Latest news with #TheMatrix
Buzz Feed
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
Actors Who Lost Massive Paychecks By Turning Down Iconic Movie Roles
Hollywood is an unpredictable place; even with the right script and the perfect director, it can be hard to tell which movies will smash the box office and which will be total flops. And so, here are a bunch of actors who, if they could, would probably go back in time and say yes to some very lucrative movie roles they wound up turning down. Sean Connery - The Lord of the Rings If James Bond wasn't enough, Sean Connery nearly found himself at the center of another beloved movie franchise — this time, playing Gandalf in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy. Studio executive Mark Ordesky said in 2021 that Sean was offered the part of Gandalf (which eventually went to Ian McKellen) but "said no," because "he read the material and just didn't get it." To make matters more painful, a previous report claimed that the late 007 actor was offered 15% of the franchise's box office gross, too... which would've turned out to be a paycheck for an estimated $450 million. Eeeek. Will Smith - The Matrix In 1998, following the release of huge box office hits like Bad Boys, Independence Day, and Men in Black, Will Smith was offered the lead role in The Matrix. As we now know, he turned it down, and the part of Neo went to Keanu Reeves. Years later, Will explained that he passed on the movie because he was unsure about the Wachowskis' pitch for the he made a movie called Wild Wild West, which remains one of the biggest flops of his career, while The Matrix made over $460 million worldwide and sparked a lucrative franchise. Given how big of a movie star Will was in the '90s, it's also possible that the film would've made even more if he'd been in it... Talk about a missed opportunity. Brad Pitt — The Matrix Since we're talking about The Matrix, it's worth mentioning that Brad Pitt turned down the opportunity to play Neo as well. 'I did pass on The Matrix. I took the red pill. That's the only one I'm naming,' he said in 2020 at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. 'I wasn't offered two or three. Only the first one, just to clarify that.'Notably, Brad wasn't willing to divulge any more info about what he may have lost out on, saying: "If I didn't get it, then it wasn't mine." "I really believe [the role] was never mine. It's not mine. It was someone else's, and they go and make it. I really do believe in that," he said. "If we were doing a show on the great movies I've passed on, we would need two nights." Matt Damon - Avatar If there's a man who can own his mistakes, it's Matt Damon. The Good Will Hunting star has made no secret of his regret over turning down an offer to star in James Cameron's Avatar in 2009. "I'm sure it's the most money an actor ever turned down," he told Chris Wallace in 2023, explaining that he couldn't do it because he was "in the middle of shooting the Bourne movie." To add insult to injury, he was offered 10% of the box office, and, considering that Avatar remains the highest-grossing movie of all time, it's fair to say he missed out on quite the payday ($250 million, to be exact). Dougray Scott - X-Men Today, Wolverine is synonymous with Hugh Jackman; however, the Aussie actor wasn't originally who they had in mind to play the iconic role. Filmmaker Bryan Singer initially wanted Russell Crowe to play Wolverine in the 2000 X-Men movie, and when Russell turned it down, he went to Scottish actor Dougray Scott. Dougray actually accepted the offer, but unfortunately, wasn't able to go ahead with the movie due to filming delays on Mission: Impossible. 'Tom Cruise didn't let me do it," Dougray told the Daily Telegraph in 2020. 'We were doing Mission: Impossible, and he was like, 'You've got to stay and finish the film,' and I said, 'I will, but I'll go and do that as well. ' For whatever reason, he said I couldn't." Now, I'm not necessarily one to hold a grudge, but considering Hugh Jackman is now worth a reported $120 million, I could understand being a little pissed. Toshiro Mifune - Star Wars When it comes to lucrative movie franchises, it doesn't really get much bigger than Star Wars. So, just imagine you missed out on an opportunity to be a part of it from the very start. In 2015, the daughter of Toshiro Mifune previously revealed that he father — who starred in iconic movies like Seven Samurai and Rashomon — was approached by George Lucas to appear in the original 1977 Star Wars movie, the one we now know as A New Hope. "He was offered the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi, but he was concerned about how the film would look and that it would cheapen the image of samurai, on which George Lucas had based a lot of the character and fighting style,' his daughter, Mika, said. 'At the time, sci-fi movies still looked quite cheap as the effects were not advanced and he had a lot of samurai pride. There was talk about him taking the Darth Vader role as his face would be covered, but in the end he turned that down too.' Tom Selleck - Indiana Jones From one Harrison Ford film franchise to another, it sounds like the Indiana Jones movies very nearly had a different leading man. While promoting his memoir in 2024, Tom Selleck revealed that he was initially approached to play Indy in Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981; however, he'd already started working on Magnum, P.I., which made the negotiations a bit complicated. "Steven Spielberg and George Lucas kept the offer out to me," he revealed on Today. 'They said, 'We'll work it out and you can do both.' And the more they wanted me, the more CBS said, 'No, we don't want to let him do it.'' So, Tom had no choice but to turn it down, and Harrison later said he was very "grateful" for the way things played out — I would be, too, if I were worth a reported $300 million thanks (mostly) to the massive movie franchises I started in. Jared Leto - Titanic It's hard to imagine a world in which anyone other than our beloved Leonardo DiCaprio played Jack Dawson in Titanic, but it turns out James Cameron had his eyes on some other stars before Leo landed the part. According to reports, Jared Leto was one of the top contenders to play Jack before Leo entered the picture; however, he apparently refused to audition, potentially missing out on a role in a movie that would go on to gross over $2 billion worldwide. Talk about a Sliding Doors moment! Rachel McAdams - Iron Man In a 2023 profile with Bustle, Rachel McAdams talked about her break from acting in the 2000s, during which time she turned down five pretty major roles in movies that went on to be very successful: The Devil Wears Prada, Casino Royale, Mission: Impossible III, Iron Man, and Get Smart. Notably, she was apparently Jon Favreau's first choice to play Pepper Potts in Iron Man, which would have made her a part of the MCU from the very beginning. But, despite losing out on a whole lot of money, it sounds like Rachel has no regrets, knowing that turning down the roles was the right choice for her at that time. 'There's certainly things like 'I wish I'd done that.' I step back and go, 'That was the right person for that," she told Bustle. 'I felt guilty for not capitalizing on the opportunity that I was being given, because I knew I was in such a lucky spot. But I also knew it wasn't quite jiving with my personality and what I needed to stay sane.' There you have it! It's wild to think how different some of these movies and franchises could've been...
Mint
3 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Mint Explainer: Is OpenAI exaggerating the powers of its new ChatGPT Agent?
Leslie D'Monte OpenAI has flagged the agent as high-risk under its safety framework. Is this just marketing hype or a sign that AI is genuinely becoming more powerful and autonomous? OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Photo AFP Gift this article On Thursday, OpenAI launched its autonomous ChatGPT Agent, a tool that's capable of finding and buying things online, managing your calendar, and booking you an appointment with a doctor. It's essentially a digital assistant that doesn't just provide information but complete actual tasks. On Thursday, OpenAI launched its autonomous ChatGPT Agent, a tool that's capable of finding and buying things online, managing your calendar, and booking you an appointment with a doctor. It's essentially a digital assistant that doesn't just provide information but complete actual tasks. That being said, OpenAI has flagged the agent as high-risk under its safety framework, warning it could potentially be used to create dangerous biological or chemical substances. Is this just marketing hype, timed to build momentum for the launch of GPT-5, or a sign that AI agents are genuinely becoming more powerful and autonomous, akin to the agents who protect the computer-generated world of The Matrix? What is ChatGPT Agent? Say you want to rearrange your calendar, find a doctor and schedule an appointment, or research competitors and deliver a report. ChatGPT Agent can now do it for you. Also Read | Deep research with AI is days' worth of work in minutes The agent can browse websites, run code, analyse data, and even create slide decks or spreadsheets—all based on your instructions. It combines the strengths of OpenAI's earlier tools—operator (which could navigate the web) and deep research (which could analyse and summarise information)—into a single system. You stay in control throughout: ChatGPT asks for permission before doing anything important, and you can stop or take over at any time. This new capability is available to Pro, Plus, and Team users through the tools dropdown. How does it work? ChatGPT Auses a powerful set of tools to complete tasks, including a visual browser to interact with websites like a human, a text-based browser for reasoning-heavy searches, a terminal for code execution, and direct application programming interface (API) access. It can also connect to apps such as Gmail or GitHub to fetch relevant information. You can log in to websites within the agent's browser, allowing it to dig deeper into personalised content. All of this runs on its own virtual computer, which keeps track of context even across multiple tools. The agent can switch between browsers, download and edit files, and adapt its methods to complete tasks quickly and accurately. It's built for back-and-forth collaboration—you can step in anytime to guide or change the task, and ChatGPT can ask for more input when needed. If a task takes time, you'll get updates and a notification on your phone once it's done. Has OpenAI tested its performance? OpenAI said on Humanity's Last Exam (HLE), which tests expert-level reasoning across subjects, ChatGPT Agent achieved a new high score of 41.6, rising to 44.4 when multiple attempts were run in parallel and the most confident response was selected. On FrontierMath, the toughest known math benchmark, the agent scored 27.4% using tools such as a code-executing terminal—far ahead of previous models. In real-world tasks, ChatGPT agent performs at or above human levels in about half of the cases, based on OpenAI's internal evaluations. These tasks include building financial models, analysing competitors, and identifying suitable sites for green hydrogen projects. ChatGPT Agent also outperforms others on specialised tests such as DSBench for data science, and the SpreadsheetBench for spreadsheet editing (45.5% vs Copilot Excel's 20.0%). On BrowseComp and WebArena, which test browsing skills, the agent achieves the highest scores to date, according to OpenAI. What are some of the things it can do? Consider the case of travel planning. The agent won't just suggest ideas but navigate booking websites, fill out forms, and even make reservations one you give it permission. You can also ask it to read your emails, find meeting invitations, and automatically schedule appointments in your calendar, or even draft and send follow-up emails. This level of coordination typically required juggling between apps, but the agent manages it in a single conversational flow. Another example involves shopping and price comparison. You can tell the agent to 'order the best-reviewed smartphone under ₹ 15,000", and it can search online stores, compare prices and reviews, and proceed to checkout on a preferred platform. Customer support and task automation are other examples, where the agent is used to troubleshoot an issue, log into support portals, and even file return or refund requests. How are AI agents typically built? Unlike basic chat bots, AI agents are autonomous systems that can plan, reason, and complete complex, multi-step tasks with minimal input—such as coding, data analysis, or generating reports. They are built by combining ways to take in information, think, and take action. Developers begin by deciding what the agent should do, following which the agent collects data like such as or images from its environment. AI agents use large language models (LLMs) like GPT-4 as their core 'brain", which allows them to understand and respond to natural language instructions. To allow AI agents to take action, developers connect the LLM to things like a web browser, code editor, calculator, and APIs for services such as Gmail or Slack. Frameworks like LangChain help integrate these parts, and keep track of information. Some AI agents learn from experience and get better over time. Testing and careful setup make sure they work well and follow rules. Does ChatGPT Agent have credible competition? Google's Project Astra, part of its Gemini AI line, is developing a multimodal assistant that can see, hear, and respond in real time. Gemini CLI is an open-source AI agent that brings Google's Gemini model directly to the terminal for fast, lightweight access. It integrates with Gemini Code Assist, offering developers on all plans AI-powered coding in both VS Code and the command line. Microsoft is embedding Copilot into Windows, Office, and Teams, giving its agent access to workflows, system controls, and productivity tools, soon enhanced by a dedicated Copilot Runtime. Meta is building more socially focused agents within messaging and the metaverse, which could evolve into utility tools. Apple is revamping Siri through Apple Intelligence, combining GPT-level reasoning with strict privacy features and deep on-device integration. Other smart agents include Oracle's Miracle Agent, IBM's Watson tools, Agentforce from Salesforce Anthropic's Claude 3.5, and Perplexity AI's action-oriented agents through its Comet project, blending search with agentic behaviour. The competitive advantage, though, may go to companies that can integrate these AI agents into everyday applications and call for action with a single, unified tool – a task that ChatGPT Agent has demonstrated. Why did OpenAI warn that ChatGPT Agent could be used to trigger biological warfare? OpenAI claimed ChatGPT Agent's superior capabilities could, in theory, be misused to help someone create dangerous biological or chemical substances. However, it clarified that there was no solid evidence it could actually do so. Regardless, OpenAI is activating the highest level of safety measures under its internal 'preparedness framework'. These include thorough threat modeling to anticipate potential misuse, special training to ensure the model refuses harmful requests, and constant monitoring using automated systems that watch for risky behaviour. There are also clear procedures in place for suspicious activity. Should we take this risk seriously? Ja-Nae Duane, AI expert and MIT Research Fellow and co-author of SuperShifts, said the more autonomous the agent, the more permissions and access rights it would require. For example, buying a dress requires wallet access; scheduling an event requires calendar and contact list access. 'While standard ChatGPT already presents privacy risks, the risks from ChatGPT Agent are exponentially higher because people will be granting it access rights to external tools containing personal information (like calendar, email, wallet, and more). There's a significant gap between the pace of AI development and AI literacy; many people haven't even fully understood ChatGPT's existing privacy risks, and now they're being introduced to a feature with exponentially more risks," he said. Also Read | Google's Veo 3 brings the era of video on command Duane added that the key risks included data leaks, mistaken actions, prompt injection, and account compromise, especially when handling sensitive information. Malicious actors, he warned, could exploit them by manipulating inputs, abusing tool access, stealing credentials, or poisoning data to bias outputs. Poor third-party integration and an over-reliance of them could worsen the impact, while the agent's 'black box" nature would make it hard to trace errors, he added. In the wrong hands, these agents could be weaponised for fraud, phishing, or even to generate malware. What are the other concern areas for enterprises? Developers are increasingly deploying AI agents across IT, customer service, and enterprise workflows. According to Nasscom, 46% of Indian firms are experimenting with these agents, particularly in IT, HR, and finance, while manufacturing leads in robotics, quality control, and automation. Beyond concerns around hallucinations, security, privacy, and copyright or intellectual property (IP) violations, a key challenge for businesses is ensuring a return on investment. Gartner noted that many so-called agentic use cases could be handled by simpler tools and predicted that more than 40% of such projects would be scrapped by 2027 over high costs, unclear value, or inadequate risk controls. Of the thousands of vendors in this space, only around 130 are seen as credible; many engage in 'agent washing" by repackaging chatbots, robotic process automation (RPA), or basic assistants as autonomous agents. Nasscom corroborated these concerns, highlighting that 62% of enterprises were still only testing agents in-house. Why is 'humans-in-the-loop' a must? OpenAI CEO Sam Altman advised granting agents only the minimum access needed for each task, not blanket permissions. Nasscom believes that to scale responsibly, enterprises must prioritise human-AI collaboration, trust, and data readiness. It has recommended firms adopt AI agents with a 'human-in-the-loop" approach, reflecting the need for oversight and contextual judgment. According to Duane, users must understand both the tool's strengths and its limits, especially when handling sensitive data. Caution is key, as misuse could have serious consequences. She also emphasised the importance of AI literacy, noting that AI was evolving far faster than most people's understanding of how to use it responsibly. Also Read | Mint Primer: Are firms wasting their money on AI agents? Topics You May Be Interested In
Boston Globe
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
What's it like to believe we live inside a video game?
Get The Gavel A weekly SCOTUS explainer newsletter by columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr. Enter Email Sign Up But even though people who are drawn to the simulation hypothesis frame it as reasoned thinking informed by science and technology, it's remarkably like religion: It is fueled by faith and works only as an allegory. Advertisement That is my main takeaway from Advertisement The title of the book reveals a contradiction in this idea. Start with the term 'hypothesis,' which is misleading. The claim that we are in a simulation is not falsifiable, because any evidence seemingly to the contrary could just be part of the simulation. So it's not a hypothesis in the scientific sense. No one says Christians have a 'Jesus hypothesis.' And indeed, by the end of the title, Virk is past conjecture and expressing belief. The book didn't My interview with Virk has been edited and condensed. How confident are you that we live inside a simulation? When I wrote the first edition of this book, I said it was more than 50 percent. Now I think it's over 70 percent, maybe as high as 80 percent likely that we are inside a video game. Rizwan Virk at a 2017 event for Play Labs, an MIT accelerator program that he founded and ran. MIT How does this shape your worldview? I have to explain what I call the NPC ('non-player character') versus RPG ('role-playing game') flavors of the simulation hypothesis. In the NPC version, everyone is just AI running on a computer, and that's it. As soon as the game is over or it's shut down, that character no longer exists, that world no longer exists. I think when most academics talk about the simulation hypothesis, that's what they're talking about. Advertisement At the other end of the spectrum is the RPG version. This is closer to what was depicted in the movie 'The Matrix.' In that version, you are a player that exists outside of the game, and inside the game you have an avatar or a player character. And that would be us — our avatars would be our bodies inside the simulation. I think you reach very different conclusions depending on where you end up on this axis. In RPG video games, you choose your particular character that you're going to play and you choose a particular storyline. You still are free to make decisions along that storyline that will affect the game. So when something happens in my life that's difficult, like a physical difficulty or financial or other difficulties, I think of it as a kind of quest: 'OK, this is a more difficult quest or achievement. Let me see if I can get through it.' In what other ways does this play out for you? There is this idea in quantum physics of a multiverse, where there are different possibilities and we're trying them out in different universes. There's not a good understanding of exactly how that would work in a physical universe. But in a computational universe, you can think of it as perhaps there's a part of me, the player, that's actually trying out different things. In my life I chose to become an entrepreneur and spent most of my time in Silicon Valley, but I've also had an affinity for more of an academic path. I didn't get a PhD earlier, but that was one of those paths — I felt that there was a version of me that had tried it out and was interested in trying out that path. And so later in life, I have returned to academia as a professor, getting a PhD as well. In a simulated universe, I could try out different possibilities in my life. Advertisement Virk writes that his intuitions about the simulation hypothesis arose from "many different threads of my life." Penguin Random House Then there is the question of how we should play the video game of life and what its purpose is. I don't think we're playing a game like 'Grand Theft Auto,' where your goal is to inflict a bunch of damage on other people. Within the religious and spiritual context, there's this idea that how we treat other people matters. It's one of the core ideas across religions and even in people who've had near-death experiences: that we have to review the deeds of our life and how we affected other people. And with a virtual reality model, there's a technological basis for how that might work. It's called the life review. The life review is a replay, if you will, of the things that we did in our lives. And you're going to have to replay the game from [other people's] point of view — not just see but feel what it was like to be these other people. This changes my perspective on how I treat other people and relationships, because I think that may actually be the bigger point of the game. I am not sure how much you're using video games as a metaphor, and how much you really believe that they describe the essence of reality. Both interpretations would apply to what you just said. Advertisement Well, I think it's a bit of both. I think of the simulation hypothesis as having a few basic underpinnings or assumptions. One is that the universe consists of information. The second is that that information gets rendered in a way that looks real. And then the third is that it's some kind of a hoax or a game, if you think of it from the RPG perspective. I think that's what religious scriptures have done for a long time, saying that the world is like a dream, which was the metaphor that was used in, say, Buddhism and in other religious texts as well. I'm using our technology to describe it. I think it's the best metaphor to date for the underlying nature of reality, because video games are built on computation and information processing, and so is the physical universe. I'm not disagreeing that it's a metaphor, and it's a metaphor that may not be complete, but it's way more complete than anything else that we've come up with. There's a meme going around that anyone who doesn't exhibit much original thought is a mere NPC — an automated, non-player character. Right. Yes. So are we living in a world where some of us are actual characters and other people are just filling the background? What I've come to believe is that it's better to assume everyone is actually a player character or an avatar because that affects how you treat them. And this gets back to my earlier statement about how I don't think we're living in 'Grand Theft Auto.' Advertisement That said, I think we all enter NPC mode. In NPC mode, we are just an AI that has been trained by our life experiences. So if you think of AI today and large language models like ChatGPT, they are a certain type of neural network that's been trained on a certain amount of data. And similarly, we also have a neural network that gets trained on our life experiences and how we've been trained, whether it's from the time we were brought up, it's religious training, or indoctrination within different philosophies and political parties. I think what happens is we get into NPC mode and then we play different roles for different people. So it's possible that other people are playing a role for us in a quest in our lives, but that doesn't mean that we should treat them as expendable. Somebody once said to me, 'I think my husband is an NPC.' I said, 'Well, I don't think that's a healthy attitude. Assume that they have their own set of stories and quests, but maybe they're playing a role for you for certain challenges and for certain adventures that you're having in this life.' Was that person who said that to you a woman? Yeah. That's interesting to me, because I think I've only ever heard the simulation hypothesis espoused by men. Well, I think that was true initially. I'm finding that if you are not just talking about the NPC version, if you're not talking about 'everybody is an AI,' then I find many more women interested in the idea. Here's a worry I have about the simulation idea. If you think all this is probably a video game, then it doesn't seem like a stretch to say, 'It might not be so bad if we destroy the environment by filling every single square foot of earth with a data center, as long as doing so lets us create quintillions of simulated worlds that could be as beautiful and meaningful as ours is.' How can the simulation idea comport with traditions that tell us to take care of creation as the only world we've got? Well, I don't know that the simulation hypothesis is necessarily saying that any worlds that we create are as valuable as this world, because now you're thinking of layers of the simulation. But this gets back to the central issue that I've been talking about, which is the NPC versus RPG version. We're here for a reason: We've chosen to go through what many, many ancient traditions have called the veil of forgetfulness, to be here and to forget that we're players from outside this world. So it doesn't mean we shouldn't enjoy this particular world. And more importantly, it doesn't mean we should destroy this world. In an ongoing role-playing game, others will enter after us, and we have a responsibility to them. Rizwan Virk will be talking about his book before a screening of ' in Brookline on July 28. Brian Bergstein is the editor of the Globe Ideas section. He can be reached at
CNET
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- CNET
This Dark and Atmospheric '90s Flick Is a Sci-Fi Classic, and It's Streaming Free on Tubi
The '90s were the heyday of techno-noir movies, flicks that combine the cynical atmosphere and jaded perspectives of film noir with the dystopian settings and altered reality of science fiction. Though movies like The Matrix may have exploded the popularity of the genre, there were also films that didn't get the attention they deserved on release. One of my overlooked favorites is Dark City, a mind-bending techno-noir thriller that explores the idea of identity against the backdrop of a city swathed in darkness. Released in 1998, the underrated gem preceded The Matrix by a year, and it's streaming for free on Tubi right now. Watch on Tubi I've been a fan of techno-noir vibes since my first time watching Blade Runner, and the '90s delivered a spate of excellent options that let me feast my eyes on beautiful sets, amazing stories and worlds that felt real and gritty in the best of ways. Dark City delivers a futuristic city swathed in shadows, with vibes from the 1950s like automats, or the costume design, and it's a style I can't get enough of. A man wakes up in a bathtub with no memory of who he is or how he got there. Almost immediately, things go off the rails. There's a dead woman in the next room, a cryptic phone call telling our unknown protagonist to get out of there, and a mystery that begins to unfold in the dark streets of the city. John Murdoch figures out who he is slowly through a series of clues, like his name in a ledger at the motel and his briefcase. As he tries to figure out what happened, he's beset on two sides. Police Inspector Frank Bumstead is trying to unravel a case of dead prostitutes that's leading him toward John. And then there are the mysterious "strangers." The strangers Jasin Boland/New Line Cinema Tall, pale men who seemingly have the ability to change reality via "tuning." John is cornered by these strangers, but in a moment of desperation manages to alter reality and escape their clutches. Soon after, the clock strikes midnight, and John watches as every person in the city falls asleep, and the strangers use their mysterious abilities to change the architecture of the city itself. As John tries to recover his memories, he remembers he is from a small town outside the city called Shell Beach. However, any attempts to reach it end in failure. At this point, John is apprehended by the inspector, who believes him when he explains that something strange is going on in the city and uses his ability to tune to prove it. The atmosphere, set design, and overall cinematography in Dark City make every frame worth noticing. The 100-minute length is infused with mystery, drama and more questions than answers. The strangers stalk John and the inspector, a local doctor who has information about the strangers and where they came from, and the city continues to change and trap everyone within its alleys. I won't spoil the third act for you when you find out what the strangers are really after, and the methods they employ to find answers. When John begins to unravel the mystery he woke up inside of, things go from weird to truly out there. The murders, the amnesia and the city are all linked by the strangers, and once you find out what happened, there is no going back. Dark City reached cult classic status with good reason. While it might not have been a box office hit, it's still an amazing watch 27 years later. It's one of those sci-fi movies that gets me every time, and the cast delivers a top-notch performance. Sream it for free on Tubi, and discover the mystery for yourself.
WIRED
6 days ago
- Health
- WIRED
Taste the Future With the Best Meal Replacement Shakes
Flavor Texture Satiety TOTAL 7.1 6.4 6.8 6.8 OWYN stands for 'only what you need,' which feels similar to the pitch Dozer gives Neo in The Matrix as he sets our hero up with a bowl of protein-rich slop for his first meal after being yanked back into what's left of the real world. OWYN does offer a caffeinated version of its protein shakes, but this iteration merely references coffee in name and flavor. The liquid is thin and easy enough to put down, with a tingle of artificial sweetener on the finish that quickly gives way to a coffee flavor that's not unlike something you'd taste at a janky ice cream stand that offers something like 'Jim's Jacked-Up Java' as the milkshake flavor of the month. The slim stats in the protein and fat categories combined with the coffee-adjacent placebo had me feeling shaky and malnourished by 10 am most days when I replaced my breakfast with OWYN. This is not a great pick if you're trying to go the distance without chewing or even thinking about procuring a proper meal, but it could be a nice post-lunch boost that does an OK job of scratching the itch for a sweet coffee treat. Top off your actual cold brew with this coffee-flavored glurp if you're feeling naughty, or you can toss what's left of your McDonald's coffee from the drive to work into the fridge, then mix it around with a bottle of OWYN a few hours later if you're feeling downright trashy. Cost per serving: $33.29 per 12 pack = $2.75 Other flavors available: Cookies & Creamless, Dark Chocolate, Smooth Vanilla, Strawberry Banana Allergens: None; bottle alleges each batch is 'independently tested for detection of the top nine allergens' Protein: 20 g Calories: 180 (12 oz RTD bottle) Carbs: 8 g Fat: 7 g Caffeine: No $40 $37 (8% off) Amazon (30 servings) Flavor Texture Satiety TOTAL 8.7 6.2 7.1 7.3 One can learn a lot about a health brand by its collab co-signs. Since its founding in 2016 by recovering addict/ex-con/ur-patriot Aaron Singerman, Redcon1 has hitched its star to Nascar and the US military, along with junk-food brands like Hostess and the newly revitalized soda brand Jolt Cola. This handily explains its expansive selection of kooky supplement flavors, which are essentially drinkable pastries that allege to help you get swole. When prepared per the suggestion of its packaging, the combo of about 30 grams of cookies 'n' cream powder mixed with 6 ounces of water yields a thick beige liquid that's punctuated by little black clumps of cookie dust. It's as weird as it is tasty, and if I weren't already the type of person who thought a selfie in front of an Arby's was a solid Tinder profile pic, I would probably be ashamed to like this as much as I did. Once you get used to the sweet and dusty bits of cookie that bust open when you chew them, this is a fun ride for anyone who can hang. Redcon1's MRE series is technically a protein powder, but it's heavy on protein for its rather diminutive calorie count, making it a fine meal replacement assuming you have a salad or some other fibrous food item on deck for lunch or dinner. One 6-ounce glass of this candy-like slurry filled me right up in the morning, and I was good to go until salad time rolled around at noon. Cost per serving: Around $1 Other flavors available: Banana Nut Bread, Blueberry Cobbler, Chocolate, Chocolate Mousse, Fudge Brownie, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip, Peanut Butter Cookie, Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake, Snickerdoodle, Strawberry Shortcake, Vanilla Milkshake Allergens: Milk, egg, fish, tree nuts, wheat, soy Protein: 24 g Calories: 130 Carbs: 4 g Fat: 2 g Caffeine: No
