WALT DISNEY
WORLD PARADE CELEBRATES SUPER BOWL MVP
DREW BREES
- 7 - News Updates will Stop Temporarily on
February 15th. Please Check Back with us often until we start
Our Regular Updates.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. We hope to
have everything back to normal as soon as we can make a smooth
transition to our permanent location near Mickey.
DisneyParks Blog - Last night, we first told you that Super Bowl
MVP Drew Brees was heading to Walt Disney World Resort to
celebrate his team’s Super Bowl win. And today, we celebrated
with a ticker-tape parade down Main Street, U.S.A., at the Magic
Kingdom Park. Here are a few images from today’s event:
DisneyParks Blog - Photos from today’s exciting ticker-tape
parade celebrating the MVP of the Super Bowl, Drew Brees, and
the win for the New Orleans Saints aren’t all we have for you.
Take a look at this video that shows Brees’ trip through the
fan-lined streets of Magic Kingdom and his dream come true visit
at Walt Disney World.
DisneyParks Blog - With Valentine’s Day just around the corner,
it seemed like a good time to share a photo I recently saw for
the first time. It’s from a unique anniversary party of two
sweethearts: Walt and Lillian Disney. They are photographed with
their daughters, Diane and Sharon, around a huge cake inside the
yet-to-be-opened Golden Horseshoe on July 13, 1955, just four
days before the official opening of Disneyland park.
It was the ultimate celebration. Three hundred guests were
invited to celebrate Walt and Lillian’s 30th wedding
anniversary. Invitees included Spencer Tracy, Cary Grant and
Gary Cooper. Can you imagine getting this invitation?
WHERE: Disneyland . . . where there’s
plenty of room . . .
WHEN: . . . Wednesday, July 13, 1955, at six o’clock in the
afternoon . . .
WHY: . . . because we’ve been married Thirty Years . . .
HOW: . . . by cruising down the Mississippi on the Mark
Twain’s maiden voyage, followed by dinner at Slue-Foot-Sue’s
Golden Horseshoe!
Hope you can make it – we especially
want you and, by the way, no gifts, please – we have
everything, including a grandson.
Lilly and Walt
If you’ve haven’t heard the story, party
guests piled into horse-drawn surreys and were taken down Main
Street and into Frontierland where they boarded the Mark Twain
Riverboat and sipped mint juleps. At the Golden Horseshoe Saloon
(as it was called then), guests were treated to the very first,
but unofficial, performance of the Golden Horseshoe Revue,
created by Wally Boag, the original Pecos Bill.
Next time you visit Frontierland, step
inside the Golden Horseshoe and imagine what that anniversary
party might have been like nearly 55 years ago.
DisneyParks Blog - Drew Brees led the New Orleans Saints to a
Super Bowl victory over the Indianapolis Colts tonight in South
Florida, so what do you think he’s going to do next? Come to
Disney World, of course!
After making several memorable plays against
the Colts in the 31-17 Super Bowl XLIV win, Drew looked into the
TV cameras and proclaimed “I’m going to Disney World!’’
Drew joins a long list of marquee
athletes from a variety of sports, such as Michael Phelps, Tom
Brady, Michael Jordan, Joe Montana and Magic Johnson, who have
uttered that iconic phrase after winning a major championship.
Like those athletes, Drew is appearing in
a nationwide commercial this week and heading to Walt Disney
World Resort where he’ll celebrate his team’s magical Super Bowl
win with a ticker tape parade down Main Street USA at the Magic
Kingdom along with several NFL Youth kids.
The commercial featuring Drew Brees will be the 42nd
installment in Disney’s famous “I’m going to Disney World’’
campaign, which began in 1987 when New York Giants quarterback
Phil Simms first uttered the signature phrase about going to
Disney World immediately following the Giants’ Super Bowl win.
The campaign was considered a groundbreaking concept at that
time and has since become a fixture in American culture.
UPDATE: Drew Brees is scheduled to visit
Walt Disney World Monday for a special ticker-tape parade at
11:55 a.m. at Magic Kingdom Park.
DisneyParks Blog - Not all of the celebrating
today is Super Bowl related. There’s a new
member of the family at Disney’s Animal Kingdom — a baby
white-cheeked gibbon — and we’re sharing a first photo.
The male baby gibbon was born last week
and has not been named. You can see baby, mom (Melaka) and the
baby’s two sisters, Suki and Tuyen, in their habitat near Kali
River Rapids.
White-cheeked gibbons, an endangered
species, spend their lives in the tops of trees. They produce
offspring about once every 2-3 years after 7 to 8 months of
gestation. Infants have the ability to cling to their mothers
immediately after birth, which allows females complete range of
motion while moving about the forest with their offspring.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom participates in a
gibbon Species Survival Plan program coordinated by the
Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).
Orlando Sentinel - A day before the Walt Disney Co. reports
earnings for the final three months of 2009, analysts at J.P.
Morgan today upgraded shares in the company based on improving
economic trends. But they are less upbeat about Disney’s
theme-parks division than they are about the company as a whole.
J.P. Morgan predicts that revenue at Walt Disney Parks and
Resorts slipped 3 percent during the October-through-December
period (the first quarter of Disney’s fiscal year) and operating
profit shrank 12 percent when compared with the same period a
year ago.
“Discounts will continue to be a drag on earnings recovery at
Parks and Resorts,” J.P. Morgan analyst Imran Khan wrote in a
research note. For the year, J.P. Morgan projects “flattish”
attendance at Disney’s parks and a 3.6 percent decrease in guest
spending.
Also weighing on earnings: Rising pension and post-retirement
medical costs. Disney executives have said they expect such
costs to rise by $270 million this year — with half of that
total being absorbed by the parks division (which has far more
employees than any of Disney’s other divisions).
Orlando Sentinel - The Pixie Hollow Fairy Garden that debuted at
last year’s Flower & Garden Festival at Epcot was impressive
with its miniature fairy homes and beautiful topiaries of Tinker
Bell and friends. We visited it many times because the attention
to detail on the birdhouse-sized displays was amazing.
The fairy dwellings reminded me of an
article I read in Disney Family Fun magazine. A reader
explained her children’s tradition of building fairy houses out
of natural materials in the backyard for the sprites who would
take refuge there overnight. After the construction was
complete, the architects would check daily to see if fairies had
been in the house. This was apparent to them when objects had
been moved or added to the décor.
Now, you — and your child — have the
opportunity to design a fairy house that could be displayed at
this year’s Flower & Garden Festival, which runs March 3 through
May 16.
Draw an original
design for a fairy house that you would see on the mainland
using lost things and materials from nature. The design must
include a description of all of the materials needed to build
the house and must be hand-drawn. No computer screenshots
allowed.
This contest is in honor of the third
movie in the series, Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue,
which will be released in November. The director will choose the
winner based on these criteria: 50 percent for how well the
contest theme is captured, 25 percent for creativity and 25
percent for overall appearance color, detail and artistic
quality.
The grand prize includes a vacation for
four to Walt Disney World to see the winning fairy home in
person. Winner must be able to travel to Orlando between March
30 and April 5 for a five-day, four-night stay and must be a
registered user on PixieHollow.com.
You can enter
online or print out mail entry forms
here, where
legal details also are available. The deadline is Feb. 22.
DisneyParks Blog
- In November, we announced the names of the 100 high school
students who’ll be participating in this year’s Disney’s
Dreamers Academy with Steve Harvey at Walt Disney World. Now
we’re excited to share this year’s keynote speaker —
singer/producer/actress Mary J. Blige.
Blige is being
joined by a list of other celebrities scheduled to share their
“blueprints for success” at this year’s event. The list
includes:
R&B star Cupid
Actor Roshon Fagen (“Camp Rock”)
Celebrity Chef Jeff Henderson
CNN correspondent Christopher
Lawrence
Actor Daniel Curtis Lee (”Disney’s
Zeke & Luther”)
Songstress Kimberley Locke
Actors Chris (“Zoey 101”) and Kyle
(“Cory in the House”) Massey
Actress Tamara Mowry (“Sister,
Sister”)
Producer Will Packer (“Stomp The
Yard”)
Singer Ruben Studdard
Gospel Group Trin-i-tee 5:7
Celebrity trainer Harvey Walden
Also, Sherri Shepherd, actress and
co-host of “The View,” will return to host the celebrity
conversations and Gospel Star Yolanda Adams will speak at the
event’s opening ceremony.
As many of you already know, the
“Dreamers” program offers amazing experiences for young adults
at our parks. They participate in interactive workshops learning
Walt Disney Imagineering techniques, entertainment and the
business of sports. One of the main goals of the upcoming
program is to inspire the students to take what they learn back
to their communities and help others realize their dreams.
The event is not open to the public.
Disney’s Dreamers Academy events are also made possible by the
generosity of Eastman Kodak. You can learn more about the
program at
steveharvey.com/disneysdreamersacademy.
Orlando
Sentinel - As the number of domestic passengers flowing through
Orlando International Airport decreased nearly 7 percent last
year, there was one segment of travelers that continued to grow.
The total number of people riding Disney's Magical Express, the
door-to-door shuttle and baggage service between the airport and
Walt Disney World hotels, increased 1 percent in 2009 from the
year before, to 2.2 million, according to airport records.
As one Disney executive put it shortly after the resort began
the program in 2005, it's about as close as you can come to
"approximating a high-speed rail model" with a fleet of buses.
While the service was initially met with a blizzard of criticism
over everything from how it would affect the airport's revenue
to how many independent cab drivers would be put out of
business, Magical Express turned out to be one of Disney's most
brilliant innovations of the decade.
It's a privately-funded mass transit system that lets families
say goodbye to their luggage at their home airport and — here's
where the pixie dust comes in — reunites them inside their
Disney hotel room.
Moms and dads don't have to think about renting a car and
finding driving directions while lugging suitcases along with
the stroller and, of course, the tots through the airport. And
Disney gains a larger share of its visitors who are completely
captive without a rental car or other means to spend money off
resort property.
Even Jeffry Fuqua, chairman of the Greater Orlando Aviation
Authority who was hugely skeptical of the program when it
started, said that five years later he's now a fan.
"It's turned out to be a great thing for Disney and a good thing
for the airport," Fuqua said.
For a glimpse at just how much impact the service has had on the
airport, consider this: Magical Express transports, on average,
about 6,000 people each day or about 7 percent of the airport's
total 30.7 million domestic passengers last year.
Magical Express' share of total domestic airport traffic
increased 1 percentage point in 2009 from just two years ago.
Allegiant Air, a small low-cost carrier, moved two of its
flights from Orlando-Sanford International Airport to OIA just
last week — and plans to move 10 flights by March — in large
part so that it can participate in Magical Express.
"Disney in general is a big reason," said spokeswoman Tyri
Squyres. "The infrastructure from a customer experience, our
customers told us that is important."
So what will happen when high-speed rail begins?
Disney has been clear that Magical Express isn't going anywhere
and has become an "expected" part of its guests' experience.
Florida Transportation Secretary Stephanie Kopelousos said the
rail line is expected to generate enough ridership without
picking up Magical Express riders.
But will it?
That remains to be seen. It's hard to imagine the estimated $2.6
billion rail system could replicate the service and volume that
Disney has already fashioned for much cheaper on its own.
Fuqua term ending, jockeying begins
Speaking of the airport, 2010 will be a year of big changes. In
addition to the search for a new executive director to replace
Steve Gardner when he retires in August, the airport's longtime
chairman is on his way out.
Jeffry Fuqua, who has sat on the GOAA board for a total of 19
years since 1986, will be forced out by term limits in April
along with Vice Chairwoman Jacqueline Bradley.
Fuqua, who owns Amick Construction, appointed a committee
several months ago to begin the search for a new executive
director, but said he hasn't "interjected too much" as of late.
"I don't want any criticism that I'm trying to handpick the next
guy," he said.
Gov. Charlie Crist will select new board members for the two
soon-to-be-empty seats. Early applicants include Orlando
developer Picton Warlow; Dr. Jason Pirozzolo, director of sports
medicine for Florida Hospital Centra Care; and engineer Richard
"Scott" Batterson of Professional Engineering Consultants Inc.
Reuters - A consortium led by Walt Disney Co (DIS.N)
is in advanced talks to buy into China's largest in-bus digital
media and advertising company, a deal that could offer the U.S.
entertainment giant a new platform to promote Mickey Mouse in
China, three sources told Reuters.
Google Inc (GOOG.O),
the world's No.1 Internet search company, which threatened to
quit China last month over censorship and hacking concerns, was
among investors in the Disney-led consortium, the sources said
on Monday.
The consortium
planned to buy a stake of between 30 and 40 percent in Bus
Online for more than $100 million via a purchase of old and new
shares to be issued by the company in private placements, said
the sources.
"Disney wants to
be a strategic partner not just a financial investor in Bus
Online as Disney is going to do many things in China -- for
example, the theme park to be opened in Shanghai," said one of
the sources. "To Disney, the deal is not just about sharing in
the growth of China's advertising market but more about the
promotion of Disney, the brand itself, and this is strategically
important to Disney in China."
In November,
Disney's (DIS.N)
made a breakthrough deal to build one of its signature theme
parks in Shanghai, marking a major advance for Western media and
entertainment companies seeking to crack the tough Chinese
market. [ID:nN03523281]
Senior executives
of Disney are expected to fly to Beijing to meet Chinese media
regulators to discuss Disney's long-term development plan in
China including the Bus Online deal, said another of the
sources.
GOOGLE IN FOCUS
In the wake of
it's recent problems in China, Google is finalising a deal that
will let the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) help it
investigate a corporate espionage attack that may have
originated in China.
Beijing has
already warned Washington not to make the Google incident
political, in addition to other growing sources of friction
between the two nations, including Tibet, Taiwan, yuan
appreciation and Sino-U.S. trade.
Google was
expected to take only a small stake in the Bus Online deal,
while Disney aimed to take the greater part, said the sources,
adding that no agreement had been signed yet.
The sources
briefed on the possible deal declined to be identified as the
negotiation process is confidential. Bus Online, headquartered
in Shanghai, declined to comment.
A Google
spokeswoman said the company could not immediately comment.
Disney could not be immediately reached for comment.
Bus Online is
China's No.1 in-bus digital media and advertising company, with
revenue of about 314.5 million yuan ($46.07 million) in 2009.
Since 2004, the
company has received a total of $80 million from venture capital
funds and banks including IDG, Yangtze Fund, China Renaissance
Capital Investment and CCB International.
Bus Online is the
exclusive partner of state broadcaster CCTV and the official
Xinhua news agency for in-bus media content and advertising.
Yum! Brands'
(YUM.N)
fried chicken restaurant chain KFC would sign a deal with Bus
Online to allow the Chinese company to set up screens in KFC's
more than 2,000 outlets across China, said the sources.
Disney
expected to provide media content to Bus Online for its
partnership with KFC in China on the condition that Disney and
Bus Online agreed on the equity stake investment first, they
said. ($1=6.826 Yuan)
Disney News - To celebrate our first year of making Disney magic
for fans around the world, we're throwing a party created with
Disney fans in mind! Join the D23 Team at the Walt Disney World
Resort for a wonderful night of magic and memories.
Join the D23 Team at the Walt Disney World Resort for a
spectacular night of magic and memories!
After checking in at the Magic Kingdom, guests will have free
time to enjoy the park's attractions and shows at their own
pace. In the evening, attendees will enjoy one of two private
dinners inside the Diamond Horseshoe Saloon, where piano music
will fill the air and you'll take a look back at D23's first
fun-filled year. Awaiting guests will be a mouth-watering buffet
dinner of gourmet barbecue offerings, from slow smoked short rib
of beef served on mesquite polenta to jalapeno cheddar cheese
corn bread and much more!
Following dinner, guests will have the opportunity to enjoy more
attractions or view the majestic fireworks spectacular, Wishes.
Then, as the Magic Kingdom is closing to the general public, D23
Members and their guests will be escorted into Mickey's
PhilharMagic for an exclusive viewing of this 3-D extravaganza,
which combines colorful animation and soaring music to create a
dazzling spectacle. Afterwards, Walt Disney Imagineering will
present insider details about the recently announced Fantasyland
Forest expansion project for the Magic Kingdom.
And to cap the night's celebration, guests will partake in a
sumptuous dessert buffet in Fantasyland, where they will be able
to enjoy a private party with fellow D23 Members, riding several
of the park's signature attractions that recall the splendor and
nostalgia of some of Walt Disney's most famous animated
classics. And at our members' request, guests will mix and
mingle with beloved, classic Disney characters, as well as a few
friends you may not have seen strolling through the park in a
while!
Every guest will also receive a special, limited-edition
commemorative pin in honor of D23's first anniversary, the
perfect gift to remember this once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Date: Friday, March 5, 2010 Location: Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World, Orlando,
Florida Check In: Begins at 9 a.m. at Guest Relations at the
Magic Kingdom; starting at 2 p.m. check in will move to the
brick kiosk by the main entrance of the Magic Kingdom; check in
will end promptly at 6:30 p.m. First Dinner Seating: 4:30 p.m. Second Dinner Seating: 6:30 p.m. Event Ends: 11 p.m. Cost: $140 per person Tickets Available: 10 a.m. PST Thursday, February 4, 2010
Included with the cost of your ticket:
Park admission for one day at Walt Disney World (see below)
Private dinner inside the Diamond Horseshoe Saloon
Exclusive viewing of Mickey's PhilharMagic
Presentation on the Magic Kingdom's Fantasyland expansion by an
Imagineer
Dessert party in Fantasyland after park closing with the
opportunity to ride several attractions
Photo opportunities with beloved Disney characters
Commemorative, limited-edition pin (one per guest)
NOTE: Available only to D23 Members in good
standing. Members may reserve a ticket for themselves and THREE
(3) guests. There is a limited number of tickets available. Park
entrance is included; One one-day, one-park ticket for EACH
GUEST will be available on the day of the event. Park tickets
must be used by May 5, 2010. When purchasing tickets, guests
will have the option to select one of two dinner seating's. D23
Members will be required to provide their membership number when
reserving tickets. Tickets may be picked up only with a valid
photo ID AND D23 MEMBERSHIP CARD. D23 Members who do not bring
their membership card may not be admitted to the event. Guests
are advised to park their cars at the Transportation and Ticket
Center. Monorail service to and tram service at the
Transportation and Ticket Center will be extended until the end
of the event. For those staying at Walt Disney World Resort
Hotels, there will be a bus at the Transportation and Ticket
Center at the end of the event, which will bring guests to
Downtown Disney from where they can catch buses to their resort
hotel. Buses directly to resort hotels will not be available
from the Magic Kingdom after the event. All D23 Special Events
are subject to change without notice. There are no cancelations
or refunds, and tickets are not transferrable.
MarketWatch - Analysts at J.P. Morgan lifted their rating on
Walt Disney Co.
(DIS29.69)to neutral from underweight Monday and boosted their
price target on its shares to $30 from $28. "We upgrade [Disney]
to neutral from underweight as we believe that the improving
macroeconomic outlook will provide downside support for the
stock price at this level," they wrote in a note to clients. "We
maintain our view, however, that earnings recovery at Disney
will lag the peer group due to challenging trends at the film
studio and parks." Shares of Disney ended Friday at $29.54.
Disney News - Tables in Wonderland members have the chance to
book a special Valentine's Day "Chocolate Dinner" at Atlantic
Dance Hall on Disney's BoardWalk, February 14, from 6 to 8 p.m.
The special dining experience includes hors d'oeuvres and a
plated dinner, followed by a trio of chocolate desserts:
chocolate angel food cake with berries, Grand Marnier-infused
Strawberry with Verona fondue and Chocolate-infused Flan. Cost
is $160 plus tax per person; gratuity is included. A jazz trio
will provide live entertainment. The event is limited to only
190 guests. To make reservations email WDW.Tables.In.Wonderland@disney.com
with your name, phone number, home address and number of people
in your party.
New York Times - Lionsgate, the independent
movie studio tipped as a potential bidder for
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, intends to table an “aggressive” offer for
Miramax, which was recently put on the block by the Walt Disney
Company, The New York Post reported, citing sources inside or
close to Lionsgate.
While
Lionsgate, the studio behind the “Saw” franchise, isn’t
considered a frontrunner for MGM, it has nonetheless advanced to
the second round of bidding for the studio. MGM, crumbling under
the weight of almost $4 billion in debt, sas been put on the
block by its owners, a consortium that includes Sony, Comcast,
Providence Equity Partners and the Quadrangle Group.
While
Lionsgate’s pockets may not be deep enough to win MGM, it could
easily afford Miramax, The Post said.
“MGM might be too much of a mouthful for
them, but Miramax is much more bite-sized,” one source told The
Post.
The New York Times reported earlier this
month that the initial discussions with potential buyers
indicate a price of over $700 million for the Miramax name and
its 700-film library, including films like “Pulp Fiction” and
“Shakespeare in Love,” which is essentially all that remains of
the once-mighty art house label.
Interest is sharply higher than a year
ago, when Disney briefly floated a Miramax sale before
reconsidering because of the recession, and has been helped by a
loosening of the credit markets.
One potential buyer is Summit
Entertainment, the privately owned studio that is awash
in cash because of its two “Twilight” blockbusters. The Times
also cited several private equity groups and at least one other
independent studio as potential bidders for Miramax, founded by
Harvey and Bob Weinstein in 1979.
Minyanville - I’m definitely not one of those “Goldilocks”
thinkers that believes this is going to be a V- or even a
U-shaped recovery, and I’m pretty much equally steadfast in my
thinking that the recession will have a formidable and lasting
impact on the beliefs and investment habits of most our
struggling citizenry.
Nevertheless, I also think that some tried and true companies
like Disney (DIS) will ultimately be standing when the dust
settles, and therefore deserve a spot on the radar screen. Allow
me to explain why I think the legendary company shouldn’t be
placed on the back burner or passed over without second thought.
Here are some of my latest feelings ahead of the company’s
first-quarter earnings report, which is due out this Tuesday.
1. It may sound cliché, but I think maintaining a
long-term or aerial view is important when pondering Disney or
an investment in the company. Although I’m kind of negative
about the near-term macro outlook and think that consumers will
maintain their spending habits for a while, I believe that the
economic picture in US will clear, and that within the next
couple of years, families will be visiting theme parks in
markedly great volumes and spending much bigger coin on
merchandise, movies, and all the rest.
2. The company has been performing quite well, thumping
the Street estimates the last three quarters straight. And you
can bet your sweet bippy that management is going to look to
keep the momentum rolling. Analysts figure the company will earn
$0.39 a share in the first quarter, and I think it comes in a
couple of cents north of that figure.
3. I firmly believe that ad sales are going to start
showing greater signs of life in the not-too-distant future, and
that should give its broadcastingbusiness a boost.
Keep in mind that its Media Networks business constituted more
than 44% of revenues in 2009. In short, when that ball gets
rolling, I think the stock will as well.
4. Sure -- there are lots of other theme parks around,
and places like Great Wolf Lodge (WOLF) and Cedar Fair (FUN)
draw their share of crowds. But let’s face it: Nobody does theme
parks like Disney, and in my lifetime, I don’t think anybody
ever will.
5. I’m not excited about the stock because of this, but
at the same time, it’s hard to overlook. I’m talking, of course,
about the dividend -- the forward yield is a tad north of 1%.
6. All told, I think we could easily see this stock in
the mid- to high-$30s as soon as bargain-hunters and
bottom-fishers realize that things aren’t that bad currently and
that the future has the potential to be quite good for the
California-based company.
The Hollywood
Reporter - Pixar Animation Studio's "Up" was named best animated
feature at the 37th annual Annie (animation) Awards, Saturday at
UCLA's Royce Hall.
Nominated for five Academy Awards, "Up" is the odds-on favorite
to win the Oscar for animated feature, and is only the second
animated film to earn a nomination in the best picture category.
It is also nominated for best screenplay, music and sound
editing Oscars.
Other big Annie winners were "Coraline" and "The Princess and
the Frog," with three awards each.
Disney/Pixar's "Up" earned a total of two Annie trophies -- best
animated feature and Pete Docter for direction -- extending its
string of prior awards including last month's Golden Globe. In
all, awards were presented in 23 Annie categories in features,
TV and commercials.
The Annie for best animated feature has matched the eventual
Oscar winner each year since the Academy Awards first awarded
the category in 2002, except for twice. A year ago, the Annie
Awards came under some scrutiny after DreamWorks' "Kung Fu
Panda" dominated the Annies and won the top prize, shutting out
eventual Oscar winner "Wall-E" from Pixar.
William Shatner hosted this year's Annie ceremony, which is
presented annually by ASIFA-Hollywood, the Los Angeles chapter
of the International Animated Film Society.
During the ceremony, Winsor McCay Awards went to Tim Burton,
Bruce Timm and Jeffrey Katzenberg, but only Katzenberg was in
attendance. Tom Sito earned the June Foray honor. The Ub Iwerks
Award went to William T. Reeves. Special Achievement Awards were
presented to Martin Meunier and Brian McLean. Myles Mikulic,
Danny Young and Michael Woodside received certificates of merit.
Delmarva Now - Have you been to Disney World? Then you have
experienced the Disney way of treating customers. They have
mastered the art of providing excellent customer service while
having fun on the job. They train organizations in this art --
and it is an art.
You have
to constantly be aware that you are providing that service to
all of your customers, whether you are in auto industry,
restaurant, healthcare or any field. If you have a customer,
then your service will bring you repeat business based on how
well you provide.
For
instance, when your customers pull up to your building, are they
parking right in front, making them feel important and
convenient? Or do they park further away from the entrance,
allowing the employees to park right in front? Just recently I
went to a business that had the customers parking across the
street. Not customer friendly.
Are your
processes customer friendly and efficient? Does the first person
anyone meets exude cheerfulness and willing to assist? Is your
entrance clean and tidy? Does the desk that the client sees show
they are organized, ready to assist? Or is it stacked with work
giving off the impression that the customer is interrupting
their busy day?
When I
worked for a local organization, we taught the Disney principle.
There are several areas that are part of the program that all
companies could model. They are quality, great guest service,
creativity and innovation. They teach great first impression
while providing excellent service and attention to details.
Sounds simple, but it's not. You have to step outside the box,
look at your organization and determine if you really
demonstrate these points.
For
instance, when you put your personal items in a locker at
Disney, it will be on your left as you enter, and on your right
as you leave. Why? Because most people will drift right as they
leave a building. They have thought out every detail.
When you
go to Disney and you ask for a direction, the person or cast
member that you ask will never point to the direction with one
finger, like most of us do. They will use two fingers or their
whole hand. Why? One finger is negative. One finger reminds us
of someone who said "Don't you do that."
Here are the basic seven
customer service standards you should be following:
Make eye contact and smile!
Greet and welcome each and
every guest.
Seek out customer contact.
Never let a customer go without a call, follow-up call, and
quick response to their call or e-mail.
Provide immediate service
recovery. If someone complains, address it right away. Follow-up
with the customer. Get the facts, and address it or resolve it
as necessary.
Display appropriate body
language at all times.
Preserve the "magical"
experience at all times. Never let a customer leave or end a
conversation feeling negative.
Thank each person for coming.
Take a look at your business.
We are. Are we providing excellent customer service? Are there
things we could do better to improve our service to our clients?
We teach
this to clients. I have presented to many organizations this
entire package and found that their customer service and
business improved greatly. Many people don't realize how they
come across or what is wrong with the service they provide.
Perhaps it's time for a revisit with basic customer service
training.
Chicago Sun-Times - The fizz in my New Year's champagne
hadn't yet settled when I realized our family trip to Orlando
was just 48 hours away. I started to worry that our "brilliant"
plan to visit Disney World during an off-peak week, right after
the holidays, wasn't so smart, after all.
Not to worry, my husband reminded me. We were traveling with
the pros: my sister and her family from North Carolina.
We experienced Disney World with the Southerners once,
several years ago, before we had a child. We marveled at how
this family breezed through lines, avoided crowds, dug up deep
discounts and scored a seat inside Cinderella's Castle for
breakfast.
I wanted to tap these experts once again for this trip, which
promised to be extra special because my 2½-year-old son,
Daniel, would be experiencing Disney for the first time with his
cousins Ashley, 13, and Matthew, 10.
My sister Alexandra's first tip came early. Because the
weather is unpredictable in January, pack hats, gloves and coats
or you'll be fighting over scraps at Wal-Mart, she warned.
"Ha. I live in Chicago," I thought. "I think I can
handle Florida."
But she's the big sister, so I shrugged and threw the stuff
into the suitcase.
It turned out to be a crucial move.
With jackets zipped up over our red noses, we huddled in the
frigid night air, watching Magic Kingdom's magnificent fireworks
explode around us. This seemed like a good time to introduce our
toddler to hot chocolate. (Drink more, drink more!)
Temperatures in Orlando usually hover in the 70s this time of
the year. But our early January visit to Disney coincided with a
record cold spell that still delivered sunny days but sent the
thermostat plummeting below freezing at night.
Being prepared -- along with frequent stops at the parks' hot
chocolate stands -- made the long days outdoors more bearable.
Our next lesson involved when to visit Magic Kingdom.
Cinderella's Castle was calling, and we wanted to head there our
first day, a Monday.
My sister practically laughed at our naivete.
It lures everyone there on the first day, she noted,
and everyone's first day is Monday.
So off to Epcot we went.
When we arrived, the expected barren landscape was instead
occupied with our first long line at security.
"Open all your bags at once," my sister said. Everyone in our
group unzipped purses, backpacks and diaper bags and passed them
forward to my husband.
Since the checker moves back and forth through the crowd, he
inspected our whole batch at once, allowing the seven of us to
breeze through together.
We ran into another glut of people at the ticket entrance.
"Veer left," said my brother-in-law, Sim. "Everyone walks to
the nearest line first."
So we made a beeline to the farthest entrance, crossing
dozens of Disney neophytes needlessly waiting in line. They were
still waiting while Ashley and Matthew led us into the park to
pick up our free Fastpasses.
Each Disney theme park offers these so-called Fastpasses for
its most popular attractions. You simply put your park ticket
into an attraction's Fastpass machine and the machine spits out
a card listing a time when you can come back and go through a
separate entrance that has little or no wait. It's a simple
time-saver, but only about half of all visitors use Fastpasses,
according to The Complete Walt Disney World 2010 (Coconut
Press, $24.95).
Our rule was to pick our must-dos in each park and head for
those Fastpasses first, ensuring we'd get on at some point.
"I always say, get in everything you want first, then
everything else is gravy," said Disney spokeswoman Michelle
Baumann.
The strategy worked. No one left feeling they'd missed out on
anything.
We also made a point of hitting the resort's new features.
New this year at Hollywood Studios is a live "American Idol"
show, as well as a 3-D Toy Story ride, a fast-paced game-ride
combination.
The new face at Magic Kingdom was that of our president. Last
summer, Disney added an animatronic Obama to its Hall of
Presidents. Obama, standing between Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses
S. Grant, gives the closing remarks after an overview of U.S.
presidents narrated by Morgan Freeman.
The nice thing about being at Disney in early January was
that we got to enjoy the spectacular holiday decor, but the
crowds were relatively thin.
It was easy, for example, to meet Ashley's request to get a
spot up close to spy Tinker Bell during Magic Kingdom's nightly
fireworks show -- an impossibility just a few days earlier.
And the weather, thankfully, did take a turn. By Thursday of
that week, we watched the parade at Animal Kingdom with no
jackets on, soaking in the sun.
When Mickey Mouse bent down to wave directly at Daniel, my
son turned and shot me a huge smile. No hot chocolate needed.
YourWestValley - Disney’s Broadway musical version of "Mary
Poppins" features a cast of 40 with approximately 250 late
19th-century costume looks for the entire production.
Wardrobe
supervisor John Furrow is responsible for the handling all of
the period clothes in the national tour, which stops Feb. 11 at
Arizona State University’s Gammage Auditorium. He has the help
of a 15-member staff that keeps track of thousands of pieces
worn in the show.
"There is an awful lot of running around, but we manage to
handle it all," he said with a laugh.
Furrow said a lot of prep work goes into the costumes for
each performance, including fixing shirts and washing laundry.
If clothing rips, fabric must be sent in from London to
repair it.
"Period clothes can get tricky, because you can’t fix them
like T-shirts and jeans," he said. "It’s quite a dance backstage
for us, but it all gets done."
The costumes, mixed with other production qualities of "Mary
Poppins," Furrow said, make the musical "a bright, colorful and
cheerful show."
"So many of us grew up with this story that the stage
production is a good marriage with the books and the film," he
said.
"Mary Poppins" is based on the P.L. Travers book series about
a flying nanny who comes to London to help take care of the
Banks family and teach the children manners and discipline.
More people are familiar with the hit 1964 film starring Dick
Van Dyke and Julie Andrews, who won an Oscar for her performance
in the title role. In 2006, a Broadway version opened in New
York to mixed reviews, but earned seven Tony Award nominations,
and it’s running to this date.
The majority of the songs from the film remain, including
"Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious," "Chim Chim Cher-ee" and "A
Spoon Full of Sugar."
Gavin Lee, who portrays Bert, the chimney sweep made famous
by Van Dyke, never read the books or watched the movie to
prepare for his role.
"I definitely didn’t want to be a carbon copy of anything,
especially Dick Van Dyke, because those are really big shoes to
fill," Lee said.
Lee has played the character in both original productions in
London’s West End and on Broadway, where he received a Tony
nomination.
The English actor said he’s had such a great time with his
first leading role that he didn’t want to turn down the
opportunity to continue the part with the national tour, along
with the original Broadway Mary Poppins, Ashley Brown.
"I’ve always wanted to see the other parts of this country
and this gives me the chance to see some amazing cities and new
people," said Lee, whose wife also is in the cast.
There are so many technical aspects to most Broadway
productions, Lee said, they often get reduced for national tours
due to the confines of some theaters. However, Disney has been
able to retain almost every technical element from the New York
production for tour audiences.
"We’re really lucky that none of it has been lost from the
original show," he said. "I still walk upside down, and Mary
still flies out into the theater."
Beyond the glitz, songs and choreography, Lee said "Mary
Poppins" is still a simple story.
"Even though it took 40 years for ‘Mary Poppins’ to be made
into a musical, the stage show isn’t about a nanny who flies,
but a family and how they deal with one another.
Business Week - Walt Disney Co. (Japan) Ltd. agreed to acquire
Retail Networks Co., operator of Disney retail stores in Japan,
from Oriental Land Co.
The stores will become a wholly owned
subsidiary on April 1, Tokyo-based Disney Japan said today in an
e-mailed statement. Financial terms and the number of stores
weren’t disclosed.
Disney and Oriental Land, operator of
Disneyland Tokyo, had been in talks since last year, according
to the statement. The parent Walt Disney Co., based in Burbank,
California, previously regained control of 220 retail outlets in
North America and 120 in Europe, and plans to modernize the
stores.
Walt Disney, the world’s largest media
company, fell 13 cents to $29.54 today in New York Stock
Exchange composite trading. The shares rose 42 percent in 2009.
Orlando Sentinel - The purpose of my walk
around Epcot today was to look at the construction going on for
eateries in World Showcase. It was more lovely than I imagined,
despite the impending-doom-style clouds ahead.
These are not your father’s construction walls.
On the back side of the Italy pavilion is construction on the
pizzeria (name TBA). We can see a crane, but most of the work is
blocked by a scene of the countryside. It’s similar to when
buildings along Magic Kingdom’s Main Street are getting
facelifts and are covered by materials that looks just like that
building’s exterior. To the left is the Tutto Italia restaurant.
The pizzeria is scheduled to open later this year.
Meanwhile, over in Mexico, work continues on Cantina de San
Angel, which is on the waterfront. This covering is very palm-y
and has real palms fronting it. (This is coming from the Norway
side.)
There’s also a green wall around part of the area, which is
across from the temple (background) and near another eating
option, Taqueira del Lago
gather - 'Alice in Wonderland', an upcoming movie from Walt
Disney Films has had plenty of rumors. With the star power
attached to the movie including Johnny Depp and Anne Hathaway
and produced by Tim Burton, it is easy to understand that fans
are excited and have many questions.
One question I keep getting asked in my
Disneyland Column is will the Premiere of 'Alice in
Wonderland' be at Disneyland?
Now there was an announcement that the World Premiere of Alice
in Wonderland will be in London but nothing about the a US
premiere, either online or looking around the Disneyland Resort.
So I asked and got an official response that may put tears in
your eyes Alice in Wonderland fans:
"No one knowledgeable about “Alice” believes there will be
any kind of premiere at Disneyland Resort."
Now that doesn't mean it won't happen in Los Angeles but id
doesn't sound like the Resort is the place. Keeping in mind that
at El Capitan theater is a perfect place for a premiere and so
is the Walt Disney Studios.
Since the World Premiere is in a few weeks, one would hope for
an announcement of where it is here in the United States even
for nothing more than setting the video recorder to catch all
the action from the television.
DisneyParks Blog - Whether you’re battling
cold weather or thawing out — take a look at this view. It’s
from our friends at Disney’s Vero Beach Resort and when we saw
it, we thought what better way to kick off a weekend. If you’ve
never been, this Disney Vacation Club Resort is located about
two hours from the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. It’s
open to all guests – not just members. The image is my favorite
view of the day now…and the resort will be a weekend getaway
later this year.
Reel Movie News - Tim Burton will be
bringing Alice in Wonderland to the silver screen again, this
time in an ultra-trippy 3-D presentation, on March 5th, 2010.
Disney has been hitting
the promotional trail hard for this one, and from the look of
all the posters and trailers, it is very much a Tim Burton film,
incorporating classic elements of his characteristic visual
style. This is very evident of just how close Helena Bonham
Carter's Red Queen resembles Burton's original character sketch,
which you can see below!
Hollywood Reporter - Andrea Wong is exiting
as president and CEO of Lifetime Entertainment Services, the
company confirmed Friday.
A possible exit for the ABC-Disney veteran had been rumored
since Lifetime was taken over by A&E Television Networks in
August, with AETN president and CEO Abbe Raven assuming
oversight of Lifetime and Wong reporting to her.
The merger created the awkward situation of two executives,
Raven and Wong, carrying a CEO title, something usually resolved
by one of the executives leaving.
"Now that my role in the acquisition of Lifetime by AETN is
concluded and the integration of the organizations including a
more streamlined management structure nearly complete, I believe
that it is the right time for me to step down," Wong wrote in an
internal email, noting that she plans to depart "in the coming
weeks after assisting in any way I can with the transition."
It was not clear where Wong is headed. She had been a rising
star at Disney-ABC and ran ABC's unscripted department before
moving over to Lifetime, then 50%-owned by Disney-ABC.
It is possible that she'll return to the Disney fold but sources
indicated that a post at another company appears more likely.
In a statement, Raven thanked Wong "for her many contributions
to Lifetime."
"We are pleased she will be with us for a transition period and
we wish her well in her future endeavors," Raven wrote.
There is no word on a replacement for Wong either, but a rising
star on the other side of the newly merged company, History
Channel president and general manager Nancy Dubuc, is considered
a leading contender.
Under Dubuc, History has posted double-digit growth for the past
two years, which is probably not lost on the new owners of
ratings-challenged Lifetime.
Wong's successor is not expected to carry a CEO title, with the
position said to be along the president/GM level, in line with
the rest of the AETN networks.
Wong's executive team at Lifetime, led by executive vp
entertainment JoAnn Alfano, is staying on.
"Andrea has built a great team and I look forward to working
with them closely," Raven said in a company-wide email Friday.
While at Lifetime, Wong's biggest move was orchestrating the
acquisition of Bravo's "Project Runway."
After lengthy litigation between Bravo's parent NBC Universal
and "Runway" producer the Weinstein Co., the hit reality show
made its Lifetime premiere last fall. It did solid business but
failed to reach its former ratings heights on Bravo.
Overall, Lifetime has been in a ratings slump and recently went
through company-wide layoffs.
The network finished 2009 out of the top 10 in the ratings for
the first time in recent memory, dropping from No.7 to No.15 and
falling 20% in total viewers year-to-year.
Its development had been put on hold as the new regime is
examining its programming.
The news of Wong's exit was first reported on deadline.com
AP - Family
entertainment giant The Walt Disney Co., which just absorbed
Marvel Entertainment Inc., reports earnings for its fiscal first
quarter after the market closes Tuesday.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR: The advertising recovery will likely help
Disney's ABC and ESPN television networks, but the question is
by how much.
Disney's movie studio, which has been faltering lately, will
likely cause a drag on earnings. The company overhauled
management at the department in October and recently closed
offices at niche label Miramax Films, which some competitors are
interested in buying.
Consumer sentiment should be reflected in the performance of
the company's theme parks. It is unclear how soon Disney will be
able to wean itself off discounting to keep attendance up.
Also, Disney executives may discuss the possibility of
entering into a deal to provide movies and TV shows to Apple
Inc.'s iPad, which may help studio earnings down the road. Apple
CEO Steve Jobs remains Disney's largest shareholder since the
entertainment company bought Pixar in 2006.
WHY IT MATTERS: Disney is closely tethered to consumer
psychology because the brand is well known around the world. It
sells products ranging from movies and books to clothes and
toys. A good quarter could bolster confidence in the broader
economy.
WHAT'S EXPECTED: Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect
Disney to post 39 cents of adjusted earnings per share on sales
of $9.62 billion.
LAST YEAR'S QUARTER: Disney reported an adjusted profit of 41
cents per share on revenue of $9.60 billion.
DisneyParks Blog - The most voracious fans
of Disney’s California Food & Wine Festival know that the fifth
annual Festival will celebrate “The Art of Flavor” from April 16
through May 31 this year. But the date they’re really craving is
the first day of ticket sales. We’ve got that news for you
today.
Tickets for selected Signature events go
on sale February 4 for Disneyland Resort Annual Passholders
only, at the Special Offer Page. General sales of all Festival
Signature events will begin on February 16 at 10 a.m., at
www.disneyland.com/foodandwine.
Annual Passholders will be able to
register from February 4 through February 15 to get special
reduced prices for these events: winemaker dinners, a new
Brewmaster Dinner, and the Festival finale celebration “Taste
Food-Wine-Life.” Annual Passholders must provide proof of
membership online.
While you may be familiar with the
winemaker dinners, here’s a little more information about “Taste
Food-Wine-Life.” It’s a fun, high-energy evening that combines
the best elements of the Food & Wine Festival into one grand
finale celebration, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, May 29.
The party has live musical entertainment, an outstanding
selection of wines and a variety of food to taste. Not only do
you get to see Disney chefs whipping up their specialty food
dishes, you can talk to them about their creations as you sample
their work.
If you’ve attended Disney’s California
Food & Wine Festival in previous years, please share what you
enjoyed most at the Festival.
MTV - Disney has been hitting the world
with a full-on promotional assault for "Alice in Wonderland."
And it's no wonder. You've got the always-potent team-up of Tim
Burton and Johnny Depp. You've got one of the studio's most
cherished franchises being revisited. And you've got
this highly anticipated beast hitting theaters in IMAX 3-D
presentations, right on the heels of the record-breaking success
of "Avatar." Of course they're trying get us excited!
In
the midst of the many trailers and images and posters and the
like, precious few facts about how the whole production came
together have been shared. There are a handful of featurettes,
but it's just a taste. There's a ton of trivia yet to be
revealed. Well we've spoken with Disney and secured a few
tidbits for you to enjoy, just some fun facts about the work
behind the scenes on "Alice." You can find them all after the
break.
Johnny Depp-- Actor, Musician... Painter?
Unless you've been living at the bottom of the ocean, you're
already well aware that superstar actor Johnny Depp is playing
the (very fitting) role of the Mad Hatter. Apparently, when he
first heard from Burton that this is the part he would play in
"Alice," long before any serious production got underway, the
actor took it upon himself to prepare. He did this by creating
watercolor paintings of the Hatter, which he later learned fell
very close to Burton's own vision for the character. Not
terribly surprising, considering how frequently the two have
worked together.
Resizing Alice
Anyone familiar with the classic tale of "Alice in Wonderland"
knows that the titular young girl frequently changes size
throughout the story. Her return trip to Burton's vision of
Wonderland is no different. Star Mia Wasikowska is 5' 4" in real
life. In the movie, Alice's height fluctuates, ranging from six
inches all the way up to 20 feet. Rather than rely solely on
digital effects, the production team took a page from Peter
Jackson's work with the Hobbits and Dwarves of "The Lord of the
Rings," even turning to the decidedly low-tech solution of an
apple box to make Wasikowska taller.
Crispin Glover's Head
Everyone knows Crispin Glover, right? He's George McFly, from
the "Back to the Future" series. He's also a really creepy
presence on screen, which makes him perfect for the role of the
Red Queen's lackey Stayne, the Knave of Hearts. However, only
Glover's head will appear in the movie, perched on the digitally
rendered body of the seven-and-a-half foot tall Knave. Glover
performed his scenes perched atop a set of stilts to make
himself taller.
The Unseem 'Dum
Matt Lucas has a dual role in the movie, playing both Tweedledee
and Tweedledum, the portly twin brothers with a bad case of
sibling rivalry. Since Lucas was unable to actually split
himself into two for his scenes, another actor -- Ethan Cohen
(not to be confused with "A Serious Man" filmmaker Ethan Coen)
-- was hired to stand in for Tweedledum on the set.
Unfortunately for Cohen, his work will not be seen in the
finished cut.
The White Queen Is A "Punk Rock
Vegan Pacifist"
Anne Hathaway plays the White Queen, a powerful force for good
in Wonderland who many inhabitants rally around in opposition to
the Red Queen. Hathaway was very concerned about making sure her
character would be memorable, rather than just another
white-clothed fairy queen (Hollywood has seen a few of those in
the past decade). So she looked to a diverse range of
influences, including Blondie, Greta Garbo, Dan Flavin and Norma
Desmond in concocting her "punk rock vegan pacifist" White
Queen.
BlueSky - Tokyo DisneySEA has released the
first artwork from the Japanese version of "Fantasmic!" today...
When we first reported about the nighttime show back in October,
it was confirmation of a new show that we reported back in
February. Originally, the OLC was going to bring in a clone of
"World of Color," but eventually decided that Disneyland's show
was a better fit for their Second Gate.
Naturally there'll be differences...
New and different animation will be used, the building
structures used near the Rivers of America aren't available in
TDS so an entirely different structure will be used. If you
notice the artwork there is a mountainous facade in the bay with
the walking brooms from "Fantasia" dancing around it. An similar
electronic version of Maleficent will be used and water effect
will be used more across the more spacious water-filled area.
It'll be interesting to see this when it debuts in April of next
year.
The tenth anniversary celebration of DisneySEA will a sight to
see. DCA on the other hand will be a construction site. In Tokyo
they just keep expanding and here we just keep rebuilding. I'll
be glad when we can start again on firm footing. Once
2012 comes around we'll be back to square one.
Toon Zone - Disney Television Animation has begun
production on "Jake and the Never Land Pirates," an interactive
2-D and CG animated series for preschoolers and parents
featuring the music and fun-filled adventures of classic
characters Captain Hook and Smee, plus a new crew of kid pirates
led by the enthusiastic and courageous Jake. The series, which
will premiere on Playhouse Disney-branded blocks and channels
around the world, is designed to emphasize teamwork. The
announcement was made today by Nancy Kanter, senior vice
president, Playhouse Disney Worldwide.
Kanter said: "’Jake and the Never Land Pirates' will introduce
preschoolers to the excitement of Never Land, an imaginative,
engaging pirate world for kids and a wonderfully memorable one
for their parents. Comedic foils Captain Hook and his
well-meaning sidekick, Smee, will continue to amuse young kids,
as the enthusiastic Jake leads his team of kid pirates on
adventures that model teamwork for our young viewers."
Each episode features two fun and music-filled stories, as Jake
leads his team – including Izzy, Cubby and their parrot lookout,
Skully – aboard their amazing ship, Bucky, sailing from their
Pirate Island hideout on a lost treasure hunt throughout Never
Land. There, Jake and the team learn that they must work
together to outsmart Captain Hook and Smee, earning gold
doubloons as they conquer tasks. Whether the treasure is a
skateboard, a guitar or a prized seashell, Captain Hook will do
anything to get his hands on it, so Jake and his fellow kid
pirates invite viewers to use teamwork, problem-solving and
physical activity such as sliding down waterfalls, pulling vines
and flying with the magic of pixie dust to reclaim their
treasures.
"Jake and the Never Land Pirates" stars Colin Ford ("Sweet Home
Alabama") as Jake, Disney Channel star Madison Pettis ("The Game
Plan," "Cory in the House") as Izzy and Jonathan Morgan Heit
("Bedtime Stories") as Cubby. The series will feature original
pirate jigs and rock chanteys, as well as music underscore by
Loren Hoskins and Kevin Hendrickson of the Portland,
Oregon-based pirate rock band, Captain Bogg & Salty.
Rob LaDuca ("Mickey Mouse Clubhouse") is executive producer and
Howy Parkins ("Emperor's New School") is director.
Playhouse Disney, seen in a daily programming block on Disney
Channel U.S. and on 21 Playhouse Disney channels around the
world, encourages preschoolers to imagine and learn through
original series, short-form and acquired programming that
includes song, movement and entertainment. Guided by an
established curriculum, Playhouse Disney supports multiple areas
of child development: physical, emotional, social and cognitive;
thinking and creative skills as well as moral and ethical
development through carefully constructed themes, storylines and
endearing characters.
Orlando Sentinel - Foreign workers are suing
two major Orlando-area resorts, saying they were never paid for
a month's worth of cleaning rooms and washing laundry after
their labor contractor closed during a sweeping international
visa-fraud investigation.
Workers were placed at several hotels, including Walt Disney
World's Swan and Dolphin Resort and the Westin Imagine, by
now-shuttered labor contractor Very Reliable Services, which is
under investigation by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security,
U.S. Department of Labor and the Brazilian government.
VR Services has failed to pay the workers' wages, so the resorts
should, say two separate suits filed against the resorts in U.S.
District Court in Orlando.
Workers were promised as much as $7.50 an hour and are owed for
about 160 hours of work each, according to the complaint.
Hotels increasingly use subcontractors to avoid responsibility
if workers are mistreated, and they need to be held accountable,
said Greg Schell, the attorney for workers in both suits.
"These are high-end hotels, luxury hotels," he said. "I think
guests would be shocked" that workers weren't paid.
A spokeswoman for the Swan and Dolphin said the workers were
employed by a subcontractor, and the hotels do not think they
are legally responsible for paying them.
"The hotel is obviously sympathetic to them, but it is true
they're not employees of the hotel," said Treva Marshall, a
spokeswoman for the Swan and Dolphin.
Hotel officials are cooperating with federal authorities, she
said.
A spokesman for the Westin did not respond to requests for
comment.
VR Services workers also had jobs at the Hilton Walt Disney
World Resort; Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek; Hyatt Regency Orlando
International Airport; Marriott SpringHill Suites at SeaWorld;
and Sheraton Safari Hotel and Suites.
Schell plans to sue other Orlando hotels that used VR Services.
During the past two decades, Schell, an attorney with Florida
Legal Services in Lake Worth, has worked on similar suits
involving farm laborers unpaid by subcontractors.
VR Services and other related Orlando-area companies were
targeted in Operation Anarchy, a Brazilian visa-fraud sweep that
netted arrests of 13 people, including three U.S. citizens,
Brazilian investigators said.
Job brokers used false information to obtain visas to bring
workers to the United States, and then charged hopeful workers
in Brazil, Russia, the Dominican Republic, the Philippines,
Romania and the United Arab Emirates as much as $15,000 for what
they said were legal temporary positions, according to officials
at the U.S. Embassy in Brazil. The scheme generated $52 million.
VR Services closed in December after its Universal Boulevard
offices were searched by federal agents. An attorney for two
corporate directors of VR Services and related companies has
said his clients want to pay their employees, but their assets
were seized.
The U.S. departments of Labor and Homeland Security declined to
provide details of their investigations. There have been no
Operation Anarchy arrests in the U.S., Brazilian authorities
said.
All interviewed workers said they were owed weeks of wages.
The H-2B visa program is popular with employers, but critics say
it leaves workers vulnerable to abuse. Third-party
subcontractors, not hotels, are increasingly bringing in
workers, allowing hotels to argue they are not liable if the
foreign workers are mistreated.
MyFoxOrlando - The Golden
Arches will soon come down at Downtown Disney's Marketplace
Shops . McDonald's announced it will be closing its restaurant
which is flanked by the Lego Imagination Center and T-Rex Cafe
at Walt Disney World Resorts's shopping and dining complex. The
"Mickey D's" will be replaced with a Pollo Campero , billed as
the world's largest Latin chicken restaurant chain.
The restaurant will feature Pollo Campero's signature Latin
chicken, as well as a new restaurant concept featuring fresh,
healthy food, according to a news release sent to FOX 35 by the
Dallas-based restaurant. The restaurant also offers typical
Latin side dishes like yuca fries and sweet plantains.
Latin-themed beverages will also be served including horchata
and tamarindo. The menu also will include nutritious and
delicious meals such as chef-prepared salads, sandwiches and
wraps.
"We're pleased to offer this new
Latin-style restaurant to our guests at Downtown Disney," said
Keith Bradford, vice president of Downtown Disney . "It's
diversity of offerings and well-balanced options are the perfect
addition."
Pollo Campero serves more than 85
million customers each year at more than 300 restaurants in 12
countries around the world, 50 of which are already open in the
United States. The Downtown Disney location is expected to open
in late 2010. McDonald's will be shuttered in late April but
will continue to operate at other locations around Walt Disney
World Resort.
WESH2 -
A Disney cast member was injured while performing a motorcycle
stunt Wednesday.
Officials said the stuntman suffered a minor lower leg injury
during a fall at the Disney Hollywood Studios "Lights, Motors,
Action!" show at about 5 p.m.
The stunt called for the cast
member to jump off the motorcycle, swing on a crane and land a
foot from dock before taking off on a Jet Ski.
Officials said the stuntman
landed incorrectly when he jumped off the crane prior to jumping
on the Jet Ski.
The stuntman, who was not identified, has been with the show
since it opened in the 1990s and had performed the maneuver
successfully thousands of times, officials said.
He was brought to Celebration
Hospital for treatment.
Orlando Sentinel - The Travel Channel celebrates a decade of
programming by popular host Samantha Brown with four new
hour-long specials, including one filmed at Walt Disney World,
beginning Monday.
Traveling more than 230 days a year, Brown has a seemingly
endless supply of stories from her journeys, and she shares them
on these shows next week:
** Samantha Brown’s Vancouver (8 p.m. Feb. 8):
Samantha discovers the natural beauty, winter activities, food
and culture of the 2010 Winter Olympics host city.
** Samantha Brown: Inside the Suitcase (8 p.m. Feb.
9): Samantha shares her travel secrets, packing tips
and favorite moments from the road.
** Samantha Brown Fan-a-thon (8 p.m. Feb. 10):
Samantha celebrates 10 years of travel at Walt Disney World with
her fans, who share their favorite moments on the show.
** Samantha Brown’s World of Sports (8 p.m. Feb. 11):
Samantha takes viewers through her best and worst sports-related
moments during her time on the Travel Channel.
Some lucky fans spotted Brown taping the Fan-a-thon
with Donald Duck and a family at the Mexico pavilion at Epcot in
November. Others saw her exiting the Kilimanjaro Safaris at
Animal Kingdom and at Downtown Disney’s World of Disney store. I
wonder what she liked best there — the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique?
The enormous selection of Mouse merchandise? The pirate room for
boys?
I had hoped the Travel Channel darling was making a new Walt
Disney World holiday special when she visited in the fall.
Walt Disney World Holidays with Samantha Brown, which first
aired in 2003, is a must-see every December at our house. Brown
gives viewers glimpses into how the holiday decorating is
accomplished at Disney World without spoiling the magic for
kids. And then she tours the parks and highlights favorite
Christmas activities.
Disney Holiday Magic with Samantha Brown debuted in
2007, updating the previous show with a look at Hollywood
Studios’ Osbourne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights, Epcot’s
Candlelight Processional, Disney’s Boardwalk Hotel, Disney’s
Grand Floridian Hotel and Disney’s Wilderness Lodge.
Of course, the energetic host has filmed other specials at
Disney, including one episode in four-part series called
Season of Disney that aired in the spring of 2008.
Tune in Wednesday to see if your Walt Disney World favorites
match Brown’s.
DisneyParks Blog - We showed you “Genie”
first on the blog…and then promised more. Well, here they are —
the remaining Disney-artist designed and painted instruments
created specifically to benefit music education. And yes, you
can possibly own one.
There are
five hand-painted string basses. A few of them celebrate Disney
classics and others tell the stories of Disney’s newest
characters. But it’s best to hear it from the artists themselves
and learn how and why they transformed the Conn-Selmer, Inc.,
donated instruments into one-of-a-kind works of art.
So, want one? The instruments will be
auctioned off by Julien’s Auctions after they’re showcased at
music and art museums across the nation – with proceeds
benefiting the music education programs of GRAMMY Foundation.
More details on the celebration of the 25th anniversary of
Disney Magic Music Days at Walt Disney World and an event
calendar now live at
www.disneyartformusic.com.
DisneyParks Blog - Some of you may think that when the gates of
the Disneyland Resort close, the park
goes dark and silent. Not true. Making magic is a 24-hour
operation. There are about 1,500 cast members who work the
overnight or “Third Shift.” Some have worked this nocturnal
schedule for several years. In celebration of all they do,
Disneyland Resort is taking time on February 3 to shine a
spotlight on the Third Shift. We are also re-releasing a video
podcast that originally debuted on Disneyland.com in 2006. It’s
a “private” look at what happens at the Resort when you’re
asleep.
/FILM - I’m honestly surprised that it took so long. Disney’s
2007 live-action film Enchanted was the
best fairy tale the mouse-house had produced in quite some time,
and even before it was released, execs were calling it the first
film of a potential franchise. The plans are finally starting to
come together on an Enchanted sequel,
as Disney has hired Jessie Nelson to pen a screenplay, which
will be directed by Anne Fletcher.
Nelson’s
credits include Stepmom, The Story of Us, I
Am Sam, Because I Said So and was involved in writing the
story for Fred Claus. Fletcher is a
choreographer-turned-director whose credits include
Step Up, 27 Dresses and
The Proposal.
I’m disappointed
to report that none of the creative team behind the first film
are returning for the follow-up, neither screenwriter Bill Kelly
(Blast from the Past) or director Kevin
Lima (Tarzan). Fletcher’s former career
as a choreographer should help with the film’s mix of musical
numbers. None of the films stars have yet signed on for the
follow-up, although it is expected that they will.
In the original film, Amy Adams stars as Giselle, as a Disney
princess who becomes banished from her animated fantasyland by
an evil queen, and is left to fend for herself in live-action
modern day Manhattan. Here is the official plot synopsis:
Enchanted begins in the animated fairytale
land of Andalasia where the charming and perky Giselle (Amy
Adams) instantly captures the heart of the dashing Prince Edward
(James Marsden). Desperate to keep the young lovers apart in
order to preserve her control of the throne, the prince’s evil
mother Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon) transports Giselle from
her whimsical homeland to the worst place she can think of—Times
Square. Suddenly transformed from animated beauty into flesh and
blood girl, the comely lass twirls her way through the urban
jungle, blissfully unaware that dreams don’t always come true.
Rescued from the streets by divorce lawyer Robert (Patrick
Dempsey), who suspects she’d be better off in Bellevue, and
pursued by Edward, who finds that a sword is useless against a
modern day dragon—er, make that city bus—the eternally
optimistic Giselle starts to wonder if “happily ever after” is
what she really wants.
No storyline has been released for the
sequel, but it is expected that it will once again involve
Giselle in the real world. It also seems like an obvious
decision to film the movie in 3D, although that has not yet been
decided.
Asia Times - Shanghai isn't buying the Disney dream. A top
political advisory body, shocked by losses at Hong Kong
Disneyland, this week questioned whether the city's plans to
support the opening of a theme park in 2014 would turn into a
financial nightmare.
Shanghai members of the Committee of the Chinese People's
Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) began their annual
meeting on January 25 expressing concerns about the viability of
the project as Hong Kong Disneyland revealed it lost HK$1.32
billion (US$170 million) last year. At the same time, a research
report shows 70% of mainland theme parks are in the red.
"Hong Kong Disneyland's poor performance should serve as a
warning about any economic projections that the city promises,"
said Lu Weimin, a Shanghai member of the CPPCC.
Shanghai city authorities and Walt Disney Co have yet to
announce final details after Beijing in November approved
construction of Shanghai Disneyland. The amusement park in Hong
Kong, which increased visitor numbers last year despite the
swine flu outbreak and the global finacial crisis, has struggled
to attract mainland visitors since it opened to great fanfare in
2005.
Shanghai Disneyland, to be built on the east bank of the Huangpu
River at a cost about 25 billion yuan (US$3.5 billion), is
expected to cover an area of 116 hectares, 10 hectares fewer
than its counterpart in Hong Kong, the smallest of the five
existing Disney Theme Parks.
Walt Disney will take a 43% equity stake in Shanghai Disneyland,
while a joint-venture holding company formed by a consortium of
Chinese companies owned by the municipal government will own the
majority 57%, the 21st Century Business Herald said.
"Given the similar share structure between the Shanghai
Disneyland and the Hong Kong Disneyland, the Shanghai government
should look into the reasons behind Hong Kong Disney's losses,"
Lu said.
The financial performance of Hong Kong Disneyland had been
difficult to judge because of Disney's initial refusal to give
results and attendance figures. The numbers released a week
before the Shanghai officials gathered were the company's first
major admission of its struggling performance.
The Hong Kong government, hard hit by the 2003 severe acute
respritory syndrome virus outbreak amid a weak economy,
shouldered HK$23 billion of the HK$27 billion cost of the park
to lure Disney. That translated into a 57% stake in the joint
venture that runs the Hong Kong park, with Disney holding 43%.
Under a new structure that is part of the expansion deal agreed
last June, the Hong Kong government's stake will be diluted to
52.19%, with Walt Disney holding the other 47.81% by 2011-12.
"What we have been worried about is whether the contact between
the Shanghai government and Walt Disney is unfair, which means
that even if the Shanghai Disneyland is making a loss, Walt
Disney still earns money from royalty on food, merchandise sold
at the park and outside the park, management fees as well as
incentive payments, with franchising arrangements," Lu said,
without giving actual figures.
With the forecasts for the Hong Kong theme park now proved
overly optimistic, Lu may have a point.
The Hong Kong government predicted 11 years ago that the venture
could break even as early as 2009 and no later than 2011. That
is unlikely to happen when the expansion of the park is
completed in 2014. The Hong Kong government said last month that
the park's loss last year widened from a HK$1.574 billion loss
in 2008.
When stating the case for Disneyland, Hong Kong's government
also said attendance would be 5.6 million visitors in its first
year of operation and 6.49 million in 2009, its fourth year,
contributing HK$7.57 billion to Hong Kong's economy.
However, according to last month's disclosure, visitor numbers
in the first year of operation totaled 5.4 million. Last year,
attendance was down to only 4.6 million, 29% fewer visitors than
originally forecast. The value added to the economy was
estimated at HK$4.4 billion, 42% less than projected.
Meanwhile, the park was forecast to create about 11,000 new jobs
for the first year of operation, but only 4,400 full-time jobs
were created, 60% fewer than predicted.
From its opening until December 2009, Hong Kong Disneyland
received 19 million visitors, Bill Ernest, Walt Disney's
Asia-Pacific president and managing director, said on January
19.
Despite the global financial crisis and swine flu scare, last
year's figures were an increase on 2008, when 4.5 million went
through the turnstiles, he said.
From October 2008 to May 2009, it even recorded double-digit
visitor growth until the swine flu broke out, Ernest said.
Hong Kong Disneyland managing director Andrew Kam noted that
most of the park's customer sources, such as Taiwan, Singapore,
Malaysia and Australia, were affected by the financial crisis.
In terms of origin, local visitors accounted for 41%, while 36%
came from the mainland and the rest were international visitors.
Disney officials have vowed to attract more visitors, but
declined to disclose their visitor growth forecast for the next
few years. Rita Lau, Hong Kong's secretary for Commerce and
Economic Development, said the financial results were not as
good as expected, and Disney would be urged to improve cost
controls.
Ren Xianzheng, another member of the Shanghai committee of the
CPPCC, warned that the Disneyland in the mainland's financial
center would face competition for regional and international
visitors from other new parks in the region, such as Singapore's
ResortsWorld at Sentosa, which opened on January 20.
Ren urged the Shanghai government to link the Disneyland to
other theme parks in Shanghai, such as the state-owned Shanghai
Wild Animal Park, when welcoming visitors in a bid to promote
its theme park industry.
"On the one hand, a collaboration of different theme parks could
give visitors more excitement, on the other, it could help
attract visitors to other theme parks which have generated less
attendance and revenue in the city," Ren said.
Of China's 2,500 theme parks, 70% are operating at a loss,
according to a survey by the Horizon Group, a strategic research
and consultancy firm.
With about 150 billion yuan invested in the parks, only about
10% are making a profit, which include popular theme parks in
Shenzhen - Splendid China, created in 1989, and Happy Valley. In
2008, 25 million people visited Happy Valley, making it China's
most popular theme park.
Liu Wei, a professor from the Guangdong University of Finance,
attributed the losses to the small scale of most parks, and the
similarity of themes in a fiercely competitive market.
"Many theme parks in China are only good as a backdrop for a
photo shoot, which included miniatures of nature from ethnic
minorities inside China or a collection of replica historic
landmarks from outside China," Liu said. "There's little
interactive function. They provide some kinds of rides, but most
of them are for children, but they charge 100 or 200 yuan for
one ticket, which is beyond what ordinary people can afford," he
said.
Liu said to attract visitors, theme parks needed to add new
attractions and there must be large-scale, high-tech and
interactive entertainment.
"With increasing wealth, people travel everywhere and see real
things instead of replicas," he said.
In August, Guangzhou's Shijie Daguan (Grand World Park) shut its
gates with a deficit after being in business for about 15 years.
In 2007, east China's Hangzhou Future World shut down with 260
million yuan in lost investments. In 2000, Shanghai's
400-million-yuan-invested Universal Park closed after only four
years.
Hong Kong Disneyland has followed the fortunes of Disneyland
Paris, which lost money from 1992 until new attractions helped
it end 1995 with a net profit of $22.8 million. In 2002,
Disneyland Paris announced another annual profit.
However, it incurred a net loss in the three years following.
After realizing that it had to cater for local tastes, in 2008
Disneyland Paris was the most-visited attraction in Europe. Now
turning a profit, it is Europe's top attraction with 15 million
visitors a year.
At present, two of the five Disneylands are in the US, one in
France and one in Japan.
Raymond So, an associate professor at the Chinese University's
Faculty of Business Administration, argued that attracting
visitors to Disneylands in China would not be easy because of
differences in culture and the need to cater to local tastes.
“Walt Disney needs to incorporate some elements of Chinese
culture into the products offered in the parks," he said,
quoting the success of having Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse
sporting traditional Chinese Costume in Hong Kong Disneyland
during Lunar New Year celebrations.
“One of the most important factors which might affect the
visitor numbers in Shanghai is that most Chinese mainlanders
have not been exposed to the Disney culture since childhood,
partly due to no Disney channels being broadcast in China," he
said.
OCRegister - Disney’s hotel union is organizing a hunger strike
to bring attention to a drawn-out contract dispute over health
care and workloads.
About 2,150 hotel employees in Unite Here Local 11 have
worked without a contract for two years, as of this week, mostly
because of a clash over health-care costs. More recently, house
cleaners have complained about their workloads, leading to two
walkouts in December.
“This is just another tactic from Local 11
leadership to distract from the fact that after two years their
members are still without a contract,” said Suzi Brown,
a Disneyland Resort spokeswoman, in a prepared statement.
LA Times - Are you ready for a trip down the rabbit hole? Tim
Burton, Johnny Depp and Disney are adding a strange new chapter
to the Lewis Carroll classic with "Alice in Wonderland," a film
that presents a young woman who finds herself in the world of
the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat and the Red Queen. She is
welcomed as a returning visitor -- but is she in fact the same
Alice who roamed the trippy realm as a child? Time will tell.
Here at the Hero Complex we're counting down to film's March 5
release with daily coverage. Today it's a conversation with
Danny Elfman, the composer of the film's score and Burton's
favorite maestro.
GB: I imagine you're feeling pretty
good right now. The only thing better than taking on an exciting
new project isactually finishingan exciting
new project.
DE: Being done with "Alice" is a great
relief, to put it mildly. Tim told me six months ago that this
one would go right up to the 59th minute of the 11th hour. He
knew it then. I was still doing last bits of music on Sunday and
that was with the print-mastering beginning Monday. It doesn't
get any tighter. But I knew going into it that this would be
insanity. That's the nature of the beast. It's a function of
motion-capture projects -- you're going to wait for shots to
come in. You're trying to finish the movie and the shots are
still coming in. Things are happening at the very last second.
It's very challenging. But you can only go at the pace that it
goes.
GB: What was the very last thing you finished on Sunday?
DE: It was this crazy dance that the Mad
Hatter does. It's called the Fudderwacken. That was something we
had tried many different approaches before we reached the one
that is in the movie.
GB: What were your compass points coming into this
project?
DE: Your guiding principles on a narrative
type of story like this, it's always the same. The same guiding
principles, rather -- hopefully not the same score over
and over again. [Laughs] Unfortunately it's common in my
business. But we try to avoid it. But really it's about
finding the narrative and finding the themes and trying to knit
things together and form continuity. The decision-making process
is about who gets a theme and who doesn't. You can't just give
every character a theme. It just starts getting too crazy.
Experimentation for me is, usually, finding a central theme
and then two or three secondary themes and determining how
they're going to play. That's the fun of it, the surprise of it,
too. Sometimes I'll find I'm using a theme over a character and
it's not necessarily their theme and I don't know why I'm doing
it, but I'll go with it anyway and there ends up being a certain
logic to it -- [the scene] is about a certain character or about
a trajectory of a certain character.
GB: I imagine there are many ways to follow a "safe" paththat amps up emotion and excitement but can undermine the
film's identity, right?
DE: All of it, the challenge is to be
inventive but do the purpose, which is to add continuity and to
add energy and motion and anticipation and a sense of something
building. To get that sense of forward motion. To do it poorly
in this kind of film -- a real active film, an adventure film
-- is actually really easy. You can always just play for energy,
orchestrate something very active. Anybody who understands film
composition could that in their sleep. The hard part is, can you
do that and still come up with something that gives it a sense
of identity? That's really hard.
GB: The framing sequences in the film take place in
England of the 19th century. Does that influence any choices you
make?
DE: No. In essence, if I just played 19th
century music it would get really boring really fast. Even in
the context of a serious period piece, a drama, let's say,
taking place in the 19th century, you're still perhaps only
going to allude to the period. If you get too strict with it,
it's going to get really boring. Eventually, you're going to
play the characters and you're going to play internally,
and when you start playing internally there really aren't any
rules. In something like "Alice in Wonderland" there are even
less rules. Who knows what kind of music does or doesn't belong
in Wonderland, after all? Outside of Wonderland, at the
beginning of the film and at the end of the movie, I'm really
just trying to establish some of the themes that will come back.
Essentially, Alice's primary theme and, because she starts as a
little girl, I have what I called the "little Alice" theme,
which I bring back later at times. I'm just planting seeds at
the beginning of the film.
GB: And then when the film gets to Wonderland?
DE: I open up and get a little crazier, but
I'm still incorporating the same thematic ideas. I am a believer
in thematic unity and the importance of that in a storytelling
film. There are certain types of film where it simply doesn't
matter, but when you have a crazy story that you're following
through and there are a lot of crazy characters, it does matter.
GB: In talking to Tim Burton, it's clear he considered
the challenge in adapting the source material was the lack of a
strong narrative arc.
DE: Well, you have to realize this isn't
"Alice in Wonderland" from Lewis Carroll's book. It isn't that
story up on the screen in any way, shape or form. It's really
taking the characters and putting them in a whole new story.
It's actually more like a sequel. We start off with Alice as a
little girl, but we quickly pick up on Alice 10 years later.
She's returning to Wonderland and there is the story. Is it or
isn't it the right Alice that they have brought down to
Wonderland?
GB: Sure, I think that's become especially clear with the
latest trailer. I have to say that, personally, it makes me much
more interested in the film. Watching a pure retelling
of familiar stories isn't especially alluring to me.
DE: No one can dispute the brilliance of
the book. To put that on the screen? That would be really
interesting, but it's hard to say what kind of movie it would
make, you know, for an hour-and-a-half. So they came up with a
concept: Alice is 20, and she's going to chase the rabbit down
the hole and you're going to see all the same stuff, but you
also hear these voices. "Is it her?" "It doesn't look like her."
"I'm telling you it's her." And then she has to find out if it's
a mistake, if she's the right Alice or not. She's been brought
there for a purpose. But you still have all the same stuff [as
far as imagery] with the Mad Hatter and the tea party and
everything.
GB: I think an older Alice makes the film more
interesting right off the bat.
DE: Yes, and Mia [Wasikowska, the Australian
newcomer] is wonderful as Alice. I had never seen her in
anything before. She's a great Alice. She really is like a
child-woman, a child and a woman both. She has a wonderful
simplicity but she has to go through this emotional growth in
the story. And Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, well, that's a
slam dunk. When Johnny gets in this type of role he really has
fun with it. The movie is a treat and a feast for the eyes. It
was fun to do even though it was intense. I don't mind intense.
When you're geared up for it and you're expecting it, it's 'OK,
let me have it, I'm ready."
GB: You've worked
with Tim Burton on more than a dozen film projects, including
some of his signature films -- the two "Batman" films, "Beetlejuice,"
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," "Edward Scissorhands" -- and
I'm curious how your collaboration has changed through the
years? Either in rhythm
or approach?
DE: The joy of working with Tim is and
always has been his unpredictability. I never know how
he is going to react to something. People say, "Oh, you've
worked with him so long, you must know when you write something
that he will love it." It's quite the contrary. I've never found
the secret, magic key. He started unpredictable and he is
extremely unpredictable for me still. In that is also the joy.
Over the years, his favorite stuff has often been the stuff I
played for him as an afterthought. He gravitates to the areas
that others directors do not allow. Like the character Edward
Scissorhands having a theme which is almost Eastern European
Jewish. A lot of directors would have said, 'Hey, wait a minute,
Edward's not Jewish and he's not from Europe." Tim doesn't ask
these types of questions. He responds completely viscerally to
everything and immediately likes it or doesn't like it. I have
to figure out why. Honestly, after 25 years I can't say that he
is any easier for me to work with or any more predictable, and
that actually is what I look forward to the most in our
collaboration.
The Hollywood Reporter - Veteran Disney-ABC TV executive Mark
Pedowitz is leaving the company after 19 years.
He is finalizing a deal to set up shop at Warner Bros. TV with a
first-look deal for his company Pine Street Entertainment.
"As one chapter closes, another one opens," Pedowitz wrote in an
email to his colleagues at Disney on Wednesday afternoon
announcing his departure.
Pedowitz's exit from Disney is hardly a surprise. For the past
year, he has had a behind-the-scenes role as senior adviser to
Anne Sweeney, co-chair of Disney-Media Networks and president of
Disney-ABC Television Group.
He spent five years as head of ABC Studios, growing the studio's
slate and expanding its portfolio into cable and first-run
syndication. He stepped down in January 2009 as part of the
consolidation of ABC Studios and ABC Entertainment under ABC
Entertainment president Steve McPherson.
Pedowitz joined ABC in 1991 as senior vp business affairs and
was promoted to head of the department in 1996. As a business
affairs executive, he is credited with drawing up the template
for some of the key deals between networks and studios employed
today.
The Guardian - What goes around really might
come around in Hollywood. US reports suggest that
recently-closed studio Miramax could be bought back from Disney
by its founders, the Weinstein brothers, within months.
The New York
Times reported on Sunday that Disney was looking to cut loose
the film-making unit, which was once the toast of the arthouse
film-making community, having produced Oscar-winning hits such
as The English Patient, Good Will Hunting and Pulp Fiction.
Since Bob and Harvey Weinstein left in 2005, its record has been
less successful, and Disney recently announced major cutbacks.
The sibling
producers formed a new firm, The Weinstein Company, following a
dispute with Disney over its refusal to release Michael Moore's
George W Bush-bating documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 in 2004. The
move was believed to be the final straw for Harvey Weinstein,
who had repeatedly clashed with then Disney chief Michael
Eisner.
According to The Wrap blog the Weinsteins
have now been approached by two hedge funds with a proposal to
purchase Miramax as a joint venture. If the sale went ahead, it
would no doubt prove a source of contentment for the brothers,
who named the firm they founded in 1979 after their parents, Max
and Miriam. They sold the company to Disney in 1993, but stayed
on as co-chief executives until the acrimonious divorce five
years ago.
The LA Times
reported that seven to 10 bidders were interested in purchasing
Miramax, though it did not name them all. Summit Entertainment,
the studio behind the successful teen romance franchise
Twilight, is said to be in the running, as are several private
equity groups and at least one other independent studio.
Miramax's library of more than 700 films
reportedly brings in more than $300m in DVD and television
revenue alone each year, though that figure is disputed.
However, the firm is not what it once was: In October, Disney
announced it was cutting staff numbers by 70%, and reducing the
number of releases from between six and eight to just three
films per year. The unit's New York-based marketing,
distribution and administrative functions, which had operated
independently, were folded into those of the parent studio in
Burbank, California, last month.
An unnamed Disney executive told the Wrap
they had no knowledge of the Weinstein brothers' interest, but
said they saw no reason in principle why a sale might not go
ahead.
Disney Insider - There
are big things underway at Disney's
California Adventure Park, and the first of many exciting
changes is almost ready to be unveiled. The lagoon near Paradise
Pier is in the final stages of a makeover that sets the stage
for the most spectacular water show in Disney history — and
quite possibly anywhere! This summer, night will take on a whole
new color (or a rainbow of them).
Picture more than 1,200 powerful fountains dancing in elaborate
choreographed patterns, fire effects, fog, lasers, and stunning
color displays, all set to stirring music — and topped with
animation "painted" on to screens of moving water! It's "World
of Color," and it will be lighting up the nights at California
Adventure Park starting late this year.
Walt Disney Imagineering Creative Entertainment's director of
show production, Sayre Wiseman, took a break from the feverish
final preparationsto tell us all about "World of Color." "It
really is a 25-minute journey through incredible Disney
storytelling. It goes from Disney's pioneering TV show
'Wonderful World of Color' to 'The Princess and the Frog,'" she
explains. One unusual feature of the show is the use of animated
images projected on "screens" of water — a technique used
elsewhere, but never on this scale ("World of Color" boasts the
world's largest projected water screen — a wall of water 380
feet wide by 50 feet high). New animation has been created
especially for the show, with sequences starring everyone from
"Alice in Wonderland" to Heimlich the Caterpillar from
Disney·Pixar's "A Bug's Life."
However, the show is far more than "a movie on water." Sayre
says, "John Lasseter really encouraged us not just have the
Guests watch a movie, but to use all these tools to tell a story
in a new way. The music is so powerful, and we want to encourage
the audience to use their imagination!" She points especially to
the score composed by Mark Hammond and performed by a London
orchestra as a lavish invitation to set Guests' imaginations
free.
It's never easy to build a new world, and this one has been in
production for the last five years. Sayre says ruefully, "The
lagoon was never designed to have a show in it, so everything
had to be installed. We had to drain the lagoon completely!"
Imagineers added a special superstructure nearly an acre in size
to the lagoon bottom, complete with lighting fixtures, fountain
jets, and controls. The entire contraption can be raised for
performances or sink beneath the water surface — and is so heavy
that the lagoon bottom needed special reinforcements.
The payoff for all that work? Fountains that can leap as much as
200 feet in the air (by comparison Mickey's Fun Wheel, the
nearby giant Ferris wheel that's a California Adventure icon, is
only 150 feet high), plus visual and audio effects that sweep
across the lagoon, soar into the sky, and rush toward the
audience — truly a show that's worth waiting for nightfall to
experience.
So, Guests who linger after sunset will find that California
summer nights have never been more dreamy, more inspiring ... or
more colorful.
Orlando Sentinel - The Spring issue of
Mickey Monitor is available now, and there are quite a few
cool offers and sweepstakes for Walt Disney World passholders.
You won’t want to miss these:
** 2010
Passholder Celebrate Sweepstakes: Enter for a chance to
win up to four premium annual pass renewals plus up to four
premium annual passes to give friends or family. To qualify for
the renewal, beneficiaries must live at the same address as the
winner and be active Walt Disney World passholders as of Feb. 1.
Open only to Walt Disney World passholders in good standing
during full entry period and at least 21 years of age upon entry
who are legal residents of and physically located within the 50
United States or D.C. Void in Colorado. Enter by registering and
logging on to the passholder Web site
here. Contest
ends at 5 p.m. ET April 30.
** 2010 Passholder Valentine
Sweepstakes: Five passholders will win a $100 Disney
gift card. You must log in to the passholder site to print out
the entry form and mailing address. The contest ends March 31.
Open to Walt Disney World passholders 21 or older, in good
standing during full entry period and legal residents of the 50
United States or D.C.
**
Disney Digital Books subscription: As a passholder
family, you can subscribe to 14 months of Disney Digital Books
for the price of 12. (Monthly rate is $8.95 per month; yearly
rate is $79.95.) Use coupon code MICKEY14 after registering to
get your passholder discount.
** Fellow Theme Park Ranger Dewayne first
told you about ESPN personalities Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic,
who host Mike & Mike in the Morning on ESPN Radio, coaching the
Globetrotters during an appearance Feb. 25 at
Disney World. Passholders will save $5 on a $35 lower level
ticket by showing passholder IDs at the ESPN Wide World of
Sports box office.
** Save some green with
Earth-friendly DisneyPhotoPass.com items. Enter
promotion code MMGREEN15 to save 15 percent on mugs, water
bottles, 4-inch by 4-inch notepads and refrigerator notepads.
Offer valid through March 31.
**
REMINDER: Passholders, here’s a pretty sweet deal if you’re into
NASCAR. Stop by Walt Disney World Speedway — it’s
situated right in front of Magic Kingdom — and you can do a Ride
Along from Richard Petty Driving Experience for free. This
program normally costs more than $100 per person. Show your
Disney pass and you’ll get to ride shotgun for three mile-long
laps in a NASCAR-style race car reaching speeds up to 140 mph
with a professional driving instructor. This offer is good
through March 31. For more details, click
here.
Forbes - Lost viewers found their way to TV sets Tuesday night
as the epic drama came roaring back for its final season.
According to early estimates, 12.1 million viewers tuned in to
have (some) of their questions answered, up from the 11.4
million who watched the show’s fifth season debut in 2009.
Though its shed some 3.5 million viewers since its first
season in 2004, the night’s tune-in marked the show’s best
numbers in nearly two years and is particularly noteworthy
for a highly-serialized and increasingly-complicated drama
now in its sixth season. Still more impressive, the season
opener was up 12%, year over year, among advertiser-beloved
18 to 49 year olds.
To be sure, letting Lost’s
show-runners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse put an end-date
on the series back in 2007 was at once risky and brilliant.
In an industry where the all but Pavlovian response to
strong ratings is more episode orders, the pair along with
ABC entertainment chief Steve McPherson recognized an
open-ended run would prove challenging –if not futile-- for
a series as narrow in premise and complex in storytelling.
Instead, the decision to declare an expiration date would
give (and in this case, has given) the show’s creative team
the freedom to end the series on its terms and the fans an
incentive to stick with the demanding show.
What the legacy of a series that challenged both viewers
and production budgets in an otherwise ailing broadcast era
remains to be seen. To some, Lost will be
remembered for its ability to generate water cooler buzz (or
at least collective theorizing and head-scratching) and
award show acclaim (146 nominations and 58 award wins, by
McPherson's’ count). And to still others, the bean-counters,
what will likely stick is the drama’s power to generate what
Kantar Media estimates at more than $1 billion in
advertising revenue over the past five seasons.
And with that, as Lindelof and Cuse announced during an
interview with ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel late Tuesday
night, May 23rd will mark the end of a series McPherson
calls “arguably one of the most influential … of the decade,
if not of all time.”
DisneyParks Blog - During visits to Walt
Disney World as a child, I remember belting out “Yo Ho, (A
Pirate’s Life for Me)” over and over — and how each song
became a family sing-along and laugh-fest. It’s a fond
memory at Disney Parks that’s probably very different than
yours…or is it? We’d like to know. Today, we’re at Epcot
asking, “What is your favorite Disney memory?”
Orlando Sentinel - Pollo Campero, an international Latin
chicken quick-service restaurant chain, has partnered with
Levy Campero to deliver a new restaurant concept in Downtown
Disney Marketplaceat Walt Disney World
Resort. The restaurant, which is scheduled to open in late
2010, will feature Pollo Campero’s signature Latin cuisine,
as well as fresh, and healthful foods. Menu items will
include Latin chicken, yuca fries, sweet plantains, and
Latin drinks including horchata and tamarindo.
Pollo Campero, the world’s largest Latin chicken restaurant
chain, serves more than 85 million customers each year at
more than 300 restaurants in 12 countries around the globe.
This includes more than 50 locations already open in the
United States, with additional stores scheduled to open this
year.
AboutLawsuit - About 426,000 children’s jewelry toys have been
recalled due to high levels of lead, including the “Tiny Tink”
series of Disney Tinkerbell charms and children’s birthday
bracelets sold with Papyrus Brand Greeting Cards.
The recalls
were announced by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission on
Tuesday. The Tinkerbell jewelry sets, imported by Playmates
Toys, were found to have a metal connector that contained levels
of total lead in excess of 300 parts per million. The Papyrus
bracelets, imported by Schurman Fine Papers, were found to have
paint containing excessive levels of lead. Both toys are in
violation of the federal lead paint standard.
The Disney toy jewelry recall affects
252,000 charms sold with the Tiny Tink and Friends toy jewelry
sets. The charms have a metal ring and cylinder that are used to
attach them to a the toy necklace, bracelet or key chain. Only
the units with metal rings and cylinders are affected by the
recall. The recall affects the following products:
Silvermist’s Water Lily Necklace,
Item # 0 43377 74632 4
The toys were sold at retailers
nationwide from November 2008 through November 2009 for between
$6 and $8.
The Papyrus Brand Greeting Cards bracelet
recall affects 174,000 wooden bead bracelets that were sold
attached to greeting cards with the words “Happy Birthday To
You” on the front. The bracelet is multi-colored and includes a
wooden bead shaped like a butterfly. The greeting card includes
a UPC number of 734524634013 in the lower right corner, and also
has “BD 63401″ and “Jean Card & Gift Company” on the back.
The greeting cards and bracelets were
sold in card stores nationwide and by other retailers from
February 2004 through September 2009 for about $7.
High levels of lead paint in children’s
toys is heavily regulated due to the risk of long-term damage
that may be caused by lead poisoning. High levels of blood lead
levels, which typically result from children ingesting lead
paint chips that flakes off the walls of older homes, can result
in nervous system injury, brain damage, seizures, growth or
mental retardation, coma or even death. However, even low levels
of lead exposure have been found to be potentially dangerous.
Any consumers whose children have these
toys should take them away immediately and contact the
manufacturers for a replacement or full refund.
Disney News - Jeff Bridges, winner of both a Golden Globe and
Screen Actors Guild Award—and now an Oscar nominee—for his
performance in “Crazy Heart,” stars in TRON: LEGACY, a 3D
high-tech adventure set in a digital world that’s unlike
anything ever captured on the big screen. Sam Flynn (Garrett
Hedlund), the tech-savvy 27-year-old son of Kevin Flynn
(Bridges), looks into his father’s disappearance and finds
himself pulled into the digital world of Tron where his father
has been living for 25 years. Together, they embark on a
life-and-death journey of escape across a visually-stunning and
exceedingly dangerous cyber universe. The film hits U.S.
theaters Dec. 17, 2010.
AP - Hopeful, breathless, even fretful over what may lie ahead
or be forever unexplained, "Lost" fans have welcomed back the
ABC mystical thriller for its sixth season -- the beginning of
its long-coming, too-close-for-comfort finale.
The end is coming May 23, according to "Lost" co-creators
Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof, who made it official Tuesday
during guest appearances on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"
The first two of the final 18 hours had aired earlier in the
evening as its season premiere.
Did this double-dip opener address the pair of island
mysteries gnawing at viewers since last May?
What was the upshot of the kookie nuclear explosion Jack
(Matthew Fox) masterminded to rewrite history and render the
series' whole story line moot? And what's the scoop with the
dead John Locke (Terry O'Quinn) coexisting with his
very-much-alive John Locke look-alike?
(Warning: possible pesky spoilers ahead.)
Well, Jack is seen back on Oceanic Airlines Flight 815, and
despite several moments of troubling turbulence, soon enough all
seems well.
"Looks like we made it," Jack says to a fellow passenger as
the flight smooths out.
Was this a replay of the original flight, just before the
plane was pulled apart by electromagnetic energy and crashed in
the series premiere?
Maybe Jack's grand plan to prevent that crash didn't work.
Or maybe it did.
Then the action shifts to the island and the construction
site of the Swan station, where the nuclear bomb had been
detonated at last season's end to cap the deep pocket of
electromagnetic forces. Jack, Kate (Evangeline Lily) and Sawyer
(Josh Holloway) are bloodied and shaken up by the eruption.
And Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell), who set off the nuke after
plunging to the bottom of the shaft with the bomb, is found by
Sawyer alive. Alive long enough for their tearful farewell,
anyway.
Elsewhere, the island's uber-boss, Jacob (Mark Pellegrino),
who was apparently stabbed and burned to death in last season's
finale, seems in fine fettle long enough to declare, "I died an
hour ago."
As for the live version of Locke: Seems as though this is the
human alter ego for the mysterious Smoke Monster, which has
plagued the islanders in the past.
"I'm sorry you had to see me like that," he tells Ben
(Michael Emerson), who is shocked by the sight of the carnage
inflicted on Jacob's thuggish security guards.
"What are you?" asks Ben when the monster reverts to Locke's
human form.
"I'm not a what, Ben. I'm a who," says ersatz Locke.
"You're the monster," Ben insists.
"Let's not resort to name-calling," the Locke character says.
Then this creature that looks like Locke delivers a tribute
to the real and real-dead Locke: "He was weak and pathetic and
irreparably broken. But despite all that, there was something
admirable about him: He was the only one of them who didn't want
to leave. The only one who realized how pitiful the life he left
behind actually was."
Halfway through the program, the passengers of Oceanic 815 --
including Locke, Jack and other prominent characters -- are seen
deplaning after the jet has safely landed in Los Angeles. Oddly,
they mostly appear less than happy to be there, unhappy with
themselves. Even pitiful in their lives.
During this, which is perhaps some sort of alternate
narrative device, on which "Lost" thrives, Jack and Locke are
thrown together at the airport for a brief conversation. Jack, a
spinal surgeon, asks why Locke is in a wheelchair.
"Surgery isn't going to do anything to help me," says Locke,
little suspecting that, once on the island, his paralysis would
miraculously be cured. "My condition is irreversible."
"Nothing is irreversible," says Jack with a doctor's
confidence.
Jack could have been talking about the stirring, often murky,
sometimes overreaching "Lost" premiere, on which even Sayid (Naveen
Andrews) comes to life after apparently dying from a gunshot
wound.
Nothing is irreversible. Except, apparently, the end of
"Lost" just weeks from now.
Trading Markets -
Walt Disney and Pixar
Animation Studios celebrated a milestone Oscar year as the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced five Oscar
nominations today for "UP" (from Disney-Pixar), including a
coveted spot in the "Best Picture" category for only the second
time in Academy Award history, and three nominations for
Disney's "The Princess and the Frog," it was announced today by
Rich Ross, chairman of The Walt Disney Studios, and John
Lasseter, chief creative officer for Walt Disney and Pixar
Animation Studios. "UP," directed by Pete Docter and produced by
Jonas Rivera, was also recognized by Academy members in the
categories of "Animated Feature Film," "Music(Original Score),"
"Sound Editing," and "Writing (Original Screenplay)." The only
other animated film in Oscar history to receive a "Best Picture"
nomination was Disney's "Beauty and the Beast," which competed
in the 1992 awards ceremony. Directed by Ron Clements & John
Musker, and produced by Peter Del Vecho, "The Princess & the
Frog" received nominations today in the categories of "AnimatedFeature
Film" and "Music" (Original Song) for two of the songs written
by composer/songwriter Randy Newman ("Down in New Orleans" and
"Almost There").
Commenting on the
announcement, Ross said, "We're proud that 'UP's' inspiring
journey and Tiana's tale of triumph in 'The Princess and the
Frog' captivated the hearts and minds of the Academy. We're also
proud that both have joined the storied list of Disney and
Disney-Pixar favorites in earning nominations for 'BestAnimated
Feature Film'
Lasseter added,
"This is a great moment for all of us in the animation
community, and we're all so incredibly excited that 'UP' has
been nominated by the Academy in two key categories, especially
the 'Best Picture' category. This is a great tribute to the film
making talents of director Pete Docter, producer Jonas Rivera,
and the entire team at Pixar, who worked so hard to create such
wonderfully entertaining characters, and develop an original
story filled with emotion, humor, adventure, and excitement.
Receiving a 'Best Screenplay' nomination is enormously
gratifying, and underscores why the film has been so universally
entertaining and appealing. And we're thrilled that Michael
Giacchino's score for 'UP' has been recognized by his colleagues
for adding so much to the emotion and excitement of Carl and
Russell's journey. We're equally proud that 'The Princess and
the Frog,' our latest hand-drawn animated feature from Disney,
has been recognized in the 'Best Animated Feature Film'
category, and that two of Randy Newman's brilliant songs were
also honored. With its fantastic animation, original characters,
memorable music, and beautiful artistry, it ranks along with
many of the Studio's very best efforts."
Pete Docter and
Jonas Rivera said, "We are humbled and grateful to the Academy.
Being nominated among these remarkable animated is such an
amazing privilege. On top of that, to be honored as one of the
best pictures of the year is just mind-blowing. It's truly been
a long, wonderful ride getting here, and with all sincerity it
really does feel like we're floating on air."
Ron Clements &
John Musker added, "This rare honor is a thrill, not only for
us, but for the 400 or more artists who gave so much of their
talents in bringing classical hand-drawn Disney animation in
'The Princess and the Frog' back to the big screen."
A summary of
nominations for the two films from Walt Disney and Pixar
Animation Studios is as follows:
Animated Feature
Film - "The Princess and the Frog" John Musker and Ron Clements
Animated Feature Film - "Up" Pete Docter Music (Original Score)
- "Up" Michael Giacchino Music (Original Song) - "Almost There"
from "The Princess and the Frog" Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
Music (Original Song) - "Down in New Orleans" from "The Princess
and the Frog" Music and Lyric by Randy Newman Best Picture -
"Up" Jonas Rivera, Producer Sound Editing - "Up" Michael Silvers
and Tom Myers Writing (Original Screenplay) - "Up" Screenplay by
Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson,
Tom McCarthy
Comic Book Movie - Walt Disney
Picture's latest foray into live-action films will introduce a
new hero to the masses, John Carter. Here's the official
synopsis from Disney:
From Academy Award-winning filmmaker Andrew Stanton (Finding
Nemo, WALL-E), JOHN CARTER OF MARS brings this captivating hero
to the big screen in a stunning adventure epic set on the
wounded planet of Mars, a world inhabited by warrior tribes and
exotic desert beings. Based on the first of Edgar Rice
Burroughs’ 'Barsoom Series,' the film chronicles the journey of
Civil-War veteran John Carter (Taylor Kitch), who finds himself
battling a new and mysterious war amidst a host of strange
Martian inhabitants, including Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe) and
Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins).
The Science Fiction/adventure film will reunite Kitch and
Collins, who both starred in last years X-Men Origins:
Wolverine. Also featured in the production are Mark Strong, the
future villain Sinestro in Martin campbell's Green Lantern,
along with other comic movie veterans Dominic West (Punisher:
War Zone), James Purefoy (Solomon Kane), Thomas Hayden Church
(Spider-Man 3) Ciaran Hinds (Road to Perdition) and Willem Dafoe
(Spider-Man Trilogy).
Church's character belongs to the savage race of Green martians,
standing 10 - 12' tall, green, four-armed and with eyes on the
sides of his head. Purefoy's character is one of the Red
humanoid martians, while Strong's character is one of the
white-skinned Thern, who are bald but wear wigs.
John Carter of Mars is the first film in a planned trilogy,
which will aiming for a PG-13 rating.
Disney News - Come join the Disney Stores for the “I Love
Mickey” celebration this February where you can find lovable new
Mickey and Minnie products for under $20.00.
The Disney
Store will host activities all month long to celebrate the
world’s most iconic character Mickey Mouse, and his friend
Minnie Mouse. Come join the fun with daily activities the entire
family can enjoy, and check out the adorable “I Love Mickey”
products for under $20 including new lovable Mickey and Minnie
plush just in time for Valentine’s Day, stationery, and an
assortment of apparel and accessories for kids and adults
available at Disney Store and
www.DisneyStore.com
“I Love Mickey”
Daily Activities Include:
• Mickey Storytime
and Sing-along
February 7-13, M-F at 5 p.m. and 7p.m.; Sat. and Sun. at 1 p.m.
and 4 p.m.
• Mickey Trivia
February 14-20, M-F at 5 p.m. and 7p.m.; Sat. and Sun. at 1 p.m.
and 4 p.m.
• Learn to Draw
Mickey
February 21-27, M-F at 5 p.m. and 7p.m.; Sat. and Sun. at 1 p.m.
and 4 p.m.
Join us February
10 at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. for Mickey Valentine’s Craft Activity
and Storytime
*Dates and times
are subject to change. For the most up-to-date information,
please call your local store or go to
www.disneystore.com/updates
Seeking Alpha - Netflix's (NFLX) content
acquisition costs could increase as a result of negotiations
between Disney (DIS) and Starz, the premium movie provider.
Starz offers premium channels to cable companies (Time Warner
Cable (TWC), Comcast (CMCSA) and also distributes films that it
has licensed from Disney to Netflix. Below we discuss how
negotiations between Disney and Starz could lead to higher costs
for Netflix and how that could impact Netflix’s stock.
Disney Wants to Benefit from Netflix
Viewers
Netflix currently accesses Disney films
by paying Starz for licenses. Though Disney earns a license fee
from Starz, it does not earn additional royalties or licensing
fees associated with Disney films viewed online by Netflix
subscribers.
Disney is concerned that they will miss
out on significant licensing revenue as the number of Netflix
subscribers that watch movies online through Netflix’s streaming
service increases. By negotiating with Starz, Disney wants to
prevent Starz from licensing Disney films to Netflix without
additional payment. One outcome of the negotiation may be that
Starz stops licensing Disney films to Netflix and Disney
negotiates directly with Netflix.
Disney Raises Content Acquisition
Costs for Netflix
There are two scenarios in which the
Disney-Starz discussions lead to higher content acquisition
costs for Netflix:
1. Disney blocks Starz-distributed
Disney content on Netflix
This could reduce the amount of streaming
content available on Netflix, and may force Netflix to negotiate
terms directly with Disney, which is likely to increase its
content acquisition costs.
The increase in costs may be significant
if other content providers adopt a similar approach and demand
more payment from their viewers.
2. Starz agrees to share a
portion of its revenue from Netflix with Disney
If Starz shares some of its Netflix
revenue with Disney, it is likely that Starz will increase the
amount it charges Netflix. The higher charges will increase
Netflix’s content acquisition costs.
Higher Content Costs Translate to
$1 Impact on Netflix Stock
With competition from other rental
services and Video-on-Demand services by cable operators (Time
Warner, Comcast), it is unlikely that Netflix will pass on any
increase in content acquisition costs to its customers.
We estimate that an incremental 1% in
content acquisition costs (as % of revenues) will lead to loss
of more than $1 per share for Netflix (about 2% downside). If
Disney is able to earn more money for films that are available
online through Netflix, it could lead to other studios
negotiating for more from Netflix as well, which could have even
more negative consequences for the company’s stock.
ABC7 - A woman says a visit to Disneyland with her daughter
turned into a nightmare while aboard one of the rides because of
what another park guest did. A man and his friend are wanted for
questioning as police investigate whether the woman was a victim
of sexual battery.
Christina Esquivel looks at a photo of the man she alleges
sexually assaulted her with her 12-year-old daughter Alexus
right next to her while riding the Tower of Terror at
Disney's California Adventure Park last
Friday afternoon.
"The lights go out, and you drop, and when the lights went
out is when he grabbed my left breast," said Esquivel. "I
grabbed his hand and tried to shove him off of me. I didn't know
what to think at the time -- just shock."
The
photo was shot during the ride, then later sold to customers.
The picture was taken just seconds after the alleged incident.
The photo shows Esquivel looking at the unidentified man. She
says he then reached across and said he was sorry.
"My mom kind of leaned over to me and tried to get away from
him as much as possible," said Alexus, Christina's daughter.
"And she told me, 'That guy just grabbed my boob.'"
Christina, 31, alleges the man's friend, who was seated
behind him, cheered.
"After the guy grabbed me, his friend behind him was laughing
and clapping," said Christina.
The Esquivels claim that right before the ride, while in
line, the man and his friend were whispering to each other and
leering. Her daughter even showed them her mother's engagement
ring to let them know she was taken.
"I was going to tell my mom, 'Let me switch seats so that way
you could be away from them and they won't bother you,'" said
Alexus.
After the alleged assault, the Esquivels reported it to the
ride operator, who then called security. Nearly 10 minutes had
passed.
"It takes a period of time to walk to certain places. So I
would not say that's out of the ordinary; I would say that's
pretty average for a response time," said Anaheim Police
Sergeant Rick Martinez. "It's just unfortunate that this guy who
obviously knew he did something wrong blended in and got away as
fast as he could."
Christina filed a police report. Police are trying to
identify the two men and want to talk with the man and his
friend to get their version of events.
"Violated. I just think, 'How can anybody do that? It's
Disneyland," said Christina. "I'm there to spend time with my
daughter, not to be assaulted like that."
In a statement, Disneyland officials say:
"We take this seriously and have no tolerance for this type
of behavior. We are working with the Anaheim Police Department
on the next steps."
If you recognize either of the two men, you are asked to call
Anaheim Police at (714) 765-3439.
DisneyParks Blog - It’s Groundhog Day. This morning groundhog
Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow for the third year in a row and
headed back to his hole for six more weeks
of winter.
Chip and Dale are joining the fun this
year and make a prediction of their own in the video below.
Groundhog Day also means there are only 10 more weeks for the
“Southern California Resident 2fer Ticket.”
DisneyParks Blog - As you probably know
later this spring the Disney Magic is heading to Europe for five
months. From April to September we’ll be offering special
cruises to the Mediterranean and the Baltic.
As we set sail to these exciting ports of
call we have developed a series of very cool Port Adventures
featuring distinctly Disney touches, beloved characters and rich
storytelling to help bring local culture and customs to life.
One of the highlights of our Baltic
cruises is The Royal Ball. In St. Petersburg, Russia, Catherine
Palace becomes the stage for a grand gala hosted by princesses
such as Cinderella, Snow White and Belle. The princesses and
their princes will arrive by horse-drawn carriages and entertain
guests in the gilded Grand Ballroom. Live musicians and royal
courtiers resplendent in period costumes and powdered wigs add
to the ambiance and lead guests in fun, song and dance.
During our Mediterranean cruises guests
can book a Port Adventure featuring an exclusive character
experience in Florence. This experience includes a walking tour
of beautiful Florence, including visits to famous landmarks and
historical locales. The tour caps with a visit to a beautiful
Italian Palazzo (pictured) where you’ll enjoy lunch in the
company of Disney Friends.
And talking about Mediterranean cruises; we
are offering great rates on select cruises from April 10, 2010
through May 5, 2010. Guests can explore the rich culture and
history of Europe starting at under $100 per person, per day.
Check it out
here.
AP - The Pro Bowl's new, earlier date resulted in more viewers
tuning in to the NFL's all-star game.
Sunday's AFC-NFC matchup on ESPN was watched by an average of
12.3 million viewers, the most since 2000. That's up 40 percent
from last year's Pro Bowl on NBC, which drew 8.8 million viewers
when the event was held after the Super Bowl.
This season's game was in a later time slot, when more people
watch TV. But it also had to compete against the Grammys on CBS,
which attracted 25.8 million viewers, the most since 2004.
ESPN is owned by The Walt Disney Co.; NBC is a unit of
General Electric Co.
LA Times - Would "The View" be better in the afternoon?
That's
what the folks at Walt Disney Co.'s ABC are wondering. With
Oprah Winfrey leaving daytime television in September 2011 to
focus on OWN, the cable network she is partnering on with
Discovery Communications, there's a lot of jockeying for her
position going on in television-land.
Winfrey's show is syndicated, meaning that it is not tied to
a network and instead is sold to individual television stations
across the country. But her show is carried on ABC's big-market
TV stations, including WABC in New York, KABC in Los Angeles and
WLS in Chicago and lots of ABC affiliates across the country. In
other words, it is ABC, its stations and affiliates that are
most concerned about filling the void that will be created by
Winfrey's exit.
While there has been a lot of attention surrounding Ellen
DeGeneres and whether her distributor Warner Bros. would try to
move her show to ABC stations in big cities (it currently plays
on NBC stations in the top markets, including KNBC in Los
Angeles) when Winfrey hits the road, another scenario making the
rounds has ABC trying to move "The View" into Winfrey's time
slots.
This would be incredibly complex for myriad reasons. First of
all, "The View," which airs in the morning, is a network show,
meaning it is only carried on ABC stations. If ABC wanted to
move "The View" to the afternoon in Winfrey's time slots as a
network show, it would need to persuade its TV stations to give
back an hour of time that they currently control.
That would be a hard sell. When a local station carries a
syndicated show such as Winfrey or DeGeneres, it gets more
commercial inventory (about 10 minutes) to sell than it would
with a network show (about two minutes). If ABC did want to move
"The View," it probably would have to give up more advertising
time to its stations to seal a deal. On top of that, not every
station carries Winfrey in the afternoon. In Chicago, she airs
at 9 a.m.
Another option, although less likely, would be for ABC would
be to swap "The View" with "General Hospital," which typically
airs at 3 p.m. on most of its stations. The risk there is that
"General Hospital" has been running in the afternoon forever and
a move to late mornings could severely hurt the show, which is
one of the few remaining soap operas.
ABC is also studying whether to
try to turn "The View" into a syndicated show. That would
mean selling it to individual stations for cash and
commercial inventory. ABC affiliates might get upset by the
idea of losing the show to the highest bidder, although
there is a potential of bigger bucks for ABC and parent Walt
Disney Co.
The plus side of turning "The View" into a
syndicated show or moving it as a network show is that late
afternoon shows have potential to earn more money than shows
that run in the morning.
The dangers in all this are fairly obvious. "The View" is
working at a mid-morning chat show. It averages about 4
million viewers and of those, more than 1 million are women
25-54. Winfrey gets a bigger audience and it seems unlikely
that "The View" would grow a whole lot more running in the
afternoon. ABC could end up damaging a successful franchise.
If it also moved "General Hospital" as well, it could
jeopardize two shows.
"You can’t take something that is working in one place
and transplant it somewhere else and assume it will have the
same degree of success," warns Bill Carroll, vice president,
Katz Television, an industry consulting group.
In other words, look at what NBC just went through with
Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno and ask if yourself if the
potential rewards are worth the potential screw-ups.
Orlando Sentinel -
Folks who tune into Ellen DeGeneres’ talk show Thursday can
watch a sneak peek of Anthony Gatto, a juggler with 11 world
records, who is joining the cast of Cirque du Soleil’s La
Nouba at Downtown Disney.
Gatto has been a professional
juggler since age 10. He’s done his act around the world,
including a performance for Queen Elizabeth II. Time
magazine called him “simply the best juggler ever.”
Gatto, who has been on tour with
Cirque’s KOOZA show, is scheduled to begin his gig here on
Friday, Feb. 5.
His routine features high-speed
and high-volume juggling. His bit in La Nouba will last nine
minutes, but his appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show will
be an abbreviated version. In Central Florida, Ellen airs
daily at 3 p.m. on WESH-Channel 2.
DisneyParks Blog - Valentine’s Day is arguably the biggest date
night of the year, so if you’re looking for plans around
Valentine’s Day or any other date during the year, here are some
options at the Downtown Disney District in
Anaheim:
Dance the night away while listening
to the Tim Gill All-Stars Big Band February 11 and 12. You
can practice your swing dancing under the stars in the area
in front of the ESPN Zone and the AMC Theatres.
Reminisce to
the sounds of the swinging 1940s with the Swing Cats Big
Band on February 13 and 14 in the area in front of the ESPN
Zone and the AMC Theatres.
Catch a
special screening of Casablanca February 11 through
14 at 8:00 p.m. and 10:35 p.m. at the AMC Theatres.
Enjoy dinner
on the second floor balcony of Catal Restaurant overlooking
the Downtown Disney District. I love drinking a glass of
wine, looking out at the lights and watching all the hustle
and bustle pass me by below. It’s really relaxing and
peaceful up on the balcony, and it’s hard to believe that
there’s so much activity happening below. We’ve been having
great weather, but in case it’s a little chilly outside on
the night of your visit, the waiters will be happy to turn
on a heat lamp.
Order Bananas
Foster and Beignets while listening to some Jazz at Ralph
Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen. As far as I’m concerned, it’s not a
date unless there’s dessert. For a taste of something
different, Ralph Brennan’s offers a sweet taste of New
Orleans. This is also an example of a date that doesn’t have
to cost much. Six beignets are just $7.50.
Sit on a
bench sipping your favorite coffee drink from La Brea Bakery
Cafe or Compass Books Cafe and listen to Drew Tretick, a
violinist appearing regularly at the Downtown Disney
District, or dancing to sounds of the Tino Band. If musical
street performances are what you’re after, be sure to check
the Downtown Disney District schedule when planning date
night.
Catch a
concert at the House of Blues. I certainly don’t do this
enough. There are so many great performances at this venue,
but don’t take my word for it. Check out who’s performing by
looking at the
schedule.
Enjoy
dinner followed by a fun night of games in the ESPN Zone
Sports Arena. I don’t particularly enjoy watching sports,
but if you’re looking for a high-energy environment and you
both want to catch the score of your favorite game,
eating at the ESPN Zone is definitely a lively and fun
atmosphere. And even I can enjoy the varied menu and the
games on the second floor.
What is your favorite Disney date night that you would
recommend to other readers?
Orlando Sentinel - If you’re among the many who are counting the
days until Disney’s Alice in Wonderland is released on March 5,
here’s something to keep you from jumping down the rabbit hole.
The Six Impossible Things Sweepstakes began
Monday and offers entrants a chance to win one of six
fantastical prizes, including props from Tim Burton’s movie and
once-in-a-lifetime experiences from Disney.
A new prize will be announced each week
through March 8. Here’s what the contest is starting with:
Prize 1: One-of-a-kind prop from Alice in
Wonderland
Prize 2: A $6,000 gift card to make the
impossible possible
Visit Disney.com/Wonderland or text
DRINKME to DISNEY (347639) to enter.
This contest is
open to legal residents of the 50 United States or D.C.,
excluding Maine. Standard rates may apply for texting. Parental
consent is required for online entry for children younger than
13 and for text entries for those younger than 18. For the legal
details and cool content for fans, such as downloads, games and
a photo gallery, click
here.
Cinema Blend - It was a strange
thing to be at the Sundance Film Festival when the official news
hit that Miramax was no more. We'd been expecting it for a
while, of course, after Disney shuttered most of the offices
last December and cut down the release slate, but it was sad to
see such a historically important indie studio-- hell, the
studio that made Sundance what it was-- close its doors while
seeing so many great new indie films at the festival, all of
which could use a Miramax to support them.
But as it turns out, Zombie Miramax may be back to haunt us
after all. The New York Times reports that Disney is offering
the Miramax name and its 700-film library to interested bidders
for the low, low price of just over $700 million. The Weinstein
brothers are not bidders just yet, likely because The Weinstein
Company is low on funds, not because they're not interested in
reclaiming the name of the company name for their parents.
One serious bidder, though, is apparently Summit, the new
distributor that is flush with Twilight cash but has pretty much
no other movies to its name. The Miramax library, which includes
Shakespeare in Love, Chicago and Pulp Fiction, could help them
boost TV and DVD revenue while pouring all that money into
better sparkly vampire effects, or maybe even throwing their
weight behind more movies like The Hurt Locker. The latter
situation wouldn't be too bad, actually-- the carcass of one
indie distributor goes toward building up another one to replace
it. It's the circle of life.
Orlando Sentinel
- Spider-Man has Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando in a
web that legal experts say could put the rival resorts at risk
of antitrust complaints.
The issue stems from the Walt Disney Co.’s recently
completed, $4 billion purchase of Marvel Entertainment, the
comic-book company that has for years licensed its superheroes
for use in Universal theme parks. And it underscores the awkward
marriage that has been forced upon Disney World and Universal
Orlando, two resorts that have long been intense, sometimes
bitter, competitors.
Through a 15-year-old licensing contract between Marvel and
an arm of NBC Universal — a contract Disney inherited when it
bought Marvel — Universal Orlando is the only theme park on the
U.S. East Coast that can use some of Marvel’s best-known
characters, including Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk and the
X-Men.
But the contract also gives Disney a number of rights over
Universal, including the ability to audit Universal Orlando’s
books, to ensure it is paying the appropriate amount of
royalties, and the power to review Universal’s promotional
materials when they feature Marvel characters.
That, antitrust lawyers say, creates a problematic scenario
for both Disney World and Universal Orlando, which together
command about 90 percent of Central Florida’s theme-park market.
Because Disney, through Marvel, now has access to proprietary
information about Universal, the companies could become
vulnerable to charges of price-fixing or other anticompetitive
behavior.
While Disney World and Universal Orlando often appear to
raise ticket prices nearly in lockstep, sharing confidential
information could conceivably allow them to actually plan in
concert everything from stroller-rental rates to future
discounts.
“What an antitrust regulator would be concerned about very
clearly is the notion that Disney and Universal would be able to
coordinate their activities in the theme-park business,” said
Randal Picker, a commercial-law professor at the University of
Chicago. “You’d really want to be careful with this.”
In what experts say is likely a bid to pre-empt any such
complaints, Disney and Universal recently signed an agreement in
which corporate Disney promised not to share with its theme-park
division any of the confidential details it might learn about
Universal Orlando through the Marvel license.
The agreement specifically precludes the Disney Co. from
providing Walt Disney World or Walt Disney Parks and Resorts
with any confidential information about Universal Orlando that
could be used “for anticompetitive purposes.” Universal
disclosed the agreement in a recent filing with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission.
Experts say it appears Disney and Universal are attempting to
establish a kind of information firewall to prevent even the
appearance of illegal collusion. The federal government
sometimes imposes similar “hold separate” restrictions on
companies as a condition of approving a merger, though such
orders are typically temporary — until, for instance, the newly
combined company can shed its antitrust conflict.
“This looks like a ‘fix-it-first’ attempt to avoid any
appearance that there’s price collusion going on. That’s what
the concern would be if I were an antitrust enforcer,” said
William Page, a senior associate dean at the University of
Florida’s Levin College of Law and a former attorney in the U.S.
Department of Justice’s antitrust division.
The Marvel licensing contract, Page noted, creates “a direct
avenue of potential communication between competitors in the
theme-park market.”
Experts also say it’s possible Disney’s agreement with
Universal was needed to appease the Justice Department as part
of an antitrust review conducted last fall of Disney’s
acquisition of Marvel. Regulators did examine the transaction,
though they ultimately signed off without public comment.
“It might be that Disney offered this to the Justice
Department as a way of calming some concerns,” said Herbert
Hovenkamp, a professor and antitrust expert at the University of
Iowa law school.
Some say they think Disney could have been forced into the
non-disclosure pact. Universal, for example, could have
threatened to challenge the Marvel deal with regulators unless
such a concession was made, said Keith Rounsaville, an antitrust
lawyer at Littchford & Christopher, a commercial-litigation firm
in Orlando.
“That’s probably something that Universal demanded not to
challenge the transaction,” Rounsaville said. “If I were
Universal, it would obviously be of grave concern to me to have
my primary competitor have the ability to use my current
financial information.”
A spokesman for Universal declined to discuss the agreement.
A spokesman for Disney called the arrangement “standard practice
among media companies” but would not comment further.
Whatever the motivation, the agreement is another example of
the strange bedfellows that have been made by the Disney-Marvel
merger. Marvel has a number of other character licenses that
Disney must honor, including pacts with rival movie studios such
as Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox.
Universal, which doesn’t want to abandon its Marvel rights
after having invested heavily to build Marvel Super Island in
its Islands of Adventure theme park, now must pay millions of
dollars a year in royalties to the corporate parent of its
archrival. Disney, meanwhile, finds itself unable to use the
most popular characters from its pricey new studio in Orlando,
at the company’s biggest, most visited theme-park resort.
(Universal Parks & Resorts also holds exclusive theme-park
rights to Spider-Man in Japan, where Disney operates the
two-park Tokyo Disney Resort.)
The non-disclosure agreement is not absolute: Either Disney
or Universal can cancel the confidentiality pact after two
years.
Picker, the University of Chicago law professor, said that
provision likely reflects that both Disney and University
realize they are on unfamiliar terrain with each other.
“I take it they’re trying to get a feel for how this pretty
complicated relationship is going to work,” Picker said.
“Situations like this are incredibly tricky.”
Deadbolt - As the Alice anticipation builds for the Tim
Burton helmed Alice in Wonderland, which makes its theatrical
Wonderland premiere on March 5, Disney is working closely with
its networks ABC, ESPN, and ABC Family with a series of first
look clips for Alice in Wonderland. For the Tim Burton directed
Alice in Wonderland, Disney is releasing a series of 60 second
Alice in Wonderland clips exclusive to each network, with
never-before-seen footage of the reimagined Burton version of
Wonderland.
The Alice in Wonderland TV promo will last a full
week, from January 31 to February 6, and conclude with a special
Alice in Wonderland spot reserved for the Super Bowl on February
7 called "Tick Tock". According to David Singh, executive vice
president of worldwide marketing for Walt Disney Studios, Disney
wanted to promote the Tim Burton directed Alice in Wonderland to
showcase the incredible Burton vision of the classic Wonderland
tale and to give fans a glimpse of Alice in Wonderland in 3-D.
"With Tim Burton at the helm and a cast that includes Johnny
Depp, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter and rising star Mia
Wasikowska," said Singh, "the film already has a passionate
following. Fans are eager to step into the incredible 3D
Wonderland that Burton has created and get a glimpse at what
he's done with these brilliant characters, and we're ready to
give it to them."
Orlando Sentinel - “Lost” will have to supply some major
plot twists to rival what’s happening on the ABC drama’s
set.
E! Online’s Kristin Dos Santos reports that Matthew
Fox and Evangeline Lilly won’t be returning to television
after the show ends and that Lilly could even leave acting.
“Lost” starts its sixth and final season Tuesday night. A
recap special airs at 8; the two-hour season premiere
follows at 9 on WFTV-Channel 9.
“I think this will be the last time you see me on TV,”
Fox said at a season premiere party Saturday in Honolulu.
“I’m either going to do the kind of things I want to do in
the film world, or maybe I’ll just do something else
entirely.”
Lilly told Dos Santos: “Acting is something I appreciate,
and I think it’s been an amazing experience. But I’m not
passionate about acting the way you probably should be to
call yourself an actor.”
Lilly said she might continue working in film off screen
and that she wants to “drop off the radar a little bit and
enjoy a little bit of normalcy again” after “Lost” ends.
Josh Hollowaytold Dos Santos that he will
move to Los Angeles and seek acting jobs because he enjoys
being an actor more after the “Lost” experience.
ABC has been trying to keep the last “Lost” developments
under wraps. So maybe it wasn’t wise to screen this
season’s first hour for fans — some taped the program and
posted it online. ABC moved quickly to remove that material.
DisneyParks Blog - Like many of you, I can’t wait to visit the
new pizzeria coming to Epcot’s Italy Pavilion. But there’s
another “must do” at Italy…and it’s happening this month —
Carnevale Di Venezia. Beginning February 8, the “Carnival of
Venice” celebration will feature special chef-inspired lunch and
dinner menus at the Tutto Italia presented by servers wearing
those amazing handmade Venetian masks masks and costumes. The
strolling musical trio “Viva Venezia” will also serenade you
during dinners.
Menus at the event include an appetizer, entrée and dessert.
Lunch ($19 per guest) will be served daily from 11:30
a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Dinner ($29 per guest) will be served from 4:30 p.m. to
8:45 p.m.
Carnevale di Venezia runs through February 16. If you’re
interested in learning more about the event, call (407) WDW-DINE
(939-3463).
We’re sharing the recipe for the Fileto Di Pesce Al Melograno
(Halibut with Pomegranate Sauce). It’ll be featured during
dinner service.
FILETO DI PESCE AL MELOGRANO (HALIBUT WITH
POMEGRANATE SAUCE)
Serves 4
Halibut
1 3/4 pounds halibut fillet (1 1/2 inches thick), cut into 4
even portions
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
Pomegranate Sauce
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons chopped shallots
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup pure pomegranate juice
1 tablespoon butter
For the halibut:
Season the halibut with salt and pepper.
Heat olive oil in large frying pan over medium-high heat
until just starting to smoke.
Carefully place the halibut in the oil and cook for
4minutes each side, turning once, until golden brown on each
side.
For the pomegranate sauce:
Boil wine and shallots over medium-high heat in heavy
small saucepan for approximately 2 minutes or until most of
wine has evaporated.
Add heavy cream and pomegranate juice and bring to a
boil for approximately 5 minutes or until reduced to 3/4
cup.
Whisk in butter. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Orlando Sentinel - ESPN
personalities Mike Greenberg (left) and Mike Golic pose in
honorary Harlem Globetrotters jerseys. The duo, who host Mike &
Mike in the Morning on ESPN Radio, will coach the Globetrotters
during an appearance this month at Disney World as part of the
rebranding of its sports complex into the ESPN Wide World of
Sports Complex. The game is Feb. 25 at the complex’s Milk House.
Disney News - Beginning this fall, Walt
Disney World guests will be able to experience the newest
enhancement to the World Showcase at Epcot – a new lagoon-side
taqueria at the Mexico pavilion and an authentic pizzeria at the
Italy pavilion.
Building on its more than 25 years of success in bringing
Mexican cuisine to Walt Disney World guests, San Angel Inn, LLC
will open a new 400-seat waterside restaurant and quick-service
food location specializing in the freshly baked culinary flavors
of Mexico. The Cantina de San Angel Restaurant, located directly
in front of the Mexico pavilion in the World Showcase, is
currently closed until fall 2010 for a significant refurbishment
and expansion. The new indoor and outdoor restaurant will be
12,000 sq. ft., while the Cantina previously was 3,500 sq. ft.
Over at the Italy Pavilion a new 300-seat restaurant will have
traditional Florentine architecture, vaulted-ceilings and
outside dining. Authentic Italian dishes and pizza from
wood-burning ovens will be served. And one of the special
touches at the pizzeria will be the water. It’ll be imported
from a source where the composition most resembles water used in
Naples, Italy, to make the authentic Italian dough.
“The World Showcase at Epcot was designed to continually evolve
and offer new guest experiences that showcase cultures,
traditions and immersive entertainment,” said Dan Cockerell,
vice president of Epcot. “So we’re excited to deliver a
significant expansion and renovation that will certainly enhance
the guest experience.”
During the refurbishment, guests will still have the opportunity
to experience Mexican cuisine from the San Angel Inn Restaurante
or La Cava de Tequila located inside the Mexico pavilion, or the
Taqueria Del Lago, located alongside the promenade. Over in the
Italy pavilion, Tutto Italia remains open for guests while the
finishing touches are made on the new pizzeria. San Angel Inn,
LLC plans to continue the enhancements at The San Angel Inn
Restaurante later this summer when they undergo routine cosmetic
renovations and a menu update.
DisneyParks Blog - With less than a month to go, I recommend you
get a jump on shopping for Valentine’s Day. It will be here
before you know it. So here are a few tips on some of the “must
have” Valentine’s Day items with a Disney flair.
A Sweet Gift
Looking for something sweet for your
sweetheart? Our Candy Kitchens are best known for their
hand-made confections including dipped strawberries, candy
apples, dipped pretzel rods, nuttles, toffee and more.
Selections vary by day so if you are looking for something in
particular, be sure to check first. These delectable treats can
be found at the Candy Palace in Disneyland park, but if you need
to pick something up on your way home, then Marceline’s
Confectionery in the Downtown Disney District might be the way
to go.
Feeling Creative? Express
Yourself!
Wear your heart on your sleeve and choose
one of our blank Create–Your-Own Vinylmation Mickey figures.
These blank vinyls come in an array of colors including white,
black, red and yellow, as well as pink and purple. The
Create-Your-Own vinyls can truly become a piece of art or a gift
from the heart…
Here are a couple of other ideas that may
inspire you:
Express your love, by writing a
note, greeting or special message on the blank Vinylmation
figure and give them a gift filled with love.
Newlyweds – Instead of the traditional “guest book” at your
reception, use two blank 9” Vinylmation – one for the bride
and one for the groom. Have attendees decorate or leave good
wishes which can be displayed in your home for years to
come. The 3” blank Vinylmation make great cake toppers too.
Note: If this is the
route you choose to go, then D Street in the Downtown Disney
District is where you’ll find it.
A Plush Life
If your sweetheart has a soft spot for
cuddly plush then she might like the Minnie Mouse inspired
Valentine’s Day plush, but if it’s a teddy bear you seek, then
give the My Disney Bear Valentine’s plush a try.
These are just a few ideas to get you
started, but we have quite a bit more “in store” for you so be
sure to stop by some of our Resort locations and find that
special someone the perfect Disney gift.
AP - What is that black smoke monster? Will Jack's plan to
rewrite history work? Will Sun be reunited with Jin? Will the
real Locke please stand up? What happens to the island? What
does it all mean? How will it end?
Thousands of fans traveled from around the world to the home
of "Lost" in a quest to get some answers
to the questions that have piled up in the first five seasons.
And they finally got what they were searching for -- sort of.
A crowd of about 12,000 -- some wearing bikinis -- on Waikiki
Beach were treated this weekend to a special screening of the
season premiere, which airs Tuesday night on ABC (8 p.m. EST)
and kicks off the sixth and final season of the castaway drama.
Stars and directors of "Lost" made an island-style,
red-carpet appearance and bid "aloha" to the fans and each
other.
Actor Josh
Holloway soaked it all in amid a chorus of
screaming, photo-snapping women packed 10 deep behind metal
gates.
"It's like being in high school. It's like being a senior --
getting near the last days of school," said Holloway, who stars
as hunky, bad-boy Sawyer.
In 16 episodes, the emotional journey will be ending for the
characters and actors, most of whom were unknown before "Lost."
"I was a struggling actor in the U.K. I came to Hawaii and
now I'm on a hit show, so it's changed my life totally," said
Henry Ian Cusick, who plays Desmond.
Nestor Carbonell, who plays
Richard, the ageless Other, called it
"an incredible ride," that he's not so certain he wants to end.
Jorge Garcia,
who portrays the tormented Hurley, said he's pretty sure he'll
shed a few tears when it's all over.
"Right now, it's just a lot of appreciation and savoring the
moment," he said. "I think when that last script gets dropped
off at my house, that's when the sadness starts."
Evangeline
Lilly, who stars as sexy jailbird Kate, said it'll
be an "end of an era" for her personally. She was
24 when she joined the show and will
be 31 when the show wraps this summer.
"This show has carried me through some significant years and
I'm going to miss it," she said. "I'm also excited. I'm excited
for the freedom and opportunity it'll bring. But it'll be
bittersweet."
ABC Entertainment President Stephen McPherson said the loyal
and passionate fan base of "Lost"
is a testament to the creative writing and compelling
characters.
"It's captured people the way no other show has captured
them," McPherson said. Viewers are passionate about other ABC
series including "Grey's Anatomy" and "Desperate
Housewives," he said, but "Lost" has a different "sense about
it," with fans drawn in by its exploration of personal
reinvention and discovery.
Even as head honcho, he said, he doesn't know how it'll end.
The actors are also left guessing.
"I'm in a state of confusion," said
Michael Emerson, who plays creepy Ben
Linus. "Some big chunks are falling into place every week, but
still I don't know where it's going. I thought midway through
(filming) the final season, I would be able to begin to see the
end. It's not the case."
Co-creator and executive producer Damon Lindelof is one of
the few people who knows how it'll end and what questions will
be resolved.
"Our rule of thumb is if the characters who crashed on
Oceanic 815 care about it, or if the answer is relevant to them,
we're going to answer it," he said. "But if it's a mystery that
the fans care about that has no bearing on the lives of our
character, we're not going to answer it.
"This is a character-based show. We care more about emotions,
motivations and ultimate destinies of the people. We don't care
about who built the statue."
Last season ended with Jack (Matthew Fox) deploying a nuclear
warhead that, if things went as he hoped, would rewrite history
by destroying a huge pocket of electromagnetic energy that may
have been responsible for crashing Oceanic Airlines Flight 815
into a mysterious South Pacific island. If Jack's plan works,
the plane could make it to Los Angeles as scheduled. If it
doesn't they'll still be on the rock.
"For Jack, ultimately it's going to be about a sense of
redemption, a catharsis and sort of finally letting go and
fulfilling what his destiny is," Fox said. "He's finally gotten
to the point where he's ready to do that."
Daniel Dae Kim said Jin's journey will be trying to find his
wife, Sun.
"The audience has been kind of looking for that for a while
and I'll be surprised if that didn't happen," Kim said.
There will be several characters returning during Season 6,
including Claire, Michael and Libby.
But what does it all mean and how are all the stories tied
together?
"I have no clue. But I like it that way," Garcia said.
Lilly believes the show is about "redemption and about the
tug-of-war between faith and science."
"I think it's probably ultimately trying to say, that
tug-of-war is two ends of the same rope. That's my
interpretation," she said.
The show first aired on Sept. 22, 2004, with the
unforgettable airplane crash on a mysterious island that got
stranger by the episode.
When the curtains are finally lowered and filming ends in
April, the actors say they'll miss working with such a large and
diverse cast that has grown to become very close. They'll also
miss Hawaii, which has provided the stunning tropical backdrops.
"Lost" is the most successful TV
series to be shot in the islands since "Magnum P.I." (1980-88).
"I'll miss being on a beautiful beach at sunrise or working
at Makapuu or Kualoa or Makua Valley, just places with such
staggering beauty that you think, 'No one should get paid to
work here,'" said Emerson, who won an Emmy last year for best
supporting actor.
Some of the actors plan to stay in Hawaii. Others will move
back to Los Angeles, take time off or concentrate on film. Fox,
who is building a home in Oregon and will spend some time with
family, said he's done with television after two series that
lasted six seasons a piece.
Garcia said he's unsure what's in store for him.
"I'm going to have to go back to civilization and see what my
next adventure is," he said.
Orlando Sentinel - Construction on
the new Mickey and Minnie meet-and-greet at Town Square Expo
Hall is set to begin soon. At this stage, it looks likely that
the new facility will take up both existing theater spaces in
Expo Hall, they say.
As part of the development of
the new Fantasyland, Mickey’s Country House and Minnie’s Country
House in Toontown will be torn down to make way for new
attractions. Change is inevitable and the new Fantasyland looks
fantastic, but I wish the pair weren’t losing their homes in the
process.
In Mickey’s house, a radio in
the living room is tuned to scores from Mickey’s favorite
football team, Duckburg University, while Mickey’s clothes are
neatly arranged in his bedroom beside Mickey’s baby pictures and
a photograph of Minnie. Down the hall, Mickey’s kitchen shows
the ill effects of Donald and Goofy’s attempt to win the
Toontown Home Remodeling Contest — with buckets of paint spilled
and stacked in the sink, paint splattered on the floor and
walls. The garden, just outside the kitchen, features flowers
shaped in Mickey’s familiar silhouette and Mickey’s Mousekosh
overalls drying on the clothesline next to oversized tomato
plants, pumpkins (complete with ears) and cactus plants.
A peek inside Minnie’s charming
baby blue and pink bungalow reflects her lively lifestyle. In
addition to her duties as editor of Minnie’s Cartoon Country
Living Magazine, Minnie also quilts, paints and is an avid
gardener. While touring her office, craft room and kitchen,
guests may check Minnie’s latest messages on her answering
machine, bake a “quick-rising” cake at the touch of a button and
open Minnie’s refrigerator door to feel a chilling blast of
arctic air.
Seeing where the characters live
is such a fun experience for pre-school-age children, and they
say the cutest things. My son once asked me who reads the
bedtime stories to the princesses staying in Cinderella Castle.
And he was sure they had the best view of the fireworks and
Tinker Bell’s flight from the castle.
I hope that whatever new
backdrop Mickey and Minnie have inside Expo Hall, it gives kids
a sense of seeing Mickey and Minnie in their surroundings and
not just in a photo opportunity. How do you envision their new
digs?
New York Times - The Walt Disney Company has
been quietly shopping what remains of its Miramax film unit and
has attracted seven to 10 interested bidders, The New York
Times’s Brooks Barnes reported, citing a mergers and
acquisitions expert with knowledge of the process.
The initial
discussions indicate a price of over $700 million for the
Miramax name and its 700-film library, including films like
“Pulp Fiction” and “Shakespeare in Love,” which is essentially
all that remains of the once-mighty art house label, according
to the person, who declined to be identified because of the
confidential nature of the negotiations.
Interest is
sharply higher than a year ago, when Disney briefly floated a
Miramax sale before reconsidering because of the recession, and
has been helped by a loosening of the credit markets.
Harvey Weinstein
and Bob Weinstein, who founded Miramax in 1979, are not among
the bidders — so far. The Weinstein brothers sold Miramax to
Disney in 1993 but ran it until 2005, when they left to found
the Weinstein Company.
A Disney
spokeswoman declined to comment, The Times said.
One potential
buyer is Summit Entertainment, the privately owned studio that
is awash in cash because of its two “Twilight” blockbusters.
Summit does not have a large library and, despite its success,
could use the steady if diminishing DVD and television-resale
income that comes from one. Analysts estimate that the Miramax
library generates more than $300 million in annual DVD and
television revenue, but they warn that Disney has never broken
out a number.
A Summit spokesman
declined to comment, The Times said. Deadline.com, the Hollywood
blog, reported last week that Summit was looking at Miramax.
Among the
interested parties are several private equity groups and at
least one other independent studio, the person with knowledge of
the matter told The Times Sunday. Disney expects to move forward
with the more serious bidding inquiries in the coming days, the
person said, adding that a sale could come within a few months.
Miramax was more
responsible than any other company for bringing specialty films
to the multiplex masses. Its library includes hits like
“Chicago,” “Kill Bill,” “The Queen,” “The English Patient” and
“No Country for Old Men.” The films in the Miramax library have
been nominated for more than 200 Academy Awards.
Disney has wanted
to find a new home for the Miramax label for some time as it
focuses more intently on big-budget, branded movies. It has
spent the last six months paring the division to the bone,
announcing in October that it would close Miramax’s offices and
lay off about 50 employees.
The 20 or so
people that remained were integrated into Walt Disney Studios,
which took over Miramax’s functions. Six Miramax films await
release, including “Last Night,” a drama starring Keira
Knightley, and “The Baster,” a romantic comedy starring Jennifer
Aniston.
The winnowing of
operations most likely made the library and brand more
attractive; any buyer would most certainly have imposed similar
staff reductions. Disney renewed its efforts to sell Miramax as
financing became more available and after it finished the $4
billion acquisition of Marvel Entertainment.
Specialty labels
like Miramax were originally intended to tap a growing market
for cerebral, low-budget films as well as make their corporate
owners competitive at the Oscars. But soaring marketing costs
and a glut of art films dented the profitability and reliability
of boutique divisions. Add in slumping DVD sales, and the
economics became extremely difficult.
Disney is in the
middle of overhauling its movie operations, which lost money in
the last two quarters. The company installed a new chairman in
October and has since jettisoned over a dozen top managers,
including its marketing and production executives.
Disney has
its moviemaking hands full. In addition to Pixar and its own
brand, it now has Marvel and a distribution deal with Steven
Spielberg’s DreamWorks production company to mine.
Licensing.biz -
Disney has unveiled its collection of apparel and accessories
inspired by the forthcoming Tim Burton version of Alice in
Wonderland.
DCP has
collaborated with jewelry designer, Tom Binns; fashion designer
Sue Wong; and Swarovski to create a line that aims to bring the
film and characters to life.
The firm is teaming with
Bloomingdale's flagship store to create one of a kind window
displays. These will feature props from the film and highlight a
selection of items from the designer line, including Sue Wong
for Walt Disney Signature dresses and Tom Binns for Walt Disney
Signature jewelry. The windows will be complemented by a special
exhibit in the contemporary sportswear department, which will
feature select costumes and props.
In addition, seven
Bloomingdale's stores across the US will have special signage
and video screens which will play behind the scenes footage and
select bonus material.
"The arresting settings and
characters in Tim Burton's interpretation of Alice in Wonderland
provided great inspiration and have made it possible for us to
work with this renowned group of designers to create a truly
unique collection of lifestyle products that will continue to
position Disney at the forefront of fashion trends," said Pam
Lifford, executive VP, global fashion and home, at DCP.
BNET - Universal Orlando
Resort will debut its 20-acre Harry Potter-themed attraction,
the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal’s Islands of
Adventure this spring, and to add more hype, Universal has
bought a Superbowl XLIV comercial spot advertising the new $265
million project.
The idea of a
Harry Potter-themed attraction has garnered a lot of notice,
especially from die-hard fans of the boy wizard created by J.K.
Rowling. Now that it released photos showing an almost-finished
Hogwarts, the school of witchcraft and wizardry Harry attends,
it’s stirring up more interest. Apparently Universal knows how
to whet the appetites of Rowling’s fans because they’re
releasing only small bits of information, mostly artist’s
renderings on its Web site. The attraction will have feature
detailed reproductions of the book and film series’ staples such
as Hogsmeade Village, Ollivander’s Wand Shop, pubs that sell
butterbeer and will use actors to portray dueling wizards.
While many expect
this is Universal’s strongest competition against Disney World,
others say that Universal may have tapped into some serious and
lucrative geekdom. It’s almost a purely interactive fantasy
world that will probably have as much appeal for adults making a
pilgrimage to the Orlando theme park as it will for children.
(Disney must be aware of the geek factor, since it is currently
readying its weekends devoted to Star Wars also beginning in
May.)
With all the
Internet buzz, I think Universal definitely hit it out of the
park on this one and it can truly be a worthy rival for Disney
World. However, I think that Universal’s first foray into
literature (yes, there are films, too, but … ) – a book
series that has sold 375 million copies worldwide and created
passionate fans — may be smarter than anyone thinks.
Variety - Disney TV Animation has begun production on 26
episodes of CG animated series "Jake and the Never Land
Pirates," for air on Playhouse Disney.
With the goal of emphasizing
problem-solving and teamwork to its young aud, "Jake" will take
the title character and his kid pirate fans to Never Land, where
they will try to outsmart Captain Hook and his sidekick Smee.
Each episode will contain two segments, with original,
pirate-themed music.
Colin Ford ("Sweet Home
Alabama"), who will voice Jake, is joined in the cast by Disney
Channel vet Madison Pettis and Jonathan Morgan Heit ("Bedtime
Stories") as Cubby.
Rob LaDuca ("Mickey Mouse
Clubhouse") will exec produce and Howy Parkins ("Emperor's New
School") will direct.
BlueSky - Tokyo DisneySEA has released the
first artwork from the Japanese version of "Fantasmic!" today...
DisneyParks Blog - We showed you “Genie”
first on the blog…and then promised more. Well, here they are —
the remaining Disney-artist designed and painted instruments
created specifically to benefit music education. And yes, you
can possibly own one.
Orlando Sentinel - Pollo Campero, an international Latin
chicken quick-service restaurant chain, has partnered with
Levy Campero to deliver a new restaurant concept in Downtown
Disney Marketplace at Walt Disney World
Resort. The restaurant, which is scheduled to open in late
2010, will feature Pollo Campero’s signature Latin cuisine,
as well as fresh, and healthful foods. Menu items will
include Latin chicken, yuca fries, sweet plantains, and
Latin drinks including horchata and tamarindo.
The
photo was shot during the ride, then later sold to customers.
The picture was taken just seconds after the alleged incident.
The photo shows Esquivel looking at the unidentified man. She
says he then reached across and said he was sorry. 
