Ben Affleck took his star power to Washington D.C. Thursday to testify about the importance of foreign aid in Africa, but even then Hollywood wasn’t far from his mind.

“I would be remiss not to recognize my co-star in ‘Batman,'” Affleck joked, when he spotted Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), who had a cameo in “The Dark Knight Rises.”

“Your role was marginally smaller than mine, but I understand you are quite good,” added the “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” actor.

The Oscar winner was on Capitol Hill to testify before the Senate State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Subcommittee, and was joined by fellow philanthropist Bill Gates. Affleck’s wife Jennifer Garner and nine-year-old daughter Violet were in the audience as well.

The focus of Affleck’s visit was to promote U.S. foreign assistance investments to drive economic development programs and make a lasting impact in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, an area that has long been close to his heart.

A short time later, Affleck took to his Instagram page to write about his charity work in the Congo.

“I made my first trip to Congo seven years ago after reading about the two decades of conflict the Congolese people had endured. I expected to find hopelessness, but the people I encountered, like these former child soldiers, were among the most courageous and resilient I could imagine. #EasternCongo #DRC,” the politically-active actor posted.

Affleck last testified before Congress in February 2014 in front of the Senate Foreign Relations committee.

He is the founder of the Eastern Congo Initiative, which envisions an Eastern Congo vibrant with abundant opportunities for economic and social development, where a robust civil society can flourish.

SEE ALSO: Here’s the first photo of Jesse Eisenberg as Superman’s arch nemesis in the 'Batman V Superman’ movie

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In the wake of HBO’s explosive Scientology documentary “Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief,” which premiered Sunday on HBO, director Alex Gibney said former church members featured in the film have been threatened by the institution.

“Most of the real vitriol is for the people who were in the film,” Gibney told TheWrap in an interview this week. “They’ve received threats of physical harm, threats of having their homes taken away, threats of being forced into bankruptcy. They’re being followed by private eyes and surveilled.”

Prominent ex-congregates including Marty Rathbun, publicist Sylvia “Spanky” Taylor, Tom De Voct and director Paul Haggis were all interviewed for the film, which is critical of the religion’s practices. Since the documentary premiered in January at the Sundance Film Festival, Gibney said some of the film’s subjects have become targets.

The documentary made headlines earlier this year thanks to its investigation of two of Scientology’s most visible members, actors John Travolta and Tom Cruise, who joined the church in 1975 and the late 1908s respectively. The documentary essentially outs Travolta as gay, according to an in-depth report from Buzzfeed.

It also dusts up the previously reported dissolution of Tom Cruise’s marriage to Nicole Kidman, allegedly spearheaded by the church as Kidman was viewed as an “oppressive person,” which Gibney addressed in New York Magazine.

TheWrap’s Sundance review of  “Going Clear” noted slave labor conditions for former members performing service and carrying out tasks handed down by leadership, on top of heavy financial obligations and cutting ties to those outside of the religion founded by author L. Ron Hubbard.

Rathburn’s wife Monique received pornography at her workplace “so that co-workers would think she’s some sort of wild, reckless individual,” Gibney said.

Veteran Hollywood publicist Spanky Taylor, who runs an agency that screens fan mail for A-List clients such as Johnny Depp and Edward Norton, shares a particularly harrowing story in the film about escaping a church building in Los Angeles while clutching her infant child. She claimed the organization wouldn’t let her leave of her own free will.

“I will tell you that the threats that have been visited on her have been particularly brutal,” Gibney said of the response to Taylor’s claim.

“A major thing the church got by on for many years was intimidating people into silence, based on their threats of litigation and brutish psychological games,” Gibney said.

A spokesperson for the Church of Scientology responded to Gibney’s remarks to TheWrap. Here is the statement in its entirety:

Alex Gibney is proving to be exactly like the sources in his film–no accusation is too irresponsible to make. It doesn’t matter if he lacks corroboration and proof, it’s all about promoting his movie. 

Each and every one of the allegations in your questions is absolutely false and rejected. Alex Gibney is getting desperate and is now resorting to ludicrous, made-up claims. The Wrap should ask him for his proof. 

First, there has not been one physical or financial threat of harm from the Church to anyone. These are more lies from the same admitted liars who Gibney glorifies in his film. 

Second, I have in my hands court records where Monique Rathbun stated under oath that she has no idea who sent those items to her at her office. She also conceded she had no evidence and had made the allegations against the Church without specific or direct evidence. In other words, court records contradict the accusation Alex Gibneymade, which is exactly what he did during the entire making of this film – ignore facts and court records. There are countless more examples if you are interested. 

Finally, as for Spanky Taylor the Church has not made one threat against her. Again that is made-up garbage.What the Church has done is issued the truth on these individuals to counter-act their lies. You can see them here: 

http://www.freedommag.org/hbo/videos/spanky-taylor.html

http://www.freedommag.org/hbo/videos/marty-rathbun.html

http://www.freedommag.org/hbo/videos/mike-rinder.html 

Because Alex Gibney ran from any facts that got in the way of his preconceived story line and ignored all our efforts to communicate (over 40 letters and 25 people who requested to meet with Mr. Gibney), we have compiled the unvarnished truth in the form of video footage, court documents, publicly available records and testimonials by pertinent individuals and parishioners worldwide who do represent Scientology, and were intentionally ignored by Mr. Gibney and HBO. All of it 100% accurate. Alex Gibneyspins this as “smears.” We call it the truth he ignored. These you can see at 

http://www.freedommag.org/hbo/

You also should definitely provide readers with this link and you are welcome to use any of the material. I particularly call your attention to: 

http://www.freedommag.org/hbo/videos/exterminating-gibneys-propaganda.html 

Rather than print the usual “denies the allegation” you should circle back with Gibney and ask him for proof. And ask him to explain why he would make such an accusation when Monique Rathbun’s testimony contradicts it. 

If you ever want to know about Scientology, look at our website at www.Scientology.org. The information is right there. We are busy trying to help people. We spend every waking minute working to get people off drugs and assist them to lead healthier, happier more productive lives.

TheWrap shared the Church of Scientology’s statement with Gibney on Sunday and he responded: “The church claims it is innocent of all misdeeds. How credible does that sound?”

Though the church has been vocal about its objections to the documentary, Gibney said he’s felt an outpouring of support from blogs and social media users on the Internet, who have have joined his criticism of the Church of Scientology.

“The church would attack the film in its kind of ham-fisted way and people all across the Internet were rising up to say, ‘Bullshit…’ Whether it be Uproxx chronicling the church’s propaganda videos and ranking them in order of comedic content or what have you, what it shows is that the days of everybody running in fear from Scientology are over,” said Gibney.

The Church of Scientology currently has about 50,000 members, according to the film.

“Going Clear” is available on HBO Go and On Demand. 

SEE ALSO: How a filmmaker finally infiltrated Scientology for HBO's explosive documentary

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NOW WATCH: 6 Crazy Things Revealed In HBO's Explosive New Scientology Documentary 'Going Clear'

HBO’s Sunday airing of documentary film “Going Clear” has reignited interest in the tax-exempt status afforded the Church of Scientology by its classification as a nonprofit.

In fact, actress Mia Farrow tweeted damning words about the organization and shared a petition to revoke its tax-exempt status to her more than 640,000 followers on Monday. 

It isn’t so far-fetched an idea, either. The Nonprofit Risk Management Center reports that more than 100 501(c)(3) organizations are stripped of their tax-exempt status each year. The reasons can vary, covering the violation of laws that govern private benefits, lobbying, political campaign activity, unrelated business income, the obligation to report annually and maintaining operation in accord with stated exempt purpose.

In “Going Clear,” director Alex Gibney provides research, footage and interviews with former Scientologists that may shed new light on the organization, its billion-dollar nest egg and a shady deal with the IRS wherein after several years of unsuccessfully applying for tax-exempt status, the Church was finally granted the designation in 1993.

According to the film, Church of Scientology Chairman David Miscavige ordered the organization’s members to file individual lawsuits against the IRS for its failure to recognize it as a church. Overwhelmed by 2,400 individual suits and the prospect of defending itself against all of them, the IRS agreed to grant Scientology tax-exempt status in exchange for the withdrawal of the cases.

A 2011 tax filing reveals that the three organizations comprising Scientology claim a combined value of $1.5 billion, a sum that has allegedly been built on the backs of members who pay thousands of dollars to rise within the organization, are paid 40 cents an hour for labor and have been tortured for dissent, combined with the organization’s vast international property portfolio.

“This issue is not about whether Scientology is a religion,” Gibney told TheWrap. “The issue is whether or not Scientology is pursuing policies that are not in the public interest.”

The government simply needs to determine whether there’s a “fundamental overriding interest” in declassifying an organization involved in the above activities as exempt from taxation.

 According to the IRS website, to be tax-exempt, an “organization’s purposes and activities may not be illegal or violate fundamental public policy.”

An IRS representative told TheWrap he’s unable to comment on whether there’s currently an investigation into any organizations or individual cases.

A Church of Scientology representative pointed TheWrap to letters to HBO Counsel from their tax and corporate counsel that calls the film’s depiction of a deal between Scientology and the IRS “factually wrong.”

Read them here and here.

SEE ALSO: Why Tom Cruise and John Travolta can't leave Scientology, according to the HBO documentary 'Going Clear'

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NOW WATCH: This Scientology documentary made HBO hire 160 lawyers — here's the trailer

“House of Cards” will return to Netflix for its fourth season along with stars Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright, the streaming TV service announced on Thursday.

Production on the new season will begin in summer with a 2016 premiere.

Other details about the upcoming chapters are sparse, but viewers can expect to see Frank Underwood’s presidential campaign in full swing. No word on whether Claire will be along for the ride.

“House of Cards” is executive produced by David Fincher, Beau Willimon, Joshua Donen, Eric Roth, Kevin Spacey and Dana Brunettialong with Andrew Davies and Michael Dobbs from the eponymous BBC miniseries and novel.

The Netflix original drama is produced by Donen/Fincher/Roth and Trigger Street Productions, Inc. in association with Media Rights Capital for Netflix.

Season three premiered on Feb. 27 to great acclaim, as did the previous installments. “House of Cards” was the first streamed series to be nominated for primetime Emmy awards in 2013, and Spacey took home a Golden Globe in January for his portrayal of scheming politician Frank Underwood.

SEE ALSO: Watch President Obama do a terrible impression of Frank Underwood

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NOW WATCH: This Sports Illustrated swimsuit rookie could become the next Kate Upton

Universal Pictures’ marketing of “Furious 7” after the death of Paul Walker received high marks from several analysts and advertising executives on Sunday.

The weekend’s box-office opening numbers — $143 million domestically and $240 overseas for the action sequel – speak for themselves.

But the studio was forced to walk a fine line with the film’s promotion after Walker died in a car crash in November 2013.

“Restrained but effective” was how the campaign was characterized by one industry marketing executive, who like most of the people interviewed for this story chose to remain anonymous.

“They didn’t lean on it, but they touched on it,” said another industry insider.

Universal executives had declined to address the subject before the film came out, but on Sunday at least one spoke for the first time.

“I can tell you personally that I’m very proud of the way the studio and marketing department walked us through what otherwise would have been a very tricky situation,” Universal’s president of domestic distribution Nick Carpou told TheWrap.

“They handled everything that had to do with Paul respectfully and positively, and what emerged is more respect and a celebration of Paul and the franchise to the world. For the production team, Vin (Diesel) and the rest of the cast this was a matter of personal importance and that shows through.”

The challenge was to serve the star’s fans without seeming exploitative or disrespectful.

Mission accomplished, said Rentrak senior analyst Paul Dergarabedian.

“I think from the very moment of Walker’s tragic passing, Universal did a masterful job of honoring his memory and respecting his legacy, while at the same time going about the business of marketing one of the biggest movies on their slate,” he said. “Furious 7” was shifted from its original August 2014 release date in the wake of his death.

“It takes a tremendous amount of sensitivity and diplomacy to walk the perfect public relations tightrope whenever something unexpectedly tragic like this happens," Dergarabedian said.

“There was clearly a lot of thought that went into the handling of this and how Walker is portrayed not only in the the trailers and imagery for the film, but also how he is represented in a very poignant and respectful way within the film itself,” he said.

Walker died with about half of his scenes shots. His brothers Caleb and Cody stood in for him in some, and others were reconstructed using computer-generated images.

The “Fast & Furious” fan base likes to think of itself as a family, and nothing put that to the test like Walker’s death. In that spirit, many of the followers of the franchise first fought through the tragedy, then embraced Walker’s legacy and celebrated it, framing their attendance at “Furious 7” as a tribute to the fallen star.

Walker’s friend and costar Diesel and other cast members set the tone in person and on social media, repeatedly citing their “brother,” and making sure that his contributions weren’t forgotten. They rarely passed on tough questions about their loss, and did their best to spin it forward into an homage to his memory.

At the film’s premiere in Hollywood, Diesel gave a tearful speech, saying “This movie is more than a movie … I’m going to tell you, last year it was really tough to come back to work.”

The film’s “One Last Ride” catchphrase can be taken as a tribute to Walker, particularly with the somber and and almost stark black-and-white imagery used in the promo art.

“Furious 7” concludes with a clip montage tribute to Walker, showcasing scenes from earlier films in the series, that had many moviegoers leaving the theater in tears.

SEE ALSO: Fans are uploading the emotional ending to 'Furious 7' online

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NOW WATCH: Cars fall from the sky in the new 'Furious 7' movie

At Facebook’s recent developers conference, CEO Mark Zuckerberg spoke enthusiastically about a virtual reality-filled future. Last year, the company paid $2 billion for VR pioneer Oculus.

While photos are the most frequently shared content on Facebook, Zuckerberg sees Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality content taking the lead down the road.

“When you think about virtual reality, a lot of people first think about gaming. But I actually think video is going to be more engaging in a lot of ways,” Zuckerberg said during his keynote address.

Mike Vorhaus, president of consulting firm Magid Advisors agreed: “I have no doubt this is a killer market. People who play games, watch sports and television in general are all excited about it.”

NBCUniversal’s Michael Scogin was in the audience during  Zuckerberg’s keynote. Scogin, VP of Late Night at NBC Entertainment Digital, has been helping to lead a VR charge at NBC.

For the 40th anniversary of Saturday Night Live, SNL teamed up with filmmaker Chris Milk to capture the event, using custom built VR cameras.

Milk also recently teamed up with Megan Ellison’s Annapurna Pictures to create a VR unit at the film production company.

“So many people watched that show on television,” Scogin said. “We wanted to capture that moment in history in a way that hasn’t been done before. I feel like this is a record of that night that fans of the show will have for years and years to come.”

NBC is not alone. Other content creators are busy experimenting with VR, as tech giants roll out all sorts of hardware offerings. Along with Facebook’s Oculus, companies like Sony, Samsung, Microsoft and Google are all angling for a piece of the nascent market.

On the gaming front, Facebook highlighted “EVE: Valkyrie” during its developers conference. The multiplayer shooter game is meant to make you feel like you’re piloting a spaceship and is being marketed as a featured game for both Facebook’s ‘Oculus Rift’ and Sony’s ‘Project Morpheus’ headset for its PS4 consoles.

How big will the overall market get? This week, advisory firm Digi-Capital forecast VR/AR market could generate a whopping $150 billion in revenue by the year 2020, with much of the VR-related revenue coming from gaming and 3D films.  Industry consultant Mike Vorhaus sees that estimate as being low.

Ultimately, NBCUniversal’s Scogin thinks content will be the key driver of VR hardware sales.  How similar that content ends up being to what we currently see on television and in film is up for debate.

“Now is the time to experiment and figure out what works, what doesn’t, what’s the right format,” Scogin said.

SEE ALSO: See How Strange And Trippy Virtual Reality Was 20 Years Before The Oculus Rift

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NOW WATCH: The Oculus Rift Virtual Reality Headset Will Blow Your Mind

Nicolas Sparks heartthrob … Oscar-nominated character actor … the face that launched a thousand memes. Ryan Gosling can do it all — as long as it’s in front of the camera.

Twenty-two years after his screen debut as a Mouseketeer, though, the “Hey Girl” guy is finally floundering in a role: as the new Nicolas Winding Refn, the Danish auteur who directed Gosling in the stylish but empty “Drive” and the stupid and execrable “Only God Forgives.”

Gosling’s first turn behind the camera owes a mammoth debt to Refn (and a smaller one to David Lynch).

Starring Christina Hendricks, Saoirse Ronan, Matt Smith, Iain De Caestecker and Gosling’s partner Eva Mendes (all wasted here), “Lost River” is little more than Detroit-based ruin porn, an aesthetic exploitation of poverty and hardship punctuated by splashes of neon and blood.

Which isn’t to say that those couldn’t be the ingredients for a great movie. Swap out the neon for patterned silk, give the actors something to do, and you’ve got last year’s luminous “Only Lovers Alive,” one of the best films of Jim Jarmusch’s long and celebrated career. Where Gosling goes wrong is in the priggish bombast.

Instead of Refn and Lynch’s self-contained worlds, he attempts Serious Commentary about the American Dream. But the actor shows no understanding of how poverty works, nor enough interest in his characters to explain how they’ve fallen so far behind or how they feel about where they’ve ended up.

The plot, such as it is, finds Bones (De Caestecker, “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”) pursued by one psychopath while his mother Billy (Hendricks) attempts to evade another.

We never learn why neither character has gainful employment, how mother and son support themselves and Billy’s infant son, or who the father(s) of the two boys are, because the only character detail that matters is that they’re poor.

Bones strips copper wire from abandoned houses and sells it to a local junkyard to make a few bucks here and there, a trespass that makes him the target of a local gangster. Bully (Smith) has a penchant for cutting off the lips of his enemies (and even a friend) with scissors, leaving his victims with nothing to cover their teeth or stop their perpetual drooling. (It’s gross.)

And yet Bones hardly thinks to get the hell out of Dodge, even when Bully starts stalking his best friend Rat (Ronan).

Billy, meanwhile, is pressured into taking a job at her bank lender’s (Ben Mendelsohn) nightclub, a ghoulish haunt where the performers are fake-slaughtered on stage, to save her house from foreclosure.

I’m not sure why Refn (in “Drive”) and Gosling here are so enamored with the idea of mutilating Hendricks’ gorgeous face on screen, but there’s a macabre and hard-to-watch scene in which Billy carves up her own face and peels away the skin. (It’s really gross.) The real money, though, is downstairs, implies club favorite Cat (Mendes), where things get even creepier.

Gosling, who also wrote the screenplay, manages to drum up a sustained mood of dread and suspense throughout the film’s third act through tight editing, a coolly menacing score (by Johnny Jewel, who scored Refn’s “Bronson”), and the already established hyper-violence of the villains. The first-time filmmaker also shows a gift for provocative images, though the symbolism rarely gets subtler than a house on fire or a baby covered in blood.

But the artificial “Lost River” feels like the directorial version of the phony-baloney tough-guy accent Gosling affects from time to time.

The actor has proved he can be just as creatively sadistic as his hero Refn; if Gosling attempts a follow-up, I’d like to see some brains — and not just brain matter — behind the bluster.

SEE ALSO: Ryan Gosling Turned Down The Chance To Be A Backstreet Boy

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A woman in Kuwait claims that the story for Disney’s animated mega-hit “Frozen” was lifted from her book, and she’s not about to let it go.

Author Muneefa Abdullah has filed a copyright infringement suit against Disney and “Frozen” screenwriter Jennifer Lee, claiming that the plot of the film was pinched from “The Snow Princess,” a story included in her book “New Fairy Tales.”

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Michigan on Monday, says that Muneefa “has never licensed or otherwise authorized Defendants to copy, distribute or publicly disseminate ‘New Fairy Tales’ or ‘The Snow Princess,’ or make derivative works based upon them.”

Abdullah alleges that “the key plot elements, characters, themes, events, setting, mood, pace and dialogue in ‘Frozen’ demonstrate substantial similarities to ‘The Snow Princess,’ and that such similarities are of a sort that indicate copying rather than independent creation or coincidence.”

According to the suit, “The Snow Princess” revolves around “a princess who possesses magical ice powers that give her the ability to turn people and objects into ice.” The princess went into hiding after inadvertently awakening an evil dangerous witch with her powers.

“Frozen’s” Princess Elsa, the lawsuit notes, “also has the magical ability to turn people and objects into ice” and accidentally injured her sister with her powers, isolated herself from others as a result.

The suit goes on to cite other alleged similarities, including “a kingdom made of ice and surrounded by mountains, a sibling in search and rescue of the sibling possessing the magical ice powers, a journey up the mountain, snowy guards guarding an icy castle on the mountaintop, the idea that only love is capable of defeating evil, and the selfless sacrifice of oneself for the purpose of saving another from being struck by a sword.”

A spokesperson for Disney has not yet responded to TheWrap‘s request for comment.Alleging four counts of copyright infringement, Abdullah is seeking unspecified damages.

Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.

SEE ALSO: Forget Apple and Google, Disney has already mastered wearable tech

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NOW WATCH: HBO's 'Game of Thrones' got the Iron Throne all wrong

In light of WikiLeaks shocking publication of over 170,000 internal Sony Pictures emails on Tuesday, the studio faces new embarrassment from conversations between Michael Lynton, Amy Pascal, and Scott Rudin over top acting talent, high-stakes financial deals, creative disagreements and executive ties to political and military groups.

The data, which has been indexed as a fully searchable archive onWikiLeaks, was sourced from the devastating cyberattack on the studio in November 2014. The site’s founder, Julian Assange, qualified the publication of the material as showing “the inner workings of an influential multinational corporation. It is newsworthy and at the center of a geo-political conflict … It belongs in the public domain.”

Sony blasted WikiLeaks position, saying they “vehemently disagree with WikiLeaks’ assertion that this material belongs in the public domain and will continue to fight for the safety, security and privacy of our company.”

Here some of the initial findings from WikiLeaks’ Sony Hack archive:

1. RAND Corp. advised Sony on North Korea and “The Interview.”

In June 2014, long before the Sony hack would rock the studio, a North Korean spokesman called “The Interview’ a “wanton act of terror.” The movie’s star Seth Rogen responded to the comments with a tweet, prompting an email from Sony PR chief Charlie Sipkins, saying he “was told not to engage.”

Also Read:WikiLeaks Exposes Bromance Between Sony TV Chief Steve Mosko, Jay Penske: ‘You’re a 10 In My Book!!’

2. Red, White, and Green: Amy Pascal's $66,000 trip to DC.

In October 2014, former cochairman Pascal jetted to Washington for the premiere of David Ayer's “Fury,” starring Brad Pitt and Shia LaBeouf. The two-day excursion totaled out $66,350 for car services, air travel, and suite at the swanky St. Regis hotel.

3. Rooney Mara asks Amy Pascal, is ‘Dragon Tattoo’ sequel ever coming?

Even Rooney Mara is tired of Sony’s maybe, maybe not stance on putting on sequels to their “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” adaptations. “Logic tells me they are not ever happening — as it’s been almost 3 years since it came out,” she acknowledges in an e-mail to Pascal in October 2014. “But I had still been holding out a little bit of hope.”

4. Drew Goddard vs. Daredevil vs. Spider-Man.

Before the May 24, 2014, announcement that show-runner Drew Goddard was dropping out of Netflix’s “Daredevil,” things got difficult and litigious for Marvel, Sony, and Goddard’s team. “It looks like they are giving us no choice but to litigate this matter,” Marvel TV EVP Jeph Loeb wrote in an e-mail in April. In a followup e-mail, Marvel’s Ike Perlmutter forwards the Loeb e-mail to Pascal and adds even more panic: “Since we spoke on Wednesday, the problem we are having with Drew Goddard is getting even worse … We should both be very concerned about this situation.”

Also Read:Netflix Responds to ‘Daredevil’ Backlash With Special Audio Feature for Blind Fans

5. Sony’s wish list of replacements for fired PR chief Charlie Sipkins.

After the studio’s top communications exec exited the company in September, Sony went on the hunt for the next spokesman of their company. High on their wishlist: top executives from rival film companies, Disney’s Paul Roeder (No. 1), Kori Bernards from Universal (No. 5), and WME’s Christian Muirhead (No. 3).

6. David O. Russell abuse and Lynton’s brother-in-law.

In a September 2014 email, journalist and Lynton brother-in-law Jonathan Alter notes to Lynton that “American Hustle” director David O. Russell was abusive on set to the point that Christian Bale needed to intervene. “He grabbed one guy by the collar, cursed out people repeatedly in front of others and … abused Amy Adams,” said Alter. “Just figured you might not always get the Intell (sic) you need if you were considering signing him for another film.”

7. Scott Rudin on Angelina Jolie’s "Cleopatra" preparation: "Kill Me Please."

In December, leaks revealed producer Scott Rudin having harsh words about Angelina Jolie. New e-mails uncovered have reiterated his distaste for the actress turned director. “Kill me please. Immediately,” he said in an e-mail to Pascal in June 2014 when he learned she was studying films of potential directors for a “Cleopatra” film in development.

8. Tom Rothman vs. Harvey Weinstein: festival smackdown.

A May 2014 email shows Tristar chairman Tom Rothman sizing up competitor Harvey Weinstein — in this case over buying the ill-fated “Grace of Monaco.”

“As we battle Harvey and his volume/buy everything strategy, it is worth noting this example for what it really is—a straight re-neg,” Rothman said. “The deal was 5, he will pay 3 [because] he himself tarnished the goods and he knows no one else will take it now. One of the many risks sellers take when they deal with him.”

9. David Fincher thinks Sony has a leak problem.

In an e-mail with the subject line “Well it ain’t ME,” the almost-“Jobs” director puts the blame of the many leaks on the negotiations for that film on the studio. “I had 15 meetings with Rosamund Pike and her DEAL CLOSED before Variety OR The Reporter ever ran a single blurb,” he said. “This is a CONTINUAL PROBLEM WITH SONY.”

Also Read:‘Gone Girl’s’ David Fincher, Ben Affleck, Gillian Flynn Rebooting ‘Strangers on a Train’

10. Amy’s in love with “Aloha”

It’s not all bad news in the data dump. Cameron Crowe’s upcoming “Aloha” is under pressure to perform financially and connect with audiences the way his classics have. Pascal responded strongly to an initial screening, praising Bradley Cooper and demanding a “movie star” edit for Emma Stone.

SEE ALSO: WikiLeaks just published 30,000 documents from the Sony hack

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NOW WATCH: HBO's 'Game of Thrones' got the Iron Throne all wrong

“Star Wars” creator George Lucas faced bitter opposition from neighbors when he tried to expand his Skywalker Ranch studio three years ago.

Now it seems he is striking back.

Lucas plans to build an affordable housing project comprised of 224 homes on his property in Marin County’s picturesque — and pricey — Lucas Valley in Northern California, CBS San Francisco reported Wednesday, making it one of the largest affordable housing projects in the Bay Area.

“We’ve got enough millionaires here. What we need is some houses for regular working people,” Lucas said through his lawyer Gary Giacomini.

The iconic filmmaker will be paying for the project in the community, which is near the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

While it is known for expensive houses and rich residents, more than 21,000 people live below the federal poverty level in Marin County. The overall poverty rate checks in at 8.4 percent, but the rate is 12.8 percent for children in Marin under age six.

In 2012 prior to the sale to Disney, Lucasfilm abandoned long-running plans for a state-of-the-art studio on the ranch after locals complained about noise and traffic, calling the studio “an evil empire.”

“George Lucas said, ‘if I’m not going to do what I wanted to do there, what can I do that would be really beneficial to this community?’” Marin County Supervisor Steve Kinsey told CBS.

SEE ALSO: An explanation for everything you see in the latest 'Star Wars' trailer

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NOW WATCH: The original design of the Millennium Falcon in 'Star Wars' was completely different

Actor Matt Damon has denied reporter Sharon Waxman's claims that he tried to kill her New York Times story about Harvey Weinstein's alleged sexual misconduct in 2004. 

"I would never, ever, ever try to kill a story like that. I just wouldn’t do that. It’s not something I would do, for anybody,"Damon told Deadline regarding Waxman's claims.

Waxman claimed that Damon and actor Russell Crowe spoke to her right before her article detailing allegations against Weinstein and the head of Miramax Italy at the time (Fabrizio Lombardo), was about to publish — and that shortly after their call her article was "gutted."

Damon said Weinstein told him that Waxman was "writing a story about Fabrizio and it’s really negative," and asked him to call Waxman and share what his experiences with Lombardo had been like. The actor said that he "had perfectly professional experiences with Fabrizio," and that he "didn’t mind telling her that." 

Lombardo was in charge of "Weinstein’s women needs," according to an article Waxman wrote for The Wrap about her Times story. Waxman said she even had people on record saying he had organized gatherings with "Russian escorts." 

Damon insisted he didn't know anything about Lombardo's alleged behavior, and that he only ever knew him in a professional capacity. The actor also said he had no knowledge that Weinstein ever sexually harassed anyone, and that he was completely unaware of any allegations against him until now.

"If there was ever an event that I was at and Harvey was doing this kind of thing and I didn’t see it, then I am so deeply sorry, because I would have stopped it. And I will peel my eyes back now, father than I ever have, to look for this type of behavior," Damon said. 

SEE ALSO: 12 famous actors who have publicly praised and thanked Harvey Weinstein, and what they are saying now

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Iggy Azalea has officially postponed her world tour. The Australian rapper’s record company Def Jam Recordings made the announcement Tuesday, one day after TheWrap exclusively reported that the tour was in jeopardy of being pushed back.

“To accommodate for creative team availability and tour productions, it was determined that the tour will not be ready this spring,” a spokesperson from Def Jam Recordings told Billboard. “It’s important to Iggy that she delivers the show she envisaged to share with her fans and that requires more time in development.”

But sources say there is more to the story. The singer is increasingly unresponsive to her management and refuses to engage in promotional activities, multiple individuals with knowledge of the situation told TheWrap.

The Grammy-nominated entertainer has become disengaged from her core team, one individual with knowledge of the situation said, and will not commit to press opportunities crucial in selling the massive effort.

The cancellation has also raised scheduling concerns for up-and-coming R&B singer Tinashe, who is slated as an opening act along with Nick Jonas, according to another insider.

Reps for Iggy’s tour producer AEG Live have not yet responded to TheWrap’s request for comment. Representatives from Sony Music, on behalf of Tinashe, declined to comment on the matter.

A Friday post on the Grammy winner’s Instagram page said, “Until further notice Iggy’s Instagram will be run by management. Iggy is taking a break from social media.”“The Great Escape Tour” has dates set in 24 cities from Brooklyn’s Barclays Center to Los Angeles’ Staples Center, venues that accommodate upwards of 18,000 ticket holders.

Besides openers Jonas and Tinashe, the tour counts among its stars creative director Jamie King, who has staged concerts for Madonna, Jennifer Lopez, Rihanna and Super Bowl halftime spectacles for the likes of Bruno Mars.

“It’s my first arena tour. And I’d like it to not be my last arena tour,” Azalea told the February issue of GQ magazine.

“I want everything to be right … at the moment, I’m just trying to work on the initial stage design and making a stage that I feel like can engage with many people in an arena that big. So I’m doing something maybe not very traditional, and I’m working on that,” she told the long-lead publication.

Tour or not, Azalea has committed to performing at the 2015 iHeartRadio Music Awards alongside acts like Sam Smith, Kelly Clarkson, Jason Aldean, Jamie Foxx and Meghan Trainor.

Watch the music video for "Fancy," which recently celebrated its one year anniversary:

SEE ALSO: Iggy Azalea is fuming on Twitter after Papa John's jokey response to her privacy breach

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To make it in Hollywood, it used to be that actors needed five basic essentials: talent, looks, timing, a winning headshot and a good agent.

But these days, those looking to score big need to add another item to that list, one that could mean the difference between a lucrative acting gig and the unemployment line: a sizable social media following.

“There is no question that today if you have good numbers on social media, you have become a better choice to be cast,” veteran casting director Mike Fenton told TheWrap. “It would behoove actors to generate a social media presence.”

As Facebook, Twitter and Instagram permeate every corner of our lives, their impact is also being felt in Hollywood. When it comes to landing that coveted gig, a social media presence is becoming nearly as important as an on-stage one.

While casting directors insist it’s talent — not an actor’s online popularity — that matters most, they also acknowledge that, increasingly, performers who have a strong social media following are more likely to get hired than those who don’t.

“If it came down to two professional actors, one of whom had great visibility in social media and one who was barely recognizable, we’d go with the one who could get the numbers,” Fenton said.

That built-in audience not only generates considerable buzz, it can directly affect tickets sales and TV tune-in. 

When “Sharknado,” a campy TV movie about a tornado that scoops up giant fish from the ocean and drops them on terrified Angelenos, aired on Syfy in 2013, it whipped social media into a shark-infested frenzy. The movie generated more than 318,000 tweets during its broadcast, clocking in a whirlwind 5,000 tweets per minute at its peak.

It also became the most watched movie in Syfy history at the time.

So it stands to reason that when it came to casting the sequel, producers asked Fenton — whose credits include iconic films like “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and “The Godfather Part II” — to hire social media-savvy talent.

“The thing that the producer was looking for was as many hits on social media as he could possibly get,” Fenton said.

But cultivating a strong following online is an art that requires time, energy and lots of patience.

“Those who are good are those who value their connection with their fans,” said Oliver Luckett, a social media expert and CEO of Los Angeles-based media company, theAudience. “They’re not afraid of telling their story authentically, and genuinely enjoy that relationship.”

Interestingly, it may not necessarily be the biggest stars who attract the largest followings.

Vin Diesel is the reigning king of social media, with a whopping 90 million Facebook followers. “Harry Potter” alum Emma Watson has more than 46 million online fans, and this year’s Oscar host Neil Patrick Harris has an impressive 14 million followers on Twitter alone.

For comparison, Viola Davis, who’s currently starring in one of TV’s biggest hit dramas, “How to Get Away With Murder,” has a modest 157,000 followers on Twitter. 

But it’s the type of fan and their level of engagement that’s the selling point.

Norman Reedus, star of hit AMC series “The Walking Dead,” for example, has “barely” 1.6 million followers on Twitter, but a Reedus retweet can easily fetch tens of thousands of hits. Call it the Norman Reedus Effect.

Josh Peck is another actor with a virtual Midas touch. When the former Nickelodeon star told his 13 million followers he was attending a screening of one of his movies in Orlando, Florida, more than 1,000 people showed up to the event. The film sold out within hours.

“I’m sure Sony was stoked when they heard about that,” Peck told TheWrap. “It’s direct advertising in many ways.”

Having nothing to do between auditions, Peck entertained himself a couple of years ago by posting funny videos on Vine. Within three months, he went from a few thousands followers to an astounding 3 million.

“You’re nurturing a fan base in a way that we’ve never been able to do before,” Peck said. “People are really invested in you and they want you to win.”

The growing need for a social media following has even birthed its own cottage industry.

Luckett’s company, theAudience, helps clients build an online following by creating story lines for their twitter accounts. His team of specialists comes up with ideas and plots specifically tailored to social media, all in an effort to get people to hit that “follow” button.

“We’re now seeing casting decisions being made around influencers,” said Luckett, whose client roster includes Peck. According to Luckett, Peck “went from TV star to Vine star and now he’s in more demand than ever.”

But having a strong social media presence not only helps in getting a job, it can be worth millions.

“If the statement that I hear every day in the media is that the millennial generation is not watching television, then why in the world would I spend $50 million for TV ads?” he said.

Luckett says studios would be better served giving some of their promotional money to the actors, who already have a direct line to their viewers.

Although, Luckett warns, it could be a while before that becomes standard practice.

Last year, actor Kevin Hart tried to negotiate additional money from Sony Pictures — on top of the millions he already received — for promoting his movie, “The Wedding Ringer,” on social media. That didn’t sit well with some Sony execs, one of whom called him a “whore” in an email that was later leaked to the press.

While Hart’s demands sounded greedy to some, to Luckett they make perfect sense.

“Social media presence takes a lot of work. You should be rewarded for that,” he said.

SEE ALSO: This hypercar from "Furious 7" flies between buildings

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“The Jinx” director Andrew Jarecki says the timing of Robert Durst’s arrest had nothing to do with Sunday’s finale, which included an off-camera confession from Durst saying he “killed them all.”

“No, of course not,” Jarecki said on “Good Morning America” on Monday when George Stephanopoulos asked about possible “deals” with police. “A.) We don’t have that kind of power. We’re not in charge of the arrest timing, and we had no idea of the arrest timing.”

“I was on the phone with our main contact in law enforcement at 4 o’clock in the morning two nights before,” Jarecki continued. “And I was saying, ‘I’m uncomfortable, I have security, my family’s uncomfortable, and I feel that this arrest should be made, but I understand that you need to what you need to do. But tell me where we are.’ I didn’t get any color on it.”

Durst, an heir to a New York real estate fortune, was arrested on Saturday in New Orleans on murder charges. He’s being held on a first degree murder warrant out of Los Angeles County for the 2000 death of Durst’s friend, Susan Berman.

Just before Durst made the apparent confession in the bathroom, where a microphone caught him talking to himself, Jarecki showed Durst a never-before-seen letter discovered by Berman’s stepson, Sareb Kaufman.

Kaufman said the letter, which he believes Durst sent to Berman a year before her death, carried similarities to an anonymous note sent to police the day Berman died, a letter authorities say only Berman’s killer could have written.

Durst has denied killing Berman, but police have long believed he had a motive, allegedly wanting to silence her about the 1982 disappearance of his wife, Kathleen — another alleged crime he has long been suspected of but never been charged.

Durst’s lawyer, Chip Lewis, told Fox News’ personality Judge Jeanine Pirro on Sunday that he was “underwhelmed” by the audio of his client saying, “What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course.”

“My over-arching thoughts are I was a bit underwhelmed, given the lead up and the build up to this new development,” Lewis said. “Your honesty would lead you to say things under your breath you probably didn’t mean.”

Durst was also charged in the 2001 shooting death and dismemberment of Morris Black — Durst’s neighbor in Galveston, Texas — but he claimed self-defense and was later acquitted.

“The Jinx” led the Los Angeles district attorney to re-open the investigation into Berman’s death last week.

HBO said in a statement, “We simply cannot say enough about the brilliant job that Andrew Jarecki and Marc Smerling did in producing ‘The Jinx.’ Years in the making, their thorough research and dogged reporting reignited interest in Robert Durst’s story with the public and law enforcement.”

Watch Andrew Jarecki's interview below:

SEE ALSO: Infamous NYC real estate heir says he 'killed them all' on HBO finale of 'The Jinx'

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“Empire” now officially tops another chart — the Billboard 200.

The soundtrack to the Fox hip-hop soap opera beat out Madonna‘s “Rebel Heart” to claim the No. 1 slot on the industry’s main album sales chart, according to Billboard.

In doing so, “Empire” becomes the first TV series since fellow Fox show “Glee” to sit on that impressive pedestal. The “Glee” soundtrack was full of covers, however, while “Empire’s” has original tunes.

As TheWrap reported last week, the “Empire” album was tracking to sell about 125,000 units in its first week, the same as Madonna and above Luke Bryan‘s “Spring Break … Checkin’ Out.”

At the time, while Building Charts placed the officially named “Original Soundtrack From Season 1 of Empire” in third, the theory was that a buzzy Wednesday penultimate Season 1 episode would boost the music sales. Evidently, that happened.

“Empire” bested all comers with 130,000 equivalent album units earned (traditional album sales, track equivalent albums and streaming equivalent albums) in the week ending March 15, according to Nielsen Music. Meanwhile, Madonna‘s “Rebel Heart” moved 121,000 units.

Per iTunes, “Conquerer” featuring Estelle and Jussie Smollett and “You’re So Beautiful” by Smollett and Yazz are currently the most popular individual songs purchased from the “Empire” soundtrack.

“Drip Drop” by Yazz and Serayah McNeill is battling Smollett’s “Good Enough” for third-best. 

In addition to now (temporarily) dominating music, “Empire” has been crushing traditional television ratings.

Last week, the Lee Daniels‘ drama scored 14.7 million total viewers, according to Live Same Day Nielsen numbers — representing its ninth week of upward eyeball growth.

In the advertiser-sought 18-49 demographic, “Empire” earned a 5.6 fast national rating, slipping one-tenth of a point from the prior week’s series high per the preliminary metric.

Listen to one of the songs here:

SEE ALSO: Madonna premieres music video on Snapchat

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Justin Bieber has just found himself in another legal entanglement — this time with an anti-Semitic twist.

The "Never Say Never" singer is being sued by his former neighbor and egging victim who claims emotional distress because, among other things, Bieber's bodyguards allegedly called him a "little Jew boy."

In the suit, Jeffrey Schwartz — who was Bieber's neighbor in Calabasas, California — says Bieber and his entourage ran amok in the neighborhood — holding noisy bashes, spitting in Schwartz's face, and cursing at his wife and child.

The suit alleges that, during one incident, Bieber was "speeding around the neighborhood in his Ferrari."

When Schwartz walked over to "ask him to stop putting their kids' lives in danger with his reckless antics," the complaint claims, Bieber's bodyguards called Schwartz a "little Jew boy" and taunted him repeatedly by asking, "What are you going to do about it, Jew boy?"

Schwartz also claims Bieber threatened to "f—ing kill" him at one point while living next to him.

"Plaintiff and their [sic] family were repeatedly and frequently harassed and intimidated and their safety threatened … by Mr. Bieber, his employees, agents and associates," according to the lawsuit, which notes that Schwartz "is 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighs approximately 140 pounds."

Followers of Bieber's various misdeeds will recall that, in September, the singer struck a deal with prosecutors to avoid jail time in the egging incident. 

Bieber, who pleaded no contest to a charge of misdemeanor vandalism, avoided jail time but was sentenced to two years formal probation, community labor, and anger-management classes.

He was also ordered to pay $89,000 in restitution for the damage caused by the January 2014 egging incident.

Claiming assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and trespass, Schwartz and his wife, Suzanne, are seeking unspecified damages.

A representative for Bieber did not immediately respond to TheWrap's request for comment.

Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.

SEE ALSO: The most brutal jokes from the Comedy Central roast of Justin Bieber

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The hit 1990 romantic comedy “Pretty Woman” was originally written as a tragedy, according to the film’s stars and director, who reunited for an interview to celebrate its 25th anniversary on Tuesday.

Julia Roberts (Vivian), Richard Gere (Edward), Laura San Giacomo (Kit), Hector Elizondo (Barney) and director Garry Marshall appeared on “The Today Show” on which Matt Lauer asked them for their favorite memories regarding the film.

They revealed that the film originally was a cautionary tale with a much darker tone, in which Vivian was a drug addict who was eventually discarded by Edward.

“Richard’s character threw my character out of the car, threw the money on top of her and drove away and the credits rolled,” Roberts said.

After the film was picked up by Disney and Marshall came on board, however, it was re-worked into the modern day Cinderella story that made it famous.

Roberts was cast first, but Gere revealed he was hesitant to take the part of Edward, fearing that the character lacked depth.

“Well, there wasn’t a part. There was just nothing,” Gere said. “The joke was it was a suit. You could put a suit on a goat and put it out there, and it would work.”

Gere changed his mind after meeting Roberts, with whom everyone agreed he had instant chemistry. The two met in Marshall’s office. When Marshall called to see how things were going, Gere picked up the phone. While talking to Marshall, Roberts slid a post-it across the desk that read “Please do it!” Gere said yes on the spot.

The film is responsible for launching 21-year-old Julia Roberts to super stardom, and its popularity hasn’t waned, even after a quarter century.

Gere, with whom Roberts reunited nearly 10 years later for “Runaway Bride,” said that he gets recognized for the film to this day, even in some of the most remote corners of the world.

“It was in Borneo. They’ve got bones in their ears. I’d taken a missionary flight. I’m in the middle of nowhere, and they put me in this boat and they take me down to the longhouse. We pull up on shore and they start going ‘Pretty Woman’, man! ‘Pretty Woman’, man!'”

Watch the video below or click here. 

SEE ALSO: The original ending to 'Interstellar' was much more depressing

MORE: Richard Gere Claims His Character In 'Pretty Woman' Contributed To The Financial Crisis

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Bill O’Reilly was the interviewee rather than interviewer on Tuesday when he visited David Letterman on CBS’s the “Late Show” Tuesday and was quizzed about Brian Williams‘ fabricated story controversy.

“We have a sport in the United States called ‘lets destroy the famous person,’ and that’s what happened to him,” the Fox News Channel anchor told Letterman.

“I think the NBC should bring him back. I think they will bring him back.”

The late-night host then compared Williams’ six-month suspension from NBC News for exaggerating a story of being on a helicopter shot down by RPG fire in Iraq in 2003 to criticism of O’Reilly’s 1982 Falklands War claims.

Also Read: Amid Bill O’Reilly Controversy, Fox News Tops All of Cable Primetime Last Week
“When this came out, people said that Bill O’Reilly himself might have said things that were exaggerated and untruths and they had to go back 30 years … 38 years to the Falklands War,” Letterman said. “Was there a difference?”

“Only if I did something that wasn’t true, and what I did was accurate so we had a controversy there,” O’Reilly said. “I put forth what my side was, and they put forth what their side was, and folks decided. And it worked out OK for me — I got even more viewers,” he said, revealing that ratings went “20 percent up.”

When asked if he ever fibbed on the air, he replied: “What I do is analysis, so it never comes down to that.”

“Trust is the residue of both positions,” Letterman said, comparing the two anchors. “So people must trust you to the same degree that they trust Brian Williams.”

“I’ve been on the air for 19 seasons now, 15 years at number one, our ratings are now as high as they have ever been — so I think they do trust me,” he said.

“The Late Show With David Letterman” airs nightly on CBS at 11.35 p.m.

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The arrest of eccentric billionaire Robert Durst following the airing of an HBO documentary series about his connection to murders and missing persons may be shocking, but it’s hardly the first time legal scrutiny has been ignited by the forces of popular media.

In these seven instances, publicity surrounding pop culture phenomena — from serious documentary features to reality series and even stand-up comedy — led to real-life action that changed the lives of the subjects.

Check out the crazy cases here >

SEE ALSO: HBO filmmakers cancel all press; could be key witnesses against alleged murderer Robert Durst

Podcast "Serial" helped Adnan Syed win the right to appeal his conviction in February.

The groundbreaking 2014 podcast “Serial” attempted to solve the mystery of who killed Hae Min Lee, an 18-year-old high school student who was found strangled to death in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1999.

Lee’s ex-boyfriend and fellow student Adnan Syed was convicted of her murder and has been serving a life sentence, but the podcast reexamines evidence that suggests Syed might not have been responsible — or at the very least, that legal proceedings at the time were flawed.

As part of her research, “Serial” host Sarah Koenig interviewed Deirdre Enright, head of the Innocence Project at the University of Virginia law school. Enright decided of her own accord to take up Syed’s case, and in December 2014, the Innocence Project began the process of filing a motion to examine DNA evidence.

Syed also won the right to appeal his conviction in February based on his lawyer’s failure to utilize a letter potentially confirming an alibi — a key piece of evidence Koenig brought up in her discussions with Syed during the course of recording “Serial.”

TLC's "Sister Wives" launched an investigation into the family on possible charges of bigamy.

Like Durst, the family at the center of TLC’s “Sister Wives” put its potential guilt of a crime front and center in a nationally televised docuseries.

Kody Brown was in a polygamous relationship with three women when the series began in 2010 and married another during the course of the first season. 

Police in their hometown of Lehi, Utah, launched an investigation into the family on possible charges of bigamy the day after the series premiered. Footage from “Sister Wives,” which depicted the marriage ceremony between Brown and newest wife Robyn Sullivan, was used as evidence.

Brown objected to the investigation, arguing that he was only legally married to his first wife, Meri. But in Utah, bigamy — a third-degree felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison for the man and five years for each wife — could also be defined by cohabitation. Brown shared a single massive house with wives Meri, Janelle and Christine and their 13 children, all documented in detail on TLC.

Fearing persecution and prosecution, the family fled to Las Vegas, deeming Nevada a more “polygamy-friendly” state. Utah’s criminal case was ultimately dropped, but Kody Brown won a federal lawsuit challenging Utah’s anti-bigamy statutes on the basis of cohabitation. The state’s appeal is currently pending in the federal court system. 

"The Central Park Five" were awarded $41 million after a documentary revealed all.

In 1989, four black and one Hispanic teenagers were accused of the violent rape of a young white jogger in Central Park.

Despite a lack of physical evidence tying those boys to the case, they were all convicted of charges ranging from rape to assault and attempted murder. 

The Central Park Five, as they came to be known, sued the city of New York for malicious prosecution and racial discrimination in 2003 after their convictions were vacated when DNA evidence exonerated them.

The suit remained tied up in the courts for nearly a decade when Sarah Burns, daughter of legendary documentarian Ken Burns, made a film about the case. “The Central Park Five” premiered at Cannes in 2012, and the filmmakers became advocates for the five men, pushing New York to settle the lawsuit.

Ken Burns said in a 2013 interview that then mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio would settle the case were he to win that year’s election, and on Sept. 4, 2014, the Central Park Five were awarded $41 million. 

Zayn Malik has opened up about his split with One Direction, whichshocked fans around the world earlier this week. But there’s good news: He’s not done with music.

In an interview published in Friday’s edition of U.K. publication The Sun, Malik said his immediate plans are “to write and relax and chill.”

While fans like “devastated” Boston Mayor Marty Walsh are having a hard time grasping a 1D without Malik, he says he’s “never felt more in control” in his life, and is already working on new music with producer Naughty Boy. According to the Sun, he’s experimenting with new sounds, including rapping. 

Also Read: One Direction’s Liam Payne: ‘It’s OK to Be Sad’ About Zayn Malik’s Exit 

“I feel like I’m doing what’s right, and right by myself and right by the boys, so I feel good,” Malik said in the interview, in which he also denies tension between him and the other four members of the chart-topping boy band.

“My band has been really supportive. They’ve been really cool about it. And they understand that, you know, it’s not real to me anymore,” Malik said. “They still want to do it for a while, so they’re going to carry on doing what they want to do. And I think they’re doing to do OK for a while. I think they’re going to be cool.” 

Also Read: Zayn Malik’s One Direction Departure Boosts Band’s Spotify Streams Over 700 Percent 

The fans, Malik says, are what kept him going, despite being unhappy in the group.

“I did try to do something that I wasn’t happy doing for a while, for the sake of maybe other people’s happiness—and that was mainly the fans,” Malik said. And I only ever tried to do it for the fans, and it was only ever for them. And, basically, I’m only upset I feel like I may have let them down in some sort of way. That’s the main thing that I don’t want to happen.”

For those hoping Malik will give One Direction one more shot in the future, here’s what he had to say: “I don’t think I can really answer that, really, but, I don’t know.”

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