Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Disney In Dimensions...


Walt Disney Pictures gave its presentation today at ShoWest...

Big on 3D. BIG. The Mouse has fully committed to astounding and assaulting your eye sockets over the next few years with seventeen films coming out in 3D between now and 2012.

I wasn't there, but I've heard back from people that were and you can get more detailed responses to the footage at Latino Review and Ain't It Cool News if you want to go into the minutia of it.

From what everyone is telling me, the "Beauty and the Beast" test that they showed really knocked the audience off it's socks. Now, if they could just get past having to wear those glasses... I hate wearing those glasses.

There was info about "TRON," but no new trailer... probably going to have to wait for Nerdvana(read: Comic-Con) for that.

The production artwork for both "A Christmas Carol" and "Alice in Wonderland" is said to be amazing and darker than what we're used to from Disney. There was a still from "Toy Story 3" that has a very sardonic feel about it. Wood from behind, looking around Andy's room with posters and pictures that a teenage boy would have. A boy that wouldn't be playing with cowboy dolls anymore... Interesting.

And several other announcements related to upcoming releases. Click on the links above for more info.

I think the films coming out this year are interesting, but starting late next year through 2012 we're going to get some truly radical and very cool Disney films, both animated and live-action.

Progressing...

Monday, March 30, 2009

East Gets Dream, West Gets Wonder...


It looks like Los Angeles won out over San Diego...

The Disney Cruise Line announced today that the Port of Los Angeles will be the new home of the Disney Wonder starting in 2011(they've signed a two-year agreement with a three-year extension option). That happens to be the year that the Disney Dream comes online. You can expect that if the Wonder is on the West Coast then the Dream will wind up filling the void on the East Coast.

So if you're wanting a Disney cruise without having to go to Florida then you've got two years to save those pennies. If you want to experience the new ships it looks like your going to have to sail the Atlantic(at least till 2014). Although when the Disney Fantasy makes her maiden voyage in 2012; her base will be in Florida, we don't know yet if the Magic will come out west or be used for extensive cruises based in Europe.

The Mouse's cruise line will have doubled its ships a little after operating a little more than a decade. Not as many as were expected when the line was first proposed to Eisner, but still impressive non-the-less. If it expands beyond the four ships it has now, it'll probably take another decade and a lot harder search for names. After Magic, Wonder, Dream and Fantasy what is there left?

A Dream Weekend...


DreamWorks Animation cleaned up at the box office this weekend...

"Monsters Vs. Aliens" ended Sunday with a monstrous take of $58.2 million dollars. Katzenberg's little firm has been delivering quite a bit of a challenge to the Mouse and Lamp with its stream of hits over the last couple of years. Granted, the quality of stories haven't been as high as Pixars, but the box office has more than equaled Emeryville.

I saw MvA over the weekend and fully enjoyed it. While the story was good, it ain't "Kung Fu Panda," but was a fun escapist night at the movies. Those of you that are fans of old sci-fi 50's films or cheesy monster films of that era should really enjoy it. But as it stands for me, Panda is still the only Pixar-quality film they've produced. From what I hear the sequel is working out very good, story-wise.

Here's hoping that future films like "Master Mind" and "Truckers" build on the base that DW has constructed over the last few years...

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Nick Cage To Star In Matrix 4...


There you have one of the pictures of what Nicholas Cage looks like as the Sorcerer in Disney's live-action take on the Fantasia segment...

What the?

Man, this had better be one heck of a script is all I'm saying...


Hat Tip to FilmDrunk.

Friday, March 27, 2009

The "T" Word...


Every studio wants franchises...


Franchise are a guarantee of revenue over a period of time and nothing pleases Suits and stockholders better than the ability to know you'll have a reliable source of profits. Although nothing is certain in this world, franchises are perhaps the closest thing to a sure thing in Hollywood.

Disney likes them too, but lately, the Mouse is being more specific on what it wants from franchises. It wants a trilogy. This gives them a franchise with a beginning and and an end in sight when it comes to focusing on the cost of these creations. And even though they are magnets for money, they also cost a lot of money. Now if the trilogy is a success then they'll do more(Pirates 4 anyone?), but these projects are big enough that three are more than enough to keep the film, marketing and merchandise departments busy for the better part of a decade.

The new remake/prequel/revision of 20K is being positioned as such. Don't imagine that this first project that McG wants to do as being a one shot thing. Should it be successful the company has plans to move forward with a trilogy. A second film has already been discussed and story ideas are already in play. This isn't the only project that Iger, Cook and Aviv are intent on exploiting with this strategy. The film division is working to create many projects over the next years that will be "Tent Pole" events that can function as a trilogy should the box office gods shine upon them. Iger has been heard talking about projects that can be spread across the many divisions of the Walt Disney Company. Having two, three or even four properties that can be used as trilogies will be very profitable and very key to the corporate strategy of Disney over the next decade. So when you see Walt Disney Pictures filled with characters and stories that you love and want to see again, you may get your wish.

Again and again and again...

Aliens Land Today, Monster Box Office, Kung Fu Quality?


DreamWorks Animation releases "Monsters Vs. Aliens" in theaters today and the big question isn't if the film will make a boat load of cash...

It will. The real question is if Jeffrey Katzenberg's company can replicate the awesomeness that was "Kung Fu Panda" and make it two in a row? DW has a long list of projects lined up on the production run way and many are wondering will MVA be a harginger of what's to come or will it fall back into the "Bee Movie" and tiring "Shrek" territory.

After today we may have the answer...

Thursday, March 26, 2009

More Sea Tales...


It appears someone over at Cinefools is saying a source close to them confirmed that McG's prequel to "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea" will be filming in Oz near the end of this year...

They also mention that the project could be on the fast track should Will Smith sign on soon. In that case, I hope production gets delayed... PLEASE. I will soooo be upset if the Fresh Prince signs on to play a young Nemo. My choice if you want someone to play a young Captain of the Nautilus is to get a bankable star that is either Indian or could look Indian. Smith is neither. My vote would go for someone like Eric Bana. I've seen several other actors which could look the part, but lack the "manly" factor that someone like Bana could bring to the role of the brooding and brilliant sea captain/rouge. As time goes by Disney is going to be pressed with signing a lead, I just hope they don't go for Big Willie.

Developing...

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

I Wanna See This Even More...


The trailer for Spike Jonze's "Where the Wild Things Are" is out...

Wow. What a thing of beauty. Those images placed to Arcade Fire's "Wake Up" just blend so well. I can't wait to see this in August.

I wish Disney would do a family film like this. That would be a bold and exciting move, which I don't think you'll see anything like anytime soon.

But I'd love to be proven wrong...

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Battle Of The Competition...

Welcome to my childhood.

Another piece of the puzzle that was my childhood gets remade...

I remember watching this series in America as a kid when it was called "Battle of the Planets" and then "G-Force" and was happy to be able to get an original "Gatchaman DVD Set" a few years(those Alex Ross covers were icing on the cake). I look forward to it and hope they've managed to capture the fun that the original show was.

Hat Tip to Latino Review.

Chuck The Movieguy Interviews Rhino The Hamster...


Another interview with the hamster is out...

Check out Chuck the Movieguy's interview and laugh. And laugh. And laugh...

The Mouse May Have A Stoneheart...


Walt Disney Studios and ImageMovers are currently working to pick up rights to "The Stoneheart Trilogy" for Robert Zemeckis to produce according to The Hollywood Reporter...

The novels are about a twelve year old boy in London that finds an alternate world where statues have souls and come to life. The boy finding the place upsets the balance between good and evil and has to work with an orphaned girl and statue of a WW I gunner to put the world back into balance.

More MoCap madness from Zemeckis, who now seems to live in an alternate world where he doesn't have to deal with actors as much...

Pixar In Pen & Pencil & Paper..


Ahhh, the joys of charcoal, ink and tree pulp...

Even though Pixar is known as a computer animation company, the original computer animation company actually, the truth is they start out every production just like an old fashioned hand-drawn film. Everything from characters to sets all begin as a sketch that goes from pencil to pen on paper before it ever gets animated...






































































All artwork is copyright The Lamp.

Monday, March 23, 2009

JoBlo Interviews Rhino...


The promotions with Rhino are starting to come out...

The JoBlo website got an interview with the little fella while he was outside his ball. Take a look and remember that it was all recorded live. This wasn't a setup...

And if you're a morning person, check out KTLA5 at 7:15 a.m. tomorrow and watch who Mark Kriski has helping him with the weather.

It'll be awesome...

Ponyo By August...


Walt Disney Pictures has announced that Hayao Miyazaki's "Ponyo" will be released on August 14th here in America...

If you want to see a film that was heavily influenced by Miyazaki then go see "Up" in May. Pete Docter, like John Lasseter, is a huge fan of his work and it shows in his and many of Pixar's films. It's great that the public gets to see these films in a much wider release than when I was a kid.

The world is opening up far wider for people today than when I was a child...

Sunday, March 22, 2009

There's No "R" In Superhero...


It seems that the Suits over on the Warner Lot are laying down the law...

A mandate has gone out that no more superhero films will be rated "R" since the box office disappointment of "Watchmen" a couple weeks ago. This according to a source over at IESB. Like Suits tend to do, they never focus on story. Only the tangible demographics that they perceive to understand. So they're thinking was that the reason "The Dark Knight" did so well was because it was rated PG-13 and not the fact that it had a brilliant story? You got to love them, don't you. Those business degrees are worth so little it seems.

Now, this isn't to say that Watchmen had bad story, because I think Zach Snyder did the impossible in translating that comic and bringing the core of what it was to the screen. But it's not a typical superhero story. In fact, it's a revisionist superhero story the way that Clint Eastwood's "Unforgiven" was. And those that went in for a typical comic book story were destined to be disappointed. The Suits would probably know this if they ever bothered to read the material that they film instead of handing it off to readers that give them coverage. Jeff Robinov made a glaring admission of not knowing what the heck he was talking about when he made the statement that all comic films will now be dark and serious, including Superman(this is a paraphrase of what he said). What he and others don't understand is that you have to be true to the source. You have to make it more accessible to a wider audience that film allows, but you have to remain faithful. That doesn't mean "dark and brooding." "Iron Man" wasn't that way and it worked out fine. When they start filming "Green Lantern" in September they shouldn't film it that way(I have got to get around to reading that script, sigh.). When they take superhero films like "Fantastic Four" and turn them into dysfunctional family sitcoms instead of a really great sci-fi adventure you can tell the Suits don't know what they're doing.

The irony here is that I believe the failure of Watchmen is because of two things. One is that it was marketed more like a superhero movie; which clearly it's not. Secondly, the expectations of Warner were way out of line because of the story that it was. It's not a film that would wind up doing the kind of box office they were expecting. It's more of a niche film that could grow beyond its targeted audience with a more focused campaign. It's strange because to me, Warner has the best marketing department in the film business. The Mouse is a very close second, although they did a bad job of marketing "Bolt" last year. Strangely, they seem to have become better at marketing Pixar films that Disney films, but that is another story for another post. Perhaps not needed after "The Princess and the Frog" comes out and does bofo at theaters.

Hopefully the Suits over at Warner prove me wrong. I loved DK and look forward to many more films that are adapted with thought and care, but not focusing on balance sheets and demographics. Good stories are what we need. As John Lasseter always says: "Quality is the best business plan of all." Maybe the genius planning the next Warner adaption should take a meeting with him. Although, I don't know if he has the time. He's very busy.

That seems to come with success...