February 2, 2016

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Today in Movie Culture: 'Lego Force Awakens' Teaser, Honest 'SPECTRE' Trailer and More

Here are a bunch of little bites to satisfy your hunger for movie culture:

Video Game Trailer of the Day:

This trailer for the Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens video game is better than everyone else’s Lego version of the Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer:

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Cosplay of the Day:

Cosplayers took advantage of the winter storm for a photoshoot as Kylo Ren and Rey during their climactic duel in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. See more images at Fashionably Geek.

Movie Takedown of the Day:

Honest Trailers makes the case that SPECTRE is the dullest and most dated James Bond ever:

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Vintage Image of the Day:

Bill Murray and Stephen Tobolowsky wait for Harold Ramis to call “action” on the set of Groundhog Day:

Filmmakers in Focus:

With a new Coen Brothers movie out in theaters this week, here’s a great montage of their movies (via Cinematic Montage Creators):

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Fake Remakes of the Day:

What if the characters from Winnie the Pooh redid this year’s Best Picture nominees? Below are posters for The Revenant and Room (aka “KangaRoom”?). See more at Design Taxi.

Supercut of the Day:

Speaking of Oscar nominees, Cineplex produced a nice supercut of this year’s contenders:

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Trailer Mashup of the Day:

The “Bohemian Rhapsody” trailer for Suicide Squad has been redone with footage from Batman: The Animated Series (via One Perfect Shot):

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Actor in the Spotlight:

StudioCanal commissioned these drawings of Michael Caine through the years from artist Helen Green (via Live for Films):

Classic Trailer of the Day:

Today is the 20th anniversary of the release of Black Sheep. Watch the original trailer for the comedy starring Chris Farley and David Spade below.

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Yahoo Laying Off Staff And Considering Selling Itself

Yahoo is addressing continued losses with layoffs and other cuts.

Yahoo is addressing continued losses with layoffs and other cuts. Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP hide caption

toggle caption Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP

Yahoo, the Internet pioneer, continues to lose money. Tuesday in its fourth-quarter report, the company said it had a loss of $4.4 billion.

It’s also laying off about 15 percent of its workforce and closing offices in five locations. Yahoo says it will explore “strategic alternatives” for its struggling Internet businesses including getting rid of services and assets that CEO Marissa Mayer has decided are not worth continued investment of time and money.

Mayer came to Yahoo from Google in 2012 and was seen as a savior for the once-dominant Internet company. Yahoo is now 42 percent smaller than when she arrived, even though she has made several acquisitions including the blogging platform Tumblr.

Most of Yahoo’s growth has come from its stake in the Chinese e-commerce site Alibaba. Though Yahoo can still boast 1 billion unique visitors to its various sites — finance, email, and sports among them — it has struggled to draw advertising dollars against rivals like Google and Facebook.

Maynard Webb, the chairman of Yahoo’s board, also signaled that the company might sell itself to the right bidder. Several investment firms, wireless providers and media companies have shown an interest in buying it. And it’s a solution that frustrated investors have been pushing.

Yahoo was founded at a time when search engines were more limited and people were still using dial-up modems. Despite having an audience for its services, it has never quite been able to keep up with the shifting shape of Internet life.

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WATCH: Super Bowl Ads Already Generating Buzz

Advertisers used to guard their commercials until they aired on TV. Now, advertisers harness the power of Internet virality and release ads before the big game.

Advertisers used to guard their commercials until they aired on TV. Now, advertisers harness the power of Internet virality and release ads before the big game. Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

The Super Bowl is still five days away, but for advertisers the game is already in full swing.

Once upon a time, companies that shelled out for a coveted Super Bowl ad jealously guarded their commercials until they aired during the big game. Nowadays, it works a little differently. Companies have realized the value of releasing teaser commercials or even full advertisements before Super Bowl Sunday, trading the element of surprise for the possibility of having their ad go viral.

As the Los Angeles Times reported last year, some experts say this all started when Volkswagen released its 2011 Super Bowl ad in the days leading up to the game. You probably remember the commercial: As the Star Wars theme song plays, a little kid dressed in full Darth Vader regalia attempts to use “the Force” on all manner of things, including a baby doll, an unimpressed dog, and an exasperated mom. Thwarted, the child tries his or her luck on the dad’s Volkswagen. To mini-Vader’s surprise — and thanks to Dad’s operation of the car’s keyless start capability — the car jumps to life.

The ad went viral, racking up 11 million views online by the Saturday before the Super Bowl. Five years later it has nearly 64 million views on YouTube, cementing advertisers’ belief in the power of Internet virality.

Many of the ads that will air during Super Bowl 50 were released this week and a few are generating a lot of buzz. Without further ado, here are five commercials already getting attention online.

1. Budweiser — This year, the beer company eschewed adorable puppies in favor of a spiny anti-drunk-driving speech delivered by British actress Helen Mirren. The Washington Post wrote an article about it, headlined: “Helen Mirren elegantly eviscerates drunk drivers in Budweiser’s Super Bowl ad.”

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2. T-Mobile — How do you get people talking about your product? Try incorporating one of the most talked about music videos of the year into your commercial. T-Mobile even got Drake to play along.

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3. Pokemon — Millennials, this ad is for you. Celebrating two decades of the Pokemon franchise, the commercial features favorites like Charizard and Pikachu, as well as “trainers” from around the world. The ad is the first part in a yearlong campaign to celebrate 20 years of Pokemon, the company said in a statement.

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4. Hyundai — Ryan Reynolds riding a bike, Ryan Reynolds as a police officer, Ryan Reynolds with a jackhammer, Ryan Reynolds playing football, Ryan Reynolds walking dogs. You get the idea.

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5. Heinz — Puppies. Budweiser dropped ’em, but Heinz won’t leave you hanging. Watch a herd of adorable dachshunds dressed like hot dogs frolic in a field in slow motion. Bet you can’t watch without smiling.

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A Peek Inside Turing Pharmaceuticals: 'Another $7.2 Million. Pow!'

Martin Shkreli was CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals when the company boosted the price of a drug by 5,000 percent. He has since resigned.

Martin Shkreli was CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals when the company boosted the price of a drug by 5,000 percent. He has since resigned. Paul Taggart/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption Paul Taggart/Bloomberg via Getty Images

A memo from congressional investigators sheds new light on the inner workings of Martin Shkreli’s Turing Pharmaceuticals after the company jacked up the prices of a decades-old drug used to treat AIDS patients.

The House Committee on Oversight and Investigations is looking into Turing and other drug companies’ price increases. This memo, released Tuesday, includes excerpts from the company’s internal documents and emails.

It paints a picture of the now-disgraced “pharma bro” Martin Shkreli giddily rubbing his palms together at the prospect of all the money Daraprim will generate for his fledgling company. The drug is the only cure for toxoplasmosis, a disease that strikes people, including AIDS and cancer patients, whose immune systems are suppressed.

Turing bought Daraprim last year and jacked up the price 5,000 percent, from $13.50 to $750 a pill.

Here are a few highlights from the data dump.

When Turing agreed to buy Daraprim, company officials went into celebration mode:

“Very good. Nice work as usual. $1bn here we come.” — Turing Chairman Ron Tilles email dated May 27, 2015.

“I think it will be huge. We raised the price from $1,700 per bottle to $75,000. … So 5,000 paying bottles at the new price is $375,000,000 – almost all of it is profit and I think we will get 3 years of that or more. Should be a very handsome investment for all of us.” – Martin Shkreli email dated Aug. 27, 2015.

“Another $7.2 million. Pow!” — Tina Ghorban, senior director of business analytics, reacting to a purchase order for 96 bottles at $75,000 a bottle, on Sept. 17.

The company thought it could handle blowback from AIDS activists and doctors:

“HIV patient advocacy may react to price increase … we still come out ahead if we can frame this issue within the HIV/AIDS community as a fight between a drug company and insurance companies. As long as everyone who needs Daraprim can get it as soon as they need it, regardless of ability to pay, the community should have no issue. There is no love lost between HIV/AIDS activists and insurance companies, and they certainly don’t want to be manipulated by them to fight on their behalf.”

“Cost and coverage are not obstacles to treatment today … physicians do not report high out-of-pocket costs, required prior authorizations, or other access barriers to toxo medications.”

They were wrong:

“Given your company’s recent move to raise the price of pyrimethamine over 5,000% to an incredible $750 a pill, I have decided not to meet with representatives from Turing. … I am also urging my colleagues here at UNC, as well as at Duke, ECU, Wake Forest and other clinical centers across our state to do likewise, until Turing announces a reasonable and ethical reduction in the price of this important medication — a drug we rely on most to treat toxoplasmosis.” — Associate professor at University of North Carolina, Oct. 1.

“After over a week of trying to secure Daraprim for an uninsured patient requiring Daraprim at Massachusetts General Hospital, I need immediate assistance with expediting this case. … We have been provided with inaccurate/misleading information by the dedicated Daraprim Team. … This is a critical matter, visible at the highest levels of our Infectious Disease Department.” — Doctor at Massachusetts General Hospital, Oct. 8.

So Turing went into crisis mode, trying out discount programs and struggling with PR:

“I think we are acting a little like a deer in the headlights, and need to take some action steps now. If a hospital like Mass General is having issues we are in trouble.” — Ed Painter, head of investor relations, Oct. 8.

“Is there an annual price reduction commitment that would discourage generics from entering the market? What if we headlined … Turing Pharmaceuticals commits to an out-of-pocket cost to individuals of less than $20.” — Painter, Sept. 26.

“I don’t think so. Re reductions — Think it’s best we don’t PR something like that unless its something we’re willing to commit to doing.” — Patrick Crutcher, director of business development, Sept. 26.

“FYI, we are ‘blowing through’ copay dollars very fast. … My opinion is that with the current state of affairs that we should continue to provide to patients, but we’ll need to ultimately evaluate this program and understand the effect on margin.” — Jon Haas, director of patient access, Sept. 29.

“As early as next week, the Board should remove Martin as CEO. … the price drop has to be significant and tied to something. … This cannot be seen as something that appears to be as arbitrary as the price hike in the first place.” — Outside PR consultant, Oct. 8.

On Dec. 16, Shkreli was arrested on securities fraud charges related to his tenure at another firm. He resigned the following day.

“I am confident I will prevail,” Shkreli wrote on Twitter on Dec. 19. “The allegations against me are baseless and without merit.”

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opbmusic Presents: Rodrigo Amarante

February 2, 201611:55 AM ET

Rodrigo Amarante has toured for years with Brazilian rock band Los Hermanos, as well as the band Little Joy (with Binki Shapiro and The Strokes‘ Fab Moretti). In 2014, Amarante released his first solo album, Cavalo. The record demonstrates Amarante’s stylistic range and gift for wistful melody: His songs represent everything from lullaby-paced ballads with muted piano to tunes driven by bubbling bass to ebullient Portuguese love songs.

This week, opbmusic and NPR Music present a premiere from the Woods Stage at Pickathon, where Amarante enchanted the crowd — from a stage made of branches, no less — with his song “Maná.”

Pickathon has also announced two additions to its 2016 lineup: Wolf Parade will make its first festival appearance in five years and play two sets at the festival. The group joins Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, Yo La Tengo and Beach House among the headliners. Plus, Korby Lenker returns to Pickathon for a second straight year.

The festival will be held August 5-7 at Pendarvis Farm just outside Portland, Ore.

Every month this year, opbmusic and NPR Music present another episode from the Pickathon Woods Stage Series, handpicked by opbmusic to showcase some of the most exciting performances from the 2015 festival. Look for the next premiere on Feb. 16.

SET LIST
  • “Maná”

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