Porsche Has Released an Entry Level All-Electric Taycan

The Porsche Taycan was an all-electric game-changer for the car industry when it was unveiled in September. But for the average schmo, it was – despite its undoubted technological prowess – also just another exotic super car, as out-of-reach as the rest of them.

RELATED: Porsche Unveils the Taycan, Its First Electric Car

Until now, that is. Just a month after the initial unveiling of the Taycan, the German luxury automaker has announced a newer take on its all-electric sports car – the Taycan 4S. And at $103,800 this “entry level” Porsche is retailing for a whopping $80,000 less than the top-of-the-line Taycan Turbo S.

Here’s what you get for the cash.

All-Electric Penny-Pinching Porsche

The question the Taycan 4S really boils down to is, what’s 1.2 seconds worth to you? Because that’s how much longer this 522-horsepower beastie takes to reach the magic 60 mph mark compared to its big(gest) brother.

Still, we’re talking the difference between totally mind-bending and simply eye-watering. The Taycan Turbo S does 0 to 60 mph in 2.6 seconds, while the mid-range Taycan Turbo does the dash in 3 seconds. The 4S, by comparison, accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in 3.8 seconds. To put it in perspective, that’s just a tenth of a second slower than a beastly Mercedes-AMG GT S, and half a second faster than something like a 2017 Aston Martin Vantage GT8. In short, the thing pulls.

But what about top speed? The Taycan 4S can reach about 155 mph – just 6 mph slower than Porsche’s more expensive models. When it comes to range, the 4S actually beats its beefier brethren – but only if you spend an extra $10K for the Performance Battery Plus model. That version can travel up to 463 kilometers, or nearly 288 miles, compared to 412 kilometers for the Turbo and 450 kilometers for the Turbo S.

As for re-charging, CNBC reports that the 4S can go from a 5 to 80 percent charge in 22.5 minutes when plugged into an 800-volt DC charging station.

The Other Stuff

So what else is different?

Well, as standard, the Taycan 4S comes with a partial leather interior but, for the first time, Porsche is also offering an entirely leather-free interior – the idea being to underscore the sustainable concept of the electric sports car. Neat.

Yes, we’re still talking about a $100k car here, but to get a Porsche like this with a range like this at a price like this? Perhaps it won’t be long before we’re all driving electric cars.

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Jack Daniels Has Released a New Apple Whiskey

Peaches and cream. Gin and tonic. Peanut butter and jelly. Some things are just made to go together.

Take whiskey and apples. There are few more iconic ways to enjoy a bourbon (or Tennessee) whiskey than to throw a bit of apple in the mix. Jack Daniels understands this, which is probably why the iconic distiller released Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Apple.

Look out fall here I come!

APPLE JACK

The new drink spikes the Lynchburg-based brand’s finely crafted Tennessee whiskey with an apple liqueur.

RELATED: What Makes Tennessee Whiskey Unique?

“We feel like it's a good time now to offer apple. Flavors have been driving a lot of interest in the whiskey category,” Jack Daniel’s master distiller Jeff Arnett told Forbes. “It's been a game changer for Jack Daniel's, even a brand that's been around as long as we have. We found that flavors tend to attract a different consumer and/or they fit into a different occasion. Maybe an after-dinner drink or something where our whiskey wouldn't necessarily be poured.”

Tennessee Apple is designed to be enjoyed by itself, on the rocks or in a signature Jack Apple Fizz. It hit liquor store shelves and on October 1, is 70 proof and starts at $23.99 for a 750 ml bottle. And Delish reports that it’s not seasonal — Tennessee Apple is here to stay. Yay.

BUT WHAT WOULD JACK THINK?

This might seem like a slightly left-field move for Jack Daniels but the company has been dabbling with flavored whiskies for much of the past decade, releasing a Tennessee Honey whiskey back in 2011.

And going further back, Jack Daniel’s sold flavored spirits in the 1930s in an effort to quickly boost sales in the years immediately following Prohibition.

“If you look in our history at Jack Daniel's, right after Prohibition we made apple brandy here,” Arnett told Forbes. “So, this is not the first time we've made something that was apple-based From Jack Daniel's. We've made peach brandy back in those days.

“There were quite a few things that were done right after Prohibition as a mechanism to make money because they were literally having to start back up again after a drought period where no one was allowed to distill. Being able to look at our history and see that we have done things like this before [means] we feel like it's okay. Jack wouldn't be rolling over in his grave at the thought of us doing a Jack Daniel's Tennessee Apple.”

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Amazons Alexa Will Now Include the Voice of Samuel L. Jackson

Siri may continue to struggle with Apple users’ most basic requests, but over at Amazon they seem to be making all sorts of enormous strides with voice recognition devices.

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The latest is in the delivery. Because now you can kick Alexa’s voice to the kerb and load Samuel L. Jackson on your Amazon Echo to tell you what time it is (or, what motherf**king time it is, if you like — more on this later). No kidding.

99-CENT SAMUEL

The feature is part of an upgrade to Amazon’s Alexa that, for 99 cents, will let you add the voice of Samuel L. Jackson or another celebrity to Echo devices. It was announced at Amazon’s annual major product reveal, which took place on September 25 in Seattle.

Jackson’s voice is the launch option, with other celebrities to be added next year. The feature is made possible by neural text-to-speech tech that has the power to mimic voices from a sample recorded by the subject. Which is a bit freaky, when you think about it.

Anyway, Jackson “can tell you jokes, let you know if it's raining, set timers and alarms, play music and more — all with a bit of his own personality.” And you can also set him up to be explicit, if you need a bit of ol’ Sweary L. Jackson to fire you up in the morning.

OTHER AMAZON REVEALS

Still, the Alexa voice news was just the tip of the iceberg at an event that also unveiled:

New Echo wearable tech that includes: Echo Frames spectacles, which vibrate with notifications and have built-in microphones; Echo Buds, Amazon’s new wireless Bluetooth earbuds that feature noise-reduction technology and can activate Alexa by voice; the Echo Loop ring, which allows owners to record messages and send them to an Echo speaker; and Fetch, a tracker designed to attach to a pet collar.

The introduction of Alexa to all General Motors cars next year.

The Echo Flex miniature smart speaker, which plugs into the wall.

The Echo Glow — an internet-connected light that can change colour with music.

A voice-controlled smart oven, which can pair with a user’s phone to allow them to scan barcodes to set accurate cooking temperatures and times.

Geoff Blaber, an analyst with CCS Insight, described Amazon’s presentation as an “avalanche” of new products “[It] underlines Amazon's desire to extend Alexa's reach to every part of people's lives — be that in the home, or on the move via new Echo Buds or in the car through the deal with General Motors,” he told the BBC.

“Not only will it will strengthen Amazon's reach with existing customers that use Alexa-powered products, it will also provide the opportunity to woo more consumers to embrace its increasingly ubiquitous voice assistant.”

We’re not complaining.

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Will Smith Did a 10-Day Fast After Reaching 225 Pounds

How do you choose to tackle unwanted weight gain? Running? Meal plans? HIIT? Lifting weights? All sensible strategies for dropping those extra pounds.

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But Will Smith isn’t known for doing things by halves. Which is perhaps why the actor decided to hit the emergency button when his weight reached 225 pounds. 

Smith’s solution? A 10-day fast. Wicki-wicki-wild!

MANY MUFFINS FOR BREAKFAST

Smith’s revelation about his weight gain and subsequent diet came during an episode of his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s Facebook Watch series “Red Table Talk,” in which three generations of the Smith family sit down at a communal table to discuss a wide variety of topics.

In this latest episode, Will calls an emergency meeting with Jada, his daughter Willow Smith, his sons Jaden and Trey Smith, and his mother-in-law Adrienne Banfield Norris. He then reveals how on vacation last month he slipped into unhealthy eating habits.

First of all it was the piping hot muffins prepared every morning for the Smith family while they were on holiday. “I would wake up in the morning and I would have … four or five muffins,” Will said. “Y’know, ‘Aladdin’ was successful so I was, like, ‘Muffin! Muffin! Muffin!’”

Then came the Moscow Mules. “I would have a little vodka, and that was pretty much my routine for the ten days. So I would wake up, eat five muffins and go back to sleep. And then Jada and Willow made up a name — they started calling me ‘Pudge Muffin’.”

The 50-year-old Will said his weight ratcheted up to 225 pounds, the most he’d ever weighed in his adult life, eclipsing the 223 pounds of muscle he stacked on in 2001 for “Ali.”

Jada asked how he felt when he got on the scale and saw that he weighed 225 pounds.

“I didn’t like being 225. I’ve never been 225,” he responded. “I’ve lived most of my adult life, and certainly my professional career, in brilliant muscular condition.”

THE 10-DAY FAST

When Will got back from his vacation he decided to go on a 10-day fast. And almost immediately he saw results.

He realized by the fourth day that he didn’t need his blood pressure medication, which he’s taken for a decade. “Do I have high blood pressure or was I eating myself into high blood pressure?

“I had the epiphany that I don’t actually know anything about food … I know how to eat to make my body look muscular but I don’t know how to eat to look good,” Will said. “I don’t know how to eat to be healthy.”

RELATED: Ready for a Diet That Doesn’t Feel Like a Diet?

Will says he looked his best when he played Deadshot in “The Suicide Squad” in 2016, but he was suffering from headaches at the time because he wasn’t eating properly.

He continued by saying how he had always eaten for fun and joy. “I couldn’t believe that I got to 50 years old without knowing you literally are what you eat,” he said.

It’s an interesting episode, as the family discuss their different attitudes towards food, with the slightly startling admission by Will and Jada that they had to have an intervention with Jaden when he was a vegan and wasn’t eating enough.

You can check out the full episode here.

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A Bunch of Anthony Bourdain Personal Items Are Going Up For Auction

The loss of Anthony Bourdain is still felt deeply by many of the celebrity chef’s biggest fans. Bourdain’s singular capacity to communicate both about and over food was beginning to earn him a truly global audience when he tragically took his own life in June last year.

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One of the most touching tributes to Anthony Bourdain’s legacy since was the June announcement by chefs Eric Ripert and José Andrés that they were partnering with the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) — the “Parts Unknown” host’s alma mater — to create a scholarship in his memory.

The CIA has been busy accepting donations for the scholarship but has now also announced a wide-ranging auction of Bourdain’s personal belongings and kitchen gear. More than 200 pieces will go under the hammer, the proceeds being split between the Anthony Bourdain Legacy Scholarship and Bourdain’s ex-wife and young daughter.

HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN PICK UP

This is no half-hearted collection of bric-a-brac either, with some of Bourdain’s most valued possessions going to auction. The belongings include everything from clothing and vinyl records to the chef, author and TV presenter’s custom-made Kramer chef’s knife. Most of the items will start at between $200 and $6000 (but that knife you can expect to go for much more).

“The pieces in this auction include his entire collection and estate, so there is a range of items,” a spokesperson for presenting auctioneers Lark Mason Associates told Food & Wine. “His art collection was principally made up of a small group of artists he favored and connected with, including Ralph Steadman, Brad Phillips and John Lurie. He was loyal to these artists and he purchased various pieces from each of them. When choosing a work for his collection, he often worked directly with the artists themselves, and with his assistant, Lorie Woolover."

Head specialist for Lark Mason and its online auction platform iGavel Auctions Niki Tiliakos told Good Morning America that there had been a huge response to the news, with many potential bidders eager to learn more about Bourdain’s life.

“People really loved and respected, and I think connected, with him in many ways,” Tiliakos said. “For that reason, they're eager to potentially own something of his or at least see these items.

“We really want this to be respectful and positive and to really just celebrate him and his life.”

PROCEEDS

Lark Mason estimates that the market value of all the pieces in the auction could be anywhere between $200,000 and $400,000. The CIA portion of the earnings will be put towards the Anthony Bourdain Legacy Scholarship, which the college intends to start awarding to students in the Spring 2020 semester.

The auction is scheduled to run from October 9 to October 30 and will take place across three exhibitions in New York City, New Braunfels, Texas and Savannah, Georgia.

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'Spider-Man' Star Tom Holland Opens Up About His Friendship With Robert Downey Jr.

If there was a particularly bittersweet element to the (spoiler alert!) death of Tony Stark in “Avengers: Endgame,” it was that it marked the end of his mentorship of young Peter Parker. Over five films, Iron Man had taken Spider-Man under his wing, their bond developing into something of a surrogate father-son relationship.

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Well, it looks like that connection extended somewhat off-screen as well, with “Spider-Man” actor Tom Holland opening up on the weekend about how co-star Robert Downey Jr. took him “under his wing.”

Robert Downey Sr.

The comments came during the FanX convention in Salt Lake City on Saturday, during which Holland talked about how Downey Jr. was immediately welcoming and even looked out for him when he was sick on set, Insider reports.

“The amazing thing about RDJ is that he’s arguably the most famous movie star on the planet, or the biggest movie star on the planet,” Holland said. “But he's always early, he knows every crew member’s name, he always knows his lines. He’s professional, he’s kind, he’s caring.

“I was sick on set one day and I didn't really know the guy,” Holland added. “He was really sweet and he kind of looked after me and took me under his wing a little bit … Entering the Marvel Universe is daunting, it’s a big process.”

Holland went on to say that the thing he’s learned most from the Marvel films is that “just because you’re at the top, doesn’t mean you can be a d—k.”

Cheers to that, Tom.

Spider-Man Future Remains Uncertain

Not that Holland was always so forthcoming during his FanX appearance.

His chat with moderator Kerry Jackson was intended to dodge controversy, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. Fan questions weren’t allowed and the actor’s representatives even vetted Jackson’s questions.

He avoided talking about the ongoing dispute between Disney and Sony over the future of the Spider-Man character, although the Tribune reports that co-star Benedict Wong cut to the quick the previous night when asked about Peter Parker appearing in future Disney-made Marvel movies, saying, “We’ve got to do it, for the good of all of us … [it’s] almost like, ‘Why are Mom and Dad arguing? They had something beautiful together.’”

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The Trailer Is Out for New Bad Boys Film

Finally, it’s here.

“Bad Boys for Life” has had such a slow gestation that you’d think it was “Apocalypse Now,” not a cops and robbers action film. But finally Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett are back… with plenty of jokes and a new Porsche. 

RELATED: Keanu Reeves Is Back as 'The One' in Newly Announced 'Matrix 4'

The trailer for the film was unleashed yesterday, and it’s fair to say the internet is excited.

TROUBLED PRODUCTION

A bunch of filmmakers have at one time or another been attached to “Bad Boys for Life” (or “Bad Boys 3,” the film’s working title since Michael Bay first floated the idea of making it in 2008).

Back in 2013, producer Jerry Bruckheimer was still trying to get Bay to do the film Then by 2015, Joe Carnahan (“Narc,” “The A-Team” and “The Grey”) was in the mix. But he dropped out in 2017 due to creative differences with Will Smith.

Eventually coming on to complete the film were duo Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, best known for their work on John Singleton’s “Snowfall” (and are, interestingly enough, connected to the maybe-coming-maybe-not “Beverly Hills Cop 4”). And it looks like El Arbi and Fallah have produced a film that will fit in well with the existing “Bad Boys” franchise — the trailer has a lot of gunfire, fast cars and wisecracks.

MORE MIAMI VICE

The plot is also pretty typical “Bad Boys” stuff, with Will Smith’s Lowrey and Martin Lawrence’s Burnett teaming up with a new elite team in the Miami police department called — wait for it — AMMO that has been tasked with taking down drug cartel leader Armando Armas (played by Jacob Scipio).

But really, it doesn’t matter: we’re here for the buddy jokes, the action and returning co-star Joe Pantoliano losing it at Lowrey and Burnett over and over and over again. 

And so is the internet. Indeed, there’s so much goodwill surrounding this film we’re even prepared to forgive the horror show that was “Bad Boys 2.” Maybe.

“Bad Boys For Life” hits theaters January 17.

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Justin Bieber Opens Up About Mental Health Battles on Instagram

Justin Bieber has taken to Instagram to share a remarkable post addressing his struggles with drugs, relationships and fame.

It’s not the first time the 25-year-old singer has used the social media platform to discuss his mental health. Back in March, he shared how he was struggling to handle his life, and just last week he shared a video of himself singing in church, saying, “God is pulling me through a hard season.”

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But his latest post is arguably the most raw and honest he’s ever been in a public forum. Bieber talks about becoming “resentful” and “angry,” relying on “heavy drugs,” and how he’s “abused all of [his] relationships” and been “disrespectful to women.”

Yep — it’s pretty heavy but also very compelling stuff.

“A Cycle Of Feeling Disappointment After Disappointment”

Bieber begins his post by talking about how difficult he finds it to get out of bed with the right attitude when he feels overwhelmed by life — “your past, job, responsibilities, emotions, your family, finances, your relationships,” he writes. “When you start feeling like there’s trouble after trouble after trouble … sometimes it can even get to the point where you don’t even want to live anymore.”

View this post on Instagram

Hope you find time to read this it’s from my heart

A post shared by Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) on Sep 2, 2019 at 2:38pm PDT

Bieber says the enormous accolades he received as a child performer put him on a path that would eventually lead to a downward spiral in his late teens — “You hear these things enough as a young boy and you actually start believing it,” he says — and that the fame curbed his growth as a person, meaning he couldn’t develop life skills outside of music. “Everyone did everything for me, so I never even learned the fundamentals of responsibility. By this point, I was 18 with no skills in the real world, with millions of dollars and access to whatever I wanted.

“By 20, I made every bad decision you could have thought of and went from one of the most loved and adored people in the world to the most ridiculed, judged and hated person in the world.”

Bieber talks about the dopamine rush of performing live and how famous musicians sometimes turn to drugs to manage the ups and downs of their career. “I started doing pretty heavy drugs at 19 and abused all of my relationships,” he says. “I became resentful, disrespectful to women, and angry. I became distant to everyone who loved me, and I was hiding behind a shell of a person that I had become. I felt like I could never turn it around.”

A Message of Hope

Bieber’s Instagram post makes for some hectic reading, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. The singer credits the loved ones in his life for helping him “bounce back from all these terrible decisions, fix broken relationships and change relationship habits.”

Coming in for particular praise is his marriage to Hailey Baldwin. “Now I am navigating the best season of my life “MARRIAGE” !! Which is an amazing, crazy new responsibility. You learn patience, trust, commitment, kindness, humility and of things it looks like to be a good man.

“All this it to say even when the odds are against you keep fighting. Jesus loves you… BE KIND TODAY> BE BOLD TODAY AND LOVE PEOPLE TODAY NOT BY YOUR STANDARDS BUT BY GOD’S PERFECT UNFAILING LOVE.”

As a piece of social media addressed to fans, it’s the ultimate in real talk, further helping to break the stigma surrounding mental health. It also serves to underline how honestly and practically Bieber is reportedly dealing with his mental health issues, with an anonymous source telling People earlier this year that he was seeking treatment for depression.

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Matthew McConaughey Is Now Teaching Film at the University of Texas

A professor at the University of Texas. That’s not Matthew McConaughey’s new film role but his new actual real-life role.

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You read that correctly: this fall Academy Award-winning actor Matthew McConaughey will be teaching film as a full-time professor at the University of Texas in Austin. Well alright-alright-alright.

PROFESSOR MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY

It might sound out of left field but McConaughey has a long history with the university, graduating in ‘93 from UT-Austin with a Bachelor of Science in Radio-Television-Film. More recently, he’s worked as a visiting instructor at UT’s Moody College of Communication.

McConaughey’s original role at the university in 2015 was to develop and co-teach the curriculum for a Script to Screen class on film production. It’s intended to provide a unique, behind-the-scenes view of each stage of a film’s development. He’ll now teach that course as a full-time professor. Pretty cool.

THE CLASS MATT WISHES HE’D HAD

For McConaughey, it’s a chance to give students a class he wishes he’d been able to take when he was at the university way back in the early ‘90s.

“It’s the class I wish I would have had when I was in film school. Working in the classroom with these students gives me a chance to prepare them,” McConaughey told UT News. “Making movies, turning words on paper into film, is both a science and art – no matter the time or generation. The elements of truth and genuine joy for the process are timeless. That will always be our classroom focus.”

The university credits McConaughey’s Script to Screen class with transforming how media production is approached and taught. As for McConaughey himself, the chair of the Department of Radio-Television-Film says the actor and producer “has a passion for teaching, and for all things cinematic, that is palpable, even infectious.” Which perhaps isn’t surprising.

Either way, McConaughey has a deep connection with UT. Witness this 2016 YouTube video, where he drove students home in a golf cart to help promote the university’s safe-ride program.

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Aaron Paul Wants You to Watch This Scene Before the New Breaking Bad Movie

The internet lost its collective mind on Saturday when Netflix finally confirmed it will soon release a “Breaking Bad” movie. The revelation came via a teaser trailer in which “Breaking Bad” supporting character Skinny Pete (Charles Baker) refuses to help police locate Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) after the meth cook’s final episode escape from an Aryan Brotherhood gang.

What happened to Jesse Pinkman?

El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie

October 11 pic.twitter.com/PuoWBgfDJ0

— Netflix US (@netflix) August 24, 2019

RELATED: Aaron Paul Shares the Key 'Breaking Bad' Scenes to Rewatch

(The fan reaction was, by the way, in stark contrast to the howls of disappointment in July when — following significant teasing on Instagram — “Breaking Bad” stars Paul and Bryan Cranston revealed they were releasing a mezcal together.)

After “Breaking Bad” wrapped in 2013, the question remained: Whatever happened to Jesse Pinkman? Well, the new film, titled “El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie,” will hopefully provide some answers. “In the wake of his dramatic escape from captivity, Jesse must come to terms with his past in order to forge some kind of future,” the official Netflix plot description reads.

But before you see the film when it’s released on October 11, Aaron Paul wants you to watch a very particular scene from “Breaking Bad” the television show.

It Will ‘Slowly Prepare You for What’s to Come’

The scene is from One Minute, the seventh episode of Season 3. Paul has taken to social media to share the emotionally raw clip, in which a psychologically broken Jesse Pinkman eviscerates Bryan Cranston’s Walter White for his years of emotional manipulation.

Cats out of the bag...and the bag is in the river. Here’s a moment from Breaking Bad to slowly prepare you all for what’s to come. #BreakingBad #Netflix #Elcomino ??? https://t.co/q3VdCCLxZe

— Aaron Paul (@aaronpaul_8) August 25, 2019

“Ever since I met you, everything I ever cared about is gone, ruined, turned to shit, dead,” Pinkman tells White. “Ever since I hooked up with the great Heisenberg. I have never been more alone. I have nothing! No one. Alright? And it’s all gone! Get it? No, why would you even care? As long as you get what you want, right? You don’t give a shit about me.”

It’s brutal stuff, and a stark reminder of how the entire run of “Breaking Bad” doubled as a slow deconstruction of Pinkman’s personality.

A Fresh Coat of Pinkman?

If the Netflix plot description is anything to go by, you shouldn’t necessarily expect a new and improved Jesse Pinkman in “El Camino.” But a film would help round off a major character arc that sometimes felt a little shortchanged as “Breaking Bad” rushed towards its conclusion.

Either way, Paul is pumped, telling The New York Times: “It’s a chapter of ‘Breaking Bad’ that I didn’t realize that I wanted. And now that I have it, I’m so happy that it’s there … I couldn’t speak for a good 30, 60 seconds [after reading the script]. I was just lost in my thoughts.”

It means Paul is now set to star in two highly anticipated upcoming releases, with the actor also featured heavily in the third series of “Westworld,” which is set to debut in 2020.

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These Are the 10 Highest-Paid Male Actors in 2019

We may no longer comb over actor earnings like we did back in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s, when stars such as Bruce Willis, Tom Hanks and Keanu Reeves in his “Matrix” prime commanded almighty sums of cash. 

RELATED: Keanu Reeves Is Back as 'The One' in Newly Announced 'Matrix 4'

But there are still some intimidating amounts of money floating around the film industry. Thankfully, Forbes has rounded it up for you, identifying the world’s 10 highest-paid male actors of 2019. 

To compile its list, the business magazine and website gathered data from Nielsen, ComScore, Box Office Mojo and IMDB, while also conducting interviews with industry insiders. 

It’s an eye-opening list, but its rankings also tell some deeper tales about the modern film industry.

No Surprises at Number One

So who is the world’s highest-paid male actor right now? This is probably the easiest guess of the entire list with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson coming in at number one, having earned $89.4 million between June 1, 2018 and June 1, 2019.

Johnson signed on for $23.5 million for the forthcoming “Jumanji: The Next Level” and currently takes 15 percent of the “pool” (an amount of money contingent on how much the film takes at the box office) from high-grossing franchises such as “Jumanji,” Forbes reports. On top of that, he earns $700K per episode of HBO’s “Ballers” and makes millions in royalties via his Under Armour apparel line.

Interestingly, the BBC reports that Johnson actually made less from 2018 to 2019 than he did over the previous year, when he raked in $119 million. But in that period, George Clooney, who had just sold his tequila company for a boatload of cash, landed in first place. Clooney didn’t even make the top ten this year — that’s how quickly these things turn around.

After Johnson, things get interesting. Robert Downey Jr.'s position at third on the list likely won’t surprise anyone, and he reportedly commands around $20 million upfront. But RDJ also takes 8 percent of the pool for his role the “Avengers” films, which amounted to $55 million for the record-breaking “Avengers: Endgame.”

“Endgames” phenomenal $2.796 billion box office gross is responsible for many other names on the list, too: Paul Rudd, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth and Bradley Cooper all made the top ten, although much of the sixth-placed Cooper’s earnings ($57 million) came from his own film “A Star is Born,” which he didn’t initially pay himself a salary for.

But, yeah, “Avengers,” there you go — such is the Marvel tentpole world we now live in.

Others on the List

There are still a few interesting entries on the list. Bollywood star Akshay Kumar came in fourth with an earn of $65 million, followed by Jackie Chan in fifth place on $58 million. Adam Sandler and Will Smith also made the top ten, making $57 million and $35 million, respectively. 

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This Company Wants to Pay You to Attend Football Tailgates

Football season is just around the corner. And what does that mean?

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Other than completely rewiring your weekends and kicking off an anxious wait — whether you follow them or not — to see if the New England Patriots will take a fourth Super Bowl in six years, for the most ardent fans football season means tailgate parties. Lots of tailgate parties.

CheapTickets understands this, which is why the online travel services company is giving tailgate diehards the opportunity to take their fandom to the next level by becoming a “Tailgate Tourist.”

The equation is simple: travel with a buddy to five college football games, tailgate it up with food and booze, and (perhaps not so) politely cheer for one of the two teams on the day. Easy-peasy.

Here's What You Need to Do

It’s pretty simple — just head to the contest link and answer two questions: “Which college football city do you most want to tailgate in this season?” and “What is your favorite tailgate dish?” If you win, you’ll receive travel for two plus $1,500 to attend NCAA Division 1 games in Athens, Georgia; Seattle, Washington; Austin, Texas; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Columbus, Ohio.

“Tailgating culture is steeped in team pride and tradition, and there's no better way to experience it than traveling to some of the best college campuses and stadiums across the nation,” Justine McDonald, Senior Brand Manager at CheapTickets, said in a press release. “Our Tailgate Tourist will join 35 percent of fans who said they plan to travel for a college football game this year. The biggest question will be who they bring with them. Most fans in our Tailgate Travel survey said they plan to travel with their significant other or a friend.”

The Rules

You need to be at least 21 years of age and a resident of the United States to throw your hat into the ring — sorry, young bucks. Otherwise, you have until August 31 to enter the contest here.

For those who don’t win, CheapTickets has also created a Tailgate Travel Index planning tool, identifying the most affordable football showdowns to travel to this season. 

In short, get booking.

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