Teasing Mars...

Put Mars back in John Carter...








Walt Disney Pictures has released the first teaser poster for its spring 2012 tent pole feature...

"John Carter" (formerly "of Mars") will be Andrew Stanton's first live-action film will be out on March 9, 2012. I hope that Stanton's talent and love of the material create a modern classic, but I still hate the title change. John Carter of Mars sounds like a great, pulpy adventure. John Carter sounds like a bio-pic that George Clooney is staring in that follows a downsized, corporate suit as he learns to reconnect with the wife and child he neglected. Sigh.

Does it mean that the film is doomed? Not at all. Andrew Stanton is a very talented director that knows a lot about story. I expect all that he's learned in the Brain Trust at the Lamp to be instilled into the very fiber of this adaptation. It's just the lack of enthusiasm about selling a film that has such an uninspired title. Let's see if our fears our calmed when the teaser is released later this summer.

Time will tell...

From Reboot To Wreck-It...

Make sure you're not a wreck at the box office...


Just don't be a wreck at the box office..


After "Tangled," Walt Disney Animation Studios is looking to prove that lighting will strike again...

Originally 2012 was going to be a hole in the production schedule for the Mouse's animation division, but with Pixar's "Monster University" being pushed out to 2013, we got a little bonus. "Reboot Ralph" got bumped up to November 2 2012 to fill that void.

Now, Disney has announced a name change as well. No longer will it be Reboot, but instead "Wreck-It Ralph." I don't know about the name, but all the buzz I've been hearing about the story sounds good. Walt Disney Pictures has even provided a synopsis of the film:

WALT DISNEY ANIMATION STUDIOS INTRODUCES WILDLY FUNNY NEW CG COMEDY ADVENTURE “WRECK-IT RALPH”

Directed by Emmy® Winner Rich Moore, Hilarious and Wildly Imaginative Animated Movie to Feature the Voices of John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer and Jane Lynch

BURBANK, Calif. (June 13, 2011) – Some of us are born to be bad, but that doesn’t mean we have to like it. Walt Disney Animation Studios and Emmy®-winning director Rich Moore (TV’s “The Simpsons,” “Futurama”) take moviegoers on a hilarious, video-game-hopping journey in “Wreck-It Ralph,” the story of an arcade game Bad Guy determined to prove he can be a Good Guy. Produced by Clark Spencer (“Lilo & Stitch,” “Bolt”) and featuring the voices of John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer and Jane Lynch, the CG comedy adventure will hit theaters on Nov. 2, 2012, and will be presented in Disney Digital 3D™ in select theaters.

Says Moore, “I love the idea of a very simple 8-bit video game character struggling with the complex question: ‘isn't there more to life than the role I've been assigned?’ In his quest for the answer, we journey with our hero through three visually distinct video game worlds. It's unlike anything anyone's seen before, and I'm thrilled to be to creating it here at Walt Disney Animation Studios.”

Wreck-It Ralph (voice of Reilly) longs to be as beloved as his game’s perfect Good Guy, Fix-It Felix (voice of McBrayer). Problem is, nobody loves a Bad Guy. But they do love heroes… so when a modern, first-person shooter game arrives featuring tough-as-nails Sergeant Calhoun (voice of Lynch), Ralph sees it as his ticket to heroism and happiness. He sneaks into the game with a simple plan—win a medal—but soon wrecks everything, and accidently unleashes a deadly enemy that threatens every game in the arcade. Ralph’s only hope? Vanellope von Schweetz (voice of Silverman), a young troublemaking “glitch” from a candy-coated cart racing game who might just be the one to teach Ralph what it means to be a Good Guy. But will he realize he is good enough to become a hero before it’s “Game Over” for the entire arcade?

From all I've been told, this is a very different film for Disney, both in tone and character. I can't wait to see where they go with it...

Thirty Years After The Greatest Adventure...

I hate snakes...





Thirty years ago today the world changed for me...

George Lucas and Steven Spielberg opened up a film that would define action for decades. It introduced one of the most iconic characters in the history of cinema: Indiana Jones.

"Raiders of the Lost Ark" was a film that I had no idea what to expect, or what it was about. I actually saw it earlier than opening night. Paramount Studios actually had test screening of it all across small town America a couple of weeks before it came out. My small town was one of those places where an advance screening took place. And I went. Not really knowing what to expect, I when as a little kid that loved the movies these two guys made and went in on that blind faith alone.

I came out blown away.

I actually stayed through the entire credit run; something I had never done before, but do quite often now. I left feeling as though Spielberg and Lucas had taking something from my mind and pulled it out and thrown it upon the screen. I can remember watching all that fun, all that action and saying to myself: "Wow, this is intense." After each one of the films action set pieces went on, I'd think that this must be it, the last one, no more action, no more story. This must be the end. But the story and action continued. It was a delightful roller coaster ride. I loved it. I went home and looked up the Ark of the Covenant, because I thought it was such a marvelous device. And I was surprised to find that it was real. So as well as entertaining me, it taught my ignorant mind a little unknown history.

Growing up in the lazy little suburbs of my quaint little city, there was little to do. I was a book reader, a comic reader and a movie-goer. I watched an ample amount of television consisting of a lot of escapist testosterone driven episodes of late 70's/early 80's cheese. One Sunday afternoon, I also happened to stumble on to a little PBS show entitled: "Super Serial Showcase." I watched it and marveled at the delight of these continuing adventures. How everything was fun and filled with action, great heroes and really nasty villains. I wondered to myself why Hollywood didn't make a movie like this. And then one day as I entered adolescence they did. They DID. For all their faults, for all the ranting I do here on Lucas or Spielberg, I have to give them my deepest respect and gratitude on this day.

For they opened another world to me...

One Ring To Rule Them All...

A perfect fruit...








The Mouse's biggest shareholder announced a new building for his company yesterday...

Steve Jobs, Apple's visionary leader has revealed his EPCOT (thanks to Alain over at Disney and More for the inspiration of that statement). The CEO presented his plans for the company's new headquarters in Cupertino to the city council.

Over the past decade, Apple has had a growth rate that is unheard of, and with it has come the need to find a place to house those employees. Scattered all around the city and its outskirts, numerous buildings hold some 13,ooo employees. Jobs wants them all working together, in the same space. This is the project that has been known for months as "Apple City."

So this unnamed building, in the form of a ring will house 12,000 employees. The Fruit Company will keep its 1 Infinite Loop headquarters that sits a mile down the road, but the majority of employees will reside in this massive, futuristic, spaceship-shaped building.

It'll be blasting off in 2012 and landing in 2015...

UPDATE: Several others have commented on the design and impact of this building that warrant another look.

Building Better Grids...

Tron in 2015 in theaters and Shanghai...


We haven't gotten a green light for TR3N just yet...

But we have gotten clues that they are moving forward with it. First there is the animated series which debuts next year on Disney XD, then there are other projects being worked at in non-film related divisions of the company. Ahem. Now comes word that Walt Disney Studios has hired David DiGilio to pen a new version of the script.

This doesn't mean the film is going to start shooting anytime soon, but it does mean that the fire hasn't gone out yet on this property. It appears that a lot will wrest on how successful "Tron Uprising" is on television. If it is a hit and creates a loyal following, then you're like to see another film on the grid.

If not, you'll always have Blu-Ray...

Transformations...

Designacons...





Hopefully you remember that article Blue Sky wrote about the new Harry Potter attraction at IOA...

Well, starting later this year in Singapore and next year in Hollywood, a continuation of that experience might be happening. I like competition and Universal Creative has been giving WDI a run for its money. Especially with "Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey." Which is a fantastic experience as a mini-park/attraction. It's the perfect example of how someone other than Disney can create a Disney type of experience. And it succeeded beyond Universal's dreams. It's a Disney attraction that's not a Disney attraction. The quality of the rides, shops and merchandise, well, everything really, is phenomenal. And as I said in that old article, if they keep it up then the Mouse had better start to move quicker because they've got serious competition.





The next test of that will happen when "Transformers: The Ride" opens at Universal Studios Singapore in 2011 and Universal Studios Hollywood in 2012. If that attraction winds up being of the same quality as the Potter attraction then you can bet that Imagineers will be looking in the rear-view mirror. Not that I feel that it's a bad thing. Having WDI have to bring their best game is a good thing for them and us. We will both benefit from the challenges they each face trying to pry those dollars from our hands.





Well, recently some artwork for the queue/loading area was leaked and it shows a great deal of attention to design. Universal has already mentioned that thirty minutes of story is built into the queue, so guest will be immersed in the world of the Autobots and Decepticons for a good part of the wait. Details like this will create an experience that could rival the Harry Potter ride.

And make sure Imagineers don't rest on their laurels...

Hat Tip to /Film via Theme Park Insider.

ALL THINGS Disney...

Working on the Mouse of the future...





If you're a techno-geek like myself then you follow the conference "All Things D" that is held by Walt Mossberg up in Silicon Valley every year...

Bob Iger spoke there seven years ago before taking the reigns of the Mouse and this year he returned. It's interesting to see his perspective of the changing landscape, not only for Disney, but the entertainment industry. Click here if you'd like to see part of the exchange.

Now, we'll have to wait for D23 to get more details on Shanghai Disneyland...