“It’s exactly what you think it is—a tornado full of sharks”

The rise of video-on-demand services like Netflix and dedicated cable-TV channels has created a new industry in low-budget B-movies; meet Asylum Films, an outfit in California following in the footsteps of historical B-movie auteurs like Roger Corman, Menahem Golan and Uwe Boll, with films with titles like Sharknado, Transmorphers, Sex Pot and Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies. Asylum’s new B-movies are made quickly and cheaply to ride the coattails of the big studios’ fads, filling gaps in the market for more films about, say, adorable puppies, alien battleships or apocalypses. The films are made to a strict formula, are played entirely seriously, with no hint of irony or knowingness, and are designed primarily to pad out rental lists and appeal to recommendation engines, though the producers point out that often mainstream Hollywood fare is often no less hackneyed and formulaic. (Previously…)

via MetaFilter http://www.metafilter.com/129922/Its-exactly-what-you-think-it-isa-tornado-full-of-sharks

There Are More Eyes on Your Facebook Posts Than You Can Even Imagine

A recent report from Stanford University and Facebook suggests we consistently underestimate the size of our audience on social media.

Whether you’re a ninja, guru, or mere mortal user of social media, you’ve likely guessed how many people read your Facebook posts. Among the estimation techniques reported in a recent study by Stanford University and Facebook: “I figured about half of the people who see it will ‘like’ it, or comment on it”; “number of people who liked it times 4”; and “maybe a third of my friends saw it.”

It turns out, however, that none of these strategies are particularly accurate. Throughout June 2012, researchers tracked Facebook posts from 220,000 users while asking the posts’ authors to guess how many friends had seen individual updates. On average, participants guessed their audience was about 27% of its true size.

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via Fast Company http://www.fastcompany.com/3014190/there-are-more-eyes-on-your-facebook-posts-than-you-can-even-imagine

Keith Olbermann returning to ESPN?

Is Keith Olbermann headed back to ESPN? The Daily News has learned Worldwide Leader is in serious discussions with Olbermann to host a New York-based late night talk show on ESPN 2, according to industry sources.

via NYDN Rss Article only http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/keith-olbermann-returning-espn-article-1.1397021?localLinksEnabled=false

Democrats Step Up Criticism of IRS Probe

Democrats are stepping up their charge that the IRS investigation so far has focused too much on conservative groups and ignored targeting of liberal and progressive groups.

via Washington Wire http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2013/07/12/democrats-step-up-criticism-of-irs-probe/?mod=WSJBlog

Saudi princess is free on $5-million bail in human trafficking case

She is accused of confiscating Kenyan woman’s passport and forcing her to work 16 hours a day at a condo complex in Irvine for meager pay.

The Saudi princess and her family had crossed the globe in May with an entourage of servants and settled into one of the labyrinthine upscale communities that dot Orange County.

    

via L.A. Times – California | Local News http://latimes.com.feedsportal.com/c/34336/f/625246/s/2e8b9994/l/0L0Slatimes0N0Cnews0Clocal0Cla0Eme0Esaudi0Eprincess0E20A130A7120H0A0H43288590Bstory0Dtrack0Frss/story01.htm

North Carolina House Passes New Restrictions on Abortion

The bill would give a state agency the authority to impose standards similar to those for ambulatory surgical centers.

via NYT > Most Recent Headlines http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/12/us/north-carolina-house-passes-new-restrictions-on-abortion.html

Netflix Is Talking About Doing Another Season of Arrested Development

Back in May, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, who had previously called the fourth season of Arrested Development a nonrepeatable “one-off,” said his company would be “willing” to air further seasons if the famously difficult-to-herd cast members would make themselves available for filming. Now, according to producer Imagine Entertainment’s co-chairman (and season four character) Brian Grazer, it seems that Netflix is officially “interested” in the idea of additional Arrested episodes. “We are in conversations with them to do another [season],” said Grazer during a Thursday interview with Bloomberg Television. “They are interested in doing that.”

While Variety sources “emphasized that there are no active negotiations at present between Netflix and studio 20th Century Fox TV,” both sides are said to “expect a renewal to come together eventually” thanks to the apparently healthy appetite of the series’s binge-watching audience (the exact size of which has still not been revealed). The logistical challenge of getting the busy Bluth family together means that new episodes are probably a couple years away (Jason Bateman, Michael Cera, Portia de Rossi, Will Arnett, and Tony Hale are all currently signed up for other TV jobs), but Arrested fans should feel free to congratulate themselves on a job well done: whether you loved or hated season four, that straight fourteen hours you spent staring at your computer in May really paid off.

Read more posts by Caroline Bankoff

Filed Under: arrested development development
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via Vulture http://www.vulture.com/2013/07/netflix-talking-about-more-arrested-development.html

Philip Roth and Mia Farrow Watched Sharknado Together

We’re watching #sharknado pic.twitter.com/RZoDHMPCpw
— mia farrow (@MiaFarrow) July 12, 2013

via Gawker http://gawker.com/philip-roth-and-mia-farrow-watched-sharknado-together-751271076

Groups, FTC to talk Herbalife probe

Consumer advocates are planning to ask regulators on Monday for their commitment to investigate allegations that Herbalife is a pyramid scheme, The Post has learned. The National Consumers League — the first group to call for an investigation in a March 12 letter — asked for the meeting with the Federal Trade…

via NY Post: Business http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/groups_ftc_to_talk_herbalife_probe_keVtZm0e8x3EPhOZHgT4aJ?utm_medium=rss&utm_content=Business

If You’d Like a Good, Clean Explanation of the Filibuster Disaster …

A short but not necessarily cheering exposition of our governing problems.

    

via Politics : The Atlantic http://Theatlantic.feedsportal.com/c/34375/f/625835/s/2e8c9f87/l/0L0Stheatlantic0N0Cpolitics0Carchive0C20A130C0A70Cif0Eyoud0Elike0Ea0Egood0Eclean0Eexplanation0Eof0Ethe0Efilibuster0Edisaster0C2777330C/story01.htm