Third Time's The Charm...

He is Iron Man, again... 

So we finally have the first trailer for next year's last film for Marvel Studios...

And it looks great, awesome even.  "Iron Man 3" has been highly anticipated by me, mainly because of the director/writer attached to helm it.  Shane Black has been around Hollywood for three decades, but only recently got into directing.  Primarily a writer (creator of the "Lethal Weapon," etc.), Black made his directorial debut with Robert Downey Jr.'s comeback film, "Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang," which I loved.

The announcement that he was directing the film, as well as co-writing the screenplay was what perked up for me.  I believe that this film could be the best of all three of Tony Stark's adventures in celluloid, but that's just me.

It appears that this, along with "Thor: The Dark World" are both offering more grandiose adventures that will expand the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  Success has a way of making one bolder, and this trailer makes the film feel like a larger take on the superhero world.

Now, if they want Downey back for another film(s), then they should back the Brinks truck up to his house...

Asking/Getting Directions...

We'll see if this is a good day for the Mouse...

Slowly, we are getting a look at what the new Walt Disney Studios will be...

The slim, and disappointing slate of pictures from Rich Ross were a sign of his taste as well as lack of experience when it comes to the film industry.  So to will be the line up of pictures that Alan Horn will line up.  We've seen very few clues as to what will turn into his first projects, but we do have the list of films made under his watch at Warner Bros.  and it's hopefully a promising sign of the future.

Today we have one of the first pick ups that he's put into production: "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day".   Based on the award winning, classic children's book by Judith Viorst, and directed by Lisa Cholodenko with Steve Carell attached to star, this is one of the first steps in the new direction the Mouse is on with its film division.

The project, which was in turnaround at 20th Century Fox, but supposedly executives got cold feet over the budget.  The book tells the story of a young boy named Alex, who recounts the events of a very, very bad day.  Once Fox let it go, several other studios vied for the rights with Disney finally securing the rights.  It'll be interesting seeing how a full script for a small children's book turns out.  And as always, there is franchise material with two other sequel books.

This is an early glimpse into the mind and taste of Horn.  The full plan for what he'll have in the pipeline for Walt Disney Pictures, and the rest of the studio will likely not be known till early next year, but this is a peek into the window of what Mickey will show us in 2014/2015.

Now, I'm still waiting to know what he thought of Guillermo del Toro's "Haunted Mansion" pitch...

Five Years After...

It's hard to believe those letters of desperation are far away... 

Five years ago today, the Walt Disney Company announced plans to rebrand/expand Disney's California Adventure...


It seems hard to believe that it's been half a decade since they announced the extreme makeover of the Disneyland Resort's Second Gate, but it has.  Not that many of the details weren't known (especially if you were a reader of Blue Sky Disney!), but the announcement was a welcome to Disney fans that had visited the park.  It wasn't up to Disney standards.

Made, designed and thought up in the waining days of Paul Pressler, the "Spare Park" as some called it, never quite lived up to the Disney name.  Bob Iger realized that the quality and branding of the park had to change, and something had to be done.  And over the last four and a half years an infusion of more than a billion dollars was funneled into turning this park into a worthy destination for everyone.  Was it a success?  Of course.  The attendance figures speak volumes about the turnaround that has taken place.  Those that come through it now will slowly have the bad taste of the cheapness of DCA 1.0 vanish from their memories.

Now, as for DCA 3.0, it'll have to wait to happen later in the decade as funding and planning move across the Esplanade and around the world...

Off To Grandma's House...

The real world calls... 

I'll be out and about for a few days, guys...

Posts will be periodic/erratic for the next week or so as I'll be busy on some real world business.

But I'll be home soon, I promise...

First Pooh...

A smidgen of honey for you, decades ago... 

On this day Eighty-six years ago, a silly old bear walked out into the world...

And the world walked into the Hundred Acre Woods for the first time.  A.A. Milne's first book featuring the very popular, and endearingly perceived as Disney bear came out on this day to delight children the world over.  It would take a man named Walter to bring it to the consciousness of America though.

But that wouldn't happen for forty more years...

A Dark World, A Bit Brighter...

God of Asgard, and rock and roll...

With each passing week, more and more information comes out about the God of Thunder's return...

Marvel Studios has finally released a more comprehensive description of Thor 2, aka: "Thor: The Dark World."  Read it below:

Marvel’s “Thor: The Dark World” continues the big-screen adventures of Thor, the Mighty Avenger, as he battles to save Earth and all the Nine Realms from a shadowy enemy that predates the universe itself. In the aftermath of Marvel’s “Thor” and “Marvel’s The Avengers,” Thor fights to restore order across the cosmos…but an ancient race led by the vengeful Malekith returns to plunge the universe back into darkness. Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all.

Starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Idris Elba, Christopher Eccleston, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Kat Dennings, Ray Stevenson, Zachary Levi, Tadanobu Asano and Jaimie Alexander with Rene Russo and Anthony Hopkins as Odin, “Thor: The Dark World” is directed by Alan Taylor, produced by Kevin Feige, from a story by Don Payne (credit not final) and screenplay by Christopher Yost and Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely (credit not final) and is based on Marvel’s classic Super Hero Thor, who first appeared in the comic book “Journey into Mystery” #83 in August, 1962.

“Thor: The Dark World” is presented by Marvel Studios. The executive producers are Louis D’Esposito, Alan Fine, Stan Lee, Victoria Alonso, Craig Kyle and Nigel Gostelow. The film releases November 8, 2013, and is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

Ok, so it's not a great deal of news, but it does flesh out the story somewhat.   It does give us a peek outside the curtain toward the direction that the screenwriters and Marvel plan on taking the character in this, and future films.

Looking forward to climbing further up the branches of Yggdrasil...

Party Goer...

Party rockers in the house tonight...

You can never have enough toy stories...


So long as they're stories that are told by the Lamp.  If you were lucky enough to see "Finding Nemo" in 3D then you saw the sweet short: "Partysaurus Rex," which played before it.  Well thanks to the Mouse for putting that short online for all to see.

It's wonderful to see these mini-tales that expand the characters we all grew up with.  Learning more about their lives, and how toys see the world is hysterically entertaining.  Looking forward to more of these over the years.

And there are more planned...