kate upton might star in the ‘harry potter’ spin-off movie

Photo by Rommel Demano/Getty Images for The Daily Front Row

Gather around, Muggles! There’s another Harry Potter movie in the works and casting rumors are a-flying.

J.K. Rowling has officially finished the script for the film adaptation of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The book was originally a textbook Harry studied in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone about, well, magical creatures. Eddie Redmayne is reportedly set star as Newt Scamander, a magizoologist and author, and Kate Upton is rumored to be up for a leading role.

Now, Upton’s no stranger to being in front of the camera, but Hollywood is a far cry from the glossy world of fashion editorials. Fans as devout as Harry Potter’s will likely have many things to say about who gets cast, but we’ve got faith in Upton: She’s been gone for a minute and something as wonderful as Harry Potter could be amazing for her.

But what about all the British people? Well, this here story takes place in New York. So, expect less accents and more, uh, aggression. Good thing most wizards and witches wear black.

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Everything You Know About Boys and Video Games Is Wrong

Here's what they really think about how women are portrayed on screen

Kids are fed up with Kate Upton.

When the ads for Game of War started showing up on my students’ phones last year—they haven’t stopped—many were annoyed. They hated that it was impossible to close the ad, forcing them instead to watch the video until the end. But what really irritated them was Ms. Upton, in a full-cleavage-baring white flowing dress. The ads are clearly effective for some, but the message is obvious: Game of War is a boys’ game, and Upton is the game’s mascot, walking through battles totally unscathed and doing nothing except looking pretty.

Action games with big battles like Game of War are incredibly exciting to kids. And kids I’ve worked with, both male and female, will put up with a lot to play exciting games. But it doesn’t mean they like the way women are portrayed. Yet the video game industry seems to base much of its game and character design on a few assumptions, among them that girls don’t play big action games, boys won’t play games with strong female characters, and male players like the sexual objectification of female characters.

You can guess what the results are: a gaming landscape that thrusts a hyper-sexualized depiction of women onto the phone, computer and TV screens of millions of boys and girls.

MORE What Boys Really Want

The issue of sexism in video games, long simmering, is sure to bubble up again during the Comic-Con convention this weekend in San Diego. (47% of attendees are expected to be women.) In collaboration with my colleagues, Charlie Kuhn and gaming expert Ashly Burch, we surveyed more than 1,400 middle and high school students from throughout the country last year. We asked them to tell us what they thought about gender representation in games, what games girls play, and more. Our survey was exploratory—we didn’t have the resources to conduct a thorough evaluation—but we believed it was an important issue to study and hope others will follow.

Here are three things we found that may surprise.

Boys believe female characters are treated too often as sex objects

47% of middle school boys agreed or strongly agreed, and 61% of high school boys agreed or strongly agreed. “If women are objectified like this it defeats the entire purpose of fighting,” Theo, an eighth-grader who loves playing Mortal Kombat, told us. “I would respect the [female] character more for having some dignity.”

Both boys and girls aren’t more likely to play a game based on the gender of the protagonist

70% of girls said it doesn’t matter and 78% of boys said it doesn’t matter. Interestingly, boys care less about playing as a male character as they age and girls care more about playing as a female one.

Girls play a variety of game genres

26% played first-person shooter games like Call of Duty and HALO, 36% played role-playing games like Skyrim and Grand Theft Auto, and 17% played sports games like FIFA and Madden. (19% did not play games, compared to 3% of boys.)

We also asked kids if they identified as “gamers.” Especially in light of the “Gamergate” controversy that erupted last year and revealed intense sexism among some self-identified gamers, would the young people who identified as gamers share any of these sentiments? But very few of our respondents knew what Gamergate was and they had very different responses from what one may expect: 55% of boys who identify as gamers think there should be more female heroes in games, and 57% believe that female characters are too often treated as sex objects.

This all matters because gaming has become an important part of our culture, and it’s sending the wrong message onto our boys’ and girls’ sceens. Our kids deserve better. And it’s what they want.

Rosalind Wiseman is the author of Masterminds and Wingmen (Harmony Books, 2013) as well as Queen Bees and Wannabes (Harmony Books, 2002)

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Mariah Carey is replacing Kate Upton as the new public face of Game of War: Fire Age

Mariah Carey — pop icon, imperfect angel, elusive chanteuse — is replacing model Kate Upton as the public face of Game of War: Fire Age, according to TMZ. Carey's commitment includes a seven-figure pay check; a 30-second commercial filmed by Alan Taylor, the director of Thor: The Dark World and the upcoming Terminator Genisys; and the use of her music in future promotional material.

Upton was the centerpiece of a $40 million advertising campaign launched by the mobile strategy game's developer, Machine Zone, and she made her way into the game itself as the model for its de facto mascot, the goddess Athena. The sheer size of the game's ad budget is dumbfounding at first glance, but it's justified by its status as one of the highest-grossing apps across several platforms. A Bloomberg Business feature published in March noted Game of War: Fire Age hauls in more than $1 million in revenue every day. That's the kind of tremendous cash flow that convinces one of the most successful vocalists in musical history to serve as pitch-woman for a free-to-play fantasy builder on smartphones around the world. Carey's trafficked in "fantasy" before, of course, but never quite like this.

CAREY'S TRAFFICKED IN "FANTASY" BEFORE, OF COURSE, BUT NEVER QUITE LIKE THIS

Her decision to sign on with Game of War: Fire Age comes at a point in her career where she's having more trouble than ever achieving the level of dominance she made look easy 20 years ago. Recent releases like last year's strong LP Me. I Am Mariah... The Elusive Chanteuse and compilation promo single "Infinity" have failed to impact the charts in any significant way, and Carey's been forced to turn to unorthodox gimmickry — partnerships with Match.com, an ongoing stint at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas — to grab headlines.

If her work with Game of War: Fire Age is as widely and relentlessly aired as Upton's, it could grant her a level of visibility she hasn't enjoyed for a long time. And she's no stranger to playing a character: she's brought self-awareness and good humor to decadent, demanding diva-hood for well over a decade. I can't help but wonder which of her hits is going to end up being used to promote the game. Maybe she can take a cue from Upton's infamous tagline — "Will you be my hero?" — and find something fitting in her back catalog.

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Kate Upton, “Cool Girl”: How the supermodel conquered Hollywood

Model Kate Upton attends the 2013 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue launch party at Crimson on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013 in New York.(Photo by Brad Barket/Invision/AP) (Credit: Brad Barket)

Kate Upton’s making her film debut this Friday in “The Other Woman” — that is, if you don’t consider “Cat Daddy” a work of cinematic art.

Before Upton rose to such professional heights that she could sell a movie simply by bouncing in slow-motion during promos, she was a reasonably well-known swimsuit model dancing provocatively in a video shot by Terry Richardson. (That’s here, though for the narrow slice of humanity that has not yet seen it: be advised it’s not safe for every workplace.) Upton had heretofore been a model for Guess and the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue — the YouTube clip of her gyrating “Cat Daddy” dance catapulted her to icon status. But the supermodel is considerably more trailblazing than she might seem.

The media has long been obsessed with the idea that Upton is somehow an “unconventional” beauty. The 2013 cover story about her in Vogue began with a set-piece of the model at the gym trying to lose weight, and described her as “curvaceous.” All this is to say that her physical appeal seems to be in line with a male fantasy of what beauty is, rather than the ideals of a fashion-magazine editor.

But Upton isn’t just famous for her appearance. She’s famous for projecting a particular kind of emotional and physical openness. She’s good-humored, amiable and transparent. In the Vogue profile she happily shares her workout regimen; the “Cat Daddy” video makes her seem at once free-spirited and coy.

She’s a perfect encapsulation of that overused trope: the “Cool Girl,” taken from Gillian Flynn’s bestselling thriller “Gone Girl.” In the book, Amy, striving so desperately to be a “Cool Girl,” rants about the particular sort of girl guys love, one who, memorably, never “wants ‘just one’ of your chili fries, because she orders a giant order for herself.” The appellation has recently found itself attached to Jennifer Lawrence, for her breezy navigation of superstardom. But the specific way Upton embodies her “cool-girlness” marks an important difference.

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Kate Upton’s Million Dollar Video Game Payday

Game of War: Fire Age via YouTube

GAMING

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• By Peter Kafka
• @pkafka
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• ETHICS

August 23, 2015, 10:30 AM PD

Remember that video game ad you saw during the Super Bowl, starring Kate Upton?

She got a million dollars for that.

So says the game CEO who hired her for the ad campaign — at least, according to another game executive he is suing.

Confused? Fair enough. First, the backstory:

The report about Upton’s payday comes out of a suit filed by Machine Zone, the company behind the megahit Game of War: Fire Age, against rival game company Kabam for “trade secret misappropriation.” In the suit, Machine Zone says Kabam “has obtained access to a document containing its highly confidential, valuable trade secret information”; Kabam says it has never seen the document.

The dispute appears to have stemmed from an argument at an industry cocktail party this month between Machine Zone CEO Gabriel Leydon and Daniel Wiggins, a Kabam biz dev exec. According to Wiggins, he ended up in a “very heated exchange” about the merits of the two companies with Leydon, and made a “false boast” to Leydon that he had seen Machine Zone’s financials.

“The fact is that I had had a few drinks, and was just angry that Mr. Leydon was being so unreasonably aggressive about Machine Zone and felt that someone should put him in his place,” Wiggins said in a statement filed with a California state court.

Fine. But what about Kate Upton?

Okay. That was part of the run-up to the dispute. As the two men were arguing, Wiggins says, Leydon attacked Kabam’s strategy of cutting licensing deals with big movie studios like Marvel, to create games like Contest of Champions. Instead, he said, Machine Zone develops its own characters and themes. And when it does pay talent, it gets it (comparatively) cheap.

Per Wiggins: “Mr. Leydon also bragged that unlike Kabam, [which] paid a considerable amount of money as an ongoing royalty for the talent and works that they license, Machine Zone had only paid about one million dollars to obtain the rights to use Kate Upton’s likeness. (Kate Upton, for the Court’s benefit, is a supermodel who may be best known for appearing in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue). In light of the relatively limited money Machine Zone had paid Ms. Upton, Mr. Leydon was bragging that the rights obtained from Kate Upton were hugely profitable for Machine Zone. He also emphasized that the limited relationship between Machine Zone and Ms. Upton did not require Machine Zone’s continued payment of royalties to Ms. Upton.”

Is any of that true? It seems quite believable, but Machine Zone isn’t commenting on their deal with Upton. It did offer this statement regarding its suit against Kabam: “Machine Zone is a quiet company that prefers to focus on our own business, but we are forced into this lawsuit because an executive at Kabam claimed directly to our CEO in front of several witnesses to have obtained Machine Zone’s confidential financial information and internal documents. Given that Kabam’s current defense is that their executive was lying, we are even more certain this action is necessary.”

And here’s Kabam’s response, via spokesman Steve Swasey:

“This entire situation is borne out of bad judgment by a mid-level Kabam employee and the ludicrous reaction by the CEO of a competitor, at a cocktail party with beverages in hand. The Kabam employee was baited and fabricated a tale about seeing a document to try to win an argument. That was stupid. But the CEO’s reaction is even more incredulous. In fact, neither the Kabam employee nor anyone at Kabam has seen the document as alleged. If such a document even exits. Forensic experts have searched the employee’s computers and phone and have found nothing.

The court has denied the competitor’s two temporary restraining orders (TROs). 0-for-2 on TROs shows there is no merit to this case. In fact, the case is preposterous.

This whole situation is like an episode of HBO’s brilliant satire “Silicon Valley,” in which a mid-level employee of one company tries to one-up the CEO of a competitor by fabricating a story. Immature Silicon Valley posturing, bragging and machismo at an industry cocktail party. HBO script writers couldn’t write it better. It would be hilarious if it weren’t true. Regrettably, it’s happening, and it’s embarrassing to all.”

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The ultimate pin-up! Kate Upton stars in stunning calendar shoot for the first issue of CR Men's Book as editor Carine Roitfeld hails her as the 'Marilyn of today

Kate Upton is often labeled as a modern-day Marilyn Monroe, thanks to her enviable curves, bouncy blonde locks and classically beautiful features. 

And now, the 23-year-old actress is once again channeling her inner Marilyn as she stars in a stunning calendar-style shoot for the first ever issue of former Vogue Editor Carine Roitfeld's newest project, CR Men's Book. 

'Kate has always been everything I love,' Carine, 60, explained on the CR Fashion Book website. 

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Pin-up: Kate Upton stars in this calendar-style shoot for the first ever issue of CR Men's Book

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The combination of Kate Upton and Carine Roitfeld is a match made in fashion heaven!

The editor of CR Men's Book has hailed the model as the Marilyn Monroe of today, and she's definitely got that blonde bombshell thing going on here. We love her layered look of a lace-trimmed camisole and two shirts. One just wasn't enough!

Check out the neutral shade and silk texture of this Gucci shirt, which you can buy now by clicking the link (right). Guaranteed to add a touch of luxe to your wardrobe, a silk shirt is one of those things - like a little black dress or timeless trench coat - that you just have to invest it. Tuck yours into a pencil skirt by day for that sexy secretary look, or style it like Gucci recommends with a necktie to channel serious Seventies vibes.

But if £565 was a little more than you wanted to spend, we've sourced the best options out there for you in the edit below. This Hobbs shirt is super chic!

'She is the opposite of me - a Marilyn of today. For my new CR Men's Book, she represents different types of beauty and the sexual fantasies of all men.'

An article posted on the CR Men's Book website about Kate's shoot further explains why the actress and model was chosen to star in the debut publication, describing the blonde bombshell as a 'strong woman' whose looks and personality, Carine believes, will resonate with all of the magazine's readers.  

'For more than one reason, it's only fitting for supermodel Kate Upton to be cast for the first issue of our CR Men's Book,' the article reads. 

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Kate Upton And Boyfriend Justin Verlander Undertake Dangerous Stunt

Model Kate Upton arrives at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala Benefit celebrating the opening of "Charles James: Beyond Fashion" in New York May 5, 2014. Reuters/Carlo Allegri

We have all seen the sensuous side of famous bikini model Kate Upton but not many people know that she is a dare devil at heart. The Sports Illustrated model and her boyfriend Justin Verlander unraveled their adventurous side recently when they decided to walk along the edge of Toronto' famous CN tower.

For their dangerous stunt, Upton and her baseball player boyfriend slipped into bright, orange-colored jumpsuits, safety harnesses and climbed to CN Tower observation deck in Toronto. The tower is at the height of 1,168 feet and is used for sky walking. The "extreme urban adventure" that the couple undertook is called Edgewalk.

Upton and her Detroit Tigers pitcher beau did not look nervous or scared in the pictures from the stunt that she shared on her Instagram profile. The couple is all smiles as they are suspended from their harnesses at an extreme height.

Meanwhile, Verlander's team Detroit Tigers lost their recent match at Rogers Centre ballpark in Canada. Jeff Moss, a blogger with Detroit Sports Rag took at dig at Verlander's recent loss on Twitter. “These pics are much more palatable when JV is pitching the like old JV,” Moss tweeted, referring to Verlander's recent stunt pictures with Upton.

Verlander's girlfriend however cheered for him on Twitter with an inspiring message. “@JustinVerlander is so inspiring working so hard at the game he loves to playIm so grateful I get to be around his amazing energy! ‪#GoJV,” Upton said in a tweet, before the match.

Upton, 21, might be good at extreme adventures like sky walking, but she is known in the modeling world for her sensuous looks and voluptuous figure. Because of her famous twin assets, Upton is often called a “blonde bombshell.” In her recent interview with Details magazine, the bikini model said that she is, in fact, quite comfortable with the bombshell tag.

“It’s where I’ve started and it’s what I’ve accomplished, so I’m happy about it,” the Sports Illustrated model said.

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