The animated film 'Cars', which Walt Disney
will release on June 9, grew from a cross-country trip
Pixar creative guru John Lasseter took a few summers back
with his wife and kids. For Lasseter, raised in car-crazed
Southern California, it was a trip back through his youth
when muscle cars and VW bugs competed for his attention
with comic books and afternoon cartoon shows. It was also
great fodder for the man who created such Pixar classics
as 'Toy Story' and 'A Bug's Life'.
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| MickeyXtreme's News Archive June 4-10 2006 | ||
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Saturday June 10, 2006 |
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Walt Disney's legendary theme park, conceived
and created with his design wizards, the Imagineers, opened
July 17, 1955, in Anaheim, on 160 acres of former orange
groves. The rest is American history.
The Oakland Museum of California helps celebrate the first half-century of Disney's magical kingdom with Behind the Magic—50 Years of Disneyland, May 6–August 20, 2006. Behind the Magic provides a rare look at American icon Walter Elias Disney and his vision for a new genre of family entertainment. Graphic designers, Disney aficionados, film historians, and generations of Disneyland visitors will find plenty of living history to explore. An audio tour is included with admission. The three-part exhibition features Disney's early life as a cartoonist and filmmaker; renderings and plans for his fantastic amusement park; and a section on the Imagineers, the gifted team responsible for creating and maintaining Disneyland's culture and magic. Behind the Magic displays Walt Disney Imagineering art and artifacts from Disneyland rarely seen outside the Disney Parks. The 7,500-square-foot exhibition includes 250 pieces of original Imagineering artwork, hand-crafted models, construction drawings, and promotional materials tracing the growth and history of the California landmark. Herb Ryman's 1954 vellum rendering (roughly six feet by four feet) of Disneyland, a key element in Roy Disney's successful pitch to bankers for initial funding for the park, is also on display. In 1953, Disney asked Ryman to sketch an idea for an amusement park that would appeal to both children and adults. Over a single weekend, Ryman translated Walt's dreams onto paper. Visitors have the opportunity to view—and in some cases, interact with—more than 40 three-dimensional artifacts, among them figures from "it's a small world," original arcade games from the "Pirates of the Caribbean®" attraction, and the original vehicles used in "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" and "Peter Pan's Flight." An electronic photo op in Peter Pan's galleon is available for $1. The rarest artifact in Behind the Magic is the Abraham Lincoln figure created for the 1964 World's Fair in New York City—the first Audio-Animatronics "human" to appear in a Walt Disney production. Abe emerged from preservation for the first time for Behind the Magic. Fifty-two years ago Disney leveraged a partnership with ABC; the network provided financing for the park in exchange for exclusive programming. The program, Disneyland, built enormous national anticipation for Disney's namesake park—more than 28,000 visitors showed up on opening day, although only 15,000 had been invited. Since that day in 1955 an estimated 500 million people have visited Disneyland. Marty Sklar, vice-president and principal creative executive of Walt Disney Imagineering, was hired by Walt Disney shortly after the opening of Disneyland, and worked with him for many years. "This extraordinary exhibit reveals the creativity and innovation Imagineers used to conceive and design Disneyland. It's a treat to see this showcased in California, where Walt Disney gave birth to an entire new industry that has spread around the world." On Saturday, July 16, the museum presents a Behind the Magic Family Day, with Oakland's Children's Fairyland, 1–4 p.m. Families can participate in a Mad Hatter Tea Party, scavenger hunt, face painting, and costume parade (kids are encouraged to dress as their favorite Disney character). All activities included with museum admission. Free ice-cream treats from Dreyer's! The Oakland Museum of California is the first official tour stop for Behind the Magic after its inaugural launch at The Henry Ford, in 2005. The remaining tour schedule for Behind the Magic following the museum is being finalized, according to Michael Benghiat of ExhibiTour, which produced and manages the exhibition. Admission to Behind the Magic is $14/$10 for seniors, students with ID, and youth (6–17); members $6/$5; and free for kids five and under. Online tickets are available at www.museumca.org/tickets. For details on public programs, visit www.museumca.org. |
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Hong
Kong Disneyland appoints Convention Sales & Service
Director
Hong Kong Disneyland has appointed Ice Cheng as Convention Sales & Service Director. In this key role, Ice will be responsible for all of Hong Kong Disneyland's MICE programs and initiatives and developing new niche segments to help position the resort for continued long-term growth in the region. Josh D'Amaro Vice President Sales and Travel Trade Marketing, Hong Kong Disneyland said, "Ice brings with her a wealth of experience working with international brand name hotels throughout Hong Kong. Her knowledge and understanding of sales and planning for the MICE market and strategy development makes her a valuable asset for Hong Kong Disneyland." Prior to this appointment, Ice worked at the Miramar International Hotel Management Company as director of sales in the group marketing and sales department. She was responsible for executing strategic marketing plans for key market segments in Hong Kong and throughout the region for eight properties within the Miramar International Group. Ice completed a Hotel Business Course in 1990 and has been accepted as a Member of the Hong Kong Institute of Directors. She enjoys swimming, hiking and playing golf. |
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Animal Kingdom doctors flew to Syracuse
along with experts from other zoos to assist in a rare
emergency surgery on 29-year old elephant named Romani who
was experiencing complications during labor. Unfortunately
the baby was stillborn however the mother was saved.
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'Disney
Live! Mickey's Magic Show' comes to Gwinnett
For magician Brad Ross, it's the audience that really put the "ta-da" in "Disney Live! Mickey's Magic Show." Both kids and adults are fascinated by the show, which features magic tricks and favorite Disney characters, like Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy, Ross said. "It's a high energy, nonstop magical journey into Disney," Ross said during a recent phone interview. "Mickey's Magic Show" will be performed at the Fox Theatre in downtown Atlanta this weekend before heading to the Arena at Gwinnett Center in Duluth. The show will open Thursday and continue through June 18 at the Gwinnett arena. "There's really not a bad seat in the house. Everybody will get to participate in the magic," Ross said. A few lucky kids will get invited to the stage to help Ross. During each show, Ross usually chooses two or three children between the ages of 4 and 10. "Picking volunteers, for magicians, is an art in itself," Ross said. Though it might seem that the kids waving their raised hands most eagerly would get Ross's attention first, that's not actually the case. Instead, the magician looks for a child who seems excited, but not so energized that they won't be able to pay attention to his instructions onstage. He also tries to avoid choosing kids who seem shy, just in case they're actually too afraid to come up to the stage. The kids often make him laugh, particularly when they're answering his simple questions onstage. "Sometimes, they forget where they're from," Ross said. Instead of answering the question "Where do you live?" with their hometown, they just say "the United States," he said. Interacting with the kids in the audience is one of Ross's favorite parts of the production. "That's what keeps the show fresh," he said. The youngest audience members, however, are also the most discerning. Kids don't miss a detail, Ross said. "They pick up on everything," he said. "When you get the thumbs-up from the kids, you know you've done a good job." If you go What: "Disney Live! Mickey's Magic Show" When: Thursday through June 18. Shows will begin at 7 p.m. Thursday, 10:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. Friday, at 11 a.m. and 2 and 5 p.m. Saturday and 1 and 4 p.m. Sunday. Where: The Arena at Gwinnett Center, 6400 Sugarloaf Parkway in Duluth. Cost: Tickets are $15 and $25. Info: Call Ticketmaster at 404-249-6400 or visit www.ticketmaster.com or www.disneylive.com. Note: "Mickey's Magic Show" will be performed today, Saturday and Sunday at the Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St. in Atlanta. Shows will begin at 10:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. today, at 11 a.m., 2 and 5 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $15 and $25. |
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Football
Owners Ponder New Commissioner
The New York Times reports Reggie Williams, Vice President of the Disney Sports Attractions including Disney's Wide World of Sports complex is among the names being discussed as the new NFL commissioner. |
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Friday June 9, 2006 |
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Disney-Pixar's
'Cars' — it's a gas! 'CARS," the newest charmer from the Disney-Pixar manufacturing plant, bears the companies' trademark themes: -Stop and smell the upholstery. -Look beneath the hood to see what really matters. -Keep turning the ignition and you'll eventually catch fire, or words to that effect. In Pixar's family-friendly seventh film, know-it-all Lightning McQueen is ripe for those lessons. A hotshot rookie race car voiced by Owen Wilson, Lightning credits himself for his success as he drives across the country to compete for the Piston Cup Championship in California. Forced into an accidental spree of destruction, Lightning is ordered by a judge to spend time repairing the road that goes through the rundown Route 66 town of Radiator Springs. As the days go by, the cocky car learns about friendship from the rusty tow truck Mater (Larry the Cable Guy), love from the sleek Porsche Sally Carrera (Bonnie Hunt), and honor and dignity from the crusty Hudson Hornet Doc Hudson (Paul Newman). Though predictable, Lightning's journey warms your engine and tickles your tank. Structurally, "Cars" is a cross between "My Cousin Vinny" and "Doc Hollywood," the Michael J. Fox comedy about a big-city doctor forced to perform community service after he crashes his car in a small town. Making someone care about Michael J. Fox is easier than having them fall for a hunk of metal. That requires much more creativity. While director John Lasseter and the Pixar pack prove up to the challenge, it takes time for the audience to buy into the illusion. Though exciting, the opening competition looks likes a slot-car race — with toy cars. It's difficult to feel for any of them until Lightning lands among the common cars in Radiator Springs. The eyes are a big part of the problem. Instead of using the more familiar headlights-as-eyes solution, Lasseter opts to put the pupils in the windshields. The eyes move in tandem, side to side, up and down. The strangeness of the effect distracts from the story until you adapt to it. A slice of metal along the top of each windshield functions as a long eyelid or eyebrow. Its movement helps shape the vehicle's expression, most of which comes from the mouth in the grill. (Cars with tongues — get used to it.) Lasseter, who won a special achievement Oscar for "Toy Story," tops off his fable with colorful personalities, rich scenery and amusing verbal and visual puns. (The Cozy Cone Motel offers Lincoln Continental breakfasts; Lightning is mentioned on the Jay Limo Show.) With his big front teeth and pliable body, the folksy tow truck Mater is the film's most personable vehicle. Sally is the sharpest and the most flirtatious. Shots of her drives through the mountains with Lightning, and of the town lit up at night, are the movie's most winsome. The casting works well across the board. George Carlin, Cheech Marin and Richard Petty trick out, respectively, the VW bus Fillmore, the Impala lowrider Ramone and the Plymouth Superbird The King. According to press-note trivia, the average time to render a single frame of "Cars" was 17 hours. Although audiences are unlikely to notice, the Pixar brain trust invented a way for the cars' metallic bodies to accurately reflect their environments. John Ratzenberger, who voices the Mack SuperLiner Mack, is the only actor who appears in every Pixar film. Stay through the final credits and you'll see an amusing sequence where Mack critiques actor Ratzenberg in car-themed spoofs of Pixar movies. Short version: "Cars" revs. |
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Disney has released room-only discounts, at
select resorts, for Annual Passholders vacationing August 6
through August 26, 2006. Ask for code EZY. The code
gives you a flat discount off from rack rates; $25 off Value
resorts, $50 savings on Moderate resorts and a
$75 savings on Deluxe and Home Away From Home
resorts. The number of rooms offered at these rates is
limited.
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The Walt Disney Co. yesterday identified three local college students who may have a future as theme-park ride designers. Daniel Joseph of Wilmington, who recently graduated from the University of the Arts, was awarded first place in Walt Disney Imagineering's Imagi-Nations competition. His People Mover Version 2 ride, based on a now-closed ride at Disneyland, would take people on a journey into the future. He received a $2,000 scholarship. A two-person team from Drexel University - Kristy Pron, a junior from Sewell, and Matthew Fonda, a senior from Souderton - took one of two third-place awards. Their ride, called the EAC Express, was based on the movie Finding Nemo. Guests would ride the east Australian current, as in the movie. They each received a $1,000 scholarship. The students were part of six finalist teams from the United States and Canada selected to visit Imagineering's headquarters in Glendale, Calif., this week. On Tuesday, they presented their designs to a team of Walt Disney judges. They were among more than 30 entries for this year's competition. |
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Harrah's Entertainment Group on Friday announced broadcasting deals it made with ESPN and Bluff Media, in addition to a presenting sponsorship agreement with Miller Brewing Co. for its World Series of Poker. ESPN, a subsidiary of Burbank's Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) will air the final-table play at the $10,000 No-Limit Texas Hold 'Em World Championship in a live pay-per-view telecast, in addition to ESPN's regular television showing of the series and circuit championships. The deal extends until 2010, and ESPN has carried the World Series of Poker 8 times with coverage starting in 1993. Harrah's (NYSE: HET) also announced a deal with Miller Brewing Co. that would make Miller's Milwaukee's Best Light the presenting sponsor and official beer of the tournament through 2008. The agreement starts with this year's June 25-Aug. 10 tournament at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, and through the agreement Milwaukee's Best Light will be incorporated into several components of the tournament and will nationally promote the event year-round. Harrah's said the Miller deal is the largest ever between a gaming entity and a corporate sponsor. Bluff Media, owner of Bluff Poker Radio and Bluff Magazine, also has signed a letter of intent with Harrahs, which acquired the World Series of Poker in 2004, for production of live radio broadcasts from the event that listeners can hear on Sirius Satellite Radio channel 125. The broadcasts will be for a minimum of 10 hours a day for 43 days beginning June 29 and continuing through the final table. The World Series of Poker says this is another first for poker. Coverage will include table and tournament analysis, tournament updates, interviews with the top poker players, listener interaction and live play-by-play action from a majority of the final tables. |
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The
Next Disney? Where some Orlando animators went
"Really? "The next Disney?" They're pitching themselves that way. I know, I know, hype, hype. Take a breath, Miracle Studios. They're a 2-D operation/start-up in Wisconsin. They have the idea of building their empire out of a cartoon mouse. Hmmmm. Where HAVE I heard that before? Oh yeah, "Itchy & Scratchy" did it. Silly me. Oh, and that Walt fellow. You know, the one frozen in Burbank. Why Miracle Studios is worth taking seriously is in the number of ex-Orlando animators who ended up there. Check their "staff" link on their website http://www.hignitesmiraclestudios.com So, after Disney closed its wonderful Orlando animation house, some Features Animation-Florida animators went to Orlando's Project Firefly, which did a good chunk of the marvelous Curious George movie, some to EA video games, some to Genesis Orlando, which released Tugger, the Jeep movie. Some went to Blue Sky, some to Burbank. And Tim O'Donnell, who helped set up the Fla. studio, Dan Daily, Troy Gustafson, Kathy Schoeppner, Mike Olivia and Chris Grecco are all with Miracle Studios. They seem to be a bit behind their Orlando brother-studios in getting something before the cameras and into theaters, but they're animating and they have a plan. Kathy, you may remember from a story I did a few years ago, took a shot at running an animator's art gallery here in Orlando, and stayed in touch with everybody from everywhere, knew who was going where, and was at the heart of a great support group of animators when they were trying to find work. Sorry the gallery's gone, but glad she's in the biz, on her feet, and taking another shot. So the race is on. Who will be the first to make a major statement film out from under the Disney umbrella? |
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Zee
Cinema’s Venugopal Iyengar joins Disney Channel as head,
marketing
Venugopal
Iyengar, deputy vice-president, marketing, has quit Zee
Cinema to join the Disney Channel as head of marketing. |
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The
Delaware Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a lower
court's ruling that Walt Disney Co. directors did not
violate their duties over a $140 million severance
package paid Michael Ovitz at the end of his brief stint
as president of the entertainment company.
A one-time friend and confidante of former Disney CEO Michael Eisner, Ovitz held the post for about 14 months in the mid-1990s, and was ousted with a compensation package that lawyers for shareholders said was out of line. Delaware's generous "business judgment" rule immunizes corporate officers from liability for mistakes as long as there is some evidence they acted in good faith in making decisions for the company. "Even though the Chancellor found much to criticize in Eisner's 'imperial CEO' style of governance, nothing has been shown to overturn the factual basis for the court's conclusion that, in the end, Eisner's conduct satisfied the standards required of him as a fiduciary," Justice Jack B. Jacobs wrote for the court. The court also dismissed the appellants' arguments that even if Ovitz did not owe a duty to Disney until he began work on Oct. 1, 1995, his contract is subject to fiduciary standards because it did not become final until December of that year. "This argument lacks merit because the critical terms of Ovitz's employment that are at issue in this lawsuit were found to have been agreed to before Ovitz assumed office on October 1," Jacobs wrote. The justices also rejected the idea that Ovitz violated his duty in not convening a board meeting to consider terminating him for cause, thus making him ineligible for the huge severance payment, and that he colluded with former Disney CEO Michael Eisner and others to obtain a no-fault termination payment to which he was not entitled. The Supreme Court also upheld Chandler's ruling that the actions of Disney's compensation committee and board in approving Ovitz's employment agreement were protected under the business judgment rule, which presumes that directors are acting in an informed manner, in good faith and in the best interests of a company when making business decisions. Arguing on behalf of Disney shareholders, attorney Steven G. Schulman told the Supreme Court in January that the plaintiffs had overcome the business judgment rule presumption by establishing that Disney directors had acted with "gross negligence" in not scrutinizing Ovitz's employment and no-fault termination agreements. In a statement, Eisner attorney Gary Naftalis said Eisner was "very pleased" with the Supreme Court ruling. "We always believed that there was no basis for this case and that Mr. Eisner had always acted properly and in the best interests of the Disney shareholders," Naftalis said. Schulman was indicted last month along with his former law firm, New York-based Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman, on charges of paying millions of dollars in kickbacks to clients in class-action lawsuits. |
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A
toon-up for Petty
If
you're going to make a movie about stock-car racing,
you're going to talk to Richard Petty. "
'Petty blue, of course!' " |
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Carell
gets richer deal for "Office"
Steve Carell is looking at a big raise when he returns to "The Office" in the fall. Sources said the per-episode fee for "The Office" star will more than double next season to the neighborhood of $175,000. He also is said to be looking at a flexible filming schedule with two hiatuses to accommodate his burgeoning feature career. The renegotiated terms of Carell's deal do not include extending the duration of his original contract, sources said. NBC and the show's producers declined comment Wednesday, as did Carell's representatives. Carell has seen his star rise in the past year, with his first starring feature, "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," becoming one of the biggest hits of the summer, and "The Office" taking off in the ratings last season. In January, Carell won a Golden Globe for his role as socially inept boss Michael Scott on the show. NBC already has been accommodating to Carell's growing film commitments. The deal for the show's final nine episodes last season was done in a way that allowed the actor to begin shooting the Universal feature "Evan Almighty" this spring, when most series are still in production, while also fulfilling his obligations to the NBC comedy. (NBC and Universal are both owned by NBC Universal.) Upon wrapping "Evan," Carell is set to segue to another feature, the Walt Disney Co.'s "Dan in Real Life." He has at least four other films in different stages of development. |
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The
World Cup online ad opportunities
Starting Friday, soccer -- yes, I know it's really called football -- fans in America will be able to fire up their laptops and watch the World Cup tournament on their computer screens -- live and for free. Walt Disney will televise 52 out of the 64 global soccer games live from Germany on its cable channels, ESPN and ESPN2, as well as on its Internet channel, ESPN360. "To our knowledge this will be the first live, online streaming of the World Cup in the U.S.," said Paul Melvin, a spokesman for ESPN. Unlike CBS Corp.'s live NCAA men's basketball tournament games -- which were aired live and free online earlier this year -- the World Cup will only be available to the 8 million homes that get access to ESPN360 through several broadband providers, such as Verizon and Charter Communications.
But
on June 26 -- during what ESPN calls an
"all-access" period -- everything
changes. Anyone sitting inside an office or
cubicle, or outside at a WiFi hotspot -- such as
Manhattan's Bryant Park or San Francisco's Union
Square, or coffee shops and airports around the
world -- can watch any of the games as they
happen.
Sounds like a big event for Web advertisers, right? It could be. But you'd never know by just looking at what Disney is pulling in for televising the event. It's estimated that the games could generate as much as $100 million in total U.S. ad revenue on ABC and ESPN television networks, according to Dan Courtemanche, senior vice president of Major League Soccer & Soccer United Marketing, which handles the advertising for the event in the U.S. The amount -- if achieved -- would be a sharp increase from the $25 million generated during the previous World Cup games in 2002. Since the games will be Webcast live, the commercials viewed on the television will be the same on the Web. There will, however, be advertising on several of ESPN's other Internet properties (including ESPN.com, ESPNSoccernet.com, ESPNDeportes.com), tied to their editorial coverage of the World Cup. ESPN declined to release financial details of that online advertising. Still, it all sounds like small potatoes -- online and off -- for such a major event. After all, billions of people around the world watch the games. But in the U.S. the World Cup isn't the Super Bowl or even the World Series. "Yes, the number does seem low for an event of this magnitude, but it tells us probably more about the fan base in the U.S. than it does about the opportunity for online advertising generally," said Sarah Fay, the President of Isobar U.S., a digital network owned by U.K. firm Aegis PLC. Beyond ESPN Indeed, the advertising opportunity around the World Cup goes far beyond ESPN's properties. Yahoo Inc has created the official site for the World Cup. Yahoo won't disclose how much it's generating from its efforts, but it has signed up a dozen or so large advertisers, such as McDonalds and Procter & Gamble's Gillette, to sponsor the event. The revenue from this event is expected to surpass the revenue Yahoo generated from sponsoring the women's World Cup in 2003 and the men's World Cup in 2002.
Elsewhere,
Amazon.com has already bought the keywords
"world cup" on Google to sell World
Cup t-shirts.
And, on the popular video-sharing site YouTube, there are several dozen videos about the World Cup. Moreover, the Internet is a good way to find an audience of soccer fans searching for information or blogging about their passions. "It is probably a terrific way to target key demographics such as Hispanics," said Ellen Siminoff, founder of search marketing company Efficient Frontier. "I would buy keywords on Google Expana and Yahoo Telemundo as well as appropriate associated keywords," she said, explaining just how one might target this audience.
The
big trend on the Web is getting
"people to participate" in brand
creation, said Fay.
To
this end, hosting a blog community for
soccer fans might be a smart tactic for
advertisers who want to create a brand,
much as Clif Bar is doing with its blog
catering to energy bar health nuts. Watch
my interview with Stephen Houghton, who
handles marketing for Clif Bar.
Now,
one might say that there aren't many
soccer fans in the U.S. to build a
community around. Certainly, there
aren't as many U.S. fans of soccer fans
as there are of football or baseball.
But
take a look at all the soccer fans on
News Corp's MySpace.
Even
Christiano Ronaldo -- FIFPro special
young player of the year in 2005 --
has his own MySpace profile. I don't
see baseball star Barry Bonds or
current NFL MVP Shaun Alexander on
MySpace.
It's a whole different ballgame on the Web. Literally, it is. Final notes... My original intent for this column was to write about what people are viewing on the Web. Since the World Cup begins on Friday and it's the first time it'll be available live on the Web, it was a perfect event to talk about before I dove into all the other video people are watching on the Web. But as I wrote my column, I realized there was far more to share about the opportunities in online advertising around this event. For next Tuesday's Net Sense, I'll be writing about what people are viewing online across the myriad of Internet channels from Google Video, Yahoo Video, Veoh Networks, Revver.com, MeeVee to Instant Media and others, like Guba.com, you might not have ever heard of. Some $156 million in venture funding was invested in 19 startups during the first three months of this year, according to Dow Jones VentureOne. At the current pace, this year's investments in Internet video or related startups will easily surpass the $267 million invested in 40 startups last year. |
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Vivica
A Fox among lineup for ABC series Dancing with the Stars
The last time we saw Vivica A. Fox really kicking up her heels was in “Kill Bill Vol. 2” – but in a violent manner, with Uma Thurman’s face on the receiving end. In September, the actress will attempt to kick the Quickstep and Paso-Doble in the third season of ABC’s hit reality show, “Dancing with the Stars.” According to Us Weekly magazine, the actress’ name was leaked as one of the celebrities confirmed to take part in the ballroom dance competition. Other names mentioned were actors Mario Lopez and Harry Hamlin, husband of last year's second runner-up, Lisa Rinna. Hamlin, a co-star on the CW’s “Veronica Mars,” reportedly bugged producers to join the next cast after watching how obsessed his wife became during her run. ABC, of course, will not comment on the casting rumors. The third season is scheduled to begin in mid-September. |
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Thursday June 8, 2006 |
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The release of the animated film Cars on Friday is being watched closely as a harbinger for the success of the Walt Disney-Pixar merger. Cars is the first Pixar release since Walt Disney (nyse: DIS ) agreed to buy the computer animation company in January. Industry watchers expect the movie to fare well on its opening weekend, though just how much it will gross is a matter of speculation. "Cars [is] likely to be neither a lemon nor a Lamborghini," wrote Banc of America analyst Douglas Shapiro in a report Thursday. Shapiro anticipates a domestic opening weekend gross of about $65 million to $70 million, with anything well above $80 million regarded as an upside surprise and anything below $60 million regarded as a disappointment. Earlier this week, Cowen & Co. said it expects an opening weekend figure of more than $70 million, based on Pixar's previous animated films Finding Nemo and The Incredibles, which grossed $70.3 million and $70.5 million on their first weekends, respectively. The research firm expects Cars to bring in a total of $310 million in the U.S. and $696 million worldwide. Cars faces box-office competition from the release of Superman Returns, distributed by Time Warner's Warner Bros., on June 30. Receipts could also take a hit from another Disney release, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, scheduled for release July 7. Reviews of Cars have been positive but hardly stellar. Newsweek called the movie "eye-popping" but "slightly uninspiring." Industry trade Variety said the movie's periodic bursts of cleverness are "too far and few between." Disney agreed to acquire Pixar in January in an all-stock transaction valued at $7.4 billion. The deal formally closed in May. The companies have been feature-film partners since 1991, and have collaborated on films like Toy Story and its sequel. Disney extended its relationship with Pixar in 1997 by entering into a co-production agreement under which Pixar agreed to produce five original computer-animated features for distribution by Disney. Cars represents the final film under that agreement. Banc of America maintained a "neutral" rating and $30 target price on Disney shares while Cowen reiterated an "outperform" rating. |
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Disney
set for 'Year of Million Dreams'
It's every little girl's dream come true:
spending the night in Cinderella Castle. |
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The promotion, along with a worldwide advertising campaign
called "Where Dreams Come True," is aimed at
surprising visitors with previously unimagined experiences,
Disney officials said. "We'll be empowering our cast to basically deliver some once-in-a-lifetime experiences to some of our guests," said Jay Rasulo, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Some people wandering the Disney property will be handed scrolls inviting them to gala balls. Riders on Pirates of the Caribbean might find pirates taking the seats beside them. Others will be handed "Golden Fastpass" tickets that allow them to get into much shorter Fastpass lines at rides all day.
One family even will be picked in the next year to have
Magic Kingdom to themselves for a few hours. |
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Disney lore has it that about 10 stories up from the castle
moat, an apartment was built when the castle was opened in
1971. Whether it was intended to be Walt Disney's apartment
(he died in 1966) or his brother Roy's, the apartment was
never finished and never lived in. Until now. The winning visitors will be picked at random through a system being developed by consultants, a Disney spokesman said. The visitors could be picked in the parks, in Disney hotels or even at Downtown Disney, where the general public can wander for free -- just as long as they're on Disney property. This new campaign comes immediately after Disney's "Happiest Celebration on Earth" promotion for Disneyland's 50th anniversary, which was credited with boosting attendance at Disneyland and Disney World. "Perhaps this campaign may yield good results as well," said Ady Milman, a business professor at the Rosen College of Hospitality Management at the University of Central Florida. |
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This year, Disney opened a major attraction -- Expedition
Everest at Animal Kingdom -- but no major attractions were
announced for the coming year. |
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The
Seas with Nemo & Friends concept art
The forgetful fish Dory and clownfish Marlin search for lovable clownfish Nemo in this conceptual rendering of The Seas with Nemo & Friends, the newest attraction in Epcot Future World. Scheduled to debut in fall 2006, the attraction will be located in The Seas with Nemo & Friends Pavilion (formerly called The Living Seas). |
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Iger's
Disney In Tesco Fruit Deal, Launches Pet Food
Something fruity this way comes. Anyone
who does their grocery shopping in the U.K. might have
already caught wind of The Walt Disney Company's latest
drive to associate itself with healthy eating--they need
only to have swivelled their trolley in the direction of the
produce section at a Tesco supermarket. |
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Gibson
Lifts ABC Into Second
Former "Good Morning America" co-host Charles Gibson has helped ABC re-take second place in only his first week as anchor of the network's nightly newscast. The presence of Gibson attracted enough extra viewers to help ABC's "World News Tonight" pass the "CBS Evening News" -- which had recently passed ABC for the first time since Sept. 11, 2001, the New York Post reports. |
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Mouse
Tracks: The Story of Walt Disney Records To Hit Shelves
University Press of
Mississippi will release the new book, MOUSE TRACKS: THE
STORY OF WALT DISNEY RECORDS, written by Tim Hollis and Greg
Ehrbar with a foreword from Leonard Maltin. |
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A Korean-language production of Disney's The Lion King will open in Seoul, South Korea in October 2006. A joint production between Shiki Theatrical Company and Disney Theatrical Productions, the musical will be performed in the Charlotte Theatre at LotteWorld in central Seoul. That theatre is still under construction but will be completed by the Oct. 29 opening. The Lion King will mark Disney's third production in Korea: Beauty and the Beast opened there in 2004, and Aida began performances earlier this year. In a statement Disney Theatrical Productions President Thomas Schumacher said, "This new production of The Lion King supports our goal of producing our shows for new audiences all over the world. Kieta Asari and his Shiki team have been presenting The Lion King beautifully for over six years in Japan, and we wish them equal success in Seoul." The Lion King originally opened at Broadway's New Amsterdam Theatre Nov. 13, 1997. Directed by Julie Taymor — who became the first woman to ever receive a Tony Award for Best Director of a Musical — The Lion King has become an international hit with productions playing all around the globe. In fact, the Elton John-Tim Rice musical has won over 30 major awards. Those include six Tony Awards, including one for Best Musical; eight Drama Desk Awards; six Outer Critics Circle Awards; two Sir Laurence Oliviers; the Evening Standard Award for Best Theatrical Event; and three Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards. Visit www.disneyonbroadway.com for more information. |
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Hong Kong residents now have more time to pay
another visit to Hong Kong Disneyland, as the theme park is
extending the Double the Magic second visit period for three
months from June 28, 2006 to September 28, 2006.
"The Double the Magic campaign has been well received by local guests and, based on their feedback, we have decided to extend Double the Magic's second visit period until September 28," said Bill Ernest, executive vice president and managing director Hong Kong Disneyland Resort. "This will allow every guest to fully experience the magic of Hong Kong Disneyland, and we believe the additional time gives them the flexibility to plan a visit later in the summer." Guests holding a valid Hong Kong ID card will only need to pay a one-day ticket price for Double the Magic. To enjoy a second magical visit free of charge to Hong Kong Disneyland, this ticket has to be purchased and used on or before June 27, 2006. The offer is not valid for Special Days (such as September 12) when date-specific tickets are required. The Double the Magic offer was launched in March 2006 to provide Hong Kong locals with the opportunity to revisit the park at their leisure. Guests could enjoy their first visit to the park without rushing through all the activities, knowing that they would be able to return at a later date. Now is a better time than ever to experience the magic of Hong Kong Disneyland. With two Broad-way style shows, unique Disney attractions and entertainment, a nightly fireworks extravaganza and two spectacular hotels, there's something for everybody in family. |
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Ad
buying season starts as ABC agrees to relent on its stand
TV advertisers and agencies have started buying commercial time on television networks for the next fall's season after Walt Disney-owned ABC Television Network ended an effort it had initiated at changing the modality of arriving at ratings that would be used to set the rates. Agency and network executives maintained that the deals to buy spots for the 2006-2007 season in the upfront market are now being made without hindrance unlike in the past years, when it was virtually a sellers' market. According to industry sources, CBS, Fox Broadcasting, NBC and the CW network that came into being after the merger of UPN and WB, have already completed deals and there have been modest increases in rates in the range of 2 per cent to 4 per cent in CPMs -- the cost to reach each 1,000 viewers. The upfront market was in a suspended state for two weeks as ABC suggested on behalf of the networks, the use of different Nielsen ratings to set rates -- ratings that take into account the number of viewers who record shows on TiVo and other DVRs and play them back within one to seven days. The advertisers and agencies opposed the proposal saying such viewers hardly watched commercials in the shows they record. They preferred to go by the ratings that have always been used in the upfront market. ABC relented Monday saying it would continue using the traditional ratings, called live ratings. Last year, the broadcasters had sold about $9.1 billion of commercial time in the upfront market for the 2005-2006 season. Industry watchers predict the situation to be between slight increases and moderate decreases for the 2006-2007 season. They also feel the advertisers and agencies are now studying the increasing amount of commercial time the networks are selling on websites and other new media. DVRs have become a contentious issue for both networks and advertisers. The advertisers are concerned about the facility to fast forward through ads. Also DVR owners are known to have altered their TV watching habits so that they end up watching very little live TV. A recent study by a market research team estimated that 16 per cent of U.S. households will have DVRs by the end of 2006, which is triple the number of just two years ago. The industry watchers feel that the increasing popularity of DVR is having a measurable impact on advertising and if not this year, in the future the networks and advertisers will come out with ways of getting exposure to advertising products. It is also reported that television viewership as a whole has dropped over the past few years and the advertisers have been forced to follow the viewers to the new media they are addicted to -- the internet and video games. |
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Who
will be the first to find the buried XC90?
Tied to the July 7 release of Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Volvo launches a global multi-media treasure hunt for a buried, pirate-themed Volvo XC90 V8 beginning June 12 at www.volvocars.us/thehunt In its largest-ever tie-in with a major motion picture, Volvo Car Corporation today announced it will support its official promotion of Disney's upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest with a global, multi-media treasure hunt for a Volvo XC90 V8 that has been buried somewhere in the world. Beginning June 12 through July 11, individuals nationwide can visit their local Volvo retailer to pick up a free treasure map. Once online, they are asked to go to www.volvocars.us/thehunt to register for the world's first hunt for a buried vehicle. Treasure hunters then will participate in a challenging, engaging and fun-filled adventure to solve a series of online clues and puzzles. The buried one-of-a-kind, pirate-themed Volvo XC90 features a variety of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest elements, including graphics from the film, black leather seats, custom painted 20 inch wheels and more. Once registered online, individuals will have puzzles emailed to them on a regular basis. Those who solve the puzzles correctly will continue to receive clues. Individuals can join at any time though July 11, and can catch up with other participants if they correctly answer the puzzles posted online as they are emailed to participants. As the contest progresses, the puzzles will become increasingly harder to solve, with the final online clue e-mailed July 12. Volvo Car Corporation will then select seven finalists from around the world who correctly guess the answer to the final online clue. In August, those finalists will be flown with a guest to the secret car burial location. Each finalist will set-off on a manic on-the-ground search for the buried vehicle. The first treasure hunter to unearth the SUV gets to keep it. "If there's one element you are sure to find in almost every good pirate story, it's a buried treasure," said Anne Bélec, president and chief executive officer of Volvo Cars of North America. "So, we've taken our most treasured vehicle, the Volvo XC90 V8 SUV, and married it to the pirate world, modifying it to make it as menacing as possible. It's the centerpiece of a elaborate campaign that we hope will not only garner widespread participation for everyone who loves to search for buried treasure, but also have the public at large think about Volvo in an entirely new way." Volvo will promote the treasure hunt with a mysterious 30-second television spot airing on national cable networks during the months of June and July, online banner ads and other elements. To participate, individuals must visit a Volvo retailer to pick up the treasure maps. Winners will only be eligible if they can produce the original treasure map upon conclusion of the hunt. In addition to the United States, other Volvo regions participating in the hunt include the United Kingdom, Japan, Spain and Austria. Volvo is producing the campaign with its advertising agency of record, Euro RSCG Worldwide. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest opens in U.S. theaters July 7. |
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Sailboat
Disney
Say "Disney" in most circles and it elicits visions of animation, family fun and, of course, Mickey Mouse. But speak the name around sailors, and Roy E. Disney will boot Steamboat Willie right out of the captain's chair. Roy's father, Roy O. Disney, founded the Disney entertainment business with his brother, Walt; and the junior Disney has long been involved in the company. He has worked as everything from a writer and producer to a board member, and he is currently a consultant and major shareholder. Roy Disney was also instrumental in forcing Michael Eisner's departure as company CEO last year. But Disney is also a world-renowned sailor who twice broke records racing from Los Angeles to Hawaii in the Transpacific Yacht Race. He has spent most of his adult life sailing and racing and has watched the sport transition from wooden boats to the carbon-fiber vessels that are dominant today. Saturday, he and longtime filmmaking partner Leslie DeMeuse will visit Reno in support of the youth sailing programs of Sierra Nevada Community Sailing. The two will speak about their adventures and show clips of their sailing films during a 5 p.m. dinner at Harrah's. Admission is $100 a person, $175 per couple or $800 for tables of 10, and proceeds will benefit Sierra Nevada Sailing's non-profit youth instruction programs. "We're always kidding that the crew on our boat is getting older and older, and we need the young ones," Disney said by telephone. "I really wanted to give something back to the sport, and that wound up being trying to participate in some of the high school-age sailing programs around Southern California and Hawaii and anywhere else that we can be of help." During the Saturday dinner, Disney and DeMeuse plan to show clips of the sailing films they have made together, including bits from their historical documentary on the transpacific race, "Transpac -- A Century Across the Pacific." Disney said he will also talk about his latest boat and a new movie project he and DeMeuse have begun. They plan to film the adventures of the youngest crew to ever race the Transpac during its 44th running next year. Disney got involved in sailing in the late 1950s, after his first child was born. "I'd flown for quite a long time, and then kind of gave it up when my wife decided she wouldn't fly with me after she got pregnant," he said. "So, after the first child was born, we went down and spent a week at Newport Beach and wound up buying a boat, a little, 30-foot sailboat." At that time, Disney didn't know the first thing about sailing, but he got a crash course from the boat's builder. "We took two weeks off and went down and lived aboard," he said. "The builder, who had gotten to be a really good friend, came out with us and we went out every day sailing. He would sit on the back of the boat and say, 'No, no, yes, yes,' and taught us a lot of the basics of how to sail. Then I began to understand it simply because the aerodynamics of sails are very similar to the aerodynamics of an airplane wing." Then, a friend convinced him to race to Ensenada, Mexico. "We had a wonderful time," Disney said. "It was great even though it was slow and boring. We did OK, actually, in our class. Out of 30-some-odd boats, we were seventh or eighth or something. So we thought, 'Well we kind of know how to do this,' and it's just grown from there over 40 years." During four decades of racing, Disney has seen dramatic changes in the sport. "Our first boat was wood," he said. "A couple of boats were fiberglass and then aluminum. All the recent boats are carbon fiber and the masts are carbon fiber now. Everything is carbon fiber. So the structures get both lighter and stronger at the same time. Therefore you can put more lead in the ballast and create more stability, which translates into sail carrying ability, which translates into horsepower." Disney said he likes to promote sailing, as he is doing in Reno, but he thinks the sport needs to overcome one major obstacle. "We're always being perceived as kind of an elitist sport," he said. "You know, 'Oh, yachting. Oh, they just sit around in deck chairs on the back of the boat.' When in fact "» the crews have needed to become more and more athletic. I mean, these boats will just throw you right off the deck if you're not walking around pretty carefully. And sleeping in 30 knots of wind is probably impossible when you're off watch and on a long race." Disney said he plans to speak primarily about sailing during his Reno appearance, but during his phone interview he briefly mentioned his struggle to oust Eisner. Ultimately, Disney won that battle, and judging from the cheer in his voice, watching the disgruntled CEO leave his father's company was as sweet as any victory at sea. "The morale around the company right now is just sky high," he said. "It's wonderful. "» It's really very rewarding." |
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Disney's
next theme park ads to center on "dreams"
Walt Disney Co. (DIS.N ) hopes to keep the party going at its theme parks when it launches a new global advertising campaign this fall with the catch phrase "Where Dreams Come True." The coming ad blitz "will be centered on the universally understood principle of dreams to ensure emotional resonance with audiences around the world," the company said in a statement. At its two U.S. parks, Disney will launch the "Year of a Million Dreams" celebration in October, where park visitors will be randomly awarded "dreams" such as a night in the Mickey Mouse Penthouse at Disneyland or private meetings with Disney characters. The company's current promotion -- pegged to the celebration of the 50th birthday of Disneyland in Anaheim, California -- has been credited with helping to boost attendance and operating profit at the theme parks division, including a 36 percent jump to $589 million in the first half of the current fiscal year. Disney's theme parks, which include Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, and resorts in Paris and Tokyo, as well as one in Hong Kong which opened last September, account for about a quarter of the entertainment conglomerate's operating income. "The 50th anniversary has been very successful for them in drawing attendance," said Rich Greenfield, an analyst at Pali Research. Attendance last year rose 8.5 percent at Disneyland, 3.6 percent at neighboring California Adventure, 5 to 7 percent in Florida and was relatively flat in Tokyo and Paris, according to estimates by Amusement Business magazine. Disney said in May that business at Hong Kong Disneyland, a joint venture with the Hong Kong government, has been subject to sharper seasonal swings than expected, but guest satisfaction has been high. The park is expected to attract some 5.6 million visitors in its first year. |
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Disney
going bananas about fruit
Disney is licensing fresh fruit in European companies to encourage an association between the entertainment giant and a healthy lifestyle. The initiative follows the ending of Disney’s 10-year promotional exclusive tie-up with McDonald’s. Shoppers at Tesco can now buy Disney satsumas featuring collectible stickers and the company wants to license other fruit such as apples and bananas. There is an album available in which children can place their stickers. A marketing and sourcing company has set up the deal with Tesco and pays Disney a royalty to use the brand. Disney still has two projects left to run with McDonald’s involving giveaways. The promotion for Pixar film Cars is about to start while a tie-up with the second Pirates of the Caribbean film Dead Man’s Chest will also take place. Disney also licenses baby tomatoes in France to the Champion supermarket and mini-bananas at German retailer Metro. The company has long had an association with food products including soft drinks, pasta, pizza and beefburgers but now wants to move into healthier ranges. |
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Wednesday June 7, 2006 |
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Keys to The
Magic Kingdom - This October in a once in a lifetime launch
to Disney's "Year of a Million Dreams" celebration
one lucky family will get the Magic Kingdom all to
themselves. The winning family will enter the Magic Kingdom
on a red carpeted Main Street U.S.A. lined with cast members
for their exclusive visit. They'll enjoy a VIP itinerary.
The celebration runs October 2006 through September 2007.
From an Overnight Stay inside Cinderella
Castle to a Golden FASTPASS, Dreams Big and Small to Come
True During a First-of-Its-Kind Celebration That Also
Features New Attractions and Entertainment at Disneyland and
Walt Disney World Resorts
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From an overnight stay inside Cinderella
Castle to a Golden FASTPASS, dreams big and small will come
true at Disneyland and Walt Disney World resorts during
Disney's "Year of a Million Dreams," a
first-of-its-kind celebration of the individual dreams of
Disney Parks guests.
The year-long celebration, beginning Oct. 1,
2006, at Disneyland Resort in California and Walt Disney
World Resort in Florida, will feature the debut of an
incredible lineup of new attractions and entertainment at
both Disneyland and Walt Disney World resorts, plus new
technologies that allow guests to customize their Disney
park experience.
And, for the first time, during the
"Year of a Million Dreams" celebration, Disney
cast members will award a million dreams -- both large and
small, including many "money-can't-buy"
experiences -- to guests selected through a random process
as part of a unique "Disney Dreams Giveaway"
promotion.
"Throughout this incredible celebration,
special dreams and unique experiences once thought
impossible will be awarded by our cast every day," said
Jay Rasulo, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.
"Disney parks are always the place where dreams come
true -- but even more so during the 'Year of a Million
Dreams.'"
The "impossible" includes the
creation of over-the-top, overnight experiences for winning
guests at both East and West Coast resorts: a royal
bedchamber inside Cinderella Castle at Walt Disney World
Resort and a Mickey Mouse Penthouse at Disneyland Resort,
both expected to be complete by January 2007.
A day of royal treatment will end with a
night of enchantment inside Cinderella Castle for a
different lucky guest each night. Cinderella's royal
bedchamber, now under construction at Magic Kingdom, will
allow Disney guests to stay overnight inside the park and
enjoy a view shared only by Tinker Bell. The lavishly
decorated bedroom will be located in a space originally
planned as an in-park apartment for the use of the Disney
family.
And for a lucky Disneyland guest, each night,
the all-new Mickey Mouse Penthouse at Disneyland Hotel will
pour on the Mickey charm and include magical views
overlooking both Disneyland and Disney's California
Adventure parks. The extraordinary penthouse will be
decorated in all things Mickey, with finishing touches by
none other than Minnie Mouse herself.
In addition, during the year-long
celebration, other Disney dreams both large and small will
be awarded in the "Disney Dreams Giveaway"
promotion, such as:
* Traveling to each Disney resort around the world to serve as grand marshal in a Disney parade. * A variety of unique Disney vacation experiences. * Admission to special parties and other extraordinary experiences in the Disneyland and Walt Disney World parks. * Private meetings with favorite Disney characters. * Or, a Golden FASTPASS ticket with unique access entitlements to some of Disney's most popular attractions.
New Attractions and Entertainment Planned for
the "Year of a Million Dreams"
Throughout the "Year of a Million
Dreams" celebration, Disneyland and Walt Disney World
resorts will debut major new attractions:
* Disneyland Resort in California
-- Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage -- Inspired
by Disney -- Pixar's "Finding Nemo," this all-new
E-ticket adventure will take guests on a real (and
unbelievable) underwater excursion. (Summer 2007)
-- Rockin' Space Mountain -- Space Mountain
is getting a new twist. Thanks to new lighting and
technology, Disney's classic attraction will become a new
experience in which rockets will rock it through the
greatest concert in the universe. An all-new soundtrack will
fit the exciting twists and turns of Disney's rocket
classic. (Spring 2007)
* Walt Disney World Resort in Florida
-- "The Seas with Nemo &
Friends" at Epcot -- Nemo is lost -- again -- and
guests aboard "clam-mobiles" join his friends to
search one of the world's largest saltwater aquariums for
the playful clownfish in a stunning display of new
entertainment technology inspired by Disney-Pixar's
"Finding Nemo." (Late 2006)
-- "Finding Nemo-The Musical" at
Disney's Animal Kingdom -- Also inspired by Disney-Pixar's
"Finding Nemo," the Great Barrier Reef comes to
colorful life in an all-new musical filled with spectacular
scenery, elaborate puppetry and music by a
Tony-Award-winning composer. (Late 2006)
-- The Laugh Floor Comedy Club at Magic
Kingdom -- Guests find the power of laughter in an engaging
and interactive new adventure inspired by Disney- Pixar's
"Monsters, Inc." as they match wits with the
one-eyed hero Mike Wazowski and his friends. (Early 2007)
Additionally, special entertainment and
programs will be in place at the parks and resorts to
accommodate the desires and wishes of would-be Disney
Princesses, pirates, adventurers and space explorers. Guests
will be able to customize their visit to a Disney park to
pursue the "Dream Track" of their choice with
on-line planning tools and in-park technology to help
them become the hero or princess they've always dreamed of being.
For more information about the "Year of
a Million Dreams" celebration and the "Disney
Dreams Giveaway" promotion, visit http://www.mydisneyparks.com
. Look for future announcements with the details of the
"Disney Dreams Giveaway" promotion. No purchase
necessary and subject to promotion official rules which will
be available on Oct. 1, 2006. Odds of winning any prize will
depend on the number of eligible entries. Void where
prohibited.
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For the first time ever, to
launch Disney's "Year of a Million Dreams"
celebration, one lucky guest and family will receive a
once-in-a-lifetime dream come true as they get the Magic
Kingdom park all to themselves.
The winning family will enter Magic Kingdom on a red-carpeted Main Street, U.S.A. lined with cast members in place for their exclusive visit. They'll enjoy a VIP itinerary as they tour each land of the park, experience favorite attractions and visit favorite characters. As the winning family leaves each land, other guests will fill the park behind them -- ensuring plenty of spectators as they make their way back down Main Street, U.S.A. as grand marshals of the daily parade. The winning family will conclude their remarkable visit by enjoying the spectacular fireworks over Cinderella Castle from a special viewing location. The "Keys to the Magic Kingdom" promotion will lead up to the Oct. 1, 2006, launch of the "Year of a Million Dreams" celebration at Disneyland Resort in California and Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. The winning family will enjoy their VIP visit to Magic Kingdom in October, early in the year-long celebration. The "Year of a Million Dreams" is a first-of-its-kind event that celebrates the individual dreams of Disney Park guests from around the world. Another million dreams will be awarded to Disneyland and Walt Disney World guests through the "Disney Dreams Giveaway," a separate promotion that will run throughout the "Year of a Million Dreams." "Our goal is to make dreams come true for every single guest who visits our Disney parks," says Jay Rasulo, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. "Dreams and wishes are synonymous with Disney and what better way to make a vacation dream come true than by allowing one lucky family to enjoy the Magic Kingdom by themselves." For more information about the "Year of a Million Dreams" celebration and the "Keys to the Magic Kingdom" promotion, visit www.mydisneyparks.com. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. Open to legal residents 18 or older of the 50 states and D.C. Commences June 7, 2006, and ends July 31, 2006. "Disney Dreams Giveaway": Look for future announcements with the details of the "Disney Dreams Giveaway" promotion. No purchase necessary and subject to promotion official rules which will be available on Oct. 1, 2006. Odds of winning any prize will depend on the number of eligible entries. Void where prohibited. |
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As reported yesterday and rumored for some
time, Disney's next Celebration begins this October. Visit
the Official Site below.
The Walt Disney Co. plans to deliver on 1
million dreams as a follow up to its hugely successful
"Happiest Celebration on Earth" promotional
campaign.
Jay Rasulo, chairman of Disney's parks-and-resorts segment, is to announce the new promotional campaign tonight in New York City. Disney staff were mum on the announcement, but speculation is centering on the prospect that Rasulo will roll out details of the company's new promotional campaign. In fact, Disney already has posted a Web site, describing the campaign as "The Year of a Million Dreams." The campaign would begin almost as soon as Disney's current campaign, "The Happiest Celebration on Earth," expires Sept. 30. That campaign, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the 1955 opening of Disneyland, was a huge success, boosting Disneyland's attendance more than 10 percent in the past year and adding to attendance gains at Walt Disney World. "We think it's a great right cross following their uppercut," said Dennis Speigel, president of International Theme Park Services in Cincinnati. "They had a wonderful run with the 50th anniversary, and now they're going to put fat on the fat hog." Disney's parks bucked national trends last year. Most theme parks saw either stale or declining attendance, and both Walt Disney Co. chief executive Bob Iger and outside analysts credited the Happiest Celebration campaign as a major reason. The new campaign apparently will involve Disney-vacation giveaways, and perhaps upgraded Fastpasses for its theme parks called "Golden Fastpasses" as well as opportunities for people to spend a night in Cinderella Castle, according to the Disney Web site.
Theme-park business consultant Steve Baker,
of the Baker Leisure Group of Orlando, said such promotional
campaigns are important to the parks' success, particularly
since he and many other analysts predict that gas prices and
hurricane fears are likely to keep tourists away from
Orlando.
"They're very critical," he said of the campaigns. "It's just a way they're going to spend a whole bunch of money. That's what it's going to take. I've always thought that the repercussions of hurricanes was going to be felt much deeper because of fear of being here in the summer. "These things work," Baker continued. "It gives the reason for somebody deciding what to do to say, 'Oh, why don't' we go see it, what the heck.' It's a motivator." Speigel said the prospect of a sweepstakes giving away a night in Cinderella Castle could turn out to be the real-life equivalent of the golden tickets hidden in candy bars in the Willy Wonka book and movies. "They're allowing them to become part of the magic," he said. |
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New
Disney Pirates Attraction Website
The Official Disney website has released a brand new Pirates attraction site in the Magic Kingdom Section. Visit the site at the link below. LINK |
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Disney is going to the dogs.
The iconic entertainment company, home to such famous canines as Pluto and Goofy, wants a piece of the $75 billion global market for pet products after a successful trial run of "Old Yeller" branded dog food at Kroger (KR.N ) supermarkets. "That's a character that most people wouldn't even remember," Andy Mooney, head of Walt Disney Co.'s (DIS.N ) consumer products division, said during a discussion with a handful of journalists on Wednesday. "And we have a lot of pets in the Disney portfolio." Cincinnati-based Kroger in April 2005 replaced a private-label dog food in its 2,500 U.S. stores with one branded by the 1957 Disney film pooch. Since then, it has become the store's best selling dog food, Mooney said. "They're anxious to develop a whole range of accessories," said Mooney, a Scotsman who formerly worked for Nike. Disney is already investigating a cat food range with Kroger. He stressed, however, that Disney's expansion in the pets business is unlikely to be centred around food, but instead on such items as collars, clothing and bedding, which have been popularised recently by celebrity dog owners like Paris Hilton. Mooney did not say how soon the pet product line would be rolled out or how much investment it would entail. He noted that consumers in the United States and Japan have become particularly fond of pampering their pets, but the plan was for Disney's products to sell globally. Another already hot-selling U.S. pet-related item for Disney is an aquarium based on its "Pirates of the Caribbean" film, a company spokeswoman said. Since joining Disney in 1999, Mooney has shifted the company's focus away from owning stores to a more active licensing process working more closely with other retailers, including Wal-Mart (WMT.N ), Tesco (TSCO.L ) and Target (TGT.N ), as well as high-end fashion labels such as Dolce & Gabbana. Disney-branded consumer products last year generated $21 billion of global retail sales, compared with $12 billion in 1999. Profit margins on licensing hover around the 70 percent level, he said, meaning incremental growth yields large amounts of cash. Mooney said he was optimistic about more growth for his unit because Disney only has about a 4 percent market share of the toys business, 2 percent for children's apparel and 1 percent or less in other segments like home furnishings, food and beverages, beauty products, stationery and consumer electronics. It has a bigger share of the children's book and magazine markets, especially in Europe. About 50 percent of Disney's licensing revenue -- the biggest component of the consumer products division -- is generated by 26 customers in the top 10 markets, and Mooney expects that ratio to grow to 60 percent in the next five years. It was at 40 percent two years ago. Consumer products were responsible for about 6.7 percent of Disney's $32 billion of revenue last year, or about $2.1 billion and 11.2 percent of its $4.7 billion of operating profit, or $520 million. Its popular Princess line for girls accounted for about $3 billion of retail sales in 2005, and Mooney said he thought that could reach $6 billion before it plateaus. Disney is hoping to score a similar success targeting boys with a massive range of products spawned from its upcoming animated release "Cars". |
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Sally Actor: Bonnie Hunt Vehicle: 2002 Porsche 911 The quintessential symbol of big bucks, the sleek air-cooled Porsche 911 was launched in 1963 and continues to be a strong selling car despite prices that run nearly $100,000. The Porsche, designed by German racing buff Ferdinand Porsche, dates back to 1938. The first model to be sold to the public, the 356 in 1948, gave way to the 911, which had a stronger six-cylinder engine that became a star of the racetrack circuit. Porsche cars, including later models, dominated the Le Mans racing series for years. Sally is anything but a thrill-seeking rally racer in Cars, however. A beautiful blue Porsche who was tired of California's "fast land," Sally is a charming lawyer who wants to put the town of Radiator Springs "back on the map." On the side, she also runs the Cozy Cone Motel, which tries to lure tourists with its own unique collection of -- you guessed it -- caution-cone collectibles. |
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Doc Hudson Actor: Paul Newman Vehicle: 1951 Hudson Hornet A super-fast flash in the pan, the Hudson was only produced for seven years. But the car, produced initially by the Hudson Motor Company of Detroit, was a 27-time winner on the NASCAR tour in 1952. The car was re-styled into a more conservative version as Hudson Motor's factory closed in 1954 and the car was made by the newly formed American Motors. By 1958, production ceased and American Motors focused on its other models. In its day, the Hudson may have been the scourge of the race track, but in the movie Cars, Doc Hudson is anything but a speedy character. A car with a mysterious past, Doc Hudson -- with crystal blue "eyes," naturally -- keeps to himself and is the town doctor, (running the local mechanic shop). Doc has no patience for the town's own hot shot racing car, Lightning McQueen, "played" by Owen Wilson. And in the end, Doc teaches Lightning McQueen a lesson in speed and character. |
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The King Actor: Richard Petty Vehicle: 1970 Plymouth Superbird Built to persuade superstar driver Richard Petty to use a Plymouth to race in NASCAR events, the Superbird was designed by modifying the Plymouth Belvedere in 1970 so that Petty could compete against the Dodge Daytona. Outfitted with a hood and fender from a 1970 Dodge Coronet, it was designed with a lowered nose cone and tall rear fin to make it even more aerodynamic. The car did well enough in NASCAR racing that year, winning eight races, but it never became a big seller. In an example of nostalgic casting, Cars lured 68-year-old Richard Petty to its movie to provide the voice for The King. The King, Strip Weathers, is a legend around Radiator Springs as the winner of more Piston Cup races than any car in history. The King plans to retire at the end of the current racing season, and to turn over the coveted sponsorship of his car by Dinoco. Among those who want a shot at The King's crown, of course, is Lightning McQueen. |
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Luigi Actor: Tony Shalhoub Vehicle: 1959 Fiat 500 Cars don't come smaller, cheaper -- and stranger-looking -- than the Fiat 500. First introduced in 1957 as the Nouva 500 (the "cinquecento" for "500" in Italian), the car was marketed as a cheap and practical roundabout car for Italians to deal with the congestion and tight parking spaces in many of their cities. It measured less than 10 feet in length and had the squat look of a car that had been squished between two large trucks. Still, it was a big seller throughout post-war Europe and was patterned after the VW bug with a smallish rear engine that saved on gasoline. Luigi the Italian car runs Casa Della Tires, "home of the leaning tower of tires," and would love to outfit the hot-shot Lightning McQueen in a new set of whitewalls. Big-hearted, gregarious, and with infectious energy, Luigi makes friends with everyone who visits his shop. |
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Lizzie Actor: Katherine Helmond Vehicle: 1923 Ford Model-T This is the car that started it all. First built by Henry Ford in 1908, the Model-T popularized the use of automobiles by offering them at the affordable price of $825. Ford could keep costs down because the cars were the first to be built on an assembly line, which revolutionized U.S. car building. The car, powered by a four-cylinder engine, could hit speeds of up to 45 miles an hour, and got an impressive 25 to 30 miles per gallon. Painted in only one color -- black -- Ford could produce the Model-T in vast numbers. By 1928 a record 15 million Model-Ts were built -- a mark not broken until Volkswagen passed it 1971. When it first started production, the car was nicknamed the "Tin Lizzie." Like her namesake, Lizzie, in Cars, is an original as well. Feisty and brash, she doesn't mind giving her opinion even if it's frank, frequently jumbled, and she can't remember what she's just said. Still, she's a sharp businesswoman and sells mud flaps and bumper stickers and other Route 66 memorabilia to tourists on the road. |
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Haunted
Mansion Sculpture by Robert Olszewski
Event: Haunted Mansion Sculpture
Release & Signing |
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Disney Insider - At the heart of Pixar
Animation Studios in Emeryville, California is a huge,
soaring atrium. The brick walls are hung with expansive
canvases showing the landscape and highways of the American
Southwest, foosball and pool tables invite drop-in players,
and employees dart back and forth across the wide space on
scooters.
It doesn't look like any other film studio -- it looks like fun. The Disney Insider recently got a chance to see for ourselves, as we went behind the scenes at Pixar. We met John Lasseter, and animators Bobby Podesta and Scott Clark, and came back to share secrets of the movie wizards who have given us groundbreaking films like "Toy Story," "Finding Nemo," and now "Cars" - opening June 9. John, Bobby, and Scott explained the creative process to us, and gave us a look at the place where it all happens. |
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"John Lasseter says the amount of fun
the crew has making the movie shows up in how fun the movie
is to watch," says Randy Nelson of Pixar University,
gesturing around the atrium. "This is where the work
happens, when people get away from sitting alone in cubicles
and start interacting." He gestures at the paintings
that surround us - panoramas of cliffs in the sunset, and
dust trails rising on desert roads behind a passing car:
"We put all that art up on the walls so everyone gets
the big picture. They aren't decorations; this is our
work."
And it's a way of working, he says, in which
Pixar drew inspiration from classic Disney. "Of course,
there is no single influence on our process but it is hard
to overestimate the importance of the Disney process of
research and visual development, especially on the Studio's
leaders." It's a way of working that means everyone at
Pixar is immersed in the film in progress - art is
everywhere, creative staff take "field trips" to
explore their subject firsthand, and everyone who works
there, no matter what their job description, can take up to
four hours a week in filmmaking classes … life drawing,
character animation, improv, screenwriting, and more.
Employees also have access to on-site massages, a fitness center, a swimming pool, and basketball and volleyball courts. With amenities like these you might think they'd never want to leave, but actually they are strongly encouraged to work a 40-hour week … and then go home. Randy explains why. "When we were making 'Toy Story 2' - three months before we released it, we decided to redo it all from scratch. And we made a great movie, but we worked 80-, 90-hour weeks. After that, we made a commitment to try as hard as we could to avoid overtime. Not for financial reasons, but because it's crushing to the spirit. And if you're a 'world builder,' the audience lives out there, and you need to be out where your audience is as much as you can, learning what they care about." |
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Tuesday June 6, 2006 |
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Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation
Studios’ new animated feature Cars combines
director John Lasseter’s two lifelong loves: the animated
and automotive worlds.
The director of the Toy Story movies and A Bug’s Life, Mr. Lasseter returns with Cars, the animated story of a haughty race car that gets a lesson on life in the slow lane. He says Cars was a very personal story. As a boy growing up in Whittier, California, Mr. Lasseter loved to visit the Chevrolet dealership where his father was a parts department manager, and got a part-time job there as a stock boy as soon as he turned 16. "I have always loved cars. In one vein, I have Disney blood, and in the other, there’s motor oil. The notion of combining these two great passions in my life -- cars and animation -- was irresistible. When [co-director] Joe Rant and I first started talking about this film in 1998, we knew we wanted to do something with cars as characters," Mr. Lasseter said. "Around that same time, we watched a documentary called Divided Highways, which dealt with the interstate highway and how it affected the small towns along the way. We were so moved by it and began thinking about what it must have been like in these small towns that got bypassed. That’s when we started really researching Route 66, but we still hadn’t quite figured out what the story was going to be. "Our lead car in the film, Lightning McQueen, is focused on being the fastest. He doesn’t care about anything except winning the championship. He was the perfect character to be forced to slow down and start living" Mr. Lasseter had some very specific words for the designers, modelers, and animators who were responsible for creating the film’s car stars: Truth to materials." "John didn’t want the cars to seem claylike or mushy. He insisted on truth to materials. This was a huge thing for him. He told us that steel needs to feel like steel. Glass should feel like glass. These cars need to feel heavy. They weigh three or four thousand pounds. When they move around, they need to have that feel. They shouldn’t appear light or overly bouncy," said characters department manager Jay Ward. Directing animator James Ford Murphy said "Originally, the car models were built so they could basically do anything. John kept reminding us that these characters are made of metal and they weigh several thousand pounds. They can’t stretch." Directing animator Bobby Podesta observed, "The really cool thing about cars is that they could be a lot of different things. They can move like a car when they’re driving around. But we could make them appear almost animal like at times, and have them gesture or do something that humans can do, while staying true to car materials." Cars, distributed by Buena Vista International through Columbia Pictures, opens in the Philippines tomorrow. |
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Leger
lands Disney award
Disneyland Resort Paris
specialist Leger Holidays has picked up a major national award
from Europe’s premier themed resort having been named
‘Best Group Operator 2006’ ahead of more than 15
companies. Leger , which is the provider of holidays to
Disneyland Resort Paris by four modes of transport, received
the ‘Mouscar’ – a Mouse Oscar – award for the progress
it had made in the last 12 months working with Disney. |
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Mickey
Mouse and Friends Join 116th Street Festival With Disney's
Fiesta Fantastica
What do you get when you combine the world-famous Disney characters, lots of other Disney magic and Latin rhythm with the largest Hispanic festival in the Northeast? Disney's Fiesta Fantastica, a fun-filled, high-energy musical extravaganza starring Mickey Mouse and friends. Disney's Fiesta Fantastica, presented by Walt Disney World Resort, is coming to the 116th Street Festival on Saturday, June 10. Performance times are: 12:30, 1:30, 3:30 and 4:30 p.m. The stage will be located at 121 St. and 2nd Ave. The show will be presented free of charge for guests attending the festival. Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Chip and Dale, Donald Duck and Goofy will be singing (in Spanish) and dancing to some of their favorite Latin songs including Mambo #5, Livin' La Vida Mickey, Mambo King and the sing-along-song "Vamos." "El Festival de la Calle 116," now in its 21st year, is the largest Hispanic Festival in the Northeastern United States. It has featured stars such as Celia Cruz, Tito Puente, Hector Lavoe and Iris Chacon -- just to name a few. It is the "must do" party leading up to the National Puerto Rican Day Parade, one of the biggest parades in New York City. Mickey and his pals will continue spreading Disney Magic by making a special appearance on Sunday, June 11, during the National Puerto Rican Day Parade as it unwinds through 5th Avenue. The Disney Characters will be parading along the avenue from 44th Street through 71st Street. The parade starts at 11 a.m. "We are delighted to bring the magic of Walt Disney World to the 116th Street Festival and the National Puerto Rican Day Parade," said Denise Godreau, Sr. Vice President, Walt Disney World Marketing and Multicultural Markets Worldwide. "Events like these allow us to further the connection with our Hispanic guests and to create magical memories for thousands of New Yorkers." Those who can't make it to "Disney's Fiesta Fantastica!" can catch all the action through a television special that will air on Telemundo's WNJU-TV- Channel 47 in the Metro area on Sunday, June 11 at 9:00 p.m. Immediately after at 10:00 p.m., Telemundo will air a special featuring highlights of the National Puerto Rican Day Parade in Spanish. English-speaking viewers can also enjoy the parade on Sunday, June 11th WNYW Fox 5, 11a.m.-1:30 p.m., and WWOR-TV My 9, 1:30 p.m. - 3p.m. Additional information about Walt Disney World Resort is available by visiting http://www.disneyworld.com/desfile . |
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Gas
Station TV Brings Ads, ABC Shows To The Pump
Gas Station TV launched on Monday a service that brings advertising and ABC programming to motorists filling up their tanks. In delivering the service, GSTV has partnered with ABC National Television Sales, a division of the Walt Disney Co.; Murphy Oil USA Inc., which operates 900 stations in Wal-Mart parking lots; Gilbarco Veeder-Root, a manufacturer of gas station equipment; and Delphi Display Systems, a maker of outdoor digital video display systems. GSTV delivers its content through a 20-inch high-definition LCD monitor on the top of the pumps. The service has been available as a pilot in Dallas, and is scheduled to be at 500 Murphy stations in the United States by the end of the year. Four hundred of the stations are expected to be in the top 10 U.S. markets. Along with advertising, GSTV programming will feature ABC News content, including "News You Can Use" segments from "Good Morning America;" and local news, weather forecasts and traffic updates from ABC-owned TV stations. ABC's New Media Sales group will sell the GSTV service to advertisers. GSTV is hoping to attract advertisers by offering a way to reach a captive mobile audience. Most people on average spend four minutes filling up their tanks and visit the same station six times a month, according to GSTV chief executive David Leider. This presents a unique opportunity to push products or services that a person can act on immediately. "We believe Gas Station TV will provide a great mix of brand and promotional-type advertising," Leider said. For example, a fast-food restaurant could offer meals at a discount to people who visit a nearby location during a certain time of the day. In Dallas, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. sponsored information on tire maintenance and promoted local dealers. By taking advantage of the fact that people were in their cars, advertisers have a chance to convince people to take immediate action, such as heading to a store or restaurant to take advantage of a discount, or entering a sweepstakes through their cellular phone. "You have a much better chance to get people to do something (when they are in their cars)," Leider said. ABC News Media Sales will work with advertisers in creating ads for the GSTV audience. The network plans to air up to four ads during each customer's visit, including promotions for snacks, tobacco and other products sold in the station's stores. The ABC content will be updated several times a day in order to remain timely. The GSTV system will also be marketed by the Gilbarco sales force, which will promote it among its high-volume gas retail customers. The equipment and service is available to gas stations at no charge. GSTV currently features advertising from Allstate Insurance Co., the Chevrolet division of General Motors Corp., Ditech.com, an online home loan service; PepsiCo Inc. and the U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co. GSTV's venture and private equity funding came from iZi Media LLC and DHW Capital LLC. |
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ABC
backs off hardline stance on 'Live Plus 7'
The ABC Television Network said it would no longer insist that advertisers include viewers who use digital video recorders to watch its shows as part of the audience used to set advertising rates.
All of the U.S. TV networks
are currently trying to sell commercial time for the fall
season, in a process known as the "upfront."
In setting its ad rates, ABC had been attempting to have advertisers recognize Nielsen Media Research's measurement of viewers who recorded shows and watched them up to seven days after that, rather than just the traditional "live" viewer. Nielsen calls this measurement "Live Plus 7." The DVR allows users to easily record programs that are stored on a hard drive. They employ full DVD-like functionality, including pause, rewind and fast-forward functions.
The network's stance was seen
as one factor that has been slowing down sales of
commercials during the upfront, along with uncertainty about
new platforms like online streaming.
Advertisers balked, however, saying that most viewers who watch shows using DVRs merely fast-forward past commercials, rendering their sales pitches worthless. "While the majority of the advertising community has reached a consensus on the Nielsen DVR ratings issue, and has concluded that that commercials seen during DVR-recorded programming have no value, the ABC Television Network continues to believe strongly in the worth of the "Live Plus" viewer, and will continue its efforts to include this audience," ABC said in a statement. Shares of ABC parent Walt Disney Co. (DIS) were up 6 cents at $30.80 in midday trading Tuesday. Last month, ABC rolled out one of the most aggressive schedules for the 2006-07 season. |
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THQ
Revs Up as 'Cars' Races Into Stores Across Multiple Video Game
Platforms Leading independent publisher THQ Inc. (Nasdaq: THQI ) today announced the release of the "Cars" video game, based upon the highly anticipated Disney/Pixar film, for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, Xbox® video and game entertainment system from Microsoft, Nintendo GameCube(TM), Game Boy® Advance, Nintendo DS(TM), PSP(TM) (PlayStation® Portable) system, Windows PC and Mac, at retail outlets nationwide. The game will also be available worldwide in 18 languages, and in more than 40 countries including China, Thailand, Japan, Russia and Poland. Also this fall, the "Cars" video game is expected to release for Xbox 360(TM) next generation video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and Nintendo Wii. "As a leading publisher of video games for all ages, THQ is excited to bring 'Cars' to every major gaming platform, including the next generation game systems," said Kelly Flock, executive vice president, worldwide publishing, THQ. "Disney and Pixar have a legacy of creating blockbuster animated motion pictures with classics such as 'The Incredibles', 'Finding Nemo' and 'Monsters Inc.' THQ's video game adaptations of each of these properties have been top-performers at retail, including games based on 'The Incredibles' film, which shipped more than 7-million units worldwide, and 'Finding Nemo', which shipped more than 8-million units worldwide." "Combining the creative minds at Pixar Animation Studios and the game development talents at THQ helped to translate 'Cars' into one of this year's most exciting video games for fans of all ages," said "Cars" story artist, Dan Scanlon. "Fans of both the movie and the video games will interact and explore the world of Radiator Springs and the Piston Cup races as we envisioned." "Disney/Pixar video game properties have experienced tremendous success on a variety of game platforms over the years, and we will continue the brand's tradition of offering high-quality family entertainment to game players worldwide," said Graham Hopper, SVP and General Manager of Disney's Buena Vista Games. "We're proud of our ongoing relationship with the team at THQ to bring these exciting games to life." About the "Cars" Video Game The "Cars" video game is a high performance interactive experience in the open world created in the film, challenging players to relive the excitement created by Lightning McQueen and his friends. Fans will discover unique characters and environments inspired by the film with more than 10 playable characters and 30 races and minigames to choose from. The game features a fully immersive re-creation of all major environments introduced in the movie, including Radiator Springs and Ornament Valley, which will offer distinctive racing experiences to players while maintaining the artistic style of the film. The "Cars" video game was developed within THQ's Studio System, which includes 14 owned studios and more than 25 of the best independent development teams. THQ's critically-acclaimed video game developer, Rainbow Studios developed the PlayStation2, Xbox and Nintendo GameCube versions. THQ's Locomotive Games, Inc. developed the PSP version, while THQ's Helixe studio developed the Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance versions. About the "Cars" Movie "Cars," the seventh animated feature film to be created by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures, is directed by Pixar's two-time Academy Award®-winner John Lasseter, who directed "Toy Story", "A Bug's Life", and "Toy Story 2." Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson), a hotshot rookie racecar who is driven to succeed, discovers that life is about the journey, not the destination. En route across the country to the big Piston Cup Championship in California, McQueen gets waylaid in the sleepy town of Radiator Springs. While sidetracked in the town, McQueen gets to know its offbeat characters -- including Doc Hudson (a 1951 Hudson Hornet with a mysterious past, voiced by Paul Newman), Sally (a snazzy 2002 Porche, voiced by Bonnie Hunt), and Mater (a rusty, but trusty, tow truck, voiced by Larry the Cable Guy) who help him realize there are more important things than trophies, fame and sponsorship. About Pixar Animation Studios Pixar Animation Studios combines creative and technical artistry to create original stories in the medium of computer animation. Pixar has created six of the most successful and beloved animated films of all time: "Toy Story,'' "A Bug's Life," "Toy Story 2," "Monsters, Inc.," "Finding Nemo" and "The Incredibles." Pixar has won 20 Academy Awards® and its six films have grossed more than $3.2 billion at the worldwide box office to date. The Northern California studio's next two film releases are Cars (June 9, 2006) and Ratatouille (summer 2007). About Buena Vista Games Buena Vista Games, Inc. (BVG) is the interactive entertainment arm of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS http://www.bvg.com/). The division publishes, markets and distributes a broad portfolio of multi-platform video games and interactive entertainment worldwide. The company also licenses properties and works directly with third-party interactive game publishers to bring products for all ages to market. About THQ THQ Inc. (Nasdaq: THQI ) is a leading worldwide developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software. The company develops products for all popular game systems, personal computers and wireless devices. Headquartered in Los Angeles County, California, THQ sells product through its global network of offices located throughout North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. More information about THQ and its products may be found at http://www.thq.com/ and http://www.thqwireless.com/. THQ, THQ Wireless, Helixe, Locomotive Games, Rainbow Studios and their respective logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of THQ Inc. "PSP" is a trademark and "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Memory Stick Duo(TM) may be required (sold separately). Xbox, Xbox 360 and the Xbox logos are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or in other countries and are used under license from Microsoft. Nintendo DS and Wii are trademarks of Nintendo. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. The statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts may be "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about the business of THQ Inc. and its subsidiaries (collectively referred to as "THQ"), including but not limited to expectations and projections related to the release and features of Cars, and are based upon management's beliefs and certain assumptions made by management at the time of this release. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements, including, but not limited to economic, competitive and technological factors affecting the operations, markets, products, and pricing of THQ. Readers should carefully review the risk factors and the information that could materially affect THQ's financial results, described in other documents that THQ files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal period ended March 31, 2005, and particularly the discussion of risk factors that may affect results of operations set forth therein. Unless otherwise required by law, THQ disclaims any obligation to update its view on any such risks or uncertainties or to revise or publicly release the results of any revision to these forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. |
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The Big Top is up and the circus is ready as
Walt Disney Home Entertainment presents Walt Disney's
timeless classic Dumbo in a new Big Top Edition. One of
Walt's most inspirational and heartwarming animated films of
all time, this DVD features a new digital transfer to
provide the most pristine visual experience for a new
generation of fans, and 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound.
Bonus features for all ages include a new educational
DisneyPedia about circus animals accompanied by in pack,
collectible matching-game learning cards, and special family
features like a new "Baby Mine" music video; the
DVD Storybook "Dumbo's Big Discovery," delightful
Sing Along Songs, and bonus animated shorts "Elmer
Elephant" and "The Flying Mouse."
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With its heartwarming story, wonderful
characters such as Dumbo and Timothy Mouse, and positive
messages about friendship, acceptance, courage and believing
in yourself, Dumbo Big Top Edition is the perfect film for
every household. Available on DVD June 6, 2006 for $29.99 (S.R.P.).
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Glory Road
From the Studio that brought audiences "Remember The Titans," Walt Disney Pictures presents a Jerry Bruckheimer Film Production, GLORY ROAD, debuting on DVD and UMD on June 6. This inspiring, exhilarating film is the true story of legendary basketball coach Don Haskins and his 1966 NCAA championship team, the first all African-American squad to win the national title. The DVD features the Alicia Keys music video "Sweet Music;" never-before-seen deleted scenes; "Legacy Of The Bear" – with commentary by Coach Haskins; "Surviving Practice" featuring NBA all-star Tim Hardaway; extended interviews with former Haskins players; and audio commentaries with super producer Jerry Bruckheimer and the film's director and writers. |
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Josh Lucas ("Stealth," "Sweet
Home Alabama") stars as Hall of Fame coach Don Haskins,
in the true story of the team that changed the game of
basketball forever. In the 1960's, Texas Western (now the
University of Texas El Paso) hires Haskins to coach a
small-time, losing basketball program. Through vigorous
recruiting, Haskins assembles a line-up with many
African-Americans, a novelty in college basketball. With a
grueling coaching regime and tough love, Haskins molds his
recruits into a promising team. Amidst the country's
burgeoning civil-rights movement, the players and coaches
endure racially charged insults as they go forward in the
national college tournaments. Haskins fields the first all
African-American starting line-up in a championship game, and
together they defy the odds and win the 1966 NCAA
Championship. Their courage and dedication change the face of
college basketball and national sports for all time.
Available for $29.99 (S.R.P.) on DVD (available in separate full and widescreen editions) and on UMD for PSP (widescreen), from Walt Disney Home Entertainment and Jerry Bruckheimer Productions. |
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Power
Rangers: Mystic Force
Coming to DVD for the first time, the ever-popular Power Rangers present more action-packed thrills with POWER RANGERS: MYSTIC FORCE Volume 1: Broken Spell, available to own on June 6, 2006 from Buena Vista Home Entertainment. In this fast-paced adventure, the Power Rangers Mystic Force are five warriors who must learn the ways of magic in order to battle the approaching darkness of a powerful force – one that threatens the entire Earth. Fans will also be treated to a bonus "Power Rangers Space Patrol Delta" episode, exclusive to the DVD. |
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Join the ever-popular Red Ranger and his
teammates the Green, Yellow, Blue, Pink, and Gold Rangers,
who, alongside their mentor Udonna, fight the forces of evil.
A top boys franchise promoting teamwork and friendship,
"Power Rangers" is watched by millions of boys every
month on ABC Family, Toon Disney and ABC Kids.
An age-old curse is broken, and followers of dark magic- now freed from their underground world – threaten Earth. An ancient legend foretells five mystic warriors will master magic to combat the looming darkness. The new recruits – thrilled to be superheroes with magical powers – team up to battle dangerous witches, wizards, trolls and beasts… but not until one reluctant candidate embraces the Red Ranger role and saves the day. A lesson is learned that real heroes are born in the fight for freedom… and the Mystic Force is destined to keep the peaceful planet out of evil hands. |
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Home
Improvement: The Complete Fourth Season
Just in time for Father's Day, one of TV Guide's "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time" - Tim 'The Toolman' Taylor - is back on DVD! Join Tim, Al, Jill, Wilson and the rest of the 'Home Improvement' gang in HOME IMPROVEMENT: THE COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON, on DVD June 6. Experience the funniest disasters and most memorable moments yet, with all 26 episodes of the Emmy and Golden Globe winning comedy plus never-before-seen bloopers! This 3-disc DVD set is available for $39.99 (S.R.P.) from Buena Vista Home Entertainment and Touchstone Television. "Home Improvement," a top-rated and beloved TV series, features Tim Taylor (Tim Allen), the accident-prone host of a television program about tools called "Tool Time." Season Four includes some of the most hilarious and memorable moments ever as Jill returns to college, Al is named one of Detroit's Most Eligible Bachelors and Wilson goes on his first date in 20 years. Featuring guest appearances by Dave Chappelle, Michelle Williams and Lucy Liu, plus new, never-before-seen bloopers, this collection is an absolute must-own for any "Home Improvement" fan. |
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Tim and his wife, Jill (Patricia Richardson)
raise three mischievous boys, Brad, Randy and Mark (played by
Zachery Ty Bryan, Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Taran Noah
Smith). Wilson (Earl Hindman) is the Taylor's partially-seen
neighbor who gives insightful advice to help the family. Al
Borland (Richard Karn) is Tim's responsible, caring and
flannel-wearing co-host on "Tool Time."
Tim Allen won a Golden Globe award for Best Actor In A TV Series, 1995. The show won seven Emmy Awards for lighting and photography direction (1992-1996, 1998-1999) and was nominated for eight Emmy Awards (for outstanding comedy series 1992-1994; Patricia Richardson Outstanding Lead Actress 1994, 1996-1998; Tim Allen Outstanding Lead Actor 1993). |
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INTERVIEW:
John Lasseter on "Cars"
You can attribute much of Pixar's success with films like "Toy Story" and "The Incredibles" to John Lasseter's extraordinary talent for creativity and business expertise. Ranked #3 on Forbes' 2005 Hollywood Power List (along with Pixar co-founder Steve Jobs), Lasseter has been able to transform Pixar from an animated arthouse, to one of the most lucrative production studios in history. Lasseter oversaw the development of recent Pixar films, such as "Finding Nemo" and "The Incredibles," but he hasn't been in the director's chair since 1999's "Toy Story 2." But Lasseter brings his vision back to the big screen with this summer's release of "Cars," the latest animated feature from Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar. In "Cars," Owen Wilson lends his voice to a hotshot NASCAR rookie car named Lightning McQueen, who dances in the glamour and glimmer of celebrity and popularity. When McQueen loses his way and finds himself in the forgotten town of Radiator Springs, he makes friends that he'll never forget, and finds that every once in a while, you have to take a break from the fast lane. John Lasseter speaks about "Cars" in the interview below. Q: Can you tell us about your first car? JOHN: First of all, I grew up in Los Angeles. You grew up in a Ford family, a Dodge family, a Chevy family, whatever. My dad was a parts manager at a Chevy dealership, so of course we were a Chevy family. My car that I learned to drive in was a 1969 Chevelle station wagon, and my dad got the ‘towing package,’ because we had a trailer. It happened to be everything that SS396 muscle car had – huge 350 V8 with a huge 4 barrel carburetor. I could lay rubber the entire block in this station wagon. It was the hottest car in town. It was great. But it had the ‘towing package.’ So that was the first car. I had a Volkswagon squareback that broke down all the time, then I had a 1969 Toyota Corona. It was this funny little car, a 4 speed, but honestly the thing never broke down and when it did, I could fix it. It was great that way. Q: With cars serving as the characters, you kind of have a built in audience with the boys. Was there any concern about the movie's appeal to girls as well? JOHN: Yes. Very good observation. When I started this – I mentioned that I grew up in LA, my dad was a parts manager, so I’ve always loved cars. I came up with this idea back during "A Bug’s Life" and I became really excited about this in a geeky way. I mean a deeply geeky way. I wanted real model cars, I started coming to this track researching NASCAR, racing, all this stuff. My wife, Nancy, bless her heart, she says, ‘You know, you’ve got to make this movie for me, for your nieces, for everybody in the world out there who doesn’t like racing and who doesn’t care much for cars.’ And she was right. So throughout the whole making of the movie, Joe Ranft, my partner on this, always had what he called The Nancy Factor. It really was – it was something we consciously focused on, it was about the story and the characters. And we got on the show a number of people who were not into cars to help with the story. Kiel Murray was a woman, a writer at Pixar, who we brought on who wasn’t into cars in any way, and she was great. While we were working on the story to make sure it worked for everybody we then went back and made sure all the car details were correct, because the geek in me will never be kept down. We wanted the racing to be authentic. I personally can’t stand to go see a movie about a subject I love and care about and see the filmmaker didn’t do their homework. The credibility of the whole film is shot, and I didn’t want that to happen. We worked with Paul Newman as a voice, and he was a racing consultant. Jerry Nadeau is a NASCAR driver that helped us out. Daryl Waltrip was a huge help. And the guy who directs all the Fox broadcasts of NASCAR is named Artie Kempner, and he was a big help for the authenticity. For the car world it was important to get the details right – Paul Newman’s character is a 1951 Hudson Hornet, and if you know Hudson Hornets, it’s a 51. All the details are there. It’s even a stock 51 color. Yes, I’m a geek. Q: NASCAR is just getting bigger and bigger. Why do you think it’s so popular? JOHN: As Americans the sports that really take hold are ones that are just incredibly entertaining and fun to watch because they’re competitive. When you watch a sport you want to be on the edge of your seat. It’s like how I tell stories. I believe NASCAR is that kind of racing. You’re really on your edge of the seat. The races do take a long time, but there’s always some kind of competitive aspect going on. There are other types of racing out there where one guy gets in the lead and he leads the entire race. [snores] NASCAR is not like that. There are lead changes constantly, the pit stops are so exciting and interesting. I think Fox Sports has done a great job of bringing to audiences in this country that it’s a team sport. It used to be just about the driver but now you realize how much is about the crew chief, the team, stuff like that. That’s been a big thing. I’m just talking about the things I really love in the sport. I think that’s part of why it’s been so successful. Also, there are a number of drivers that - in any race you’re going to have a handful of drivers that can win. But I think NASCAR has done a fantastic job of keeping the top teams, the big money teams, their technology even, so that lots of teams can be competitive. Q: Can you talk about Owen Wilson’s work in this film? JOHN: In casting of voices in Pixar films we want to get great actors, first of all. Actors whose voices fit the characters and whose personalities fit the characters. We never ask the actors to put on a voice, as a director I want everything to sound very natural. No one’s reading along or acting or something. It’s a world where cars are alive, there are no humans, so race cars are athletes. We were making Lightning McQueen into a character who was a young rookie that is extremely talented and becomes successful very fast and becomes a superstar because he’s a good looking car, but the success has gone to his head in the wrong way. He’s very self-centered and always thinking about himself. So then it became this thing where we needed an actor who could do that and still be appealing. I’ve always liked the work Owen’s done, and the thing I liked about what he’s done is that every character is so appealing. And he’s very funny. Owen’s the hardest working actor I’ve ever worked with. It’s unbelievable; he’ll give us so much. And as you know he’s a very talented screenwriter as well, so he would give us a lot from a story standpoint. We would talk a lot about the story and his scenes and this stuff, and he helped out with the character. I encourage all my actors – and that’s why we cast people like Bonnie Hunt – to do ad-libbing. One of the things that’s so challenging, and we take four years to make these films, it’s like crafting this movie frame by frame by frame. It’s pixel by pixel by pixel, really. And spontaneity is not something you think about but spontaneity is very important to me in the recording session. I always want them to ad-lib. Owen was fantastic that way. And we work with our actors – we don’t just write the script and send them to record and never see them again. Owen I think we worked with ten times, and each of our sessions is about four hours long. This is stretched out over about a two and a half year period that I had been working with him, so he saw the evolution of the story. Pixar stories really start one way and then we evolve them and develop them. What we do is that he’ll redo a scene a few times and we’ll get inspired by something he did and it goes on. Q: What was an example of that? LASSETER: Early on in the session, when we finally settled on the name Lightning McQueen, I kept thinking to myself, every boy is born with his own set of sound effects. Your own gun, explosion, hand grenade, machine gun, lightning, thunder, race car sounds, shifting gears, motorcycle – very different from a car. We all have these sounds we’re just born with. So I went to him and said, ‘What’s your sound for lightning and thunder?’ I had the tape rolling and he did this great run of ‘Ka-Chow! Ka-Chow!’ and it was hilarious. I almost ruined the take because I was laughing so hard. So we listened to the tape and thought it would be really funny if the character would say that. Then we came up with the idea because of Owen’s doing it in this way, why doesn’t the character have a catch phrase, right? Then we created what we called his lucky sticker, it was that mylar thing where he thinks he’s so cool by reflecting light into a girl’s eyes; he thinks he’ll pick them up that way. So then we described it to Owen as almost a tattoo, and he started striking these poses. We always videotape our actors when we record them, and we get so much inspiration from it. That was when we put [the lightning bolt] on the front fender and had him striking the pose, and it all came from Owen’s funny ad-lib. As you can see it became the whole movie’s trademarked catchphrase – and one thing I’ve learned from NASCAR is that everything is trademarked. Q: What’s the secret to getting actors to agree to do voices in the films? JOHN: Actually some actors aren’t as interested as others. I always think if they’ve got kids, we’ve got ‘em. It’s nice now because of the body of work that we’ve done and we’re dedicated to making quality movies that actors want to be a part of this. And we have so much fun working with them; all of the actors we’ve worked with have become some of our best friends. Q: Can you talk about the new Disney/Pixar relationship? It was unknown whether Pixar was going to stay with Disney or not but now that it's solidified, what does that mean for the countries and can you speak about in Disney now? JOHN: We’re excited about the new Pixar/Disney relationship. I’m excited because I have Disney blood running through my veins. It is why I do what I do, the films of Walt Disney, how those films have entertained me. When I was going to college at CalArts in the character animation program, being taught by these amazing Disney artists they pulled out of retirement to teach us. Even at the time I realized how special that was. And I lived only a half an hour from Disneyland in LA, and I worked there as a ride operator on the jungle cruise in the summer. I loved Disneyland, growing up down there. I always knew what it meant to me to be entertained by those films, and that’s why at Pixar our sole focus is entertaining our audience. Now to be asked to come back – I’m very
excited about this. The whole deal is structured so Pixar will
stay Pixar in every way. It’s protected because it’s such
a special culture up there. It’s such a special place. I’m
excited about going back to Disney – the artists down there
are really talented. I’m excited about working with them and
making their films as great as can be. And part of my job is
working with Imagineering too, working on theme park rides. JOHN: I have been, for a while, wearing two hats. I had two jobs at Pixar – directing movies, like Cars, and being the executive in charge of everything creative. I’ve been doing that since the beginning. I already went through a time when I sort of did somewhat of a break from directing to help Pete Docter make Monsters, Inc, to help Andrew Stanton make Finding Nemo, to help Brad Bird make The Incredibles. Pixar is a director-driven studio. So I was already going to take a break from directing to help the whole bunch of directors with movies lined up to be made. I had made that decision anyway. So I’ll be going two days a week down at Disney, three days a week at Pixar, occasionally three days a week at Disney. So I’ve already been planning on doing that. And I never say never, and I hope to direct again some day, but I was already planning on taking a break from directing to help these other directors. Q: Is Toy Story 3 going to be theatrical or direct to video? Lasster: We’re not talking about Toy Story 3 yet. Sorry! |
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Three
schools win Disney prizes
The students were paid a surprise visit last week in their classrooms to be presented with their prizes sponsored by Disney Cruise Lines, Department of Tourism, Department of Education and Department of Environment.
Jiminy Cricket’s Environ mentality Challenge is an educational program that invites students to get involved and learn more about protecting the environment.
Third-year students were asked to create an original art project on the topic, “Why we need water”, while sixth-year and eleventh-year classrooms tackled a worldwide environmental issue using classroom subjects such as maths, science and language arts.
Mark Witko, Community and Government Relations Manager for Disney Cruise Lines, presented the students with Jiminy Cricket hats and watches in the presence of their school staff and DOT officials.
Mr Witko said, “We are excited to celebrate and recognize the efforts of these winning students aboard the Disney Magic.”
“They are making a difference in the Cayman community and raising awareness for Environmentality everywhere,” he added.
As part of their prize the winning students, along with their teachers and principals, will take part in a special ceremony and day of fun onboard the Disney Magic cruise ship on 20 June.
The students will tour the ship and have lunch with Disney Cruise Lines executives where they will be officially recognized for winning the competition and further prizes and surprises will be presented.
Jiminy Cricket’s Environmentality Challenge was created by the Walt Disney Company in 1994 to encourage students to think and act environmentally – at school, at home and in their local communities.
This is the
second year the |
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Monday June 5, 2006 |
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When Pixar introduced "Toy Story" about 10 years ago, it marked the beginning of 3-D animated films. "Toy Story" wowed the crowds, but it also demonstrated some of the technology's limitations. The Emeryville animation studio's movie worked in part because Woody, Buzz Lightyear and the other main characters were plastic toys; by nature, their bodies could only move in a limited number of ways and they didn't require the same amount of detail as human characters. On Friday, the premiere of Pixar's seventh animated film, "Cars," will illustrate how far the industry has come. Computers are faster, the software is cheaper and the tools are more sophisticated than ever. These developments have made it possible for the animators of "Cars" to design complicated scenes and add subtle, nuanced details that couldn't be done -- easily or quickly, at least -- in earlier Pixar films. The result is a more lifelike picture. In one scene, several obnoxious, neon-colored sports cars harass Mack the truck as he drives along the highway at night. As the cars weave back and forth, their shiny surfaces show the reflections of the other cars. To create the effect, the animator had to draw the same scene from multiple angles, then merge them and sometimes blur the images to craft a realistic reflection. Some of the frames -- a second is made up of 24 frames -- in that scene took as long as 3 1/2 weeks for the computer to process and render into a complete picture. But that's a step up from earlier films, in which simpler pictures could take days for a machine to calculate each pixel in the scene. The movie also takes advantage of new lighting techniques so that, for instance, the light from the sun casts shadows in every crevice in every object in every picture, including the cars' mouths. Though it's not something most viewers might catch, the detail is another change that creates a dramatic overall effect. "It's like going from a cartoon to reality," Jessica McMackin, the render lead for "Cars," said about the effect. "It makes things come to life." Software tools have improved so that certain, sometimes painstaking, steps have been automated. To raise a character's arm, for example, the animator had to program the computer to pick up the hand, the elbow, the shoulder, as well as move all the joints and muscles. That can be done much more quickly now. Animators also have more power over how their pictures turn out. "Directors have much more control over their scene and art," said Albie Hecht, founder of Worldwide Biggies and a co-producer of the 3-D animated film "Jimmy Neutron." "Manipulating facial features (for example) has been taken light years ahead, which makes the acting more real and visceral." Eventually, 3-D animation tools could make it possible to create lifelike human characters, so that viewers won't be able to tell the difference between a live actor and an animated one, according to San Jose's Adobe, which develops computer graphics software used by Pixar and other animation studios. "The software has evolved over the last 10 years and gotten more sophisticated and allowed the artist to articulate the idea they had in their mind, faithfully," said Steve Kilisky, product manager for Adobe After Effects, a software program. Nevertheless, the foundation of a good 3-D animated film -- the story and its characters -- is still the same as that of a 2-D animated film. "All the technology in the world can't give you that," said Michael Scroggins, director of the computer animations labs at CalArts, the school that trained "Cars" director John Lasseter, "unless you understand the art behind animation." |
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Disney theme parks are endlessly fascinating — from decking employees out in so-bad-they're-good uniforms to recreating mountains to celebrating 100 years of this and 50 years of that. Seems Mickey is about to do some more reveling. This time it sounds like it'll be... different. We received a large, ominous invitation in the mail recently for an announcevent on June 7. The invite was so big, in fact, it covered our entire kitchen table. (Pictured here) Find the text and our suspicion on what it's about after the jump, kids. |
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Hollywood executives are supposed to be good with words. But hand them an unexpected, runaway hit, and they start spewing clichés just like the average ticket buyer: "It's like catching lightening in a bottle," they like to say. They're saying it a lot these days about High School Musical. The Walt Disney Co. (nyse: DIS ) spent just over $4 million to produce the syrupy, break-into-song comedy that premiered in January on The Disney Channel cable outlet. Kids, especially so-called " 'tweens" from ages 9 to 14, instantly went crazy over the movie, which tells a story of high-school students trying to do what they really believe in, despite the pressure from peers to do otherwise. Now the movie is generating revenue for Disney across multiple platforms, from DVD and CD soundtrack sales, to book sales, downloads at Apple Computer's (nasdaq: AAPL ) iTunes stores and international-television distribution. A sequel is already in preproduction and a stage adaptation is in the works. A modest made-for-television movie, High School Musical is now on its way to becoming a billion dollar franchise for Disney. "I am pleasantly surprised," says Rich Ross, president of The Disney Channel, which has made 60 original movies over the last decade. "We always felt that original movies could do a lot of the heavy lifting for our brand." But even The Disney Channel, which has successfully captured the 'tween audience with shows such as That's So Raven and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, as well as with recent original movies such as The Cheetah Girls, could never have predicted the results for this musical. More than 36 million unduplicated viewers have tuned in for the movie, which has aired 12 times in the U.S. This includes sing-along versions, as well as versions that teach viewers the dance steps from the movie. The movie's soundtrack spent two weeks at the number one on Billboard's Top 200, and an apparel line, stationary and posters are now on sale in Limited Brands' (nyse: LTD ) Limited Two stores. "Every licensee in America has called to see how they can tap into this," Ross gushes. Even beyond its core young audience, Disney has managed to strike a cord with this uplifting, aspirational movie, which features a high school basketball star who also wants to perform in the school's musical production. Adults have tuned in, as about 11.5 million viewers have been between the ages of 18 and 49. One song from the movie, "Get Your Head in the Game," has become a bar mitzvahs and sweet-sixteen party staple. It was also used in NBA basketball arenas and by CBS (nyse: CBS ) during its NCAA March Madness telecast. Even the Village Voice newspaper, the longtime organ of the counterculture, has taken notice, dubbing the bubble-gum movie "The Cult Success of the Year." Could a High School Musical theme park attraction be next? Company officials are not ruling it out. "We're looking at every creative option,'' confirms Ross. |
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Disneyland,
Walt Disney World Pirates Of The Caribbean Attraction
Concept Art
New refurbishments will incorporate
Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow, Geoffrey Rush's Captain Barbossa
and Bill Nighy's Davy Jones characters into the classic
attractions, just in time for the premiere of Dead Man's
Chest. |
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Disney's
ABC Sued by French Ex-Employees for Unfair Dismissal
Walt Disney Co.'s ABC television network is being sued by three former French employees who claim they were illegally fired and deprived of royalties when their work was syndicated. Journalists Fabrice Moussus, Robert Peyrano and Patrick Etcheverry claim ABC fired them in October 2004 after they asked to work 35 hours a week, as French law allows. The company also failed to obtain legal ownership of their footage, they say. The men are due to ask a Paris labor tribunal on June 7 for a total of 1.6 million euros ($2.1 million) in compensation and damages. ``They owe us a dividend,'' Moussus, who had worked for ABC 27 years, said in an interview in Paris. He claims neither he nor his colleagues, who had been with the network 23 and 36 years respectively, had ever signed a work contract with the company. ABC didn't return a total of five phone messages seeking comment at its New York press office on June 2 and today. Under French law, authors are entitled to compensation for their work unless they clearly waive their rights in writing. Employers can use the output from their staff, but must pay royalties to the authors if they syndicate it. ``French law protects authors more than the companies they work for,'' said Benjamin Fievre, an intellectual property lawyer in Nice. ``There is no fixed measure to establish how much they may be entitled to: that's up for the judge to decide.'' `Economic Difficulties' ABC claimed that their termination was necessary because of ``economic difficulties that the Walt Disney Group, to which it belongs, is facing,'' Moussus cited his letter of dismissal as saying. French law requires that companies must demonstrate financial difficulties before they can reduce their workforce. The next month, Disney Chief Executive Officer Michael Eisner told global employees that the company had a ``terrific 2004.'' ``Our performance was outstanding by any measure,'' Eisner said in the Nov. 18, 2004, e-mail, according to Moussus. ``They were telling us: we have no money to pay your salaries, and then they were going on saying how well the company was doing,'' Peyrano said. ABC sells archived documentaries over the Internet, in DVD format for consumers. Professional filmmakers and television networks can pay several thousands dollars per minute of footage, Moussus said. Exclusive Footage Moussus, who is credited as a cameraman on about 90 documentaries, has covered wars and political events. He was the only cameraman to film the assassination of Egyptian President Muhammad Anwar Al-Sadat in Cairo in 1981. During the first Gulf War, he used a night scope to obtain exclusive footage of the bombing of Baghdad. In 2003, Moussus shot the footage and Peyrano recorded the sound of an ABC documentary on the Da Vinci Code, which was co- produced by National Geographic. Both Moussus and Peyrano's names were in the documentary's credits. ``National Geographic has been broadcasting it over and over again,'' Moussus said. National Geographic in France broadcast the documentary twice on May 18, according to a television schedule. For this documentary, the men are asking for 50,000 euros each, Moussus said. |
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Disney
Job Fair
If you’re looking for a job or know someone who does, then check out Walt Disney World Job Fair. They are looking to fill thousands of
full-time, part time and seasonal positions. The job fair is at the Casting Center across from Downtown Disney. It runs today through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. |
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Disney's
Brother Bear Produces DVD Sequel
It's good to be a bear in the all-new animated movie Brother Bear 2, the hilarious sequel to Walt Disney Pictures' wildly successful Brother Bear (a Theatrical hit and a top-selling DVD title in 2004), on Disney DVD August 29. An exciting film about enduring friendships and following one's heart, Brother Bear 2 welcomes back the human-turned-bear Kenai and the young cub Koda, plus Rutt and Tuke the wisecracking moose. New to the wild tundra are Rutt and Tuke's comical paramours the "moosettes," plus the outrageous Sha-Woman, and Kenai's childhood friend and love interest Nita. Music superstar and Grammy Award-winner Melissa Etheridge performs three sensational songs for Brother Bear 2, including two new songs written by Melissa Etheridge specifically for the film. Acclaimed rising musical star Josh Kelley (top-ten hit "Amazing" and new album "Almost Honest") performs, with Melissa Etheridge, the moving end-credit song. Loaded with star power, Brother Bear 2
features new voice Patrick Dempsey (hunky star of TV's
"Grey's Anatomy") as Kenai, with Jeremy Suarez
(Jordan on TV's "The Bernie Mac Show") reprising
his role as Koda. Rick Moranis ("Honey I Shrunk The
Kids") and Dave Thomas (TV's "Grace Under
Fire") return as the comically mixed-up moose duo of
Rutt and Tuke. For the new characters, recording artist and
actress Mandy Moore ("A Walk To Remember,"
"The Princess Diaries") voices Nita; the hilarious
comedienne Wanda Sykes ("Over the Hedge") is
Innoko the Sha-Woman; and Andrea Martin ("My Big Fat
Greek Wedding") and Catherine O'Hara ("Chicken
Little") play the moosettes Anda and Kata,
respectively. |
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Disney
Woos Latin Audiences with Something Blue
This morning's Variety contains
further news of Hollywood's pursuit of the elusive Latin
market, a rapidly-growing community that has never been
successfully targeted by American studios. Lionsgate has
been most aggressive about going after Spanish-speaking
viewers (though the first offering from their new dedicated
arm didn't do great business), but Disney also has an eye on
the Latin market, which they go after with English-language
projects. In addition to television's George Lopez, Disney
is now planning a Latin-oriented feature starring Wilmer
Valderrama and the impossibly awesome John Leguizamo. |
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Dressing
up Disney cast
How many Malaysians do you know of who work in Disneyland? Not many, one would imagine. Yeap Soon Kuan has a dream job in a magical location. He is the Costuming Distribution Manager at Hong Kong Disneyland. He is responsible for issuing costumes to all costumed “cast members” (Disney speak for “employees”) at the theme park. The costumes include both the Operations Costumes (uniforms for those working in the Park and the hotels – Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel and Hollywood Hotel) and the Entertainment Costumes (costumes for the shows, parade and the characters). “The costumes are a vital component in helping to create the atmosphere in the different ‘lands’ in the Park, and allowing the guests to fully immerse themselves in the magic of Hong Kong Disneyland,” says Yeap in an e-mail interview. “Whether it is the lavish beaded costume of a performer in The Festival of the Lion King in Adventureland or the Chinese-inspired costume of a cast member working in the Chinese restaurant – Plaza Inn on Main Street, USA – the costumes inspire the guests to feel they have really entered another world.” Hong Kong Disneyland comprises four different themed lands: Fantasyland (where fairy tale characters come alive), Adventureland (set in a “tropical jungle”), Tomorrowland (where guests are propelled into the “future”) and Main Street, USA (where visitors step back in time to founder Walt Disney’s recollection of old-time America). “Costumes are an essential part of the shows in the Park and I am very proud to be part of this ... and proud to be working in a company whose main goal is to bring happiness to guests of all ages,” says Yeap. Reporting to him are seven managers, 17 supervisors and 110 costuming attendants. Before joining Hong Kong Disneyland, Yeap had worked in Disneyland Paris for over 16 years. “Bringing my 16 years’ experience with Disneyland Paris to Hong Kong Disneyland has been exciting. At the same time, I need to adapt my previous experience to the Hong Kong culture and working environment,” says Yeap. The various departments or Lines of Business which Yeap worked in at Disneyland Paris were: Internal Audit, Industrial Engineering/Business Planning, F&B Operations, Entertainment, Custodial Services, and Finance. It is interesting how Yeap ended up working in Disneyland, considering that he had studied Cost & Management Accountancy in Britain’s Birmingham Polytechnic. He met his now ex-wife, who is French, in 1981. “I liked France – the culture, food and wine, the country scenery and villages – so I decided to stay there. I ended up living in France for over 16 years,” he says. Apart from France, he has lived in Singapore for three years. While there, he worked as an accountant with a shipping company called Neptune Orient Lines. He has two children currently residing with their mother in Paris. His son, Yeap Mong Shen, 17, was born in Hong Kong. “He always said the fact that I moved to Hong Kong Disneyland allows him to know his birthplace and Asia better,” says Yeap. “Mong Shen thinks Hong Kong Disneyland is a very beautiful park, as mountains form a backdrop for the park which faces the South China Sea.” His 15-year-old daughter, Yeap Mong Ts’ing, was born in Paris. “She said that having a father who works in the Disney company always makes her friends jealous. Since she was very young she was able to enjoy all the privileges that cast members can extend to their families,” recalls Yeap. Since he moved to Hong Kong, his children have been spending their vacations with him. They are now looking forward to their two-month summer break in Hong Kong. “They will be bringing their friends to show them round Hong Kong. My children love the lifestyle of Hong Kong, one of the main reasons being it’s a heaven for good food!” says Yeap. He considers learning to speak Cantonese a challenge in his work. Originally from Penang, he is more conversant in Hokkien and Mandarin. He relishes the memory of being part of the opening team for the Hong Kong Disneyland (it opened on Sept 12 last year), the first Disney park in Asia. “It was a dream come true and a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” he says. The privilege of working at the theme park is that all cast members are allowed free entrance for their families and friends to enjoy a day at Hong Kong Disneyland. Yeap has four sisters, most of whom still live in Malaysia, so he comes back here two or three times a year. What does he miss most about Malaysia? “I miss Malaysian food the most! Penang Fried Kuay Teow, Penang Laksa, Satay, Hokkien Mee ? just to name a few.” In spite of all the great food Penang has to offer, it may not be quite enough to entice him back here for good, as his present job means that he experiences Disney magic every day. |
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Disneyland
trip on the cards
The Qatar National Bank (QNB) has launched a new promotion offering customers a chance to win a weekend at Paris Disneyland with families this summer. The promotion runs until July 31 and has been launched in association with Visa International. The prize package includes air tickets to Paris for two adults and two children, with accommodation for two nights in a Disney Hotel and entrance to Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios for three days. Additionally, the whole family gets after-hour access to both theme parks for two exclusive parties, enjoys private viewing of the ‘The Legend of the Lion King’ stage show, and can witness a fireworks extravaganza along with complimentary food and refreshments. The draw for the prize will be held on August 3, QNB said in a release yesterday. To win the exciting package, all the QNB customer needs to do is to make a purchase using a QNB Visa credit card this month and in July, the release said. The first purchase by a QNB Visa credit card will automatically enroll the cardholder in the prize draw. Each electronic point of sale Visa transaction made during this period gets counted as an entry. QNB General Manager (Retail Banking) Douglas Beckett said: "The QNB Visa credit card promotion is another innovative offer for our customers and gives an unprecedented opportunity for cardholders to win a fantastic family holiday to Disneyland in Paris." |
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Sunday June 4, 2006 |
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I frantically looked
around the cabin for a button to push to halt the ride, and
found none . . . I was faint, breathless and have never felt
sicker in my life. I honestly have never felt as close to
death as I did when I was on M:S.
This woman, writing about Disney's Mission: Space on a blog site, experienced a classic case of "fight or flight." Her adrenaline was flowing and heart banging. But pinned down in a small, dark cabin, she could not obey her body's demand to act. There was no way to release the stress. Although a rare event, this is where weak blood vessels or hearts can fail. That has happened twice at Mission: Space in the past year. A 4-year-old boy died of heart failure and a 49-year-old woman died from a stroke. Hence these green tickets my 7-year-old girl and I are holding. They are for admission to a wimped-out version of Mission: Space. Disney has turned off one of the centrifuges in the ride, so the capsules attached to it do not spin. It's part of Disney's ongoing effort to make its $100 million super-ride user-friendly and keep it out of the news. In 1999, I made this ironic observation while writing about Islands of Adventure: "Disney doesn't want people barfing on its rides and dying of heart attacks. Universal doesn't care." And so I was stunned after boarding Mission: Space when it opened in 2003. It turned my stomach more topsy-turvy than anything at Universal. I wasn't alone. So many people got sick that Disney had to put in distress bags. Ten people reported serious illness or injury and 130 others sought medical attention. In a word, Disney seriously screwed up. It miscalculated the intensity of a ride that was years in the planning. That kind of oversight for such a meticulous company is amazing. I can't prove it and Disney won't admit it, but I think the company toned down the ride by 2005. This literally is a gut feeling, backed up by data showing far fewer hospital visits by guests. Even so, the boy and the woman still died. Both had underlying health conditions, which raises interesting questions. How much of a safety margin do you build into a thrill ride to account for defective hearts and weak blood vessels? Yes, there are warning signs, but who knows what hidden dangers lurk within each of us. But if we tame rides down to the point nobody is threatened, we kill the fun. There has to be a compromise. Inherent in that compromise is that out of millions of people, a few might get pushed over the edge. The question is whether Mission: Space pushes too hard. And can a plaintiff's attorney prove it? After all, people died after riding the Incredible Hulk coaster at Universal Orlando and Dinosaur at Animal Kingdom. Do we tone down the Hulk into a Bruce Banner ride, or replace the roaring dinosaurs with Bambi? I think Mission: Space is safe enough to have put my girl on it. But in the back of my mind are nagging doubts that maybe one of her blood vessels isn't up to snuff. We board the wimp version. It still has enough twists and bounces to be fun. Next, we board the full-speed version. "It's better, Daddy," she says. I agree. Disney says no, but I would bet my season pass it also is toned down. I felt the same G-forces but without the nausea. It is a good compromise. |
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Pixar Animation Studios has brought toys, bugs, monsters, fish and superbeings to compelling and highly profitable life. The flopless outfit has been so successful that some view its recent merger with its feature film distribution partner, the venerable Walt Disney Co., as more of a takeover. Is there nothing that the computer-savvy, Bay Area upstart can't do? A test of that will come Friday, when Disney/Pixar's seventh full-length digital cartoon, "Cars," roars into theaters. What makes "Cars" different from such previous hits as "Finding Nemo," "The Incredibles" and the "Toy Story" films? Lotsa stuff. But one big thing in particular. "Unlike any Pixar film, much less any film you've seen, 'Cars' is about a world where there are no humans," explains the company's executive vice president and the movie's director, John Lasseter. "We invented this world that on one level is very familiar -- it looks like any modern, NASCAR racing environment as well as old Route 66 -- but you look closely and you realize that it's a world where only cars are alive." Doesn't sound all that daunting, until you think about it. In most animated films (and all previous Pixar ones), anthropomorphized characters were either people, animals, organic fantasy creatures or, in the "Toy Story" case, humanoid objects that everyone projected personalities onto during childhood. Even the denizens of last year's non-Pixar "Robots" bore most of the expressive features that display human emotion. Though aided by a voice cast that includes Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, Bonnie Hunt, Larry the Cable Guy and a field of actual NASCAR drivers led by the legendary Richard Petty, making audiences believe that cars can think and feel for themselves was an immensely painstaking task. And it was made tougher by lifelong gearhead Lasseter, whose father managed a parts department at an L.A. Chevrolet dealership, and who insisted that every detail of every make of talking, self-motivated car in the movie look as authentic as feasibly possible. "There are several different levels of difficulty," says Bob Pauley, one of the film's two production designers. "There's design. How to make the eyes read. The mouth, the range of expression. And the whole time, trying to be true to the cars. "We want that car to be a '51 Hudson Hornet, and if we've got to change something, we want it to be true to the spirit of the vehicle. And in the acting, you have to really have performance and break through some of the limitation that a 2,500-pound car might give you. And then there's the detail; it all has to be there." And one more crucial quality: restraint. Yes, those 2,500-pound machines required more life than their real-world counterparts. But the animators had to be very careful about where those particular lines were drawn. "We were constantly having to pull back, actually," says supervising animator Doug Sweetland. "First of all, cars are heavy, made of heavy materials. And when they're all rendered with lighting reflection, the nature of the material is really obvious. It's easy to overanimate something like that, to bend it too much in a way that it doesn't resemble metal anymore -- especially with the tendency of animators to want to go crazy, it was a constant fight with that impulse." The voice talent, recording their tracks alone in soundbooth sessions over the several years it took to make "Cars," were conversely encouraged to go as crazy as they wanted to. "Well, they told me about this, and I said I'd love to do it," says redneck comedian Larry the Cable Guy, who plays the clunky old tow truck, Mater, that befriends the hot-shot race car Lightning McQueen (Wilson) when he's stranded in the bypassed desert hamlet of Radiator Springs. "So I immediately put on 1,700 pounds. Then they told me it was a cartoon; I felt like an idiot." That's Larry's way of saying that Lasseter encouraged him to improvise as many jokes as he could. But it was also vital for the actors to precisely nail the emotions that would turn the cars into ... well, car-people. Even the countrified cutup found that a serious and rewarding acting challenge. "Mater's pretty much the heart of the movie," Larry notes. "You had to be sad, you had to bring that emotion to it. And my act, y'know, is all goofy one-liners, zip-zing-bang. But in this, not every line is funny. So I really had to concentrate on showing that, because I'd never done that before. It was fun to find that other part of what I do." "To me, it's the ultimate acting challenge because you really have to see it in your mind's eye, and react and believe and behave as if it were there," says Hunt, who in her third Pixar job voices Sally the Porsche, a burned-out L.A. lawyer who sees crumbling Radiator Springs as a simple paradise. "It's definitely as rewarding as live action for me because I love the art of storytelling," continues Hunt, who gushes about Pixar the way Sally idealizes the Springs. "That's what made me want to get into show business, and at Pixar you really are there to be a collaborator in a storytelling process that has heart and soul, and on top of it has all of this technical savvy and artistry that you're so awed by. And these Pixar movies are timeless. A lot of animated pictures now have a lot of trend-is-yourfriend references, pop-culture references. Pixar isn't that way." For one thing, Lasseter notes that the level of complexity of "Cars" is far beyond anything Pixar has done. "The amount of time it took to do the final rendering of each frame was far greater than in any of our films. How many objects you see in a scene, it's just off the charts. Over 100,000 animated cars in the stands at a race. "But one of the things we discovered during our research traveling on Route 66 is the way these little towns look," the director adds. "The decay of these buildings and old neon signs and everything was the most difficult thing to do visually. Computers want to make things look clean and perfect. This was the opposite of that. It needed to have cracks in the asphalt, dust everywhere, paint peeling off of brick walls. That kind of level of detail added to the complexity of the film. But it's what makes it beautiful, it makes it believable. No one's ever seen anything quite like this." Hunt, for one, appreciates the beauty part. "It's the best body I've ever had!" she says of Sally's shiny, curvy chassis. "But to me, it wasn't about the body of the car or the make of the car, it's what was under the hood. It was about what the heart and soul of the character was trying to say." If that works across the pack, Pixar should have another hit on its hands. According to (the understandably biased) production designer Pauley, that, more than anything technical, would be "Cars"' greatest achievement. "They look good, they look like cars," he says of the cartoon's characters. "But I can tell you what they've been doing, I know their personalities." |
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Kentucky Speedway will promote the June
release of Disney/Pixar's "Cars" feature film in
the Cincinnati and Louisville, Ky. markets by playing
co-host to advance screenings of the movie and giving away
VIP race packages to the track's June 17 NASCAR Busch Series
"Meijer 300 Presented by Oreo."
After taking moviegoers magically into the realm of toys, bugs, monsters, fish, and superheroes, the masterful storytellers and technical wizards at Pixar Animation Studios ("The Incredibles," "Finding Nemo," "Monsters, Inc."), and Academy Award®-winning director John Lasseter ("Toy Story," "Toy Story 2," "A Bug's Life"), hit the road with a fast-paced comedy adventure set inside the world of cars. The all-star vocal cast includes free-wheeling performances by Owen Wilson, Bonnie Hunt, Paul Newman, Larry the Cable Guy, racing legend Richard Petty and Cheech Marin. Fueled with plenty of humor, action, heartfelt drama, and amazing new technical feats, CARS is a high octane delight for moviegoers of all ages. "Cars" video previews are available online at www.carsthemovie.com. The speedway will help host movie screenings in Louisville, Ky., June 6 and Cincinnati June 7 along with local media outlets. The Louisville, Ky., preview will be held at the Cinemark Tinseltown theaters at 4400 Towne Center Drive at 7:00 p.m. The Cincinnati preview will be held at the Springdale 18: Cinema de Lux (Showcase Springdale) theaters located at 12064 Springfield Pike at 7:00 p.m. Those interested in attending the screenings can tune to WAMZ-FM, WTFX-FM, WKRD-AM and WQMF-FM in Louisville and WLW-AM and WSAI 1360 Homer in Cincinnati for details. Guests attending advance screening of "Cars" will be eligible to win "Meijer 300 Presented by Oreo" VIP packages that include four race tickets, pit passes and parking as well as other prizes packages from the speedway. Kentucky Speedway's "Horsepower" mascot also will be greeting guests during screenings. "The 'Cars' promotion will definitely bring a unique element to our 'Meijer 300 Presented by Oreo' marketing campaign," Kentucky Speedway Executive Vice President and General Manager Mark F. Cassis said. "We're excited for the release of 'Cars' and look forward to welcoming a sixth consecutive sellout crowd for our annual NASCAR Busch Series event." Other main events on the speedway schedule include the July 8 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series "Built Ford Tough 225 Presented by the Greater Cincinnati Ford Dealers" and the August 13 Indy Racing League IndyCar Series "Meijer Indy 300 Presented by Coca Cola and Secret". Support events will spotlight the new USAC Silver Crown Series, ARCA RE/MAX Series, USAC Ford Focus Midget Car Series and IRL Indy Pro Series. The speedway also will host a one-night-only "Summer Night Jam 2006" concert featuring Alan Jackson, Big & Rich, Merle Haggard, Shannon Brown and Deana Carter. Race and concert tickets are on sale now and can be reserved online at http://www.kentuckyspeedway.com or http://www.tickets.com and by phone at 888-652-RACE (7223). Fans also can reserve tickets through Tickets.com outlets including Meijer stores as well as the speedway ticket offices at 2216 Dixie Hwy., Ste. 200, in Ft. Mitchell, Ky., and the speedway Fan Center off of Interstate 71 Exit 57 and Ky. Hwy. 35 in Sparta, Ky. Visit http://www.kentuckyspeedway.com for complete schedule and event information. |
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ABC
Finds No Deal With 'Buy It Now'
ABC has been forced to shelve a summer reality show that follows people as they try to sell their valuables on the eBay Internet auction site. The previously announced "Buy It Now" was to feature families looking to fulfill their dreams via the Internet auction. But Daily Variety reported Friday Madison Road Productions ran into a block when eBay declined to be involved in the project. |
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Artist's
dream has horsepower
An acquaintance who had just bought a high-performance Porsche once claimed, "You don't drive it, it drives you." One of the favored automobiles owned by John Lasseter -- the director of "Cars," founder of animation giant Pixar and the new chief creative director at Walt Disney -- is a Porsche, and any interview with Lasseter is a Porsche experience: You may turn the key, but he controls the ride. "I've been told I'm a little excitable," says Lasseter, who is notable as the only diner at an upscale metro Detroit restaurant wearing a Hawaiian-looking shirt. On closer inspection, its design is a colorful quilt of -- what else -- cars. "It's my auto show shirt," says Lasseter, who never misses a North American International Auto Show. This year, he attended with some of his Pixar coworkers, but in 2005, he gave Detroiters the first look at footage from "Cars," an adventure-comedy whose characters are all cars. The film, opening Friday, tells the story of Lightning McQueen, an overly confident celebrity rookie on the racing circuit, who goes off track on his way to a big race. He ends up in a tiny little town on Route 66, the highway that revved up a million dreams -- not to mention a classic song and a TV series. That was before, to Lasseter's lament, the interstate system turned long-distance road trips into a chore instead of an adventure. Lasseter's love affair with cars began even before he got a summer job working as a stock boy in the parts department of a Chevrolet dealership managed by his father in Whittier, Calif. "I was a kid who loved to draw," says Lasseter, 49, "and one of things kids of my generation loved to draw were cars. Plus, I collected Hot Wheels." Working at the dealership, however, got him interested in mechanics, engineering and design, all of which would serve him well when, after graduating from the Disney finishing school California Institute for the Arts, he went to work as a traditional illustrator. While contributing to projects like "Mickey's Christmas Carol," Lasseter followed with great interest the development of "Tron," a live-action fantasy that was one of the first to feature computer graphics. Lasseter's excitement over CGI -- computer generated imagery -- led to him being assigned to make a 30-second test reel he hoped would be used for an animated version of the children's book "The Brave Little Toaster." But when Disney executives learned that CGI animation would be at least as expensive as hand-drawn, they nixed the idea. Lasseter did an end run around one of them, and was fired. He ended up at LucasFilm, working in the pioneering CGI unit that would be sold and become Pixar. Pixar's short films, which bring lamps and mechanical toys to life, were industry sensations leading, with some irony, to a Disney deal to do full-length films that the studio would distribute. The first two out of the box, 1995's "Toy Story," directed and cowritten by Lasseter, and 1998's "A Bug's Life," codirected and cowritten by Lasseter, were instant, huge hits. But the round-the-clock effort it took to make the films meant Lasseter spent a lot of time away from home. "I had four sons by that time, and my wife Nancy kept saying, 'You know, you're gonna wish you had spent more time with them when they're grown up and involved in their own lives.' So we talked about it and bought this motor home, and just hit the road, all of us. We started at the Pacific Ocean, and drove all the way to the Atlantic, and while we could've ended up killing each other, I guess, we had the best time of our lives. We stayed off the interstate, just stopping at whatever campground or town that looked interesting." "Cars" was inspired by this experience -- "the idea that life is the journey, not a race to the finish" -- and by a couple of "neat little old towns that time had forgot." It has the cocky Lightning (the voice of Owen Wilson), en route to the biggest race of his career in California, crashing in a burg off the highway called Radiator Springs. Sentenced to community service by the flinty judge Doc Hudson (Paul Newman), a still-sharp 1941 Hudson Hornet, he is befriended by a rusty tow truck (the comic known as Larry the Cable Guy) and falls hard for -- what else -- a Porsche with nice headlights named Sally (voiced by Bonnie Hunt). Lasseter considers Hunt his good luck charm; she was the voice of Rosie the black widow spider in 1998's "A Bug's Life" and the abrasive Flint in 2001's "Monsters, Inc." She was one of the first people he called to talk about "Cars." "The script wasn't even finished, but you know the clichi, if John had wanted me to play a spare tire I would have," says Hunt. "The guy's a visionary as far as I'm concerned. But the more we started talking about Sally, and the more we started throwing around ideas, the more involved I got with the overall concept. And being a writer, you know, I can't keep my mouth shut." "But I'm glad I didn't, because John paid me the ultimate compliment. I ended up with a writer's credit. So that means no matter what else happens, I'll live forever. Because these movies are timeless, you know, like the early classic Disney movies. I truly believe they'll live as long as 'Pinocchio' or 'Snow White.' " Lasseter wrote the role of the King, a retiring champion that Lightning seeks to replace, specifically for racing legend Richard Petty, whom he had met at NASCAR races. "I remember being introduced to John and somebody telling me he was the head of Pixar, but I didn't know what that was," Petty says. "About half the people I'd meet at events were the head of something or another. But somebody finally told me, you know, that guy draws movies. Then I realized he was the one that did that toy soldier picture ("Toy Story") that the grandkids were always watching." "So I got to know him a little bit, and I tell you, the man knew cars. So he asked me if some of his guys at his company could hang around and do a little research for this thing they were doing, and I tell you they flat did their homework, they would take apart a car so they could make sure that all the movements would look real in the movie. Then John asked me if I would do the voice for this car, and I said 'What's he called?' He said, 'The King, and he's really just you.' And I said, 'Well, I ain't so dumb I couldn't do that.' They even wrote a little part for my wife, Lynda, and we recorded it together." Lasseter says Petty and his company really helped with the racing part of the film. "These films are all fantasies, but whether we do bugs or fish ("Finding Nemo") or comic book heroes ("The Incredibles") or classic toys ("Toy Story" and "Toy Story II") or race cars, we want to get all the details right. It's part of what makes them come alive. We spend four or five years on these films, and a lot of that time's on research and development. So we tend to pick subjects and characters we care about it. You have to love it." "Cars" was to have been Pixar's last film with Disney. Pixar chairman Steve Jobs and Disney had ended negotiations for an extension of the distribution deal, but when Disney CEO Michael Eisner was pushed out of the company, his replacement Robert Iger made it a priority to get the company back in the Disney fold. That led to Disney's $7.4-billion acquisition of Pixar in January, which made Jobs the single largest shareholder in Disney. While the deal was being finalized, Lasseter was happily checking out the future of real automobiles at Cobo Center. "I let other people worry about that stuff," says Lasseter, who of course, made five or six fortunes in the deal. "I want to keep my head in the fun side of the business. And in the clouds. Preferably in a convertible. I do my best thinking on the highway." |
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Disney
hits high note with the tweenagers
It's a New Year’s Eve party at a ski resort in Utah. Troy Bolton, athletic basketball team captain and geeky beauty Gabriella Montez have been called on to sing karaoke together. The strangers are embarrassed and unwilling to sing together. He stands awkwardly to one side, she with her arms folded. But things soon warm up and before long the two are belting it out like Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake. After the song is over the two part company, little knowing that fate will soon bring them together again as Gabriella enrolls at Troy’s school and turns his world upside down. Will Troy shake off the disapproval of his sporty friends and sing in the high-school musical? Will uptight Gabriella let her hair down and get together with Troy? And will the pair see through the dastardly plans their rivals hatch to get them out of the school play? If you don’t care, prepare for a long summer. The story might seem hackneyed to anyone over 20, but High School Musical has caught the imagination of an army of American kids and is about to sweep the world. Produced by Disney and released last New Year’s Eve, High School Musical has been seen by 36.5m people, including 11.5m adults. The soundtrack has gone triple platinum and has been in the top 10 of the Billboard music charts for 19 of the 20 weeks since its release. The DVD was released last week and sold more than 1.5m copies in the first seven days, making it the fastest-selling new release of the week. Not since Grease or West Side Story has a musical had such impact. A full-scale Bollywood version is in the planning stages as is a Japanese version. The movie is released in Australia this month and in September its cast will descend on London for a full-scale celebrity-packed premiere. But this is no big-budget Hollywood movie. High School Musical was made for television for the modest price of $4.2m (£2.2m). It has no stars. Even Disney seems taken aback by the sheer scale of its success. “We always thought we had made a good movie,” said Gary Marsh, president of Disney Channel Worldwide. “But what is surprising to me is that what started out as a movie has become a cultural moment.” He said children had bought the CD in huge numbers and had made 1.5m downloads from iTunes. But they have also made their own versions of the musical. On YouTube.com, the popular website where people post their videos, fans have been putting up their own High School Musical videos. They include children re-enacting the dances, clips with new songs played over them, and even a chihuahua supposedly singing one of the songs. In America, Disney has released a version for schools that want to stage their own High School Musical. Marsh said they had so far had 40,000 inquiries. He said the movie had become a hit in part because its themes were “universal”. “The notion of fitting in socially or culturally doesn’t end with high school. Being able to declare who you are is part of what it means to be a human being.” But he said High School Musical might also signal a newer trend in society: the financial arrival of the “tween”. Depending on who is doing the counting, “tweenagers” vary between the ages of 7 and 14. According to Wendy Liebmann, president of the analyst WSL Strategic Retail and author of How America Shops, tweenage “is a state of mind as much as an age”. But what is certain is the growing buying power of pre-teen children. Tweenagers have been estimated to be a market worth $36 billion but their real power comes from their influence over their parents. According to WSL research, 61% of adults will “occasionally or always” defer to their tweenage children when buying music or DVDs. They also take their advice on everything from electronic devices and shampoo to pet food. “When kids as young as eight are deciding where their parents shop, it is very important for companies to reach them,” she said. In one of the weeks when High School Musical topped the American album charts, the other two slots were filled by the soundtrack for the kids’ film Curious George and by Kidz Bop, a compilation of children singing the latest chart hits. “There has been a lot of talk about the tweenage market but mainly in terms of clothing and entertainment. Nobody thought they could move the music business,” said Marsh. The big music labels are now courting the stars of High School Musical in the hope of discovering the next Britney or Justin, both former Disney child stars. William Strauss, author of Millennials and the Pop Culture, said a number of different cultural phenomena had come together to make a monster hit of High School Musical, including a renaissance in youth theatre in America and Canada. “Just look at what they have been watching,” said Strauss. Raised on DVDs of musicals such as The Little Mermaid, The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast, tweenagers had grown to love musicals, he said, pointing to the success of the musicals Wicked and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, a musical based on a high-school spelling contest. But the film’s real success has stemmed from its ability to target tweenagers’ parents as well as the children, he said. Many tweenagers are the children of Generation X , people born after 1961. Generation X parents are technologically sophisticated and happy to let their children download content from iTunes. They also want to watch films with their children but are concerned that the content is safe. “The blandness of High School Musical makes it ideal for tweenagers and their parents,” said Strauss. “The new-generation children have a powerful urge to share, both with their friends and their parents.” When they find something they like and they get their parents’ approval, tweenagers hit the internet and their mobile phones to spread the message around the world. Strauss pointed to the success of Harry Potter as another example of when tweenagers’ and parents’ interests coincide to create a global phenomenon. “If you find something tweenagers approve of, and their parents approve of, you can get the product very right,” he said. |
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Walt Disney Co.'s latest marketing campaign
in China features a nervy gambit: getting consumers to help
it weed out counterfeit products.
The company's "Disney Magical Journey" promotion, its biggest Chinese marketing campaign of the year for consumer products, is a twist on the traditional customer-loyalty program. To enter a contest for free Disney DVDs, television sets and trips to Hong Kong Disneyland, customers peel a sticker off a Disney product, attach it to a form, fill in a few personal details and mail it in. The catch: Only legitimate Disney products carry the specific red hologram-covered stickers, in a market rife with pirated Disney products that often are of similar quality to the real thing. Fighting these counterfeits is crucial for Disney. Sales of consumer products -- such as stuffed toys and books -- make up the bulk of the company's business in mainland China. Piracy has wiped out most legitimate sales of DVDs, while government regulations bar much of the company's imported programming from being shown in theaters and on TV. Many products in China feature holograms to help retailers and government officials differentiate legitimate products from counterfeits. But Disney's new campaign is unique in that a consumer-products company is using a promotion to enlist consumers in the process. In-store ads across the 13 Chinese cities involved in the campaign and regular broadcasts of Disney's "Dragon Club" variety-and-cartoon TV show encourage children to make a game of "finding" the hologram stickers. "Here is an original hologram sticker from Disney products," says one host on the show, pointing to an oversize sticker featuring Mickey Mouse. "As long as you buy the original products, you will get...a chance to win big prizes." A second component of the campaign plays on 88, a lucky number in China, to encourage customers to increase their Disney purchases. Consumers who spend more than 88 yuan, or about $11, get additional coupons for legitimate Disney products. In the first three weeks of the promotion, which began April 21 and will end Monday, the company received 250,000 entries for the anticounterfeiting contest and has had to print more entry forms, says Ken Chaplin, Disney's Shanghai-based vice president of retail sales and marketing. Some customers have even called the company to alert it to retailers selling products without the stickers, says Mr. Chaplin. The calls help Disney alert those retailers selling pirated goods unwittingly that they aren't stocking legitimate goods. Mr. Chaplin won't say how much the company is spending on the campaign, but he says it has paid for itself. Moreover, the information customers provide on the entry forms helps Disney build its first big database of Chinese consumers -- a prized asset and a challenge for many marketers in China. How much success the contest will have in curbing the sale of counterfeit goods remains to be seen. Some piracy fighters say the hologram stickers are a flawed solution, because pirates can copy them, too. China's biggest consumer-products marketer, Procter & Gamble Co., doesn't even bother adding them to products. Shannon Young, the greater-China team leader for brand protection at P&G, says he has yet to come across a reasonably priced technology that can't be mimicked. Disney's Mr. Chaplin says it would be very difficult and expensive to pirate his company's holograms, because they are so technically advanced. But he adds that Disney is at work on a technology that would let consumers send a message on their cellphones with a number printed on the hologram to verify whether the sticker -- and the product -- are legitimate. |
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Good
Morning America's Sherwood Leaving ABC
Good Morning America executive producer Ben Sherwood has resigned from ABC, according to three network sources. Sherwood, who agreed to the terms of the resignation in a meeting Thursday with ABC News president David Westin, will leave the network October 1, the sources said. Sherwood, a Harvard graduate, Rhodes scholar and the author of two novels with a third forthcoming, has run the second-place morning program for two years--the two most successful in the show's history but still deflating ones, ratings-wise. During a period of high downtime drama last May, the broadcast crept to within 40,000 viewers of NBC's long-dominant Today show, but has since fallen into a protracted slump. Nielsen Media Research released its sweeps ratings data today, showing that Good Morning America ended May 800,000 viewers behind its rival Today. Sherwood is leaving behind a seven-figure contract, network sources said. He will return to his hometown of Los Angeles, where his wife is the co-chairman of Imagine Films and where he has an ailing parent, said two people close to Sherwood. The relationship between Sherwood and GMA anchor Diane Sawyer is rumored to have soured in recent months, as ratings continued to slip. Last week's promotion of GMA anchor Charlie Gibson to the World News Tonight anchor chair put further strain on the ailing broadcast. Still, a top ABC executive said the network will be sad to see Sherwood go and that he has "an open invitation to return to ABC News." In the meantime, the executive said, Disney will endeavor to find a role for Sherwood within the company that he can fill in California. "We would like nothing better than for Ben Sherwood to continue to be the executive producer of Good Morning America for a long time to come," the executive said, "but that is not in the cards." |
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Who’s
watching the theme parks?
Even though she was in the middle of Disneyland on a sunny summer afternoon, 8-year-old Erica Fieldman was not happy. She didn’t want to go on the rides that her cousin and brother wanted to try. She didn’t want to wait for them while they rode, either. I told her she could choose the next ride (usually a successful tactic), and then I warned her about staying put until we were ready to move on. But in the two seconds my back was turned while checking on the other kids, my niece disappeared. I was frantic — and angry. She was old enough to know better. I should have known better than to let her out of my sight, even for a second. Just as I was about to ask park security to mount an all-out search, she wandered back. “I just got tired of waiting,” she said. Talk about vacation stress. Theme parks offer plenty to see and do. Have you ever seen the exhausted, sunburned parents resolutely pushing a stroller through the crowds, determined to get their money’s worth? Have you ever stood in line behind the Bickersons? For this aggravation we’re paying hundreds of dollars — just for one day. Don’t get me wrong. Theme parks are a great way for families to share good times. But as we plunge into this year’s theme park season, it’s worth taking a few minutes to consider how we can keep the gang safe as well as happy at any of the country’s 600-plus theme parks. Do you have a plan in case you get separated? (It does happen.) Set a time and place to meet. Insist that the kids carry cell phones or walkie-talkies. And should they get lost, instruct them to approach someone in a uniform who is actually working. Make sure they’ve got the name and phone number for the hotel stashed in a pocket. You probably didn’t know that there’s no federal safety regulation for theme parks. I didn’t. The so-called “roller- coaster loophole” took that authority away from the Consumer Product Safety Commission more than 20 years ago. Rep. Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat who has been pushing for the regulation of theme park rides, notes that since 1987, 64 people have died on amusement park rides and thousands have been injured. “The amusement park industry needs a wake-up call,” Markey said in a recent e-mail. “When families visit, they expect these rides to be safe. But instead, because of a special-interest loophole in the law, amusement park rides are one of the only products that the nation’s lead consumer safety agency cannot touch. No federal investigator is allowed to fly into a park and investigate an accident, even when a child has died on a ride. That’s wrong — just plain wrong.” Kathy Fackler, a San Diego mom, couldn’t agree more. Her son David lost part of his foot when he inadvertently stuck it outside a roller-coaster car. Fackler was sitting next to her 5-year-old son at the time. “I didn’t know I shouldn’t have had him ride on the outside,” she said. David is 13 now and doing well, Fackler reports, but she was so distressed about theme park safety that she started a Web site, www.saferparks.org , and has become an expert on the subject. “Be conservative about which rides you choose,” Fackler said. That means observing the ride before you ride yourself. Will your little one be properly restrained? Will he get scared and try to get out if you let him ride alone? Don’t fudge on the height and weight rules — they exist for a reason. Ride with younger children even if they insist they don’t need you, and make sure your teens understand the potential consequences if they goof around.” Of course, it’s important to keep the numbers of injuries in perspective. About 335 million people visited theme parks last year, going on 1.5 billion rides, the vast majority safely, the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions reports. “We doubt the federal government could do more to improve on the industry’s proven extraordinary safety record,” says Beth Robertson, a spokeswoman for the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions. “Each facility currently abides by a thorough set of internal checks.” Markey doesn’t think that is sufficient. Nor does the American Academy of Pediatrics, which supports Markey’s effort to regulate theme park rides. Markey’s proposed National Amusement Park Ride Safety Act would restore the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s authority to investigate accidents, enforce plans to correct defects in the rides, and act as a clearinghouse for data on theme park safety. Meanwhile, it’s up to parents. “Not every ride is good for every person,” Fackler said. |
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Sixty thousand gay and lesbian visitors dressed in red T-shirts visited Walt Disney World Saturday as part of the weeklong celebration of Gay Days. Participants we spoke with say it was
more a show of solidarity than a political statement. "Mostly I'm here to have fun and be with my friends,” Gay Days participant Danielle Gilbertson said. “But if this is seen as a political statement, then all the more for it." Park visitor Nell Skeen said: "I think we can all get along and have a good time. They're people just like us." Disney World spokespeople say they don't officially sponsor Gay Days, but say any group is always welcome to their theme parks. |
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'Send
for Disney' to save Venice
The waters are rising around Venice. Each
year the floods worsen and last longer. Carpets of slime
coat St Mark's Square. Statues and church walls are coated
with filth. The city is drowning. But there is a solution:
run the place like Disneyland, says leading United Kingdom
economist John Kay. |
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