(Chicago Tribune) – Feathers fly in Disney's "Chicken Little," a new spin on an old fable with a big promo-tional budget and high expectations. It's Disney's first 3-D animation production without Pixar, and Pixar's possible departure from the Disney family next year means the Mouse House has a lot riding on "Chicken Little." With this one film, Disney hopes to establish itself at the top of the animation pecking order and perhaps prove it doesn't need Pixar after all. That's a lot of pressure on one little clucker. The results are mixed, though there are signs of promise.
When Chicken Little (voiced spot-on by "Scrubs" star Zach Braff) is conked on the noggin by an octagonal "piece of the sky," no one believes him, including his dad (voiced by Garry Marshall). His bell-ringing warning sends the town into a panicked frenzy and he's made a laughingstock. As it turns out, that piece of the sky may be the harbinger of an alien invasion--which, again, no one believes. So, it's up to Chicken Little and his friends Abby Mallard (Joan Cusack), Runt (Steve Zahn) and Fish (gurgled by Dan Molina) to save the Earth. Director Mark Dindal ("The Emperor's New Groove") stretches the form, using all manner of camera acrobatics to expand the notion of what 3-D animation can do. He borrows a few live-action tricks (notably the 360-degree "bullet time" visual style of "The Matrix") and bends perspective to show Chicken Little scrambling through town after missing the school bus. Lightning-quick zooms also accom-pany more detail and close-ups (watch as Chicken Little sings Queen's "We Are the Champions" into a shiny spoon). For all the whiz-bang visuals, however, "Little" could use a little consistency in tone. The comic-relief character – an obese, whiny piglet obsessed with Barbra Streisand – just isn't that funny. (Fish, in a role without dialogue, steals the show with a King Kong pantomime, complete with a paper re-production of the Empire State Building.) Dindal's animated cast has plenty of kiddie appeal, and the movie's pacing is on par with hummingbird-quick editing of Saturday morning cartoons. Older adults might be put off by the whiplash eye-candy, but a few vintage songs (the Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive" and Carole King's "It's Too Late") are cast out to reel them back in. But in trying to be all things to all popcorn-buyers, "Chicken Little" comes off as a manic scramble to please everyone. The odd bodily function joke gets thrown in to cover all the bases. There are other signs of strain, too, notably the saturation of music cues. When characters don't have anything to say, in comes the music montage. At one point, Dindal gives us two of them back to back, as Chicken Little feels dejected (to the tune of Five For Fighting's "All I Know"), then goes through baseball training (Patti LaBelle's "Stir It Up"). To top it off, the filmmakers stop a full-on alien attack so Chicken Little and his dad can have a heart-to-heart that goes on way, way too long.
Pixar reigns supreme because its formula strikes a balance between visual wizardry and characters who inspire a strong emotional tug. Like Motown at its height, Pixar's process and talent pool have turned it into a hit factory that's unrivaled. With "Chicken Little," it's still unrivaled. Disney proves that, yes, it can compete and merchandise the heck out of its properties. But Pixar-quality, it is not. Though entertaining and occasionally innovative, "Chicken Little" and its future siblings might take a tumble or two out of the nest before they can fly as high.
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Monday, November 07, 2005
Desperate Housewives Bets on Edie for November Sweeps
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The ABC network is letting trampy, vampy Edie Britt out to play this month on "Desperate Housewives," betting that the popular supporting character will give the top-rated show an added boost for Nielsen's November "sweeps" survey. The bad girl of Wisteria Lane, played by actress Nicollette Sheridan, was never meant to be central player on the darkly comic prime-time soap, which centers on the intrigues of four women who live on a seemingly quiet suburban cul-de-sac. Sheridan began the show's first season last fall as a mere plot device to keep klutzy Susan, played by Teri Hatcher, from snagging hunky plumber Mike. "I had to cast someone who was sexy and gorgeous that would make Susan feel uncomfort-able," the show's creator, Marc Cherry, told Reuters on Friday. "I never intended for Edie Britt to be one of the regular characters." But Sheridan was so good as serial-divorcee Edie, and the storyline about two forty-something women competing for the neighborhood's only single man was so compelling, that ABC executives insisted she be written into the show as a regular, albeit subordinate to the four starring "Housewives." Her role will be expanded more this month as ABC and rival networks go all out to attract bigger audiences for "sweeps," the special Nielsen survey used by local TV stations to set future advertising rates. A sweeps sub-plot involving Edie's 6-year-old son and her romance with Susan's ex-husband, Karl, will take center stage on the show starting on Sunday.
Disney World Gone Wild
HARTFORD, Conn. (Hartford Advocate) – In hindsight, I realized the shirt was a mistake. I showed up to the Oct. 21 Disney character audition in Glastonbury, wearing the beat-up, faded EuroDisney T-shirt. I thought the shirt, which had a picture of Mickey Mouse that through wear had become distended into a Ralph Steadman-esque parody, would earn me some brownie points from the judges. When I walked into the Greater Hartford Dance Academy, where the auditions were held, I was met with a modest smack of laughter from the group of Disney character hopefuls and their parents. Most of the 30-odd auditoners sitting in the main room were young women who looked to be in their senior year of high school or fresh-man year of college. They wore dancers' clothes and looked for the most part like they competed in re-gional beauty pageants. I was one of four males trying out and was at least 10 years older than the me-dian auditioning age. When I sat down among the Disney character hopefuls, indulgent stage parents and framed paintings of young children in ballet gear, I almost immediately zipped up my jacket, covering the shirt. The Disney people brought the candidates into the main room five people at a time to check them in. I couldn't figure out the cattle call order, so I ended up going in last. Once inside, I signed my name to a document, got measured and had my photo taken. Then I was given a sticker with my assigned number written on it.
The advertisement for the audition, which ran for two successive weeks in the Advocate, didn't include a couple of pertinent details. The ad featured a picture of Snow White smiling with one of the seven dwarfs (Dopey?), and a little girl looking up toward the dwarf, perched to kiss his bulbous nose. Stars, no doubt for wishing upon, were littered through the background. The ad said "Disney animated character look-alikes" must have a "positive attitude," a "good speaking voice" and should "resemble the character." Qualified candidates would be asked to "demonstrate effective non-verbal communication skills." It ad-vised interested parties to wear tennis shoes and comfortable attire and to arrive a half-hour before the audition began. What it neglected to mention was that a) there would be no costumes involved and b) dancing would be required. I was shocked and mortified when the casting director told me that we'd be performing a "fun, simple dance routine." In my defense, I was definitely not the only one surprised by the expectation of dancing. One girl complained loudly that while she was fully prepared to sing, dancing was another matter altogether.
At a little after 10, the toxically perky dance instructor herded the group into the studio dance floor space. She showed us a multi-step dance routine that we were expected to follow. It started simply, with march-ing in place, then moved on to hand claps, spinning, kicking and a dramatic, cartoonish flourish called "present to your neighbor." I was lost after about the fifth move. My commitment to participatory journal-ism had reached its limit. I ripped my sticker off, and sulked back into the waiting room to watch the rest of the audition process on the television monitor. The next stage looked easier, but far stranger, than the first. It was an animation exercise, and basically amounted to a bunch of sloppy miming. The candidates were supposed to mimic an action of their choice, in big, humorous gestures. I couldn't tell what a single one of them was trying to do.
After a break, the prospective employees were called back into the studio two at a time for a second wave of auditions. The curtains on the windows into the room were pulled shut, and the television monitor which had been broadcasting a feed from the room was changed to Dr. Phil . Several candidates prac-ticed the dance routine inside the first room, as well as outside in the packed parking lot. There was a lot of nervous energy, but people seemed upbeat and positive. I left, assuming that there was nothing more to see. That turned out to be a mistake. Apparently the organizers hadn't notice that I had taken myself out of the competition and called my name. I regret not being around for that. It could have been fun. But, apparently, even if I had not been totally inept, I would have blown my chances anyway. They were look-ing for a specific height range; I would have missed the cut by three inches.
The advertisement for the audition, which ran for two successive weeks in the Advocate, didn't include a couple of pertinent details. The ad featured a picture of Snow White smiling with one of the seven dwarfs (Dopey?), and a little girl looking up toward the dwarf, perched to kiss his bulbous nose. Stars, no doubt for wishing upon, were littered through the background. The ad said "Disney animated character look-alikes" must have a "positive attitude," a "good speaking voice" and should "resemble the character." Qualified candidates would be asked to "demonstrate effective non-verbal communication skills." It ad-vised interested parties to wear tennis shoes and comfortable attire and to arrive a half-hour before the audition began. What it neglected to mention was that a) there would be no costumes involved and b) dancing would be required. I was shocked and mortified when the casting director told me that we'd be performing a "fun, simple dance routine." In my defense, I was definitely not the only one surprised by the expectation of dancing. One girl complained loudly that while she was fully prepared to sing, dancing was another matter altogether.
At a little after 10, the toxically perky dance instructor herded the group into the studio dance floor space. She showed us a multi-step dance routine that we were expected to follow. It started simply, with march-ing in place, then moved on to hand claps, spinning, kicking and a dramatic, cartoonish flourish called "present to your neighbor." I was lost after about the fifth move. My commitment to participatory journal-ism had reached its limit. I ripped my sticker off, and sulked back into the waiting room to watch the rest of the audition process on the television monitor. The next stage looked easier, but far stranger, than the first. It was an animation exercise, and basically amounted to a bunch of sloppy miming. The candidates were supposed to mimic an action of their choice, in big, humorous gestures. I couldn't tell what a single one of them was trying to do.
After a break, the prospective employees were called back into the studio two at a time for a second wave of auditions. The curtains on the windows into the room were pulled shut, and the television monitor which had been broadcasting a feed from the room was changed to Dr. Phil . Several candidates prac-ticed the dance routine inside the first room, as well as outside in the packed parking lot. There was a lot of nervous energy, but people seemed upbeat and positive. I left, assuming that there was nothing more to see. That turned out to be a mistake. Apparently the organizers hadn't notice that I had taken myself out of the competition and called my name. I regret not being around for that. It could have been fun. But, apparently, even if I had not been totally inept, I would have blown my chances anyway. They were look-ing for a specific height range; I would have missed the cut by three inches.
Disney Greeters Moved Out of Sight
ORLANDO (Orlando Sentinel) – Walt Disney World's airport greeters, whose job was to direct tourists to the resort's free shuttle, were removed from their controversial station on Orlando International's main floor this week and assigned to a place where they are out of travelers' sight. The relocation from the third to the first floor of the airport was the latest blow to Disney's Magical Express, the free shuttle that began in May and now daily carries as many as 8,000 tourists from the airport to the resort. Disney had ex-pected to be stationed on the second floor near baggage claim. Airport attorney Douglas Starcher notified Disney Senior Vice President Jerry Montgomery and attorney Jim Stockton that Disney would not be al-lowed to station employees on the second level where other taxi, limo and shuttle drivers often wait for passengers. Only Mears Transportation Group, which contracts with Disney to operate Magical Express, would be allowed there and Mears workers "may not be dressed in Disney uniforms or wear the white Disney hands." Airport officials ordered Disney in September to remove its greeters, who wore oversized white Mickey Mouse gloves, from the third level after other transportation companies complained that the location gave Disney an unfair competitive edge. The other companies were prohibited from the third floor, where passengers disembark. Disney moved its greeters to the second-floor baggage claim area on Tuesday, the date they agreed upon, only to be told they weren't welcome there. "We were surprised and disappointed that the airport asked us to remove Disney's Magical Express greeters from the airport's second level – the location where all other transportation providers and destination management compa-nies meet their guests," said Disney spokeswoman Kim Prunty. Taxi and luxury car drivers staged strikes and protests in recent weeks over the free Disney service, which they say dug deep into their businesses, in part, because the airport allowed Disney to advertise the service on the third level. Disney has said only 2% of the customers who rode Magical Express did not already have reservations to do so when they stepped off their airplanes. Prunty said the greeters played a "critical function" in improving the air-port's efficiency and keeping passengers from getting lost.
Walt Disney Sees Options Costing $160M
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Walt Disney Co. said Thursday that it expects its new option expensing plan to reduce earnings for the just-ended fiscal year by $160 million, or 8 cents a share. Disney is expected to report earn-ings for its fourth quarter, which ended Sept. 30, on Nov. 17. Disney previously reported a stock-expense charge of 12 cents for fiscal 2004.
Thursday, November 03, 2005
ABC Hit 'Lost' to Spin Off Cross-Promotional Novel
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The ABC television network and sister publishing label Hyperion Books are taking the concept of product placement into a new direction – by turning an imaginary product into a real one. Producers of ABC's mega-hit castaway thriller "Lost" plan to introduce a new storyline centering on the discovery of a fictitious manuscript that will become the basis for a real-life novel that Hyperion will publish this spring. The book will then be promoted as the work of an author, named Gary Troup, who supposedly delivered the manuscript to Hyperion days before perishing in the show's stage-setting event, a plane crash that maroons a group of survivors on a spooky island. Advertisers have increasingly ex-plored novel product-placement schemes in the face of new technologies that allow TV viewers to skip over conventional commercials when watching their favorite shows. But the "Lost" book tie-in may be the first to use imaginary TV events and characters as the basis for a real-life marketing campaign. As part of the plan, Hyperion said it has commissioned a "well-known" mystery writer to anonymously adapt the ficti-tious manuscript into an actual, printed book it hopes will automatically appeal to the show's large and loyal following. "Fans of the show are obsessive. We think a lot of them will be buying the book just to look for clues" to the series, Hyperion President Bob Miller told Variety. The "Lost" novel, titled "Bad Twin," is described as a private eye mystery about a wealthy heir's search for his evil sibling. "Lost," one of the several surprise hits that helped ABC bounce back from a lengthy ratings slump last season, cur-rently ranks as the fourth most-watched show on US television, averaging over 20 million viewers a week.
El Capitan Theatre Adds a New Dimension to Disney's 'Chicken Little'
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (PRNewswire) – Hollywood's legendary El Capitan Theatre will offer moviegoers a glimpse into the future of theatrical exhibition from November 4th through December 4th, with the debut of Walt Disney Pictures' "Chicken Little" in Disney Digital 3D, a brand new state-of-the-art technology provid-ing the first true three-dimensional digital experience in movie theatres. The film is also playing in 3D in 84 other theatres across the country, where Dolby Laboratories (in collaboration with Disney) is installing its Dolby Digital Cinema systems. Visual effects giant Industrial Light & Magic rendered the movie in 3D so it could be played on Dolby Digital Cinema servers at these theatres. The El Capitan's special 3D en-gagement of "Chicken Little" will feature the characters from the movie in a special live appearance be-fore each show. Also, an innovative art exhibit called "Chickinterpretations," in which modern art pioneers from across America have created a series of 200 masterpieces based on Disney's newest hero, Chicken Little, will be showcased throughout the run of the entire engagement.
Hong Kong Gov’t May Sell Controlling Stake in Local Disneyland
HONG KONG (AFX) – The government may sell its controlling stake in the territory's recently opened Disneyland theme park, Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury Fred Ma told legislators. Ma said the government's 57-pct stake in the resort could be sold off in keeping with the administration's belief that the private sector is best suited to run major businesses. "In the long run, the government may con-sider in the light of the 'Big Market, Small Government' principle to divest its shareholdings in the com-pany at an appropriate time when it is in the overall economic interests of Hong Kong to do so," Ma told legislators. The territory's leaders were criticized in 1999 when they decided to foot most of the bill for Walt Disney Co's first resort in China. Disney hopes the park, which opened in September, will help it promote its brand in China's growing lucrative market. Similarly, the government here hopes it will attract more mainland tourists to the former British colony.
Hong Kong Disneyland Seeks Loan
HONG KONG (AFX) – Hong Kong Disneyland is seeking a syndicated loan of about 3.2 bln hkd (US$412.8 mil) to refinance a similar-sized loan taken out in 2000 to partially fund construction of the theme park, the Standard reported citing an unnamed source. The new loan will be arranged through Hong Kong International Theme Parks, the joint venture of US-based Disneyland and the Hong Kong government, which owns a majority 57 pct stake, according to the daily. Chase Manhattan Asia stitched together the old loan, bringing in more than 20 other banks to fund construction of the park, including Bank of China, BNP Paribas and HSBC.
Devoted Fan Rides Haunted Mansion for 999th Time
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (Orlando Sentinel) – He did it. Early Monday afternoon – on Halloween, Gary Estrada hit his mark, riding Walt Disney World's Haunted Mansion ride for the 999th time. "Whenever you reach your goal it's just a relief," Estrada told a Disney employee. Estrada rode 999 times because that's how many "ghosts" are in the attraction. He's the first person – to Disney's knowledge, anyway – to hit that goal in just 10 months. Estrada began his marathon riding in January.
Disney and Pixar Waiting for Chicken to Restart Talks
(Cinematical) - Considering how loudly most studio business is carried out nowadays, it's somewhat surprising that we haven't heard more about the supposedly ongoing renegotiation talks between Pixar and Disney. According to Laura M. Holson of the NY Times, that's because they're not really ongoing at all. Apparently, both sides are waiting to see how Chicken Little (opening this weekend at a theater, presumably, near you) performs before any new deal is made. Chicken will be the first major non-Pixar film from Disney Animation in quite awhile. If it does well, it bodes doubly well for Disney, who will be able to return to the table safe in the knowledge that they don't need Steve Jobs to produce an animated hit. However, if Chicken Little fails to catch on with critics and/or audiences, many feel that Disney would move to out-and-out acquire Pixar, even if it costs them $5 billion or more. There's also the fact that Steve Jobs just seems to get along a lot better with new Disney head Bob Iger than he did with ousted CEO Michael Eisner. But those in the know warn that Jobs' apparent friendliness with Iger means approximately nothing. "Mr. Jobs," Holson writes, "would evaluate any Pixar partnership based on where he could get the best deal for the studio."
Monday, October 31, 2005
After Three Years, Cowen Reverses Disney View
LOS ANGELES (AFX) – What a difference, um, three years makes? OK, so maybe it took a while, but broker-age SG Cowen finally found a reason to get excited about Walt Disney Co. again. Cowen analyst Lowell Singer on Thursday upped his rating on the entertainment giant to buy after staying neutral on the Burbank, Calif.-based company for more than three years. "Our bullish view is driven by an expected significant year-over-year improvement in studio entertainment operating income in [fiscal 2006] and a still nascent recovery at ABC," Singer wrote in a note to clients. "We expect at least 15% out-performance versus the market over the next 12 months." The ratings upgrade, though it had little effect on slightly down Disney shares Thursday, con-tinues the string of good news the company has had since changing chief executives at the beginning of the month. The company appears to be patching up strained relations with animation partner Pixar and is embark-ing on new strategies to spread its content across a number of platforms. Disney also recently took complete control of Miramax, and plan far fewer releases under the label now that its principals, Harvey and Bob Weinstein, have left and started their own studio. Singer also said ratings at the ABC Television Network will continue to improve as the network still is in the early stages of its recovery. Further, concerns about pro-gramming costs at ESPN and operating margins at its parks already are priced into the company's stock. Singer estimates that the company's fiscal 2006 earnings per share will be $1.53. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call expect earnings will reach $1.48 for the year, which will end Sept. 30.
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Pirates Warning
Pirates of the Caribbean
Sail With the Tide
A Thrilling Adventure through dark and mysterious caverns where "Dead Mean Tell No Tales"
SEE Fun loving Pirates sack and burn a Caribbean seaport
Caribbean Plaza
Walt Disney World
Raglan Road Rocks
Last Friday we went to Raglan Road, the new Irish Pub at Downtown Disney's Pleasure Island. I took these snaps of its clean, appealing design. The food was great and the service was top notch. This place should be a huge draw and a welcome addition to the P.I. landscape.
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
ABC's Latest Hit : 'Freddie'
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) – ABC's "Freddie," the last new series in the door for the fall TV season, debuted in style against competition that included major league baseball playoff games. The Freddie Prinze Jr. comedy, airing at 8:30 p.m. EDT last Wednesday, was the most-watched show among all view-ers in its time period (9.4 million) and among the advertiser-favored adults aged 18 to 49 (5.4 million). It was helped by lead-in "George Lopez," which has been resurgent in its new 8 p.m. EDT Wednesday home, winning in viewers and adults. But "Freddie" did even better than fourth-season "George Lopez," which drew 8.8 million in total viewers and 4.5 million in young adults, according to Nielsen Media Re-search figures released yesterday. For Fox, the baseball postseason has averaged 10.3 million prime-time viewers through last week, down 6 percent compared to 2004. As it has for all of the young TV sea-son, CBS retained its position as the most-watched network for the week ending Sunday and also was No. 1 among 18-to-49 adults, snapping ABC's three-week winning streak with those viewers. CBS aver-aged 13.4 million viewers for the week (8.7 rating, 14 share), ABC had 10.7 million (6.9, 11), Fox 10.5 million (6.9, 11), NBC 9.6 million (6.4, 10), WB 3.8 million (2.5, 4), UPN 3.7 million (2.4, 4) and Pax TV 550,000 (0.4, 1).
'The Sky is Falling ... The Sky is Falling ... The Sky is Falling'
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (PRNewswire) – Join Zach Braff (voice ofChicken Little) and Starz Kids & Family to celebrate the theatrical release ofWalt Disney Pictures' new computer animated film Chicken Little on No-vember 4.The 24-hour "Starz Kids & Family Animation Celebration" begins on the same dayat 6:00 a.m. (ET/PT) and features Braff introducing exclusive content from"Chicken Little," plus animated hits including "The Incredibles" and "Home onthe Range." The "Starz Kids & Family Animation Celebration" includes the following programs (all times are ET/PT): "Chicken Little" exclusives – Braff introduces an exclusive clip and trailers from "Chicken Little" throughout the marathon, and is featured with Joan Cusack (voice of Abby Mallard a.k.a. "The Ugly Duckling") in "On the Set: Chicken Little," a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the animated film.
"Disney's Teacher's Pet" (Nov 4 at 6:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m. and Nov 5 at 1:45 a.m.) – This is the story of Spot (voice by Nathan Lane), a dog who is so curious about the world that he sneaks to school with his master, Leonard (voice of Shaun Fleming), where he poses as a human.
"On the Set: 'The Incredibles'" (Nov 4 at 7:40 a.m. and 1:40 p.m) – A behind-the-scenes look at the making of the animated film "The Incredibles."
"The Incredibles" (Nov 4 at 8:00 a.m., 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.) – In the Oscar-winning feature, a dysfunctional family headed by two former superhero crimefighters (voices of Craig T. Nelson and Holly Hunter) finds itself called back into action after struggling to live an undercover suburban life.
"Home on the Range" (Nov 4 at 10:00 a.m., 4:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.) – In the Old West, a band of ranch animals, led by newly arrived Maggie the cow (voice of Roseanne), discovers their owner (voice of Judi Dench) can't make the mortgage, so they do everything they can to save their home.
"Brother Bear" (Nov 4 at 6:00 p.m. and November 5 at 12:15 a.m. and 4:30 a.m.) – A young Native American hunter (voice of Joaquin Phoenix) seeks vengeance against a bear who killed his brother (voice of Jeremy Suarez), but seeks life from the other side when he is magically changed into a bear himself.
"The Triplets of Belleville" (Nov 4 at 10:50 p.m. and November 5 at 3:05 a.m.) – When her grand-son is kidnapped during the Tour de France, Madame Souza and her beloved dog Bruno team up with the Belleville sisters, three elderly singers, to rescue him.
Film Opens Another Door for 'Narnia' Sales
(USA Today) – The movie version of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe won't be out until Dec. 9, but dozens of books already are spilling out of the cupboard. "Sales since the Wardrobe movie trailer was released in May are three to four times more than last year at this time," says Beth Bingham of Borders bookstores. She expects the movie's release date to drive holiday sales even more. Borders and other stores nationwide are prominently displaying the books. Amazon.com and Ba-rnesandnoble.com have set up special Narnia stores on their sites. Wardrobe, written by theologian C.S. Lewis and first published in 1950, is part of the seven-book Chroniclesof Narnia series and tells the story of four children who help the lion Aslan release the frozen, other-worldly land of Narnia from the White Witch's spell. HarperCollins Children's Books has 25 movie tie-in products, including books, audiobooks and coloring and activity books. HarperCollins publishes 170 titles by or about Lewis; 140 are on or about Narnia. Other publishers are hoping to take advantage of Lewis' growing popularity by releasing biogra-phies, guides and analytical works. "Certain movies, like Lord of the Rings, do send people back to the books," says Charlotte Abbott of Publishers Weekly "For a lot of people, this is a touchstone for a genera-tion. I imagine many people in their 30s will buy the books, especially box sets, as gifts for their children."
Religion sells!
Religion sells!
That’s a Lot of Spam
NEW YORK (NY Times) – The producers of "Monty Python's Spamalot" announced yesterday that the Broadway production of the musical had recouped its $12 million investment, six and a half months after opening at the Shubert Theater.
Not so-much a Disney article, but Disney is in the Broadway business.
Not so-much a Disney article, but Disney is in the Broadway business.
A Chance to Own a Bit of Real Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo . . .
BURBANK, Calif. (PRNewswire) – Destined to be collector's items, a one-of-a-kind modern interpretation of Cinderella's gown by Monique Lhuillier and a one-of-a-kind modern interpretation of Cinderella's shoes by Jimmy Choo will be auctioned off to the general public on DisneyAuctions.com from October 17 - 27. Each designer created the fashions in honor of Cinderella's October 4 DVD debut. Kelly Monaco, favorite in TV's "Dancing With The Stars" and "General Hospital," wore the fashions down the red carpet at the October 2 New York DVD Premiere for Walt Disney's original "Cinderella," in order to raise awareness for the auction. The Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund, Kelly Monaco's charity of choice, will receive proceeds from the sale of the unique designer creations.
Disney Launches Vintage Bling for Grown Ups
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The marketing of Mickey Mouse and his friends is getting curiouser and curi-ouser. The Walt Disney Co. is taking consumers down the rabbit hole to a land where crystal-studded Mickey Mouse T-shirts cost $1,400, Tinkerbell earrings run $630, and a Cheshire Cat wrap sells for $500 – and consumers are gladly paying. Disney's consumer division, better known for peddling kid-oriented fashions at Wal-Mart, has been cashing in on a hot trend in haute couture for vintage art. The company has sold $200 million in high-end and adult apparel featuring classic images of Mickey Mouse and his cartoon friends since 2003, and says it sees no sign that interest is flagging. This year, Disney positioned itself for the first time as a fashion player, hosting previews of its "Alice In Wonderland"-inspired lines of clothing, home decor and accessories at two star-studded events during Fashion Week in Los Angeles. Andy Mooney, chairman of consumer products, started Disney couture about five years ago after walking through the company's archives with Disney historian Dave Smith and finding a treasure trove of images. He offered licenses for the classic studio art to fashion designers in hopes of adding vogue to the middle-class brand. The key to Disney's success as a luxury brand comes mainly from its association with brands that already have cachet, said Milton Pedraza, chief executive of the Luxury Institute, a research group that focuses on America's wealthy. "I think it's just a pendulum swinging back to the classics, and Disney is a true American and global classic," Pedraza said. "To the extent they license to other luxury brands they can be successful. Disney alone would not be as powerful." Designer Jackie Brander was among the first to license vintage Mickey drawings for her chic boutique in the trendy Fred Segal store in Santa Monica, California. Dolce & Gabbana followed with a crystal-studded Mickey T-shirt, which retailed for $1,400 and flew off shelves. Disney moved into home decor and acces-sories this year after seeing references to its 1951 animated classic, "Alice In Wonderland," appear in the pages of fashion magazines and on TV – notably in a Gwen Stefani music video in spring 2005. The tar-gets of the new campaign, said Dennis Green, senior vice president of marketing for consumer products, are luxury-loving teen-agers and young adults in New York, Los Angeles, London and Tokyo who "are driving the fashion industry all over the world." Disney has licensed Alice and other Wonderland charac-ters from studio art done by Mary Blair and David Hall for lines of fabric, tableware, carpet tiles, decorative pillows and throws, jewelry and clothing. It has hired Kidada Jones, daughter of music legend Quincy Jones to design a line of jewelry, cashmere throws and pillows, and to dress her celebrity friends in the posh items. The Alice line will appear in high-end stores such as Fred Segal, Drexel Heritage, Zelen, and specialty retailers starting next spring.
Disney-ABC Realigns Communications Division
(TV Week) – The Disney-ABC communications division has been reorganized along functional roles into six areas reporting to Communications Sr VP Kevin Brockman. The changes include the promotions of:
Nicole Nichols, former VP of media relations for ABC Family, to senior VP of entertainment communi-cations for the Disney-ABC Television Group. She will oversee communications for ABC Entertain-ment, Touchstone Television, ABC Daytime, ABC Family and SoapNet.
Sharon Williams, former VP of media relations for ABC Television Network, to senior VP for commu-nications resources for the Disney-ABC Television Group, overseeing photography and new commu-nications media, broadcast and ratings publicity, editorial services, talent relations and business management.
Patti McTeague, former VP of media relations for the Disney-ABC Cable Networks Group, to VP of kids communications for the Disney-ABC Television Group, including Disney Channel Worldwide, Toon Disney, Jetix, Playhouse Disney, ABC Kids and Walt Disney TV Animation.
In addition, Siobhan Kenny, VP of branded television communications for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, will assume the role of acting head of international communications. Continuing in their roles are ABC News Communications VP Jeffrey Schneider and Corporate Communications VP Julie Hoover.
Nicole Nichols, former VP of media relations for ABC Family, to senior VP of entertainment communi-cations for the Disney-ABC Television Group. She will oversee communications for ABC Entertain-ment, Touchstone Television, ABC Daytime, ABC Family and SoapNet.
Sharon Williams, former VP of media relations for ABC Television Network, to senior VP for commu-nications resources for the Disney-ABC Television Group, overseeing photography and new commu-nications media, broadcast and ratings publicity, editorial services, talent relations and business management.
Patti McTeague, former VP of media relations for the Disney-ABC Cable Networks Group, to VP of kids communications for the Disney-ABC Television Group, including Disney Channel Worldwide, Toon Disney, Jetix, Playhouse Disney, ABC Kids and Walt Disney TV Animation.
In addition, Siobhan Kenny, VP of branded television communications for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, will assume the role of acting head of international communications. Continuing in their roles are ABC News Communications VP Jeffrey Schneider and Corporate Communications VP Julie Hoover.
Disney World, Universal Theme Parks Close
ORLANDO (Orlando Sentinel) – Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando Resort theme parks are among the businesses that will close today as Wilma threatened to bring tropical-force winds to the Or-lando area. Other major theme parks, including SeaWorld and Discovery Cove, expected to open but were keeping an eye on the storm. Kim Prunty, spokeswoman for Walt Disney World Resort, said the theme parks will open today if weather conditions improve. "We'll re-evaluate after the storm passes," Prunty said. Disney's resort hotels will stay open, but guests at the Fort Wilderness Resort & Camp-ground were relocated to hotels at the resort, the company said in a statement. Universal's CityWalk will open at 6 p.m., a spokeswoman said. Walt Disney World, along with Universal Orlando and SeaWorld, closed for the three hurricanes that hit the area last year.
Disney Backs Anti-Piracy Technology for Oscar DVDs
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Disney on Monday plans to become the first major Hollywood film distributor to back an anti-piracy DVD technology that stirred controversy last year in advance of the important Oscar race. Disney said it would release DVD "screeners" – copies of movies sent to groups that vote on awards – only for DVD players made exclusively by a Dolby Laboratories unit, Cinea, and engineered to thwart illegal copying. "We feel like this is a really strong first step in addition to all the other things we do to combat piracy," said Dennis Rice, who heads Disney's Oscar publicity campaign, which will include films such as "Shopgirl" and "The Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." Holly-wood's awards season is of major importance to the studios because awards help lure moviegoers to theaters, but increasingly screeners have been copied illegally and posted on the Internet or sold in street markets before a film hits theaters. Cinea plans to distribute 12,000 players to members of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which awards the Oscars, and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. The DVD players are encoded with recipients' names, and screeners sent to those peo-ple are specifically encrypted so they can be seen only on those particular DVD players. Rice said he hoped other studios would follow Disney's lead, but representatives for Sony Corp.'s Sony Pictures Enter-tainment and General Electric Co.-controlled Universal Pictures said those two studios would not. Others were still considering their options.
"Chicken Little" Critical for Disney Reputation
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Next month Walt Disney hopes to prove the sky is no longer falling. The adorably round-headed star of its computer-animated movie, "Chicken Little," will make the case that the storied studio has moved into the next generation of animation and can produce the type of hit films that once were its signature – and an important profit center. In the works for five years, "Chicken Little" is the first computer-generated feature film created by Disney animators and follows a string of traditionally animated films that failed to perform as well as many computer-made competitors. Disney's new effort follows Chicken Little's travails in middle school a year after his disastrously incorrect observation that the sky was falling. It debuts November 4 in the midst of Disney's talks with Pixar Animation Studios Inc over whether Disney will continue to distribute and share profits from Pixar's computer-generated, or CG, films and could prove an important factor if a deal is struck, analysts said. Disney's studio has had a number of golden ages with hand-drawn animated features centering around hits such as the 1937 film, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," and in 1994 "The Lion King." Partner Pixar has had animated hits since 1995. Ryan Ball, a senior writer for the online Animation magazine said the studio, known for its "Disney Look" and classic story lines, may have to sacrifice both to tap into a more sophisticated audience that now includes young adults.Analysts said the film must open big and perform well overseas for Disney to be considered a player in the new world of animation, where DreamWorks Animation SKG's "Antz" was not considered a success despite $170 million in worldwide ticket sales. "My gut instinct is they need to do something in the $350 million range to be seen as 'Disney's on its way back in animation,"' Rich Greenfield, an analyst at Fulcrum Global Partners, said. "If it does $200 million or $250 million worldwide, it will not be seen as the way to replace Pixar." Although about 150 animators had to be trained in CG to make "Chicken Little," the studio says it has closed the gap and is on track to release one CG animated film for each of the next three years: "Meet the Robinsons" in 2006, "American Dog" in 2007 and "Rapunzel Unbraided" in 2008. Time magazine writer Richard Corliss, one of the first critics to review the film, praised it as "a genuine Disney cartoon" and "one of the funniest, most charming and most exhilarating movie in years." "Chicken Little" director Mark Dindal, who watched the transition from hand-drawn to CG animation at Disney during the making of his film, said studio founder Walt Disney, who championed new technology, would have been proud. "It was like horses at the starting gate waiting to get their chance," Dindal said of the animators. "We just caught a wave of all this pent up excitement of people saying, 'We'll show you what we can do."'
Friday, October 21, 2005
Disneyland Thanks Australia for Support
(AAP) – He claims to have the best job in the corporate world and the president of America's Disneyland Re-sort said it's Australians who have helped make his theme park a global success. Matt Ouimet is in Australia to meet with various local travel companies to discuss deals for Australians wanting to visit Disneyland during its current 50th birthday celebrations. It is his first visit here and he is quick to boast how no other job in the world stacks up to his. "I have one of the best jobs in the world, there is no doubt about it," he told AAP. "From my office I can see Space Mountain, I can see the Matterhorn and I can see Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, what kid in American wouldn't want that," he said. Mr Ouimet said it was important for him to visit Australia as it had long been a lucrative market for his theme park. "North American markets are our biggest markets, but other than that, Australia is right on top." But despite the popularity of the brand in markets like Australia and New Zealand, Mr Ouimet cannot see a time where there would be a Disney-theme park on every continent. "No I wouldn't think it would be an immediate thing," he said. "(But we do) have a group that continues to study where we belong internationally and what the products should look like internationally."
Thursday, October 20, 2005
Eisner to Helm 'Lagoon' Redo for Universal
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – “Creature From the Black Lagoon" will surface again, this time with Breck Eisner at the helm for Universal Pictures. Part of Universal's rich legacy of black-and-white monster movies, the original "Lagoon" followed a scientific expedition searching for fossils in the Amazon that discovers a prehistoric creature able to breathe underwater. The creature, named Gill-Man, terrorizes the group and falls in love with the fiance of a member of the expedition. The studio began developing updates of its creature features after the success of 1999's "The Mummy." Gary Ross, whose father, Arthur Ross, was a writer on the 1954 original, is producing the remake via his Larger Than Life banner. Ross – writer-director of "Seabiscuit" and "Pleasantville" – wrote the current draft of the "Creature" screenplay. Eisner, son of longtime Disney CEO Michael Eisner, met Ross at a dinner party. After some conversations, Ross sent Eisner the script to "Lagoon," and he wanted in. "I've always been a fan of the original, but for this I would love to just update and modernize the film," Eisner said in an interview. "We see it as an aggressive sci-fi horror film in the vein of 'Alien' or like John Carpenter's 'The Thing.' We want to elevate the source material." The studio will use a combination of CGI and practical effects for the monster. Design of the creature is under way.
Parents Group Warns Against 4 Fox Shows
NEW YORK (AP) – Four Fox network programs, led by the comedies "The War at Home," "Family Guy" and "American Dad," topped a parents group's annual listing of the worst prime-time shows for family viewing. The Parents Television Council rated two aspirational reality shows, ABC's "Extreme Make-over: Home Edition" and NBC's new "Three Wishes," as the best programs for family viewing. The group's president, L. Brent Bozell, said he was alarmed that the three Fox Sunday night comedies are being marketed as family friendly. "Families should not be deceived," he said. "The top three worst shows all contain crude and raunchy dialogue with sex-themed jokes and foul language. Even worse is the fact that Hollywood is peddling its filth to families with cartoons." The Fox drama "The O.C." was fourth on the PTC's list of worst prime-time shows for families. Television's two most popular programs – CBS' "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and ABC's "Desperate Housewives – are also cited as bad family viewing. So were "Two and a Half Men" and "Cold Case" on CBS. The group said it makes its determinations based on the amount of bad language and sexual and violent content, giving more weight to shows that appear earlier in the evening when children are likely to be awake, said Melissa Caldwell, its research director. Fox's "American Idol," which returns in January, made the group's list of best family viewing ex-periences. Two new shows, CBS' "The Ghost Whisperer" and UPN's "Everybody Hates Chris," also made it. Bozell said the group couldn't even come up with 10 prime-time shows it would recommend for family viewing. Its list stops at nine.
The "Parents Television Council"? Interesting. I'm a parent and, well, Family Guy rocks. How self-righteous does a 'group' need to be to label their narrow-minded views with a sweeping generalization? I hereby declare myself the 'Parents Television Council 2' and endorse every show in this article!
The "Parents Television Council"? Interesting. I'm a parent and, well, Family Guy rocks. How self-righteous does a 'group' need to be to label their narrow-minded views with a sweeping generalization? I hereby declare myself the 'Parents Television Council 2' and endorse every show in this article!
ABC Losing Interest in Alias?
(TV Squad) – Seems that ABC sends out a press release every week, talking about which shows are do-ing well, which shows have buzz, which shows they want to plug, etc. And this past week they talked about Supernanny, they talked about Commander-in-Chief, and they talked about Freddie (!), but they didn't mention Alias at all. Alias was ranked 70th last week, and in its time slot was beaten by Joey. Yikes.
Go Ben Affleck!
Go Ben Affleck!
Monday, October 17, 2005
Former Employee Threatens Suicide Atop Space Mountain
HONG KONG (AP) – A former Disney worker climbed to the roof of the Hong Kong park's most popular attraction and threatened to kill himself to protest his dismissal, a Disney spokeswoman and newspaper reports said Wednesday. The 48-year-old man, a former security guard at the theme park, climbed to the top of the building housing the Space Mountain roller coaster on Tuesday and remained there for two hours, Hong Kong Disneyland spokeswoman Esther Wong said. Photographs published in the Apple Daily newspaper showed the man sporting a white T-shirt with the words "reveal the truth" and "SOS" written in red paint. The man was unhappy that he was fired three months ago for allegedly violating park rules, including using obscene language during working hours, the paper said. He climbed down unhurt after a two-hour negotiation with police and fire fighters, Wong confirmed.
Happy Hallo-Wishes
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (Reuters) – Cinderella Castle at Walt Disney World gets into the seasonal spirit with a brand-new fireworks display called 'Happy HalloWishes,' a Halloween-themed show featuring music from Disney attractions like The Haunted Mansion and films like 'The Nightmare Before Christmas,' in this photo taken on October 6, 2005. The new fireworks show is presented dur-ing a separate admission special event in the theme park called 'Mickey's Not-So-Scary Hallow-een Party,' which is held select nights through Oc-tober 31, 2005.
Thursday, October 13, 2005
'Lost' in Sales
(NY Post) – Forget Oprah Winfrey – ABC's "Lost" could be the new minter of best-selling books. On last week's episode, Flann O'Brien's book, "The Third Policeman," was flashed on-screen for an instant. Well, that instant, seen by 21 million viewers, translated into immediate sales on amazon.com – with the book climbing 420 percent on Amazon from the time "Lost" ended Wednesday to Thursday morning.
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Disney's Magical Express Positively Impacts
New service creates 600 jobs and reduces airport wait times, traffic congestion
(LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2005) - After only five months of operation, Disney's Magical Express has set new travel industry service standards, created more than 600 new jobs in Central Florida, reduced crowding and wait times throughout Orlando International Airport (OIA) and cut down on area roadway congestion by efficiently transporting up to 21,000 passengers per day.
Disney's Magical Express reduces overall congestion for everyone at the airport by moving 15 to 20 percent of OIA's arriving passengers. Less than 10 percent of all ground transportation curb space is needed, leaving the remaining 90 percent for other transportation services.
Prior to the introduction of Disney's Magical Express, all passengers waited an average of 25 to 30 minutes for luggage at the baggage claim area before seeking ground transportation. Today, Disney's Magical Express guests bypass baggage claim, thereby reducing the wait time for other passengers.
"Disney's Magical Express is a 100 percent privately-funded, industry-leading and innovative program that has injected tens of millions of dollars into the local economy while significantly increasing the capacity of our airport and improving the airport experience for all passengers," said Jerry Montgomery, Walt Disney World senior vice president of public affairs.
The benefits of Disney's Magical Express include:
Ø More than 600 new jobs in Central Florida
Ø Reduced roadway congestion, specifically along the I-4 tourism corridor
Ø Efficient transport of 15-20 percent of all OIA arriving passengers, while utilizing less than 10 percent of OIA's ground transportation curb space
Ø Enhanced airline efficiency - check-in and luggage handling
Ø Improved TSA security screening process (off-terminal)
Ø Increased food and beverage, retail and transportation concession income to OIA
Additionally, Disney's Magical Express already has received numerous accolades:
Ø Congressman John Mica (FL-7), chairman of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Aviation, recently applauded Disney's Magical Express, which enables departing guests on certain airlines to check their luggage and receive a boarding pass before ever leaving their Disney hotel. "Not only does resort airline check-in provide a convenience for travelers, it also helps to expedite and improve security checks by reducing congestion during the busiest times. A new industry model has been established," Mica said.
Ø Airline partners of Disney's Magical Express also have expressed their support for the service. "Delta's Disney customers can now enjoy more convenient flight and baggage check-in right from their resort. As the largest air carrier of passengers into Orlando International Airport, making this service available to customers is right in line with Delta's focus on making travel simple, convenient and reliable," Josh Weiss, Delta Air Line's director of customer-service operations and strategy, said.
Ø Arthur Frommer's widely read Budget Travel magazine recently honored Disney's Magical Express with its 2005 "Extra Mile Award," which recognizes "forward-looking companies that have demonstrated real innovation" and made "travel easier, more affordable or simply more enjoyable."
(LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2005) - After only five months of operation, Disney's Magical Express has set new travel industry service standards, created more than 600 new jobs in Central Florida, reduced crowding and wait times throughout Orlando International Airport (OIA) and cut down on area roadway congestion by efficiently transporting up to 21,000 passengers per day.
Disney's Magical Express reduces overall congestion for everyone at the airport by moving 15 to 20 percent of OIA's arriving passengers. Less than 10 percent of all ground transportation curb space is needed, leaving the remaining 90 percent for other transportation services.
Prior to the introduction of Disney's Magical Express, all passengers waited an average of 25 to 30 minutes for luggage at the baggage claim area before seeking ground transportation. Today, Disney's Magical Express guests bypass baggage claim, thereby reducing the wait time for other passengers.
"Disney's Magical Express is a 100 percent privately-funded, industry-leading and innovative program that has injected tens of millions of dollars into the local economy while significantly increasing the capacity of our airport and improving the airport experience for all passengers," said Jerry Montgomery, Walt Disney World senior vice president of public affairs.
The benefits of Disney's Magical Express include:
Ø More than 600 new jobs in Central Florida
Ø Reduced roadway congestion, specifically along the I-4 tourism corridor
Ø Efficient transport of 15-20 percent of all OIA arriving passengers, while utilizing less than 10 percent of OIA's ground transportation curb space
Ø Enhanced airline efficiency - check-in and luggage handling
Ø Improved TSA security screening process (off-terminal)
Ø Increased food and beverage, retail and transportation concession income to OIA
Additionally, Disney's Magical Express already has received numerous accolades:
Ø Congressman John Mica (FL-7), chairman of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Aviation, recently applauded Disney's Magical Express, which enables departing guests on certain airlines to check their luggage and receive a boarding pass before ever leaving their Disney hotel. "Not only does resort airline check-in provide a convenience for travelers, it also helps to expedite and improve security checks by reducing congestion during the busiest times. A new industry model has been established," Mica said.
Ø Airline partners of Disney's Magical Express also have expressed their support for the service. "Delta's Disney customers can now enjoy more convenient flight and baggage check-in right from their resort. As the largest air carrier of passengers into Orlando International Airport, making this service available to customers is right in line with Delta's focus on making travel simple, convenient and reliable," Josh Weiss, Delta Air Line's director of customer-service operations and strategy, said.
Ø Arthur Frommer's widely read Budget Travel magazine recently honored Disney's Magical Express with its 2005 "Extra Mile Award," which recognizes "forward-looking companies that have demonstrated real innovation" and made "travel easier, more affordable or simply more enjoyable."
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Raglan Road is now confirmed to officially open on October 21st 2005.
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Irish hospitality and a bit of blarney come to Downtown Disney at Walt Disney World Resort when Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant officially opens Oct. 21. Raglan Road delivers an experience immersed in genuine Irish atmosphere -- from food and drink to live music and entertainment.
Traditional and contemporary Irish music, storytelling and dance help create a spirited social ambience and the friendly pub staff brings Emerald Isle charm to Downtown Disney. Irish musicians entertain nightly and guests are encouraged to sing, clap and dance along to the lively performances.
The Raglan Road menu blends traditional Irish fare and fresh ingredients, all with a modern flair. Natural tastes, flavor and quality prevail in dishes such as Raglan Rack (rack of lamb on a delicate Irish stew consommé), Sea Leek (oven-baked fillet of sea bass served on a fondue of leeks) and Kevin's Kudos (oven-roasted loin of bacon served with braised cabbage and creamed potato).
With capacity for 600 guests, Raglan Road is warm and welcoming with custom furnishings, lighting and wall coverings -- all designed and built in Ireland by Irish craftspeople. Irish antiques, ornamentation and bric-a-brac complete the authentic décor.
Raglan Road is owned and operated by Great Irish Pubs Florida, Inc., the Irish-owned company that previously created Nine Fine Irishmen at the New York-New York Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
Pleasure Island club admission will not be required for entrance to Raglan Road.
Monday, October 03, 2005
I can live with movie fame
I can live with movie fame, originally uploaded by Brave Heart.
Nightmare Before Christmas, Tim Burton
Disney's Auction of Mickey Statues at Sotheby's Raises Money for Charity
NEW YORK (Business Wire) -- Tuesday afternoon at Sotheby's, Disney raised $614,500 when 75 unique Mickey Mouse statues, designed by artists, athletes and celebrities for the celebration of Mickey's 75th anniversary, were sold at auction. A total of 50 charities will benefit from the sale, including Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Children Affected by AIDS Foundation, James Birrell Neuroblastoma Research Fund, Make-A-Wish Foundation of America and the Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation. Artists whose statues brought premium prices for the charities they selected included Sir Elton John ($52,000 for "Music Royalty"), Michelle Kwan ($20,000 for "Peace & Love") and Tom Hanks ($15,000 for "Space Mouse"). A number of statues designed by Disney legends were also favorites, including those created by Al Konetzni ($45,000 for "Back to School"), Lori Tyminski of Disney Publishing ($29,000 for "Funny Pages") and Tuck Morgan of Disney Consumer Products ($21,000 for "Mickey Through the Years"). Since Mickey Mouse's 75th Anniversary on November 18, 2003, the 6-feet-tall, 700 pound statues have traveled 700,000 miles across the country as the "Celebrate Mickey: 75 InspEARations" tour. The one-of-a-kind tributes to Mickey visited 14 cities and brought smiles to over 20 million people during the celebrationI spent a lot of time with these statues. I even made a video of them when I stumbled across them in Washington, D.C. this spring. I wonder how much the
Disney Donates African Art
WASHINGTON (LA Times) – In a move to close his leadership of the Walt Disney Co. with a philanthropic flourish, Chief Executive Michael Eisner announced Thursday that the company would donate its African art collection, hailed by experts as one of the most important such collections in private hands in the United States, to the Smithsonian Institution. In making the gift – 525 objects, spanning five centuries and valued at $20 million to $40 million – Disney turned away suitors including the French government and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and solved a quandary that Eisner said had vexed him for 20 years. "A lot of museums contacted me," said Eisner, noting that French President Jacques Chirac "made several calls . . . and became increasingly aggressive." But Eisner said he wanted to place the collection with a museum that charged no admission fee, and "there's only one Smithsonian, only one museum for all Americans." The gift will become part of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art, which plans a debut exhibition in 2007. Eisner's wife, Jane, has served on the Smithsonian National Board since 1998 and is currently vice chair. Under terms of the gift, said Sharon F. Patton, director of the National Museum of African Art, at least 60 items from the collection are to be labeled the Walt Disney-Tishman African Art Collection and be displayed in the institution for at least the next three decades. The list of items includes Nigerian masks made of wood and antelope skin, a carved ivory-and-metal hunting horn from the area now known as Sierra Leone, intricately carved ivory armlets made for Yoruban kings and Shona stone carvings from the area now known as Zimbabwe. Dozens of wooden carvings range from delicate mother-and-child figures to rough-hewn ceremonial swords. The pieces were first collected by New York real-estate developer Paul Tishman and his wife, Ruth, beginning in the 1960s. Paul Tishman, whose company served as contractor in the construction of Epcot, had been courted by New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, which staged a special exhibition of Tishman holdings in the early 1980s. Instead, the Tishmans sold the collection to Disney in 1984 for an undisclosed amount.
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Disney is planning to adapt its film classic Mary Poppins for the stage.
Disney has its stage hands full with Poppins, school shows
By Elysa Gardner, USA TODAY
Disney's theater division has a variety of new projects on tap for 2004, from professional shows to programs that will enable schoolchildren and other amateurs to create their own spectacles. (Related item: Disney's live theater projects take center stage)
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As head of that division, Thomas Schumacher realizes that such progress eventually will require closing certain long-running productions. "You have to ask how you can tour these shows, license them, roll them out in other ways — and bring new titles in."
New titles for the coming year include a stage adaptation of Mary Poppins and On the Record, a touring show designed to evoke a recording session for "the ultimate Disney album," Schumacher says, with dance numbers.
Beyond that, Disney will for the first time make Beauty and the Beast and Aida available for stock and amateur projects, including high school productions, through an agreement with the licensing agency Music Theatre International.
Disney and MTI also are developing musicals for students to perform, among them an adaptation of the 1992 film Newsies, an Aladdin for middle schools, and Cinderella and The Jungle Book for elementary schoolers. For the latter three, teachers will have access to 40-minute scripts with directors' notes.
CD tracks also will be offered, Schumacher says, allowing children to sing along karaoke-style. "(School music) programs are being cut back, so if you don't have an orchestra, you can use this. Or if you do have an orchestra, you can rent the parts from us."
Disney also will continue to cultivate audiences through its association with Feld Entertainment, the company that runs Disney on Ice. Chairman and CEO Kenneth Feld works with a team from Schumacher's department on seven ice shows, which last year attracted more than 10 million fans.
Feld also is readying Disney Live, a series of non-ice stage shows featuring characters from popular stories and films. The first, focusing on Winnie the Pooh, is set to open in New Zealand in June, then move to Australia and likely end up in North America toward the end of 2005.
Feld says that the Disney Live shows will incorporate humor, audience participation and music, from Disney classics to covers of contemporary pop songs.
"It won't be a passive experience," he says. "The show is geared for all levels, every age group."
Disney Channel properties Kim Possible and Jo-Jo's Circus have been mentioned as possible future Disney Live outings, but not yet confirmed. Similarly, Schumacher says that Disney stage versions of Pinocchio and Hoopz have been put on the back burner for now, but not abandoned.
"And then there's another idea, something totally original, based on a 20th-century phenomenon," Schumacher adds, mysteriously. "I can't tell you about it now, but it's fantastic."
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Tarzan New Line King
NEW YORK (NY Post) – As Clear Channel Communications retreats from Broadway, another corporate giant – Walt Disney - continues to expand its empire in Times Square. Last week, in front of hundreds of group-sales executives, Disney unveiled plans for a $10 million (at least) stage version of its animated movie "Tarzan" that will open at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in May. Usually at these events, the sales people are treated to a few musical numbers, and, if you sneak into the theater, you can get a pretty good idea of whether the show's going to be a stinker or a hit. But "Tarzan" isn't even in rehearsal yet, so Tom Schumacher, the popular head of Disney's theater division, hosted what amounted to an informal chat show that might have been called "Tom and Friends." Perched on a footstool, Schumacher, a charming ham, interviewed Bob Crowley, the director and designer of "Tarzan," while set models and costume sketches were projected on a giant video screen. The prevailing image of the show is a giant green box representing the jungle. The sexy gorilla costumes look like something Cher would wear in concert. Phil Collins, who wrote the songs for the "Tarzan" movie, is doing the score for the musical. He put in a "surprise" appearance, chatting with Schumacher and performing a medley of songs from the show, including his chart topper "You'll Be in My Heart." Pichon Baldinu, the creator of "De Le Guarda," is designing aerial movement for "Tarzan." Earlier this year, Baldinu staged an aerial workshop of "Tarzan" at an abandoned theater in Buenos Aires, and Schumacher played a video of that workshop for the group sales agents. In the video, performers in crash helmets and body pads soared across the stage and bungee-jumped from the wings. It was hard to know what to make of the aerial workshop. It looked more like an extreme sports event than a Broadway musical, but it was done without sets, costumes or lighting.
After the presentation, Disney hosted a private party at Chez Josephine, where the top group-sales executives got to mingle with creators of the show. Within a few days of Schumacher's presentation, "Tarzan" had sold around $8 million worth of group-sales tickets, production sources said. One group-sales agent predicts the overall advance for the show could reach $20 million or more by the time previews begin in the spring. "The Disney marketing machine is the best there is," this agent says. "Who else could produce Phil Collins for a group-sales presentation? They've got us eating out of their hands." Footnote: By this time next year, Disney should have four of Broadway's top musical houses all locked up: "Tarzan" at the Richard Rodgers; "Beauty and the Beast" at the Lunt-Fontanne; "The Lion King" at the Minskoff (where it transfers from the New Amsterdam in the spring); and, moving into the New Amsterdam, "Mary Poppins." Not since Cameron Mackintosh had "Cats," "Les Miserables," "The Phantom of the Opera" and "Miss Saigon" all running at the same time in the 1990s has one producer controlled so much Broadway real estate.
After the presentation, Disney hosted a private party at Chez Josephine, where the top group-sales executives got to mingle with creators of the show. Within a few days of Schumacher's presentation, "Tarzan" had sold around $8 million worth of group-sales tickets, production sources said. One group-sales agent predicts the overall advance for the show could reach $20 million or more by the time previews begin in the spring. "The Disney marketing machine is the best there is," this agent says. "Who else could produce Phil Collins for a group-sales presentation? They've got us eating out of their hands." Footnote: By this time next year, Disney should have four of Broadway's top musical houses all locked up: "Tarzan" at the Richard Rodgers; "Beauty and the Beast" at the Lunt-Fontanne; "The Lion King" at the Minskoff (where it transfers from the New Amsterdam in the spring); and, moving into the New Amsterdam, "Mary Poppins." Not since Cameron Mackintosh had "Cats," "Les Miserables," "The Phantom of the Opera" and "Miss Saigon" all running at the same time in the 1990s has one producer controlled so much Broadway real estate.
WiMax Wireless May Directly Usher Disney Into The Living Room
(Investor’s Business Daily) – Walt Disney Co. has cast its eyes on WiMax, an emerging wireless broadband technology, as a way to deliver movies, interactive gaming and other services to homes. The Magic Kingdom's interest in WiMax comes on the heels of Disney pulling the plug on another wireless project, called MovieBeam. That project would have beamed movies on demand to homes via unused TV broadcast spectrum, but consumers would've had to buy an extra set-top box. WiMax is a long-range version of Wi-Fi, a wireless technology that lets laptop computer users connect to the Internet. Wi-Fi's available at some public locations, including many airports and Starbucks stores. WiMax, meanwhile, is being tested inside and outside the US, though there have been no commercial rollouts. Disney has been testing a WiMax network near its Burbank, Calif., headquarters. Disney has also been active in setting WiMax standards. Those standards are needed so different equipment makers can build WiMax gear that works together. It's also possible that Disney will try a MovieBeam-like trial involving WiMax technology. If Disney gets serious about WiMax, some observers speculate that it wouldn't build a WiMax network of its own, but instead would rent Sprint's WiMax network.
Disney Alters Itinerary for Magic’s Voyage
(Florida Today) – Disney Cruise Line has altered the itinerary of its current Disney Magic voyage, changing it to a Western Caribbean itinerary from an Eastern Caribbean itinerary to avoid the potential impact of Hurricane Philippe. "We're always prepared to change the itinerary to avoid severe weather, and we know our guests will enjoy the modified itinerary," said Rena Langley, a Disney Cruise Line spokeswoman. "Because of the projected path of Hurricane Philippe, we changed the itinerary." Disney officials also said they are very closely monitoring Tropical Storm Rita, which was expected to become a hurricane, but do not anticipate any changes in upcoming voyages of the Port Canaveral-based Disney Magic or the Disney Wonder because of that storm. The Disney Magic departed Saturday from Port Canaveral and is scheduled to return this Saturday.
'Rules' Star Sagal Gets 'Lost'
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) – Katey Sagal will guest-star on an episode of "Lost" early this season, but her role for the moment is as cryptic as the meaning of Hurley's numbers. The former "8 Simple Rules" star will be playing a character named Helen in the third episode this season, scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 5. It seems more likely that she would appear in the show's flashback scenes; higher-profile guest stars were primarily used that way in "Lost's" first season. It also appears that the flashback for the episode, titled "Orientation," will concern Locke (Terry O'Quinn). Kevin Tighe ("Murder One"), who appeared last season as Locke's father, Cooper, will reprise his role. Beyond that, ABC is offering only the broadest of hints about the episode, saying Jack (Matthew Fox), Kate (Evangeline Lilly) and Locke "learn more secrets about the hatch." The show's producers have said episode three contains a fairly major revelation about what's inside the hatch. Elsewhere, Michael (Harold Perrineau), Sawyer (Josh Holloway) and Jin (Daniel Dae Kim) face a new challenge after escaping the raft. Sagal, who played Cate Hennessy on "8 Simple Rules", most recently appeared in the ABC Family movie "Campus Confidential."
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Disney on Parade - New York Times
Op-Ed Columnist
Disney on Parade
By MAUREEN DOWD
Published: September 17, 2005
WASHINGTON
The president, as he fondly recalled the other day, used to get well lit in New Orleans. Not any more.
On Thursday night, Mr. Bush wanted to appear casually in charge as he waged his own Battle of New Orleans in Jackson Square. Instead, he looked as if he'd been dropped off by his folks in front of a eerie, blue-hued castle at Disney World. (Must be Sleeping Beauty's Castle, given the somnambulant pace of W.'s response to Katrina.)
Skip to next paragraph
Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times
More Columns by Maureen Dowd All Andrew Jackson's horses and all the Boy King's men could not put Humpty Dumpty together again. His gladiatorial walk across the darkened greensward, past a St. Louis Cathedral bathed in moon glow from White House klieg lights, just seemed to intensify the sense of an isolated, out-of-touch president clinging to hollow symbols as his disastrous disaster agency continues to flail.
In a ruined city - still largely without power, stinking with piles of garbage and still 40 percent submerged; where people are foraging in the miasma and muck for food, corpses and the sentimental detritus of their lives; and where unbearably sad stories continue to spill out about hordes of evacuees who lost their homes and patients who died in hospitals without either electricity or rescuers - isn't it rather tasteless, not to mention a waste of energy, to haul in White House generators just to give the president a burnished skin tone and a prettified background?
The slick White House TV production team was trying to salvage W.'s "High Noon" snap with some snazzy Hollywood-style lighting - the same Reaganesque stagecraft they had provided when W. made a prime-time television address from Ellis Island on the first anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. On that occasion, Scott Sforza, a former ABC producer, and Bob DeServi, a former NBC cameraman and a lighting expert, rented three barges of giant Musco lights, the kind used for "Monday Night Football" and Rolling Stones concerts, floated them across New York Harbor and illuminated the Statue of Liberty as a backdrop for Mr. Bush.
Before the presidential address, Mr. DeServi was surveying his handiwork in Jackson Square, crowing to reporters about his cathedral: "Oh, it's heated up. It's going to print loud."
As Elisabeth Bumiller, the White House reporter for The Times, noted in a pool report, the image wizards had put up a large swath of military camouflage netting, held in place by bags of rocks and strung on poles, to hide the president from the deserted and desolate streets of the French Quarter ghost town.
The president is still looking for a gauzy beam of unreality in New Orleans - and in Iraq, where a violent rampage has spiked the three-day death tally to over 200.
The Oedipal loop-de-loop of W. and Poppy grows ever loopier.
With Karl Rove's help, Junior designed his presidency as a reverse of his father's. W. would succeed by studying Dad's failures and doing the opposite. But in a bizarre twist of filial fate, the son has stumbled so badly in areas where he tried to one-up Dad that he has ended up giving Dad a leg up in the history books.
As Mark Twain said: "When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years."
Of course, it's taken Junior only five years to learn how smart his old man was.
His father made the "mistake" of not conquering and occupying Iraq because he had the silly idea that Iraqis would resent it. His father made the "mistake" of raising taxes, not cutting them, and overly obsessing about the federal deficit. And his father made the "mistake" of hewing to the center, making his base mad and losing his bid for re-election.
Bush père did make a real mistake in responding slowly to Hurricane Andrew in 1992, but that blunder has been dwarfed by what the slothful son hath wrought. Because of his fatal tardiness, W. now has to literally promise the moon to fix New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Coast, driving up the federal deficit and embarking on the biggest spending bonanza and government public works program since F.D.R.
In his address from the French Quarter, the president sounded like such a spendthrift bleeding heart that he is terrifying the right more than his father ever did.
Read my lips: By the time all this is over, people will be saying that Poppy was the true conservative in the family.
E-mail: liberties@nytimes.com
Disney on Parade
By MAUREEN DOWD
Published: September 17, 2005
WASHINGTON
The president, as he fondly recalled the other day, used to get well lit in New Orleans. Not any more.
On Thursday night, Mr. Bush wanted to appear casually in charge as he waged his own Battle of New Orleans in Jackson Square. Instead, he looked as if he'd been dropped off by his folks in front of a eerie, blue-hued castle at Disney World. (Must be Sleeping Beauty's Castle, given the somnambulant pace of W.'s response to Katrina.)
Skip to next paragraph
Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times
More Columns by Maureen Dowd All Andrew Jackson's horses and all the Boy King's men could not put Humpty Dumpty together again. His gladiatorial walk across the darkened greensward, past a St. Louis Cathedral bathed in moon glow from White House klieg lights, just seemed to intensify the sense of an isolated, out-of-touch president clinging to hollow symbols as his disastrous disaster agency continues to flail.
In a ruined city - still largely without power, stinking with piles of garbage and still 40 percent submerged; where people are foraging in the miasma and muck for food, corpses and the sentimental detritus of their lives; and where unbearably sad stories continue to spill out about hordes of evacuees who lost their homes and patients who died in hospitals without either electricity or rescuers - isn't it rather tasteless, not to mention a waste of energy, to haul in White House generators just to give the president a burnished skin tone and a prettified background?
The slick White House TV production team was trying to salvage W.'s "High Noon" snap with some snazzy Hollywood-style lighting - the same Reaganesque stagecraft they had provided when W. made a prime-time television address from Ellis Island on the first anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. On that occasion, Scott Sforza, a former ABC producer, and Bob DeServi, a former NBC cameraman and a lighting expert, rented three barges of giant Musco lights, the kind used for "Monday Night Football" and Rolling Stones concerts, floated them across New York Harbor and illuminated the Statue of Liberty as a backdrop for Mr. Bush.
Before the presidential address, Mr. DeServi was surveying his handiwork in Jackson Square, crowing to reporters about his cathedral: "Oh, it's heated up. It's going to print loud."
As Elisabeth Bumiller, the White House reporter for The Times, noted in a pool report, the image wizards had put up a large swath of military camouflage netting, held in place by bags of rocks and strung on poles, to hide the president from the deserted and desolate streets of the French Quarter ghost town.
The president is still looking for a gauzy beam of unreality in New Orleans - and in Iraq, where a violent rampage has spiked the three-day death tally to over 200.
The Oedipal loop-de-loop of W. and Poppy grows ever loopier.
With Karl Rove's help, Junior designed his presidency as a reverse of his father's. W. would succeed by studying Dad's failures and doing the opposite. But in a bizarre twist of filial fate, the son has stumbled so badly in areas where he tried to one-up Dad that he has ended up giving Dad a leg up in the history books.
As Mark Twain said: "When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years."
Of course, it's taken Junior only five years to learn how smart his old man was.
His father made the "mistake" of not conquering and occupying Iraq because he had the silly idea that Iraqis would resent it. His father made the "mistake" of raising taxes, not cutting them, and overly obsessing about the federal deficit. And his father made the "mistake" of hewing to the center, making his base mad and losing his bid for re-election.
Bush père did make a real mistake in responding slowly to Hurricane Andrew in 1992, but that blunder has been dwarfed by what the slothful son hath wrought. Because of his fatal tardiness, W. now has to literally promise the moon to fix New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Coast, driving up the federal deficit and embarking on the biggest spending bonanza and government public works program since F.D.R.
In his address from the French Quarter, the president sounded like such a spendthrift bleeding heart that he is terrifying the right more than his father ever did.
Read my lips: By the time all this is over, people will be saying that Poppy was the true conservative in the family.
E-mail: liberties@nytimes.com
Why Disney Gave up Pencils for Computers
Why Disney Gave up Pencils for Computers
BURBANK, Calif. (NY Times) – On April 4, 2003, Glen Keane, one of Walt Disney's most respected animators, summoned about 50 of his colleagues to a conference room on the lot here to discuss the war brewing at the studio. Disney's animators had settled into two opposing camps: those who were skilled in computer animation and those who refused to give up their pencils. Keane, a 31-year veteran who created the beast from "Beauty and the Beast" and Ariel from "The Little Mermaid," was a Disney traditionalist. But after a series of experiments to see whether he could create a computer-animated ballerina, his opposition softened. So he invited the 50 animators to discuss the pros and cons of both art forms, calling his seminar "The Best of Both Worlds." For an hour, Keane listed the pluses and minuses of each technique while the other animators listened quietly. After a few tentative questions, the crowd burst into chatter as animators shouted over one another, some arguing that computers should not replace people and others expressing fears that they would be forced to draw by hand. In a recent interview, Keane recalled that Kevin Geiger, a computer animation supervisor, then stood up and demanded of him, "If you can do all this cool stuff that you're talking about – that you want to see in animation – but you have to give up the pencil to do it, are you in?" Keane hesitated before answering, "I'm in."
Three weeks later, the company's animators were told that Disney would concentrate on making computer-animated movies, abandoning a 70-year-old hand-drawn tradition in favor of a style popularized by newer and more successful rivals like Pixar Animation Studios and DreamWorks Animation. The results were nothing short of a cultural revolution at the studio, which is famous for the hand-drawn classics championed by its founder, Walt Disney. On Nov. 4, a little more than two and a half years after that decision, Disney will release "Chicken Little," the first of four computer-animated films being developed at the newly reorganized studio. The company is hoping that this movie, along with others like "Meet the Robinsons," "American Dog" and Keane's "Rapunzel Unbraided," will return a reinvigorated Disney to its past glory. There is a lot more than pride, however, riding on their success. Animation was once Disney's heart, a profitable lifeline that fed the company's theme park, book and home video divisions. And reviving profit is as essential to Disney these days as regaining its storied reputation. "From a psychological standpoint, 'Chicken Little' is very important for Disney," said Hal Vogel, an analyst who covers Disney. "Everything is touched by animation, and if they don't refresh it, it becomes frayed at the edges." The box office numbers show how far the sky has fallen. The studio reached the height of its most recent popularity with the 1994 release of "The Lion King," which brought in $764.8 million at the worldwide box office. By contrast, the last nine animated movies Disney either made or acquired took in only $758.3 million combined. "The Incredibles," the 2004 film created by Pixar, brought in $630 million, nearly as much as Disney's last eight animated movies. So it should come as no surprise that when Keane stood up and made his passionate plea in 2003, Disney was in the midst of an identity crisis. It had to reinvent itself – or wither. The competition in animated films is now tougher than ever. It is also fraught with enough sibling rivalry to make the wicked stepsisters in "Cinderella" blush. Against such a backdrop, "Chicken Little" is almost certain to be one of the most scrutinized movies of its kind.
Soon after becoming president of Walt Disney Feature Animation in 2003, David Stainton was contemplating what to do about the standoff between Disney's two camps of animators, the techies and the traditionalists. When he was hired, Stainton said, Eisner and Richard Cook, chairman of Walt Disney Studios, said they wanted Disney movies to be wittier, contemporary computer-animated comedies with a dramatic twist – in other words, as one Disney executive said, more like "Shrek." Stainton said he knew he would need an influential animator on his side to succeed. So in February 2003, a month after he was hired, he responded enthusiastically when Keane met with him and Eisner and presented six hand-sketched scenes for "Rapunzel Unbraided," a heartwarming romance based on the fairy tale. Stainton and Eisner told Keane that they would approve the film but that there was one caveat: it had to be computer-animated. Keane balked. Stainton said he replied, "Glen, I'm not asking you to go make a movie with humans that look like 'Final Fantasy,"' referring to the stiff figures in the 2001 computer-animated dud. "I'm asking that you – and I know it doesn't exist out there – I'm asking you to go create it. You have to create something new." Whether "Rapunzel Unbraided" was made or not, it offered a politically expedient way for Mr. Stainton to force a dialogue. So, on April 4, Mr. Keane held his "Best of Both Worlds" seminar. And at the end of that month Mr. Stainton lobbed another grenade. He told more than 525 employees gathered at a town hall meeting that the studio would stop making hand-drawn movies for the foreseeable future. Those interested in computer-generated animation could sign up for a six-month "C.G. boot camp." "What I was saying to them was, 'You've got to embrace it or there isn't going to be a place for you,' " Mr. Stainton said. The announcement did little to soothe the warring camps. Some traditionalists refused to sit with the computer set at lunch, Disney executives said. They voiced their complaints to Roy E. Disney, then the studio's animation chairman and Disney board member, who was locked in his own battle with Mr. Eisner, having vowed to oust him as chief executive.
Disney animation suffered another blow on Jan. 29, 2004, when Steve Jobs announced that Pixar would end talks with Disney to continue its 14-year partnership and would seek a competitor to distribute its films after the release of Pixar's next movie, "Cars." Six days later, Mr. Jobs criticized Disney's animators, telling Wall Street analysts that Disney's "Treasure Planet" and "Brother Bear" were bombs and calling the studio's sequels "embarrassing." "It was the best thing that could have happened to us," said Mr. Cook, the chairman of Walt Disney Studios. Weeks later, Cook met with the animators and told them that it was time to get on with making great movies. "We needed to get ourselves back on track," he said. "They knew it. Enough of the Disney bashing; enough already. The way to stop all that is to win. And that's what we set our sights on." If there is any question about whether there is life for Disney after Pixar, consider the following: Last June, Disney caused a ruckus at the industry's largest computer-animation conference in Los Angeles when it set up a large poster in front of its booth – and facing Pixar's – to advertise the pre-production of "Toy Story 3." For many of those in attendance, it was an in-your-face gesture that showed Disney was prepared to go it alone. But it was also part of a larger public relations campaign to show that Disney was viable again. Disney was interviewing new recruits and showing off new technology. But Disney's biggest challenge may be to overcome the notion that, when it comes to animation, many moviegoers may no longer have much confidence in Disney. Indeed, the company's animators today have more in common with their predecessors than their competitors at Pixar and DreamWorks. When animators created "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," the studio's first theatrical offering in 1937, it was referred to as "Disney's Folly" before its release. "How hungry were they?" Mr. Dindal said, referring to "Snow White's" animators. "It's fun to be at a place where everybody's hungry for something, as opposed to being well fed."
BURBANK, Calif. (NY Times) – On April 4, 2003, Glen Keane, one of Walt Disney's most respected animators, summoned about 50 of his colleagues to a conference room on the lot here to discuss the war brewing at the studio. Disney's animators had settled into two opposing camps: those who were skilled in computer animation and those who refused to give up their pencils. Keane, a 31-year veteran who created the beast from "Beauty and the Beast" and Ariel from "The Little Mermaid," was a Disney traditionalist. But after a series of experiments to see whether he could create a computer-animated ballerina, his opposition softened. So he invited the 50 animators to discuss the pros and cons of both art forms, calling his seminar "The Best of Both Worlds." For an hour, Keane listed the pluses and minuses of each technique while the other animators listened quietly. After a few tentative questions, the crowd burst into chatter as animators shouted over one another, some arguing that computers should not replace people and others expressing fears that they would be forced to draw by hand. In a recent interview, Keane recalled that Kevin Geiger, a computer animation supervisor, then stood up and demanded of him, "If you can do all this cool stuff that you're talking about – that you want to see in animation – but you have to give up the pencil to do it, are you in?" Keane hesitated before answering, "I'm in."
Three weeks later, the company's animators were told that Disney would concentrate on making computer-animated movies, abandoning a 70-year-old hand-drawn tradition in favor of a style popularized by newer and more successful rivals like Pixar Animation Studios and DreamWorks Animation. The results were nothing short of a cultural revolution at the studio, which is famous for the hand-drawn classics championed by its founder, Walt Disney. On Nov. 4, a little more than two and a half years after that decision, Disney will release "Chicken Little," the first of four computer-animated films being developed at the newly reorganized studio. The company is hoping that this movie, along with others like "Meet the Robinsons," "American Dog" and Keane's "Rapunzel Unbraided," will return a reinvigorated Disney to its past glory. There is a lot more than pride, however, riding on their success. Animation was once Disney's heart, a profitable lifeline that fed the company's theme park, book and home video divisions. And reviving profit is as essential to Disney these days as regaining its storied reputation. "From a psychological standpoint, 'Chicken Little' is very important for Disney," said Hal Vogel, an analyst who covers Disney. "Everything is touched by animation, and if they don't refresh it, it becomes frayed at the edges." The box office numbers show how far the sky has fallen. The studio reached the height of its most recent popularity with the 1994 release of "The Lion King," which brought in $764.8 million at the worldwide box office. By contrast, the last nine animated movies Disney either made or acquired took in only $758.3 million combined. "The Incredibles," the 2004 film created by Pixar, brought in $630 million, nearly as much as Disney's last eight animated movies. So it should come as no surprise that when Keane stood up and made his passionate plea in 2003, Disney was in the midst of an identity crisis. It had to reinvent itself – or wither. The competition in animated films is now tougher than ever. It is also fraught with enough sibling rivalry to make the wicked stepsisters in "Cinderella" blush. Against such a backdrop, "Chicken Little" is almost certain to be one of the most scrutinized movies of its kind.
Soon after becoming president of Walt Disney Feature Animation in 2003, David Stainton was contemplating what to do about the standoff between Disney's two camps of animators, the techies and the traditionalists. When he was hired, Stainton said, Eisner and Richard Cook, chairman of Walt Disney Studios, said they wanted Disney movies to be wittier, contemporary computer-animated comedies with a dramatic twist – in other words, as one Disney executive said, more like "Shrek." Stainton said he knew he would need an influential animator on his side to succeed. So in February 2003, a month after he was hired, he responded enthusiastically when Keane met with him and Eisner and presented six hand-sketched scenes for "Rapunzel Unbraided," a heartwarming romance based on the fairy tale. Stainton and Eisner told Keane that they would approve the film but that there was one caveat: it had to be computer-animated. Keane balked. Stainton said he replied, "Glen, I'm not asking you to go make a movie with humans that look like 'Final Fantasy,"' referring to the stiff figures in the 2001 computer-animated dud. "I'm asking that you – and I know it doesn't exist out there – I'm asking you to go create it. You have to create something new." Whether "Rapunzel Unbraided" was made or not, it offered a politically expedient way for Mr. Stainton to force a dialogue. So, on April 4, Mr. Keane held his "Best of Both Worlds" seminar. And at the end of that month Mr. Stainton lobbed another grenade. He told more than 525 employees gathered at a town hall meeting that the studio would stop making hand-drawn movies for the foreseeable future. Those interested in computer-generated animation could sign up for a six-month "C.G. boot camp." "What I was saying to them was, 'You've got to embrace it or there isn't going to be a place for you,' " Mr. Stainton said. The announcement did little to soothe the warring camps. Some traditionalists refused to sit with the computer set at lunch, Disney executives said. They voiced their complaints to Roy E. Disney, then the studio's animation chairman and Disney board member, who was locked in his own battle with Mr. Eisner, having vowed to oust him as chief executive.
Disney animation suffered another blow on Jan. 29, 2004, when Steve Jobs announced that Pixar would end talks with Disney to continue its 14-year partnership and would seek a competitor to distribute its films after the release of Pixar's next movie, "Cars." Six days later, Mr. Jobs criticized Disney's animators, telling Wall Street analysts that Disney's "Treasure Planet" and "Brother Bear" were bombs and calling the studio's sequels "embarrassing." "It was the best thing that could have happened to us," said Mr. Cook, the chairman of Walt Disney Studios. Weeks later, Cook met with the animators and told them that it was time to get on with making great movies. "We needed to get ourselves back on track," he said. "They knew it. Enough of the Disney bashing; enough already. The way to stop all that is to win. And that's what we set our sights on." If there is any question about whether there is life for Disney after Pixar, consider the following: Last June, Disney caused a ruckus at the industry's largest computer-animation conference in Los Angeles when it set up a large poster in front of its booth – and facing Pixar's – to advertise the pre-production of "Toy Story 3." For many of those in attendance, it was an in-your-face gesture that showed Disney was prepared to go it alone. But it was also part of a larger public relations campaign to show that Disney was viable again. Disney was interviewing new recruits and showing off new technology. But Disney's biggest challenge may be to overcome the notion that, when it comes to animation, many moviegoers may no longer have much confidence in Disney. Indeed, the company's animators today have more in common with their predecessors than their competitors at Pixar and DreamWorks. When animators created "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," the studio's first theatrical offering in 1937, it was referred to as "Disney's Folly" before its release. "How hungry were they?" Mr. Dindal said, referring to "Snow White's" animators. "It's fun to be at a place where everybody's hungry for something, as opposed to being well fed."
Friday, September 16, 2005
Wikipedia validates our existence
I have to admit, this is kind of cool.
Future Disney Cabinet
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For First Day Covers of stamps, see First day of issue.
The FDC, short for "Future Disney Cabinet", is a Disney fan group which began in Spring 1992 as part of the Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.disney. It started as something of an inside joke, based on the signature block of community member Sean Squier stating that he was the Future CEO of The Walt Disney Company. Others picked up on the idea and took on imaginary titles for the roles they would someday have when Squier takes over Disney. Some of these made-up titles were "Theme-park Walkaround Belle" or "Walt Disney Imagineering Director of Special Projects". [1] FDC members would post to the community from the point-of-view of the characters they were playing; on some days there were more than a hundred FDC-related posts, drawing some complaints from people who wanted to separate the FDC into its own newsgroup. Eventually the FDC claimed more than 300 members.
In November 1994, a TinyMUCK named "FDCMuck" opened as a place for FDC members to chat and roleplay interactively. It started with about a hundred players, most of whom were active members of rec.arts.disney; it served as something of a refuge from the newsgroup. Eventually it became a tight-knit community of its own, and at its peak the muck had grown to more than six hundred players, most of whom had no prior affiliation with the newsgroup or the FDC.
The muck has been in decline for the past few years, as many players were lost due to unannounced moves of the server to new addresses.
[edit]
External link
FDCMuck web site
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Future_Disney_Cabinet"
Future Disney Cabinet
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For First Day Covers of stamps, see First day of issue.
The FDC, short for "Future Disney Cabinet", is a Disney fan group which began in Spring 1992 as part of the Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.disney. It started as something of an inside joke, based on the signature block of community member Sean Squier stating that he was the Future CEO of The Walt Disney Company. Others picked up on the idea and took on imaginary titles for the roles they would someday have when Squier takes over Disney. Some of these made-up titles were "Theme-park Walkaround Belle" or "Walt Disney Imagineering Director of Special Projects". [1] FDC members would post to the community from the point-of-view of the characters they were playing; on some days there were more than a hundred FDC-related posts, drawing some complaints from people who wanted to separate the FDC into its own newsgroup. Eventually the FDC claimed more than 300 members.
In November 1994, a TinyMUCK named "FDCMuck" opened as a place for FDC members to chat and roleplay interactively. It started with about a hundred players, most of whom were active members of rec.arts.disney; it served as something of a refuge from the newsgroup. Eventually it became a tight-knit community of its own, and at its peak the muck had grown to more than six hundred players, most of whom had no prior affiliation with the newsgroup or the FDC.
The muck has been in decline for the past few years, as many players were lost due to unannounced moves of the server to new addresses.
[edit]
External link
FDCMuck web site
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Future_Disney_Cabinet"
Monday, August 29, 2005
Stunt Show banner
These banners are all over the parks for the Disneyland celebration. This one in EPCOT's World Showcase features a new attraction at the Disney/MGM Studios.
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Sunday, August 14, 2005
Rock N Rollercoaster Publicity
I never saw this in print, but it's pretty cool. I counted 78 corvettes, but I need higher resolution to be sure.
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
Thursday, July 07, 2005
Lights, Motors, Action! Disney/MGM Studios
We just watched the finished show today. I believe a driver catches fire just behind where we are standing.
Friday, July 01, 2005
Star Wars Weekends - Boba Fett
Star Wars Weekends at the Disney/MGM Studios. This is the real deal official costume. I want one.
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