Playing With Imaginary Friends While Growing Up...

I am a HUGE fan of the "Calvin & Hobbes" strip...

I have the entire collection(and will eventually get the Ultimate Collection) and frequently turn the pages to reflect on life as an adult.  It is an example of the sardonic genius that ink and paper can have.  Bill Watterson is a hermit who happens to be a brilliant storyteller.

And for what seems like forever I've wanted to see an animated film of this high spirited little fella and his vivid imagination.  I never thought I would get it knowing how Watterson was against marketing his creation outside of the newspaper pages.  It's not like he needs the money (he 's worth a reported $300 million just from the comic strip).  He's rejected offers since C&H was in syndication , which is why no child has been able to fall asleep with their very own, plush Hobbes to protect them.

The artist/author is notoriously recluse and has done less interviews than you could count on one hand.  Surprisingly, he has agreed to an interview with Mental Floss Magazine in which he talks candidly about his work, ripoffs and the possibility of a film of his famous creation.  He doesn't outright say no, but he makes it clear he doesn't believe there will ever be a film of his definitive work.

But isn't that what P.L. Travers said about her famous work, "Mary Poppins"?  She was stern, absolutely adamant  in her desire to not let Walt Disney make a film of her best selling book.

And yet it got made...

Hat Tip to /Film.

Whedonspeak...

Fall will be here before you know it...

And a new Joss Whedon television show is lying in wait, ready to pounce on your expectations.  And thankfully with his newly earned clout he won't have to worry about network suits breathing down his neck.  Success seems to have a way about it, right?

If you're a big Marvel fan, or just a Joss fan then you might want to check out the latest podcast of Entertainment Weekly.  It's got a really great interview with the Whederkund talking about various projects he's working on/promoting, including that little television show coming in the fall.  It's a fairly long interview as well, probably twice the length of his Jimmy Fallon interview.  Check it out, or if you have iTunes, you can download it here.

The only negative is he didn't mention that Warren Ellis internet collaboration thing...

Getting Justice...

The Hollywood Reporter has a great interview with screenwriter Damon Lindelof...

It taps into his thoughts on many of his own as well as several other projects.  From "Lost", to "Star Wars" to  several other entertainment iconography that he's been associated with.  But the reporter asks Lindelof about Warner Bros. difficulty in getting their "Justice League" film off the ground.  And his answer is analytically  precise and revealing about what he would do, if anything:

THR: If Warner Bros called and asked you to help solve their Justice League problem, would you take that call? 

Lindelof: The Justice League problem? I think a lot of that depends on Man of Steel. The Justice League problem is not a problem of, who is the bad guy that Wonder Woman and Green Lantern, Superman, whoever you decide to pit them against. The problem is: What’s the tone of that movie? They’ve been struggling with launching their own tone. The tone of Green Lantern is very different from the tone of The Dark Knight. They clearly inhabit two entirely different worlds. You want to feel like someone is establishing a world where the Justice League can exist, maybe Man of Steel is that movie. If Man of Steel works, and it’s great, I think it starts to make sense where Paradise Island is in that world. Because that’s an entirely different world than the one Christopher Nolan introduced.

What's interesting about his statement is that he draws on the fact that "Man of Steel" could provide the justification for the superhero team-up film, while denying, or more precisely, deflecting any desire to be involved in the film.  So, unless he has a change of heart, I don't think we'll see his name on the credit list.  My suggestion, have Zack Snyder produce it and get Jonathan Nolan to write it and give him the opportunity to direct it.  He can be DC's Joss Whedon.  He knows the characters and is able to write them.  Let him play around in a world where they all meet up.

After all the success he's given Warner, that'd be justice...

Debating Myths...

J.J. Abrams was on The Daily Show to talk about...

The difference between "Star Wars" and "Star Trek" mostly.  But he touched on filming, directing, all those series he produces and Jon Stewart as a Jedi.  Take a little time out of your day to reflect on those arguments you had in the sandbox with the other guy.  Which is better, who would win in a fight, Uhura or Princess Leia.

Here is the conversation: Part One which focuses on the debate, and Part Two which focuses on most everything else.

Enjoy...

Too Much Toro...

Never too much of a good thing...








And here we are with more of Frosty's Interview with Guillermo del Toro from Collider...

The remaining parts of the interview with del Toro are posted here for your enjoyment:

Guillermo del Toro Pacific Rim Interview Part 8
Guillermo del Toro Pacific Rim Interview Part 9
Guillermo del Toro Pacific Rim Interview Part 10

And if you want to see the other parts of his discussion, here is the talk about the Haunted Mansion, and then his other interviews are here and here.

If there ever was a case for cloning, it's this man...

BusinessWeak...

We screwed up, this was our attempt to fix it...





Bob Iger did an interesting interview with BusinessWeek that just came out...

Focusing almost entirely on the Extreme Makeover and rebirth of Disney California Adventure, he talks to reporter, Devin Leonard about Buena Vista Street/Cars Land. While it's a short interview, done while exploring the park, it's interesting getting into the mind of Iger, and how it relates to balancing the creative and business side of a company as big as the Mouse. I also like the fact that the CEO can admit mistakes. That's a rare quality that isn't shared with the former head of Walt's Empire.

Give it a read and find out for yourself...

Haunted Possibilities...

999 ghosts, 999 possibilities...




Frosty over at Collider has been releasing parts of an hour long interview he did with Guillermo del Toro....

It's a great look into how the man works, the process he's taking with "Pacific Rim," and the progression on many of his projects. But until now, he hasn't mentioned the remake of "Haunted Mansion" that he was working on.

Until now.

Del Toro is asked about the status of the project and tells Collider:

I delivered my last draft five weeks ago. I have a meeting with them in three weeks. I know they like the screenplay. I need to meet with them in three weeks. That’s what I know. I know their reaction to the draft was good. We have a bunch of conceptualist art, but you never know, to predict anything else is hard for me to know. I should have called them and said, “Hey.” Usually, it’s very hard for me to predict what a thing like that means.

A great interview. He goes on to mention a little more about the adaptation of the attraction, as well as share his feelings on the Harry Potter novels/films. If you haven't seen/read the others, we posted them here and here.

Hopefully, Alan Horn and his band of Suits can convince him to make Haunted Mansion his next project...

More Guillermo...

Yes, but what about HM...









Frosty over at Collider keeps posting more of his hour long interview with Guillermo del Toro...

With all the things that GdT is attached to, he'll never have to worry about finding work. I just hope he lives to do half of what he's planning, because of the voluminous projects he is associated with.

Guillermo del Toro Pacific Rim Interview Part 4
Guillermo del Toro Pacific Rim Interview Part 5
Guillermo del Toro Pacific Rim Interview Part 6

Take a look/listen...

Anti-Social...

Will his idea be followed in the sequel, Paradise...





Damon Lindelof is a very prolific writer...

He is a screenwriter with many plates spinning in the air. From the controversial ending of "Lost" to the discussions that have surrounded the story of "Prometheus," he's taken the brunt of the criticism and graciously limited his credit in the story.

There's a great interview he did with the Wall Street Journal's Speakeasy Blog that addresses much of what he's done, and how he deals with social media - both the upside and downside.

Blue Sky Disney has spend a fair amount of digital ink talking about Ridley Scott's latest film, but there's nothing that says the debate has to be over/ended. At the very least, this could be an exclamation point on the subject.

Until the Blu-Ray is released, of course...

Hat Tip to /Film.

Giant Robots, Huge Monsters & Big Directors...

But what about the Haunted Mansion film...




The guys over at Collider have a great collection of interviews with Guillermo del Toro...

With all the buzz that was generated at Comic-Con 2012 (and it's worthy of that buzz), "Pacific Rim" is looking to be the big surprise film of 2013. When the trailer comes out in November/December you'll understand why.

Guillermo del Toro Pacific Rim Interview Part 1
Guillermo del Toro Pacific Rim Interview Part 2
Guillermo del Toro Pacific Rim Interview Part 3

That giant battle over Hong Kong should be worth the ticket price alone...

Iger On Disney...

Call me Bob...







Charlie Rose did a very in depth interview with Disney CEO Bob Iger that has been posted...

No matter if you like him or not, it's a great opportunity to get the man's perspective on Disney, business, the deals he has made and his take on the future that lies ahead.

An interesting viewing...

Mouse Mogul Musings...

Dream...







Deadline Hollywood has an interview with Walt Disney Pictures' Head Suit...

Rich Ross has a very interesting interview that has equal parts of agreement/disagreement about the state of film in general and the Mouse in specific.

An interesting read...

Love The Craft...

The Old Ones are coming...

There's a great new interview by Daniel Zalewski with Guillermo del Toro over at the New Yorker magazine that is really interesting...

I really like the way Zalewski writes, almost creating a narrative story out of a simple interview.  Guillermo sheds light on several of his upcoming ("At the Mountains of Madness," "The Haunted Mansion") as well as aborted projects ("The Hobbit") and provides an in depth look into the mind of one of the most interesting film makers working today.  If you're a pop culture geek, a comic book lover or a Disney fan, there's something in there for everyone.

Take a look and be in the know before everyone else is...

Meanwhile, Back On Mars...

Marsoon...

There hasn't been a lot of new information about Walt Disney Pictures':"John Carter of Mars" lately...

But the MTV Movie Blog has an interview with director Andrew Stanton where he sheds a little light on the process and makes you wonder when we're going to see that first teaser for the film.  My bet is sometime in the fall, close to Thanksgiving we'll get a teaser of it with some form of a trailer released near Christmas.

Barsoom is a world I've wanted to see since I was a child so I guess I can wait another year...

DirecTRON...

Action...


From the Grid...

Over at Collider, they've got a really interesting interview with Joe Kosinski about "Tron Legacy" that you might want to read. Lots of stuff about Easter eggs, deleted scenes, compromises that had to be made and intentions for the Blu-Ray and possible thoughts about TR3N.

Give it a click...

X-Wife Interview...

X-Cellent news...



Lauren Shuler Donner, producer of the X-Men series at Fox, as well as wife of Superman director Richard Donner has done a nice interview about the upcoming sequel/prequel...

Not too revealing, but some nice info about the film, as well as a little more confirmation that I may actually like the next "Wolverine" film. Go over to Crave Online and give it a read.

It starts shooting in days, starts playing next summer...

Jedi Council...

With the modern wonder that is YouTube, we also get to hear what went on in Orlando...

The "Main Event" at Celebration V, as it was hyped between Jon Stewart and George Lucas has now been made available for all to see thanks to fans uploading this video. If you want to see/hear the thought provoking words of the Flannel Shirted One, then click below. Lucas is such a large part of our pop-culture iconography that he had to be broken up into eight parts:

Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Part Six
Part Seven
Part Eight

Click it or do not click it.

There is no try...

Suits Me...

I like Sean Bailey, I really do...

He may be Hollywood, but he seems to get the movie-going public and the world at large, far better than most suits, much less, heads of production at a major studio. It was one of the reasons that I was a little less worried once Rich Ross came on board. He's a talented producer that knows his way around Hollywood and Burbank. I think his help in navigating the upcoming film slate of the Mouse will be quite valuable to everyone from film maker to film fan.

With that said, El Guapo himself has posted an interview with the man over at Latino Review Then there is Frosty over at Collider that was able to get an interview with Bailey about all things, "Tron," "Black Hole," Pixar, 3D and all things Disney that you may/will like. Also, over at /Film, Peter Sciretta has done a nice interview with Bailey that mentions a bit about the Fincher/20k reboot and a few other interesting tidbits. Click over and enjoy.

It'll be interesting to see what comes down the pipeline from Bailey and Ross over the next year or so...

An Animated Direction...

Over at Collider, they're starting to post a great deal on their attending the Walt Disney Animation Panel...

The sites Bill Gram posts his interview with "Tangled" directors, Byron Howard and Nathan Greno. Very interest talk with a couple of nice, talented guys. I'm rooting for them to hit this one out of the bleachers and from what I'm hearing, it's a great film filled with what you want from a classic Disney film. Go over and take a look and get a little perspective of what goes on in making a major animated feature.

It's great to see the talent that Lasseter is putting in charge of the Mouse's animation house...

Persian Press...

Open Sesame Street...




With Walt Disney Pictures' "Prince of Persia: Sands of Time" coming out in a couple weeks there is going to be all kinds of press for the future franchise...

So the creator of the original gaming franchise, Jordan Mechner has been doing press interviews. The guys over at IESB have got an interesting discussion with the video game designer about the film, the game and all those little details that you tend to find in between.

Give it a read...