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5 minute read
Nick Carbone; Lily Rothman; Kelly Conniff; Kate Witteman

EMMY EDITION

GOOD WEEK/BAD WEEK

Netflix

The online video provider scored 14 nominations, mostly for House of Cards

Network TV

Got trumped by cable networks, which snagged the bulk of nominations in major categories

JUSTICE LEAGUE

Holy Face-Off, Batman!

Superman and Batman always headlined separate films–until now. Man of Steel’s Zack Snyder will direct a 2015 release pitting the superheroes against each other. No word yet on who will play Batman, but profits will likely soar up, up and away.

EASY COME, EASY GO

$92,233,720,368,547,800

Amount a Pennsylvania man found in his PayPal account after receiving an e-mail about his balance, an error the e-commerce site quickly corrected; the accidental quadrillionaire–that’s 17 digits–said he would have used the cash to pay down the national debt and buy the Phillies, but only if he “could get a great price”

YOU WANT FRIES WITH THAT?

About 5,000 people who must never have heard that rule about not playing with your food took part on July 20 in an organized tomato battle–sort of like a snowball fight, only messier–at a park in Brooklyn. Participants paid $50 each to pelt one another with roughly 100,000 overripe tomatoes that would otherwise have been thrown away–just not at somebody’s head. To soften the blows, players were required to squash the tomatoes in hand before hurling them at other pulp-spattered combatants.

TRENDING

@pontifex

Tech-savvy Catholics will spend less time in purgatory–or so says Pope Francis. The Pontiff has decreed that people who follow the events of World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro via the Vatican’s Twitter feed can get indulgences, which Catholics believe reduce time spent atoning for sins in the afterlife.

QUICK TALK

Robin Thicke

His “Blurred Lines” has ruled the Billboard Hot 100 all summer. Now Thicke, 36, is dropping Blurred Lines the album on July 30. Here, the R&B crooner–and son of Growing Pains actor Alan Thicke–chats with TIME.

–LILY ROTHMAN

There are a lot of buzzed-about moments in the “Blurred Lines” video–the half-naked-model dance, the balloon message about your manhood, etc. Did you argue over who would do what?

We all followed [the director’s] lead. She would just yell out, “Sausages! Grab the sausages!

Robin!” What was your favorite moment on set?

Definitely Pharrell [Williams] holding the lamb. I don’t think he’s held a lot of farm animals.

People have criticized the song’s lyrics–like “You’re a good girl/ I know you want it”–for being “rape-y.” How do you respond to that?

Art is supposed to make us talk about what’s going on in the world and where we are as men and women and all those kinds of things. I don’t mind having that conversation.

What’s your take on saying the word hashtag–yea or nay?

Right now it’s pretty funny. It’ll go away quickly.

It’ll get #old?

Yeah, it’ll get #used.

You co-wrote a song with your dad. What was that like?

My dad has always been one of my best friends and Mr. Cool.

It’s impressive that you guys rhymed obstreperous with “a cost to us.”

That’s obviously my father. That’s someone with a college degree.

How are you gonna top the “Blurred Lines” video?

I have no idea.

TEEN FLICK

Surf: Up

Looks as if it’s safe to go back into the water, after all. Even though Syfy’s Sharknado had social-media buzz, it was Disney Channel’s Teen Beach Movie that clocked 8.4 million viewers for its original broadcast. That number means the homage to the surfside cinematic froth of the ’60s–about modern teens trapped in a Gidget-style movie world–is the most-watched made-for-TV movie of the year so far. Tube-ular!

BEST FACE FORWARD

The Freakiest Facials Money Can Buy

The beauty world was abuzz when Tokyo salon Ci:z.Labo announced it was offering the first facial treatment to use live snails. Placed on the client’s face, they crawl around and secrete slime, which is thought to reduce inflammation and promote moisture. Here are some other unlikely skin-care rituals:

GOLD

The glitzy metal is used as a mask in some facials because it may help rejuvenate cell structure in the skin.

NIGHTINGALE DROPPINGS

Long hailed as the secret to beautiful skin by geishas and Kabuki actors, the Japanese uguisu no fun, or bird poop, is often made into a powder and applied to the face.

BEER

Marketed mainly for men, the beer facial is said to promote skin elasticity.

CAVIAR

An extravagant topping for any occasion, caviar pearls are used by some spas because they are thought to leave the skin firmer.

CHOCOLATE

Cacao, one of the main components of chocolate, is said to be high in antioxidants. Coating the face in this tasty substance may rid it of toxins.

SILENCE SCREAMS

For more than a decade, Iranian photographer Newsha Tavakolian has examined the tumultuous and vexing life of her country as both a news photographer and an artist. As part of her project “Listen” (including Untitled, left), she made images of female Iranian singers, including impossible CD covers–impossible because Iranian women aren’t allowed to sing solo or record music. Her work is at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art through Dec. 15.

3 THINGS YOU DON’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THIS WEEK

1. Which toy you’ll get with your chalupa.

Taco Bell announced it would phase out its slow-selling kids’ meals to focus on more “inventive” menu items.

2. Whether anyone will support a Spike Lee Kickstarter drive.

Just one day after the filmmaker turned to crowdfunding to finance his next project, fellow director Steven Soderbergh pledged $10,000 to the cause.

3. One Direction’s healthy ego.

The title of the pop group’s new single? “Best Song Ever.”

FOR RICHARD CORLISS’S REVIEW OF THE WOLVERINE AND TIME’S COMPLETE FILM COVERAGE, VISIT time.com/movies

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