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Modern management as we know it today thrives on an assumption: that it is objective and rational. Of course, cutting edge thinkers know that it is not so. But that management is objective and rational remains a dominant perception. Subjectivity plays a key role in management. And subjectivity is influenced strongly by culture. The way we see the world is conditioned by the culture we have been most exposed to since childhood. 
 
A child brought up in Denmark, for example, all his life, has a very different understanding of life, compared to a child brought up in India, Internet notwithstanding. There will be many things in common, but there will also be many differences. How much focus do we pay to subjectivity relative to objectivity, irrationality relative to rationality, in management thought? People are divided on this. 
 We have been conditioned to look upon subjectivity and irrationality as wrong, even evil, the source of problems and the source of chaos. Yet, it remains a factor impacting business and can be a lever that can change the way we conduct business and solve problems we face today. In Denmark, one is exposed to an <keyword id="34412" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="economy">economy</keyword> of 5 million people, 80% of the same ethnicity. In India, one is exposed to an economy of 1200 million people, where less than 40% speak the same language, and the remaining 60% speak 15 languages, and there is great diversity along economic, political, linguistic, educational, religious and caste lines. 
 
Management principles that will emerge from, and will be applicable to, Denmark may not work as well in India. This seems pretty obvious, but many people challenge this. Such reaction reaffirms the idea that different people see the world differently: the world is not a rational, logical, objective space, where there is one truth. There are many truths. But some truths are more favoured and more dominant than others, and even positioned as THE truth. 
 
Belief is an assumption based on how many data points we are exposed to, and how we join these data points: the more the dots, the more complex the pattern. The more the experience, the more ways we know to join the dots. And so belief keeps expanding. Like a business plan which changes when assumption changes, our understanding of business and management changes dramatically when our belief changes, or rather expands. Notions of business and management as we know it today comes primarily from the USA and Europe. 
 
These are shaped by western cultures. Historically, today’s management is influenced by principles of the roman Army, Jesuit Missionaries, and Industrial engineering of the 19th century – all western. It is not objective at all. It does not take worldviews of China and India into consideration to say the least. It assumes itself as rational, independent of cultural thinking. And that is its greatest shortcoming. 
 
Mathematics and statistics may be universal languages, but the way we read the results varies with the cultural gaze embedded in the leadership. This understanding is critical in the new ‘postinternet’ world order where everything is mingling and merging and we are realizing that all things western are not necessarily modern, or complete, or suitable for all contexts. It is important to re-evaluate our gaze. It is important to expand our mind, join more dots. 
 
Sun Tzu and The Art of War became popular in the 1980s because of the success of Japanese corporations and it gave management thinkers all over the world exposure to Chinese thought (Sun Tzu was not from Japan). Since India became a hub of outsourcing and a potential market for many in Europe and America, people have been wondering about Indian thought. Hence the proliferation of books on Chanakya and Bhagavad Gita. 
 
Chanakya appeals to the rationalist and Bhagavad Gita appeals to the philosopher. But neither takes into consideration the vast body of knowledge embedded in the stories, symbols and rituals of India. Neither takes into consideration Lakshmi, the restless but delightful goddess of wealth, the most popular Goddess in India (not just amongst Hindus). Perhaps this has something to do with 19th century disdain for all things ‘myth’ and an obsession for rationality and scientific thinking. 
 
Of course, today social scientists know that ‘myth’ is essentially a cultural point of view that expresses itself through stories, symbols and rituals: every society has its own myth. There is no culture that has no myth. Western thought is also a myth that shapes the modern world; it is neither rational nor real. The mythology of modern management is rooted in the belief that ‘all that is measurable can be managed’. It lends itself (wrongly) to the secondary assumption that ‘all that is not measurable does not exist’. A good scientist is acutely aware of this. But how many good scientists are out there? Most scientists of the world do come from cultures that value monotheism (one god, one truth) over polytheism (many gods, many truths). Even atheism is presented along monotheistic lines where rationality is argued as a god. 
 Emotions cannot be measured, imagination cannot be measured, but these play a critical role in policy making and business decisions. We cannot be indifferent to them simply because they defy both measurement and rationality. This measurement-celebrating western myth has resulted in placing more values on processes (measurable) than people (not so measurable). We rely more on institutions than on individuals. This has its roots in Biblical myth (one half of western myth) where the tribe or church is more important than the individual member. We are constantly seeking to institutionalize <keyword id="6357934" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Steve-Jobs">Steve Jobs</keyword> of Apple and <keyword id="6354630" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Mark-Zuckerberg">Mark Zuckerberg</keyword> of <keyword id="6354576" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Facebook">Facebook</keyword>. 
 
Ironically, these two gentlemen are embedded in the Greek myth (the other half of western myth) where glory comes from doing something extraordinary that challenges the status quo. They broke the prevalent assumptions of communication. They were what the Greeks called hero, men who changed the rules of the game, like Alexander, who was then invited by the gods to the special heaven called Elysium. 
 
Western management myth subscribes to the Biblical and Greek mythologies that are similar to each other in that they value only one truth. They are also at odds with each other: the one focuses on the collective and the other focuses on the individual. Please note: Biblical mythology does not mean the Christian Bible, it refers to a vast body of thought that emerged from Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia and Levantine, where great value is placed on central authority. 
 
Social scientists have used this individual/collective framework to explain cultural phenomenon all over the world not realizing this framework is western, not global. Different cultures have different frameworks they operate from. This is especially true in china and India. China values relationships and India values contexts. Neither china nor India thinks in terms of tribe/ church/institutions, although words like clan and caste do give the impression that they do. 
 
Hence guanxi (special relationships) are so critical in Chinese business. In Confucian china that dominated the court culture, the focus is the relationship between one and the other, not one and the many. This is a critical difference. The Chinese does not think China, he thinks ‘boss’ or ‘subordinate’. The boss embodies China, until he is overthrown by someone more noble and worthy. People often equate Chinese with ants. Incidentally, the institutional model is also about ants. 
 
In the Chinese worldview, the pecking order of ants matter. In the institutional worldview, the anthill matters more than the ants. India values neither ants nor anthill. Great value is given to impermanence (think Buddha). Nothing is fixed, except maybe gender and caste that are determined at birth. Everything else, even family structures are continuously changing. So the individual is continuously trying to figure out his relationship with the other in every context. Caste relationships, and village relationships, are more reliable than relationship with the government or someone far away. 
 
In the realm of impermanent structures, there is no fixed institution (as in the West) or boss (as in China); everything is changing and so one has to figure out at each interaction that status of the other, hence oneself. This creates a lot of ambiguity that exasperates people who do business in India. A simple tool to understand different cultures is to study the dominant mythology of the land: the stories, symbols and rituals that are favoured by a society. 
 Unlike psychoanalytical ‘archetype’ models that seek the common and the universal, the approach needs to be more structural – seeking differences. This reveals why the <keyword id="6362609" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Manager">manager</keyword> from Denmark is so different from the manager from India even though both are educated in the same B-schools and have gone through the same induction and training programmes. The difference is not just because of personality (individual) or the culture (collective) or institution (collective), but also because of relationships and context: the Danish manager will be very different in a roomful of Danes as compared to a roomful of Indians and vice versa. 
 
Biblical mythology celebrates rule-following prophets (Moses) and kings (Solomon), while Greek mythology celebrates rule-defying heroes (Odysseus, Theseus, Jason, Hercules). Indian mythology has both rule-following Ram and rule-breaking Krishna, both of whom, are not two different characters but the same character, Vishnu, in two different contexts: he follows rules as Ram in Treta Yuga and breaks rules of Krishna in Dvapara Yuga. 
 Then there is Shiva who is indifferent to all rules and who beheads Daksha who seeks to impose rules on others, for Shiva is more interested in the intention beyond the rules, beyond the processes, beyond the institution. In chasing the institutional model of modern management, we do not question its intention. It is structurally designed to celebrate greed: growth in profit quarter after quarter to satisfy the shareholder. Yes, we keep speaking of stakeholders, but the only action favouring stakeholders seems to be more rules: regulations protecting <keyword id="6356826" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="environment">environment</keyword>, or workers and rules compelling the rich to be more charitable. 
 The reliance is once again on processes than people. The assumption is that the world can only be made a <keyword id="808955" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="better-place">better place</keyword> through commandments. The assumption is that democratically-generated policies are bound to be fair, just and good. The assumption is the Board of directors are good or can be forced to be good through intervention of regulators and independent directors and other watchdogs. Modern management conversations rarely speak of people, or rather it leans disproportionately towards processes. 
 When there are conversations about people, they tend to focus on what they have (think <keyword id="3820" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Mukesh-Ambani">Mukesh Ambani</keyword>) or what they do (think <keyword id="71133" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Warren-Buffet">Warren Buffet</keyword>), but never know who they are. More often than not, the assumption is if you are a successful <keyword id="6359301" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Entrepreneur">entrepreneur</keyword> and have created an institution of enviable market capitalization, you must be a smart leader who inspires people (think <keyword id="28113" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Narayan-Murthy">Narayan Murthy</keyword>). Who a person is cannot be reliably measured. Personality tests, designed using western methodologies, map people in a vacuum and do not take contexts and relationships into consideration. They map people as ‘archetypes’ in a fixed ‘template’, or as ‘pegs’ in a fixed set of ‘holes’. 
 
They do not consider relationships as in relational databases (who is in the cell above and below). They do not consider personality that keeps changing according to desha (geography), kala (history) and patra (roles), which define a yuga (context). Thus we grapple with incomplete patterns. 
 It is time to increase the dots and find more ways of joining the dots. It is time to look beyond known constellations to the billions of galaxies out there. It is time to also consider the very <keyword id="2827667" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="indian-approach">Indian approach</keyword> to management.

Thinkers/Thinkers 50: Devdutt Pattanaik asks why bother with a very Indian approach to management?

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div>This year's Razzies nominations were announced Wednesday. 
The Razzies "honor" the worst films of the past year in Hollywood, and have been doing so since 1980. 
Leading the way with the most nominations is <a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/transformers_age_of_extinction/" target="_blank">"Transformers: Age Of Extinction"</a> with 7 nods including Worst Picture and Worst Director. "Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas" follows with 6 nominations, including "Kirk Cameron &amp; His Ego" for worst screen combo.
Others <a href="http://www.razzies.com/history/2015/2015-noms-press-release.html" target="_blank">nominees</a> include respected actors like Melissa McCarthy and Nicolas Cage for the maligned "Tammy" and "Left Behind," respectively, as well as Oscar winner Charlize Theron. Frequent nominee Adam Sandler is nominated once again for his performance in "Blended." Cameron Diaz has several nominations, for "Annie," "Sex Tape," and "The Other Woman."
This is also the first year where the Razzies will feature the Razzie Redeemer award, which honors previous Razzie winners who have gone on to achieve critical adulation.
The "winners" will be announcd on Sat. Feb. 21 at 8 p.m. in a "ceremony" at the Montalban Theater in Hollywood.
Below is the complete list of nominees.
Worst Picture "Transformers: Age Of Extinction" "Kirk Cameron's Saving Chirstmas" "Left Behind" "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" "The Legend Of Hercules"
Worst Actor Kirk Cameron,"Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas" Nicolas Cage, "Left Behind" Kellan Lutz, "The Legend Of Hercules" Seth MacFarlane, "A Million Ways To Die In The West" Adam Sandler, "Blended"
<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div>Worst Actress Drew Barrymore, "Blended" Cameron Diaz, "The Other Woman" and "Sex Tape" Melissa McCarthy, "Tammy" Charlize Theron, "A Million Ways To Die In This West" Gaia Weiss, "The Legend Of Hercules"
Worst Supporting Actor Mel Gibson "The Expendables 3" Kelsey Grammer, "The Expendables 3," "Legends Of Oz: Dorothy's Return," "Think Like A Man," "Transformers: Age Of Extinction" Shaquille O'Neill, "Blended" Arnold Schwarzenegger, "The Expendables 3" Kiefer Sutherland, "Pompeii"
Worst Supporting Actress Cameron Diaz, "Annie" Megan Fox, "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" Nicola Peltz, "Transformers: Age Of Extinction" Susan Sarandon, "Tammy" Bridget Ridenour (nee Cameron), "Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas"
<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div>
Worst Director Michael Bay, "Transformers: Age Of Extinction" Darren Doane, "Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas" Renny Harlin, "The Legend Of Hercules" Jonathan Liebesman, "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" Seth MacFarlane, "A Million Ways To Die In The West"<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div>
Worst Remake, Sequel, Or Rip-Off "Annie" "The Legend Of Hercules" "Atlas Shugged 3: Who Is John Galt?" "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" "Transformers: Age Of Extinction"
Worst Screen Combo Any Two Robots, Actors, Or Robotic Actors, "Transformers: Age Of Extinction" Kirk Cameron &amp; His Ego, "Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas" Cameron Diaz &amp; Jason Segel, "Sex Tape" Kellen Lutz &amp; His Abs, His Pecs, Or His Glutes, "The Legend Of Hercules." Seth MacFarlane &amp; Charlize Theron, "A Million Ways To Die In The West"
Worst Screenplay Darren Doane &amp; Cheston Hervey, "Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas" Paul LaLonde &amp; John Patus, "Left Behind" Kate Angelo, Jason Segel &amp; Nicholas Stoller, "Sex Tape" Ehren Kruger, "Transformers: Age Of Extinction" Evan Daugherty, Andre Nemec &amp; Josh Applebaum, "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles"
Redeemer Award Ben Affleck, from winning a Razzie for "Gigli" to being respected for "Argo" and "Gone Girl" Jennifer Aniston, from having 4 Razzie nominations to her SAG nomination for "Cake" Mike Meyers, from winning a Razzie for "Love Guru" to achieving critical praise for "Supermensch" Keanu Reeves, from 6 Razzie nominations to critical acclaim for "John Wick" Kristen Stewart, from winning 6 Razzies for "Twilight" to the acclaimed art-house movie "Camp X-Ray"

'Transformers' Leads Razzie Nominations For Worst Movie Of The Year

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">US Air Force/Airman 1st Class Pedro TenorioKC-135 crew chief apprentice students work on a KC-135 Stratolifter at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, April 24, 2019.</div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>The Air Force has also sorts of planes for all sorts of missions, with aircrews to match each.</li><li>But it's the service's biggest planes that keep the Air Force and other branches in fighting shape - here's how aircrews learn to keep those heavy airframes flying.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul>Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas - In a team, there's a leader, a lancer, the smart guy and the lovable big guy.In the Air Force, it's the fighter jets, the stealth bombers, the drones and the cargo planes … except they aren't as beloved as the big guy.Often overshadowed by their more aggressive, quicker and sleeker cousins, the fighter jets, the heavy aircraft are the airframes that carry the US Air Force and sister-service components, and it is about time they get the love they deserve.Some people tend to think the Air Force is all about the pilots that bring the fight to the enemy and protect America's freedoms from the sky with sleek, supersonic fighter jets. They're not wrong, to a point. Fighter pilots in the Air Force do exactly that.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">US Air Force/R. Nial BradshawCrew chiefs with the 421st Aircraft Maintenance Unit work on an F35A Lightning II at Hill Air Force Base, in Utah, July 31, 2019.</div></div></div>But just as an army marches on its stomach, an air force's mobility depends on the fleet of aircraft and maintainers to handle the logistics of troop and material movement. That is where the heavies and their crew come in.Aircraft from the modern C-17 Globemaster III and the KC-46 Pegasus - the new kid on the block - to the venerable C-130 Hercules, B-52 Stratofortress, KC-135 Stratotanker and others play a massive role in the service's global operations, all with different purposes. Although one commonality they have is this - all of their crew chiefs start their careers with training at Sheppard AFB."For their first 23 days of training, its fundamentals," said Master Sgt. Jason Ricke, section chief for 362nd Training Squadron's Heavies Flight. "Fundamentals have a large focus. They learn a lot about fighters, heavies, some of the UAVs, bombers cargo, but if they're going to 135s, the 52, or 130s, they'll learn the specifics here [in the 362nd Training Squadron.]"Ricke said students, whether coming in with some experience in mechanics or can't tell the difference between a wrench and a hammer, will learn the heavy maintainer lifestyle and comradery in the crew chief apprentice course.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">US Air Force/Airman 1st Class Pedro TenorioC-130 crew chief apprentice students open the cargo door of a C-130 Hercules at Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas, November 20, 2018.</div></div></div>"A lot of people don't know what goes into being a crew chief specifically. It's a lot of hours and hard work," Tech. Sgt. Dennis Neville, 362nd Training Squadron Instructor Supervisor for the C-130 course, said. "We get students with a wide range of ages and backgrounds. Some of them who are excited to be here, some who don't know what they will be doing yet. That's something they'll pick up and go with once they get out on that flight line and once they see their aircraft fly for the first time."Neville said there is no better feeling as a crew chief than seeing your aircraft leave with a pallet of supplies or a pallet of patients or even filled to the brim with bullets and bombs and watch it come back with nothing. Knowing that it completed its mission, but not without the help of the crew chiefs."Without the maintainers, and not just crew chiefs but maintainers in general, these aircraft don't fly or at least they aren't going to fly like they're supposed to," Neville said. "[The pilot] will have no guidance systems, no electrical systems, you definitely can't fly without your engines, you gotta have fuels as well, different shops maintain those systems without them, that aircraft would just sit there and people will just admire it from the ground and it'll never get to do its mission."<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">US Air Force/Heide CouchUS Air Force crew chief trainees change a tire on a KC-10 Extender at Travis Air Force Base, California, February 7, 2018.</div></div></div>This mission to get these aircraft in the air is exemplified in the crew chiefs that must undergo months of training learning more than three volumes of information. Information pertaining to engine pylons, navigator positions, booms, loadmaster tasks and refueling missions, the crew chief will learn all these tasks, depending on their assigned airframe.Crew chiefs are part of the maintenance force that ensure aircraft are airworthy and mission-ready so pilots can complete their various variety of missions.Examples of the wide range of missions for the C-130, one of USAF's oldest and most reliable assets, can range from humanitarian missions, military supply runs to allies all over the world, transporting hardware like tanks for the Army, to being outfitted into a AC-130 "Spooky" gunship and going to battle with an array of weaponry to wreak havoc on the enemy.The KC-135's mission is a bit more streamlined as it is about 300 gas stations with wings. Its mission is to refuel other aircraft during flight so they can continue their mission without landing.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">US Air Force/Airman 1st Class Pedro TenorioB-52 crew chief apprentice course students install a drag chute onto a B-52 Stratofortress at Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas, November 19, 2018.</div></div></div>The B-52 is the oldest bomber in the Air Force inventory, having first begun flying in the 1950s. The fortress in the sky is able to fly long distances and carry around 70,000 pounds of mixed ordnance.All these flying giants are sustained by crew chiefs that have trained at Sheppard. Ricke said the crew chief job, while daunting at times, because of the age of some aircraft in the fleet, is also rewarding because he works on aircraft and builds camaraderie with fellow maintainers. It's why he continues to put on the uniform."What our instructors instill the most within the students is the brotherhood and sisterhood between all maintainers," he said.Ricke said everyone who joined the Air Force, right next to their personal reason, was a desire to be part of something bigger than themselves, a desire to be part of a team or a second family. He said being an Air Force maintainer is something a student, whether or not they specifically wanted the maintainer job, will learn to and hopefully become excited about being part of this important team of unsung heroes."That's probably the main things that really kept me around," he said. "You'll never make better friends than the ones you make in the military service. When it's easy and nice anyone can do the job, but when it gets tough and dirty that's when the best people show up and that's when best friends make it fun."<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">US Air Force/Airman 1st Class Pedro TenorioFrom left, Airman Greg Hogle, Airman 1st Class Daniel Miranda, Airman George Michael Singer III, and Airman Brycen Brooks, all B-52 crew chief apprentice course students, in a B-52 Stratofortress at Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas, July 2, 2019.</div></div></div>Ricke said he tries to instill these values into the students who come through that while doing their job, know there's people who are there that can help pick up the slack as being a maintainer is a hard job. He and Neville also encourage students to try to become flying crew chiefs, a position that makes all the hardships seem worth it."The first time they get to do their first TDY when becoming a flying crew chief, that's really when it gets brought home and you get to see your part of this mission," Neville said. "The biggest thing is that drive and force, needs to remember, those pilots can't fly those without us and who doesn't want to fly over the world as a part of your job. There's great food all over the world."Ricke said the same thing about flying crew chiefs being one of the more rewarding parts of the hard crew chief life and said whether the mission is a four to five day trip just dropping supplies or working on an military training exercise with the Army for two weeks, becoming a flying crew chief is a goal any new crew chief should strive for.Many of the aircraft in the Air Force's heavies fleet will be on display at the SAFB Air Show this Oct. 26-27, showing off the often underappreciated heavy aircraft that are the base of our Air Force."For all our cargo aircraft, they will be opened up so people can walk through it, go in the flight deck, they can experience it all," Ricke said. "That's the thing for us, showing them one aspect of how this little thing makes all this move around, it's all just a piece of the puzzle and to show them that we don't just have fighters or bombers, they can learn about the cargo mission, the training mission." <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/f35-pilot-fighter-jet-training-2016-12">This is how pilots train to fly the F-35 - America's most expensive fighter jet</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

Here's how the Air Force trains its crew chiefs to keep its biggest planes in the air

<div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image">Jason Merritt/Getty ImagesHere's how Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson became one of the top earning actors in Hollywood.</div></div>During his wrestling days, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson was known as the "<a href="http://www.wwe.com/superstars/therock">People's Champion.</a>"
But thanks to franchises like "<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1397514/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_18">Journey to the Center of the Earth</a>" and "Fast and the Furious," Johnson is now better known as Hollywood's box office champion.
In total, his movies have made <a href="http://www.the-numbers.com/person/72720401-Dwayne-Johnson#tab=acting">$4.3 billion worldwide</a>, which helped make him Forbes' <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/dorothypomerantz/2013/12/16/dwayne-johnson-is-the-top-grossing-actor-of-2013/" target="_blank">top-grossing actor of 2013</a>. This year, <a href="http://www.celebuzz.com/photos/forbes-highest-paid-actors-of-2014/forbes-highest-paid-actors-2014-3/" target="_blank">he ranked No.2</a> after pulling in a whopping $52 million.
This weekend, he appeared in Brett Ratner's "Hercules," which beat tracking estimates to bring in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/lucy-opening-weekend-2014-7">$29 million</a> opening weekend.
Here's how Dwayne Johnson went from WWE wrestler to one of the top-grossing stars in the film industry.

How Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson Went From WWE Wrestler To Hollywood's Box Office Champ

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image"><a title_source="Jason Merritt/Getty, YouTube screengrab" title_caption="Dwayne " The="" Rock="" Johnson="" will="" play="" antihero="" Black="" Adam="" in="" an="" upcoming="" Warner="" Bros.="" film.="" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54074f75ecad042840b02c99-960/dwayne-the-rock-johnson-black-adam-1.jpg"></a><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gmm17urXbXk">Jason Merritt/Getty, YouTube screengrab</a>Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson will play antihero Black Adam in an upcoming Warner Bros.' film.</div></div></div>It's official! Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is finally joining the DC Universe. 
Johnson announced on Twitter that he will play antihero Black Adam in a future Warner Bros.' film.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
"Kneel at his feet or get crushed by his boot." My honor to become.. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlackAdam?src=hash">#BlackAdam</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheAntiHero?src=hash">#TheAntiHero</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DCComics?src=hash">#DCComics</a> <a href="http://t.co/Qk55eNf3R7">pic.twitter.com/Qk55eNf3R7</a>
- Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheRock/status/507189313579122689">September 3, 2014</a></blockquote>
Last month, the Associated Press reported that Johnson <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-rock-shazam-black-adam-2014-8">was up for two roles</a>, that of superhero Shazam and his nemesis Black Adam.
Johnson has been <a href="https://twitter.com/TheRock/status/448503469591523328">vocal on Twitter</a> about his involvement in a "Shazam" movie for some time. Back in March, the actor cited Black Adam as his <a href="https://twitter.com/TheRock/status/448503469591523328">favorite comic character</a>, so it shouldn't be a big surprise he opted for the darker role. 
For those unfamiliar with the characters, both are <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-rock-shazam-black-adam-2014-8">pretty similar to DC's other popular superhero, Superman</a>. 
Shazam is actually a young boy named Billy Batson who can turn into a grown-up superhero as fast as he can say the word, you guessed it, Shazam. Upon speaking the word, he's bestowed with the powers of six Gods. Black Adam is an ancient Egyptian prince who once had the same powers as Baston but became consumed by his want for more power. As you could guess, he and Shazam aren't on the best of terms. Adam's basically bent on destroying Shazam. 
In recent years, DC Comics' has rewritten the character as an antihero seeking to reclaim his name as opposed to a straight-out villain. 
It's a smart move for Warner Bros. since Marvel has previously found success with its antihero character, Loki, played by Tom Hiddleston on screen. The "Thor" character has quickly become one of Marvel's most popular characters. An appearance by Hiddleston at last year's San Diego Comic-Con <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/tom-hiddleston-loki-comic-con-2013-7">sent fans into a frenzy</a>.
Variety reports Warner Bros. is <a href="http://variety.com/2014/film/news/dwayne-johnson-to-play-black-adam-in-shazam-darren-lemke-to-script-exclusive-1201294338/">already moving forward with a "Shazam" movie</a> with Darren Lemke ("<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0501359/">Jack the Giant Slayer</a>") writing the script and Hiram Garcia ("<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1205652/">Hercules</a>") producing.
Warner Bros. has already registered a domain for <a href="shazammovie.com">ShazamMovie.com</a> which redirects to a Warner Bros.' page.
It seems like a bit of a misstep for Warner Bros. who could have taken advantage of announcing the news at San Diego Comic-Con in July rather than allowing Johnson to break the news in a tweet.

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson Has Finally Chosen Which DC Comics Superhero He Will Play

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div><ul><li>Arnold Schwarzenegger talked about coming up with one of his most outlandish characters yet in the movie, "Killing Gunther."</li><li>Schwarzenegger explained why he still makes "Terminator" movies.</li><li>He also shared&#xa0;the movie he's made in the past that he'll still watch, though it's "just so stupid."</li></ul>&#xa0;Arnold Schwarzenegger has built a legendary career through iconic action movie roles that will be watched by generations of audiences. So who better to be at the center of a comedy that spoofs the genre?For "Killing Gunther" (currently streaming, in theaters on Friday), the directorial debut of "Saturday Night Live" alum Taran Killam, Schwarzenegger plays Gunther, the world's most famous hitman, who is being chased by a group of&#xa0;bumbling&#xa0;assassins (Killam and Bobby Moynihan among them) trying to take him out. Sporting a stylish&#xa0;haircut, red sunglasses, outlandish outfits, and at one point even singing an country music song, Schwarzenegger delivers his most outlandish performance of his career.Business Insider spoke with Schwarzenegger over the phone about coming up with the character, why he wants to keep making "Terminator" movies, his theory why "Last Action Hero" was his biggest bomb of the '90s, and the movie he's sat back and watched with his kids because it's "just so stupid."Jason Guerrasio: What was it that made you say yes to a movie like "Killing Gunther?"Arnold Schwarzenegger: I was a fan of Taran Killam. I saw him on "Saturday Night Live." He came to me with the script, I read it, I had a conversation with him, it was his first time directing but he seemed very organized. He had a clear vision of how the movie should be done. I felt the script was hilarious, I thought the whole concept of taking the kind of movies that I've have done many times, of playing a killer of some sort, and that this guy was the ultimate number one assassin, I thought that was funny. I had a blast doing the movie. And my character was written exactly for me. It was heaven. It was just so over the top.&#xa0;Guerrasio: The thing that stands out at first, and you see it in the trailer and the marketing, is your outlandish haircut and clothes for the movie, is that something you and Taran fleshed out together?Schwarzenegger: No. We didn't even talk about that. He had it all planned out. I remember coming to the set and the hairdresser started cutting my hair and I was like, "Wow, it's kind of short on the sides," and they said, "Yeah, we want to make you really cutting edge," and I was like ok, for a 70-year-old guy to look cutting edge, not bad. [Laughs.] The flamboyant wardrobe and behavior, it all fit together perfectly.&#xa0;Guerrasio: So you didn't pick out the sunglasses or any of the outfits?Schwarzenegger: We had some decisions, but I made it clear to him that I would rather go with his vision, which made him feel really happy that I wasn't one of those actors that was second-guessing everything. But you second-guess everything when you have a s----y director or someone who doesn't have a clear vision. With him I didn't feel that way. When he explained to me my character I thought that he had thought through the whole thing so much, all I cared about was that everything fit. I just wanted to make sure there were enough fittings. I think I picked out the sunglasses.Guerrasio: How about your performance.&#xa0;Schwarzenegger: I was rehearsing it for months before I got to the set. Doing it my way, the way I interpreted it. And when we did rehearsals a week before we started shooting, Taran liked what I came up with. During shooting he did little tweaks, as he should. But he was wonderful. I said to him, any script that you have where I fit in I would love to work with you again.&#xa0;Guerrasio: So if he did a sequel to this you would be into playing this character again?Schwarzenegger: That would be funny.&#xa0;Guerrasio: I would love to see you do this character again, but I will say it's a bummer that we have to wait 45 minutes or so into the movie before you show up.Schwarzenegger: That will be the tagline of the sequel - "Gunther will be in sooner."Guerrasio: [Laughs.]Schwarzenegger: But the way Taran did it, reading the script, it was perfect. But seeing the movie, yeah, it's too bad we don't have a scene or two where I could come in sooner.&#xa0;Guerrasio: You've done comedies in the past, but this was more outlandish than anything we've ever seen you do before. Were you nervous if you could pull it off?Schwarzenegger: No, because you have to see some of the commercials I have done for the Japanese.Guerrasio: Very true. Good point.Schwarzenegger: They are more outrageous than "Finding Gunther." There is nothing, for me, that is too outrageous. I mean I can go all the way out there or I can be as subtle as in "Maggie" or "Aftermath."Guerrasio: Well, what about doing the country music song? Some nervousness doing that?Schwarzenegger: Yes. I have to admit that I did really freak out over that. I don't mind looking foolish but it's just that I'm so bad in singing. The only time people ask me to sing is if they want the party to stop. If they want everyone to go home. Immediately. So I was worried that if I sang everyone was going to run out the theater. I just don't have an ear for music. That's why for "Twins" <a href="https://youtu.be/pJJjycrT0RA?t=40s" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ivan Reitman made me sing</a> so people would laugh. So, I get it. It's embarrassing.&#xa0;Guerrasio: But you owned it. And Taran putting you singing the song in the end credits, either you're hypnotized by it that you can't leave or you run out of the theater.&#xa0;Schwarzenegger: Right. Exactly. As soon as I heard it I ran out.&#xa0;Guerrasio: Is there a character you've played in your career that it still bugs you audiences didn't get what you tried to do?Schwarzenegger: There could be 10 of those characters around. [Laughs.] That's not my style to really dwell on it, and drive around during the day on my bicycle, or working out in the gym, and to worry about what character people didn't understand. I think that's just me. And I'm not a person that thinks back in the first place. I think forward. And it's always been less that people didn't get the character, but more people being mad that the movie fell short. Or people would say they are glad the movie went in the toilet. And I totally agree with them. I think there are some movies I made that it was a good thing they went into the toilet, because they weren't good enough. The director f---ed up, or the production was too small, or I screwed up, whatever the reasons are. I'm lucky I've made more movies that went through the roof and people liked internationally than movies that didn't do well.&#xa0;<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div>Guerrasio: For me I still love the Jack Slater character in "Last Action Hero." I don't have to tell you, that movie didn't do well when it opened in 1993, but if I show someone younger than me that movie now they get sucked in.&#xa0;Schwarzenegger: And don't forget that the year that movie came out it was the year to beat up on Arnold. There was nothing I could do. It was one of those things where President Clinton was elected and the press somehow made the whole thing kind of political where they thought, "Okay, the '80s action guys are gone here's a perfect example," and they wrote this narrative before anyone saw the movie. And I could see before the movie even came out there were stories coming out about how the movie was still shooting and it's supposed to come out in two months so why are they still shooting. The action hero era is over, Bill Clinton is in, the highbrow movies are the in thing now, I couldn't recuperate. It was treated like the biggest failure and when other movies came out that year that did less money they didn't say that. So yes, I think more people would have seen it if the press treated it differently, but now the good thing is that with streaming, people can go and watch it and many people say exactly what you're saying. They enjoy it.&#xa0;&#xa0;Guerrasio: Why continue playing The Terminator? What is it about this character that makes you want to keep playing it?Schwarzenegger: I love the character. I think the T-800 model is a really interesting character that was developed with a tremendous ability. He's a machine, can be destructive, can do things human being can't do, but at the same time when newer technology comes along the character suddenly is vulnerable and that makes him even more interesting. That's why it plays well in the past movies. I think [James] Cameron and [upcoming Terminator movie director] Tim [Miller] came up with a concept where they can continue on with the T-800, but make the movie a whole new movie. I think the character was stuck in the future and was more like an ordinary guy who suddenly gets activated again.&#xa0;<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div>Guerrasio: What went wrong with "Terminator Genisys?" Too much of the story getting in the weeds about the future and the past?Schwarzenegger: Remember, all movies, except the one when I was governor so I wasn't in it, "Terminator" 3 and 5 made over $400 million worldwide, so those are huge grosses. We wish we had made $700 million or $800 million, but I think the key thing now is not to get stuck with the same timeline. I think what they are doing now with this one is basically to just take a few very basic characters, like Linda Hamilton's character and my character, and dismiss everything else. Just move away from all these rules of the timeline and the other characters. It's hard to come up with new ideas when you stay within that framework. And I think this time they are going to take the freedom of opening up and not tying themselves down to the timelines and the other characters.&#xa0;Guerrasio: You've been teasing "Triplets," the sequel to "Twins," for so long, what's the latest on that project?&#xa0;Schwarzenegger: I had a conversation yesterday with my agent and he said that the script will be finished in 14 days. Ivan Reitman is extremely happy with what he's seen so far, he just wants to make a few tweaks. So that's music to my ears. I think sometime beginning of next year we can shoot the film.&#xa0;Guerrasio: Is Eddie Murphy still involved?Schwarzenegger: Absolutely.&#xa0;Guerrasio: Have you and Danny DeVito and Eddie talked, exchanged messages?Schwarzenegger: We are in touch with each other all the time. We support each other. Everyone is happy to do this movie.&#xa0;Guerrasio: What movie of yours will you stop and watch if it's on TV or someone tells you it's on?Schwarzenegger: I'll tell you, I remember when my kids started understanding that I was in movies and they would be watching television and one of my movies would come on, they'd say "Daddy, this is you!" I would see the scene, I would stop and just watch it with them. One scene or two. Even a movie like "Hercules in New York," which I always make fun of because it's so outrageous, and it was my first movie, and they had to dub my voice. My name was "Arnold Strong" in the movie. I was really stupid. But I had to stop and watch it when my kids watched it because it was just so stupid. In one scene it's me wrestling a bear and you could tell the bear in Central Park was not a bear, it was a guy with this coat thrown over him. But it was done so cheap. The budget on that movie was $300,000. We shot the movie in 1969, everything was so cheap. I hadn't seen it in so long and my kids got it and put it on, and they saw me wrestling a bear, and I had to stop and watch this entire fight scene with that bear. Just to watch how ludicrous it was.&#xa0;And now, enjoy Arnold wrestling a bear in "Hercules in New York":<div></div><div></div><div></div> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/lockheed-martin-sr-72-fastest-plane-ever-71-blackbird-military-defense-tech-fastest-spy-plane-mach-2017-10">Everything we know about the mysterious SR-72 - Lockheed Martin's successor to the fastest plane ever</a></h3> <div> </div> </div></hr>

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