Robert Downey Jr.'s 'Dolittle' and Adam Sandler among the 2021 Razzie Award nominees that celebrate the worst movies of the year

<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5e21d89724306a4344505d16-1359/screen shot 2020-01-17 at 105320 am.png" alt="dolittle" /><ul class="summary-list"><li>"Dolittle" made under $1 million at the domestic box office in Thursday previews.</li><li>It cost $175 million to make, meaning it will likely struggle to earn that back after what is expected to be a disastrous opening weekend.</li><li>The movie, starring Robert Downey Jr., has been in development for years and has an abysmal 18% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes.</li><li>It marks another major misfire for the studio Universal after "Cats" bombed critically and financially.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul><p>"Dolittle" is expected to be a major flop at the box office when it opens this weekend.</p><p>The movie, starring Robert Downey Jr. in the latest iteration of the doctor who can talk to animals, made $925,000 at the domestic box office in Thursday previews, a bad sign for its opening weekend. As <a href="https://twitter.com/ERCboxoffice/status/1218198432017350656">Exhibitor Relations tweeted</a>, anything under $1 million equals "DVD discount bin. Stat."</p><p><a href="https://www.boxofficemojo.com/article/ed3597665284/?ref_=bo_hm_hp">Box Office Mojo</a> is projecting "Dolittle" to open with $22 million over the four-day holiday weekend and <a href="https://www.boxofficepro.com/weekend-forecast-bad-boys-for-life-tracking-for-40m-mlk-debut-dolittle-forecast-softens-1917-looks-to-hold-strong-post-oscar-nods/">Boxoffice.com</a> is anticipating $16.9 million over the normal three-day weekend. But those numbers could change depending on what Friday's box-office numbers look like.</p><p>It will be a disappointing start for the movie, which cost $175 million to produce and has been in development for years. The chance of profitability is complicated moreso by Downey's deal, which includes a percentage of the box office on top of his $20 million salary, according to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/universal-tries-to-escape-disaster-by-patching-up-dolittle-11579195165">The Wall Street Journal</a>.</p><p>WSJ reported on Thursday that the studio, Universal, tinkered with the movie's screenplay and production in an effort to avoid disaster, which delayed its release by nearly a year.</p><p>Universal "commissioned script rewrites and hired two new directors to help with about three weeks of additional photography" in order to make the movie "appeal to younger moviegoers and overseas audiences," WSJ said.</p><p>The movie's credited director is Stephen Gaghan, who is known for dramatic fare like "Traffic" (which he wrote) and "Syriana" (which he wrote and directed). The directors brought in to help steer the movie in a lighter direction were "The LEGO Batman Movie" director Chris McKay and Jonathan Liebesman, the director of 2014's "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" reboot, according to WSJ.</p><p>But Universal's efforts may not pay off. "Dolittle" has an abysmal 18% critic score on the review aggregator <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dolittle">Rotten Tomatoes</a>, which won't help its box-office chances. The Atlantic's David Sims <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2020/01/dolittle-review/604960/">called it</a> "one of the worst movies in years."</p><p>"It would be an exaggeration to say that 'Dolittle' has a plot," Sims wrote. "The viewing experience more resembles a series of malfunctioning screen savers in which Downey Jr. twitches his head left and right while animals gallivant around him, complaining of various ailments while tossing off hacky one-liners. The only part of this horrifying tableau that changes is the scenery."</p><p>At this point, Universal's best hope is an international box-office miracle. It will open in China in late February, according to WSJ.</p><p>"Dolittle" follows another recent major misfire for Universal. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-major-reasons-why-cats-flopped-at-the-box-office-2019-12">"Cats" opened in December to horrible reviews</a> (it has a 20% Rotten Tomatoes critics score) and has so far made just $60 million worldwide off of a $95 million production budget.</p><p>The good news for Universal is that its war drama, "1917," is an Oscars frontrunner and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/1917-to-pass-star-wars-at-box-office-2020-1">topped the box office last weekend</a>.</p><p>The studio <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/non-disney-movies-that-could-boost-the-box-office-2020-1">should also have a solid 2020</a> with expected blockbusters like "Fast and Furious 9," a "Minions" sequel, "Halloween Kills," and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/potential-for-the-james-bond-franchise-in-streaming-tv-2020-1">the James Bond movie "No Time to Die,"</a> which it's distributing internationally. </p>

'Dolittle' is shaping up to be an epic box-office flop for Robert Downey Jr. and Universal

Paramount Pictures has acquired the rights to a remake of <keyword id="124415" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Alfred-Hitchcock" source="Orion">Alfred Hitchcock</keyword>'s 1958 classic psychological thriller "<keyword id="25321" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="vertigo" source="Orion">Vertigo</keyword>," in which, <keyword id="42069" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="robert-downey" source="Orion">Robert Downey</keyword> Jr. is eyeing the lead role.<br /><br />The actor is producing the project with his wife Susan <keyword id="156717" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="downey" source="Orion">Downey</keyword> through their Team Downey production company, along with John Davis and John Fox via Davis Entertainment. "Peaky Blinders" creator Steven Knight is set to write the script, reported Variety, a US-based media company.<br /><br />Downey has kept a low profile as an actor since the release of 2019's "Avengers: Endgame," which is one of the highest-grossing <keyword id="406" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="movies" source="Orion">movies</keyword> ever made, and 2020's "Dolittle," which is not. He produced and appeared in the documentary "Sr.," about his father, and he's next set to appear this July in Christopher Nolan's historical epic "Oppenheimer" opposite Cillian Murphy.<br /><br />The original "Vertigo" starred James Stewart as John "Scottie" Ferguson, a San Francisco police detective who retires due to a paralyzing fear of heights brought on by a severe case of vertigo. After he's hired to tail an acquaintance's wife, Madeleine (Kim Novak), Scottie becomes obsessed with her, but his fears render him powerless to save her when she climbs the tower of a Spanish Mission and plunges to her death.<br /><br />"Vertigo" was not a smashing success when it was first released in theatres, and it divided critics. But by the 1980s, it started to gain recognition as a masterpiece. In 1982, in a survey of the best movies ever made by the British Film Institute's Sight and Sound publication (conducted every 10 years), "Vertigo" cracked the top 10, and continued to climb the list, reaching the number one slot in the 2012 survey, reported Variety.<br /><br />Filmmakers as varied as Brian De Palma (with "Obsession" and "Body Double"), David Lynch (with "Mulholland Drive") and Mel Brooks (with "High Anxiety") have drawn heavy inspiration from "Vertigo" in particular. But no American studio has attempted an outright remake until now.<br />

Paramount to remake Hitchcock's 'Vertigo,' Robert Downey Jr. eyes lead role

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Robert Downey Jr.'s kids shaved the actor's head for a new TV role.</li><li>The star showed off his new look for the first time at the 2022 AFI Festival.</li></ul><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/robert-downey-jr-worth-millions-how-he-makes-spends-money">Robert Downey Jr.</a> has taken a little time off in the last few years after saying goodbye to Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, in the <a href="https://www.insider.com/robert-downey-jr-cried-avengers-endgame-tony-stark-fate-2021-10">emotional finale of "Avengers: Endgame."</a> Aside from starring in 2020's "Dolittle," the actor has mainly stuck to producing projects like "Perry Mason" and <a href="https://www.insider.com/best-netflix-original-tv-shows-ranked-2021#sweet-tooth-25">"Sweet Tooth."</a></p><p>But Downey is set to star in HBO's "The Sympathizer," an adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen's 2015 novel of the same name. To prepare for the role, Downey enlisted his two children into shaving his head, giving him a surprising new look that's a far cry from his slick hairdo as Marvel's genius, billionaire, playboy philanthropist. </p><p>Downey Jr. debuted his shaved style at the 2022 AFI festival on Friday at the "Sr." premiere. The upcoming documentary explores the life of the actor's filmmaker father, Robert Downey Sr.</p><div type="image" title="Robert Downey Jr. at AFI Fest" height="2666" width="3555" msid="95361234" hostid="261" sizebytes="574852"></div><p>Directed by Chris Smith, the film is already being met with plenty of praise from critics, earning itself an early 100% rating on <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sr">Rotten Tomatoes</a>. </p><p>Aside from his new look, the star was dressed in a sharp blue suit and matching tinted glasses on the red carpet where he was joined by his wife, Susan Downey.</p><p>The duo was also joined by Downey's close friend Jon Favreau, who is also well known for directing the first two "Iron Man" movies as well as playing Harry "Happy" Hogan in various Marvel movies like "Avengers: Endgame," and "Spider-Man: No Way Home."</p><div type="image" title="Susan Downey, Jon Favreau, and Robert Downey Jr. at AFI Fest." height="2735" width="3647" msid="95361236" hostid="261" sizebytes="522280"></div><p>The actor took to Instagram in late October with a video showing off the transformation. In the clip, he surprised Exton Elias and Avri Roel as they were carving pumpkins with the chance to shave their father's head.</p><p>The two siblings had a lot of fun with it, and his daughter Avri even painted the back of Downey Jr.'s newly bald head to make it look like a pumpkin. </p><blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px); data.width~540;"><div style="padding:8px;"><div style="background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:62.4537037037% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"><div style="background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div><p style="margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CkTeN55pteb" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank"></a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by Robert Downey Jr. Official (@robertdowneyjr)<time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime=""></time></p></div></blockquote><p>The video also gives fans an interesting tidbit of information about "The Sympathizer," as Exton Elias notes that Downey is playing "five roles or something." So it sounds like the actor is really pushing himself in a different way since his last MCU appearance in "Avengers: Endgame."</p>

Robert Downey Jr. shows off his drastic new look after his kids shaved his head on Instagram

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Raven-Symoné grew up in the public eye as one of the most famous young actors of the early 2000s.</li><li>But the former Disney Channel star faced pressure to conform to the image crafted for her at a young age.</li></ul><p>On a recent October morning, Raven-Symoné, now 36, sat for a video call over Google Meet. She had a golden, mellow aura about her — a far cry from the spunky characters she played as a child — framed by the west coast morning light, plants named by her wife on either side.</p><p>Symoné said she's "had to go through a mental grow up," and that she's excited to be behind the scenes.</p><p>"I have a lot more control over how I present myself," the actress said. "Up until my late twenties, there were people telling me how I should look — it was just easier to be told what to do. But now that I'm feeling empowered by the new generation of just being yourself on camera, and my own self really marinating in my own juices and understanding who I am and who I feel comfortable being, I'm able to present how I feel as Raven-Symoné, the entertainer."</p><p>For Symoné, that journey has been three decades in the making. She and the camera have had a lifelong relationship. After her parents signed her on with modeling agencies as a toddler, Symoné first began gracing the screen through television commercials, daintily spreading peanut butter on Ritz crackers and spooning bites of a Cool Whip-crowned ice cream sundae.</p><div type="image" title="Raven-Symoné as Olivia Kendall and Keshia Knight Pulliam as Rudy Huxtable on &quot;The Cosby Show&quot;" height="1721" width="2295" msid="95166783" hostid="261"></div><p>She recalls watching "The Cosby Show" as a three-year-old when she decided that she could "do what Rudy does," taking the first steps in what would become her acting career, the actress told Insider. Though she was too young for the role she auditioned for in the Bill Cosby movie "Ghost Dad," Cosby was so impressed with Symoné that he created a new character — his step-granddaughter Olivia — for her on the very show that had first drawn her to acting.</p><p>In the years that followed, Symoné was cast in a succession of television shows and movies featuring Black casts, including "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" and "Dr. Dolittle." In 2001, she landed the role of Raven Baxter in the show "That's So Raven," which swiftly became one of Disney Channel's <a href="https://www.avclub.com/that-s-so-raven-changed-disney-channel-in-ways-no-one-c-1798247263">most successful series</a> and catapulted Symoné to mainstream fame.</p><p>But growing up in the public eye inevitably came with challenges. Like many child stars, Symoné faced pressure to conform to the image that had been crafted for her since an early age. And, as a female actor of color, Symoné grappled with extra scrutiny from the public and media.</p><p>"When you're in the industry and in front of millions of people whose livelihoods depend on your work and engagement, things can get a little strenuous," Symoné told Insider.</p><h2><strong>Navigating the entertainment industry</strong></h2><p>"That's So Raven," a sitcom about a teenager with hidden psychic abilities, garnered <a href="https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0300865/awards/?ref_=tt_awd">accolades</a> for its engaging premise and charismatic performances. In the early 2000s, it was also one of the rare live-action shows with a Black female teen lead.</p><p>"A Black young girl on television — there's not a lot of roles for them. You have to wait until a Bill Cosby or Mark Curry come and have their show. Otherwise you're just going to be the Black best friend," Symoné said.</p><p>Symoné called the lack of diversity in the entertainment industry a "form of racism."</p><p>"I remember my dad saying, 'I sent you out on auditions for 'young white boy,' 'young white girl.' I sent you out on everything just so you could be seen, because there were no roles for 'young Black girl,'" she recalled.</p><div type="image" title="Thats So Raven" height="2000" width="2666" msid="95166786" hostid="261"></div><p>There is more representation on the screen now, Symoné acknowledged, pointing to shows like "Squid Game." But that doesn't mean actors of color are shielded from discrimination. In September this year, Caleb McLaughlin, who is the only Black lead in "Stranger Things," <a href="https://www.insider.com/stranger-things-caleb-mclaughlin-racism-fandom-2022-9">said the racism in the fandom "took a toll" on him</a>.</p><p>"I send my hugs to him," Symoné said. "We live in America, so if you're not white, you've probably experienced racism… It just keeps going."</p><h2><strong>Conforming to 'the Raven-Symoné brand'</strong></h2><p>The pressures Symoné faced as a young actor only grew with her professional success. The advent of gossip blogs like Perez Hilton in the 2000s ushered in a new unspoken rule: "Everybody just felt like they could say anything about you when you turned 15," Symoné said.</p><p>("Do you really wanna draw that much attention to your tits, girl??? You're a Disney channel star!" Hilton wrote in a 2007 <a href="https://perezhilton.com/not-cute/">post</a> titled "Not Cute.")</p><p>Behind the scenes, Symoné was often told that her "sizes are getting bigger" and that she had to "be careful" with what she ate. The actress, who was 15 when she landed the lead role in "That's So Raven," said the body shaming instilled "habits" like constantly pulling down her shirt while filming, and that she would wear two Spanxes and a girdle underneath her outfits.</p><p>"It created a really thick skin on me," Symoné said. "I can't blame anybody, but I know that I would be careful of my verbiage to anyone, because I know what it feels like for somebody to be telling you hurtful comments."</p><div type="image" title="Raven-Symone and Miranda Maday attend Pride Eve: Countdown To Pride at Poppy on May 31, 2022 in Los Angeles, California." height="761" width="1015" msid="95166789" hostid="261"></div><p>Symoné similarly blames the overall social climate, rather than specific companies, for her discomfort in coming out as a lesbian. In a 2016 <a href="https://itgetsbetter.org/video/8dkvdvjcete/">video</a> for "It Gets Better," she shared how her success in her career kept her from coming out because it went against the "Raven-Symoné brand" and was not "sellable" — even though she realized she was gay when she was around 12 years old.</p><p>"Back then, I didn't have great role models of lesbians coming out with a positive response. People were fired, people were ostracized," Symoné told Insider. "In my head, it was: You stay in your shell until you leave the industry when you're 45, 60 years old."</p><p>Symoné came out in 2013 after the Supreme Court issued rulings that <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2013/08/01/us/same-sex-marriage/index.html">expanded same-sex marriage laws</a>.</p><div type="image" title="&quot;Raven's Home&quot; cast" height="758" width="1011" msid="95166791" hostid="261"></div><h2><strong>A new generation of inclusivity and representation</strong></h2><p>Since "That's So Raven" ended its 100-episode run in 2007, Symoné hasn't strayed far from the screen, co-hosting "The View" and starring in "Black-ish" and "Raven's Home," a "That's So Raven" spinoff series. But she said her experience is markedly different from the one she had as a young actor, something she credits to a new generation.</p><p>"It's interesting to see that every generation takes off the straightjacket we've put on yourselves to conform," Symoné told Insider. "I love talking to the youth because they give me confidence more than even the people in my own age bracket. They're so bold and tell us, 'Hey, it's okay to change.'"</p>

Raven-Symoné said she had to 'go through a mental grow up' from her days as a child star to become comfortable in her own skin

<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5e245cd5b6d52d22e3162515-1264/bad boys for life sony.jpg" alt="bad boys for life sony" /><ul class="summary-list"><li>Sony's "Bad Boys for Life" is dominating the four-day Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday weekend.</li><li>The movie will have brought in $68.1 million by Monday, the second-best opening ever for the weekend, behind "American Sniper."</li><li>"Bad Boys for Life" is also the biggest opening ever for an R-rated Sony release.</li><li>Universal's "Dolittle" did better than industry projections, but the $175 million-budgeted movie is still only estimated to make $30 million by Monday.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.</a></li></ul><p>If I told you the "Bad Boys" franchise would be the first big moneymaker of 2020 you would think I was a crazy.</p><p>But Sony has pulled it off, as the third movie in the franchise has brought in an estimated $59.1 million as of Sunday and by Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday the movie is on pace to bring in $68.1 million. That's the <a href="https://www.boxofficemojo.com/chart/top_opening_holiday_weekends/?by_occasion=us_mlkday_weekend&amp;ref_=bo_csw_ac">second-best opening ever</a> during the four-day holiday weekend, passing the Ice Cube/Kevin Hart comedy "Ride Along" ($48.6 million). Clint Eastwood's "American Sniper" is still number one with $107.2 million.</p><p>It's also the biggest opening ever for an R-rated Sony title.</p><p>The $68.1 million figure blows away the opening weekend "Bad Boys II" had in 2003 (<a href="https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0172156/?ref_=bo_se_r_1">$46.5 million</a>), and surpasses the total domestic cume of the first "Bad Boys" in 1995 ($65.8 million).</p><p>It's the rare dated IP to find box office glory, though Sony has a better batting average than most. The studio is also finding success with its revamp of the "Jumanji" franchise. After 2017's "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" brought in <a href="https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt2283362/?ref_=bo_se_r_1">close to $1 billion at the worldwide box office</a>, its sequel, "Jumanji: The Next Level," has also found business, as the movie currently has brought in over $700 million worldwide. (Though Sony's "Men In Black: International" reboot <a href="https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt2283336/?ref_=bo_se_r_1">was a bust</a>.)</p><p>Now it looks like the studio has found the right formula of nostalgia and new blood (thanks to the Belgian filmmaking duo <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bad-boys-for-life-revived-franchise-with-2-belgian-directors-2020-1">Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah</a>, who directed "Bad Boys for Life") to ignite more "Bad Boys" titles. Before this weekend, news of a "Bad Boys 4" in the works was reported by <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/bad-boys-4-works-1269915">The Hollywood Reporter</a>.</p><p>Meanwhile, across town, Universal is looking to take a big hit with its <a href="https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt6673612/?ref_=bo_se_r_1">$175 million</a> "Dolittle." The Robert Downey Jr. flick did perform better than projections, but still took in just $22.5 million on over 4,000 screens ($30 million by Monday). It's a far cry from last weekend, when the studio's Oscar-frontrunner "1917" topped the box office. That title is still going strong, having brought in $22.1 million ($27 million four-day). Its global box office is now over $100 million.</p><p>"Dolittle" is the second-consecutive big release from Universal that failed to find an audience. The studio is still licking its wounds from the release late last year of "Cats," which has only brought in <a href="https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt5697572/?ref_=bo_se_r_1">$59.8 million worldwide</a>.</p><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5e247f3f62fa812b184d6f04-1280/little women sony.jpg" alt="little women sony" /><h2>Box-office highlights:</h2><ul><li>Sony is also finding success with its release of "Little Women." The Greta Gerwig-directed title that has been nominated for six Oscars will bring in $7.4 million by Monday. Its domestic cume is over $85 million.</li><li>Disney's "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" passed the $1 billion worldwide box office mark, its total to date is $1.026 billion.</li></ul>

'Bad Boys for Life' is on pace to have the second-best opening ever during the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend with $68.1 million

<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5e1f6d02b6d52d0477440172-1500/bad boys for life sony.jpg" alt="bad boys for life sony" /><ul class="summary-list"><li>Sony's "Bad Boys for Life" won the domestic box office for a third-straight weekend with $17.7 million.</li><li>The movie is now the highest-grossing title in the franchise. Its domestic total to date is $148 million.</li><li>Paramount's "The Rhythm Section" has the worst opening for a wide release in 2020 so far, as it only brought in $2.8 million on 3,000 screens.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul><p>It may still be very early, but there can be no dispute: Sony is dominating the early days of 2020.</p><p>Multiplexes at the moment are filled with titles from the studio that can satisfy all audiences. From Oscar nominated titles like "Little Women" and "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood," to blockbuster fare like "Jumanji: The Next Level" and "Bad Boys for Life." </p><p>And the latter is the shining jewel of the movie biz at the moment as it has scored the rare third-straight weekend box office win.</p><p>The movie, teaming Will Smith and Martin Lawrence as wise-cracking Miami detectives 17 years after the release of "Bad Boys II," topped the domestic box office with an estimated $17.7 million. That now brings its domestic total to $148 million, which <a href="https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0172156/?ref_=bo_se_r_1">tops "Bad Boys II"</a> and makes "Bad Boys for Life" the highest-grosser of the franchise. And it set that feat in just 17 days in theaters.</p><p>You can chalk up the success of the movie to the creatives behind it, especially the producer who oversees the franchise, Jerry Bruckheimer, who for years had to navigate a revolving door of directors, screenwriters, as well as numerous release date changes, and appeasing his temperamental stars to finally get the third movie in the can. But you also have to give credit to the executives at Sony, who found the perfect release for the movie to have time for the word of mouth to build.</p><p>The January release, in a time of year where there is zero competition outside of the Oscar contenders - which is only attractive to a select audience - opened the door for a big opening and consecutive weeks to build up its box office coin as titles like "Dolittle" and "The Turning" didn't find any interest from audiences.</p><p>"Bad Boys for Life" will most likely be dethroned next Friday when Warner Bros. opens its DC Comics title "Birds of Prey" on a record-breaking number of screens for the month of February (4,100), but Sony certainly used its time well at the number one spot.</p><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5e32e9c962fa811db90fce67-1500/the rhythm section 2 paramount pictures.jpg" alt="The Rhythm Section 2 Paramount Pictures" /><h2>Box-office highlights:</h2><ul><li>This weekend wasn't a good one for Paramount. Its gritty revenge movie starring Blake Lively, "The Rhythm Section," only brought in $2.8 million on around 3,000 screens, well below the studio's projection of a $4 million to $7 million first weekend. It's also the worst opening in 2020 by a movie in wide release.</li><li>Horror movies usually are dud-proof, but Orion's "Gretel &amp; Hansel" follows Universal's "The Turning" last weekend as a pair of scary movies that didn't attract audiences. "Gretel &amp; Hansel" did better than "The Rhythm Section," bringing in $6.1 million on 3,000 screens over the weekend, but that's still a disappointing figure as it didn't even have enough to top "Dolittle" (which brought in $7.7 million).</li></ul>

'Bad Boys for Life' tops the box office for an incredible third-straight weekend and becomes the franchise's highest-grosser in just 17 days

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Even with the COVID-19 pandemic slowing down production, <keyword id="2370" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="hollywood">Hollywood</keyword> managed to put out a slew of exciting new projects full of ambitious stunts and special effects.</li><li>From the massive battle scenes in <a href="https://www.insider.com/disney-live-action-mulan-movie-review">"Mulan"</a> to the gripping <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-wild-stunts-and-fights-of-birds-of-prey-2020-2">fight sequences</a> in <a href="https://www.insider.com/birds-of-prey-movie-review-2020-2">"Birds of Prey,"</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/netflix-extraction-chris-hemsworth-one-take-fight-scene-2020-5">"Extraction,"</a> and <a href="https://www.insider.com/the-old-guard-fight-coordinator-charlize-theron-injuries-2020-7">"The Old Guard,"</a> this year's action films pushed actors and stunt performers to undergo extensive weapons and <a href="https://www.insider.com/how-the-airplane-fight-in-the-old-guard-was-done-2020-7">combat training</a>.</li><li>With Pixar's <a href="https://www.insider.com/how-pixar-revolutionized-way-clothes-are-animated-digital-cloth-technology-2020-3">"Onward"</a> and Netflix's "<a href="https://www.insider.com/netflix-over-the-moon-review">Over the Moon,"</a> 3D-animated films found innovative ways to animate and <a href="https://www.insider.com/netflix-over-the-moon-animators-light-scenes-in-animated-movies-2020-11">light</a> their characters and worlds, the likes of which we've never seen before.</li><li>Boundary-pushing digital effects made <keyword id="406" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Movies">movies</keyword> like <a href="https://www.insider.com/dolittle-movie-review-robert-downey-jr-2020-1">"Dolittle,"</a> <a href="https://www.insider.com/every-version-sonic-the-hedgehog-1991-today-evolution-2020-2">"Sonic the Hedgehog,"</a> and <a href="https://www.insider.com/call-of-the-wild-real-life-dog-2020-4">"The Call of the Wild"</a> possible by combining CG animals with live-action humans and environments.  </li></ul><p><em>Following is a transcript of the <keyword id="21654" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="video">video</keyword>.</em></p><p><strong>Narrator: </strong>2020 was in many ways a rough year for Hollywood, with the COVID-19 pandemic pushing back some of the year's most anticipated movies. But the industry rallied by releasing no shortage of ambitious and exciting new projects, which brought their own set of breakthroughs in the world of special effects.</p><p>From massive battle and fight sequences to some of the most realistic practical effects we've ever seen, here's a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the biggest films of the year. Three, two, one!</p><p>To play the legendary warrior <keyword id="3026859" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Mulan">Mulan</keyword> in Disney's live-action film, Liu Yifei spent three months training for up to seven hours a day. This demanding regimen paid off. The film's cinematographer, Mandy Walker, told insider that Yifei was able to execute about 90% of her own stunt work.</p><p>In preparation for the film's acrobatic fight sequences, Yifei and her castmates were schooled in everything from weapons handling and archery to military marching and horseback riding. The performers did their most dramatic midair stunts while attached to wires or beams so that it looked like their characters were flying or spinning through the air.</p><p>All in all, the film's action sequences required 90 horses, 80 trick riders, 4,000 prop weapons, 281 sets of armor for the Chinese army, and 730 pieces of armor for the Rouran army.</p><p>How do you create a terrifying monster out of nothing? It turns out, with a lot of clever camera and stunt work. This scene from "<keyword id="920693" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="the-Invisible-Man">The Invisible Man</keyword>," where the titular villain throws Elisabeth Moss' character across the table, is actually a bunch of shots stitched together.</p><p>First, the crew filmed Elisabeth as she was about to be thrown. Next, they swapped in the actor's stunt double and filmed her being thrown by another stunt performer in a green suit. Then they swapped in Elisabeth again. In postproduction, VFX artists combined the plates, then digitally erased the green-suit performer and the ropes used for the stunt.</p><p>For it all to match up perfectly, the crew had to shoot the whole thing with a motion-controlled camera, which could be programmed to perform precise, repeatable camera movements.</p><p>That wasn't the only bit of camera trickery in the film. On the last day of shooting, when filming this scene, the camera team had to get what they called "an impossible shot" -- one that involved passing a camera out of a moving car into another moving car, all in one smooth handoff.</p><p>"Extraction" marked the directorial debut of Sam Hargrave, the veteran stunt coordinator behind "Atomic Blonde" and a number of Marvel movies. Naturally, then, the Netflix thriller was full of daredevil stunt work -- just as much from the camera crew as from the actors and stunt performers.</p><p>The centerpiece of the film was what the crew referred to as "the oner" -- an extended fight scene made to look like one continuous shot. Sam is familiar with big, long action sequences from working on the famous one-shot fight in "Atomic Blonde." But this one for "Extraction" required Sam to take us right into the middle of the action, even strapping himself to the hood of a chase vehicle. Just to get this one smooth shot taking us from outside to inside a car, he had to unstrap himself from that one car, run over to the other vehicle, and then repeat the same shot twice. This is what you call a stitch point, one of the invisible cuts that joined about 36 different segments into what looks like one long, seamless 12-minute take.</p><p>For the third installment in the "Bill &amp; Ted" franchise, special effects legend Kevin Yagher created special bodysuits for scenes where Bill and Ted meet future versions of themselves.</p><p>The process began with lifecasts of Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves' bodies, which were then used to sculpt the shape of the actors' suits, both the muscle suits they wear in the prison scene and Keanu's fat suit worn in a different scene. Kevin and his team sculpted and spray-painted tiny details like pores and veins onto the muscle suits and added bags of beads into Keanu's fat suit to get just the right jiggle in his belly.</p><p>[beads shaking]</p><p>The rollout of the "<keyword id="163980" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Sonic">Sonic</keyword>" movie got off to a rough start when the first trailer was met with backlash from fans who objected to this Sonic's disturbingly realistic appearance. In response, the VFX artists gave the character an overhaul, making his eyes bigger, his mouth more animated, and his nose and limbs more cartoonish, more like the original design in the video games.</p><p>Just about everyone liked the redesign better, including the man behind the hedgehog, actor and comedian Ben Schwartz. Ben not only lent his voice to Sonic, but also provided facial motion capture to inform the character's animation. On set, they used different stand-ins for Sonic to give costars like James Marsden something tangible to interact with, whether it was a blue stuffy or just a ball on a tripod.</p><p>We saw CGI turn man into hedgehog. What about turning man into dog?</p><p>In this year's remake of "The Call of the Wild," veteran motion-capture performer Terry Notary provided an incredible mo-cap performance for the movie's canine protagonist, Buck. Having Terry on set provided a raw-size reference for the other actors and gave costars someone to interact with emotionally.</p><p>For Buck's design, the filmmakers used the reference of a real-life shelter dog, whose own name happens to be Buckley. To help guide the animation of the many dog and wolf characters in the film, the team brought in five other dogs for a mo-cap playtime session. But don't worry; no pups were involved in the filming of this scene, where Buck and John Thornton navigate a treacherous river.</p><p>The filmmakers enlisted a stuntperson to shoot the real deal on a river in British Columbia. They then combined the on-location shots with blue-screen footage of Harrison Ford paddling on a canoe gimbal, filmed on a motion-controlled camera that allowed for some particularly cinematic, sweeping shots. Finally, VFX artists digitally added Harrison's canine friend into the mix in postproduction.</p><p>The character in "Onward" that presented Pixar with the most challenges was this guy, known simply as Dad. He's introduced when Ian, voiced by Tom Holland, carries out a spell to conjure up his late father, but only half of his body appears.</p><p>Pixar's animators spent a lot of time on Dad's first scene to make sure it would capture the force and unpredictability of magic. They even took turns blasting each other with a leaf blower to get a feel for what the conjuring effect should look like.</p><p>From there, the challenge was giving life to a pair of pants, a task that forced Pixar to bring its cloth technology to a new level. The studio used a process called simulation to program how a character's clothing should respond to his or her movements and the different forces acting on them. But because Dad's upper half is all clothes and no body, simulation played an even bigger role than usual.</p><p>To figure out how a person would move if he were missing his top half, Pixar's animators took turns putting on green suits with khakis and moving around in front of a green screen. Later, they digitally removed their top halves and used the footage as reference for what Dad's body language might look like.</p><p>"The Call of the Wild" wasn't the only film where CG animals figured prominently. The majority of scenes in "Dolittle" feature live-action humans and CG animals interacting in some way.</p><p>The tricky part of that: making sure the humans were looking in the right places during filming. Nailing the eyelines was especially challenging with a character like Betsy the giraffe. To help guide the actors on set, the crew used stuffy props as stand-ins for the CG animals and got creative from there.</p><p>Like with Betsy, for instance. They ended up sticking a giraffe head on a long pole, which got driven around on a motor cart. In another scene, Robert Downey Jr. needed to ride the ostrich Plimpton into Buckingham Palace. So they devised a gimballed riding rig that they could later replace with a CG creature, voiced by Kumail Nanjiani.</p><p>The action-heavy "<keyword id="3367480" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Birds-Of-Prey">Birds of Prey</keyword>" involved a lot of physical preparation, with each actor's training program tailored to her particular character. Since Harley Quinn is a whimsical and unpredictable fighter, Margot Robbie's stunt work involved a lot of gymnastics.</p><p>Black Canary's fighting style was supposed to be more grounded with a lot of legwork, so Jurnee Smollett-Bell's preparation combined tae kwon do and kickboxing. And Mary Elizabeth Winstead adopted judo, jujitsu, and karate to play Huntress, the deadly-accurate assassin who's all about precision.</p><p>Early on in Netflix's "Project Power," there's an unforgettable scene where Machine Gun Kelly's character spontaneously bursts into flames. To figure out how to turn MGK into a human fireball, the effects team first set stuntpeople on fire in a series of camera tests.</p><p>Then they came up with a breakthrough: an LED suit that would be embedded within layers of burn prosthetics. The LEDs were programmed to illuminate the actor as his character is seen exploding in flames. The gruesome prosthetics helped hide the LED strips, along with all the wires and battery packs.</p><p>For MGK, this meant spending five hours in the makeup chair every day of shooting to get hundreds of prosthetic pieces glued on over 95% of his body. The process was so intensive that the rapper started just sleeping in his body prosthetics, and did so for five days straight, even wearing them for a night out on the town with costar Jamie Foxx.</p><p>For Netflix's "Jingle Jangle," the biggest challenge was creating a fantastical world where magic and spontaneous musical numbers would feel right at home.</p><p>To make Jeronicus fly in this scene, the crew attached Forest Whitaker to wire rigs, later removed in postproduction.</p><p>Another particularly fun sequence, the kids' factory escape, was shot in front of a blue screen, with the two young actors rigged to the wooden chest. VFX artists later added in the tunnel and the giant fan and fireball.</p><p>In this comic-book adaptation, Charlize Theron's character is supposed to have 6,000 years of martial arts experience, ranging from Greco-Roman wrestling to Filipino stick work. Charlize had to do intense combat training so she could look effortless handling both modern and ancient weapons.</p><p>Of course, the star is no stranger to this kind of hardcore training, having done a lot of her own stunts for "Atomic Blonde" and "Mad Max." The "Old Guard" fight coordinator, Danny Hernandez, told Insider that Charlize and Kiki Layne spent four months training for the film's major fight sequence, where their characters engage in epic hand-to-hand combat inside a plane mid-flight.</p><p>The payoff? The actors were able to pull off 90% of the fight themselves, without stunt doubles.</p><p>How does this shot become this? Through the process of CG lighting, which was especially important to building the magical worlds of Netflix's animated film "Over the Moon."</p><p>Creative lighting helped emphasize the dreamy light coming from the moon, which plays a central role in the story. In this shot, the lighting team is perfecting the big, bright moon reflections in Fei Fei's eyes. And in this shot, they're balancing the different light sources coming from the moon, the kitchen, and the colorful lanterns.</p><p>These decisions about the intensity and placement of lights are laid out early on in color scripts, which are like artistic blueprints, expressing the mood of any given scene.</p><p>For the scenes set on Lunaria, the artists wanted the light to be overpowering and the colors vibrant and bold to give an otherworldly aura to the moon kingdom and invoke a sense of awe in the audience.</p><p>The horror movie slash political satire "The Hunt" follows a group of liberals hunting conservatives for sport, so there were lots of opportunities for practical gore <keyword id="37533" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Behind-the-scenes">behind the scenes</keyword>.</p><p>But the most talked-about sequence was the climactic kitchen fight between Betty Gilpin and Hilary Swank. To make the head-to-head between these two characters feel as messy as possible, the crew designed a special set that was made to be destroyed.</p><p>The set included foam floors, a chimney rigged with squibs, and a bunch of household-item breakaway props that were built to be broken, just like this glass window, which shatters in this scene. It was like a twisted jungle gym, meant to serve as the ideal backdrop for all the chaotic violence.</p><p>So, did we miss anything? And what do you think were the most impressive effects of 2020?</p><p>Let us know in the comments.</p>

A behind-the-scenes look at 2020's biggest movies

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Warning: There are minor spoilers below for <keyword id="46161" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Disney">Disney</keyword>'s "<keyword id="236163" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Artemis-Fowl">Artemis Fowl</keyword>."</li><li>After a few delays, the adaptation of "Artemis Fowl" is heading to Disney Plus on Friday.</li><li>Book fans may be disappointed that the main character is watered down from his antihero/villain status.</li><li>If you've never read the books, you may enjoy the film more.</li><li>By the film's end, Artemis doesn't feel like he has earned the title of criminal mastermind.</li></ul><p>I thought the strangest <keyword id="6356021" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="movie">movie</keyword> scene of 2020 was going to be Robert Downey Jr.'s Dolittle giving a <a href="https://www.insider.com/dolittle-movie-review-robert-downey-jr-2020-1">dragon a colonoscopy with a vegetable</a>. "Artemis Fowl" delivers a top contender.</p><p>The film contains a scene of a dwarf, Mulch Diggums (Josh Gad), expanding his jaw to eat dirt which simultaneously blows out of his behind in order to tunnel into a house. </p><p>There's a reason Disney's long-delayed movie is heading to its streaming service Friday. It's not very good.</p><p>And that's a shame. This was supposed <a href="https://io9.gizmodo.com/disney-wants-to-turn-artemis-fowl-into-the-new-harry-po-955221144">to be Disney's answer to "Harry Potter."</a> About 20 years ago, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/bookseries/B00CJ187YE" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Eoin Colfer's book</a> series about a criminal mastermind 12-year-old a popular alternative in the young adult category. </p><p>Though "Artemis Fowl" shares many of the franchise's characters, the film is a watered-down adaptation that may leave fans disappointed. The movie combines elements from the first three books in the eight-story saga to invent a new story and delivers a more compassionate, "Disney-fied" Artemis who fans will not recognize.</p><p>The film follows Artemis as his father (Colin Farrell), the main criminal mastermind in this story, is kidnapped and held for ransom by a mysterious figure. Artemis is given three days to find a mysterious egg-shaped artifact called an Aculos to get his father back, and, discovers a magical world full of fairies in the process.</p><p>The 95-minute movie feels like a "Harry Potter" and "Spy Kids" hybrid that's a tad rushed and never fully fleshed out. By its end, you may still be trying to figure out exactly who Artemis is and why you should care about him. </p><h2><strong>What you should know: The adaptation was in development hell for years since 2001 until Disney acquired it. It was originally set for a summer 2019 release.</strong></h2><p><div type="image" title="artesmis fowl behind the scenes" height="1670" width="2500" msid="76326820" hostid="261"></div></p><p>An "Artemis Fowl" adaptation has been discussed as far back <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/News_Story/Exclusive/0,4029,482018,00.html">as 2001 with Cameron Diaz</a> and <a href="https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=EbgsAAAAIBAJ&amp;pg=6785,8906330633">Miramax in 2003</a>. Back then it was described as "'<a href="https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/20010423/32877-die-hard-with-fairies.html">Die Hard' with fairies</a>." Disney <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/disney-harvey-weinstein-teaming-up-594999">teamed up with Harvey Weinstein</a> to make the film a decade later. Weinstein was <a href="https://variety.com/2017/film/news/harvey-weinstein-disney-artemis-fowl-1202587666/">removed as a producer in October 2017</a> following <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/harvey-weinstein-taking-leave-of-absence-amidst-sexual-harassment-allegations-2017-10">sexual misconduct allegations</a> (he was later <a href="https://www.insider.com/harvey-weinstein-found-guilty-sexual-assault-rape-in-trial-verdict-2020-2">convicted of third-degree rape and first-degree criminal sexual act</a>).</p><p>Originally set to debut summer 2019, the film was <a href="https://screenrant.com/disney-artemis-fowl-movie-release-date-delay-reason/">pushed back to May 2020</a> after the company acquired a number of films from its <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/03/20/705009029/disney-officially-owns-21st-century-fox">$71.3 billion acquisition</a> of 21st Century Fox. It was delayed again amid the coronavirus pandemic before Disney announced a June 12 release on Disney Plus. </p><p>The film stars newcomer Ferdia Shaw as Artemis, Colin Farrell as his father, Josh Gad, Nonso Anozie, Judi Dench, and Lara McDonnell. It's directed by Kenneth Branagh ("Thor"). </p><h2><strong>What's good: Judi Dench and some character changes, but not much else. </strong><strong>Josh Gad comes across as a Hagrid ripoff from 'Harry Potter' that is so bizarre, you can't help but enjoy.</strong></h2><p><div type="image" title="artemis fowl judi dench" height="2004" width="3000" msid="76326824" hostid="261"></div></p><p>The adaptation makes a few welcome gender flips and character additions, <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/gaming/artemis-fowl-author-supports-the-changes-in-disneys-movie/ar-BB10DYXB">which were approved by Colfer</a>. The biggest surprise is seeing Judi Dench as Commander Root, a male fairy in the novel. The longtime Branagh collaborator gives the film's best performance, striking a balance between an authoritative and compassionate leader.</p><p>Josh Gad's dwarf, Mulch, not only does he look like a Hagrid ripoff from "Harry Potter," but he also narrates the film with a deep, gravelly accent.</p><p><div type="image" title="mulch hagrid" height="600" width="1200" msid="76326829" hostid="261"></div></p><p>It starts out slightly irksome, but as the film carries on, it's such an unusual performance, that you can't help but watch. Gad becomes one of the few reasons to continue watching as his narration guides the film with impromptu jokes here and there. Kids who know Gad as the lovable Olaf from "Frozen" will most likely recognize his voice and gravitate to it. He's the only character you may leave the film feeling particularly attached to even if he does get the film's most bizarre moment.</p><h2><strong>What's not: Artemis bears little resemblance to his book character. The film synopsis suggests Artemis is going on some grand adventure that simply doesn't occur.</strong></h2><p><strong><div type="image" title="artemis fowl disney" height="1670" width="2500" msid="76326834" hostid="261"></div></strong></p><p>Here's how Disney describes "Artemis Fowl" in its production notes:</p><p style="padding-left: 40px;">"[Artemis is] contacted by a mysterious hooded figure, who tells him she has kidnapped his father and he will die unless, within three days' time, Artemis brings her the Aculos: the ultimate fairy device, which will give her a power beyond that of any other creature, magical or human. In order to locate and steal the highly-coveted Aculos, Artemis Jr. must infiltrate the secretive, reclusive Lower Elements, where these otherworldly creatures live. To accomplish this, he concocts an ingenious and highly dangerous plan—to kidnap and hold for ransom Holly Short (Lara McDonnell), a fierce member of the fairy special forces, LEPrecon."</p><p>The expectation is that Artemis will go on some grand adventure to save his father, but that never happens. Artemis never leaves his estate the entire film except when he goes outside to order a fairy to be zapped. He doesn't even do the dirty work himself.</p><p>It would have been great to see him actually "infiltrate" the fairy world, but there's little evidence to suggest this version of Artemis has what it takes to do anything of that caliber. He parades around looking like a cool Bond villain without having the demeanor of one.</p><p><div type="image" title="artemis fowl criminal mastermind disney" height="1670" width="2500" msid="76326837" hostid="261"></div></p><p>The film version of Artemis pales in comparison to the antihero fans grew to love. In the books, you're introduced to Artemis as an outright villain who kidnaps a fairy for ransom. In the text, he's described as cold and ruthless with a manipulative personality.</p><p>That's not the Artemis we see here. Shaw's character is watered down to appear as the cool hero of the film instead of a villain or antihero. Viewers only get a peek at how Artemis operates at the film's start when he gives a teacher a smart retort and history lesson on fake furniture. </p><p>Because the story is narrated from Diggum's point of view instead of Artemis', you never feel invested in many characters outside of Gad's Mulch Diggums and the young fairy, Holly. Artemis isn't particularly memorable. The film dilutes him of any character growth experienced in the first novel. It's a strange choice given Disney's previous success with antiheroes like Maleficent and Marvel's Loki.</p><p>By the film's end, Artemis claims he's a criminal mastermind, but you're never truly convinced that's the case. The 95-minute run time doesn't leave much wiggle room to deliver the case. We hear over and over how the Fowl family are criminal masterminds, but there's little evidence to prove Artemis is worthy of any such title.</p><p><div type="image" title="artemis fowl colin farrell" height="1663" width="2500" msid="76326842" hostid="261"></div></p><p>In fact, there's little evidence Colin Farrell's character is a great criminal mastermind. We're told Fowl's responsible for stealthily robbing a number of priceless artifacts, something Artemis refuses to believe, but the man can't even save himself when captured. He's locked up for the majority of the movie with nothing much to do. </p><p>Most disappointing is the removal of Artemis' mother who had a key role in the first book. </p><h2>Overall: Young children who have never been introduced to 'Artemis Fowl' will enjoy this most</h2><p><em><div type="image" title="artemis fowl artemis holly" height="1670" width="2500" msid="76326846" hostid="261"></div></em></p><p>What should have been a breezy 95-minute movie is a bit of a boorish slog.</p><p>Perhaps if you never read the books, you may have some interest in this adventure that's better suited on Disney Plus. But fans hoping to find the cold and calculating antihero they grew up with will have to stick to Colfer's tales. By taking liberties with the original series, Disney guts the books to deliver a story where Artemis doesn't feel worthy of the title "criminal mastermind." Don't be surprised if you see tweets crying out #NotMyArtemisFowl after the film's release.</p><p>20 years too late, "Artemis Fowl" will likely go the way of Disney's other failed attempts at franchises, including "Tomorrowland" and "A Wrinkle in Time."</p><h2>Grade: C</h2><p>"Artemis Fowl" is available on Disney Plus Friday. You can watch a trailer below.</p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fl2r3Fwxz_o" frameborder="0"></iframe>

'Artemis Fowl' is a campy 'Harry Potter' wannabe that doesn't live up to the books

<p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/56902f8ee6183e46258b58f0-1638-1229/14382312858_a1ae2c5c82_k.jpg" alt="networking" data-mce-source="Tech Hub/flickr" data-link="https://www.flickr.com/photos/techhub/14382312858/in/dateposted/" /><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/techhub/14382312858/in/dateposted/">Tech Hub/flickr</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div>The most effective leaders are the ones who make you feel like <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-make-people-like-you-2015-12">they're really listening</a>. Most importantly, they always remember names.</span></p><p><span>So how can you get better at remembering them? </span><span>Business Insider attended a Dale Carnegie training class and <span>learned the secret to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-remember-anyones-name-2014-8">remembering names</a>. </span></span></p><p><span><span>Carnegie, known for his 1936 bestseller "</span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/How-Win-Friends-Influence-People/dp/0671027034?tag=bisafetynet-20">How to Win Friends and Influence People</a>,<span>"</span></span><span> passed away in 1955. But his self-improvement courses have trained more than </span><span>eight million people, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-warren-buffett-learned-public-speaking-2014-12">including billionaire Warren Buffett</a>.</span></p><p><span>According to the lecturer leading the course we attended, the best way to remember someone's name is to incorporate things you know about the person into a mental picture that reminds you of the name - the more exaggerated the image, the easier it is to remember.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Carnegie writes in his book "</span><a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=ZP5KL3ocmSYC&amp;pg=PA64&amp;lpg=PA64&amp;dq=%22association,+however,+is+the+indispensable%22&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=sQZ0N_b-bY&amp;sig=qJCy1Mxm5phX1HsIjLTOCAE8lVg&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ei=x1PTUaq6CvOy0AG6-4DYAw&amp;ved=0CC4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&amp;q=%22association%2C%20however%2C%20is%20the%20indispensable%22&amp;f=true">Public Speaking and Influencing Men in Business</a><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">" that "the secret of a good memory is thus the secret of forming diverse and multiple associations with every fact we care to retain." Our minds are essentially "associate machines", and the reason it's hard to remember people's names is because there's no meaning behind the name for the listener.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Carnegie's memory-linking technique is to picture images that sound like a person's name - and combine it with other things you know about them.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">For instance, if you meet someone named Laura from Brazil, imagine her with a laurel wreath on her head swimming in the Amazon River.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Similarly, you could combine these elements in a ridiculous phrase. </span></p><p>To remember that Mr. O. W. Dolittle sells cars for a living, for example, you can remember the phrase "do little and you won't succeed in selling cars." For Mr. Thomas Fischer who works in coal, you can remember the phrase "he fishes for coal orders." And if you meet a scientist named Matt, you can remember him as "the Matt scientist," which sounds like "the mad scientist."</p><p>Although these exercises may sound silly, Carnegie says they are proven to work.</p><p>Indeed, <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/jennagoudreau/2012/03/23/u-s-memory-champion-on-how-to-remember-names-faces-and-where-you-put-your-keys/">three-time US memory champion Nelson Dellis told Forbes</a> he uses the same technique to remember names. In competitions, Dellis must memorize a list of 99 names and be able to successfully match them to faces.</p><p>Creating a mental image is the best way to get the information to stick, he said, and he usually thinks of an image that incorporates a <span>memorable </span>physical feature, like a prominent nose or unique hair style. </p><p><span>It's also important to confirm you've heard the name correctly and to use it in conversation to truly cement it in your brain. </span></p><p><em>This is an update of an article originally written by Vivian Giang.</em></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/body-language-tricks-likeable-2015-12">5 ways to change your body language to make people like you</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="prdnBkdTrvWNa0u8RHujLJuUBkcchhZZ" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'prdnBkdTrvWNa0u8RHujLJuUBkcchhZZ',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

This memory-linking technique can help you remember anyone's name

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<p><span><div class="image-container float_right" style="width:480px"><div class="image"><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/51d46d41ecad041175000000-958-627/screen%20shot%202013-07-03%20at%202.18.32%20pm.png?maxX=480" border="0" alt="girl sun wreath on head" width="480" /><p class="source"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/softestthing/8166940563/">bokeh burger via flickr</a></p><p class="caption">Imagine Laura wearing a laurel in Brazil ...</p></div></div></span><span>The most effective leaders are the ones who make you feel like they're really listening. Most importantly, they always remember names.</span></p>
<p><span>So how can you get better at remembering names?</span></p>
<p><span>I learned some secrets to remembering names during </span><span>my first <keyword id="273139" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Dale-Carnegie">Dale Carnegie</keyword> training class last week (I signed up for the eight-week course after hearing </span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/warren-buffett-becomes-a-mentor-to-young-women-2013-5">Warren Buffet say</a> they<span> "changed [his] life in a big way"). Carnegie passed away in 1955, but his self-improvement courses have trained more than </span><span>eight million people and are</span><span> represented in more than 80 countries.</span></p>
<p><span>According to my lecturer Bill Lawrence, a lawyer by day, </span><span>the best way to remember things is to think of the things you know about them in a mental picture — the more exaggerated the image, the easier it is to remember.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">This is particularly useful for names.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Carnegie writes in his book "</span><a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=ZP5KL3ocmSYC&amp;pg=PA64&amp;lpg=PA64&amp;dq=%22association,+however,+is+the+indispensable%22&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=sQZ0N_b-bY&amp;sig=qJCy1Mxm5phX1HsIjLTOCAE8lVg&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ei=x1PTUaq6CvOy0AG6-4DYAw&amp;ved=0CC4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&amp;q=%22association%2C%20however%2C%20is%20the%20indispensable%22&amp;f=true">Public Speaking and Influencing Men in Business</a><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">" that "the secret of a good <keyword id="21281" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Memory">memory</keyword> is thus the secret of forming diverse and multiple associations with every fact we care to retain." Our minds are essentially "associate machines" and the reason why it's hard to remember people's names is because there's no meaning behind their name for the listener.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Carnegie's memory-linking technique is to picture images that sound like a person's name — and combine it with other things you know about them.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">If you meet someone named Laura from Brazil, imagine her with a laurel wreath on her head swimming in the Amazon River.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Similarly one can combine these elements in a ridiculous phrase. </span></p>
<p>To remember that Mr. O.W. Dolittle sells cars for a living, you can remember the phrase "do little and you won't succeed in selling cars." For Mr. Thomas Fischer who works in coal, you can remember the phrase "he fishes for coal orders." If you meet a scientist name Matt, you can remember him as "the Matt scientist," which sounds like "the mad scientist."</p>
<p>Although these exercises may sound silly, Carnegie says they are proven to work.</p>
<p>One of our first exercises in Dale Carnegie's course was to come up with a story or phrase to help others remember our own names. One girl's name is Allegra Westin and she asked us to think about her running with her legs on the West Side Highway. Another guy's name is Marco Rossi and his story included a red ("Rossi" is plural for the color red in Italian) arc resembling the letter "M" (the arc combined with the letter "M" is "Marc-o").</p>
<p><span>Also, if you don't hear someone say their name clearly, <em>always</em> ask again.</span></p>

This Memory-Linking Technique Can Help You Remember Anyone's Name 

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/53ada6c36bb3f7c2033347bf-900-576/444herman_moll_map_of_england_and_wales.jpg?maxX=800" border="0" alt="map of england and wales" width="800" /><p class="source"><span><a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/">Wikimedia Commons</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></p>
<p>In "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/A-Dictionary-Surnames-Patrick-Hanks/dp/0192115928">A Dictionary of Surnames</a>," Patrick Hanks and Flavia Hodges have laid out where early last names come from and what they mean. Through research into genealogy and linguistics, they found the bulk of European surnames were formed in the 13th and 14th centuries as societies became more bureaucratic and began collecting taxes.</p>
<p>Early last names fall into a few major categories of origin. Many began as nicknames.</p>
<p>If your last name today falls into this category of name, you could theoretically learn something about the personality or appearance of one of the very first people to share your name. For example, a town that had several people named "John" might have started calling one of them "John Beal." "Beal" comes from "bel" - fair or lovely - and could refer to someone handsome.</p>
<p>Names didn't have to come from nicknames. Variations of people's occupations, a distinguishing geographical feature near their homes, or a version of their mother's or father's first name could also become their last name.</p>
<p><span>Last names that originated from nicknames are a particularly interesting category, though. Sometimes they were even based on negative traits, but Europeans rarely changed them once they officially went on record. During the period that last names were being adopted, people accepted their new last names as their God-given names. </span></p>
<p><span>Indeed, you may have a last name that originated from somebody ribbing one of your ancestors or making a comment on their appearance. </span></p>
<p><span>While names from a number of European languages originated from nicknames, below we have broken out only English last names and their likely corresponding meanings, </span>as determined by Hanks and Hodges.</p>
<h2><strong>A</strong></h2>
<p>Arlott - vagabond, rascal; Ayer - an heir to a title or fortune</p>
<h2><strong>B</strong></h2>
<p>Back - someone with a hunched back or peculiarity; Bairnsfather - father or alleged father of an illegitimate child; Barfoot - someone who went about his business, peasant; Bass - nickname for a short man; Bastard - nickname for an illegitimate child; Bay - nickname for someone with chestnut or auburn hair; Bayard - reckless; Beake - person with a prominent nose; Beal - handsome (from <em>bel</em>: fair, lovely); Bear - nickname for a person who has a mix of strength and amusement; Beard - wearer of a beard; Beauclerk - "fair clerk"; Beavis- nickname for an affectionate address; Bee - energetic or active person; Belcher - someone with a fair and lovely face; Besson - a twin (from <em>bis</em>, twice); Bevin - nickname for a wine drinker (from <em>beivre</em> to drink; <em>vin</em> wine); Biss - someone with an unhealthy complexion; Black - a swarthy or dark-haired man; Blacklock - someone with dark hair; Blake - another variant of <em>blac</em> that sometimes meant pale, white, fair; Blanchflower - ironic name for a man of feminine appearance; Blessed - a fortunate individual; Blewett - a habitual wearer of blue; Bligh, Bliss - a cheerful person; Blunt - someone with fair hair (from <em>blund</em>), a stupid person (from <em>blont, dull</em>); Boast, Boggis - a boastful man; Body - corpulent; Bold - bold, courageous; Bonney - handsome; Bonser - from <em>bon sire</em> good sir, given to a fine gentleman either ironically or seriously; Bowler - a heavy drinker; Bradman - broad, well built man; Breakspear - a successful warrior or jouster; Breeze - an irritating person; Brisbane - from <em>to break</em> and <em>bone</em>; probably used for someone crippled by a broken bone; Broad - stout; Brown - someone with brown hair; Buck - a man who resembles a goat; Bull - large, aggressive man; Bunker - reliable; Burr - a person who is difficult to shake off (from <em>bur</em>, a seed head that sticks to clothing)</p>
<h2><strong>C</strong></h2>
<p>Cain - a tall, thin man; Cannon - someone living in a clergy house; Cardinal - someone who acted lordly and patronizing; Carless - carefree; Catt - from the animal; Chaff - bald; Chance - a gambler or someone who had survived an accident; Child - someone considerably younger than his siblings; Chopin - a heavy drinker; Cock - a natural leader; Cockayne - an idle dreamer; Cocker - a bellicose person; Coley - a swarthy person; Comley - a handsome man; Coney - rabbit; Converse - a Jew converted to Christianity; Corderoy - proud; Couch - a red-haired man; Counsel - a wise or thoughtful man; Cousin - familiar; Crisp - a man with curly hair; Cruise - bold, fierce; Curtis - a refined person</p>
<h2><strong>D</strong></h2>
<p>Dain - important person; Dark - someone with dark hair; Devin - nickname of either ironic or literal application of <em>devin, divin</em> excellent; Dick - a stout, thick man; Doe - a mild and gentle man; Doggett - nickname with abusive connotations; Dolittle - a lazy man; Dormer - a lazy man, (from <em>dormire</em> to sleep); Doughty - powerful or brave; Dowling - stupid person, (from <em>doll</em> stupid); Drury - nickname for love; Ducker - nickname derivative (from <em>douke</em> to dive, plunge); Duke - someone who gives himself airs and graces</p>
<h2><strong>E</strong></h2>
<p>Eagle - a lordly, impressive or sharp eyed man; Elder - distinguishing name bestowed on the older one of a group</p>
<h2><strong>F</strong></h2>
<p>Fair - beautiful; Fairfax - someone with beautiful, long hair (from <em>feax</em>, hair, tresses; Faith - a trustworthy person; Farrant - someone with gray hair; Fay - someone with supernatural qualities, (from <em>faie</em> or fairy); Fear - a sociable person (from <em>feare</em>, comrade companion); Fiddy - son of God; Figgis - trustworthy or reliable; Fillery - illegitimate son of a monarch; Finch - from the bird, which in the Middle Ages had a reputation for stupidity; Fitt - polite; Foot - deformity of foot; Fort - strong; Fowle - someone resembling a bird; Frost - someone with an icy disposition or with a white beard or hair</p>
<h2><strong>G</strong></h2>
<p>Gain - crafty; Gale - cheerful person (from <em>gaile</em> jovial); Gallop - rash; Game, Gammon - merry or sporty; Garnon - someone with a mustache; Glew - cautious or wise; Godson - the godson of an influential person; Golfinch - nickname from the bird; Golightly - a messenger; Good - good; Gooden - someone who often uses the salutation "good evening"; Goodfellow, Goodfriend - congenial person; Grace - pleasant; Gray - someone with gray hair; Green - someone who liked wearing green; Grubb - small; Gulliver - greedy</p>
<h2><strong>H</strong></h2>
<p>Hand - someone with a deformed hand; Hare - a swift runner; Hart - nickname meaning stag; Hasard - a gambler; Hoare - an old man</p>
<h2>K</h2>
<p>Kay - a left handed man; Kedge - brisk, lively, (from Swedish <em>kack,</em> meaning bold or brisk); Keech - unflattering nickname for lumpish person; Keene - fierce, brave, proud; Kidd - frisky person; King - someone who conducts himself in a kingly manner; Knott - a thick or not shapely person</p>
<h2>L</h2>
<p>Lamb - a meek or inoffensive person; Lark - a merry person; Lawless - an unbridled and licentious man; Lawty - a trustworthy person; Lever - a fleet footed or timid person (from <em>levre, </em>meaning hare); Levett - nickname for wolf; Light - a happy or cheerful person, someone busy and active, someone small; Lipp - someone with large lips; Little - a small man; Littlefair - nickname for small companion; Littley - someone with small eyes; Loach - nickname from a small fresh water fish; Long, Longfellow - a tall person; Lord - someone who behaves in a lordly manner; Lovatt - nickname meaning young wolf; Lovelace - a philanderer; Lovell - nickname from <em>lou, </em>meaning wolf; Lovelock - a dandy; Lovely - an amiable person; Lyon - a fierce or brave warrior</p>
<h2>M</h2>
<p>Mallory - an unfortunate person; Mann - a strong or fierce man; Marvel - a person considered prodigious in some way, could be ironic; Master - someone who behaved in a masterful manner; Maufe - an untrustworthy person; Miskin - a young man, probably to distinguish someone from an older person in the same family; Monk - someone who looks like a monk; Mutton - a gentle but unimaginative person</p>
<h2>N</h2>
<p>Need - an impoverished person; New - a newcomer to an area; Newbold - someone who lived in a newly constructed dwelling; Newcombe, Newman - a new arrival in a place; Nightingale - someone with a good voice; Noel - someone with a connection to the Christmas season; Noon - a bright and cheery person</p>
<h2>O</h2>
<p>Odam - someone who has done well by marrying someone with a rich daughter</p>
<h2>P</h2>
<p>Pace - mild mannered person; Palmer - someone who had been on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land; Pardoe, Purdy - nickname from someone who often said <em>par Dieu</em> (by God/for God's sake); Parent - a parent or related to someone important in the community; Parslow - nickname from <em>passer, </em>meaning to cross; Pedley - a stealthy person; Penny - nickname from the coin; Pettifer - a tireless walker; Pettit - a small person; Pickerell - a sharp and aggressive person; Pinch - a chirpy person; Plenty - nickname for abundance; Pollard - someone with a large or unusually shaped head; Postle - nickname short for apostle; Pratt - a clever trickster; Prior - an immediate subordinate to an abbott; Puddy - someone rotund; Puttock - nickname for a greedy person</p>
<h2>Q</h2>
<p>Quail - nickname from the bird, for a timorous, lecherous, or fat person; Quant - a person admired for good sense or skill or regarded as cunning or crafty; Quarry - a thickset man; Quick - a lively person</p>
<h2>R</h2>
<p>Raggett - someone whose appearance is unkempt; Raison - an intelligent person; Ram - a forceful or lusty person; Read - a person with red hair or a ruddy complexion; Revell - a boisterous person; Rich - a wealthy man; Root - a cheerful person; Rouse, Rudd, Rust - a person with red hair or a ruddy complexion; Rump - nickname for a person with a large behind; Ruth - nickname for a charitable person</p>
<h2>S</h2>
<p>Sadd - a serious or solemn person; Saffer - a greedy person; Saint - a notably pious individual; Samways - a stupid person; Sarson - someone of swarthy appearance; Savage - a wild or uncouth person; Scaife - an awkward or difficult man; Scarfe - someone resembling a cormorant, a type of bird; Scull - a bald man; Sealey - a person with a cheery disposition; Selman - a happy or fortunate man; Senior - a peasant who gave himself airs and graces; Sharp - keen, active, quick; Shear - a beautiful or radiant person; Sherwin - swift runner; Short - a person of low stature; Silver - a rich man or someone with gray hair; Snell - brisk or active person; Snow - someone with a pale complexion or very white hair; Sowden - nickname for sultan; Speak - nickname from a woodpecker; Sparrow - a small chirpy person; Spire - a tall, thin man; Spratt - a small and insignificant person; Squibb - a sarcastic person; Stack - a large well built man; Stagg - nickname from the male deer; Steel - someone considered hard or durable as steel; Stout - a brave or powerful man; Strong - a strong man; Swift - a rapid runner</p>
<h2>T</h2>
<p>Tabard - a wearer of a long sleeveless coat of heavy material; Tame - a quiet and gentle person; Tempest - someone with a blustery temperament; Thewlis - an ill mannered person; Thrussell - nickname from the bird, probably given to a cheerful person; Thumb - someone with a deformed thumb; Titmus - a small person; Todd - someone thought to resemble a fox in some way; Treacher - a devious person; Tripp - someone with an odd gait; Trunchion - a short, fat man (from <em>thronchon, </em>meaningpiece broken off of); Turk - a rowdy or unruly person; Twigg - a thin person</p>
<h2>U</h2>
<p>Uncle - a man who is an uncle to someone</p>
<h2>V</h2>
<p>Vaisey - a cheerful person (from <em>enveisie, </em>meaning playful, merry); Venture - a bold person; Verity - a truthful person; Viggars - a sturdy person; Virtue - a pious or good person; Whale - an ungainly person; White, Whithead - someone with white hair; Widdow - a widow or widower; Wight - strong-willed or brave; Wild - nickname someone of violent and undisciplined character; Wise - a wise or learned person; Wraith - someone with a violent temper</p>
<h2>Y</h2>
<p>Yule - nickname for someone who was born on Christmas Day</p>

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