Thursday, October 27, 2011

Burton's Weenie...



So we finally know what Tim Burton's "Frankenweenie" will look like...

If you're going to pic up the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly, then you'll see these shots from the film in a nice article about the film/man. We now have a sense as to what the director meant when saying to would be in black and white. It certainly has that "Burtonesque" quality to it. The dog, Sparky, looks exactly like the design that he did for Brad Bird's "Family Dog" that ran on Amazing Stories back in the Eighties. And the picture of the character of the boy that brings his pet back to life bares a striking resemblance to the lead character in the Disney short that Tim did called "Vincent" back when the Studio had no idea what to do with him.

It'll be interesting seeing if this film turns out more like "The Nightmare Before Christmas" or "The Corpse Bride."

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Punishing Television...

Get ready for punishment...





So a non-Disney owned network gets a Marvel adaptation...

Fox will get the first show based on a Marvel property that isn't on a Disney branded (Disney XD, ABC, ABC Family) broadcaster, "The Punisher."

And purist of the comic will be upset at the deviations from the source material. As envisioned by "Criminal Minds" showrunner Ed Bernero, Frank Castle will do his punishment moonlighting style. New York Cop by day, vengeful vigilante by night. Many will be upset, but I'll hold my powder dry until I see the finished product.

It's also fitting that the show will be made by Disney, but broadcast somewhere else. Since the subject matter is darker than other Marvel properties the Mouse probably wants to distance itself from the direct relation to the graphic material. Will it be a hit after the three disappointing films?

Time will tell...

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Warner's Path & The Mouse's Mistakes...

Mr. Iger, Valve is calling...






There's a really good article over at the LA Times about the Mouse's competition...

Not the film competition, or the theme park competition, but the gaming competition. Disney Interactive has been one of the few sore spots for the Walt Disney Company over the last five years. It's clear that the strategy they started out with hasn't worked. The pull back from the original strategy of the division, as well as the closing of companies it bought has revealed several weaknesses in the Mouse's plan.

Meanwhile, across town in Burbank, Warner Bros. seems to be following a much more successful path. There really is no excuse for Disney, as it has as much, if not more resources than Warner. It's clear that the companies and titles they produced, with exceptions of course, haven't been up to quality. WB Games has taken a strategy that has paid off very well, and this year will have revenues of over a billion dollars.

The Mouse continues to bleed red, though. While Warner bought Rocksteady, Disney bought Propaganda Games. Warner bought Traveller's Tales, and Disney bought Black Rock. When they should have bought a company like Valve or something like Sony's Naughty Dog. Instead, they aimed low and expected to go high.

Perhaps they will take a page from Warner, or perhaps not. But the path they have chosen is closer to what I'm sure Disney Interactive would have liked to have seen. Too bad they didn't follow that direction.

Gaming isn't as easy as they expected...

Thursday, October 13, 2011

The Lone Ranger Rides Again, Rides Again...

Ho hi, here we go again...








Well it appears that sanity has come to Burbank...

It this struggling economy, spending well north of a quarter of a billion dollars on a Western was enough to make the Mouse believe that it wasn't worth it. Thank you very much, "Cowboys & Aliens."

But the studio has come to an agreement with the producer, director and stars (what, no writers?) to take a 20% pay cut and defer some of the payments on the back end so as to get the film rolling. Also, any cost overruns will come out of Jerry Bruckheimer's pocket not Disneys. So it appears the production is back on track for shooting to start on February 6, 2012, with the film being released in the summer of the following year, May 31, 2013 to be exact.

Fear not, this is still a budget of over $215 million dollars, sans werewolves and a few other mystical things, but it still has three or four amazingly complex train robberies/crashes that should excite audience amidst the shoot outs. And don't worry about Johnny Depp not looking like an Indian, even though he is part Indian. You won't be able to recognize him if the make up test that they've done are approved. He's going to look like something you've never seen before. Of course, that has the studio a little worried, after all, if you're selling Johnny Depp and he doesn't even look like himself, will the audience not buy a ticket?

Come two years from now we'll likely know, but I like Gore Verbinski and I already know he can pull off a Western since he did "Rango" this year.

Now, let's hope he can turn silver bullets into box office gold...

Friday, October 7, 2011

Iger's End And Openings...

Power corrupts, absolute power gets drunk on it...






Well Bob Iger has signed a two/three year extension of his contract...

But he's done something that Michael Eisner never did. He gave us an end game. Iger announced that he will gain the title of Chairman as of next year, and will leg go of the reigns of power as CEO on March 31, 2015. He will then stay on as Chairman of the Walt Disney Company at least till this new contract expires in June, 2016.

This is in stark contrast to Eisner who tried to maintain his hold on power well after he should have resigned. It also sets up a debate as to whom will become the next CEO. The obvious choices are Walt Disney Parks & Resorts Chairman, Tom Staggs and Dark Lord of the Sith, err, I mean Chief Financial Officer, Jay Rasulo. It's my belief that it will be Tom Staggs who gets the title as it appears he's a much better fit for the role. Jay belongs over in the bean counting department dealing with the numbers. Staggs has proven himself to be a savvy Suit working the parks and getting much respect from those that he's had dealings with.

It may be interesting to see which Suit comes out in the lead over the next four years...

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish...

Thought Different...




Steven Paul Jobs
February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011





Saturday, October 1, 2011

Be Back 10, 9, 8, 7...

We are experiencing technical life difficulties...







Sorry everyone, but the real world has prevented anything from being posted lately...

Blogging should begin again next week.

Reality permitting...