocked’

Efforts by Japan and Jordan to secure the release of two of their nationals held captive by Islamic State militants remain "deadlocked" and the situation remains highly unpredictable, Japanese officials said.

Militants had threatened to kill Jordanian pilot Muath al-Kasaesbeh unless a would-be suicide bomber being held on death row in Amman was handed over by sunset on Thursday.

Japanese journalist Kenji Goto was also being held by the militants.

"The situation is deadlocked," Japan's deputy foreign minister, Yasuhide Nakayama, said in Jordon late on Friday according to Japanese public broadcaster NHK.

Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said in Tokyo on Saturday that the situation was unpredictable and that anything could happen, NHK reported.

"Anything could happen," he said. "We can't predict it at all. While preparing for every situation, I want to make every effort for Mr. Goto's release."

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga arrived at the Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's office on Saturday afternoon, and the prime minister is on standby to receive regular updates on the situation, NHK said.

Jordan's army said on Friday state agencies were "working round the clock".

An audio message purportedly from Goto said the pilot would be killed if Jordan did not free Sajida al-Rishawi, jailed for her role in a 2005 suicide bomb attack that killed 60 people in Amman.

The message extended a previous deadline set on Tuesday in which Goto said he would be killed within 24 hours if al-Rishawi was not freed.

The hostage crisis comes as Islamic State, which has already released videos showing the beheadings of five Western hostages, is coming under increased military pressure from U.S.-led air strikes and by Kurdish and Iraqi troops pushing to reverse the Islamist group's territorial gains in Iraq and Syria.

Abe has repeatedly said Japan would not give in to terrorism and would keep cooperating with the international community.

The hostage crisis erupted after Abe announced in Cairo $200 million in non-military aid for countries opposing Islamic State, but his government has rejected suggestions it acted rashly and stressed the assistance was humanitarian.

Goto went to Syria in late October. According to friends and business associates, he was attempting to secure the release of Haruna Yukawa, his friend and fellow Japanese citizen who was captured by Islamic State in August.

In the first video purportedly of Goto, released just over a week ago, a black-clad masked figure with a knife said Goto and Yukawa would be killed within 72 hours if Japan did not pay Islamic State $200 million.

A video last Saturday appeared to show Goto with a picture of a decapitated Yukawa, saying his captors' demands had switched to the release of al-Rishawi. Tuesday's video featured an audio track over a still picture that appeared to show Goto holding a picture of Kasaesbeh.


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‘Don’t dress like Beyoncé': The sexts of Steve Kroft

The Manhattan mistress of married "60 Minutes'' newsman Steve Kroft sent him sexy lingerie photos during their affair, but he insisted she dress low-key — like "Laura Bush" — with him in public to keep things hush-hush, according to newly revealed texts.

A source close to Kroft's lover told The Post that the TV hotshot was "really paranoid about right-wing zealots" finding out about their affair and using the tawdry details to try to destroy his career and CBS.

The sexts between Kroft and Lisan Goines — obtained exclusively by The Post — include a nude selfie of the lusty lawyer that she sent to her much-older lover. Other photos show her wearing a red thong and busting out of a black bra.

But "dress in Washington is Either professional or Laura Bush," Kroft messaged his illicit squeeze in advance of their September 2011 play date at the Park Hyatt on 24th and M streets in DC.

"Don't dress like Beyoncé," Kroft warned the Harvard-educated beauty, according to the source.

In addition to fearing the zealots, Kroft, 69, was "beyond terrified" that his wife of 23 years, fellow journalist Jennet Conant, would find out about the affair, the source added.

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"He was unwilling to be seen publicly with [Goines] because she's black — because they'd be more noticeable,'' the source said.

The racy texts also show Kroft boasting about his buddy-buddy rapport with President Obama, whom he referred to as "Barry."

When news of Kroft's affair with Goines, 41, broke four weeks ago, he readily admitted it to The Post — but insisted that he never had any pillow talk with Goines about Obama, whom the newsman has interviewed repeatedly.

The source, however, said Kroft was proud to boast to Goines about his closeness to the leader of the free world — and let slip that Obama "hates" his attorney general, Eric Holder.

"[Kroft] definitely said Obama feels comfortable with him, because he was the first person to take him seriously when he was running for president," the insider said.

"They have a rapport. They used to smoke together."

Kroft's side dismissed the latest dish.

"These accounts, like the ones previously, are filled with distortions, exaggerations and outright falsehoods," said a source familiar with the details of the affair.

The newly revealed text messages show Kroft detailing his various states of arousal — the literal ups and downs of a near-septuagenarian with a curvaceous younger girlfriend.

Yes, there were downs.

"Too old and Sick to j- -k off," reads one text to Goines from last March, to which the real-estate and corporate lawyer responded with a sexy selfie and the encouragement, "Get well soon…"

The selfie showed Goines smiling alluringly, her long hair be-ribboning her ample cleavage.

"This will help ;)" Kroft responded appreciatively.

Kroft was in better form during an earlier exchange that occurred on Sept. 4, 2011.

"Wanting to taste you again," Goines began.

A source close to Kroft said he was "really paranoid about right-wing zealots" finding out about their affair.

"Same here," Kroft answered.

"Stem to stern And all the delicious spots Inbeteren [sic]."

Goines waited until the next morning to answer that one: "Gonna explode if I can't have you soon…"

"Very hard playing golf with A bulge in my pants," Kroft texted Goines of the resulting handicap.

"I'd like to see just how hard it is," Goines parried.

The veteran TV journalist was no mere "60-minutes man" in the boudoir, according to his texts. He boasted in one of a four-hour sex marathon with Goines.

"I'm in my room at the same Washington hotel where I remember having you for a four hour full course Meal plus desert," he messaged her.

"Mmmm…u whet my appetite," Goines answered, prompting the response, "I hope that's not all I'm wetting."

The newsman was an eager audience for Goines' selfies.

"Jesus" was his gobsmacked response to a nude shot she sent in November 2013.

"Maybe I should have said 'Sweet Jesus,' " he amended.

Kroft's 69th birthday fell on Aug. 22 and prompted a volley of numerical sex puns.

"Many happy returns," Goines began. "Wanna act ur age?:)"

Kroft apparently didn't get the joke at first.

"You mean old and grumpy?" he answered.

"No," explained Goines. "Just some dirty b-day humor. Ur aged to perfection…or at least the perfect number :)"

Finally, the newsman got it: "We should celebrate the Perfect number the perfect Way :)"

Goines and a spokeswoman for Kroft and CBS declined to comment.


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NY Federal judge slams Wells Fargo for forged mortgage docs

Judge Robert Drain has a message for Wells Fargo: "Forged" foreclosure documents don't cut it in New York's federal courts.

In a stunning 30-page decision on January 28, Drain, a federal bankruptcy judge in New York's Southern District, blasted Wells Fargo, America's largest mortgage servicer, for false documents it used in trying to prove its right to foreclose on Westchester County resident Cynthia Carrsow Franklin's home.

Drain shredded Wells Fargo's arguments regarding two crucial documents needed to prove ownership of a loan: an indorsement (another term for endorsement) on a note and an assignment of mortgage.

These documents have to be created properly within a certain time frame, or they won't hold up in court.

The issue lies at the heart of the foreclosure crisis, and continues to haunt hardworking New Yorkers like Franklin, a speech pathologist for autistic children, to this day.

"… [T]he blank indorsement, upon which Wells Fargo is relying, was forged," wrote Drain in a stinging rebuke to the bank. "Nevertheless it does show a general willingness and practice on Wells Fargo's part to create documentary evidence, after-the-fact, when enforcing its claims, WHICH IS EXTRAORDINARY," wrote Judge Drain with emphasis.

Drain went on to say that "it is conceivable that all of Wells Fargo's newly created mortgage assignments and newly created indorsements were proper" but that the burden was on Wells to show that, and it didn't.

A Wells Fargo spokesman said, "Wells Fargo's processes ensure that all note endorsements are done legally and appropriately, and we strongly dispute the conclusions in this case," adding, "we are troubled by the additional comments about our general practices that are unsupported by the evidence."

The judge's ruling delves deeply into the work of Herman John Kennerty, who was deposed for this case by Franklin's attorney, Linda Tirelli.

Drain casts a harsh eye on Kennerty's statements about his work as a manager heading up a "default documents" department for Wells Fargo at the time of Franklin's foreclosure.

Kennerty admitted to signing between 50 and 150 original documents each day related to administration and enforcement of Wells' defaulted loans, according to the ruling.

Drain added: "Moreover, Mr. Kennerty's testimony does not stop at describing manufactured mortgage assignments. He also testified that his 'assignment team's' duties were not limited to processing assignments, including, when determined necessary, creating them; in addition, the 'assignment team' included people tasked with endorsing notes."

The Post first reported on Franklin's case in March 2014, when Tirelli alleged in court papers that Wells Fargo set up detailed internal procedures in a 150-page Wells Fargo Foreclosure Attorney Procedures Manual (created Nov. 9, 2011, and updated Feb 24, 2012) to fabricate foreclosure papers on demand. Wells Fargo denied the allegations.

Franklin told The Post, "I feel relieved … I'm hoping this case will help other people."

She added, "Reading this opinion … it feels very calculated. It wasn't like I was lost in the shuffle somehow. And you know, if someone writes me a check and they forget to sign it, I can't cash it. If in my job I turn in paperwork and I forgot to check something or to write in a code, it's kicked out. I don't get paid. That's how it works with everybody else."

Wells Fargo has about two weeks to file a notice of appeal. The megabank lost this round, but the judge also made it clear that Franklin's debt remains.

Drain's ruling followed another major loss for Wells Fargo in a residential foreclosure case last week — and another smackdown, this time from a Missouri state court judge. This in turn comes after Wells Fargo and three other big banks were hit with a $2.7 million penalty to settle allegations of unlawful foreclosures in Massachusetts.

On Jan. 26, Judge R. Brent Elliott of Missouri's 43rd Judicial Circuit awarded $2.9 million in punitive damages to a Missouri couple who spent years in limbo after Wells wrongfully foreclosed on their home. Wells sold it to Freddie Mac on Aug. 15, 2008, even after agreeing to a reinstatement of the loan following a disputed debt.

Elliott also blasted Wells Fargo for "outrageous and reprehensible" decisions and "deceptive and intentional conduct" that "displayed a complete and total disregard for the rights of David and Crystal Holm.

"Defendant Wells Fargo operated from a position of superiority provided by its enormous wealth," Brent wrote in a blistering nine-page decision. "Wells Fargo's decision took advantage of an obviously financially vulnerable family," the judge continued, noting that Wells Fargo showed no evidence of remorse for the harm caused.

"In fact, the Court recalls the lack of remorse and humanity illustrated by a Wells Fargo corporate representative who testified, 'I'm not here as a human being. I'm here as a representative of Wells Fargo,' " the judge wrote.

The couple and their 12-year-old daughter got their home back, along with a total of $3.25 million in damages.

"We have modified more than 1 million mortgage loans and have forgiven $8.4 billion in principal since the beginning of 2009. There's a lot more to this case than the decision reflects, and we have strong arguments to appeal the judgment and the unwarranted damages that were awarded," a Wells Fargo spokesman said of the Missouri case.


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Massive fire in Brooklyn engulfs warehouse

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The scene of the fire at North 11th St., in Brooklyn.

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Firefighters are trying to gain control of a massive fire engulfing a Williamsburg warehouse Saturday, as authorities fear the building might now collapse.

The FDNY deployed a fire boat in the East River to battle the flames, which are sending plumes of thick smoke over the neighborhood.

Strong winds carried ash and soot that fell from above several blocks away from the waterfront blaze at North 11th Street.

"I smelled this burning smell and I looked up and saw all of this smoke billowing," said Heather Schmidt, 33, among the area residents with their scarves tightly wrapped around their faces to fend off the soot and smoke.

"I'm about a mile away and the smoke was very thick all the way back there," said Manhattan Ave. resident Anthony Charles, 40, who was standing on the corner of North 11th St. and Wythe Ave. and flying a drone about 200 feet above trying to catch footage of the blaze.

"It's crazy," he said. "I smelled the smoke at about 6:30 am."

No injuries have been reported yet, officials said.


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Gronk, Lynch playing ‘Mortal Kombat’ is pretty amazing

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 30 Januari 2015 | 23.16

Ironically, Marshawn Lynch is now part of the funniest clip to come from Super Bowl week.

The anti-media Seahawks running back joined Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski on "Conan" to play "Mortal Kombat X." The whole 12-minute sketch is pretty hilarious, but a few highlights were:

— Gronkowski and Lynch bonding over Buffalo.

— The reaction by all three to the insanely gory kill at the end of each fight.

— The crotch-grabbing tutorial from Lynch.


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The Streaming Canon, Vol. II: How ‘The French Connection’ Defined The Modern Cop Movie…And How It Didn’t

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There's a paradox at the heart of The French Connection's completely deserved reputation as a classic. That is, the 1971 movie directed by William Friedkin and starring Gene Hackman is so influential that the contemporary cop action movie is inconceivable without it. And on the other hand, the film doesn't play or feel at all like any cop/action movie being made today.

Yes, those are footcuffs on Mean Gene's dogs.

The movie's plot is pretty simple: across the Atlantic, in the South of France, there's a super-suave Eurodude (Fernando Rey) with a lethal, taciturn henchman (Marcel Bozzufi) who wants to unload a shitload of heroin in the U.S. His scheme will run afoul of super-scrappy New York detectives Popeye Doyle (Hackman) and Buddy Russo (Roy Scheider). The two cops are based on real-life detectives Eddie Egan and Sonny Grosso (both of whom appear in the film), and they're real beauts. Popeye's the crazy one: foul-mouthed, bigoted, quick-tempered, and just kinda sleazy overall (the movie provides an incidental view of his love life, such as it is, and it'll skeeve you out just as much if not more than his casual use of racial epithets will). But also incorruptible, indefatigable, and with a killer instinct for a case: Popeye and his partner stumble upon the massive drug deal basically because a guy they decide to tail one night for kicks turns out to be the big-time wannabe who's orchestrating things for the Frenchman. As for Sonny, he's lower-key, but just as stubborn and maybe twice as tough. Hard to say.

So after establishing the characters, Connection chronicles Popeye and Sonny tracking the bad guys, chasing the bad guys, trying to find the drugs, and bringing all (or most) of the dope peddlers to justice. The movie is of course hugely famous for its centerpiece car chase, or, rather, its car-and-train chase. On the run from Doyle, the French henchman commandeers an elevated train, and crazy Popeye commandeers a civilian's car, and off they go. The scene is notable not just for the heart-in-your-mouth quality of the action (the way Doyle just misses that baby carriage is never not terrifying) but also for just how lunatic the characters involved are for enacting it in the first place. Director Friedkin had roots in the documentary film, hence an obsession with gritty realism; but he also had a super-hyper sense of cinematic dynamism and a diabolical grasp of how snappy editing could punch up a scene. Both these qualities are what make the chase scene so memorable.

And Friedkin's doc tendencies are also what make the movie so odd and one-of-a-kind. This is movie that seemingly spends reels of film just observing Popeye and Sonny doing a very unglamorous job. When they're tailing the criminals, it's an endless, slow chain of what seems like stale cigarettes and stale coffee, standing out in the cold while the bad guys eat at fancy French restaurants. Today's cop pictures almost never spend so much non-quality time, such as it is, with their characters.

This movie, now in its middle age, is the one that made Gene Hackman a star—and late bloomer Hackman, while a respected character actor at the time, was just rounding the bend of 40 when the film was made! (The now-venerated, and now-retired Hackman turns 85 this weekend: Happy Birthday, Gene!) According to director Friedkin, Hackman, then shy and insecure, disliked his character so much that he would become visibly upset were anyone to tell him he was doing a great job playing him. The movie would win Hackman his first of two Academy Awards, for Best Actor. (His second, for Best Supporting Actor, would be for his work as a very bad lawman in Clint Eastwood's 1992 Unforgiven.) Connection practically swept the 44th Academy Awards, also winning Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay (by Ernest Tidyman) and Best Editing (Gerald B. Greenberg). Seen today, the movie sure doesn't come off as anybody's idea of Oscar bait. But is sure still kicks butt.

[Watch The French Connection on Netflix]

THE DESCENDENTS OF THE FRENCH CONNECTION


LETHAL WEAPON: Popeye and Sonny did not invent "good cop/bad cop," but they certainly made it tougher, nastier, and yes, in some scenes funnier than it had been in prior cop movies. The lunatic dynamic was adapted by Mel Gibson and Danny Glover playing stressed-out partners in warmer terrains of L.A. and worked hard in all four installments of the franchise from 1987 to 1998. [Where to stream Lethal Weapon]

THE DARK KNIGHT: The Christopher Nolan Batman movies relied on future-noir like Blade Runner, and the comics themselves, to inspire their stylings of sinister Gotham City. But the wild chases The Joker leads the Batman on throughout the 2008 installment of the Dark Knight trilogy have an almost-literally breakneck velocity that was pioneered by Friedkin's film. See also 1998's Ronin and Friedkin's own (great) 1985 To Live And Die In L.A. for chases that try to one-up Connection's. [Where to stream The Dark Knight]

THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS: Hackman plays a very disagreeable character on the other side of Popeye Doyle' social spectrum in one of his last great roles. As the monstrously egotistical patriarch of a "genius" family in Wes Anderson's imaginative comedy, the glibly high-toned Hackman is both as ferocious and as funny as the rough cop of Connection. [Where to stream The Royal Tenenbaums]

Veteran (that is, old-ish) critic Glenn Kenny has written for oodles of publications and these days reviews‎ new releases at RogerEbert.com. He blogs at Some Came Running and tweets (mostly in jest) at @glenn__kenny.

PREVIOUSLY:
THE STREAMING CANON: THE ONGOING INFLUENCE OF THE TENDER YET TOUGH-MINDED 'THE APARTMENT'


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“The One With The Missing Theme Song Claps”: A ‘Friends’ Mystery Solved!

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In case you weren't aware, there is an episode of Friends missing its signature theme-song claps. Since the complete series has been acquired by Netflix streaming, fans revisiting the sitcom staple have noticed the show's various nuances and goofs over the course of ten seasons. But in addition to realizing that Chandler Bing was a total homophobe and the ladies sported some appallingly loud '90s attire, Reddit also users noticed that the Season One episode "The One with the Thumb" is missing the four famous hand-claps from the Rembrandts' one-hit wonder, "I'll Be There For You."

As far as we know, this is the only episode (out of 236) with this issue since the series has been syndicated to streaming. The six characters are seen clapping, but the diegetic familiarity has seemingly disappeared. Claps have been reported missing during broadcast reruns and DVD masterings, but never before on digital — until now. We originally thought the issue could lie within music rights associated with the Rembrandts, but wanted to get to the bottom of it. Because it's weird!

We reached out to Netflix, who reported they have no intel about the absence of the claps, so we got in touch with Warner Bros. Television, which produced all ten seasons of the series. After about a week of digging, Warner Bros. discovered that "The One with the Thumb" originally had a technical glitch associated with the master cut, which has now been fixed. The claps are still missing from the episode on Netflix, but Warner Bros. assured us technical issues like this take a little while to update. So there you have it: the greatest mystery of our time is now put to rest.

Like what you see? Follow Decider on Facebook and Twitter to join the conversation, and sign up for our email newsletters to be the first to know about streaming movies and TV news!

Photos: Everett Collection


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Shake Shack IPO soars 150%

The line of investors looking to bite into Danny Meyer's Shake Shack IPO on Friday morning was as long as the line to get into one of his Manhattan burger joints.

The initial public offering of the 14-year old brand, started as a single food cart in Manhattan Madison Square Park in 2001, soared 150 percent soon after it opened — pushing north from its $21 pricing to $52.50 as Wall Street put its money where its mouth is.

Not that he needs the cash but Meyer, now a very successful restaurateur and head of Union Square Hospitality — which owns the Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern, Blue Smoke and a handful of other brands — saw his net worth grow by $387 million in a matter of minutes.

The 56-year old St. Louis native is hoping to use the $90 million raised from the IPO to fund a fast-paced global roll-out of the 63-unit chain — noted in it home town of New York City for its long lines, tasty $4.55 burgers and, of course, $5 milk shakes.

At 10:37 a.m., shares had lost little of the froth of the opening minutes and were trading at $48.00 — up 129 percent.


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Romney won’t run for president in 2016

WASHINGTON — Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney will not run for president in 2016.

Three weeks after unexpectedly saying he was considering a third campaign for the White House, the former Massachusetts governor told members of his staff during a Friday conference call that he is out of race.

Romney jumped back into the presidential discussion on Jan. 10, when he told a small group of former donors in New York that he was eyeing another White House run.

But in the days since, as Romney tried to rally support for another campaign, he discovered that several of his past supporters and major fundraisers had defected to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

Said one this week in an interview with The Associated Press, "I have turned the page."


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Ten Actors Who Packed On The Pounds For Their Roles

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 29 Januari 2015 | 23.16

Ten Actors Who Packed On The Pounds For Their Roles | Decider | Where To Stream TV & Movies on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Instant, HBO Go
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Photo: Everett Collection

Jennifer Aniston, Cake, weight gain undisclosed.

Aniston never gave us a number, but she added a considerable amount of weight to her otherwise svelte frame in hopes of an Oscar nod for this year's Academy Awards. "I just stopped working out," she explained. But once again, Aniston proves she's a femme bot because at the Globes she was back to her token Rachel Green size.

Photo: Everett Collection

Christian Bale, Batman Begins, 99 pounds. American Hustle, 43 pounds.

Bale is the king of weight loss and gain for his roles. The only reason anyone still talks about

The Machinist

is to reference his diet of apples, black coffee, and cigarettes. But the actor packed on almost 100 lbs of pure muscle for the

Batman

franchise before losing it for

The Fighter

, gaining it back to fight Bane, then eating lots of fatty foods to acquire a beer belly for David O. Russell's

American Hustle[Where to stream American Hustle]

Photo: Everett Collection

Bradley Cooper, American Sniper, 40 pounds.

To portray the dealiest sniper in history, Cooper packed on a solid 40 pounds of muscle.

Photo: Everett Collection

Russell Crowe, Body of Lies: 60 pounds.

The

Gladiator

star said goodbye to his abs back in 2008 to play an out-of-shape CIA agent in the Ridley Scott Thriller.

[Where to stream Body of Lies]

Photo: Everett Collection

Matt Damon, The Informant, 30 pounds.

It must be the Irish blood, because Damon carried most of his weight gain in his face for Steven Soderbergh's investigative satire. Damon had to slim down quickly after filming wrapped, however, to star in the Mandela biopic / soccer drama,

Invictus

.

[Where to stream The Informant]

Photo: Everett Collection

Robert De Niro, Raging Bull, 60 pounds.

In a panel at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival, director Martin Scorsese's longtime editor, Thelma Schoonmaker (who edited

Bull

), explained that when filming began De Niro had trained so rigorously he probably could have qualified as a professional boxer. But to embody Jake Lamotta in his later years, the actor had to say goodbye to his ripped frame for fatty rolls. Yet, he got to say hello to his first Oscar that year for Best Actor.

[Where to stream Raging Bull]

Photo: Everett Collection

Jared Leto, Chapter 27, 67 pounds.

The only reason anyone cared about this crapshoot biopic about John Lennon's killer was

because Lindsay Lohan was in it

because Jared Leto gained almost 70 pounds!

[Where to stream Chapter 27

Photo: Everett Collection

Rob McElhenney, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, 50 pounds.

During the off season of shooting the long-running FX comedy series, McElhenney put on some extra poundage, which his wife and co-star Kaitlin Olson (who plays Dee Reynolds) thought would make his character, Mac, funnier. So he kept it for the next season, and we have to agree with Sweet Dee on this one: it was pretty hysterical. Bring back fat Mac!

[Where to stream It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia]

Photo: Everett Collection

Renée Zellweger, Bridget Jones's Diary, 30 pounds.

Thirty seems to be the magic number for working actress who plan to pack it on for their roles. Zellweger's weight gain matched Jones' personality to a tee and earned her an Oscar nod that year.

[Where to stream Bridget Jones's Diary]

Photo: Everett Collection

Name That #DICKVAN (Gallery)

Alternative Golden Globe Awards

14 Sexiest Sex Scenes Of 2014

14 Best Romances of 2014

In Memoriam: 14 Deaths That Rocked Us To The Core in 2014 (GALLERY)

2014 Star Superlatives

Some of the most impressive performances of the year are certainly memorable for the actors who played a part in crafting their characters. But the characters themselves seem larger-than-life, thanks to the writers who wrote them. Here's a look back at the year's most memorable, complete with the senior superlative treatment.

by Tyler Coates (@tylercoates)

GIFinitive Quote Guide: 'The Godfather: Part II'

14 Hottest Heartthrobs Of 2014 (GALLERY)

From our summer crush, Chris Pratt, to the future Mr. Christian Grey, here are the 14 guys who had our full and undivided attention in 2014.

by Meghan O'Keefe (@megsokay)

The 14 Best Things From 2014 You Can Stream Right Now (GALLERY)

20 Most Memorable Moments From 'The Wolf Wall Street'

Scariest Disney Moments

Sure, they made be entertainments made primarily for children, but the Walt Disney Company's cinematic output sure does feel like someone important really hated kids. How else can you explain those traumatic moments that popped up in plenty of the studio's animated and live-action films throughout the years? Evil queens, apocalyptic events, man-eating whales, and psychedelic elephants? The list goes on and on. Here are the moments that still give us flashbacks to childhood terrors.

by Tyler Coates (@tylercoates)

Our Favorite Bartenders

It's been quite a long week, and if you're like me, you'll probably be trying to forget all of the problems in the world with a few stiff drinks tonight. But other than maybe leaving an extra dollar or two as a tip, how have you showed your appreciation to your local bartender lately? To get you prepared to express your gratitude for lending an open ear and a heavy hand, let's take a look at some of the best and most memorable bartenders in film and TV.

by Tyler Coates (@tylercoates)

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Julianne Moore says she ‘created’ her own life

Julianne MoorePhoto: WireImage

Julianne Moore doesn't believe in God.

"I learned when my mother died five years ago (of septic shock at 68) that there is no 'there' there," Moore, whose real name is Julie Smith, told The Hollywood Reporter.

"Structure, it's all imposed. We impose order and narrative on everything in order to understand it. Otherwise, there's nothing but chaos," added the Golden Globe and SAG winner.

Moore, 54, who is nominated for an Oscar for "Still Alice," and has three films coming out in 2015, believes in the idea that one is in control of their destiny.

She learned from her therapist in her early 30s, after a failed marriage and a "lonely" period, that a fulfilling private life requires just as much work as a successful professional life.

"The idea that you're the center of your own narrative and that you can create your life is a great idea," she said.

It's a notion lifted from one of her favorite books "Little Women," the author notes.

"I totally believe it. I've been really lucky, but I feel I've completely created my own life."


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Bratton ‘outraged’ over $5K for machete-wielding man who menaced cops

NYPD Commissioner William Bratton said Thursday that he was outraged by a $5,000 settlement the city made with a machete-wielding thug who menaced cops.

A front-page New York Post story revealed that the city settled with 24-year-old Ruhim Ullah, who was shot in the leg while wielding the 18-inch blade. He pleaded guilty in 2010 to the dangerous confrontation but still filed a $3 million lawsuit against the city.

"I was sitting in the car with my wife. We were on our way to this event," Bratton said after a morning speech. "And I couldn't believe it when I first saw it (The Post's story) and she sat beside me and looked over and said 'What is that?' and she took the paper away from me."

Bratton said he'll talk to Mayor de Blasio about it in a meeting on Thursday afternoon.

" I'll be meeting the mayor this afternoon," he said. "It's outrageous."


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Black Sabbath bassist arrested following bar fight

Famed Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler found himself in the slammer after a bar fight Tuesday.

According to TMZ, the 65-year-old British rock legend was at the Furnace Creek Ranch's Corkscrew Saloon in Death Valley, Calif., when he got involved in an altercation.

After authorities arrived on the scene, he was arrested and booked on battery, vandalism and disorderly conduct.

He was released from jail on Wednesday after sobering up, reports the site.

Butler rose to fame alongside band member Ozzy Osbourne with their group's self-titled debut album in 1970.

(L-R) Musicians Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne and Geezer Butler of Black SabbathPhoto: Getty


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Nickelodeon to launch cable-free app for kiddie shows

SpongeBob is cutting the cord.

Viacom-owned Nickelodeon, home to kiddie hits like "SpongeBob SquarePants" and "Dora the Explorer," is launching a new stand-alone streaming service that won't require a cable subscription.

Details of the direct-to-consumer app for mobile users — which follows similar initiatives from HBO and CBS — will be revealed at Nickelodeon's "upfront" presentation for advertisers next month.

Although the service will be launched by Nickelodeon, it won't be branded as such, according to Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman, who announced the new offering Thursday during the company's fourth-quarter earnings call.

Dauman wouldn't reveal if the service would be ad supported even though it will be pitched to a Madison Avenue crowd.

There are strict rules on both advertising to children and data collection. The Federal Trade Commission requires Web sites to get parental consent from children under 13 before sharing their personal information.

Viacom's service is one of a growing number of "over-the-top" initiatives that see programmers going it alone to reach viewers online.

CBS offers CBS All Access, a pay-TV free digital venue for seeing its shows. HBO's new non-cable service is expected to launch in the spring, likely around the new season of "Game of Thrones."

NBC, ABC and Fox offer their shows through online TV hub Hulu.


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Angelina Jolie pens op-ed about Iraqi, Syrian refugees

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 28 Januari 2015 | 23.16

Angelina Jolie detailed the heartbreak of Iraqi and Syrian refugees in a revealing op-ed for the New York Times on Tuesday.

"For many years I have visited camps, and every time, I sit in a tent and hear stories," wrote the 39-year-old mother of six. "I try my best to give support. To say something that will show solidarity and give some kind of thoughtful guidance. On this trip I was speechless."

Angelina JoliePhoto: Getty

She went on to describe conversations with refugees who've been gravely affected by the instability brought on by ISIS.

"What do you say to the 13-year-old girl who describes the warehouses where she and the others lived and would be pulled out, three at a time, to be raped by the men?" Jolie begs. "How can you speak when a woman your own age looks you in the eye and tells you that her whole family was killed in front of her, and that she now lives alone in a tent and has minimal food rations?"

The "Unbroken" director warns that without an end to the war in Syria the "spread of extremism, the surge in foreign fighters, the threat of new terrorism" will continue.

She suggests that countries able to offer sanctuary to refugees should do so. And most importantly to her, is finding a "path to peace" spearheaded by the international community.

"It is not enough to defend our values at home, in hour newspapers and in our institutions," writes Jolie in her first op-ed piece since revealing her double mastectomy to prevent breast cancer in May 2013. "We also have to defend them in the refugee camps of the Middle East, and the ruined ghost towns of Syria."


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Bill Simmons throws dirt at Ray Lewis over Deflategate take

The only thing Bill Simmons loves more than stirring up trouble in ESPN Land (besides maybe making oblique 90s pop culture references or using footnotes) is his Boston sports teams, so Ray Lewis picked on the wrong controversy-shrouded Super Bowl squad.

Simmons fired away Tuesday on Twitter at Lewis, now an ESPN football analyst, over his suggestion a Patriots title should have an asterisk affixed due to Deflategate, pointing out the former Ravens linebacker is no stranger to pre-Super Bowl "cheating" accusations.

The attached image shows Lewis with Photoshopped deer antlers, referring to a Sports Illustrated report that surfaced before Super Bowl XLVII following the 2012 season, alleging Lewis — then recovering from a torn triceps, and weeks away from retirement — tried to obtain a spray made from deer-antler extract that contained a substance banned by the NFL.

Photo: Katchop.com

According to USA Today, this is the semi-coherent Lewis speech that set Simmons off: "Marshawn Lynch, the league clearly said to him, 'If you come out of the tunnel with those shoes on, we will not only suspend you for this game, but we will suspend you for the Super Bowl.' Now we're back at another place where we let a team go into an AFC championship, and if it's proven that they played with deflated balls … because if it's not cheating, then the Colts should have had the same option to play with the same balls. So we're at a place now where we're going to celebrate an organization once again, put an asterisk by it, because they went into a championship game."

Perhaps Simmons, previously suspended by ESPN for broadsiding NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and briefly embroiled in a spat with co-worked Mike Golic, exercised some restraint: He didn't mention the other, much more serious Super Bowl incident lingering in Lewis' past.


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7 amazing, under-the-radar spots you must see before you die

The term "bucket list destination" can be misunderstood, because it implies that there are certain select places in the world that everyone needs to see before they die.

But what if you don't want to see the hordes of tourists at Grand Canyon, Machu Picchu, or the Roman Colosseum?

You can make your own list by researching the countless captivating places around the world that aren't as popular, although they might still be important or even sacred to the locals.

Here are seven such incredible places that you may not have heard about but might inspire you take the road less traveled.

Cave of Crystals, Mexico

Photo: Courtesy of Flickr/Paul Williams

This one is not for tourists, unless you're well-connected to scientists who work here. That's because the Naica Cave, 980 feet below the surface of Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico, is as dangerous as it is gorgeous.

The selenite crystals, which were only discovered in 2000, are among the largest in the world and reach 39 feet in length while weighing up to 55 tons. They've been heated by a giant pool of magma right underneath, which is what also makes the place so unbearably hot: temperature are reported at 136 degrees here with up to 99 percent humidity. Anybody who enters for more than a few minutes has to wear a special cooling suit and mask.

To get a sense of the danger, you can read one BBC reporter's account of entering the cave.

Ciudad Perdida, Colombia

Photo: Courtesy of Flickr/Alexander Schimmeck

If Machu Picchu has become too touristy for you, you can visit the mountain home of a lost civilization that's 650 years older and has only recently been on the travel radar.

Ciudad Perdida (Lost City) is a network of villages believed to have been founded in 800 A.D. by the local Tairona tribe. It was lost to history and reclaimed by the jungle for about 1,000 years until treasure looters rediscovered the place in 1972.

Only a fraction of the city has been excavated, but the haunting remains include stone terraces and plazas that you'll have to climb 1,263 steep steps over several days to reach, past beautiful waterfalls and streams. The round-trip journey lasts about 27 miles.

Travel companies briefly stopped giving hikes of the area in 2003, when eight tourists were kidnapped by the National Liberation Army, but since 2005 the hikes have resumed without incident. All four tour companies servicing Ciudad Perdida offer hikes lasting about six days for $310.

Thor's Well

Photo: Courtesy of Flickr/Bill Young

Is this the end of the world? The ocean consuming itself? Hardly. Thor's Well, off the coast of Cape Perpetua, is something of an optical illusion. The apparent hole in the ocean is really just a hole in rock, and not a very deep one at about 20 feet.

Still, the effect created during high tide is magnificent and worthy of a trip to the Oregon coast. But bring a zoom lens, because you don't want to get too close – getting swepped into the hole would be deadly.

Red Seabeach, China

The world's largest wetland area seems like it belongs to another world entirely. The grass here may look like it's been dyed, but this is totally natural and a result of alkaline soil.

Located in Dawa County, the delicate reed marsh is a protected reserve, but tourists can see it up close via a wooden walkway. You can also admire the estimated 236 species of birds that are found here. Go during September, when the grass is mature and at its brightest.

Fall Canyon, Death Valley, California

Photo: Courtesy of Flickr/Volker Neumann

People are more likely to equate Death Valley with sand dunes or the record-low elevation of Badwater Basin, but Fall Canyon is an underrated geological marvel that impresses in different ways. Walking through the wash in this ravine, prone to epic floods, with its towering and kaleidoscopic layered rocks, will make you feel wonderfully small.

Three miles into the canyon's entrance, you'll reach a dry waterfall that you'll want to climb up and see before walking through beautifully polished narrows in the mid-Canyon. It's a little scary getting back down to the lower canyon, but follow our advice from my trip, and you'll be fine.

Pangong Tso Lake: India, China

Photo: Courtesy of Flickr/Anirban Roy

This Himalayan lake looks serene, though it's also a source of tension because of its proximity to two countries: roughly one third of Pangong Tso is in India, with two-thirds in Tibet. Still, this is considered a safe place for tourists to ascend the 14,270 feet and take their travel-brag Facebook photos.

The lake is 3.1 miles wide and 83 miles long, and it's a five-hour drive from Leh, India. Depending on what kind of view you're rather see, the lake freezes in winter.

Baalbek, Lebanon

Photo: Courtesy of Flickr/Paul Saad

You might not expect to find one of the greatest examples of Roman architecture in a Lebanese Valley, but Baalbek certainly qualifies – and its importance as a sacred site dates well before that empire. The site is like a layer cake of civilizations who worshipped here, including the Phoenicians before the Romans, when the city was known as Heliopolis – all told, the site's history may go back 5,000 years.

I walked through these stone ruins in 2008, and I was left in awe – the remaining 20-meter Corinthian columns tower over the surrounding area and the Roman temples are majestic, but even the small carvings littered all over the place impressed me. You'll enjoy playing archaeologist on these grounds. It's no wonder the place is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The city of Baalbek is 53 miles northeast of Beirut and can be easily accessed by car.

This article originally appeared on Yahoo Travel.


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Star snaps of the day

Star snaps of the day | Page Six
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Kris Jenner bundles up for a flight out of Paris on Tuesday.

StarTraks

Idris Elba DJs at a Jaguar party in Berlin on Tuesday.

StarTraks

Kate Hudson arrives at LAX on Tuesday.

Pacific Coast News

Constance Zimmer and Cobie Smulders hang out at the "Results" premiere in Park City, Utah, on Tuesday.

Getty

Ben Foster and Robin Wright arrive at the Giorgio Armani Prive show on Tuesday in Paris.

Getty

Nichole Scherzinger attends the London premiere of "Selma" on Tuesday.

Getty

Katherine Heigl takes her pooch to the groomer in Los Feliz, Calif., on Tuesday.

Pacific Coast News

John Cho and Patrick Wilson attend a Sundance cast party for "Zipper" in Park City, Utah, on Tuesday.

Getty

David Oyelowo arrives at the London premiere of "Selma" on Tuesday.

Getty

Freida Pinto arrives at the Santa Barbara Film Festival in Santa Barbara, Calif., on Tuesday.

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Brooklyn Decker looks cozy at the "Results" premiere on Tuesday in Park City, Utah.

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Kendall Jenner catches a flight out of Paris on Tuesday.

StarTraks

Kevin Costner arrives at Craig's in West Hollywood on Tuesday.

Splash

Johnny Depp performs onstage with Alice Cooper on Tuesday in Anaheim, Calif.

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Amber Heard and a pal arrive to watch Johnny Depp perform with Alice Cooper in Anaheim, Calif., on Tuesday.

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Goldie Hawn arrives at LAX on Tuesday.

Pacific Coast News

Hugh Jackman steps out in post-blizzard New York on Tuesday.

Splash

John Krasinski leaves the gym in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

INF

Justin Bieber hides between two cushions as he leaves a Beverly Hills salon on Tuesday.

Splash

Jenna Dewan-Tatum makes a Chipotle run on Tuesday in Los Angeles.

INF

Malin Akerman and Blythe Danner bond at the "I'll See You in My Dreams" premiere in Park City, Utah, on Tuesday.

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Sharon Stone multitasks during a mani-pedi in Beverly Hills on Tuesday.

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Eddie Redmayne greets fans at "Jimmy Kimmel Live" in Hollywood on Tuesday.

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Dakota Johnson leaves a workout in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

INF

Forest Whitaker waves to fans in Park City, Utah, on Tuesday.

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Dita Von Teese arrives at the Elie Saab Paris show on Wednesday.

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Rhea Perlman attends the premiere of "I'll See You in My Dreams" in Park City, Utah, on Tuesday.

Getty

Courtney Love and "Shark Tank" star Kevin O'Leary leave Craig's restaurant in West Hollywood on Tuesday.

INF

Cele-brrr-ities brave blizzards 25 Photos

See which stars make the most of snow.

Star snaps of the day 22 Photos

Kris Jenner sports fishnets, Joaquin Phoenix grins and bears it, Heidi Klum sells skivvies and more.

Star snaps of the day 27 Photos

Larry David leaves a Broadway show, Lady Gaga heads to yoga, Amal Clooney dazzles in a red coat and more.

Actors celebrate with their actors: SAG afterparties 32 Photos

See how your favorite celebs celebrated after the 2015 SAG Awards.

It's showtime! Stars head to SAG Awards 13 Photos

Hollywood primps its way to the SAG Awards.

Nicole Richie's biggest hairstyle hits and misses 21 Photos

From wild child to boho beauty to bright and bold, Richie has done it all ... with her hair, that is.

Star snaps of the day 31 Photos

Miley Cyrus and Kerry Washington salute LA style, Beyoncé and Jay Z get cozy courtside, Julianne Moore stuns under an umbrella and more.

The beautiful ones: Prince's funkiest fashions ever 24 Photos

Let's go crazy and take a look back at the Purple One's most bizarre (and beautiful) looks through the years.

Star snaps of the day 29 Photos

Olivia Munn stuns, Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe are nice guys, Jennifer Lopez and Ryan Guzman chat, Justin Bieber grabs a handful and more.

Paulina Gretzky: From model to mom 32 Photos

She went from Maxim to motherhood (and looked great doing it).

Star snaps of the day 26 Photos

Kevin Costner celebrates, Elizabeth Hurley and Katie Holmes giggle, Christina Milian is a knockout, Kristin Chenoweth hangs with J. Lo and the boy next door and more.

Cheeky: Amber Rose's most booty-ful snaps 34 Photos

Eat your heart out, Wiz and Kanye: Amber Rose has got it, so she flaunts it. Often.

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David Fincher Saved Jake Gyllenhaal: How The Director Helped Donnie Get Darker

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Though a notorious hardass who is rumored to be extremely difficult to work with, David Fincher brings out the very best in his actors. From Brad Pitt to Jodie Foster to Ben Affleck, Fincher's direction strips any previous notions the audience may have about the star on the screen, and, if anything, works against assumptions we have about said talent thanks to the inundation of info flooding our celebrity worship culture. Yes, Fincher is a master of his craft and, to an extent, helps actors become better masters of theirs — perhaps most strikingly with Jake Gyllenhaal in Zodiac.

Though Gyllenhaal has been a fully formed actor since he battled his inner demons and a terrifying bunny in Donnie Darko, the emo eye-candy became a laughing stock in Bubble Boy and Highway before taking a turn for the sensitive hottie next door in Lovely & AmazingThe Good Girl, Moonlight Mile, Proof, and The Day After Tomorrow. Gyllenhaal's stardom propelled tenfold after starring alongside Heath Ledger in Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain, which, depending on the maturity of the crowd around you, becomes either a giggly gay cowboy joke or a comment on how much they miss Heath Ledger. Nonetheless, Gyllenhaal's Oscar-nominated performance garnered him some serious attention, as did his role in Sam Mendes' Jarhead shortly after. The actor was being choosier about the directors he worked with, and it paid off, earning him the lead role in Fincher's appallingly underrated Zodiac.

Disappearing from Netflix at the end of this month, Zodiac is among the director's (and the actor's, for that matter) least talked about films. But unlike, say, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which is seen as the filmmaker's Hollywood-appeasing flick, Zodiac is Fincher in the raw, which created the Jake Gyllenhaal we know now. Set in the early '70s, the film chronicles the Zodiac killer, who terrorized the San Francisco Bay area for nearly a decade, claimed almost a dozen victims, and drove investigators and reporters to the brink of sanity by changing his patterns, leaving dead-end clues, and disappearing for years at a time. In the film, Gyllenhaal portrays Robert Graysmith, a cartoonist turned informal investigator for the San Francisco Chronicle, where he was first exposed to the Zodiac's harrowing letters. A tale of obsession on all fronts, Zodiac grips you from the get-go, and by the time the credits roll you won't believe three hours have passed.

The film, similar to the Zodiac himself, begs to be analyzed. It's a master crime drama whose genius nuances are probably only talked to death in film classes and by obsessive Fincher fans, but they deserve to be dissected by any film lover. Zodiac would have been nothing more than a creepy biopic if it weren't for Gyllenhaal, whose performance may have saved him from run-of-the-mill pretty boy roles and instead pushed him into the dramatic and action realms where he continues to stun — especially in Dan Gilroy's recent Nightcrawler.

Though wrongfully bumped from the Oscar race, Gyllenhaal shocked and awed as the deranged Louis Bloom, a cripplingly lonely con man who slithers his way into the cutthroat world of L.A. night crawling — freelancing for late-night news scoops. Without Gyllenhaal, Gilroy's debut may have slipped through the indie cracks into oblivion given its uneven satirical themes and tacked-on ending. Gyllenhaal, however, turned it into awards bait with subtly disturbing scenes of a mad man controlling a media landscape through bouts of overexposure and withheld information. Louis' pure lack of empathy is slightly reminiscent of the actor's portrayal of Graysmith, who chose investigating the Zodiac killer over his marriage and three kids. One thing is for certain: Gyllenhaal is far more authentic as a man on a mission then as a dude rolling around in bed with Anne Hathaway or trying to reverse time (i.e. the lame Source Code and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time). 

Playing up the pretty-boy appeal wasn't necessarily a dumb move as he segued into darker roles with Rendition, opposite Reese Witherspoon and his brother-in-law Peter Sarsgaard, or in the post-war drama Brothers, opposite Tobey Maguire. In both David Ayer's End of Watch and Denis Villeneuve's Prisoners, Gyllenhaal gave commanding performances as police officers dealing with the toughest of subject matter: racial violence and kidnappings, respectively. After that, we were graced with Enemy (also directed by Villeneueve), an undeniable primer for Louis Bloom and Nightcrawler, in which Gyllenhaal plays solemn history professor, Adam, who discovers his exact lookalike in a movie and feels compelled to track him down. The actor, playing both Adam and his evil twin, Anthony, was in almost every single scene, much like he was in Nightcrawler.

Since Zodiac and his most recent endeavors, Gyllenhaal has proved that he has no trouble carrying entire films, which we'll see him do three times in a row this year with boxing drama Southpaw, expedition drama Everest, and finally Demolition, directed by the exquisite Jean-Marc Vallée, who as we know, helps get his actors nominated and win Oscars. Yet, without Fincher and his role as Robert Graysmith, this kind of work may have come later for Gyllenhaal, whose blessed good looks could have very well pigeon-holed him into rom-com fodder and Prince of Persia 2. 

It might be fun to see Gyllenhaal take his darkness and cultivated intensity over to the tube at some point in the near future. True Detective Season Three, anyone?

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Photos: Everett Collection


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Winter Storm Juno turned NYC into a ghost town

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 27 Januari 2015 | 23.16

Winter Storm Juno turned NYC into a ghost town | New York Post
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A man walks down the street in the Bronx Tuesday morning.

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The day in photos 24 Photos

Miss USA represents, President Barack Obama visits the heartland, deep sea divers get a rude awakening from a sperm whale, a baby tiger makes her adorable debut and more.

The day in photos 20 Photos

Pro-lifers stage a die-in in Washington, First Lady Michelle Obama reads to tiny doctors, Pope Francis mugs for the cameras and more.

Chilling, chilly and silly: Award-winning snowmen 24 Photos

Locals in Bogatye Saby, Tatarstan, Russia, recreate military gear, movie greats and more out of snow.

Micropig goes HAM at birthday party 16 Photos

This micropig has a big appetite for birthday fun.

The day in photos 23 Photos

A newborn sloth says hello, Hong Kong shows off wild fashion, robots greet press in Japan and more.

The day in photos 24 Photos

Koalas canoodle, protesters take on the PBA, Sec. of State John Kerry tries mending fences with France and more.

The day in photos 18 Photos

Bathing beauties get ready for judgment, Charlie Hebdo victims are laid to rest, literal jackasses get employee of the month and more.

The way they were: Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio's 61st anniversary 17 Photos

Take a look back at Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe's legendary romance on their 61st wedding anniversary.

The day in photos 22 Photos

Snakes show it's easy being green, President Barack Obama boards Air Force One, Charlie Hebdo sales soar and more.

The day in photos 23 Photos

The world mourns those lost in the Paris terror attacks, Charlie Hebdo circulates more than ever, a canine sports some sweet shades and more.

Love is in the air: The most amazing wedding photos ever 25 Photos

A-listers show off major cleavage on the Golden Globes red carpet 15 Photos

Cleavage was king on the Golden Globes red carpet — just take a look at the sartorial choices of these 15 actresses.

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Lyft drops pink furry mustache, debuts ‘glowstache’

Lyft drops pink furry mustache, debuts 'glowstache' | New York Post
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January 27, 2015 | 10:51am

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Lyft co-founder John Zimmer introduces his ride-hailing company's "glowstache" at a launch event on Monday in San Francisco. Photo: AP

The pink mustache is out.

Ride-hailing company Lyft has pulled the pink furry mustache that drivers display on the front of their cars and replaced it with a 5-inch-long pink "glowstache" that goes on the dashboard.

About 300 Lyft drivers on Monday formed a line that stretched three blocks from the company's San Francisco headquarters while they waited to receive the new glow-in-the-dark mustache for their cars.

Lyft is one of several companies that allow customers to use a smartphone app to book and pay for rides in a private car.

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