While many collectors of Disney pins simply buy and trade pins that appeal to them in the moment, it is also possible to build up a pretty substantive collection by sticking to a particular theme. Keeping your collection themed also helps control costs and dealing with the overwhelming selection of pins available. Every month Disney releases dozens of new pins and even with an unlimited pocketbook, it is impossible to get them all. It makes more sense to theme your collection. For example, I only collect Mickey Mouse pins, Stitch pins and pins featuring Walt Disney himself. When I first started collecting, I was much less focused, but once I settled upon my themes, it was easy enough to sell or trade the pins that didn't fit my collection for ones that did.

Some of the themes you might consider for your Disney pin collection are Disney characters. Mickey Mouse, Tinker Bell and Winnie the Pooh are some of the most popular choices among pin collectors and you can amass a collection in the hundreds of just one of these characters. Right now I have at least 75 pins featuring just Mickey Mouse. In order to keep my collection's focus even tighter, I usually only buy the pins that feature Mickey on his own and not with all his friends.

The movie will be followed by High School Musical The Concert at 1 pm. Audiences will be entertained with stage performances by the movie's famous stars.

"People are very surprised," says Carolyn Kiernat, principal at Page & Turnbull, the San Francisco firm overseeing the project. "Their first question tends to be 'Why in the Presidio?'"

Two years ago, Walt Disney's daughter, Diane Miller, and her husband, Ron, asked Jay Turnbull to design a museum near their home in Northern California about her father's life and work.

The family found the site ideal, Kiernat says. "Walt Disney was a huge fan of the military and Gen. Pershing [who commanded the Presidio] in particular." In addition, she says, the museum building "recalls the Main Street USA in Disney World."

Construction began in May on the 1897 barracks, which, along with a glass-and-steel addition, will serve as the exhibit hall. A 1904 gym will become offices and archives, and a 1940s munitions shed will house the complex's mechanical systems.

All three buildings, and many others that make up the National Historic Landmark, have been abandoned since 1994. Last year the museum signed a 40-year lease for the federal property.

"We're working very closely with the [nonprofit] Presidio Trust to make sure we don't damage or remove any historic fabric," says Lada Kocherovsky of Page & Turnbull.

Enclosed by a courtyard, the new addition will have views of the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco Bay.

"We were trying to take some cues from the historic building as far as height, but really our approach was one of subtle contrast," Kiernat says.

But one analyst believes the damage inflicted by Disney was not fatal and the next generation of mobile virtual network operators  will learn from Disney’s mistakes.

“Disney has done damage to the image of the MVNO business, but its failure will serve as a lesson to the next generation of MVNOs,”  Besen Group analyst Alex Besen said.

Disney late Thursday announced it plans to shut down its family-friendly Disney Mobile at the end of the year.

In September 2006, Disney shut down its Mobile ESPN, one of its first experiments with the mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) model, its sports-oriented cell phone service.

Disney lost an estimated $135 million on Mobile ESPN, and its decision to kill Disney Mobile raises further questions about the the MVNO market.

MVNOs resell cell phone services from established carriers to customers. They draw customers based on the attractiveness of their brands.

Mobile ESPN was designed to pull in the millions of sports fans, while Disney Mobile was supposed to appeal to soccer moms.

“Disney never truly understood the mobile business,” Mr. Besen said. “It offered service features that weren’t unique, and it did not learn any lessons from Mobile ESPN. They just duplicated their ESPN mistakes.”

But 2007 was an ugly year for MVNOs in general.

In June, Amp’d Mobile, which had taken $360 million from a number of investors, filed for protection under Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

In May, Virgin Mobile USA, the largest MVNO in the U.S., filed for an IPO to sell up to $100 million in stock, exposing a sea of red ink: In five years it had accumulated $553.3 million in debt.

Virgin Mobile USA, a joint venture of London-based Virgin Group and Sprint Nextel, has never turned a profit despite signing up more than 4 million customers.

Disney executives said the company has not given up on its family service. It promised a reincarnation of the service’s content in partnership with a mobile carrier, but it will no longer offer the service as an MVNO.

“The MVNO model has proven, as we’ve seen with other companies this past year, to be a difficult proposition in the hyper-competitive U.S. mobile phone market,” Steve Wadsworth, president of the Walt Disney Internet Group said in a statement.

The company decided that the best solution would be to change strategy to pursue profitability in mobile services.

A trip to Disneyland, one quilt at a time

Highland Community News - Students at Highland Pacific Elementary have been working together creating patches for quilts in hopes of raising enough money for a well deserved trip to the "Magical Kingdom."

This year, Gladys Lyman had an idea that would help students exercise their creative minds and receive a special reward in the process.

Lyman decided to have students create blocks of fabric that would be interconnected to form a quilt. Her project spread throughout other 5th and 6th grade classes throughout the school.

"It's kind of exciting for the kids," said Lyman.

The quilts created by the students, with some help from Lyman and other administrators will be raffled off next year. The money gathered from the sale of raffle tickets will go towards a trip to Disneyland for the 6th graders at Highland Pacific Elementary.

A group of students, in their respective classes, put their minds together and created fabric pieces that displayed their artistic talents.

Some students chose to create drawings of their favorite animals and original artistic designs.

Other blocks show the student's excitement for their upcoming trip to Disneyland, displaying drawings of the "Happiest Place on Earth."

"I think the quilts ended up being absolutely adorable and I think we're going to raise a lot of money," said Lyman.

For this Saturday's long journey into Visine, Herbstreit will get up at 3 a.m. in Eugene, Ore., take part in ESPN "College GameDay" show from 7 to 9 a.m. at the University of Oregon campus, do a meet-and-greet with sponsors and then zip a couple hours north to Seattle to be the analyst on the 5 p.m. USC-Washington telecast for ABC. By about 10 p.m., he'll be back on a direct flight home to Columbus, Ohio, to see his wife and four sons - a 7-year-old set of twins, plus a 4 -year-old and a 13-month old.

"I give ESPN credit for all it has to do to get me from Point A to Point B each week," said Herbstreit this week. "I knew going in this job would demand more travel on a tighter schedule, there's be some wear and tear on flying all over. Maybe I'm just a glutton for this."

It's a schedule that fear-of-flying maven John Madden wouldn't survive after the first week. There was some fear that Herbstreit wouldn't either after a weary opening weekend.

The Sept. 1 "GameDay" emanated from Blacksburg, Va. Herbstreit used a police escort to fly out of Roanoke, Va., go five hours cross country to Oakland and arrive in Berkeley an hour before the 5 p.m. kickoff to do the Tennessee-Cal game with Brent Musburger. That's with picking up three hours in the time-zone change. After two stay-in-place weeks, it was an afternoon hop from Tuscaloosa, Ala., to Madison, Wis., last week for the Iowa-Wisconsin regional telecast.

Herbstreit can't brace himself ahead of time for these business-class excursions, because the producers of "GameDay" don't know their site location until slightly more than a week ahead of time. Adding to the workload is his agreeing to co-host Mike Tirico ESPN Radio show.

Judge Stephen Sundvold of Orange County Superior Court froze two lawsuits until July 1 – after voters decide on a ballot measure about whether to keep the zoning. The referendum could make the issue moot.

"I think it's a common-sense decision," said Joel Kuperberg, the city's attorney. "I think we shared the same view that there's no benefit to anyone litigating this decision until after voters decide whether this zoning remains."

Monday's ruling is part of a long dispute between Disney, the city and developer SunCal, which is proposing to build 1,500 homes across from Disney property.

The City Council approved zoning to pave the way for the project in the Anaheim Resort area, previously reserved for tourist uses in a long-range city plan.

In the spring, Disney filed the two similar lawsuits against the city, claiming that zoning was authorized without required studies of the project's impacts on infrastructure, such as roads and sewers.

Sundvold's ruling gutted much of the first lawsuit, mostly because Disney filed the suit prematurely before the council finalized its decision. The other lawsuit, filed after the final vote, still stands.

Kuperberg said the ruling weakens Disney's ability to challenge the environmental documents.

"I think it's a significant ruling that restricts what Disney can challenge," Kuperberg said.

Disney spokesman Rob Doughty disagreed, saying the ruling only applies to the first lawsuit. Instead, Disney can keep arguing the suits' main premise – that zoning was authorized without full reports.

"Our suit is about making certain that SunCal follows the same planning and zoning standards that any major development in Anaheim would have to follow before being considered," Doughty said in a prepared statement.

SunCal is paying the attorney bills for the city, because the lawsuit stems from a project the developer proposed. Sundvold also allowed SunCal to become part of the case.

"We are pleased to report that the Superior Court (on Monday) has seen through the Disney antics and dismissed a significant portion of the Disney lawsuit against the city of Anaheim," said Frank Elfend, a SunCal consultant. "It is unfortunate that Disney continues in its quest to force the city to waste precious taxpayer dollars for unfounded and baseless claims."

A new first episode with a new setting -- San Diego instead of Atlanta -- will air when the sitcom begins 8 p.m. EDT Tuesday.

ABC announced in July that the pilot didn't properly introduce the idea of Cro-Magnon buddies living in modern society and would be redone. The producers, meanwhile, found it difficult to fake Atlanta in the production based in Los Angeles.

Acknowledging they already faced skepticism about how the Geico insurance company TV commercials would translate to a series, executive producers Will Speck and Josh Gordon said this week they're hopeful that "Cavemen" will attract viewers and make them laugh.

"It feels like its origin is somewhat polluted, like it's taking advantage of something that's popular in the culture," Speck said, referring to the commercials. "But there's places to go (with the series) and specific stories to tell, and we feel really proud about the cast."

"Cavemen" stars Bill English, Nick Kroll and Sam Huntington. One of the original cavemen, Jeff Daniel Phillips, will appear as a recurring character.

The spots wittily depict shaggy-looking cavemen chafing at misconceptions about their sophistication and intelligence. The series follows another trio of Cro-Magnons battling bias as they try to fit into a world that believes (wrongly, as the show has it) they're extinct.

It's unusual for characters from an advertising campaign to move into shows of their own, but not unprecedented. The short-lived CBS comedy "Baby Bob" featured a talking baby that had been used in several commercials.

"Cavemen" will have to strike a different tone than that of the drier, low-key Geico commercials, said Speck and Gordon, who directed the original campaign written by Joe Lawson (also a series developer).

The pair, who teamed to direct the Will Ferrell big-screen comedy "Blades of Glory," still get a kick out of the concept of modern cavemen with relationships and jobs. One character works at an Ikea-like store called Norsbild.

The debut, which ABC said was still in production and unavailable for preview, finds one of the cavemen hiding from his buddies that he's dating a Homo sapiens woman. The producers were game when asked to describe scenes that might make viewers laugh.

"The cavemen playing squash is always really funny to us," Gordon said. He also cited a bit in which one of the hirsute cavemen (the actors undergo extensive makeup) is offended by someone's offhand remark about "The Flintstones."

In July, when the producers and cast attended the Television Critics Association meeting, they were asked if the prejudice the cavemen faced in the pilot -- for instance, that they were athletically superior -- was intended to echo the stereotyping that blacks face.

Not at all, the producers said, reiterating that position again this week. While the show is about how people treat minorities it has nothing to do with any specific real-life group, they said.

Wil Kenney claims he was targeted and harassed by Disneyland security -- as well as roughed up by Anaheim, Calif., police -- because a Disney staff member overreacted to Kinney's holding another man's hand.

According to Kenney, he and his partner -- along with two other same-sex couples and their children -- were walking through the theme park's Downtown Disney area on Saturday when Disney security detained them. Security claimed Kenney had threatened someone with a gun, which Kenney denied. Anaheim officers were called to the scene and, according to Kenney, forced him face-first into a wall and then frisked, searched, and interrogated him in front of hundreds of Disney guests. According to Kenney, officers left the scene after finding no weapons on anyone in his party. Kenney says he may have been targeted by police because a Disney employee grew nervous seeing Kenney holding hands with his partner, which he believes then led to the chain reaction of events.

Rob Doughty, vice president of communications for Disneyland, says the whole incident was a misunderstanding that had nothing to do with Kenney's sexuality. Doughty claims Kenney made a hand gesture that a Disney crew member interpreted as threatening. Doughty says security came over and detained Kenney and his group, who grew angry, and that police were then called to the scene. "He made his hand look like a gun," Doughty says. "Someone interpreted that as a gun."

One of Kenney's friends at Disneyland was Brian van de Mark, the owner of a communications and marketing firm that focuses on social justice issues. Van de Mark is serving as Kenney's media representative, and he says there was no threatening hand gesture. Van de Mark says that after the police left the scene, Kenney and his group demanded a meeting with Disney security manager Deana Van Noy. At that meeting, according to Van de Mark, Van Noy told the group that she "could not remember whether the cast member [who contacted Disney security] said she was threatened, felt threatened, or was offended," and that she then added, "It doesn't make a difference anyway."

Doughty could not confirm that Van Noy used those words. Doughty, who is head of Disney's employee gay group, says Disney staff were not even aware Kenney was gay until two hours after the incident.

"Our policy is, everyone is welcome," Doughty says. "If a same-sex couple wants to hold hands at our park, that's fine."

Doughty says the apology was being issued for the misunderstanding over the hand gesture and denies that a homophobic employee started the whole scuffle. "I can assure you, this is a company that would not tolerate that behavior from a cast member," he says. "We're a very welcoming company."

But Van de Mark claims that Van Noy refused to apologize to the group, and that after the meeting plainclothes Disney security followed them around the park. According to Van de Mark, the group patronized a Disney store, where a Disney employee asked how their day was. When they answered that it had not gone well because they had been harassed by security personnel, Van de Mark said the crew member told them, "Well, in fact, you're still being followed," and pointed to plainclothes security officers in their midst.

Series is in production in the U.K., where it bows on Nov. 3; show will then bow on the cabler in the U.S. on Nov. 10 at 11 a.m.

"Bunnytown" revolves around a fully functioning town consisting of the furry critters who take on various roles, with superheroes, inventors, rock stars and students. Original music explores a wide variety of styles, from hip-hop and disco to country and jazz.

Characters on the show, which will air during the channel's Playhouse Disney block, include Louise, Melvin, Super Bunny, Li'l Bad Bunny and Disco Pirate Bunnies. The characters will begin to pop up on Playhouse Disney starting Oct. 8.

Jim Henson Co. vets Martin Baker and Pete Coogan are behind the show, along with "Jack's Big Music Show" creators David Rudman, Adam Rudman and Todd Hannert.

Hannert and Terry Fryer are overseeing the music as co-musical directors and composers. On the show, the Bunny Band -- a group inspired by Earth, Wind and Fire and Sly and the Family Stone -- will supply the music.

Music-themed shows have started to dominate the preschool marketplace; Disney's lineup, for example, includes "Little Einsteins," which showcases classical composers, while Nickelodeon's fare includes "The Backyardigans" and the hipster hit "Yo Gabba Gabba!"

Not this time, though. Build-A-Bear has been living up to its name: It's building a bear market in its stock as investors shy away from the once trendy hub of freshly stuffed playthings. The stock is fetching nearly half of what it did back in November. 

Why are investors staying away? Well, because the kids are staying away, too. The retailer posted a 9.4% slide in comps this past quarter, stacked on top of a 4.4% decline in same-store sales during the same period a year earlier.

Despite heady expansion, analysts expect earnings to dip to $1.36 per share this year. That's less than the $1.44 a share in profitability that the company scored last year.

But now there's speculation in the air that a buyout is coming. This morning's Wall Street Journal suggests that a deal may be in the works. The company further fueled the gossip machine by cancelling an appearance at an investment conference earlier this month.

The article goes on to point out how a private-equity firm or a rival retailer may come out on top, and it also suggests that the company may just decide to lick its own wounds, issue a substantial share-buyback plan, and go it alone.

Build-A-Mouse Workshop?

The only two public companies that the article singles out as possible suitors are Mattel (NYSE: MAT) and Children's Place (Nasdaq: PLCE). I see the attraction for both companies. Mattel has the high-end line of customizable American Girl dolls. Children's Place is a beast in kid apparel.

However, I can't fathom either company wanting to dive into a beefy acquisition when they have problems closer to home to tackle. Mattel's still battling an image problem after several toy recalls this year. Just today, Children's Place lost its CEO, who resigned on the heels of an internal investigation over trading improprieties. 

Whom does that leave? I think Disney (NYSE: DIS) would be a perfect fit.

Hear me out. For Build-A-Bear, pride may get in the way of cashing out here in the teens, but logic should find it turning right around and heading back to the negotiating table.

Kids are fickle. If it's no longer cool to have a birthday party at Build-A-Bear or fill a stocking with bear clothing accessories, they're not coming back. Expansion has helped mask some of the decline, but that spigot is about to run dry, too. The company sees a potential for 350 stateside stores, but it's already up to 252. It acquired a similar United Kingdom concept last year and has dozens of franchised units overseas, but none of this will matter, either, if patrons have tired of paying a premium for the bear-stuffing process.

A private-equity firm is unlikely to right the negative momentum. Disney, on the other hand, can do exactly that.

Oh, Mickey, you're so fine

Disney has a passionate fan base. Last year, 45 million guests crossed through the turnstiles of its four parks in Florida alone. More than 17 million viewers tuned in to watch The Disney Channel's High School Musical 2 last month, a turnout that made it the most-watched cable-programming content of all time.

Park patrons know that they're going to pay up for pricey mouse-eared souvenirs. Heck, even the churro cart should be stocked with home-equity-line applications. Yet folks pay gladly, and Disney has a thriving consumer-products division to prove it. Disney is to kids what Apple is to computing and consumer electronics, and people simply know that the top dog in family entertainment isn't a cheap brand.

Sure, I realize that Disney struggled with its own Disney Store chain. And I know that Build-A-Bear's model has counted on licensed merchandise that cuts against Disney's grain, such as the chain's springtime release of customized ogre dolls to coincide with DreamWorks Animation's (NYSE: DWA) release of Shrek the Third. 

However, Disney is a lot cooler now than when it was when it ditched its poorly run retail concept. The Pixar purchase gives it relevant new franchises to market, while hits such as High School Musical and the Pirates of the Caribbean films have blessed Disney with street cred among young teens.

Disney also acquired Club Penguin in a $700 million deal last month. You know what would go well with a community of premium-paying subscribers who have created their own animated penguins to stroll around in a virtual 3-D community? That's right -- a stuffed version of said penguin.

With the recent struggles at Children's Place, which bought Disney's namesake stores, it may not be long before Disney gets those stores back. Build-A-Bear can hold its own as a standalone location, but it can do even better as smaller kiosks within existing Disney Store locations. A healthier theme-park presence beyond the one Downtown Disney Build-A-Bear unit just outside Disneyland's entrance would be a no-brainer.

Sure, Disney can carve out its own Build-A-Bear clone, but it's easier to take out its largest threat in a cost-effective transaction. It should do so now, before the Build-A-Bear brand name erodes even more. There's still time for Disney to polish the brand, turn it into a Disney Channel programming property, and watch it right its wrongs.

With the exception of their 2005 holiday venture - which was created to capitalize on the success of the first two films and their best selling soundtracks - TCG marks the first time that Adrienne Bailon (age 23), Sabrina Bryan (23) and Kiely Williams (21) have recorded under their own names rather than their Cheetah Girls characters “Chuchie” (Adrienne), “Dorinda” (Sabrina) and “Aqua” (Kiely). By exploring their personal musical identities apart from their screen personas, the girls look forward to terrific new possibilities of crossover success.

To help them convey a more personal creative vibe and an eclectic range of musical styles - from salsa and hip-hop to electronica, dance-pop and heartfelt ballads - the group vibed in the studio with some of today’s hottest producers. Jonathan “J.R.” Rotem (who has worked with 50 Cent, Rihanna and Ashley Tisdale) utilized a sample of Lionel Richie’s “All Night Long” for “Fuego,” the Latin party anthem the Cheetahs co-wrote that kicks off the album. They also worked with *NSYNC’s JC Chasez, Nephew, Antonina Armato (who produced the first Cheetah Girls soundtrack) and two Australian production teams, the Wizardz of Oz and Dreamlab.

“This is definitely our most personal CD,” says Sabrina, who is originally from Yorba Linda, CA. “The fans knew us as our characters, but this time around they’re going to know us on a personal level and connect with us on a first-name basis.”

Kiely Williams, originally from Alexandria, VA, echoes her fellow Cheetah, adding, “It’s taken us a long time to get to the point where we can truly be ourselves apart from our characters, and TCG completely represents each of our individual tastes and favorite styles of music. This was a great opportunity to finally explore who we are as artists apart from the characters, and even though the four-month recording time is fast by today’s industry standards, it seemed like forever because we couldn’t wait to finish and have the chance to get it out there to the fans. When we listen back now, we’re really proud of what we’ve done.”

Kiely adds that each Cheetah Girl brings a unique musical sensibility to the mix now that they’ve been given more artistic control over their tracks. “I’m probably the most eclectic of us, listening to everything from Pachelbel to Biggie! My left of center personality and outside-the-box outlook on everything makes things different. Adrienne is our Latin girl - she’s about the Latin music and there’s a lot of that flavor here. She also pushed us to record some of our songs in Spanish, which was fun. And Sabrina is our Orange County girl, totally into Gwen Stefani and No Doubt, and the rockers and electric guitar parts are here because of her. We all have backgrounds as dancers, so we’re always thinking about how the songs will translate visually when we’re onstage. We bring our three outlooks to the party and it’s amazing.”

Starting with the recent release of TCG’s first single “So Bring It On,” all the Cheetah Girls need to do to translate this eclectic magic into a huge presence on the pop charts is get their millions of Radio Disney listeners to light up the Top 40 request lines. Based on their success with this audience, it seems clear that their fans will follow the Cheetah Girls wherever they go.

Their “The Party’s Just Begun” tour from September 2006 to March 2007, which featured a rotating series of Disney opening acts like Miley Cyrus (as Hannah Montana), Vanessa Hudgens, Everlife, Jordan Pruitt and T-Squad, was a complete sellout. It grossed $26 million over 86 concerts, while boasting the record for the largest sales in the history of Houston’s Reliant Stadium with an impressive 73,200 tickets sold. The previous record holder was none other than Elvis Presley.

This audience is just a fraction of the 13 million viewers who watched the initial run of their first film The Cheetah Girls, and the even larger audience which watched their adventures in Spain in the 2006 sequel, The Cheetah Girls 2. The DVD of the first film sold over a million copies, making it the second best selling DVD for a Disney Channel movie after High School Musical. These onscreen numbers translated to impressive CD soundtrack sales; the first went double platinum, and the second hit #5 on the album charts while selling 1.3 million.

The Cheetah Girls whirlwind continues this fall. As part of the TCG promotional campaign, Adrienne, Sabrina, and Kiely are appearing appear on 70 million Kraft Macaroni & Cheese boxes, and there will be Cheetah Girls dolls, a Nintendo video game, and an exclusive line of stationery at Limited Too.

The girls are also each exploring their own talents. Kiely is writing a self-help book for teen girls and co-starring in the 2008 Adam Sandler-produced comedy I Know What Boys Like alongside Anna Faris, Katharine McPhee and Rumer Willis. Adrienne is preparing to record her first solo album, a mix of Spanish and English songs, while Sabrina is co-writing “Princess of Gossip” for Pocket/MTV Books and starring on Dancing With The Stars this fall. In January, the girls will be heading to India in January 2008 to film their third Cheetah Girls movie.

“It’s a pretty intense schedule,” Kiely says, “and our personal friendships with each other help a lot when it’s rough and we’re tired and cranky after these long days of so much activity. We all know what the other is going through, and we have a shoulder to lean on wherever we go. We’re also each very close with our friends and family, which helps keep us grounded. But really, it’s all so much fun. We love having the opportunity to travel and see many interesting places, and we feel blessed to have these once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.”

Walt Disney World is searching for teens, grades 9-12, from across the nation with a special appeal for African American teens, to give them the opportunity to go as far as their dreams and their imaginations will take them.

During the Disney's Dreamers Academy program, the students will be immersed in creative, non-conventional careers at Walt Disney World. Disney's Dreamers Academy nomination process starts on September 24 and runs through October 15, 2007.

Walt Disney World has partnered with nationally syndicated radio personality Steve Harvey to create this innovative program. Disney's Dreamers Academy is designed for students who show promise – but may need a little motivation – and share one common trait: the power to dream.

"Disney's Dreamers Academy is very important to me because it's about the education of our young people who are oftentimes slighted and don't have the chance to be exposed to a variety of job skills and job sets and meet with people in the fields they're interested in," said Steve Harvey. "We want to give our young achievers the tools to become overachievers – to take their dreams stratospheric." The lucky participants will be selected from among young dreamers nominated by their parents, legal guardians, their school, churches, social organizations, youth programs – or even themselves. Participants in the program must be enrolled in high school. A select panel of judges including Steve Harvey, key community leaders, Disney representatives and educators will choose the 100 finalists. Nomination forms and more details about Disney's Dreamers Academy with Steve Harvey can be found on http://www.steveharvey.com/disneysdreamersacademy

Selected students will be treated to complete immersion in career development. Sessions will include interactive workshops, motivational talks with sports and entertainment celebrities and discussions led by Disney cast members and executives sharing their blueprint for success. Workshop topics will feature everything from business to architecture/engineering, animation to set design, show production to culinary arts, to learning the business behind sports. There also will be free time to enjoy the Walt Disney World's famous theme parks and recreation.

Hanover Mariner - Hanover Middle School fifth grader Phae Erika Lawrence got a taste of fame earlier this year when she was cast as an extra in Disney’s “The Game Plan”, which hits theaters this Friday.

Starring former professional wrestler Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Joe Kingman, it’s the story of a self-centered football star who finds out that he has a young daughter, Peyton, from a previous relationship and the changes he undergoes as a result of that. The movie, directed by Andy Fickman, was filmed locally and local talent agencies called on kids in Phae’s age range to appear as extras in some of the scenes.

The experience is unforgettable for Phae, 10, a major Disney movie fan who had the chance to meet “The Rock” and actress Kyra Sedgwick, while she was on the set.

Phae said there were long hours and it was a lot of hard work, but in the end it was all worth it. She saw herself on the big screen at an advance screening of the movie last weekend and compared it to playing on a local sports team and seeing yourself in the newspaper.

“It’s kind of a good feeling to think that you did something that you didn’t think was a big deal – but it was,” Phae said of the experience.

The scene Phae appears in was filmed in an empty Filene’s Basement department store in the North Shore Mall in Peabody, according to the Lawrences. Phae is in two scenes, a shot of an escalator and a scene in the toy store, which the former bargain hunter’s haven was set up to look like.

But before any of that could happen, there was the phone call.

On a blustery day in January, Phae’s mother, Tracy, got a call from Phae’s agency telling her about the opportunity. Phae was next door at a friend’s house. “I gave her a call and I said ‘can you come home for a second, I need to talk to you about something,’ ” Tracy recalled. Phae, wondering what was up but at the same time having tons of fun at her friend’s house, came home where her mother told her about the movie.

“I screamed,” said Phae, who has been working with modeling agencies since she was five.

As a surprise, last weekend Phae’s mother took her to an advance screening of the movie. Phae thought she was going to see “The Nanny Diaries” again, but noticed a different scene in the theater. “There were boys sitting next to me, like 12- and 13-year-old boys,” Phae said.

When the movie got to the shots that Phae was in Tracy enthusiastically pointed to the screen and said, “there you are,” to Phae.

This weekend, Phae and her extended family, including her grandparents, will take a trip to see the movie, which Tracy strongly recommended. “It’s the best movie I’ve seen all year,” she said, warning that it’s a bit of a tear jerker.

Phae said she was not nervous about being in the movie. “I was a little bit anxious,” she said, adding that she’s not the type of person who would jump up and down for joy when meeting a celebrity.

She learned that firsthand since she had an encounter with “The Rock” when she fell and scraped her leg on the set. Phae said “The Rock” came over to help her up and to see if she was OK.

Some of the kids on the set wanted to get his autograph, Phae said, but staff said they were not allowed to ask for it.

The filming day started mighty early for Phae, who had to get up at 5 a.m. to make it there for check in 2 ½ hours later. After she arrived at the set, she was assigned to a group of extras with about 100 children in total, according to Tracy. Phae, who carefully selected the outfit she wore, was given a bag filled with clothes for the scene. Though the outfit the costume person selected for her was not in her taste, she wore it anyway.

Phae said the day involved a lot of waiting around and taking directions from people. When it was time for her scenes, she was told what to do and in which direction to walk. “You really couldn’t be yourself at all,” she said.

While waiting for her scenes, she listened to tutors for some of the child actors, ate Cheetos and drank Mott’s apple juice boxes. Parents were kept in a separate area from the kids. She talked to others her age and said they even had an almost hour break for recess, during which they played games. Her day ended around 9 p.m.

It wasn’t hard not to look directly at the cameras since she couldn’t see them. “They were in the walls,” she said. The set, which according to Phae was made mostly of Styrofoam, looked as she pictured it would – but the fact the a Disney movie was filmed so close to her home surprised her.

“I thought it was going to be bigger – that they wouldn’t film in a Filene’s Basement,” Phae said, adding that she thought it would have been made in Hollywood.

She said the set, complete with dolls, big toys and a makeup counter, was very girly. Some parts of the set were dangerous, she said, adding that a large wooden drawbridge set up hit some of the people.

But everyone was tough and hung through it, including Phae. “Like ‘The Rock’ said, ‘you have to get your head in the game,’” she said.

“The coolest thing was probably all the details they put into the set at the toy store,” Phae said. The most rewarding part of the experience, she said, was the result – getting to see herself in the movie.

“I learned that it’s a fun experience and if you want something, it takes hard work and determination,” Phae said.

Phae signed up with Fashion Focus, a local modeling agency, when she was five. Her mother said she had a lot of calls, but she was still so young. This year, with Phae being older, Maria Woods, owner of Fashion Focus modeling and finishing program in Pembroke, encouraged Tracy to get Phae back into it. Tray said Phae likes the work and she let her decide whether it was something she wanted.

“As long as she’s having fun – that’s what I want it to be for her,” Tracy said.

Phae now also works with the Model Club in Boston, which is the agency that called her in for the movie.

Phae, her mom and dad Gene, did not see posters or trailers for the flick until about nine months after Phae was called in.

These must-haves for cult movie fans are available on September 25, 2007 from Buena Vista Home Entertainment, and are priced at U.S. $19.99 (SRP) and Canada $24.99 (SRP).

The king of underground movies and exploitative cinema directed and produced THE INTRUDER, which was released theatrically in 1962. Despite some of the best critical reviews of Corman's career, the film did not find success at the box office because of the theme, but even by today's standards THE INTRUDER remains powerful.

William Shatner delivers a riveting performance as Adam Cramer, who travels from Washington to a small southern town under the guise of a social worker from the Patrick Henry Society. He seems like the perfect gentlemen, but Cramer came to stop the court-ordered desegregation in schools by preaching his hatred to the locals. He ignites an angry mob, but soon discovers their rage might be too much for him to control.

THE INTRUDER: SPECIAL EDITION from Buena Vista Home Entertainment features the insightful extra "Remembering the Intruder," a look back at Corman's personal favorite through the eyes of its star, William Shatner, and the king himself.

In 1976, fledgling actor-director Ron Howard made a deal with the Prince of Popcorn Cinema, Roger Corman that would change the course of filmmaking forever! Corman would produce Howard's feature directorial debut, Grand Theft Auto, if Howard would star in his quirky car comedy EAT MY DUST. Written and directed by Charles B. Griffith (Corman's Little Shop of Horrors) EAT MY DUST is the story of Hoover Niebold (Ron Howard), a small-town teen destined to fade into obscurity until he gets the guts to ask out the most popular girl in school, who says she'll only hitch up with him if he steals a professional race car. He drops his innocence, snags the ride and the girl, and the chase ensues! The film is noted for its brilliant low budget camera work, especially during the chase scenes when Corman and Griffith attached cameras to the hoods of speeding cars to induce some added nausea in audiences, and its balance of teen angst and comic irony in the form of rural bumpkins and middle-class stereotypes.

What About Brian: The Complete Series on DVD

Buena Vista Home Entertainment - Buena Vista Worldwide Home Entertainment brings What About Brian: The Complete Series to DVD on September 25. From the producers of LOST and Alias (J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk), and starring Barry Watson ("7th Heaven") as consummate bachelor Brian Davis, What About Brian is a charming emotional ensemble drama that critics called "breezy, bittersweet and infectious" - The Chicago Tribune

A tight knit group of friends living in Los Angeles embrace the web of relationships with humor and hope while navigating through life. Brian, the only unattached member of his clique, must navigate the tricky and sometimes cruel dating world while trying to nail down a stable career. In Season 1, Brian holds out for true love, but there's one problem: his crush on best friend Adam's fiancé Marjorie. Season 2 finds Brian heading down an altogether different road: in the dating fast-lane.

Matthew Davis plays Adam, with Sarah Lancaster as Marjorie. Rounding out the cast are stars Rick Gomez (Dave), Amanda Detmer (Deena), Tiffani Thiessen (Natasha), Jason George (Jimmy), Amanda Foreman (Ivy), Jessica Szohr (Laura) and Rosanna Arquette (Nicole).

What About Brian: The Complete Series contains 24 one-hour episodes from seasons one and two on 5-disc DVD set, plus cast interviews and behind the scenes bonus features that invite viewers into the clique.

The Disney Channel Australia premiere averaged 313,976 viewers Saturday, and a 55.4% share of kids ages five to 15 years, also making it the highest-rated kids program to air on pay TV here. Disney Channel is available to about 26% of the country's 7 million TV homes.

Casseus, whose credits include "Get On the Bus," "Black Hawk Down" and ABC's "Their Eyes Were Watching God," will star as an NSA agent tracking a group of the commandos, reports Variety.       

Meanwhile, the actor has also sold an action film titled "Bone Deep," which he wrote and will executive produce.